A/N I would just like to say that I haven't edited these chapters, so, sorry for all the mistakes! If you catch something atrocious, please, review to let me know.

Arthur's Point of View

I ran my fingers through my hair, staring up at the canopy of my bed. I shouldn't be thinking about her. I shouldn't be dreaming about her. I shouldn't keep trying to catch her alone. I shouldn't, but I was.

That damn Merlin had to keep shoving her in my face, talking about her all the time. Why did she have to be so alluring? From the moment I first saw her, I knew there was something different about her. There was an air of innocence that followed her. And her big pale almost silver eyes… her emotions so clear in them.

And she treated me like I meant something. When she looked up at me, there was almost a familiarity about her. Like we'd met before in some other life time, and I couldn't shake it. She was undoing me!

But it could never be. She was a peasant, a no one. And I was Crown Prince of Camelot, the future King. There was no way I'd ever be able to marry her—wait.
Marry her? We'd just met! How could I be thinking such things?

Damn it! I would have to forget her, have to leave her alone and treat her like I do the rest. So what if she was beautiful? But that wasn't what drew me to her. There was something more, something in those eyes.

I groaned, running my hands through my hair before turning over to bury my face in the pillows. I'd act like I should. That was that. What's done is done, and there is no going back. But as soon as I closed my eyes, the first thing I saw was Alexandra's face. Damn.

Alexandra's Point of View

The next morning, I woke up to hear knocking on our door. I turned over to see Mary still sleeping soundly. I sighed and pushed out of bed, looking over at the sun, barely up in the sky. My whole body ached and my brain had a hard time moving me forward.

I'd been worked ragged this past week. Mrs. Sharp had moved me from one terror to the next. Now my job was to scrub the floor of the Great Hall. Every night. By myself. My fingers hurt so bad, I could barely open the door. "Yes?" My tired brain kick started at the sight of Gaius.

"Alexandra—," He looked down at me and blushed. "Do you always answer the door in your skivvies?" I looked down to see my flimsy night-dress and realized I'd forgotten to put on my robe. I blushed, and hid myself behind the door.

"Is there any reason for you waking me up so early?" He cleared his throat and clasped his hands behind his back.

"Ah, yes. You'll be working for me these next three days. I've talked to the King and had the Head of Staff change your schedule. I'm going to need more help, and your already advanced knowledge of medicine and healing will come in handy."

I was really awake now, but I was still only able to say, "What?"

"From now on, you will be working for me three days out of the week." The next thing I managed was just as stupid.

"Why?" He seemed a little flustered, unclasping his hands only to fold them neatly in front of him.

"To be honest, you remind me a lot of your mother. I couldn't stand to see the way you were being treated. So, I asked for the extra help. Besides, Arthur has Merlin all tied up this week."

I stood there, looking at my mentor for a moment, before I leaped forward and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh, you have no idea how much this means to me! I can finally go back out into the woods and not have to be trapped in doors." I let him out of the hug when I heard Mary mumbling behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see her turning in her bed.

"It was no problem. Since you are working for me now, I'm going to need you to run a few errands for me. The Lady Morgana needs more of her sleeping potion. She finished the bottle last night and asked that I get her more first thing in the morning. So, here it is." He handed me a little gold bottle. "Get dressed and have this over to her by eight o'clock."

"Yes, sir. Thank you Gaius!" I hugged him again before we said our farewells. I went back into my and Mary's room and shut the door before falling back on the bed. I still had a few hours before I had to see the Lady. So, I closed my eyes and fell back asleep.

I woke again to find that Mary had already gone. I got up and got dressed, hearing the clock in the square chime, marking eight, and cursed. How could I be late?! Blast.

I rushed out the door and down the corridor to the stairs. I went up to the third level that the royals slept on and raced down towards the Lady's chambers. I'd had to deliver sheets to the room before, and so I knew right where it was.

I rounded the corner, but before I could give a cry of victory at being so close to my target, I slammed into a flesh wall. I pulled back quickly to look up into Arthur's face, relief flooding through me.

"Oh, thank goodness, it's you." I placed my hand over my heart, which was hammering in my chest. "Up here, I run the great risk of crashing into the King—and I don't need that first impression."

"Mind yourself and watch where you're going next time." Arthur was cold and standoffish. My eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm sorry, Arthur, I didn't—," He cut me off.

"Don't forget you are talking to a prince." I took a step back. What was wrong with him? I'd thought… I beat back my feelings, putting up a wall around myself.

"Forgive me, Your Highness." I curtsied low, and didn't look him in the eyes when I came back up. "I'm sorry to have taken up so much of your time." I got up just enough nerve to look him in the eye before I walked away. His eyes, at least, looked full of regret.

