Arthur threaded his way through the crowds that thronged the market, something made more difficult by the large bag of supplies he was hauling. And it was far from the only bag. Elena had certainly made good use of the Fisher King's treasure. Then again, who knew when they would feel safe enough to land again?

Everyone else was on the ship, readying it for launch. Elena had heard news of a merchant ship that sank recently in a nearby reef and the fact that the reef was in a direction away from Camelot made it a good place to head towards.

Passing the stall that sold the hairclip Gwen liked, he paused.

"You're the one who came by with your girl – lovely girl, she was." The owner of the stall studied him closely.

Arthur found himself agreeing, as his eyes scanned the table for that clip Gwen had liked.

"Are you perchance looking for this?" In his palm was the butterfly clip he was looking for. "I remember your girl looking very pretty in it."

Sweet words from a merchant were rarely trustworthy, but this once, Arthur had to agree with him. Unfortunately, Arthur had nothing of value on him, everything taken by Gwen when he'd been captured.

Regretfully, he shook his head. "Thank you, but it's not something I can afford right now."

"Ah." Disappointment crossed the merchant's face. "Perhaps next time. Although, that would be if you come to Camelot."

About to turn away, Arthur stilled at the merchant's words. "Camelot?"

"Yes. It's time to move on. Don't like staying in one place for too long - might piss off too many people." He grinned, a gold teeth glinting in the sun. "Although, I've heard rumours that a war might be approaching Camelot - you haven't heard about that, have you son?"

His heart stopped. "A war?"

"Or so they say. A ship from Camelot was here a week ago. Guess you heard nothing on the seas." The merchant shrugged.

"A week ago? Do you know which ship?"

"Which ship?" The merchant laughed. "I'm a salesman. Not a deckhand. But some soldiers were here, drunk and noisy – said Camelot was itching for a war. They say a neighbouring kingdom has been making raids over the borders." His voice dropped to a whisper and Arthur found himself leaning over the table full of goods to hear his words. "And there is talk that their prince is missing."

Even as dread pooled in Arthur's stomach, he managed a smile at the merchant. "I'm sure there's nothing to those stories."

"Who knows? Remember, if you ever have some coin and are in Camelot, pay me a visit."

His heart heavier than anything he carried, Arthur trudged up the ship. His thoughts churned in his mind – his desire to be with Gwen, his obligations to a kingdom he loved. How did things get so complicated? Blindly, he walked onto the ship. Elena curtly directed him to place the supplies in the hold, and he obliged. As he walked out of the hold, still deep in thought, Arthur ran right into Gwen, whose eyes sparkled as she looked up at him.

"I was wondering what was taking you so long."

"Thought I'd escaped?" Immediately, her face fell and he regretted his words. "Sorry. I didn't mean that."

Her smile was insincere and her tone, dismissive. "Of course, you did." Not waiting for him to answer, she walked away.

Gwen leaned over the side of the Excalibur, her hair not in her usual braid, flying in the wind. She was laughing at something Merlin said and Arthur smiled. Next to him, Percy stood barking orders at Mordred and a few other cabin boys as they practiced rigging square sails. Despite all his bellyaching, Mordred had skill.

Arthur shifted, making himself comfortable as he leaned against some barrels. "How long have you been sailing?"

Percy cast a slightly suspicious look at him, but answered anyway. "Since I was about Mordred's age. Saw my first ship while I was just a babe and knew I wanted to be on it. After Cenred slaughtered my family, there wasn't any reason to remain in my village."

"You're from Essetir." Arthur turned to face Percy squarely as unease churned in his gut.

"Enemy of Camelot," said Percy solemnly, but there was an undercurrent of mirth in his tone.

Arthur crossed his arms. "I can't imagine you're a loyal subject after what Cenred did."

"I am loyal only to Gwen. Her father took me in when I had nowhere to go."

"Good." And Arthur meant it. Gwen would need a loyal crew when the Camelot navy arrived. He wondered if his father would send the whole navy or if the looming war would make his father keep some ships close to home. "Looks like Mordred would make a pretty good rigger."

"Scales the ropes like a monkey. He'll be good with some effort. Seems like you've been a good influence on him."

Pushing himself from the barrel he was leaning on, Arthur shook his head. "He's a good kid beneath all that sullenness. He just needs some attention."

"I'll bear that in mind." Percy looked back up at the deckhands and yelled at them to come down. "You want to check their work?"

Arthur nodded. "Sure."

