Krysia stood at the door to Merlin's cell, adjusting her gloves, Gaius standing beside her.

"He was well-behaved, Leon?" she asked. "Didn't cause the guards any trouble?"

"Not that I've heard," Leon sighed, giving Krysia an apologetic smile. "Apparently he was quite a good prisoner. I'm... I'm sorry about yesterday. There's really nothing-"

"I know," Krysia sighed. "There was nothing any of us could have done without ending up in here with him. I didn't expect any differently of you. Well, go on then. Let's get him out."

Gaius nodded to Leon, who used his key to open Merlin's cell door.

"Merlin!" Krysia said sharply, startling Merlin from where he was apparently staring at the floor.

Gaius strode in.

"You never cease to amaze me," Gaius said, shaking his head. "The one thing that someone like you should do is keep your head down, and what do you do?"

"You act like a prize idiot," Krysia said, putting her gloved hand on the door frame and leaning slightly, frowning down at him.

"I'm sorry," Merlin said, looking well and truly like a kicked puppy.

"You're lucky," Gaius said sternly. "Krysia's managed to pull a few strings in high places and get you released."

"Oh, thank you!" Merlin insisted. "Thank you!"

Krysia raised her eyebrows, amused, and Gaius gave Merlin a disapproving look.

"I won't forget this," Merlin said, slightly abashed.

Gaius and Krysia exchanged a look and she smiled a little, her most dangerous smile, and Merlin's excited expression faltered a bit.

"There's... a bit of a deal that's been made," she said, tilting her head slightly. "A bit of a penance, if you will, but it's quicker than the jail time..."

Merlin paled.

/-/

Krysia stood off to the side with Gaius and Leon as children pelted Merlin with rotten fruit from his uncomfortable position in the stocks. Gaius was laughing, and the children were certainly having fun.

"You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" Leon asked, watching the grin on Krysia's face. "What did this boy do that you enjoy watching him suffer?"

"I thought you knew me by now, Leon," Krysia said with a laugh as a tomato hit Merlin square in the face. "I just enjoy suffering."

"And the execution?" he said softly.

Krysia's face dulled and she looked up at him, frowning slightly.

"That's different, and you know it," she muttered. "Nobody here is getting hurt. Merlin will be fine-"

"I know," Leon assured her. "Look the children are out of fruit. Why don't you tend to your friend. I'll take care of finding someone to explain the release who's not me. I've given you one too many favors."

"I've already talked to Uther," Krysia said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Don't worry about it."

Leon nodded, and headed off to take care of his work for the day. The children were already scurrying away and Krysia noticed Gwen approaching Merlin, who was still in the stocks.

"I'm Guinevere," she was saying, "but most people call me Gwen. I'm the Lady Morgana's maid."

"Right, I'm Merlin," he replied, stretching out his hand further to shake Gwen's. Krysia giggled. "Although, most people just call me Idiot."

"No, no, no," Gwen insisted. "I saw what you did. It was so brave."

"It was stupid," Krysia insisted, stepping forward. "It was asking for banishment, at best. You're lucky Arthur was feeling a bit merciful that morning. Hello, Gwen."

Gwen nodded in deference to Krysia.

"Well, I'm glad you walked away," Gwen assented. "You weren't going to beat him."

Merlin snorted.

"Oh, I... I can beat him."

Krysia rolled her eyes.

"You think?" Gwen asked skeptically. "Because you don't look like one of those big, muscle-y kind of fellows."

"Thanks," Merlin replied dryly.

"No!" Gwen said quickly. "No, I'm sure you're stronger than you look. It's just, erm... Arthur's one of those real rough, tough, save the world kind of men... and..."

"What?" he said.

"You look about as rough and tough as the string off a bean," Krysia said with a small smirk.

Merlin gestured for the girls to move closer, which they did, leaning in.

"I'm in disguise," he said in a sort of loud whisper. Gwen raised her eyebrows, and then the girls laughed together.

