AN: Hey!

So I am so in love with this story right now, that I just had to update!

I took a Mary Sue test, and I did so awful on it. But, don't worry, I'm planning on making Lizzie sassier and tougher!

DISCLAIMER: MERLIN IS NOT MINE

Enjoy!

The next day was day 2 of the tournaments, and, as they did yesterday, Arthur and Valiant dominated all their opponents. But, as it did in the show, Sir Ewan got bitten by the snake in Valiant's shield. I could see the look in Merlin's eyes, and he was on the same wavelength as me. As Gaius went to take him back to his chambers, I stood up to follow. Morgana grabbed my arm. "Lizzie? Where are you going?"

Uh-oh! Quick Liz, think of a lie. "Uh, I'll be right back."

Smooth.

Morgana looked confused, but let go of my arm. I caught up to Merlin on his way to Gaius's chambers. "What happened?"

Merlin turned his head to look at me. "Sir Ewan is injured."

I gave him a look of annoyance. "Yeah, I know that part. But he isn't bleeding. This is a sword fight, I would have thought an injury caused by a sword would have bled quite a bit."

Merlin shook his head. "We won't know anything until we get to Gaius."

I looked at him in disbelief. "Then what are we waiting for?" I grabbed his hand and we ran to Gaius's.

Well, more like I dragged him.

We went in, and Merlin set Arthur's armour on the table.

"How is he?" Merlin asked.

Gaius looked up from examining Ewan. "It's most strange." He tilted Ewan's neck, and Merlin and I leaned closer. "See these two small wounds?" He pointed to the two little holes. "They look like a snake bite."

Merlin shook his head. "As Lizzie said, he was injured in a sword fight. How could he have been bitten by a snake?"

"Well, the symptoms are consistent with poisoning. Slow pulse, fever, paralysis." Gaius got up from his seat.

"Well, can you heal him?" I asked.

"Well, if it is a snake bite, I'll have to extract venom from the snake that bit him to make an antidote."

"What happens if he doesn't get the antidote?" Merlin asked worriedly.

"Then I'm afraid there is nothing more I can do for him. He's going to die."

Merlin's face crossed with realization. "He was fighting Knight Valiant," he muttered to me.

"What was that?" Gaius asked, not really paying attention.

"Nothing," Merlin said, and turned to leave.

I followed after him. "Hey, wait!" I said after we were outside.

"Lizzie, maybe you should get back to the tournament," He said, still walking.

"No. I was already bored. That, and you're right. He was fighting Knight Valiant. I wanna be sure that you are correct so that you don't make a fool of yourself."

Since we both knew I was right, he nodded. "All right then."

We slowly followed behind Valiant to his chambers. As soon as he went in, we crept up to his door, and slowly opened it a bit.

Valiant was holding a mouse over the now animated snakes. Once we saw what he was doing, we ran back to Gaius' chambers. Not a moment too soon, since Valiant came out of his chambers four seconds after we left.

We ran back into Gaius's chambers. "We've just seen, one of the snakes in Valiant's shield come alive," Merlin said, catching his breath. "He's using magic."

"You sure?" Gaius asked.

"Gaius, I've seen it with my own two eyes. The snake pattern wasn't on the shield anymore, and the snakes were popping out of the shield," I said. Man, how I wished I had come to Camelot with a camera! Would have saved so much time!

"The snake, ate a mouse, one swallow straight down," Merlin continued. "Ewan was fighting Valiant when he collapsed. It must have been one of the snakes from his shield." He looked to Ewan. "I have to tell Arthur," Merlin said, moving to the door, me about to follow him.

"Is there any chance that the two of you might have been mistaken?" Gaius asked, standing up.

"I know magic when I see it," Merlin said.

Gaius looked at Merlin sharply. "Merlin!"

What? Oh yeah, I wasn't supposed to know he has magic. Well, might as well make this easier for all of us. "I know, Gaius. I know he has magic."

Gaius's eyes bugged out of his head. "You told her?!" Gaius thundered to Merlin.

