Thalia nodded. 'Understood, sire.'

'If you… um…'

'If I don't come back?'

'Yes, that. If you don't then I'll make sure you are remembered.'

'Thank you sire.'

Uther smiled. 'Now go save my kingdom.'

Thalia smiled with determination. 'Yes, sire!' She walked but was stopped by a final call from Uther.

Arthur walked round the corner and into the council chambers. He saw Thalia in there and kept walking.

'Thalia, good luck.'

Thalia nodded at Uther and span round and began to sprint, only to crash into a fully armoured Arthur.

'Whoa!'

'Ow!'

Thalia held her arm and stepped back.

'You okay?' Arthur noticed her urgent eyes.
'Er…' she was winded and took deep breaths, pointing back lazily to the king for a second. 'Uther… explain, incredibly dangerous sorcerer, edge of Camelot, me… go fix…' she recovered her breath, rolling her wrist as the words came out. 'No time complete sentences…' she then shoved him out of the way and ran out.

Arthur turned, watching her in a daze. 'What... the… hell?' He turned to his father.

Uther waited for what she had said to sink in.

'WHAT?!' Arthur ran after her. By the time he got out into the square she was on her horse.

'THALIA!' She was going after a sorcerer. A dangerous one. And if Thalia admitted it was dangerous that meant barely anyone would survive.

But she didn't hear his shout and thundered away through the square and out of Camelot.

For the next two days Arthur looked to the gates of Camelot every ten minutes but when the jousting tournament was upon them Sir Leon was faced with a tetchy Arthur.

Thalia was the only one who never held back when facing him and without her gone if he couldn't practice properly because he was receiving special treatment then he'd go undercover and win by himself.

*obviously Arthur didn't kiss Gwen at the end of his stay at her house.*

The last morning of the tournament Arthur's mind was on Thalia. She'd have probably entered herself had she not been drawn away. He had Merlin bring down a ring of hers that he could wear on the opposite index finger that he wore his mother's to remind him that she should have been there and to wear it for luck.

When the assassin delivered a blow to him and he was rushed back into the tent Arthur took off his glove on his right hand to look at the ring. He'd keep going, there was no way Thalia would give up if she was here. This was her ring and to him it was a sign of strength. After all, while he had been worrying she'd been facing a Questing Beast and survived, without magic. She had rivalled Sigan and saved his life so many times.

He didn't show that it was him who had won the tournament because he thought of Thalia just as he was about to. He was worrying about glory and credit when she was risking her life and fighting dangers for Camelot. Suddenly the glory didn't mean much anymore.

Thalia had left her horse out of harm's way and walked through the forest on foot. She paused. That snapping of twigs wasn't her. She gripped her sword tighter and kept moving, glancing covertly around. Then a tree cracked and sailed through the air right above her. She wasted no time and rolled forward, finishing in a kneel with her sword out.

She looked around. Nothing.

Then a thick pearly-white smoke appeared and she couldn't see a thing. She backed up to the fallen tree trunk and listened. From the other side of the trunk came a single footstep. Thalia braced herself, pulling out a dagger. She felt a hand on her throat and sent the dagger right through the connected wrist.

'Argh! Seems there's more to you than meets the eye.'

Thalia steadied her sword as she stood up. 'I'd say the same if I could see you.'

'What do you want from me?'

'I might ask you the same question, seeming as I'm not the one who caused all this smoke and a falling tree.'

'I want you dead.'

'If you are whom I'm hunting then I say the same.'

Arthur deflected his knight's swords, mind elsewhere. It had been a long and thunderous night. Morgana's chambers were set alight by the window and he'd been up since then, not being allowed to go back to bed.

'I am a sorcerer. You are?'

'A warrior.'

'Why have you come to kill me?'

'Are you the one that has been killing innocent people?'

'You mean the worthless peasants? Yes.'

Thalia's upper lip twitched in a snarl.

'You will pay.'

'I don't think so. Warrior or not you stand no chance against me.'

'We shall see.'

'Astrice!'

Thalia absorbed it the fireball, squinting through the fog.

'Astrice!'

She absorbed it once more.

'Gar onbærne!'

Thalia's sword set on fire. 'Færblæd wawe. Þrosm tohweorfe.' The fire extinguished, the smoke dispersed and she charged.

Thalia thundered down the path through the forest. She'd stopped at an inn for the night and overheard that knights of Camelot were going to attack a druid camp because apparently they had kidnapped the Lady Morgana.

She galloped toward the forest and the home of the druids.

'Come on, that's it, good boy, keep going. Keep going.' She urged Leroy faster. The strong horse did so without hesitation.

'Good boy. Come on.'

Thalia arrived at the druid camp in time to see druids running and being slaughtered by Arthur's knights.

She saw Arthur and ran.

'Merlin!'

'Thalia?'

'What's going on?' Then Thalia saw who was with him. 'Oh, Morgana…'

She was in a red cloak with a druid and Mordred. 'I have magic! I- I found it out and I came here for help and now I- I don't know why this is happening, Thalia!'

'I'd order the Knights to stand down but it's too late.'

'I'm grateful anyway.'

'OVER HERE!' came a shout.

'Argh! My leg, it's too painful!'

'I'll try to create a diversion.' Merlin said.

'I'll come, too.'

'No, you two, you can't!'

'Morgana, do you wish to return to Camelot?' Thalia looked straight into her eyes.

