A/N: Hey guys, I am so sorry for the long wait. Life got in the way, big time. But here is the next chapter you have so patiently waited for.

It was well over two hours later that we finally moved away from the table. I hadn't eaten everything. But Arthur didn't really push me to eat too much, he seemed to accept that I wasn't going to eat everything on my plate and left it at that.

He did, however, keep filling my goblet up whenever he felt it was necessary. "My Lord, are you trying to get me completely and utterly wasted?" I asked him, making sure not to slur my words. It was clear from the look on his face he had no idea what I was talking about. The term 'wasted' didn't mean the same as what I use it for. "Am I going to have to crawl back to my chamber?"

"What are you implying, My Lady?" He asked, topping me up, again.

"That either this is a bottomless goblet, or you keep filling it up at every chance." I said, taking a sip and watching the Prince closely.

"I am a gentleman and a prince. I would never do such a thing." He insisted, but I could see the smirk on his face.

"A prince you may be, but you are yet to prove that you are a gentleman." I told him, getting up from where we had been sitting by the fire and over to the window. I could see the coldness in the air, winter was fast setting in.

"Isabella? Is everything alright?" Arthur asked, coming and standing next to where I was resting.

"Do you think the men your father sent will make it to Elbear safely?" I asked, biting my lip a little.

"Of course they will. They are fine, strong men. There is no need for you to worry about them." He assured me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"The further north they go, the worse the weather will get. It's not exactly the best time of year to go that way." I told him, still focusing on the view outside.

"My men are experienced, they will make it to your kingdom and return in perfect health." Somehow I didn't share his enthusiasm.

"I really hope your right, Arthur. I wouldn't want something to happen to them because they went out there because of me." And that was the truth. They had been sent out into the harsh weather to visit the kingdom that I was supposedly from.

"You know, you keep surprising me." I turned and looked at him, a little bemused. "The first time I met you, you gave me so much attitude and were completely rude to me. Then you acted somewhat shy, keeping yourself closed off. Today I saw you showing braveness and courage, as well as stubbornness." I let out a little laugh while he grinned at me. If anything, I knew I was stubborn. "But you've also shown that you are very caring. You're worrying about people you don't even know."

"Yeah, well, that's just me." I whispered. For some reason my mood seemed to be dropping. The evening had been wonderful, even if I had been locked in the same room as Arthur. We had talked, and laughed, and teased each other a great deal. But now, worry and fear were starting to flood me.

"Isabella, is something else bothering you?" There was, but I didn't know if now was the right time to talk to anyone about it. I was confused about a lot of things, maybe someone else view and opinion would help me.

"I'm worried about my family. Although I can't remember them, that dream I had seemed so real. There is something telling me that my uncle cannot be trusted. I don't even remember him and yet I am afraid of him." I turned and looked at him, his blue eyes showing concern. "What does that say about me?"

"It says that you are cautious and do not rush in. Remember, I did have to bring you here against your will. You were not willing to go anywhere with complete strangers. You have a perfectly good head on your shoulders."

"Well, I'd be worried if it was at the end of my arm." I said sarcastically. "But thank you. I know we don't really know each other very well, and I know you find me annoying and stubborn, amongst other things."

"Well, I am sure that we will get to know each other better over time. I already feel, that after today, I know you a little better." I smiled at him, he was right, he had learnt a few new things about me over the past day.

"I think, I may head back to my chamber now. It has been a long day after all." I said, getting up from where I was perched by the window.

"Of course. It is long past midnight. I wouldn't want to deprive you of your sleep." He said, taking the goblet from my hand and placing it on the table next to his.

"What ever will people think if they saw me leaving your chamber at such a late hour?" I said in mock horror. Arthur couldn't help but laugh at me as he pulled the key out and unlocked the door. "Next time, you really don't have to lock me in here with you. I promise not to run off and climb a tree again." I paused. "Without good reason."

"And what would count as a good reason?" I shrugged at him. I hadn't work that out yet. "May I escort you to your room, my Strange Princess?" I asked, holding out his arm to me.

"I am sure I can make it the short distance without causing injury to myself or anyone else." I informed him, going to step out of the door.

"But My Lady, these corridors can be dangerous. And you are not armed." Arthur said, forcing my arm through his before leading me to my room.

Once we were standing outside the door we were both silent. "Thank you, for dinner. I enjoyed myself." I said, breaking the silence.

