Arya, thanks for your wonderful review, and I do hope you enjoy this one. ;D Enjoy!


Arthur stared exasperatedly at the boy before him as Gwaine smirked languidly at a grinning Morgana. He shook his head, great, just great. He watched as the older boy bowed mockingly and presented her with a white daisy and growled as Morgana gasped with delight and dropped a neat curtsey in thanks.

Gwaine's father, Lothian was a business acquaintance of Uther, and the children had been introduced at Morgana's 7th birthday celebration. Morgana had immediately taken to the laid back boy and his easy charm, and while Arthur inwardly admitted to liking Gwaine, he was infuriated at how Morgana seemed so close with him, even though they've just known him for less than a day. Uther had invited Gwaine to spend the day with the younger children the morning after the party and the dark haired boy cheerily agreed.

Right now, Gwaine was shamelessly complimenting Morgana while Arthur glared on, arms crossed as he pouted at how his best friend seemed to be abandoning him. He did enjoy the older boy's humour and stories of how he caused mischief and mayhem in class, but he certainly did not appreciate Morgana hanging onto his every word. Morgana was his best friend, she was supposed to be like that with him, and only him.

Nevertheless, Arthur knew it would be rude to stop their conversation when Gwaine had been nothing but kind towards the both of them. And besides, the blonde tried to reason with himself, Morgana was more than entitled to having her own friends. After all, she couldn't very well spend all her time with him could she? As reasonable as Arthur tried to be, he still couldn't help but wish that Morgana did spend every day and every moment with him. He hated to admit it, but he felt lonely without Morgana, especially in school, since they attended an all-boys and all-girls school respectively.

He zoned back into the present as he heard Morgana laugh delightedly. He raised an eyebrow when he saw that Gwaine had made a little crown made of daisies and was kneeling on the ground, dramatically requesting to be allowed to place the 'crown' on Morgana's head. The little girl nodded seriously, a little smile playing on her smile and she bent her head graciously, letting the older boy place the crown of flowers on her dark head reverently. Once the crown was in place, Morgana raised her head and beamed, the white flowers nestled among her dark curls.

A woman with a cold proud expression that held unexplainable grief and hurt in the tight thin line of her lip, sat on a throne with a magnificent crown upon her head. "I now pronounce you, Queen Morgana of Camelot."

Arthur leapt up from his seat on the grass, startled. Sweat started to bead on his forehead and down his neck, and his breath sped up involuntarily as he stared around in a panic, as though he wasn't sure where he was. Morgana frowned and tugged at his hand, worried. Gwaine cocked an eyebrow, curious as to why Arthur was behaving so strangely.

"Arthur?"

The blonde gazed at her, confusion clear in the azure blue of his eyes. Morgana's heart went out to her best friend even as she stood and enveloped him in a concerned hug. "Arthur, it's all right. You're safe, you're home."

A soft breath on his face, a gentle caress pushing his dirty blonde hair back from his face filled with bloody scratches. "You're home, Arthur. You're home with me now."

He shook his head, "No, no I'm…Morgana what's going on?"

"What happened to you Morgana? As a child you were so kind, so compassionate."

Morgana looked on in horror as her best friend was trapped in a trance no other but him could see. His eyes were wild and unfocused as his pupils dilated, breaths coming in short, hurried shots, as though he couldn't breathe.

A woman, lying on the ground, broken as he stared on helplessly, felled by a mortal wound as he lay against a rotted wooden log, "I could have saved her."

Arthur clutched at his best friend, terrified and disoriented as present and past forced its way into his confused young mind. He didn't understand what was going on, who was he? Who was the man in his visions and why was Arthur so sure the man was him, as he was sure the woman was Morgana? Visions of the blonde man and dark haired woman continued to assault his mind and he cried out in pain, clutching his head as if wanting to wrench the visions away from his mind. He let out a terrified whimper and tightened his hold on Morgana, mumbling as he tried to rid his mind of the puzzling visions. "Disappear, just disappear!"

Morgana bit her lip as she tried to comfort her distraught friend. She didn't know what was going on but she knew that she couldn't calm Arthur down. She stared desperately at Gwaine, "Gwaine, help him!"

The older boy was confused. How was he to help Arthur? He didn't even know what was wrong with the little boy. He just stood there helplessly, wanting to help the blonde yet not knowing how. A gentle breeze blew past his ear and lovingly caressed his ruffled hair, and he could've sworn he heard a familiar voice he just knew in the wind as the voice whispered to him. Hold your king, my love, hold him and ease his confusion. And the wind was gone, as was the voice and Gwaine felt strangely melancholic, as if he had lost something he never knew he had. He shook his head, now wasn't the time to muse about talking winds. He had to help Arthur, and as strange as the instructions given to him were, he shrugged and motioned for Morgana to let the boy go. It certainly was better than doing nothing.

