A/N: Thank you for the lovely reviews, they really do mean a lot to me. I thought I would upload this chapter now, because something is telling me that where the last chapter finished was not completely fair (grapejuice101). Well, enjoy please review if you can.
Lillian stayed sitting before the dragon. She was not afraid of him, she had no reason to be afraid. She knew there had been a reason why her body had taken her there, she assumed he was the reason.
"And what do those prophecies say of me?" She looked the dragon right in the eyes as she spoke.
"Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion." Lillian let out a little laugh.
"Now, if you had told me that this morning, or maybe several years ago, I may have believed you. But after today I feel inclined to disagree." She told Kilgharrah.
He let out a laugh that echoed through the cave. "You changed him once, you will do so again."
"Arthur's arrogance is not mine to change. It is his and his alone. He decides what kind of man to be, what kind of king he wishes to be. I play no part in it." She had been told that the dragon was also very cryptic, but she found it easy to see through him.
"Two half's make a whole, as there are two sides of a coin. Arthur is one half, and one side. Where do you believe you fit?" Yes, he was being very cryptic, Lillian thought.
"This would require a third person, and if that third person is the one who is trying to hide and listen in, then I know exactly where this prophecy believes me to fit." Lillian had known that she had been followed, and she knew exactly who that person had been as well.
Kilgharrah laughed loudly again. "There is no sense in hiding, young warlock. You have been caught out."
Merlin stepped out of the shadows and into full view of the dragon, while Lillian did not even bother to turn around. "You need to work on you stealth, Merlin." She said, keeping her gaze on Kilgharrah.
"But… how did you know it was me?" He was surprised that Lillian had been so calm talking to the dragon, but even more surprised when she announced that she knew it was him.
"Magic." She said, jokingly. Merlin didn't know whether to take her seriously or not. "One half and one side." Lillian mumbled.
"Do you understand what he is talking about?" Merlin asked her with great interest. He had been told that he was one side of the coin, but he had been informed of the half as well.
"Yes, I do. And I will not be that half. That man can rot for all I care, he is not my friend any longer. He is just an arrogant prince." Lillian said firmly. Two half's make a whole, she knew exactly what the dragon was saying.
"Neither of you can run away from destiny." Kilgharrah told them, more for Lillian's sake than Merlin's.
"Really? Watch me." Lillian announced before standing up. "In a few days time I shall be leaving Camelot and returning to Rolana, and the only time I shall return here is if I am dead."
"This is your destiny, young sorceress. Your path lies with the young Pendragon, as does the young warlocks. Together you shall help and bring about Albion and magic shall return to this land." The dragon announced to her.
Lillian let out a sigh, she really was not impressed with the dragon. "No one in their right mind would want to be the other half of Arthur. That includes me. Now, if you shall excuse me, I have arrangements to make." She grabbed her torch and stormed off, not daring to look back.
"You must watch her, young warlock, without her Albion will fall." Kilgharrah warned him before flying up and out of sight.
Merlin was quick on his feet and swiftly caught up with Lillian. "You have magic?" He whispered, hoping that he had finally found someone to share things with.
"Yes, Merlin. I do. And I know you will tell no one of this, just as I will tell no one of you. You were born with it, as was I, it only adds to the reason why I should leave Camelot." She told him as they walked along.
"Who else knows of your powers?" Merlin was desperate to find out as much as he could.
"My parents did, my brother does, Gaius also knows. He has always known, and he has always done his best to look out for me. I assume he knows of yours as well?" Merlin nodded at her.
"Do you still plan on leaving?" That was something that was bothering him, the dragon has insisted that she can not leave, yet she was determined to do so.
"I am, Merlin. So do not think that anything you can say will change my mind." They were back in the castle now, the guards still sleeping. "I shall discuss the matter with the King tomorrow and make my plans."
"But you heard what the dragon said, you can't just leave." Merlin insisted.
Lillian stopped walking and turned to face him, "I shall be leaving. As I have pointed out, Arthur is no longer the person I once knew. He may look like him, but he has changed too much to be the same person." Merlin detected a hint of sadness in her voice.
Once she was back in her room she dressed herself for bed. She had no need of servants, she had always managed on her own before and now was no different. Lillian was regretting ever going to see that dragon, although she understood every word he said, she was refusing the believe them.