Passing Mordred, Arthur patted Mordred on the shoulder. The pride on Mordred's face made Arthur smile. Perhaps Mordred would amount to something more than just a sullen, angry kid.

After checking the riggings, Arthur stood in the crow's nest and surveyed the Excalibur – the ship Gwen loved so much. She was a gorgeous ship, strong and proud, much like her owner. Absently, he ran his hand along the solid wood of the crow's nest. He looked down. Elena was with her guns, lovingly rubbing them down. She had been unsurprisingly significantly colder to him since they returned to the ship. Arthur was certain she was just waiting for the moment that he would betray them all. Gwen was chatting with Merlin, her hair dancing in the wind and Percy was lecturing the deckhands, including Mordred. They'd left the port just a day ago and it appeared that life on Excalibur had returned to normal, at least on the surface. Even the brief tension between him and Gwen had fizzled out when he'd found her in her bunk and apologized again. She'd forgiven him quite passionately and they'd spent the night curled together in her bed. He remembered waking in the morning, his right arm numb from Gwen's weight, his mouth full of her hair, and staring at her, a feeling he didn't want to name filling him.

Lifting his eyes, he scoured the surrounding waters, looking in the direction of Camelot. He missed her – the familiar sounds and smells of the castle, his men and even in some way, his father. He hoped that the merchant had been wrong about the war and that his kingdom was still at peace and safe. Still, he knew with his father's desire to expand their borders, the prospect of conflict was always looming. Guilt churned in him – he'd been so obsessed with his attraction to Gwen that aside from his attempts at escape in the very beginning, he'd barely thought of Camelot. And now, he was sailing even further from home as war approached her. What kind of leader was he? Perhaps his father had been right when he stripped him of his position in the navy.

He heard someone yell and he looked down to see Percy gesturing for him to get back down.

"It's all good," Arthur said as his feet hit the deck. "They're good at following instructions."

Percy nodded, then turned his attention back to the group of deckhands milling around. In the middle, Mordred stood, back straight, eyes focused on Percy's instructions – a far cry from the petulant, unhappy boy he'd first encountered. Of course, Arthur was smart enough to realize this was probably a temporary thing and Mordred would soon revert to his usual sullen self.

"I can handle things here. The captain might need some help." Arthur looked at Percy but his face was carefully neutral. "Or get some rest. Elena wants you on night shift tonight."

"Thanks." More than two weeks of sailing with the Excalibur and Arthur still couldn't work out how Percy felt about him. Elena on the other hand wore her feelings for him on her sleeves. Since they left the town, she'd been even more hostile, not that he blamed her. Lifting his eyes, Arthur saw that Gwen was still on the quarterdeck with Merlin. Her eyes met his and she smiled causing that strange feeling to blossom in his chest again. Arthur closed his eyes and let out a breath.

As much as he wanted to go to Gwen, as Percy suggested, he had something more pressing to do. So he gave her a slight wave, then turned and walked back down into Gwen's bunk. This morning, when this had been little more than a vague plan in his head, he'd noticed some writing materials on her desk. It was a little strange being in her bunk without her and Arthur refused to look at the bed. Grabbing some piece of paper, ink and a quill, Arthur retreated into his own bunk.

"Hey," Gwen stood at the door of the gun hold where Elena was. Since Mercia, Elena had been avoiding her. "Thought I would find you here."

"Where else would I be? I'm Elena, the weapons girl." Elena kept her eyes on the canon but the bitterness in her voice was obvious.

Gwen sat down next to Elena. "Did Percy upset you?"

"Percy? He's a sweetheart." Elena's polishing of the canon increased in intensity and Gwen quickly covered Elena's hand with her own.

"It's Arthur and I, isn't it?"

Elena said nothing, pulling her hand from under Gwen and continued polishing the canons. Worried but unwilling to press, Gwen picked up a cloth and moved to the next canon. In terse silence, they polished side by side. Memories of a similar scene played in Gwen's head. Then, Elena was a stowaway on the Excalibur, and sent to the gun hold as punishment for mouthing off at Gwen's father. Feeling sorry for her, Gwen had joined her. She and Elena had spent the whole time grumbling about her father and how unreasonable he was. The hour had passed quickly and by the end, the two of them had laughed so hard, they were in tears – tears of remorse they pretended when Gwen's father came to get them. It was a far cry from the scene now.

"Elena." Dropping the cloth, Gwen twisted her body so she faced Elena. "Talk to me."

