Chapter FOUR! Same warning as before for bad language and possibly violence. I enjoy Reviews and small turtles! Thanks for reading enjoy!

Chapter Four -

After the living criminals were bound and the dead burned the people who were not guarding the prisoners went to the tents to sleep for the night. I hadn't seen Merlin since I ran off from him in the woods just before the bandits attacked. I was sure he was fine though, he seemed smart enough not to get killed. Still I had a nagging worry, but that's just me over analyzing everything. Still I found myself looking at every face, searching for his; or his dark black hair. If he had died, because I left him in the woods I would never forgive myself. I'm just being silly again he's fine. I chided myself as I walked into the tent. Clarisse stood when she saw me, her hair was messed up and there was a long slash across her sweat shirt.

"Clarisse are you all right are you hurt?" I asked rushing over to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine, the blade didn't cut me." She looked at the side of the tent "he did cut that though." I followed her gaze to the wall; the fabric was rendered from pretty much top to bottom.

"If he had to come in, couldn't he have used a door?"

"Not dramatic enough, I guess." She laughed

"How'd you get away?"

"Arthur, dashed in and saved the day." She smiled, a bit of a blush standing out on her pale cheeks.

"Of course he did." I said with a hint of sarcasm.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, he is a Prince after all." She laughed at that as I took a real good look at the tent. There was a pallet, with a sleeping roll, a couple of packs that I assumed were Merlin's in the corner, and a couple candles. I hoped he didn't need anything.

"So why exactly did you run towards the men with the big shiny swords?"

"I wanted to check on our horses." she just nodded before saying.

"Well, it has been a long day…"

"That is the biggest understatement I've ever heard."

"I think I'm going to go to bed." She said lying down on the pallet… the only pallet… well that's Clarisse for you. I could see how she could be mistaken for nobility by Arthur, not only did she have the fancy horse, but the whole attitude and the looks.

"All right then." I said before blowing out the candles. It would be perfectly dark if it weren't for the starlight coming in through the hole in the tent. I sat there in the dark, watching the stars through the hole, so many stars. This was real wasn't it? We were in Camelot; the only question now is how? Sighing I laid down, and tried to sleep. The time passed slowly, crawling by second by second. I could hear Clarisse's soft snores from the other side of the tent. The night was a bit cool, and in just a thin a jacket I started to shiver. Damn it, I'm never going to get to sleep am I? Might as well be warm, I thought standing up and slowly slipping out of the tent, as to not wake Clarisse.

I walked out towards the camp fire, most of the Bandits had fallen asleep and their guards did not acknowledge my presence. On the ground there was the form of a sleeping body walking a bit closer I could see the black hair sticking out from under his upturned collar. Merlin, so he was alive, that was one less troubling thing on my mind. Settling down near the fire I watched it, while letting the gray ashes of the previous blaze trickle through my hand. It was weird, I was alive, and yet I hadn't been born. My great great great great great great great great great great great great great grandparents were probably wandering around somewhere; I knew I had some lineage from the UK areas. I glanced over at Merlin, sleeping so peacefully. He didn't look like the big powerful sorcerer the stories portrayed him as; I wondered how he possibly could have been remembered. Magic wasn't real; maybe he was smart and became an advisor or something? Or maybe Merlin was just a really common name, because it didn't seem likely that a servant would be remembered.

He started twitching, his facial features turning into a grimace. He mumbled something I couldn't here through the tossing and turning.

"Merlin?" I called, softly hoping to rouse him it didn't work he continued to dream, and it didn't appear to be a good one. The bruise on my side from where the man pinched me ached as I leaned in its direction starting to stand. I took the few strides over to him and crouched placing a hand on his shoulder. He started, sitting up quickly taking in quick gasps of breath. He looked up at me sweat making his face take on a bit of a shine in the fire light. "You looked like you were having a bad dream…" I muttered sitting down a few feet away, fixing my gaze on the fire to avoid looking at him.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" he probably was wondering why I wasn't in the tent that he could've been sleeping in if I hadn't shown up.

"Couldn't" I replied quickly.

"Why not?" he asked, his words drawn out in a wheezy way as he sat up.

"Cold." That wasn't a complete lie it was cold out, that just wasn't the big reason.

"Cold?" his brow furrowed.

"There's a hole in it now." I glanced over at him, and couldn't help but smile a little at his expression.

"Damn it," he complained, "Now Arthur will make me stitch it up."

"I'm sorry."

"Well unless you're the one that put it there I don't think it's your fault." He smiled, I just nodded. Why can't I say anything? I asked myself in aggravation. Apparently expressing those emotions outwardly too, because Merlin looked over at me one eyebrow raised.

"Did you just… growl?"

"No…" I lied.

"I think you did." A grin was starting to form on his face.

