AN: Due to the iZombie spoilers that have revealed Bradley James will be a character on it, I have been inspired to write!

Enjoy!

"You know I was hoping that hunting would be more exciting," I commented, riding behind Arthur and beside Merlin.

"Then why did you come?" Arthur asked, obviously annoyed at my complaining.

"Because I was bored and you can't say no to me," I said cheerfully. Actually, I couldn't stand Morgana's evil talk anymore. I mean, there was only so much I could take in one day. So when I heard that Merlin and Arthur were going on a hunt, I jumped at the chance to tag along. "That, and Uther made you."

"Yeah, yeah. You know what you need after a hard days hunt?" Arthur asked.

"Sleep?" Merlin suggested.

"A shower?" I suggested, to which Merlin looked at me like I was crazy, but I just shrugged off his look. Yeah, you would have thought that after a couple years living in a castle in the 6th century and actually spending a whole year in a forest that I would have stopped caring, but no. I actually missed showers with such an intense passion.

"A nice, cold, tankard of mead," Arthur answered, ignoring the both of us.

Merlin and I shared an exhausted look. "Mead..." we said grumpily, but we both ended up laughing.

We went over to the tavern, and tied our horses to the tie-thingy. "No better place to measure the mood of your people than the local tavern," Arthur said.

"This is one of those moments where I tell you something isn't a good idea and you ignore me, isn't it?" Merlin asked.

"You're learning Merlin. Slowly, but, you're learning," Arthur said. "Now, remember, in here, you're not my servant. I'm just a simple peasant like everyone else."

Arthur left to go inside, and Merlin turned to me as we walked. "He's got the simple part right," he said, which caused me to chuckle.

"What?" Arthur asked me.

"Oh, he said the sun is very bright," I said, covering for the warlock, pretending to shield my eyes from the sun.

"Oh. Yeah, yeah, it is," Arthur said.

We entered the tavern, and I got really excited. I had actually not been to a tavern before.

The three of us sat down at a table, and a waitress (wait were they called waitresses here?) wiped down our table and said, "Afternoon, what'll it be?"

Arthur looked around to what other people are having, and the woman spoke. "Mm, you're an 'andsome fellow."

Arthur turned back around and smirked. "Well, you wouldn't be the first to say it."

"Oh, no, sorry," She turned to Merlin. "I was talking about your friend 'ere."

I started a laugh, but covered my mouth before it could come out. I passed it off as a quick cough.

Arthur looked from her to him in disbelief. "Him?"

Merlin though, looked quite pleased, and blushed. To make it a little more fun, I spoke up. "You got that right," I said, winking in Merlin's direction, which caused him to blush harder.

That earned me a hard glare from Arthur, to which I gave him a sweet look in return. Hey, I could compliment the man I had feelings for if I wanted to.

Merlin released the tension by saying, "Thank you," to the woman.

"Two tankards of mead," Arthur ordered.

Hmm. I'd never had mead before. "Make it three." The woman nodded and left. Merlin leaned over. "I was wrong. Coming here was a great idea."

Someone abruptly entered the tavern, ceasing all conversations. We all turned to look who it was. It was some huge guy, and I had some sort of strange feeling I should remember him.

The guy knocked a tray out of a girl's hand, to which Arthur looked down right infuriated about. "Afternoon, Mary. Business looks good."

"We have our better days," She said coolly.

"I don't suppose you'd begrudge me my share then," He said, plunking a mace down on the table. The three of us automatically sat up, trying to listen better.

She reluctantly gave him some gold coins, which he collected. "And the rest?"

"That's all we got," She told him.

He grabbed the front of her shirt and put a knife to it. "I will not ask again."

Arthur stood up and walked over to the guy. Oh man, I felt like this wasn't gonna end well. "Take your hands off her," He said.

Merlin and I exchanged worried glances. What had Arthur done? I mean, sticking up for the woman was great, but now his royal head was on the line.

The guy just gave him a sneer before swinging his mace at him. Arthur ducked and pushed the guy into the wall.

The man regained his composure. "I'm gonna make you pay for that."

"I'd like to see you try," Merlin laughed, and I quickly smacked his arm. What was the idiot thinking?

The guy looked over and gave us a hard glare and whistled. A bunch of people walked inside, and Merlin stood up, dragging me behind him.

More people flooded in, and Arthur turned to Merlin. "You had to open your big mouth, didn't you, Merlin?"

A really hot dude stood up and walked over to us. "You three have gotten yourselves in a bit of a pickle, haven't you?" He asked.

"You should get out of here while you still have the chance," Arthur suggested to him.

