Disclaimer: Thank you for everyone who reviewed and followed this story. I'm sorry for taking so long to post this. I got sucked into the world of Asian dramas. As usual, I own nothing related to BBC's Merlin or any other thing I might reference in this story. Hope you all enjoy this next chapter.

The ride the next day started off as awkward to say the least. Laya was still pissed at Merlin for barging into her room like that two nights prior. "It's called knocking, Merlin!" She had snapped.

"But the thing..went off..I thought." he stammered, he acted tough around Arthur when it came to her but when he was face to face with this sort of rage, he was useless.

"You thought that I couldn't handle myself!" She snapped. "I beat Arthur before."

"So did I." Merlin tried again.

"Yeah, using your magic." Arthur said, crossing his arms. "That's cheating."

"Technically, it wasn't...we both just used our strengths." He mumbled.

Arthur chuckled and bowed his head to hide his smile.

"Ugh, you two are too sweet. I'm gonna ride ahead." she teased. "The road is straight anyway."

Merlin looked like he wanted to say more but Arthur shook his head and gave him a look that said, 'Aren't you in enough trouble with her?'

He nodded. "Wait for us where the road forks."

She nodded in reply and gently nudged her horse to a trot. She had wished Gwaine could come too, but the knights had to protect the kingdom, so it was just the three of them. She had to admit though, she was quite excited to meet Merlin's mother. From the stories that Merlin had told her, she was a sweet woman and that they would be fast friends.

Ealdor, according to Merlin and Arthur, was a small farm like village where people worked all day and spent their nights with their families. When she was told that she made a reference to it being like her time, that people worked a certain amount of hours a day and then they would be home for dinner. She then clarified that not everyone did this because some people worked all night just to avoid their families. Her father had been one such man. He did whatever he could to make sure that he had spent the least amount of time with Artie and herself. The trail was smooth and her horse was in the lead. She let her mind wander, feeling at ease for the first time in a while. She thought of Artie again. She missed her brother. She sighed. Merlin and Arthur were great but they weren't the same as Artie. Artie knew what she was doing before she did it. She remembered when she had stopped eating, Artie had noticed it right away. He let her go at first, putting supplements into whatever drink he had given her. Then when he realized it was going to keep going on if not escalate he stepped in. With Arthur and Merlin she had to remind them some of the things that she already told them. It made her feel like she was just a nuisance to them. Someone that they had to take care of because they had no choice.

She sighed again. True, she had literally dropped out of the sky and into their laps...They didn't have to take care of her...but they were. They enjoyed her company right? As she arrived to the fork in the road, she looked around. Arthur and Merlin were nowhere to be seen. She dismounted and tied the reigns to a slightly above ground root. She smiled and patted the horse's neck. "Let's rest here, yeah?" She smiled as he nibbled at her hair. "I'm just getting stuck in my own head, right, Nova? Arthur and Merlin don't just tolerate me."

"Did you say Merlin?" a voice said from behind Nova.

"Did my horse just talk?" she asked, stepping back a bit.

"Nah. I'm up here." the voice said again.

She looked up and saw a person about her age stuck in a net. "Um...Hi...who are you?"

"Joshua." he said, "I would shake your hand but as you can see I'm a little..."

"Stuck in a high place?" She tilted her head to the side. "How did you get up there?"

"Someone set a trap." he shrugged. "I was not paying attention to where I was walking and stepped right into it."

"This is why my brother always said to pay attention to where I was walking." She sighed. "Now, how do you know Merlin?"

"We grew up in the same village." Joshua said. "Is he with you?"

"He's further back with Prince Arthur, I rode ahead." She said. "Want some help getting down or are you one of those guys that would not accept a woman's help?"

"I would be grateful to you." He said. "My mother always told me to always help others and they will help you."

She nodded. "Hang tight." She jumped and grabbed onto the nearest branch.

"To what? I am stuck in a net." Joshua asked, confused.

"It's a saying...never mind." She said as she climbed up to him. "I'm gonna cut the ropes, just try and land on your feet."

"Wait, what?" Joshua said, looking at her as she cut through the ropes in one swift moment. His scream echoed as he fell to the ground.

"I said to land on your feet." She said, looking down.

"No, you said to try." Joshua said, slowly getting to his feet, brushing the dirt off his arms as she came back down.

"Merlin should be here any moment." She said, going back over to her horse.

"Want me to lead you ahead of them to the village?" Joshua asked.

"Nah, you go on ahead, I promised that I would wait for them here." She said, something about this guy made her nervous. Not in a way like Gwaine did when he got too close but a mixture of Uther and Alec. She did not like it. "But I might double back to see where they got too."

"Don't worry so much." Joshua said. "Merlin and I were good friends when he lived in the village.

"Good for you, I already have given you my answer though." She said, backing away with her horse.

"Didn't they tell you that it's dangerous to wander through the woods by yourself." Joshua asked, moving closer to her.

"Well, you know, they would have if I were a typical woman." She said, her hand on the hilt of the sword that Arthur had let her borrow. "But since, I'm not, they didn't feel the need to tell me to be on my guard."

"Every woman is weak." Joshua said, "Good for two things, maybe three. Are you saying there is something different about you?"

Red tinted the corners of Laya's gaze. "Oh, you just made a huge mistake." She practically growled, unsheathing her sword. "You hit two of my buttons at the same time. I was already in a bad mood, you just made it worse."

Within three steps she had him backed against the tree, her sword kissing his neck. "Why is it that all men here seem to underestimate women?" She asked, tilting her head. "I can name two others here who can kick your ass and everyone would think that you were bested by a man."

"Laya?" a familiar voice called out.

"Gwaine!" she called. "I'm over here." She smirked at the man pinned to the tree.

Gwaine emerged from a thicket of trees to her right. "What happened? I leave you with those two for a few hours and you outride them?" He looked up and saw how they were standing. "What did you do to piss her off, mate?"

"He said that women have two or three uses and that's it." She said, not taking her eyes off him. "Also claimed to know Merlin."

"Dunno. Doesn't seem like the type for Merlin to hang around." Gwaine said, shaking his head.

"I don't." Merlin's voice said as he and Arthur came riding up. "It's true, we grew up in the same village but no one wanted to play with him."

"Makes sense." Laya said. "So what shall we do with him?"

"Kill him." Gwaine and Arthur said in unison.

"Prince Arthur!" Joshua exclaimed. "She attacked me and you are taking her side because she is your knight's plaything?"

Before any of the men could move, Laya already had her sword to his throat. "Ya know." She sighed. "I was really hoping to have a nice day out, but then you had to come along and try and be...I don't even know what...You insult me and every woman to exist and you still for some reason think that it's gonna work out for you?" She turned and looked at the men behind her. "Are most men here this stupid?"

They didn't answer her, which in turn gave her the answer she was looking for. She sighed again and pressed a little further into him, enjoying the way his breath hitched and the way the blade dug in enough to leave a mark but not enough to bleed. "You're blood isn't even worth spilling." She kneed him in the stomach, moving away as he dropped. "Remember this, idiot. You just had a blow to your ego in front of the Crown Prince of Camelot by a 'useless woman'"