A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner, life once again got in the way. Apologies is there are an spelling mistakes or grammatical errors, I will try to get them sorted later. But for now, enjoy!

I was sitting at the long table in the council chamber with Arthur and his father, feeling rather uncomfortable. Arthur had actually asked his father if we could join him for dinner, telling him that I was beginning to feel much better and that it would do me good to dine with the King. Well, that had been nothing but lies, and we all knew it, all except Uther. He was more than happy for me to join him for dinner, along with his son, and that just made me feel even more nervous.

There had been the normal small talk, Arthur discussing things with his father, his father asking me how I was fairing, and me trying my best not to make myself look like an idiot, even if I did feel like one. Lucky for me, Merlin was serving us, so I was a little more comfortable knowing that he was around. But all that was about to change.

Arthur glanced at me, before looking towards his father, and then his food. He was ready to put the plan into action. "We've received reports that a beast has been sighted roaming the forests near the northern borders." The Prince said, watching his father closely as he tried so hard to act normal.

"What's the nature of this beast?" It looked as if Uther was falling for it, and I just hoped that Arthur wouldn't mess the whole thing up with his big mouth.

"It is said to have the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the… face of a bear." I wanted nothing more than to smack him now. That was the most pathetic and stupid thing he ever could have said. "I believe it has been conjured by sorcery." Even Merlin thought it was absurd, and he was struggling to stop himself from laughing.

Except the King had taken the bait, and he was now caught on the hook. "Then we must destroy it." He announced, before picking up his goblet.

Now it was time to reel him in, and that was Arthur's job. "We'll leave for the northern borders in the morning." The moment those words had left his mouth, Uther was almost choking on his drink.

There was a concerned, yet a rather firm and disapproving look on his face. "You plan on taking Isabella with you? To face a magical beast? While her deranged uncle is still out there and after her?" It was plain to see that he was not pleased with the idea, all I could hope was that Arthur could reel his father in with his lies.

"Isabella has been training hard, and has improved vastly." Arthur told him, while I just sat there in silence. "This will be a good opportunity for her to test those skills in a more suitable environment. While she can handle a sword against myself and several of the knights, she needs to learn how to defend herself in the real world, father." It wasn't a bad excuse, I thought he had actually done pretty well, but the look on his father's face told me that he still wasn't convinced.

"No, absolutely not. The knights can deal with the beast, you will not be taking Isabella away from Camelot, not while the threat is still out there." Arthur had failed, and he had slumped back in his chair slightly in defeat.

Now it was my turn to give it a try. "Sire, if I may, Arthur is right. Put me on the training ground and hand me a sword and I can fight. However, if an incident with my uncle was to occur outside of the castle, I would not be so confident in myself." I told him, hoping that if I told him that I wanted to go, that I felt it would help me, that he just might let me go. "I know that it is still a dangerous time for me, but I have trust in Arthur, and I know that he will not let anything happen to me."

Reassurance, that was what I had just given him, but it wasn't a lie. I did have faith in Arthur to keep me safe, and I always would. "Are you sure about this, Isabella?" He was definitely worried and concerned, and not completely convinced.

I nodded my head at him. "I am, Sire. I cannot hide away in here and be scared of my uncle. I need to show him that I am not scared, and that I am stronger than he believes." I didn't believe anything that I was saying, but I sure hoped that the King did, or our plan was totally sunk.

Uther's gaze turned from me and to his son. "Well, I cannot say that I am pleased with this suggestion, but if Isabella has faith in you to keep her safe, then so do I." A breath of relief escaped from Arthur's lips the moment his father said that. We were in the clear, the plan was a go. "You do realised that you'll miss the tournament."

"As much as I want to compete, my duty to Isabella and Camelot comes first." I was surprised that he had mentioned me there, I understood his duty to Camelot, but not to me, not in my eyes.

The rest of dinner seemed to pass by rather pleasantly. Uther didn't question the trip or the beast any more, and Arthur managed to keep it together and not give the game away. I managed to get us both excused slightly earlier, because Arthur was worried about me and thought that I looked a little exhausted. I was exhausted, it wasn't easy lying to the King like we just had.

"Well, I think that went rather well." Arthur decided to announce as we headed back to his chamber.

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him. "Seriously? You are kidding me, right? The body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the face of a bear, was that really the best that you could come up with?" It was time to let him know that I was far from impressed with the beast he had created. "Do you have an idea how silly that sounds? Even Merlin was struggling not to laugh at it."

