A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait guys. I'm not going to make up excuses, I've just been busy with other things. Sorry again, and sorry for any spelling and grammatical errors as well.

The days seemed to just fly by after the enjoyable picnic with Arthur. I was dragged around with my brother to so many meetings with Uther, but so was Arthur. We spent more time trying to make each other laugh than listening to what was being said. Eventually the pair of kings gave up trying to involve us and sent us away.

"Now, I expect you to behave, Bell." Mitch told me firmly. "Do not go out looking for trouble. Knowing you, you'd actually find it in a matter of minutes." There was a serious look on his face, and I knew that he meant every word that he was saying.

After just over 2 weeks, there had still been no sightings of him. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He hadn't shown up in Camelot, which most likely meant that he didn't know I was there, but we had no idea where he was. I was always worried that he was out there watching me, just waiting for his moment to strike.

"I know, I promise, Mitch." I whispered, as he pulled me in for a tight hug. "Tell Dom I miss him, and that he needs to hurry up and come visit me soon, yeah?"

He nodded at me. "Of course I will, Bell. I know how much he wanted to come, he misses you as well. Just… take care and stay safe. Make sure you write."

"I will." I was fighting back the tears. I didn't want my brother to go, not without me, but he was. He had to go back to Elbear and I had to stay in Camelot. That really wasn't what I wanted, I wanted to go back with him, to be with him and Dom, but Mitch, Arthur and even Uther wouldn't let me go anywhere. I hated it so much.

"Come on, no tears now, Bell." Mitch said, wiping them as they finally decided to fall. "This won't be forever, okay? I promise you, everything will work out fine." He hugged me tightly one last time, planting a soft kiss on the top of my head before mounting his horse.

I stood there and watched as they rode out of Camelot, leaving me behind. It didn't take long for the mass of green to disappear from my sight, leaving me to stand there looking at nothing.

"Isabella?" A voice called, a hand settling on my shoulder. I slowly turned and saw Arthur standing beside me, with Merlin next to him. The tears were still swimming in my eyes, a few escaping and rolling down my cheeks. Arthur didn't say anything, he just wrapped his arms around me tightly as I gave in and let the drops of water flow from my eyes.

I wasn't really paying much attention to anything that was happening, I was allowing Arthur to lead me through the castle, I was too upset and confused to really care at the time. I could hear him speaking to me, but my head wouldn't process the anything that was coming from his mouth.

"Isabella? Are you all right?" I looked up and saw Merlin looking at me with concern. "Arthur's been talking to you, but you've just been… well, not here, is probably the best way to put it."

"Sorry." I called back to him quietly. With everything that was going on, I had almost completely forgotten that he could talk to me through our minds. "I'm just… I don't know."

I saw a small smile creep across his face. "You're upset that your brother has left and that you're stuck here in Camelot with the arrogant prince."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm upset that my life is being decided for me, Merlin. That I have completely lost any freedom I ever had. I may as well just be thrown in the dungeon and left there to rot."

"It won't always be like this, Isabella." He tried to assure me. "We will find him and you will be safe."

Before I had a chance to reply to my warlock friend, Arthur was speaking to me once more. Only this time, I did manage to hear what he was saying. "Isabella?" I opened my eyes and looked over at him. "I know that none of this is easy for you, but I promise you, I will do everything to protect you." I simply nodded at him in response. "You know where I am if you need me." He took a step closer to me and wrapped his arms around me tightly. I let myself relax a little, knowing that Arthur meant every word that he said.

A few minutes later, both he and Merlin were gone, and I was left alone in my chamber. The room suddenly felt cold, so I dragged myself over to my bed and huddled up under the covers, no longer caring about the tears that were streaming down my hot cheeks.

Eventually I let the darkness surround me and fell into a restless sleep. I kept seeing my uncle, chasing me, hunting me down. Everywhere I went, I saw him, hiding in the shadows with an evil smirk on his face. He was waiting, waiting for the perfect moment to take me, to get rid of me before hitting my brothers.

That was when I woke up sharply, my chest pounding as I struggled to breathe. How could my life have turned into this? When had I become so weak and afraid? I tried to dismiss it all, to forget about the dreams. I was in Camelot, a place I never believed existed, and Prince Arthur had sworn to protect me. How many people could say that?