"You are most welcome. I enjoyed myself as well. I find your company isn't as bad as I had expected." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Your arrogance is just as bad as I expected, dear Prince." I replied, putting my hand on the handle, ready to open the door.

I felt someone gently take my free hand and looked up at Arthur. "Goodnight, Isabella." He said, before kissing the back of my hand. I felt my stomach knot and my face flush.

"Goodnight Arthur." I whispered, before making a quick and graceful get away into my room. The first thing that hit me when I entered the room was the freezing air. "It's bloody cold in here." I said, maybe a little too loudly.

I heard Arthur still standing outside of the door and laughing. I quickly opened it again, much to his surprise. "Do you find this amusing, my oh so arrogant Prince?"

"I have never heard a lady speak the way you do sometimes." He said, still grinning away from his laughter.

"I'm no ordinary lady, you should know that by now. And, since you found this amusing, you had best watch your back." He frowned at me, wondering what I meant. "I had two brothers, I know how to get revenge." I warned him.

"Are you threatening me, Princess?"

I smiled at him. "Oh, I do not make threats." He relaxed a little. "I make promises. Goodnight." I closed the door, making sure to give him a smirk before I did so.

I sprinted over to the bed, grabbing my nightdress as I did. It really did seem so much colder in my chamber than it had been in Arthur's, even with the fire still going. I slipped off the shoes and hurriedly got out of the dress I had dinner in. I had to confess, it was a lot harder than I had anticipated, but I managed it eventually. But the time I had my nightgown on I was overcome with exhaustion and curled up under the covers.

Maybe tonight I would try to get a little sleep. But only a little. I closed my eyes and let my mind drift, before I eventually drifted off.

0000

I was on my knees, my eyes fixed on the broken and bloodied body of my mother. It couldn't see very well as my vision was blurred by the tears that were swimming in my eyes. I was screaming, but could hear my brothers shouting over the sound.

"Get her out of here, this whole place is going to collapse if she doesn't go." Mitchel shouted. That was the first time that I had noticed the rubble starting to pile up around me. The throne room was shaking and the ceiling was about to cave in.

"Bella, come on, you have to go now." Dominic told me softly, grabbing me by the arms. No matter how much I protested and tried to pull away, he wouldn't let me.

When he had finally managed to pull me away I found myself sitting in my chambers. "What are we going to do? She can't stay here, it's too dangerous." Dominic was speaking to our brother.

"We have to send her away." Was all Mitchel said, before shoving a large leather satchel in my arms. "Bell, you have to leave now, you have to go. It isn't safe here and you know that."

I brushed my tears away and looked up at him. "You can't send me away. I have to stay and fight. He killed our mother and father, I am not going to let him get away with it." I tried to say it firmly, but my voice was cracking and I was emotionally exhausted.

"We're sorry, Bella, but you have to leave. This will explain everything." He showed me a letter before putting it in a silver box and muttering a few words. I saw his eyes flash gold before he put it in the bag. "It will only open when it is time. I promise, you will be safe."

"I don't want to go. You can't make me go." I cried, holding onto Dominic's hand tightly. "Please, I don't want to go." The tears just kept on rolling down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry. We both are. But remember, we both love you, little sister." Dominic said, before pulling himself away from me and standing next to Mitchel.

Then they started muttering something, something I couldn't hear over the blood pounding in my ears. I saw their eyes flash gold and all I could do was scream.

0000

"Isabella?" Someone called. "Isabella, it's Merlin. Wake up." My eyes shot open and I saw the warlock looking down at me in concern. "You're okay. You're in Camelot."

"I know where I am, Merlin." I snapped at him. "Sorry." I mumbled, before closing my eyes and feeling a few tears escape.

"Did you have another nightmare?" He asked me softly. I just nodded at him. "And do you think it was your memory?" Again, I nodded.

"The box." I whispered, jumping off the bed and running over to where the bag I had been found with lay on the floor. I rummaged through it until I found the same silver box I had seen in my dream. "Oh, that… really wasn't a dream."

"Isabella, is everything okay?" Merlin asked, coming and kneeling beside me where I was sitting on the floor.

I tried to prise the box open, but it wouldn't budge. There was no lock on it, so it didn't need a key. Maybe it was just stuck? "Merlin, can you open this for me?" I asked him passing it to him.

As soon as it was in his hands he dropped it as if it was on fire. I looked at him and saw his wide eyes. "That… that's been locked by some seriously strong magic. Where did you get it?" He asked me, not daring to touch the box again.

