A/N: Sorry! I know I've completely fallen off track with updating, I'm blaming last weeks graduation and the madness that has become my life. Although I do my best to fish out any spelling and grammatical errors, it is possible a few have slipped through, so if you see something, let me know!

It was hours later when Arthur finally returned. The look on his face told me that something wasn't right, not that I didn't know that already, but obviously the meeting with his father had just made matters worse. "Arthur…" I said quietly as he shut the door to my chamber.

He turned and looked at me, letting out a sigh as he did. "Isabella, I'm sorry, I haven't been completely honest with you." Arthur was hanging his head in shame, and it was just making me worry more now.

"Okay, that's fine. I know you have been keeping things from me to make sure I didn't get hurt, to protect me." I wasn't going to push him to tell me, because I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to know.

The Prince walked over to where I was sitting by the window, where I had been sitting every since Gwen had left. "Isabella, your brothers have been in contact again, actually, your brothers have been sending a messenger regularly to inform us of what had been happening." I wasn't completely shocked by that revelation, I had kind of guessed that my brother was sending messages to Uther and trying to keep contact with me to a minimum because of our uncle. "The man that arrived today was not the messenger that your brothers sent."

I could feel my pulse racing slightly, the panic starting but still being contained. "Then who is he?" I was trying to keep my voice strong, but it came out in just a whisper.

"He, uh, he was a follower of your uncle."

"You keep saying 'was', past tense. What happened to him?" I hadn't missed that, even though I had used present tense. There was a feeling in my gut, one that was telling me that he had already been dealt with by the knights or someone else.

Arthur straightened up a little, clearly not having expected me to pick up on that. If he didn't want to be giving things away, then he really needed to be more careful with what he said around me. "The man has been dealt with. But there was a message, for you." He pulled out a letter, a letter that was addressed to me.

He held it out towards me, and all I could do was stare at it. "You haven't opened it?" I asked him, noticing that the wax seal on it was still in tact.

The Prince shook his head at me. "I demanded that my father allow you to open it, after all, it is addressed to you."

My eyes were still fixed on the paper that was in his hand. The panic was certainly growing now, and although I wanted to find out what was in the letter, I couldn't find it in me to reach out and take it from him. "Open it." I whispered. "Please?"

I watched as he hand withdrew, the letter going with it. Arthur slid his finger under the fold and broke the red wax seal before unfolding it. I followed his eyes, seeing him reading whatever words were written on that piece of parchment. I also saw a flicker of fear and panic flash across his face. That was when I knew it was bad. "Isabella…"

I got up and stood in front of him. "It's bad, isn't it, Arthur?" I didn't actually need him to answer me to tell me that, because the look on his face told me everything that I needed to know.

"It… it would appear that your uncle… he…" It was plain to see that Arthur was completely struggling to tell me, and that was never a good thing.

"Arthur, whatever it is, I can deal with it, we both can." I told him, and doing my best to mean it all. "I know that as long as you're here, I'm safe."

He eyes bored into mine, before he looked back at the letter. "Apparently, he knows that you are here, Isabella. He gives a perfect description of one of the dresses you have worn recently." Okay, that totally freaked me out. Not so much that my uncle had found out that I was in Camelot still and had a spy there somewhere watching me, but the fact that Prince Arthur knew exactly what dress he was describing. "He states that if you are handed to him, he will not cause suffering and chaos to Camelot." And my heart sank. If his father were to find out…

"So, that's it then." I said without even thinking about it. I hadn't meant to say that aloud, I was only meant to think it.

"What do you mean, what's it?" The Prince asked me curiously.

I couldn't look at him, because I could already feel the tears building in my eyes. "My uncle get's what he wants."

It seemed that Arthur hadn't been thinking the same thing that I had, as his eyes widened at my comment. "Isabella, what are you saying?"

A sigh slipped past my lips. "I am saying that he gets what he wants. Arthur, your father would not want to risk any harm befalling Camelot because of me. You need to give him what he wants."

There was a look of pure shock and horror on Arthur's face when I looked up at him. "Isabella, that is never going to happen. For a start, I would never let him anywhere near you, and secondly, my father does not take kindly to threats from sorcerers."

"Arthur, this isn't just about me, he is threatening the whole of Camelot, everyone who lives here. I can't… I'm not going to let other people suffer because of me." I told him, still having to hold back the tears. I was determined not to cry, to not let him see how scared and upset I really was. "I think… I… I have to go home, to Elbear." Far from what I really wanted, but the only option that I had. "If I go back, Camelot is safe. You're safe."

