A/N: Updating before work because I love you all.

So I have the rest of this fic and the next two/three more or less planned. My muse wont leave it alone. So this chapter begins the point where the fic includes some of the things that actually happened in the show. They will all happen differently, and it's not going to be a rewrite from here on out either, but certain events from the show will take place to set up for what happens next. Bear with me and enjoy!

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Dinner was, needless to say, a total disaster. Ryan was quiet, answering the king's questions in short, clipped phrases that indicated a disrespect both he and Cassie couldn't afford. Both Arthur and Morgana tried valiantly to change the subject, pull thing kings attention onto them. The prince gave his father a detailed run down of the new training style he was using with the knights. Morgana kept up a steady stream of chatter about dresses of all things, though Cassie noticed that, of anyone, Ryan paid attention to her the most. Probably because Morgana was the only one who hadn't directly offended him.

Poor Gwen was working overtime to serve the five of them. Merlin had disappeared and though she could tell his absence bothered the prince, she could also tell that it wasn't his first concern. He sat on the king's right, next to Ryan and diagonal from Cassie in her seat to Morgana's left. The king sat at the head of the table, looking over the four. Cassie was incredibly uncomfortable.

Ryan send her dirty looks from across the table each time he thought the king wasn't looking, and then Morgana kicked him to tell him the king was looking, her heel coming loudly into contact with his shin, which Arthur tried to cover with a cough and Merlin's late and loud arrival was a momentarily welcome distraction.

After a few minutes more of the king asking Ryan how he got to Camelot, and the fake knight parroting back Cassie's exact words of explanation for his presence, "I am here to keep the princess safe," his tone on the word princess was one of such disdain that the princess in question felt tears prick the back of her eyes. What had happened to the Ryan she knew? To the man who held her when she was upset or who talked her into playing stupid I-Spy games when the tour bus rides were boring? To her best friend?

She was just thinking how things could not possibly get any worse when Leon burst into the room, sweating and out of breath. Cassie could have kissed him. Then he opened his mouth, "Sire, Camelot is under attack," he paused, breathing hard, "by the last dragon," he added. Everyone was silent and shocked.

"Dragons?" Ryan asked, looking at Cassie with a face that pleaded her to tell him they were all kidding. He had no such luck.

Everyone was up and moving instantly. Arthur convening with Leon, the king calling on his guards. Morgana called on Gwen to help her prepare the banquet hall to treat the injured. Cassie was unsure of what to do. She itched to follow Arthur and help the guards and knights get people into the castle, off the streets and out of the houses of the lower town, all of which were highly flammable. But there was Ryan for her to think of.

"Sir Ryan, come with me, we need a knight to help us bring in the injured," Morgana instructed and Cassie sent her a silent thanks as her friend glared at her, but got up to follow the dark haired beauty and her maid. So she ran after Arthur and Leon, cursing her skirts and missing her jeans.

The prince groaned when she joined him in the armory with the other knights, grabbing a sword belt to wrap around her waist, "Cassandra, you can't go out there," he told her, a hand going over her hip where she was about to buckle the belt.

The stubborn brunette fixed him with a glare, "I can and I will. I have to help clear the lower town and get people to safety. I can help get water to put out fires!"

He couldn't argue with her logic but he was worried about her, especially with a dragon on the loose. "Stay close," he bit out and rallied his knights, "Merlin, keep an eye on the princess," he told his friend as they filtered out of the armory and down the corridor to the castle exit.

The knights of Camelot functioned like a well-oiled machine, or a supercomputer. They split off, each going where they were most needed, leading soldiers and grouping to launch an offensive on the dragon. Cassie and Merlin kept to the edges of the courtyard, watching as the shadow of the dragon passed over the courtyard again and again. The marketplace and lower town were already on fire, and she hauled buckets out of the well as quickly as she could to pass to guards and other citizens who ran to go help put out fires.

Occasionally, she spied Ryan, helping a soldier carry a wounded comrade inside, and Arthur, leading his knights in spear throwing that had no effect on the massive beast. And then there was Merlin himself, angry and terrified beside her, handing out buckets of water to everyone who came for one.

