Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. And I don't really have any excuses. So, here's the story!

I haven't done a disclaimer in a while, so why not? I don't own Merlin. Snaps for me.

Chapter 7

Eleanor looked at the dark haired knight in shock. Did he really just say what he said? No. Not possible. She managed to go a year and a half without getting caught, and now this? Maybe she was just still asleep. She then felt the nausea that was plaguing her stomach again and realized that she was very much awake.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, mentally slapping herself for playing dumb.

"What am I talking about? Are you kidding me? Are you really going to pretend that you don't have…"Gwaine paused for a second, thinking of a way to state the obvious gently "…woman parts?"

When he said that, she immediately started to panic.

"What the hell happened?"

"Well, we went to the tavern, as you know, and you said that you wanted to leave. However, I had already purchased another drink. Once you had that I'm pretty sure you were gone."

"YOU THINK?" she yelled.

"Hey hey hey, calm down…my lady" Gwaine looked at her and smirked as he mentally patted himself on the back for being so clever. "It's not my fault you can't hold your alcohol. Anyways, so we left and I told you that I would walk you home. However, while I was walking home, you insisted that you needed to go take a bath and get on some fresh clothes. I told you that I would help you do that once we got back to your room."

Gwaine stopped and a became serious for a brief second. "Mind you, I still thought you were a man at this time." Eleanor rolled her eyes, getting annoyed with how the knight was dragging out the story.

"Anyways, when I mentioned that I would help you, you pushed me over and ran towards the gates. I followed you while you ran outside of the city and into the forest. By the way, you are really fast!"

"GET TO THE POINT!" she yelled, ready to slap the idiot.

"Anyways, I lost you for a little while, but then I found you bathing in a lake. Naked."

"Oh no" Eleanor said to herself. She put her head in her hands, trying to stop the world from spinning.

"Well, I was at first a little angry, you know, felt a bit betrayed. After all, I did bet on you in the tournament. I also lost to a woman, which isn't very good for my ego. I tried to get you to explain, but you just wanted to go to sleep."

"Oh no" Eleanor said even louder, trying to figure out a way that she could rewind her life by a day. "I'm dead aren't I?"

"Well, see that's why I stayed with you. I mean, obviously a brave handsome knight would never leave a naked woman in the forest to fend for herself, but mainly I just want to hear your side of the story."

"What's the point? Aren't you just going to turn me in?" She laughed, considering different ways of getting out of the situation. Killing Gwaine would be too hard to cover up. She could always knock him out and say he was dreaming about her being a woman. She was brought out of her scheming by the knight's surprising answer.

"Meh, probably not."

"What?" she asked in shock.

"Well, I guess it depends on your story, but I find it a bit amusing that a woman was able to climb so high in the ranks of the army and become a knight without getting caught. Does anyone even know you're a woman?"

"Only one person, and he's not even in Camelot."

"Impressive" he said, sounding genuinely interested in her. "So tell me, how did you get here?"

So she told him the entire story. From the day Jonathon came for her brother to the day she won the tournament. All the while, Gwaine just sat and listened to her. It was strange telling her story to someone else, and for first time since she left home. It was almost as if she could feel a heavy weight being lifted off of her shoulders.

When she finished, the knight seemed a bit shocked at the whole thing. "Wow, I always fancied myself an unconventional person, but you really bring a whole new definition to the world."

"So you're not going to turn me in?" she asked one last time, praying for the right answer.

"No, I won't," he said with a smile. Eleanor looked into his deep brown eyes and saw that he was being honest. She could also tell that he was happy, though she had no idea why.

"We should probably head back to Camelot. You have a knighting ceremony to attend."

"Oh, right," she said, almost forgetting about the event due to the hangover and the events of the morning. Gwaine helped Eleanor up and they started their trek back to Camelot.

"By the way, you said Etienne is your brother's name. So, what's yours?"

"Eleanor" she said, giving into the fact that she had to trust this man with her life.

"Well Eleanor, I have to say," he said with a smile, "you have a lovely body."

As soon as he said it, she kicked him in the groin.

The knighting ceremony was a bit of a blur. Eleanor could hardly take her mind off of the events that occurred. She barely noticed the blade touching her shoulder.

"I, Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot, name you Sir Etienne, a knight of Camelot from this day forward. Rise and repeat the knight's code."

Before she could even begin to talk, all of the knights in the room began to say the code with her. She looked around at all of them, at the brotherhood that she was joining. For the first time since her journey began, she felt like she had accomplished something significant. She was actually proud of herself.

She looked over at Gwaine and smiled. She didn't have to hide as much anymore. She had someone to talk to in this new world that she had stepped into. She felt an overwhelming sense of peace, as if she had finally found a home.

After the ceremonies, all of the knights, even the ones she had yet to meet, came up to her and congratulated her. Once they had finished, Merlin approached her.

"Congratulations, Sir Etienne. I'm sure your family must be very proud," he said with a smile. She grinned, recognizing the young man's good intentions.

"I'm sure they are. Thank you, Merlin." She felt a strong hand pat on her back.

