My love and thanks to star-fire-dreamer, DementedViper, Dragonrider2203, Hogaboom, HopeCoppice, dimple-lala, WhiteOwl05, pygmypuff71 and alleywayqueen. Thanks to doddle for faving and the rest of you for putting it on alert! Your reviews are love ^^

DISCLAIMED

Gwen couldn't sleep. She sat with her back against the stone wall, staring blankly out at the corridor beyond the bars of her cell. The shadow of the guard was cast on the opposite wall, a dark reminder that any attempt to escape on her part would be discovered quickly.

So she sat. And sat. And sat.

Finally, her eyelids began to droop, and her head sagged. Just as she was about to drop off, the clatter of hooves outside woke her. She sprang to her feet and ran to the door of her cell, grabbing the bars desperately, craning her head to try and see around the corner to the guard.

"Sir!" She cried. "Who is it? Can you see?"

The guard didn't reply, and Gwen bit her lip anxiously, berating herself. Why torment herself? There was no possible way Arthur and Merlin could have gotten back so fast.

Voices from outside shouted out, and Gwen couldn't stop herself pressing her body against the bars hopefully, straining to make out the words.

"It's the Prince!" A soldier cried. "Prince Arthur has returned!"

Gwen gasped with relief and sank to the floor, clutching the bars for support. They were back. They would save her. She would live!

Less than a minute later, hurried footsteps sounded in the dungeons, and Gwen struggled to her feet just as Arthur came round the corner, flanked by a scared-looking Merlin. "Gwen!" He cried.

"Merlin." Gwen smiled tearfully. "My Lord." She turned to Arthur, who smiled and shook his head as though they were not seeing each other through iron bars.

"Guinevere, how many times must I tell you that my name is Arthur?"

Gwen could do little more than gasp with laughter, slightly hysterical. Arthur just radiated safety – she would be alright now, she was sure of it. The blonde prince smiled again and nodded to her before turning his attention to the guard, haughty expression settling over his face effortlessly.

"Guard, what is this lady charged with?"

Gwen didn't hear the guard's reply as Merlin clasped her hands on the bars. "How did you get here so fast?" She whispered.

"Magic." He grinned. "Are you alright?"

"Just scared." She confided in a low voice. "I don't want to hang, Merlin."

"You won't hang." His voice was so confident that Gwen relaxed slightly. "Arthur won't let that happen, and neither will I. I'll magic your head from the noose if I have to." He smiled.

Gwen bit her lip tearfully. "But then Uther would attack you." She whispered. "And all he wants is an excuse to banish you, or have you killed. I could never forgive myself if anything happened to you Merlin, or Arthur. Not on my account."

"Guinevere, you are entirely too self-sacrificing." Arthur chimed in, a trace of worry in his eyes. "You're almost worse than Merlin. Why is everyone so keen to die for me?"

"Because we love you, Sire." Gwen said without thinking. Realisation dawned on her face and she backpedalled hastily. "I mean, everyone does, not just me and Merlin, and certainly not me, I mean, that's not to say that I don't…" She trailed off at the amused looks on Merlin's and Arthur's faces.

"Yeah." Arthur grinned. "Sure. Come on, Merlin. I need to talk to my father." Merlin nodded and stepped back from the bars. Arthur stepped forward and his eyes were deadly serious as he looked at Gwen. "Don't worry. I promise I'll get you out of this."

"Are you sure?" Gwen asked, remembering the worry she had seen in his eyes a moment before.

Arthur smiled, reaching a hand through the bars to touch her face. "Certain. Keep smiling, Guinevere. I won't fail you."

"I know you won't." Gwen whispered.

Arthur nodded, rubbed his thumb under her eye, and then withdrew his hand, turning to leave. Gwen lifted one hand from the bars to touch her cheek where Arthur had, and smiled slightly, relaxing for the first time since her arrest. Arthur had promised. She would be fine.

xXx

As they walked out of the dungeons, Arthur leaned his head close to Merlin's. "You didn't tell me that the jewels were my mothers."

"I didn't?" Merlin looked at him in surprise, then shrugged. "Oh well. You know now, and what difference does it make?"

Arthur sighed and rolled his eyes. "It makes all the difference in the world, Merlin." He said as they began to climb the stairs. "My mother's jewels are all my father has left of her. He's very…possessive. Not even I have ever seen them before."

Merlin turned to him with raised eyebrows. "You're not allowed to see them? Your own mother's?"

"No." Arthur kept his eyes focused ahead as they reached the top of the stairs and began to stride along the corridor so fast Merlin had to run to keep up. He sighed, frowning. "If they were any old jewels, I might have been able to bring my father to see reason easily, but where my mother is concerned…" He sighed again, and looked away from Merlin. "This isn't going to be as easy as I made out."

Merlin stared at him. "You will be able to get Gwen out though, right?" Arthur kept his gaze averted and Merlin's voice grew more anxious. "Right?"

"I don't know, Merlin." Arthur snapped, finally as they reached the doors of Uther's audience chamber. "But if my father insists on the hanging…there is one last chance, though no one will want to accept it, least of all Gwen." He swallowed and looked down. "In this respect, if the worst comes to the worst, we can count ourselves lucky that my father wants to hang her. The gallows law doesn't apply to the executioner's block." He turned away and pushed the doors open.

Uther was sitting in his throne at the head of the table, alone, and obviously expecting them. His eyes were dark. "Arthur." He ignored Merlin completely, for which Merlin was grateful.

"Father." Arthur's voice was hard enough to match the King's. "You know why I am here?"

"To plead for the life of that thief locked in the dungeons." Uther snapped. "You're wasting your time."