Straight away Arthur was shaking his head at me. "No, I'm not going to let that happen, Isabella, no." He said to me firmly. "We will discuss this with my father, and we will work something out."

"It's the only way. As long as I am here, Camelot and its people are in danger. Elbear is already under threat, if I return, then I take the threat away from here." It made complete sense to me, it was me that he was after, and if I weren't there, then Camelot would be safe, well from my deranged uncle at least.

"You are not leaving, Isabella, and that is final." Arthur practically growled at me. "We shall discuss the matter with my father and send word to your brothers. In the mean time, the patrols will be strengthened and I do not wish for you to leave the castle. Is that understood?"

I could tell from the tone he was using that he was deadly serious, and I hated it. It was bad enough that I was hiding in his chamber while my uncle was looking for me, now it felt like I was being locked up all over again. "This isn't fair, Arthur." I said, trying not to sound like a child that was moaning.

"I know, but this is for your safety. Just promise me that you will do as I ask, Isabella." The expression on his face had softened a little and I could see that his eyes were pleading for me to promise.

With a heavy sigh, I gave him my answer. "I promise, Arthur." There wasn't really anything I could do, apart from sneak out on my own and get myself into trouble. "I'm not going to be happy about it, but there really isn't anything I can say or do that will make you change your mind."

"I truly am sorry about this, Isabella. I know how desperate you have been to get outside and now you're stuck in the castle once more." His eyes were full of sadness and regret, but I knew that it wasn't his fault. None of this was his fault, it wasn't his fault that I was stupid enough to get so sick that I was bedridden for so long, or that my uncle was crazy and out to get me.

I didn't want him to feel sorry for me. "Arthur, it's fine. It was bound to happen eventually, he was going to figure out that I was still here at some point." We had both known that he would soon discover that I had not returned to Elbear and that I was still in Camelot, it had only been a matter of time. "Now we just need to make sure that he is caught before anything happens to Camelot."

"As I said, the patrols will be strengthened, and more guards will be positioned around the castle." The Prince told me, seeing that I was still worried. Of course I was worried, a man who wanted me dead knew where I was. "The moment he attempts anything, he will be caught."

Arthur sounded so sure of it all, as if it was all going to be perfectly fine and that nothing awful was going to happen at all. "I hope so, Arthur. I hate this, living in fear, hiding away from the world in case he is out there waiting for me. Why couldn't I have just had a normal, simple life?" I groaned, deciding to finally thrown myself onto my bed.

I heard him chuckling, the bed dipping beside me as he sat down. "Because you are far from normal, Isabella, you are anything but normal." I let out a groan, reaching for my pillow and lightly whacking him with it.

"You are really not funny, Arthur. What better way to cheer my up than by insulting me." I knew that he was only teasing me, but it didn't stop me from grumbling.

I felt him move a little beside me, the sensation of the hair that had been covering my face disappeared and light now shining through my close eyelids. "Well, what can I do that would cheer you up?"

My eyes stayed closed. "Hmm, my chamber has already been filled with flowers, so you can't do that. You have absolutely no idea how to cook, so that's out as well." I scrunched up my eyes tightly as I thought of one thing that would make my life so much better. "Getting rid of my uncle would be nice…" Although I had mumbled it, Arthur had still heard me.

"Isabella, we will find him and we will stop him." He assured me, before I felt his hand rest against my cheek. "You have to trust me."

I slowly forced my eyelids up and opened my eyes, looking at the Prince who was just gazing at me. "I do trust you, Arthur, with my life. I'm just… so fed up with all of this. It's just one thing after the other, you know?" I knew what I was trying to say, I just didn't know how to say it. "As soon as something goes right, it all falls to pieces."

It turned out that Arthur knew exactly what I was trying to say. "Such as going out for a tour of the kingdom and being attacked by bandits." There was a soft smile on his face as he spoke.

"Yeah, something like that. I just wanted things to go right for once. I start getting over that stupid illness and then we get this news about my uncle. It's just not fair, Arthur, why can't something go right, just once?" It sounded like I was moaning, and I sort of was, but I was just getting so fed up with the way that things were going.

"Do you remember the day that we met? When I found you in out in the forest, unconscious and with a head wound?" Arthur asked me, his hand still rest on my cheek.

I nodded at him a little, gazing at him and blinking back the rest of the tears that were residing in my eyes. "Yeah, when you kidnapped me." My voice came out in almost a whisper that time.

He chuckled a little. "Obviously you are never going to let me forget that. Well, we didn't exactly get on very well at the time did we?" I shook my head at him slightly. "I thought you were the most irritating, stubborn, and infuriating woman that I had ever met."

