When Laney arrived at Lancelot's room, she found him walking toward hers. "There you are," he called cheerfully. Then he looked at her face and saw that she had been crying. "Laney, what is wrong?" he sounded lost. "You were so happy when you left me. I don't understand how you could be so sad now." Instead of answering him, she put her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. "Lancelot, I need to talk to Arthur. It's important, but I need to do it alone." She knew he didn't understand why all of a sudden she didn't want him present when she talked to his commander. She felt him stiffen as he said, "If you feel you must. Go on, I will be at the tavern waiting for you."
She watched him walk away. "Oh, Merlin, you should never have told me the truth. All it has done is mess up anything I've done since then." She steeled her face into a mask and headed for Arthur's quarters. When she arrived, she knocked lightly. When she didn't hear him, she knocked again, louder. This time he came to the door and opened it slightly. "Yes, Laney, what is it?" He didn't act his usual self, so she asked him, "Can I come in? I need to discuss something with you?" He hesitated, then looking over his shoulder, he ducked out the door and closed it behind him. She gave him a questioning look, then looking at his state of dress, she blushed. She had interrupted him in one of the few moments she had heard that he took a woman to his bed. "Arthur, I see you were ready for bed, it can wait until morning. Please forgive me." She turned to leave and he called out to her.
"Laney, if you think it is important, I can go to bed later." She hesitated, then told him, "No, I'll see you tomorrow. When you wake up, come to Lance's room, and get me." She waved and headed back down the hall toward the outside. She had to speak to someone about her vision. Maybe it was a good thing that Arthur had been unavailable. Merlin had told her not to tell him and the first time she saw something dangerous, she had gone running to him like a child after a bad dream. She decided she would seek Merlin's counsel instead and headed through the kitchen. She was almost to the outside when she heard someone call her name. Turning around she saw Lancelot standing in the hallway.
"Laney, what is going on? You said you were going to see Arthur, now I find you in the kitchen. What were you crying about earlier?" His voice was one of complete exasperation. He didn't understand what she was doing and he wanted to know, and he didn't want any more excuses. She let out a sigh, before going toward him. "Lancelot, I need to speak with Merlin. Arthur was occupied and I have to talk to Merlin!" Her voice had risen to an almost hysterical level. He grabbed her shoulders forcing her to look up at him. When he saw the tears brimming her eyes, threatening to spill over, he held her close. "Alright, love, I'll take you there. Come on." He was slowly heading back toward the exit to the stables.
"Lancelot, when we get there, you must stay outside the clearing. Merlin will not talk if you are there, just as he wouldn't talk with Tristan there. Will you do that for me?" He hesitated, then nodded his head. "If I must, then I will. But remember, all you have to do is shout and I will be by your side." When she nodded her understanding, he once again headed toward the stables. It only took him a moment to saddle his horse. He mounted and offered her his hand. She took it and was pulled into his arms to sit in front of him. He laughed lightly, "This is nice, and it's a beautiful night for a ride." She knew he was trying to take her mind off whatever was troubling her, he helped, but she couldn't forget what she had seen. There was going to be a big battle outside the fortress gates and many people would die. Including Tristan.
She couldn't hold back the sob that came to her throat. Lancelot felt her sob and pulled her closer to him. "Baby, it will be alright, I promise, whatever you think is wrong, we can fix it. Just tell me what it is." He sounded so troubled by her actions. "Lancelot, I wish I could tell you what is wrong. But I don't know, I need help interpreting the vision I just saw." She again saw Tristan, bloody and dying. She began to cry and Lancelot cursed. "Damn it, Laney, what did you see?" She just shook her head and buried her face in his chest. By the time they had arrived at the woods, she had calmed down a bit. But he knew it wouldn't take much to start her all over again. Whatever it was, it must be something horrible for her to react so strongly.
They walked for a little while and then Lancelot saw a man in blue paint step from behind a tree. He tensed and felt Laney put her hand on his arm. "Hello, Vennen." She spoke to the man. He nodded to her and then looked at Lancelot. Laney spoke again. "He is my escort. I have need of Merlin's wisdom. Is he still close by?" Vennen looked at Lancelot a moment longer before nodding to her. "I will take you to him." Then he turned and headed back toward the clearing she had visited earlier.
