13 Avalon

As they neared the misty dock, they saw a light blue-cloaked figure waiting for them. Arthur was the first to test the wooden structure, leading his horse with him. Merlin followed without a second thought.

"Your coming has been foreseen." The young girl said, "Welcome. My name is Helen, priestess of Avalon."

"How could she have known we were coming?" Arthur hissed over his shoulder, toward Elena, who was standing behind Merlin and Gwen.

Helen answered in her place.

"Our Queen has the power to see what was, is, will be and could have been. Your quest and your arrival here have been foretold."

This certainly did not make Arthur feel at ease. It was as if his horse reflected his mood, scraping his hoofs nervously. Helen smiled.

"I have been send here to escort you to the Island." She said, motioning toward a little boat behind her.

Arthur squinted uncertainly into the mist.

"You have nothing to fear, My Lord." Helen addressed him.

His eyes shot back to hers. The doubt evident in his eyes.

"We have a quarrel with your father, not with you." She explained.

"You are at war with Camelot." He countered.

"Not by choice." she said, her face saddening.

"Arthur..." Merlin spoke in hushed tones from behind him.

The prince turned.

"We have come this far, we have no choice. Elena made it clear we need this Queen's help."

Arthur sighed, knowing his servant was right, but as always, not willing to admit it.

"Well, since I'm already hiding two of Camelot's fugitives..." he said, turning back to Helen.

The girl smiled.

"What about our horses?" Merlin asked, not happy to just leave them in the woods, as they surely wouldn't fit into the boat.

Helen's smile widened as she bowed, something she had not done for Arthur. The latter one looked incredulous as Helen addressed his servant.

"No need to worry My Lord Emrys. Some one else will take care off them shortly. They will go to the island through a different entrance."

Merlin's eyes widened in shock and flared into Arthur's direction as he heard the girl use his druid name. Arthur, on the other hand, saved the day once again by his ignorance, his booming laugh echoeing through the mist.

"My Lord! She thought Merlin was a lord!" he exclaimed, holding his horse to keep himself upright. When his laughing was more or less subsided he turned back to Helen.
"I don't know who you thought you were talking to, but this is just Merlin, my servant."

Helen looked at Merlin, whose eyes and thoughts were screaming her to be silent, and back at Arthur.

"I apologize, My Lord. I must have taken him for someone else."

Arthur was still snickering as he took Excalibur of his horse and turned back towards the girl and the boat.

"Merlin, a lord..."

His lightened mood evaporated rather quickly when Helen motioned again towards the boat.

"Are you sure that thing can handle these waters while carrying all of us?" He asked doubtingly, secretly eying Percival.

Helen smiled a, what she obviously believed to be, reassuring smile, but only crept Arthur out even more.

"Of course My Lord."

Arthur looked at the boat and the misty lake in front of them one last time before determined stepping into the boat, and extending his hand towards Guinevere, who had made her way past Merlin, to help her climb aboard.

"My lady." Helen said as she past the priestess.

"Oh, I'm not a lady." Gwen hurried to explain nervously. Helen just smiled again.

"I am sure I am not mistaking this time, My lady."

She said, as Arthur pulled Gwen to his side, making sure there was as much place between her and the sorceress as the little boat would allow. It was not because he trusted one sorceress now, that he had to trust all of them. This thought shocked him. Since when did he trust Elena? He had followed her on this quest because he could not take the risk of a falling Camelot, and still he could not deny he no longer feared the girl from the future. O he feared her powers, but not her will or loyalty.

Merlin, stepping in, still nervously looking for little blue monsters who could appear any moment, made the boat sway dangerously, making sure Arthur forgot all about his reverie, as he had to grab Gwen to make sure she didn't fall into the icy blue water.

"Merlin, you idiot, could you please sit down, before you take us all into the water?"

He sneered, rolling his eyes at his servant's clumsiness, who was now sitting before them. If it was not for his reassuring presence, his persistent loyalty and witty remarks that secretly made Arthur's day, he would wonder why he took the boy on these kind of things. Seriously, could you be any more clumsy? This time it was Helen's voice that took him out of his musings.

"I was told there were only three." The young priestess said, eyeing Elena, Alexander, Lancelot and Percival with a confused expression.

