A/N: Ha! Look at me, updating in a timely manner. What is this? Well guys, this is called I'm bored and it's half past two in the morning. Thanks for your continued support and please continue reading!

Just a Normal Day

Part Two

It took us far longer than it should have to make it through the woods. When the campfire was finally in sight we saw Arthur, Leon, and one other knight sitting around the fire. There was no Merlin though. My heart sank. I could barely feel the warmth of Merlin's magic.

"Who's there?" Leon said standing up and drawing his sword. Arthur stood up and did the same along with the other knights.

"Leon?" Samantha said. In the dim light I could see a smile on her face. She was relieved to see that it was in fact Arthur.

"Lady Samantha?" Leon said. Arthur placed his sword back in its sheath and sprinted over to us.

"What are you doing here?" he said. "What happened?" He had obviously noticed the gash on her forehead.

"Where's Merlin?" I asked. I was more concerned about him.

"Collecting firewood." Arthur said. "Who did this to you?"

"The floor of a cave." Samantha said.

"Come on." Arthur said leading us back to the camp where the knights had all moved into their original position. I was grateful to be able to sit. My side was getting worse, but I did not care. I needed to know what was happening with Merlin.

oOo

"How long has he been gone?" Aleya asked anxiously as Arthur tended to my wound.

"You really should be more careful." He said. I smiled.

"As long as I've got you here to take care of me, I'm fine." I said.

"No more than ten minutes." Leon said.

"Suddenly, I'm really sleepy." I said. My eyes wanted to shut. I fought it for a moment, but it slowly got more and more difficult.

"You need to stay awake, you might have a concussion." Aleya said.

"I'll just rest my eyes for a mome-" I began.

"No, stay awake." Arthur said placing a protective hand on my shoulder. I opened my eyes. His blue eyes stared into mine. It reminded me of when we first met.

"Sire, it is nearly a day's ride to Camelot and we don't have enough horses." Leon said. Two days? We hadn't walked that far in the cave, had we?

"A day?" I said. "We were only walked in that bloody cave for an hour!"

"Where are we now?" Aleya asked.

"On the borders of Cenred's kingdom." Leon said.

"Not a safe place for you two to have been going on a stroll." Arthur added.

"We were in the forest just outside of Camelot and then we fell into a cave and when we made it out we saw your campfire." I said.

"I got the firewood." Merlin said as he walked back into camp, "What happened?" He said dropping the firewood and moving behind Arthur.

"Aleya and I went spelunking." I said. He was fine. Aleya had a confused expression on her face.

"How did you get injured then?" Merlin asked.

"She fell, and then she pulled me down with her." Aleya said smiling.

"Really should do that more often." I said.

"It is very refreshing." Aleya said.

oOo

Merlin was fine. Not a scratch on him. I couldn't understand why I could hardly feel his magic. I tried to remain calm, I would get to ask him soon enough.

"Why were you out this far, anyway?" Arthur asked.

"I've told you, we were just outside of Camelot." Samantha said. "We fell into a cave and ended up here."

"Must have been one big cave." Merlin said.

"It was actually." I said.

"Stay still." Samantha said looking at Arthur.

"I'm not moving." He said sounding concerned.

"Sam?" I said. She fell back. I caught her before she impacted the ground. The sudden motion made my side protest even more. Merlin quickly knelt down next to her.

"What's wrong with her, Merlin?" Arthur asked.

"Her head wound, I think she has a concussion." He said.

"Will she be alright to return to Camelot?" Leon asked.

"I doubt it." Merlin said.

"Then what can we do?" I asked. Before Merlin could answer Samantha began to seize. Arthur placed firm hands on her shoulders until she stopped. I placed my hand on her forehead.

"She's got a fever." I said.

"What can we do Merlin? How do we treat it?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know." Merlin said. "We need a physician."

"Alright, Sir Leon, take Sir Allinor and return to Camelot. Fetch Gaius and bring him to…the nearest village is-" Arthur said.

"Ealdor." Merlin finished.

"Bring Gaius to Ealdor; inform him of Samantha's condition." Arthur said commandingly.

"Yes, sire." Leon said.

oOo

Leon and Allinor made haste to return to Camelot. Arthur slid onto his horse with ease and then Merlin and I struggled to lift Samantha on in front of him. Merlin got onto his horse and I got on behind him. I was in pain the entire way. I hoped that I did not make it too obvious.

"Ealdor lies just beyond this ridge." Merlin said.

"Then we must hurry." Arthur said. So there we were, riding in the dark. I couldn't bear the thought of losing Samantha. She was more than just my friend. She was my sister. She practically raised me although she was just two years older than I am. I wouldn't let her die. No matter what.

It did not take us long to get to Ealdor. There were no candles lit in the entire village. It must have been rather late. Merlin got off of the horse as Arthur did. Arthur held Samantha's unconscious form in his arms. I could see the love that he felt for her. Before I could protest Merlin tried to help me down by putting his hands on my sides.

"Ahh!" I yelled as I fell into him. He caught me but he knew I wasn't alright.

"Your side." He said.

"I'm fine." I said. My breathing was becoming labored now.

"No you're not." Merlin said.

