A/N: Sorry for the long wait for this one guys, I've been having trouble writing. But all better now!

Dinner with Arthur had been very uneventful. He kept talking about the hunt, how the stranger, Cedric, had saved his life and was now working in the castle. I just nodded my head and smiled at him most of the time, not really paying too much attention to what he was saying.

Eventually he noticed that I had completely zoned out. "Isabella? Are you all right?" He asked me, the worry showing on his face, as always.

"I'm sorry, Arthur. It's been a long day and unfortunately I still do not feel all that well." I told him, trying so hard to keep my eyes open. Sure, I was tired, but I didn't want to sleep, I didn't want to have any more nightmares.

"Do you wish for me to send for Gaius?" Arthur asked me. I hated the way he was always worrying about me, he shouldn't have to worry about me, he shouldn't care about me at all.

I quickly shook my head, and regretted it as it started spinning. "No, it's fine. Maybe it is time I returned to my chamber and tried to get some rest."

"Of course." He replied, getting up from where he was seated and offering to help me up as well. There was a slight problem, my legs had already decided to shut down and go to sleep, meaning I literally fell into Arthur's arms. "Isabella, are you all right?"

"I would be if my legs would work." I mumbled, trying so hard to move them but utterly failing. I was just too exhausted, and getting back to my chamber was going to prove a challenge. At least that's what I had thought.

"Allow me." Arthur said, before taking me by surprise and sweeping me off my feet.

"Arthur, put me down." I hissed at him as he headed towards the doors, carrying me bridal style in his arms.

"I shall happily put you down when you are safely in your chamber, Princess Isabella." He replied, managing to open the door while still carrying me.

"Oh, God. This is embarrassing." I muttered, hoping that there was no one around to see that the prince was carrying me down the corridor and to my own room. "You know, I'm going to have to plot revenge on you now." I warned him, letting him know that I was unhappy with the current situation.

He simply raised an eyebrow at me. "Revenge for escorting you to your chamber?" He asked, trying his hardest not to smile.

"Revenge for carrying me to my chamber, like a damsel in distress." I told him, making sure to give him the fiercest glare I could. But that only made him laugh a little at me. "You're really enjoying this, aren't you, Arthur?"

He didn't answer me, he just continued to smile while he carried me into my room and gently placed me down on my bed. I was still glaring at him, seriously not happy with what he had just done. "Are you sure there isn't anything else the matter, Isabella?" He asked me, watching me intensely with his blue eyes.

"Really, I'm just tired. Look, I have a sleeping draught, now go away so I can get changed and sleep." I said, waving him towards the door.

He nodded at me, finally accepting my request and leaving me alone. "Goodnight, Isabella. I hope you sleep well tonight." Arthur said, before reaching the door.

I let out a sigh, I was already feeling guilty for lying to him. "Thank you, Arthur. May I join you for breakfast?"

Apparently that was the perfect thing to say, as his eyes just lit up like a Christmas tree. "I would be honoured if you would join me for breakfast. Until then, Princes Isabella." He said, before disappearing out of the door.

After actually managing to drag myself off the bed and over to get changed, I passed out almost the instant my head hit the pillow. Only once again it was not going to be a restful night for me, as the nightmares returned, only this time there was more blood shed.

However, that was not the worst part. One of the gargoyles had come to life, which was now what was wreaking havoc on Camelot. This time I saw Arthur, facing the beast and being thrown to the side like he was nothing but in irritating bug. He was losing faith, along with his knights, they were getting nowhere with the stone creature.

When I looked at Arthur again, I saw the blood pooling out from a wound. He was on the ground, and he wasn't moving. The gargoyle was going to attack him again, he was lying there helpless, he was going to get killed.

Just as the beast went to strike Arthur, I woke up screaming my head off, again. It took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust, for me to realise where I was, but the moment I realised that I was in Camelot, and that Arthur was sleeping in the chamber next to mine, I tried to calm down.

My breathing was ragged and I felt like I was hyperventilating. That dream had really messed with my head. The last one, Arthur had only been injured, but now, well I didn't want to think back on it.

