Medea was in complete awe. Camelot was beautiful. The white walls of the castle towered high above her and the whole structure looked as if it was reaching up to touch the sky. They had ridden through forest and farmland and through bustling markets where people paused in their daily work to curtsy or bow as they passed. The people certainly seemed to recognize Morgana, but Medea noticed that the majority of the attention seemed to be directed towards Arthur, who was riding proudly at the front. Medea realized that he must be somebody important, after all, Morgana had said that she was the king's ward, yet he spoke so casually to her. Medea was starting to regret pointing an arrow at his face. The group rode into a large courtyard, where several guards were stood, ready to take their horses. Medea was already overwhelmed by the grandeur of the castle, especially now that she could see it up close, every inch of it seemed to be intricate and gleaming.
"Wow..." She muttered to herself, taking it all in.
"Wait until you see the inside" Merlin laughed up at her. He had already dismounted his horse and was now stood next to hers, arms outstretched, ready to help Medea down.
"Thank you, Merlin" She laughed, taking his hand and dismounting her own horse.
"Go and clean up and then come to the throne room, Father will want to see you." Medea overheard Arthur say to Morgana before walking away, waving a small gesture for Merlin to follow. Morgana walked over to Medea, taking her arm and gently shepherding her up the stairs, towards the castle.
"Did he say father?" Medea questioned timidly, her eyes fixed on the spot where Arthur had been standing only moments before.
"Didn't realize you were about to shoot the crown prince of Camelot, did you?"
"Well, that explains the bowing..."
The corners of Morgana's lips curled upwards as she tried to stifle her laughter.
"Come, let's get you cleaned up before you meet the king"

Medea had decided that she was a good judge of character. She had known that both the lady Morgana and Merlin were kind on sight and though she was still trying to figure the prince out, she had instantly felt he was trustworthy. Uther Pendragon, on the other hand, she did not like at all. He was a tall and imposing figure who practically reeked of self- righteousness, and pride Medea didn't like him one bit. In fact, she felt rather like prey before a predator as she stood before the king in the throne room.
"We managed to escape from the bandits due to Medea's skill with a bow, we were making our way back to Camelot when Arthur found us" Morgana was telling the king. Uther's cold eyes were examining Medea carefully.
"And you say the girl has no memories?" Uther questioned, he was still looking at Medea, despite talking about her as if she wasn't in the room.
"Yes. And despite being in such a distressing situation, she took it upon herself to help me. I dare say she saved my life" Morgana finished, giving Medea a small smile. Uther's eyes seemed to soften slightly.
"I'm just glad you're safe" He said, placing a hand on Morgana's cheek. Maybe he did have a nice side Medea thought to herself. "It seems I owe you a debt" Uther continued, his gaze once again falling on Medea.
"You owe me nothing, Sire. I'm just glad I was there to help" Medea replied, her voice sounding much more confident than she felt.
"Nonsense, you must be rewarded" Uther stated, "our court physician, Gaius, will see to your well-being and you shall stay in Camelot as the Lady Morgana's companion until your memories return to you."
Medea didn't need to see the shocked faces surrounding her to know that was a generous reward.
"Thank you, Sire" Medea curtsied, glancing over at Morgana who was smiling back brightly, clearly happy with the arrangement. Morgana's smile quickly disappeared however and was replaced by a look of desperate guilt.
"The bandits still have Gwen!" she exclaimed, turning back to Uther who gave her a confused look.
"We believe they were Mercian" Arthur suddenly chimed in, Medea had almost forgotten he was there. She glanced over at him and their eyes met, causing Medea to blush furiously, she was still embarrassed about almost shooting the Prince of Camelot with an arrow. "We have received reports that Hengist has crossed the border" Arthur continued, his shifting back to his father.
"Hengist?" The king questioned.
"Well, you must send a rescue party" Morgana interrupted, giving Uther a pleading look.
"If Hengist is holding her, it would take a small army to rescue your maid" Uther quickly dismissed the idea.
"We can't abandon her!" Morgana argued, her anger rising at Uther's lack of concern.
"How many men would you have me sacrifice to save a servant?" Uther laughed, but Morgana was in no joking mood.
"As many as it takes" She replied stubbornly. "Gwen gave herself up so that I might escape, I owe her my life as much as I owe it to Medea, why should one be rewarded and the other abandoned?"
Medea felt a stab of guilt, By the sound of it Gwen had done much more than she had. The maid had willingly sacrificed herself to save her friend, Medea had simply been in the right place at the right time, Medea thought that somebody so brave deserved to be rescued.
"She gave herself up willingly and she will be honored for it" Uther replied in an attempt to appease his ward. It didn't work.