"He didn't tell me!" I said defending the terrified Merlin. "The night that old woman was disguised as the Lady Helen, I didn't fall asleep. I covered my ears. By the look in his eye, Merlin didn't want to use magic, especially in front of someone of the royal court. But he did it to save Arthur's life. And I owe him for that. Arthur is very important to me, and for that, I won't tell anybody," I concluded. Man, that was tiring to explain.

Gaius reluctantly nodded. "All right then, Liz. But only because I trust you."

"Back to the matter at hand," Merlin said. "We have to tell Arthur."

"But do you have proof?" He asked.

"Don't you believe me?" Merlin asked.

"I feel you'll land yourselves in trouble. How would you explain why you were in Valiant's chambers?" Gaius asked

"Does that matter?" Merlin asked. "He's using magic to cheat in the tournament."

"But you can't go accusing a Knight of using magic without proof. The King would never accept the word of a servant over the word of a Knight."

"Oh, so what I say doesn't count for anything?" Merlin asked.

"It doesn't matter much as far as Uther is concerned," I said gently, putting a hand on his arm.

Merlin stormed to his bedroom, and loudly shut the door. I flinched at the sound of the impact. Gaius turned to me. "Why are you not telling Merlin's secret?"

"Merlin is a good man. He doesn't use magic for evil. He saved Arthur's life. He's a good friend. And those are only some of the reasons," I said, smiling at Gaius. I sighed. "I better get back to the tournament before Uther realizes that I've been gone long." I gave Gaius a hug, and left, thinking of how I could prevent Ewan from getting bitten a second time.

Honestly, these tournaments were getting so boring. I mean, sure it's exciting to watch people fight, but after a while, you want to be banging your head against a wall. Well, at least that's how my friends and I always felt at high school Rugby games.

I sat with Morgana again, and saw the huge opponent Arthur had to fight. I didn't look worried, since I knew that while he may be big, he was really slow. Morgana looked worried though. I rubbed her arm. "Not scared, are you?" I asked.

"Of course not," She said hastily.

Morgana's worries went down the drain when Arthur easily won the match. After a while, I looked back up at the board, and saw that Arthur was fighting against Valiant in the final. I took a deep breath, and looked back ahead. Morgana sensed that there was something wrong with me, and asked if I was okay. I assured her I was fine.

After the tournament was over for the day, I made my way to Gaius's chambers. I lightly knocked on the door, and Merlin called, "Come in!"

I opened the door, and went to grab a chair. I put it next to Merlin and sat down. "Any change?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Only seems to be getting worse."

I sighed and leaned back in the chair. "We have to stop Valiant. He's going to kill Arthur in the tournament."

Merlin nodded. "I know."

A moment of silence passes before I spoke again. "How do we do it?"

Merlin didn't have a chance to answer because Gaius walked in. Merlin took one look at Gaius, then went back to looking at Ewan.

Gaius sighed. "Merlin. About what I said yesterday," Gaius said, walking up to Merlin. "Look, Uther really wouldn't listen to you or me. But you two are right." We both looked up to him. "We mustn't let Valiant get away with this."

"But we don't have any proof," Merlin said, straightening up.

"If we can cure Ewan he could tell the King Valiant was using magic. The King would believe a Knight over another Knight," Gaius said.

Merlin turned his head to me. "Or even you."

I put my hands up. "As much as I want to, Uther wouldn't believe me. I don't have the proof, Ewan does. He was the one that was bit."

Gaius nodded. "But how we get the antidote, well, that's another matter."

I remembered what Merlin does. I grabbed his hand and pull him up. "Leave that to us," I said, running out the door, dragging Merlin with me.

We ran to the dining room, where all the Knights were eating. "What are we doing?"

"We have to check if Valiant is in his chambers first," I whispered. "We need to get the venom, and to do that-"

"We need to get a snake," Merlin concluded.

I nodded. "Right." We quickly checked, then began to run to Valiant's chambers.

We passed Arthur's chambers. "Wait!" I said, coming to a stop. I opened Arthur's chambers and walked in.

"What?" Merlin asked.

I went to his window, and found a sword. "I knew he had extras," I said, tossing it to Merlin, who caught it. "You'll be needing it."

Merlin looked at me confused. "For what?"

"To cut the head of the snake off, of course," I said. I grabbed his arm to lead him out of Arthur's chambers before somebody caught us lurking around there.

