A/N: Just a quick thank you to those who have reviewed. Glad to see some people are giving my story a chance. And a thank you to all who have favourites/followed as well. You guys are awesome.

There was another loud crash. Another part of the castle had been destroyed. There were guards and knights everywhere, the red blood soaking into the rich green of the colour of the kingdom. Someone had betrayed us, someone was intent on taking the throne for themselves.

There was only one person we could think of, Donald, my uncle.

"Bella, you have to get out of here." Someone told me, gripping my arms tightly.

"I cannot leave you all here, Dominic. If you are fighting then so am I." I told him, tightening my grip on the sword in my hand.

"Bella, you have to go. If we fail here tonight, then you are the only one who can rightfully take back the throne. You have to leave." Dominic told me desperately.

"I am as good a fighter as you and Mitch. You stand a better chance with me fighting with you." I protested. I knew I was not going to win, I never did when my overprotective brothers were involved.

"You are leaving, Isabella. And that is final." Dominic said firmly.

I was about to reply when the castle began to shake again. I rushed to the window and saw the fires tearing through the homes of our people. The city was in ruin, there was no way we were going to win this fight. But I didn't care, as long as I tried my hardest and fought with my family.

"I am not leaving my family." I told him, running off towards the throne room where I knew my mother and father were fighting. I was determined to help them, I was not going to let them die by the hands of my crazed and jealous uncle.

I threw open the doors to see my father already lying dead on the floor. My eyes were drawn to the man holding my mother by the throat. "Let her go, right now." I growled, feeling the pain and anger rising inside of me.

"Well, look who has finally grown a back bone. Decided to show a little courage for once, little girl?" He spat, an evil smirk reaching across his face.

"Unhand my mother this instant. You have already angered me by killing my father, I shall not let you kill my mother. I order you to unhand her and surrender." I shouted, taking a step closer.

"Oh, she is so full of fire, is she not Juliana?" He hissed in my mother's ear. I took another step forward, which my uncle did not seem to approve of. "On more step and I slit her throat." He snarled.

I stopped and glared at him. I knew he would do it, nothing was beyond this man who I used to call family. "Let her go." I ground out, my teeth clenched tightly.

"As you wish, princess." He said, before forcing his blade through my mother from behind her.

That's when I lost control. I was screaming, and crying. This man had just killed my mother right in front of me. And I had done nothing to stop him. I was a coward, scared and little. I didn't stop him, when I should have. I should have protected my parents better.

0000

Arthur was woken when he heared a woman screaming. Who ever it was, he had to admit, they had a pair of lungs on them to be screaming as loudly as they were. He jumped out of bed and pulled open the door to his chamber. The stone corridor was clear, but the screaming was louder. He grabbed his sword before heading back out into the corridor.

Without thinking, he ran down towards the chamber Princess Isabella was in. As he got closer, the screams became louder and clearer. He knew in an instant something was wrong. He didn't even bother to knock on the door, he threw it open and charged into the room, expecting there to be some kind of threat.

All he found was the Princess, thrashing around in her bed, screaming and crying. He discarded his sword as he ran to her side. "Isabella, wake up." He called, shaking her a little. "Isabella!" He yelled, shaking her a little more forcefully.

Her eyes flew open and Arthur saw the fear inside of them. She pulled herself away from him and jumped off the bed, huddling herself in a corner of the room.

"Isabella, it's me. Arthur. Do you remember?" He asked, staring at her wide, amber eyes. Slowly she nodded at him. "Don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you." He told her as he slowly approached her.

She tried to back up a little, and seemed to panic when she realised there was nowhere to run. "I promise, I am not going to hurt you, Isabella." A second later there were two guards standing by the door.

"Sire, is everything alright? We heard screaming." One of them asked, looking from the prince to the princess.

Arthur took another look at the scared woman, watching the tears stream down her face. "Everything is fine. Wait outside." He ordered. The guards closed the door and left the pair alone. "Isabella, do you know where you are?" He asked her softly, taking another slow step towards her, doing his best not to frighten her any more.

She nodded at him. "Camelot. You're Prince Arthur. You found me in the woods and brought me here, against my will." She whispered.