"Well, boy, you're officially a knight," Gwaine said with a knowing smile, "how about we go grab an ale at the tavern to celebrate?"

"No! No thank you!" she said. "I think I've had enough ale to last me a lifetime." She started to turn to make her way out of the great hall.

"Not possible!" Gwaine argued. Eleanor turned back to him.

"Sir Gwaine, why are you limping?" His smile immediately disappeared and he looked down at his trousers at his prized possessions. Maybe she went just a little too far by kicking him earlier. But, in her defense, it was really funny.

The next morning, Eleanor found herself being woken up from a very deep sleep in her new, extremely comfortable bed, by a stranger knocking on her door. At first, she tried to ignore it. When it persisted, she realized that it might actually be something important.

"Come in?" she said hesitantly.

A young servant boy carefully opened the door and entered. "My Lord, I'm terribly sorry to wake you," the servant said, "but the King requests your presence at once in the courtyard."

Eleanor rolled her eyes and looked out the window, "But it's still dark outside!" she argued.

"I'm…terribly sorry," the servant said nervously.

"Ugh, fine. I'm up." She made her way over to her dresser and pulled out her new, knightly clothes to get dressed. Then she noticed that the servant boy was still there.

"Is there anything else?" she said, clearly questioning his presence.

"Well, actually my Lord, King Arthur has assigned me to be your personal manservant," the boy said, looking almost intimidated by her.

"Why?" she said in disbelief.

"It's customary for a Lord to have a servant." She let out a long sigh. It was way to early for her to be dealing with this shenanigans. All she wanted to do was crawl back in bed and catch up on the months of sleep that she had lost since she joined the army.

"What's your name?" she asked the boy, trying to sound as nice as possible.

"Cole, sir," he answered.

"Cole, could you please inform the King, or Merlin, or whoever, that I will be down in the courtyard as soon as I can."

"By, my Lord, don't you want me to stay and help you get ready?" the boy asked, eager to make a good first impression.

"No, I prefer to dress myself."

When she got to the courtyard, most of the knight had already assembled, and were waiting for the King. Just as she found Gwaine and started to ask for some information as to why they were woken up so early, the King showed up with Merlin closely following behind him.

"Sorry to wake you all. We just got word that there is a group of men attacking some small villages around Camelot," he said as Merlin handed him the few things he didn't have time to put on in his chambers. "We heard that they may be working with Morgana, so, obviously, we have to shut it down as fast as possible."

With that, all of the knights dispersed to gather their things to leave. Eleanor quickly realized that she had no idea what to do, but was saved by Gwaine grabbing her arm and guiding her to the stables. After saddling up and getting some provisions from Cole and the other servants, they were off.

The first hour of riding was fast and tiring. Eleanor was sure her bottom had never hurt this bad before in her life, so she tried to focus on other thing. She looked behind her and saw Gwaine riding with the very large knight that he pointed out to her at the feast. They were trying to race each other; though it was obvious Gwaine was winning. She pitied the horse that was carrying the other knight. It must be exhausting carrying all of that muscle weight. She then looked in front of her and saw Merlin riding by the King and wondered why he was with them. He was just a servant after all.

By the second hour, the ride slowed down dramatically. Eleanor took the opportunity to catch up to Merlin.

"Merlin?" she asked, trying to get his attention.

"Etienne! Good morning," he said with a cheery smile. She wondered if he ever stopped smiling.

"What are you doing here?"

"I always come on these sort of trips. Someone has to look out for his royal backside." He pointed at the King, who was about four feet in front of him and could clearly hear him.

She looked at him in disbelief. Had he really just insulted the King? The lack of response from the King was even more shocking. What kind of servant would talk to the King of Camelot like that?

She was broken from her train of thought by the sound of an arrow flying through the air. Time slowed down as the arrow passed by her and moved towards Merlin. She watched as the arrow came so close to hitting him, only missing him by an inch. It then wedged itself into a tree, alerting all of the knights of the attack.

Eleanor instantly drew her bow and arrow, aiming in the direction of the attack. She let an arrow loose as she saw a man sitting in a tree, readying another arrow. As her target fell to the ground, his apparent comrades started to attack.

The knights drew their swords and started fighting. After putting away her bow, she moved to join them. However, she was stopped by the sound of a panicking horse. She looked over and saw Merlin's horse bucking around with Merlin still on it. Before she had time to help him, he was flying through the air to the unforgiving ground.

She immediately dismounted and went to his side.

"Merlin? You alright?" When his eyes remained closed and she got no response, she noticed the blood that was starting to dampen the ground. She looked around, trying to find someone to help her, but everyone was busy fighting.

Realizing that she couldn't help or protect Merlin by just standing there, she quickly picked him up and threw him over her shoulder. Then, without thinking about which direction she was heading, she ran as fast as her feet would carry her.

Yay, long chapter! I hope you all liked it. I was originally going to have Gwaine be angry when he found out about Eleanor, but that is just not Gwaine. Also, I had to have some Merlin Whump, so look for it in the next chapter. Also, Merlin/Eleanor bonding time!

Please review! Reviews keep me going!

Cheers!

Tora2010