"I think my brothers gave it to me. I think they used a transportation spell to get me away from Elbear." I sunk down lower on the floor, thinking. "I need to talk to Arthur." I said after a few minutes, getting up and running behind the screen.

"He isn't up yet. That's why I came to check on you first. How much wine did you get through last night?" Merlin asked as I pulled a clean dress over my head.

"I don't know. I lost count after a while." I moment later I emerged, dressed and ready to see the prince. "But I do know I need to speak with him." I glanced down at the box. "Merlin, could you do me a favour, and hide that for me? If Uther ever found it…" I didn't need to say anymore, he knew exactly what I meant. "Thank you."

He took off his neckerchief and picked up the box with that, afraid to touch it any other way. "You sure you're okay?" He asked, opening the door for me.

"I just need to talk to Arthur." I said, rushing along to his room.

When I opened the door I found that Merlin had been right, he was still sound asleep. He was lying on top of the covers, still dressed in last night's clothes. I spotted a jug of water on the table and dipped my finger in it to check the temperature of it. It was rather cold, that was all I needed.

I glanced over at the sleeping prince, there was something about him, something that made me want to smile. I picked it up and walked over to the bed, being as quiet as I could. I bit my lip and closed my eyes before pouring the contents on the sleeping prince. He woke up in an instant.

"Merlin!" He shouted, before he realised it was me. "Isabella?"

I nodded at him. "Revenge." I said, not able to even force a smile on my face.

That was when Arthur knew that something was wrong. "Isabella, what's happened?"

"I… I had another dream." My voice came out as a whisper and he quickly took my hand and sat me down on the dry part of the bed next to him. His eyes were begging me to tell him what happened. "We were under attack, and the castle was falling apart. The city was burning. My brothers…" No, I couldn't tell him that they used magic to send me there, Uther would accuse me of having it in an instant and I would be dead the next day. "They… drugged me or something. Then they sent me away. They told me it was dangerous and that I needed to leave."

"Do you know who was attacking?" He asked me softly, stilling holding onto my hand tightly.

"I'm sure it was my uncle. He killed my parents, so who else could it have been?" I was losing my family all over again.

"We should tell my father." I shook my head at him. "Isabella, if your kingdom has been attacked, then we need to do something about it."

"We don't know if it was real yet. It may have just been a dream. We can't go and tell the King that I'm dreaming of my kingdom being attack. He would accuse me of sorcery, especially if it were true." Maybe telling Arthur hadn't really been a bright idea after all. At least I didn't tell him about the box.

"Are you absolutely sure?" He asked. I still didn't understand why he always seemed so concerned for me.

"Yes. All we can really do is wait for your men to return. If my dreams are true, then they can confirm it." I let out a sigh. That dream had made me just feel even more lost than I already was. "I'm sorry for waking you. I should probably leave you now." I went to stand up but Arthur pulled me back down.

"I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me, Isabella. Try not to worry too much, I will make sure everything is fine." That time I managed to give him a real smile.

"Thank you, Arthur. You know, I'm actually starting to think that you kidnapping me wasn't so bad an idea after all." I dread to think what would have happened to me if they hadn't have found me. There were bandits and slave traders all over the place, I would not have survived long.

"I was never going to just leave you there, even if you hadn't passed out." Now I was curious.

"Why?"

"There's something about you." He told me, gazing at me and still not letting go of my hand. "You're so different from anyone I have ever met."

"I'm one of a kind. I don't think the world could handle there being two of me, so be grateful my brothers were the twins."

"It's not just that." He said, still keeping his gaze. "You treat me like a person, not a prince. You make me laugh, I think I've laughed more the past day then I have for years."

Oh no. Now I'm in trouble. What exactly was the prince trying to say? "You've known me for all of three days. Give it time I'm sure before the week is out you won't be able to stand the sight of me." I told him, still feeling a little confused. The way he was looking at me wasn't helping much either.

"I very much doubt that, Isabella." He told me softly.

Not good, really not good. "Only time will tell. Honestly, you call me infuriating, intolerable, stubborn, and probably many other things when I am out of earshot. Face it, Arthur, I'm the annoying little sister you never had." I said, trying to steer it away from where I thought it was leading.

"No, Morgana is more the annoying sister I never wanted." He told me, not taking his eyes off me. His stare was starting to make me feel just a little bit uneasy.

"Okay, so I'm the cousin that you see twice a year that you absolutely can not stand." I told him, getting up from his bed and moving over to the window. There were people down in the courtyard, all of them were wrapped up against the chilly weather.

