12 May - Crown Prince Arthur Pendragon arrested on charges of causing death while driving under the influence.

The Raglan Police responded to a call on 11 May at 2:14am which reported an accident along Essetir Road. The Crown Prince and his friend, Devon Pembrooke, son of Lord Odin of Meredor had crashed their car into a tree. Both were taken to hospital. The Crown Prince is said to be in stable condition while Mr Pembrooke is in emergency surgery.

Gwen stared at the news report on the screen as if it would give her insight into what Lord Odin was planning to do with Arthur. Subsequent reports stated that Arthur had taken full responsibility for the crash and as Mithian had said before, eventually worked out a deal in which he did community service as punishment.

Such a light sentence for such a devastating mistake. The perks of being crown prince, thought Gwen, unlike her or her brother, who paid dearly for every mistake they made.

After Arthur shut himself in his room, Gwen hadn't seen him again so the three of them had ended up discussing a vague plan of action. Throughout their discussion, Gwen had the feeling that Merlin was keeping something from them but perhaps his nervous disposition was due to stress. Elena had met up with them back at Gwen's apartment later and Mithian had quickly and efficiently, the way she did everything, updated Elena. Now, the two of them were back in their small office working on the household staff, looking for any connections with Lord Odin, while Gwen was left looking through information about the accident.

Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore. Reading about how easily Arthur had gotten away with murder made her angry and yet she couldn't forget that haunted look in his eyes as he closed the door on them. That part of her was actually feeling sorry for Arthur frustrated her. Just because he had a pretty face and a sexy smile didn't make him a good person and Gwen knew that. Switching off her computer, she grabbed her gym bag, hopped into her car and drove off to where she preferred to deal with her feelings.

The familiar sights and sounds of the Focus Gym eased Gwen's churning emotions and she was glad to hit the treadmill. Pushing the speed up, Gwen concentrated on her breathing and the rhythmic pounding of her feet, pushing out all the conflicting thoughts about Arthur in her head.

"Stressful day?" Her trainer Elaine asked once Gwen got off the treadmill. "You don't usually come in on a Tuesday."

Wiping her face with her towel, Gwen shrugged. "Spot me as I lift some weights?"

"Yeah, I have time." They walked over to the weights section. "I saw the incident yesterday in the news. You saved the prince's life. Impressive stuff."

Gwen lay back and wrapped her hands around the bar. "You know I can't talk about work. Why don't you tell me about Tommy as I lift these?"

Asking Elaine about her son was the most effective distraction. She was a great trainer, but as Gwen learned quite quickly, a very good gossip as well. Just as Gwen was about to warm down, her phone beeped.

Call me asap. Merlin.

It was then she noticed three missed calls from Merlin. Swearing under her breath, she abandoned her warm down, grabbed her bottle and towel and made her way to the showers, calling Merlin on her way.

"I hope you have no dinner plans because Arthur does," said Merlin.

"It's not on his schedule," said Gwen as she tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder so she could open her locker. She knew that being on-call at all times was part of her contract, but it was still annoying.

"I know. He's in a bit of a mood right now and the King isn't helping. He just needs some space."

"And he can't find space within the palace walls?"

"Sorry. I'll send a car to pick you up. Where are you?" asked Merlin.

Gwen sighed. "Unscheduled escorts are chargeable. And I'm at Focus Gym. I need ten minutes."

The limousine was idling outside the gym, blatantly flouting all sorts of traffic laws when Gwen emerged. She hoped that Arthur wasn't planning to go anywhere fancy because she definitely wasn't dressed appropriately. As the limousine smoothly pulled away from the curb and towards the palace, Gwen attempted to do something with her still damp hair. Eventually, she settled for running her fingers through her curls and hoping that it would dry nicely. Sinking into the soft leather, Gwen closed her eyes.

The door swung open and Arthur slid into the car. Leaning forward, he gave instructions to the chauffeur before sitting back and finally looking at her.

"Merlin didn't have to drag you to keep me company."

"I think he was more interested in keeping you safe," said Gwen.

"I'm not in the mood for company. I told Merlin not to call you." Then he frowned. "You look different."

"I was at the gym. I can sit at a different table and you can sulk at your own table if you prefer."

Arthur reached out and touched the ends of her hair. "Your hair is loose."

"It's also wet. Stop touching it." Gwen shifted away from him. "Where are we going?"

"A little place I know outside of the city. It serves great roasts."

"Name?" Gwen pulled out her phone. "I need to research it."

"The menu isn't that extensive," said Arthur. "It's a small place."

Gwen sighed. "I'm not researching the menu. I need to research the location, just in case."

"The Purple Phoenix. I've already called them so we'll get a nice, private dining space. Very romantic."