"Yeah, thanks." I grumbled, going to pull my head away from him. Only Arthur wasn't going to let me move, as his hand gently moved from my cheek and into my hair, stopping me from pulling away from him.

"You didn't let me finish, Isabella. Although I may have thought you were all of those things at first, I don't any more." I wanted to block out everything that he was saying, because I really didn't like where it was all heading. "I began to realise that you were just scared, and lost. You couldn't remember anything about your life, you barely even remembered your own name, and my own behaviour didn't really help. I was arrogant, and rude to you."

I opened my eyes, frowning at him and looking at the soft smile that was on his face still. "What exactly are you trying to say, oh great prince of arrogance and rudeness?" Okay, so maybe the conversation wasn't heading where I thought it had been going.

"I misjudged you. After spending time with you and getting to know you, I realised that although you are stubborn and completely impossible at times, you are kind and caring." His hand made it's way out of my hair and back to my cheek, his thumb gently caressing it. "You are like no Princess I have ever met before, no woman I have ever met. You treat everyone with respect, regardless of their status. You defend Merlin, and you most certainly are not afraid to tell me exactly what you think."

"I told you, treat others how you would wish to be treated." That was now the third time I had told him that, I think.

He was smiling at me, that stupid smile that made me want to smile as well. But I held it in, I was still rather fed up. "I remember, you said that to me the day we met and I have not forgotten it. Isabella, you are nothing like I imagined you would be when we first met." Yup, that bad feeling was back again.

"Well, you're not as bad as I thought you would be. You can still be arrogant and pig-headed at times, but I've seen a different side to you." I had no idea why I had just said that, and I quickly clamped it closed before I said anything else.

But it only made Arthur chuckle. "I was worse before I met you." His admission worried me, because he was not meant to be changing because of me. "You've made me a better man, Isabella. I know that this change you have brought in me will make me a much better king when the time comes."

My heart was pounding slightly in my chest. Oh, who was I kidding, it was absolutely pounding like mad. "Arthur, you always had that capability to become a great king, it has nothing whatsoever to do with my presence." Why did everyone seem to think that I had something to do with the way that Arthur had changed? I didn't, it was not me. He was just growing up, maturing, realising what was really important and what the people needed from him to be their king.

The Prince disagreed with me. And shook his head. "No, Isabella. Everyone has seen it, Merlin, Morgana, and even my father." He certainly had my attention now. "Each of them have seen how you have turn me into a better man."

I couldn't stop myself from letting out a sigh. "That was always going to happen. Come on, Arthur, what good have I really done here? I never listen to what you say, I have a habit of getting into trouble, and I've now put the whole of Camelot in danger." I didn't want to believe it, I couldn't. I was too stubborn to believe what he was saying to me.

"You can say that as much as you want, Isabella, but it will not change anything."

"Arthur, if there is something you want to say, then please, can you just get on and say it." I said, rather rudely. "I do not wish to keep having disagreements with you, I have enough to worry about without having a falling out with you."

I watched him taking a deep breath, his eyes never leaving my own. "Isabella, I… I care for you a great deal. I will do whatever it takes to protect you from your uncle." He had told me this several times now, about how he would do whatever he could to protect me. "But I will not let you leave Camelot, I will not let him force you to run and hide from him." Ah, so that was what it was all about.

"We need to discuss this with the King. This isn't your decision to make, Arthur, at the end of the day, it is your father who will have the final say." I know it sounded a little harsh, but that was the truth of it. It wasn't down to me whether I stayed in Camelot, and it wasn't up to Arthur either, Uther would have the last word on the matter.

"Then we need to go and speak with him. This isn't something that can be dealt with another day, Isabella, your life is at stake here." He told me, suddenly removing his hand from my face and standing up. "We will go speak with him now." The Prince held his hand out, waiting for me to take it. A part of me didn't want to, a part of me wanted to try and forget all about it, to sweep it under the carpet, but I knew that would do me no good at all.

"Arthur…" I said, letting out a long sigh.

All he did was shake his head at me, moving his hand towards me some more. "We do this now, Isabella." I knew that I had no other choice, so I reached out and let him help me off the bed. "My father is not going to send you away from Camelot." He assured me, keeping a tight hold of my hand as he led me out of my chamber.

"You cannot be certain of that, Arthur. This is his kingdom, and he is the King. Your father must do what he sees best for his kingdom and its people." I reminded him. There was a part of me that wanted Uther to send me home, back to my brothers, but most of me didn't want to go. In my heart, I didn't want to go. I didn't want to leave Arthur, for more reasons than one, and I didn't want to leave Merlin either. But it wasn't just them, it was Morgana and Gwen as well, both of them had become good friends to me now, and I didn't want to leave them all behind.

