Tasneem's eyes lazily opened as she snuggled closer to the source of the warmth in her bed. The light streamed in rather beautifully, which was most definitely odd because she usually closed the shutters; however today they hung loosely by their hinges, a casualty of the chaos of the previous night. As her gaze landed on her disordered room hazy images started to trickle into her memory. How had she allowed things to get this far? As she contemplated what this episode would mean for her mental health she noticed an arm wrapped tightly around her waist. She swore under her breath, realising that the warmth she had been enjoying was actually Prince fucking Arthur. His grip only tightened with each attempt she made to unravel herself from him. Panic began to set in at the thought of being caught in such a compromising position. Hoping that speed would be her saviour she swiftly rolled out of the bed. Unfortunately, her attempt was unsuccessful and she landed with an ungraceful thump on the floor, waking Arthur in the process. From here she could look at him properly. His hair was scruffy, his face stretched in a long yawn, his top had slipped up during the night to show his toned stomach. Tasneem struggled to suppress the swell of attraction she felt from seeing him like this.

"What are you doing on the floor?" Tasneem's cheeks reddened.

"Erm… I fell out of bed." Arthur reached a hand over to help pull her to her feet. "You should get going. You probably have a busy day."

"Right, that's a good idea. Are you sure you don't want a hand clearing this up?" Tasneem filled with dread at the prospect of having to sort out her room by herself, but she knew she couldn't keep Arthur any longer. He had already done too much for her.

"I'll be ok." Her meek smile did little to reassure him. She busied herself by picking up the clothes that were strewn on the floor as he put on his shoes and tried to make himself presentable. However, that could not distract Tasneem from the fact that Arthur's eyes were fixed on her. He was desperate to say something to break the awkward silence, but he was unable to find the words to express himself. With a resigned sigh Arthur walked to the door, noticing that it hung open slightly.

"Sorry for breaking your door, I will make sure to hire a carpenter to fix that." Tasneem chuckled at his gracious behaviour.

"Don't apologise, I appreciate you making sure I was safe." Arthur shifted uncomfortably, she genuinely seemed better but seeing her in such a state last night had terrified him. Of course he didn't know the girl well, but what had happened was definitely not normal behaviour. She had seemed so happy a few weeks ago, always joking and laughing with Merlin. And now... well he didn't quite recognise the woman in front of him. "Goodbye Arthur, thank you again."

"Oh…Yes, goodbye. See you later." He paused for a moment, looking at her intently. "How are you feeling? Better than last night?" Tasneem held her breath, now she had gained some sanity she struggled to adjust to Arthur's new behaviour. Before last night he was practically a stranger to her, but now he'd helped when she was most vulnerable and still he was empathetic and kind. She'd had this image of Arthur being aloof and stuck up, frankly he struck her as a medieval fuck boy. There was difficulty in separating that image from the reality.

"I'm much better, I'll be alright don't worry. Now off you go, you've got a kingdom to look after." The warmth of her smile convinced him and he left quickly. Tasmeem got to work repacking her closet; thankfully most of the dresses could be easily repaired. Not even a minute after Arthur had left there was a knock at the door. Presuming it was Arthur she continued with her work.

"Come in!" She heard the door creak open behind me, "Did you forget something?"

"I don't think so." Tasneem turned swiftly around, startled by Merlin's voice. She took in his distress at the state of her room, "What happened here? Everything's destroyed."

Tasneem was quiet, she had no idea how to interact with him anymore. "Things got a bit mad last night, I made a bit of a mess."

He snorted derisively, "That's an understatement." Tasneem chose to continue focusing on folding away her dresses. She had no desire to be judged. Merlin remained in silence for a moment, mourning the relationship they used to have. Truth be told, he'd missed her greatly, but she seemed so distant now and he didn't know how to bridge the growing gap between them. He couldn't hide his frustration, he wanted things to be as easy as they used to be before... Well before he'd started to see her as more than a friend. "Gaius said you were acting off is that why you're sleeping with Arthur?" She froze at his question, detecting the malice in his tone. This was not the lighthearted atmosphere she was used to with Merlin.

"I am not sleeping with Arthur." Tasneem's fingers tightened around the dress she had picked up.

"Yes you are. Don't even try and deny it. He just left-" Bubbles of fury grew in her stomach. He couldn't just come barrelling into her life after being so incredibly absent. He had no right to come in here and hurl accusations at her.

"How dare you? I just said I didn't fucking sleep with him. And even if I did how is it your business?" She balled up the dress she had been folding and hurled it at his chest. She knew it wouldn't hurt him but she hoped it would get her message across.

"Oh well excuse me, I thought we were friends. I'm just trying to look out for you" Merlin knew that Arthur wouldn't do anything to hurt Tasneem, but his jealousy was seeping through.

"You don't fucking act like it. You disappear off the face of the fucking planet and when you come back you act like I don't even exist."

"My mother was dying and you didn't even come check if I was ok." Of course this had upset Merlin, but that wasn't the reason he had been avoiding her. His mother had spoken to him and cemented the thoughts that had been swirling around his head since their almost-kiss. He was starting to fall in love with her, and his mother approved.

