A/N: Thank you GuestM, Buckhunter, Guest, and SnidgetHex for reviewing!

Chapter 2

Lily stood in the middle of the woods, wringing her hands as dusk slowly approached.

"The Druid shrine is straight through there," Arthur said, pointing toward a thicker part of the forest. "If Morgana attacks, or Lancelot is with her, just yell, and we'll be there in seconds."

She nodded shakily.

Arthur clasped her arm gently. "Be careful. And don't touch anything in the shrine."

"I could go with you," Merlin suggested. "I'm not a knight; I wouldn't be a threat to Morgana."

Actually, with his magic, he would, but no one else here knew that. Lily shook her head.

"Morgana said come alone, so I will."

She took a steadying breath and headed off through the trees. The Druid shrine was an eerie place, especially in the dim light of the deepening gloaming. Tattered ribbons and shredded flags hung from branches in warning, and Lily could feel the groaning deep within the soil that had drunk its fill of blood.

When a figure shrouded in shadows stepped out from behind a tree, Lily nearly jumped out of her skin. A woman in black garb with long dark tresses regarded her with a simpering moue.

Lily swallowed around a dry throat. "Morgana, I presume?"

The witch's lips curved upward in one corner.

Lily drew herself up in a show of bravado she didn't feel. "Where's Lancelot?"

"He's safe, for now."

"He was wounded. He needs help—"

"I've already taken care of that," Morgana cut her off with an airy tone. She smirked. "You aren't the only one who can use magic to heal. Lancelot is in good health and will remain that way as long as you do as told."

"What exactly do you want?"

"I have need of your special talents. There is an item I require, but it's locked away in a protected forest. My own magic can't penetrate its defenses, but yours is different. It's more attuned to nature. I'm sure you'll be able to get through the obstacles. If you retrieve the item and bring it to me, I will release Lancelot."

"And what if my magic can't get through these obstacles?" Lily asked.

Morgana shrugged blithely. "Then I'm afraid Sir Lancelot will meet with a tragic end."

Lily's jaw tightened. "What is this item and where is it?"

Morgana stalked toward her, and Lily stiffened but held her ground as the sorceress handed over a rolled up parchment. "Here's a map. You'll know the item when you see it."

Lily took the parchment and unrolled it to have a look.

"I will have men watching the edge of the forest," Morgana went on. "So if you come out without the item or don't bring it straight here, your love is dead."

Lily gritted her teeth and flashed a dark look at this woman. "Anything else?" she asked tightly.

Morgana smirked again and held out a tiny, wilted flower. Lily's chest hitched as she recognized the violet from that morning, the delicate petals glistening with blood. Lancelot's blood.

"I suggest you head out at first light," the witch said, then turned on her heel and walked away.

Lily's hands clenched into fists, crinkling the map she was holding. She wanted to go after that woman, follow her back to Lancelot and rescue him.

But she probably wouldn't get far. No, if she wanted to save her husband, she'd have to do what the witch wanted and find this mysterious item.

Lily turned and headed back through the trees to where the knights and Merlin were waiting. They all converged on her as she emerged from the bushes.

"Are you all right?" Merlin asked worriedly.

No, she wasn't, but she wasn't harmed, so she nodded that she was fine. "Morgana wants me to retrieve something for her. It's in some kind of protected forest and she thinks my plant magic is the only thing that can get to it."

"What does she want?" Leon asked.

Lily shook her head. "I don't know. She said I'd know it when I saw it." She held the map out to Arthur, who unrolled it and held it up in the waning light.

"Well, whatever it is, the fact that Morgana wants it means it's not good," he commented.

"I have to go, though. If I don't, she'll kill Lancelot. And she has men who will be watching. I doubt we'd be able to find where she's keeping him without tipping them off."

Arthur nodded grimly and rolled the map back up. "It's too late to head out now. We'll have to wait for morning."

"We?" Lily repeated.

"There's no way we're letting you do this alone," Elyan put in.

"Exactly," Arthur said. "You have no idea what you'd be walking into."

Lily looked around at them all, once again touched by their devotion. It wasn't just for Lancelot, either, she could clearly see that. Arthur, Merlin, and the knights cared about both of them like family, and they were going to do everything in their power to protect that family.

Lancelot regained consciousness with a start, his arms trussed up above his head but low enough that his feet were bent against the ground. He shifted to get them under him, easing some of the weight painfully pulling on his arms. The leather cords around his wrists remained tight, digging into his skin and constricting circulation. There was a dull ache in his shoulder, and he tucked his chin down in an attempt to look at it. Dried blood stood out on the broken links of his chainmail, but the pain was nowhere near what it should have been for having taken an arrow straight through muscle and bone.

He looked up and squinted in confusion at his surroundings. He was strung up in a cave. A group of men were gathered near the entrance around a campfire that was spitting embers up into the night. Lancelot didn't really remember coming here.

Morgana stepped into his field of vision. "Welcome back, Sir Lancelot," she crooned.

He automatically stiffened, twisting his hands against their bonds to see if there was any give. There wasn't.

"What do you want?" he grunted.

"Oh, nothing from you," Morgana replied. "You're merely the leverage. Congratulations on the recent nuptials, by the way. I met your beautiful wife. She seems lovely."

Lancelot tensed further and tugged more fervently against the restraints. "Stay away from her."

"If she delivers what I need, I have no reason to harm her, or you. You both can go home."

Lancelot narrowed his eyes. He didn't believe her for a moment.

