"Put the sword down, Sarah."

"Not likely.", she hisses back at him. But even from a distance, I could see her hands were trembling. Her face conflicted with emotions. She tried to keep a confident air, but I could see the blinding fear underneath. I couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked. Even covered in blood and dirt, her hair a mess, and her dress in tatters. I never understood how she managed it. She never put any effort into looking pretty, in fact half the time it was like she was trying not to be. She simply was.

"So much for Riley's diversion.", Luca groans behind me. "This is going to be harder than we thought."

None of us acknowledged him. Mostly because he was right. All that plan had done was brought her face to face with him.

Raul sighed, not seeming the least bit threatened by her. "You have been a naughty, naughty girl. Put the blasted thing down and I may be slightly more forgiving."

I could see the subtle shift her her behavior. Her face set in a fierce expression. She snapped, lunging at him wildly, but still in good form. I still couldn't help but be impressed with her. In only a few months she'd taken to weaponry well.

Before she can land a blow, she seems to have slammed into a non-existent wall. Her face twisted in pain, the sword slipping from her hands. Her back arched just as she screamed. Blood curtailing screams that clenched my heart. I tried to go to her, forgetting all sense of reason, but the men with me gripped my arms to stop me. "You're no use to her if he kills you. And he will kill you if you even touch her."

Gritting my teeth, I stepped back before I could be noticed. I was too late anyways. A man, bedraggled and bloodied, had already rushed to her side, cradling her in his arms. I felt a twinge of jealousy. That should be me. She had stopped screaming, but seemed to be unconscious.

"What did you do to my baby?!", he roars at Raul, caressing her face. "Sarah? Wake up, honey. Wake up."

I hear her mumble something and allow myself to breath again. She was alright. Her eyes snap open, staring at the strangers face. "No! You can't be here!", She outbursts suddenly, trying to push him away and shaking her head. "You can't."

"Shh. Everything will be okay. You'll see."

"No it won't!", she cries, reduced to hysterics. I clenched my fists, having to force myself to stay put. Raul seems to have enough and grabs her arm, pulling her from the man. "No! Let go of me! Daddy!"

Daddy? Her father? I thought he was dead. Killed in war, long before I'd ever met her. She tried to wriggle away, but he held her back. "Lock him away. I think Sarah will be more cooperative now. Won't you, dear?"

She glared up at him, but was shaking in his grasp. Whatever he'd done to her, she didn't look very good. She hardly seemed able to stay on her feet. But even so, she hadn't lost her defiant demeanor. "Don't you dare do anything to him."

He smiled a sickly sweet smile. "Don't give me a reason to." She opened her mouth to respond, but didn't get the chance to. Her face turned a sickly shade of green as she keeled over. "Gwaine, stop!"

I hadn't even realized I had stepped away from the others. They looked at me as if I was crazy. At the moment I felt like it. I couldn't just stand here while he toyed with her. I stepped back again, but this time I had been noticed. Several of Raul's soldiers glanced at me wearily, unsure what to make of me. Luckily, Sarah hadn't seen me. She had been slung over some thug's shoulder and carried away, looking barely conscious.

I tried to blend back into the crowd of servants and those of us only dressed as them. After one last suspicious glare, Raul trodded off after Sarah. "You can't be stupid like that again, Gwaine.", Riley warns. He was right. I had nearly blown the entire mission. A group of us had been sent in undercover in an effort to reclaim the castle. Those of us that were least likely to be recognized were chosen. Arthur nearly made me stay in the camp. Morgana would recognize me if she payed any attention. It took me hours to convince him to allow it. I could just stay out of her sight.

The rest of the company was mostly made up of the remaining Taharan's. No one would recognize them so easily as the knights of Camelot. I was just happy that pig, Meliorn, had been forced to stay behind. He fought Arthur tooth and nail about it, but was eventually forced to see sense. He had been too close to Raul to be allowed to go in undercover. He hadn't been happy about it, but eventually relented. I didn't trust him not to turn on us any second, and I didn't think Arthur did either. The only reason he was allowed to remain was his unswerving loyalty to Sarah. He acted like an unwanted puppy. I for one, didn't want him anywhere near her. At least she seemed to be equally annoyed with him most of the time.

"Time to get to work.", Thayer grinned to his brother, who grinned back at him eagerly. "This will be fun."

For being barely older than boys, these two had an unhealthy thirst for revenge. Their home had been taken over, their monarchy overthrown. And once they found refuge here, history seemed to be repeating itself. You couldn't blame them, but they might be a danger to themselves if they overdid it.

Our plan was simple. We all posed as servants, going about our jobs. We disable the enemy as best we can from the inside by doing things like poisoning the food, cutting straps on saddles, ruining weapons. Then we would sneak our own soldiers back into the castle, to finish this battle from the inside. Raul will find we dont fall so easily.

I headed down to the kitchen, a man named Celso following. He was tall, stockily built, but had the best sense of humor of anyone.

He quickened his pace to fall into step with me, slipping a vial of clear, odorless liquid into my hand. Gaius had assured us it would go undetected, and would make anyone who consumed it sick with some very unpleasant symptoms. And best of all, rendering them unable to fight. All we had to do was slip it into the food.

"You ready for this?", Celso asks me.

"Do you even have to ask?"

Sarah POV

"There you are!", Morgana growls when I'm carted back into the hall. Her voice makes me wince, due to the horrible headache I now had. "Did you see what she did to my guards?! They're dead! Both of them! Who's bright idea was it to teach her how to use a weapon?"

