A/N: Firstly, I'm sorry about the time it's taken me to upload this chapter. I was going to upload a chapter last week but it was just over 1000 words and not much happened in it except that they reach Caledi's camp. So I thought it was a bit of a cop out and then decided to combine what I had planned for Chapters 3 and 4 into 3. This is a nice long one (just over 4000 words), definitely pleased at the length but please do let me know if it's too much.

How is the tone of the chapter? I was mixing it up a bit. Some serious, some light. Hope it reads well.

Is there too much conversation?

Am I going into too much detail?

Are the P.O.V.'s flowing well?

Why have you stopped reading? (hopefully the only answer to this is that you've reached the end.)

Also when it is in Arthur/Merlin's P.O.V, Caledi is referred to as 'the woman' as she has not introduced herself to them just yet.

And another side not, I know some of you would be wondering how the situation between Arthur and Caledi calmed down, but I may have also slightly copped out on that. But hey I thought if BBC Sherlock can get away with a whole season without revealing how he actually died, I may be forgiven for my mistake.

Wow, that was a long note wasn't it. If I haven't put you off already, please enjoy.

Chapter 3

Growing up, Arthur had taken every word to heart that he had ever been taught about the evils of sorcery and the malice in the hearts of those who practice it. Yes, there had been a few incidents in the past years that would cause him to question these beliefs, but eventually the truth would be revealed and in the end his doubts would wash away. Time and time again, he had seen for himself the effects of magic and suffered for it. Camelot too, had suffered because of it.

Yet here he was, following a sorceress back to her camp, with his men behind him. How Merlin had managed to convince him, Arthur still wasn't sure. For all his faults, Arthur knew that Merlin had these rare moments where he would say something- for lack of a better word- wise. He had been about to fight the woman in front of him, when his servants voice reached him. His reasoning causing Arthur to sheath his sword.

Merlin was all too familiar with the stance that Arthur had taken. He could tell from the stiffness in the King's shoulders and the way his fingers grasped his sword, Arthur was not going to listen to a single word that came out the woman's mouth.

"Arthur, wait," and thankfully the King did, "Think about this, they have helped us. They didn't have to but they did, right? Why would they do so, if they meant us harm? She might be a druid who are usually peaceful ..." His own voice faltered as he realised that the woman's actions, though well intended and for which he was grateful, didn't exactly cohere to a peaceful nature.

Arthur had been doubting Merlin as the servant had began to speak, but the mention of the word 'druid' reminded him of his own promise that he made not too long ago

Thinking about it now, Arthur could grudgingly admit, to himself at least, that attacking the woman could only have ended in dire consequences, maybe not for him, but quite likely for him men. She might have been powerful, but he could have still killed her. Arthur was sure of his skill. But he was also sure that her men, a much greater number than his own, would have taken the lives of his remaining knights in retaliation. At least now Arthur had hope, as little as it was, that maybe he would be able to get medical care for his injured knights, and if need be, they could fight another day.

There would not have been any other way for Arthur to find the care elsewhere, not this far from Camelot anyway. Their own supplies would barely have covered a few men's injuries and would not have been enough for the ones that his men had sustained.

Arthur cleared his head, as he realised the men in front of him had stopped. They must have reached their camp. Arthur stopped too, looking around to see if he could recognise anything, but it was too dark and there seemed to be no telling these trees apart. He had only been standing still for a moment, when someone pushed into him from behind. Hands on his sword, he turned, ready for an attack.

"Sorry, sorry," came a familiar voice.

Merlin! Of course it would be the clumsy oaf who couldn't watch where he was going, not even when they were in a dangerous situation.

"Didn't realise we had stopped." was Merlin's only response to Arthur's glare.

"Only you, Merlin ..." Arthur was about to berate his servant, when he saw Merlin dropping his big eyed, innocent face he had momentarily adopted. Turning back around, Arthur realised that the woman had dispersed her own men and was now addressing his.

"Well, here we are."