"Merlin, which one of these houses was it?" Arthur asked. Merlin led the way to the house keeping a watchful eye on me as he did. He banged on the door to the hut. A woman whom I immediately recognized opened it. She looked as though she had just been awoken. Her expression immediately lightened when she saw Merlin. She wrapped her arms around him. When she pulled back she noticed Arthur.

"What's happened?" she asked concern in her voice. "Come in." Arthur walked through the door and set Samantha down on the bed.

"She has a concussion; the knights went to fetch Gaius." Arthur explained.

"She couldn't make the journey back so we needed a place to stay." Merlin said.

"You are always welcome here." Hunith said.

oOo

After things had settled down a bit Arthur was sitting next to Samantha watching her sleep. Merlin flinched every time I coughed. I did not understand why he was so concerned about me when Samantha could be dying.

"Let me feel your ribs." He said when I sat down next to him.

"What?" I asked.

"You're hurt. I need to know how bad." He said.

"Sam could be dying and you are concerned with me?" I asked.

"I'm always concerned with you." He said. I moved my arm out of the way and he felt of my side. It took everything within me not to call out when he touched the broken ones. I saw his face pale. "They're broken."

"I know." I said.

"You've been coughing, have you been coughing blood?" he asked.

"Merl-"

"Have you?"

"Yes. Just a little bit."

"Aleya, sometimes you need to be concerned with yourself." He said.

"Others take priority." I said. I looked back at Arthur who was so engulfed with Samantha that he wouldn't hear. I leaned in closer to Merlin. "There's something worse." I said.

"What?" he asked sounding even more concerned.

"I can't feel you." I said. "I can't feel your magic at all." He paled even more. I did not know that was possible.

"That's because all of your magic is going to keeping you alive." He said. "I don't know how to bind ribs." He said putting his hand on his forehead.

"Gaius will be here soon and he will know." I said placing my hand on his back. I hoped that Gaius wasn't too late for Samantha.

oOo

To say that I did not sleep well would be an understatement. Eventually I quietly went outside and sat to avoid waking the others up. I was getting worse. My magic wasn't strong enough to keep me alive forever. Morning came and there was still no change in Samantha. She still had a fever; she still looked like death warmed up. Merlin and Arthur had gone to take care of the horses and I was left putting a cool cloth on Samantha's forehead.

"Is Samantha your sister?" Hunith asked as she sat down next to me.

"Her parents adopted me, so in a way, yes." I said.

"What happened to your parents, if you don't mind me asking." She said.

"No, they were…they were killed." I said.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She said.

"I've been wondering, what was Merlin like as a child?" I asked smiling.

"Trouble." She said. We both laughed. "It was always Will and him getting into messes."

"Has he always been…..accident prone?" I asked.

"He was always very tall and lanky as he is now; he's always been clumsy though. Even when he was a toddler." She said. I laughed. "Do you love my son?" she asked. I was a bit shocked for a moment. Then I knew the answer without a doubt.

"I do." I said. "With everything I am."

"I'm glad to hear that. He never stops talking about you in his letters." She said.

"Really? What does he say?" I asked.

"Good things, I feel as though I know you from his descriptions." She said.

"Merlin never ceases to amaze me." I said. "What he is able to do."

"What terrifies me is what he is willing to do, for Arthur." She said.

"Arthur and him are two sides to the same coin, Merlin will be fine. He's destined for greatness." I said.

"He won't tell me what goes on in Camelot, Gaius speaks vaguely of it in his letters." She said. "I just want to know, is it safe? The life he is leading?" I didn't know how to respond. It was not safe. It was far from it. I couldn't tell her that.

"He…we look after each other." I said.

"Gaius said something about being attacked by bandits?" she asked.

"Yes." I said.

"Can you tell me what happened?" she said.

"I…um…Merlin and I were out for a walk when…when the bandits attacked, we weren't that far from Camelot so we ran for it…I was running ahead of Merlin and then he fell…I turned and….Are you sure you want to know?" I asked.

"What happened?" she said firmly.

"I saw a bolt sticking out of his back….I knelt down next to him and despite how much he begged me to leave I wouldn't…we would have been killed if Arthur hadn't come…..he carried Merlin away and we nearly made it…..Then some Bandits that were in the woods captured us…Merlin was unconscious and I had just woken up…" I said. I was losing track of what I was saying, lost in the horrifying memory. "A man came to Samantha and I and….and he asked which one of us was Arthur's servant…..I said it was me and he took me to this room…He was pacing around me…interrogating me….I always carry a dagger with me and…I killed him….A druid helped us escape and then healed Merlin and we returned to Camelot." I finished. I wiped a tear from my eye and placed another cool cloth on Samantha's forehead.

"You will remain in my prayers Aleya." She said. "You have a good heart, regardless of what you've done. I can see that in you."

"Thank you." I said.

Neptune19: I'm glad you liked it and I hope that this one has a tad bit more romance in it. I don't want to go crazy with it because it is rather dark, but I am going to let Samantha and Arthur's relationship be more of a progressive thing. Anyways, thanks for the review!

dream lighting: I get really nervous with the ones that I make up the storyline for so I am so glad you like it! Most of the riddles were from the Hobbit so I cannot take credit for them, but I'm glad you like it!