"I didn't!" I protested, blushing… again… how many times? Hoping that he wouldn't see the redness in my cheeks I let some of my hair fall over my face. Peeking through the locks of blonde hair, I could see an amused smirk on his face he knew he was right. Not sure what else to say I kept my eyes on the ground, drawing patterns in the dust and ash. Big swirls connected by long curving lines, and circles, with in circles, with in circles. I'm not sure exactly how long we sat there quietly as I drew in the dust. He was the one to break the silence, if was up to me to start the conversation it probably never would have happened.

"About earlier, I'm sorry. I was rude, and shouldn't have pushed you like that."

"It's okay." My voice was just above a whisper so quiet I was afraid that he wouldn't here over the crackle of the flames. We sat in silence again, this time I resorted to watching the fire. The red and burnt orange tongues danced twisting, and bending, and snapping up right sending sparks up into the dark. The coals and embers glowing warmly at its base, they looked inviting as if they were asking you to reach out and touch them, so pretty their glow so soft. I couldn't though; I knew I would get burned.

"So, what's it like? America?" he asked, and I almost laughed. In about a thousand years so many people would be asking the same question.

"It's nice; it's not perfect I guess no place is. There isn't slavery, so that's good. Some of the… nobles are a bit corrupt, but I guess that's what money does to you, makes you want more. Our king is nice, his name is Obama. He tries to do what's best for the people, his court are stubborn never agree with each other, so not a lot gets done."

"Doesn't the king have the power?" he asked

"Not exactly, the lords and ladies of the court are there to keep the king in check, make sure he can't get away with things that would be bad for the country. Though the nobles… they don't exactly have similar ideas of good and bad."

"Ladies?"

"Men and women are equal there." Hey? Am I holding a conversation? With a boy?

"So, if you had so many rights and powers there… why did you leave?" my mind went into overdrive trying to think of some lie that would make some sort of sense.

"It's not there anymore…" I stated, hoping he wouldn't question further. I could lie pretty decently; I just had a bit of a guilt complex that made me feel like an awful person when I did. Though it wasn't technically a lie, if 'anymore' were replaced with 'yet' it would be completely true.

"What happened?" damn it, he just had to ask didn't he?

"War, America fell to war." He just nodded, it was one of those moments where you want to say something, but there really isn't anything to say. I could already feel guilt like a lead weight in my stomach. No one would believe me if I said I was from the future, they would probably burn me at the stake for it.

There was that silence again I was doing so well, and yet it always returns to silence. The lull between conversations makes me nervous, the longer we don't talk the more worried I get. What if I'd offended them? What if they thought I was annoying, or didn't want to talk to me? That was rarely true, however I couldn't say I always enjoyed conversations either. While I could speak to girls, most of the time I just wanted them to shut up. I had a few real good friends, but a lot of people just talked to me so they could talk. I liked talking with Clarisse, or Georgia, but some of the other girls….

I looked over at Merlin; he seemed to be deep in thought about something. Sighing, I wished that I could just talk to a guy like a normal girl could. I really wasn't that hard, I managed to hold my own in a conversation with him before. Why not try to start one? I sat there for a good five minutes contemplating what exactly it was I would say, before actually opening my mouth.

"So, if Arthur thinks that Clarisse and I are noble, why exactly did he give us a servant's tent?" the words came out jumbled, filled with syllables that got doubled with a stutter. It took him a moment to respond, and I blushed. He probably was trying to figure out what I said.

"He wouldn't give you any of the soldier's tents; he looks after his men first."

"He sounds like a good man." I said softly, smiling at Merlin.

"He's an arrogant prat!" he laughed, "but yes, he is a good one. He'll make a fine king one day."

"I'm certain he will." The silence ensued once more, but this one didn't bother me as much. I was more ecstatic that I managed to start the conversation, than I was anxious about the fact that it wasn't continuing. The excitement faded, but the silence remained. Surprisingly, this time it felt a bit more comfortable. Not saying I was perfectly at ease without a care in the world, but I wasn't on edge hoping he would talk to me, and that he didn't think I was an idiot, or annoying, or a bad person. It was nice.

After a while, he turned over to me. "You look tired; you should go back to your tent."

"Not much of a point, the only difference between here and the tent is that there's a fire here."

"The pallet is a bit more comfortable than the ground." He pointed out.

"I'm sure Clarisse is enjoying it very much." I laughed, he joined in I think he understood."

"Well, go to sleep here then Ally." Now that he mentioned it, my eyelids were finally feeling a bit heavy, the shock of the day's events wearing off and their toll setting in. I laid back, stretching out before curling my legs in and folding my arms for a pillow.

"I think, I will." I said with a bit of a smile. "Goodnight Merlin."

"Goodnight, Ally." He said before the world faded to black.