"Well, it's great you stood up to him," Gwen said, still smiling.

"What? You think so?" Merlin asked, brightening.

"Arthur's a bully," Gwen explained, "and everyone thought you were a real hero."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Sure, everyone," Krysia said sarcastically. "Morris. The target board. Maybe a few blades of grass."

The girls giggled again, but Merlin still seemed heartened. Children had begun to rush forward again with more rotten fruit.

"Oh, excuse me, ladies," Merlin said, much more cheery. "My fans are waiting."

The two girls moved away from the stocks to avoid getting rotten fruit on their work clothes and watched for a bit.

/-/

Krysia watched Merlin sit down to eat, still not feeling particularly pleased with Merlin, but he'd served his time, and Gwen was right: someone needed to remind Arthur that he was only human sometimes. Better Merlin than Krysia.

"Do you want some vegetables with that?" Gaius asked, and Krysia only barely stopped herself from giggling, biting down on her hand to control her smile. Merlin scoffed.

"I know you're still angry with me," Merlin began.

"Your mother asked me to look after you," Gaius said.

Merlin looked down at his plate.

"Yes," he said.

"What did your mother say to you about your gifts?" Gaius asked more gently. Krysia continued on with her dinner, watching the exchange.

"That I was special," Merlin said with a shrug.

Krysia looked down on her plate.

Those had been her mother's last words to her.

Take care, my special girl. Stay safe.

Suddenly the food tasted like sawdust and Krysia was choking back tears.

"You are special," Gaius assured Merlin. "The likes of which I have never seen before."

Krysia poked at her plate. She'd been the special one once. She wasn't jealous exactly, she just couldn't see what her place would be now that Merlin was here. Once he got his bearings...

Well, judging by his start, that was a long ways away.

"What do you mean?" Merlin asked, frowning.

"Well, magic requires incantations, spells," Gaius explained. "It takes years to study. What I watched you do was... elemental, instinctive. Krysia is very powerful and it took her about three years intensive study to accomplish the level of magic you did without even thinking."

"What's the point if it can't be used?" Merlin asked, and Krysia knew how he felt. It was what she'd asked herself for years, nearly her whole life.

"That I do not know," Gaius admitted. "You are a question that has never been posed before, Merlin."

"Did you ever study magic?" Merlin asked.

"Uther banned all such work twenty years ago," Gaius responded, very deftly not answering the question at hand. Krysia smiled a little to herself, trying to decide whether or not her appetite was back.

"Why?"

"People used magic for the wrong end at that time," Gaius explained. "It threw the natural order into chaos. Uther made it his mission to destroy everything from back then, even the dragons."

"What?" Merlin asked, credulous. "All of them?"

"Oh, there's one he kept for some reason that probably doesn't even make sense," Krysia said with a shrug. "King of the dragons, probably some pride issue. But it's in a cave under the castle where nobody can free it."

"When you two finish eating," Gaius said, changing the subject swiftly, "I need you to take this to Lady Helen. It's a preparation. She needs it for her voice."

"Can't I go myself?" Krysia whined. "She rather likes me, and I'd like to keep it that way."

But at Gaius's stern look, Krysia caved, simply watching Merlin finish his food so that they could get underway.

As soon as he finished his meal, Krysia snatched up the preparation, leading him to the chambers they'd put Lady Helen in.

"You're still mad at me, aren't you?" Merlin asked as they walked.

"Not mad, exactly," Krysia sighed. "But you haven't made my life any easier, Merlin."

"I'm sorry about that," he said earnestly, and she decided she would have to forgive him soon. He seemed very sorry, and that was something. "You're friends with the knights?"

"Just Leon," she said with a shrug. "We grew up together."

"You seemed friendly with Arthur, too," he pointed out.

