A/N: *cough* I sort of, uh, forgot about this… sorry…
When Merlin entered the grove Morgana was already in a deep sleep. He carefully dropped the juice from the flower into Morgana's eyes. She stirred a little and rolled over in her sleep but did not wake up. He crept away again, leaving no trace of his being there.
0000
Guinevere had been following Arthur for what seemed like hours, though she wasn't sure how long it had actually been. She was sure she recognised that tree stump, "Arthur, are we lost?"
"No." He replied sternly, not taking his eyes away from the path in front of them, though now it was getting more and more difficult to see in the gloom.
Gwen sighed, she was starting to lose the feeling in the souls of her feet. "You've been saying that for hours, it's getting late… And you look like you're about to collapse. I think we should rest."
He leaned against a tree, "We do not need to rest, we'll be fine. We're going in the right direction, I'm sure of it."
"How sure?"
He paused for a second to think about his answer, but couldn't find one that as both truthful and convenient. "Alright, fine… We'll rest."
She smiled internal and gave thanks to whichever deity was watching over them. It felt like a great weight had been taken off her back. She moved slowly, stiffly to a grassy bank. When there she practically collapsed onto the ground and closed her eyelids. Only for them to snap up again when she realised Arthur was lying on the ground directly behind her. She rolled over to face him, he was lying on his back with his eyes shut, she couldn't tell of he was awake or not. "Uh… Arthur?"
"Yes?"
"Would you mind if you didn't sleep next to me?"
He opened one eye to look at her and raised an eyebrow, "Don't you trust me?"
"No, no, nothing like that. It's just…" She wasn't sure how to phrase this, "If we are found during the night, they would be more likely to kill us if we were sleeping next to each other."
He sighed and sat up, "You're probably right... I'll sleep over there." He pointed to a spot a little further off, "Goodnight, Guinevere." He said, lightly kissing her before getting up.
"Goodnight, Arthur." She murmured. Gwen lay her head down on the bank and fell into one of the deepest sleeps she'd ever had.
0000
It was some time later that Trickler appeared, flower in hand, "Ah, I've found them at last; the mortal man and woman." He walked to Arthur and dropped some of the juice in his eye. "There, Clotpole." He muttered before stalking off to return the news to Merlin.
It was later still that Cenred and Vivian walked into the glade. They could not see Arthur and Guinevere in the gathering darkness and were so wrapped up in their own argument that they probably wouldn't have noticed them had it been lighter.
Cenred turned on Vivian, "I'm going on alone, regardless of whether or not you go back, I mean it."
"You mean you'd leave me on my own in the dark, in the middle of the forest?" She asked in the shrillest voice she could manage.
"Yes."
"You wouldn't dare."
He grinned wickedly and shot of into the darkness; weaving in and out of trees so she wouldn't be able to follow.
"Cenred, come back!" She called, she looked around her. "I don't know where I am..." She murmured as it finally dawned on her the gravity of her situation. As she looked into the shadows she saw a large figure lying on the ground. At first she thought it was an animal. But at closer inspection she saw is was a human a very familiar human at that. "Arthur!" She cried, running to his side, "Are you hurt? Dead? Where's Gwen?" She shook him roughly, trying to wake him.
He opened his eyes slowly and as they focused on Vivian he sat up, "Sweet Vivian! I am glad to see you here. Did you come here alone? You should not have done so, my beloved, these woods can be dangerous."
Her eyes widened and she backed away a bit, "Arthur, what's wrong with you? Where's Gwen, is she alright?"
"Why should I care where Guinevere is when I have you by my side?" He said, getting to his feet, "Comparing you to Guinevere is to compare a raven to a dove. I now see that I have been wasting my time with her when I could have had you and lived the greatest love story ever told."
"Stop it!" She squealed, "I know you don't mean it! I know I'm not beautiful enough for Cenred without you making fun of me with all this flattery! " She ran out of the glade, closely followed by the infatuated Arthur.
Guinevere tossed in her sleep. She was having a dream where she was surrounded by snakes. Each spitting venom and each with eyes that showed nothing but malice. One of the snakes lunged forward for the strike, causing her to wake with a start. She sat, trembling for a second. Her body covered in cold sweat. She waited for her heartbeat to slow down before speaking. "Arthur..." She murmured, "I've just had a horrible dream..." She sat up and glanced at the spot Arthur had been sleeping in, "Arthur?" She said again, "Are you there?" She got up and looked around, "Arthur!" She cried out. She received no answer. "Oh Oberon..." She whispered, "Something's happened to him. Well, I'll find him or die trying."
A/N: Yay! Plot!