Hey guys, here's the next chapter, with Alina's brother coming for a visit. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

Chapter 13

Arthur

Arthur looked down in wonder at the group of people entering the courtyard. He had no idea who they were and what they were doing here. There were no people expected to visit Camelot any time soon as far as he knew, so the arrival of this bunch of people certainly came as a surprise.

They were of noble birth, their leaders at the very least, so he had best make a run downstairs to greet them with his father, who was already walking down the stairs to meet them.

His illness had done his condition no good. He had been quicker. This was just the reason he hated being ill. When you could not train, you grew weak and Arthur felt exactly that. He was panting by the time he reached the noble party. Oh wait, he did know their leader after all, which made the noble party a royal party.

Talking to his father was a tall, red-haired young man with a kind face and green eyes, precisely the same green Alina's eyes used to be. Prince Connor, or rather king Connor, since his father had been killed, had decided to pay them a visit.

'Prince Arthur!' the young king exclaimed when he caught sight of Arthur. 'It's good to see you are still standing.'

'King Connor,' he greeted. 'To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?'

'I wish to visit my father's grave, prince Arthur.' There was grief and sadness in his eyes. 'And I want to see my sister. Rumour has it she is not fully recovered from the attack.'

She still hasn't got her memory back, Arthur wanted to say, but his father shot him a look that silenced him immediately. Maybe it was better to let his father fill king Connor in on the more delicate details. Like the fact that his sister's eyes had turned from green to blue in an instant, he thought.

He still did not have any explanation for that. He had asked Alina about it, but she said she could not remember a time when her eyes had not been blue. There was something not right about it, about all of it. She had become a different person since the attack. A kinder person, he decided. Maybe there was something not quite right about the whole matter, but he owed her his life. After all, she had tried to distract the beast's attention away from him in the cave and after that, she had killed it.

'Your sister is not in the castle at the moment,' Uther told the younger king. 'Arthur, where did you say that she went again?'

He had not, but it would not be wise to tell that. 'She went with the court physician and my personal servant on a short trip to collect some herbs,' Arthur replied. 'She should be back in a few days' time.'

She had said so when she came to tell him that Merlin and she would be gone for a few days. When Gaius was nowhere to be found the following day, Arthur had just assumed that he had gone with them. But it had been three days now and they should have been back by now. Arthur had given them two days. Alina had nodded and said that they would probably be back by the end of the second day. But it was now the afternoon of the third day and the little group was nowhere to be seen. Are you trying to get yourself into trouble, Alina?

'Find her,' his father hissed in his ear when he accompanied Connor inside. 'As quick as you can.'

Arthur went down to the stables to order that one of his horses was saddled at once. After that changed into something more suitable for riding and then he went for a food package to take with him after that. Having done these preparations, he went back to the stable for his horse. He was on his way before half an hour had passed.

If Alina had gone with Gaius and Merlin, there were only so many places she could be. Arthur never came with the physician, but he could not help to overhear some things and Merlin's chattering, although mostly useless, was on this subject a source of information.

He did not have to go far. He was only an hour away from Camelot when he heard cheerful voices. Alina en Merlin, he recognized theirs immediately. Gaius was not as vocal, but his voice could also be heard.

He came into the clearing where they sat, sorting various plants and herbs on a piece of cloth. They all looked up when they heard him coming.

Alina was the first one to be on her feet. 'Arthur!' she said in a surprised voice. 'What are you doing here?'

He dismounted. 'I could ask you the same. You were supposed to be back yesterday!'

'I did not see the need to hurry,' she replied. 'Had I known you could not live without the pleasure of my company for longer than two days, I would have made more haste.'

Merlin chuckled. For some reason this triggered his irritation.

'Are you trying to get us both into trouble, Alina?' he hissed at her.

Next thing he knew Merlin was standing between them, facing him. 'That's enough,' he said.

'What?'

'It's not fair to take it out on Alina,' his servant said bravely. 'It was partly my fault we are later than we expected to be. I am the one you should be shouting at.'

Alina tried to push him out of the way. 'Don't, Merlin,' she said. 'It was no one's fault. We got rained on the first day and Gaius caught a cold, but we were nowhere near Camelot, so we had to stay in our small camp the second day. We came back only today, but we had to maintain a slow pace because of Gaius. Surely you can understand that, Arthur?' She looked him straight in the eyes.