"Again, I have to disagree with you there. No one in my family would act the way that you do." There was this little gleam in his blue eyes, and it was drawing me in more and more.

"That's because I am unique. No one in my family acted like me either, I'm probably the crazy one." Back home I used to be so full of life, but then moving to the farm, it felt like all the life had been sucked out of me. Now, being here, it felt like someone was giving it all back to me.

That's when Merlin decided to come bursting through the doors. "Merlin, how many times have I told you to knock?" Arthur yelled, annoyed that his manservant had interrupted.

"Oh, so you're awake now. Good." Merlin said, going and picking up the dirty clothes that were scattered across the floor.

"Yes. Someone decided that I needed to have a jug of cold water thrown over me." He said, looking at me with a look that was more playful than angry. "So you best make sure that this bed is dry completely before tonight."

Merlin looked at me, slightly annoyed that I had given him more work to do. Which, to be honest, is fair enough. It was me who caused the mess after all. "Well, I should probably leave you to… umm… get changed?" I suggested, looking at him in his wet clothes. "I'll see you later, Arthur, Merlin." I said as I headed for the door.

"Isabella?" I turned around and looked at Arthur, wondering what he wanted. "Everything is going to be fine, I promise you."

I nodded at him and left, almost walking straight into Morgana and Gwen as I did. "Oh, sorry. I wasn't looking." I said quickly.

"Everything alright, Isabella?" Morgana asked, watching me carefully.

"Of course. I was just helping Merlin to wake Prince Arthur up." I told them, a sly grin on my face.

I saw Morgana raise an eyebrow. "And how did you do that, exactly?" She asked. I could see I hopeful smile forming on her face.

"A nice jug of cold water. Done the job perfectly." I told her, watching as both she and Gwen burst out laughing.

Unfortunately, we were still standing outside Arthur's chamber and he had heard the laughter. "Something amusing you, ladies?" He asked, opening the door and looking at us all. I noticed that he was out of the wet clothes now and wearing a red shirt. Red really did look good on him, it was a good job that was Camelot's colour.

"Whatever made you think that, sire?" I asked, trying to act as innocent as I could.

"It sounded like old women cackling out here just a moment ago. Would you happen to know anything about that?" He was now leaning against the doorframe, and my mind just started to drift off to somewhere completely different. He was hansom that was certain. His eyes were something interesting as well, when ever I looked at them I felt something tugging at my insides. It wasn't a bad feeling, but it was still something I couldn't explain.

"Isabella?" Arthur called, looking at me with a worried expression.

I shook my head. "Sorry, what?"

"Everything will be fine." He told me, giving me a very serious look. I was still puzzled as to why he even cared so much.

"I know." I whispered. "Now, if you will excuse us, sire, I believe Morgana and I have some plotting and planning to do." I told him, linking my arm through Morgana's, a smile on my face.

"Really?" He asked, sounding a little worried.

"Oh yes, my dear prince. Morgana and I have much to do today." I saw a smirk on Morgana's face out of the corner of my eye. "Enjoy your day, sire." I called as the pair of us began to walk away from him, Gwen following quickly behind.

"You really know how to annoy Arthur, don't you?" Morgana asked as we made our way through the castle.

"But of course I do, Morgana. Now, I know for a fact that he shall be training the knights soon. Would you care to join me in distracting as many men as possible?" I asked her.

She let out a small laugh. "I can think of nothing better." And with that, we both headed outside of the castle and towards the training ground.

"How have you been sleeping, Morgana?" I asked her as we walked. I knew she suffered from nightmares, and I could relate to that.

"I keep having nightmares." She admitted, her voice going quieter.

"You're not the only one, Morgana." The dark haired woman looked at me curiously. "I've been having nightmares, about my family. Only… only I don't think they are just nightmares." I whispered to her.

"Neither are mine. What I see in my dreams, it often comes to pass." Morgana told me, tightening her grip on my arm.

I looked at her and smiled. "What are we like, Morgana? Both of us have to suffer the arrogance of that intolerable prince, we both know how to annoy our dear prince, and we both have nightmares."

"We do make a good pair don't we?" She replied, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"I'm always here if you want to talk to me, Morgana. I know it isn't easy having nightmares, and having someone to share them with may help to easy them a little." I told her just as we reached the training ground.

To my surprise she hugged me tightly. "You truly are wonderful. I'm so glad that you're here." She whispered to me as I returned the embrace.

