A/N: Wow. I am so so so so so so so so so SO so sorry that it's taken me so long to update this story. I really have no excuse. Life got a little crazy for me, certain things became a tad more difficult. Not to mention I became hopelessly obsessed with Marvel and Captain America and consequently started planning out a fanfic series for that as well. But don't fret, I never lost the desire to write this story. I'm actually posting this chapter earlier than I would. I usually write the whole episode and then split it into parts before updating, but I feel so guilty about going practically two years without an update I decided to put something up. Hopefully my muse has returned and I can get the last part finished and uploaded soon. And ya know also continue to write the whole series. Thank you to everyone who reads this story and still supports me. You guys mean the world to me.


Lancelot : Part 1

It was no surprise that Adrielle loved spending time in the woods. Whether she was collecting herbs for Gaius or just walking around with Beacon, it didn't matter to her. Any time spent in the woods was okay by her. Today Adrielle's journey into the woods was a business trip. Gaius had asked her to gather more mushrooms for his stock. She hoped that if she collected more than enough for Gaius that perhaps some would find their way into her meal. Oh, how she loved mushrooms. Adrielle had been picking mushrooms since she was a small child. Long ago her mother had shown her the difference between edible and poisonous mushrooms when she had tried to feed Merlin a highly poisonous one. On accident of course, but Merlin would say otherwise.

Adrielle saved her trip into the woods for late at night. She knew the best and most delicious mushrooms were at their peak under the moonlight. She had hoped her little four legged friend would have joined her on her midnight adventure, but when she called Beacon he did not make to move and stayed on her bed. Adrielle would have appreciated his company, but she could make due on her own.

Adrielle frolicked through the woods humming to herself no tune in particular. She hadn't bothered bringing a torch with her; her eyes would be able to adjust easily so she could comfortably see in the darkness. Besides, the moon was full and the stars were shining brightly above her.

Adrielle was concentrating on determining which mushrooms before her were poisonous or not when a terrifying noise echoed through the forest. She stopped, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up, and listened. She wasn't sure what she had heard but it didn't sound too friendly. Adrielle slowly straightened out and listened closer, trying to discern what she heard and where she had heard it. Perhaps she was going mad, maybe the night was playing tricks on her. As she listened to the sounds of nature, that's all she heard. She heard the wind rustling through the leaves. She heard crickets chirping, owls hooting, and frogs croaking from a nearby marsh. Nothing seemed out of place.

But as she was about to write it off as her imagination she heard it again. This time she could distinguish the noise as a deep growl, and it was growing closer. She looked up to the sky where the noise seemed to be coming from. In the distance she could see a shape growing larger as it came closer. It had large wings that caused the trees around it to shudder as they flapped. A furry tail whipped out from behind it's body. The beast stretched out its razor sharp talons as another screech escaped it's beak. Adrielle watched as it flew closer and closer to her, aiming its deadly claws right at her.

Without thinking Adrielle dropped her basket and took off in the opposite direction. No matter how fast she ran she knew there was no out running this creature; the distance between them was only decreasing the further she ran. At the last possible moment Adrielle flung herself forward to escape the creature's wrath. She fell to the forest floor with a hard thud as the beast wooshed above her. Adrielle felt a stinging sensation in her right shoulder as she watched the creature land and turn around to face her. She cursed under her breath as the monster started to charge at her.

Oh, great.

Adrielle was probably going to die here in the forest tonight, right here, right now, and for what? Some mushrooms that would never make it back to gaius. She closed her eyes and waited for the impact, not wanting to watch her death approaching her.

Adrielle heard something run past her towards the beast, and rather than it attacking her, the mysterious runner started attacking it. She moved quickly so she was standing and watched the encounter before her. The mystery runner turned out to be a man. It was hard to tell his features in the dark, especially since his back was turned to her. She watched as he parried against the creature's talons.

Anyone else who would have been crazy enough to be out in the woods this late would have ran away at the first sign of danger, not towards it. Yet here this man was before Adrielle, defending her. The man went to strike the beast in the chest when suddenly, to her horror, his sword snapped in half like a twig. He dropped the remains of his weapon and started back towards her.