He approached a shaking Arthur slowly, careful not to startle the child. Slowly, he took the boy into his arms as he sank down onto the grass, cradling the boy within. Gwaine rocked gently back and forth and just held Arthur, who still shook and trembled, but did so with less force and eventually his body calmed, even as Gwaine crooned a wordless old song to calm the child down. Morgana dropped to his side as she stroked Arthur's blonde hair gently, desperate to help her friend.

Eventually Arthur sighed and stirred tiredly in Gwaine's arms, and the older boy grinned and helped the blonde up. He looked the younger child over and patted his head affectionately, "Well, you look all right mate. Don't worry eh? You're going to be all right." Arthur just smiled wearily at him as Morgana enveloped her best friend in a tight hug, whispering thank you to Gwaine. The older boy smiled fondly at the duo, and excused himself for a moment. Worry was clear in the lines of his shoulders as he hurried to find someone who could possibly help his friend.


Estella had been descending from the car with her mother in tow when a high pitched whine deafened her ears. The girl winced a little but shrugged it off even as Valeria approached her daughter and caressed her dark head. "Estella, dear, go find your cousins. Arthur needs you now."

Estella smiled slightly at her and shook her head, "No need, mother. Arthur is fine now. It's been taken care of." The older woman cocked an eyebrow and peered at her daughter, "Oh? And I suppose you were the one to take care of it?" The child shrugged sheepishly, "Well, not really." Her mother chuckled and gave her a hug, "Oh Estella, must you always meddle in things you were forbidden from intervening? Do be careful love; the priestess may not be as forgiving as I am."

11 year old Estella just grinned at her mother and tugged her into Pendragon Manor. "Oh mother, I was careful! Don't worry; I just gave things a slight push. It would have happened had I not intervened as well." She flashed an innocent smile at her smirking mother, "I just got bored, that's- Oof!"

Gwaine chose that very moment to come barreling through the doors and collided with Estella and the two would have fallen had Valeria not swooped in and steadied the children. Gwaine grinned apologetically at them and swept his curls back. "Sorry about that, didn't see you there."

Estella bit back a surprised gasp. She wasn't prepared to meet him so soon and the girl was a little lost for words as she tried to regain her composure and breathing. Valeria smiled sadly at Gwaine before her, knowing just how much he meant to her little girl. She held her hand out to Gwaine, who promptly took it and dropped a gallant kiss onto her hand. Valeria chuckled; of course he wouldn't have changed. "You are Lothian's son, are you not?"

Gwaine grinned at her, all the while sneaking glances at a silent Estella by her side. Whoever she was, she sure was pretty. "Yes, Gwaine Lot. Pleasure to meet you ma'am." Valeria smiled kindly at him and pushed Estella forward. "No need for formalities Gwaine, I am Valeria de Bois, Arthur and Morgana's aunt and this is Estella, my daughter."

"Estella." Gwaine frowned at how familiar and right the name sounded on his tongue, but dismissed the strange notion. He beamed at her and bowed towards her, taking her hand in his. "Enchanted to meet such a beautiful damsel in distress." He laughed at her furiously blushing face, and was intrigued when she shot back, indignant expression on her face. "I am no damsel in distress, you pompous lard of a boy!"

Valeria just sighed and patted her head, "Manners darling." Gwaine smiled fondly at the girl and kissed her hand, "Well then I apologize, my lady. It is indeed an honour to meet such a fair lady as you are." Estella's breath caught in her throat and tears filled her soft grey eyes. It was exactly what he had said to her the first time they met.

Valeria immediately stepped in, knowing how unguarded her daughter was when it came to her love. "Gwaine, are Arthur and Morgana in? Do you know where they are?" Gwaine, who was staring in concern at Estella, snapped to attention as he remembered the very reason why he had come rushing out. "Something was wrong with Arthur. He kept yelling and clutching his head, I don't know what happened. But he's calmed down now. I just thought someone should know."

Estella smiled, so her plan did work. She tugged at her mother's hand, "Come on, let's go find them." Hesitantly, she turned to Gwaine and smiled shyly at him, "Thank you for helping my cousins. You're welcome to join us." He beamed and inclined his head, "As my lady wishes."


When the trio entered the gardens, all were relieved to see Arthur and Morgana laughing as they chased each other around, shouting friendly taunts at each other. Estella smiled softly to see the bond between the two grow stronger as the days passed, and one day they would grow older and the love that had been so cruelly snatched away from them would be restored to its former glory. Even as she and Gwaine joined the game with childlike laughter, and Arthur and Morgana welcomed them with hugs, Estella knew that this time, this life would be when dragon and fay reunited, and the firebird that was their love would rise from the broken ashes of those who tried to destroy them, would soar above the skies of Britain and the world once more.