A/N: Hey all, sorry for the longish wait for this chapter, been a little busy and all that. Anyway, I hoe you enjoy it!

I was aching everywhere. The past few days had been hell, in my opinion, and it was Arthur Pendragon who was causing it. "Come on, Isabella! You're not even trying!" The insufferable Prince shouted at me.

A rather animalistic growl escaped from my throat as I spun around and threw the dagger that was in my hand at the man. We had been doing nothing but training, and I was getting more than just a little fed up with it now. He had me doing the same things he expected from his knights, which annoyed me even more.

I watched as he quickly raised the wooden shield he was holding. Apparently that had been a pretty good throw, and the dagger ended up embedded into the wood. I could see Merlin smirking at the side, and when Arthur lowered the shield I saw the shocked expression on his face. "Well… that was better." He mumbled.

"You are the worst teacher ever, Arthur." I moaned at him, stomping over to my friendly warlock. "I'm not one of your knights, I've never done this before. It might be easy for you, and your men, but not me." I didn't like to moan at him, but he had to understand that I wasn't one of his knights and I was a complete beginner. It was difficult to get that into his thick skull.

Arthur yanked the dagger out as he walked over to where I was now sulking. "I know that, Isabella, but this is the only way you are going to learn."

I glanced over at Merlin and our eyes locked. "Got a spell to make him shut up? Or to make him less bossy or something?" I still hadn't been able to get any help from Merlin with my magic, because the Prince had been true to his word.

"Oh, I wish there was something that would do that. I'd be using it all the time." Merlin replied, a hint of amusement in his voice. "It's not that bad, you're doing really well. Better than I ever could." That was true, I was better at all of it than Merlin, but then he had his magic to defend himself with.

"Yeah, but I still think he is being too hard on me. I'm tired, Merlin, I'm exhausted. My arm still hurts, and all of this isn't helping it." Okay, so maybe I was after a little bit of sympathy. It had been a tough few days, "I need sleep."

"Come on, we're done for the day." Arthur announced, interrupting the secret conversation I was having with Merlin. "I know you're tired, you've completely lost focus and have done nothing but moan." Oh, I really wanted to hit him, I seriously wanted to hit him.

"I am not moaning, Arthur. I am trying to remind you that I am not used to any of this." One more comment from him, and I was definitely going to smack him, and if he told me that it was pathetic and that I needed to work on my strength, I'd just keep hitting him. "Stop treating me like one of your men, I'm not."

I guess spending so much time with him wasn't really all it was cracked up to be. We were never apart, at all. Where he went, I went, no questions asked. Even when we were bathing and dressing, the other person was still in the room, just hidden behind the wooden screen. Before we had both had our own space, I was stuck in his room, but we weren't constantly in each other's company.

I began to storm away, and Arthur was quick to catch up with me. "Isabella, I'm sorry." He told me, latching onto my hand and getting me to stop. "You're right, I'm treating you like one of my men when you're not. This is the only way that I know."

"Yeah, I know, but can you maybe try to be at least a little bit easier on me?" I asked him, giving him the puppy dog eyes. "Like I said, I've never done this before, Arthur. You can't expect me to be up to the standards you expect after just a few days."

The Prince let out a sigh. "Of course, Isabella. Now, since you have been working extremely hard, how about we go and have some lunch?" There was a rather large smile on his face and it made me slightly suspicious.

Of course, I was going to let Arthur know that as well. "Well, that depends." I told him, narrowing my eyes at him while Merlin finished clearing everything we had been using away. "Are we going to be sitting inside to eat, or do you have some extravagant picnic or something planned?"

Apparently that was the wrong thing for me to say, as a frown slowly took over his face. "Uh, well…" He said in a fluster. "What makes you think I would take you on a picnic when the threat on your life still looms?"

Oh, he had saved himself rather nicely then, but it wasn't good enough. "Because you have sworn to protect me, no matter where I am. You and I shall never part company until my uncle has been dealt with." I told him smugly. "So, would you like me to repeat the question?"