"Run. Run!" he cried. As he passed Adrielle he grabbed onto her hand and began dragging her out of harm's way. The pair zigzagged through the forest, trying their best to shake off the monster. No amount of twisting and turning was enough to confuse it. A set of fallen trees laid before them in their path. The two jumped over them, the man pulling Adrielle closer to both himself and the log. Adrielle held her breath as the beast galloped closer and closer to their hiding place. The monster climbed over the logs and, to her relief, launched itself into the air. She watched it as it flew off into the dark and disappeared.

"You saved my life," Adrielle said, now turning to the mysterious man, whom she was still leaning very close to, "Thank you. I'm Adrielle, by the way."

"Anything to save a beautiful woman such as yourself. I'm Lancelot," he said. He picked up one of her hands and kissed it delicately. Adrielle flushed, she had never been shown this sort of affection from a complete stranger. A gentleman. His hand slipped from hers as his head slumped to the side, coming to rest on her shoulder.

"Lancelot?" she asked, eyes wide in concern. Even in the dark she could see he was starting to lose colour in his tanned face. Her attention was suddenly drawn to a stain on his tunic that was growing darker and larger with each passing second. Adrielle lifted up his shirt to get a better look at his wound. She tried to inspect the slash as best she could in the dark but it was futile. As far as she could tell the wound wasn't fatal, but if he didn't get treated soon he'd catch an infection or bleed out. But how the bloody hell was she going to get him back to Camelot? she couldn't carry him, and she surely didn't think she'd want to drag her savior back to Camelot. She could always use magic, but of course she didn't know any spells that could help. When would this 'having magic' bit actually find itself useful to her? She didn't think Camelot was too far away. As soon as she was inside the citadel she could get some guards to carry Lancelot the rest of the way for her. All she had to do was make it that far.

Adrielle stood up, the pain in her shoulder becoming more apparent. She took a deep breath, her heart still racing from her latest near death experience, before grabbing Lancelot's wrists. She moved so she was crouching in front of him, his arms draped over her shoulders. With whatever strength she could muster up in her legs Adrielle stood up, Lancelot's body slowly rising with hers. She gripped onto his wrists tighter as she slowly dragged him through the woods behind her.

Adrielle wasn't sure how much time had passed as she trudged through the woods to Camelot. Lancelot had been lighter than she had first assumed, but still heavy enough that her muscles ached with exhaustion by the time she reached the city's walls.

"Halt! Who goes there?" a guard called out into the darkness.

"I'm Gaius' apprentice!" she called back, dropping Lancelot onto the ground when her body could take no more. "I have a man with me. He's injured. I need to get him back to Gaius' chambers."

There was a breath of silence, nothing, before Adrielle heard the shuffling of feet. Out of the darkness several guards appeared before her. They huddled around his body before hoisting him up. She followed behind slowly, her muscles crying out again with every step she took.

When they reached her chambers the guards barreled through the door, causing the old physician to wake from his sleep violently.

"What's going on here?" he questioned, still sounding a little drowsy from his sleep.

"It's a long story, Gaius," Adrielle sighed. "I found him when I was out picking mushrooms. He saved my life."

"Place him on the spare cot," Gaius instructed, becoming more awake and alert with each second. The guards did as they were told before leaving and returning to their positions.

"What happened to you in the woods?" Gaius asked, looking up at Adrielle before turning to attend to Lancelot's wound.

"A beast attacked me. It nicked my shoulder, I don't know how bad it is. I thought I was done for until he showed up to defend me," she said, gesturing to Lancelot. "He saved my life, Gaius. His name's Lancelot. I didn't even see him get hurt as we were running away."

"What sort of creature was this?" Gaius inquired.

"I'm not sure. It was too dark to really tell. All I know is it had wings, talons, a tail, and a beak," Adrielle recalled.

"Well I'm glad you're alright, Adrielle."

"What about him? Is he going to be alright?"

