A/N: Thank you GuestM, Buckhunter, and SnidgetHex for reviewing!

Chapter 3

Lily had tried a few different healing plants for Merlin's neck, and while they had helped with the pain, it still hurt too much for him to speak. Gaius eventually told him to stop trying altogether and just rest. Which made him a very sullen patient. Lily didn't blame him.

The door opened as Arthur entered, his demeanor somber. He came over and sat in the chair facing Merlin. "How are you feeling?"

Merlin shrugged and pointed to his throat, then made a negative sweeping motion.

Arthur grimaced sympathetically. "We learned who sent the assassin, and the mercenaries who attacked the Druids. It was King Artungrin."

Merlin furrowed his brow.

"I didn't realize his views on magic were as hateful as my father's," Arthur went on. "So I doubt this is over. You'll have a guard from now on."

Merlin shot him an irritated look and shook his head.

"Yes."

Merlin pointed to Lily and raised his eyebrows in question.

"Lily too," Arthur said. "I'd also like to send help to the Druids, maybe relocate them further into Camelot where they'd be more shielded from an attack from Deorham. Do you think they'd be amenable to that?"

Merlin scrunched his nose up.

Arthur nodded in understanding. "I know they don't trust us right now. I wish I could send you as an ambassador, try to convince them."

"I'll go," Lily spoke up.

Arthur immediately shook his head.

"I have magic," she went on. "I can be a bridge between the Druids and Camelot. Plus they had wounded from the attack, right? I can lend aid there too."

"I appreciate the offer, but it's too dangerous."

"I'll have an escort of knights," she countered. "That's plenty of guards to keep me safe."

Arthur looked at Lancelot as though asking his permission. He didn't say anything, though; it was Lily's choice. Although his expression was pinched at it.

Arthur sighed. "Alright."

Merlin grabbed the quill and parchment off the table and scribbled out a note, then held it up for them to read.

"I can go too."

"Absolutely not," Gaius interjected. "You need to rest."

Merlin scowled.

"Gaius is right," Arthur said. "You're staying put. Lily can handle this."

She appreciated the vote of confidence and hoped she could actually live up to it.

She went around the room, packing up medicinal supplies, while Arthur went to get an escort of knights ready.

"Are you sure this is all right with the baby?" Lancelot asked her quietly as they made their way down to the courtyard.

"Yes. It's not like I'm going to give birth any day now."

However, riding a horse while eight months pregnant was a challenge. She had to ride seated side saddle, which made for a rather slow pace as they headed for the Druid camp. And when they arrived, they were immediately greeted with looks and postures of hostility. The Druids weren't armed like the knights were, but Lily imagined a few of them could use some offensive magic if so inclined.

"We're here to help," Leon said. "We discovered who was behind the attack—Deorham. King Arthur would like to help you relocate to a safer place not so close to the border."

The Druids continued to glare at them mistrustfully.

"You're trying to run us out," one of them shouted. "Displace us, make us more vulnerable."

"That's not true," Lancelot responded.

"You come with weapons," another spat.

"For your protection," Leon insisted.

A man made his way to the forefront, his arm in a sling and a bloodied patch of linen on his shoulder. "We do not need your protection."

"Lancelot," Lily called softly and gestured for him to help her.

He swung out of his saddle and came over to help her slide out of hers.

"I brought healing supplies," she said to the crowd. "I have magic that can help, if you'll allow me to."

The injured man regarded her for a long, scrutinized moment.

"This is Lily," Lancelot introduced. "My wife."

"I am Seoc," the man replied, still thoughtful. "Our injured are this way," he finally said, nodding toward some tents in the back.

Lancelot grabbed Lily's bag from her horse and walked beside her with a hand on her back as they followed Seoc to some tents. Three people lay on pallets with bandages around various wounds. Lancelot helped Lily lower herself to the floor so she could begin treating them. Seoc watched carefully.

"I've never seen magic like yours," he commented after she'd treated two of the three injured.

"I come from a land far from here where magic is different," she said.

"And now you're here in Camelot."

She looked over at him. "I chose to stay here. Please, trust King Arthur and his knights. They just want to help. The men who attacked you before likely know where this camp is and could strike again."

"Where's Emrys?" Seoc asked.

"An assassin from Deorham infiltrated the castle and tried to kill him," Lancelot explained. "He's alive but severely injured. King Arthur could have chosen to focus only on shoring up the city's defenses, but he did not want to leave you vulnerable. His intentions are pure."

Seoc's expression was pinched as he contemplated that. "Very well, we will relocate."

Lancelot inclined his head. "Thank you." He gave Lily a nod and then exited the tent so the knights could start helping everyone pack up.

Lily finished treating the third patient, then turned to Seoc. "May I look at your shoulder?"

He paused for a moment before moving to sit on the floor next to her. She carefully undid the sling and bandage, then pulled some leaves from her bag and laid them against the wound. Connecting her magic to the plant, she infused her power into theirs, which in turn seeped healing into the wound.

Seoc was watching her, intrigued. "Will the child you carry have this magic?" he asked.

"Yes, it runs in my people's blood," she replied.

"And you are alright bringing it into a world that will hate it simply for existing?"