I glanced over at the window and saw how dark it was outside. Night had fallen while I was sleeping restlessly, and just wished for it to be the morning already. The night left too many shadows, too many hiding places for someone who was up to no good.

Less than a minute later there was a soft knocking on my door. "Isabella? Are you awake?" Arthur called through the door.

I pulled the sheets away from my legs and let my feet touch the cold stone floor, walking over to the wooden door to let the prince in. "Yes, I am awake, Arthur." I mumbled, rubbing my sore eyes a little.

He glanced over my shoulder and towards the table in the room before frowning at me. "You haven't eaten." He said, sounding a little like my brothers.

I shrugged my shoulders at him. "That's probably because I've been asleep for most of the time. I don't think I usually eat in my sleep." I told him, trying to get over that stupid dream about my uncle.

"Well then, maybe you should come with me and eat in my chamber." He said, holding out his hand, waiting for me to take it. The moment I did, a smile stretched across Arthur's face as he led me away from my chamber and over to his instead. "You need to look after yourself, Isabella. You're brother isn't here to make sure you do, so I'm going to make sure instead."

I didn't say anything as he opened the door to his chamber, where I saw Merlin setting things down at the table. He just smiled over at me before Arthur pretty much dragged me to the table. "You okay?" My warlock friend called to me, giving me a concerned look.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just… tired." I lied. I didn't really want to tell them that I was stressing over my uncle once more. If I told them, then they would just keep trying to reassure me that they would find him and that everything would be okay. I was sick of hearing the same thing over and over again.

Merlin frowned at her as he started to pick up the dirty clothes that had been thrown on the floor. "Tired? You've been sleeping since you're brother left. How can you still be tired?" He asked me.

I let out a silent sigh. "Really easy, actually. Look, I'm fine, okay? Just leave it at that Merlin." He studied me carefully before giving me a small smile.

"Isabella?" Arthur called, finally managing to get my attention.

"Uh, sorry. My head is a little all over the place at the moment, sorry." I said, sitting down in the chair that he had pulled out for me.

Arthur just smiled at me, his blue eyes just gazing at me. "I know, it's okay. Now come on, you really need to eat something. If you don't then you're going to make yourself ill."

"I know, sorry." I said, hanging my head a little. For some reason I was feeling like a child being scolded.

Arthur was eating as well, and he kept glancing up at me every now and again, frowning when he saw how little I was touching the food on the plate before me. The truth of it was, I really didn't feel like eating, I just wanted to curl up in my bed and hide there for as long as I could.

"Talk to me, Isabella." Arthur said, breaking the silence that had been filling the room for so long now. There was so much worry on his face.

I let out a sigh. "What do you want me to say, Arthur?"

"I want you to tell me what is bothering you so much." He said, reaching over the table and taking a hold of my hand. "This isn't just about your brother leaving, is it?" I shook my head at him a little. "Then what is it?"

"Nothing, really it's nothing." I told him, but not putting much effort into being very convincing about it. I just didn't have the energy to even try, and I didn't want to be fighting with Arthur either. "I'm going back to my chamber. I'm tired, I need to get some sleep." I said, pushing the chair away and standing up.

"Isabella, everything is going to be okay." Arthur told me, getting up as well and taking a tight hold of my hand. "You're safe here."

I nodded at him as he led me back to my own chamber. There was still so much worry in his eyes, and I didn't like it. "I will be fine, Arthur. I'm just having a bad day, that's all. I didn't want my brother to leave yet, I wanted to spend some more time with him before he left. While he was here he was always so busy with your father that we didn't get to talk as much as I had hope." I told him, praying that it would ease his mind a little.

A small smile managed to work its way onto the prince's face. "I understand, Isabella. I am always here if you want to talk, okay?" I simply nodded my head, before I was taken by surprise by Arthur pressing his lips lightly against my own. "Good night, Isabella."

"Goodnight, Arthur." I said, before opening the door to my chamber and stepping inside. I knew I needed to pull myself together, not just for me, but for Arthur as well. My behaviour was worrying him and I didn't like it when he was worrying. There was no need for him to worry about me, to even care about me. But he did, so I knew I needed take a deep breath and just get on with life.