I let the tears silently roll down my cheeks as I tried so hard to steady my breathing and calm down. My heart almost got stuck in my throat when my door creaked open slightly and a worried Arthur stood there looking at me.

The back of my hand quickly brushed at my face, trying to dispose of the wetness, only I knew he had already seem the tears. "Isabella, is everything all right?" He asked me quietly, entering the room and cautiously walking over to where I was still huddled in the bed.

I nodded at him, feeling a lump in my throat. If I opened my mouth I was sure that a rather loud sob would come out. But I couldn't stop the tears from falling. It was like someone had left the tap on, and no matter how much you tried to turn it off, it just kept on flowing.

The next thing I knew, Arthur was sitting on the bed, his arms wrapped around me as a strange noise came from my throat. It was too late, I had let myself break down completely. "Hey, what happened, Isabella?" He asked me, trying to work out what had happened.

"N…nothing. I… I just had a… bad dream." I told him, still trying to regain control of myself.

I could see him frowning at me, not believing a word that I had just said. "A bad dream?" He asked, making me nod. "That made you scream?" I nodded at him again, a little more reluctantly. "What happened?"

That was when I shook my head at him. Like hell was I going to tell him what that nightmare was about. "It doesn't matter. You should go back to your own chamber, Arthur. I'm fine."

"Isabella, something is bothering you. I'd like you to be able to talk to me about these things. I just want to help you." He told me, taking a hold of my hand and giving it a squeeze.

I shook my head at him. "Arthur, it really doesn't matter. It was just a silly dream, that's all. It wasn't about my uncle or anything like that, so please, just leave it alone."

The look on his face told me that he didn't want to leave it, that he wanted to know exactly what was going on, but he left it. "Okay, are you going to be all right?" He asked, the worry showing in his voice.

I nodded at him. "I'll be fine. You worry to much, Arthur." I told him, giving him one of my best smiles.

"Are you sure, Isabella?" He asked, reaching out and lightly brushing the back of his fingers against my cheek.

I sighed. "Yes, I am sure, Arthur." I told him, talking a hold of his hand. "I shall be fine. Honestly."

The next moment, I felt his lips press lightly against my cheek. "Goodnight, Isabella. You know where I am if you need me."

"I know, thank you, Arthur. Now, go to your own chamber and sleep." Although I was telling him to go, I actually really didn't want him to. I wanted nothing more for him to stay there with me, put his arms around me, and just let me fall asleep like that. Yes, I was being very selfish and stupid. Like that was ever going to happen.

He simply looked at me, the concern still floating around in his eyes before he left the room. The problem now, was that I was in my room, alone, and scared of what was going to happen. These dreams seemed to be getting more and more vivid, and I didn't know what to do about it all.

"Merlin? Are you awake?" I whispered, hoping that if he was asleep that I wouldn't disturb him.

I was about to give up hoping that he was still awake when I heard him. "Is everything okay, Isabella?" He asked me, sounding slightly worried.

I shook my head, even though I knew he couldn't see it. "More nightmares. Merlin, I'm scared. I mean, really, properly scared." And I was.

"I know you are, I can sense it. What happened Isabella?" He asked me, sound so calm and a lot less screwed up than I was.

I didn't really know how to explain it all to him. "Uh, something happened, I don't know what, but one of the gargoyles came to life and started attacking. Arthur got hurt, really hurt. All I could see was blood." I told him, trying to keep myself together. It was hard taking about it, just the thought of what I saw made my hear pound in my chest.

"Everything will be all right, Isabella. Whatever it is, I won't let it happen. It's my destiny to protect Arthur, and you know I will do whatever it takes to do that." Merlin told me. And I knew he was right, he would do whatever it took to protect Arthur, but it couldn't stop me from worrying.

"Just… don't tell Arthur. Promise you won't tell Arthur about these nightmares?" I pleaded, not wanting him to have to worry any more than he already was.