Lily placed a hand on her belly. "This child is already loved by many. I can't understand how you feel; I didn't grow up in a world where I was hunted for who I was. But I know King Arthur doesn't want that world to continue. He's defended me, and I know he will defend your people against your enemies, because you are his subjects in Camelot too."

Seoc regarded her for another moment. "I can see that you and Emrys believe that."

"Do you trust Merlin?" she asked.

"He is the greatest sorcerer to ever live. But he is young and can be misguided."

"Isn't Arthur supposed to be the greatest king that ever lived?" Lily pointed out. "Wouldn't that make him someone worth trusting?"

Seoc smirked. "You are wise." He got to his feet. "Thank you for your help."

He left the tent then, leaving Lily stuck on the floor. Not that she wanted to get up; despite her insistence she could handle it, the ride out here had been very uncomfortable.

Lancelot came in a few minutes later and offered her a water skin. "How are you feeling?"

"I may be capable of doing things, but I do need to take more breaks," she admitted.

He smiled and offered a hand up. Lily took it, though he had to use both hands to haul her up off the floor. People were waiting outside to come in and move the injured to stretchers, so Lily and Lancelot exited the tent.

Lily pursed her mouth. "Lancelot," she began hesitantly. "Have you realized that our child will have my magic?"

He turned to her with a frown. "Of course. And I look forward to you sharing that with him or her."

"You wouldn't worry?" she pressed. "The way you worry about me, since I've been targeted in the past."

"I might," he acknowledged. "Or, I will, but what parent doesn't worry about their child? Besides, I know my friends will do anything to protect this child, just like we will. I have greater faith in that than I do in those who want to tear us down."

Lily smiled and leaned in to kiss him.

Once the Druids were all packed up, it was time to leave.

"Why don't you two head back to Camelot," Leon suggested to Lancelot and Lily.

While Lily did want to see this through, she had underestimated how exhausting this little excursion would be, and trekking through the woods was not going to make things better. So she nodded in agreement.

Lancelot gave her a boost into the saddle, then mounted his horse, and they set off. But they had barely gone fifty yards to the edge of the tree line before they spotted a massive blight in the countryside. They pulled their horses to a stop.

"What is that?" Lily asked.

"An army," Lancelot replied. "And it's heading for Camelot." He turned his horse around. "We need to go back."

Lily pulled the reins for her horse to follow, clicking her tongue to encourage it to pick up the pace a little. The Druid group was moving slowly, and they were able to catch up to them easily.

"There's an army headed for Camelot!" Lancelot shouted as he rode up to them.

"What?" Leon exclaimed.

"From Deorham, it looks like."

Leon whipped his head toward Elyan. "Ride back and warn Arthur."

Elyan nodded and kicked his horse into a gallop.

"You can have sanctuary in the city," Leon told the Druids.

"If that army is headed for your city, it is not the safest place to be," Seoc replied.

Leon's expression pinched, but he inclined his head in acknowledgement of that.

"My people know how evade the enemy in the woods," Seoc went on. "And we understand you must leave to defend your own."

Leon nodded. "Safe travels. With the army focused on Camelot, hopefully you can escape."

The knights and Druids parted ways, and the knights tried to set a harried pace back to Camelot, though it was hampered by Lily's inability to ride hard. She tried to tell them to go on ahead, but they refused.

They reached the city just as the lower town was being evacuated to the resounding echo of the warning bell. The knights rode past the people on foot and into the courtyard where guards were preparing for battle. There'd be no time to ride out and meet the army, and so they had to shore up their defenses.

"Arthur!" Lancelot called, swinging down from his horse.

Arthur pushed his way through to them.

"King Artungrin must have planned this from the start," Lancelot told him. "Even before your meeting with him."

Arthur nodded grimly.

Lancelot turned to help Lily down. "Go upstairs."

"Be careful," she said, reluctantly tearing herself away.

She hurried up to her chambers and went to the window. She couldn't see into the courtyard, but she could see the approaching army, and her heart dropped into her stomach with dread and a sense of impending doom.

Merlin had been drinking so much honeyed tea, he had to use the chamberpot several times. But it was the only thing that soothed his burning throat, and only when he was actively sipping at it, so Gaius kept making it and Merlin kept drinking.

A servant came bursting into the room. "We're under attack!"

Merlin leaped to his feet and started toward the door.

"Merlin!" Gaius exclaimed.

He ignored him. If Camelot was under attack, Merlin needed to be out there helping. He may not have been able to cast spells, but there was some magic he could use on an instinctual level. He ran out to the courtyard where he found knights and guards assembled for battle. The front gate was barricaded, and there were men lined up on the ramparts with crossbows, firing down at something just outside the citadel. The gate juddered with a resounding thud, making Merlin flinch. They were under siege.

The wood and chains shook again as a battering ram collided with the gate. Several screams rent the air as men on the ramparts fell backward, having been shot themselves. Flaming arrows came shooting over the wall to hit the cobblestone, but one landed in a wagon full of hay and went up in a whoosh of flames. Guards scrambled to put it out before it could spread.

Merlin turned his head up and focused on the arrows flying overhead. Concentrating his inner magic, he managed to snuff out the flames before they landed. But that didn't stop them from sometimes hitting a person and causing damage anyway.

There was a thunderous crack and splintering of wood as the battering ram broke through the gate.

"To battle!" Arthur cried as enemy soldiers poured in and the clang of steel pealed through the air.