Hey guys

I'm afraid this is going to have to be the last chapter for a while. Unfortunately real life has caught up with me and I have rather major exams coming up, so I've got to sacrifice this for a few weeks whilst I revise for them. However, I promise I'll be back with more chapters to make it up to you once they're over.

Meanwhile, you can always check out this fic...www . fanfiction . net /s/ 5932983/1/

(minus the spaces of course)

It'a called the Epically Awesome Fic (rather tongue in cheek)Basically me and a few fellow fanficcers share one free a week and out of sheer boredom we began the one sentence each thing, and it evolved from there. The full story is on the profile, but please check it out. It is rather random, but please read and review.

Erm, thanks for all your reviews on this, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Please R&R.

Fey of the forest

She didn't know what to think when she opened her eyes. She had gone to bed that evening in her room in the castle, with the window firmly shut and had managed to somehow block out Merlin's voice. She was pretty certain that she had climbed into her four poster bed and then fallen asleep, her head resting on soft pillows. In fact, she was absolutely one hundred percent sure that that was what she had done... So why the Hell was she waking up in the middle of a forest using a jacket for a pillow in a makeshift bed of blankets? And in her night gown? She knew that it might be a dream, and so she pinched herself, but... No, this was real. Therefore how had she gotten here? After all, she knew that she didn't sleepwalk, and she had such a good hold of her magic that she knew that her powers weren't responsible... So who had the nerve to move her whilst she was sleeping? And they better have brought her a gown. There was no way she was walking around wearing just her night clothes.

"Good morning my lady. I trust you slept well?" Merlin said cheerfully as he sat by a small fire. She should have known that the slimy toad of a so called warlock would be behind this. Tempted to just storm off and head straight back to Camelot before anyone realised that she was gone, something made her stay. Whether it was the fact that she wished to keep her dignity or she actually wanted to spend the day with him, she didn't know.

"You had better have..." she began.

"Your clothes my lady." The warlock smiled, handing over a small bundle. "I'm just going to go... and fetch some water. Yeah." He excused himself quickly.

Waiting until he was gone, and putting a quick spell on the area to stop any peeping toms, Ingrid quickly changed into her favourite dress and folded up her night dress. Combing her hair the best she could with her fingers, she then undid her magic and put on her shoes before wandering off to the path. Following it for a few minutes, she turned around at the sound of her name and found Merlin running after her.

"Alright Merlin, what are you up to?"

"Nothing my lady. I just thought that you would enjoy a day away from the castle."

"With you?" she asked, sceptically. "You who broke my heart?"

"I also wish to apologise for being a total..."

"Prat? Clotpole? Twonk?" she threw in.

"Exactly. I have been a complete idiot since the day you returned, and, well... I should not have acted like I did. I should not have ran and I certainly should not have tried to make you drink a love potion. I understand if you never want to lay your eyes on me again after all the hurt I have caused you and..." he stuttered

"Merlin?" she interrupted.

"Yes?" he asked hopefully

"Are you trying to say sorry?"

"Yes... I take it I'm failing miserably?"

"Just a little."

"Oh... Well, I'm very sorry my lady. I should... I just shouldn't have done what I have done... I never meant to cause you any harm..." he trailed off, realising that Ingrid wasn't buying any of it. Ingrid just stared at him, ready to turn around and head back to Camelot. In fact... she started walking, but her path was very quickly blocked.

"Please Ingrid, just hear me out. I..."

"Give me one good reason why." She told him, pretty peeved that her plans for the day were falling apart, and it was all because of him. "One good reason why I shouldn't just go back to Camelot right now..."

"I...I erm..." he stuttered, and so she just kept walking, quite happily walking past him whilst she tried to think of an excuse as to why she was in the forest this early in the morning. "I...Ingrid, please..." he begged.

"Just one reason." She repeated, not stopping.

"Because..." he paused. "Because I love you!" he shouted. This stopped Ingrid in her tracks. Had he just said what she thought he had?

"What?"

"Please, give me a second chance..."