He felt like a child being lectured. He dropped his gaze, turning to Gaius, who had remained seated. 'I'm sorry to hear that. Are you all right now, Gaius?'

'He's on the mend,' Alina said decisively. 'No matter what he says, he is not as young as he used to be, so we're not rushing back to Camelot right now.'

'I am afraid you have little choice in the matter,' Arthur said. 'Your brother has arrived today and your presence is required at court.'

'My brother?' she echoed. Arthur noticed that she had turned rather pale. He also noticed that Merlin had grabbed her hand to support her. 'What does he want?'

Arthur shrugged. 'He wants to visit your father's grave and he wants to see you, of course.'

The next moment she fell to the ground, motionless.

It was hard to say who knelt down with her first: Arthur or Merlin.

'Alina?' he asked. 'Alina?'

'She has fainted,' Gaius said. 'She will come round soon. Here, lay her on the blanket. She'll be more comfortable there.'

Arthur prepared to do as the physician commanded, but Merlin beat him there. He lifted the princess up and carried her to the blanket, laying her down as softly as he could. Arthur felt a sharp pang of jealousy when he saw his servant do that. He was so careful with her, tender almost. It was as if they belonged together. But yet he could not say anything about it. Merlin gave her what she needed and he could not deny her that.

Still, there was this feeling that he should have been the one to do it. She was his fiancée after all. And he liked her, kind of. There was no denying that feeling anymore, not since he realised he was in fact jealous of Merlin, who was in her company so often. Why had life to be so complicated?

He addressed Gaius again. 'Why has she fainted?' There did not seem to be a logical explanation for this. Was she ill, perhaps?

It was Merlin who answered. 'She is scared,' he said. 'She has no memory of her brother and now that he suddenly shows up, she has no clue as to what she is supposed to do, which is something you might have thought about before you decided to tell her out of the blue.'

About a minute ago he had believed that there was nothing worse than to be lectured by his fiancée. Now he knew that there was, in fact, one thing worse than being lectured by his fiancée: being lectured by his servant.

'Merlin?'

'Yes, Arthur?'

'Shut up.'

'I'm just telling you what you might have seen yourself if you had paid attention,' Merlin defended himself.

Arthur looked at Alina's face, peaceful now that she was not aware of anything that was going on around her. It reminded him of the day when she first came to Camelot. She had been scared then, too. But still, Connor was not a man to be feared. Arthur remembered him from previous visits. Connor was a very serious young man, only a few years older than he, but he was kind. There was no other word for it. Even if Alina did not remember him, he would not get mad at her. It was not in line with his character.

She blinked.

'She is coming round,' Gaius said.

Merlin was beside her before he could even move, bending over her with a worried face. Merlin trying to be the hero, saving the damsel in distress. It made Arthur wanting to kick something very hard, preferably Merlin himself, but that would most likely upset Alina.

'Alina, can you hear me?' his servant asked softly.

She got up with some help from Merlin. 'I'm fine,' she lied, fooling no one.

'You're not,' Merlin disagreed. Why did he have to say everything Arthur wanted to say?

'Really, Merlin, it's nothing. I'm just a little dizzy. Give me a few minutes and I'll be just fine.'

'Forgive me for my thoughtlessness, Alina,' Arthur heard himself say. What am I doing? 'I should have realised you did not remember him.'

She smiled. 'It's forgiven, Arthur,' she said warmly, before she got that teasing look on her face. 'But I'm surprised to hear you apologize actually. Maybe I should faint more often.'

He could not even bring himself to feel annoyed to the teasing. He could only noticed how much better she looked as the colour returned to her cheeks.

'You really do like her, don't you, Arthur?' Merlin teased.

'Shut up, Merlin.'

Alina

Alina could not remember to have been so nervous for anything in her life. Don't be such a baby, she told herself as she waited for the doors to open. You have defeated an evil witch without getting scared out of your wits and this is only your brother! Get a grip!

Her speech to herself did not have the desired effect and she knew why. Because Connor would immediately see that she was not his sister. She may look exactly the same, save for the eyes, but Connor and the other Alina had been very close and when it came to character, he knew all there was to know about his little sister. And in that way they were not at all alike. Connor would know. And then she would get arrested for the fraud that she was. She might even be charged with practising magic, for stealing the other Alina's body, even though she had nothing to do with that. She did not even know how it had happened. But she would get arrested and that would be the end of her. The end of her destiny.