"What happened?" she asked him, hooking another bucket onto the pulley and lowering it into the well.

Wiping his forehead with the scarf that usually resided around his neck, he sighed, his eyes wide and tearful, "I did this. I promised I would free it, and now that I did, it's going to destroy Camelot and it will be all my fault."

She wanted to stop and hug him to tell him that it was okay, but it wasn't okay, and she had to keep helping. So instead, she bumped him with her hip, "Merlin. You simply granted the dragon its freedom. Something that should have been done by Uther a long time ago. It's not your fault that it decided to use its freedom to attack Camelot. Now I don't know about you, but I have a lot of faith in Arthur, and I think we can trust him to find a solution to this. And you know what, you're a wizard! You have magic. You might be able to help too," she smiled at the look of realization that went across his face.

"I'll be back," he promised and ran off, leaving her to haul water on her own. She got another bucket up when Ryan approached her.

"Cassie! You have to get out of here. This is insanity!" he shouted.

She rounded on him, "Ryan, you can go hide in the castle like a child, but I am going to stay out here and help them. These are my people now. I might one day be their queen, and I have to stay and help them, now either you can join me, or go help Gaius, but I don't want to hear about how we need to leave," she snapped, handing the water bucket to the nearest guard.

The two stood staring at each other, all their fury in their relationship coming to a head in between them. Then Cassie saw it, the massive dragon, swooping into the courtyard behind Ryan, at the same second she heard Arthur shout her name.

"Get down!" she shouted to Ryan and he did, turning to watch the dragon fly over him, talons scratching at where he had just been standing. When he looked up again, Cassie had taken off across the courtyard, running for the prince who was trying to get one of the knights up and back towards the castle when the creature doubled back, heading for Arthur and the knight he was hanging on to.

She wasn't sure she'd reach him, but she sprinted for him, her skirt blowing out behind her and her sword bumping her hip hard enough to leave a bruise in the morning. She could feel the wind from the beating wings of the dragon above her head. "Arthur!" she shouted, he looked up, but not soon enough, and the dragon's claw swooped down just as she slammed into him, catching her back and part of his shoulder where she wasn't tall enough to block him.

Pain screamed through her back as she and the prince fell to the ground. He immediately sat up, pulling her into him and checking for injuries that were certainly there.

"Cassandra," his voice was full of emotion and adrenaline. He immediately helped her off the ground, and she leaned heavily on him. Her back fucking hurt. She watched as Ryan joined them and felt Arthur lift her into his arms. Her best friend gave her boyfriend a dirty look, but stooped to help the injured knight up and into the castle behind them.

"If it fucked up my tattoo," she found herself saying aloud as the prince sat her on one of the flat surfaces in the hall amongst the other wounded.

Ryan helped the knight onto the table next to her and chuckled at her complaint, "You know that one on your back was always crooked anyway," he reminded her, his joke falling only a bit flat.

But she glared at him with all the good nature she could muster in the face of the pain in her back or the vice grip Arthur had on her hand. "Arthur," her words brought his attention to her face from the bloody gashes in the back of her dress, "When I feel better, remind me to punch Ryan," she requested and he smiled slightly.

"You shouldn't have put yourself in danger like that," he whispered to her.

She made a scoffing noise in the back of her throat that died quickly once she realized how painful it was, "I wasn't about to let anything happen to you," she forced a grin. He kissed her hard, only pulling away when Gaius cleared his throat in front of them. With a quick goodbye and a promise to stay safe, he left her in the qualified hands of his physician.

Gaius tended to the gashes in her back and thankfully, gave her a potion to knock her out. Just before her mind faded into blackness and sleep, she recognized the shock of bright gold-red hair next to her and the pair of long, cool fingers, resting over her forehead.

At the sound of the scream, Danielle and Gwaine took off in different directions, the man heading towards the kitchens and the armory and the servant back towards her quarters where her sister slept.

They had seen the source of the scream, everyone in the courtyard had, they had seen the massive beast that flew over the castle, its giant wings blocking out the light of the moon and casting its shadow on the cobblestones of the courtyard. Danielle had believed dragons to be extinct. But here, now, there was a very real dragon over the castle, and all she could think to do was find and protect Leanne.

