I don't know if you like this new development or not, so let me know.

Remember focalization, otherwise he/her might confuse you when talking about Oliver.

I swear I didn't write this chapter as a response to your comments (because I had this planned), but I do admit I laughed out loud when one of you mentioned that Gwaine has 'at least one fault'. You poor baby.

Chapter 10

After the initial shock had worn off, Oliver calmed down. She had known her stay in Camelot would one day come to its end, the day had simply arrived earlier than expected. She placed her hands in her pockets and aimed to look casual, when in reality she was looking for a small knife she carried with her 'just in case'."What happens now?"

"We take you to your father and we return without you."

"And if I refuse?"

"I have already talked to Arthur about how you need to have someone watch over you until we leave. Simply for appearances' sake, of course." Lancelot's smile was all but sincere.

Oliver sighed, and let the knife drop at the bottom of her pocket. Not yet. "When do we leave?"

"In four days. Start saying your goodbyes."

Early in the morning, four days later, five riders were ready to head out in front of the castle. Oliver's shoulders were slunk to illustrate his mood, but a tiny glimmer of hope still lived inside her. Once outside Camelot's borders she could make her escape, and she would no longer be considered Camelot's problem, giving her the freedom to continue what she had been doing for the past few years before ending up in Camelot: actually enjoying life. She was already planning her escape plan when they heard a whistle behind them. "Wait!" Crud.

Arthur joined their them, stopping his horse as he reached them. "My father told me this is too important a mission for you" he looked at Oliver "to not be accompanied by a member of my family, so he's staying to look after the kingdom while I'm gone."

Merlin leaned in to whisper to Arthur. "Are you sure he can handle it?"

Arthur sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than Merlin. "All the other knights are in Camelot if need be, and Gaius and other advisers are there to help him. It will be alright."

Oliver's mood dropped at the sight of Arthur joining them. This would complicate matters. They started moving forward, Percival taking the far lead while Lancelot lead the rest of them. Gwaine, seeing Oliver's foul mood, reached out to give him a friendly push. "Cheer up mate. You'll be back in no time."

Oliver tried to look careless. Apparently only Lancelot and Oliver knew the true purpose of this mission. For the best, I suppose. I hate long goodbyes. She would come to miss Gwaine, though. If there was anyone who knew what fun was all about, it was him. She punched him in the arm with a wild smirk on her lips. Gwaine laughed and retaliated, leading into a friendly fight between them, complicated slightly by the fact that they were riding at the same time. Merlin watched sympathetically as they went at it while Arthur ignored them, muttering something about 'knight- and prince-like behavior'. Lancelot however wasn't amused and rode between them, leading Oliver to accidentally punch him on his temple, causing him to fall off his horse. "Lancelot!" Oliver yelped and jumped off her horse to help Lancelot stand. He ignored her apologies and simply got back on his horse. He directed his next words to Gwaine. "I suggest from now you treat our royal guest with more respect." He then rode further along to watch out for potential bandits. Oliver and Gwaine looked at each other and started laughing. The fight continued as soon as Oliver had gotten back on her horse. Arthur shook his head. "They're hopeless. And we're going to have two of them once we get back. Forever."

"Starting to regret your promise to him?" Merlin asked him with a playful grin, egged on by Gwaine and Oliver' childish fight.

"Shut up Merlin."

"Suit yourself", Merlin remarked before riding after Lancelot to exchange some words with him. As he passed Gwaine, he touched his arm ever-so-slightly. The subtle move made Gwaine smile but as he turned to face Oliver again, he realized the boy had noticed it too. He could see it by the way Oliver turned his head quickly and fixed his gaze forward . "Oliver.."

"Gwaine, I know. It's fine, but you should be more careful when in the presence of a royal prince", Oliver replied without turning to look at him, and Gwaine knew he was talking about Arthur, not himself. Gwaine nodded. Then he pushed Oliver again. They continued their miniature war until they reached a tavern where they could spend the night. Arthur estimated that they wouldn't have the time to reach another village before sunset, but it was still bright outside so they split up to do some sight-seeing. Oliver saw this as her perfect opportunity to flee, when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. "You put on a nice show back there, but you've been down ever since Arthur's ball. What's with you?" Gwaine's concern was genuine so Oliver didn't bother pretending.

