I had a nightmare that night, not the first since Ismir but certainly the clearest; I saw Mordred's face, blurred as it had been through my eyes as I cried out in pain; I felt nothing in the dream but the indescribable terror of Morgana's torture came back to me... Then Arthur was there, striding confidently back to Camelot, which was golden; but it dimmed to grey as the Sun went in, and a cold wind howled through the treetops; and Mordred was there again, a sword in his hand, about to stab Arthur in the back... My dream-self yelled out and tried to run towards him, to save him, but it was too late, there was a flash like lightning and Arthur was falling...

And then Merlin's arms were round me, and I had woken up.

'Ganieda...' he whispered.

I was breathing in shuddering gasps; I could barely make out his face, for still the visions passed before my eyes.

'Ganieda, it's all right. I think you were dreaming...'

Suddenly, without warning, tears broke forth from my eyes and I sobbed into my brother's shoulder, shaking as if I had a fever, unable to forget the nightmare, my mind whirling, wondering if perhaps I had gone mad because of it.

In the morning Merlin asked me carefully what the dream had been about; but I lied, I told him I could not remember, but suspected that it was something to do with what had happened at Ismir. Merlin gave me a look that was filled with the most intense sympathy – but even he did not comprehend what Morgana's torture and Mordred's two-facedness had done to me. I did not tell him, trying to clear all memory of both from my mind.

We were walking to Arthur's chambers together when Merlin asked me whether I was going to get a job whilst in Camelot. I started at this, and inquired as to whether that was a requirement of me.

'No, of course not,' said Merlin smiling, 'but, you know, money comes in useful sometimes.' He did not give any other reasons, but I knew what he wanted to say: I myself had thought of it. I couldn't really exploit Gaius as a host without being able to give him something back, or at least manage under my own steam. Merlin was of course employed, and brought in money to the little household, but now that there were three of us we might need a bit more support.

'Well, I don't know how long I'm staying,' I began lamely: lamely, because I had already sent off a letter to my stepmother saying that I might stay a while, even permanently, with by half-brother.

Merlin ignored my excuse. 'What d'you fancy doing?'

I shrugged.

'Well, what are you good at?'

I shrugged again, my eyes widening slightly. 'Farming... That's about it. I was going to inherit the farm.'

Merlin looked rather perplexed. 'But there must be something. Are you musical? You could see if Juliana would take you on... or... there's Geoffrey in the Hall of Records; he might want an apprentice.'

'I can't read,' I said in a very small voice. 'Not very well.'

Merlin looked surprised but said nothing to this. 'Or you could be a servant,' he finished, just as we came to the door of Arthur's room. 'Well, have a think about it. I'll see you this afternoon.'

I really didn't fancy being a servant, of course, but that was what most people of my standing ended up as in the castle, as far as I could see. I could hardly read, so the Hall of Records was out of the question. But music... I was no virtuoso, and definitely nothing to match Juliana, if she was the girl I'd seen last night, but I could pluck out a few things on a lyre and I'd spent a lot of my childhood playing a little wooden flute my stepfather had made me. Therefore I resolved to find Juliana's quarters and see if she could teach me enough to let me be by her side.

I spent quite a long time winding my way along the corridors before deciding that asking for directions would be a good plan, and in this way finding that Juliana in fact lived quite near to Gaius's quarters. So I came to the door and knocked; a moment later a curiously accented voice called, 'Come in.'

I went in, and found myself in a reasonably-sized room, airy, cool, with a fairly large window lending a good deal of light to the place. A bed was in the middle, and by the window there was a desk, upon which were several sheets of paper and an inkwell with an enormous quill beside it. The centrepiece of the room was a beautiful harp, and at the harp sat the girl I had seen. She looked up at my entrance, her eyes twinkling.

'Ah, you must be Ganieda.'

I nodded, wondering where her accent was from but hardly daring to ask.

'I'm Juliana.'

I acknowledged this with a nod. An awkward silence followed; she did not know why I was there and I had not told her.

'Well?'

'I... Merlin told me to come and find you. He said I needed a job whilst I'm in Camelot, and, well, I'm not much good at anything much, so...'

'But you fancy yourself as a musician, yes?' Her eyes sparkled and I at once warmed to her. 'It is not an easy job, I must tell you.'

'I hoped to learn first,' I replied.

'Good. Then I shall teach you. Have you time now?' I nodded. 'Sit down then, sit down! I shall teach you the harp. The harp is popular. Everyone likes a harpist. Now, firstly...'

And thus I took my first lesson in music, which, like most first lessons in music, didn't go all that well; but at the same time I managed forget, for the moment at least, Morgana and the horrors I had suffered at her hand, and the hatred I felt for her servant Mordred.

Juliana and I quickly became friends, and this helped my learning immensely, though I did begin to fear that music would always for me be merely a hobby. I enjoyed my lessons, however, which were interspersed with diverse conversation – about our friends, our passions, gossip from Camelot (of which Juliana seemed to know a great deal for one so independent from the other citizens).

It was not long before the subject matter came to the knights – and Mordred in particular. I had happened to mention the banquet that had taken place and asked about the piece she was playing; she said that she had made it up herself, and that it was dedicated to Mordred.

'Do you like Mordred then?' I asked, trying to hide what I thought.

'I don't really know him,' she admitted. 'But everyone says he's nice enough – and a lot of the ladies think he's handsome...' She laughed. 'But I shouldn't talk about someone I've never met.' She paused, and her eyes flashed towards mine, discerning something in my face. 'Why? Don't you like him?'

I shrugged, not committing myself to an answer. 'I – he was Morgana's servant before, and... well, I just don't feel as if I can trust him. I don't dislike him,' I lied quickly, 'but...'

'Ah, but of course, you were taken by Morgana and you would not trust those who worked for her,' Juliana said, summing up what I thought. 'That is understandable.'

'I hope so,' I replied. 'I fear I'm in the minority. And anyway, my... my mistrust isn't even justified, because Mordred has done nothing to me.' Except mentally, I found myself thinking.

'No,' replied Juliana. 'Not really. Well, it doesn't matter, at any rate. Not to music.' Juliana thought of music above all else, and it seemed to me that if something didn't matter to music it didn't matter at all. Such was the mind of this young musician. 'Anyway – might you sing? I have not heard your voice yet. Sing something for me!'