"Ah, yes, we grew up together, too," she said with a small smile. "Uther had limited jobs for children of my age when I was found and... well, Gaius pointed out that for someone who wasn't exactly a high lady I was especially well-bred and they agreed that the best place for me until I could be a proper servant was as a companion to Prince Arthur and Lady Morgana. It's given me everything, having friends who have that much control. I've been serving the royal family intimately since I was twelve years old. I was the youngest maid to directly serve a king in the history of Camelot."

Despite the secret irony of it all, Krysia was very proud of how much she had accomplished for herself with the odds stacked against her. If Uther knew, if anyone ever found out who she was and that she remembered everything, she'd be burned or drowned for certain.

But only Gaius knew. And Gaius would never say a word.

Lady Helen was not there when Krysia knocked and entered, leading Merlin in, so she set the bottle down on the vanity. It was then that she and Merlin both noticed and effigy, poppet sort of doll on the vanity, and a book that Krysia knew at once boded for something very unusual to be seen in a singer's room. It was, most probably, a book of spells, although she couldn't be sure without actually opening it. Merlin had made to pick it up when Krysia heard Lady Helen coming and touched his wrist. He put it back quickly, and then turned to face the door.

"What are you doing in here?" Lady Helen asked sharply.

"Delivering, m'lady," Krysia said in her most subservient voice. "Our court physician is one of my employers, and we were charged to bring you this." She picked up the bottle from the vanity and handed it to Lady Helen.

Merlin and Krysia then left the room, and Krysia quickly pushed the book out of her mind.

Lady Helen was an old friend of the king. It was probably nothing.

/-/

"This is the lower town," Krysia explained to Merlin as they walked along. "We don't do too much work here, but it's better you know everywhere..."

She faltered as they passed Arthur and the knights. She curtsied slightly, then continued walking, hoping nothing bad would happen.

But she knew Arthur too well to truly believe that.

"How's your knee-walking coming along?" Arthur asked, goading.

Krysia rolled her eyes, but Merlin kept following her.

"Aw, don't run away," Arthur teased.

Merlin stopped, and Krysia did as well, turning to try to tell Merlin to just keep walking, but he said, "From you?"

She had already begun thinking over who she might sweet-talk this time to get him out of jail. Surely the rotten fruit gig wouldn't work twice. Perhaps Morgana...

Arthur gave a dramatic sigh.

"Thank god. I thought you were deaf as well as dumb."

"Look, I've told you you're an ass," Merlin said confidently, turning to face Arthur. "I just didn't realize you were a royal one. Oh, what are you going to do? Get your daddy's men to protect you?"

Krysia took a step forward, but decided not to get between them. This wasn't going to be pretty.

Arthur laughed and said, "I could take you apart with one blow."

"I could take you apart with less than that," Merlin replied, and Krysia would have smacked her face if she hadn't been trying to appear more or less unflustered. What part of laying low did Merlin not understand?

"Are you sure?" Arthur asked.

Give him a chance to back away, Krysia thought, but she knew Merlin would not back away. He was too stupid to notice he was being given an out. All her hard work and he would just throw it away.

The knights began to goad, looking for a fight, wanting to see Arthur tear this insolent newcomer to shreds. Krysia frowned. As a child, she could have said something to stop such bullying, but she was no longer Arthur's companion. She was the head of his servants. Even in a position of relative power, she had none in this sphere anymore.

Merlin took off his jacket, handing it to Krysia, and Arthur laughed. Perhaps it was at the bold gesture by Merlin, perhaps at the horrified look on Krysia's face.

One of the knights handed Arthur a mace, which Arthur then tossed at Merlin. Merlin, of course, failed to catch it, but by the time he did pick it up Arthur was already swinging his own mace with obvious prowess.

Except Krysia actually did snort slightly because a mace was not a weapon of finesse and skill. If Arthur had really wanted to destroy Merlin and show him up easily, he would have picked a sword and been done with it. Instead, he'd picked a weapon that a foolhardy man could at least challenge him on, even though Merlin was probably too weak to be that man.