We walked to Valiant's chambers, and Merlin used magic to unlock his door. We quickly walked in, and Merlin pointed the sword at the shield in case the snakes came out, pushing me behind him.

Merlin and I heard footsteps outside, and we cautiously turned to the door. Suddenly, we heard hissing, and Merlin turned his eyes to look at the snake's shadow. He quickly turned, and promptly sliced the head of the snake off.

Two more of them popped out, but I grabbed the head off of the floor, and grabbed Merlin's arm, pulling him out of the room. I passed him the snake head, and we ran back to Gaius's chambers.

In Gaius's chambers, he extracted the venom into a small vial, while me and Merlin watched.

"I'll get started preparing the antidote," Gaius said, and started taking materials out.

"I'm going to tell Arthur," Merlin said.

"You'll need this," Gaius said, handing him the snake head. Merlin left and I went to follow him, leaving Gaius to his work.

Merlin and I ran to Arthur's chambers, but somebody caught me, and I apparently missed my Science lessons. I didn't even know I had to take Science lessons. Luckily for me, it didn't take too long, and I was standing with everybody else in the audience that Arthur had requested with Uther.

Uther walked into the throne room, and asked, "Why have you requested the court?"

"I have reason to believe that Knight Valiant is using a magical shield, to cheat in the tournament," Arthur stated.

Morgana looked at me, as if to say, 'Do you believe this?'. I only gave a small nod in return.

"Valiant, what do you have to say to this?" Uther asked him.

"My Lord this is ridiculous. I've never used magic." He gaves Arthur a dirty look. "Does your son have any evidence to support his outrageous accusations?"

"Do you have evidence?" Uther asked.

"I do," Arthur said, and gestured for Merlin to come forward. Merlin did, and he gave the snake head to Uther. It was standing there, looking at the snake head did I realize what I had been neglecting. That other snake went and bit Ewan, killing him. My eyes widened, but I had to quickly cover it up.

"Let me see the shield," Uther said, motioning for Valiant to do so. As Valiant handed it to him, Merlin leaned over and murmured something to Arthur, which I could only guess was, 'Don't let him get too close.'

"Be careful, My Lord," Arthur said, drawing his sword.

It was while Uther was examining the sword did I see Gaius walk in, most likely to tell him that Ewan was dead.

"As you can see, My Lord, it is an ordinary shield." Vailant said.

Arthur scoffed. "He's not going to let everyone see the snakes come alive."

"Then how am I gonna know that what you say is true?" Uther asked.

"I have a witness." Arthur declared. "Knight Ewan was bitten by one of the snakes from the shield." He gave Valiant a pointed look. "It's venom made him grievously ill." Arthur continued. "However, he's received an antidote. He will confirm that Knight Valiant is using magic."

"Where is this witness?" Uther asked.

"He should...be here." Arthur said, turning to look back at Merlin. He walked up to him, and talked quietly.

"I'm waiting!" Uther yelled.

"I'm afraid that the witness is dead." Arthur stated.

"So you have no proof to support these allegations?" Uther asked. "Have you seen Valiant using magic?"

I wanted to bury my head in my hands.

"No." Arthur said. He turned and looked back at Merlin. "But, my servant, fought-"

"Your servant?" Uther asked slowly. "You make these outrageous accusations against a Knight, on the word of your servant?"

"I believe he is telling the truth." Arthur argued.

"My Lord, am I really to be judged by some boy?" Valiant asked, and I wanted to just claw his eyes out.

"I've seen those snakes come alive!" Merlin said, walking to stand more behind Arthur.

"How dare you interrupt!" Uther boomed. "Guards!"

The two nearest guards moved to grab Merlin. "My Lord." Valiant said.

Uther looks at Valiant, then back to the guards. "Wait!" He called, and the guards pause.

"I'm sure he was merely mistaken." Valiant said. "I wouldn't want him punished on my account."

Uther looked to Arthur. "You see? This is how a true Knight behaves. With gallantry, and honour."

"My Lord, if your son made these accusations because he's afraid to fight me, then I will graciously accept his withdrawal," Valiant said, and Arthur sharply looked up.