I hurried around him, refusing to glance over my shoulder at him. I listened for the sound of his retreating footsteps. He waited a moment before leaving, and that confused me even more. Maybe he was a prat like Merlin kept telling me, or maybe there was something more?
I cleared my head of Arthur and knocked on the door. It swung open to reveal a pretty, dark-skinned girl in servant's garbs. I could assume she was Gwen, one of Merlin's friends.

"Hello," I greeted, smiling. She returned the smile.

"Can I help you?" She asked. I held up the bottle.

"I'm Alexandra—," Before I could finish my sentence, Gwen's face changed and she stuck her hand out.

"Oh, Alex! I've heard so much! I'm Guinevere, but you can call me Gwen. Merlin says you work with him and Gaius?" I nodded and held up the bottle.

"That would be why I'm here. Gaius said that this was to be delivered to the Lady Morgana. So, I suppose you can give it to her." I smiled, handing over the small potion. She took it, returning the smile.

"I'm sure Lady Morgana will want to meet you. Merlin's got a knack for talking peoples ears off, and, well, word has gotten around. Merlin isn't the only one whose been talking about you, though." Her smile turned mischievous. I raised an eyebrow in question.

"Who else has talked of me?" My heart rate picked back up at the thought of Arthur. I couldn't explain it—and I'm not sure I even wanted to—but he made me feel… comfortable. It was like I'd known him my whole life.

"Sir Leon and a few of the other knights have spoken of your intervening, when you fought the bandits." I tried to keep my face from falling. So it hadn't been the Prince. Of course not! Why would he think of me, a lowly peasant? I was nothing to him, a no one.

"Well, I'm sure everyone has greatly exaggerated." I said. Gwen opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by another, higher voice.

"I certainly don't think the knights would exaggerate. I'm surprised they've said as much as they have, considering a woman helped them win a fight." The Lady Morgana stepped into view. Her hair was long and black, a stark contrast to hair pale skin, and she was wearing a deep purple gown with gold trim. She smiled at me.

It was obvious her beauty had not been exaggerated. I returned the smile. "My Lady." I bowed slightly.

"Please, call me Morgana." She walked forward and took my left hand in hers. "It is a pleasure to meet you." As her ice-cold hands encased mine, a sensation danced up my spine.

Danger, danger, danger! The thought screamed in the back of my mind. Something was different about the Lady Morgana. In that moment, I wasn't sure I trusted her.

As soon as I escaped from the Lady and Gwen, I rushed out to the practice field, my bag for herb collecting as well as a basket, in hand. It was nearing ten o'clock, and I knew Merlin would already be training with Arthur and the knights.

I ran down the hill, watching my feet to make sure I didn't trip. I checked my speed when I reached the bottom and looked around for Merlin. I saw him standing over near Arthur and the knights, listening to the conversation they were having. Laughter bubbled up and registered in my mind.

I fought back my nerves, trying not to think about approaching the group of laughing men, and kept my gaze focused on Merlin. I would pull him aside, ask him my questions, and run away before my whole face could turn scarlet.

The walk seemed to last forever, but it wasn't long enough. I straightened my shoulders and chastised myself. What had I to be self-conscious about? I was fine in my own skin. So what if they talked about me later, making fun of me? These men were all decent, Knights of Camelot. They would be gentlemen.

"It was easier than I thought, getting my hand up her skirt. She welcomed it, in fact she even made this—," The knight, whose name I didn't really know, but was pretty sure started with an 'M', stopped talking when I cleared my throat, his face turning beat red.

"Excuse me," I said, Merlin, Arthur, Leon, and the three other knights all jumped and faced me. "Merlin, I need to talk to you. It'll only take a moment." I assured myself that I was confidant, but the latter of my sentences sounded like a question. Merlin's face broke into a smile.

"'Course, Alex." I tried to ignore everyone's eyes on me, but couldn't help glancing at Arthur. He had his arms crossed over his chest, enunciating how muscular he was. I refused to meet his eyes, and instead let my gaze flicker over to Sir Leon.

I threw him a smile as Merlin walked away from the group to talk to me. "What'd you need?" Merlin asked. I faced him.

"I need to talk to you—later," I lowered my voice, noticing the knights and Arthur watching us. "About the Lady Morgana." Merlin's face changed.

"Why?" He asked quickly. I narrowed my eyes at him as he looked around. He was keeping something from me.

"I felt something… she's not… There's something about her, and I know you know what I'm talking about it. You must've felt it too. But that's not all. I just… I keep having this weird feeling, like something's… listening. And I am also having these strange dreams, where someone calls to me." Merlin's expression changed again—this time, he seemed annoyed.

