A/N: I know, it's not very long but here's your next chapter. Things are a bit erratic at the moment and Elaina is, as any person would be, more than a little out of sorts. And you know how Arthur gets when things don't go his way. At least there's somebody in Camelot who knows Elaina. I hope you enjoy the chapter (and thank you for all of the subscriptions and favourites! It means a lot!). Oh and there is a small amount of swearing in the later part of this chapter. But only a very small amount.

All was quiet in Elaina's room. The mattress and sheets had all been changed, as had her clothes. For the sake of convenience, she was now wearing a shirt and a pair of loosely fitting breeches found in her wardrobe. Her eyelids were closed and she was at peace.

The first rays of the morning sun entered the room and danced across Elaina's face.

Emilie watched her daughter, wiping away her tears one after the other. She looked up as there was a knock on the door.

'Enter,' she called softly.

Arthur entered, exhausted.

'I couldn't sleep – every time I closed my eyes, I –'

Queen Emilie nodded, motioning for Arthur to approach.

Arthur looked apprehensively at the paleness of Elaina's face, the peaceful expression on her face. The way her body was facing straight up to Heaven. He stared at Queen Emilie.

'I thought you said you'd tell me if she –'

Queen Emilie shook her head.

'She survived the night. Go on; be with her for a while. You did well, mortal.' She actually graced him with a smile and left the two of them together.

Arthur sat down next to Elaina and watched her breathe. He smiled when she turned towards him, still asleep. It was enough to make him well up. Kneeling down and finding avoiding the larger bruises on her face – she was starting to heal since that thing had been removed – he kissed her forehead. Raising his eyes to Heaven, he whispered,

'Thank you.'

Elaina's eyes shot open. She couldn't quite see who it was but she could tell it was man. A man kissing her. Her breath caught her in throat. She relaxed – slightly – when she heard Arthur's voice.

'…not going to hurt you; I won't let anybody hurt you,' Arthur promised her, his lips still brushing her forehead. He didn't know that Elaina was awake – he wouldn't have been saying this if she had been.

Elaina's vision swam slightly.

Arthur pulled back and frowned when he saw Elaina staring at the floor.
'You should be resting –'

'No.' Elaina shook her head and regretted it – the room started to spin in a sickening way. She closed her eyes and leant her head back against one of the many pillows beneath her head. 'I… I don't want to sleep.'

Arthur sat down in the chair Elaina's mother had previously occupied.
'Just go to sleep, Elaina –'

Elaina ran her tongue along the inside of her cheeks, trying to feel the holes where the rocks had dug in. It had felt too real to be a dream.
'I'm not tired, Arthur. I don't get very much rest anyway,' she told him before contradicting herself.

Arthur shook his head, his jaw set.
'The fact that you just yawned does not aid your argument, Elaina – go to sleep,' he told her.

Elaina moved her hands towards her stomach, to see whether that had been a dream. She opened an eye when Arthur held her hands in his. In her eyes, it wasn't a gesture of love; he was forcing her to stop doing something she wanted to do.

Arthur had intended it as both a loving gesture and a way to stop Elaina from trying to feel the wound on her stomach. It was bandaged, anyway.

'Then I'll take the bandages off,' Elaina snapped, pulling her hands out of Arthur's and rolling over to the other side of the bed.

Arthur stood up, closing his eyes and balling his hands into fists as he prayed for strength to put up with Elaina.
'Elaina,' he said through gritted teeth, 'get back to sleep or, so help me God, I will –'

'You'll what, Arthur?' Elaina asked in a scathing tone, though her voice was still very quiet. She opened her other eye and looked at her nightstand. It was in the top drawer – the dagger. Nobody else knew about it. 'I've already been beaten and broken; I was betrayed by somebody who was supposed to be my friend –'

'It was Morgana – she betrayed everybody.'

'- and, from what happened last night, I think I might as well be working in a brothel,' Elaina finished, grabbing the handle with the tips of her fingers and pulling.

The drawer opened the tiniest amount.

Arthur opened his eyes and looked at the floor. Specks of blood were still present. He'd ask Merlin to see to it later. Or something.
'Don't say things like that,' he murmured.

'Why not? I'm certain other people are – the rumours will start soon enough and then everybody in Camelot will know I'm a common –'

'I swear that if you finish that sentence, Elaina, you won't stand a chance against any of those rumours!' Arthur snapped furiously, glaring at her back. He was shaking. He was breaking. He had to sit down.

Elaina pushed herself bolt upright and yanked the drawer open. Tying the shirt so that her midriff was exposed, she stared down at the bandages with a blank expression on her face.

Arthur, resting his hands together as if he was in prayer, watched Elaina silently. He didn't try to stop her finding where the bandages had been tied.

Elaina hands shook as she found the knot. Before she could look, she had to ask Arthur something. Looking over her shoulder, her eyes bloodshot, she met his gaze and asked,
'Do you want to leave now or after you've seen the evidence?'

Arthur lowered his head, eyes closed, for a brief moment. He let out an exasperated sigh before standing up.

Elaina wasn't surprised that Arthur was going to leave – hurt, yes, but this was her own fault; however, she wasn't surprised at his actions. She was more surprised that she felt hurt. That she felt anything at all. Apart from weary. She took the dagger put and slid it beneath the knot. She started when the bed sank beside her.

'Why,' Arthur wondered in an exasperated tone, 'would I want to leave you?'

'I'm a sorceress,' Elaina was quick to remind him – she just wanted to get this over and done with. She had to see it.

Arthur shook his head in disbelief.
'You say that as if I should care –'

Elaina stared at Arthur.
'You hate magic; just like your father.'

Arthur counted to ten before replying to her statement.
'Elaina, where you are concerned, I don't give a damn about magic. Understood? And my father is… My father is hardly in a position to do anything about your magic at the moment,' he told her, taking the dagger away from her.