"I don't want her honored, I want her rescued!" Morgana shouted, grabbing Uther's arm to prevent him from running away. The whole room had fallen silent and all eyes were on the king and his ward. "She is more than just my maid, she's my friend" Morgana said quietly. Uther sighed.
"A servant is of no use to these bandits, I fear she's dead already, you must find comfort in your new friends" Uther replied, gesturing to Medea. Medea's stomach twisted in anger, did this man have no empathy?
"No" Morgana said, shaking her head and pulling away from Uther's arms. "We cannot give up hope!" she continued, frantically looking around the room for support. Medea walked forward and placed her hand in Morgana's comfortingly. She would help her, even if it meant going to rescue Gwen herself. Morgana gave her new friend a desperate look before turning her attention to the prince. "Arthur? I'm begging you" She pleaded.
Arthur glanced at Medea and saw the resolution in her eyes. He got the feeling that she was going to help Morgana no matter what the king decreed. He wanted to help too, Gwen was a nice girl and he knew she meant a lot to Merlin but he couldn't challenge his Father in public...
"My Father's right," He said sternly, he couldn't look Morgana in the eye as he did though. "I'm afraid there is nothing we can do" He finished, risking a glance at Medea who was still holding onto Morgana's hand. Medea couldn't believe it, Perhaps the prince was stubborn and unfeeling, just like his father. Yet, when his eyes locked with hers they didn't seem cold at all, but rather desperate and extremely determined. He was going to help She thought. This was all just an act for his father's sake. The corners of Medea's lips quirked upwards slightly in understanding and the desperation in Arthur's eyes turned to relief. Morgana, however, hadn't caught on to the prince's plan.
"How can you say that?" She fummed "How can you live with yourselves?"
Morgana was becoming hysteric, Medea had to get her out of there. She was sure the prince had a plan and the quicker the court was dispersed, the sooner he could put his plan into action. She squeezed Morgana's lightly and placed her spare hand on the lady's shoulder, gently guiding her out of the room. Morgana was still shouting at the king so all eyes were on her. Medea chanced a glance at the prince as she and Morgana left the room. Arthur was already watching her and gave her a small nod as their eyes met. The heavy doors of the throne room closed behind them and Morgana finally stopped shouting. The two girls walked in silence back to Morgana's chambers.
"What now?" She asked hopelessly
"Now... I go and save Gwen" Medea replied, giving Morgana an encouraging smile.
"You can't do that alone, I hate to admit it, but Uther's right, it would take a small army"
"Don't worry, something tells me I'll have help" Medea replied knowingly. Morgana glanced at Medea and realized that she wasn't joking, she really did intend to help Gwen. The lady felt a sudden rush of gratitude and affection for her new companion.
"I'll make sure of it" Morgana murmured, standing up and walking towards the door of her chamber.
"Where are you going?" Medea questioned.
"To get you help" Morgana replied with fiery eyes. It seemed her anger had returned full force. "In the meantime, you go and see Gaius, I'll come and find you when I'm done" She finished, exiting the room without so much as a goodbye. Medea sat in stunned silence, Morgana's moods seemed to be as unpredictable as the weather. She got up and left Morgana's chambers, walking down the small spiral staircase and into a large hallway. This was only the second time Medea had been to this part of the castle so she had hardly had time to take in her surroundings. Morgana was nowhere in sight so it seemed she would have to find her own way to wherever Gaius was. She sighed in exasperation.
"If I were a court physician, where would I be?" Medea mused to herself, glancing around at the multiple passageways.
"I think I can help with that" A voice said from behind Medea, startling her. "Sorry" Merlin apologized with a sheepish grin "you looked like you needed some help"
Medea returned his smile.
"Thank you, Morgana suggested I go and see Gaius but left me without any form of directions" Medea laughed. Merlin chuckled
"I passed her just now, it looked like she was heading for Arthur's chambers, and she didn't look too happy" He said.
"Poor guy" Medea replied, knowing the prince had every intention of helping but not doubting that he was going to get his ear shouted off by Morgana anyway.
"Shall we?" Merlin smiled, gesturing down one of the passageways, presumably the one that lead to Gaius.
"Thank you, Merlin, I'm sorry to be a hassle" Medea said sheepishly, following Merlins lead.
"No hassle at all" Merlin replied "I'm going that way anyway, I live with Gauis and I need to go to my room to pack"
"Pack?" Medea questioned, raising her eyebrow at the servant.
"We're going after Gwen" Merlin explained with a smile. Medea didn't have to ask who Merlin meant by 'we' and she had decided that the prince of Camelot was nothing like his father.