Lillian slept very little that night, and so she had washed and dressed herself before Gwen had even arrived at the castle. She had made up her mind. She would speak to Uther, tell him that she felt the need to be with her brother at this time and leave Camelot. She would visit Morgana before she left and inform her that she was welcome to visit Rolana at any time. In her mind she had it all planned. Now she just needed to find the courage to do it.
She took a deep breath and opened the door, she also needed to speak with Gaius. She was about to turn and walk past Arthur's room when she noticed him standing there, staring at her.
"Good morning, sire." She said, bowing her head in respect. Usually she would have been less formal with him, but under the circumstances she had decided it was now inappropriate.
"Good morning, Lady Lillian." Neither of them made eye contact. And before Arthur had a chance to speak another word she was gone, walking the other way. He wanted to go after her but he had his duties to attend to first. Maybe later he would get the chance to talk with her properly.
Once she was out of sight of Arthur she leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. She had been worried that he might follow her to speak with her, but she had been lucky this time. Her luck would run out sometime, so she needed to get a move on and do what needed doing.
Lillian soon found herself sitting down with Gaius and Merlin. As soon as Merlin could, he had told Gaius about her plans to leave. The warlock was desperate for her to stay, having someone else around who had magic meant a lot to him. He knew he could always talk to Gaius, but Lillian was different.
The problem for Merlin was that Gaius could clearly understand why she wanted to leave so badly. "Arthur would not dare to throw me in the dungeons now, Uther would in no way allow it. We have been allies for too long and no doubt it would anger my brother enough to break all ties with Camelot." Lillian explained.
"I agree, even after your falling out, he would still want to protect you." Gaius agreed. There was a small chance that her brother wouldn't care, but it was only small.
"I know you are going to try to stop me, Merlin. But I am asking you now not to. This is something I simple can't deal with now." Lillian had been battling with him the entire time, and poor Gaius was caught in the middle of it all.
Later that day she found herself in the throne room, addressing not only King Uther, but also her once friend, Prince Arthur. "My Lord, I am grateful for your kindness and for granting me safety in Camelot. But I feel that I must return to Rolana and be with my brother at this time. I do not wish my brother to have to suffer the loss of our parents alone." She could not explain how nervous she was. It didn't help that Arthur was there, it just made her feel even worse. She could feel his eyes burning her with anger and hatred.
"We shall be sad to see you leave so soon, Lady Lillian. But it shall be arranged. I shall send word to King Irwin of your decision." Lillian bowed her head, grateful that Uther was allowing her departure. He was taking it a lot better than Arthur was, he seemed lost for words. "I hear that you have move chambers. May I enquire as to the reason?"
Lillian had to think of a quick excuse. She couldn't very well tell the King that it was because his son was now more arrogant and pig headed than before. "I fear that my presence so close to Prince Arthur has been distracting him from his duties. I do not wish to be the cause of this, that is why I requested the move."
Luckily Uther seemed to accept this as a valid reason and let her leave. She was glad to be out of there and away from the eyes of Arthur. Lillian had no idea how he was going to react to that, she didn't want to find out. She knew his temper was now worse than ever from the way he treated Merlin.
The next place she found herself was outside of Morgana's chamber. She knocked gently on the door and heard a female voice calling for her to enter. When she was inside she saw Morgana for the first time since arriving to Camelot. She had turned into a very beautiful woman, there was no denying that.
"Lady Lillian." Morgana exclaimed when she saw her. "I'm so glad you could finally find time to fit me into your busy schedule." Morgana mocked playfully.
"I'm afraid the hit to the head seemed to keep me sleeping for several days. Since then, a mutual annoyance to us both has kept me busy." Lillian knew that Morgana would be quick to catch on to who she was talking about.
"Some things never change do they?" Morgana asked, pulling Lillian in for a hug. "Although, it is fair to say that you have changed slightly in appearance. I see I shall have trouble gaining the attention of the men with you as my rival."
Lillian let out a small laugh. "I could say the same about you, Lady Morgana. But do not fear, I am not her to steal away your men and I shall not be here for much longer."
The smile that was on Morgana's face instantly fell. "Why ever not?"
Lillian sighed, this was the first time she had seen Morgana, and now she had to tell her she was planning on leaving. "Under the circumstances, I shall be returning to Rolana. I cannot let my brother deal with the death of our parents alone. He is the King, he shall be in need of my support more now than ever."