"My life is over", she stated, throwing her hands in the air.

"I'll drink to that. Come on, I'll show you the best tavern here." Gwaine said with a smirk.

Somehow, Oliver cheered up a bit at that. "And when you say best.."

"..I mean the cheapest", Gwaine finished with a slight glow in his eyes. It had been a while since he'd gone on a bender, as it wasn't exactly the most knightly thing to do. He smacked Oliver on the back to urge him along. Oliver grinned. "Lead the way."

A couple of hours later Merlin was beginning to wonder where the rest of their envoy had gone. He met Arthur and Percival at the water place. They informed him that bandits had been spotted around the village, and that the others might be in trouble. Merlin's heart was beating fast and he couldn't stop imagining the horrible torture Gwaine and the others might have been going through. They left Percival to look after the horses as they searched for the three remaining members of their group. They saw Lancelot outside of an inn. At least he's alright, Merlin rejoiced, hoping that the same applied to Gwaine. They could hear fighting and yelling from outside. They looked at each other. Oh, Gwaine, Merlin thought as he, Arthur and Lancelot entered the inn and were presented with quite a sight.

Gwaine and Oliver appeared to have invented a game which involved swords. They were both clearly drunk, and staggered towards each other with a drunken stamina only comprehended by those having experienced it first hand. They were shouting at each other what appeared to be the rules of the game ('five! Now you drink!' and 'three, now I get to hit you!'). The other customers were frightened, but however hard they tried to leave the inn unnoticed by the two (as they weren't sure if they would only hurt each other or others as well), the pair kept moving, so they decided to stay put until it was safe to leave, paralyzed by their fear.

Arthur, Merlin and Lancelot quickly agreed on their game plan and executed it to the letter. First, Lancelot drew his sword and stopped the fight. Second, Arthur paid the innkeeper what the pair owed him. Third, Merlin started dragging Gwaine outside, though he wasn't strong enough so Arthur came to help him. Finally, Lancelot grabbed Oliver in his arms and they exited the establishment, leaving those still inside blinking, unsure whether what they had witnessed had been real or simply an alcohol-induced dream.

Merlin ran to get Percival. Nothing said bedtime like stopping two of your friends from killing each other. In their room, Arthur and Percival placed/threw Gwaine on one of the beds and Merlin went to see if he was alright. He had some bruises on his face but nothing serious. Merlin sighed. He had always suspected that settling into the life of a knight had been more difficult to Gwaine than he had lead on, but he hadn't dared to ask him directly. It appears I have my answer.

Lancelot followed them into the room, carrying Oliver. He laid the girl on the bed next to Gwaine's and examined her swollen face. Suddenly the girl stirred. "Lancy?"

"Yes", Lancelot replied. "And don't call me Lancy." He touched the corner of her eye gently. "Did Gwaine do that to you?"

"Naw, we met some otha' fellows befor'. They we'n't tha' nice, but when I show'd 'em my sword..Methinks they wen'away some place."

Lancelot shook his head. "You should not drink like that."

Oliver took a very odd position and then spoke in a voice that annoyed Lancelot to no end. "'Cause it's not proper for a ladiiiiiiii?"

Lancelot took a long breath. I hate drunk people. "I don't think Gwaine should drink like that either."

"What was that last bit?" Arthur had heard them. Lancelot prepared himself to lie to him, but he didn't stop Oliver in time.

"Ask Lancy. He knows allllll about this secret mission. In fact, he's the only one who knows the whole thing.." Oliver trailed off as she noticed that Gwaine was stirring too. "Hey, four, I hit you now!" she yelled and took a swing at Gwaine, who jumped on top of Oliver and they resumed their brawl. Lancelot and Percival separated them and Lancelot placed Oliver on one of the beds further away from Gwaine to keep them separate. Merlin sat next to Gwaine and touched his forehead. "How do you feel?"

"I feel great now, but I imagine I won't feel the same tomorrow." Gwaine rubbed his temples with his forefingers. "That's better."

They saw Arthur arguing with Lancelot but couldn't quite make out what they were saying. "'tis about me. Arthur is ma-had at Lancy", Oliver stretched the word like it gave her pleasure, but really she just couldn't say it properly.

