A/N: Thank you Guest, GuestM, Buckhunter, and SnidgetHex for reviewing! Lily did not shoot the arrow, though she would know how to shoot. She just doesn't typically carry a bow with her.

Chapter 6

The day after the kelpie incident, Lily brought more food stores down to the beach for the knights and crew. Lancelot was amazed by the size of the harvest, but then, they had used magic to grow all of it.

"Thank you," he told her for what must have been the tenth time by now. If not for Lily and her people, he doubted they would have survived long on this island.

She smiled back at him, but her attention was drawn over his shoulder to where Arthur and the ship's captain were in conference discussing the need of a new foremast.

"The trees here on the shore aren't thick enough," the captain was saying.

"I can help you find a suitable one," Lily interjected, walking toward them. "Just tell me the measurements you need."

Arthur's jaw looked tight again; the more indebted he felt to Kieran's village, the more he worried they would never be able to earn the star lily. But he was in no position to refuse their help, so he nodded stiffly. "That would be much appreciated, thank you."

The captain also nodded. "I'll get some men together."

"I'll go with them," Lancelot volunteered. Someone should keep a lookout for threats, such as that opposing clan or the cath palug.

Arthur didn't object, and so they set off into the woods, following Lily further into the island where the pines grew taller. The crewmen told her the dimensions they needed to construct a sturdy enough mast, and Lancelot didn't think it would be that difficult to locate one.

"Couldn't you just, grow one into the needed size?" he asked her.

Lily cast a look over her shoulder at the crewmen following them before lowering her voice. "I'll probably have to make some adjustments to the tree we pick, but I figured Arthur would be happier not knowing that."

Lancelot frowned. "I'm sorry."

"It's not you who need apologize for his distaste," she readily replied.

"I'm still sorry it's…complicating things."

She gave him a warm smile free from offense, then drew to a stop and turned to the crewmen. "Wait here a moment."

Lancelot hesitated, but then Lily cocked her head for him to come with her as she ventured around the bend into a clearing. She scanned the trees before walking up to one and placing her hands on its trunk. Lancelot watched in fascination as the bark creaked and groaned as it shifted, swelling slightly but also smoothing all up and down the trunk, which would save a lot of time of not having to shave down the rough edges.

Lily stepped back. "Over here!" she called, and a moment later the rest of the men rejoined them.

"It's perfect," one of them blurted incredulously at the tree.

A few of them cast wary looks Lily's way as she moved back to give them space to work. Lancelot went to stand beside her as they set to cutting down the tree.

"Is it just plants that your magic works on?" he asked curiously. "You don't do anything else with it?"

"No, why?"

"I was just wondering. It seems different from Mer- my friend's magic." He cast a cautious look at the men, but they were far enough away they shouldn't be able to overhear easily.

"Yes, the magic he showed me and my father was unlike any we've ever seen. What kinds of things does he use his magic for?"

"Well, he's cast spells to enchant weapons in order to slay magical beasts—though he just as often uses it for his chores and cleaning the king's armor."

Lily arched dubious brows at him and shook her head. "My people's magic is connected to the earth. It helps things grow, and amplifies the natural healing properties already inherent in various plants."

Lancelot pursed his mouth thoughtfully. "But you did make those vines grab Sklaar and his men so we could escape. Didn't you?"

Lily blushed at that and ducked her gaze. "Yes, well, as I said before, my powers are a bit…more, than the average member of my clan. It runs stronger in my family."

"So you're born with it, like Merlin?"

She nodded.

"Do the other clans possess the same kind of magic?"

"To a degree. It must be used and nurtured to maintain it, much like what a plant needs to grow, or it dies within its carrier." She made a soft snorting sound. "Sklaar's clan, for instance, has stagnated in their abilities, as they believe gardening is women's work."

Lancelot fell silent for a moment as he thought back to their brief captivity. "Is that why he made the remark about a union between your clans?"

Lily's eyes darkened. "He only wishes to infuse the strength of my magic into his line. Which will never happen."

Lancelot winced, regretting steering the conversation that direction. They fell silent after that and watched the men finish cutting down the tree.

"Timber!"

The tree cracked and groaned as it tilted forward, then fell. The resounding thud faintly shook the ground where it landed. The crew then began rigging up ropes to haul it back to the beach.

Lancelot started to follow, but hung back when he realized Lily had gone over to the site of the felling. He watched her crouch down and heal the flora that had been crushed under the trunk, then move to pick up the sticks that had broken off and were lying on the ground. When she looked his way, he quirked a questioning look at her.

