A/N: Hey guys! How you doing? Here's the next chapter, a shameless bit of Arthur/Elaina fluff and things flare up between Morgana and Uther. Hope you guys enjoy this! Thanks for reading (it keeps me happy when I'm attempting to do graphs on Excel!) and I hope you're all enjoying whatever series of Merlin you're currently watching!


Elaina looked up as her door opened. She was starting to get very sick of being cooped up inside due to her injuries - Elaina knew that her wounds would be healed by the end of today. Gaius, however, was adamant that Elaina should remain indoors for the next two days, for the sake of appearances. With weary eyes, Elaina looked at Morgana. 'Yes?' she asked rather shortly, already knowing what Morgana was going to ask.

'I was wondering whether you remember anything yet,' Morgana asked, rather uncomfortable. What if Elaina remembered everything and told Arthur? No, Arthur and Uther trusted Morgana – as if, Arthur would argue, she was his own flesh and blood.

'I don't remember anything, Morgana,' Elaina replied, closing her eyes and leaning back slightly against the chair she was sat in. 'Why are you so bothered? This is the third time you've asked in two days! Merlin's even had the good grace to leave that question unsaid and Arthur has only asked me once, despite the fact that I know he wants to ask every single time he sees me. Did something important happen that I'm supposed to remember?' Before Morgana could even think of a suitable argument, Elaina slammed her fist into the table and began to cry. 'Do you know how stressful it is when you can't remember something that everybody thinks you should remember? When you supposedly died a horrible death and everybody starts asking you whether you remember anything, it's frustrating to say the least. I mean, the way people are looking at me, Morgana. Especially Arthur, like I'm intentionally hurting him by not remembering anything. Just… leave me, Morgana. I need some time alone.'

'Are you sure that's what you should -'

'Get out.' Elaina very slowly turned her head to glare venomously at Morgana - her eyes burnt into Morgana's mind. 'Now.'

Morgana obliged immediately, almost walking into the very prince Elaina had spoken of but a few moments later. 'Oh! Arthur, I'm… surprised to see you,' Morgana told him, not even listening to what she was saying.

'Why would you be surprised to see me? I live here,' Arthur reminded Morgana. Upon seeing how distressed his friend was, Arthur immediately thought of Elaina. 'Is there something wrong? With Elaina?'

Morgana blinked, staring at Arthur - she hadn't heard him. 'Pardon?' she asked, confusion clear in her voice.

Arthur sighed, irritated - he didn't like having to repeat himself. He'd already done it enough with Merlin today. 'I asked whether there was something wrong with Elaina,' he repeated, looking down the empty corridor towards Elaina's chambers.

Morgana nodded. 'She's quite upset - she doesn't want any company,' Morgana added quickly. 'It's all the stress.'

Arthur nodded, tight lipped. 'Yes, not everybody dies every day and then comes back to life with no recollection at all. Maybe I should -'

'She doesn't want any company, Arthur,' Morgana repeated, a warning implicit in her voice.

Arthur looked down at Morgana and smiled. 'We'll just pretend that you didn't see me and didn't tell me that Elaina didn't want company or that she was upset,' Arthur told her, walking past Morgana and approaching Elaina's door. Look of concern? Ready for action.


By now, Elaina was lying on her bed, her face buried into a pillow and she was still crying. Her hair – she hadn't had it up since her return – fanned out around her head and her shoulders; the hem of her plain brown dress hung off the bed a little. She had never before cried because of something so petty - she had lived a long time, surely she would forget some things. But she had never forgotten a death before – not that she had prior experience, seeing as it was her very first time. It had been bound to happen at some point, why not now? But the way Arthur had been looking at her, as if he was half-ready to sweep her into his arms and as if the other half of him wanted to explode in a ball of rage and fury? It hurt.

'Elaina?' asked a cautious voice from behind her.

I guess it's not restrained to just speaking of the Devil now - I guess you only have to think about him too, Elaina thought rather more sourly than Arthur deserved. She knew, from the way that Arthur's thoughts were jumping out at her, that his concern for her was real. 'Yes, Arthur?'

She must have sounded more upset than she'd realised because she instantly felt one of Arthur's hands between her shoulder blades and he was kneeling down, assuring her, 'It'll be fine.'

Elaina laughed shortly, though it gave her a slight discomfort due to her bruises. 'Of course - you lose your memory every day, I forgot.' She smirked at her choice of words.