Arthur groaned as he took a hold of my hand. "Impossible, that is what you are, Isabella, impossible." He grumbled at me, as he led me around the great castle of Camelot. I was finding it rather amusing, the way he as acting like I had just guessed what all the Christmas presents under the tree were.

"Ah, but you wouldn't want me any other way, and you know it, Arthur." I teased, knowing full well that there was every chance that he was going to start being sarcastic back with me. Arthur was learning to differentiate my moods and what I say pretty easily now, which was annoying for me.

"I am not even going to respond to that."

A couldn't help but smirk at him. "Arthur, you just did. Now, are you going to tell me what we're doing for a spot of lunch? Or are you going to make me guess?"

He didn't answer me, he just let out a groan and pulled a rather silly face as we carried on walking. I guess things weren't really as bad as I thought they were, we could still joke around and annoy each other by being silly without someone getting angry or upset.

That smirk that was on my face soon turned into a smile as we walked. Okay, so I had been moaning like a little kid, but it was really hard work, learning how to throw daggers and use a mace. Why did I even need to use a mace? It wasn't like they were plastered all around the castle like the swords were.

We suddenly stopped, which made me turn and frown at the Prince. "Isabella, you are happy here, aren't you? You are happy in Camelot?" There seemed to be a hint of fear in his voice and uncertainty on his face.

"Uh, yeah." I answer slowly, not entirely sure where this had come from.

"Even though you were forced to stay here against your will?"

I really had no idea what was going on or why he was saying any of those things. "Yes, Arthur, even though you, my brother, and your father all decided my fate for me." There was a hint of sarcasm in my voice, but I going from the look on Arthur's face, he really didn't appreciate it. "Listen, and listen well, my dear Prince. I am happy here in Camelot. Yes, there are certain things that I wish had been different, like how I ended up here in the first place and why I am forced to stay here."

He nodded at me, clearly actually having listened to me and taken in what I had said. "And how would you have preferred to have met a dashingly handsome Prince and visited his kingdom?" Oh, now he was get cheeky.

"Well, I certainly wouldn't be a damsel in distress." I told him quickly. "I'd most likely just stumble upon Camelot, cause a little chaos, get myself thrown in the dungeon, and then have my brothers declare war unless I was released." There was a huge smile on my face as I told him. "Seriously, Arthur, I probably would have come here by mistake and caused nothing but trouble."

"Now that, I find rather easy to believe." Of course he did, because I was just a complete troublemaker. "So you are happy here?"

This time I let out a sigh as I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Arthur, how many times do you want me to answer that question? Yes, I am happy here in Camelot. Yes, I am glad that you kidnapped me when you found me in the forest. Yes I am glad that everyone decided that it was safer for me to stay here than go home with my brother."

"Will you stop saying that I kidnapped you?" Arthur groaned at me.

"I will when you prove to me that you didn't kidnap me. How must that sound to everyone else? Prince Arthur of Camelot kidnapped Princess Isabella of Elbear. Oh, all the gossip that would cause if it go out amongst the people." Now I was going to tease him, I had every right to tease him, he did kidnap me after all.

"Okay, fine. I kidnapped you." He announced in a huff. "I, Arthur Pendragon, kidnapped Princess Isabella Lagoon of Elbear!" He shouted, turning on the spot. A few of the people that were wandering past stopped and looked at him in confusion.

All I could do was crack up laughing at him. "Oh, now you've done it." I managed to breathe between my laugher. "Even more gossip to go around the city. The servants definitely will not be bored with this much to talk about."

He let out another, and rather loud, groan as he ran his hand through his messy mop of blonde hair. "What am I going to do with you?" The Prince grumbled. "I have half a mind to just lock you up right this minute."

"Go on then, I dare you to lock me up and see what happens." I actually wanted to see if he would do it, if I could push him so far that he would lock me in the dungeons. And if he did, how long would it be before he decided to let me out again. "Do it, Arthur."

