Arthur dismounted his horse. He had found the tunnel's exit, shortly after the forest's edge. He quickly found clean and fresh footsteps. They were small, certainly a woman's – most likely the witch's. It had rained the night before, the ground was still muddy. It would be easy to follow the trail.

He walked along the track, pulling his horse behind him. Very soon, he caught sight of some smoke through the vegetation, in the distance.

A campfire.

He tied the reins to a tree and left his horse behind to walk closer silently. It was indeed the witch, sitting close to the fire on the border of a small clearing.

Arthur had to admit he was quite surprised to find her so soon. She had had more than enough time to go at least ten times as far from the castle as she had. So why had she stopped there?

When he walked even closer, she heard him at last and turned to him with a warm smile. However, the smile vanished instantly as soon as she recognised him.

She got up quickly. "Sire, what... What are you doing here?"

"You look disappointed. Were you expecting someone else?"

Livia remained silent and kept staring at him, probably waiting for him to explain his presence.

Arthur decided not to antagonize her right away, and to let her keep believing he didn't know about her crimes. He must not lose sight of the fact that she was a witch and could probably curse him in the blink of an eye. He had to remain careful.

He wished he could have taken at least a couple of knights with him in case he needed backup, but all were too busy in the city to be reassigned. For once he could really have used Merlin's presence...

"It wasn't very courteous to slip away like a thief in the middle of the night, like you did," he said.

She shrugged. "I know. I... I really needed to get away."

Arthur snorted. "How convenient, while there are still hundreds of people in Camelot who need help."

Livia shook her head. "There's nothing I can do about it. It's not my problem any more."

"Not your problem?" Arthur repeated with incredulity. "Are you making fun of me?"

"It's not, and it's never been," she insisted. "You made it my problem by helping me escape to heal your friend, promising me I'll be allowed to leave free if I did. And I did. I've tried to help for the others but it's no use. So now I'm leaving, like you promised."

"You're not leaving, you're fleeing, seizing the very first opportunity you get to do so! You're a coward," Arthur accused.

"Probably, yes. So? Is it a crime? Is there a law against it like there is against magic?"

Her answer took Arthur by surprise. He had grown up in an environment where the easy way out was never, ever an option. So seeing someone admitting openly to her cowardice and not seeming even remotely bothered by it was a little unsettling.

In any case, that was it. He couldn't take it any longer. Her lack of concern for the sick villagers was yet another proof of her guilt.

"I am usually a man of my word, but do you really expect me to honour my promise to let you go, after discovering everything you did?"

"Everything I did? I did nothing more than what you asked me to!" she exclaimed, upset. "If you have regrets or scruples about using magic, this isn't my problem either."

"My only regret is that my father didn't get rid of you and your fellow sorcerer as soon as you were caught," Arthur provoked. "Then no one would have had to go through all of this."

"You think I'm the one who cast the curse," Livia suddenly realised. "Why would I do that? Not to mention how?"

"I think we both know why you would do that. You want to prove that magic can -" He stopped abruptly and sighed. "Why am I even bothering to explain? You're going back to Camelot with me. Now."

"No!"

"Oh, believe me, you are," Arthur stated while unsheathing his sword. "I will drag you back by force if I have to, but you are coming back."

Livia didn't seem very impressed by his threat. "I'm not going anywhere," she persisted.

Arthur walked closer, pointing his sword at her. "Don't make this any more difficult than it has to be."

"Do you really expect me to come willingly knowing you think I'm responsible for the curse? I'm not that stupid. If you came here for justice then you might as well dispense it here and now. I don't really care much for a public execution."

"I'm not here to kill you, I -"

"Why not? Isn't that what you knights of Camelot do? Hunt and kill defenceless people like us?" she accused resentfully.

"Defenceless?" Arthur exclaimed. "You call yourself defenceless when you have that magic book full of harmful spells? If you can do only a fraction of what is in that book, then you're all but defenceless! You have magic. People like you are never unarmed."

Livia gave a nervous laugh while tears started to well up in her eyes. "My magic book... Indeed... Oh, I should really have seen that one coming... That'll teach me to get involved..." Before Arthur could react to her last words, she continued: "Well, kill me if you want, do whatever you wish, but I'm not moving. I will not go back there to end up on a stake, or worse!" she finished, crossing her arms and turning away from him.

Arthur was very tempted to tie her up, swing her on the back of his horse, and drag her back to Camelot by force. But she sounded like there was something in the city that she feared more than the stake or even death itself, and that was very disturbing. What had she meant by "or worse"?

In any case, he knew using menaces like he had, or resorting to force would lead him nowhere. She would obviously rather get herself killed than let him bring her back to Camelot. And if she died, he would have no more chance to heal his father – or anyone else.

He had to change strategies.

"All right," he said quietly. "Stay here and do nothing. But I should warn you: he's not coming."

"What?"