"His wound is superficial. His fever will pass. He should be fine in the morning. Now, I'll need to tend to your shoulder. Go change into your nightclothes, if you please," Gaius instructed. Adrielle nodded and turned, beginning to make her way up to her chambers. She was surprised that Merlin hadn't been awoken yet and come running down. He must be able to sleep through anything.

Just as Adrielle thought that she watched as her bedroom door opened and a sleepy Merlin come down the stairs.

"What does a guy need to do to get some decent sleep around here?" Merlin whined while rubbing his eyes. "What's going on out here?"

"Your sister was attacked," Gaius stated. Merlin looked around the room, opening his eyes more so he could see better. He looked from Adrielle, to Gaius, to Lancelot's sleeping form before speaking.

"What have I told you about bringing strange men home at night, Adrielle?" Merlin said with a joking strictness.

"No 'How are you, Adrielle', no 'I'm glad you're alright', no 'dearest sister how glad I am to see you alive, not dead'? None of that?" Adrielle asked in disbelief.

"No, none of that," Merlin said shaking his head. Adrielle huffed and pushed past her brother to get to her room.

"Don't get mad at me. You're the one who said no sap," Merlin called back.

"There's always an exception to the rule," she retorted while she changed. She slipped her arms into the tunic but stopped before slipping her head in. She pulled the rest of the shirt to her chest so her breasts were covered while her back was still bare.

"What are you doing? It's not like I haven't seen you topless before," Merlin sassed.

"I wouldn't go around telling people that if I were you," she replied.

"What? It's called 'we've lived together in close proximities for the past 18 years'."

Adrielle turned so Gaius could examine her back. He grabbed a cloth and cleaned away the dried blood. She winced slightly as Gaius dabbed some healing ointment on the three scratches that had appeared.

"You're lucky your wounds are slight. Both of you," Gaius said nodding to Lancelot. "From the looks of this, this beast could have done some serious damage to you."

"Wait, you were injured?" Merlin asked, suddenly very concerned.

"Oh, now you care," Adrielle rebutted, pursing her lips. Gaius patted Adrielle's back to signal that she was free to go.

"If there's any change or you experience any irritation, let me know. You should be fine in a day, but you never can be sure," Gaius lectured. Adrielle nodded, shifting herself back into her shirt before heading back up to her room.

"Don't worry, Merlin, you can go back to sleep now. All the excitement and danger is done for the night," Adrielle called back. It suddenly hit her how tired she was. She had stayed up late so she could go hunting for her mushrooms (she was still very sad for her loss). Not to mention she had been attacked and had to drag an unconscious man nearly twice her size back to Camelot. To say she was tired was an understatement. She was exhausted.

Adrielle collapsed onto her bed as soon as she could. She could have probably fallen asleep right then and there, if only Merlin hadn't hurried up after her.

"Look, I'm sorry for not showing concern right away. Sap or no sap. Seriously, are you alright? What happened in the woods?" Merlin asked, sitting on his bed across from hers. She recounted her nights events to her brother, still keeping her eyes closed as she did. Though she could not see it, Merlin's eyebrows furrowed together as she described the creature.

"I've never heard of a beast like that before," Merlin said looking off into the distance. "Have you? Adirelle?"

When she didn't respond he called out to her again.

"Adrielle?" Merlin looked over at his sister only to find her sound asleep. He shook his head at her before putting out the candle he had lit and crawling back into bed.

That night Adrielle dreamt about the beast the had attacked her and Lancelot. She kept running and running through the dark woods, dodging in and out of giant mushrooms. The terrifying, nameless creature would swipe at her with its razor sharp talons, nearly missing her back by inches. Adrielle could hear nothing but it's piercing screeches. She tripped over a branch and tumbled across the floor before hitting a giant mushroom and stopping. She watched as the beast closed in on its prey; her. She closed her eyes at the last second and jolted herself out of the dream before she became history.