"Is this true?" Uther asked. "Do you wish to withdraw from the tournament?"

"No!" Arthur quickly said.

"Then what am I to make of these allegations?" Uther asked.

Everybody looked around, and Morgana and I shared a worried look. Arthur spoke up. "Obviously, there has been a mistake. I withdraw the allegations towards Knight Valiant. Please accept my apology." Arthur said, looking really embarrassed and actually kind of shamed.

"Accepted." Valiant answered.

Arthur nodded to Uther, then he left without another word, Merlin behind him.

I waited until it's just me and Uther in the throne room. After everyone was gone, I angrily turned to Uther. "Are you daft?" I asked, and he turned to me with a warning look on his face. I walked closer to him as I spoke. "You would believe the word of a Knight that you met two days ago over the word of your own son?"

"Arthur had no proof of such accusations." Uther said firmly.

"But if it was a magic shield, wouldn't one need magic to activate it?" I threw back at him.

"Arthur had no proof of that and Valiant had nothing to prove him right."

I looked at him, disgusted. "Arthur is your kin. How can you say that?"

"He embarrassed me!" He cried angrily.

"He embarrassed you?" I said, not believing what I was hearing. "Do you have any idea how he must feel?"

"Enough!" Uther boomed, and I was proud to say that I didn't flinch. "That's enough. I don't want to hear another word on the matter."

I shook my head. "If you are too blinded by your pride to see that Merlin is right, I won't stand by and let Arthur die."

"Merlin?" Uther asked, unbelieving. "You are basing your judgement on Arthur's servant? He's an idiot boy!"

"Idiot boy? That idiot boy has saved your son's life! And I'm not going to let his efforts go to waste." I turned and started to storm off.

"How exactly are you going to do that?" Uther asked, sort of bemused.

I stopped by the door and turn. "I'm going to help prove Valiant is using magic."

"There is no proof! How many times must I explain that to you?!" He yelled.

"Then I'll find some!" I yelled back. I toned my voice down. I looked him dead in the eye, and said, quite smugly, "I mean, you always seem to." Normally, I would have felt awful at the look on Uther's face, but coming to Camelot must have changed me more than I thought it would.

I ran to Gaius's chambers, praying that Merlin was already in there with the stone dog. I knocked on the door, and opened it when Gaius granted me entrance.

"Ah! Liz! Did you need something?" He asked.

"No, but I need to see Merlin." I ran up to his door, opened it, and walked inside. Merlin jumped and got a feared look in his eye, but he relaxed when he saw that it's just me. "Did you find anything?" I asked, and looked to where the dog was. "What're you doing with that?"

He looked to the dog and looked back at me. "I was trying to perfect the spell that Valiant uses to bring his shield to life."

I gestured to his bed. "Mind if I join you?"

He looked confused, but nodded. "Why don't you stay in the castle? The King must be wondering where you are. I wouldn't want to get you in trouble."

I scoffed. "Trust me, I am the last person the King wants to see right now."

"Why?" Merlin asked, then seemed to realize who he was talking to."If I may ask. that is."

I gave him a weak smile. "I tried defending you and Arthur. He, naturally, got mad. He tried to order me not to talk more on the matter, but I didn't listen. That's why I'm here. I don't want Arthur to fight as much you do."

Merlin nodded and went back to the dog. Two hours must have passed and Merlin still hadn't gotten the spell right. I groaned. "This is taking too long! Soon enough it'll be morning and Arthur will be fighting." I huffed and put my chin in my hand. I stared at the door, and realized what I had to do. I slid off the bed, and gestured to the dog. "Keep trying. I'm going to try and talk Arthur out of fighting."

Merlin shook his head. "I don't think you'll change his mind."

I threw my hands up. "I have to try! I've known him for longer, maybe he'll listen to me." Although I knew I won't be able to convince headstrong Arthur not to fight to protect his pride.

When I got to his chambers, he wasn't there, so I went to find Morgana to see if she knew where he was. I actually didn't remember much of this episode, because I didn't have a tendency to re watch them.