"I promise, Isabella. Now, please try to get a little more sleep. I know you're scared, but please try." Yes, he was worried as well.

I let out a sigh, knowing that I had to at least try to sleep some more. "Okay. Goodnight, Merlin." I whispered to him, before settling myself back down in my bed and closing my eyes.

I must have eventually fallen asleep, as the sensation of someone touching me cheek began to wake me up. At first I froze, thinking that it could potentially be my uncle, but then I came to my senses. He would never touch me like that, he would rather hit me.

I managed to force me eyes open, but everything was still blurry. "Good morning, Princess." I heard someone say, while still feeling their touch on my cheek.

"Arthur?" I mumbled, trying to drag myself into the world of the living and conscious. I was actually finding it to be a very challenging task.

"Were you expecting someone else?" He asked me, brushing my hair away from my face.

I managed to chuckle a little, before giving up trying to open my eyes and closing them again. "If it was anyone else I would have to cause them some serious pain." I told him.

"And you'd really be able to do that right now, wouldn't you?" Arthur asked me. "You can't even open your eyes, Isabella."

"Hmm? I'm tired, what do you expect?" I asked him, feeling that I was just going to pass straight out again.

"Isabella, you promised to eat with me this morning. I will not eat until you do. You need to get up now." He told me, now with his hands on both sides of my face.

"Five more minutes." I mumbled, before tugging at one of his hands and wrapping my arms around his. I really was out of it still, I was lying there, hugging onto his arm like an idiot.

I was pretty sure I heard Arthur chuckling a little, before I felt the weight on the bed shift slightly. I really didn't have the energy yet to bother to find out what was going on, but the next thing I knew, Arthur had pulled his arm away from my grip and had it wrapped around me.

"Five more minutes, Isabella. Then you have to get up, okay?" He whispered to me.

I just mumbled a little, well it wasn't even a mumble really, it was just a murmur in response to what he had said. I couldn't explain why I was so tired, but I guess staying up half the night worrying about that stupid nightmare had something to do with it.

After that, I think I must have passed out again for more than just five minutes because Arthur seemed to be pretty worried when he heard him calling my name. "Come on, Isabella, you really need to wake up now." He said, shaking me a little. "Come on, wake up."

"You said I could have five more minutes." I told him, my voice coming out in a whispered.

That was when I heard him letting out a sigh. "Isabella, you've had more than five minutes. It really is time for you to get up now. We have a busy day ahead of us."

I groaned. "I don't have a busy day. All I have to do is stay out of trouble."

"And you get to stay out of trouble by spending time with me." He told me. "Now come on, please get up now."

This time, I actually managed to force my eyes to open. And the first thing that I saw was the blue eyes of the Prince of Camelot, lying beside me with his arm still around me. "Uh, morning." I said quietly, blinking a few times.

"Good morning, Isabella. Now, are you going to get up now?" He asked me, obviously waiting for me to say yes.

"I don't want to, but you're not going to let me go back to sleep again, are you?" I asked him, wondering why he was still holding me. It felt a little awkward to me, but I wasn't really going to complain.

"No, I most certainly am not. I think I shall send for Guinevere and have her come to assist in getting you dressed and to my chamber for something to eat." He told me, a sly grin working its way onto his face.

I knew he was serious, and I also knew that I had to take some more of that draught that Gaius gave me if I wanted to eat a little more to keep Arthur happy. "Okay, I'll get up. I'll come to your chamber as soon as I am dressed." I told him, covering my mouth as I let out a small yawn.

Arthur seemed to find that amusing, and laughed at me a little before surprising me by kissing the top of my head. "Don't be too long." He whispered, before untangling himself and heading out of the door.

Once he was gone, I felt wide awake, which was strange considering how tired I had felt only a few minutes ago. But I ignored it as I stumbled over to the wardrobe and pulled out a dress for the day.

I got myself dressed quickly, before making sure to take some of that awful tasting draught that Gaius had supplied me with. All I could do was hope that I really would be able to face more food than what I had been eating, because I wanted Arthur to stop worrying more than anything.

