"Were you not interested in using horses, sire," said Gwaine. He smiled, even when Emrys turned to glare at him. "It was a simple question, dear. No need to get upset."

"I'm not upset," Emrys promised through tight teeth. "However, I'm surprised that you find it appropriate to make jokes at such a dire time as this. Your princess' life is at stake, and you..."

Arthur could no longer hear Emrys' rant over the rage of the winds. "Leave her alone, Gwaine. She's right—we'll need to take this seriously. The situation's much too serious for us to spend any time making jokes. Besides, if these winds are any indication, I think whoever this sorcerer is knows we're coming for him. We'll need complete focus from everyone."

Gwaine nodded and sobered immediately. "Yes, of course, sire. We'll scout ahead." Gwaine, Lancelot, Percival, and Tristan hurried forward until they disappeared into the dark woods, leaving the prince and serving girl behind.

Emrys crossed her arms over her chest and tucked some loose hair behind her ear as the winds began to die back down. Arthur wasn't entirely sure, but he thought he heard her mumble some gratitude. He turned to ask her to repeat herself, but was distracted by the sight of her apparel. "Emrys," he groaned. "What are you wearing?"

She looked down at herself. Obviously, she saw nothing wrong with her disgruntled trousers, loose slip, and leather slippers. "What do you mean? I told you I can't go on these adventures with you in a dress."

"Yes, and didn't I send Reuben out to get you some more...appropriate clothes?"

"We weren't able to finish shopping. What's wrong with these?"

"You look…"

"I look like what?"

"Like a peasant."

Emrys frowned as if she couldn't believe what he'd just said. "Well, sire, this might surprise you, but that's what I am."

"Yes, but you don't have to look like one. I mean, for God's sake, Emrys, you're part of the Royal Guard now. You'd better look like you're...well, part of the team."

"I didn't realize this was some sort of fashion parade. Forgive me for bringing my peasantry into this mix." She stopped suddenly at the edge of the dark woods.

Arthur glanced back at her. "Are you coming, Emrys?"

He could tell that she was frightened, even without her saying anything. No doubt she was battling fears brought from the rumors of the dark woods. The stories made him a little nervous, too, but he had to push through his fears with so much at stake if they failed.

"I think it was a mistake, me coming here," she whispered, her small voice barely audible with the growing sound of the mumblings of the dark woods.

"Hey," he said, drawing her eyes away from the forest. "That's not true. We need you for this, Emrys. You're the only one who knows what the plant looks like—without you, we can't save Morgana and Reuben. It was not a mistake, you being in Camelot. I see now that you're here for a reason. Without you, Camelot would suffer a great loss."

For a moment, he could've sworn she was about to cry. She glanced back at the trees and wiped at her eyes, pushing back any tears. With a sad smile, she said, "I should hope my purpose is not that great."

Still feeling the need to comfort her, Arthur reached out to put a hand on her shoulder as he helped her take the first step. "Don't worry. We'll find the licorice root and save Morgana and Reuben. Nothing bad is going to happen."

She sniffled and managed to smile. "You seem pretty sure, Pendragon. What makes you so confident nothing will happen?"

He shrugged, not truly knowing the answer himself. Seeing that she was unhappy with this, he decided on saying, "I just have a feeling."

At that moment, the whispers from the forest increased, and the winds began to rage again, bending the trees toward the pair. On instinct, Arthur drew his sword and stepped in front of Emrys. "Lancelot! Gwaine!" he yelled into the dark woods, hoping that the knights hadn't gone too far. A black mist crept out of the darkness of the trees and inched toward them.

"What's happening," Emrys asked, stepping backwards to avoid the mist.

"If I had one guess, I'd say it was the sorcerer! Stay behind me!"

No sooner did he say this did the black mist become a wave and overtake them both. Arthur swung his sword around wildly, but the mist came back thicker with each swing. "I don't have time for this," he yelled in frustration. He had to get the licorice root. He had to find his knights. He had to find— "Emrys! Where are you? Emrys!"

He thought he heard someone yell his name back, but their voice was drowned out by the increase of mystical voices in the dark woods. Arthur abandoned the idea of using his sword again and chose a direction to run. Despite his great skills in tracking and navigating, Arthur found that he had no clear way of determining where he was going or if it was doing him any good. No matter where he went, the fog didn't lessen and the trees surrounding him didn't differentiate amongst themselves.