If someone had told Caledi, that she would not save the lives of the Knights of Camelot and their King, but also then be bringing them back to her camp to keep them safe from any further danger, she would not just have laughed in their face, Caledi would have had to had their head examined for any mental afflictions. After slapping them upside their head first, of course.

But however the day had ended, Caledi was certainly not going to be playing the gracious host, catering to their every whim and desire. They were only coming to get their injured men seen to and then they would be on their way.

Caledi had seriously considered leading the men of Camelot around in circles before making way to her camp, but it would have taken a toll on her own men, some of who were helping to carry the injured knights between them.

They were nearly there so Caledi began the spells that would allow entrance to the newcomers. As she finished the last spell, Caledi hoped that she wasn't making a mistake by bringing the King of Camelot here, and that she want putting her own people at risk.

Calling up two of her men that were closest to her, Caledi instructed them to go ahead and make the necessary arrangements to accommodate their new guests. She told another to collect the supplies required to treat the injured, who were already being carried in. One by one, her men entered their camp until it was just her left, standing in front of the entrance, facing the knights and their King.

There would be no turning back now. Raising her arms from her sides, Caledi got their attention, "Well, here we are are."

Merlin followed Arthur into the camp as they were led in. They were shortly stopped near some tents, some of which were still being set up. There was also a line of rope strung up on the trees on one side of their tents, it was covered with rags as if to allow some cover for the main camp and keep both parties separate. Merlin could understand the reason behind this, after all if there were other magic users dwelling in the camp, then they surely wouldn't want the King of Camelot as their neighbour. Unfortunately, it would probably make Arthur more suspicious of their rescuers.

Arthur, however, never got the chance to voice any questions, as the woman in front of them started speaking once again.

"These tents have been set up for you. Your injured men have been taken inside and they are being seen to by our healer. You can rest in the remaining tents." She said pointing to the vacant tents, before continuing, this time making sure to keep eye contact with the King, as if to directly speak to him, "I would advise you not to wander too far from here, strangers around these parts can easily get lost and a friendly warning to all; do not come past these rags. We may have brought you here but there will be limits to your reception." She paused as if deciding whether or not to explain herself to the attentive men, "Some of my friends would not be so … comfortable, shall we say, in the presence of a king and his knights. Especially those from Camelot. So do not disturb them and they shall not disturb you."

She stood silent for a moment, allowing her words to sink in before taking her leave, "I'll leave you to get settled."

Once they had been left alone, Arthur rounded up his knights and spoke to them.

"These people may have helped us, but we must remain alert at all times. They have sorcerers and we do not know their true intentions." After warning his knights, Arthur sent some off with jobs to ensure their safety. He called over Merlin too.

"Merlin, I need you to check on the injured knights, I don't trust their healer nor the methods they may be using. I need you to make sure they're safe. We will leave as soon as the others are strong enough to travel."

Merlin left to check on the injured as soon as Arthur finished with his orders for the rest of the knights and deciding who would take over the first watch and how to rotate. As he entered the first tent, where three of the knights had been lain, Merlin immediately felt a warmth wash over him and a sense of protection. So they has used magic. Best not to tell Arthur, he mused to himself. He went over each knight, doing his best to remember everything Gaius had taught him about such injuries.

But Merlin soon realised that his small skill at healing would not be needed as the knights were already making an exceptionally fast recovery and were healing quite well. Clearly their healer was quite adept at his craft, well he was allowed to practice freely within his camp. Merlin was almost envious, as he had often wondered how powerful his own magic could have become and how many spells he could have mastered if he too had had the freedom to be able to practice his magic openly. His envy only lasted a minute as he realised these people were hardly free. They did not even have a proper home and probably had to move too often, as soon as someone found out about their magic.

Shaking his head, Merlin moved to the second tent where the remainder of the injured knights were resting. Here too, Merlin sensed the same magic at work. If the healer was as skilled as he thought, they would not need to stay here more then two nights, or three at the most. Arthur would be pleased at that at least. He was about to exit the tent when he heard one of the knights stirring. Going over to him, Merlin realised it was Gwaine, who was now trying to sit up.

