AN: Don't read if you haven't seen Episode 9!

Sophie shifted her satchel into a more comfortable position on her shoulder and walked through the gates of great and powerful Camelot. Behind her, Jacob was still on his guard. She rolled her eyes "We're safe here Jacob, I know my mum told you to look out for me but I think you're taking things a bit far."

"Nowhere is completely safe, Princess, there's always danger," Jacob's blonde hair shook with each turn of his head. It was kinda cute, Sophie considered, she was incredibly fond of her childhood best friend.

Sighing, she led the way through the streets, Jacob on her heels "It's just as mum described it, isn't it? The white walls, the market stalls."

"The golden gates of home," he added, falling into step beside her and beginning to sing "The dirt street, pounding feet, the golden gates of home."

With a grin, she took his hand in hers "One of mum's best songs."

"Actually, I prefer, the love I lost," he chuckled, humming the tune quietly to make Sophie smile.

Wistfully, she sighed "How I miss our days as travelling players."

"Yeah," he glanced at the townspeople who hurried around them "I do too, I guess I owe your mum everything don't I?"

Shrugging, Sophie replied "Nah, we enjoyed having you along with us. Do you remember when you and me used to sing that duet."

"What I could do," he began "If I didn't have a sister."

A blush rising in her cheeks, she chuckled "I can't believe no-one noticed we weren't brother and sister. I look nothing like you!" They laughed but then stopped under the arch that led to the palace courtyard. Swallowing, Sophie breathed "So?"

"So?" Jacob repeated "You ready Princess?"

Shaking her head, she replied "Ready to get down on my knees and beg, you mean?"

"You won't have to beg," he smiled comfortingly "I won't let you beg."

For a few seconds, she searched his eyes "I love you, you know that, right?"

"Of course I do," he turned to her, caressing her cheek for a second before leaning in to press his lips against hers. It never failed to amaze her, how good it felt to kiss him. Eventually though she had to pull away and the two of them wandered into the courtyard. After a while, Jacob commented "Do we actually know how to get an audience with the king."

Nervously, Sophie admitted "Not a clue."

"Great," Jacob chuckled cynically.

Breaking away from him, Sophie tapped a knight on the shoulder. He was small for a guy, she thought, with long, dark brown, hair and the kind of eyes that just sparkled constantly. "Excuse me sir but could you answer a question for us?"

"For a lady as pretty as you?" he winked "Anything."

Jacob stood behind her, protectively "What about, for a lady as pretty as her and her boyfriend?"

"Okay," the knight chuckled, throwing his hands up in surrender "Sorry, look, what's the question?"

Only just resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the two of them, she asked "How would we get an audience with the king?"

"Talk to someone close to him," the knight replied "That's Gaius, Merlin or one of the knights."

With a fleeting glance at Jacob, Sophie turned on the charm "And would you happen to be a knight of Camelot."

"Yep," the knight smirked "Sir Gwaine, at your service."

Batting her dark eyelashes, Sophie beamed radiantly "Could you get us an audience with King Arthur?"

"What's your cause?" he asked, a tinge of seriousness tugging at his smile.

The smile faded from her face and she reached for Jacob's hand again "My mother is desperately ill. We need a physician but our village has no such man. We came to Camelot to beg for the king's assistance."

"Well, not beg," Jacob interjected.

Sighing, she interrupted "Yes beg, Jacob."

"Sounds good enough to me," Gwaine turned "Follow me." So they did, followed him through corridors and rooms until they reached a huge oaken door. With a flourish, Gwaine knocked firmly.

From the other side of the door, a loud voice rang out "Enter!" Sophie felt her breath hitch as the doors swung open and Gwaine led them in.

Casually, Gwaine bowed, only slightly "Arthur, these people requested your council."

Slowly, Arthur glanced up from his papers, his blue eyes looking Sophie up and down "Gwaine, you can't keep bringing in every pretty girl you see, take them away."

"No please!" she stumbled forward, past Gwaine and towards the king and his council "Please listen." Jacob rushed after her, taking her hand and staring daggers at the other men in the room, daring them to harm her.

For a moment, Arthur stared at the desperation on her face, before throwing his papers aside and straightening up to look at her "I'm listening."

"My mother raised me on her own," Sophie began "We lived on the road, no home, no family, just the two of us until we found Jacob, here, trying to get scraps from an innkeeper. Poor kid was starving so we sort of adopted him. The point is, mum raised the two of us with no help whatsoever, we were travelling players, and now she's ill, close to death in fact, but the village we've made our home for the last two years has no physician. Mum grew up in Camelot and she's always spoke so highly of you sire, she said that if anyone would help, you would." There were tears in her blue eyes and she was leaning on Jacob for support.

Sympathy creased Arthur's face "Where is your village, child?"

"It's Skipdale, on the East Border," Jacob replied, now holding a weeping Sophie tight in his arms.