"Surely you can see that this is madness?" Arthur didn't let up, stalking forward to glare at his father head-on. Merlin hung back, trying to be invisible. He was still nervous around the King after his narrow escape from the axe.

"The jewels were found in her house." Uther growled, getting to his feet angrily. "And she will die for it. That's the end of it, Arthur."

"No, it is not!" Arthur snarled back. "You are blind in your devotion to those damned jewels. They are just jewels. Gwen wouldn't steal them – she has no reason to."

"Enough." Uther roared, turning on Arthur. The Prince backed up a step at the raw fury in his father's eyes. "You know nothing of the worth of those jewels. How much your mother loved them. How much they meant to her! The last hands that touched them were hers, and now that has been defiled by that common thief, seeking revenge for her father's death!"

Arthur took a shuddering breath. "You cannot hang her." He said evenly. "It is clear to everyone but yourself that all you desire is a swift end to this case. You don't have the patience or the will to conduct a thorough investigation to find out who really stole the jewels, and why they framed Gwen for it."

Arthur and Merlin both jumped as Uther slammed his fists down on the table with a deafening bang. "You." He focused his death glare on Merlin. "Out. Now."

Merlin gulped and backed up swiftly as Arthur nodded, and escaped through the doors, collapsing against the wall outside with a sigh. He hated it when people argued, especially family. Especially Uther and Arthur. He sighed again and closed his eyes as raised voices started up inside the hall. He hoped Arthur won this argument, for Gwen's sake.

xXx

"This is absurd!" Arthur yelled at his father. "If you truly cared about her jewels, you'd search for the real thief –"

"I care more than you could ever know!" Uther shouted furiously. "And you know nothing! I have searched, and the culprit is locked in the dungeons, due to be hung tomorrow morning, just like she deserves."

"Guinevere is a harmless maid who continued to serve you even after you killed her father!" Arthur growled. "And you would kill her over nothing?"

"Stealing her jewels is not nothing!" Uther snarled. "I have heard enough! If you continue to protest, I will have her burned."

"That is a punishment for witchcraft, not of theft." Arthur said dangerously.

Uther stepped closer, his glare furious enough to make the child inside Arthur quail. But Uther himself had taught him to be strong, so he stood tall, glaring right back. "Do not make me change the way thieves are killed then, Arthur." Uther said, his voice low and dangerous. "If you continue to protest, I will burn her tomorrow, and that is a promise. One way or another, she will die."

Arthur clenched his jaw, searching his father's eyes for a speck or a hint of remorse or indecision, something he could exploit. There was nothing. Without a word, he turned away, closing his eyes as he considered what now had to be done to save Gwen and keep his promise.

Merlin looked up as the doors opened and Arthur stalked out, frowning slightly. Running slightly to catch up, Merlin raised his eyebrows. "I heard. Uther isn't going to release Gwen."

"That's right." Arthur muttered, his mind clearly elsewhere.

"So…you're not looking too furious." Merlin shrugged, looking at Arthur worriedly. "I take it that means you have a plan?"

"Yes." Arthur murmured, still immersed in his own thoughts.

There was a long pause. "Which is…?" Merlin prompted Arthur expectantly.

Arthur shook his head. "If I told you, it would ruin the surprise." His smile when he looked up though, was shadowed, and his eyes were worried. They reached the Prince's chambers, and Arthur slipped inside with only a half-muttered, "Goodnight."

Merlin frowned at the door. This had to be part of the 'gallows law' Arthur had been talking about earlier. But what was it? His frown became determined as he turned and walked away. He knew one person who would know.

But on the way, he was stopped. Guards stepped out of the shadows as he walked across the corridor, and even as Merlin spun to take in their number, his hands stretching out and spells leaping to his lips, one of the guards in the line spoke up. "You are to be held in the dungeons until tomorrow morning, by order of the King."

"Why?" Merlin asked as two guards grabbed his arms and propelled him around towards the dungeons. "I haven't done anything. Recently."

"In case you attempt to free the thief and flee in the night." The guard told him.

"Oh." Merlin sighed. "Great." He was tempted to tell them that he could knock them all out with just a few words, but refrained in the interests of his continued good health.
"I don't suppose Arthur's being locked in as well?" He asked hopefully. They didn't answer and Merlin rolled his eyes. "No," He muttered, "Of course not."

They dumped him in a cell on the other end of the dungeon from Gwen so they couldn't communicate and left him with one guard standing watch at the corner. Merlin sighed and piled up the straw. There was nothing he could do until morning. Besides, he thought as he bedded down, Arthur sounded like he had it all under control.

xXx

Arthur was, in fact, sweating with nerves as he thought about what he had to do tomorrow to save Gwen's life. It wasn't that he didn't want to do it – Gwen was a fine woman, and he did confess to having…well…feelings for her…but the problem was that the gallows law was binding, and what if Gwen didn't feel the same way? They would both be trapped.

Not to mention his father would be furious. Arthur winced as his far-too-realistic imagination conjured up the images of the shocked crowd, Merlin's slack-jawed expression and his father's seething anger. Oh no, Uther would not be pleased at all. But the one thing Arthur couldn't visualise was the one face that really mattered in all this. He couldn't see Guinevere's reaction at all.

As the Prince slowly slipped into a light slumber, a tall man missing his usual crown stalked along the corridor, a key in his gloved hand. As silently as possible, he slid the key into the lock, and turned. The mechanisms clicked and fell into place, and the man walked away, satisfied.

Prince Arthur was locked in, and would be unable to interfere with his plans for the thief on the morrow.

So? The next chapter is of long length and holds much excitement! There's gonna be a lynching, a lynching, a lynching! There's gonna be a lynching early in the day!