She raced through the halls, down to where she remembered the boy Merlin showing her the servants quarters. Bursting through the door, she was immediately attacked by her little sister.

"Dani!" the little girl cried and wrapped her arms around her sister's legs.

"Lee," she leaned down to haul her sister into her arms. She wanted to pull the child under the bed and hide until it was safe. But the castle was under attack. She was worried about Ryan, she hoped he was okay, felt like she owed him something for helping her and Leanne. So she made her decision, "Come on sweetheart, we have to go help," she shifted the child to her hip and hurried down the hall.

"Where's Ryan?" Leanne's face was buried in her sister's shoulder, but she heard the question anyway.

"I don't know, we're going to find him," she promised. The halls were teeming with servants and soldiers, rushing to help. Most of the traffic seemed to be towards the banquet hall, so she followed, balancing the girl while maneuvering them between other servants. Inside the hall, people were scattered about, ripping strips of cloth for bandages, moving tables to serve as stretchers. She spotted Gaius, the old man who had sat with her earlier and given her tea. He had shown Leanne how to use a mortar and pestle to help him make a potion for the king. Danielle had been hoping the physician would take Leanne as his apprentice.

He saw her and waved her over, "Danielle," he called, "The castle is under attack. Leanne, can you help me make bandages?" he asked the little girl whose face was still buried in her sister's neck. She nodded and allowed herself to be sat on the table nearest Gaius which was filled with white cloth. Danielle waited patiently as he showed her how to fold the bandages.

When the child had the hang of it, he turned to her sister, "Do you know how to tend wounds?" he asked. She nodded, "Good, I fear we will have many," his tone was grave and she could feel the panicked energy in the air.

The first injured civilian came in quickly. Danielle did her best to block Leanne from seeing them, but soon was too busy to try. She spotted Ryan across the room a few times carrying in the wounded under the direction of the lady Morgana's servant. She saw Gwaine come in once or twice too, a sword still in his hand and a knight on his arm to drop off the man for one of the servants to tend to his injuries.

She was so busy that she barely noticed the prince come in shouting for Gaius, for help. When she turned, she saw Arthur carrying the princess, her mistress, who was bleeding all over his armor.

"Damn it," she swore, hurrying across the room, to the princess's side as her prince left, back to fight his battle. Ryan stayed. "Is she alright?" she asked. She watched as Gaius gave her a potion that she swallowed with a wince, swaying as she sat up on the table. Danielle went to her, a hand on her ribs as she helped lower the woman to the table. She may not have been a princess in real life, but she was certainly important in Camelot, Gaius was going to do his best to help her.

Her servant stayed with the princess, cleaning her wounds and wondering at the words in a strange language, inked into her back, marred by the gashes through it. They weren't too terribly deep, but at least one of them would definitely scar. Ryan fetched Leanne for her and sat the child next to her to help her rip bandages for his friend. Danielle added the healing salve to the bandages her sister passed her and applied them to the princess's back. Gwaine carried Arthur in a few minutes later, insisting someone tend to his wounds.

It was a long night, and only once dawn shone over the horizon did they get any relief. The dragon disappeared, and though everyone hoped it was for good, they feared the worst. She helped move Cassandra up to her chambers, armed with a large bottle of the potion used to knock her unconscious. The first time she woke up in her own bed explained exactly why that was.

Cassandra sat up quickly and groaned at the pain it caused her, "Why am I here, what happened? Is Arthur alright? Ryan? Merlin? Leon?" she asked all in the same breath.

Leanne who was reading quietly at the table looked up, as did Danielle, who sat with her sister. The older sister rose and went to Cassandra's bedside, "Here drink this, they're all alright," she handed the princess the bottle. The brunette took it but didn't drink.

"What's going on with the dragon? Is it gone? Or is it coming back?" she asked, looking around, "Will you please find Arthur or even better, Merlin? I need to speak with them," she insisted, her voice becoming more panicked.

Very used to dealing with dramatic and hysterical royalty from her old position, Dani made soothing noises and took the woman's hand, "Shh, it's alright. Arthur and his servant are alright. Gaius says you must rest, drink, please," she pushed.

