Krysia stretched her fingers after altering the schedule for work. Gaius was taking herbs from Merlin, who had gathered a complete list, looking exhausted.

"The search for this Druid boy is becoming a real nuisance," Gaius said. "With all the extra security around the castle, it's taking me twice as long to do my wrong. Is that everything?"

With no preamble to the outburst, Merlin said, "Morgana's hiding the Druid boy in her chambers."

Krysia actually twitched at these words and Gaius simply narrowed his eyes, look between Krysia and Merlin and back again suspiciously.

"When you say Morgana's hiding the Druid boy," he said, "I take that means that you two are helping her."

Licking her lips, Krysia felt the weight of those eyes on her and she shrugged. "It wouldn't be entirely inaccurate," she said slowly.

"You promised me that you wouldn't get involved."

"I know," Merlin said earnestly. "I'm sorry. We had no choice."

"Every guard in Camelot is searching for this boy, and you're harboring him under their very noses," Gaius hissed. "Can't you see how dangerous that is? What were you thinking of?"

"Of my brothers and sisters," Krysia said, feeling slightly sick to her stomach. "Of executions."

Gaius's face softened, but barely. He said, "You think you can save this boy? What happens if you're caught? Who's going to save you?"

"You're saying it's wrong to harbor a young magician?" Merlin said, his neck straightening, proud and determined.

"The difference, Merlin," Gaius said tired and beseeching, "is that your magic is still secret. Though it's a wonder how, considering how careless you are."

Krysia cleared her throat and said, "Gaius, it's…. The child, he's just a boy. He is sick, maybe dying. We've tried everything we know, but it does nothing. We need you."

Gaius frowned at her, perturbed.

"So, now you want me to risk my neck, too? I wish the boy no harm, but it's too dangerous."

"But if you don't, we may as well hand him over to the guards," Merlin argued, desperately, "because he'll die anyway. You didn't turn your back on us. Please don't turn your back on him."

Gaius said nothing for a long moment. He didn't have to. Krysia knew from the look in his tired eyes that he would help the Druid boy, after all.

At first opportunity they met Gaius at Morgana's quarters, where he proceeded to examine the boy. Krysia couldn't help but notice that the boy was even paler than last she saw him, and it made her body shake, uneasy.

"I will treat the boy," Gaius said to Merlin, Krysia, and Morgana, who were waiting anxiously, "but as soon as he's well, you must get him out of Camelot. And woe betide anyone caught helping him." They all breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, one thing we know for certain."

"That being?" Krysia asked, handing Gaius a damp cloth.

"Physicians you are not."

/-/

In an effort to scope out an escape for the Druid boy, Krysia went with Morgana, Gwen, and Merlin to the gates in town, watching the guards and the behavior of passersby to find a weak point.

"Halt there," a guard said, stopping a man who was pulling a cart out through the gate. The man appeared slightly perturbed but put up no fight. By this point, people were growing used to the adjustments in their lives to account for the search.

"The guards are searching everyone leaving the town," Gwen said softly, frowning.

"There is another way out," Merlin said, so quietly they had to strain to hear him. "There's a secret door in the armoury. It leads to the lower town. I'll take the boy out that way."

"We," Krysia said, frowning. He got her into this mess. He wasn't going to try to push her out now.

"No," Morgana said firmly. "It's too dangerous. I'll do it."

Krysia and Merlin exchanged horrified looks. The last thing they needed was for Morgana's head to be on a platter.

"But I-I'm good with secret doors and things," Merlin said, scrambling for some reason not to include her.

Krysia could have told him it was pointless. Once Morgana set her mind on something, there was no point in trying to argue with her.

"If you're caught," Morgana said, "Uther will execute you. The boy's my responsibility. I'll smuggle him out of the castle."

With a sigh, Krysia looked around them, making sure no one was listening in.

"The door is locked," she said softly. "If you're going to do this, you'll need the key."

Morgana raised her eyebrows and said, "Who has it?"

But they all knew the answer. Merlin's tense whisper of, "Arthur," just confirmed their fears.

That night, as they waited for Merlin to come with the key, Gwen helped Morgana dress while Krysia changed the bandages on the Druid boy's wound. She glanced up to see Morgana considering herself in the mirror, wearing Gwen's clothes. they didn't fit quite right, but they had no time to alter them, and Krysia's would have been more conspicuous.

"It'll have to do," Morgana sighed. She turned to Gwen with a frown and said, "I feel I've put you in danger, both of you, without ever stopping to ask how you feel about it. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Krysia said softly. "We know what it's like…." Her voice trailed away as she glanced up at the moonlight in through the window. She took a deep breath, correcting herself. "Serving Uther is knowing that those of us from...less than lucky birth need an awful lot of luck to actually be treated fairly. And no child should ever face execution for circumstances of birth."

A knock at the door startled all three women, and they looked to the door in fear.

"It's Merlin," the familiar voice said through the door, and Krysia could feel her breath coming easier as Gwen hurried to let him in. Morgana came to help Krysia finish binding the wound once more.

"We're going to get you out of Camelot," Morgana said gently as Krysia finished tying it off. "I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise."