"So was half of the lower town, I had a lot on my plate-"

"I thought we were friends." He hoped she would hear his desperation. He had thought they were friends, but now he wanted more than that. But how could he compete with Arthur? She deserved more than him.

"So did I." Her chest was rose and fell rapidly from the strength of the rage that was pulsing through her. She remained oblivious to the storm raging in Merlin's mind. "Merlin if you just came here to fight and call me a slut you can leave now. I'm not in the mood." His eyes fell as she proceeded to ignore him. This wasn't what he's wanted at all.

"I came to check if you were alright."

"You came to pass judgement." With a frustrated huff he walked towards her and helping sort out the heap of dresses that lay on the floor.

"I've done this all wrong. I've missed you, I want things back to the way they were."

"Me too. I've been struggling without you and Gaius to be honest." Tasneem hadn't fully forgiven him, but frankly she needed him back in her life. She felt like she had no one here, it would do her good to have Merlin back.

"Yeah I can tell." This time his snicker didn't seem demeaning and Tasneem felt a small smile creep onto her face. "So what actually happened last night?"

"Nothing really, I think things just got a bit too much." He knew she was lying, but he was hesitant to push things further.

"Next time things get too much you can come and talk to me. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know." Her meek response was unconvincing; Merlin vowed he would keep a closer eye on her from now on. He'd been so wrapped up in how own emotions he'd failed to see her spinning out. And from what Gwen had told him Tasneem and Morgana hadn't spoken in weeks, without that emotional outlet she was sure to be struggling. Sure her and Merlin were close, but they never really strayed into the more serious stuff and Merlin wanted to keep it that way. He didn't want to risk spilling his emotions to her. So for now he'd watch, maybe try and repair her broken relationship with Morgana, and try and keep her away from Arthur.

Cleaning went quickly with Merlin by her side, within an hour everything was back to normal. They spent the hour getting used to each other's company again, catching up on the last few weeks. Soon they were laughing like they used to, finding joy in nothing in particular. As Merlin used his magic to fix all that she had broken in her room Tasneem gaped in awe. The butterflies causing chaos in Merlin's stomach refused to settle, no one had ever looked at him like that before. Of course Merlin loved his magic, but everyone had always viewed it with suspicion. Tasneem had never been tainted by Camelot's laws, she could see no shame or danger in his skills. He wanted to see her smile like that again, Tasneem giggled as she felt her hair move once again, Merlin's magic braiding it into a simple plait. She rushed to the mirror to admire his handiwork.

"God I've missed that. Thank you, it looks stunning."

"Not as stunning as you." Merlin blushed deeply, oh God why had he said that? He was trying to keep his feelings to himself but all he could think about was how beautiful she was. "I should go, Arthur probably needs me." He rushed out of Tasneem's room, not noticing her confusion. Her fingers absently played with her newly braided hair as she wondered if Merlin might actually like her back. No one had called her stunning before. She resolved that she was probably reading too much into it, Merlin was just being nice.

Tasneem made her way to Morgana's chambers, some freshly picked flowers in her hand. After a tentative knock she was met with Gwen's smile.

"Trying to make amends?" Gwen asked, spying Tasneem's gift.

"If she'll let me." Tasnemm found Morgana embroidering at her desk, an intricate pattern decorating some deep green fabric. "That looks beautiful."

"Hmm..." Morgana seemed to avoid eye contact.

"I've brought some lilies, I know they're your favourite," Tasneem shifted awkwardly as Morgana continued to ignore her, "and some daisies, I thought we might make some flower crowns? Like you used to when you were little?" There was still no response. Tasneem was at a loss, it felt like she was talking to her stranger. A look of determination became fixed to Tasneem's face as she sat down beside Morgana, dumping the flowers on the table. She got to work messily making flower crowns, huffing as the stems broke from her aggressive technique. It felt like she couldn't get anything right. Yet just as she was about to give up there was a giggle from beside her. Tasneem turned her head to see Morgana's amusement.

"You really are terrible at this." Tasneem tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach, it had been so long since she'd witnessed Morgana's smile.

"Yes well not all of us are as talented as you, go on and show me how it's done." Morgana hesitated before picking up the daisies. She observed them cautiously before gracefully looping the stems around each other, forming the first link in the chain. Tasneem watched as Morgana skilfully continued the chain. "How did you get so good at this?"

"Unlike Arthur I was not allowed to go off on my own adventures growing up, I found other ways to occupy my time."

"I'd argue you'd still beat him in a fight though" Morgana chuckled lightly.

"Indeed, he does tend to fight rather too impulsively, he needs to be more calculated with his moves." The women shared a smile, slipping back into the friendship they once had. With Morgana's aid Tasneem eventually finished her crown, and the pair donned their delicate headpieces. They linked arms as they wandered around the castle together, laughing like they used to and bringing joy to those who they encountered. Tasneem still felt impossibly empty on the inside, but she was reassured by the knowledge that she had mended the broken relationships she had had with those she cared about. She knew there was still some distance between her and Morgana, but she felt comfortable that that was something that could and would be mended.