"Come on, then," Arthur said with a grin. "I warn you, I've been trained to kill since birth."

"So have I," Krysia teased. "You don't see me swinging a mace like a toy."

Merlin seemed momentarily surprised, perhaps at her declaration, perhaps at the sound of her voice. But he recovered quickly.

Part of keeping Morgana and Arthur company was training in swordplay and weaponry with them. She got very good with a sword, although Morgana had always been able to better her. She'd even beat Arthur a few times growing up, until she stopped practicing and Arthur led knights, where he practiced every day.

"Wow, and how long have you been training to be a prat?" Merlin asked, trying to get the hang of his mace.

Arthur snorted.

"You can't address me like that."

Merlin faked deference and replied, "I'm sorry. H-how long have you been training to be a prat, My Lord?"

Krysia did giggle a bit at that, but she covered it quickly. She'd rather not lose her job.

Merlin gave a small bow and Arthur looked mildly amused, probably at the bow, and began swinging at Merlin in full force.

"Come on then, Merlin!" Arthur said as he swung. "Come on!"

Arthur backed Merlin into the market stalls and a crowd began to gather. Krysia looked up to see Gaius looking out of his windows to see what the commotion was about. Merlin fell down. Krysia turned away from Gaius, not wanting to see the disapproval on his face. She fought the urge to toss away Merlin's jacket.

"You're in trouble now!" Arthur teased.

Merlin used what Krysia was sure was magic to use two large hooks to tangle up Arthur's mace. By the time Arthur got it untangled, Merlin had moved a box. Arthur stepped into the box and scraped up his shin. Arthur cried out in pain. Going after Merlin again, he missed Merlin tightening a rope on the ground, again, probably with magic, and Arthur tripped. Merlin picked up the mace while Arthur was stunned.

"Do you want to give up?" Merlin asked.

"To you?" Arthur said, incredulous.

"Do you?" Merlin pressed. "Do you want to give up?"

Arthur takes a step back, catches his foot in a bucket, and then falls backward onto the ground. Merlin, the idiot, thinking he'd won, turned to bask in his victory and saw Gaius watching from the window. What he didn't see was Arthur swinging a broom at him from behind, knocking him to the ground. Guards moved to pick up Merlin and Krysia made a noise of protest.

"Wait," Arthur said, looking over at her. "Let him go. He may be an idiot, but he's a brave one. There's something about you, Merlin. I can't quite put my finger on it."

Krysia thanked Arthur softly as she moved to help Merlin to his feet.

"I'm going to kill you," she muttered. "Honestly, I can't believe I'm finding myself in these messes all the time. I used to be respected. You'd better hope, for your sake, that that continues in spite of your stupidity."

Merlin looked up at her, dumbfounded, and Krysia tossed his jacket at him, marching across the square, curtsying to Leon as she went by. He bowed, despite his friends teasing and she had a horrible feeling that her more or less forced friendship with Merlin was going to cause difficulty not only for herself, but for Leon as well. He didn't have Arthur's presence, and would be far easier to tease.

She knew that Merlin was following her across the square, but she ignored him. She would not reward his poor behavior. He kept up, though, and she looked at the window again and Gaius was gone.

Krysia had a sinking feeling that she was going to have an entirely too interesting life now that Merlin was in it.

"I'm sorry," he said once they were out of earshot of the knights. "I'm sorry you keep getting mixed up in-

"Wrong apology," she spat.

"I'm... sorry?" he said, confused. "What exactly is the right apology?"

"You would apologize for being an idiot," she sighed, stopping. "You'd apologize for pulling me into it. And then you'd grovel and assure me that you'd learned the meaning of laying low and you'll never show your face in sunlight again."

"Erm, isn't that a bit harsh?" he asked hopefully.

"No," Krysia snapped, turning and walking away again.

Of course it was harsh. That was why it made her feel so much better to say.