Two updates in one day because I was absent for a hot minute!

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin BBC

As Kaia walked into the guest chambers of Lady Vivian, she found Arthur standing awkwardly with the young woman. She was beautiful, blonde, and fair.

"In...deed," Arthur was saying. He caught her walking in and almost smiled, but simply motioned to Kaia. "Well, er, may I present Malakaia. She'll be looking after you for the duration of your stay. You'll want for nothing. She is truly one of Camelot's finest."

Lady Vivian giggled. "Then I fear for Camelot."

Kaia was stunned at the woman's rudeness, glancing to Arthur to find him much the same. They both bowed to the blonde woman and left the room. Arthur and Kaia paused as they exited and closed the door behind them. They looked at each other for a brief moment and actually laughed.

"Good luck with that one," Arthur smirked.

"Mmm," Kaia replied, thinking back to the insult. She supposed the offense really shouldn't matter, should it? Shaking her head at herself, she noticed Arthur looking at her. It reminded her of where they were and caused her back to straighten.

"You need to prepare for the feast," Kaia said with a small curtsy. She turned to leave, aware of his hurt eyes that caused a pain in her chest.

"Kaia—

She kept walking

"I know what my father said to you."

Kaia paused, clenching her fists. Merlin.

"He's concerned about the two of us, don't be too angry with him." Arthur said as he approached her from behind. She felt his hand on her waist and froze at the feeling. "Malakaia, don't walk away from me. You've barely said a word to me for weeks and it was not fair for you not to tell me why."

"What was I supposed to say?"

"The truth," he whirled her body around. "I would have understood."

"You were already so angry at your father," she stressed, crossing her arms. "What would have you done?"

"Demanded he leave you alone because threatening those you love most is cruel!" Arthur said. "I can pretend not to love you, but I wouldn't pretend not to believe he's a tyrant."

"Arthur!" Kaia whispered.

"Things are changing, Malakaia," Arthur whispered back. He looked down at her. "I don't trust my father the same way and I don't believe he's always right. I need you to understand that I wouldn't let him do anything to harm you, Merlin, or Guinevere."

"You can't protect them forever," Kaia argued, stepping back. She tried to still her heart that had picked up speed at how impassioned he was. "So I will do what I must. Merlin is...you'll never understand. I won't put him in danger."

Arthur shook his head. "You have so little faith in me."

"I have more faith in you than most people," she arched an eyebrow.

"Clearly not in protecting you!"

"There are some things you cannot do without breaking the law—

"And? I've done it before. I could do it again, especially against a man I'm losing respect for and one who has no respect for none but himself."

Kaia stared at the prince for a long moment. She searched his serious expression, the fire in his eyes. It occurred to her that she'd never seen him this way before. When he found out about his mother, he'd been mad with the need to kill his father. When annoyed by Merlin or Morgana, he was almost always immediately reacting. The passion he now held was different: cooled, collected, and patient. She realized, with the smallest bit of pride, that this quiet fury was the way a true king would behave.

"Do not make any rash decisions," she replied quietly and steadily. "Regarding your relationship with your father. He will not harm me as long as you control yourself."

"Do not speak to me like a child."

"I won't if you won't act like one."

"You're infuriating!" he told her in a whispered yell. "You push others, always push, to do what you believe is right. The moment someone disagrees and tries to push back, you run away. How spectacularly hypocritical. Newsflash, my love, you don't get to control everything here."

Kaia made an exasperated noise, making to turn away because she knew he was right, and frankly, she wasn't in the mood to hear it. She was stopped by Arthur's hands both wrapping around her waist and turning her around, yet again. A small yelp escaped her lips as she was jerked into the nearest closet and pressed into a shelf so that Arthur's body was against hers and his lips devouring her. Kaia fumbled for the lock on the closet, managing to secure it before she returned the kiss with fervor. Her hands shook as Arthur's hands tightened on her hips, so she steadied them by intertwining them in his hair.

His lips were slightly chapped and his kiss rougher than before. Kaia didn't mind in the least bit, feeling a strange sound vibrate in her throat as his tongue entered her mouth and she was tasting him and he was perfection and there was nothing but the heat of his body so deliciously pressed against hers. She drew back for breath, her teeth taking his bottom lip in between them and causing him to moan loudly at the same time as they heard footsteps outside. At the loud sound, he pulled back abruptly and Kaia clamped a hand over his mouth. They waited with wide eyes and attempted control of their breathing.

"Did you hear that?" a woman asked.

"I did not, my love," a man replied. "Come, we must go greet Henrietta and Adelaide."

"Are you sure—

"Come, wife."

Arthur and Kaia waited for a long moment after the footsteps left, both breathing softly and still clutching each other tightly. Kaia could barely breathe, her body was on fire, and her head spun furiously. Arthur looked much the same. It took some time, but he slid his hands off her body and pulled away, his back leaning against the other wall of the small cupboard.