I walked into her chambers, and she sharply looked up. Her face contorted into one of relief when she saw that's it's only me. She got up and grabbed me into a hug. She clutched at my back, and I rubbed hers. Over these few days, I had grown really close to Morgana. I mean, I must be really close to her already, especially since I supposedly grew up with her. Yeah, I didn't really get it either.

"Hey, it's okay." I rubbed her back one final time and pulled away. I pushed her hair from her face. "Did you have another nightmare?"

She nodded, a tear or two slipping out. "It was awful Lizzie. Valiant, he was...he drove his sword through..." She couldn't even continue.

I pulled her back into my arms and rubbed her back again. "It's okay. I'll talk to Arthur. That's why I came to you. I was wondering if you knew where he was." I went over to her dresser and pulled out a handkerchief. I gently dabbed at her eyes.

She smiled weakly at me. "Thank you Liz. I last saw Arthur practicing outside." She walked back to the window, and furrowed her eyebrows. "He's not there anymore."

"Which must mean that he's inside." I said. I gave Morgana one final hug. "Are you sure you're okay?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes. Please go talk to him."

I nodded, and left her chambers. I quickly ran to Arthur's. I took a deep breath and walked inside.

He was standing by the fire, staring into the flames. His head turned to look at me. He rolled his eyes. "Ever heard of knocking, Elizabeth?"

"Yes. I'm not stupid. I'm not like you." I said.

He raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"You know that Valiant will use the shield on you when you fight him in the tournament." I said simply.

Arthur sighed. "I know."

I scrunched my eyebrows. "Then withdraw. You have to withdraw from the match!"

"Don't you understand?" Arthur asked. "I can't withdraw. The people expect their prince to fight. How can I lead men into battle if they think I'm a coward?"

"Valiant will kill you!" I said, disbelieving at his words. "If you fight, you will die."

"Then I die." Arthur said curtly.

"How can you go out there and fight like that?" I asked.

"Because I have to." Arthur replied. "It's my duty."

"But you also have a duty to your people," I pointed out.

He still didn't look at me. "Fine. You wanna get yourself killed by Slytherin, fine by me. Just don't expect me to watch." I turned and left without another word.

I waited for Morgana to return from helping Arthur suit up, and as soon as she comes back, I grabbed her hand. "I know you're worried. But Arthur will be just fine."

She nodded, but looked straight ahead at their fight. They began, and I spent the whole time wondering where Merlin was. I gripped Morgana's hand harder.

After a few minutes of them just fighting, I finally spotted Merlin. He caught my eye, and I gave him a look that said, 'Did you do it?'

He nodded at me, and I sighed in relief. It's really cool to watch Merlin do magic, so I kept my eyes on him as he used the spell.

He muttered the spell, and the snakes emerged from Valiant's shield. Everybody in the stands rose.

"What are you doing?" Valiant hissed. "I didn't summon you!"

"He is using magic!" Uther exclaimed.

Valiant laughed, and the snakes slid out from the shield. "Kill him!" He commanded them.

Morgana leaned over and grabbed a sword from the Knight standing next to her. "Arthur!" She called, and tossed him the sword. He caught it, and slashed the heads off of the snakes.

He and Valiant clashed swords a couple more times before he finally stabbed Valiant in the stomach. He said something into his ear, and dropped him to the ground.

Everybody erupted into cheers, as did I.

So maybe this tournament wasn't all that boring.

Gwen helped me get ready for the feast. She dressed me into a green dress, green eye shadow, and tinted pink lips. Everybody happily chatted in the dining room. I was talking with Gwen as we waited for Arthur to arrive, as he was escorting Morgana to the dinner.

He did, and Uther announced his arrival. "My honourable guests. Prince Arthur. Your champion." And the whole room erupted into applause.

He walked in with a proud smile on his face, and offered Morgana his arm. They said something to each other, but I didn't quite catch it.

Morgana came over, and we all chatted and laughed and just had fun.

Life in Camelot might not be easy, but it was sure as hell fun.

TBC...

Hurray for longer chapters!

That was Valiant, which I am sorry took so long. Next, the Mark of Nimueh! So exciting!

Elizabeth's close are on my Polyvore! There will be two separate documents, one for the chapter, and Elizabeth's feast outfit.

REVIEW! THANKS! STAY TUNED!