A/N: Inexorable is officially going to be continued! Huzzah? ;D

Protecting Me

"So, she'll be alright?" Merlin asked, for what had to be the hundredth time that hour. Evelynn lay fast asleep on Merlin's bed, breathing evenly and occasionally shifting into a more comfortable position.

Gaius rolled his eyes, "Yes, yes, she'll be fine. Other than a few cuts and bruises I can see no major physical injuries." He checked to make sure the bandages around her arm and leg were secured, thinking back to the long, straight cuts and scars they covered. "Though I do have a few questions for her when she wakes up."

Arthur spoke up then, moving closer to the physician from his spot in the corner, "I'm assuming there's no obvious indication as to why she was about to…?"

Still pondering the girl's injuries, Gaius replied, "No, sire, not that I can gather."

Arthur glanced once more at the sleeping patient, and then said, "Right then. I best be going. Be sure to inform me when she's well again."

With that he strode out of the room, giving both Gaius and Merlin an acknowledging nod before he exited. As soon as he was definitely gone and well out of earshot, Merlin rushed to stand next to Gaius, asking conspiratorially, "You said you had questions for her?"

"Yes." Gaius began to clean up the various medicines and bandages around the table.

Eagerly, Merlin said, "What kind of-"

"None that I can elaborate on without speaking to her first." Gaius dropped his voice to a whisper, looking sternly at the young warlock, "Nothing concerning magic, if that's what you expected."

"Oh." Merlin, feeling slightly dejected, sat down on a chair not far from Evelynn's sleeping form. "When will she be up?"

Gaius sighed impatiently. "Whenever her body can cope."

"Right." Merlin looked thoughtfully out the window for a few moments, "Gaius?"

"What is it, Merlin?"

"D'you think we can help her?"

Both gazed back at Evelynn as Gaius replied, "I certainly hope so, Merlin."

---

When Evelynn next opened her eyes, all she saw was darkness. She quickly sat up, ignoring her throbbing headache, and tried to recall where she was. A few moments later she remembered vividly recounting the desperation she'd felt before; the relief, the fall, the panic, the gratitude. And then, with a slight start, she recalled who exactly had saved her.

'Prince Arthur of Camelot,' she mentally kicked herself, 'I nearly told a prince to sod off!'

With a quick shake of her head she told herself not to think about that, and instead directed her thoughts to where she was currently. It felt like she was resting on top of a very lumpy cot, and there was a faint sound of the chirping of crickets through a window not far from where she lay. If she squinted, she could dimly make out the silhouette of a large cabinet in the corner, along with an abundance of scattered books and clothing.

'Where am I?'

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, noting that there was a bandage around her right thigh and several around her upper left arm. Not letting herself question this she stood up, wincing as her feet hit the stone-cold floor. She tiptoed over to the window, trying to avoid the mess on the floor. She looked out, and realized she was too high up to jump down into the courtyard below. Sighing, she turned around and looked for a door. She finally spotted it, a few feet from the bed, and hurried to reach it. Halfway there she tripped over an opened book, making a large clatter as she grabbed for the nearest thing to support her (which just so happened to be a chair). Cursing inwardly, she only had time to sit up before someone entered the room carrying a candle,

"Whoa, where d' you think you're going?" The raven-haired boy, the one who had earlier introduced himself as Merlin, hurried over to her and held out a hand.

Evelynn, after a moment of deliberation, cautiously took it and stood, brushing off her dress as she stuttered, "I-erm. I was just-"

"Just leaving?" Merlin shook his head, "I don't think so."

Indignant, Evelynn asked, "And why ever not?"

"Because you're unwell." Merlin led her back over to where she'd woken up, and Evelynn sat, silent and wary.

"You're really going to help me?" Evelynn whispered, not knowing how to express what she felt at the thought.

"Well," Merlin grinned cheekily, "We'll certainly try."

She nodded absently, taking this in. After a moment she asked, "Where am I, exactly?"

"In Camelot."