It was only a few minutes later that I found myself standing outside of Arthur's chamber. I knocked on the door and was relieved to find that Arthur had actually gotten up and answered it. "Isabella, that was quick." He commented, apparently surprised that I had gotten up and dressed and to his chamber so quickly.

I shrugged at him as he stepped aside to let me in. "I saw no point in hanging around. I kept you from your breakfast for long enough." I told him, going and sitting down at the table.

He simply smiled at my as he sat down opposite me. "Well, I'm not going to complain. I take it you didn't really get much sleep last night?"

"Not really. That's why I really didn't want to get up when you decided I should." I told him, before suddenly remembering what I done after he tried to wake me up the first time.

The smile on his face grew bigger. "Well, you managed to get a little longer in the end didn't you."

I felt my face turning red. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was still half asleep, I didn't really know what I was doing." I told him, trying to cover my reddening face with my hair a little. I was definitely embarrassed by the way I had latched onto his arm and hugged it. I can't even explain why I done that.

"Isabella, it's fine. It was fairly obvious that you weren't fully awake." He told me, still smiling.

Before I had the change to say anything else, Cedric came into the room, bring with him more plates than he could really carry. There was bread, meat, fruit, and who knows what else. I still didn't trust the man, not one bit.

"Good morning, Sire. Princess Isabella." He said, coming over to the table and putting things down.

I stayed silent as I watched him, watched him trying to impress Arthur with the lavish food he was serving up. When he was done with Arthur, he turned to look at me. The smile on his face was making me feel sick, I just knew that he couldn't be trusted. I decided to just grab and apple and crunched into it. None of the other foods on the table seemed to appeal to me.

I noticed a frown form on Arthur's face as he saw what I was eating. "Isabella, I do hope you are going to be eating more than that." He said, his eyes pleading with me to eat more.

"Arthur, you know what my appetite is like. And although what has been served looks wonderful, you know that is not what I would eat for breakfast." I told him, making the smile in Cedric's face falter. I guess he hadn't realised that he would need to please me as well as the prince.

"My apologies, Princess Isabella. Is there something else I can get you from the kitchen?" Cedric asked me, just as the door opened.

I glanced around a little and saw Merlin coming in, with another tray of food. "Is that lunch?" Arthur called, as Cedric piled some more meat onto his plate.

"No, it's breakfast…" He stopped when he saw what Arthur was eating. There was a look of horror on his face.

But I noticed it wasn't just Arthur's breakfast he had. There was a small bowl of porridge, or what I kept recognising as porridge, on the tray as well. "If that's porridge, or oats, or whatever you want to call it in that bowl, you better give it to me right now." I called to my warlock friend.

"Princess Isabella, I have your requested breakfast." He said, coming over and placing the bowl down in front of me. Cedric really didn't seem to like that and scowled at Merlin.

"Thank you for remembering, Merlin." I said, before putting down what little was left of the apple and picking up the spoon. I was determined to eat it, for Arthur and now for Merlin as well. I was not going to let Cedric get away with what he was doing to my friend.

"Is there anything else that you need doing, Sire?" Merlin asked, standing there beside the table and trying not to glare too much at the man who was trying to take his job.

"No, I think Cedric's got it all covered." Arthur said, tucking back into his own food. I didn't like the way that he was treating Merlin, and maybe I should let him know that when we were alone.

That was when a smirk appeared and quickly vanished from Cedric's face. "Oh, I regret, Sire, there is one thing I failed to do. Uh, muck out your horses."

"Off you go." Arthur said, waving Merlin towards the door.

Cedric was only too happy to move from where he was standing. "I'll get the door for you." I hated him, seriously hated him. Arthur was just being too blind to see what was going on.

A short while later, Cedric excused himself, clearing the plates from the table. I admit, I had managed to eat a fair amount of the porridge, but it tasted absolutely awful. "So, what plans do you have for today?" I asked the prince, as he leaned back in his chair.

"Well, I was thinking I would take you for a walk around the town. You haven't been getting out much recently." He told me, watching me. "And you seemed to have eaten more this morning. I had no idea you had requested for something."