"You know what? So am I, Morgana. Camelot is a lot more fun than I expect it to be." When we pulled away we noticed Arthur approaching his knights. "Come, let's find the perfect spot to annoy, I mean watch, Arthur." I told her, a sly grin on my face. Morgana's expression matched that of my own.

We had been sitting watching quietly for some minutes, just enjoying being out in the fresh air with company. "Come on then, name the knights. I know who Sir Leon is, he was the first person I met. He seems kind and sweet, but deadly with a sword."

Morgana started listing off the names of all the knight on the training ground, going into some detail about who they were and what their strengths were. "Now, the only question is, how easily distracted are they?" I asked her, a plan forming in my head.

"Oh, what do you have in mind?" Morgana asked, a twinkle in her eye.

"Well, I am sure they are used to crowds during tournaments, but what about young women giggling away whilst watching them?" I asked her.

"Shall we find out?" She asked, all I did was nod my head and we both fell about laughing.

All the knights, including Arthur, stopped and looked over at us. We quickly composed ourselves and our loud laughs turned into quiet giggles. After a few moments they turned away, carrying on with their training.

"Well, that certainly got their attention. Now that they know we are here, they aren't going to resist looking at us." And Morgana was right.

"Time for phase two. The whispers and giggles whenever one of them looks over." I told her, I felt like a child inside.

We waited, and soon Sir Leon looked over at us. Morgana whispered something in my ear, which I giggled at and lightly whacked her on the arm.

One of the other knights looked over, and it was my turn to whisper to Morgana. She didn't just giggle, she gave the knight who was watching us a flirty smile. By this time, Arthur had noticed that something was distracting his knights, and that there seemed to be a lot of giggling going on.

He turned around and gazed at us both. "Isabella's in love with Arthur." Morgana sung in my ear.

"I most certainly am not." I said, maybe a little too loudly. All the knights had stopped again and were all looking at us. "Busted." I groaned, as Arthur came sauntering over to us. He stopped and stood right in front of me, completely blocking my view. "Sorry, Arthur, can you move to your right a little." He looked at me quizzically, taking a step in the direction I told him. "No, a little bit more. You're still blocking my view." I told him, causing Morgana to break out in a fit of laughter.

"You are disturbing my training session." He sounded slightly frustrated and a little bit angry.

"It's your knights that are doing that. They just can't take their eyes off us." I told him, tilting my head a little and looking at the knights behind him.

Arthur turned around sharply and glared at his knights. All of them quickly pretended to be doing something. "Shouldn't the pair of you be in the castle doing… girls… stuff…"

"Arthur, we are doing girls stuff." I told him softly. "I'm trying to find Morgana a suitor, and she is trying to find one for me." I said, causing Morgana's smile to widen. "Except none of your knights seem to be able to meet our standards. I shall have to take Morgana back to Elbear with me and find her one there."

Morgana turned and looked at me. I could tell from the look in her eyes that she was plotting something. "But Isabella, if you could not find yourself a husband there, what makes you think I shall find one?"

"My dear Morgana, the men from my kingdom are only of the finest breed. The only reason I did not find one was because I didn't have you to help me." I could actually feely the annoyance radiating from the prince still standing before me.

"Well, we can't have that. We must ride to Elbear immediately and find each other a worthy husband." She told me. I knew she was trying to annoy Arthur just as much as I was, and it seemed to be working.

"As Prince of Camelot, I forbid either of you from leaving the city." He growled at us.

That was when Morgana and I knew our fun was over. For some reason, Arthur was almost at breaking point. "We are not children, Arthur. You cannot simply tell us what to do, especially not me." I told him, standing up and glaring at him. "Come, Morgana, something in the area is making me very irritable all of a sudden. Maybe I'm allergic to something."

I had to hold in my laughter as we both walked away from the stunned and annoyed prince. We heard him shouting at his knights, and then at Merlin. Overall, it had been a very productive day so far.

A/N: Again, I am so sorry for the long time you all had to wait. Thank you for sticking with me during my 'messed up' little time.

Well, I hope you liked this chapter, A few people have asked me when I'm going to start with the episodes. The answer to that is, I don't know yet. At the moment the focus is on Isabella and Arthur, with a large helping of Merlin. I'll just have to see how it all goes.

Now, thank you to everyone who has favour tied or followed, you guys are awesome. And those of you who have left a review, you guys are super awesome, I love them.

So feel free to leave me a review on this chapter, or PM if you want, I don't mind.

Pippa.