"I am so sorry about your parents, Lillian." She said, squeezing her friend's hand. Morgana had also lost both of her parents, so she knew what it was like, although she had, of course, been much younger when it had happened.
"Thank you, Morgana. I am sorry that I could not stay longer. But while I am here, I do believe that my chamber is now rather close to yours. And since we both feel the same way about Camelot's beloved Prince, I have a feeling we shall be inseparable."
Now it was Morgana's turn to laugh. "I'm sure that will annoy Arthur."
The women both sat down together and began talking. Lillian filled her in on what had happened to her, why she had left and where she had been living. "And what about you, Morgana? I hear that you suffer from terrible nightmares." Lillian knew she had to be delicate with the matter.
Morgana shifted uncomfortable in her seat. "Yes."
"I am here if you want to tell me about them. And as I have said, you are always welcome to Rolana. In fact, I insist that you come and visit. Just make sure that your party does not consist of a certain prince." That brought a smile back to Morgana's face.
There was a knocking at the door. "Who is it?" Morgana called, recognising the knock just as Lillian did.
"It's Arthur. Have you seen Lady Lillian? I have not seen her for the best part of the day. There are matters I need to discuss with her." He called through the door.
Lillian gave Morgana a pleading look. She was avoiding the prince, and Morgana knew that. "I have not seen her since she stopped by some hours ago. Now, would you kindly leave me in peace." Morgana called back to him.
They heard the prince sigh outside of the door before his footsteps became fainter. "Thank you, Morgana. I have no desire to face that man before I leave here."
Morgana knew how close the pair used to be, and she did seem very surprised by the way she was now avoiding him. "Why are you going to such extremes to avoid Arthur?" She asked Lillian softly.
At first she didn't know how to answer, there were many reasons for her attitude towards him, but which one would be the most acceptable was harder to decide. "Because he has changed, Morgana. I look at him now and find it hard to believe that we were ever friends."
Morgana noticed the sad looking in her eyes. Something told her that what she had said was true, even though her friend did not want to believe it. Morgana decided to change the topic of conversation and they ended up taking about the nobles and knights. They were discussing the strengths of the different knights when there was another knock at the door.
"Sorry to disturb you, My Ladies." Gwen said before turning to Lillian. "Prince Arthur wishes to see you, Lady Lillian. He has been searching for you all day."
Lillian let out a sigh, he could be very persistent when he want to be. "Please inform the Prince that I have retired to my chamber for the night."
Lillian did not like the look on Gwen's face. "I'm afraid he is waiting for you in your chamber."
"Thank you, Gwen." Lillian said, getting up from her chair. "I shall see you in the morning, Morgana. I hope you sleep well, and if you do not, you know where to find me."
Lillian followed Gwen out of the room and to her chamber, which was only a short distance away from Morgana's. She entered the room with the frown on her face. "You wished to see me, My Lord?" She inquired, seeing that Merlin had been keeping him company.
Merlin took this as his cue to leave. As soon as he was gone, Arthur was stood in front of Lillian. "Why have you been avoiding me all day, Lillian?" He asked her curiously.
"I have merely been catching up with people, My Lord. I was not intentionally avoiding you." Actually, no, I was doing my very best not to have to see you, clotpole. She thought to herself.
"What has suddenly made you decided to leave Camelot and return to Rolana?"
Did you not hear me earlier? My parents are dead, I'm going to support my brother at this time. And get as far away from you as possible. "My brother shall need me at this terrible time. I cannot leave him to face this alone."
"And the changing of rooms?" He asked, clearly far from impressed with what had happened today.
"I believe you were there when I told your father, sire. I did not want to distract you from your duties to Camelot."
His frowned deepened. "And what made you come to the conclusion that you were distracting me from my duties?"
Lillian had taken all she could from the man now. "Sire, if you will please excuse me. It is late and I would like to retire to my bed now." She told him as politely as she could. Really, all she wanted to do was to shout and yell at him and tell him to leave her alone. But she knew that would not improve the situation.
"You are avoiding my question, Lillian." He was starting to lose his patience with her now.
"Please, sire. All I wish to do is to get some rest." Something was telling Lillian that he was not going to leave so easily.
"Answer my question then I shall you leave." His voice was rising now, Lillian knew the best thing she could do now.
"If you shall not leave, sire, then I will." Lucky for her she had been stood closer to the door than Arthur. It was easy for her to make her escape out of the door and down towards Morgana's room.