After changing out of my clothes and into my nightdress, I crawled into my bed and pulled the covers around me tightly. I eventually managed to doze off, hoping for some peaceful sleep.

A blue stone, glowing so brightly flashed across my mind. It was in the middle of a tomb, placed perfectly in the chest of the stone man it must have once belonged to. Then a saw a foot, stepping down on a slab of stone, setting off and arrow.

There was a man, brown hair falling across his eyes, he was skinny, but not where near as skinny as my favourite warlock. He was after something, and I saw him holding a set of keys that I thought were familiar. There was something about him that made me not trust him.

Then I was back by the tomb, and the stone was missing, fear flooding me. A raven, a single raven flew across the night sky, before the gargoyles that usually sat so peacefully atop the castle sprang to life. The city was being attack, people were being killed and injured. Arthur was hurt, I could see him bleeding, but he was alive.

That man, the man with the brown hair, I could see him, standing in front of Merlin. A strange mist appeared around the pair, and Merlin fell to the ground.

I woke up, screaming Merlin's name, not just with my voice, but in my head as well. There were tears streaming down my face, my chest thumping from the way my heart was racing. The next thing I knew, the door to my chamber swung open and a very scared and worried looking Merlin stood there staring at me.

"Isabella, are you okay? What happened?" He asked me, coming over to the bed where I was still sitting.

"I was… It… It was just a nightmare, that's all." I told him, trying to regain control of my breathing.

He looked at me softly. "Was it about your uncle?" He asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. I shook my head at him. "Then what happened?"

"I… I don't want to talk about it. I can't, it was awful, Merlin." Before he had a chance to say anything else, we both heard Arthur shouting for him. "You better go and see what he wants." I told him, wiping away the wetness from my cheeks with the back of my hand.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked me, getting a nod from me in response before he fled to the room where the prince was still bellowing for him.

A few minutes later, the voice of the prince faded. I didn't want to go back to sleep, and then realised that with the noise that was going on, I probably wouldn't be able to anyway. I had not noticed the banging noise in the distance before, I was used to there being noise around me. "Why do I feel like something terrible is going to happen?" I mumbled to myself as I put my head in my hands.

There came a light knocking on my door, before a voice floated through it. "Isabella?" Arthur called.

"Come in, Arthur." I called, dragging myself out of the bed and sitting on the edge of it as he walked in.

"Is everything all right? Did the noise wake you?" He asked, coming and sitting on the edge with me.

I shook my head at him. "No, I just had a bad dream, that's all." I told him, hoping that he wouldn't ask too many questions about it. For some reason, I felt like I should know what was going to happen, like I had seen it all before. But I couldn't remember where, or when.

"You uncle?" That was the same thing that Merlin had asked.

"No, it was weird and stupid. Just a bad dream, nothing more." I told him, really wishing he would just leave the topic alone and move past it. I didn't want to talk about it to him, just like I didn't want to tell Merlin all about it either.

"I'll have Merlin get you a draught from Gaius to help you sleep." He offered.

"No, Arthur, it's fine. Really, I don't need any potions or anything. I'm just stressed and anxious. I will be fine." I assured him. I didn't want to be taking potions like my dear friend Morgana did, and besides, they didn't work for her.

"Are you sure, Isabella? It wouldn't be a problem." There was that worried look on his face once more.

"Arthur, I am sure. You need to worry about me less. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, as you should well know by now." I told him, referring back to our little encounter with the bandits that ruined my dress.

The prince just frowned at me. "Isabella, I care about you, so of course I am going to worry." He told me, taking a tight hold of my hand that was sitting in my lap. "You are my impossible, strange Princess after all." I couldn't help but smile at the goofy grin that was on his face. "I like it when you smile."

"I like it when you make me smile." I whispered, but not low enough for him to not hear me.

"I like making you smile." His blue eyes were shining and fixed on mine. They were just drawing me in, like they had every other time. It was like there was something inside of me, telling me this was right, that this was how things were always meant to be. But then my head would just jump in there and tell me to wake up and get real.

