Hi there explorer of the internet, I'm sorry there's been such a gap between my last upload and this, I was in France for a month without my laptop. Anyway enjoy this chapter, which includes our first Gwen scene yay!

I awoke the next morning to sound of someone calling my name. There was no one there. Sunlight was streaming through the window and a church bell chimed somewhere in the distance. Deciding I'd probably imagined it I got dressed and headed into the main room, where I had met Gaius the previous night. He was spooning something from a pot and into bowl.

"I got you some water", he said, nodding towards a jug, "You didn't wash last night",

"Sorry", I hadn't even thought of it,

"Help yourself to breakfast", he put the bowl down on the table in front of him. I sat down and spooned the mixture a little. It was lumpy porridge. Gaius knocked over the jug of water. Instinctively, I stood up and made it stop. It froze, mid-fall.

"How did you do that?", he sounded curious this time, more than accusatory,

"I don't know", I was getting tired of explaining that. The jug fell.

"Are you incanting spells in your mind?", Gaius asked, he didn't seem to get the fact that it was purely instinctual,

"I don't know any spells", he looked confused, "It just happens", I took a mop that was leaning against the wall and started to clean up the spill.

"Well, we'll have to keep you out of trouble", he raised one eyebrow and caught my eyes. I just smiled and concentrated on mopping up the water. "I suppose you can help me until we can find you some paid work", he took two bottles off a shelf and told me where to bring them. Just as I was about to leave he handed me a sandwich with some sort of meat on it. I grinned at him, he smiled back at me, he had a look in his eyes that seemed to say "This time only". "Off you go", he nodded towards the door, his smile disappeared, and took the mop off me. I nodded, smiled some more, and left.

I ate the sandwich as I made my way out of the castle, through the courtyard and into the town. The bottles were delivered without anything eventful happening. As I was passing through the courtyard on my way back to Gaius' I saw a group of knights. They were laughing and joking, I heard one of them ask,

"Where's my target practice?", a weedy looking boy, no older than me, stepped forward holding a shield. He started walking away from the knights. The knight I had heard speak threw a knife, he had blond hair. It hit the shield dead center. The boy stopped and looked up over the shield in shock. The knife looked like it had penetrated deeply, he must have seen the tip come through,

"Don't stop", the blond knight said through a laugh, the boy didn't seem to understand, he moved a little and asked

"Here?", the knight through another knife. It almost hit the boy's head but he managed to use the shield to block it just in time. "Go on, run", our blond hero encouraged. The boy ran and the knight threw knife after knife, each one hit the shield. I felt sorry for the boy, the knights laughed and cheered each time. The boy fell and the shield rolled towards me. I stopped it with my foot.

"Hey", I smiled down at him, the blond knight looked over at us, "Come on now, leave him alone", I felt sorry for the guy, and I didn't like the way the knights were taking advantage of him. The blond knight looked shocked,

"What?", he seemed like the type who always got his way, at the expense of others,

"You've had your fun my friend", I smiled a little, trying to appear friendly. He started to walk towards me, threateningly.

"Do I know you?", his tone was so arrogant, he fueled a sort of hate inside me, it was hard to keep smiling. Nevertheless I held out my hand to shake his,

"I'm Merlin",

"So I don't know you?", he ignored my outstretched hand, so I let it drop,

"No",

"And yet you called me friend", he was standing uncomfortably close to me at this stage

"Yeah that was my mistake", I decided to stop trying to be nice and give him some of his own medicine, "I'd never have a friend who could be such an ass",

"Nor I one who could be so stupid", he replied, I turned around, intending to walk away, I figured if I said anything else I'd start a fight. "Tell me Merlin", he said, I turned back around to face him, "Do you know how to walk on your knees?", his possy of knights giggled,

"Nope",

"Would you like me to help you?", he threatened,

"I wouldn't if I were you", I replied, laughing a little to try and appear more confident, the blond knight laughed,

"Why, what are you going to do?",

"You have no idea",

"Be my guest", he encouraged, "Come on", I tried not to, but I couldn't resist his taunts. I swung my fist but he caught it, twisting my arm behind my back. "I could have you sent to jail for that", he whispered menacingly,

"Who do you think you are? The King?", even at times like this I couldn't resist a little sarcasm,

"No, I'm his son", he twisted my arm a little tighter and I only just resisted the urge to cry out, "Arthur", he added, he let go of my arm and I fell to the ground. He kept his promise and got two of his knights to drag me down to a cell underneath the castle. I hadn't even been in Camelot a week and I'd already managed to get myself arrested.

*Gwen's P.O.V*

I was hanging one Lady Morgana's bed sheets from a window to dry when I saw Arthur and his knights terrorizing some poor boy. I wasn't supposed to dally but I couldn't help but watch as a brave, and quite good looking, young man intervened. I couldn't hear exactly what was being said but I could tell Arthur didn't like it. The man tried to throw a punch at Arthur, but of course being the prince Arthur had been trained to fight since he learned to walk, and so caught the man's fist and twisted his arm behind his back. He got two of his knights to bring the man to one of the cells below the castle.

"Poor guy", I said to myself. I admired him for having the confidence to stand up to Arthur, he needs to learn that his arrogance will gain him enemies, and that that he can't always have his own ways. It's just unfortunate for that young man that Arthur doesn't want to learn.

*later that night, still Gwen's P.O.V*

I stood behind Lady Morgana in the throne room. Uther had invited Lady Helen, the kingdom's finest singer, to sing during the festival he had declared . As I was Lady Morgana's personal servant, I had been invited to Lady Helen's welcome, should Lady Morgana require anything. Uther greeted her,

"Ah, Lady Helen, thank you for joining our celebrations", she curtsied in respect for our king,

"The pleasure is all mine sir", Uther kissed her hand.

Before I knew it the evening was over. I suppose time goes by quicker when you're not living in the moment, and I couldn't stop thinking about a handsome young man who had tried what very few had tried before him...