"Well, what would you have liked me to say? It was the first thing that came to mind, so I apologise for not planning ahead." He didn't seem too happy that I was criticising his lying skills.

"You had plenty of time to plan what you were going to say to your father, you've had all day to think of something rather than having to make it up on the spot like that." It was true, the plan had been made in the morning and come dinner he still hadn't thought of anything clever to say.

Arthur just huffed at me as we finished the rest of the walk in silence. I knew that he was thinking about something, he had that look on his face. Not the 'I'm up to something' kind of thinking look, but more the 'I wonder if this really is a good idea' kind of look. Personally, I would much rather he forgot all about having to prove himself and just get on with life, but Arthur really wasn't like that. He was stubborn, he hated being lied to, and he was really starting to hate people treating him differently.

As soon as he had checked the room and deemed it safe, I headed straight over to my bed and pulled out a leather bound book that Morgana had given me. "What is that book?" Arthur suddenly asked me, making me jump and slam it closed.

"None of your business." I snapped at him, before holding it close to my chest. It was something I didn't want him to see, because it was kind of like a diary. I mean, I didn't write everything in there, but I had started to write some things down in there. Morgana had told me that I needed to start opening up more, especially about my nightmares. When I refused to talk about them, she gave me the book, and told me to write them down, so I did. But I didn't want Arthur to know that, I didn't want him to know what my nightmares were all about.

"Come on, what's the big secret?" He asked me, deciding to sit himself on the edge of the bed.

I simply looked up at him and glared at him. "If I told you, then I'd have to kill you. I suggest you keep your nose out, Arthur, it does not concern you." Yes I was being slightly hostile, but I really didn't want him to read it. I really, really didn't want him to read it.

He put his hands up in defence and got up from the bed and backed away a little. "Okay, no need to be like that, Isabella." It was clear that he was far from impressed with my attitude, but I really didn't care. I didn't want him to read the book, it was as simple as that.

"Well, make sure you keep your big nose out of my stuff then." I grumbled at him, before grabbing the curtain that hung around my bed and pulling it closed. I wanted my privacy, I needed to have just a little time to myself.

I read back through the last few things I had written, the recent nightmares. They all had familiar themes, Arthur getting hurt or dying, and my uncle coming after me, or being the one to hurt Arthur. I knew I couldn't talk to Arthur about them, he would just tell me that they were simply dreams, and that he would never let my uncle harm me and all the rest of that stuff he seems to say every time I mention my uncle. He already knew that I was worried about what my uncle could do to him, especially after what had happened recently.

But there was something else that I had been seeing as well, there was a man, a man that I had never seen before, and he was hunting Arthur. I had seen that last night, a man, cloaked in black, watching Arthur, stalking him. What made it worse, was that I didn't know if it was just a nightmare, or if it was going to be like some of the others, the ones that came true.

I needed to write it down, the recent nightmares of that strange man. At least with the curtain pulled across, I had some space and was able to write what I wanted without someone watching me. I was scared that Arthur was going to read what I had written, and then confront me all about it and tell me that I was just being stupid. I knew it was stupid, but it all scared me.

When Morgana came to visit, I could talk to her about it all. What made it even easier for me to talk to her about it all was the fact that she too was writing down her nightmares in a book as well. It was meant to help us both, because we were both suffering from nightmares and didn't know what to do about them, and I honestly trusted her.

"Isabella, are you still awake?" I heard Arthur call to me softly. I must have been lost in my own little world as I was writing if he was asking me that.

I quickly finished what I was doing and closed the book, slipping it under my pillow and putting the stopper back in the small jar of ink I had been using. "Yeah, I'm still awake." I replied, before sitting on my knees and pulling the curtains open once more. "Everything all right?" I could see that he was actually ready for bed now, which meant I had been writing for much longer than I thought.

"Everything is set for the morning. We have an early start, so I would recommend getting some sleep now." He was speaking to me carefully, as if he were afraid that I was going to snap at him again, but I wasn't.

I nodded at him and crawled along my bed. "Guess I better get changed then." I told him, giving him a smile as I did. I needed to let him know that I wasn't angry or annoyed with him or something like that. "Looks like you're ready for bed already." I commented, grabbing my nightgown and heading behind the changing screen.