Adrielle woke with a start, her eyes snapping open wide. She stared up at the dusty ceiling in the early morning light. She inhaled deeply, trying to calm all of her senses, covering her face with her hands. She had no idea what this monster was or why it kept chasing her literally in her in her waking moments and ones spent asleep. She had a terrible feeling that wasn't the last she'd seen of it. Adrielle pushed herself out of bed and began readying herself for her day. She paused as she began taking off her night shirt, remembering the wound she had received last night. She hadn't actually seen it last night, but Gaius hadn't made a big fuss about it so she let it go, brushed it off as nothing. Adrielle was suddenly overcome with an intense feeling of curiosity.

Adrielle pulled the back of her shirt up revealing her bare skin. She approached her mirror and turned around quickly, looking over her shoulder at the damage. She was relieved to see her back looking fairly ordinary. Three red scratch marks ran from the bottom of her shoulder blade up and out to the edge of her shoulder. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but she had been preparing herself for the worst. This...this was far from a worst case scenario.

Adrielle looked over her scratch again, thinking about last night. She suddenly remembered Lancelot and wondered how he was doing; if he had healed or regressed. She quickly continued changing into her regular dress before heading out into the main chambers. She spotted her brother sitting at the dining table as she descended the stairs.

"Morning, brother dearest. Where's Gaius?" Adriele called. She spooned some porridge into a bowl and sat down across from Merlin

"He had to attend to some urgent business, he said. He should be back shortly," Merlin explained. Adrielle nodded, eating her breakfast quietly. Her eyes drifted over to Lancelot who still lied silently on Gaius' patient table. He looked alright from here. His face looked like it had regained any colour it might have lost. He looked peaceful as he slept. There was no indication that he had been injured and dragged back here unconscious by a dainty girl.

"How is he?" she asked, nodding towards Lancelot's sleeping form.

"Oh...you're boyfriend?" Merlin mused smirking as he spoke. "He's fine. Gaius inspected him before he left. He says the wound is healing nicely and he'll make a full recovery."

Adrielle nodded before responding.

"He's not my boyfriend," she replied blatantly.

"Oh, no you're right. He's just some stranger you met in the middle of the night and literally dragged back to your chambers," Merlin shot playfully.

"I've been up for no more than 10 minutes and I already want to punch you. This must be some sort of record," she shot back, eyes narrowed at Merlin. Their attention was drawn to a shuffling sound over by Lancelot's cot. Sure enough, the man in question was beginning to stir from his sleep.

"Look, your boyfriend's waking up. He missed you," Merlin teased. Adrielle shot a glare at her brother as she made her way over to Lancelot's side.

"Merlin, I swear to God I will push you off the drawbridge and feel no remorse whatsoever," she grumbled back.

Lancelot opened his eyes slowly letting them adjust to the light. He sat up slowly, hand rubbing his head, and let his eyes take in his new surroundings.

"Well good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Adrielle called, grabbing a glass of water and handing it to him.

"Ugh...what happened?" he groaned groggily.

"You were injured last night," she started.

"Injured? How?"

"You...you saved me from this beast. As we ran it got you, it was pretty bad at the time. You fell unconscious and I had to drag you back to Camelot."

"Wait...you dragged me back?" Lancelot asked astonished.

"What, like it's hard? Yes I dragged you back. Adrenaline is one hell of a natural drug," Adrielle responded casually.

"Thank you, Adrielle, truly. I probably would have died out there had you not saved me. Not many people would have gone to the lengths you did. I am eternally grateful," Lancelot replied sincerely.

Adrielle smiled and looked down at her hands that sat clasped in her hands. She tried to ignore heat that was slowly prickling in her cheeks as she contemplated her reply.

"You're welcome. I couldn't really leave the man who had just saved my life in the woods to bleed out and die. I was only returning the favor. I owe you as much thanks for my life as you do me."

"What were you doing in the woods so late at night? I doubt you were just waiting for a damsel in distress to appear to save her," Merlin chimed in. Lancelot's eyes tore away from Adrielle to her brother looking startled, almost as if he hadn't even noticed the other man in the room.

"Ah...who is this, Adrielle?" he asked, turning back to the girl.

"Oh, sorry Lancelot. My apologies, how rude of me. Lancelot, this is my dear brother, Merlin. Merlin, Lancelot," she said as she introduced the two. "What were you doing in the woods in the middle of the night? Don't get me wrong I'm grateful you were there, it just seems slightly out of place."

