A/N: I hope you all enjoyed my last chapter - here's my apology for taking so long with my last one! I want next week's episode to come quicker. Mind you, it is Friday tomorrow! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

It had been three days since Elaina's death; her body had since been buried by Morgana and Morgana alone; many tributes were placed at the door of what used to be Elaina's chambers and her friends still mourned her, none more so than Arthur.

When he was not needed, the prince simply sat in his room, staring at the wall. When he did choose to answer questions, Arthur answered rather shortly. On his first evening back in Camelot, he had refused to eat – Merlin had hoped, rather than believed, that this would simply be a one-time thing. It was not. Arthur had not eaten at all since his return.

'Arthur, you must eat,' Gwen pleaded as she placed a tray of food next to his arm.

'I'm not hungry.'

Merlin exchanged weary glances with Gwen, something which was becoming a habit now, before saying, 'It doesn't do anybody any good for you to die as well; think of me –'

'I'd rather not.'

'- and all the tailoring I'll have to do to make sure all your clothes will now fit you.'

Very slowly and with a great deal of restraint, Arthur replied. 'Not everything is about you, Merlin,' he growled.

'The clotpole is a hypocrite!' Merlin cried. 'What a surprise!'

'Careful, Merlin,' Arthur warned, 'I'm not quite the master of my temper at the moment.'

'I thought you were going to warn me about using big words like "surprise",' Merlin confessed, a small smile playing around the corners of Gwen's lips.

'That too.'

Gwen now pleaded for their cause again. She went down a road that she had hoped she wouldn't have had to use. 'Lady Elaina wouldn't have wanted you to do this.' Her voice was rather braver than she felt inside but that was something she was glad for.

Slowly, Arthur fixed his hard gaze on the maid. 'Do either of you know what Elaina would want? I think that she might want to be alive right now,' he snapped, replacing his gaze on the wall, 'and seeing as that isn't going to happen any time soon, I think I'll do what I want to do.'

'Arthur, we all know you cared for Elaina; to some, it was more obvious than it was to others,' Gwen added, a hint of heartbreak colouring her voice, 'and we all saw the mutual affection between the two of you. Although I probably didn't know her as well as you or Merlin did, and nobody knew her as well as Morgana did, I don't think she'd want you to be starving yourself out of some misplaced sense of guilt! In fact,' the maid added, a thoughtful expression on her face, 'I think she might want to knock you back down again.'

Merlin nodded in agreement with Guinevere. He now sat down next to Arthur and asked quietly, 'Did something happen with Elaina before she died – murdered, I mean?' he corrected himself quickly – nothing set Arthur off in a rage more than implying that Elaina had simply "died". As far as Arthur was concerned, it had been cold blooded murder.

Arthur's answer was direct and blunt – he couldn't be bothered bottling this one thing up.
'I told her I loved her and she told me that I didn't. So I kissed her.' Arthur clasped his hands together and rested his forehead against his thumbs. 'Then she was murdered right in front of me so I could be sane. I'll never be sane again.'

'So doing this –' Gwen motioned to the untouched food. '- would justify her death?'

'Murder,' Arthur growled, his eyes now closed. 'And nothing could ever justify Elaina's death. Nothing,' he repeated in a voice that was barely a whisper.

'Well, she obviously didn't think that,' Gwen said.

Merlin suddenly stood up. 'Now, Gwen and I have other duties to attend to. Eat.' The last word was emphasised in a growl. He and Gwen left, closing the door behind them, leaving the prince to his solitude and soon-to-be terminal stupidity.

'How's Morgana coping?' Merlin asked as he and Gwen walked down an empty corridor – he managed to hide the suspicion in his voice remarkably well.

'Remarkably well – I think she knows that Elaina would want her to carry on as she was,' Gwen replied, obviously distressed.

Merlin both saw and heard this and quietly asked, 'You still love him, don't you?'

Gwen nodded. 'Yes but I can't act on it. And I won't. It's for the best.' It was as much an assurance to herself as it was to Merlin.