There was silence for a moment, before I heard him softly walking away from my bed and over to his own. "Isabella, you're not worried about tomorrow, are you?" He asked me, just as I pulled the long gown over my head.

"Me? Worried? You must be joking." I said, scoffing a little as I did. "I'm terrified and excited at the same time." I really was a mix of emotions. I was terrified that something awful was going to happen, mainly to Arthur, and I was scared that my uncle would find us and kill us both. But I was excited to be getting out of the castle, of being able to have a little bit of freedom. I was going to be able to just be Isabella, not Princess Isabella, just for a few days. And I really couldn't wait for that.

"Excited?" He sounded surprised at that comment of mine. "Why would you be excited?"

I quickly pulled the dress down properly and stepped out from behind the wooden screen. "Why? Because I get to leave this castle. Because I get to go outside and pretend to be someone else. I can go out there and actually enjoy myself for once. The only time I get to go outside is when we're training, because it's too dangerous for me." I really did hate being cooped up in the castle all the time, it drove me insane at times.

The look on Arthur's face told me that he understood what I was saying. "You're looking forward to just being a normal person, not a Princess."

I smiled at him as I plonked myself back down on my bed. "Exactly, I get to just be me for a while. I get to be impossible, annoying, infuriating, and completely out of my mind, and I don't have to worry about what people will think of me. I get some freedom, even if it is only for a few days." I had to keep remembering that, all good things must come to an end. The freedom was only a part of it, I knew that my time with Arthur would end eventually, even though I didn't really want it to. "What about you, are you excited?"

"In a way, yes. I'm looking forward to being judged by my skill alone, and not just because of who I am. The people will see me as just a knight, and not a Prince." I did understand where he was coming from, but I still thought it was silly of him to worry about his pride so much and having to prove himself to everyone. "And I shall admit, that I am worried as well." I couldn't help but frown at him for that comment. "I'm worried about you, Isabella, and your uncle. You will be less protected throughout the tournament, and while I am jousting."

"Arthur, Merlin is going to be there. I am sure that he is more than capable of keeping a close eye on me. If my uncle does show himself, then we will just have to explain to your father why we are not chasing after some magical beast, and why we are both still in Camelot." If anything went wrong, if my uncle did show up, I knew Merlin would do everything he could to protect me, but I also knew that the plan would fall apart, and Arthur would have to reveal himself.

"It sounds like you have it all worked out." He told me, finally getting in his own bed.

I was already snuggly under my covers, sitting up and looking at the Prince. "Well of course I have. I can't leave you to think of everything, otherwise we'd get nowhere." I told him, a slight smirk on my face. "I mean, do you even know where we are going to stay during the tournament? Or were you hoping that we would just stumble upon an empty home for us to use? Or maybe you were going to kick someone out so that we could stay there?" The panicked and shocked expression on his face told me that he really hadn't thought of it. "Exactly. Lucky for you, I have thought about it, and I've sorted it all. However, it does mean that Gwen knows of our little plan."

"You've told someone?" It didn't sound as if he approved of what I had done, but I had to tell Gwen, she needed to know in case something happened. Of course, Morgana was going to want to hit me for not letting her in on the plan, but it was better if she didn't know, she'd only worry about me.

"Yes, I told Gwen, because she is able to help us. There is an empty house close to where she lives, it's only small, but it will do. She is also lending me some of her clothes, so that I'm not walking around looking like a Princess." I knew I had to explain why, but I wasn't going to explain everything to him. "She is helping us, Arthur, and she has sworn not to tell a soul either." Unless something goes horribly wrong, then she has permission to tell Morgana and Uther straight away.

Arthur let out a sigh. "You're right. There are a lot of things that I hadn't considered, thank you, Isabella." I knew he was being sincere, and I also knew that he was still worrying.

"It's going to be fine, Arthur. I'll have my dagger and a sword at hand in case something happens, which it won't." I told him firmly. "Now come on, time to get some sleep."

He looked at me for a few seconds before nodding. "Yes, of course. Good night, Isabella." He said to me, before leaning over and blowing out the candle that was beside his bed.

"Night, Arthur." I replied, before blowing out my own candle. It was a little routine that we had gotten into, leaving one candle alight by each of us until we went to bed. Usually I was the first to extinguish mine, but for once Arthur had beaten me to it and blown his out first.

As I settled down in my bed, my mind started racing. I had actually be tired before, but now I seemed to be wide awake. Thoughts of what was going to happen played through my mind, plus all of the things that could go wrong. It was stupid of me to keep worrying like that, but I really was terrified that my uncle was going to appear. I wasn't ready to face him, not yet.