"I can guess what that one is." He sighed. "I'll explain it to you all later. Come over to Gaius' for dinner?" I smiled and nodded. He smiled back and squeezed my shoulder gently before starting away.

"Oh, Merlin, I'm going into the woods. Gaius needs me to get him a few things. If I'm not back by sunset, you should probably panic." I smirked and he gave a soft laugh.

"Alright, as soon as the sun goes down, I'll panic and come looking for you." I laughed and said goodbye, waving to the on-looking knights, before turning and heading straight for the tree line.

Arthur's Point Of View

This made things better and worse. It made them better, knowing that Alexandra wouldn't be hurt by my coldness, and it made things worse because she was in love with someone else. Not just anyone, but with Merlin. My fumbling, half-witted, idiot of a servant.

I tried to ignore the ache in my chest as I watched him touch her on the shoulder, as I heard them make plans for dinner and the way she spoke to him… She was so carefree and fearless. So innocent and strong… She was… beautiful. Inside and out.

Every night for the past two weeks, all Merlin's done is talk about her. About how fantastic she is, about all the nice things she does, about how funny she is and how smart she is and about how caring and giving and I had to develop some feelings towards the girl! How could I have been so blind? He was obviously in love with her. And she seemed to love him.

And it didn't matter what I felt, because we could never be together anyway. So why did it hurt?

The door to my room opened, and I looked up to see Merlin carrying my dinner tray. I'd decided not to eat with Morgana and father on account of my mood. Morgana would just tease me and father would encourage it, and I didn't need that now.

"Here you are, Sire. Your favorite, right down to the cheese." He grinned as he set the plate in front of me. I looked down at the cooked duck surrounded by other foods, and sighed. Merlin wandered behind me to get the wine, humming as he went.

The fool was so obviously in love, and it crushed me. "Did you poison my food?" I asked, trying to change the topic of my thoughts.

"No," Merlin sounded confused, coming around to fill my goblet. "Why?"

"You seem uncommonly happy. You do know it's a crime to kill a prince? You'll be hanged." It seemed that I was still on the same thought line, considering what I was trying to do.

"I didn't poison your food." That note of frustration entered his voice as he stepped back, wiping the wine off the side of the pitcher.

"Did you poison my drink then?" I said, eyeing the glass. He sighed in annoyance, setting the wine down.

"I'm not trying to kill you, Arthur." I tried to bite my tongue to keep from going farther down this road. I clenched my jaw, but it didn't work. The words still escaped my lips.

"Then why are you so happy?" He didn't respond right away, and I contemplated looking up at him, but instead grabbed my knife and started cutting into the duck.

"Do you really want to know? Because most of the time, you don't care a rats-ass about what I'm doing. Unless I'm doing something wrong, that is." I ignored the last part.

"Really Merlin, just tell me. I can see you want to, and you're just going to continue to act this way until you do."

"Well, if you must know… I—I think I'm in love." I nodded, cutting harder into the duck. I shouldn't have asked. Why did I ask? "She's amazing… she's wonderful. We have a lot in common and we just…get each other. Every time I see her, I…" He trailed off and I glanced up to see him blushing. "Alexandra's—," I cut him off, the knife clattering against the plate.

"Ah, so you and Alexandra are in love, then? How wonderful. Great. I'm glad, for you." I pushed the chair away, and turned, making it look like I was getting more wine, having emptied my glass during his professions.

"What? No, why would you—," He cut off suddenly, and I turned around, pouring wine into my goblet. His mouth hung open as he looked at me. "Oh." He said, his lips curving up in a smile. "I see." He sputtered a laugh.

"What? What's so funny, Merlin." I slammed the pitcher down on the table.

"You're in love with Alex." He stated, trying to keep from laughing.

"I am not—I barely know her. We've met only four times. That's hardly enough—,"

"Four? That's a pretty specific number. You are in love with her." He'd sobered up a bit, and furrowed his eyebrows. "Funny, because she said that you've been acting like a total prat this past week."

I looked down at my plate. "Oh, she did, did she? That's not a very kind thing to say about her prince."

"Her prince?" There was a tone of laughter in his voice, and I glared up at him.

"You know what I mean. She's a townsperson of Camelot; therefore, I'm her prince. Just as well as I am everyone's." He made a face at me, obviously saying he didn't buy it.

"Well, it probably doesn't matter anyway. The way you've made her feel won't make her too kind towards you. She's been hurt before, Arthur. She closes herself off quickly. If you don't want to lose her for good, you should probably start acting more like a prince and less like a prat."

It took me a moment to register his words. I'd hurt her. Somehow... It seemed unlikely that she would care. We've met only four times… I opened my mouth to retort, but when I looked up, Merlin had left.

I swear, if he opened his mouth and breathed so much as a word of this to anyone… "MERLIN!"