A/N Thanks for keeping with this story, even if it seems nothing much is happening. It will soon, I promise!

Chapter three: Different

In the next month everything changed, conversations with Gareth were stilted and awkward with every conversation ending with him dashing for the door. Anna just wanted everything to go back to normal. She couldn't understand why it had to suddenly become so awkward between them- yes they had made a mistake but surely they could get past that? To Anna Gareth's behaviour made no sense to her, he seemed to be afraid of her. That in itself was a silly thought, Anna was not scary. She had never harmed anyone and never would. Gareth was also staying away from the house much more than normal, spending time with the other knights and going away on hunts. On the nights he did return it was late into the night, and long after Anna herself had retired to bed. Anna sighed as she made her bed, the midday sun glaring on her back. She found that this was one mundane task she actually enjoyed since her fall from Lady to peasant.

"Anna you needn't do that, I was just about to." Gemma scolded. Gemma worked as the household servant and she was the only servant in the house to treat Anna with respect and like a friend. Anna suspected that she pitied her, a thought that made her stomach turn. Gemma was in her late thirties with mousy brown hair tied in a bun, she was friendly and cheerful with a rather plump middle. She also had four young children that she liked to talk about; Anna felt she knew more than she ever wanted to about Gemma's children.

"Its fine Gemma, I enjoy it" Anna placated her with a little smile, huffing Gemma set the basket she was carrying down on the chair with a sigh. Gemma stared at Anna for a while making her feel uncomfortable in the elders gaze, as though Gemma could see into her soul, all her worries and fears.

"Anna, may I speak plainly?' Gemma asked stepping closer towards Anna. Anna nodded her head slowly, her blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders as she picked at her nails in her nervousness. "What is going on with you and Sir Gareth?" Gemma blurted it out she blushed bright red and as Anna raised her eyes she looked away "I know it's none of my business, but I am worried about you." Anna herself was just shocked; no one in Camelot would have the nerve to ask such a personal question.

"We made a mistake and now he's avoiding me and I just don't understand why he would ignore me. I haven't done anything wrong, I swear" Anna's eyes filled with tears.

"Oh come here my dear" Gemma said softly enveloping a now sobbing Anna into her arms, Gemma smoothed the hair on her hair and squeezed her tighter. "It's okay my dear, men are silly- especially the knights don't you worry, he will soon come around. You'll see." Just then, in the comforting arms of the older woman Anna felt nostalgic, remembering all the times she had been held and comforted by her mother, and how she could no longer be comforted by her anymore.

"I'm just so lonely." Anna mumbled into Gemma's shoulder.

"I understand" Anna jumped apart from Gemma with her eyes suddenly shinning with anger rather than sadness.

"No you don't. No one does. I have no one anymore, nothing. Not even my own name and status. Instead I'm here alone, under the thumb of a knight who is avoiding me." Anna looked suddenly horrified as though she had said too much, but Gemma just looked confused, she scrutinised her for a moment before speaking again.

"What are you running from?"

"Nothing."

"If you keep it bottled up you will eventually become bitter."

"I lost everything because of a selfish man. I have every right to be bitter."

"It doesn't mean you should, Anna"

"I just want things to go back to normal. I want to go home and see my father, talk to my mother. See my friends. Have everything back to the way it was- the way it should be." Anna moaned angrily, sounding like a spoilt child.

"In life things rarely go the way they should Anna. It is one of life's lessons. You are no longer the person you were Anna, you can't just go back to that person anymore. You can't go back and get a hug from your mum a kiss from your dad. You can no longer have that Anna, the sooner you except this, the sooner you can move on."

"But I don't want to move on. I liked how I was before. I liked my life before; if it wasn't for him I could have it all back."

"Pinning it all on one man won't make you feel any better."

"But it does" Anna gave a smile that Gemma found chilling, sinister and dark and a side to Anna she had never seen before. She was suddenly scared of the girl, scared of the girl she was trying to help.

"How does it."

"He is the one I blame; he is the one that will pay. Someday he will get his retribution, he has harmed too many innocent souls to not. When that day comes maybe I will finally have some peace."

"Anna, living for revenge is not living at all." Gemma regarded the girl sadly and Anna bristled in anger, she didn't want pity.

"I don't need pity."