"I'm sorry," Arthur spoke quietly. "I was...doing well, I think, until you tried to walk away from me. Though how I translated my frustration to a snog, I'm not quite sure."

"It's alright," she replied in a matching tone. "I'm frustrated as well, at the whole situation. At who we are."

Arthur covered his face, barely visible in the light as he sighed dramatically. After a moment, he stepped closer again so she could see the whites of his eyes. "I'm not going to give up, I'll have you know that. I won't be savagely dragging you into broom cupboards anymore, but I'm not going to give up. I finally have something in my life that brings me peace and joy, that makes me feel free."

"Arthur, please don't make this any harder than it already is."

"Malakaia, I will wait as long as I need to. Do not mistake that."

And with those words, he left her alone and more confused than ever.

)-(

At least, that's what she thought.

Kaia had left her physician's bag in her house the next day. After tending to all of Lady Vivian's needs—the woman was demanding, rude, and shockingly messy—she was dismissed to her other job. Kaia needed to grab her bag before going to Gaius, who promised to show her about stopping bleeding in the brain (both magically and humanly possible ways). She had intended to walk into her room and quickly take the bag.

She was stopped, however, by finding flowers on her table. They were white and purple wildflowers, her favorite, and she felt a small smile on her face. It was normal for Merlin to pick her flowers when she felt sad, so she reached for them gratefully and decided to put them in water. As she picked them up, she noticed a note with her name on it and frowned.

The barriers that keep us apart are nothing compared to the power of true love.

—Arthur

"Well that's awfully romantic," she said aloud, blushing. Kaia remembered his words about not giving up and widened her eyes slightly. Apparently he'd been completely serious. The fact greatly frustrated her while simultaneously causing her heart to swell. He could certainly be stubborn when he wanted to. After all, he was a prince and used to getting what he wanted. No doubt Kaia's insistence that they stay apart and his recent rebellion towards his father had made it even more of a goal to be met.

"He's not doing half bad with the flowers..." she trailed off to herself. Kaia found a vase in the small house and placed the flowers in it, filling it with some water from the pitcher. She set them on the table and picked up the note once more with a small smile on her face.

A distraction immediately presented itself. Kaia was met with the form of her brother stumbling through her front door with a troubled look in his features. Kaia gave her best disapproving look and crossed her arms. "Merlin! Do you ever knock?"

"Put the note down and come with me," Merlin said slowly, darting forward to take her note. Kaia jerked her hand back.

"Merlin, what are you doing?" she asked, shoving him away the same way she did when they were children. "This is ridiculous."

"I've made a mistake and you need to come with me back to Gaius so that we can fix it," Merlin explained. "That note...I shouldn't have written it."

"Then explain it to me," she rolled her eyes, concern glittering through her. "Tell me what's happened, don't act so mad and try to take my notes."

"The flowers weren't for you, they're for Lady Vivian—"

Kaia felt her throat go dry instantly. She set the note down with almost shaking hands and placed herself in her seat. "What do you mean?"

"This morning, Arthur was going on about wooing his love and being deeply concerned she didn't return his affections," Merlin sputtered out. "And yesterday, we'd been talking about you. Naturally, I thought he wanted to woo you."

"So the flowers..."

"He wanted me to give his love flowers, you see. Still thinking he meant you, I left the flowers and a note because he'd been acting awfully romantic about this whole ordeal and didn't seem to care what his father would think. I wrote the note and left the flowers, but I realized he meant Lady Vivian only after I'd already done it."

Kaia looked down at her hands. The flowers were meant for Vivian? How could it be possible? Just the day before he'd practically ravished her in a broom cupboard just outside the very lady's rooms! He'd sworn to protect her from his father and wait as long as he needed to. Had he been lying? Was this revenge for her avoidance of him in the prior weeks?

"Kaia..." Merlin whispered. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Kaia kept her eyes down. "It's a complicated situation and he's perfectly entitled to woo a princess. It's what he deserves."

"I'm sure there's more to it," Merlin moved towards her, but Kaia stood and slid past him. "I need to go to Gaius. You should go to Arthur."

"You've been brushing off your feelings for weeks, Kaia, maybe you should just accept them."

"And what good would that do right now, Merlin?"

"I don't know, maybe if you told him you returned his feelings, he wouldn't be acting like this."

Kaia's hand paused on her door knob. "So me wanting to protect the people I love is the fault behind this?"

"That is not what I said."

"I can't give in to this, brother. Your life is staked on it, Gwen's life is staked on it! I have magic, in case you've forgotten? Do you really think Arthur would forgive me if we were involved and he discovered I'd been keeping that secret from him?"

"I don't have all the answers, but it could work."

"Merlin." Kaia groaned. She dug her hands into her forehead, trying to push away the impending migraine. "Why are you pushing this so much? Shouldn't you be angry with Arthur for pursuing me?"