"No, you'd actually enjoy it, wouldn't you? Knowing you, you'd make as much noise down there as you could. You would annoy the guards as much as you possibly could and I would have no choice but to release you." Yeah, he knew me pretty well, I would cause as much noise as I could if I was stuck in the dungeon.

I smiled at him. "So, what are you going to do then?"

The Prince didn't answer me, he simply took a hold of my hand and we began walking again. I could tell by the look on his face that he was annoyed with me, which meant that I had successfully completed my task for the day. Teasing him was the only joy I seemed to have in life now, so I always made the most of it.

Once again we stopped walking. "Close your eyes." The Prince ordered, causing me to raise an eyebrow at him. "Isabella, please, just close your eyes."

"And why would I want to do that? What are you up to, Arthur?" Yes, I was getting even more suspicious now, because he knew I didn't like not knowing what was going on. It was already a risk for me to be outside, and without my sight it was even more of a risk.

Arthur let out a sigh as he looked at me, and I could see I was really starting to stress him out. "Please? It's nothing awful, I promise you."

Reluctantly, I closed them, actually I squeezed them closed as tightly as I could. I was nervous and I could feel my chest starting to pound, it wasn't the greatest feeling in the world. "Don't worry, Isabella, everything is fine." Arthur whispered to me, sensing my anxiousness.

"Easy for you to say, you can see where you're going." I mumbled as he started leading me forward. His light chuckling reached my ears. "It's really not funny, Arthur."

"Well, I thought it was. You just have to trust me, can you do that?" I did trust him, of course I did, and he knew that, it was stupid of him to even say that in my opinion.

"I do trust you, Arthur, if you haven't noticed I've entrusted you with my life." I reminded him. "There is no one else I would trust to do what you have, to protect me like you do. I just really don't like not knowing what is going on or where the hell I am walking."

Then there was silence. He was probably thinking about what I had said and how he could reply, but I didn't expect him to say anything back. I thought it was pretty obvious how much trust I had in him, there was no need to say anything.

The absence of noise only lasted a few more moments, before I was forced to stop. "Okay, now you can open your eyes. If you want to, that is." Arthur told me. There was something in his voice that made me even more suspicious, if that was possible.

Slowly, ever so slowly, I let my eyes open. The sight before me shouldn't have shocked me or surprised me in the slightest, but it did. "Wha… when did you plan this?" I whispered, looking at the blanket of fresh cut flowers that lined the silky blankets that were sprawled out on the grass. It wasn't just that, it was what was laid out on the blankets as well.

"Well, I did say that you deserved a break for lunch." He told me, sounding really way too pleased with himself. "And I do love to see you at a complete loss for words."

I whacked him on the chest lightly, which probably hurt my hand more than anything else. "Yeah but…" I was still lost for words. He just kept on surprising me, every time I thought I had him all figured out, he went and done something else. Okay, so it wasn't the first time that he had done something like that, but I never would have expected him to do it again.

"So, are you hungry?" He asked me, gently tugging at my hand and getting me to move forward with him. Everything was a bit of a daze for me, I was still trying to process everything without looking too much like I was stunned, even though I was. "Isabella?"

"Huh? Yeah?" I said, shaking myself out of that daze.

When I looked up, I saw that Arthur was smiling away at me. "Shall we?" He gestured to the blanket, and I silently let him help me to sit down.

"Why, uh, what made you decide to do this then?" I finally asked him, watching as he unpacked the food that was in one of the baskets.

"Because I can, Isabella." The Prince replied, handing me a goblet fill with red liquid, which I could only assume was wine. "I know you have been trying your best, and I know I have been rather hard on you. This… this is my way of saying… I'm sorry."

There really was no need for him to be sorry, he was just doing his best to help me and keep my safe. "No, I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. I've imposed on your life, brought danger to your home, and basically turned your whole life upside down. I'm sorry, Arthur, I never meant to be so much trouble, or to seem to ungrateful."