"You're probably right," The man said, drinking from his cup. He handed it to Mr. Leader, who took it, but as soon as he did, his fist was connected to his face, and he fell to the ground, the cup falling right out of his hands.

And since then, a huge fight began in the tavern. Ah, my first bar fight! This was certainly a coming of age, right of passage sort of thing.

I actually beat some people up. It was so cool! I banged them over the head, crashed cups to their faces, it was the best thing I had ever experienced, to be honest.

"Lizzie! Behind you!" Merlin shouted. I looked behind me, only for my eyes to widen at the sight of a chair sailing towards my head. I ducked down, and saw the chair crash into the wall. I poked my head back up. "Thanks!"

I slipped underneath the bar, and saw someone walking towards me. I grabbed the nearby plates and threw them at the guy's head. I laughed when he went down. My aim had gotten so much better!

The man from before made his way towards me and motioned behind me. "Pass the jug, huh?"

I turned around, found the jug, and gave it to him. He drank from it and as I was about to alert him that someone was behind him, he swung around and decked them. "Nice hit," I said, a laugh in my voice.

He nodded. "Thanks. What do they call you then?"

"Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Lizzie, or Liz," I said.

"Well I'm not everyone, so to me, you'll be Beth," He said. Huh. Beth. That was a new one. "The name's Gwaine," He said, extending a hand toward me. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Trust me, the pleasure is all mine," I said, nearly swooning. The man was seriously cute. Someone went behind him again, and he smashed a pot into their face. "Such a waste, huh?"

I nodded with another laugh. Merlin came up, and I was about to warn Gwaine not to hit him, but he must have thought that someone was coming again, and punched poor Merlin right in the face.

"No!" I said, leaning over the bar. "That's my friend!"

"Oh," Gwaine said plainly, realizing his mistake. He leaned down and picked up a groaning Merlin. "Gwaine, this is Merlin, Merlin, Gwaine," I said, giving introductions.

Merlin rubbed his face, where a small bruise had begun to form. "We've met."

I just rolled my eyes and ran to where Arthur was. He got knocked down to the ground, and the guy took out a knife. "No!" I screamed, about to run to stop him, but Gwaine pushed me back into Merlin's arms, and tackled the guy himself instead. In doing so, the knife lodged itself into Gwaine's thigh.

Merlin let me go, and I ran to Gwaine's side. He tried to stand, and I tried to keep him down. "Don't, you'll only make it worse." He didn't listen to me though, and just as he was about to stand, he lost his balance and hit his temple on a bench, knocking himself out. I looked to Merlin. "Merlin, help."

Merlin snapped out of his daze and came over to us. I ripped off a piece of my shirt for Merlin to wrap around his thigh. I got a few gasps, but I really didn't care. All I knew was that a friend of mine was injured. "How is he?" Arthur asked, still in a state of awe that Gwaine saved his life.

"Not good. He's losing a lot of blood." Merlin said, wrapping the cloth around Gwaine's wound.

We got Gwaine onto Arthur's horse and prepared to leave. The guy who created the havoc in the first place was put into the stocks. I looked over to Merlin who is grimacing, obviously thinking about when he was in the stocks.

"If this man ever troubles you again, word is to be sent to Camelot," Arthur told everybody. "Soldiers will be here within a day."

"How can you make a promise like that?" The tavern owner asked.

Arthur started to ride and Merlin and I began to follow. "Because I'm the King's son, Prince Arthur."

Murmurs broke out within the crowd. "Prince Arthur?" The owner repeated in awe. "Prince Arthur in my tavern?" She looked to everyone else. "Come on!" She said and began throwing food at the guy again, who snarled in rage.

"Well, that could have gone better," I remarked, getting a laugh from Merlin but an eyeroll from Arthur, which I was expecting from both boys.

Sometimes, it was good to walk on the wild side. But only if you were wearing comfy shoes.

I followed behind Arthur and Merlin as they carried Gwaine into Merlin's bedroom. They put him down on the bed, and Gaius immediately began examining him.

"Merlin, fetch me some fresh water, towels, a needle, and silk thread," Gaius asked his apprentice.

"And honey?" Merlin asked.

Gaius looked over at him in surprise. "You're learning," He said as Merlin went over to get the supplies. Gaius looked over at Arthur and I, and explained, "Helps fight the infection."

"You'll be able to help him, won't you, Gaius?" I asked as my fingers slowly touched Gwaine's. I don't know what it was, but I wanted to hold Gwaine's hand. Rest assured, I didn't, but I certainly wanted to.

"Of course I'll be able to help him," Gaius said as he gently patted my shoulder. "Providing he's strong, he'll be fine."

"He's that, all right," Arthur said. "The man saved my life, Gaius. He is to be given anything that he needs."