Arthur sunk to the ground and fell back on his arse. If he stayed there long enough, maybe he would be able to figure something out. For a long time, he received no answer. Finally, Arthur grabbed his hair and clenched his hands into fists. "Reveal yourself, sorcerer! I know you're there!"

For once, the voices in the dark woods ceased. From the darkness to his immediate right, Arthur heard a male say, "Who are you to demand that I reveal myself to you?"

Arthur quickly got to his feet and gripped his sword tightly in his fists. "I am—"

"I know very well who you are, Arthur Pendragon. What I mean is who are you to me? Do you not see my power? Should such a being be bound to an earthly ruler such as yourself? Why have you and your knights invaded my woods?"

"I come to your dark woods only to find a cure for the curse you have placed on the princess and my servant."

"Why should I let you break my curse? I put a lot of work into that spell, you know."

"They have not wronged you, sorcerer," Arthur yelled. He could barely make out a dark shape in front of him. Subtly, he turned his body toward the figure and angled his sword precariously.

The sorcerer scoffed. "Haven't they? As indirect as it may be, they've caused me pain, Pendragon. And my grace only extends so far."

Arthur sobered and lowered his sword a little. "Please, sorcerer, I beg you. They don't deserve this. What do you want in return for the licorice root?"

"Licorice root?" A beat of silence followed as the sorcerer processed the information. "You'll need more than that for your cure, Pendragon. You need my magic, too—a lot more than what I used to put the plague in place."

"Please," Arthur begged. "I'll do anything for it. Name your price, sorcerer."

The whispers picked up as the sorcerer pondered for a moment. "Very well. Not too long ago, there was a girl looking for the same plant."

"Emrys?" Arthur remembered how frightened Emrys had been before coming to the dark woods. How scared she must be at this moment!

"Yes, that would be her. If you want to save your sister and your servant, you must leave the girl here."

Dread fell over Arthur. "What use would you have of Emrys?"

"That is not for you to know, Pendragon!"

"Please, ask for something else—anything else. I can give you gold."

"I wouldn't trade possession of this girl for any amount of gold."

"I can pardon you! I can guarantee that no harm will come to you from my father's hand. You'll be protected."

"The girl will provide me with all the protection I need."

"Please, I can't give you Emrys."

"What do you care? She's but a serving girl in your castle. What value does she hold for you?"

"I..." Arthur didn't know what to say. He'd never thought about what Emrys might mean to him. Still, he knew that the sorcerer wouldn't accept this for an answer. "She's my sister's favorite handmaiden. Morgana'd never forgive me if I traded Emrys' life for hers."

The sorcerer was silent for a long time. Then, finally, he said, "I will accept nothing other than the girl. If you can't bring yourself to release the girl to me, then I will simply take her myself, and you can forget about the cure. I hope Camelot is prepared for the death of your sister."

Arthur lifted his sword and, with an outraged yell, lunged at the dark shadow. The figure became one with the darkness around them and slipped away from the edge of Arthur's sword. A deep chuckle rumbled through the forest, and Arthur felt a tingle down his spine as he spun around to try and find the sorcerer.

In the distance, four dark figures approached him on all sides. Arthur prepared himself and charged the one directly in front of him. To his surprise, his sword met another's. The figure and its sword feigned left and spun out to its right, a move that was all too familiar to Arthur. "Tristan!" he cried as he ducked underneath his swing.

His attackers ceased where they were. "Arthur," said the one in front, definitely Tristan. The shadows remained, but it was obvious that the four figures surrounding him were his knights.

"Well, that's a relief," said the shadow behind Arthur, in a voice that matched Gwaine's usual tone. "I was beginning to think I'd never find you lot. I thought you all were playing another prank on me."

"It's no prank, Gwaine," Arthur assured him. "But has anyone seen the sorcerer? He's after Emrys."

The giant figure to his left unsheathed its sword. "What does the sorcerer want with our little wench?"

"I don't know, but we need to find Emrys, get the root, and get back to Camelot quickly."

"I don't know if you've noticed, sire," said Gwaine, "but our vision's still a little less than clear at the moment. How are we supposed to do any of that? The sorcerer has the upper hand."