He gently took the goblet from my hand, putting it down to the side with his own, before holding both my hands tightly in his own. "Isabella, I told you before, none of this has been your fault. And I do not regret you entering my life. Things were a lot more boring before you arrived in Camelot."

"Yeah, but don't you sometimes think I would have been easier if you had never found me in the forest? You'd have a much easier life, a lot less stress and pressure." I knew that there were times when I wished I hadn't ended up in Camelot, it was stupid but I still couldn't help but think that way sometimes. So much had happened, it was hard to deal with it all at times.

"Oh, of course. I wouldn't have to be watching you every moment of every day." Arthur told me, a smile working its way onto his face. "I'd have my chamber to myself and I wouldn't have to deal with you keeping me up half the night with your constant tossing and turning." I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what other negative things he had to say. "But, I admit that I do enjoy your company. You're actually rather fun to be around, occasionally."

I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes at him. "Occasionally? Like during the occasional attack or threat to Camelot? Nice to know that my strangeness causes me to be fun every now and again."

"Good. I'm glad that we have that cleared up. Now, shall we enjoy our lunch?" Arthur asked me, lifting up one of my hands, before planting a light kiss on the back of it. Like a dumbstruck idiot, I nodded at him, and he passed me back my wine. I instantly took a rather large gulp of it, needing to find a way to calm myself down a little.

There was nothing that I could think of to say to him, nothing at all. I hated the way that he could render me speechless, especially since it was happening so often now as well. He was starting to know all my little habits and traits, and he could pick up on my moods way too easily. In a way it was kind of sweet, but it was also worrying.

We both enjoyed our lunch, and I may have drunk a little too much wine, as I couldn't stop giggling and laughing for absolutely no reason as we walked through the castle. "Ugh, I need a nap." I moaned, hanging onto Arthur's arm, not caring about anyone seeing us, I really didn't care what they had to say.

"I think you probably do." Arthur replied, a hint of humour in his voice. I was pretty sure he was laughing at me. "Remind me never to let you have that much wine again."

"Hey, it's not my fault." I told him, slapping him arm a little. "You're the one that kept filling my goblet up. Also, that was a lot stronger than the wine I've had before." That was definitely true, that was stronger than any of the other wines that the pair of us had drunk.

"Hmm, I thought that as well. I will have to find out where Merlin got it from." Ah, so it had been Merlin who had organised everything, that wasn't really anything new. I only wondered when he had the actual time to do it all. "Anyway, I think you really do need to have a little lie down." He told me as I stumbled and little and began giggling some more.

"Yeah, I'm totally exhausted from all that stupid training you've been putting me through." I managed to say once I calmed the laughter. "It has absolutely nothing to do with the wine, honestly." It was only partially to do with the wine, I was actually rather tired. I didn't have the stamina that he did, I was no where near strong enough. Yet.

There was no way that Arthur believed that, he knew it was slightly intoxicated. "Of course not, Isabella." He said with a chuckle, just as we reached his chamber. The Prince opened the door, quickly glancing around the room before stepping aside for me to enter. He had gotten into this habit of doing little checks that there were no intruders every time we returned to his chamber.

I wandered straight over to my bed and flopped on it, face down. "Night night, Arthur." I mumbled, burying my face into the soft covers. My head was fuzzy from the alcohol, which was never a good thing.

Once again he chuckled, something he seemed to be doing a lot recently. "Goodnight, Isabella. I'll try not to make too much noise, I have some paperwork to go over for my father." I just waved my hand around a little, signalling that I really didn't care. "You sleep off all that wine."

"Not the wine. Everywhere aches." It was true, I was aching all over from that stupid training he was making me do, simply because I wasn't used to it. I couldn't stop myself from letting out a groan as I curled up into a ball on the bed.

"Stop your whining and go to sleep."

"Stop talking and I will." I mumbled, reaching up higher on the bed and grabbing one of the pillows before shoving my face into it. I really did need a few hours sleep, my body needed rest and my head needed to clear.