I wanted to stay there until Gwaine woke up, but Arthur took me away when he insisted that Gaius needed his space to take care of Gwaine. Yeah, right. I saw the looks he was giving me when I was trying to hold Gwaine's hand.

I don't know what was wrong with me. Maybe it was the fact that I hadn't gotten remotely close to intimacy with another man, or maybe it was the fact that this was the first time I was meeting a man that I didn't immediately dislike and who I had a chance with. Maybe it was the way he called me Beth, instead of Lizzie, or Liz. But there was something about Gwaine that was driving me crazy.

In fact, he was all I could think about. I know, I sounded like a lovesick girl, but I guess that was what I was. Morgana was talking to me about something at breakfast the next morning, but I was barely paying attention. I was tapping my fingers against the table as I put my chin in my hand, making it look like I was paying attention to Morgana, but I was really thinking about how Gwaine was doing. Maybe I'd pay him a visit after Morgana stopped prattling on about...whatever the hell it was she was talking about.

"Elizabeth!" A tap on my arm, and I jerked back into focus.

"What?" I asked as I brought my attention back to Morgana, who had an annoyed look on her face.

"Have you been listening to me?" She asked.

"Of course!" I quickly lied. "You were talking about...apples?"

She gave me a look. "Not even close."

I blew air out of my lips. "I'm sorry I'm not better company," I said.

"What ever is the matter, sister?" Morgana asked.

Like I'd really tell you, I thought. "Nothing. I've just been sort of distracted."

"By what?"

Ugh, stop asking me questions. You know, I used to hate having to lie, but ever since I came here it was like lying had become second nature. "I've been thinking about...Morgause. We haven't seen her in a while. I miss her," I lied.

Thankfully, she bought it. "Well, perhaps we can get a message to her and visit soon. I must confess, I've been missing our sister too. I'm glad you brought it up, actually."

And then she launched into another discussion about Morgause.

God, just let me go see the hot bar man.

I had finally managed to get away from Morgana to try and look for Gwaine, but he wasn't in Merlin's room. I was walking out of Gaius's chambers when I ran into Merlin, who was lugging around a huge chest.

"Would you like some help with that?" I asked him as I saw him clearly struggling with it.

He waved me off. "No, I'm fine," He groaned.

"Are you sure?" I asked him. He was having a hard time, and I'd never seen Merlin trying to act like a macho man before.

"No, it's okay," He said as he dragged the chest.

I knotted my fingers together as I asked, "How's Gwaine? I went to your room, he wasn't there. I wanted to know how he was doing."

"Much better, especially since he's walking around," Merlin said. "He woke up this morning. I told him that Uther wanted to thank him in person for saving Arthur, but he was really against it."

"Did he say why?" I asked.

Merlin shook his head. Well, as best as he could. "No. I'll get it out of him, eventually."

He came to a stop in front of one of the doors. "Oh, this is my stop. Wish me luck, will you? Sir Oswald has been treating me like dirt, this being no exception."

I winced. There were some times I was eternally grateful that Kilgharrah and Emma had decided to make me a noble when they brought me here, and not a servant. I think life as a servant would have been so much harder. "Good luck. I'll go find Gwaine and try to keep him out of trouble."

"You do that," He grumbled as he kicked the door open, and we went our separate ways.

Sure enough, I had run into Gwaine just as I walked out of the castle.

"If it isn't Beth!" He said as he grabbed my hand and twirled me around.

I felt my cheeks flame as I turned around to face him. Stupid mouth, work! What were words, again?

"You know, no one's called me Beth before," Was the only thing I could think of saying. Great. I really had a way with words and men, didn't I?

"That makes me special, doesn't it?" He asked as he turned us around so that we were walking. He was still holding on to my hand and was making a big show of swinging it back and forth. We nearly hit a few people, prompting a flow of apologies from me and laughter from Gwaine.

"The next person you're going to hit will be an old lady and I won't be there to defend you," I warned him as he narrowly avoided being run over by a cart.

"What are you, a psychic?" He asked. "That'll never happen."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," I said. I had to refrain from pouting as he let go of my hand, but he reached over and stole-not that I condone stealing, but hey, it was Gwaine, I could let it go this time-a small red flower from a bunch a girl was carrying, and he held it out for me to take. I took it and delicately sniffed it.

"What was a noble girl like you doing in a tavern anyways?" Gwaine asked as we continued walking.

"Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't enjoy a drink every now and then," I defended myself.

"Oh, right," Gwaine scoffed. "Like a tiny body like that could hold a tankard of alcohol."

"Hey," I said sharply, feeling a challenge coming on. "I'll have you know, I can hold my drinks very well, thank you very much. And I can prove it to you!"