"I know he will not allow you to leave, Isabella." He seemed so certain of it, so sure of what he was saying, it made me think that maybe he had spoken with his father about something like this happening already.

I ended up staying silent for the rest of the walk. We weren't heading to where I thought we would, the throne room, we were heading to the Kings personal chambers. That just made me even more nervous.

The closer we got, the more guards I could see, each of them watching as Arthur and I walked past. It made me feel so uncomfortable, knowing that they were looking at us, most likely judging me for all the problems I had brought with me. I felt Arthur squeeze my hand, and I glanced over at him. "It's going to be fine, Isabella." He told me quietly, just as we stopped outside of a huge set of doors. All I could do was nod at him, and swallow the lump that was in my throat.

He gave me a small smile, before knocking loudly on the door. I had to hold my breath, I was absolutely petrified. "Enter!" A voice bellowed from the other side of the door, causing the guards that were standing on either side to open them. When we stepped inside, I saw that Uther was sitting at his desk, papers strewn all over it. "Ah, Arthur, Princess Isabella!" He exclaimed, looking up at us and getting up from where he had been sitting.

"Father, it would seem that the threat from Lord Donald is more serious than we first thought." Arthur said instantly, still not letting go of my hand. "The letter for Isabella proves that there is a spy within Camelot." He handed the letter over to his father, and we both watched as the man read it.

The King slumped back in his chair, his hand reaching up and rubbing his forehead. I could tell by the look on his face that he was disturbed, just like Arthur had been. It was easy to see the resemblance between the two on occasions, some of their facial expressions were the same. "Princess Isabella…"

I held my head high, ready for what was to come next. "Sire, it is clear that my presence here in Camelot has put your kingdom at risk. I do not wish for Camelot to be put in danger because of me."

"Isabella…" Arthur started to protest, but I was quick to cut him off, looking at him quickly.

"Arthur, please, let me speak." He looked at me with worried eyes, because he knew exactly what I was going to say next. I turned back to face his father, still keeping my head held high. "I believe the best option is for me to leave Camelot and return to Elbear." Even Uther seemed a little shocked by my words, but I hadn't finished yet. "You have been so kind to allow me to stay here, to protect me while Lord Donald hunts me down, and I will never forget that. However, for Camelot to remain safe from my uncle, I must return home."

The man in the chair studied me, but I kept it together, I kept my head up and the tears back. "Arthur was right, you truly are one of a kind, Princess Isabella." Okay, not exactly the response that I was expecting. "The threat from this man is more serious than we first anticipated. And while it is a noble thing for you to be willing to leave for Camelot's safety, I cannot grant that." I was pretty sure I heard Arthur let out a sigh of relief at that comment. "An accord was struck with your brothers, until that man is found you are under my care, under the protect of Camelot."

I swallowed the lump that was in my throat and nodded at him slightly, feeling my eyes start to fill with tears. As long as I was there, people I cared about were in danger, Arthur was in danger. "I… I understand, Sire." I managed to say, trying my best to keep it together.

It seemed that the King had noticed my distress, as he was out of his chair and walking slowly towards me. "Isabella, Lord Donald is an evil man, and he will be caught." The man assured me, much like Arthur had. "And until that time, you are welcomed here in Camelot, and you are protected." All I could really do was nod at him, no really knowing what else to say. I had honestly expected him to throw me out, to want to protect his own before me. But I had been wrong.

"Father, I would like to request that Sir Leon take command of the knights training for the next few days." Arthur said, causing both of us to look at him. "I believe it would be wise if someone Princess Isabella trusted was close by for the next few days. It is clear that there are spies within Camelot and I would be honoured to act as her personal guard until things are settled."

I was just in shock from that. Why on Earth was he asking to be my 'personal guard'? Did he really think that things were that bad that I needed someone with me every minute of ever hour of every day? But while I was shocked, Uther seemed to be happy at the proposal. "I believe that would be acceptable, Arthur." Uther stated, a small smile on his face. "We do not know how close these spies are, we do not know who can be trusted."

I was just standing there in shock still, until I felt someone slip their hand into mine. I looked over and saw Arthur gazing at me. "Is that all right with you, Isabella?" I simply nodded at him, too dumb stuck to really do anything else.

"Princess Isabella, while I understand that this is a distressing time for you and your brothers, Camelot is doing its best to help you." King Uther informed me, now standing right in front of me. "We shall not bend to the demands made by a traitor, nor a sorcerer. This man is both, which only strengthens my resolve to stop the man and put an end to his life." My head just nodded, as if I was now stuck on autopilot, just nod when spoken to.