"The one you're waiting for. Your fiancé, right? He's not coming." He had clearly caught her attention again, but he could tell she didn't believe him. "Tall, dark haired, asking for you at the castle's gates, a little too hot-headed for his own good? I sent him to the dungeons. I'm the only one to know why he's there, so he probably won't get out before I order his release."

When Livia remained silent, staring at him, Arthur thought he still hadn't managed to convince her. But she finally spoke up:

"You know, I was probably right about you in the first place. Like father..." she began with bitterness in her voice, letting the accusation hang. "First menaces, now blackmail... What's next, bribery?"

Oh, she definitely knew where to stick in the knife...

Putting aside the fact that she was a witch and couldn't be dealt with like any other civilian, he had to admit he was resorting to means at the opposite of the values of knighthood. His values. Values he embraced and believed in. Menaces and blackmail, and to a woman, no less... That was everything he was fighting against.

But he remained silent. She was a witch, and as such an outlaw. Still, though he would never admit it, he was beginning to experience a hint of doubt. Doubt in the righteousness of what he was doing and how he was doing it.

"He doesn't know anything about magic, he's got nothing to do with any of this," she continued. "He only came because of me."

"Probably but... it's not my problem, is it?" Arthur teased.

Livia pursed her lips. "Let him go. Your quarrel is with me, there's no need to bring him in it."

"I will let him go if you come back to Camelot and heal one person of my choosing who was struck by the curse," Arthur stated, deciding it wouldn't do any good to mention the person in question was the King himself.

"Just one?" she asked, and Arthur nodded. Livia hesitated for a few seconds, obviously pondering his offer, but eventually shook her head. "How can I be sure you will release him if I agree to do what you ask of me?"

"You can't. You'll have to trust me on this."

"Then I'm afraid we're in a deadlock, because I'm not trusting you as long as you point that sword at me."

"And I'm not dropping my sword because I don't trust you either. A deadlock, indeed," Arthur agreed.

"Are you afraid someone like me could overpower a trained knight like yourself?"

Arthur couldn't help smiling. After questioning his morality, she was now taunting his pride. That was clever, but he wouldn't fall into that trap. "I know it's not just about physical power. With that magic of yours, you would probably be much harder to handle than I can guess."

Livia stared at him for a long moment in silence. "That night, a week ago, when the group of sorcerers I was with was attacked by knights of Camelot," she evoked. "How many of us died?"

Arthur shrugged. "I don't know, a dozen..."

"And how many casualties among the knights?"

Arthur suddenly realised what she was getting at. There had been over thirty sorcerers gathered in that clearing according to Sir Alberic's report, but despite their numbers, absolutely no losses among the knights. A few concussions and bruises, but as far as he remembered, not even a single actual wound.

It didn't make any sense. Even outnumbered, that group of sorcerers ought to have done at least some damage. But none of them had used magic to defend themselves. And in the end, it had been as much of a massacre as if the knights had attacked unarmed civilians.

Almost unconsciously, Arthur began to lower his sword slowly. She had just made a really excellent point, and his doubts continued to grow. He wasn't sure what to think any more. This was a leap of faith. Did he really believe there could be people practising magic with no evil intentions? People who refused to use magic to harm or kill? People who could then be trusted?

"You were brought up to believe that magic was evil. So was I," Livia claimed. "But I was also brought up to believe that magic was good as well. You can't choose to have magic or not, no one can. But if you have magic, you can choose to use it for good. Magic isn't intrinsically evil, it's the sorcerer who -"

Arthur raised his hand to interrupt her. "I think I've heard enough of your propaganda for now. I hear your point, but you should really learn when to stop talking." He paused for a few seconds, then finally sheathed his sword. "Come heal that one person, and your fiancé will go free. Do we have an agreement?"

Livia nodded, but she still seemed to hesitate. "What about me? What happens after I heal that person?" she asked softly.

Arthur wasn't sure. He hadn't planned anything farther than curing his father. "You're a witch, and you know the law about that. Regardless of your good will or helpfulness, I can't promise anything," he answered honestly. A lot depended on how everything would turn out.

She nodded again, tears welling up in her eyes once more. She knew what he meant. He couldn't promise she would get out of this alive.

"And if I don't manage to heal that person? Will you still release Dunstan?"

"I'm not sure I understand. Are you still pretending you might not be able to heal anyone?"

"If I follow you and try to heal that person, promise me to free Dunstan no matter what happens. Even if I fail. That's all I'm asking."

Arthur was surprised by the bargaining, to say the least, but as soon as he agreed to her conditions, she, in turn, agreed to return to the castle at last.

And as they headed back towards the castle, Arthur started to worry about Livia's obvious defeatism regarding the healing. Even though everything was pointing to her, he was beginning to accept the idea that maybe she was telling the truth when saying she wasn't the one who had cast that curse. But then, who had?