I frowned, my ears straining to hear any sound it could in the distance. "It's quiet." I whispered, glancing over at the window.

"Finally." Arthur cried, letting out a sigh of relief. I guess that noise had been keeping him up and that was why he had called Merlin, to go and tell them to shut up.

"I take it all the noise was keeping you awake, and depriving you of your much needed beauty sleep." I said, teasing him a little. Knowing that I could say things like that to him, and get away with it, always made me feel better.

He just looked at me, a grin on his face. "I have to keep myself in shape if I want to impress you, my dear princess, and that requires me to sleep."

"Aw, that is so sweet of you, Arthur." I said, pretending to be impressed. "But I know you, you need to do a lot more if you want to impress me. Sleeping isn't very impressive, and neither is bullying your servant."

"That is tremendously impolite of you, Princess Isabella." Arthur replied, pretending to be hurt by my words.

I shrugged my shoulders at him. "If you don't like the truth, you know where the door is." I said, a smirk on my face as I pointed towards the door. "Now, if you don't mind, I think I may just head back to sleep. Why don't you try and do the same thing? Since your sleep is so important to you."

"You are impossible, Isabella." He replied, looking at me with a confused expression.

I couldn't help but smile, I was ready to confuse him even more. "And that is just how I like it." I told him, before leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Now get out." I ordered, pointing at the door.

It was amazing how quickly just spending time with Arthur could change my moods. I had been so scared and worried from those stupid nightmares of mine before he arrived, but being around him just made me relax.

"Join me for breakfast?" He asked, just looking at me with a soft smile.

I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes at him. "If I must."

His smile grew bigger as he reached over and his lips touched mine. It wasn't a passionate kiss, but just the feeling of him being so close made me scream like a love struck teenager inside. "I'll see you in the morning, Isabella." He whispered, before getting up from my bed and leaving the room.

For a moment I just sat there, a stupid smile stuck on my face because of the arrogant prince. He just kept on surprising me, by being so kind and caring, rather than harsh like how I had seen him with Merlin, and how he had been with me at first. He didn't seem to like the fact that I refused to show him any manners, but he wasn't showing me any at the time either.

In such a short time, things seem to have progressed really well. Arthur and I were rather close now, and I knew he was doing his best to protect me. I was happy, climbing back into my bed and just thinking about Arthur.

"Isabella, time to wake up." A voice called to me, disturbing me from a much better dream than what I had been having.

"Get lost, Merlin." I mumbled, pulling the covers over my head, hoping to block out any more sound that came my way.

"I thought you were going to join me for breakfast?" My eyes shot open, as I twisted myself around in the bed and shot up to look at the owner of the voice.

Arthur was sitting there, on the side of the bed, just staring at me. "Arthur Pendragon, what on Earth do you think you are doing in my chamber?" I asked him, trying my best to sound very annoyed with him.

"I believe I was waking you up. I seem to have managed that." There was a smirk on his face, and something told me he had other things up his sleeve.

I just glared at him. "And I believe that is Merlin's task, and not yours. What do you want, Arthur?"

He looked at me a little sheepishly. "I, uh, did actually come to wake you up. Merlin is busy and you're useless at getting yourself up." He told me. "So, are you going to get up and join me for breakfast?"

I let out a groan. "Okay, fine, I will get up. How long have to been sitting there for, anyway?" I couldn't help but ask him out of curiosity.

He shrugged his shoulders at me. "Not long. You know, you were smiling while you were sleeping." Arthur told me, making a red tint creep up my neck and to my cheeks. "You looked happy, Isabella." There was something about the way he had spoken, the tone of his voice, it sounded like sadness.

"Well, of course I was happy, I was asleep. If you want to see me happy when I'm awake, get out and let me get dressed so we can eat."

"And are you going to eat more than just an apple today?" The prince asked me, not yet moving from my bed.

"I don't know, I haven't decided yet. It really depends on what is on offer. But I may push the boat out and have two apples." I told him, only earning myself a frown. "Arthur, I'm trying, okay. It's not easy for me, my body can't cope with too much food. You just have to let me adjust to it all."