*

That familiar scent of cinnamon and candyfloss was reaching me, and I opened my eyes to see an even more familiar figure standing before me. "Welcome back, Isabella. It's been a while since you've visited here." Sian told me softly.

I looked around and saw that I was in the same place I was when I first met her, when I first created my own little dream world. "Yeah well, been busy, you know?" I replied, shrugging it off as I pushed myself off the grass.

"And how are things in the real world?"

"Oh, you know, the same. My uncle sent someone to kidnap me, but a great warlock came and saved me. I've now moved in with Arthur, I'm literally living with him in his chamber. Oh, and he's teaching me how to defend myself, which is really tiring." A lot had actually happened since the last time I had seen her, in that dream where I had managed to drag Arthur along with me.

"You must be extremely careful, Isabella." Sian told me, her voice turning very serious. "Your uncle is moving quickly, and you must be prepared for the time when he will strike."

Okay, that scared me. "What do you mean? Sian, what do you know?" I needed answers, a lot of them. There were so many questions I had, so many things I wanted to know about my magic and how I could use it, but this was way more important.

"I know that he has gathered many followers who posses magic, who despise Uther and all he stands for. I know that he is still searching for you, and I also know what he will do when he finally has you in his grasp." Now I was even more scared, and scared wasn't good in my dreams, that could lead to even more problems.

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, knowing that I had to keep it together and stay calm. "The man plans to kill me, along with my brothers. I already know that, we all know that."

When I opened my eyes I saw her shaking her head at me, the hood of her cloak once again keeping her face hidden. "It is more than that, Isabella. He will use you, he will try to corrupt you, to turn you against Arthur and Camelot, and to destroy your brothers."

"Yeah, well he can try, but that will never happen." I told her firmly, this little trip was going downhill from the start. "I would never do anything to hurt Mitch and Dom, not ever. And Arthur… I would never hurt him either, I would never turn against him."

"Oh, Isabella, if only it was that simple. He grows stronger, and so does his magic. He meddles with the dark arts, he is becoming more and more dangerous." Sian informed me, making me shiver a little. "It is time, Isabella."

I looked at her in utter confusion. "Time for what?" I had no idea what she was talking about, and it probably didn't help that I was already scared from what I had just learnt about my uncle.

"Time for your lessons to begin." She announced. "The training from the Prince will not be enough, you have to learn how to use and control your magic now, Isabella."

A sigh of relief passed my lips, I had been waiting for this, waiting for someone to show me what to do, to help me. With the way things were, there was no chance that Merlin could help me, not when Arthur was constantly there. "Great, so where do we start?" I asked her confidently.

"There are four basic elements you need to know. Earth, fire, air, and water." I watched as she stepped to one side and the stream that I had once crossed came into my view. "You have already controlled water here before, and you have unknowingly controlled fire and earth in the real world." She was right, I had made the candles flare up and sent rocks tumbling when I didn't mean to, when I knew nothing about my magic. "We will continue with water for now."

"Okay, so what do you want me to do? How do I control my magic? What can I do with the water?" I asked her all in one breath, terrified and excited at the same time.

I heard her chuckling beneath that hood of hers. "Patience, Isabella. What do you want to do with the water?"

A frown formed upon my face as I looked at the mass of clear liquid before me. It was perfectly calm and still, and the sunlight was bouncing off it. The most common thing I could think of was to part it, but I was strange, I wanted to be different. "I know what I want to do with it, I don't know how to explain it but…"

"You don't have to explain it, Isabella. Now, close your eyes, and just think about what you want to happen, visualise it." Sian told me gently. "Watch it happening in your mind."

And so I did. I closed my eyes tightly and thought of a ribbon of running water, arching over the rest, small droplets raining down and creating a small rainbow. I couldn't help but smile at it, I thought it looked rather pretty, and pretty amazing. "Okay, now what?"

"Open your eyes." I done as I was told and let out a gasp at what I was seeing. The whole thing that I had imagined in my head was now right before my eyes. "I have to say, that is very original. Most people would makes waves or split the stream in two. You have a very unique mind, Isabella."

