Krysia had quite decided: she was going to kill Gwaine. She, Gwen, and Merlin stood in the tavern, Gwaine sitting near them, and the innkeeper glowering at them all as they read the bill.

"You drank all this?" Merlin said.

"With some help from my new friends," Gwaine said.

There was a great cheer in the tavern.

"He says that he hasn't got any money," the innkeeper said to Merlin, "so it looks like you'll have to pay."

The innkeeper grabbed Merlin, picking him up, and Krysia and Gwen exchanged a nervous look.

"I can't afford this," Merlin said.

"Better find someone who can."

Gwaine began to laugh, and he fell to the floor. He held his hand up for Krysia to help him up, but she stepped over him, so frustrated she didn't even trust herself to speak.

/-/

Gwaine leaned on Merlin all the way back to the physician's chambers, which was for the best, because the castle seemed to be laid at an angle. Merlin guided Gwaine into the room he'd been, using, where Krysia was already standing in a nightdress, crossing her arms over her chest.

Gods, she looked beautiful when she was angry.

"You should have left him in the tavern," she said.

Gwaine laughed as he slumped onto the bed. He took Merlin's hand and said, "You're the best friend I've ever had."

"You seem to have quite a few," Merlin said.

They both laughed, although Krysia didn't seem to think it was funny.

"I'd love to see Arthur's face when he gets that bill," Gwaine said.

"Ah, so that's what this was all about," Krysia said, narrowing her eyes. "I should have known you'd do something like this."

Merlin looked confused, and Gwaine sighed, shook his head, and said, "It's nothing. It's… My father was a knight in Caerleon's army. He died in a battle, leaving my mother penniless. When she went to the king for help, he turned her away."

"You didn't know him?" Merlin said.

"Just some stories I've been told."

Krysia sat on the bed next to the one Gwaine was in, and he fought to urge to reach out for her. He had a feeling that she wasn't in the mood to kiss him.

"We both know that feeling," she whispered.

He frowned, knowing a little of her story, but he turned to Merlin, who nodded.

"I met my father just briefly before he died," Merlin said.

"Why?" Gwaine said.

"He was banished."

Krysia looked uncomfortable, and Gwaine was surprised when she kissed the side of his head and told them goodnight before leaving, closing the door behind her. Gwaine watched her leave, in awe of her for a moment before he turned back to Merlin.

"What had he done?" he said.

"Nothing… He served the king," Merlin said.

"But the king turned against him," Gwaine said, shaking his head. "Just like Krysia's father was Uther's knight and he still burned their whole family."

Merlin looked surprised and said, "How did you—"

"She comes to Willowdale sometimes," Gwaine said, staring at the door. "This may sound mad but…I'd had dreams about her before I ever met her, years of dreams. When she walked into that tavern, it was like everything in my life fell into place. Waking up here with her watching me, that was…. It was the most beautiful disorientation I've ever known." He laughed and forced a smile. "Here she is, serving the king who slaughtered her family, who would slaughter her without a thought."

Merlin said softly, "Arthur's not like that."

Gwaine's smile faded as he thought of the way Arthur had stood up for Mary, a woman he'd never met in a tavern he'd never seen the inside of before.

"Maybe," he said, "but none of them are worth dying for, huh!"

He laughed, and he hit his head on the stone of the wall, but all he could do was keep on laughing. What a strange turn his life had taken.

/-/

Krysia was watching the moon from the bench when Merlin slipped out of their room. She wanted to ask how Gwaine was, but she was too mad at him at the moment. Merlin sat beside her and whispered, "Your dreams, were they about Gwaine?"

She startled, then nodded slowly.

"So you knew he was your destiny the moment you met him," Merlin said. "That must have been a strange feeling."

"It still is," she said. "It's like…everything between us is on such a fast pace. It's terrifying."

"Why?"

"Because fires that burn so bright burn out."

Merlin didn't speak for a long moment, then he whispered, "What are we going to tell Arthur?"

"We?"