His face quickly softened as he realised that it was upsetting me a little. It did upset me, because they were offering me so much food that I just couldn't eat. Then there were people in the lower town who were struggling to find any food, and I was just wasting it.

"I know, and I am sorry for pushing you to eat, I just don't want to see you getting ill, Isabella." Arthur told me softly, taking a hold of one of my hands.

"Strangely enough, I don't want to get ill either, Arthur. And that is why I am careful with how much I eat. But if it will make you feel better, I will promise to try to eat more than just an apple today." I saw his eyes light up at the promise, and he quickly kissed the back of my hand.

"I better let you get dressed then. I'll see you soon." He said, before placing my hand back down in my lap, getting off the bed and making his way back to his own chamber.

I let out a sigh as I pushed myself off the bed and stumbled over to the wardrobe, grabbing the first dress I laid my hands on. It was a rich lavender, with silver embroidery down the sleeves. It was more than good enough to join the prince for breakfast in, so I hurriedly changed and made my way to his chamber.

"Arthur, you really should tell her." I heard Merlin mumbling in Arthur's chamber.

"I can't, Merlin. She is already worrying enough. I just want her to be happy, and she will be happier not knowing." The prince replied. I was curious as to what they were talking about, so decided to carry on eaves dropping a little longer.

"But if something happens to her…"

"It won't. I will not let anything happen to her." Arthur warned him, in a very low voice. Whatever it was that was going on, I knew it was serious, which made me worry. "I will deal with it, Merlin. Now, go and see if she has actually decided to get up."

I quickly shot back to my chamber door, and made it look like I was just coming out of my room. "Morning, Merlin." I called to him, taking my hand of the handle to my door.

"Good morning, Isabella. Arthur wanted me to come and check that you hadn't decided to go back to sleep." He said, smiling at me as best he could. I could see that there was something bothering him, and now it was bothering me too. I wanted to know what the hell they had been talking about, but I had a fairly good idea already.

"Well, as you can see I am dressed and ready to face whatever the arrogant prince has to throw at me." I said, doing my best to keep a smile on my face.

The moment I stepped into Arthur's chamber I knew something was wrong. He quickly shifted away from the window, standing tall and regal. I had seen him do that before, when something was bothering him but he didn't want anyone else to know about it. I done my best to smile at him, to make it seem like I knew nothing was wrong.

The truth was, with the nightmares I had been having, I knew something was wrong. The nightmare before, the one where I screamed Merlin's name really frightened me. The ones with my uncle in, I can handle those, because he is after me and no one else. But when I see my friends and innocent people being hurt, well it hurts me as well.

"Good morning, Prince Arthur." I said sweetly to him.

I watched as he let out an anxious breath and relaxed a little. "Good morning, Isabella. Come, let's eat. I hope you are true to your word and at least try to eat more than just a single apple this morning." He said, pulling out the chair at the table for me to sit down on.

"As I said before, I promise to try. Just don't push me, Arthur, otherwise you really will regret it." That was when I saw a real smile creep onto his face as he sat down opposite me.

"I have no doubt that you would make my life a living hell, Princess Isabella." He said, pushing the bowl of fruit towards me. "I am sure that is your goal in life, to annoy me."

I couldn't help but smirk at him. "I aim to please, Sire." Arthur just shook his head at me as I grabbed an apple and crunched into it while he started on the slop that was porridge. It looked disgusting, and I was pretty sure I would be sick if I had to eat it, that was why I was more than happy to just stick with my fruit.

At least Arthur was calm, relaxed, and happy. I liked it better when he was happy, he wasn't so bossy and controlling. He really was a pleasure to be around when he was happy, and I felt the need to make sure that he stayed happy.

A/N: Okay guys, we are about to get cracking with the series now. I hope you are all looking forward to it.

I know I have been terrible with my updating, but I'm planning on getting a lot done. I'm out of Uni now until the end of September, so I plan on working my backside off on these stories.

A big thank you to everyone who has followed/favourited, and for all of you who have stuck by the story. And a massive thank you to everyone who has reviewed.

I love your reviews, they make me smile and make me feel guilty for not updating sooner.

I promise to get the next chapter up soon.

Pippa.