I just looked at him and smiled as best I could. "If you want me to eat more, Arthur, then I need something in front of me that I am actually going to eat. Merlin knew exactly what I wanted and brought it for me." I told him, trying to salvage Merlin's reputation with the prince.

He nodded. "Well, I'm glad that he did. Now come, there are things I wish to show you." He said, getting up from his chair and holding out a hand towards me. I took it, and let him help me up, before he led me towards the door.

It didn't take us long to make it out of the castle. I had to admit, it was nice to walk around and get a little fresh air for a change. I loved the castle, but I wanted to go outside a little more, but I could only do that if someone was with me, someone like Arthur.

As Arthur was talking to one of the guards, I felt something a little off. The next thing I knew, Arthur had pulled me to one side, holding me against him tightly as the horses charged down the street and past us.

There was only one horse that didn't run off with the rest, one white horse that started nuzzling at me, even with Arthur's arms still around me. "Isabella, are you all right?" The prince asked, looking me over, making sure there was no damage to me.

I nodded at him. "I'm fine, Arthur. Although I am curious as to what Nebula is doing here." I said, turning my head and being faced with the nose of a horse.

A frown began to form on his face. "Yes, so am I." He quickly took hold of the rope that was tied to Nebula, who instantly started kicking and fussing.

"Hey, calm down." I said, rubbing his nose. "Arthur is only taking you back home." I saw a smile coming from Arthur as I said this. I think he was still amazed at how well I was able to calm the most unruly and wild horse he owned.

"How do you do it, Isabella?" He asked me, making me look over at him in confusion. "The most dangerous horse I have, and he only listens to you."

I shrugged at him. "Maybe he knows we make a good team. Dangerous horse, add a strange and unruly princess, and you need to run for your life." I told him, a smile on my own face. I actually couldn't explain why I managed to control Nebula when no one else could.

When we made it back to the stables, Merlin was sprawled out on the hay covered ground, and his face, well, let's just say his head was using something rather unpleasant as a pillow. But there was something else, another smell, and this one was nothing to do with the horses that lived there.

"Sire!" Merlin cried, waking up and seeing Arthur standing there.

Arthur was less than impressed, and I knew Merlin was about to get hell for it. "What are you doing?" He asked, looking down at him.

"Nothing." My warlock friends replied, quickly pulling himself off the ground. He looked a little disorientated, confused.

"I can see that."

"I wasn't sleeping." Merlin protested. "I was… I was just bending down." I wanted to smack him myself for that stupid excuse of his.

"Looking for something?" Arthur asked him, his arms folded across his chest while I stood a little way behind with Nebula. He was tugging, trying to get away, but I was keeping a firm grip on him.

"Yes."

"Perhaps we're looking for the same thing." Arthur commented, giving his servant a very firm look.

Merlin just looked at him in confusion, he seemed to be half asleep still. "What?"

"Oh, I don't know, the horses." Arthur shouted, making Nebula pull back a little. I was quick to calm him down, knowing that Arthur hadn't meant to scare the poor boy, just Merlin.

That was when Merlin finally took the time to look around the stables, to find it was empty, all but us and a single horse. "The hor…ses. Oh." It finally dawned on him, making me roll my eyes.

"One mistake I can understand." Arthur told him, clearly getting annoyed with his manservant now. "Everyone has a bay day now and then, but this is one thing after another. Isabella almost got trampled."

Merlin's eyes widened. Arthur was being a little over dramatic there, I was never going to be trampled. At least I hope I wasn't. "I… I don't know what happened." He protested.

That was when I heard a voice that I really didn't want to hear. "Sire. Please, sire, don't be too hard on him. He's a good servant, he just… he's tired." Merlin and I both looked at him in disbelief. Now I know Arthur worked him to the bone sometimes, but there was no way that Merlin would just fall asleep in the middle of a job like that. Me, on the other hand, the way I was feeling recently, I probably would. But not Merlin.