"What did you just say?"

"Please..."

"No, before that." Merlin smiled ever so slightly.

"I love you Ingrid, with all my heart."

"Then prove it."

"How?"

"You could at least feed me." She told him. Merlin just smiled even more.

"Then follow me."

Shrugging and sighing, Ingrid did exactly that, following him to a small clearing by a river where a basket was placed in the middle of a blanket that had been put on the ground. There were all sorts of food already laid out for Ingrid to choose from and her mouth watered at the sight. Sitting down, she identified various berries, fruits, breads, jams and cakes, along with a number of other dishes that she couldn't name. Eying Merlin warily, she didn't know if she could trust him.

"You go first." She told him.

"Why?"

"So I can make sure you haven't tampered with the food."

"I can assure you that I have done no such thing."

"Then you have nothing to worry about." Merlin sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to win, and picked up a piece of bread. Taking a bite after spreading it with jam, he didn't seem any different so Ingrid simply shrugged and tucked in to breakfast for she was starving. Still annoyed at the fact that she was in the middle of this blasted forest when she'd already had other plans for the day, she ate in silence whilst the young warlock made a very poor attempt at small talk.

"It's a lovely morning."

"It is."

"With the birds singing and not a cloud in sight." She nodded in agreement. "And what could be better than sitting by a river eating breakfast?"

"Don't know." She shrugged, really not in the mood for talking to him right now.

"Or just spending a day here..." Oh God no... Not the whole day, she thought. She really did have much better things to do than this.

"Excuse me my lord, my lady. I was wondering if you could help me. I'm looking for the village of Lledrith." They were interrupted, and Ingrid silently thanked whoever it was that was looking down on her favourably.

"It's just along that path." Ingrid told him, pointing towards the forest track. "Follow it for a few miles and you'll see it."

"Thank you my lady." He smiled before riding off along the path. The two magicians were silent for a moment, before Ingrid broke it.

"How about a game?" she suggested.

"A game? What sort of game?"

"Hide and seek?" Merlin regarded her curiously, as if he thought she was joking, before grinning when he realised that she wasn't.

"Why not?" he shrugged. "Who goes first?"

"Tell you what, you count to a hundred and I'll go hide. No magic is to be used in seeking though. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

"Then no peeking." She said merrily, waiting until his back was turned before running off into the depths of the wood. Looking for somewhere to hide where Merlin wouldn't find her in a million years, she heard him counting and grinned as she stood at the base of a very thick tree. Gazing up towards the top, she found a branch half way up which appeared to be sturdy enough to hold her weight. It was perfect, but she had to get up there first. Smiling, Ingrid conjured up a ladder, and used that to get up before making it disappear. It was easier to do that then get herself and her dress scratched to pieces by the bark. Getting comfy, she made sure that her dress wasn't snagged on any smaller branches and sat in amongst the leaves, quite happily admiring the view.

She could see a fair distance from here, but she wasn't quite high enough to see over the canopy. However, she could just about make out the towers of Camelot castle and, looking at them, she sighed. She would much rather be there today than the forest. She had made plans to go shopping, and it was very important. She had to find a dress for a ball that was coming up to celebrate the champion of the jousting tournament, and she was supposed to be going with Alethea. The two of them were going to take advantage of their positions and gain the most beautiful fabrics, and then Ingrid had been planning on visiting Morgana. It looked like those plans had all been thrown out of the picture now thanks to Merlin. Sighing as she fiddled with the charms on her bracelet, she snuggled up and closed her eyes, quite happy to absorb the rays of sunlight that came streaming through from above.

"Ingrid! Ingrid, where are you?" Merlin called, shaking the young lady from her slumber. Blinking awake, she looked at the clearing below and smiled when she saw the boy walking around. It served him right that he couldn't find her, the stupid warlock. Tempted to just stay where she was, she dangled her foot over the branch and could only watch helplessly as her shoe fell. Watching it, she cursed as she realised that her position had just been given away. She couldn't help but smile though when her shoe hit Merlin on the head.