"It's…" He laughed nervously. "You are going to help, right?"

"Oh, don't you worry," she said sternly. "I have a few ideas."

/-/

Krysia had just reached Arthur's quarters when she heard voices, and Arthur didn't sound happy.

"Four dozen pickled eggs!"

"That was Gwaine," Merlin said as she opened the door. "He went to the tavern and…he couldn't pay for it."

"So you said I would?" Arthur said.

"In fairness," Krysia said, "if he hadn't, the innkeeper probably would have murdered them both."

"I fail to see the downside," Arthur said.

"You said he should be given anything he needs," Merlin said nervously. Krysia tried not to laugh.

"FOUR DOZEN PICKLED EGGS!" Arthur said.

Krysia held her hand up and said, "Sire, I think I may have a solution here where everyone can win. I've just been speaking with a few of the knights, and they've given me a wonderful idea."

Arthur smirked and said, "I'm listening."

/-/

Leon paused on his way back from the armory seeing Krysia standing outside the throne hall with Gwaine, the man Arthur had brought back from Willowdale. They were deep in conversation, just as they had been when he'd seen them in the town and watched the man kiss her hand. They were leaning toward each other, and Leon felt that he couldn't breathe.

He was trying to find the strength to look away when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and Geraint began steering him away.

"Staring isn't polite," Geraint said pointedly. "If you want to talk to the woman, just talk to her."

"I do talk to her," Leon said.

"That is not what I mean."

Leon glanced over his shoulder to see Gwaine taking Krysia's hand and kissing it again, and she looked so…pleased.

"Arthur says he's a good man," Leon whispered.

"Hmm? Oh, him." Geraint led Leon up the stairs a bit faster. "Yes, so he says. But let's remember, so are you. A woman's head might be turned by a pretty face, but you've got much more in your favor."

"What?"

"Well, what woman is going to marry a commoner when she could have a knight? And that's just for one," Geraint said. "She's known you for as long as she's had memories. You have a whole childhood together, a rapport that he could never compete with—"

"I don't want to compete," Leon whispered. "She's never looked at me like that."

Geraint went silent, which was perhaps more unnerving than the way Krysia had looked at Gwaine.

/-/

In the throne hall, Gwaine scrubbed a boot vigorously, and his back had begun to ache. He rubbed, scrubbed, and thought about taking a knife and slicing the boots in half. It didn't help him feel any better.

"Arthur's a thoroughbred little braggart," Gwaine said bitterly.

Merlin, polishing with a little less fury beside him, didn't look up from his work.

"Why?"

"Making us do this."

"It was Krysia's idea."

"Yes, but he's the one making us do it."

"I think it's fair," Merlin said.

"For the entire army!" Gwaine said, gesturing to the line of dozens of boots still to go.

Merlin looked up at the line, and he was clearly amused at Gwaine's frustration, although he couldn't possibly understand it. Gwaine should be kissing Krysia somewhere private in the castle by now, enjoying every minute of her beautiful, radiant presence, not scrubbing boots while she was off serving some king. This was not what the dreams were like at all.

"If you admitted your father was a knight, you wouldn't have to," Merlin said.

"Maybe, but I'm not making the same mistakes he did," Gwaine said. "Anyway, my father always treated his servants well."

"You didn't know him," Merlin said, laughing.

"Well, I like to think that he did. What about yours?"

They both continued to brush as they talked, which did help the time pass a bit faster.

"No," Merlin said, frowning at the boot in his lap. "He didn't have any servants. He didn't have anyone."

The sound of Merlin's distant thoughtfulness was very familiar to Gwaine. It was the way his siblings had spoken of his father, the way his brothers had taken to speaking about his mother before Gwaine couldn't take it anymore and left.

"When did he die?" Gwaine said.

"About a year ago," Merlin said. "I just wish I had the chance to know him better. There's so much he could've taught me."

"But you did get to meet him," Gwaine said as an offering.

"Yeah," Merlin said, blinking rapidly.

