Arthur and Merlin had been hiding Isabella for just over a week now. There had been no sightings of her uncle, and the patrols looking for her had started to lessen. The only problem was, she was getting restless. She hated being locked up, and not being able to talk to anyone apart from Arthur and Merlin. They had started to leave her on her own more, she was alone so much of the time and she hated it.

"We can't hide her for much longer, Arthur." Merlin told him as they made their way back after spending the day hunting.

Arthur let out a sigh. "I know. I'm going to tell my father tonight at dinner. He isn't going to be happy with me, I know that much."

The warlock smirked a little. "I'm sure you can handle him." He said, unlocking the door to the prince's chamber. As usual, Isabella was lying on the bed, staring at nothing.

"Merlin, get Isabella a dress for tonight." Arthur called, just to make sure Isabella heard him.

Her head quickly shot up and she stared at the prince. "Why do I need a dress for tonight?" She asked him.

Arthur just smiled at her. "I think it's time you came out of hiding. I want my bed back." He told her as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Why are you doing this all of a sudden? Are you sure it's a good idea? I mean what if he hears and comes back?" Isabella asked in a panic.

"Isabella, calm down." He said, sitting next to her on the bed. "You know what will happen when he is found. And I can't keep you locked up for much longer. It's driving you mad, and I really do want my bed back."

"So, what are you going to tell everyone? I mean, no one is going to believe that you found me on your hunting trip today. How are you going to explain this one?" She asked him.

Arthur let out a heavy sigh. "I'm going to have to tell my father the truth. That you have been hiding in my chamber for the past week."

"You are going to get into so much trouble for this, you know that right?" She told her, feeling a grin forming on her face.

"Don't I know it…" He mumbled.

0000

I wasn't nervous, oh no, I was absolutely petrified. I wasn't sure how Arthur had managed to talk me into actually going along with this.

"You ready?" Arthur asked, holding his arm out to me. I nodded at him and slipped my arm through his. "Isabella, everything is going to be fine."

I nodded at him. "Sure it is. Why wouldn't it be?" I said, not very convincingly.

"Oh, come on. You're finally getting out of my chamber. You have to be happy about that?"

I smirked at him a little. "I sure am. I don't have to listen to your God awful snoring anymore. I thought there was a pig in the room every night."

"That is very rude of you. I do not snore." He protested, but in a rather friendly way.

It wasn't long until we were standing outside the hall where his father and Morgana were most likely getting very impatient waiting for Arthur to arrive for dinner. The guards at the door just looked at me with some rather wide eyes.

"Well, it's now or never." Arthur said, nodding for the guards to open the door.

"I'll take never, thanks." I mumbled, before he dragged me into the room.

"Arthur!" His father called. "Do you know how late…" He trailed off when he saw me, half hiding behind his son. "Princess Isabella!" He cried, getting out of his chair and moving quickly towards me. "Thank the heavens you are safe." He said to me, as he pulled me forwards and hugged me.

I didn't say a word. I just let myself relax a little. The moment he let me go I found myself in someone else's arms. "Isabella! I thought I was never going to see you again." Morgana cried. "I was so worried about you."

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Morgana." I said, hugging her back tightly. I had so badly missed her company, and every day I heard about just how worried she was about me.

"Are you hurt at all? Where have you been?" The woman said, letting a few tears fall down her face. "I've missed you so much."

"I think it's best if I let Arthur explain everything." I told her when she finally let me go.

We all sat down, and another plate was set down in front of me. "I deceived you, father." Arthur said, looking slightly ashamed with himself. "I have been hiding Isabella in my chamber."

The king just looked at him blankly. There was no way to tell what he was thinking. "I think you had better explain yourself, Arthur." He said, rather calmly.

He let out a sigh. "The morning after Isabella disappeared, my servant and I found her curled up under my bed. By then, we had the evidence that confirmed she was in danger from Lord Donald. I took it upon myself to keep her there and protect her. While no one knew she was there, she was safe."

There were a few minutes of silence before the king spoke up. "You did the right thing, Arthur. Although the threat towards Princess Isabella is far from over, you have kept her safe. You used your initiative, I am proud of you."

