"Where is my sister? Is she okay? I haven't done anything! Where am I?"

"Camelot. Now, quiet, sorceress! You have no right to speak." The men throw her onto a horse and bring her to Camelot. They drag her into the castle, and throw her on the ground in front of the king, where she kneels, sniffling.

"What is your name?" The king asked sternly.

"Ashley," she states, looking up at the man, realizing that he is one of the people from her dreams, she flinches away in fear.

"I am your king! You will address me as such."

"I haven't done anything wrong! Please! I… I don't know what happened! I was in my room and then this woman appeared and there was a bright light. The next thing I knew I was in the field and the men bound me," Ashley begins hyperventilating, then continues to sob on the ground.

Then, a lanky man, the raven haired boy from Ashley's dream, steps up to the king. "Sire, this is only a mere girl. She is going into shock and has clearly just experienced a traumatic event. Clearly, she cannot continue."

Then, the king crouches down to Ashley, trying unsuccessfully to put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I believe her," he says, looking straight into her eyes. "Do you think you can explain, please?" he says kindly, "You can call me Arthur."

Ashley takes a deep breath, "I was in my room, writing, and I was tired, so I went to sleep. My doors were locked because I was home alone. My sister was asleep, also. I had a nightmare and when I woke up… there was a woman… she was in my dream. I was so scared. 'Hello, Ashley,' she said, but it was in a bitter voice, like she hated me. I didn't want her to hurt my sister, so I stayed quiet. There was a bright light, I was scared. There was a bright light and I was in the field. You knights called me a sorceress and dragged me here. I don't know where I am, what year it is. All I know is that my little sister… no! Kathy! What if the woman hurt her? No!" Ashley holds her head in her hands and shudders, hyperventilating, but then it turns into gasps. She hears someone whispering to her, but doesn't understand the words.

People crowd around Ashley, trying to calm her down, only making her more nervous. She never liked crowds or being with too many people at once. Then, she passes out, which probably was better because her breathing evened out after.

{}{}{}{}{}

Merlin was whispering for her to calm down and that she was safe. Then, guards began to crowd around them, Arthur and Guinevere did the same. Then, they backed away when Merlin told them to give Ashley space. Gaius was in the lower town, and would be gone for another week or two, leaving Merlin as acting physician.

Then, the girl promptly passed out. "Merlin, you are relived from your duties as my manservant for the rest of the day. Take Ashley to the physician's chambers and take care of her." Merlin nods, scooping the girl into his arms, carrying her down the corridors and up three flights of stairs. When Merlin lays her down on the cot, he hears her whispering.

Then, she starts sobbing in her sleep, whimpering and thrashing, Merlin eventually has to strap her down on the cot. He can only wonder what can scare this girl only a few, maybe three, years younger than him.

{}{}{}{}{}

Ashley sits in a cage, no, a cell. Her hands are bound together, ankles in chains, gagged, and having an extremely painful headache. In the cell, there is only darkness, and silence, except for the deafening clanks of the chains when they rattled and echoed off the wall. She cries as blood drips down her arms and torso from the last torture session. Burns and bruises litter her body. But, it isn't the physical pain that makes her cry, it is the emotional agony. Being forgotten, left to rot and be tortured until she eventually succumbs to death, which she would greet with open arms if given the option. They always threaten to do it, and she begs for it to be over with, but they never kill her. They never give her a release. The door opens, letting a little light through, and the skinny boy with a neckerchief walks in. He begins to walk over to the cell.

But before he could get there, Ashley wakes up from her nightmare in a cold sweat, only to find that she is restrained. "No, no! This can't be real! I was a dream! No!" she weeps, tears falling down her face. Merlin shoots up from the chair and tries to console the crying girl, but she yelps, flinching away whenever he touches her.

"Hey, it was just a dream. You are safe here, I promise. No one is going to hurt you." She keeps staring daggers at him. "Would you like me to take off the restraints? You were thrashing, I didn't want you to get hurt." Ashley nods, brown eyes searching the room in fear, finding a means of escape, the wooden door. As soon as Merlin unties the straps, Ashley sprints for the door. Just at that moment, the other man from her nightmare, the one with long brown hair blocks her from getting out, gripping her wrist with a gloved hand. Ashley tries to get out of his grasp.

"Let me go!" she growls.

"I can't do that sweetheart. You see, Princess gave Merlin and I orders that we are to watch over you. And if we lose you that would be a problem."

"I won't make it easy for you and don't call me sweetheart," she snarls.

"I love a challenge! What's your name? I'm Gwaine."

"Ashley," she says, finally wrenching herself away from the knight, rubbing her wrist, which is already turning a nice shade of purple. "Thanks, I needed a temporary bracelet embedded into my skin," she seethes. "You know, as much as I love learning the names of the men holding me here against my will, I would much rather be kicking the hell out of the woman who brought me here."

"Wow, Merlin, we've got a feisty one to look after."

"I am overjoyed that you are amused by my current predicament. Thank you for your compassion, it is greatly appreciated, Gwaine," Ashley says, voice dripping with sarcasm. She walks over to the cot, and sits down on it, crossing her arms.

"Got a bit of an attitude, too. I can't wait for Princess to deal with her, eh, Merlin?"