I seemed to lay awake for hours, staying as still as I could so that Arthur didn't realise that I was still awake. That was what seemed to alert him to the fact that I wasn't sleeping well, the tossing and turning throughout the night, as well as the silent crying. I knew that Arthur was asleep, I could hear him snoring softly, and that meant I had to be extra quiet if I didn't want to wake him up.

"Are you all right, Isabella?" Merlin called to me, scaring me a little. It had been a while since we had spoken like that, so I may have slightly forgotten that he could do that.

"Yeah, just having a little trouble sleeping, that's all." I replied, knowing that he was probably worrying as well. "Everything is going to fine tomorrow, isn't it? You don't think that Arthur's plan is stupid and that something terrible will happen, do you?"

"Of course it's a stupid plan, most of Arthur's plans are stupid." That wasn't a very reassuring thing for me to hear. "But everything will be fine. I'll be keeping an eye on you, Isabella, there is absolutely nothing to worry about." I knew he was going to be keep a close eye on me, just like I was going to be keeping a close eye on Arthur.

But the reassurance just wasn't enough to sooth that uneasy feeling that was bubbling in my stomach. "You're right, I'm worrying over nothing." Well, that was a great big fat lie. "Anyway, you better get some sleep as well. Just because Arthur isn't going to be in the castle, you're still going to be doing plenty of chores, and you know it."

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me of that. You would have thought that his desire to be just a normal person would stop him from bossing me around, but no. Now he has even more chores for me to do than before." Merlin moaned at me, clearly already having been given a nice long list of things that Arthur expected him to do while we were supposedly out of Camelot and hunting down some magical creature. "You better get some sleep as well. I have no idea what Arthur had planned for you tomorrow."

Merlin was right, neither of us knew what was going to happen. Yes, Arthur was going to be fighting in the tournament in disguise, but what the hell was I going to be doing during that time? Was I meant to just keep my head down and out of the way? Or maybe I was just going to be locked in a room and kept out of sight? And now I was feeling even more nervous about this whole fiasco.

I wasn't sure what time I eventually managed to fall asleep, but it felt like I had only had my eyes closed for a matter of minutes before Arthur was trying to wake me up. "Isabella, come on, it's time to get up now." He told me softly, sitting on the edge of the bed. I let out a groan and rolled away from where he was. "Isabella, you really do need to get up. We have a lot to do today, my father expects us to be leaving soon."

I let out another groan at him. "Go away, Arthur, can't you see that I'm trying to sleep?" It had been a terrible night for me, I knew I hadn't gotten that much sleep, and unfortunately, Arthur was going to have to suffer for that. "It's you who has to prove himself to everyone, not me."

The Prince let out a sigh, but didn't get up from my bed. "Please, Isabella, I know you shouldn't have to be dragged into this, but I can't leave you on your own."

I scoffed a little at that, because he was going to be leaving me on my own. "Really? You seem to forget that while you are jousting, I will be standing there on my own, without you protecting me. What does it matter if I'm out there by the tents watching, or sitting with your father and Morgana? Wouldn't it be safer if I was there with them?" I thought I had a rather valid point. Sure, my uncle would be able to see me clearly, but I would have the protection of the King and his finest knights there.

"Yes, but this way your uncle will think that you have left Camelot. If he believes that you have accompanied me to the Northern boarders, then that is where he will be heading. He will not be hanging around Camelot if he believes you are not here." Okay, so maybe he had a valid point as well, but it didn't change the fact that I was tired and wanted some more sleep.

"Just let me sleep." I told him, before grabbing one of my pillows and shoving it over my head. There was no way I was ready to get up yet, and there was nothing that the Prince of Camelot could say or do that would make me.

It appeared that Arthur realised that as well, as I felt the bed move a little as he got up from it, and he walked away. Sometimes he did actually listen to me, not as often as I would have liked, but it was a work in progress. At least it meant that I could keep my eyes closed for a little while longer, while Arthur no doubt made sure that everything was ready so that we could leave almost the moment I decided I was ready.

"Isabella? Isabella, we have to go now." I heard someone tell me. "Come on, it really is time to get up now." A hand moved across my face and brushed my messy hair away. "Do I have to tell Merlin to get the bucket?"