"I gathered that much, thanks. Where in Camelot am I?"

"Oh!" Merlin grinned apologetically, "You're in the castle. In the court physician's quarters."

Evelynn's eyebrows rose, "O-kay. And you're here because-?"

"Well, erm," Merlin sat down beside her, "this is my room."

"Oh?" Evelynn felt a pang of guilt, "Then where are you sleeping?"

"Anywhere." He shrugged it off as if it happened all the time, and then added, "Not that it matters. You're the patient."

"You're sure you're alright?"

"Of course."

Evelynn nodded thankfully. "You're not the physician, are you?"

"No!" With a grin, Merlin shook his head animatedly, "Definitely not. That'd be Gaius. I'm just Arthur's manservant. Speaking of Gaius, I'd better go wake him." He stood up and crossed to the doorway, then turned back to her, "Just… wait here."

Evelynn grinned slightly. 'Where else could I go?' She noticed the room beginning to get lighter now, the sun rising in very slow increments in the distance.

A few moments later Merlin returned, a slightly irritated-looking older man trailing along behind him. Upon seeing Evelynn awake the white-haired physician grinned politely as Merlin introduced, "Evelynn, this is Gaius. Gaius, this is Evelynn."

Nodding in acknowledgement Gaius said, "Thank you, Merlin, I believe myself capable of taking it from here."

"Right." Merlin sat down once again next to Evelynn. A moment passed where nothing was said, and then Gaius quirked an eyebrow in Merlin's direction.

"Don't you have other matters to attend to?"

"Like what?" He asked, confusion written on his face.

Gaius rolled his eyes, "The prince?"

"…" Merlin, looking a bit shocked at having forgotten, said quickly, "I'll be back."

Gaius and Evelynn watched him exit the room, nearly tripping over his feet in the process, amused looks on their faces.

Gaius chuckled, shaking his head pityingly, "The boy just doesn't seem to get it sometimes." He grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and pulled it up next to Evelynn. "How are you feeling?"

The way he looked at her: analyzing, knowing; she had to avert her eyes from his, "I'm fine."

"I see." Gaius paused. "Are you sure?"

A tense moment passed, and Evelynn answered, "What do you think?"

Gaius seemed to be going along with her game, dancing around the dark subject at hand. "You have no lasting physical injuries."

Noting the emphasis placed on the last word, Evelynn nodded absentmindedly.

Cautiously, Gaius continued, "I see you have some very oddly-shaped scars."

Evelynn said nothing, gazing blankly at the hands that were folded in her lap.

"Can you tell me how you received them?"

Her blank gaze faltered and for a moment a scared look passed over her features, "An animal attacked me."

"It must've been a very precise animal," The physician remarked, gauging her reaction.

Defensively she snapped, "How else would I have gotten them?"

Keeping a calm, even tone he said, "You may have been attacked by… something else."

Evelynn shifted uncomfortably, knowing just what he was thinking. "And if I was?"

"Then you had much more at stake when you were about to take your own life."

Author's Note- Hey guys! Not much to say this time around, except thank you! I have seen that quite a few of you have been viewing this story, as well as the two who reviewed first time around and sent messages. It feels so great to be back on FF. I missed it. BUT, now that I am back, I am beginning to realize how redundant some of my phrases are and how much rambling I do, etc. I'm a very insecure writer. So... feedback is appreciated! And I would definitely love to know if you think anyone is OOC, and what you think of Evelynn so far.

I'm not one of those writers who say, "Hey y'all, review or ya get no story!" That being said, it certainly does help if I do receive reviews. Even though I've seen this used billions of times before by FF writers, "Reviews are love." Truly, they are.

Hope you liked this chapter, next one will be up soon!
Thanks - Sydney.

[[Oh! PS: Typoes make me want to shoot myself. Normally Microsoft Word catches most of them, and I don't like to proofread because if I do, then I'll end up spending eight hours rewriting things. Please alert me asap if you find any!]]