A/N: Hello again! It's me MaryandMerlin with yet another chapter following on from the on by the lovely Katherine Moonhawk. However it is late and I am tired so I'm not going to say much lol.

Thanks for your reviews to those who did :D

Disclaimer: I own the words, thats what matters (deep right?)

Chapter 10 - Desperation, Distractions and Deaths

Gwaine was running before she had even fully left him, out of Gaius' rooms, flying through and only just managing not to trash the place. Down the stairs and out the courtyard, feet pounding on the hard smooth stone. Past the guards- ignoring their warning shouts. Next he was thundering down the dirt roads of the lower town, past the multitude of stalls lining both sides of the road, looking for the signs she had told him about. Pushing people out of his way, not caring, mind set on one task and one task only. Finding Lil. His lungs burned and his legs ached but finally he spotted the house opposite her and raced over to it, throwing the door open so hard that it hit the wall with a crash and bounced back.

He stopped short in the door way at the sight that met him.

The boy, Marcus, had Lil by her hair; pulling it back as she winced in pain. Gwaine's hands balled up into fists and he growled deep in his throat. Marcus, seemingly unfazed by this, simply smiled- tugging her hair harder before producing a small bottle from his pocket.

"Gwaine, Gwaine I love you!" Lil shouted desperately as he rushed forward and Marcus threw the bottle on the floor which let out a large puff of coloured smoke, in which Lil and Marcus disappeared.

Milliseconds later Gwaine's arms closed around smoke as he crashed to his knees right in the spot Lil had just located, feeling empty. The smoke cleared and a small piece of parchment floated down through the air into his open palm.

'Too Late Lover Boy' it read in a messy scrawl, the words mocking him.

It seemed that this was what Gwaine needed to conquer the emptiness, only for it to be replaced by anger. He crumpled the parchment into a ball and pushed himself up; the anger and desperation now fuelling his every move.

She loves me,he thought striding out the door and back out on to the street and heading down towards the lower parts of the town, and I love her. That pathetic excuse for a human won't keep us apart.

He set out to look for his love.

X

Amelia sat back on the soft, plush, feather cushions of the sofa in Prince Arthur's room. She should have been in the kitchen but Ella and Mary had let her go early, they really were lovely girls- bless their little cotton socks. She blinked. She was really going soft.

Poor Merlin cleaned the room around her but she was having far too much fun with this to go and help him.

"You know," she said as he straightened the bed, "I could so get used to this," she laughed as he lobbed a pillow at her and then laughed harder as she threw it back at him just as he was turning and it hit him right in the face; which morphed into an adorable frown.

Amelia mentally scolded herself. Adorable! You have never thought anything was adorable in your entire life. Pull yourself together girl! You're going soft on me! She sighed, knowing she was losing her grip on the cold Amelia, the hurt defensive one. This boy with his adorable ears and uplifting smile was starting to thaw her heart, heal her wounds, and gently lower her defenses. Bit by bit.

It was scaring her.

"Amelia?"

She looked up to see that he was now sitting beside her "I've finished, if you want to start going over the plan now" he smiled down at her.

"Yeah of course" she smiled, the first real one in so long that it felt as if the muscles in her face had gone stiff from so little use.

"Well you know how first…" she took this rare opportunity to study him closer, he seemed to automatically glow she noted, watching how animatedly he talked about something that he cared about so deeply and then a horrible thought struck Amelia. What if he was doing it because he liked Lil? This seemed to strike Amelia at her core, for a reason she wanted to keep buried in case her horrible thought was actually true and another person was picking Lil over her.

"Amelia?" she blinked and his concerned face came into view, a frown once more twisting his handsome features, "are you alright?" Damn, her face must have betrayed her.

"I'm fine" she said quietly, smiling softly.

"Of course you're not" he said putting a comforting arm around her "but it's okay to cry Mimi, you know that don't you?" The pet name made her heart lurch, "it doesn't make you weak."

"Thanks Merlin" she said, surprised at the stinging behind her eyes as she lay her head on his shoulder. And at the fact she'd let him call her Mimi. Yes, she hated the nickname, but somehow, coming from him, it wasn't so bad…

"But I don't know how to cry anymore. I've forgotten. I trained myself to be strong for Lil and now I just can't remember," she sat back and looked up at him.

"That's why they always pick her over me you know" she said suddenly "they think I don't have a heart, that I don't know how to love. That they only needed to talk to the ice princess in order to gain access to the summer one. Lil is so much warmer than I am, but I did it for her."

Merlin leant his forehead against hers, looking into her eyes "You do" he whispered to her, "I know you do"

X

Arthur was a bundle of nerves that night as he sat beside his soon-to-be-dead father. Though he tried not to stare, he was using Gwen to keep his mind off of what was to come. She was standing over at one side, talking and laughing with Amelia as if they had been friends for life.

