The episode spends most of its time with Arthur and Merlin, so this chapter we get to do a bit more exploring outside of canon scenes. Reviews are the best presents, so please leave me any compliments or criticisms. Enjoy!

Sefa was exhausted by the time Guinevere dismissed her that evening. She was used to hard work, but the combined stress of learning her new duties and avoiding suspicion in a castle full of enemies had worn her out. She returned to the kitchen to find a group of kitchen maids and errand boys seated over their evening meal. One of the girls beckoned her over.

"You hungry?" she asked. Sefa nodded and sat down as the girl handed her a plate. "I'm Anne," she said.

"Sefa."

"You're the queen's new handmaiden, yeah?" one of the boys asked. Sefa nodded again.

"Glad you're here," a blonde girl said. "We've been trading off duties since the last one left. It'll be nice to get back to normal."

"I don't know, it was a nice change sometimes," Anne argued. "Have you liked it so far, Sefa?"

"She's very kind," Sefa said.

"She is," a third girl agreed. "And she'll be plenty patient as you figure everything out."

Sefa finished her supper and returned to her room in the servants' wing. The bed was softer than anything she'd ever felt; with Ruadan she had slept on a straw pallet, and at Ismere there had been nothing but the floor. She fell asleep quickly and slept soundly.

Sefa woke early the next morning and dressed hastily. She pulled a piece of paper and charcoal from her cloak and scribbled a note to Ruadan asking him to meet her in the forest the following night. Opening her window, she whispered an incantation. She had only very meager magical abilities, and Ruadan usually punished her for using them, but he had allowed her to learn this one spell in order to send word to him. After a moment, a black raven landed on the windowsill. Sefa tied the note to his leg and sent him off again. With that, she hurried to the courtyard.

She found Merlin saddling the king's horse at the base of the steps. She approached him shyly. He looked up and grinned when he saw her.

"Morning," he said cheerfully. "You sleep all right?"

She smiled. "Yes, thank you. Did you?"

Merlin nodded. "And good thing too, I'll need it. Nobody ever sleeps real well on the road."

"Does he always take you along?" Sefa asked. Ruadan sometimes required her to accompany him on journeys, but he usually preferred to go alone. He said she slowed him down.

"Yeah," Merlin answered. "I go pretty much everywhere with him."

"I'm sorry."

"Why?"

Sefa shrugged. "It must be difficult, never getting a break. I used to look forward to my last master's journeys. He left me with plenty to do, but it was good to have a few days without him. And the king seems to treat you even more cruelly than he did me."

Merlin wrinkled his brow. "Arthur? Cruel? Nah, he's all right. Got a temper, but it's mostly bluff."

Sefa wasn't so sure. The king looked as if he could pack a decent blow. She admired Merlin's confidence, however. No matter how much Arthur blustered, he never seemed to be cowed by it.

"Would you mind fetching some water while I finish up?" Merlin asked her. "The horse could use a drink before we're off."

Sefa shook her head and Merlin handed her a small bucket. She went to the pump near the gate and filled it. As she walked back, she noticed that the knights had begun to fill the courtyard. King Arthur stood beside Merlin, speaking to him. Sefa came up behind them with the bucket just as Arthur turned around, knocking into her and sloshing water across both of their boots.

Sefa gasped and curtsied quickly. "My lord, I'm so sorry, please I never meant it..." She cringed, waiting for the backhand that was sure to come.

"My fault," Arthur said. "And no harm done. It's only water; it will dry. You're Guinevere's new handmaiden, aren't you?"

Sefa could only blink at him. "Yes, my lord," she finally stammered.

Arthur nodded once. "Take good care of her while I'm away," he said. "She worries too much."

The girl just nodded, too caught off guard to speak. Arthur thanked her and walked away to address one of his knights. She stepped up to join Guinevere at the bottom of the steps and curtsied. "Good morning, milady."

Guinevere shook off her worried look and smiled. "Good morning, Sefa. Would you go down to the kitchens and fetch my breakfast? I'll take it in my chambers; I have some work to do this morning."