"And as a man, which counts for something. Krysia told me once that she has hardly any memories left of her father."

Merlin hissed slightly, holding his finger to his lips to remind Gwaine that they weren't really in private, and that Krysia wasn't supposed to remember anything about her family. Gwaine nodded.

"If there's one thing that I learned from my father's life," he said, "it's that titles don't mean anything. It's what's inside that counts."

He lightly rapped Merlin's knee with the brush, but apparently it wasn't as light as he intended, because Merlin yelped in pained surprise.

/-/

There was a knock at Leon's door, and he told the knocker to enter, pulling on a shirt and glad a moment later that he'd taken that action, because Krysia was there with a stack of pillows he wasn't expecting.

"I didn't ask—"

"I'm aware," she said, smiling. "How are you doing?"

They stared at each other for a long moment before he felt the strength to speak.

"Bors wouldn't have wanted me to dwell on his loss every melee for the rest of time," he said, forcing a smile. "How are you, my lady?"

She looked radiant, perhaps more radiant than he could ever recall her. The simple presence of this Gwaine was enough to bring her such happiness, something Leon could only have dreamed of for her. This was exactly what he wanted for her, so why did it hurt so much?

She set the pillows on the bed and patted the top one absently before she said, "You know I hate the melee."

"Still," he said. "You seem well."

The way the glow of the sunset hit her hair was beautiful, and Leon just stared, both wanting to wish her all the happiness in the world and wanting to confess how he'd felt for so long. But it wasn't fair to her, so he said nothing, staring and admiring and hurting in ways he never imagined.

"It's only a few more days," she said, forcing a smile. "I suppose I've been so busy with all the preparations that I haven't had time to feel the loss this time around."

"Yes," he said through the tightness in his throat that threatened to hold on to all his words. "That must be it."

"I just wanted you to know that if you need anything," she said, "you can always ask me."

Leon forced a smile and said, "Only when you promise to ask me if you need something."

She shook her head, amused, and said, "And here we are, at the same old impasse. You know that it's not your job to cater to me, Leon."

"No," he said, "but it is my pleasure."

She looked puzzled for a moment, then said that she needed to do a few more things before she retired for the night, and began placing the new pillows. He stopped her by touching her arm gently.

"It's fine," he whispered. "I'll take care of it. Thank you for checking in, my lady. Sleep well."

She nodded and said, "Sweet dreams."

As the door closed behind her, he thought bitterly about the lack of dreams of her, and he wished he had the courage to stop taking Gaius's remedy, even just for one night.

/-/

Krysia entered Gaius's chamber to find Gaius bandaging Merlin's finger while he told a story, and Gwaine listened, frowning.

"To the eye the sword appeared blunt, but when I touched it…"

Krysia closed the door behind her, nervous about whatever had happened.

"You were lucky," Gwaine said. "I've seen those blades in action. They are forged using sorcery."

Krysia felt dizzy at the suggestion, and at what it all might mean.

"But what would they want with such a blade?" Gaius said.

She came in, clutching her elbows, trying not to remember the bloodied body of Sir Bors.

"They want to kill someone," she said. "That's clear enough. And with the use of sorcery, the target could only be Arthur. Why go through so much trouble to kill anyone else?"

Gaius shook his head and said, "But in front of all those people?"

"It's the perfect cover," Gwaine said. "If they succeed, nobody will suspect it was intentional."

"I need to warn Arthur," Merlin said.

Krysia held up her hand and said, "No, don't forget the knight's code. If you're accusing someone from that stature, you need proof or you won't get anywhere. Don't forget what happened with Sir Valiant."

Merlin hesitated and said, "Then we need that blade—"

"I'll get it," Gwaine said. Krysia felt her throat tighten.

Something was wrong. Something terrible was going to happen. And because she wasn't sure what it was, she knew she couldn't stop it.

"What if they catch you?" Merlin said. "What reason would you have to be in Sir Oswald's chambers? No, it's safer if I do it."