"Are you ready?" Merlin asked.

Morgana hesitated before nodding.

"You have the keys?" Krysia prompted.

"Yeah," Merlin said, frowning as he held them up. "Er, the door is behind the shield at the far end of the armoury."

Gwen brushed her hands on her skirts briskly and said, "I'll pack you some food and water for the journey." She paused, frowning. "Be careful."

While Morgana was enacting her part of the plan, Krysia and Merlin followed Gwen to her house to help prepare provisions for when Morgana managed to get the boy out of the castle. While Gwen prepared the travel supplies she said nervously, "I hope they're okay. Morgana really cares about the boy. I've...never seen her this way with anyone."

"I'm sure she just wants to protect him," Merlin said, just a little bit too quickly.

"Yes," Krysia said a bit more slowly. "We all do."

Gwen, however, continued to look a little bit uncertain that this was all, but it was better if they could at least keep her from asking her questions out loud. Before anyone was able to change the subject, the warning bells began to sound and Krysia jumped. Merlin hurried to the window, looking out into the night.

"They're coming," he said.

Krysia crossed to let in Morgana and the Druid boy, and Gwen finished tying off the pack. She passed it to Morgana.

"There's enough food for three days," she said.

"Your horse is fed and watered," Merlin said. "I'll take you to it."

"No," Krysia said. "I will. No point in risking more people than we have to."

Merlin frowned, protesting, "What about you two?"

"I'm the King's ward," Morgana said defiantly. "I'll take my chances. And if we get caught, I have my sword. I can always say I forced Krysia to aid me at the point of my blade. I can't make that same argument with three of you."

"Morgana!" Gwen gasped, horrified at what could happen should they actually be caught.

Krysia shook her head and said, "Knowing Uther, if he caught us all, he would kill off servants one by one to make Morgana suffer, and if we can avoid that, we have to. Two people can get him home as well as four."

They said quick farewells and Krysia and Morgana hurried out into the night, desperately rushing for the wall out of the lower town. The two young women were of one mind: with the bell sounding, there was no time for a horse.

Before they could reach the gate, though, Krysia spotted the guards approaching.

"We need to hide," she hissed, and Morgana ushered them into a nearby building. Morgana pulled out a knife she had up her sleeve and encouraged Krysia to go first, holding the blade at Krysia's throat with a steady hand, just in case. It was a testament to their years of friendship that Krysia decided it was worth risking a scrape or two on the neck to do this.

It was better than losing her head entirely by being implicated.

"Fan out," Krysia heard Arthur's voice say and she felt her stomach twisting.

"I'm sorry," Morgana whispered to Krysia, swiping the blade carefully across Krysia's neck, not deep enough to be more than a stinging nuisance, but just deep enough to cause a lot of blood. Krysia gasped, genuinely shocked as she placed her hand over the wound, feeling the sticky, warm liquid as she turned to look at the pale eyes of her friend.

"Run," Krysia said, seeing regret in Morgana's face, regret they didn't have time for.

Morgana and the Druid boy did make a run for it as Krysia drew attention to herself, gasping in pain and making a point of falling to the floor. Bringing tears to her eyes wasn't difficult. The wound did sting fiercely.

A pair of guards approached, with Arthur, at the sound.

"Krysia?" she heard Leon's voice say, and he knelt beside her. "Let me see."

She lifted her hand from the wound to let Arthur and Leon see the blood.

"Who is it?" Arthur demanded. "Who did this to you? Which way did they go?"

"Please," Krysia whispered, playing a part she had not in a very long time, that of a frightened victim, knowing nothing. "Please, she said if I didn't help she'd kill me. I didn't know what to do."

Before Arthur could ask who again, the sound of a displaced rock echoed from the direction Morgana and the boy ran, and Arthur took off.

"Hold still," Leon said, ripping a bit of his cloak and tying it firmly but not too tight around her neck to put pressure on the wound. Then he took off one of his gloves and placed his warm hand over the blood-soaked spot. "We'll get you to Gaius as soon as possible, Krysia. Don't worry."

She gripped at his still-gloved hand with her other hand, genuinely afraid, but she couldn't tell him why.

"Halt, or I'll run you through," she heard Arthur saying, not too far away. "Show yourself."

Krysia could feel her heart pounding against her ribs and she closed her eyes, feeling tears stinging at her tear ducts.

She could not hear what Morgana said, but even as far as they were away, there was no mistaking the voice, and Leon shifted sharply beside her.

"Was that the Lady Morgana?" he asked, horrified.

"Leon," Krysia whispered, "Leon, please."

She didn't know what she was asking, and he didn't seem to, either. They both held their breath, waiting for some sound to let them know what was happening.

"Restrain them," Arthur said, but Krysia could hear his hesitation, and she wondered if there wasn't still a way to save the boy, when the dust settled.

Until that time, she had to think of her own life, and Morgana's, before she could think about what to do for the child.

/-/

Krysia stood in the council chambers shivering, wondering why they didn't take her to Gaius first. Perhaps because Leon was able to determine that the wound was superficial. Perhaps because they knew Uther would not appreciate being kept waiting on this matter for anything. Leon had torn more of his cloak to cover the wound, but it was still blood-soaked around her neck. She looked down at Uther's feet, trembling.