"I did that?" It didn't seem possible, it really didn't. How could I have done something like that? "Did… did I really do that?" All Sian did was nod at me. "Wow…" I didn't know what else to say.

"Now, when you are ready, gently release the image, let the water fall back into place." Once again I done as I was told, I thought about the ribbon of water slowly sinking back to where it came from. "Very good, very impressive."

The water was back to how it had been before, calm and still. "How did I do that, Sian? I have no idea how this magic works still." I desperately wanted more information, because what I had already was so little, I needed to know more.

"When you are calm, you can control the elements, like you just did. However, when you are angry and upset, that becomes something more, and you lose any control over it. If you were angry and tried to control the water, you would most likely cause massive waves and the water would become unsettled." She explained to me, much to my surprise. "Just like you, your magic is unique. It can be as beautiful and wonderful as you want, but it can also be ugly and dangerous. You have to decide how to use it, and how to control it."

"Wait, you said that if I get angry or something, I lose control. If I've lost control, that means it will be dangerous, right?" I just wanted some clarification on this, because I was still confused.

Sian hesitated before answering me. "Not exactly. It all depends on the circumstances, Isabella. For example, if your uncle was to hurt the Prince, you would be angry at your uncle, correct?" I nodded at her, knowing that I would be more than just angry. "But that anger doesn't come from the hatred you have for him, it comes from the love you have for Arthur."

"Whoa, back up a second! No one said I loved Arthur!" I told her, or more like shouted at her. "Yeah, I care about the arrogant prat, but that's all it is. He's like… I don't know… I really good friend."

"Isabella, this is just an example." She reminded me, trying to calm me down. "You would be able to control your magic because of the emotions that flooded you the strongest. If, however, you were to face your uncle and the hatred and anger you had towards him took over, then you would lose control. Do you understand?"

I nodded at her, having a slightly vague idea of what she was saying. "My control depends on my emotions. Good emotions verses bad emotions sort of thing. Wanting to protect someone is good, wanting to get revenge is bad." That was how I saw it, kind of like good verses evil in a way.

"Well, you seemed to have grasped that rather well, and rather quickly too. You have to decide between light and dark. Your uncle has chosen the dark path, what will you take?" There was a hint of uncertainty in her voice, and I didn't like that.

"I am not my uncle, I am nothing like him. I want to be able to just live in peace, without all this fear. He killed my parents, but nothing I do will ever bring them back. I don't like fighting, I'm only doing all of this because I need to be able to defend myself. My fight is to stay alive, and to keep my friends safe." And that was the truth. Ever since that man tried to tear me away from Camelot, I knew that I needed to do something, to be able to defend myself. I didn't want to hurt people, but I was now fighting for my life.

"You are full of light and hope, Isabella, but be careful. Where there is light, you will always find darkness close behind." I knew that was a warning, a warning that I needed to be strong and not let myself get overwhelmed by negative emotions. "I think that will do for now. I will see you again soon, Princess Isabella, in the mean time, be cautions." Sian told me, before leaving me alone in my dream world.

Now that I was there alone, I took the chance to practice with the water some more. I closed my eyes and imagined the water rising up, like it was being drawn into the sky. When I opened my eyes, it was doing exactly that, like rain reversing. It was amazing, and I couldn't wait to try it out with the different elements. I was also excited to try it in the real world now, but I knew that would be a long way off.

A/N: Well I do hope that you enjoyed it, I've had a little writers block recently, not just with this but with ALL my stories. It's not been fun and I've been getting really frustrated with it all.

Hello and welcome to all the new readers, especially those who have favourited/followed the story. I always want to say thank you to the few that leave reviews. I really do appreciate it, it helps me when I can't focus and read your reviews, finding my motivation.

Anyway, I'm going to keep this short and simple. Will get to work on the next chapter as soon as I can, and hopefully it won't be such a long wait for it. So until next time…

Pippa.