Merlin put a comforting arm around Gwen's shoulders and hugged her. 'You deserve a knight – a true knight in shining armour,' he told her with a smile.

'Arthur's armour does shine,' Gwen replied, leaning into Merlin.

Merlin cheered, throwing his fists into the air, leaving Gwen looking very bewildered. 'I knew it – I knew it!' he cried out. 'He always say that half of Camelot's dirt and grime is on his armour and makes me polish it over and over again – now I might actually be able to make an argument!'

'You'd consider arguing with Arthur in his current state?' Gwen asked, bemused.

Merlin lost his all of his previous exuberance at once. 'I suppose I should give him some more time. Two more weeks?' he suggested as they wandered aimlessly through the castle. A few moments, he began to think that they would end up near Morgana's chambers. His stomach knotted slightly – Merlin suspected that Morgana had a part to play in the death of Elaina.

'Do you think he'll have recovered by then?' Gwen asked. Before Merlin could answer, she caught him of guard and asked, 'Do you think Arthur was truly in love with Elaina?'

'Truly?' Merlin sighed. 'Probably. Madly? Definitely. Deeply? Without a doubt.' Merlin suddenly realised what he said and looked down at Gwen, who was crestfallen, and apologised. 'Oh, I'm so sorry, Gwen – I didn't think! Again. Sorry!'

Waving a dismissive hand, Gwen cut Merlin off. 'Don't worry about it – you've given me what I need. Closure,' she clarified, wrapping her arms around Merlin again. 'You're a good friend, Merlin.'

Merlin nodding, returning the hug. 'I'll always be here, Gwen – you'll always have me,' he promised.

'You see, guys, I don't follow any particular rules at all when it comes to finding my allies. So –' This word was punctuated by her throwing someone over the top of the bar. '- if any of you have been lying to me and taking me for a ride, I'll simply have to take your lives.' When nobody answered Emilie, she sighed and poured a bottle of ale along the bar. She then picked up a candle. 'Is it really going to have to come to this?' As Emile lowered and the flame was about to kiss the alcohol, someone spoke out, though not with any pertinent information.

'That would be a waste of good alcohol,' a man, drunk to the bone, called out. An Irish accent accompanied this point.

'There's plenty more of it in the world,' Emilie retorted, looking in the general direction of where the voice had come from. 'But seeing as you're all too dumb and drunk to give me anything useful or say anything – apart from giving me propositions –'

'You find those useful?' The Irishman was astounded.

Emilie rolled her eyes, ordering, 'Be quiet! Anyway, none of you will give information – which I'm sure you know – so I won't give you your life. Simple.'

'What if I know something?' The Irish accent stood up, swaying slightly as he did so.

Distinctly unimpressed by his drunkenness, rough appearance or his manner, Emilie raised her eyebrows, her reply dripping with sarcasm. 'This should be fun.'

'Of course it should! You, me – I'm Gwaine, by the way –' He winked at her. '- both Irish, in a bar, lots of alcohol – what could be more fun?' Gwaine asked, a drunken yet still charming smile on his face.

Emilie gave a disappointed sigh and jumped down from the countertop, striding over to the man. She grabbed the arm of his jacket and dragged him out of the pub.

'Oh, are we going outside now?' The suggestion was clear in Gwaine's tone. 'I can't say I'm one for public displays of affection,' he confessed.

Emilie actually allowed herself a small smile – that was something they both had in common. 'We're going for a drink,' Emilie answered, walking over to a barrel without a lid. The moon was reflected on the surface of the liquid.

Gwaine's eyes lit up. 'Ale?'

'No. Water.' Emilie practically threw Gwaine's head into the barrel of cold water.

'Gwen,' Morgana asked suddenly as she prepared for bed, 'do you believe that once someone is dead that they no longer have a presence? That they're no longer with us?'

