Fair warning, this is going to be a very long one. I started writing and just didn't really stop. Still think I could have written more at several points thoug. But I can't be bothered now. Good luck.

A few weeks had passed since the duel between Gwaine and Lilly. Two days after the duel he was tasked with several patrols again, so their moments together were scarse. They usually met somewhere quiet and deserted so no-one would see them. While they did their best to keep the relationship discreet, Gwaine was teased by his fellow knights on a regular basis. He didn't care, he just laughed along.

Merlin had been teaching Rose the ways of Camelot and the fastest passages. The King's servant was starting to grow on the maid. Especially now she saw less of Sir Leon every day. He too had been busy with patrols.

"Sire, slavemerchants have been reported at the south western border. They use an old abandoned castle as their basis." Sir Leon was informing the King. "Inform Gwaine, Percival and Elyan. We ride tomorrow to put an end to it then." "Yes Sire."

Gwain was enjoying a bit of spare time watching Lilly train. He always thought she had a most perculiar training. She had build a obstacle course with lots of small spaces and precise movements. She was training to do it as quick and quiet as possible, and she was succeeding. Her feet never touch the ground, made no noise and she never stopped moving. Every now and then she and Rose changed the course to keep Lilly on her toes.

"Gwaine there you are." Leon had found Gwaine last of the three knights. "What in de world is she doing?" Leon stopped to watch Lilly move through the obstacles with ease. "Leon! What can I do for you?" Gwaine snapped his friend out of his confusement. "Slavetraders were spotted at work. Tomorrow we ride. The king, me Percival, Elyan and hopefully you." "Of course, this must be stopped." Gwain agreed.

"What must be stopped, Hi Leon." Lilly had joined them without a sound. Startleling the two knights. "Lilly! That training is working." Gwaine said. Lilly chuckled. "We ride tomorrow for a queeste. Slavetraders holding out in an old castle." "Slavetraders? That's horrible." Rose had joined and was clearly frightned by the thought. "That's why we are going to put an end to it. We leave tomorrow at dawn if you ladies want to wave us off." Leon said. "How about I ride with you? I can fight like any knight can. And if you're breaking in you might need me."Lilly offered. Gwaine and Leon exchanged doubtfull looks. "We will need to take that up with the king. For now, Gwaine I suggest you start packing." Leon said and walked away.

"What are you thinking Gwaine?" Lilly asked on their way to the castle. "I'm not sure if you should join us. It could be dangerous, I don't want to see you get hurt." He said. "How about you, if it's dangerous for me, it's dangerous for you as well." Lilly shot back. "It's different for me, I have faced slavetraders before. I know what I'm up against." "How is this any different then when I joined in fighting against the bandits?" Lilly was getting angry now, of all people she had expected Gwaine to support her. Gwaine was flustered for a moment. "They're slave traders. Bandits will rob you or kill you on the spot. Slave traders condemn you to a lifetime of misery." He said angrily. "I am going to ask the kin gif I can join in the queeste, whether you like or not."

The next morning she arrived with on her horse where the knights were gathering. "Sire if you please, can I join in on this queeste. You know I can fight like any man, I'm small and silent, perfect for breaking in." Lilly asked Arthur, ignoring the worried looks from Gwaine. "Of course Lady Lilly. I would be honoured." Arthur agreed.

"Sir Leon." Rose had found him just before he wanted climb his horse. "Rose, here to wave Lilly of then?" He asked friendly. "Well, her, and you. Here I want you to have this." She handed hi man embroidered piece of white cloth. It had a rose on it. "Thank you Rose." Leon said genuinly, he tried to tie it around his wrist, but was struggling with the gloves. "Oh, let me." Rose shot forward to help him when she noticed she was now very close to the handsome knight. She quickly tied a firm knot in the cloth and went to look into Leon his eyes. Leon had noticed her closeness too, but didn't move.