Arthur ignored Gwaine and yelled into the mist. "Emrys!" After his third try, the other knights joined him in calling for the handmaiden. Arthur could feel sweat begin to form on his forehead. Nothing could make him want to find Emrys more, but he was actually beginning to worry about what Morgana would do to him if the girl were truly lost to the sorcerer forever. Whatever plagues the sorcerer could conjure up to afflict him with would probably be a treat compared to the scourge that Morgana would bring.

"Wait," cried Lancelot suddenly. "Do you guys hear that?"

Arthur did. It was faint, but the voice calling his name was steadily growing. "Emrys!" he rejoiced, happily running in the direction of the sound. As he ran, he saw a breaking point in the fog. The break of light in the fog was moving toward him. As he got closer, Arthur saw that it was Emrys, surrounded by a bright light.

He stopped running, though he was certain that what he was seeing was not a vision from the sorcerer. "Emrys?" The knights had stopped beside him as well.

She smiled and closed the distance between all of them, clutching something in her hands. "I'm so glad I finally found you guys! I found the licorice root. Silas was wrong—there was plenty to spare." Her smile faded as she looked around at the others. "What's wrong?"

Arthur wanted to rejoice, but he couldn't get over the bright light. "Emrys, I can see you."

She frowned and said, "Congratulations. I can see you too, sire. All of you. Now, shouldn't we get out of here to get the cure to Silas?"

"She's right, sire," said Lancelot. "We've no time to waste. The sorcerer may return."

"Yes," Gwaine agreed, "but the prince has a point. You lot are all shadows, but Emrys is the only thing I can actually see."

Emrys fidgeted underneath their gazes. "I don't understand. What's wrong with you? I can see everything and everyone perfectly fine. Can't you?"

"The sorcerer was looking for you, Emrys," Percival's shadow said. "He must've done this to you to make you easier to find."

Arthur watched Emrys closely as the other knights contributed their own ideas. Where she stepped, he could see the part of the forest that surrounded her; beyond Emrys, the darkness returned and covered his sight. The light that encased her was so vibrant and brilliant that Arthur swore it was otherworldly. It definitely made her more noticeable. He looked away suddenly as she caught him staring—she must have been able to see him looking at her. She could see everything. "Wait! You can see everything, Emrys?"

"Yes," she said slowly. "I just said that."

"Then you can see Camelot. You can lead us out of here!"

Emrys nodded and stretched her hand out to him. As soon as the licorice roots dropped into his hand, they became shadows. "Hold onto these, then." She turned, located the castle, and raced off in that direction.

Arthur and the knights did their best to look out for the sorcerer's figure. If Percival was right, and the sorcerer had marked Emrys to find her, then it was only a matter of time before the only light thing in the dark woods drew his attention.

Luckily for them all, Emrys didn't have her skirts to slow her down. Arthur couldn't help but notice how natural she looked, running amongst nature. For a moment, he thought he was seeing yet another version of Emrys—not the Emrys who was his sister's handmaiden, nor the Emrys who infuriated and intrigued him with her mysterious, natural power. This was the Emrys who would probably be content to run forever in the essence of nature.

Arthur shook these thoughts away and followed her to the edge of the dark woods. As his knights passed over, they became clear to him too. Arthur's legs pushed harder against the ground, spurring him forward. His body crashed against the edge, as if a barrier had formed between him and the light.

"Arthur," Emrys screamed.

"What is this," Arthur asked as he pushed against the barrier.

"I told you, Pendragon," said the sorcerer behind him. "Either the girl or the licorice root stays. What will it be?"

Arthur clenched his fists over the hilt of his sword.

"Fine. Then I'll let the girl decide. If you choose to stay with me here, then the prince may bring the root to his sister and servant. If you should choose not to, then, you should still have time to say your goodbyes when you return."

For a moment, Arthur thought she was actually considering his request. He had the sinking feeling that Emrys wouldn't hesitate to voluntarily go with the sorcerer if it meant she could save Morgana and Reuben.

"What do you want with me," Emrys asked.

"You're a very unique girl, Emrys. One that, after finding you, I've come to realize I can't be without. With you by my side, I'd be untouchable. No match for the king of Camelot or any kingdom, for that matter."

