Straight Through My Heart

{Author's Note : Bonjour again! So, 'case you all don't know already, I really do adore the show Merlin. It may just be the sweetest, funniest show ever made. Anyway, I decided to write this fanfic that may take a while as I'm finishing up my Wuthering Heights story (OOTSFCS; not the real name but an abbreviation), but that should be out of the way quickly. And again, please note that this takes place between Seasons 1 and 2. Enjoy!


Prologue – The Stranger

It was a dark night – useful if one wanted to hide, or conceal themselves, or conduct a secret event. On this night, however, three people rode through a thick forest. One of this party was in the dress of a groom; the other was a maidservant; and the third was completely hooded in a cloak the colour of a lake at midnight. Their gender was as unclear as all that could be seen of their face was their mouth, currently drawn into a thin line of anxiety.

Suddenly, the cloaked figure pulled their black horse to a stop. The horse, who had been trained to stop as quietly as possible, did so. Their servants followed suit, and the cloaked person turned to the groom and murmured, "Are we close?"

"Yes, m'lady," the groom replied in a low voice. "We are very close now. It will not be long."

Suddenly there was a rustle in the bushes. The groom's horse, a small brown mare, was spooked and reared, whinnying. Very loudly.

"Damn!" the young hooded lady muttered, while the groom attempted to steady his horse. Barely two heartbeats later, an arrow shot out of a bush a few feet away and hit the tree, directly above the young lady's head.

"God's bones!" she swore loudly, more startled than frightened. At that moment, five soldiers leapt out of the brush, drew their swords and surrounded the small party.

One soldier stepped forward. "We are sorry if we frightened you, madam – "

"Sorry?" the maid burst out angrily. "You damn well better be! Bloody 'ell! You coulda killed her, you could, you idiots – "

"Nell," the young lady murmured.

"Yes – !"

"Shut up."

Awkwardly the soldier continued. "...but you have trespassed onto the boundaries of Camelot, castle of His Majesty King Uthr. We demand to know your identity."

"Tell your king," said the young lady icily, "I was sent by my mother, the Countess of Kent."

"What – Lady Kent?" The soldier looked confused. "Elle de Lodah, Lady Kent?"

"Yes," the daughter of the Countess of Kent answered.

The soldiers exchanged glances, clearly uncomfortable. Mistress de Lodah sighed exasperatedly and tossed her head. "Yes, yes, I know very well of my mother's history with King Uthr, but she greatly desired for me to be a lady-in-waiting to His Majesty. I could work with the other ladies. I could embroider, sing, study..." She raised her eyebrows and cocked her head at the soldier.

"Very well," he said. "We will escort you to Camelot. You" – he turned to another soldier – "run ahead and inform the king that the daughter of Elle, Countess of Kent, has arrived and has expressed a desire, through her mother, to be a lady-in-waiting to him." The soldier nodded and dashed off through the trees. The remaining four soldiers surrounded the little party in a box formation as they slowly began to make their way through the forest.

Mistress de Lodah turned around and smiled at Nell and her groom, then turned ahead to watch as they approached the city of Camelot.