Rose decided to be brave, like Leon, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Be carefull." She whispered. "I will." He whispered back. Rose stepped back to let Leon climb his horse.

Not long after the King, his trusted servant, his knights and Lady Lilly were off.

"So, don't take this the wrong way, but why are you riding next to me?" Merlin asked Lilly. "Oh, now how could I possibly take that th wrong way?" Lilly joked politely. "Haha, I mean why are you not riding next to Gwaine. The two of you have been inseperable the last few week. Doing who knows what." "Merlin!" Lilly was slightly offended. "What, everyone knows his reputation." "He has been nothing but honourable so far." Lilly told Merlin. "Then why are you riding next to me?" Lilly saw he had her trapped. "Fine, he didn't want me to come on this journey. I went anyway. I don't think he wants to ride next to me at the moment." Lilly explained with a heavy heart.

"You know, you surprise me Gwaine. I would have thought you'd want to ride next to Lady Lilly." Elyan said. Gwaine sighed, looked back to see her chatting with Merlin. "We had a bit of a disagreement the other day. She is a bit angry with me at the moment." "What did you do?" Elyan asked. "I told her I didn't want her to come with us. I don't think she wants to ride next to me at the moment."

"It's getting dark Arthur, maybe we should make camp." Leon suggested. "You're right Leon. Let's find a place where we can stay the night."

"So Lilly, are you going to sleep next to Gwaine tonight, or will he be cold?" Percival teased. Word that the two were fighting had spread fast. Lilly looked at Gwaine, he stared back , grabbed his blanket and walked away. Lilly let her head down. After dinner she found a soft spot far away from Gwaine.

The trip had been heavy on Lilly, and she was fast asleep. She was laying too far from the fire for Elyan too see her. In the black of the night four sets of hands grabbed Lilly. They were so quick, before she was awake she was bound and gagged, and too far from the others to scream for help.

"Lilly wake up, we need to go on." Arthur called out to the tree behind she had been sleeping. He heard no reaction. "You didn't tell us she was a fast sleeper Gwaine." Leon teased. "Alright just to clear thing up, for the lady's honour, we have done nothing yet but kissing. And with the very slim chance she ever welcomes into her bed, you will most definately not be the first people to hear." "She must have heard that. Lilly?" Merlin joked and went to see what was keeping her. "She's gone! Lilly's gone!" Gwain was next to him in less than a second. "Lilly! Where is she? Lilly!" "Tracks! Footsteps, four men, going this way." Elyan shouted. "That's the way to the slavetrader's castle." Merlin said. This did not comfort Gwaine at all. "We have to find her, who knows what they will do to her. We have to get her out!" Gwaine was going mad. "Gwaine! Regain yourself. Of course we're saving her!" Arthur shouted to calm him down. "Let's go!"

"Keep your hands off me you filthy rat!" Lilly was fighting her bonds and her captors wih everything she had. They had her shackled down to a rickety cart. "Now, now, that's no way for a littly lady to talk. You'd want to be on your best behavior when you meet mister Blackthorn. Or you might get into a bit trouble." The leader of the four said. "I'll show you trouble if you don't let me go right now!" "Shall I hit her again?" One of the thugs asked. "You fool, and mess up that pretty little face of hers? If we ever want to sell her she needs to be pretty. No-one's paying to fuck an ugly broad." Lilly gulped. So that's what they were planning to do with her. Selling her as some sort of seks toy, where were those brave knights of Camelot when you needed them. Where was Gwaine, her brave and strong Gwaine. She had been so foolish to fight with him, would he even bother to come now? If only she had asked to sleep next to him this would never have happened. She needed Gwaine.

"What's gotten yo uso quiet little lady, are you scared?" A third smelly thug asked. "Of you? Saving my strength fort hat master of yours. Killing him would be much more usefull that just killing your four idiots." Lilly spat. "You're very confident in your skills then, little lady. Thinking you can fight us." "I'm a girl of many talents, release my bonds and I'll show you." She was still fighting her shackles. "No need for that. We're here." Lilly culd see the crumbling towers of what once must have been a magnificent caste, now it was mostly rubble.