"I could ask you the same question," Lancelot countered. "A young girl all alone in the woods at night, so helpless and defenceless."

Adrielle tried to fight the urge to smile but failed. A comment like that from anyone else, especially Arthur, would have elicited a much different response from her. One that was more defensive and headstrong, but here she was happily continuing to play along.

"My dear brother here was too lazy and left me all alone to defend myself," she returned playfully.

"Oh come off it, Adrielle. You don't need me to protect you. You said it yourself you're perfectly capable of-" Merlin started before Adrielle cut him off by slapping him upside the head.

"Don't avoid my question," she asked, turning her attention back to Lancelot. "Why were you out in the woods last night? I was just picking mushrooms for Gaius - which it's a shame I lost those. There, I answered. Now it's your turn."

Lancelot held up his hands in surrender before answering. "Truthfully, I was on my way to Camelot."

"Wait, Camelot?"

"It's stupid, I know. What would a person like me be doing in Camelot? I'd stick out like a sore thumb. I had this dream, this delusion of grandeur. I shouldn't have set out in the first place," Lancelot sighed, heaving a self-depreciating laugh.

"If you hadn't I might have ended up minced meat for that beast," Adrielle replied.

"I suppose that is one good thing," Lancelot smiled. "So, where is it that I've found myself? Other than your chambers."

"You're in for a real treat," Merlin started. "You're in Camelot."

"Really? I made it?"

"You made it," Adrielle replied with a smile. "But I have to ask, why Camelot?"

"Ever since I was a child I've dreamed of coming here. It's my life's ambition to join the Knights of Camelot. I know what you're thinking. I...I expect too much. After all, who am I? They have their pick of the best and bravest in the land," Lancelot sighed again.

"Oh come off it, Lancelot," Adrielle countered. "I'm sure the Knights of Camelot would improve tenfold if they had you in their ranks."

"I'm not sure how true that is," Lancelot shrugged.

"Why don't we put that theory to the test?" Merlin said suddenly. Adrielle looked at Merlin uncertainly before looking over at Lancelot. She was relieved to see him sporting a similar look of confusion. Then again, Adrielle was almost always confused when it came to her brother.

"What the bloody hell are you on about, Merlin?" Adrielle asked.

"You'll never know if you never try," Merlin said to Lancelot.

"Merlin would you please stop being so damn mysterious. What are you trying to say?"

"It's not like I can just walk up to the Prince and tell him I want to be a knight myself," Lancelot sighed.

"You can't, no, but I might know a couple people who can," Merlin said before turning to look at his sister.

"Wait you mean us?" Adrielle asked stunned.

"Of course I mean us, Adrielle."

"Who do you think we are, Merlin? We're not buddy buddies with the soon to be prince. We can't just waltz up to him and offer suggestions for new Knights. He's not gonna listen to us. He doesn't care," Adrielle rebutted.

"He listened to me when I said his cup was poisoned," Merlin replied.

"Yeah only after you drank the poison and nearly died," Adrielle pointed out, ignoring the looks of confusion and concern Lancelot was displaying.

"What's the worst that could happen? He doesn't listen to us and Lancelot's dreams are crushed-"

"Thanks for the pep talk, Merlin," Lancelot sighed half-heartedly.

"Best case scenario?" Merlin continued. "Arthur actually listens to us and Camelot gains one of the finest Knights it's ever known. You said it yourself, Adrielle. They'd improve tenfold if he were part of their ranks."

Adrielle paused, letting Merlin's words seep into her. Why was she fighting this so much? It's not like she thought Lancelot wouldn't succeed. She'd seen some of the other Knights fighting in the tournament a few weeks back. Maybe she had only seen Lancelot fight once, against a mythical creature, at night...but from what she had seen he was definitely skillful. Someone who dedicated their whole life to learning to fight would have to be good. The only reason Adrielle fought against Merlin was Arthur. She knew just walking up to him and talking to him was out of the question. Occasionally Arthur might actually take their words into consideration, but so far those moments and been far and few between. Adrielle noticed he did have a softer side to him, but he was still a big-headed, arrogant, future prince and King of Camelot. That side outweighed the other.

