Chapter 2

Arthur, his five esteemed Knights of Camelot, and even Merlin stared at the damsel lying before them.

She was absolutely stunning, even in unconsciousness. Her emerald dress contrasted with her flawless alabaster skin perfectly, and her cherry lips seemed to radiate warmth and beauty with every breath.

Surrounding her head was a halo of fiery hair that was only marred by the barely noticeable stain of blood trickling from her wound.

Arthur was the first to come out of the trance like stance that the girl somehow held them in, and had to shake his head to regain focus. Briefly inspecting the wound he made an almost instantaneous decision that she needed medical attention.

When he spoke it was with authority and managed to steal the attention of all of the knights away from the girl.

"Right then. We better get her to Gaius, let's go."

Sir Leon and Arthur delicately lifted the maiden and placed her haphazardly on a horse.

"Merlin, you ride behind her and make sure she doesn't fall off." Arthur ordered. "Can you manage that?"

Arthur glanced back at Merlin and rolled his eyes when he found the idiot staring unabashedly at the girl he was supposed to be helping.

One well aimed boot later, and the party was on their way back to Camelot.

Groaning, Rosie blinked open her eyes and tried to sit up while adjusting to the light in the room. Her head was absolutely killing her, and she wondered if she still had any Advil left in her handy hangover jar.

Finally gaining focus she gasped when she realized she wasn't in her room at all, but in a very old fashioned looking room filled with bottles, books, and an unbelievably wretched smell.

Struggling to come to terms with what was going on, she was distracted by a very large crash coming from the far side of the room.

Turning her head quickly, she let out a gasp of pain. Blasted head. She closed her eyes for a couple of seconds to calm her breathing and opened them moments later to a boy dressed in very strange clothes striding towards her.

"Are you alright?" He asked, reaching around her to assess the wound.

"Uh, yeah…" She replied trailing off. He had started changing her bandage.

With sudden clarity she recalled slamming her head into a rock before drifting into blackness. The strange boy in front of her gave her a small smile and stepped back, playing with his hands awkwardly.

Rosie directed her attention to him and suddenly realized she was being rude. It was kind of ironic considering how bizarre the situation was.

"Who are you exactly, and where am I?" She questioned, waiting expectantly for an answer.

Relieved to have something to occupy himself with he grinned and stuck out his hand.

"My names Merlin," Rosie's eyes widened, "And you are in Gaius, the court physicians chambers in Camelot." He finished with a smile although slightly confused by the look of incredulity that had formed on the girl's face.

"Merlin…Camelot…Bloody hell." Rosie was mumbling and looked up at Merlin.

"I'm Rosie." She graced Merlin with a tight-lipped smile before she promptly started slapping her face.

"Hey, hey, hey, none of that now." Merlin reprimanded as he grabbed her hands. He wasn't sure what was going on with the girl, but he wasn't going to let her hurt herself any more.

"Excuse me, can I have my hands back now?" The girl gave him a pointed look. Blushing he released him before muttering something about going to get Arthur ready for the feast now.

Catching Arthur's name, Rosie realized that she probably should have seen it coming. First Merlin (who was quite an attractive boy, what a shock!), then Camelot, of course King Arthur had to fit it somewhere.

Her curiosity overwhelming her, she begged Merlin to let her come with him. Despite his halfhearted attempts to keep her there to rest, she finally convinced him to let her come.

As they made their way up the tower, Rosie contemplated her situation.

Having smashed her head rather, well, smashingly, and waking up to see Merlin again, she came to the conclusion that there was no way that this was a dream. However implausible it may be, she had found herself in the middle of the medieval times walking besides the infamous Merlin. Oh if Mrs. Morgan could see her now.

She wracked her for several minutes to discover how she could have ended up here and finally decided it had something to do with that blasted term paper.

Rosie was pulled out of her thoughts when the reached Arthur's door and Merlin informed her that they had arrived. He strode in and Rosie walked tentatively behind her.

"There you are Merlin. You're late, again. God you have to be the worst manservant I've ever had, idiot," a voice came from the far side of the room. Merlin stifled a laugh but Rosie didn't even notice.

Her gaze was fixed on the golden haired god standing across the room. Merlin coughed and Rosie snapped out of it. In a flash she remembered the words that had been said when she entered and without thinking began berating the man who had just turned around.

"That was uncalled for. Merlin here has been attending to me because I had a nasty fall earlier. Not to mention, this idiot saved my life earlier. Maybe he should be knighted for doing such a good deed. And-" Merlin placed a hand on her arm and gave her a look telling her that everything was okay and she didn't need to worry about it.

Slightly calmed down she glanced back at the spluttering royalty that now stood before her.

"Sire," she spoke, bowing slightly with an embarrassed smile.

Arthur regained his composure and apologized for his rude behavior before introducing himself with a kiss to her hand. Rosie introduced herself as well and then assisted Merlin in helping the prince get ready for the feast.

Suddenly Arthur asked Rosie where she was from and what had brought her to Camelot.

Rosie looked at Merlin and opened and closed her mouth several times at loss for what to say. Merlin saw the look on her face and hurriedly answered the question for her.

"Rosie was my best friend in Ealdor," he improvised, "I haven't seen her since I came to Camelot and she came to visit." Arthur nodded his head in understanding and Rosie let out a sigh of relief.

When the time for the feast arrived Rosie excused herself from the boys to go rest despite their protests and made her way back to Gaius' chambers. She really was tired and her head had started pounding. A good night sleep would certainly do her good.

When she reached the door, she heard voices inside. Knowing what she was doing was wrong but not really caring she leaned towards the crack and peered in the room.

An old man with gray hair who she assumed to be Gaius was handing a bottle to the most beautiful woman Rosie had ever seen.

The woman had long curly tendrils of dark hair flowing down her back, a beautifully structured face, and a gorgeous dress. Her face however looked haggard and worn.

"I am truly sorry that you have to experience these nightmares my lady Morgana, I can only hope this sleeping draught will help," the old man said.

With a silent gasp, Rosie realized who this woman was. She pushed open the door and gained the attention of the woman who would aid in the destruction Camelot.