"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?" He asked, sitting down on the cold floor next to her. She shook her head. "Are you alright?" He asked, not taking his eyes off her. He could see just how scared she was, and he wanted to know why. She just shook her head at him again. "Will you tell me why?"

For a moment he thought she was just going to shake her head at him again, but she closed her eyes tightly before speaking to him. "I just had a bad dream, that's all." She whispered.

"Care to tell me about it?" He was still speaking to her softly. It was a way he had never really spoken to anyone before, but there was something about this woman, something he couldn't work out.

"I think… I think maybe it was a memory. But I don't know." Even with her eyes closed, the tears were still escaping.

"What was happening?"

"I don't want to talk about it. If it is a memory, then I do not wish to remember it." She answered weakly. "Thank you for your concern, sire. But I suggest you return to your chambers now. I am sure you have more important things to do than worry over me."

Arthur frowned at her. "You know, my name is Arthur. I believe it is acceptable for you to call me that instead of sire all the time." She didn't move or reply to him. "Do you wish for me to send for Gaius?"

"No, as I said, it was only a dream. There is no need to bother him with something so trivial." Isabella told him, trying to stop the tears from continuously rolling down her cheeks.

Arthur was at a loss with what to do. It was clear that she was upset, but she didn't seem to want to talk about it to him. "Are you sure you shall be okay on your own?" He asked her after several minutes of silence.

"I shall be fine, sire. I am sorry for waking you." Isabella said, finally opening her eyes.

He could still see the fear inside her. Whatever had happened had seriously scared her, but he could see she was not going to tell him what it was. "You know where I am if you need me. And please, call me Arthur."

He waited to see if she was going to respond, but when she didn't he pushed himself off the cold stone and left her alone in her room. "I want this corridor patrolled constantly for the rest of the night. If you hear any sound coming from Princess Isabella's chamber, you are to notify me immediately, is that understood?" The guards nodded at him and he went back to his own chamber.

After tossing his sword to one side, he threw himself back on his bed. He was wide-awake now, and his mind was full of thoughts of the Princess in the chamber so close to him. He thought back to the moment he first laid eyes on her, he hadn't been able to look anywhere else but at her. And then the swiftness in which she managed to grab his sword, while it was still sheathed, and threaten him with it. That had impressed him more than anything else.

0000

I was relieved when he finally left, but I didn't move from my spot on the floor. Had that really been just a dream? Or was it a memory of my life here? I was even more confused now than I had been before.

After a while I decided it was too cold on the floor and so I sat myself by the window again. For some reason I found it calming and comfortable, looking out over Camelot. I still found it hard to believe that I was there, living in the legend. There had been a series on the television called Merlin, something that I had watched for a while.

Now that I thought about it, the people I was seeing now looked the spitting image of the actors that played them. Maybe I really was in a coma, and I was living in a television show. 'Yeah, right. Get a grip Isabella. You are really starting to lose it now' I thought to myself.

I looked up at the night sky and saw the moon shining brightly. It was amazing what you could see without the pollution of a big city and lights.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice when the sky became brighter and the sun appeared low on the horizon. What disturbed me was a knocking at the door. With what little energy I had, I dragged myself to the door and pulled it open.

"Good morning, My Lady. Did you sleep well?" Guinevere asked as I stepped away from the door and back over to the window.

"I'm afraid I did not, Guinevere. I believe the loss of my memory has put me under some stress." I told her, watching as the rest of the city began to wake.

"I'm sorry to hear that, My Lady. And please, call me Gwen." She said as she started to remove the sheets from the bed.

"Then I insist you call me Isabella." I said, giving her a small smile.

"Have you ever visited Camelot before, Isabella?" She asked me, bundling the bed sheets into a basket.

"Not that I can recall. I'm sure I would have remembered visiting somewhere as enchanting as this before." I told her, getting lost in the view again.

I heard Gwen laugh a little. "I've heard Camelot be called many things before, enchanting is not one of them."

"Oh, I can think of many other words to describe this place, but I do not think any of them will do it justice." I turned to face her and saw that she was smiling at me. "Tell me about yourself, Gwen. I do not know anyone in Camelot."