"So what, you just walk up to Arthur and tell him of the situation? 'I've got a guy who can fight and I think you should take a look at him and make him a knight?'" Adrielle asked.

"No, we go. I talk and you bat your eyelashes at him and go from there."

"Augh, Merlin-" Adrielle started. Before she could get any further Merlin stood from his seat and grabbed hold of her arm as he led her out of their chambers.

"C'mon, I know exactly where he is right now," Merlin said.

"Wait, shouldn't you be with him right now? Doing your job?"

~xx~

The group found Arthur exactly where Merlin said they would. A group of Knights and bystanders stood around the training grounds, two men in the midst of the circle that was forming. Adrielle, Merlin, and Lancelot stood on the edge of the invisible ring closest to Arthur's side. Arthur was preparing himself as the other man across from him did the same.

"Right, you jumped up dung beetle, this is it. The final test. Pass this and you're a knight of Camelot. Fail, and you're no one," Arthur called out to the other man across the field. "You face the most feared of all foes, the ultimate killing machine. You face me."

Adrielle snorted at the mere thought of that. Arthur, the ultimate killing machine. It was enough to make her bust a gut laughing. Her sudden outburst clearly hadn't gone unnoticed as Arthur turned to glare at whoever was mocking him.

Of course it's Adrielle, he thought as he looked at the young girl. She was biting her lip in a futile attempt to control her laughter. Adrielle looked up, catching his eyes as she did. Her face fell suddenly, losing its bright smile as she knew she'd been caught. Arthur cocked an eyebrow at her. She coughed, trying to cover up her snort as no more than a cough, smacking Merlin on his arm.

"Your challenge," Arthur continued, turning his attention back to the other man, "to last one minute free combat. Grummond, Second son of Wessex. Your time starts now."

Arthur drew his sword and nodded to one of the servants who held the timer. The crowd that had gathered to spectate fell quiet as the man in question, Grummond, drew his two swords ready to take on his opponent. Arthur watched him prepare himself for their duel, swinging his swords around menacingly like his arms were a pair of deadly windmills. The soon to be Prince's eyes were sharp as he watched and calculated his moves.

Grummond stopped his swinging and pounced ready to fight the prince. Arthur ducked, avoiding the blow, and spun out of his attackers line of fire. With a quick blow to his abdomen and a knee to his face, Grummond was on his back. The crowd around them began applauding for their victorious prince while Arthur looked more than displeased.

"Wait, what? It's over? Already?" Adrielle questioned confused. Her eyes darted over to the timer on the stand in disbelief. There was no way humanly possible that Arthur could have taken down any potential opponent in less than five seconds. Maybe that's why Arthur looked so disgruntled as he took his fallen opponents flags off his belt. Arthur was supposed to be training future Knights of Camelot, apparently if they couldn't face their toughest challenge yet, the ultimate killing machine, as Arthur himself had put it, then they weren't ready yet.

Maybe they don't need to beat Arthur to proceed to the next level, but they should at least put up a decent fight, Adrielle thought. I'm pretty sure failing in less than a breath doesn't come close to putting up a good fight.

"Take him away," Arthur commanded with a sigh. The Prince turned towards their group as a pair of guards picked Grummond off the ground and shuffled him off the field.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled, making the three of them jump. He said nothing else, only motioning with his head/hand for Merlin to follow.

"Duty calls," he groaned before running off to join his master. He turned around adding, "Don't worry, Lancelot, I'll talk to him." Adrielle watched her brother turn around and run to catch up with Arthur, slowing down to match pace with him. She couldn't hear what Arthur was saying to Merlin, but she could have guessed there was some name calling and yelling at him for not fulfilling all of his duties. There was also probably some eye rolling and grumbling from Merlin.

"I guess that's that," Lancelot said. "It's in Merlin's hands now."

"God have mercy," Adrielle mumbled. She turned away from the field and started making her way back towards her chambers. "I guess all you can do now is wait."