But the princess ignored her, moving to push back the covers and hissing in pain, but continuing through it anyway. Danielle felt a vague respect for the woman pushing at the annoyance she mostly felt towards her. "My lady," she bit out, stopping her, "Gaius instructed me to have you drink this when you wake up. You respect Gaius' instructions, do you not?" she asked, her tone sharp.

For the first time that morning Cassandra focused her eyes on her new servant. Despite the pain she must have been in and the confusion left over from the sleeping draft, her eyes seemed to pierce through Danielle. "Look, I do respect Gaius, immensely, but I just woke up injured and confused and to be honest, I don't know you. I want to speak to Arthur and Merlin. I want to know what's going on and how long I've been out. I need to see if they're okay," her voice wavered on the last few words but her eyes remained steady.

The servant sighed, and glared at her charge, "Sweetheart, watch the princess, make sure she doesn't attempt to get out of bed," though she spoke to her sister, her eyes were fixed on the woman in front of her, maintaining her glare.

"Okay," the child answered. With one last glare, Danielle rose and stalked out of the room, leaving Cassie with a six year old in charge of her.

Cassie had never been great with kids. She loved Ryan's sisters, but that was because they were family. With other children she just never knew what to do with them. They were cute and all, but sort of terrifying. So when the little girl at the table turned to look at her, she fidgeted, uncomfortably.

"Are you really a princess?" the child asked, hopping down from her chair, sliding her book off the table to clutch as she walked towards the woman's bed.

She made a face, "Yeah, I am, why would you think I'm not?" she asked, a bit suspicious.

The girl shrugged, "Ryan says you're his friend. But I don't think Ryan is a real knight. He dresses funny, not like the knights here in Camelot, or the knights in Moria. That's where we used to live you know. Untill Dani made us leave. I wish Ethan had come with us." She fell silent, sadness in her small face.

Cassie sighed, "In our kingdom, everyone dresses like that. When I showed up at Camelot, I was wearing pants," she told the little blonde whose eyes went wide, "Who's Ethan?" she asked. The look on the little girl's face became sad. She hopped up onto the bed, awkwardly squirming to settle in.

"Ethan is my sister's best friend. He is back in Moria," she informed the princess.

"Oh," Cassie nodded. They sat in silence for a few minutes, the girl playing with the beading on the thick gold blanket on her bed. "What's your name?" she asked the child. She figured that if this kid would be hanging around, she might as well know her name.

"Leanne," the little girl told her, "But Ryan and Dani call me Lee," she added.

"You know Ryan has little sisters about your age," she told Leanne, "Ximena is seven, she's his youngest sister, how old are you?" she asked.

"Ximena," the child tried the strange name in her mouth, "I'm six," she grinned, revealing a missing tooth on the top left side of her mouth.

She smiled, "Wow, look at you," she didn't know what else to say, so they lapsed into silence. They were saved by Danielle's return, the prince almost shoving past her in his hurry to see Cassie. Merlin trailed behind the two.

"Lee," the serving girls voice was sharp and the child hopped off the bed and scurried to her sister, as Arthur took her place on the bed. He put his hand, gently to the back of her head and pulled her to him to kiss her. She could hear Danielle usher Leanne out of her room.

"How are you feeling?" the blonde man asked, his blue eyes wide with worry. He was dressed for riding and it made her nervous.

Raising her hands to his shoulders she felt his wince as her fingers brushed the bandage under his shirt. "You're hurt," she tugged at his shirt, ignoring the pain in her own back.

He batted her hands away, but not before she saw the bandage over his shoulder, slightly bloodied. "It's nothing," he promised, his fingers lacing with hers.

Her eyes narrowed at him, "What aren't you telling me?" she asked.

Exchanging a guilty look with Merlin, the prince pursed his lips before answering, "Merlin and I are riding out in search of the last dragon lord," he admitted and her eyes flashed to his servant, who looked far more nervous than simply finding a sorcerer entailed.

"Okay, I'll come with you, I feel much better, I'm fine-" he stopped her as she tried to push back the covers, his hands on her legs, stilling them.