"Not now, Morgana. We have more important things to attend to."

I hear her scoff huffily. "Fine. But I want punishment."

By his silence, he was probably ignoring her. The guy who had my slinged over his shoulder suddenly dumped me, sending me sprawling on the ground. I stayed there, feeling too dizzy to get up. I cringed at the thought of whatever magic he had used on me. It had been more painful than the curse he used on me the night of the ball all those months ago. And even that had knocked me out for days afterwards. And well, right now I was feeling like I could throw up any second.

"On second thought..." Morgana starts again. "She doesn't look too good. What did you do to our little princess?"

"That isn't your concern.", he snaps at her, dragging me to my feet abruptly. I swayed dangerously, the floor threatening to give out from under me. The room seemed to be teetering, but that was just my imagination. Raul tried to steady me, gripping my shoulders tightly. When he couldn't hold me up any longer, he waved over the guy who had carried me over in the first place. "Take her to her room. Instruct the waiting staff to have her cleaned up to join me for dinner. The man scooped me up wordlessly, and as easily as if I was a kid. Not even slightly bothered by my weight. Even in my delirious state, I couldn't help but notice the bloody gash across his forehead. It seemed to still be bleeding, but I couldn't be sure. His face showed no sign of pain or emotion. I cringed at the thought of being touched by one of those creepy zombie soldiers.

The swaying motion from his walking was it for me. Big and creepy seemed to realize it too, because he lowered me to the ground, half pushing, half carrying me over to the nearest window. I vomited the little contents I had left in my stomach, but mostly dry heaved.

Afterwards, my head was a bit clearer. But my stomach now felt like it had been trampled my a horse. My guard wasted no time with me, picking me back up the minute I stopped gagging.

He seemed eager to be rid of me, quickly depositing me in my room and leaving after giving the three women specific instructions on what to do with me from Raul. I heard the bolt click into place behind me after he was gone.

Gwen dragged me over to sit on the bed, feeling my face for a fever and fussing over my cuts and bruises. "You look terrible.", she muttered. Another woman brought me something hot to drink, which I drank without complaint despite its awful smell. It took away the wooziness for the most part. "What's happening out there?", Gwen asked as she cleaned a cut on my wrist. She radiated worry. I didn't even need to touch her to feel it. I could tell she was trying to put on a brave face for my and the others sake, but my stupid empathy saw right through it. At least it helped me think, giving me something to focus on.

I shook me head. "It's bad. Most of the castle has been seized. I don't know where anyone is." That wasn't quite true. My dad was here. I knew where he was. Words can't explain how happy and horrified I was to see him. He had been so confused. If I couldn't even protect my own father... I didn't know what to do. I've been in some pretty bad situations before, but now there was really nothing I could do. I had no weapon, the only magic I did have wasn't the least bit helpful, and I now had two psychotic sorcerers pissed at me, and who knew where the heck Arthur and everyone else was. It all just seemed so... hopeless.

"Come along.", one of the women, an older lady I didn't recognize, said as she dragged me to standing. I still felt pretty crappy, but at least now I could stand without keeling over. She undid all the buttons and tore off my ripped, bloodstained frock. It was so soiled from battle I couldn't even remember what color it used to be. My under dress didn't fare much better.

The new clothes they brought me were terrible, but they hadn't picked them. They were a gift from Raul. And he required me to wear it to dinner. Dinner? I mean, seriously? In the mist of everything, he wanted to chat and have dinner?

I squirmed as Gwen laced up the corseted back of the wretched gown. She suspected I might have a bruised rib, so she tried not to lace it too tightly. It was white, the sleeves sheer, and showed off way too much of my cleavage than I was comfortable with. The fabric was a flowy material that seemed to float with my every movement. But what was even worse was the shoes. The satin, beaded monstrosities pinched my toes, making it hard to walk, much less fight.

Illea, a girl who looked younger than Gwen but older than me, wove my hair elegantly with a string of crystals and matching ribbons. What Raul wanted me so dressed up for, I was scared to find out.

"One last touch.", Gwen promised as she slipped a chain over my head. A pendant, cool against my skin, made my smile. A dragon, matching the one on Camelot's coat of arms. It's eye was made of a single ruby. I had no idea where she got it, but it felt like the perfect little rebellion.

Gwen and Illea forced me in front of the mirror. The pretty dress and hair didn't hide the ugly bruises, red marks, and angrily red cuts. They had tried to cover them up, but I wouldn't let them. I'd rather everyone see them. See me as something other than a pretty face playing dress up.

A knock on the door made everybody jump. Gwen gripped my hand, as if she could keep me in here. I wished she could. Now that I could think straight, the severity of the situation seemed unbearable.

It swung open. While the other two stepped away from me, bowing their heads to avoid eye contact with the enemy, Gwen stayed right beside me. Her fingers stayed linked with mine, squeezing my head to reassure me. I squeezed right back.

"We're going to be okay.", she promised, picking up on my nervousness. "Take care of yourself."

But the person at the door wasn't big and creepy, one of the other guards, or even Raul himself. It was Gwaine.

Sorry for taking so long to update. My Grandpa died, so I was halfway across the country helping my grandma with no computer access for a while. I hope you all like the Gwaine section! I'm experimenting with alternating POV's, so I hope it turned out alright. I'll try to update more often!