Arthur frowned, admitting, 'I don't pretend to know or understand what you're going through, Elaina, but if it was me, I don't think I'd be coping very well either. In all honesty, you're doing better than I would be. Do you want to talk about it?'

Elaina shook her head, a few more tears rolling down her cheeks and soaking into the pillow she was pressing her face into.

'Well, this is unfortunate,' Arthur sighed.

'How?' Elaina asked, confused.

'I was hoping to talk to you about something that you'd agreed to,' Arthur confessed, carefully perching on the edge of the bed closest to Elaina's head.

Elaina raised her head and looked darkly at him. Her eyes had, thankfully, returned to what she normal. 'I swear to God, Arthur, if you're using my amnesia as a way to get me to do things I never agreed to, I will murder you,' she threatened.

'Glad to see you're back to your usual, pleasant self.'

'I'm not in the mood for being pleasant,' Elaina told him, raising an eyebrow. 'What did I apparently agree to?'

'Training the knights with me - it was our agreement that you'd assist me,' Arthur finished his sentence with some distaste, though, from the way the muscles moved slightly around Elaina's eyes, Arthur could tell that he'd managed to make her smile. He was glad.

'Oh… I do remember that, actually. Are you going to forbid me from doing it due to recovery time being needed or something?' Elaina asked, now revealing her entire face for Arthur to look at.

He'd forgotten how beautiful she was. 'That's better.'

'I won't bother asking what you're talking about,' Elaina replied dryly.

'That's a shame,' Arthur replied lightly, 'but I was wondering whether you'd like to start helping… tomorrow?' Arthur offered.

'Tomorrow?' Elaina asked slowly, an eyebrow raised even further up her forehead.

'I know, I probably sound absolutely crazy -'

'Don't worry, I've grown used to it.'

Arthur glared at her. 'Glad to see that part of you hasn't bothered to go underground.'

'You love it, don't deny it,' Elaina teased, a smile lighting up her face.

Arthur returned her smile, saying, 'I doubt your bruises would keep you out of action anyway. The same goes for Gaius' medical advice. Just… Maybe try and get some sleep?' When Elaina frowned and rolled her eyes, he looked at her with a caring, concerned gaze. 'What's wrong?'

'I find it very hard to sleep with these bruises on my back. I try sleeping on my side and I fall onto my back; I try sleeping on my front, I roll over and end up on my back anyway. I have never hated sleeping so much before in my life - for the past two days, I haven't actually woken up. If that makes sense,' Elaina frowned.

Arthur shrugged. 'You make more sense than Merlin - after a whole day with him, I'd appreciate a drunk talking to me about his theories on life, death and everything in between.'

'You don't give Merlin enough credit,' Elaina told Arthur with a serene smile.

'That's probably true. So, you've not been sleeping well?'

'No, that's putting it lightly.' Right on cue, Elaina yawned. 'As you might have seen, I'm quite tired.'

'I would be too. It sounds like you need support,' Arthur told her, a smile creeping onto his face.

Elaina looked darkly at Arthur, saying, 'You're not taking advantage of this situation at all. Are we talking about mental support for all this stress or physical?' Elaina managed to raise her eyebrows a little farther up her head.

'Both.' The offer was clear in Arthur's voice.

'That's quite improper for a prince to offer, in whatever context it is meant. Still, offer accepted.' Elaina laughed quietly.

'That's quite improper for a princess to accept, in whatever context it's accepted,' Arthur countered with a grin, moving onto the bed as Elaina moved over to make room for him. He studied her face. 'You can hardly tell that you've been crying.'

'But thank you for reminding me,' Elaina muttered darkly. 'Will Merlin not be expecting you back though?'

Arthur shrugged. 'He'll be glad to have the night off.' Arthur put an arm around Elaina's shoulders, sighing with relief when she didn't shrug him off. He was a little surprised, though pleasantly so when Elaina rested her head against his own shoulder. 'Is that any better?' he murmured into her hair, putting his other arm across Elaina's waist. It was with reluctance that he reminded himself that this situation was a lot different than it should have been.

'Well, I've got someone to support me -' Elaina smiled. '- so yes, it is.' She turned her head so that she was gazing up at Arthur with a sincere expression on her face and a grateful smile. 'Thank you for this - you don't have to do it.'

Arthur shook his head, smiling back down at her. 'Of course I do. I care about you.' I love you. 'I'd do…' His voice trailed off and Elaina gently nudged him with an elbow. 'Never mind.'