"Well, I'm the daughter of a blacksmith. My mother died when I was younger and my brother disappeared." I noticed the sadness in her voice.

"I'm sorry, Gwen. It must be hard for you." I knew that it was hard for me, I lost my whole family.

"I still have my father. And hope, that one day my brother will return." There was a forced smile on her face. "It must be harder for you, not even knowing if you have a family."

"I know that I used to. I must have a mother and father. At least at some point." That caused me to think back to that dream. The names, my brothers, they were real. Dominic and Mitchel, they really were my brothers, and Juliana was my mother's name. My father was called Peter, and then there was uncle Donald.

There was another knocking at the door and Gwen went and answered it. "Hi, Gwen. Is Princess Isabella awake?" She stepped aside and let him enter the room. "Good morning, Princess Isabella. Prince Arthur asked me to check on you, make sure you were alright this morning."

I let out a sigh. "You can tell the Prince that I am fine."

"He, um, said that if you said that then he wanted me to take you to see him." Merlin said to me nervously.

I moved myself away from the window. "Fine, let's go then." I said in a huff.

"My Lady, did you not want to change first? Are those not the clothes you were wearing yesterday?" Even Gwen seemed concerned.

I looked down at what I was wearing, my tattered green dress. "This is the only dress I own. And if the Prince wishes to see me, I shall not keep him waiting." I said, heading for the door.

Merlin was quick to beat me there and held it open for me. I thanked him before following him down the corridor and to Arthur's chamber, where Merlin failed to knock and just walked right in.

"Merlin, how many times have I told you about knocking?" The Prince said, looking up from the papers on the table in front of him.

"You wished to see me, sire?" I said, stepping past the dark haired man and closer to the prince.

"Ah, Princess Isabella. How are you this morning?" He asked, looking at me with concern.

"As I have told Merlin, I am fine. But it would appear he had orders for me to see you if that was what I said." I wasn't exactly happy to have been summoned to see him. In fact, I wanted to stay away from him as much as possible.

"Yes, because I was concerned for you after what happened." Our eyes locked and I saw it again, that little hint of concern.

I kept my composure, I was not going to show any sign of weakness. "Sire, I thank you for your concern, but as you can see, apart from the blow to the head and memory loss there is no other damage."

"That was not what I was referring to, My Lady. I refer to the incident that occurred during the night." I could tell from the way he was looking at me that he didn't want to disclose anything else in front of Merlin.

"I assure you, it was only a nightmare. In future I shall try to not wake you. Maybe it would be better suited if I were to reside in a part of the castle where I am less likely to disturb anyone." I suggested. I didn't think it was actually too bad of an idea. A nice quiet part where people would leave me alone.

I saw him raise an eyebrow at me. "Last night I believe you only called it a dream."

"One tends to call a bad dream a nightmare." I informed him politely.

He let out a sigh of defeat. "I have some information here that you might like to look at. I had the royal record keeper find out what he could on your family and kingdom. I thought it might help you with your memory."

I eye him suspiciously before taking a step closer. "And why would you do that, sire?"

He seemed taken back by my comment, but I think it was a fair question to ask. He knew nothing about me and yet seemed too willing to help me. "Clearly you are upset about not remembering anything. I only thought this may help."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, I was starting to lose control again. "I'm sorry, sire. That was very kind of you."

"Please, sit down." He said, gesturing for me to sit in the chair opposite him. I sat down but kept my gaze firmly fixed on my hands in my lap. "According to this, your fathers name is Peter and your mother is Juliana."

My head instantly snapped up. "What did you say?" my voice came out as a whisper and Arthur looked at me strangely.

"Your father, his name is Peter and…"

"My mother is Juliana. I had two brothers, Dominic and Mitchel." I closed my eyes tightly. That was my real family, the family who had died back in the 21st century. But also the names I remembered from the dream. How was it possible for them to have the same names?

"You remember them?" Arthur asked me in shock.

I didn't answer him, there was something else I was too worried about. "Who else is there? My family, who else?" I asked him, trying to hide my fear of the name I was dreading to hear.

He looked back down at the papers before him. "The only other member of royal house of Lagoon is Donald, brother to Peter."