Elaina watched Arthur stare at the dagger, like there was a plan forming behind his eyes. Probably going to try and kill me.

Arthur held it up to the light, asking casually,
'Is this of any importance to you, Elaina?'

Elaina shook her head.
'No, I bought it from the market a few months ago; why – Hey!' Elaina cried as Arthur ran to an open window and threw it through.

Arthur watched with satisfaction as it fell into the well. He'd have Merlin fish it out later.
'Then you won't be missing it.'

Elaina's mouth was open and her eyes were narrowed, like she couldn't quite believe what Arthur had just done.
'Did you just – What… Why the Hell did you do that, you prat?'

Arthur smiled in satisfaction.

Elaina raised her eyebrows and groaned, throwing herself back onto the bed. She stared up at the canopy.
'I don't want to – Damn you, Arthur Pendragon. You'll pay for this.'

Arthur sat back down next to her. He shrugged.
'I can afford it; when the time comes, we'll do it together,' he promised her, putting an arm around her shoulders.

Elaina grabbed the real dagger from beneath her pillow and flew at him.

Emilie strode up to Arthur and, in a furious Irish accent, demanded to know,
'Are you stupid? Are you an –'

'Careful,' Gwaine warned her, 'he is the future king.'

'I don't care!' Emilie snapped. She proceeded to slap Arthur around the back of the head with one of Merlin's cleaning rags. 'You stupid, stupid eejit –'

'Harsh,' Gwaine muttered. He watched this scene play out in amusement.

'Shut your feckin' mouth, Gwaine, or I'll have it so that you never open it again,' Emilie warned him.

Arthur side-stepped the cleaning rag and grabbed it.
'Do you mind not hitting me whilst you aren't talking to me, Emilie?'

Big mistake. Gwaine wagged an index finger, shook his head and winced.

'Would I mind not hitting him? Would I mind?' Emilie raged. 'No, I don't mind; in fact, I'll do it a bit more now for that bloody cheek; you knights need a table –'

'We have one; it's just not here,' Gwaine pointed out, earning him a kick in the shin from Emilie. 'Ow!'

'Keep it shut, Gwaine. Anyway, you knights need a table for being sinfully stupid!' From behind her back, Emilie pulled at another rag and began to slap Arthur with it. When Arthur tried to dodge the abuse, she only proceeded to swing it even harder, yelling into his face, 'Take it like a man!'

'Emilie –'

Arthur looked around Gwen, Lancelot - anybody. He opened his mouth to speak – and got a mouthful of cloth. He spat it out and grabbed Emilie's wrist.
'You're almost as annoying as the other Emilie –'

'I bet she couldn't beat you up as well as I could,' Emilie assured him with a fiery glare. 'Let me go, Blondie, or I'll make you pay.'

Gwaine grabbed Emilie's waist and nodded at Arthur.
'Let her go, Arthur – I've got her.' As soon as Arthur dropped her wrists, Gwaine put Emilie over his shoulder and carried her away.

'Put me back!' Emilie screamed at Gwaine.

'Finally.' Arthur knocked on Elaina's door. 'Have you calmed down yet?'

Silence.

'Elaina… I'm sorry?'

She still wasn't talking to him.

'What did you do?'

'Great,' Arthur muttered sarcastically.

It was Marcus.

'How lovely to see you, Marcus.'

'Spare me the pleasantries, Arthur – I'd like to know what's happened today to Elaina. I'm guessing from that angry, little woman –'

'I am not little!'

'- who is trying to scream this castle down, that you did something to upset Elaina.' Marcus knew he was right and he shook his head, an expression of disdain upon his face. 'She's been through enough –'

'I know what she's been through, Marcus,' Arthur growled. 'I was there last night –'

'So was I but it doesn't mean that I suddenly understand everything that happened to her! You act like just because you've lost a mother and are losing your father that you 'understand' what's happening in Elaina's mind. I have been Elaina's friend for as long as we have both lived but even I can't even begin to imagine what she's thinking about now.' Marcus knocked on Elaina's door. 'Elaina, dear – can I come in?'

From behind the door, there was a sigh.
'Go away.'

Marcus looked at how desperate Arthur looked and shook his head, grinning.

Arthur glared at him.
'What's so funny?'

'You have had Elaina back for what? Three hours?' Marcus guessed. 'And you've already managed to terrify her; have her lock you out of her room –'

'I pulled a knife on him,' Elaina admitted through the door.

Marcus laughed.

'Don't laugh; I'm not proud of it,' Elaina told him.

Marcus immediately sobered up.
'Of course you aren't, Elaina. Of course you aren't.' He looked at Arthur; whilst nodding, he mouthed, Yes, she is. 'Can I come in?'

'No!' Elaina glared at the door. She'd pushed her table in front of it and was sat on there, her knees brought up to her chest. 'Why would I let you in?'

Arthur nodded, murmuring,
'Fair point –'

'Arthur.' Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose and glared at the other prince. 'I'm trying to salvage a little of your relationship with Elaina; kindly let me do it.' He took a deep breath and told Elaina, 'I want to talk to you –'

'I've tried that,' Arthur growled.

'- about Nathan,' Marcus finished.

'How is that helping anything?' Arthur cried indignantly.

Marcus counted to three. He smiled when he heard the table being moved out of the way.

The door opened the tiniest bit.

A/N: Apologies for Emilie's potty mouth. She's rather fiery. At least Marcus knows what to say, as shocking as it may seem. All will be answered in the next update; I suspect some of you are thinking exactly what Arthur said. But, like I said, Elaina is more than a little out of sorts. Feel free to review; flame policy still up and, if you want, you can come visit me on Tumblr and Twitter. Both links are on my profile page.

Grace x