The sorcerer stepped forward, out of the dark woods, and reached for Emrys, grazing her cheek with his fingers. She gasped at the touch and flinched away from him. "We could—"

"No," Arthur roared, unsheathing his sword and dropping the root. He wasn't sure what he could do against a sorcerer, but he knew he didn't want him to touch Emrys. He swung his weapon upward, toward the hooded sorcerer's head, and heard a satisfying scream from the sorcerer as the blade met skin. Before anyone else could react, Arthur ran forward, past the edge of the dark woods.

Breaking past the trees was like a splash of refreshing water against the face; his vision only took a moment to right itself again. He didn't let his recuperating vision deter him. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he grabbed Emrys' hand, and he propelled himself forward. His knights and Emrys kept at his heels, and they didn't stop running, not even when they were behind the gates.

He had struck the sorcerer and left him alive to eventually exact revenge. His father would be disappointed. Whatever curse the sorcerer brought on Camelot now would be his own fault. He'd been given a choice and he had chosen the serving girl over his sister—the princess. But as much as his decision didn't make sense to him, he couldn't bring himself to regret it.

He knew, without a doubt, that he would've chosen to save Emrys a thousand times. He could only hope that Silas had found some other way to save his sister and Reuben.

"Emrys! Arthur," Silas cried, standing up to greet them. "You've arrived just in time! The only thing the elixir needs is the licorice root. You have it, right?"

"Silas," Emrys started.

"We failed," Arthur finished for her. "We came across the sorcerer and he made it impossible for us to come back with the cure." He looked at Morgana, who was deathly pale and had broken out in a sweat. Unlike Reuben, who was breathing heavily from his cot, Morgana was almost perfectly still, save for her quivering lips. Even on her deathbed, his sister was perfectly regal.

"That's not true!" Emrys cried.

Wasn't it enough that he wouldn't be able to save his sister because of her? How could she be so cruel as to tease him with this hope? Arthur turned to yell at her, but stopped when he saw what Emrys was pulling from her pockets. "Emrys…"

The knights whooped loudly and hugged each other. Arthur found that one of the tears he had been suppressing had managed to slip through. All he could do was stare at the most wonderful miracle he had ever witnessed, and it had come in the form of a plant.

Emrys glanced at Arthur and said, "I told you there was plenty to spare." She passed the white flowers to Silas, who quickly snipped the bottoms off and added them to the bubbling substance on his workbench. Together, Emrys and Silas fed the brown liquid to Morgana and Reuben.

Once all the elixir had been drunk, Emrys stepped back and clasped her hands in front of her mouth, whispering what Arthur assumed to be soft prayers. Her eyes filled to the brim with tears as what felt like an eternity passed.

Suddenly, Reuben and Morgana sat up with a gasp, the inhale of air bringing color back to their faces. Emrys let out a joyous cry and threw herself into Reuben's arms, blubbering incoherent words all the while. Arthur sat by his sister's cot and drew her close to him, not caring if the knights saw him in an emotional state.

Somewhere, among all the celebration, Arthur heard his father burst into the room. "Silas? I heard that Arthur had returned, and…" His worried face melted into a grateful smile as his eyes fell on his daughter. "Morgana. Oh, my girl, you have no idea how happy I am to see you well again. I didn't know how I would go on without you." He rubbed Arthur's head. "Without both of you."

From underneath his father's hand, Arthur caught sight of Emrys, whose face was resting against Reuben's shoulder. For the first time in all the years that Arthur had known him, his manservant looked content and happy in Emrys' arms. And Arthur didn't doubt that this wasn't the first time Reuben'd found comfort being with her.

When Emrys rose to tend to Morgana—and accept more praise—Arthur caught Reuben's eyes. In that moment, he remembered that before Reuben had fallen ill, he'd proclaimed that there was something he'd wanted to publicly announce about his relationship with Emrys. Arthur was pretty sure he knew what it was about now.

Arthur started to smirk at the idea of his manservant and the handmaiden, but stopped when he realized there was something about the familiarity between the two that didn't quite suggest a romance. He could always wait until Reuben revealed the truth of their relationship, but he wasn't quite sure he was ready to hear what Reuben had to say about it.