Elena dropped her cloth as well but she continued to stare straight ahead. "I thought I was your best friend."

"You are," Gwen said immediately.

"Then why don't you tell me the truth of what is happening between Arthur and you? I'm not blind." Elena continued to stare ahead but, even then, Gwen could see the tension in her jaw.

"What truth?"

Finally, Elena turned to Gwen. "That you care for him. That this isn't just some physical arrangement between the two of you."

Gwen twisted her skirt in her hands as she considered her words. "I thought if I didn't tell anyone, it would be less true."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means," sighed Gwen, "that I don't want to care for him." Then she let her head drop back and Gwen stared up at the ceiling of the gun hold. It looked like it needed cleaning. "There's no future for us. Even if I weren't Captain Gwen – he's going to marry a princess. That's what princes do. Not that I necessarily want a future with him. And of course, there is that little matter of his father wanting to destroy us."

"I don't care about his father's attack – we'll survive it. We've survived so much all these years together." Elena moved so they were sitting hip to hip. Her tone gentled. "Excalibur is the only time I've been happy, that I've belonged. And suddenly it seems like it's all disappearing."

Gwen took Elena's hand. "You said you were thinking of leaving the Excalibur."

"Yeah. I did. I don't think I really meant it."

"No?" Gwen smiled. "I thought life on the Excalibur was too peaceful for you."

A wry smile appeared on Elena's face. "Not the past few weeks."

"It's the uncertainty, isn't it? The fact that we don't know what the future brings for us."

"I certainly never thought it would bring a prince to your bed to disrupt all our lives." Elena's fingers curled around Gwen's hand.

"Do you really think we could have sailed on the Excalibur forever?"

"I hoped. You and Arthur – you're going to let him go, aren't you?" This time, Elena's tone was calm.

"You know me too well. It probably won't stop Uther's attack but you're right. I care about him and I won't use him as ransom."

With a sigh, Elena said, "I hope he's worth it. But you are captain and I'm sorry I made such a fuss in Mercia."

Gwen stopped looking at the dirty ceiling and turned to look at Elena. "You were upset."

"I thought you cared about him more than you cared about Excalibur – about us."

"You were right you know - I haven't been happy on the Excalibur. It's all the pretending, the maintaining of this reputation. Everything decision I make, everything I do – it's just to further this whole thing. I never even wanted to be a pirate!"

"What are we going to do?" Elena asked.

Laughing, Gwen shook her head. "My only skills are commanding a pirate ship. I have no idea. At least you and Percy can join another ship."

"I'll never see you or Merlin."

"Perhaps I'll make a life on land and you can come and visit."

This made Elena laugh. "You know I'm not leaving Excalibur to join any old pirate crew. I'd join another notorious one and imagine what people will say if they see me visiting you."

"Maybe Merlin will have perfected his invisible spell by then and you can visit me invisible."

"Look, I love Merlin as much as you but I'm not letting him use any of his magic on me. You remember the last time –"

"You looked really cute with all that hair."

Elena narrowed her eyes. "I looked like a bush of hair. Anyway I'm happy with my short hair. No more trying to grow it out quickly for me."

"Have you made plans for Camelot's attack? I don't know how long we can outsail them."

"Percy and I have come up with some ideas but frankly, we don't know enough of their navy or their preferred tactics. Also, we're one ship up against a fleet. We definitely need Merlin's magic and Percy is right. We need to focus on defense."

"No destroying of the Camelot navy?"

Elena rolled her eyes. "I apologized already!"

Gwen leaned over and pulled Elena into a hug. "We'll survive it. And then, we'll cross the next bridge when we get to it. And this may sound sappy, but we'll always be friends."

With Arthur on night duty, Gwen tossed and turned in bed. She missed him next to her, which didn't bode well for the time when he really had to leave the ship. Pulling on a robe, Gwen slipped out of her bed and made her way to the deck where she knew Arthur would be. A few steps onto the deck and she saw, silhouetted again the moonlight, Arthur leaning against the rails. The cold night wind made her shiver and she pulled the edges of her robe closer.

Even before she reached him, he turned and in the moonlight, she could see the smile that grew on his face. It complemented the little dance her heart did. He didn't move, but she could feel his eyes on her as she made her way to him. The moment she was within arm's length, he held her waist and pulled her close, his lips covering hers.

"You're on guard duty. You shouldn't be distracted." When Arthur finally ended the kiss, she slid one palm down his chest, her other hand still tangled in his hair.