"Careful Gwaine, you took a nasty blow to the head, lost a fair bit of blood too." He warned.

"Really? Doesn't feel much different than waking up after a night at the tavern." The rouge knight laughed, grimacing slightly at the pounding sensation building in his head.

"Ah, you're up."

Merlin turned around in the direction of the voice and saw Arthur entering the tent, making his way over to check on Gwaine.

"So first you decided to take a nap, Gwaine, whilst the rest of us fight and now you are stopping Merlin from attending to the knights that are actually hurt."

Before the knight could answer his king, Merlin stepped in, "Actually, I had just finished checking on all of them Arthur. I had been about to leave when I heard Gwaine wake up."

"And so you thought you would take the rest of the evening off, hmm? Doesn't matter that we're in an enemy camp, with half our men injured. We obviously couldn't have any jobs that need doing?!"

"Well it's not like you brought your dogs with you that need walking, or that I can just clean your stables ..."

"Gentlemen, please," Gwaine interrupted, knowing that these two men could go on forever and he didn't want to add to his headache. "Arthur, what do you mean that we're in an enemy camp?"

"It's hardly an enemy camp." Merlin scoffed, earning himself a dark gaze from his king. But that wasn't enough to stop the conflict in him rising. He really wished Arthur would see and accept this for what it was, good magic that had saved their lives. But he could guess what was going on in the King's head and knew that after everything that had happened, Arthur was suspicious of why a sorceress would help them instead of harm.

Arthur didn't get the chance to say anything as another knight came in with a message and the King left the tent to speak with him outside.

"Care to explain then Merlin, what's got the royal princess so strung up?"

Merlin told Gwaine everything that had happened after the first attack had started. He described it all. How they woman and her group had helped them defeat the mercenaries, and the woman stopped another trying to kill Arthur. Following them back here so that the could get the help they needed as most of the horses had bolted. Their leader, the woman, she provided these tents and she even had her healer attend to the other knights who had been injured during the fight.

Merlin had been hesitant to mention the use of magic, as he never heard Gwaine speak about his thoughts on magic. But it wasn't like the fact that magic has been used would stay hidden. If not Merlin, than someone else was bound to mention it to the knight. Besides it was nice change, to be able to speak about how magic had saved lives for once.

Gwaine had listened silently allowing Merlin, who seemed a little on edge, to tell his tale properly.

"Wow, she sounds like a hell of a woman!"

"Seriously Gwaine, after everything I've just told you, that is all you that have to say."

"Come on Merlin, this woman helped us out of a little problem and offered us a place to stay. She sounds pretty amazing to me. Tell you what though, if she could throw in a few apples for us, she would be the perfect woman."

Merlin just shook his head at Gwaine's antics as he flashed Merlin his trademark smile.

"Alright, you get some rest Gwaine. I'm going to go and see if Arthur need any help."

"I'll come too."

"No, you need to -"

"Merlin, I am fine. Okay. Don't worry about me. Besides there's something quite urgent that I need to do."

"What are you going to do?"

"Oh you know, just need to remind our brave King how he needed his backside to be saved by a woman. Twice!"

Merlin didn't see any point in convincing the knight that this probably wasn't the best thing to. Not right now, at least. But there wasn't much he could do to stop him. So he left the tent to go find Arthur, with Gwaine following behind.

The knight that had entered the tent had informed Arthur that they had been brought food for their company. Two men had arrived with two pots of broth and some bread rolls. Though it wasn't much, Arthur was glad to have something at all, given that they had lost the majority of their supplies during the flight, some of it trampled, but most of it gone when they lost their horses.

The food had been placed around the small fire his knights had started. Arthur moved closer, sitting on one of the few decent sized logs which they had managed to find from their surroundings. Arthur grabbed himself a bowl of hot broth which he started on instantly. He was extremely grateful for what seemed like the first moment he had had to himself since all this trouble started. The silence allowed him to think about everything that had happened and find his own thoughts on it, unclouded by the stress and fatigue from the day.