Once inside the castle Lilly was thrown into a cold cell with three other girls. All three of them looked scared out of their minds. The men walked away and Lilly crawled to the nearest girl. "It's alright, don't be frightened. My name is Lilly. Everything will be fine, the knights of Camelot are on their way. They will save us." She started to ramble, trying to get some courage and hope into these girls. But it was no use, they had been broken by the slavetraders. "They won't, they are arranging the trade now. In a few hours one or two of us will be sold, the others maybe killed. They are with so many, the knights won't stand a chance." One of the girls cried. "They will, I know them. They are the bravest and strongest men in the whole kingdom. They will save us." The talk of the knights seemed to help at least two of the girls slightly, but the third still had no hope. "There is Sir Percival, he is the tallest man I've ever seen, strong a two or three bears combined. There is Sir Elyan, he is very smart. He always knows the right moment to strike. Then there's Sir Leon, he will do anything to protect this land and it's people, much like his King. King Arthur, he is coming too, he is one of the greatest warriors this land has ever known. And Sir Gwaine, Sir Gwaine, he is the bravest of them all. He is strong, and noble, and a great fighter. They will come to save us, they will, I know they will." Lilly kept ensuring the girls. One of them dared to speak up. "Why did you say Sir Gwaine twice?" "I love him, I was travveling with the knights. He asked me not to come but I didn't listen. He was right though. I love him, and he will come to save us, otherwise I can never tell him that. He will come."

The knights and Merlin were sneaking up to the gates. Percival was tasked with getting rid of them, then all of them could find their way inside the castle. The got inside without no-one noticing, the made their way to the main hall. Quickly assasinating every slaver them saw on their way. When they arrived the deal had just started. The girls were being led in by some servants and brought down to their knees, one girl spat in the face of her captor. "Lilly" Gwaine whispered. The otheres shushed him.

"As you can see mister Neren, we have a fine collection of girls to chose from." Lilly was the only one still struggling with her bonds. "My apologies for the fourth one, she is freshly captured. We haven't had the time to break her spirit." "I'll break you, before you break me." Lilly hissed loudly. She was rewarded with a blow from one of the slavers. It took everything Gwaine had to stay still. "What did you say girl?" The head slaver asked. "You heard me. You'll never break me, no-one will. I will never stop fighting." A sense of pride rushed through Gwaine, he had always known his lady was a fighter. "You, fight us? Little girl, you have gone mad." The slavers laughed. "I could kill you all. But you will al be dead in a few hours anyway." Lilly said bravely. The head slavetrader kneeled in front of her, holding her face gently. "And why would that be my dear."

At that moment the two guards at the entrance both found a sword in their stomachs, two knights jumped down from the balcony and both killed two more. A chandeleir came down ine the buyer. Arthur Pendragon and his knight entered the room. "Because of us." Arthur said as he and his knights ran towards the thugs. Gwaine freed Lilly while Merlin was freeing the other girls. Lilly hugged Gwaine thight "Gwaine! I knew you'd come. I'm so sorry." "Lilly. Save it for when we're out of here. Here is your sword." Gwaine handed Lilly her weapon and the both of them stater to fight the slavetraders while Merlin got the other girls to safety. It didn't take long before Arthur had killed the head trader, once his followers saw their leader had fallen the ran for their lives.

The knights could breathe again as the enemy was defeated. Lilly and Gwaine had been seperated slghtly during the fight, but once it was clear they had won Lilly ran to Gwaine. Gwaine welomed her with open arms. "I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you. I'm sorry Gwaine." "It's alright darling. Did they hurt you?" "Not really…" Lilly didn't get to finish her sentence. She was silenced by Gwaine's fiery kiss. She wasted no moment to melt into him, letting his hands roam her body. "Don't ever do that again." Gwaine panted. "Getting captured, I was worried sick." He expained after Lilly's funny looks. "Wasn't planning on it." Lilly panted. Gwaine kissed her again with less force this time, more tender. "Ahum." The other knights and Merlin were watching the two. "If the two of you are done here, we'd like to go." Leon joked.

