Merlin held his hand out to me. Again. "Come on, Sarah! Just one more time! Please?"

I groaned and rolled my eyes. He had been saying 'one more time' for the last five go's, and we had already been at it for over an hour. The guy was fascinated with my empathy, especially since it was getting stronger lately. I still needed physical contact, but I picked up on things less concentrated. Even a few passing emotions that hardly registered.

Merlin's emotions tended to be all over the place, which made it hard to concentrate on any single one. It made my senses go into over load. like trying to watch several 3D movies at once, not quite knowing where to focus your attention. "No! You're giving me a headache!"

He pouted. "Please? Just once more?"

"Once more, Merlin. That's it. But please, try to actually focus on a single emotion. I can't handle your scatter brain anymore. I'm not a mind reader." He grinned as I touched his palm and closed my eyes.

"Ow!", he complained. At the same time I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, as well as an overwhelming sense of annoyance. I guess physical pain came with the whole emotion thing. I knew it wasn't my own, but it was hard to tell the difference at first. As soon as I let go of him, the feelings go away and the fog cleared from my mind.

I opened my eyes, seeing Gaius standing behind Merlin with a large, leather bound book that looked like it weighed more then Merlin did. "How was that?", he asks mischievously.

"Better, but that hurt!", I complain. Gaius only grins and goes back to his work bench.

It had been his idea for me to practice on Merlin whenever I could. He wanted me to be able to separate other people's emotions from my own immediately, without passing out cold again. Maybe even do it without touch someday. I didn't want to think of what that would be like. The only way I could imagine it as being worse than a thousand bees swarming around my head, since it would mean picking up on several people's emotions at once. To be honest, this all felt entirely wrong. I felt like a parasite.

Merlin was more then happy to help me., though I think he just enjoyed having someone else with magic around, and seeing how my new talent worked. Although what I had wasn't technically magic. It was an ability rooted in magic, according to Gaius. But I was still the closest thing to someone like him around here. Abd I was glad for him too. I never had to lie to Merlin. He helped to keep my mind off of things.

After hanging out with Gaius and Merlin for a little while longer, Merlin had to go do Arthur's laundry and polish his armor. I wondered off on my own down to the Taharan encampment, looking for Kenji. More often then not, that was exactly where he was. That dog loved wandering about the tents looking for hand outs and playing with the kids. Once he discovered them he was hardly ever in the stables.

Sure enough, I found him stretched out on his back, a few little girls rubbing him down vigorously. As soon as he saw me he rolled over, coming to greet me in his usual enthusiastic way.

"Princess!", squeals the oldest of group, grinning. And she couldn't be more then eight years old. The wind blew strands of her straw blonde hair in her face, and she pushed it away with annoyance. "You look really pretty today."

I smiled, crouching down to their eye level. I really did have a soft spot for these kids. "Thank you! But please, do just call me Sarah. What are your names?"

She grinned even wider. "I'm Elodie!", she points to the smaller girls in turn, who shyly hid behind her, peeking out at me with smiles. "That's my little sister Laurel and my cousin Katie."

"I like your hair", says Katie quietly, pointing to the green ribbons holding my hair out of my face. Gwen had insisted I wear it today, seeing as they were gifts. They weren't really my style, but now I was glad she had made me wear them.

I pulled all of them out, allowing all of my hair to fall loosely around my shoulder. Her face lit up as I motioned for her to turn around. I quickly braided her hair and tied off the end with one of the ribbons. These girls could use them more than I could, and if just a silly ribbon made them so happy I would gladly give it to them. My people needed cheering up these days. They had lost so much.

Even little Laurel, who only looked about five years old, held still as I braided her hair and tied in the ribbon. "Now you all look like princesses!", I tell them. From the looks on their faces, they might as well have just met their favorite character at Disney World. I couldn't help be beam back at them.

"Thank you, Princess!", they all chorus.

"Do you want to play a game?", Elodie asks me, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "It's really fun!"

Katie nodded vigorously. "Please?! You could be 'it' first, if you want!"

"Okay. What do you want to play?" Their grins only grew wider as Katie and Elodie each grabbed onto one of my hands, pulling me towards the outskirts of the tent where several other children were playing. Kenji lies in the shade underneath a tree to take a nap. The girls had worn him out.

Laurel tentatively handed me a piece of cloth. "You hide your eyes! No peaking.", she tells me. "And then you have to find us!"

Elodie tied the blindfold over my eyes for me, then all of them hurried away. I stumbled after them, guided by their shrieks of laughter and small footsteps. It didn't take me long to find someone, a little boy named Thorin who had heard the fun and came to join. The blindfold then went to him and the game continued.

I don't know how long I played with them, because I completely lost track of time. Sometimes I would even allow myself to be caught by one of the younger kids. Laurel caught hold of my skirt and took the blindfold off, smiling the biggest smile I had seen from her. "I got you!", she giggled, her chubby cheeks red from running around.

"You got me!", I agreed.

I took the blindfold and took my next turn. But after a minute, the kids got extremely quiet, save a small giggle here and there. I would try to find it's owner, but once I reached the source, no one where there anymore. I waved my arms out in front of me, trying to find one of them. But they had suddenly gotten suspiciously good at this game.