"I am sorry for the trouble I have caused, sire. The moment I saw my uncle I became scared. I wasn't thinking straight and acted out of fear." I said, keeping my head bowed down.

"Nonsense, my dear. That man is evil and shall be dealt with. We are all just glad you are safe. You are under Camelot's protection, for as long as it is needed." He assured me.

The rest of the meal consisted of a lot of talking, mainly from Morgana who was filling me in on everything that she had been doing. I couldn't help but notice that both Arthur and his father seemed to be happy.

"I'm so glad that you're alright." Morgana said, hugging me for what seemed like the hundredth time since seeing me.

"I'm sorry that you had to worry so much, Morgana. Arthur insisted that no one knew I was still here until he thought it was safe." I told her as eventually released me.

"He was protecting you, and for that I am grateful to him." She said, looking at the man standing next to me. "Promise you will come and see me tomorrow?" Morgana begged.

I smiled at her. "Of course I will, Morgana. I've spent over a week locked up with only Arthur and Merlin to speak to. I need someone intelligent to have a conversation with." That earned me a laugh from Morgana and a glare from Arthur.

"Goodnight, Isabella."

"Goodnight, Morgana. I hope you sleep well." The look on her face told me that she had been having more nightmares. I would have to talk to her about them in the morning.

I turned to the man who I had been pretty much living with for the past week. "Thank you, Arthur. For everything."

He smiled at me. "I'm right next door if you need me. And there will be guards patrolling the corridor all night." He assured me. I was still a little nervous about my uncle finding out I was in Camelot and that he would come and do what he intended to do.

"I know. Thank you." I don't know why I did it, but I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Arthur wrapped his arms around me and hugged me back. And for the briefest moment, I felt safer than I ever had in my whole life.

I suddenly felt like this was where I was meant to be, that I was where I belonged. With everything that had been happening, I had forgotten all about my past life, my life in the future. The place where I was born, where I had grown up, I had forgotten that Camelot was a legend in my time. Everything just seemed to be so right in Camelot.

We slowly pulled apart from our embrace and I couldn't help but gaze into the prince's blue eyes. It seemed that he was gazing into mine as well. I felt my heart racing, as we just seemed to stare at each other.

The next thing I knew, his lips crashed against mine. He took me by surprise but after only a second I gave into him and let him push me against the wall. My arms ended up back around his neck and one of his hands slowly made its way through my hair. Everything I was worried about just seemed to melt away. None of it mattered anymore.

After what seemed like hours, but was only mere minutes, we broke apart, both trying to catch our breath. Arthur's face turned slightly red, and I could feel my own cheeks burning.

"I… um… I was…" The prince stuttered.

"Oh, yeah. Umm…" I didn't manage to make a very coherent sentence either. "Goodnight, Arthur." I said, reaching up and giving him a peck on the lips.

"Goodnight, Isabella." He said, as I darted into my room.

I leaned against the closed door and let a smile take over my face. I had just kissed the Once and Future King, and it felt so right. Little did I know, that on the other side of the door, Arthur was doing exactly the same thing.

I made my way over to my bed and just threw myself on it, not letting the smile fade.

"So, how did it go?" Merlin asked me. I wasn't used to having him talk to me like that. We hardly ever did, unless it was an emergency or an accident.

"It was perfect." I told him, still thinking about the kiss.

"Oh my God! You and Arthur kissed!" He cried in my head.

"What? No we didn't. Why on Earth would you say such a thing?" I cried to him. How could he have known that?

"Oh my God, you did. I saw it. You need to be more careful with what you think about. Ugh, that was disgusting. I'm never going to be able to get that image out of my head now." The warlock teased.

"Oh, shut up, Merlin. It was only a kiss."

"No it wasn't. Otherwise you wouldn't still be thinking about it. Oh, please stop. I don't want to see any more." He cried, acting disgusted and embarrassed.

"If you don't like it, then get out of my head." I told him.

"Don't worry, I will. Night, Isabella."