Arthur did not trust sorcery, of that he was sure. Any good begotten from magic had never lasted nor come without a price. But he could not help the nagging feeling in his heart. Why had the sorceress helped them? They could have left him and his knights to defend themselves. If the sorceress and her men had wanted to cause them harm, they had ample opportunities to do so, but they hadn't. Granted, not all her men had looked happy at escorting the King and his knights to their camp, but they had still done do. They had offered them food and shelter, even after Arthur had threatened them. Arthur didn't know what to make of it all, but he did slightly regret calling this place an enemy camp.

Now that he had satisfied his stomach, Arthur felt a lot better. It was amazing what some hot food can do to you. It had been a stressful day and it certainly hadn't helped his temper. Now, however, Arthur could admit that although he would not call these people their friends, he had began to have serious doubts if they were indeed the enemy. That was enough for today, he would worry about the rest tomorrow.

The injured had been seen to, most of them had eaten, and they were as safe as they could be now given their situation. As the warmth of the food travelled inside him, all Arthur wanted to do was curl up and sleep. It had been a long day and he deserved some rest. Maybe the second bowl of broth had not been the best idea, as now he was struggling to keep his eyes open. Why had he offered to take the first watch!

He had to find Merlin. Why should the servant get to sleep when Arthur had to stay awake. Besides Arthur didn't think they boy had even eaten yet. Nor had Gwaine he supposed. They must be pretty hungry by now, if they hadn't already fallen asleep somewhere. Grabbing two bowls, Arthur began to pour some broth in, making sure to put extra in for Merlin. That boy was far too skinny as it was. Fortunately there was no need for Arthur to leave the warmth of the fire, as the two men who he was preparing the bowls for, were now approaching him.

"That's enough food for a Queen there, let alone a princess." Gwaine smirked as he sat himself down on a log adjacent to Arthur's.

"It wasn't for me, but if you don't want it Gwaine ..." Arthur threatened as he movie closer to the pot as if to pour the contents of the bowl back in.

"Let's not be hasty now, sire." Gwaine took the bowl before the King could make good on his threat.

"Is that one for me? Oh you shouldn't have Arthur." Merlin, with a big smile plastered in his face, joined them taking his own seat on another log.

"Well if we had to wait for you to actually do your job Mer -lin, then nothing would ever get done, would it."

"You seem happier. You've already eaten I take it. You are looking fa-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence Merlin!" It might have been dark but thanks to the fire the red flush on Arthur's face was only too visible.

"What! I wasn't going to call you fa-"

"Merlin!"

"I was only going to say that you are looking fa -irly reasonable … now."

"You know what Mer -lin, you and Gwaine can take the next watch. I am going to sleep!" Arthur had stormed off about three feet away before he heard Gwaine laugh and shout out.

"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you to your tent Arthur?"

"And why would I want that?"

"Well you never know what danger might be lurking between here and your tent, … there might be rabbits waiting behind a bush. It's so dark, the woman from earlier, might not be able to find you in time to save you, again!"

"I did not need a woman to save me! She wasn't even a woman. She was a sorceress!"

"Also known as a woman … with magic."

As Arthur moved back to answer Gwaine in a more physical manner, the knight in question jumped up shouting, "Gotta go, nature calls."

As Gwaine walked towards the trees, he turned and said to Arthur, "By the way, what was this fair woman- sorry sorceress' name? So that I can send her flowers. It's not everyday a girl gets to send the life of a King."

Arthur just glared at Gwaine until the knight was out of sight, before sitting down next to Merlin. Grabbing Gwaine's empty bowl, Arthur filled it up for himself. Well if he couldn't go to sleep, he may as well eat some more.

"Not scared of the dark too, are you?" he said nudging Merlin who had been sat there uncharacteristically quiet during his exchange with Arthur. His servant's reply wasn't what he was expecting.