I heard Arthur clearing his throat. "If you will excuse us, father, Isabella has not eaten much today and I wish to make sure she does eat something before she becomes ill again." I knew he just wanted to get me out of there now, so that he could speak with me properly.

"Of course. Princess Isabella, Camelot is fortunate to have you here, and you are not protected out of duty. My son has chosen to protect you because you deserve to be protected." The look that Uther was giving Arthur made me think that it may have been more, but I was not going to question it.

"Sire, your kindness has proven to me that Camelot is more that I could ever have imagined. I have much to be grateful for to both you and your son. Such kindness is a debt that can never be repaid." I wasn't entirely sure where it was all coming from, but I knew that I truly meant it. I was lucky to have been found by Arthur, for him to have taken me with him even when I protested against it. It was the kindness of King Uther that allowed me to stay in Camelot, and the kindness of Arthur who kept me hidden and safe while my uncle was in Camelot.

Uther reached out and gently placed a hand on my shoulder. "Such kindness is something that never needs to be repaid. Camelot and Elbear will forever be united as more than allies, we are friends." My eyes were tearing up yet again, and my head automatically nodded. "Arthur, take care of Princess Isabella. She is still nothing but skin and bones." There was a warm smile on his face as he said that, and I knew he was just being kind.

"Of course, father. Goodnight." Arthur said to him, tugging at my hand a little and leading me out of the chamber. I was still in a bit of a daze from everything that had happened, from everything that Uther had said. Because of his views on magic, I had thought of him more of a tyrant than anything else, but he was a good man. Something had altered his views on magic, something that I didn't know, and yet he had shown me nothing but kindness the entire time.

Before I even knew it we were back at Arthur's chamber and I was sitting on the edge of his bed. "Isabella, are you all right?" He asked me, gently touching my arm and bringing me out of my daze.

I nodded once more, it seemed to be the only thing that I could do. "I'm… I'm fine." I didn't know what else I could say to him.

"No you're not." Arthur replied simply. "You're still worrying about your uncle."

He was right, of course he was right, I was not going to stop worrying about my uncle until the man was caught. "Arthur, your father should not have allowed me to stay here. I'm putting everyone at risk by being here. I should be leaving, going back to Elbear to be with my brothers. It shouldn't have to be your problem."

He let out a sigh, knowing that I was not going to just shut up and leave things be. "Isabella, my father has already said that you are to stay here. We have no idea how many spies he has around Camelot, the moment you step foot outside of the city could be your last. I'm not going to let that happen." He was being just as stubborn as I was, and neither of us were really going to win against the other. Nothing he said could convince me to change my mind, and nothing I said would convince him. It was a never-ending cycle.

"Can we not do this, Arthur? I just want to curl up in my bed and forget about the world for a while." That really was what I wanted, bed. My head was hurting and I just felt a complete mess inside. I needed to sort myself out, I needed time by myself to try and clear my head.

"Isabella, you haven't eaten anything. Do you wish to become sick again?" Although his eyes were begging with me, I couldn't face sitting there and eating.

I shook my head at him. "No, but I'm really not hungry, Arthur. Please, just let me go back to my chamber to get some sleep." It was my turn to pull the puppy dog eyes on him, and it seemed to work rather well.

Arthur rose from the edge where he had been sitting, taking me with him. "If you need anything, you know where I am." He reminded me, walking me out and along the corridor.

"I know, thank you. And… I'm… I'm sorry for how I act sometimes. I have my little mood swings and…" I didn't really know what to say to him, I didn't even know what I was trying to say.

A hand reached under my chin, lifting my gaze up so that my eyes met those of Prince Arthur's. "It's okay, Isabella, you have nothing to apologise for. Now, goodnight." He said, before planting a soft kiss on my lips.

"Goodnight, Arthur." I whispered to him once we broke apart, before I darted into my chamber. Now that I was in there alone, I wasn't feeling so comfortable about going to sleep. My mind was working overtime, coming up with different scenarios where my uncle catches me, the traps he sets. And it scared me, it well and truly scared me.

A/N: Hello! Again, sorry for the time it took me to get this chapter up, but I hoped you all liked it. I know exactly where this is going, and I'm hoping that it going to be good. Future chapters will include more Merlin, he's going to be needed.

Anyway, thank you to everyone who has favourited/followed the story, seeing that people are still reading this story makes me happy happy happy! Also, for those of you that have taken the time to leave me a review, thank you all so much, you are totally amazing!

Next chapter coming soon, not going to promise it will be by next week, but I'm hoping it will! So, until then…

Pippa.