With a small smile and a wave at Merlin, Sefa left the queen. As she made her way to the kitchens, her mind turned back to Arthur. Her own master would have beaten her for such an offense, and Morgana had tortured her own guards for far less. When Arthur had been described to her as unspeakably cruel by those who thought nothing of abusing their own commoners, Sefa had imagined a monster, but the king did not seem monstrous at all.

The cook had Guinevere's breakfast ready, so the girl took the tray back up to her mistress' chambers. The queen was already seated at the table.

"Set the tray on the sideboard," she instructed. "And bring just the plate and goblet to the table." Sefa did so. "There, you're getting the hang of things already."

Sefa looked down and smiled. She so rarely received any praise from Ruadan, but Queen Guinevere seemed ready to compliment her at every turn. She began tidying the room, which had been left in disarray after the king's early departure. When she had finished making the bed and collecting the laundry, she returned to the queen.

"Will you be needing anything else, milady?"

"No, that will be all for now. Go ahead and have your own breakfast. I have several meetings today that I won't need you for, so you'll spend today in the kitchens with the other maids."

Sefa hurried to the kitchens to report to the cook. After a quick breakfast, she was set to peeling potatoes. Sefa allowed herself to relax as she worked. She let her mind wander to the conversation between the two girls chopping vegetables across the counter from her. She recognized the blonde girl from supper her first night.

"Anyway, I hear Myrra's got her eyes on the butcher's son," the blonde girl was saying. "Snuck out to bring him flowers yesterday after the midday meal."

The second girl wrinkled her nose. "Why anyone would want that stinking boy is beyond me. He's not even half handsome!"

The first girl laughed. "That's something, coming from the girl half mad for the cross-eyed tailor."

"Oh but he's sweet," her friend replied. "Not like the butcher's son, all gruff and hot-tempered. Silas is ever so kind."

Sefa laughed to herself just as Audrey stormed over and seized her wrist. Sefa gasped and dropped the knife onto the counter.

"What is this?" the cook demanded. "That's a fine thing, taking off half the potato with the skin! Perhaps the queen's handmaiden's so high and mighty she thinks she can waste half the meal, but down here we know the value of a good piece of food!"

She dragged Sefa away from the counter and into the scullery, where she shoved a brush and bucket into her hands.

"If you can't be trusted with the food, you can make yourself useful scrubbing floors," Audrey snapped. "There's a pump in the courtyard and soap on the shelf."

Sefa set to work. At first, Audrey checked in on her frequently, grunting in reluctant approval, but as the morning went on Sefa was more or less left to her chore. It was a few hours before the cook called over to her.

"Put that lot away and wash up, girl," Audrey instructed. "Figure you can at least carry a dish if you're to serve from it."

Sefa washed her hands at the pump and returned to the kitchen, where Audrey was arranging the queen's midday meal on several serving dishes. She reached for a full soup bowl to set it on her tray. The cook smacked her knuckles hard with a wooden spoon and Sefa recoiled.

"Don't you know better than to touch before you're told?"

"Sorry, mum," Sefa stammered.

Audrey set a sprig of mint atop the soup. "There, now take it, and the rest, and get out of my kitchen." Sefa hurried to obey.

Guinevere was not in her chambers when Sefa arrived. The girl began setting her mistress' place at the table. She was stoking a fire in the grate when the queen returned. Sefa curtsied and wiped her hands clean on her skirt.

"Thank you," Guinevere said as Sefa placed her dish before her. "The council meeting ran longer than expected." Sefa nodded and began tidying the bedroom. "It isn't always like this," the queen continued. "I'll usually need you much more frequently, but with Arthur away I have to take over his responsibilities. I feel badly, pushing you off to the kitchens for so long. Audrey isn't the easiest to get along with."

Sefa shrugged. "She's all right, milady."

The queen laughed. "You're polite," she said. "I know her temper well enough. I've still got scars on my knuckles from that spoon."

"Milady?"

"I spent my fair share of time in the kitchens while I was a maid."

Sefa froze. "You were a maid?"

"Did no one tell you that?" Guinevere looked up from her meal. "Yes, until Arthur and I were married. I served the Lady Morgana from when we were both very young. I suppose you know who she is."

"Yes, milady," Sefa said softly, dropping her gaze and returning to her work. "I know who she is."