"How did your neck become wounded in the chase?" he demanded, his voice hard.

Her throat was tight around the words, but she forced them out, knowing that her life depended on her performance and how Uther saw fit to punish them for their crimes.

"The Lady Morgana had a knife to my throat," she said softly. "She was keeping me ahead of her, perhaps afraid that I would run for help or cry out. I...I suppose she decided that they could not escape with her knife at my throat, so she cut me to slow me down and cause a distraction, and while I was trying to stop the bleeding, she and the boy ran."

She wanted to know from his face how he took this news, but she was too afraid to look above his kneecaps. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears as she waited.

Finally, Uther said, "And if she had you healing this boy all this time, why did you not alert someone in the castle?"

Krysia closed her eyes. How far could she push her duress? Obviously she couldn't say that Morgana actually threatened her life, because even though Morgana would support such a story the consequences for both of them would no doubt be disastrous.

"She...she made me swear at knife-point," Krysia said slowly, "to keep her secrets. I didn't know…. I didn't realize…." Her throat closed completely around the words and she began to tremble violently, sobbing. The wound on her neck was still bleeding slightly, she was sure, and it throbbed and stung against the rough fabric of Leon's cloak.

"Sire," Leon said with a firm voice, "may I say something?"

"Go on, Sir Leon."

"I believe," he said, staring blankly at Krysia when she looked up at him through tear-filled eyes, "that Krysia did try to tell me in a way that did not break this vow, but I did not understand what she was saying."

She could feel the air around her thicken as she waited for Uther's verdict on what she knew to be a lie from Leon. Obviously, she had not tried to warn him that Morgana was helping the child, and had even tried to reason that perhaps searching for the child was a bad idea, but he was helping her, anyway. Just as Morgana was lying to protect her, so was Leon. She wondered if Arthur would have, if it came to that.

It did the trick, the word of a Knight and a Lady far outweighing the testimony of a serving girl, despite her being the most valued servant.

Uther turned to a young guard and said, "Fetch Gaius for her wound." He then turned to Krysia, who breathed a small sigh of relief and said, "Have a glass of wine and wait in the corner for Gaius."

Leon took the initiative to help her to a chair in the corner, as she was still trembling violently. He poured her wine and pulled a bit of her hair that was caught in the fabric away from the wound.

"It's going to be alright," he whispered in her ear gently. "You're going to be fine."

"You," Uther said harshly, turning to Morgana, who had been standing next to Arthur, waiting for her own turn to come. "All this time, you've been hiding the boy in my own palace. You forced my servant to aid you in his care and escape, and then attacked her. How could you betray me like this?"

Morgana jutted forth her chin firmly and said, "I would not see him executed."

"I've treated you like a daughter. Is this how you repay me?"

"I did what I thought was right."

Krysia gripped Leon's hand as he began to untie the cloth to wash the wound before Gaius arrived.

"You think it's right to conspire with my enemies against me?"

Leon carefully wet a cloth and began to dab it around the wound, the formerly white cloth becoming stained with a pinkish tint of blood.

"How can this child be your enemy? He's just a boy."

"He is a Druid," Uther said firmly.

"Is that such a crime?" Morgana demanded.

"His kind would see me dead and this kingdom returned to anarchy and you would help them."

"Then punish me," Morgana said, glancing back at Krysia. "But spare Krysia and spare the boy. I beg you."

Krysia held her breath, waiting to know what would become of them all now that at least some of the cards were on the table. Finally, Uther said to Arthur, "Make arrangements for the boy to be executed tomorrow morning."

She hissed slightly, and Leon froze with the cloth just touching the area next to the wound.

"Stings," she whispered, still gripping his hand.

"Apologies," he said, glancing at the king and realizing with some relief that Uther had not noticed her reaction.

This was because Morgana's reaction was causing a bit of a stir.

"No!" she cried. "Please. He's done nothing."

"Let this be a lesson to you," Uther said coldly.

"You don't have to do this."

"Do you hear me?" Uther prompted his son, who was still standing there, slightly dumbfounded. "I want him executed at dawn."

"Yes, Father," Arthur said, although his discomfort was evident.

"What have these people done to you?" Morgana demanded as Uther stood to go. "Why are you so full of hate?"

To everyone's shock, Morgana marched straight for Uther, grabbing his arm. Krysia actually gasped out loud with surprise as Uther grabbed her by the throat and pressed her against a chair back.

"Enough!" he roared, and Leon pressed Krysia's hand comfortingly as she began to tremble once more. "I will not hear another word! Do not speak to me until you are ready to apologise for what you've done."

Uther then stormed out of the chamber with Arthur following uncertainly behind. Krysia was unsure how long had passed when Gaius arrived with medicine and bandages, but Leon was the only person left waiting with her when Gaius set to work.

"Why?" she whispered to Leon, afraid someone might overhear her asking. She would never say outright that he lied for her. But he seemed to understand the question.

"We played together as children," he said, holding up her hair as Gaius tied off the bandage. "If my word could keep you from execution, I would give it at any time."