"Then you shouldn't be here, distracting me."

Wriggling out of his hold, Gwen crossed her arms. "So it's my fault?"

"No." He took a step towards her yet didn't touch her. His breath fluttered against her face. "It's entirely my fault for letting you worm your way under my skin like that."

"I'm an irritation. Is that what you're saying?" Gwen bit down on her lower lip, trying to stop herself from smiling. Her fingers curled into her palms so she wouldn't touch him. Two could play this game.

Somehow, even without touching her, Arthur seemed to have moved even closer. "If you were an irritation, I'd be happy to be rid of you. Yet, that doesn't seem to be the case."

He was so close all she had to do was tilt her face up, and she'd be able to brush her lips against his jaw. But she didn't. "Seeing that you're my captive, I think I am the one with the power to decide if I want to be rid of you."

"That's very true." He dipped his head a little so his lips brushed against her ears. "So, what are your orders, Captain?"

"I think for now, another kiss with suffice." Arthur obliged, his fingers threading into her hair, his thumb rubbing against her cheek. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself closer, dropping her head back as his lips grazed her throat. "We should stop."

"You say that with no conviction." He chuckled against her throat, the vibrations sending desire shooting through her.

Gwen closed her eyes. "You should be keeping watch. If we're ambushed –"

Arthur's hand was at her hip, smoothing over her trousers, sliding over her thighs. "Perhaps you should keep watch."

"Must I remind you that I get to give the orders?" Gwen said on a sigh.

Arthur nipped her shoulder. "If you keep watch, I promise it'll be worth it."

"Deal."

When, instead of rewarding her, Arthur pulled away, Gwen opened her eyes about to protest, only to see him smiling far too smugly at her.

"You can't keep watch with your eyes closed. Keep them open." At her nod, Arthur resumed his trail of kisses along her shoulder and collar bone. He mouthed her breast over her light shirt then moved lower and lower, until he knelt in front of her, his hands cupping her hips. "Keep your eyes open."

Her legs could barely hold her up and keeping her eyes open was a feat in itself. She tangled her fingers in Arthur's hair for support as he undid the ties on her trousers. The cool night air blew against the bare skin Arthur exposed, raising goose bumps. When Arthur's lips brushed against her exposed inner thigh, she shuddered and tensed, warmth flooding her. Unconsciously, she tilted her hips, trying to bring more of her in contact with Arthur.

"Arthur."

"Keep your eyes open. We don't want a surprise attack."

"No one attacks at night." Gwen groaned when he pressed a wet kiss against her inner thigh.

"Perhaps a fire then." He bit her thigh lightly when her eyes fluttered close. "You should watch in case there's a fire."

Gwen blinked several times but kept her eyes open, her fingers digging into Arthur's skull. The undulation of the ship under her didn't help. "I am."

"Good." And with that word, Arthur finally settled his lips between her legs.

Merlin was far too sociable and getting him alone was a challenge in its own right. Eventually, after practically stalking him the whole day, Arthur finally managed to corner him in the hold. More accurately, Merlin suddenly asked Arthur to follow him to the hold. Once the door closed, Merlin turned to him. "Alright. Why have you been following me all around today?"

The lie came immediately. "I wasn't."

"Oh, please. Everywhere I turned, you were lurking. So out with it." Merlin took a step back as suspicion entered his eyes. "Were you hoping to figure out our plans for your attack?"

"I wouldn't call it my attack." But his words lacked conviction and Arthur felt the stirrings of guilt in his gut. But guilt about what, he couldn't figure. "But I am here to talk about it."

Merlin said nothing and continued to watch Arthur warily.

With a sigh, Arthur dug into his pocket and pulled out the parchment he'd been working on. "Take this. It's not poisoned."

"What is it?" Merlin made no move to touch the parchment, earning him a scowl from Arthur who shoved it closer to him.

"If you take it, you'll find out." Arthur snapped. The guilt was already eating at him. This time he knew the source. He was the Prince of Camelot and he was doing this.

This time, Merlin gingerly took the parchment and slowly unfolded it. He frowned, tilting his head. "What are you keeping from Gwen? What is this?"

"What does it look like?"

"It looks like a bird with muddy feet decided to walk all over -"

Arthur lunged towards Merlin and grabbed the parchment out of his hands, slamming it down on a nearby table. "Look. These are ships."

Merlin tilted his head again. "They look like worms to me."

"Merlin."