"We don't even know her name. I mean, she saved yo- our, our lives," Merlin changed his words at the way Arthur's eyes narrowed. "And we don't even know her name."

Merlin hadn't meant to bring up the sorceress until the King was in a better mood and possibly more receptive of a magic user.

"She chose not to give us her name Merlin. What does that tell you about her? Yes, she helped us. But why Merlin? What if she was the one who set the trap, just so she could lure us out here. A part of me does want to thank her what they did, if indeed she isn't evil. But too much has happened … Camelot has been targeted too many times for me to just pass this off as an innocent coincidence." Arthur sighed, draining his bowl, a headache forming at the awareness that he was in contradiction with his earlier thoughts. "Truth be told, I don't know what to think."

"I do not think she means us harm, Arthur. I don't believe her to be evil."

Arthur just smiled sadly at his servant's naivete. He was too trusting for his own good. "What makes you think that then Merlin? Not another one of your funny feelings is it!"

"Yes, one of my feelings." That was all Merlin could say. There was no way for him to explain to Arthur, that when Merlin had felt the woman use her magic, he had not sensed any malice in her. Yes there had been a tinge of darkness in her, but it did not seem to be innate, but rather a product of whatever hardships had befallen her.

Trying to make the situation lighter in the only way Merlin knew, he turned to Arthur, who had just put his bowl down. "So … that is, what your fifth bowl? Surely even you couldn't possibly have room for more, could you Arthur?"

It worked, it got Arthur to smile a little as he visibly relaxed. Perhaps it worked too well, as his comment also earned Merlin a hard push, courtesy of the King, making him fall off his log and land flat in the dirt.

The two men sat a while longer by the fire in their companionable silence, completely unaware of the two eyes which had been set on them for a while.

Caledi watched from a distance and what she saw truly surprised her. While she had expected some form of hostility from the King of Camelot, she was still confused by his actions.

Based on what Arthur had said to his servant it was quite clear that he did not trust her, but yet he wasn't too unsettled by his surroundings. From what she could tell there was only these two men awake, no one else keeping watch.

It was a good thing she has advised her men who had delivered the food to also taste it in front of the knights, so they could see that it was not poisoned or dangerous in any other way.

She would have thought the King would have been alert at all times, especially whilst in her camp, given his stance on magic, but here he was sitting amiably with the company of his servant of all people.

Maybe the rumours she had heard about the King of Camelot had some truth in them. Maybe he was different to his father. Kinder and more just supposedly. But how different he truly was, only time would tell.

Caledi turned around, walking back towards her tent, hoping to get a few hours sleep at least before her inevitable conversation with the King. Hopefully it would go better than their first interaction. Tomorrow would be fun.

The next chapter will definitely be up within a week, but until then here's a little extract.

"We need to find out where we are. So make yourself useful Merlin."

"We're in a forest."

"Well done Merlin. Your intelligence astounds me. Now that you've clarified that we are indeed in a forest, why don't you have a look around and see what you can find."

"But there are only trees here..."

Arthur was doing his best not to let his frustration at his servant show. He took a deep breath before answering, "Yes and that's why we have to distinguish between them."

Nodding his head, Merlin tried to look at what he could find out from the trees. "Ok, so we know they are tall … brown branches … green leaves … well that one has darker green, oh no no wait that's because it's in the shad- ow! What did you do that for?" he said rubbing his head where Arthur had just struck him!

"It is far too early in the morning, for you to be this stupid Mer -lin!"

Merlin moved away from Arthur, her certainly didn't want to accidentally goad the King into hitting him again. Definitely not before breakfast!

A/N: Hope the chapter was worth it. I know I enjoyed writing it (editing not so much) but I know what I'll enjoy even more, and that's reading your reviews.

Seriously even my mum has started asking me how many reviews I'm getting. So please do leave a review as I want to show her that its worth the effort on my part for paying whatever ransom my brother decides on after he successfully manges to kidnap my writing book. He has done it three times so far in the last ten days, and I have had to buy him three things. Tell me it was worth it.