Merlin's eyes flicker from Ashley to Gwaine, "She's right, Gwaine, no one has been understanding of her problem." He looks at Ashley, "I'm really sorry. Maybe if you tell us more about the woman who brought you here-"

"All I know about her, is that she normally wears a black dress, has black hair, and cold green eyes! Also, whenever I see her in my nightmares, she is trying to kill me or torture me, and you, Gwaine, and Blondie show up in the middle of it! I never know which side you all are on, with my luck it would probably be hers. Oh, yeah, and that she ripped me out of my life, and put me someplace where I don't know anyone and can't get in touch with any of my friends or family. Even if I get home, no one will believe me!" Then, Ashley covers her face in her hands, remembering all the names she had been called, the fangirl conversation with her best friend that night. Telling her sister goodnight while staying up to write.

Then, she begins crying. No one tries to stop her tears, no one tries to calm her. She takes a few shaking breaths. Then, they become calmer, until they are normal again. She closes her eyes, exhaling, then opening them, "I'm sorry… I'm not normally like this. I can see you were only trying to help me. You haven't tried to hurt me. I just, don't understand. I'm a girl that people call a freak and weird. Why would she want me?" Ashley has her fists clenched so hard that they shake. "I'm not special or anything. I'm an outcast. Always have been, always will be."

"Hey, I don't believe that," Merlin says, taking a seat on the cot next to Ashley, he puts an arm around her shoulders, "I think that you are great."

"I've been terrible to both of you. What even gives you the faintest idea that I am even remotely nice?"

"Well, one, you have a brilliant sense of humor. And two… you apologized. Some people are too conceited to do that. I think, if you want to, we would be great friends. I promise, I will not hurt you." Gwaine walks over and sits on the other side of Ashley, holding her hand.

"I won't let anyone hurt you either. I'm sorry that I seemed rude before, it's just the way I am," he says softly. Ashley nods, then hears footsteps coming from outside the door. She looks from one side to another in panic.

"Who is that? It's going to be her. I can't let her find me," Ashley stands up and bolts to the door, which happens to lead to Merlin's bedroom. She runs in, and locks it.

She leans her back up against the door, and shivers. The men wouldn't give her to the woman, they promised to keep her safe. And, who was Gwaine talking about when he said, "Princess"? Ashley suddenly wishes for a jacket because it is freezing. Then, she leans her head back against the wall, wondering what the men could be talking about, and who the person was.

{}{}{}{}{}

Arthur pushes the door open, walking into the room, "How's Ashley?" He glances around the room, realizing that the girl isn't there, "You idiots! You've lost her, haven't you?" his voice booms off the walls, even being heard in Merlin's room, scaring Ashley.

Merlin shouts after this, but not as loud, "No! We haven't lost her!" Then, he lets the volume of his voice drop, "I think she trusts me. Well, us," he says, motioning to Gwaine and himself, "But, then, she finally began to know she was safe, when you came stomping down the hallway. Ashley ran into my room, because she thought the woman was coming to get her. By the way, I think the woman is Morgana, that's how Ashley described her."

Gwaine walks up to the room, knocking after realizing the door was locked, "Ashley, it's the king. Princess isn't going to hurt you. He just wants to see how you're doing."

Ashley's voice responds, quivering, "I'm not coming out!"

Then, Gwen walks in, motioning for Gwaine to move out of the way. "Ashley, I'm Queen Guinevere, but most people call me Gwen. Please come out. We won't hurt you," then, Ashley opens the door a crack, peeking through. She gasps and closes the door again.

"Too many people," she squeals, slamming her back against the door so no one can open it. She begins gasping for air. Ashley tries to calm her breathing, while repeating a mantra in her mind. They are just people. It's only four people. You are fine. Then, she peeks out the door, finding the queen near the door, holding out her hand. "Where's Merlin?" Ashley asks, searching the room for the one person she might actually trust.

"He hand to do something for Arthur. Come on, I'll get you some clothes. You are safe, here, we won't let her get you. We believe that the woman is Morgana, but you are safe. You can trust us." Ashley nods.

"Okay, I trust you," Ashley states, this time, telling the truth. Then, the pieces start to fit together in her mind. King Arthur, Merlin, Queen Guinevere, Sir Gwaine, and Camelot. The words starts swirling around in her mind, so she has to push them away. Then, she vaguely remembers the stories that her uncle would tell her, and how she always wanted to go back in time to the medieval days.

"So, we can offer you a room in the castle. I mean, you don't need to do work or anything, we could supply you with everything you need. Plus, Arthur wanted me to invite you to dinner with us tonight."

"Are there going to be a lot of people there?" Ashley asked, remembering the recent events that almost sent her spiraling into a panic attack.

Gwen shakes her head, "No, it will only be Arthur, me, and possibly some of the knights. Maybe Merlin will be there, but he won't be eating, he will probably be serving. I could introduce you to the knights later, if you would like."

"I would love to take you up on your offers, but I was wondering, if Arthur is going to be training, maybe could I train with the knights. I already know some of the basics, from reading and such." Gwen smiles and nods, leading Ashley into a room full of clothing.

"That sounds like a great idea. Are you sure though? He can be kind of rough…"

Ashley snickers, "I can take it."


So, I changed my perspective on Ashley a little. I think she is going to be a little tough chick. I have my ideas... It might take me a little longer to update... So, hopefully this LONG chapter can hold you off for a few days... Yeah, sorry about that. Please review! See you next chapter!

XOXO,

Lunatris262