Elena smiled reassuringly as she stepped forward and pushed her cape to the side, thereby revealing her mysterious belt. She then said something in the old language Merlin could not hear, nor would he probably have understood. After all, he had only been studying it for spells for two years. Helen on the other hand gasped hearing those words, and as her eyes shot to Elena's belt, she fell to her knees.

"My Lady." She said as she smiled brilliantly and got up and kissed Elena on her forehead. "Welcome home, child."

Elena smiled as well. "It's good to be back."

After all of them were on board, Helen stepped in and with a quick word made the boat move from the dock, towards the misty lake.

"What was that all about?" Arthur asked as he bent forward towards Elena.

She obviously did not like the question as her answer was short.

"Nothing. I'm a powerful sorceress, that's all."

Merlin's eyes drifted to Elena. The priestess had only bowed to him...Suddenly he wondered how strong Elena really was. And how strong he was, as Alexander had said she was nothing compared to his future self.

Arthur was obviously not so impressed, or better at hiding it, as he did not take the hint and let the subject drop.

"And what did she mean by 'back'? You're from the future, what did you say that made her think you have been here before?"

"Because I have. She recognizes my power, that's all she needs to know to see I belong here."

"But..."

"I can't tell you everything." Elena snapped over her shoulder.

Arthur was less then impressed.

"Then maybe you could tell me why the broche on her cape was the same symbol as the one on the right side of you belt."

Elena visibly froze in her seat at Arthur's words.

"I told you, it are magic symbols." She said, hoping he would let it go with that.

"But what do they mean?" he asked, not letting her get of the hook so easily.

"It's the symbol of Avalon." Helen answered in Elena's place, earning a glare from the future sorceress.

"Then why do you have it on your belt?" Merlin asked this time.

"Because I was raised here. I received a big part of my training from the High Priestesses of Avalon."

"I thought you lived in Camelot and were trained by the Court Sourcerer?" Arthur questioned again.

"I did. Let's just say Camelot and Avalon are not as far removed from each other in the future, as they are now." Elena said, and it was obvious that was the end of their discussion.

The boat was clouded with silence for a while before Arthur broke it with another question. Apparently silence did no good to his nerves. After all, he was world's bravest warrior, but one cannot fight the mist.

"How can she see anything through the mist?" He asked no one in particular.

Helen caught the question on the other side of the boat and answered it herself.

"I can't." She stated simply.

This made Arthur all the more uncomfortable, and he no longer resisted the urge to pull Gwen closer into his protecting presence.

"Then how do you know we're going into the right direction, instead of just making circles on these damn waters?" he asked, his panic masked behind an angry tone.

This time Elena answered for the young priestess. "How does a knight find his captain in the middle of a fight?" she asked him, smiling as she looked over her shoulder, clearly liking the reversed roles.

"By years and years of training, but that's a completely different situation." Arthur said, still eying their surroundings.

Alexander smiled as he turned himself towards his future king as well. "Don't bother Arthur, she told me the exact same thing when I asked her this. I have tried to explain the difference to her a million times myself. I'm not sure who convinced who anymore, but trust me when I tell you, knights could learn from this."

Arthur did not at all look convinced and was only glad when Helen announced only a few minutes later they had arrived at their destination.

"How does she know that? It doesn't't look any different then five minutes ago." He said, but he soon had to admit his wrong as suddenly the outlines of a castle appeared in front of them.

With another word and a motion of her hand, the boat stopped at a door in the castle walls. She leaded them through the castle until they found themselves in front of two large wooden doors, engraved with all kind of symbols. Even Arthur couldn't't help but look at it in awe. Helen smiled at their sunned expressions.

"The Queen is awaiting you." She said, and with those words and a last wave of her hand, she opened the doors.

To asdf:

Since I can't send you a PM, this will have to do. :) First of all, thank you so much for the constant reviewing. It's greatly appreciated!
Second, I would like to reassure you that all your questions will be answered -in due time that is ;)-, except for the first one, so I might as wel answer it here.
I agree that Merlin and Arthur are great friends -I mean, who could deny that- but something tells me Gwen is more worried about the future queen than the future Court Sourcerer. ;) Besides, a person can have more than one good friend and ally, can't he? Isn't that what the entire round table is about? :)
I hope that answer covers it for now, as for the rest of your questions...you'll just have to wait and see. :)