"You are hardening your heart, and for that I will pity you. You need other people, they are the only way anyone can ever survive." Gemma left the room leaving Anna to her troubled thoughts.

Anna blamed Uther as did everyone he harmed; he was the reason for her situation. He had killed her friends. She had heard them as she ran; the terrified screams and the acrid choke of fire and death. He was to blame for it all, all because he wanted a son. Now because of this thousands of her kind were dying, in hiding and who's to say what he will do next? Is anyone safe? He had proved he was nothing but a tyrant King, a man she had once respected was now nothing but the dirt under her feet. She would not get her revenge, but she wouldn't stop someone else from doing it. All tyrants eventually come to sticky ends and Uther would be no different. Anna flopped onto the bed, absentmindedly making the chair float across the room with a twitch of her hand and a soft mutter as she mulled over everything that Gemma had said to her. Some of it had made sense, but Anna had always been an angry child. Selfish her mother used to say. Even though Anna wanted to be a good person and push the anger down, but she also didn't want to let it go. It was better than the cold emptiness of loneliness. Coming to the conclusion that pushing the anger down would be better for now she resigned to ambush Gareth when he returned and force him into a conversation with her, just so she knew what she had down wrong, if she had done anything at all.

Since that night with Anna, Gareth hadn't had the chance to talk to Wilfred, they kept missing each other. The man was impossible. But finally he could.

"Is there a reason you look like your sucking a lemon or are you that pleased to see me" Wilfred laughed as he threw down his sword on the bench. They were in the armoury and it was unusually empty, the racks filled with gleaming swords shinning in the dim light of the small room.

"I, I need to tell you something." Gareth half stuttered as he pulled off his armour.

"Spit it out man"

"Me and Anna slept together." He said in a rush, looking guiltily at the floor.

"You horny fucker" Wilfred chortled.

"This isn't funny, Wilf"

"So what's the matter you bedded her, wasn't the best choice you ever made but you do have a small brain, so I can't really blame you."

"But I shouldn't have."

"Probably not, but it hardly matters what you should of done now does it?" the matter of fact way that Wilfred spoke reassured Gareth slightly. "How did this even happen?"

"She climbed into bed with me." He confessed.

"That little wanton!"

"She had a nightmare Wilf, she wanted comfort."

"I'm sure she did." Wilf was holding his side with laughter and Gareth was silently fuming, Wilfred was making light of his misery.

"Look, I just feel so bad!"

"Get over yourself; you both are old enough to make a decision. Stop being a twonk."

"Am I being a twonk?" Gareth asked. He just needed someone on his side, Wilfred simply rolled his eyes.

"By being like this…yes. Just go talk to the poor bird."

"You think I should?"

"Yes, you are so annoying."

"Okay, I will talk to her." Gareth decided standing up and heading out of the room.

"Finally" shouted Wilfred at his retreating back.

Anna spent the rest of the afternoon pottering around her small room and reading. Gareth had books she had never seen before, and as an avid scholar she had purged the library in Camelot of most of the books, learning about everything from history to novels and fairy tales. It was all extremely interesting to her. Books had always had a hold on her, from being a small child and sitting in her father's lap as he read book after book to her. Not children's books, intellectual books brimming with information. But she had found that here in Caerleon there were books she had never even heard of and was eager to read and learn. The differences in history and the arguments on creation were different to that of Camelot's. It made her wonder about how much of history was true or if it was just exaggerations of the same facts. Late evening she finally heard Gareth come home. Jumping up and smoothing down her simple dress she scampered down the stairs to head him off.

"Gareth" she called to him, startled he turned to face her. His face was flushed from the cold outside and he was still wearing his heavy cloak, so she cautiously walked to him and unfastened it for him removing the item and folding it before putting it on the hook. The hallway was dim and she was suddenly scared, what if he ran off and didn't want to talk to her.

"Anna" he said carefully looking at her worriedly.

"Please Gareth, please just talk to me." Anna begged him fisting the front of his shirt softly.

"What do you want me to say?" He said gruffly removing her hands.

"I just want things to go back to how they were"

"They can't Anna."

"But why not?"

"What we did, changes everything. It was wrong. You know it is an act only acceptable within marriage, or do your kind not understand that?" He said harshly, Anna flinched away from him as though struck staring at him in shock and horror. He looked instantly guilty and bit his lip.