A quick grin crossed Merlin's face before he quickly hid it. "So ships. Yes."

With a strangled groan, Arthur jabbed a finger at the parchment. Passing Merlin the parchment was supposed to be enough. Explaining it felt like even more of a betrayal. "These. Are. Ships."

Crossing his arms, Merlin lifted his brows. "So you keep saying."

"Camelot ships."

"Oh." Arthur took great pleasure in the shock that wiped Merlin's suspicious look off his face. Taking a step closer, Merlin peered at the parchment on the table. "So this is -"

"Yes." Arthur waved a hand. He didn't want to talk about this anymore. On his heel, he turned and made his way to the door.

"Wait. Why don't you just give this to Gwen?"

His hand on the door, Arthur stopped but didn't bother to turn back. "I don't want her to feel guilty and refuse to use it."

He heard Merlin chuckle. "Less than a month and you know her so well."

"Shut up." Yanking open the door, Arthur walked out.

It was a few days later and Percy was teaching the deckhands again, leaving Arthur to wander the decks. As he scanned the horizon, his mind drifted to Gwen, as it always did. It was stock take time and she was busy, even spurning his offer to help, telling him that he would be more of a distraction than help. Not that she was wrong. He smiled, remembering how he'd distracted her from her logbooks the night before.

Then, he noticed the smoke.

He didn't have a spyglass with him so he rushed over to where Percy was still lecturing the deckhands.

"Problem?" Percy stopped mid-lecture and turned to him, frowning.

"There's a ship on fire." Arthur kept his voice low. Knowing what he knew of Gwen now, he was certain she would demand they rescue the ship under the guise of robbing them. "North."

Unhooking his spyglass from his hip, Percy strode towards the quarterdeck where Elena stood. Arthur followed, aware of the eyes of the deckhands on them. Standing slightly apart as Percy relayed the news to Elena, Arthur watched as Elena lifted her own spyglass and stared out into the sea. Turning on his heel, Arthur walked to the hold where Gwen was.

"What do you want to do?" Percy asked quietly when Gwen and Merlin finally arrived.

"What we always do. Change our course."

"Yes, captain." Together, Merlin and Percy left the quarterdeck, presumably to get ready for the rescue.

Leaning against the fiferail, Gwen turned to him as she braided her loose hair. "I thought it would be nice to not braid my hair for a while. Now look at the mess it's in."

"You still look beautiful." Arthur took one step towards her. Then another until he was almost touching her. "I suppose we're off to rescue another burning ship?"

"I suppose there's no point trying to be the bloodthirsty and cruel pirate you think I am." Only the little twitch of her lip told Arthur she wasn't completely serious. He reached one arm out and pulled her towards him. Her smile widened as she pressed against him. "I can be bloodthirsty and cruel if you want."

Dipping his head, Arthur nipped her bottom lip. "The only cruelty you're capable of is arousing me this way, then abandoning me."

With a laugh, Gwen pressed her palms against his chest and pushed herself out of his hold. "I have a ship to rescue. Are you going to help or not?"

Arthur grinned, leaning against the rail as he watched her walk off, her hips swaying, beckoning him to follow her. So he did. Slowly, Arthur walked down the quarterdeck, to where the main crew stood on the main deck. Unsurprisingly, Elena cast him a withering look as he joined them but she bit her tongue.

"We should be approaching the ship in twenty minutes. Then we'll lower the gangplanks and storm the ship. Merlin should be able to put out the fire easily as long as we keep the crew distracted."

Elena spoke. "We should take some valuables, for appearances."

"Fine. But don't go overboard." Gwen turned and squinted into the horizon. "Percy, get the sails rigged. I'll lead the crew on the ship. Merlin you hang back."

With a sharp nod of his head, Percy left the group, followed by Elena. "Keep an eye on the ship," Gwen said, handing him her spyglass. Glad to have been given something to do, Arthur snagged the spyglass from her hand and walked to the quarterdeck. Lifting the spyglass, he watched the ship. It was nothing out of the ordinary - it looked like every other merchant ship. Arthur was pretty sure that once they saw Gwen's bright red flag, they would surrender easily. No reason to go up against the scourge of the seven seas. He laughed at the thought.

He peered through the spyglass again and the smile on his face faded.

A familiar flag with the symbol of a dragon on it fluttered in the wind. Arthur kept looking, wishing that his eyes were playing tricks on him. But they weren't.

It was a merchant ship from Camelot.