I let out a sigh. "Goodnight, Merlin. And I'm sure I don't have to tell you…"

"Not to tell anyone about the kiss. Yep, got it." And with that, he was gone and I was left alone to my thoughts again.

How could I have been so stupid? Kissing him, I shouldn't have done that, I should not have allowed that to happen. It was wrong, Gwen was meant to be with Arthur, not me. I felt like my head was going to explode from all the different outcomes of that stupid kiss running through my head.

There's only one thing I can do. I thought to myself. Time to pay that lizard a visit. And with that, I threw something quickly over the top of my nightdress. I had my excuse for being out of my chamber already in my head. I couldn't sleep and wanted to see Morgana. I knew no one would stop me from going to see her.

I stepped out of my room and noticed the two guards at either end of the corridor. I walked towards the ones standing in my way towards my friend's chamber. I could see the look of worry in their eyes as I approached them. "I know you are here to protect me, and for that I am grateful. I am informing you that I am off to visit Lady Morgana. I cannot sleep and need to speak with her."

The guards just nodded and let me be on my way. That really was too easy, I just hoped the rest of the time it would be just as easy. I made it to where the tunnel was that led to the dragon. I surprised myself by actually remembering the way. The only problem was the guards that were there.

Merlin had distracted them with his magic. But how could I distract them? Ugh, why can't they be drunk and pass out already? I wondered, starting to get a little stressed that I had no way of getting past them. It was not going to be a wasted journey, I was going to see that blasted fire breathing reptile.

I looked down at the guards and something strange seemed to be happening to them. They were… falling asleep. One of their tin flagons clanged when it hit the floor after falling out of its owner's hand.

I took that as my chance and made a run for it. I grabbed a torch and moved and quickly as I could down the stone tunnel to where the dragon was held captive.

I looked around the cavern and saw nothing. "Oi, you over grown lizard. I want a word with you!" I shouted, letting a little of my cockney accent slip through.

He flew down from somewhere high above, chuckling way. "You certainly have a way with words, young princess." He told me as he settled on his rock.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm not here to make jokes, I'm here to talk. I want to know what the hell my destiny is, because I haven't found it and I'm getting really fed up of trying to work it out now." I told him, letting my anger flare a little.

"I thought you didn't want to know about destinies or prophecies, young one?" He reminded me of my own words when I had first met him.

"Okay, legend then, whatever. Why the hell am I here? Why can't I just go back home?" I growled at him. Yes, my anger was definitely going to get the better of me here.

"You are already starting to find your place. There is no need for you to worry."

"Don't tell me not to worry. Since I've been here I've been attacked by bandits and my uncle is currently out to kill me. I spent a week hiding in Arthur's chamber and that almost drove me insane. So don't you dare tell me not to worry!" I shouted at him. I noticed the torch in my hand flared up quite a bit and that rocks were falling from above.

"You need to control your emotions, Isabella." Kilgharrah told me very seriously. "If you don't, it could mean the end of Albion."

"I don't understand, can you please just tell me what I am meant to be doing here?" I begged him, hoping that for once he would just give me a straight answer.

"You have not yet realised your gift. But it is controlled by your emotions. You will do great things for Albion and Arthur."

"But I don't want to do great things, I want to go back home." I pleaded with him. My anger was fading and was starting to be replaced with despair.

"You are home, Isabella. This is where you are meant to be. Do you really want to go back to that life you once had? With no friends, no one to talk to, no one to love you? Is that really where you want to be?" He asked me, watching me very closely.

"No." I whispered to him. "But I still don't belong here. By being here I could change the legend, I could alter what is meant to happen, and I don't want to. I don't want to get in the way of what is meant to be."

"Ah, but you won't be, young princess. There are many things from your legend that are wrong, lost and retold over time. Let destiny take its course, and you will find happiness." I could tell he was being sincere, and he was trying to help me, but I still felt he was being rather cryptic as well.

"Kilgharrah, I'm already starting to have… feelings… for someone I know I shouldn't. And I'm scared."

I could have sworn I saw a smirk on the over grown lizards face. "Yes, the young prince, I believe. Does he return these feelings?"