I quickly stood up, knocking over the chair I had been sitting in. "Oh, God no." I cried, feeling fear and panic take me over. I backed up and walked straight into Merlin who looked at me with worried eyes. "I have to leave, I have to go." I said, pushing myself away from Merlin and darting out of the door.

I didn't really know where I was heading at first, but I really didn't care. I was too confused and even more afraid now that I realised my uncle Don existed in this world as well. I could hear someone calling my name, but I just ignored them. All I could focus on was my running, and trying to escape this nightmare I was stuck in.

I didn't stop until I felt like my lungs were on fire and I could hardly feel my legs anymore. When I looked around me I realised that I was in a forest, or woods. Either way, I was surrounded by trees and had no idea where I was.

Then I heard people running towards where I was. I decided that there was only one thing I could do, something I hadn't done since I was a kid, climb as high as I could in the nearest tree. After a few failed attempts, I finally managed to get my footing and started to climb up the tree, just as two men appeared where I had been standing.

"Isabella!" One of them shouted, looking around. "Merlin, did you see where she went?" Great, it was that stupid prince and his servant.

"No, she was here. I'm sure it was her. I mean, who else would it have been in a torn green dress?" He asked.

"Well she can't have gone far." Arthur told him, looking around. "Split up. I'll go this way, we have to find her." There was something about the way he was speaking, he seemed to be panicking.

I watched as Arthur ran off, but Merlin didn't move. Instead he looked right up at me in the tree. 'Please don't call for Arthur, please don't call him back.' I begged in my mind.

I saw the boy frown at me. "What are you doing up there?" He called quietly.

"I'm sewing a dress. What does it look like I'm doing?" I hissed at him.

"Why did you run off like that?"

"Exercise." I replied, not really feeling like giving him a full explanation. But then again, this was Merlin. He was a warlock, and a powerful one at that, if anyone could help me and understand what I was going through, it would be him.

"You'd better come down before Arthur comes back." He warned me.

I laughed at him a little. "What's he going to do if I don't? Cut the tree down?" I asked. Then I heard a crack and felt the branch I was sitting on begin to give way. I looked down at Merlin and saw a slight grin on his face. I managed to haul myself onto another branch just as the one I had taken sanctuary on crashed to the ground. 'I swear, if you do that again EMRYS…' I stressed his druid name.

I noticed his eyes widen and his mouth fall open. "What are you staring at? Do I have something on my face?" I asked him, not really understanding why he was looking at me so oddly.

"No… but… how did you…" The young warlock seemed unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Oh, just spit it out Merlin. Before Arthur comes back." I growled. I had not wanted to be found in the first place, and now it seemed that Merlin was playing games. I knew it had to have been him who made the branch snap, it was one of his specialties after all.

'Why did you call me Emrys?' I head a voice say in my head.

This time it was my eyes that widened. "What the hell…" I mumbled, staring at Merlin. That had been his voice, inside my head I knew he was able to communicate with druids like that, but how could he talk to me in that way? I didn't have magic, did I?

"Merlin!" Great, Arthur was back. "What are you doing still standing there? You're meant to be finding Lady Isabella." He shouted. All Merlin could do was point to me up in the tree and Arthur's gaze followed his finger. "What on Earth are you doing up there?" He asked me.

I was tempted to reply with 'I'm going ten pin bowling. What does it look like, dumbo.' But I knew that was totally inappropriate, considering they would have no idea what bowling even was. "Bird watching?" I suggested, shrugging my shoulders.

"Are you going to explain to me why you ran out of my chambers and climbed up a tree?" He asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Exercise. Now go away." I ordered, before finding the courage to climb even higher up the tree. I figured the further up I was, the less likely Merlin was to make the branch snap. He wouldn't want to me fall and break my neck, not with Arthur there at least.

I heard Arthur let out a groan before I had a quick look back. He was starting to climb the tree behind me now. For every branch I made it, the prince made at least two, so it didn't take long for him to catch up to me.

"Will you please, stop climbing." He ordered, finally getting to the branch next to me.

I turned and frowned at him. "Now why would I want to do that?" I said, reaching up for the next branch. I was actually finding it easier to climb now.

"Why are you being so difficult?" He grumbled as he followed behind me.