With a curt nod, the king stood "We can be there by sunset, I've been meaning to patrol that border for a while now, Merlin's a decent physician so he'll be able to do some good I expect. Gwaine, get Elyan, Percival and Leon, we set off immediately. Someone fetch eight horses!"

Before long they were on horseback and leaving Camelot for Skipdale. The silence hung in the air for a while before Sophie sighed "Fancy a song Jacob?"

"The love I lost?" he asked tentatively.

Rolling her eyes, Sophie smiled "Anything to break this silence."

"I once had a love, with eyes, as blue as the sea," Jacob sung.

With a nod, she continued "When I flew so far above, and he belonged to me."

"Then I was young and unknowing how hearts could change," he sang back more emotionally, registering that the knights were watching them.

As she too realised they had an audience, she turned her head to face Arthur "I would give him my hand, as weddings we began to arrange."

"But alas, he was the love I lost," they both sang.

Stunned, Gwaine sniffed "That's a beautiful song."

"My mum wrote it," Sophie replied "There's more to it but..." They were nearing the village and already children were rushing from the street to greet them. Immediately, Sophie and Jacob leapt from their horses to hug the youngsters.

From the village, ran a woman with dark brown hair cascading to her waist. Sophie smiled sadly, embracing the woman "Marian, how's mum?"

"She's being braver than she should be," Marian, the woman, replied, glancing at the knights. Then she spotted Arthur "Good god! It's the king!"

With no trace of nervousness, Arthur asked "Where is the patient."

"This way," Marian led them all to the little cottage at the far end of the village. She stopped them outside the door "You won't all fit in, some of you will have to wait out here."

Without stopping to consider that Arthur was the king, Sophie declared "Merlin, Arthur, Jacob and I will go in, the rest should stay outside." There were no arguments, there was something in Sophie's tone that made them all obey without question, even the king. Sophie led them in, scuttling to the back of the cottage and drawing the curtain aside to sit at her mother's bedside "Mummy, we're back."

"What did you think of Camelot Sophie?"

"It was just as you described it, golden and glorious."

"Oh, my girl," she reached up to stroke her daughter's cheek "How brilliant you are. Now, Jacob?"

He stepped forward to sit on the end of the bed "I'm here."

"You better have looked after my Sophie."

"You wouldn't expect any less of me would you?" Jacob smiled, taking Sophie's hand.

Through all of this, Arthur had been frozen in the middle of their tiny living room, with Merlin beside him. He was staring at the little family with wide blue eyes, knuckles white as he gripped the back of a chair. Now, he whispered hoarsely "Guinevere?"

All of them looked at him as he stood staring at the woman in the bed. She smiled "Still travelling to the ends of the earth for meaningless subjects, Arthur?"

"You could never be meaningless, Gwen," he replied, smiling sadly.

There was a pause then until Gwen said "Would you leave Arthur and I alone my dears, you too Merlin?" Immediately, Merlin and Jacob moved to leave, but Sophie gave her mother a curious look before following them. As soon as they were gone, Gwen chuckled "Trust my daughter to go to extremes, she goes to find a physician and brings back the king of Camelot."

"Your daughter," Arthur repeated dizzily "Who's her father?"

Chuckling, Gwen propped herself up on the pillows "Arthur, she has your eyes."

"I... I have a daughter," he choked out, stumbling to the chair by her bed side "Why didn't you tell me, I would have looked after you... I would have..."

A weak smile graced her beautiful features "Arthur, you banished me from, I really didn't have any way of telling you. I needed to accept that you couldn't be mine after the mistakes I'd made and I needed to raise my daughter."

"On the road," he commented "You raised her on the road."

Reaching out to take his hand, she shrugged "It wasn't a bad life, you ask Jacob or Sophie and they'll tell you they'd much rather be back on the road than here in this tiny little village."

"Does she know I'm her father?" asked Arthur.

With a sigh, she nodded "Me and my daughter are very close, I need to know that she trusts me so I'm always very honest with her, we've always been that way."

"And Jacob?" he pressed further.

Gwen smiled "He calls her Princess, the two of them are practically engaged she tells him everything."

"Is he good enough for her?" Arthur snapped, eyes wide. Once again, Gwen laughed except, this time, she descended into a coughing fit. Nervously, Arthur reached for her "Guinevere, you're sick, I should get Merlin..."

She didn't let go of his hand, just held him there "You're still the same Arthur, the same sweet man you were sixteen years ago."

"I still love you," he whispered, surprised by how natural the words felt to him "I still love you so damn much, Gwen."

Weakly, she smiled back at him "I love you too, never stopped."

"Would you consider marrying me?" he asked "After all this time would you?"

Blinking, she breathed "Even after Lancelot?"

"We found a silver bracelet in the dungeons, it was enchanted with a love charm," he stroked her hand with his thumb "It didn't take long for me to put two and two together."

With a smile that lit up her entire face, Gwen just nodded "I'd do anything for you Arthur, of course I'll marry you."

"Then let's get you better," Arthur smiled, wide and genuine for the first time in years, before turning to shout "Merlin!"