Ladies and (perhaps) gentlemen :) I give you, the next chapter for any that care to read it!

I had a minnie heart attack when I saw that the wonderful Dreamingmydaysaway and Kat7CA are now following this story! So thank you!

And always, just so that none of you forget, this story does not belong to neither myself or dear friend and co-writer, this is from the BBC television series Merlin which is wonderful and filled with plenty of good looking guys who walk around with no shirts on ;)

Enjoy!

Hannah bit down on her lower lip. Blood seeped around the white teeth as they penetrated the soft flesh.

"Actually, Lexi, there was more. But I pulled out too soon to make any sense of it." Said girl was sheathing her sword but her eyes snapped up like daggers.

"That's dangerous." She reminded her friend sharply.

"I know. But I thought that if we could keep me steady while I… looked around some more." Striding over, Lexi grabbed Hannah's shoulders and shook them none-to-gently.

"Think about this, Hannah; if you go into a trance, it could be days before you come out! And with Merlin's magical intensity…"

There was no fear in the blonde's eyes as they held her friend's anxious ones. "I've already thought about that. I should be fine. Besides, when I said 'next town' I actually meant as in, *next town*. No village. We'll be travelling for about a week if we stay on course. It is going to be one hard, long track too. Plenty of time for you and Lancelot to make amends. And if he would like to stop eavesdropping, it would make life so much easier if he just came out and talked to us." Lexi froze and whirled around when she heard the injured man stumble out of the foliage. "And no, Lexi, you're not slipping. Lancelot is just very good at concealing himself."

"What are you doing standing up?" Lexi demanded – she was a mother hen and a healer before anything else. "And walking around?"

"I am fine, Lady. I just cannot do much." Lancelot wasn't really thinking about his answer, what he was thinking of were the girls in front of him. How could two girls be so much mature than their age? Each of them had more maturity than both Gwaine and Arthur put together – which wasn't saying much still. "Bur what about you two? Arthur is our friend and we've all been through a lot together. All of a sudden there are two girls that appear with too many secrets. Forgive me, but you both are highly skilled in weaponry, which makes me question ho and why you would be and then how much do we really know about you and how can we really trust you?"

A heavy silence descended amongst the three under the cover of trees. "Those are all fair questions, Lancelot. And we know you have a right to the answers. But our secrets are secrets for a reason. For protection and because we aren't read to divulge our backgrounds yet."

"Well what about Gwaine? My friend is falling deeply in love with your friend even though he doesn't know a thing about either of you! I think that he has more of a right to know out of he, Merlin and myself."

Hannah's eyes brimmed with tears. "I want to tell him." She whispered. "But I don't think I can yet. The timing isn't right."

"Do you know that through your seer abilities? Because I am prepared to give you time. I am not a totally heartless man, merely cautious. But I can't wait forever, and neither can you." With that, Lancelot stumbled his way back through the foliage towards the camp.

Lexi shook her head. "How on earth did I not hear that before?"

Hannah shrugged, walking back to camp. She was deeply troubled by what Lancelot had said, because they both knew he was right. "I want to tell him, Lexi, but I can't have him hate me yet."

3 days. 3 days the group of five had been riding northeast, back through Camelot and up towards the coast.

When the girls had gotten back to camp, Lexi had immediately gone back to looking after Lancelot and Hannah found herself encircled in Gwaine's arms. He knew something was upsetting her and he held her, offering his comfort.

It wasn't really surprising that Gwaine was the one (after many questions and debating on the fact that Hannah could be at risk in her trance) that would be carrying Hannah on his hoarse, since (despite initial protests and denials from Lexi) the blonde's best friend had to spend all of her time navigating and watching over Lancelot as he rose, injured, on the rough roads. Merlin was Lexi's second choice, but after the young sorcerer finished stuttering and saying "no, please, not me. I can barely ride on my own without falling off!"

Lexi had briefly toyed with the idea of tying Hannah to her own horse, but shook her head of those thoughts immediately. If they were attacked, there was no way to protect her and if the ropes slackened and she fell, it could cause some serious damage.

So logic had won out in the end and Gwaine was very happy with the riding arrangements. Hannah's horse was tied to the back of Lexi's and it carried extra supplies.

Yes, with Lancelot's acceptance – tense, as it may have been – of the two girls and the harmony between the riders, everything was going very well.

That is, until the third night when they were all asleep around a smoldering fire. Lexi was on sentry duty and – as usual – Gwaine slept (on his own pallet) next to Hannah. The blonde all of a sudden shot up like an arrow screaming.

So yeah. Hope you liked it :)

I thought about it and decided that no, I wouldn't give you a list of excuses as to why I am inconsistently updating (you know, school, parents, holidays and friends with serious issues that threaten their lives), it's probably the same old excuses you've heard anyways :P

So if you would be so kind, let me know what you think! But it's really optional.

Have a lovely day or sweet dream!

TAS