Chapter Five

I know it seems like things are moving a little fast, but don't get ahead of me. I am going in a slightly different direction than it seems. And yes, Lily does have strong feelings for Merlin, but she isn't sure why. And thanks for the reviews. I really do appreciate them.

Lily took a step back and looked up at the warlock. Then they both looked at the door, a man and woman were speaking on the other side of it. It was a man's voice that had shouted a moment ago and now a woman was speaking, "What…what did you say?"

"Guinevere, I said I love you." Merlin and Lily's eyes both went wide. "That's Arthur speaking!" They said this simultaneously and both bolted toward the door to listen to the conversation occurring on the other side of the thick wood. Lily leaned against the hard door and Merlin leaned next to her, both had their ears pressed against the scratched surface. "That's impossible, sire. You know there can never be anything between us. It's against the law. No prince of Camelot can ever be with a servant. You are meant to be with someone of noble birth, sire. Not with a lowly servant like myself."

"But…Guinevere…"

"Sire, I cannot possibly allow you to trouble yourself with me. Your father will never hear of it. You will be a great king someday, but it will not be me by your side. No, you will marry someone worthy of your notice. Perhaps the Lady Morgana or the Lady Lillian would suit you better than I."

"I should hope not," Arthur said quietly, so that all three listeners had to strain to hear him. "Morgana is like a sister to me and I don't even know the Lady Lillian at all. No, Gwen, it's you who has captured my heart, and I don't you to let it go. Nor do I want to give it to anyone else." Merlin and Lily heard him take a step forward, and Lily dropped down to the keyhole to see what was going on. She watched as the young prince placed his hands on the maidservant's shoulders, then move one hand up to stroke her face. Gwen, by instinct tilted her head into his hand so that it cupped her face, and placed her own hand on top of Arthur's. Arthur moved closer to Gwen until their faces were mere inches apart. Then he leaned in further to close the gap between their lips. Gwen's arms acted of their own volition as they twined around Arthur's neck, deepening the kiss, and Lily, having seen enough, stood up and faced Merlin.

"What are they doing," he whispered.

"They're kissing.," she replied, and again realized just how close Merlin was standing to her. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, and the smell of mint leaves filled her nostrils again as he exhaled breath. Her heart began to race, and she saw images of herself kissing Merlin, then of them lying in bed together out of breath after making love. She felt dizzy all of a sudden and swayed on the spot. Merlin's hands went out and steadied her. Why am I thinking of him this way? I barely even know him. Sure I know his legends, but as a person I have no idea who he is. But, I can't deny this feeling. If I don't act on it I feel like I will burst.

"Lily? Are you okay?" She looked up at Merlin and smiled. He always seemed to be concerned with everyone else's well being. "Yes, I was just thinking about something." She went to move away from the door, but lost her footing, and toppled into Merlin, sending them both crashing onto the floor, her landing on top of him. "Sorry," she said. "No, no. The pleasures all mine," he replied. They looked into each others eyes for a moment and Lily was possessed by that strange urge yet again that she needed to be with Merlin. She lowered her head; so that her face was so close to Merlin's that she could see every detail on his skin. She was aware once more that their lips were centimeters apart and this time she was going to close the gap. The door opened behind them and Arthur's voice rang through the room. "What the hell is…oh…I see. Well…*cough*…Merlin. I had no idea that…"

"Oh, no, sire, it's not what it looks like," Lily said embarrassed as she pulled herself off Merlin, her cheeks flushing a brilliant scarlet. "You see, I tripped and Merlin just so happened to be in the way and when I fell, I took him with me." She could tell the prince was bemused by her story and he confirmed her belief when he said, "Well, Merlin, it looks as though we have finally found someone more clumsy than you. And she's nobility. I don't think I have ever met a noble who could trip over their own feet."

"That's because she wasn't raised into nobility, sire." Leave it to Merlin to come to her rescue…again.

"Ah, yes, I remember. I've been meaning to ask you, my lady, where have you been all these years?"

"Arthur, do you really think now is the best time to be questioning her. The feast will be starting soon and we all need to get ready."

"You know, Merlin, your right. I do have to make sure all the preparations are being done and have to get ready myself." He turned and left the room. Merlin glanced at Lily and gave a sigh of relief, but she was busy contemplating Arthur's behavior. Apparently, the kiss he and Gwen had shared muddled his brain a little. "From the way you talk about Arthur's normal behavior, Merlin, that was a little off. I think he was a little distracted."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, my lady. He did seem a little strange. The way he just accepted my suggestion that we should all get ready for the feast. He never accepts that sort of thing so quickly."

"Hmm…I guess we will have to keep an eye on him and make sure he is okay. Love is a crazy feeling. It makes us behave in ways we never thought possible of ourselves." Lily turned to leave but heard Merlin laughing behind her. "What is so funny?" She placed her hands on her hips in mock exasperation. "Nothing. I just didn't have you pegged for the proverbial type. You sounded just like Gaius for a moment there."

"Humpf…glad I amuse you. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to get dressed for the feast." She stomped her way out of the room and ran straight into Gwen and Morgana, who had been looking for her. "Ah, Lady Lillian, you are just the person we were looking for," Gwen said.

"Please, call me Lily, I'm not too familiar with being called Lady or Lillian. I didn't even know I was of noble birth until today. It's been quite a shock, but I think I'm handling it fairly well."

"Indeed, my lad…sorry Lily."

"I need your help, Lily," Morgana started. "All the knights will be at the feast tonight and I need some help deciding what to wear. You will help me won't you? I usually ask Gwen for these things but I need two opinions for tonight."

"Of course I'll help. Come on let's see what you've got to choose from."

Namira looked into the pool at the events occurring in Camelot and smiled a devilishly. So Arthur is in love with a servant girl. This is proving a better situation than I thought. Now to get Merlin to fall for the bait. The child is already half in love with him, all I have to do is wait for him to realize it and fall for her too. Then he will meet his demise. One small spell, that's all it takes to take control of her. Her betrayal will break his poor heart and then I will have my revenge. She pulled out a large book full of spells and began to flip through the worn pages. She found the one she was looking for and her grin widened. She began to chant: imperium vestrum ego vadum quod vestri somes ero mei. vos mos operor totus inquam insquequo ego solvo vos vel vestri vita permaneo dies.

A/N: I know it's short but I am having a slight case of writer's block. That's why this chapter isn't all that great. I'm still trying to work a few things out in my head about this story, so it's kind of getting hard to figure out what to put down, but don't worry I'm not giving up on it!