'No, I don't want to but you two can't-'

'You carry on! It's my fault they're here!' Merlin waved them away. 'Go! Go!'

'I'll do what I can, I promise,' Thalia unsheathed her sword.

Morgana was ushered away with Mordred and the druid. 'I'll never forget this.'

Thalia nodded and turned to Merlin. 'Ideas?'

'I was thinking smoke.'

'Agreed.'

'Bene læg gesweorc.'

Merlin summoned smoke, pearly white and impossible to see through. He sent it Arthur's way and they scrambled up the rocks.

'There!' Arthur's voice made it to their ears.

Thalia and Merlin ran through the trees.

'Do they know you're here?'

'No. You?'

'No.'

They ran as fast as they could. And saw a rock that protruded out over a hill. They jumped down and into the crevice underneath, watching the boots and cloaks of the Knights running over them. When they went out of sight Thalia crawled out first and helped Merlin to stand up.

They kept running until they saw Mordred. He was surrounded. The young boy seemed to be focusing and yelled suddenly, blowing the three guards surrounding him away. With bitter, uneasy looks Thalia and Merlin glanced at each other and kept running. Thalia stopped and motioned for Merlin to hide when she saw Arthur talking to the Knights. Morgana was there, Thalia noticed with a sinking feeling. All that, for nothing.

She marched toward Arthur.

'WHAT THE HELL. DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?!'

Arthur froze, recognising the voice as if in a dream. Slowly he turned round. 'Thalia!' then he saw her anger. 'It's my father's orders, Morgana's was kidnapped by the druids! We were to leave no survivors.'

'Or perhaps someone else kidnapped her and they were simply helping her, did either of you thick heads consider that?!'

Arthur looked like he'd just been hit over the head with a mace.

'You idiots!' she groaned. She put a hand on his shoulder and walked off to where she had left Merlin and together they went to her horse. They walked to a lake where all three had a drink and went back to Camelot, cutting through the forest to get there before the army did.

Thalia was waiting with Merlin and Uther when Arthur rode into the square with Morgana.

Uther helped her down from Arthur's horse and hugged her tightly.

'I was so, so worried about you.'

'You were right,' Arthur said with a very hesitant glance at Thalia. 'It was the druids. They kidnapped her.'

They went up to Morgana's chambers that evening and knocked on the door. Morgana appeared and stood back to let them in.

'Merlin, Thalia.'

'My Lady.'

'Morgana.'

'We… wanted to check you were ok.'

'I'm fine. What was said at the woods...'

'You can trust me, Morgana. I won't tell anyone.'

'Thank you, Merlin.' Morgana looked at Thalia with a nod. 'I know now who I really am. And it isn't something to be scared of. Maybe one day people will come to see magic as a force for good.'

Thalia smiled. 'It's the aim of the world.'

Merlin glanced around. 'Erm...It's good to have you back.'

'Thank you, Merlin.'

'I'm sorry about the druids, Morgana.'

'There's nothing to be done now.'

They left Morgana's chambers and went back down the stairs.

'This has to stop.'

Merlin and Thalia span round.

'The King would have your head if he found out, and there's no point denying it.' Arthur walked over to Merlin.

'…Denying what?'

'Your affections for the Lady Morgana.'

Merlin and Thalia chuckled. 'Right…'

'Take a bit of advice from someone who knows about women.' Arthur rested a hand on Merlin's shoulder.

Thalia snorted.

'Well, if such a person existed, I would.'

'Stick to girls who are more...how can I put it? On your level.'

'Thanks.'

'She can't be your friend. Let alone anything else.'

Thalia frowned. There was more meaning to that sentence.

'Yeah, I know.'

'You can't hide anything from me, Merlin.' Arthur walked away.

'I wouldn't dream of it.'

Thalia and Merlin looked at each other calmly for a few seconds then burst out laughing.

Merlin walked away after a minute and to her surprise, Arthur came back up.

'Arthur… what's this about "Let alone anything else," you were on about with Merlin?' Thalia looked out the window.

Panic flared in Arthur's blue eyes as he walked over to her awkwardly. 'Uerhemm… Well you're a sorceress and my father would never… umm…'

Thalia raised her eyebrows.

'Ummmmmm… would never approve of er, you, as a sorceress being… more than… my friend?' Arthur knew how stupid he sounded.

'Right,' Thalia smiled, remembering the conversation she'd had with Uther once. 'So what's this?'

'What's what?'

'Is this you admitting something?'

'Ummm… not something you don't already know, no.'

'I see.' Thalia looked away from the window to Arthur, who was looking at her.

His eyes were soft and calm and there was a faint smile on his features.

'I was worried about you, the whole time.' Arthur's voice was gentle and quiet.

'Mmm… I knew you would be.'

'I always am.'

'You're wearing my ring, I noticed.'

'Oh… um… yeah.'

Arthur brought his head forward and closed the gap to the only slightly shorter Crowned Warrior. His lips found Thalia's and their lips pressed together.

When they parted Arthur looked dumbstruck and moved his head, looking to the side and at nothing in particular, deciding what he'd just done. He looked back at Thalia who was watching him gently. Their eyes met and Arthur was reminded through his shock of how much he loved her, how much he always worried. They kissed once more and it ended with Arthur resting his forehead on hers before holding her hands and planting a quick kiss on her cheek as she yawned and went to her chambers. Arthur stood at the window a minute or two more in a daze and grinning before walking back to his chambers and spinning round, falling onto his bed and sleeping.