Chapter 14

Elaina had to stay in bed several days to recuperate. In that time she was given a new servant, Ruth. She was an energetic girl with guarded eyes. Elaina liked her, but didn't know if she could trust her.

There was a constant parade of visitors throughout the days as well. Morgana came everyday as did Merlin and Gaius. Uther had also visited several times, bringing a gift with him every time. Even Sir Leon had visited and discussed her fighting.

Everyone had visited, everyone but Arthur, the one person Elaina wanted to see. She knew she shouldn't have told him to get out, but at the time it was too much to deal with. Telling him about her mother had been hard enough, she couldn't bear to hear the sympathy in his voice. It was too much.

Elaina sighed and glanced around the room. If Arthur wasn't going to come see her she would simply have to go to him. She climbed out of bed and headed toward her wardrobe. Despite the quarrel with Gwen she had been true to her word and made Elaina several dresses.

Elaina slowly looked through them before selecting the green one Morgana had given her. Arthur had said it made her look beautiful. Perhaps it would work in her favor once more. She stepped behind the dressing screen and quickly changed her clothes.

The door to her chamber opened causing Elaina to freeze. She turned slightly to see if she could catch a glimpse of the intruder.

"My Lady," Ruth called as she set something on the table.

"Behind the screen, just a moment please," Elaina called. She finished buttoning her dress then stepped out.

"You look lovely. Is it a special occasion?"

Elaina considered the question briefly before answering. "Not exactly, who sent those?"

On the table was a beautiful vase full of white flowers. Ruth adjusted them as she spoke. "Arthur's manservant Merlin gave them to me, he said they were for you. He didn't say if they were from Arthur though."

Elaina gently ran a finger over one of the flowers as she looked at them. "Was there a note or anything?"

"No, no note. Merlin just gave me the flowers. He's a bit strange."

Elaina laughed softly as she moved back to her wardrobe to find some shoes. "Merlin is an individual, I don't know if strange is the word I would use, but I understand why you would say that."

Elaina pulled out some shoes and slipped them on before turning to look at Ruth. The girl was eyeing her strangely. "Something the matter Ruth?"

"No, sorry my Lady, I didn't mean to stare. Do you want me to fix your hair?"

"No thank you, I can do it. There's something else I need you to do."

"Certainly my Lady, what do you need?"

"Can you find out where Arthur is? I need to speak with him."

"Certainly, I'll be right back." Ruth curtsied before leaving the room. The door banged shut and Elaina shook her head. She moved to the vanity and ran the brush through her hair. Elaina settled for tying it back instead of putting all of it up.

A knock on the door caused Elaina to jump. She turned quickly and stared at the door. It was the insistency of the knock that surprised her.

"Come in," Elaina called.

A guard pushed the door open and slowly approached Elaina. "Your presence is required in the throne room, my Lady."

Elaina nodded slowly wondering what Uther could want with her. "Lead the way."

"Princess Elaina of Heideen," the guard announced as Elaina entered the room. She swept down the short aisle and curtsied in front of Uther's throne. Arthur stood next to Uther refusing to meet her gaze. The room was thick with tension. Elaina knew that something was terribly wrong.

"You requested my presence my Lord," Elaina said softly.

"You are all dismissed," Uther said loudly. Everyone filed out of the room but Elaina, Uther, and Arthur.

Arthur finally met Elaina's gaze as she glanced around in confusion. His expression did not make Elaina feel any better.

"Elaina there is a messenger here from Heideen," Uther explained.

"My father knows I'm not dead."

"It would seem so," Uther replied. He studied the girl in front of him. He honestly had no clue what to do about this. They had not kept their word and executed Elaina. Anyone who spent any time with her could see she was an extraordinary young woman. Uther couldn't bring himself to sentence her to death. In a way she reminded him of Arthur's mother.

"What do you plan to do," Elaina asked. "Is the messenger still here?"

"He is," Arthur said lowly. There was only one option he could see that would solve this mess. He doubted Elaina would go along with it, she obviously wanted nothing to do with him now. Not that he blamed her.

"He doesn't know that you are here, he just knows that you aren't dead," Uther pointed out.

"Am I going into hiding?"

"Yes," Uther said.

"No," Arthur said at the same time. The father and son exchanged glances. "She should stay here."

"How are we going to explain that," Uther demanded.

"We could announce…," Arthur started to say but Elaina cut him off.

"Who did my father send? What is the messenger's name?"