"I am not." Merlin was quick to defend himself.

"Maybe… maybe if he had the evening off." Cedric suggested.

"I don't want the evening off."

"A good night's rest." Cedric continued, looking towards Arthur.

"I did not fall asleep." Merlin shouted, making Nebula flinch once more. It was pretty clear that he didn't like it when people were shouting around him, it made him nervous and I could understand why. Nova got like that as well.

"I'm more than willing to take over his duties tonight." The man offered.

I didn't like the idea, but it seemed Arthur did. "Perhaps you're right."

"No." Merlin called in protest. I was going to keep myself out of this, even though I was on Merlin's side, I didn't want to get involved just yet.

"Shut up, Merlin." Arthur said, staying calm and ignoring the fact that his servant was getting worked up.

"Can't you see what he's trying to do? He's trying to get rid of me, and if you weren't such a clotpole, you'd see that." I put my head in my free hand at what Merlin had just said, he was digging himself a deeper hole.

Clearly Arthur was take back by what he had said as well. "A what?"

"Clotpole." Cedric said. "He… he said clotpole."

"Cedric's right. He can look after me tonight." Arthur told him. "You can go home and think about whether you want to be my servant or not."

"But…"

"Go." Arthur said firmly. I knew he was in less than a good mood now, and I was sure it was not Merlin's fault. I hadn't trusted that man since I first laid eyes on him, and now I trusted him even less.

I watched as Cedric picked up Merlin's brown jacket, dusting it down and holding it out to him. After a moment he took it and walked out, leaving the three of us, and Nebula, still standing in the stable.

Now that everything had calmed down, I pulled Nebula further into the stable and tied him up. But something he kept kicking at drew my attention. On the ground by his hooves I saw a ball of something, something wrapped up in cloth. When I looked around, Cedric was staring at me, a fire burning in his eyes. I carried on with Nebula, pretending that I hadn't seen anything.

That was when I felt Arthur's hand on my arm. "Isabella, are you sure you are all right?" He asked me, the concern in his voice once more.

I turned and smiled at him. "Of course I am, Arthur. I had you and Nebula to protect me, didn't I?" I said, my smile turning into a grin.

"I still find it hard to believe that you are the only one he responds to." Arthur said, going to touch the horse, only for him to pull away and move his head towards me.

I chuckled a little. "Well, what can I say? He knows how to pick his friends, don't you boy?" I said, making a fuss of him. He neighed happily.

"We should head back now. Cedric, can finish what Merlin failed to achieve." Arthur said, taking my hand and leading me out of the stables. "I have no idea what has gotten into him recently."

"Arthur, I think maybe you are being a little hard on him." I told him, getting him to look at me. "Merlin is a loyal servant, and he would do anything for you. He's used to you working him to exhaustion, but he does not complain."

"Why are you defending him?" Arthur asked, clearly a little bemused at what I was sticking up for him.

"Because even though he is a servant, he is still a good man. He respects you as a Prince, a future King, and he trusts you like a friend. You need to remember that, Arthur. You have his loyalty and his trust, as you have mine."

I could see that he was thinking about what I had said as we walked back towards the castle. I was glad he was thinking about it, and not just dismissing it straight away. I just hoped that he realised that Merlin was loyal and trustworthy, and that Cedric really was up to something. My suspicions about him were growing now that I had found something odd in the stable. I didn't know much about things in that time, but it sure as hell shouldn't have been there. I knew I needed to tell Merlin about, and to let him know that I believed him, that I knew Cedric couldn't be trusted.

A/N: I know we had a lot of Isabella and how she was feeling and all that in this chapter, but there were things that needed to be gotten out of the way.

Once again I apologise for my strange updating schedule. I'm trying to get back on track and post the same time every week at the moment. I've over reached myself by having 5 stories going at the same time.

Thank you to everyone who has favourtied/followed. You guys are awesome. And a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed. You guys are fantastic!

So, all I ask is that you keep the reviews coming while I continue to type away and work on the next chapter. Same time next week!

Pippa.