"Found you!" He said triumphantly. "I've found the beautiful raven in her majestic tree."

"Yes..."

"How did you get up there?"

"I climbed." She grinned, before starting to make her way down, but without the aid of a ladder this time. Using the branches to help her, she realised her mistake when she found the lowest branch was still a good few metres from the ground. She was about to shimmy down the trunk when she lost her footing and was sent tumbling. Bracing herself for the impact of the hard ground, she was surprised when she landed on something soft and squishy... Merlin. She smirked, especially when she realised that their position was somewhat compromising, but this time he didn't seem to want to run away this time.

"Are you alright my lady?" he asked between breaths, for she had knocked the wind out of him.

"I seem to be." She said, getting to her feet. "Nothing's broken at least."

"Good." He smiled, getting to his feet and brushing himself down. Ingrid straightened out her dress before making sure that she was still wearing her bracelet. Merlin noticed. "You still wear it?"

"It's a pretty bracelet." She shrugged, not wanting to let on the real reason why she didn't take it off. Merlin just wore a slight smile, before limping to the edge of the clearing. Ingrid watched him, until he paused. "Well, are you just going to stand there?" he called, and Ingrid followed him to the place where they'd had breakfast. Watching him wince in pain as he sat down, she fought off a smile but felt slightly happier now that she knew that he wouldn't run away. He must have said what he meant earlier...

"Rhosyn" he whispered and handed her a single red rose as she sat down.

"Shouldn't it be black? This is me remember."

"Alright. One black rose for a beautiful lady, coming right up." He said, rubbing his hands together. "'n ddeuddeg coch rhos."

"I asked for black, and you give me not one but...twelve red roses!" she said, one eyebrow raised. "Is that the best you can do?" she teased.

"No..." he sounded slightly hurt. "Mefusin." A punnet of strawberries appeared and Merlin looked hopeful.

"I don't like them." Merlin sighed.

"I give in. I was going to give you something small beforehand but no... You would have to be the awkward one, wouldn't you?" he grumbled quietly, routing around in one of the bags he'd brought with him.

"Huh?" she questioned, before a package was put in her hands. Intrigued, she stared at Merlin with curious eyes before opening it and smiling when she saw what it was. "A cloak?"

"Not just any cloak either. It changes colour to match your mood." She wrapped it around her shoulders and the fabric turned the same colour blue as her eyes.

"Thank you." She said, meaning it. The fabric must have cost a small fortune and then for the magic to work... Merlin really must be short of money now.

"You're welcome." He said, watching her as she stood up and checked out the length. "Does that mean that I am forgiven?"

"Only if you tell me how you got me here." She told him as she sat back down.

"With your brother's help. I wouldn't have managed carrying you here on my own."

"What?" she asked, her mind whirring. Was he saying what she thought he was? Her cloak flashed red as Ingrid felt anger rise within her.

"It's not that you're heavy, far from it. I just had a lot to carry." She calmed back down.

"yes, well... You are rather scrawny." She teased. "But I suppose, I'll forgive you..."

"You will?"

"On one condition."

"What's that?"

"This." She smiled mischievously before closing the gap between them. Merlin felt himself move to meet her half way and their lips were very quickly merged, neither of them running this time. Ingrid smirked, knowing that she would forgive him, but only if her cloak would stop flashing pink when she was near him. She hated the colour.

"Oh..." Merlin breathed once they broke off, his hair a mess from where Ingrid had ran her hands through it.

"Now, anyway, it's getting a bit cool..." she blushed, getting to her feet straight away. If any one knew Ingrid as well as Merlin did, they could have sworn that she was embarrassed.

"It is. To Camelot?"

"To Camelot."