"Why?" Merlin approached him. Oliver raised her finger on her mouth like covering a secret, so Merlin gave up. "Come on, let's get you out of those clothes. You both reek." He grabbed Oliver's collar to help him undress when Percival stopped him. "I'll do it. You help Gwaine."

Merlin shrugged and turned back to Gwaine, who seemed more than eager to get undressed in front of him. Merlin found it difficult to concentrate on his task when presented with Gwaine's naked body. However, as Arthur and a group of other people were right next to him, he proceeded to clothe the man with the spare clothes he had brought along. Gwaine sniveled, clearly disappointed, but Merlin ignored him. After his initial feeling of worry for the man's well being had worn off, he had realized he was quite cross with the man. Granted, Oliver was a friend of theirs so it didn't seem that serious, but this was an official quest they were on. Usually Merlin had simply laughed off things like this, but this time he'd been genuinely scared for the man, and to find him in a state of half an inn in his stomach had turned that worry into anger.

Gwaine remained oblivious about his inner turmoil and grabbed him from behind. "This is fun."

Merlin ignored him and got up from the bed. He walked up to Arthur and Lancelot. "Is everything alright?" As he saw Arthur's face, his question seemed to become a rhetorical one. "Merlin, take care of Gwaine while we talk, alright?" Lancelot asked him, his expression indicating that he and Arthur really needed a moment alone. Merlin returned to Gwaine's side to note that the man had passed out. Arthur seemed to be yelling at Lancelot, who looked ashamed. Merlin pretended to fluff Gwaine's pillow as he shot sideway glances at Arthur and Lancelot, who seemed to have finally come to an agreement.

"So? What's going on?" Merlin asked.

Arthur didn't meet his gaze, a clear indicator that he was lying. "Nothing, we were simply discussing the best route to the Perilous lands."

"And you couldn't do that in front of us because..?"

"Shut up Merlin."

"Okay then."

"We're all pretty tired, and these two are down for the count, so we might as well get some sleep now." Arthur's statements seemed like orders. He was practically a king already.

"Who's down?" Oliver asked, suddenly grabbing Lancelot's hand. "Are you in rubble? Turbule. Tarbule?"

"It's 'trouble'", Lancelot corrected her, "and it's nothing you need to bother yourself with."

Oliver nodded and passed out after a moment of waving aimlessly at the people in the room.

"Finally."

The next morning they woke up with feelings that varied from shame (from Oliver's part) to angry (Arthur and secretly Merlin at Gwaine AND Oliver) and ignorance from Gwaine, as he was still asleep. Merlin finally woke him up with a well-aimed kick on his side (it was still the gentler option when compared to what Arthur had in mind). "Ow! Merlin, what're you-"

Now that they were all awake, Oliver bowed her head deeply in front of everyone. "I am so very ashamed of my actions the evening before. I hope you will find it in your hearts to find some sympathy for me."

At Oliver's words, Gwaine suddenly remembered last night, or at least flashes of it. Arthur appeared behind him and smacked him on the back of his head, hard. "I have never been so ashamed of a knight before in my life", he claimed, then proceeded to scold him in a manner that was usually only reserved to Merlin. After he was done, Gwaine apologized as well. It was a new situation for him, people having expectations for him.

When the ambiance of the room was finally returning to normal, he looked at Oliver. "Why didn't you get hit in the head?"

"Because Oliver is of royal blood", Arthur quickly replied, a little too quickly not to rouse Merlin's suspicions.

"If it makes you feel better, you can hit me. I think I deserve it", Oliver offered, and Gwaine reached out but before he could touch Oliver, Lancelot grabbed his arm instead. "Do not lay your hand on him."

Gwaine was taken aback, but nodded nonetheless and Lancelot let go. "Sheesh, suddenly you are Royal with a capital aRse."

"My life's story." Oliver sighed and they all made their way downstairs to break fast.

As they were taking their seats, Gwaine playfully poked Merlin and expected him to respond likewise, but the boy pushed him back, visibly angry. He then sat as far away from him as possible. Gwaine frowned. This would not be a good day.