She didn't even bother to knock, she quickly opened the door and closed it behind her, locking it before looking at a stunned Morgana. "I am sorry to impose on you, Morgana."
"Lillian, what ever is the matter?" Morgana asked in concern for her friend.
Lillian didn't have the chance to answer, someone began hammering hard on the door. "Morgana, open the door this instant." He bellowed.
"No, Arthur, I will not. Stop being a brute and leave Lillian alone." Morgana ordered.
"I only want to speak with her, Morgana."
"And it is clear that she does not want to speak with you. Now, I suggest that you leave right this instance." Even she was starting to lose her patience with the prince now.
The women both listened as they heard the prince growling in frustration outside of the door before storming off. Lillian was sitting over by the window, gazing out over the courtyard. The prince's mood had been deteriorating for the best part of the day, and now she feels she has only made it worse.
"Lillian, what happened?" Morgana asked as she slowly approached her friend.
It took effort for Lillian not to let the tears that were building fall, but so far she was managing it. "It would seem that Arthur is unhappy over my wanting to leave and my changing rooms." She said, still looking out of the window. "I will bring forward my plans to leave. Hopefully Uther will grant me the use of a horse and escort first thing in the morning." She told her, finally looking at her.
"Is that wise? I'm sure Arthur will calm down."
"I cannot stay here a moment longer, Morgana. The sooner I am away from him, the better." Morgana pulled her friend up and forced a hug upon her. In all honesty, she did not want her to leave, but the events had just proven how dire things were for Lillian.
Lillian awoke to find herself lying on the bed of Lady Morgana, the Lady herself still sleeping next to her. She recalled what had happened the previous night and how Morgana had been the one to comfort her.
She placed herself by the window again and watched as Arthur strode out towards his horse that was waiting for him. Merlin trailed behind, struggling with all the things he had been ordered to carry. Arthur seemed much more snappy this morning as well, looking for any chance to vent his anger and frustration.
Arthur looked up at the window, Lillian knew that he was staring straight at her. She didn't look away from him, she held his gaze, determined not to let her emotions show through. He only looked away to shout at Merlin again as he dropped something else.
Lillian stayed there and watched the party leave the city. Arthur was out on a hunt for the day, which meant that she could wander the castle freely without fear of walking into him. That was something she was very grateful for.
She didn't know how long she had been sitting there for, staring into nothing, but her thoughts were disturbed when she heard Morgana softly calling Arthur's name. Lillian frowned and walked over to the bed just as Morgana gasped and woke up.
"Morgana, are you alright?" The woman just nodded at her, to scared to speak. She was shaking all over. "Did you have another nightmare?" Morgana nodded at her again. "Then tell me about it. You know I will not judge, before you awoke, you were calling Arthur's name." Lillian told her.
"Arthur was drowning, and there was this woman… standing over him. She watched him drown. She watched Arthur die." Morgana told her. It did very little to calm the woman down, but Lillian was glad that she had trusted her enough to tell her.
"It was only a dream, Morgana. I saw him some time ago, alive and well, going out for a hunt." Lillian assured her. "Come, the prince is away, so the ladies shall play." She said, making Morgana finally smiled at her.
They spent much of the day wandering the castle and enjoying each other's company. Morgana was enjoying the company of another woman in the castle, she only wished that it could last longer.
"And it turned out that knight Valliant really was cheating by using an enchanted shield." Morgana told her as they rounded the corner.
"If you need anything, just let me know." Merlin said to a woman that neither Morgana nor Lillian had ever seem before.
"Thank you." The woman replied, before stepping into the room that only days ago had been Lillian's.
"Who is that?" Morgana asked Merlin as the pair approached him.
"Er… Sophia Tír-Mòr. We rescued her in the woods. Well, Arthur did most of the rescuing." Merlin told them, feeling a little nervous. Arthur had insisted that the woman stay in the chamber next to his own. Merlin had protested it, but Arthur had reminded him of his place.
"She can't stay here." Morgana exclaimed. Lillian instantly knew that something was wrong.
"The King said that she and her father are welcome in Camelot." Merlin seemed to notice the look of distress on Morgana's face. "Is everything okay?" He asked her.
"Yes. Thank you." Morgana said before walking away.
"Merlin, wait here for a moment. I need to speak with Morgana a second, then I need to speak with you." Merlin nodded at her and she quickly chased after Morgana. "Morgana, tell me, what is wrong. And do not tell me everything is okay because clearly it is not." Lillian insisted.