'Hm…' Suspicion was clear in Elaina's voice. Slowly and carefully, she said, 'Sorry if I'm a little… restless, I'm not really in the business of falling asleep in the arms of… well, anybody. I'm not used to being "supported" by them either.'

Arthur shook his head, starting to feel a little drowsy himself - he rested his chin on top of Elaina's head, closing his eyes. 'Don't worry about it.'

'Mm…' Feeling extremely comfortable, Elaina placed one of her hands beneath her left cheek, where it was now sandwiched between her face and Arthur's chest. 'I'll see you when I wake up?'

Arthur gave a small nod, murmuring, 'Of course.' His lips ended up brushing some of her hair and he breathed in her scent, today like a field of lavender – like the colour of her eyes - reminded him of everything they had been through. Arthur smiled, linking one of his hands with Elaina's free hand; his other moved to rest on her waist. He didn't particularly notice what he was doing, not that he would be bothered.

This all felt strangely natural to Elaina, as if she had done it before.

Unlike Elaina, Arthur remembered the times when he and Elaina had done this many other times whilst looking for Morgause – they'd stay up later than Merlin, discussing tactics, their childhoods and poking fun at each other. The next morning, Arthur would wake up to find Elaina curled up into him. However strong he was, Arthur couldn't stop himself from allowing a small tear to form when Elaina murmured, 'I love you.' in her sleep. He looked, down at her, a shaky smile on his face. Kissing the top of her forehead, Arthur replied in a whisper, 'I love you too.'


'How is your friend?' Uther asked Morgana, his voice carrying down to the other end of the dinner table.

'Lady Elaina is recovering, though her ordeal seems to have taken quite a toll on her,' Morgana answered quietly, nibbling on the crust of some bread.

'As expected. I suspect that the Druids have some part to play in her death and her revival,' Uther informed Morgana, his brow furrowed.

'You don't think that she could be in league with them?' Morgana asked. Maybe Elaina's return meant that she and Morgana were meant to be allied and that only the two of them - with Morgause, of course - could conquer Camelot. This time, neither Uther's constant suspicion nor Morgana's dreams would stop her. Morgana would be stronger and she would win. But only if Elaina kept on suffering from amnesia. 'I know Elaina, Uther - she would never ally herself with such people.'

'How can you be so sure?'

Morgana took a deep breath and straightened her back slightly before asking, 'You think she would ally herself with any of those people who abducted me? I sincerely hope you do not think that as it would be as much an insult to me as it would be to Elaina.'

Uther shook his head quickly, practically begging for his ward's forgiveness. 'Of course not - I know she is very dear to you and even from knowing her as little as I do, I can tell that she would never hurt you like that. The Druids obviously think that by reviving her that they have made an ally in Camelot - they are sorely mistaken,' he concluded, his eyes moving from the plate in front of him to Morgana and back again, as though he was afraid to meet her gaze.

'Yes, very sorely mistaken. I take it that you are pleased with her for protecting Arthur?' Morgana asked lightly.

Uther nodded. 'I had a feeling that something may have happened to him if it had just been him and his idiotic manservant. That is why I asked her to do it - Arthur must never know,' Uther told Morgana firmly. 'It would only weaken his resolve, which has been unequally strengthened due to recent events.'

'You think that him witnessing Elaina's death - who I am very sure he may love,' Morgana added, trying not to wince - that was something that she had to put an end to, 'has strengthened his resolve? He was a broken man - if anything, her return has strengthened him and restored his faith in humanity!'

'A weakness. And Arthur does not love the Lady Elaina, as you say he does - he cannot know what love is at his age!' Uther retorted angrily. 'He will not marry your friend, even if he is in love with her - Arthur will marry for the good of Camelot, not for his own sake or a foolish desire because he believes himself to be in "love".'

'And when you married Ygraine, was that not for love?' Morgana asked, knowing that she had caught Uther out.

'Of course it was -'

'So why should it be so different for your own son?'

Uther sighed angrily. 'Because my wife had status in the five kingdoms. Elaina has nothing but your word.'

'I am glad to see that my word has no standing with you,' Morgana replied coldly, standing up, 'though I'm sure your words will weigh very heavily with Arthur.' With that, she left.


A/N: Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter half as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for reading it, you're all brilliant people. Have a nice weekend!
Until the next chapter (if I'm alive after tonight's episode),
Grace!