My hands finally found a shirt. As my hands found the owners chest I realized this person was much taller then any child in the game. I was the tallest one playing, and this person was much taller than me. Slowly, I took off the blindfold, finding Gwaine's warm, brown eyes looking down at me with amusement.

Gwaine. Anytime he was near I couldn't even think straight. I used to make fun of those girls who got stupid and giddy around a guy they liked, but yet here I was. And I felt every bit as stupid and giddy as they acted.

"So this is where you've been hiding.", he teases.

I roll my eyes, handing him the blindfold. "You're it." The kids shout for him to play.

"I don't think so..."

"That's cute!", I tease, moving behind him to tie it on. "You think you have a choice."

He laughs as I finish the knot and move away. He turns to come after me, waving his arms around. I skip out of his reach, my movements masked by the giggling of the kids. He ends up catching Elodie, who grins as she takes the blindfold from him.

He makes his way over to me, gesturing back towards the game. "I see why you like it out here."

I nod, watching Elodie blindly chase Katie. "I think they cheer me up as much as I do them."

He reaches for my hand, lacing his fingers between mine. He was going to say something more before a loud screech fills the air. An inhuman screech. My eyes flitted up to the sky. My mouth went dry.

Before I can register what was happening, Gwaine pulls me with him to the ground, forcing to lie flat on my stomach. He keeps a protective arm around me, keeping me close to his side. The gar swooped overhead, narrowly missing us with its talons. I watched as it flew back into the sky, intending to circle back to attack again.

The entire camp ensued into chaos. Mothers screamed for the children, all running about to find one other. Gwaine tries to pull me towards the safety of the castle, but is interrupted by another shrill scream. Only a child could scream that high pitched.

Laurel.

The small girl stood frozen in terror, right in the center of the clearing. She had locked eyes with the creature. I knew that feeling, and I knew she couldn't move on her own. The gar was headed straight towards her. I tore away from his grip on my hand, running for her in a panic. Before I can reach her Kenji chomps down on her skirt and drags her away from its reach not a moment too soon..

The monster seems determined to stay in the air, swooping for victims but never landing, which only cause more panic.

I scooped up Laurel from where she clung to my dog. I'd never loved Kenji more then I had right now. She wound her arms tightly around my neck and buried her face, wet with tears, in my shoulder. I ran back towards the castle.

We pushed our way through the masses of people, all trying to escape inside the walls at once. Tents were being trampled, and the crowds pushed and pulled at me. I couldn't see him anymore. "Gwaine!", I yelled, trying to make my voice louder then the screaming.

But no one yelled my name back to me.

Laurel screams, practically making me go deaf. Before I can figure out what had scared her, something hits my back with the force of a speeding truck. I fly forward into the crowd before I even have a chance to scream myself. I manage to twist around so I landed on my side instead of on top of Laurel. My lungs felt as if they were about to explode from the impact. All the air was knocked from them, leaving me gasping for breath

I try to get to my feet before getting trampled, but keep getting pushed back down. It didn't help that Laurel was now clinging to my leg, sobbing. I didn't know how to comfort her. What was I supposed to say? That everything would be okay in the end? People were dying.

A hand grabs my arm, pulling my to my feet. I had hoped it was Gwaine, but it was Meliorn, a fierce grimace on his face. For once I didn't have anything bad to say to him.

Several of the knights were now forming ranks, doing their best to get people inside and fend off the gar. He takes Laurel from me without a word, grabbing my wrist with his free arm, and drags me along with him. He easily navigates through the mob of bodies until we reached the gates, where he lets go of me immediately.

"Mamma! "Mamma!", screamed Laurel, wiggling out of his arms. She ran straight to a hysteric woman, who stroked her hair and rocked her back and forth. The sight made me wish I had my mother here to comfort me. But at the same time, I was glad she wasn't here. She was safe.

A man wrapped around me from behind, spinning me so my face was buried in his chest. Gwaine. "I'm so sorry. That was my fault. I should have followed you." He rested his chin on top of my head. I could feel his hands practically shaking. "I thought you were still out there. I couldn't find you."

I hushed him, wrapping my arms around his back. I understood his fear. If anything had happened to him... I couldn't even think about it. It was inconceivable to me. "I'm fine." He only held me tighter, as if he was afraid I might disappear. I couldn't help but notice Meliorn forcing himself to look away before sulkily walking off, his knight in shining armor moment over.

We stayed that way for a minute until he pulled away. "I need to get out there. Arthur will need every sword."

I nod. "I'm coming with you."

"No you're not. Just, please just stay here. It's too dangerous."

"You said it yourself, Arthur needs every sword. That includes me."

He sighs, holding my face in both of his hands. His eyes pleaded with me. "I won't be of much help fending that beast off if all I can think of is protecting you. Please, just leave this battle alone. For me."

"Gwaine..."

"Sarah. Your people need you alive. They need you to wait here and be strong."

How could I argue with that? I couldn't ignore the evident fear in his eyes. He wouldn't ever forgive himself if I got hurt. I sigh. "Okay."

"Promise me?", he asks.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Fine. I promise." He smiled slightly, kissing my forehead before leaving the safety castle walls, leaving me within them.