It was a good few weeks now since that day in the forest and Ingrid had found herself seeing a lot more of the warlock, though that was probably because they were no longer avoiding each other like the plague. She had been spending a fair amount of time with him too, probably meaning that she had actually forgiven him fully, though she wasn't going to tell him that. Things wouldn't be half as much fun otherwise. Smiling, she paced her room restlessly for she was waiting for a visitor. She had been told to be ready by mid afternoon and so here she was, ready for whatever it was that she had to be prepared for. Wondering where he was taking her, Ingrid stopped walking as her eyes fell on the dress she was going to wear the next day for the ball. She had actually managed to go shopping with the Queen for it, and their plans had only been postponed by a day. Apparently Alethea had been in on what Merlin was up to, so she hadn't been too annoyed. In fact, she seemed absolutely delighted when she found what had happened, and Ingrid presumed that that was the reason why she had chosen such a dress. It was certainly going to give the Court a shock, and probably give Merlin a heart attack...

"Ingrid?" She practically ran to the door when the knock came, but she composed herself and walked rather quickly instead. The young warlock was stood there, dressed in some very fine clothes, and held out a black rose for her. Ingrid smiled, for she was quite looking forward to this, even if she didn't like to admit it.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I had to pick...something...up." he apologised. "You ready?"

"Yep." She nodded, leaving the room and walking with him to the courtyard. "So where are you taking me?"

"You'll see." Merlin said simply, and it was clear that he wasn't going to give anything away. Sighing as they reached the courtyard, Ingrid found her horse ready and looked at it, intrigued. Mounting up with Merlin's help, she could only but wonder where they were heading as she rode alongside Merlin.

They had rode for about an hour when they finally came to a halt. Puzzled as to why they had stopped here in a small clearing with nothing but grass, Ingrid looked at Merlin, hoping for some answers. However, somewhat infuriatingly, he said nothing and simply flashed her a smile. Ever the gentleman, he helped her to dismount before leading her along a track way, letting the horses graze. If Ingrid didn't know any better, she would have said that the young warlock was nervous, though she couldn't work out why that would be so.

"How much further?"

"Not far." He replied and, sure enough, within a few moments they reached a small clearing with a tower in the middle. It wasn't a very tall tower, being only slightly higher than the trees, but it had a trail of roses and ivy growing around the brickwork, and there were some creatures flying up by the roof.

"You brought me to a tower?"

"Wait until you see what's inside." Not sharing Merlin's enthusiasm, Ingrid followed him through the door and up the spiral staircase. The tower was deserted, and only had one two floors. It was obvious that it hadn't been used for years, but Merlin didn't seem to care. In fact, he simply kept on going until they reached the roof, and it was here that she found out what the creatures were. Bats. Ingrid smiled in delight, watching as the small winged mammals swooped and dived in the twilight. She loved bats, next to ravens and cats, and she hadn't known that Merlin knew.

"How did you..."

"I just guessed." Merlin told her, quite happily letting Ingrid watch and admire the small mammals.

"It's beautiful up here." She said quietly, not wanting to scare the bats away. "I don't know how you knew, but thank you... Thank you." She added a few minutes later, before realising that Merlin hadn't spoken, which was unusual for him. She turned around, just to make sure that he hadn't ran off, and was surprised to see him down on one knee, with a small box in hand.

"What?" she breathed, her heart beating rapidly. Was he... Was he proposing?

"My lady Ingrid, my raven haired beauty, you already have my heart, but will you have me too?" he asked, having taken a deep breath.

"What?" she asked, blushing as she worked out what he had just technically said.

"Oh..Erm... I, didn't mean it like that. I um meant that..." his cheeks were the same colour as his red top now.

"Merlin, stop digging yourself a hole." She told him. Merlin sighed,, took a deep breath to compose himself and tried again.

"I love you Ingrid de Ravenscar and I..."

"Merlin, what are you doing?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"I'm trying to... Oh, to heck with it." He sighed.

"Are you trying to ask me to marry you?" she asked disbelievingly.

"My Lady Ingrid de Ravenscar, I suppose what I am trying to say is that I love you, and that I can't bear to think of a world without you, so what I am trying to ask is... Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

Dun dun duh...

Sorry to leave you guys on a cliffhanger, but I promise I will be back soon. Just as soon as my exams are done, I swear.

Please review,

Fey of the forest