"It was her, the woman from my dream, the one who watches Arthur die. How can she be in Camelot?" Morgana was distraught.
"Go see Gaius. Explain what has happened to him. He has more knowledge in this area than I do." Lillian told her. Morgana nodded and left, leaving Lillian to go back and speak with Merlin.
She rushed back to find him still standing in the exact same spot she had left him. "Merlin, when I said wait here, I didn't mean on that exact spot." She told him, making him grin at her. "There is something I need to tell you, and it is rather urgent." She started making her way back to her chamber, Merlin following behind her.
"How was Arthur on the hunt today? I saw his foul mood this morning." She asked, hoping that Merlin had not had to deal with his bad mood too much.
"He seemed to perk up the moment he laid eyes on Sophia. Which is odd, considering he had been complaining about a certain Lady Lillian all day." That was something else that struck Lillian as odd. The dream Morgana had was the first, and now this. Plus there was something about Sophia that Lillian didn't seem to trust.
"Well, last night Prince Arthur was a complete… clotpole. I ended up spending the night in Morgana's chamber. Which brings us to the reason we need to talk." They had reached her chamber now and Lillian was quick to get them both inside.
"You seem worried, why are you worried?" Merlin asked her as she started pulling at the sleeves of her dress.
"Last night, Morgana had a dream that there was a woman standing over Arthur as he drowned. She recognised Sophia as that woman." Merlin looked at her with wide eyes, unable to believe what he was hearing. "I believe that Morgana is a seer, but I am sure that she doesn't know it."
"So, you think what she saw is true? You think Sophia plans to kill Arthur?" Merlin asked her. He was struggling to get his head around it.
"I wouldn't put it past her. There is something about her I just don't trust. No matter how much of an arrogant prat Arthur is, I would never let anyone try to hurt him." Lillian told him before she really thought. Merlin was as surprised by her words as she was.
"Seems like your starting to accept this destiny thing we're both caught up in." Merlin had a slight smile on his face, hoping that it was true.
"Please, just because I don't want to see him dead does not mean I want to marry the oaf." She snorted, causing Merlin to laugh. "Watch them carefully, Merlin. Her father as well. I doubt she will be acting alone. It is possible the whole rescue had been planned."
"Do you really think that is possible?"
"I wouldn't put it past anyone. Arthur always did like a damsel in distress." That set Merlin off laughing again. "Merlin, do you trust me?" The seriousness of her tone ceased his laughing immediately.
"Well, I've only know you for a short time, but yes. I do trust you." Lillian could see the honesty in the warlock's eyes.
"Okay, then I want you to close your eyes and focus on my voice." Merlin nodded at her before tightly closing his eyes. I really hope this works. She thought to herself.
"Merlin? Merlin, can you hear me?" There was no reply. "Merlin, I need you to polish my armour, clean my boots, repair my chainmail, sharpen my sword and muck out the stables. And once you have done that…" She watched at his eyes flew open, they were wide and she could see he was shocked by what she had just done.
"How did you do that?"
Lillian shrugged. "I just concentrated on finding your mind and started ordering you around like Arthur does. Now you try it." She closed her eyes and waited for Merlin to reach out and find her mind.
"He is a complete clotpole. Not to mention arrogant. Rude would be another way to describe him. Why I keep saving his life I will never know. The first time I done it, I ended up being rewarded the job of his manservant." Lillian started to giggle. Merlin was focusing on talking about Arthur as well.
"That was just weird." Merlin admitted when she opened her eyes again.
"It will take some time to get used to it, I admit. But if we are in this so called destiny together, it's better we have a way to communicate and keep check on our dear prince." What she had said made sense to Merlin. Keeping Arthur out of trouble had never been an easy task, but now with Lillian there as well, it may just be that little bit easier.
"You really are accepting it, aren't you?"
"Of course not. Like I told you, I have no intentions of becoming the poor wife of that oaf." Even if the prophecy declared that, she was never going to marry that arrogant pig, as she liked to call him.
A/N: Woohoo! And the story has truly started. Did you see what I did there? What? No look again, of course you saw it. You're all so brilliant, and I may be a little hyper as I am writing this.
So, as I may have mentioned before, please review if you can. I like to know what people think of my writing and stories (and possibly how ashamed I should be of all my spelling and grammatical errors). Let me know what you think.
Pippa.