Morgana smirked at his visible doubt. "Why do you think I healed your wound?" She heaved a lamenting sigh. "I tried to simply borrow your wife's magic for myself, but that didn't work out. So this is plan B."

Lancelot straightened. Lily had lost her magic not long ago as a result of a curse. "That was you?" he seethed. "You nearly killed her!"

Morgana, of course, shrugged unapologetically. Her lips curved upward as she turned away from him. "Just hang tight," she simpered. "And let's hope your wife is as competent as we all think she is."

Lancelot gave his bonds one last yank before he sagged in defeat. Whatever Morgana wanted, it couldn't be good for any of them.

Lily didn't sleep at all that night, her arm draped over the cold, empty space left by her husband's absence. It was the first night since their wedding he hadn't been by her side in their bed. She yearned for the touch of his arms around her, the warmth of his embrace. She didn't imagine he was being held anywhere nice, and her heart clenched with worry.

At the first hints of dawn, she rose from bed and quickly dressed, then went down to the courtyard to wait for the knights. Leon and Merlin were already bringing out the horses, and not much later, the others arrived with saddlebags packed full of supplies. They wanted to be prepared for anything, it seemed.

The sun hadn't even crested the horizon when Arthur and Gwen came out. Everyone was eager to set off as soon as possible. Gwen wished them luck and watched them leave as they rode out of the citadel and headed for the woods. Arthur had the map in hand and led the way. The forest marked on it was only a few hours' ride, but there was no telling what they would find inside. Morgana had said it was protected but not by what.

Gwaine nudged his horse up next to Lily's. "Hey, we'll get Lancelot back," he said.

She offered a weak smile in appreciation at the attempted encouragement. She knew all the knights felt guilty for having left Lancelot in Morgana's hands, but she understood they had been in an impossible situation, and getting themselves killed or gravely wounded wouldn't have helped anything.

They finally reached the spot on the map that marked the entrance to the forest. A forest that didn't look different from any other. Lily cast her gaze around, wondering if Morgana's men were already watching. She couldn't see anyone, not that it would change things if she did. They ventured into the woods, their pace markedly slowed by the denser foliage. Eventually it became so thick that they couldn't feasibly continue with the horses.

"We'll have to go the rest of the way on foot," Arthur declared.

So with that, they dismounted and left the horses tethered to some bushes. Merlin and Leon went to confer with Arthur as he studied the map.

"I don't understand why Morgana needed Lily specifically for this," Elyan commented.

"Supposedly the item she wants is protected by some kind of magic related to nature," Lily replied. "I'm really just as much at a loss."

"All the more reason to be on guard," Arthur said as he rolled up the map. "This way."

They set off again, traipsing through the foliage in search of no one knew what. The forest grew dark, the tightly woven canopy of branches and leaves blocking out all direct sunlight. Arthur plowed the way through thick brambles, scraggly twigs snagging at their clothes and skin.

Percival suddenly let out a yelp, and everyone stopped in their tracks to spin around, the knights going for their swords.

Percival was scanning the ground covered in underbrush. "Something slithered over my foot," he said sheepishly.

Arthur and Elyan relaxed, while Leon and Merlin continued to look on guard. Lily wasn't afraid of snakes, but startling a venomous one while tripping over it could be deadly.

"Let's keep going," Arthur said and turned forward again. Only, there was suddenly a looping vine hanging directly in front of him that hadn't been there a moment before, and Arthur walked straight into it.

He stumbled as he pitched over the fleshy shoot and tried to right himself, but the vine abruptly pulled upward, tightening its loop around his waist. Arthur yelped as he was yanked off his feet to dangle above the ground, and more vines came dropping down from the treetops to capture his flailing arms.

A chorus of startled shouts went up, and Lily whirled as yet more thick ivy came crawling up from the ground to coil about everyone's legs. Gwaine tried to escape and tripped, and a mass of vines instantly swarmed over him, pinning him to the ground. His eyes blew wide as they smothered his face and mouth.

"Gwaine!" Merlin shouted, but he was quickly being mummified himself in a shroud of green.

Ivy curled up around Lily's leg, making her jolt, and she whipped her gaze around for who could be manipulating the plants. But she couldn't see anyone…

Percival's cry was cut off as a vine wrapped around his throat and tightened. All the knights were swiftly restrained and the ivy started choking them. Lily was rooted to the spot in horror as the plants crawled up her legs and coiled about her waist.

Merlin made a muffled noise against the vine gagging his mouth, his eyes wide and frantic as he looked at Lily.

She took a breath and forced herself to go still. The vines were only slowly moving up her arms because she wasn't fighting back. Closing her eyes, she reached out with her magic to connect with the pulse of life in the shoots. They weren't being manipulated by anyone; they were alive, almost sentient. Touching them was unlike touching any other plant Lily had encountered, but while it was different, it was not entirely foreign. They were still, after all, an extension of nature.

She delved into their hive mind, found the chord directing their defensive actions. And she twanged a different one. They stopped their advancement, almost as though questioning her intrusion. She calmly and gently directed them to retreat, and after a moment she felt the vines around her begin to uncoil. They slithered down and back into the brush.

Lily turned and sent the rest away as well, freeing her friends. They staggered to regain their balance, many of them rubbing at their throats. Gwaine scrambled up off the ground.

"Well," he said hoarsely. "Now we know why Morgana needed Lily's magic."

"Thanks," Leon told her.

She gave a shaky nod. She hadn't expected that. And if that was only the first defense in this "protected forest," then she dreaded to think what still lay ahead.