She tried to even her breathing when she heard she was announced. There was no time to think anymore. The doors opened before her and she entered, her head raised. If she was going down, she would go down fighting. It wasn't like her to give up without a fight and she was not planning on changing that habit.

Uther was on his throne, Morgana on one side and Arthur on the other, their servants at their side. Merlin nodded and smiled reassuringly at her and she smiled back, unable not to do so. He had been such a good friend to her, she reflected. There was an unbreakable bond between them. She could not explain it. She was just grateful that there was one. Right now that smile gave her the courage to hold her head up high, even smile. She saw Arthur glance at Merlin, a look on his face that promised his servant a slow and painful death if he dared to do it again. Merlin did not seem to notice.

She now noticed the stranger, walking towards her. No, he was not a stranger to her. She knew him. He just didn't know her. She had seen him in her dreams since she was a little girl. This was Connor, the other Alina's brother. He smiled at her, his arms wide open. She smiled back, hesitating a little. Maybe it was all going to be just fine…

When they were close enough to see each other's eyes, he hesitated. Her heart stopped. He had seen. He knew.

It was only a moment. The smile returned to his face, even wider than before, which she thought was strange. He ran the last few meters and the embraced her.

'Little sister,' he said. 'It's good to see you.'

'Big brother,' she greeted, not believing her luck. He had greeted her as sister, so she could probably safely say that he was not going to betray her, even though it was obvious that he was aware of her not being his sister. 'How are you?'

'I am well,' he replied. He smiled. 'At least I have not been trying to fight an enormous beast on my own.'

She glanced at Uther, who also smiled. Looked like someone was still not tired of singing her praises. This was getting slightly annoying.

'I didn't do it on my own, exactly. Your source failed to mention I had help from two very capable men, did he?'

'My source mentioned you suffered from loss of memory,' he said, eyeing her closely.

This was a more dangerous subject. She could hear there was more to this question than just an inquiry after her health. She chose her words carefully when she answered. 'Your source seems to be right on that subject at least, but my memories are returning, very slowly, but they are returning. So I do remember you, if that's what you're afraid of.'

'That's my sister!' he laughed. 'Quick as ever.'

'It takes more than a blow to the head to take my wits away,' she joked, wondering how it could be that she did that. Connor was either as stupid as Arthur that he did not think anything about the change in eye colour or he was more open-minded than she would have believed possible.

'And I was hoping so much for a bit of peace and quiet!' he laughed.

He put an arm around her shoulder and walked with her towards the king.

'I'm so grateful for the care and love you have shown my sister in these difficult times,' he said. 'I could not have wished for better.'

'My pleasure,' she heard Arthur mutter in a voice that suggested the opposite.

Uther was saying how it was only the duty to care for members of noble families when they were in need of help and that it had been no trouble at all and that it was them that owed her a debt of gratitude. She lost focus quickly. Everything he said was so predictable, so her thoughts wandered back to the prince, who seemed to be in an exceptionally bad mood, something which seemed to have happened between the moment she fainted and the moment she woke up again. He had been sulking and taciturn on the way back, leaving her wondering what could be the reason for such behaviour.

She looked at Merlin, then at Arthur and then back at Merlin again, the question written on her face for the few who knew how to read it.

'No idea,' Merlin mouthed back. He had understood her perfectly.

Arthur caught him doing it and shot him a warning look.

It struck her then. She could not move her mouth without anyone seeing it, like Merlin, but that did not matter. Her friend had just come to the same conclusion.

'He's jealous.'

She bit on her lip to keep herself from laughing. Arthur was still thinking Merlin and she had this secret relationship going on, even though she told him this was not the case. Typical. Sometimes she did wonder if Arthur used that brain of his only on special occasions. Surely it was obvious, to anyone with a brain, that they were nothing more than close friends?

Her attention returned to the official conversation when Uther finished his speech and offered them all to come to dinner that evening. Connor accepted the invitation and that was the end of the gathering. He took her by the arm and led her out.

'Where are we going?' she asked. Connor did not hold her too tight, but she could feel that he was not going to let go anytime soon, which made her suspicious and scared, although she tried not to show that.

'My chamber,' he replied. 'We need to talk somewhere that we will not be eavesdropped on.'

Oh dear, this did not sound well. This did not sound well at all! She followed him, knowing that she had no other choice, while the panic started to set in.

And that's another chapter done. Hope you liked it. Please review. That would completely make my day!