I stopped. "Let me see. First of, I'm a woman, I have that right. Second, I'm a princess, so again I have that right. Third, I have lost my memories and some creep is chasing me up a tree." I told him, before carrying on my assent.

"Did you just call me a creep?" Arthur asked, not even moving but just staring at me.

"I do believe I did. Now leave me alone." I shuffled myself along a sturdy branch and watched as the Price continued to follow me.

"Can you please stop climbing?" He asked as he pulled himself onto the branch I was on. "Where did you learn to climb anyway?"

I shrugged. "I had two older brothers. I used to go everywhere with them." I told him without really thinking.

"I thought you couldn't remember anything?" He asked me suspiciously.

"I couldn't. But Gaius told me that some things could trigger memories. I guess this is one of those things." I said, before looking down towards the ground. That was a big mistake. "And now I remember something else." I whispered, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

"Really? And what might that be?" He asked. I had to say, his tone wasn't very pleasant.

I kept my eyes focused on the ground, even though it was just making me feel worse. "Oh, this is high. This is very… blimey, this is high." I said, gripping onto the branch as tightly as I could. I felt all the colour drain from my face.

"Isabella, are you scared of heights?" Arthur asked me softly. All I could do was nod at him slightly. I could barely see Merlin standing on the ground below, we really were very high up now. "And you decided to realise that when you are sitting atop a tree?" He asked me. I swear I could hear a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"I didn't remember I was scared of heights until I just looked down." I hissed to him. I closed my eyes tightly to stop myself from looking any further. It was just making my head spin and the last thing I needed was to fall out of this stupid tree.

"Right, come on. I'm going to go down first and then help you along." Arthur said, lowering himself down to the next branch.

"You know what, I'm okay staying here. You go, have a nice life. Bye." I said, making sure I had a firm grip.

"Will you stop being so stubborn and just move." He called from below me. I took a deep breath and looked at him almost directly beneath me. "Lower yourself down, I won't let you fall." I nodded at him a little and started to slide myself off. I felt a pair of hands around my waist and realised that Prince Arthur was holding me. "There, that wasn't so hard was it?" He said mockingly.

I shot a glare at him. "You do know we are still some distance from the ground?"

Clearly my eyes were giving away just how nervous I was about heights and how we were going to get down from the stupid tree. "Okay, same as before." He said, moving lower again.

It took some time before we actually made it back to solid ground. I shot a glare at Merlin, it was because of him that Arthur followed me up the tree in the first place.

"I recommend you avoid climbing any more trees. Or any high place in general." Arthur said smugly. He was loving the fact that I had been a damsel in distress that needed rescuing. I didn't need to be rescued, I was quite happy to just stay up there for a while longer.

"Yes, well if someone hadn't been following me, I wouldn't have felt the need to climb a tree." I snapped, folding my arms across my chest.

"Well if you hadn't have ran out of the castle and to here, no one would have followed you." Arthur retorted, copying my stance.

"And if I wasn't scared I wouldn't have run." I yelled back at him. I was losing my patience now. I wanted nothing more than for the ground to just open up and swallow me whole.

"What are you afraid of?" The Prince asked me, letting himself relax a little.

I, however, stood my ground. "That, sire, is none of your business." I told him, making sure to glare at him as much as I possibly could.

"You are the most stubborn and infuriating woman I have ever met." The Prince yelled at me before walking off.

"And you at the most arrogant prat I have ever had the misfortune to meet." He stopped walking and turned to face me. "So I guess we're even then."

"I have things to do. Merlin, make sure you get her back to the castle in one piece. My father would have my head if anything happened to our guest." He called, before walking off and towards the castle.

"Clotpole." I mumbled, my eyes still burning into the back of his skull.

A/N: I just want to set a few things out. Isabella has arrived in Camelot sometime after series 1. The first several chapters are telling her story, before we start with the episodes. I hope that's cleared a few things up for everyone. Let me know if anything else is confusing or you want to know.

Anyway, I've been getting over a cold, or flu or something once again. It happens every school break, it's a curse. But in that time I have been working on all my current stories (yay!).

Now, you know I love reviews, you know how much they make me smile. So feel free to leave one.

Pippa.