"It's a young man named Elias," Uther said impatiently. He didn't see why the messenger's name mattered. He turned back to Arthur to see what his son had in mind.

Elaina visibly paled and stepped back. "He's not a messenger, he's an assassin," Elaina said in a strangled voice. "My father sent him to kill me."

The door behind Elaina burst open causing her to jump. She spun around to see who had caused the commotion. Elias stood in the doorway and smirked at Elaina. Several other men stood behind him.

Arthur yanked his sword out of his belt and moved to stand in front of Elaina. He backed her up toward the throne as the men entered the room.

"Guards," Uther shouted angrily. He grabbed Elaina's arm and pulled her behind him. Elaina pushed his hand away and pulled his sword out of his belt. She flipped it in her hand and stared at Elias. Several of the Camelot guards came running into the room, Merlin trailed behind them.

"It's good to see you alive Elaina," Elias said viciously. "It means I get to kill you myself."

"As if you could," Elaina snapped. "Still doing my father's dirty work Elias? You told me you'd changed, that you would be loyal to me, not him."

"Pretty lies to fool a stupid girl, you also thought I loved you," Elias pointed out.

"As you said I was foolish then," Elaina replied. "I'm not the same foolish girl I once was Elias."

Arthur stiffened at their words. When Elaina had mentioned an affair, he had no idea that it had been true. She'd obviously been involved with Elias. His gaze flickered toward Elaina but he kept an eye on Elias. "You are not welcome here."

"Assassins usually aren't," Elias said smugly. "Don't worry I'll be leaving very soon."

With those words, everyone began moving at once. There was a clash of metal as swords smashed against one another. Elaina and Arthur were quickly separated by the throng of fighting bodies. Elaina parried a blow and spun around searching the crowd frantically.

Elias and Sir Leon were currently fighting. Arthur was fighting his way through the crowd toward them. Without warning though, all of Camelot's knights fell suddenly. Elaina stared around in shock. Elias smirked at her as he stepped over Sir Leon's body.

Elaina glanced around and realized that she and Merlin were the only people from Camelot still conscious. Elias had used magic against everyone else. Elaina swallowed hard and tried to not look scared.

Merlin was torn, he knew he had to save Elaina but he couldn't risk exposing himself as a sorcerer. He moved forward slowly trying not to draw attention to himself. He muttered in the old language and threw his hand out.

The Heideen warriors fell just as the Camelot knights had. Elaina stared at him in shock, but did not hesitate. She lunged forward, attacking Elias with everything she had. Their swords collided with a loud clang.

"You're not going to kill me," Elaina hissed angrily.

Merlin rushed over to Arthur and began trying to revive the fallen Prince. Luckily no one seemed to be dead, simply unconscious.

"You're a foolish girl, I always succeed," Elias replied.

Merlin slapped Arthur hard and jumped back as the prince sat up. Arthur shook his head and glanced around the room. Elaina swung hard from her left and cut Elias' arm.

"You'll pay for that," Elias snapped.

Elaina merely smirked at him. Without warning Elias raised his hand and tossed her into the nearest column. Elaina yelped in pain and slid to the floor. Elias quickly crossed the room and kicked her sword out of her hands. Elaina struggled against him as he pulled her to her feet.

Arthur rushed across the room but Elias turned quickly and put his sword the Elaina's throat. "Stop right there Pendragon or I'll slit her throat right here in front of you. I'm sure that's not something you want to remember for the rest of your life. The girl you love bleeding to death because of your stupidity."

Arthur froze a look of pure terror on his face. Elaina met his gaze as she struggled against Elias. "Arthur," she whispered. She wanted him to know that it was ok, that she trusted him to save her before Elias could kill her.

Elaina's gaze snapped from Arthur to Merlin. Her eyes widened when she saw his eyes flash gold. Suddenly there was something hidden at her side. Elaina carefully slid her hand around and found a dagger that had not been there before.

Elias began to edge them toward the door. "We're going to walk out of here, if you try to stop us she'll die."

Elaina met Arthur's gaze as she slipped the dagger out and shifted it in her hand. Without pausing she drove it into Elias' side. He immediately dropped his sword from her throat and cried out in pain. Elaina quickly picked up the sword and moved to run him through with it.

"To slow Elaina," Elias mocked before disappearing. He vanished in a puff of smoke.

Elaina dropped the sword and turned around. Her gaze met Arthur's and without thinking she rushed into his arms. Arthur pulled her closer to him as they sank to the ground. Elaina sobbed into his chest knowing that she had narrowly avoided death.