And there's another chapter ready for you to read. Anything more to add? Yes, I'll stop telling you that I don't own Merlin. You all read it so many times that I take it you know that by now. So, on to the chapter. Read and review, please.

Chapter 25

Alina

Alina knew the dragon was right about Arthur and her. If she needed any more proof of that, she only had to pay close attention to the bond she had with Arthur. Every time they met his feelings became a mess of excitement, hopefulness and joy. There were also hints of doubt and even fear, but she could not really make anything of that. To Gwen he was kind and polite, a bit like he was to her, but then without all the rush of emotions. He started to like his host and she started to like him in return, but there were no signs whatsoever that this was more than a friendly relationship, so unlike the relationship the legend would have her believe would be developing at this particular time.

Arthur had been doing great in the tournament. He had placed himself for the finals. There was only one more match to go, so Alina went back to her chambers in high spirits. However, there was something that was worrying her. She knew that the assassin Myror should be in town during the jousting tournament, but up till now, she had not heard as much as a whisper of his presence in Camelot. But then, she had been so caught up in the tournament that she had not exactly been paying attention to anything else. She decided to keep her eyes open at the match tomorrow and to inform Merlin to be on his guard. If the man was here, they would catch him in time, she hoped.

She had dinner in her own room, and had only just finished when Merlin burst into the room, of course without bothering to knock.

'This is becoming something of a habit for you,' she observed.

That remark stopped him. 'What do you mean?'

A teasing smile appeared on her face. 'I'd ask you to knock the next time, but I've got a feeling that you're not going to listen, so…'

'Sorry,' he muttered, before continuing with the more pressing matters. 'There's an assassin in Camelot. He's here to kill Arthur. There was a guard, strangled…'

'Merlin, calm down,' she ordered.

'But he's here to kill Arthur!' Merlin repeated, as if she had not heard him the first time.

'I heard you,' she told him calmly.

'This is part of a big event?'

'Oh yes,' she replied. 'The assassin's name is Myror and he is sent by Odin. What else did the king say?'

'How do you know that the king…?' he started, but then seemed to realise that this was simply part of the knowledge that she had. 'Right, well, the assassin's in town. Sir Leon said that he had been sighted in the lower town and that he had escaped the guards.'

'Holy crap!' she cursed, making Merlin's jaw drop. 'Sorry. Let's get down to Gwen's. Arthur has to be told, before he does something stupid.'

She opened herself up to the connection and found her destiny still at Gwen's.

'Where is he?' Merlin asked.

'With Gwen. Nothing wrong as far as I can judge, but that can easily change when Myror finds him. Let's hope he has no idea where Arthur is hanging out, but I've got my doubts about that, to be quite honest. Let's go.'

Alina grabbed her cloak from a chair and ran with Merlin down to the lower town. There was no one to be seen in the streets.

'Good gracious me,' she muttered. 'There's an assassin loose in town and not one Camelot patrol in sight. No wonder this place is such a mess so often.'

'Is it better in your time?' Merlin wondered.

'Don't get me even started on my own time. A lot of things are wrong there, but then you hear people always complain about the good old times and how everything was better then. I don't know who first said that, but that person should be locked up for lying.'

'So, this time isn't better than yours?' Merlin pressed.

'It's neither better nor worse,' she replied. 'It's different in so many ways. To compare them would be an endless job. Each time has its pros and cons, but where it comes to national security, they both excel in messing it up.'

They had arrived at Gwen's house at this point in the conversation and of course Merlin burst in without knocking again, even though she hissed at him to do so. Apparently it was Merlin's trademark not to knock before entering people's rooms or houses like a whirlwind.

'Arthur, there's an assassin in Camelot!' he blurted out before Gwen or Arthur had even turned their head to look at him. 'He's here to kill you!'

Arthur and Gwen looked at him with horror-struck expressions. Gwen turned rather pale while Arthur reacted the way he always reacted to something he did not expect: his jaw dropped.

Alina closed the door behind her. 'Good evening to you both. Sorry for our interruption of your supper, but, as Merlin told you, we've got some news that cannot wait.'