"They can be made into arrows," she answered. "We waste nothing, remember."

Right. He moved forward to help her gather up the small branches.

"Would you like help carrying them back to your village?" he asked.

"That's alright, I've got it," she replied. "You should probably get back. Arthur might worry."

Arthur certainly was prone to angry concern lately.

Lancelot deposited his load on top of Lily's, pausing to make sure it was balanced in her arms. "Alright, I suppose I will see you later, then."

She nodded with a smile, hesitating a moment before turning to head home.

Lancelot watched her go and then turned the opposite direction to hasten after the crewmen, who weren't difficult to catch up to since they were hauling a heavy tree down the forest path. Lancelot remembered he was supposed to be keeping an eye out for danger, and then immediately worried about Lily traveling through the woods alone. But of course she had grown up on this island and probably went out by herself plenty of times. She'd been alone when she'd found Lancelot, after all. He really didn't need to worry about her, he told himself. It was just chivalrous to.

The captain was very pleased with their haul when they returned to the beach, and it meant they were one step closer to being able to sail back to Camelot. Lancelot dropped his sword off at the tents and went down to the shore to resume working along with everyone else. The rigorous labor wasn't unlike training and the strain of battle, and so his stamina didn't suffer from it, but the movements were different, and so each evening when they called it a night, his muscles were achey and resentful.

"Here," Merlin said, handing Lancelot a tin cup with hot water that smelled distinctly herby. "I found some somnifera growing at the edge of the forest. Should help with the aches."

"Thanks," he said gratefully and took a sip. He couldn't say much for taste, but then, tea remedies were rarely appetizing.

Merlin was pouring the brew into more cups to hand out when he straightened. "Or you could always ask Lily for something."

Lancelot furrowed his brows. "What?"

Merlin nodded over his shoulder, and Lancelot turned to find Lily walking toward them.

"Hey," Lancelot said, surprised to see her again so soon.

"Hi. I just came by to make sure you had the torches lit." She flicked her gaze out at the torches that were, in fact, burning.

"I assure you, after that kelpie attack, we're keeping them lit."

"Good. That's good." She looked away again, gaze roving almost idly around the campsite.

Lancelot cleared his throat in the awkward silence. "Was there anything else?"

She looked back at him, lips mashing together as though indecisive about something. "Um…I was thinking…wondering…" She took a quick, deep breath. "If you'd like to see some more magic."

He blinked at the unexpected invitation.

"Lancelot loves magic," Merlin interjected before he could answer for himself, grinning with blatant amusement.

Lancelot shot him a brief glower before turning back to Lily. "Um, sure."

A smile graced her face, and she cocked her head for him to follow her lead.

"Have fun," Merlin called after them.

Lancelot rolled his eyes at his friend as he and Lily headed up the trail. He probably should have told Arthur where he was going, though no doubt Merlin would come up with an excuse for him. Hopefully a good one.

The mountain on the northwestern side of the island cast a long shadow over the woods as they hiked. The ground began sloping upward along rising sea cliffs, and Lily brought Lancelot out onto a ledge facing west just as the setting sun touched the far horizon and splashed both sky and sea with a brilliant array of gold, coral, and magenta. Lancelot found his breath taken away. Being beached on the southern side of the island, they hadn't witnessed a sunset like this in their time here. He had, of course, seen the sun melt into the sea when they'd been sailing, but somehow this vantage point made it all the more wondrous. It looked like an artist's painting.

Lily took a seat on the grass, and Lancelot followed suit. Her eyes were dancing with delight as she watched him raptly watching the sunset.

"I'd hoped you'd enjoy this," she said.

"It's incredible."

Her smile widened. "This is my favorite spot for it. Nothing but the sea and horizon."

And the sound of the waves crashing below.

"It really is beautiful," Lancelot said softly.

Lily drew her knees up and hooked her arms over them. "What is your home like?"

"Well, I suppose the castle is like its own small mountain. There's the lower town, and then the citadel at the top. High stone towers and spires rise into the sky so tall you can see their banners flying from a great distance." Lancelot's mouth ticked upward with nostalgia. "It's always a comfort, seeing them after returning from a long journey, knowing that home is just up ahead, waiting for you, no matter how worn and weary you might be. It gives men the strength they need to make the last leg."

"Do many people live there?"

"Yes. Perhaps the equivalent of twenty of your villages."

Lily shook her head. "That is hard to imagine. What else?"