Guinevere pondered upon this question for a few quiet moments before answering, 'I think that the ones we love will always be with us in our hearts and I believe that the people who loved uswill always find a way back to. At least, that's what I tell myself whenever I find myself missing my parents.'

Morgana nodded, dark shadows beneath her eyes – she had not slept well since her dream of Elaina's pregnancy. Morgana's stress was added to by a feeling that her "burial" of Elaina would come back to haunt her. Morgana had not buried Elaina at all; she had instead found a deep gorge and thrown the corpse down into it. Fortunately, everybody was assuming that her lack of sleep was because of her mourning Elaina's death. How stupid they were. Morgana took great satisfaction in the fact that, like always, Gwen was part of the majority.

'I'm sure Lady Elaina will always be watching over you. Maybe she'll watch over all of us – we could all learn from her selflessness. Her love for others touched a lot of lives and she meant a lot to many of us.' Especially Arthur, Gwen added silently. As Morgana lay down in her bed, Gwen smoothed out the covers and asked in a polite, friendly tone, 'Will that be all, my lady?'

Morgana nodded. 'Yes, Gwen. I'll see you in the morning.' There was darkness as Gwen blew out the candle and closed the door behind her as she left. Morgana stared up at the ceiling for several minutes before eventually closing her eyes. She slept fitfully, Elaina's parting hug and comments replaying over and over again. As much as this distressed Morgana, she felt no guilt for any of her actions.

'Are you going to sleep tonight or will I have to hit you with a plank of wood?' Merlin asked, irritation finally starting to appear in his features.

'I'm not tired.'

'Yes, you are – unless you've been putting charcoal on underneath your eyes,' Merlin argued.

'I don't wear makeup,' Arthur growled. 'That's your job –'

'Yet another thing I'm obviously no good at.'

'- and I wouldn't be able to sleep if I tried,' Arthur finished.

'It usually involves getting into that bed I spent all day making –' Merlin couldn't resist trying a little guilt trip. '- and closing your eyes. Sort of like this.' Merlin demonstrated the action. 'Maybe you should actually attempt it before saying it won't work.'

Arthur rolled his eyes, a muscle in his jaw working furiously as he restrained himself from hitting Merlin. Not in the face, maybe more in the arm region. It still would have been a solid punch, enough to bruise his servant. 'Stop trying to be smart, Merlin – it doesn't suit you.'

Merlin shook his head, trying to hide his smile. This insult, however weak and half-hearted it sounded, was a sure sign that the prince was on the road to recovery.

'I'd like to know what's so amusing, Merlin,' Arthur demanded, appearing somewhat intimidating. Well, he would have been if he hadn't yawned halfway through the sentence.

'You're much scarier when you're well rested.'

'It's not going to work, Merlin,' Arthur informed his servant quietly.

'Why? Do you need a teddy bear?' Merlin asked, quite aware that he was pushing several boundaries.

'No,' Arthur growled through his teeth, looking slowly up at Merlin.

'Comfort blanket?' Merlin was now firmly in dangerous territory – dangerous for his life expectancy.

'No! Go away, Merlin!' Arthur ordered.

'Not until you go to sleep,' Merlin replied, folding his arms and parking himself on a nearby chair.

'Well, get comfortable.' Arthur's tone made it clear that he wanted Merlin in his room as much as he would want to see a vision of his mother again. Unlike Merlin, they had stopped.

'I will,' Merlin nodded, leaning back and putting his feet up on the table, 'and we'll both just glare at each other for the whole night. And in the morning, when you've got a meeting with your father and the rest of the knights, and we're both exhausted, I'm sure no questions will be asked at a-'

'Fine!' Arthur slammed an open palm onto the table and stormed over to his bed, throwing off his shirt as he did so. It landed on top of the wardrobe, much to Merlin's disgruntlement – he would have to retrieve that tomorrow morning. Arthur then proceeded to throw off his boots and practically ripped off his socks before falling into bed and pulling the covers over his head. 'Goodnight, Merlin – I hope you're happy now?'