The icy girl had thawed considerably since she had started spending more time with Gwen and Merlin, they were a good influence on her it seemed.

Gwen was clothed in a new lilac gown that made her eyes even brighter and her dark curly hair was carefully threaded with little purple flowers that looked lovely with her dress. He watched as Amelia said something to her and Gwen blushed, glancing subtly back at him. He looked away quickly so as not to be caught staring.

He looked up to see Merlin fiddling with the pitcher of wine staring at Amelia; a little frown creased the pale skin of his forehead.

"You know, it's rude to stare Merlin," he jibed, grinning at the boy.

"Like you weren't staring at Gwen," Merlin replied without even flinching, of course he ruined this cool clean comeback with his next sentence, "it's not like I like her or anything." Arthur looked to see that –yes- the tips of Merlin's ears were burning red.

"Oh, okay good to know," he said nonchalantly, "I'll just let that stable boy knows she's available then."

"What!" Merlin had turned so swiftly back to the prince that he spilt a splash of wine on the floor, unable to hide the flash of jealousy that darted through his eyes. Easily read by Arthur.

"Yeah Merlin," he laughed "you don't like her at allll," he laughed at his manservant.

"You," said Merlin "are a Royal Prat." He paused "and if you don't go and ask Gwen to dance that stable boy will."

Arthur looked up to see that there were indeed a group of young men milling around rather close to Amelia and Gwen; eyeing them up. Arthur felt disgusted with his kind when he saw their lewd smiles.

"Er, you know I think you might be right for once Merlin," he said "they do look awfully lonely over there."

"If that's what you need to tell yourself" said Merlin "then go for it." But Arthur saw the disgust in his eyes as he looked at the group of young men before they flicked back to Amelia and warmed considerably.

"It would be ungentle-manly of me to leave Amelia alone while you dance. Wouldn't it?" He asked, almost begging the prince for the chance to go and talk to the pretty girl.

"Of course," he smirked "and all my servants must be polite Merlin."

X

"Arthur's looking at you again," Amelia teased slyly. Gwen felt heat blossom in her cheeks as she glanced back and saw that he was looking up at Merlin.

"You know, last time I checked I wasn't Merlin. Which is who he's actually looking at." She said, "and even if he was it wouldn't mean anything anyway. He's a prince, I'm a servant." She paused, "however, that doesn't mean that nothing can happen between you and Merlin."

"He will one day be King, he can make you his Queen, Gwen. Merlin will become a noble, one of his most trusted friends and advisors, Lil will marry Gwaine and I? I will become invisible again," she sighed "I'm too cold to be loved apparently."

"Gwen," said a nervous voice; distracting her from comforting Amelia- who's face split into a large grin anyway. Turning around she saw Arthur giving her a charming smile. "Would you like to dance?"

She nodded wordlessly, not trusting her voice and not questioning it when he threw a dark look at a group of boys standing close by. He led her out into the swirling couples.

"This is nice," he said after a while, "not being judged for dancing with you…" he sighed contentedly.

"Well you know we're just friends so I don't think anyone would judge us anyway not that I'm saying you're not attractive- you are, but don't let that go to your head and-"

"Gwen," he cut her off- smiling in spite a certain sadness in his eyes that had appeared when she had said that they were just friends. "Breathe," he reminded her gently and she did so, exaggerating the simple movement so that they both laughed.

Arthur led her into another turn and the topic was changed again.

X

Merlin sidled up to Amelia, she looked gorgeous tonight, dressed in material to match her icy eyes, really setting off her hair, which was piled on top of her head, with only a few curls left to frame her face, and seeming to glow. Not in a cold frost that's deadly, way but in a kind of warm, welcoming way.

"I'd ask you to dance," he said suddenly; making the girl jump and whirl to face him, "but I'm terrible at it so I'll save us both the embarrassment." This made her laugh and any tension that may have lingered was immediately disposed of.

"It's fine," she smiled, "I'd rather bet on how long it will take those two to realise that the other feels the same way they do." She nodded to Arthur and Gwen who were dancing. "I wish I could be so lucky…"

"You will be," he said confidently but Amelia shook her head.

"We've been over this Merlin. Nobody looks at me like that," she lost herself in his eyes for a moment, realising how much she wanted to be loved by this man. He was everything she wasn't, everything she wanted to be.

"I do," he said quietly, ears burning red.

Amelia's mouth dropped in shock but before she could even fully process what she had just heard she was interrupted by the sounds of warning bells ringing and people screaming.

Looking around to see what had caused all this uproar and ruining her perfect moment Amelia saw the king face down on the table.

The king was dead.

Ding Dong the King is dead, which old King? The Pendragon King. Ding Dong the Pendragon King is dead! And I see lurve blooming!

Want more! Over to you KM :D xx

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