Laney found herself scanning the underbrush as they walked. Tristan had followed her once, she wanted to make sure no one else did the same. Lancelot saw her watching the surrounding trees and wondered what she was searching for. He did not see anything and she never looked at him so he could mouth his concerns. He was reluctant to say anything in case it would offend the Woad guide in front of them.
When they stepped into the clearing, Laney saw that Merlin was sitting alone on the stone beside the fire. He didn't turn, he just spoke her name. "Delaney, why have you returned so soon? And brought someone with you to my camp?" He turned and looked pointedly at Lancelot. "Ahh, I see your lover is reluctant to let you out of his sight." Turning back around, he continued, "Delaney is safe within the camp of my people. You may leave now so we may discuss that which she came to discuss."
Lancelot was about to protest at being dismissed so easily, but Laney put her hand on his arm and he looked at her face. She was pleading with him to do as Merlin asked. He leaned over and kissed her as he whispered, "only because you wish it." He then followed Vennen back through the trees so that Laney was left alone with Merlin next to the fire.
Once they had gone far enough that Merlin knew they would not hear, he asked her, "What troubles you, Delaney?" She sat down on the ground at Merlin's feet so she could look up into his face as she spoke. "When I came earlier, unbeknownst to me, Tristan followed and heard what you told me. We were talking tonight and I looked over the wall at the fields beyond." Her voice began to catch and she had to stop for a moment to regain her composure. "When I looked at the fields, I saw a battlefield, there were many dead and dying, including Tristan. The image was so clear that I have not been able to get it out of my mind." She let her voice drop off as she saw the compassion in Merlin's eyes.
"Have you spoken with anyone else about what you saw?" He watched as she shook her head. "I went to see Arthur, but he was busy. That's when Lancelot agreed to bring me here to see you." Merlin nodded, "You have seen a vision of what could come to be if things go as the evil forces plan. It is not necessarily what will happen, but it is one of the many outcomes that could transpire." He saw her face brighten when he said this. He wanted to leave it at that, but knew that she expected nothing less than the truth. "Delaney, what were your feelings toward Tristan at the moment you saw the vision?" He saw her as she remembered the talk they were having.
"Tristan had just agreed to attend my wedding but said he would not be happy because of it. Merlin, he loves me and I don't know what to do about it." She sounded desolate so he gently patted her head. "He is such a good man. He deserves to love someone who can love him the same, not less. But as I was telling him this, I saw him dying without ever finding that love." She began to cry silently and he felt his heart go out to her. "It seems that even I am not immune to your emotions, Delaney." He stood up and moved a little ways from her. Then he turned and spoke.
"What you saw was what he perceived his life or death to be. It is not necessarily what will happen." He stepped back to her side. "When your emotions are strong, it is impossible to be so close without being affected. But this is only so when the person is attuned to the language of the earth around them. So do not fear you will influence the love of Lancelot. I see in his eyes that he loves you. That is good. For only when you are loved completely can you affect the world around you." He looked deeply into her eyes, then he stepped backwards quickly.
"Delaney, do I see the truth? Are you with child?" He saw her nod her head slowly. "This was foretold, but it was my understanding that it would be many years before it came to be. It seems that we are in error when we calculate the time we have left before the final battle for this land." He turned around and walked away from the fire. "I must meet with my council. We have many things to discuss and many plans to make. You must return quickly to the fortress, the events have begun. You will be called upon soon to fulfill your destiny." She stood there and watched him leave the clearing. She turned and walked the way she had come and found Lancelot sitting on a log, staring intently at Vennen and he was doing the same to Lancelot.
When Lancelot saw her coming, he stood up and waited for her to come up beside him. "Did Merlin help you?" She nodded, then added, "At least I think he did. He said my vision was just something I picked up from Tristan." The confused look on Lancelot's face made her stop walking. "Lancelot, when we return to the fort, I will tell you what I saw. These woods are too eerie for me to repeat it." He nodded and they began walking again. He didn't know what she had seen, but he could see she was trembling as they walked. He moved closer and put his arm around her shoulders. Whatever it was had to do with Tristan. From what she said just before they started walking, it seemed she could read minds at times. This thought made him feel uneasy, but considering the way she was acting, at least she wasn't foretelling the future.