"I've waited my entire life for this. I can wait a little longer," Lancelot said from beside her.

"Can I ask a question?"

"Of course, m'lady. Anything for you."

"Why do you want to be a knight so much? I don't mean to sound rude it's just...I'm curious."

"I don't think you have a rude bone in your body, Adrielle," Lancelot replied. Adrielle blushed slightly and smiled before responding.

"You clearly haven't seen me interact with Merlin enough," she said with a light laugh.

"When I was a boy," Lancelot continued, "my village was attacked by raiders from the northern plains. They were slaughtered where they stood. My father, my mother, everyone. I alone escaped. I vowed that day that never again would I be helpless in the face of tyranny. I made sword craft my life. Every waking hour since that day, I devoted to the art of combat, and when I was ready, I set forth for Camelot."

"Lancelot, I'm so sorry," Adrielle whispered. She was silent after that as they moved through the lively streets of Camelot. That hadn't been quite the story she'd been expecting. To lose your entire village, your family at such a young age, Adrielle couldn't imagine it. She wasn't overly fond of some of the people in her village, but that didn't mean she'd wished that fate on them. Her father might have left before she and Merlin had been born, but she still had her mother growing up, and Merlin of course. God how much she missed her mother.

"What's past is past, Adrielle. There's nothing I could have done then to fix it and there's nothing anyone can do now. If I can do something to stop it from happening again that would be enough for me."

"That's really inspiring, Lancelot."

"If I may ask a question in return?"

"Of course, anything," Adrielle replied.

"How did you and your brother come to be in Arthur's service?"

Adrielle didn't mean to sound rude, but she couldn't conceal her snicker of laughter.

"Have I said something amusing?"

"Sorry," Adrielle apologized before continuing to clarify. "First of all I don't work for Arthur. I'm the physician's apprentice. Gaius is our uncle and he took me under his wing when Merlin and I moved here."

"Forgive me if I insulted you, my lady," Lancelot said, putting his hands up in surrender. "So, if Gaius appointed you his successor, how is it Merlin came into being in the Prince's servitude?"

"Literally within the first 5 minutes of arriving in Camelot we witnessed an execution. A man was condemned to death for practicing magic, his mother vowed vengeance on the King for this; an eye for an eye, a son for a son, blah blah blah. Merlin saved the prince from being murdered by the mother. His reward from the King was being appointed Arthur's personal manservant," Adrielle recalled.

"I'm not sure if that's much of a reward."

"That's what I said."

"I've heard about King Uther's strong hatred of magic in Camelot. That's all you really hear about when people talk of the place. Their top notch Knights, the finest in all of Albion, and the King's cruelty when it comes to magic. His son could be a sorcerer and he'd sentence him to death without batting an eye."

Adrielle felt the back of her throat dry up suddenly. Lancelot was right, the King showed no mercy when it came to those with magic. If she or her brother were ever found out they'd be done for. Especially since Merlin was so close to Arthur as his manservant. It would not look good for the twins. Nevermind the fact that neither of them actually wanted to harm the prince or any of the royals...or anyone in general. It was their destiny for God's sake to protect the future king of Camelot. Fear of the unknown had twisted and warped their perception towards magic. Anyone who had that sort of power was dangerous, when in reality all Adrielle wanted was to live a normal life. Out of the shadows; to be accepted for who she was.

"Adrielle? Are you alright?" Lancelot's voice echoed beside her. She blinked hard and shook her head, trying to clear it of whatever came over her. She hadn't realized she'd gotten all weird and distant.

"What? Oh yeah...yeah sorry. I'm fine. Just got distracted thinking about that thing that attacked us last night," she lied.

"Do you have any idea what that thing was?" Lancelot inquired.

"No, and neither does Gaius. He's very well learned and very knowledgable about things. Science, medicine, magic. He doesn't practice magic but he did once but not anymore. Since it's forbidden and he's a trusted confident with the King but-" Adrielle stopped so she could catch her breath. She had started talking very fast all of a sudden. Her goal was to try and sound inconspicuous as she told Lancelot about Gaius' knowledge of magic, but she was sure it came out a near miss. She cleared her throat before continuing normally. "I provided the best description I could but he's never known any creature like that."