"There's the Darkling Woods where frightening creatures dwell. Though we do not have a cath palug. And I have been to a small island before, though it was in the middle of a lake, not an ocean." His expression sobered with the memory. "The Isle of the Blessed where I almost died."

Lily angled herself toward him, giving her full attention.

"The Veil between this world and the next had been torn," he explained. "The released spirits would have destroyed Camelot, and only a life in payment could close it. Both Arthur and Merlin were willing to do it, but in the end, I couldn't let them sacrifice themselves. So I did."

Lily reached out to fold her hand around his. "What happened?"

Lancelot's mouth quirked ruefully. "I don't really know, to be honest. I must have died, because the Veil was closed, but Merlin somehow brought me back, restored my life before anyone else realized what had happened. He saved me."

"With magic," she guessed.

"Yes."

Lily shook her head. "And no one else knows?"

"I wish they did. Merlin has done so much to save Camelot over the years, but he can never take the credit for it."

"He doesn't strike me as the type to desire credit," she mused.

Lancelot smiled. "No, he doesn't. Shortly after we first met, a griffin was terrorizing Camelot. No one could slay it, until Merlin used his magic to enchant a lance. A lance I picked up to finally kill the beast with. That's how I learned of Merlin's magic, but even then he wanted me to take the credit for slaying the creature so Arthur's father, King at the time, would grant me knighthood. Becoming a knight had been my lifelong dream, but I couldn't live with myself if I'd accepted it under false honors."

Lily canted her head at him. "But you are a knight now."

"Yes. It was several years later, but I finally earned my place at Arthur's Round Table, on my merits."

Lily shook her head again. "And Merlin has lived all this time keeping his magic a secret? I admit, I don't understand him. If it were one of my people, the magic would have withered away being kept in the dark like that."

"Merlin doesn't actually hide it that well," Lancelot said with a fond huff. "It's frankly a miracle no one else has caught him over the years." He sighed. "But I do wish he could live in a world where he was fully accepted for who and what he is."

Merlin believed Arthur would bring about that world one day, and Lancelot hoped in that future as well.

Lily leaned into his shoulder. "It's good he has you."

He ducked a smile at that, then straightened. "I thought you were going to show me some magic." The sunset had been dazzling, but that was a natural occurrence, and it had long since fully set. It was dark now, and the moon and stars were out, casting a milky reflection of rippling silk across the water.

Lily looked shy for a moment before she twisted around to reach behind them, placing a hand against the rock face at their back. There were vines growing along the scarp, and as Lancelot watched, they began to sprout blossoms. Pale white at first, but then the flowers caught the moonlight and began to glow, filling the air around them with a soft incandescence.

Lancelot gazed upon them in amazement as the blooms climbed higher, until the entire rock face was dotted with them. "It's beautiful," he breathed.

His and Lily's eyes seemed drawn to each other at the same time, and Lancelot was struck in that moment with how ravishing she looked in the soft pearly hue bathing her face. Her eyes glittered like their depths contained stars of their own.

Lancelot felt something stirring in his heart, something he hadn't felt in a long time…not since he first met Gwen—and thought he would never feel again. But here he was, enraptured by the woman sitting next to him and gazing back with equal enthrallment. They sat poised like that for a long time, almost entranced. Then, ever so slowly, they began to drift closer.

Lancelot's mind stuttered with the thought that he should stop; his heart had always been reserved for Gwen, even after he'd stepped aside to let her be with Arthur. This felt traitorous.

And yet it didn't. When their lips brushed against each other, all thoughts of guilt went silent, and something awakened inside him. He leaned fully into the kiss, tentatively exploring the way her mouth molded into his, the way it sent sparks through his chest. It was alive and real and everything he remembered back when he believed in unlimited possibilities.

They drew back, and the trance was broken, but Lancelot still felt his heart swelling with a host of feelings.

Lily nipped at her bottom lip, then stood up first. In the light of the moon and glowing flowers, she found two branches and pulled a flint from her vest pocket to light the ends with. Handing one torch to Lancelot, she then started to lead the way back. Neither of them spoke as they carefully made their way through the dark, and eventually Lily stopped where the path split, one direction heading back to the beach, the other to her village.

"Thank you for coming with me," she spoke softly.

"Thank you for sharing your magic with me."

She smiled, the heart of it reaching her eyes which were still dancing in the light of the torch. "Next time I'll have to show you the sunrise."

Lancelot found himself smiling back. "I'd like that."

With that, they bid each other goodnight and parted ways, the resonance of that magical moment still ringing in Lancelot's soul all the way back to the beach.