"I… I don't know. I haven't exactly told him, so I haven't asked him. I'm confused, because he isn't meant to be with me, he is meant to be with someone else. I am not the Once and Future Queen, someone else is." I wasn't really getting many answers from the dragon, maybe this had been a complete waste of time.

"As I have said, the legend you know is wrong. Now, I suggest you go and rest, young princess. Your destiny has only just begun." He said, bowing his head to me before flying off.

With a heavy sigh I walked back through the tunnel and was pleasantly surprised to see the guards still completely passed out. They were going to get into so much trouble if they were caught sleeping on the job.

I made my way back through the castle and decided that I actually was going to stop in on Morgana. I didn't care how late it was, and I knew she wouldn't care either. I past a few guards on the way and nodded at them, I knew they would now be keeping track of where I went, none of them knew I had been to the dragon first.

I gently knocked on the door, but received no reply. I carefully opened the door, it creaked a little as I did. The room was in darkness, and I assumed Morgana must have been asleep, but that wasn't going to stop me for visiting her. I closed the door and went and sat in one of the chairs by the window. Morgana's window overlooked the courtyard, and it was still strange for me to see it so empty.

I can't have been sitting there for long when I heard Morgana whispering. I looked over and noticed she seemed a little restless. That was all I needed to get up and go check on her, I knew she must have been having one of her nightmares.

There were beads of sweat forming on her brow. "Isabella…" She whispered in her sleep, causing me to frown a little. Why was she calling my name in her dream? "No, not Isabella… please… Isabella…"

I couldn't bear to see my friend so upset any more. "Hey, Morgana, wake up." I said, brushing her fallen dark locks away from her face. "Morgana, it's just a bad dream." I said, watching her struggling to fight her way out of the nightmare.

"Please, not Isabella." She cried. "No!" Her eyes flew open and she bolted upright.

"Hey, shush, calm down, Morgana. It was a dream, it was only a dream." I said, grabbing hold of her and gently stroking her hair. She fell into my arms and began to sob. "Hey, come on, I'm okay, you're okay, everything is okay, Morgana. I promise you." I said trying to comfort her as best I could.

"I had another nightmare." She whispered between her sobs.

"I know, I heard. It was just a nightmare." I told her. I didn't like to see her so upset. I know in the legends she is meant to be a bad person, but I had not seen her yet. All I could see was a scared young woman who needed a friend and support.

After a few minutes, Morgana finally calmed down enough to pull away from me. "Feeling better now?" I asked her, watching her wipe her eyes.

She nodded at me. "What were you doing here anyway?" She asked me curiously.

"Well, for some reason, there wasn't a pig in my room, so I was finding it difficult to get to sleep. I thought I would come and see if you were still awake. When I arrived, I noticed you were a little restless, so I stayed for a while to keep watch on you." I told her. It wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.

She looked at me with even more curiosity. "A pig?"

I let a little laugh slip out. "Morgana, I spent a week sleeping in the same room as Arthur, and he sounds like a pig when he is asleep."

Morgana burst out laughing at that piece of information. "Really? A pig?"

I nodded at her. "Yes, every night I thought there was a pig in the room. I'm not used to it being so quiet. I found it a little unsettling." I admitted. It was actually true, I was back in my own chamber, on my own, with someone out there who wants to kill me. I had every right to be slightly afraid.

My fear must have shown on my face as Morgana reached over and hugged me. "I'm glad you're here, Isabella. I really did miss you." She whispered to me.

"I missed you as well, Morgana." I said hugging her back. "Will you tell me about this dream of yours?" I asked her softly. I knew it was difficult for her to talk about them, considering she always thought her dreams were real and some of them did actually come to pass.

"I… I don't want to. It was horrible." A few tears rolled down her cheek.

"Morgana, I promise you, everything will be just fine, okay?" The woman nodded at me. "Come on, why don't you try to get back to sleep now? We have a lot of catching up to do in the morning, you need to get some sleep." I told her, getting up from her bed and making my way to the door.

"Isabella?" I stopped and looked over at my friend. "Thank you. I feel like you are the only person I can trust and really talk to."