"Oh, can you?" He challenged, a devilish look on his face that made my heart skip a beat.

I stuck my chin out stubbornly as I grabbed Gwaine's wrist. "The tavern isn't that far from here."

Okay, now that I think about it, getting drunk with Gwaine wasn't the smartest idea.

But at the time, it was the best idea.

I don't even remember how many I had...I stopped counting after ten. It turned out, I couldn't hold my liquor. I was drunk after my fourth cup.

Being drunk was fun, though. I tended not to get drunk back in my old world (since I had school) but hey, Gwaine was challenging me, and I needed to uphold my honour. I didn't want to bring dishonour on the Malinor name.

At least that's what I told myself.

I remembered laughing. Gwaine and I did a lot of laughing. We got drinks for everyone in the tavern and had even danced together a little, a dance that I was pretty sure wasn't a real thing. It was like a cross between a waltz, slow dance, and the Moonwalk.

Merlin and Gwen had to come bail us out. I wasn't there to pay for my own stuff, since I was pretty much passed out on one of the tables, so Gwen had gone and fetched Merlin, who I faintly remembered told the barman that he couldn't pay.

That's when I finally got off of my butt and drunkenly walked over to him. "Hey, Mr. Bar-man," I said as I stumbled. Merlin caught me before I could fall to the ground. "I can pay for myself, and for my new friends," I said as I gestured at the rest of the tavern. I reached into my small pocketbook I had taken out with me when I just intended on doing a bit of shopping and handed him a bunch of gold coins. "Now don't let me catch you in here again...wait, this your bar."

If I didn't know I was drunk before, I certainly did now.

"You take Gwaine, I'll take Lizzie," I faintly heard Gwen say to Merlin.

"Take me where? To Candyland?" I asked hopefully as Gwen grabbed one of my arms and began leading me out of the tavern. I gasped loudly. "Ooh, Narnia! Please tell me we're going to Narnia."

Gwen looked at me strangely as we began the walk back to the castle. "I don't know what kingdom Narnia is in, but it certainly isn't in Camelot. Either way, the only place you're going to is bed, where you will sleep this off and wake up with a very serious headache tomorrow. How many did you have to drink anyways?"

"Just two," I defended weakly. I tripped over my skirts, nearly taking Gwen to the ground with me. I immediately felt woozy, and a head rush washed over me as I put my hand to my forehead. "Or twenty."

Gwen shook her head disapprovingly as she said, "Elizabeth, you don't act like this. Never. What's gotten into you?"

I pointed behind me to where Gwaine was, or the last place I saw him in. "He insulted my honour! I had to defend myself, for the sake of my cow!"

"Your what?" Gwen asked. I could tell she really wanted to laugh, but she was trying not to draw attention to us, for my sake, mostly.

"Darn you people not understanding Disney," I grumbled under my breathe as we climbed the steps to the castle.

"Does this have to do with Gwaine?" Gwen asked.

I avoided her gaze for a moment, before I looked back over at her. "I don't know what it is, but Gwaine makes me feel...excited. He challenges me, in ways that no one would dare try to. He was the whole reason I had gotten drunk. He challenged me and wasn't afraid of the consequences."

"You fancy him, don't you?" Gwen asked as we got to my bedroom. She kept her arm around me as she opened the door and pushed me in.

I made the 'just a little' sign with my fingers. "Maybe a little. I don't know," I swirled around, laughing as I watched my dress do the poofy thing when you spin around. I stumbled over to my dressing screen as Gwen went and grabbed my nightdress. "It'll probably go away, eventually."

Gwen actually had to help me undress. I mean, she usually did, but only when I was wearing something complicated, like something with a corset. I was wearing a simple dress, with a few ties. I was so drunk I couldn't do anything. She slipped my dress off and helped me put on my nightdress. I stepped out from behind my dressing screen, and she steered me towards my bed.

"What if you don't want it to go away?" She asked as she pulled out my covers from when she neatly tucked them away this morning when she made my bed.

"I don't know," I said as I crawled into my bed. "Gwaine doesn't seem like the settling down type. He'll be gone when the next breeze blows past him," I yawned as Gwen tucked my blankets around me, as if I were a small child. "I need someone stable, someone I can rely on, someone that I know will always be there, someone like-"

"Someone like Merlin?" Gwen asked, though through her tone it sounded as if the words had just slipped out of her mouth without a filter.

My drunk mind conjured up an image of the handsome warlock, and even though the image was fuzzy, it instantly warmed my heart. I don't remember saying anything after that. I might have, but all I remembered was closing my eyes and falling asleep, dreaming of frolicking to Narina.

TBC...

I haven't updated in forever so here's something!

Hopefully next part to come soon!

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