Ok so here is another chapter, apologies if they are a little slow coming, I'm writing in between my job and am quite busy at the moment, but I'll try an keep it as regular as I can. Thank you again to those of you that have reviewed, Hallows07, Summersparkle and barbequed hamster, again any reviews are greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the character from Merlin (pity really) I just play with their lives when I write.

***

Early the following morning the serving girls rode out from Camelot to meet the princess and the rest of her retinue. Within the court the King was preparing to meet the princess, as he was making his preparations he explained to Arthur the sequence of events to follow,

"I will meet Lady Guinevere at the entrance of the castle, it will be an official welcome to Camelot, after that she will retire to her chambers and will be served by her maids there until tomorrow evening, when the feast will take place to celebrate her arrival, and of course then I will also formally introduce her to the court and also to you my son", Arthur nodded silently considering this,

"Of course", Uther continued, "Should you wish to see the princess before that, there are the windows that look out onto the courtyard", he said with a knowing smile.

"That is very true", Arthur replied smiling, remembering that the windows of his own chambers looked out directly onto the courtyard at the castle entrance, "Until then I shall leave you to your preparations father", as he bowed in a more formal fashion and left the room.

The serving girls had assembled that morning with their mistress, the lady leading the way in a fine dress in deep blue, the colour of the royal family of Cameliard, her attendants followed in simpler dresses of the same colour, secured at the waist by belts with metal buckles. This was the sight that greeted Prince Arthur as he watched the proceedings from one of the windows of his chambers. Looking on in silence he observed the Princess ride through the courtyard, her long dark hair undressed and flowing down her back, followed by her attendants, each of whom had their hair pinned back in a simple style, as the group made their way towards the entrance of the castle. Merlin was standing close by watching Arthur in turn as his master watched his father receiving the royal guest. After some time Arthur, without turning around said,

"Merlin, what colour hair was it Gaius said Lady Guinevere has?",

Merlin thought for a moment, "He said she has red hair",

"You're Sure?", Arthur enquired turning to face Merlin, looking puzzled,

"Yes…Of course I'm sure", Merlin replied, equally as puzzled,

"Well if that's true", Arthur said pointing down towards the courtyard, "Who is the woman being led into the castle by my father?".

Merlin stepped forward and looked out of the window, just in time to see a dark haired figure being led into the castle followed by her attendants. Arthur stepped back allowing Merlin to step closer to the window,

"I'm pretty sure Gaius was right", Merlin said, "In which case that wasn't Lady Guinevere",

"Well no", Arthur replied,

"Come to think of it", Merlin continued, "I only saw one girl with red hair", Merlin turned to Arthur, "Didn't you?".

But Arthur had already left the room.

***

Arthur made his way swiftly from his own chambers towards the great hall where he was sure his father would be. He intended to tell his father what was going on, sure that his father would take very unkindly to the deception. He continued on his way, all the time thinking about exactly what was happening, considering what it all would mean, when suddenly he was distracted from his train of thought by the sound of women giggling, he quickly changed his mind, turned and strode towards the opposite end of the castle.

***

In the chambers on the opposite side of the castle to the ones which Prince Arthur occupied, a group of a dozen young women now sat together as a group, laughing and giggling about all the things they had seen over the last few days. They were still talking when there was a knock at the heavy wooden doors at one end of the room, one of the girls got up to answer it, leaving the others talking, the girl gasped and dropped swiftly into a curtsey as she opened the door to find Prince Arthur standing on the threshold. The women now all turned around and on seeing Arthur, dropped into deep curtsies, eyes discreetly downcast.

"I'd like a word…My lady", Arthur said, looking directly at the only red headed woman in the room, "Or is it Ginny?".

Ginny looked up, but remained on the floor, she looked to either side of her and nodded at the servants, all of whom were looking nervous, they all stood up, curtsied again and swiftly left the room, leaving Arthur standing over the one remaining woman.

Arthur began to slowly walk around the woman, looking at her as he moved around her silently,

"Aren't you going to ask me what I thought I was playing at?", she said looking up at him intently,

"Actually I was going to ask you what you expect me to refer to you as, I mean is it Guinevere or Ginny? And why on earth am I referring to you as 'my lady', you're a princess after all",

"Well if you absolutely insist, you can call me your highness, but I'd hate you for it", she replied standing up straight and facing Arthur, "Princess sounds so…girly, all needlework and meekness, my lady sounds much better I think, much more independent", she said waiting for a reaction, "As for my name, that really depends on whether I decide I like you or not", to this Arthur raised an eyebrow, "My name is Guinevere, however Ginny is a nickname my mother gave me, for now I think Guinevere is quite sufficient, don't you?",

"Yes, absolutely", Arthur agreed, "So why exactly did you come to Camelot in disguise?",

"Well, it's not overly safe for high born women to travel long distances is it?", she said, with some attempt at conviction.

"And the real reason?", Arthur asked eyeing Guinevere suspiciously,

Guinevere sighed slightly, then laughed, amazed that Arthur was already able to see straight through her,

"Alright, so perhaps I wanted to see what Camelot was like, and whether the things I've heard about some of the people were true",

"And are they?", Arthur asked curiously,

"Well that I won't really know until tomorrow", Guinevere replied smiling slightly,

"Yes, tomorrow", Arthur replied, "I had better leave you until then, or the servants will gossip too much",

"Oh servants always gossip", Guinevere replied laughing mischievously, "Until tomorrow then my lord", she said curtsying formally,

"My lady", Arthur replied, bowing equally as formally, before leaving the room, smiling as he walked towards his own chambers.

***