While his words were teasing, they lacked the mocking tone she was used to. Gwen turned and looked at him in the shadows of the car. There was tension in his posture and he stared straight ahead. Impulsively, she touched the back of his hand and although he didn't look at her, Arthur turned his hand and held hers loosely. She could pull her hand away at any time.

She didn't.

With her only free hand, she tapped the name of the restaurant, only to discover that it was a small pub situated by what looked like a really picturesque stream, surrounded by woods, just outside the city. It was tucked in fairly remote area and Gwen suspected that it survived on word of mouth. She sent the information to Elena, then did her own virtual scouting of the area, bringing up a map of the area.

"Are we likely to be attacked by bears? I hope you have moves to fend off a bear attack."

It was clearly an attempt at humour on Arthur's part and when Gwen glanced at him, he attempted a smile. It wasn't a particularly good attempt. He blinked then looked away again, but not before Gwen saw the shadows that were smudged under his eyes. For the first time since she read the news of the accident, she felt a twinge of sympathy. He might have gotten off lightly but it must be hard to live with the fact that he was responsible for his friend's death.

"I do," Gwen said as lightly as she could. "We run as fast as we can."

"Sounds good," he said flatly, dropped her hand, shifted and looked out of the windows. "I feel safer already."

Gwen wanted to ask him about the accident. All the reports had been vague, suggesting that it was all his fault but without detailing what exactly happened. She wanted to know if he still felt guilty about the accident, if he ever felt guilt about it. She wanted to know if he'd tried to make amends. She wanted to know if he was the selfish, uncaring prince the media painted him or if he was the warm, humorous and thoughtful man that she sometimes glimpsed.

But instead, she looked down at her phone, watching as the little blue dot moved along the map towards their destination.

Bright headlights suddenly shone into the limousine, dimmed slightly by the tinted windows.

"Guess we're not the only ones driving out to Purple Phoenix today. It's the only place on this road." Arthur slouched further into his seat and continued to stare out of the window.

Gwen twisted in her seat to look out of the back window, grumbling softly when she realised she couldn't see anything because of the high headlights from the car behind. What kind of driver used high beams in this situation? Jabbing at the button on the door, Gwen stuck her head out the moment the window rolled down. It was an ordinary car, green, but tailing them far too closely for Gwen's comfort. Slipping back into her seat, she tapped on her phone, sending their GPS coordinates to Mithian, then checked that her gun was with her.

She touched Arthur's hand. He looked at her with a frown. Before she could tell him of her suspicions, their limousine lurched forwards as the car behind slammed into them.

"Damn!" Gwen pulled open the privacy pane. "Keep the car moving and get out."

"What on earth?" Arthur looked at her.

Leaning over Arthur, she pushed his door open, then shoved him out of the car. She tumbled out of it behind him, landing just beside him on the gravel. Pain shot through her leg but she scrambled up and yanked on Arthur's arm. A dark figure moved on the other side of the road and Gwen prayed that it was the chauffeur. The green car was still kissing the bumper of the limousine, pushing it off the road. Perhaps they were lucky enough that the driver didn't see them leave the car.

She yanked on Arthur's arm again. "Get up. We need to move."

Evening had fallen and the only light were from the lampposts at distant intervals and the moon that peeked out between the cover of clouds. This was good, Gwen told herself. It would make it easier for them to escape detection. Only the lack of sun meant that the temperatures were dropping and Gwen had left her jacket in the car. She moved behind some foliage, dry leaves crunching under her feet, and Arthur joined her.

"Kathy – the chauffeur," he rasped, squinting into the dim light.

The cars were a distance away.

"Stay here." Ignoring the pain in her ankle, Gwen darted across the dirt road, whispering Kathy's name.

"Here. What's going on?" Kathy walked out from behind some trees, breathing heavily.

A car was approaching. Gwen was certain that it would be the green car turning back to look for them. She had to get back to Arthur. "Come with me, quietly."

The two of them ran across the road just as the green car's headlights swept past them.

"Kathy," said Arthur the moment he saw them. "Are you alright?"

"We need to move further in. Follow me." Slowly, Gwen picked her way through the grass and bushes. She wasn't sure where exactly she was going and she didn't want the light from her phone to attract their attacker's attention. She could no longer hear the engine and she resisted the urge to look back to see if the car was gone or had stopped. "Come on," she urged.

Eventually, confident that they were far enough from the road, Gwen stopped, giving her now throbbing ankle some rest. Adrenaline was now surging through her and all her senses were attuned to their surroundings. In the moonlight, Arthur's face was pale while, next to them, Kathy gulped in air. The two of them stared at her.

"What now?" asked Arthur.

"We wait," said Gwen.