"No, we must go alone. You must rest, heal. We will return soon, and this dragon will be gone," he promised. He kissed her one last time and got up, his hands sipping out of hers, and walked out of the room.

"Merlin," she called before his servant could follow him, "There's something else. Who is this dragon lord?" she asked.

The warlock looked torn, but he came to sit with her, "His name is Balinor," he paused, and she waited, knowing he would tell her whatever was really bothering him, "He's my father."

Cassie felt her jaw drop open. She shut it quickly, "How do you know? I thought you told me you never met your father?" she asked.

"I haven't, Gaius told me. I can't believe he kept it from me," he admitted, "He said my mother told him to keep it from me, but how could he?" it was clear the boy was torn.

She put a hand on his shoulder, "Merlin," she said, "Gaius was respecting your mother's wishes. If she didn't want you to know about your father then there is probably a good reason," she paused, "Heal me, I know you can, please, so I can come with you," she pleaded.

Before she even finished speaking, he shook his head, "I can't, Arthur would suspect. And he is in Cenred's lands, it's not-" she knew what he was about to say.

"I swear to god, if you tell me its not safe I might just punch you," she cut him off.

"It isn't! Stay here, heal, when we return, you can even meet my father, and he can help us save Camelot," he sounded so optimistic, that she couldn't argue.

"Be safe, and look out for Arthur," she patted his shoulder.

He placed his hand over hers, squeezing it, then letting go and standing up, "You should take that potion Gaius gave you. It'll help," he told her.

Rolling her eyes, she nodded, "Yeah, yeah, get out of here before he leaves without you," she shooed him out the door, a smile on her face to hide the fear she felt for them. She drank the potion and fell asleep slowly.

When she woke, it was to voices, quiet, over at her table. One was that of the small child who had sat with her earlier. The other was Ryan's. She opened her eyes to see Ryan sitting with Leanne at the table, as she pointed to things in her book. Danielle sat across from them, smiling absently at the two.

"Ryan?" Cassie mumbled, still foggy from the potion and unsure if he really was there. It was dark in the room now, lit only by candles, and she assumed she'd slept all day.

Though her words had been quiet, he heard her and turned, flashing her a tight smile before getting up and joining her. "How you feeling?" he asked.

"Like I got hit by a truck," she groaned, glad that someone would finally understand her reference. She had missed Ryan and the 21st century.

He laughed, "Well you got hit by a dragon, I think that's worse," he said, though his voice was stressed.

Realizing that the dragon was still on the loose, she sat up abruptly, "The dragon, what happened? Did Arthur and Merlin find the dragon lord?" she asked, realizing that the pain in her back had faded greatly, "How long was I out?" she asked.

"They came back, but the last dragon lord was dead. Merlin came in and did something to your back," Ryan lowered his voice so the other two couldn't hear, "He's the Merlin right? Cause I'm pretty sure it was magic," he whispered.

Cassie nodded, "Yeah, he is," she whispered back before focusing on the first part of what he said, "Wait, so what happened with the dragon?" she asked.

He exchanged a look with Danielle and she became more nervous, "They're going to fight it on their own terms. Somewhere outside the castle," he barely finished speaking before she was up, tearing across the room to pull on her jeans out of her closet, yank off her nightgown, to a gasp from Danielle, and pulled on a shirt, and her combat boots. She snagged a sword from the table by the window and bolted for the door, "Where are you going?" Ryan asked, grabbing her arm.

She glared at him, "I'm not going to let him fight alone," she snapped and turned for the door.

"He's already left!" Ryan called after her.

Cassie ignored him, running down the hall and the stairs, out into the courtyard, to see Gaius, walking briskly towards the gates. She looked towards them to see Merlin and Arthur walking back through together, triumphant grins on their faces. She dropped her sword and broke into a run, slamming into Arthur almost before he noticed her.

"Don't you ever leave me behind again," she whispered fiercely in his ear as his arms went around her.

He looked down, and she met his eyes, "Never" he promised.

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A/N: Would absolutely love to hear what people think! I've gotten some new favorites and followers in the last few days and you're all fabulous thank you for being here and I love you! Let me know what you think!