Merlin and she took turns in explaining what was going on and then Arthur told them what Alina already knew: why Odin had sent Myror for him.

'You better stay here,' Alina said. 'No one knows you are here and it's probably the last place the assassin's going to look.'

Gwen nodded in approval. 'You can stay as long as you need to,' she said quickly.

'I think it's best Merlin went back to the castle, find out what he can,' Alina proposed. 'Arthur will stay here and try to sleep, same goes for Gwen. I'll keep watch, just in case the assassin decides to drop in on us tonight.'

'I can keep watch!' Arthur protested, clearly not enthusiastic about the idea that a woman had to watch out for danger while he slept.

'You need to be well rested for the tournament tomorrow,' she reminded him. 'You're worth nothing out there half asleep. That would give your opponent too much advantage, don't you agree?'

Arthur could not really argue with that, so the plan was accepted and they started to do as proposed. Merlin left, Gwen and Arthur went to bed after locking all the doors. Alina got herself a sword and crossbow from the castle's armoury and then sat herself down on the bench. There was not much to do and she kept herself entertained by reading a book and occasionally checking up on Arthur.

The prince pretended to be asleep, but he was restless. There was worry, nervousness that came very close to fear, grief for the life he had taken. Getting so close to his feelings made it simply unable for her to dislike him. Maybe he did not show his feelings so much to the outside world, but they were obvious to her. It had taught her that there was a good man hiding underneath the Prince Prat mask he so often wore.

Alina walked over to the window, pulling the curtain aside a little and glancing outside. There was no one to be seen there. Still no patrol to be seen, she thought to herself. We're in the middle of an emergency, so where are all the guards? Not that they're so much use when they are around, but still.

'You should try to get some sleep,' a voice behind her said.

'That's because you're not getting any with all this going on?' she retorted without turning.

'You heard me coming,' Arthur concluded.

'Yes.' Felt you coming, more like, but she could not tell him that. 'So, if you were trying to sneak up on me, you've failed. You make more noise than an elephant stamping around in the forest.'

'What's up with you and elephants?' he wondered.

'I think I just find them fascinating,' she replied. 'Don't you know that Hannibal used them to attack the forces of Rome?'

Arthur's face went completely blank. 'Sorry?'

'History's not really your strong point, is it?' she smiled. 'Never mind, but that's where my fascination comes from. Having said that, you should try to get some sleep. You still got several hours left till dawn.'

'I don't think I can,' he confessed. 'There's so many things going round in my head.'

'Do you want to talk about it?' she asked cautiously. Some part of her hoped that he would, because it would mean that he liked and trusted her and over the last few days she had come to realise how much she would like that he did. 'You know that helps sometimes, right?'

Arthur nodded and so they sat themselves down and had a real conversation with each other for the first times in their lives. Alina could hardly believe how much at ease she felt talking to him. He didn't seem to have a problem with talking to and with her either. So the sat there and talked the night away. There was no assassin in sight and Gwen's even breathing told them that she slept peacefully all night.

There was an almost magical feel to that night, like it was not completely real, existing outside time. She remembered having moments like that with her friends back home, but none of them felt as special as this one. Something told her that was because she had not belonged there with them, not truly. This time and place, with this person, that was where she was home.

'It feels strange,' she told Arthur when the sun finally started to rise.

'What is?' he asked.

'Being in Camelot gives me the feel of home,' she replied. 'I've never had that before in my life. I've travelled a lot and seen a lot of places. Many of them were beautiful, but none of them made me want to stay and never leave again.'

'Camelot does that to you?'

'Maybe,' she said. 'But I think that's more the people here that make this place a place that I can call home.'

'Which people?' he asked in a soft voice. There was an uncertain feeling radiating from him, like he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

She smiled. 'You, amongst others. But also Merlin, Gaius, Gwen, Morgana, your father. Each of them has shown me kindness when I first came here, each in their own way. When I could not remember a thing, they were there for me.'

'I wasn't,' he disagreed. 'I was unkind, rude even. How come you started to like me after all that?'