Oh, I was not going to have him threaten me like that, and so I quickly reached out, grabbed Arthur's wrist, and twisted his arm as I sat up, completely taking him by surprise. "You really do not want to do that." I warned him, twisting his arm a little more that I really should have.

I could see that I had surprised him, and that I was hurting him slightly from the way he was wincing. "I see that your reflexes have improved, but do you mind letting go now, I actually need my arm." Instead of letting it go, I threw his arm away from me. "Well, now that you're awake, you need to get dressed. It's time to leave." He told me, rubbing his wrist with his other hand.

There was a mix of emotions, knowing that I had actually managed to hurt him for once. Yes, I was proud of myself for getting it right and all of that, but I did feel slightly guilty for it as well. He hadn't really deserved it, but I didn't like him threatening me like that, there was just no need for it. "Fine." I replied, tossing the covers away and heading behind the changing screen.

It really didn't take me that long to get myself ready. I put on a dress that Arthur had picked out for me, he claimed that it would help me to blend in better as it was a rather simple one. I wanted to say something, but I kept my mouth shut and grabbed the green cloak that my brothers had sent me, the one with our family crest on it. It covered up the dress pretty well, and I knew that I would be taking it off before we headed back into the city.

"Remember when we reach the woods surrounding the city, we split up with the group. They will meet us back there after the tournament." Prince Arthur reminded me, as we headed out towards the court yard where everyone was waiting for us.

"And they can be trusted? None of them are spies for my uncle?" I asked him. We hadn't found any more of his men since that night, we hadn't even found the person who had given the poisoned wine to the keeper of the tavern.

The look in his eyes told me that he whatever he was about to say next, we probably on just to keep my happy. "Although we have yet to find any more of his followers, I trust these men." Yeah, I didn't really believe him fully, but there really wasn't anything that I could do or say that would make things different.

Instead I just kept my mouth shut until we reached the court yard, where Uther came to greet us. "You must take extra care out there, Arthur. If anything were to happen to Isabella…" We both knew where that sentence was leading.

"I understand, father, we both do. We shall return as soon as possible." He replied, while Merlin finished sorting out the horses. We had to make it look real, as if we really were going off on a trip to find a beast. I still thought it was a stupid plan, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

All Uther could then do was watch as we mounted our horses and rode out of Camelot. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, and I couldn't help but look everywhere, all the time. My eyes just didn't stop moving, because I was looking for something, or someone. It felt like we were being watched, and it was really making me feel uneasy. It probably didn't help that Merlin wasn't with us, he was back in the castle, getting everything else ready for when we headed back.

"Are you all right, Isabella?" Arthur suddenly asked me, causing me to snap my head in his direction.

No, I wasn't really all right, but I couldn't very well tell him that, could I? "Yeah, fine, just a little… nervous." I was nervous, and I thought that was pretty clear by the way I was acting. "We've barely even left and I can't wait for us to go back." I admitted to him.

"We'll be back soon, I promise. Everything is going to be fine." Arthur told me in reassurance. I could only nod at him at we continued to trot away from Camelot and towards the forests. He had been right, it wasn't that long until we were standing there and waiting for Merlin to arrive. "We'll meet you here in four days." He told one of the men that had been with us. "You must tell no one we've returned to Camelot." The man turned and left, just as Merlin arrived, stumbling all over the place. "You're late."

I could see that Merlin had been running, because he was completely out of breath. "Sorry. Gaius had me wa…" He had to stop and take another breathing. "…ing the floors. I couldn't…" Arthur didn't say anything, he just grabbed the bag from Merlin.

"I'll just sit down and wait for you to get ready, shall I?" Merlin smiled at me while Arthur rolled his eyes at me. This was only the beginning of it all. Once he was changed, we needed to sneak back into Camelot, find that house that Gwen had sorted for us, and then work out how exactly Arthur was going to compete in the tournament without everyone knowing that it was him. Yeah, this was going to so much fun, and of course, there was no chance of there being any problems at all. Right?

A/N: Well, I hope you all liked it. I'm trying to move along with the episodes now, I have big plans that I need to get to, and that is a bit further down the line than I would have liked.

Anyway, thank you to everyone who has taken the time to leave me a review, you guys are totally awesome. Also, welcome to all you lovely people who have favourited/followed the story recently, I'm glad so many people are still finding it and liking it.

I'm going to shut up now and get back to working on the next chapter. Until the next time!

Pippa.