"I am for this because I want you to be happy," Merlin came forward, taking her hands and looking at her with his piercing blue eyes. "Kaia, I see the way you look at each other. You feel calm and at peace together, isn't that right?"

Her shoulders slumped. "Yes."

"Then let me figure out what's going on, let me fix this!" he pleaded. A small smile surprised her on his face, a twinkle returning. "It's my job, remember?"

"I think you should let things work out for themselves," Kaia sighed. "Pushing them isn't going to do anything. Use your famous patience, alright?"

"If you say so," Merlin replied. They left the room together, both heading to Gaius. Their uncle looked at them suspiciously when they skulked in. In fact, he threw down the broom he'd been sweeping with and huffed, causing the siblings to jump in surprise.

"Uncle?" Kaia asked timidly. "Is everything alright?"

"It would seem not!" Gaius huffed again. "I must say, I have kept myself quiet long enough! What has gotten into you two? Merlin, you go from being happy and loopy to moping around like a dog who's lost his bone. And you, my sweet girl, seemed to have had the life sucked from your very eyes. I'm not accustomed to you two keeping secrets from me, and our time together has been so limited as of late, I don't know what to think about it."

They both stared at their uncle, unsure of how to respond to the outburst.

"I am your tutor and magical confidant," Gaius frowned. "How is it that I'm being pushed to the side?"

"We are adults," Merlin said off handedly. "We can't be expected to tell our guardian everything, can we?"

"Incorrect answer," Gaius crossed his arms. "Tell me what's going on with the both of you. Is it Morgana again? Merlin, I thought I told you not to get involved romantically, it will lead to your death!"

"What does it matter?" Merlin said stubbornly, straightening his back. Kaia put her face in her hands, beginning to wonder if it'd been a good idea for her to come to Camelot at all. Merlin had only gotten involved with Morgana because of her and defied Gaius' orders because of her. Arthur was rebelling against his father and willing to risk people's lives for her. All she'd done is make a mess!

"Your life is what matters!" Gaius stressed.

"I love her!" Merlin yelled. Gaius seemed shocked into silence. "I wouldn't be able to go another day, living near her, seeing her as often as I do, unless I was with her. You don't understand."

"Don't speak to me of things you believe I do not understand," Gaius warned. "Just because you have not seen it and I am old does not mean I don't know of love."

"Then where is your love?" Merlin hissed. "If you know so much of it?"

"I made a choice to protect the one I loved," Gaius snapped. "I made an adult decision where she was concerned. You, Merlin, have been making boyish decisions because that is what you still are—a boy!"

"Uncle," Kaia pleaded, stepping forward. "Please, don't be angry with him, you don't know what it's like. Morgana is special to us, she shares the bond of magic and it connects us like no other! She was lost, just as we were."

"Your closeness can be explained, Kaia," Gaius stressed, striding forward. "The closeness between Merlin and Morgana, however, cannot. He will be killed. How do you not see this? How can the consequences of a secret relationship not matter to you?"

Kaia felt her chest tighten as the memory of Arthur and she locked in a tight embrace floated across her mind, quickly followed by Uther's death threat of Merlin and Gwen. She straightened her back and felt her jaw tighten as anger rippled through her. It was rare, but it was powerful, and it made her bones ache with the need to release some kind of good magic—she needed to purge herself of the negative emotion, but she couldn't seem to.

"The consequences," Kaia spoke slowly. "of a secret relationship matter very much to me, Uncle. I have personally been told very clearly what will happen if a secret relationship is had…from the king himself."

Gaius' eyes widened just so. Kaia watched as the gears in his head turned and he comprehended her words. Surprise flittered across his face and she knew, without a doubt, that Gaius had figured it out. All the random visits to the physician from Arthur, how the prince only wished to be treated by Kaia's tender hands, and why she alone had been the one to stop him from murdering his own father. He saw what was clearly there and he put a hand to his mouth. "Arthur?"

The two siblings nodded.

"My sweet girl," Gaius sighed, his head dropping. "Oh how I wish I could have kept you from him. You couldn't be in more danger."

Kaia's eyes stung.

"The both of you," the old man continued. "You are involved with the only two people Uther truly cares about in this world. You are friend to your master and mistress, and lover to a prince and a royal ward. You are a witch and warlock. The mark on your heads is large and deathly."

"I have already removed myself from Arthur's company," Kaia said thickly. "Uther made it clear what would happen if I did not. I don't think...well, with my refusal of Arthur's advances, the king seems to think he still holds all power over us. He is smug and he is satisfied. I don't believe he would suspect Merlin, as long as his visits remain nightly. You cannot ask them to be apart from each other, it is cruel."

Gaius looked torn between frustration and sadness. In the end, it seemed the latter won out, as Gaius simply pulled them both into a secure hug. "I don't suppose he'd listen to me anyhow."

"You know I won't," Merlin replied, a small smile in his voice. "I'm much too stubborn for that."

Gaius chuckled. "Now that is something I don't have to make you tell me."