'I don't know,' she replied. 'Not exactly. It just happened. At first, I completely agreed with Merlin about you being an insensitive prat, but then I got to know you better and I discovered that was not all there was to you. So, quite against my will, actually, I started to like you. I'm sorry I can't explain it better.' She thought for a moment. 'And how about you? Why did you start to like me? I mean, I yelled at you probably more times than I care to remember and then I publicly humiliated you by beating you in a duel. You must have greatly disliked me, and that's probably an understatement.'

Arthur stared at his shoes, apparently unable to answer the question.

'Arthur?' she pressed.

'I don't know,' he replied.

Arthur

'You two have been up all night?' Gwen asked.

'Pretty much, yes,' Alina replied.

Arthur just sat and didn't say anything. He was still too ashamed to join the conversation at breakfast. Alina had not made a point of it, but it bothered him that he could not tell why he liked her. To him it was obvious that he did, he had only difficulty explaining why. He just did. It just was stupid that he could not tell her when she asked about it.

'I have to go and collect our dear sir William,' Gwen said, standing up. 'Good luck, sire.' She curtsied and was gone.

Alina was standing as well. 'We had better go, too,' she said. 'We don't want to be late for your big day, now, would we?'

She collected his stuff, which was scattered around the little house. Arthur ate the last of his bread while watching her. Perhaps, he pondered, he liked her so much because she was always there for him when he needed her. She might reprimand him from time to time, but when it came to it, she was at his side. How many others would do what she did? How many would insult a dangerous beast to distract its attention from him? How many would take on three tall, heavily armed bandits to protect him? How many would stay with him in a life-threatening situation with statues and fireballs attacking him, even after he had ordered them away? Merlin would, probably. They seemed to share a great deal of characteristics.

'I'm getting slightly nervous now,' she said. 'You've stared at me for ten full minutes now. Something wrong with my clothes or hair?'

He smiled at her. 'No. Why would there be?'

She shrugged. 'I could not possibly come up with any other reasonable explanation why you would keep watching me like that. Come on, we ought to be going.'

He got up, picking up the cloak from the bed and putting it on.

'Hmm,' Alina said. 'There's missing something.'

'What is?'

'Isn't it custom for a knight to go to the finals wearing a lady's favour?' she asked innocently.

His heart skipped a beat. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? 'That would require the knight in question to actually have a lady,' he said.

She cocked her head, smiling. 'That shouldn't be a problem, then.' She sought in her pockets and came to him with a deep blue ribbon in her hand.

He recognized the cloth immediately. This was from the dress she had worn when they had been fighting Sigan and his pets. He knew she had a few ribbons like that, because she thought the fabric was too beautiful to be destroyed entirely. She had loved the dress and now she gave a little bit of that to him.

'It even matches your armour,' she smiled as she tied it round his right arm. She held him at arm's length. 'Now you're officially perfect.'

He did not know why he did it. Or rather, he knew why, he just didn't know why he did it at that moment. They were in a hurry. They would have to run to the tournament already, but he forgot that. He leaned to her and kissed her before either of them realised what happened. It was a slow, tender, beautiful kiss and Arthur was sure he would remember it for the rest of his days, until his dying breath.

When they finally let go of each other he studied her face, cheeks flushed, eyes wide, lips curled in a small smile, wonder and surprise written all over her. He did not think he had seen her look so stunning before.

They could neither of them speak, not so soon after that kiss. All they could do was look into each other's eyes, forgetting all the rest, treasuring the moment. He still had his hands on her waist, hers were resting on his shoulders. He could almost feel the warmth of them through his clothes and chainmail.

The moment was shattered by Merlin, who burst into the room without bothering to knock (would he ever learn?). It took him not two seconds to figure out what was going on here. Arthur looked daggers at him. That look would make the bravest knight's knees tremble in fear, but Merlin only smiled widely, almost appearing more happy for them than they were for themselves.

'I hate to break up this beautiful moment,' he said, no hint of this regret in his voice. 'But you're running a little late.'

'I know, Merlin,' Arthur growled.

Alina laid her hand on his arm, which had a very calming effect. 'We're coming, Merlin,' she said in a calm voice. 'You're right. We are late, but I'm afraid I am in part to blame for the delay.' She took Arthur's hand. 'Come on, you've got a tournament to win.'

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