'I'm ecstatic. I'll leave now.' Merlin smirked as he heard Arthur grumble "Finally." and left the room, closing the door gently. However, just before the door shut, a very welcome sound registered with Merlin's ears – the clotpole's quiet snore.

Arthur was finally asleep. Unusually for the prince, common sense prevailed.

Gaius looked at Merlin over his dinner. 'How's Arthur?' he asked, though his mind was obviously somewhere else.

'He's finally sleeping.' Merlin's smile was triumphant, though there was a hint of sadness. 'Eating more than a scrap of meat a day is entirely a different matter but progress is being made. You look pensive,' Merlin observed, a note of trepidation in his voice – he was tired himself and was in no mood to hear about threats to Arthur's life or Camelot. Usually, it was both at once.

'You once told me that Lady Elaina caught the blade of her sword in her hand?' Gaius asked quietly.

'It wasn't really catching – she more or less just let it slice through her hand,' Merlin remarked. 'I'm not really sure where this is going...'

'Elaina never came to ask me to look at that wound. Arthur told me that he'd reset her knuckles and a grazed knee is hardly anything for anyone to worry about – but a hand being sliced open? It's definitely a cause for concern,' Gaius told him.

Merlin looked expectantly at Gaius.

Gaius sighed, irritated, and elaborated. 'There was no cut in her hand the next day, was there?' Gaius asked.

Merlin stared blankly at Gaius and shrugged. 'She's a quick healer.'

'Merlin! You told me that on your quest to find Morgause, she looked very ill for a day but the next, she was much better and in much better spirits. Has it occurred to you yet that she's a sorceress? It's obvious!' Gaius glared at Merlin when he avoided the physician's glare. 'You knew? I don't know why I'm so surprised – the two of you were as thick as thieves. But you should've kept some distance – a sorceress who is Morgana's childhood friend could be very dangerous,' Gaius warned. 'I'm surprised you've not tried to distance Arthur and Elaina from each other yet,' he added.

'You're talking about her as if she's still alive.' Merlin's jaw dropped slightly. 'You think that Elaina could be alive?'

Gaius pulled out an ancient book – Merlin sagged slightly – and opened it to a page in unusually good condition. He turned the book so that Merlin could see the diagram of a pair of unusually brightly coloured eyes. Except that one moment they looked as if they were violet; the next they were lavender and then they settled on purple. 'I suspected something once I saw her eyes – my suspicions were confirmed when you told me of her unnatural healing. She must be an Immortal,' Gaius told him. 'They've only ever been heard of once before, long before any of these kingdoms were anything more than hamlets.'

'But people who are immortal can't die. Arthur and I didn't rest at all on our way back to Camelot and not once did she show the slightest of life. Either way, it'd be better for Elaina to stay dead now – Morgana won't be too happy if she turns up at the castle gates,' Merlin explained.

'Yes, Elaina's death does seem to be a slight problem in my theory. And what do you mean, "Morgana won't be too happy"?' Gaius asked, swallowing a spoonful of broth.

Merlin frowned. 'I suspect that Morgana had a part to play in this –'

'Her own childhood friend?' Gaius asked dubiously. 'I find that hard to believe, in all honesty. Those two women were extremely close – there was hardly a moment that they did not spend together during Elaina's time in Camelot whenever she was not with you or Arthur. As much as it pains me to say it, Elaina may have actually been Morgana's true friend.'

'Well, I don't believe that someone as pure as Elaina could ever be friends with someone like Morgana.'

'Be very careful who you say that in front of Merlin,' Gaius warned, 'it could have dangerous repercussions for you.'

'I can't remember when anything I said didn't have dangerous repercussions,' Merlin grumbled.

Gaius smiled sagely. 'Get on with your dinner,' he ordered in a fatherly manner.

A/N: I had to put a little Gaius and Merlin scene in at the end - I feel I've been neglecting Gaius far too much! Also, Series 4 is so shameless.
Until the next chapter,
Grace!