/-/

Gwaine watched Krysia eat while they waited for Merlin to go fetch the sword. Her hair kept falling as she leaned forward to eat her stew, and finally he reached out to hold it back to keep the lock from falling into the soup.

"Here," he said, sitting behind her and carefully gathering the strands together.

He removed the ribbon and carefully plaited her hair into one simple plait, not as pretty as how she'd been wearing it, but strong enough stay out of her way. She touched it and turned to look at him, smiling a little.

"Where did you learn that?" she said.

"I have a sister," he said, touching her hair, tracing his finger along it to her neck, feeling the warmth of the skin there and wishing they were alone so he could kiss her. "She taught me when our mother was too unwell to do it herself in the last days, to keep it out of the way while she slept."

Krysia looked like she wanted to say something, but instead she took his hand and squeezed it, her stew forgotten as they stared at each other. Gods, he wanted to kiss her, and he could feel himself leaning in despite knowing how inappropriate it would be.

Gaius coughed from his workbench, and they both startled, sitting back from each other, and Gwaine snuck a look at the old physician, who was raising an amused eyebrow at them.

/-/

Krysia had finished her stew, and still, no sign of Merlin with the sword. Gwaine had taken to pacing, and Gaius and Krysia sat across from each other. She tried not to feel her nervousness, but she couldn't help herself.

"Merlin should be back by now," Gwaine said.

"I know," Gaius answered.

"I'm going to see what's going on," Gwaine said.

"No, please," Krysia said, but Gwaine was already leaving the room.

She turned to Gaius, whose face reflected back the nervousness she felt.

"Don't you go after them," he said. "Even if you could help, do you want to risk doing magic in front of Gwaine?"

She hesitated, looking at the door, feeling a bit sick. Everything about this situation was wrong, but she didn't know what to do.

"He's the one, isn't he?" Gaius whispered. "He's the one in your destiny."

"Yes," she said. "And you know as I do that destiny and fate aren't the same, Gaius. I can't let anything happen to him."

"Krysia, be reasonable," Gaius whispered. "What good would it do for you to both die tonight?"

But she couldn't shake the feeling that she should do something, so she hurried out into the night after them.

/-/

On his night patrol, Leon was going through the familiar dark corridors, feeling the exhaustion of his very long, very emotional day. The last thing he wanted was to have an eventful night watch, and yet…

The sound of disturbance was unmistakable, and he opened the door to the guest chambers, startled to see a clear brawl in the room of Sir Oswald, with Merlin there, the stranger Gwaine there, and Krysia standing there, shaking.

"What's going on?" he said.

Gwaine, the stranger, turned to him, and before he could speak, Sir Oswald knocked him down.

"This man attacked me," Oswald said. "I demand and audience with the king."

"Leon, please," Krysia said, still shaking. "Please don't."

Leon hesitated, looking at her, then at Oswald, then looking at the prone form of the man who so clearly had made Krysia happy. He knew what she was asking of him, and he wanted to help her, but if he didn't bring them before the king…

"I'm so sorry, Krysia," he said. "I haven't got a choice."

He pulled Gwaine to his feet, holding the weight of the man against his shoulder. He turned back to Krysia, trying to ignore the clear signs of unshed tears as he said, "Rouse the king."

A/N:

Y'all know what this means…. YES, I've squeezed three chapters out of this episode. You're welcome.

Like-a-Slasher-Film reminded me in the most recent set of reviews just how long I've been working on this story: 8 years. Eight of the hardest years of my life, but also some of the best. In that time, I've graduated college and got two master's degrees (including my MFA), I've written novels (still unpublished), I've grown so much as a person and a writer, and I bought my first ever car. I know myself better than I ever had before, and I've also experienced stress and trauma I couldn't have previously imagined. This story has been a source of joy for me in all that wildness, and I'm glad that it's been that for y'all as well.

To Like-a-Slasher-Film:

Don't worry, I'll give you more reasons to pout, I'm quite sure!

-C