A few days later, Lilly helped Merlin prepare the horses. Arthur invited her to go deer hunting with the others: Leon, Percival, Gwaine, Elyan, Merlin, and even Gwen. Lilly gladly accepted. Although her bow and arrow skills were nowhere close to her sword skills, Lilly still liked the challenge hunting brought. Plus, she welcomed any opportunity to more spend time with the group.

Lillian studied Merlin as they saddled the horses. He looked anxious. "You don't like hunting, do you?" Lillian asked.

Merlin looked up at her. "Not particularly." Merlin smiled. "How did you guess?"

Before Lilly could answer, Gwaine walked in. "Merlin, you're making a lady help you prepare the horses?"

"I offered, which is more than I can say for knights like you." Lilly said.

"Oh, is that so?" Gwaine asked. The rest of the knights walked in after him.

"Are you two at it again?" Leon asked.

"They're never not at it, Leon." Percival said.

"What would be the fun in that?" Gwaine smiled.

While the group continued to joke around, Arthur and Gwen arrived.

"Well, good morning, your majesties. How nice of you to finally join us!" Lillian teased.

Arthur smiled. "Will you forgive our tardiness if I let you take the first shot today?

Lilly mounted her horse. "Yes."

"Very well, then." Arthur and the others followed suite and mounted their own horses.

Arthur took the lead toward the woods with Gwen by his side. The knights followed behind the couple, while Lilly and Merlin took the back. Gwaine was the first to spot a deer. He whistled at the group to a halt.

Gwaine looked over his shoulder at Lillian. "Over there." He whispered and pointed toward a spot beyond the surrounding trees.

Lilly nodded. She got off her horse, took out her bow and arrow, and knelt down by some bushes. She pulled the arrow back with her bow. She had a perfect shot. Lilly took a deep breath and released the arrow like her grandfather had taught her long ago. The arrow missed its target, hitting the tree that was right next to the deer. The sound of the arrow spooked the deer, and it ran out of sight before Lilly was able to get another shot at it.

"Great." She whispered under breath. The knights' laughter told Lilly that they weren't going to let her ever forget this one.

"What was that?" Gwaine snickered.

Lillian remounted Meadow. "I'm a little rusty. I haven't handled a bow in a while." She tried not to get defensive.

"It shows." Percival chimed at him.

Lillian glared at both of them, but before she could reply, Arthur spoke up. "The next shot's mine." He smiled back at Lilly.

Lillian sighed. "Fair enough."

The next one was spotted and shot by Arthur. He was equally confident in his ability with a bow as he was with a sword.

"Are you going to give me a chance to redeem myself?" Lillian asked Arthur after he claimed his shot.

"If you think you can…after lunch." Arthur answered.

They found a spot near the river and set up camp. Gwen was going to make stew.

"I'll go find some firewood." Lillian offered.

Merlin walked to her side. "I'll go with you."

Lillian nodded and they went off into the woods.

"I didn't expect you to miss that shot." Merlin teased her.

Lillian laughed. "I didn't expect to miss either. Using a bow has never really been my strong point."

They continued to make small talk while they collected firewood, when Lilly heard a noise she didn't recognize. It sounded like a hawk, but much bigger. She looked toward the sky and saw a huge flying animal that looked half hawk and half dragon. When the animal spotted her, it darted towards her. Lilly knew it had every attention of harming her. She dropped her firewood and took out her bow, preparing to shoot the creature down. Merlin tackled her toward the ground before she had a chance to.

"That won't do any good." Merlin explained.

"Then what do we do?" Lillian asked, trying to stay calm.

Merlin grabbed Lilly's hand and helped her to her feet. "Run!"

"What?" She didn't understand his reasoning, but she didn't argue with him, either. She had never seen anything like the creature before.

Merlin never let go of Lilly's hand as he continued to guide her deeper into the forest as quickly as he possibly could, trying to escape the animal's reach. "What is that thing?" She asked.

"A spark." Lilly was impressed with how calm Merlin was in the face of danger. His voice soothed her.

"I've never seen anything like it before." Lilly looked behind her as she continued to run. She was sorry she had as soon as she did. The spark was closer than she expected. The distraction caused her to trip. She lost her footing and fell to the ground. Lilly's hand slipped from Merlin's grasped. He turned around as soon as he realized that he had lost her.

"Lilly!" Merlin saw the animal drawing closer to her. He could tell she was frozen, unmoving. He had no weapon, no way to protect her; at least, no way that wouldn't threaten his own life. He didn't hesitate with his decision, though. He couldn't let anything happen to her. He would never forgive himself for it. Merlin stood right behind Lilly and held out his hand. Lilly heard him whisper something that she couldn't make out. The creature made a threatening sound and flew away, leaving them alone. It was like something forced the spark to leave against its will. Lilly stood up and turned to face Merlin.

Merlin looked deep into her eyes. Concern clouded his face. "Are you okay?"

Lilly looked at him quizzically, ignoring his question. "How did you do that?"

Merlin hesitated. "How did I do what?"

Lilly didn't understand his reluctance to tell her. "You whispered something and the creature left. What was it?"

Merlin didn't say anything. He started to look more and more uncomfortable. That's when it hit Lilly. What Merlin whispered to the spark wasn't only a threat, it was magic. Merlin knew magic, just like she did. That explained why she felt a connection with him.

"You know magic." It was more a statement than a question.

Merlin looked uncertain. He swallowed hard. "I do."

"Does Arthur know?" Lillian cautiously asked.

Merlin shook his head. "No."

"And you still live in Camelot." Lillian was beginning to understand. Merlin moved to Camelot to find a place where he belonged, where he could use his magic for good. That's when he met Arthur. He met his destiny. Merlin was meant to protect Arthur, even if it put his own life in danger…just like he protected her, knowing what the consequences could be. Should Lilly tell him that she knew magic too? She wasn't sure…she needed to say something to reassure him, though.

"Thank you." Lilly said. "You saved my life."

Merlin nodded. "I couldn't let anything happen to you…not when I had the power to stop it."

"How long have you known magic?" She was buying time, trying to decide if she should tell him.

"All of my life." Merlin answered.

"Your secret is safe with me, Merlin. I understand."

Merlin nodded his thanks, but he still looked uncomfortable.

"My grandmother knew magic too…" This time, Lilly hesitated. "…she taught me everything she knew."

Merlin looked up at her in shock. He searched her eyes, seeing if she was serious or not. "You know magic?"

Lillian nodded. "Yes. I found out only a few years ago."

A smile reached Merlin's face. "And you still came to Camelot?"

Lilly laughed. "Yes, I did."

They recollected the firewood and headed back to the camp. It was an unspoken pact that they wouldn't talk about their magic any further until they were back in Camelot alone.

"What took you two so long? I'm starving!" Gwaine complained.

Lillian studied him. "Someone like you isn't going to starve." The other knights told Lilly that she was the only one they know who could silence Gwaine so easily.

Lillian was glad the lunch went smoothly. It was like nothing ever happened in the forest, and, to the group, nothing actual did. Lilly and Merlin hid it well. When lunchtime was over, they started the hunt again. Lillian spotted the deer this time. She motioned the group to stop and set up like she did before. She was more focused this time. She was more intent on her target. She released the arrow and hit the deer straight on. She smiled. She had redeemed herself.

"Not bad…" Arthur smiled. "…for a second time around."