Arthur decided right then and there he would make sure Reuben didn't get the chance to say it.

The sudden weight of his father's hand clapping down on his shoulder shook Arthur from his thoughts. "It would seem that Emrys has proved herself to be rather valuable to this family. I must admit, after hearing about all of her adventures these last few days, I'm quite intrigued by Morgana's new handmaiden."

"You aren't the only one," Arthur mumbled. Remembering his duty, suddenly, he said, louder, "Father, there's a lot I wish to tell you."

"Ah, Emrys," said Arthur, stepping out of his room as the handmaiden was leaving Morgana's. "Have I caught you at a bad time?"

He knew that he had—he'd done so on purpose—but Emrys merely sighed in response. Even after today's long events, Emrys had returned to the princess' side to complete her duties. She was, no doubt, exhausted, but Arthur had to admire her dedication to his sister. Her level of enthusiasm to the serve his sister had almost outlasted Arthur's level of commitment to patiently wait just inside his door for the chance to speak with her again.

Almost.

Emrys plastered a much-too-sweet-smile onto her face and said, "Of course not, Your Highness."

A genuine smile stretched across Arthur's. "I wanted to discuss the little prank you pulled on me this afternoon. Why didn't you tell me you had more of the licorice root?"

"I did, sire. It isn't my fault you jumped to conclusions. I hope Silas will never be in need of more licorice root now—we used up the rest of the root that was in my pockets."

It didn't matter how surly she was—Arthur couldn't stop smiling. He raised an eyebrow at her and said, "Considering the circumstances, I think Silas will find it in him to forgive me. I did give it up for a noble cause."

This time it was her eyebrows that rose. "Oh? What cause was that?" Seemingly intrigued now, she crossed her arms against her chest.

Did she really not know? "That sorcerer wanted to trap you with him forever in exchange for those roots."

Emrys' expression sobered and she suddenly couldn't seem to meet his eyes. Arthur cursed himself from bringing up the sorcerer. That wasn't what he'd practiced telling her in his bedroom. "Yes…I heard him," she whispered.

"Well," he said, scrambling to undo his mistake, "didn't you realize that I chose to save you?"

She scoffed again and the smile returned. "I'd hardly call that saving me. I was free to run, if I'd wanted to. It wasn't as if the sorcerer was hostile about his proposition."

"I don't think you're realizing the gravity of the situation, Emrys. Hostile or not, I chose your life over my servant's and my sister's. Had you not had more of the root, they would've died." Saying it out loud once again brought the severe weight of it all back onto Arthur's shoulders.

"Well, then, why did you make that choice," she asked, bringing his attention back to her. "You had every right to leave me behind—never mind our positions—with the lives of two other people at stake. Why did you even consider saving me?"

"Well," said Arthur, rubbing the back of his neck, as he pondered his answer. He hadn't anticipated her asking this. "Whether or not either of us enjoy it, we're a team. And members of a team always look out for each other."

She was silent for a moment, and he feared he'd said too much, that he'd effectively scared her away. Then, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest. "Thank you, then, for saving my life," she whispered, though he heard it clear as a bell.

Warmth exploded in his left breast—so hot, he feared she'd be able to feel it herself. This wasn't the response he'd gotten from the Emrys he'd pretended to talk to in his room—all he'd gotten from her was a snarky remark and a tantalizing wave. Arthur cleared his throat and said, "Well, yet again, you saved mine first. And besides, Morgana would've killed me if I'd let you run off."

Emrys laughed and stepped back, breaking their hug. "I suppose she would've."

Arthur felt the warmth again as she looked up at him. It encouraged him to keep speaking: "The important thing, Emrys, is that something like this will never happen again."

Her brows furrowed in confusion, but she didn't lose her smile. "What do you mean?"

"I went to my father and we think we've found the perfect solution to ridding Camelot of this plague sorcerer before he has the chance to strike again." He'd felt so proud when his father had approved of his idea; he wanted her to feel proud of him too. "Father's hired a witch hunter."

A/N: Welp, SOME good came out of the plague sorcerer's arrival—we got a look into Arthur's emotional side. Speaking of, next chapter you'll get a reveal AND a POV you haven't seen before: Morgana's! I think it's time we see what she thinks of everything. As always. please don't forget to write a review! Happy reading!