"We're friends, Morgana, it's what friends do. Now sleep, otherwise I will find a way to knock you out myself." I said, giving her a huge smile. She laughed a little at me before settling back down in her bed.

I quietly slipped out and tried to make as little sound as possible when I closed the door. When I turned around I came face to face with a rather disgruntled prince. "Oh, um, Arthur. What are you doing here?" I asked him nervously.

"I could ask you the same thing." He said, his arms folded across his chest as he watched me.

"I was checking on Morgana. And it was a good job I did as well, she's been having more nightmares. I was reassuring her that everything was fine." None of that was a lie. That was all completely and utterly true. "I did tell the guards where I was going." I pointed out.

"I don't want you walking around the castle on your own." Arthur told me.

"You want me to be chaperoned everywhere?' I asked him, one eyebrow raised.

He nodded at me. "If needs be, yes. Isabella, with your uncle still out there, your life is still in danger. I promised to protect you and I will do that. No matter what it takes." He reminded me.

"Yes, but Arthur, I am not a child. First you have me and Morgana locked away in the castle, then I'm locked in your chamber, and now I'm not even allowed to walk around the castle without someone with me." I moaned. I was starting to feel like I was a little child who couldn't be trusted.

"Isabella, it's for your own safety. Until that man is caught, we can't risk it, I won't risk anything happening to you." He told me firmly. There was something in the way he said it that made me think there was a little more to it than what he was really saying.

I groaned in frustration. "Fine. But expect me to make your life a living hell." I warned him.

Arthur just smiled at me. "I would expect nothing less. Now, come on. I shall escort you back to your chamber, and I expect you to stay there till morning."

"Why don't you just lock me in the bloody dungeon?" I asked him as we started walking.

"That's not actually a bad idea. They are always guarded, and I know you would be safe down there." I put my hand to my face and pinched the bridge of my nose, I had just given him even more ideas. "Don't worry, I wouldn't really do it. Not without a good reason."

"Oh, shut up, Arthur." I said, nudging him with my hip. "So, am I really going to have to be escorted everywhere I go?" I asked him seriously.

"Yes. If Merlin or myself are busy, have a guard accompany you. And I want to be informed of where you are going, before you go anywhere. Is that understood?" He asked me.

"Perfectly, I mean, it's not like I really have a choice in the matter." I was annoyed, of course I was, but I was also a little relieved. If I were never alone, my uncle would struggle to find a chance to get at me.

"Isabella, I'm not doing this to hurt you, I'm doing this to keep you safe. You understand that don't you?" The prince asked me, as he took hold of my hand and made me stop walking.

I let out sigh. "Of course I understand, Arthur. And I truly am grateful. I'm just a little annoyed that I won't really be able to leave the castle much."

"Say's who?" He wondered, looking at me carefully.

"It's pretty obvious. It's not exactly going to be safe for me to leave the castle. And it's okay, I won't even try to get out or cause a fuss to leave." I assured him.

"And here I was thinking that I was going to have to fight with you and get my father to forbid you from going outside again." He told me with a smirk on his face.

"Arthur, I'm too tired to argue. And I wouldn't win anyway, so what's the point?" I said, letting my gaze fall to the floor. It had been a long time since I had done that, but now, with everything that was going on, I wanted to just close off and disappear.

I felt Arthur slip his hand into mine, causing me to look up at him. "Come on, time you went back to your chamber and slept." He told me quietly, tugging at my arm a little to get my walking along side him.

Once we reached my chamber, Arthur opened the door for me to step inside. "I will see you in the morning." He said. "And remember what I said."

I nodded at him. "Yes, Arthur. No going anywhere on my own, and to let you know before I go anywhere." He gave me a brief smile and closed the door as he left me alone. I pulled off the dress I had put on over my nightdress and clambered into my bed.

A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the long wait. Back to uni this week, and a few birthdays going on as well.

I'm going to keep this nice and short. I hope you all liked the chapter, I got a few things coming up pretty soon. Possibly a few more kisses. So yeah, be kind, and review, because your all just awesome.

Pippa.