"That's probably not a good sign, is it?"

"No. It's not."

~xx~

Merlin remained absent for the rest of the day. Ditching the Prince this morning had apparently caught up with him. Her brother was probably off doing some unsavory task for the prince as punishment. Lancelot didn't seem worried, or if he was he hid it well. As he said he had already waited this long; he supposed he could stand to wait a little longer.

Gaius examined Lancelot's wound again later that evening. He remarked that it was still healing nicely. The marks on his abdomen that had once been deep and dark were now scabbed over. The deep red was now a bright red, slowly but surely changing to a light pink as the body healed itself.

The sun was hanging low in the sky as Lancelot helped Adrielle prepare some remedies while Gaius finished preparing their dinner. Lancelot volunteered to help them with their work for all the kindness they showed him, saving his life and taking him in when he had nowhere else in Camelot. She had began to notice just how different Lancelot was from others she'd met in Camelot.

Adrielle was starting to really like her time with Lancelot. Not like that of course. She didn't fancy him the way Merlin said she did about every male they interacted with ever. Lancelot was a very genuine man from what she could tell. He was kind, humble, generous, and chivalrous; everything she thought a knight truly should be. She might have been as invested in his quest to become a knight as he was.

Adrielle was busy trying to concentrate on a potion Gaius was having her practice when someone she could only assume was Merlin came bursting through the door. She jumped, causing her vile to slip out of her hands and fall to the ground with a crash.

"Well? Did you speak to him?" Lancelot asked before anyone else could greet one another.

"Yeah, I spoke to him," he replied.

"And?"

"And..." Merlin started, although his tone didn't sound too positive. Adrielle watched as Lancelot's face fell, already anticipating the bad news Merlin would surely deliver. "He said he'd like to meet you."

The tension in the rom changed instantly as Merlin spoke. Lancelot relaxed his muscles that had been taught a moment before. Adrielle let out a breath of relief.

"Yes. Thank you, Merlin. Thank you!" Lancelot said with a grin.

"I'm so happy for you, Lancelot. I now you will do amazing! Arthur will take one look at you and instantly know you're better than those other sorry saps," Adrielle said, placing her hand on his forearm.

"Thank you, Adrielle. Truly for all you've done."

"It's no problem, Lancelot. Really."

"Thank you both," Lancelot quickly added, turning his attention back to Merlin.

"Hey, really, it was no problem. It was nothing," Merlin replied quickly, still grinning with Adrielle and Lancelot. He cleared his throat suddenly, his face changing again back to questioning. "You're not a nobleman, by any chance, are you?"

"A nobleman?" Lancelot repeated with a chuckle. "No. Good lord, no. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. There's just this-" Merlin started slowly.

"The First Code of Camelot," Gaius said, speaking up for the first time. He had been silently observing in the corner, waiting for the right moment to speak up.

"The what?" Adrielle asked.

"The First Code of Camelot, "Gaius repeated. "It states that only those of noble blood can serve as Knight. Uther created the knights to protect the kingdom from those who would wish to destroy it. He knew he would have to trust each of his knights with his life. So, he chose them from the families that had sworn allegiance to him."

"The nobility," Merlin and Adrielle repeated in unison.

"Exactly. Thus the first code of Camelot was born, and ever since that day, only the sons of noble families have served as knights," Gaius finished.

"But that's not fair," Adrielle whinned.

"Fair or unfair, that's the way it is. I'm sorry, Lancelot. Truly, I am," Gaius said before retreating back to his work.

Adrielle looked from her brother to Lancelot in time to see his face fall. The look on his face had been so hardly able to contain his excitement that his dreams were a step closer to coming true. Now his face was that of pure disappointment; he would never be able to achieve his dreams. She watched him sulk up the stairs to Merlin and Adrielle's room, defeated.

"We have to do something for him," Merlin said to his sister, quiet enough so Gaius couldn't hear.

"But what? What can we do?" Adriele asked, still watching Lancelot as she did.

"I don't know."