Chapter 1:

The weather was exceptionally good, the trees shaded Elaine from the harsh light of the summer sun, and the faint breeze coming from the north cooled the air. The rowan she was sitting under was on a small hill that overlooked the castle and Camelot. She could see the people milling around in the market in the lower town, but the walls blocked anything else from being seen. It was what was out of sight that had caused Elaine to retreat here in the first place.

The sound of trumpets and drums set the rhythm for the execution that was taking place in the courtyard. Their sound was carried over the wind and to the forest where Elaine was reading. She had heard through gossip in the kitchen that a man was to be executed this morning, and not having the stomach for it, she had snuck away to the forest hoping to escape from it.

The sound of the cadence stopped, all Elaine could hear now was the sound of the forest; birds singing, leaves rustling, and critters scurrying. The sounds calmed the young girl, this was not the first time she had come here nor the last,and Elaine's mind was able to return to the book lying open on her lap. She stayed there until the sun started going down, knowing it wasn't wise to walk back in the dark.

Having missed supper while she was in the forest, Elaine went to the castle's kitchens hoping that she would be able to get a late dinner there. Audrey, the head cook, was a friend of hers and Elaine knew that if asked she would give her food.

Once Elaine had been given a bowl of stew and a chunk of bread, she sat down next to some of the other servants also having a late dinner at a large table in the kitchen. She recognised only a few of them, Margaret was one of them. Margaret was a servant that helped in the kitchens, though she mostly helped serving the noble families when there were any banquets. She was also known as the largest gossiper out of all the servants in the castle. Margaret was currently repeating the current gossip in loud whispers, in the same fashion that one had to when gossiping.

"Did you really see it happen?" Asked one of the mousy looking servants, her voice in a hushed awestruck tone.

"Oh, I did. The witch was hideous, the oldest hag I have ever seen. She had to be in her hundreds, no doubt has been using sorcery to stay alive for this long. She looked to be wearing old rags too." Margaret was saying, the girls around her letting out murmurs of distaste.

"What did she do?" Another girl asked, glancing around nervously.

Elaine paused with a spoonful of stew hanging in front of her face, her eyes went to Margaret. While she usually didn't partake in gossip, she was as curious as the others about the witch. Maybe even more so.

As Margaret leaned forward, the girls leaned also like puppets. "She cursed King Uther for executing her son and threatened the prince," Her voice in a low tone. "Then, when the guards had almost grabbed her, she spoke witchcraft and vanished from our eyes with a powerful gust of wind."

All the girls were looking around at the shadows as if the witch was going to pop out and wreak havoc on us. Elaine finished the rest of her stew quickly while they continued their idle talk. No longer paying attention to them as their conversation had changed to the new dress one of the ladies was wearing today.

"Elaine? Are you ready yet?" Her grandfather called from the other side of the door. While Elaine and her grandfather had little money, they did have power and influence in the court. Her grandfather's name was an old one and they were part of one of the oldest families in Camelot. They were invited to the banquet that was to be held by King Uther in honor of Lady Helen of Mora.

Though Elaine enjoyed banquets, mostly because they always had a large spread of desserts, she detested getting ready for them and always managed to procrastinate until the last possible moment. Like this moment for example, Elaine's grandfather had been waiting for them to leave for the past few minutes and she had only started getting ready. She scrambled behind her screen, fighting to get her corset tied behind her. Elaine stumbled a bit, accidently knocking over a stool.

Geoffrey heard the noise and a worried expression crossed his face, "What was that?" He asked, "Did you fall over again? We don't have time for you to be clumsy."

"I know, I'm fine." Elaine replied, smiling to herself as she finally managed to get her corset tied. Her voice was muffled by her petticoat that she was pulling over her head, "It was just a stool." Elaine breathed deeply once her head popped through the top of the slip. Putting on her dark blue dress, that she had worn on practically every special occasion since she had gotten it, and pulling her arms through the tight sleeves. It was a lot more roomy than the petticoat and she was able to get it on easily and faster than before.

Elaine walked out from behind the screen, her thoughts running rampant on what had happened the day before. It wasn't often that Gwen found a boy worth her time, and it was even less often for someone to challenge Prince Arthur. When there was a boy that managed both, Elaine's curiosity was brought out. Buckling a gilded silver belt and pinning her hair's front part behind her ears, Elaine flung open the door to her room.

"Let's go grandfather. We can't be late." She told him cheekily when she caught him in the act of going to sit down in one of the chairs. Elaine strode past him leaving their chambers; Geoffrey sputtered crossly and rose, following after his granddaughter.

The banquet hall was already filled when they arrived, the nobles in their colorful refinery were milling around, talking to other guests. "Oh!" Geoffrey said suddenly and started walking towards one of the other guests. Elaine followed after him, smiling when she saw who her grandfather was heading towards.

