Chapter 1

It was midnight and peace and tranquility was in the air. With the exception of the night guards, the inhabitants of Camelot were fast asleep. Nothing seemed as if it could harm them now. For the last few months since death of the Great Dragon, the people had been on edge, fearing lest its death had only been a rumor, but now things were starting to go back to normal. As normal as they could be, that is, since the disappearance of the king's ward, the Lady Morgana.

The disappearance of Lady Morgana did not affect the people in their daily lives, but it certainly affected Camelot's king. Uther had become obsessed with finding her. A large reward was being offered for any information whatsoever about her whereabouts, but so far no one had come forward.

Even now as he slept, Uther's dreams where about her. He tossed and turned moaning and calling her name over and over again. "Morgana!" In his dream, he saw her lying there her body twisted and broken. He knelt and gently picked up her lifeless form. "Morgana!" he cried, crestfallen.

A loud knock on his chamber door woke Uther from his troubled state. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and wondered who could be knocking at his door at this time of night, while privately grateful that they had.

"Come in." he commanded, not even bothering to get out of bed. The door opened slowly, and Sir Leon hesitantly stepped forward into the room. Uther studied the knight and found it hard to believe that only a few months ago, he had been believed to have been killed by the dragon, but he, and a few others, had barely survived. They had the scars and burn marks on their faces and bodied to prove it.

"Forgive me, sire, for disturbing you at this hour," said the knight bowing before his king, " but there is a woman who wishes to have an audience with you."

"At this hour?" asked Uther, wondering who on earth would want to see him in the middle of the night. A woman, Sir Leon had said, but Uther didn't really know any woman who request an audience with him, let alone in the middle of the night. Probably some commoner, he thought.

"Yes, sire. She appears to have traveled far and she says that it is most urgent." Sir Leon stood, waiting patiently for his orders.

"Very well." said Uther rising. "I'll see her. Send her to the Great Hall. I'll be there as soon as I am dressed."

"Yes, sire." Sir Leon turned to leave but stopped at the door. "Shall I wake Prince Arthur?"

Uther shook his head. "No, let him sleep. He's been very busy these last few days, but wake Gaius. He might be able to help this woman more than I can."

Sir Leon bowed once more than left the room.

* * * * * * * * *

As Uther entered the Great Hall and sat on his throne, there was no sign that he had been awakened from a bad dream only five minutes before. Instead, he looked his usual regal self. The same could not be said for the woman standing before him.

She was obliviously a commoner. Her clothes were of poor quality and besides being weather stained and worn down from constant travel, were torn in many places. Her dark skin was dirty and her black curls uncombed and unwashed. The tired look in her eyes showed that she had endured more than Uther could imagine, yet despite all that, she did look rather beautiful, and Uther could not but be awed by her.

"Sire." she curtsied as best as she could in her ragged cloths. Uther nodded in his head in acknowledgement.

"You want to speak with me?" Uther asked. The woman nodded. "I..." she began, but stopped short when the doors to the Great Hall were opened and Gaius walked in.

"Ah, Gaius." said Uther. He noticed that the old man looked tired and Uther was sorry he had him woken up in the middle of the night, but he knew he might be in need of Gaius's advice.

"Sire." Gaius bowed, then inclined his head in greeting to the woman, who seemed uncertain of him. "It is alright." Uther assured her. "Gaius is the court physician and one of my oldest and best counselors. You can trust him."

The woman seemed to be satisfied with explain. "My name is Jasmina." she said. "I come from a very small village on the northern borders. A few night back, we were attacked by a band of raiders. I alone managed to escape and I made my way here as I believed that the raiders mean to attack Camelot next."

"What makes you believe that?" asked Uther. He doubted she was lying, but he needed to know for certain.

"I heard their leader talking, sire. He said something about Camelot being the next to fall." Uther pondered this for a moment.

"Did you hear anything else?" Any information she could give him would be very useful.

"Yes. I heard one of the men call the leader Alvarr."

Uther's eyes suddenly grew cold and full of anger. "Alvarr." he hissed under his breath. Gaius hadn't moved at all, but it was clear he was troubled as well.

Uther stood up. "Thank you for this information. Since you took the trouble to warn us, I'd like to offer you a room in the castle. Stay as long as you like."

"Thank you, sire," said Jasmina, surprised by the generous offer. Uther gestured for one the guards to show her the way.

Once she was gone, Gaius stepped forward. "Sire, how do we know this woman isn't one of Alvarr's spies?"

"Do you think she would come her and tells his plans if she were?" asked Uther, genuinely amazed Gaius could even think that, let alone speak it out loud.

"What if there is no attack? She could be here to get information." Uther laughed. "Gaius, sometimes you amaze me. What an idea!"

Gaius, "Sire, please..." Uther held up a hand. "Enough, Gaius. She is our guest and we'll be treated as one. Is that clear?"

Gaius bowed then left the room.