Lady Luna is sat at the small weathered dining table watching Gaius intently, her eyes ringed with bruises, following him around the room. Her hair is tied back into a simple knot and she has changed into a simple, if plain, white dress. Gaius pours her a cup of mulled wine and drops a few leaves into it. He adds a fine red powder to it and places the goblet in front of her.

"This should help with the pain, my Lady" he says smiling.

"Thank you, Gaius." Luna replies her voice still very weak.

She takes the goblet from him and sips the mixture. She wrinkles her nose at the taste and puts the goblet down quickly.

"I never did like the taste of mulled wine." she mumbles.

"It masks the taste of the powder." Gaius informs her.

She looks down at the goblet and downs it in one to save herself from the taste. She places the goblet down with a loud clunk and shudders. Gaius smiles and pours her some water.

"If you don't mind me asking, what made you so desperate to see Uther?" he asks, moving back to his workbench.

Luna seems to sag under the question and her face turns to a mask of pain and anguish. She falls silent and doesn't touch the water Gaius places in front of her. Gaius looks at her, concerned by her sudden silence. Luna stares blankly at a candle on Gaius' work bench, her eyes out of focus and her lip trembling.

"I'm sorry, my Lady, it was rude of me to ask. It's not my place to ask you these questions." Gaius apologizes, looking over his glasses.

Luna's eyes break away from the deformed stump of candle and she shakes her head, looking down at her hands. A few strands of hair falls into her face, but she ignores them.

"My family and I were on the way home when we were attacked by rouge sorcerers. I was the only survivor," her voice shakes and she pauses before continuing, "My father always told me that if ever I were in grave peril, I should travel to Camelot and present the King with my pendant. He said that when he took me in, Uther gave my father the pendant and his word that I would be protected as long as I stayed within the walls of Camelot."

Gaius raises his eyebrows at the barrage of information. The look on his face is that of a man who is disturbed by her tale. He opens his mouth to say something, but before he gets a chance, Merlin returns. He smiles widely as he enters the chamber. He walks straight over to the table and places the pendant in front of its owner. She picks it up quickly and places it around her neck, hiding it from view under her dress.

"The King has given me orders to move you to a guest room and he said he would visit you as soon as you're ready." Merlin says cheerfully.

He smiles at Gaius, but his face falls when he sees the dark look on the physicians face. He looks back at Luna who is looking up at him intently. She looks away quickly when Merlin's eyes settle on her, she looks intently at her goblet.

"Uh… Oh, Lady Morgana said she would escort you to your chambers and keep you company, my Lady." Merlin adds looking a little bewildered by Luna's reaction to his presence.

"Thank you Merlin." Luna says softly her face turning slightly pink.

She looks away from him again and sips her water. An awkward silence falls. Merlin can't think of anything to keep himself occupied so he stands stiffly with his hands behind his back looking anywhere but at Luna. Luna is doing the same, her eyes trained on her hands. Gaius looks from Merlin to Luna and shakes his head, returning to his work bench.

A knock at the door breaks the silence just as it threatens to get heavier. Merlin hurries over and opens the door swiftly, thankful for something to do. Morgana steps into the room looking resplendent in a midnight blue dress. She gives Gaius a small smile, who returns it with a little bow of the head.

"You must be Lady Luna," Morgana says walking towards Luna and curtsying graciously, "My name is Morgana. Merlin here asked me to keep you company this evening."

"It is nice to meet you at last, my Lady. My father spoke of you often," she returns the curtsy, if rather shakily "I've always wished to meet you myself."

Morgana puts a friendly hand on Luna's shoulder.

"I thank you again for your aid Gaius. And Merlin," Luna moves closer to Merlin as she says his name.

"You saved my life. I am truly indebted to you." she stands up on her tiptoes and plants a sweet, gentle kiss on Merlin's cheek.

She sighs and leaves he room limping a little. Morgana gives Merlin a huge smile that threatens to turn into a laugh and leaves quickly before it explodes forth. Merlin shuts the door behind them and turns, grinning like a fool to Gaius. His grin falters as he looks at Gaius.

"Oh no, no, no, I know that look… don't give me that look." Merlin says pleadingly.

"I'm sorry Merlin," Gaius says softly.

Merlin makes for his room quickly, putting his hands over his ears.

"I don't need to hear it. I don't want to hear it." Merlin says loudly.

"Sooner or later you're going to have to listen to me, Merlin." Gaius replies sternly.

Merlin sighs and drops his hands.

"What is it Gaius? Whats wrong with her? Is she a troll? A hag? A siren?" Merlin snaps, anger burning up inside him.

Gaius looks shocked by Merlin's tone and it takes him a few seconds to take it in.

"No, Merlin. She's a survivor of The Great Purge." Gaius replies.

Merlin lets his hands drop to his sides and his mouth falls open a little. He walks back down the stairs numbly.

"How is that possible? Uther was ruthless." Merlin asks, his anger gone in a flash.

"Perhaps not…"

"How do you know this? How can you be sure?"

"The older wounds she has, burns. There was a baby girl, a tiny thing, pulled from a burning building by a knight who couldn't bare to see such a small child burn to death. The knight brought her to Uther. He never spoke of her origin to anyone but me. To Uther she had been caught up in this whole incident by accident. I treated her and thought nothing of it. She wasn't the only small child I had treated. But Uther felt particularly sorry for this child and he took her, when she was well enough, and gave her to a noble family who could not bare children. He gave them his word and a symbol, that she would be protected." Gaius explains.

"The pendant." Merlin sighs.

Gaius nods solemnly and they both fall silent. Merlin moves to the table and sits down heavily. Gaius follows suit.

"She was the daughter of warlocks?" Merlin asks.

"Yes."

"And Uther has no knowledge of this?"

"Yes."

"So she's in danger by just being here?"

"Yes. Uther always believed that magic was a choice. But if she shows any magic ability, Uther will kill her and go back on his promise to protect her."

"But he promised."

"For Uther, promises can be broken when magic is a concern. Not even the Lady Morgana would be safe." Gaius says darkly.

Merlin takes a deep breath and bites his lip, his eyes on Luna's empty goblet.

"That is not all. Her family was attacked by rouge sorcerers, evil beings who know nothing of goodness. She was the only survivor." Gaius adds.

"But what has that got to do with her?"

"You can think of nothing?"

"No I… wait… you don't think? They think she has magic?"

"Why else would they attack a family like that, killing them and leaving their adopted daughter behind? They wouldn't benefit from it, they were carrying nothing of true value to the attackers. What if they were targeting her because they knew her past? What if she didn't choose magic, what if it chose her and she was born with it?" Gaius says coolly.

Merlin gets to his feet, nearly knocking the table over in his haste.

"Where are you going?" Gaius asks, puzzled by Merlin's reaction.

Merlin just shakes his head and leaves swiftly.