"Lord Geoffrey, Lady Elaine, how are you two?" The older man asked, smiling at us.

"Very well, Gaius. The pain in my leg has gone away just like you said it would after I took your medicine." Geoffrey replied, sharing Gaius's smile.

Elaine looked away from them, tuning out their conversation; she had learned through past experiences that the only thing worse than women's gossip is old men's gossip. Not to mention, once you get these two started on the pains of old age, they could go on forever. Elaine's blue eyes scanned the crowd and came to a stop when she saw the prince. He was joking and fooling around with his fellow knights. Arthur turned his head, his eyes focused on something towards the entrance of the room as a shocked expression came over his face. Her eyes followed his gaze to the Lady Morgana wearing a sleeveless burgundy dress made from a wispy fabric that teased her ivory skin.

Elaine pursed her lips, feeling conflicted on whether she should admire Morgana for being so bold or jealous that she had captured the attention of everyone in the room, especially Arthur's.

Her expression changed to one of happiness when she saw Gwen walking behind Morgana. Elaine checked to see if her grandfather was still occupied with Gaius. Seeing that neither of them were paying any attention to her, Elaine walked away from them; Gwen headed for the boy that Elaine knew she liked, starting an obvious awkward conversation with him. Stopping in her stride, Elaine paused, grinning at the two of them as they failed to maintain a conversation.

The trumpets sounded before she could tease Gwen and at their signal Elaine made her way over to her seat. She sat down next to Geoffrey, Gaius sitting on the other side of him. As she did, Elaine turned her body towards them to listen in on their conversation.

"Has your new apprentice arrived yet?" Her grandfather was asking.

"Of course, he arrived on Wednesday. I told you when he was going to arrive last week, didn't I?" Gaius questioned as he served himself some of the food.

"You probably did, Gaius, but you know grandfather." Elaine gave a teasingly look to her grandfather. "He never remembers the dates, it's the old age." She fake whispered to Gaius conspiratorially. Her words caused Gaius to laugh and pat Geoffrey on the back sympathetically.

Before Elaine could continue her teasing, the trumpets started playing again, signaling King Uther's arrival. The king stepped in front of his table and the hall quieted for his speech. He smiled at all of us, and his eyes scanned the tables. "We have enjoyed 20 years of peace and prosperity." He said beginning his speech. "It has brought the kingdom and myself many pleasures, but few can compare with the honor of introducing Lady Helen of Mora." He bowed slightly and began the applause for her. Everyone in the hall joining in on the applause, Elaine's eyes went to the stage, studying the woman standing there.

Lady Helen began singing, an ethereal and hauntingly beautiful voice flowing out of her mouth. Elaine thought, her voice was as beautiful as her reputation claims, as the song filled the room. Lady Helen moved her hands with her singing and stepped off the stage, walking towards the head table. Elaine started to feel herself grow drowsy from the sound of her voice as did the rest of the guests. She slumped forward against the table, and leaned against her grandfather who had already fallen asleep, as Elaine's eyelids slowly began to close. Before her eyes completely closed, Elaine noticed that everyone else was also falling asleep and long strands of cobwebs were growing across of everyone.

Her suspicions were halted when her mind shut off as she fell asleep; as quick as a hiccup her mind was returned to her and her eyes opened to the astonishing sight in front of her. Lady Helen was crushed underneath a chandelier, except Lady Helen was no longer there in her place was an old woman. Elaine quickly began to unravel the webs around her when the woman used magic to fling a dagger at Prince Arthur. Elaine gave a start, watching as the dagger arced towards him. Before it hit the prince, the servant boy rushed forward, grabbed onto Prince Arthur, and pulled him back; falling on to the ground as the dagger thudded into the chair Prince Arthur had been sitting in only a second ago.

All the nobles stared shocked at the knife embedded into Prince Arthur's chair, none seemed more surprised than King Uther himself. They all looked at the king, and watched as he went and stood next to the two boys getting to their feet. "You saved my boy's life, a debt must be repaid." King Uther told the servant.

"Uh, well…" The servant said, smiling a small grin.

"Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded."

"Honestly, you don't have to, Your Highness."

"No, absolutely. This merits something quite special."

"Well…" The servant now looked to be quite happy and excited about the prospect of being rewarded.

"You shall be awarded a position in the royal household. You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant."

At this we all started clapping, drowning out Prince Arthur's reply of indignation. "There he is, Geoffrey, that's my new apprentice." Gaius said with a immensely proud look on his face.

"He must be a brave boy to have saved the Prince's life like that." Grandfather replied, looking at the servant in a new light.

"Indeed, his name is Merlin."