The prisoners were released and after much gratitude all of them went away to go home. Now the knights had a moment to catch their breath and treat any injuries. "Tell us Lilly. How did they catch you, what happened." Artur asked once they had set up a new small camp. "Easy, they caught me asleep and unarmed. If had had one small knife at my disposal they wouldn't have gotter far with me. They tried tos care me quiet by telling me what they were planning to do with the girls. We were to be sold as living sex toys. Thats the reason the girls were not to be harmed in the face." Lilly explained calmly while Gwaine's hand was gripping her shoulder. "That sounds awful." Elyan commented. "Did they touch you anywhere?" Leon asked carefully. "They did with the other girls, poor souls, to check if they were still virgin. They didn't have time to do that with me. Thank goodness you came when you did. Those poor girls were terrified." Lilly said. "How about you then." Arthur asked. "I knew you wouldn't be too far behind me. And if not, I knew I had to come across something sharp and pointy some time." Lilly tried to say bravely. "Well, the most importand thing is we saved the virtue of four young girls today. Once everyone is ready we leave for Camelot." Arthur sensed the topic was getting to Lilly and commanded to leave.

Gwaine had been riding next to Lilly the whole time, never leaving her side. She had calmed down no wand they were making camp for the night again. Lilly saw Leon struggle with the wristcloth Rose had given him. "Her let me." She said as she used her more delicate fingers to tie it back on. "Thanks, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I lost it. It looks like Rose put a lot of work into this." Leon said. "She did, she was up all night. Started over two times because it wasn't good enough." Lilly said casually. "All night?" Leon looked slightly taken aback. "Don't look so surprised Leon. You're a kight of Camelot. That alone is usually enough to impress women. You never noticed that?" Lilly laughed at the funny faces from Leon. "So what you are saying, is that as long as I'm around this lot, I'll never have a decent chance with a girl?" Merlin complained." Lilly laughed again. "Merlin you should talk to the cute maid in the kitchen, the ones with the blond braides. Thank me later." Merlin seemed to think about it. "Hmm, good to know." He mumbled. "Hold on, someone likes Merlin?" Leon said in playfull disbelief. "You shouldn't talk either Leon, you're being just as blind as Merlin." Lilly joked. "Aah now this is a sight I will remember." Percival joked about the even more confused look on Leon's face. "How many hints do you need my friend? You're wearing her gift." Gwaine teased Leon, and fianlly he seemed to get it. "What, Rose?" "Leon, you're all the girl ever talks about. And she talks a lot." Leon just sat back, deep in thought.

That night Lilly slept in Gwaine's embrace again. But his grip seemed tighter then before, she didn't mind, it made her feel safe.

When they Lilly woke up, Gwaine was still there, usually he had stood up earlier then Lilly. In their sleep Gwaine had pulled Lilly partly on top of him, now Lilly was using his chest as her pillow. "Hmm, goodmorning." She hummed once she noticed Gwaine was already awake. "Goodmorning. Are you comfortable?" He asked. "I starting to dislike chainmail. But I don't mind now." She whispered, not to wake the others. "I'll keep that in mind." Gwaine joked, softly stroking Lilly's back. "You don't mind the others seeing?" Gwaine asked. "Nah, I like it when you hold me. It makes me feel safe." Lilly said. Gwaine held her even tighter.

"Gwaine, Lilly, get up. Before this gets too revolting." Elyan joked. Gwaine threw a stick at him, but Elyan easily dodged it. Lilly just laughed and got up, pulling Gwaine with her. "C'm on, you heard him. Get up."

Mere hours later the knights and Lady Lilly rode back into the courtyard of Camelot.