"Yes I know that." Anna said coldly, her voice shaking with undisguised anger "but what we did is done, there is nothing we can do about it now. So why can't we just move on?"

"To you it might have meant nothing, but to me it did. I can't go back to how we were not after that."

"What can I do to make it better, for you to forgive me for my momentarily insanity? For your information it did mean something to me, to me it was two people caught up in the moment blinded by lust. I care for you as I know you care for me. We just don't love each other. But this isn't a crime. We can but it behind us. You know we can."

"Perhaps" he said slowly "but I need time." He needed time to control his feelings for her, it was clear she would never feel about him how he felt about her so it was best just to keep his distance, to heal and recover away from her.

"Take your time, I just need you again, I need your friendship Gareth." She said truthfully, he nodded with a smile. He turned and began to walk away before turning back.

"Do I need to buy new books or have you got a few more to read?" He jested, it was minimal effort but it made Anna's heart jilt, he was joking. It meant he was trying.

"You have been paying attention then?"

"How could I not, with a beauty like yourself residing in my home" he winked and carried on walking up the stairs. He couldn't help but pay attention when she was in his every waking thought.

As Anna lay on her bed later that night her heart was much lighter. Everything would be fine, eventually. 'Good things come to those who wait' that is what her mother had always said. With that she slipped into a dreamless sleep, free for once of the nightmares that plagued her.

Things were slowly getting better as Sir Gareth's; it was just getting back to how it was in the early days, when he first took her in. It had been four months since she had been forced to flee her home, in that time she had changed dramatically. Her hair was now untamed, she was constantly slightly dishevelled and her dresses were plain and made from cheap material. A far cry from the silk dresses she was used to. She'd also put on a little weight since being at sir Gareth's- oh if her mother could only see her now. She would cry in disgust more likely than not.

Stepping into the kitchen and inhaling the aroma of Maddie's cooking she made herself a drink. Maddie still regarded Anna with suspicion because she seemed to believe that Anna was just after Gareth's money and power (which Anna found ridiculous Gareth was hardly rich in comparison to what her family was and most definitely not powerful). Maddie had worked for Gareth's family for forty years, here not only in the service of Gareth's father but his father as well. She had worked here since she was a child herself and was almost a second mother figure to Gareth. She was extremely protective of the house and the family and had more to say than Anna believed a servant should. In her family such behaviour would have them fired on the spot or in the stocks.

"Good Morning Maddie" Anna said brightly.

"Morning" Maddie all but grumbled.

"Do you need any help?" Anna said hopefully.

"No thank you"

"Oh, okay." With that Anna was shooed from the room. That left Anna with nothing to do for the entire day so she decided to go for a short walk to the forest just outside Gareth's lands. Gareth owned a 20 acre plot of land within King Lots lands. This area had been controlled by Gareth's family for hundreds of years. On the land was a small village, Craelic. There were a few farmers and the land was prosperous.

The forest was about a two mile walk from the house and the forest itself was beautiful .Evergreen pines created a beautiful sheltered canopy and haven for wildlife the area was brimming with animals of all shapes and sizes. It was a serene and almost magical place Anna had only been to the forest a couple of times during her stay in Caerleon but it had soon become her favourite place. It was the only place she was truly free to use her magic, she didn't have any of her magic books she had had to leave them all behind. But she could practice all she knew and all she had learnt from her old teachers. With her powers she could call down rain, rustle the trees and levitate, this was all done with minimum effort she had mastered it years ago. But more complex incantations needed power and concentration she sometimes lacked. If she had her teachers she could still progress at the rate she had been but without them she was struggling. But her yearning to learn persisted and made her want to better her magic. Curious about her seer abilities she wandered over to the small pool surrounded by rocks, looking into the rocks she closed her eyes and concentrated picturing her mother. When she opened her eyes the reflection in the water was not that of her own. Instead she could see her mother, in their home in Camelot cradling her stomach. Her stomach was protruding slightly and as she looked at it she realised. Her mother was pregnant. With a replacement child since she had lost her eldest. Anger like never before rolled across her and she slapped the image in the water with her hand, causing it to disappear and waves to roll in the small pool reflecting her own turbulent emotions. The sky thundered and it began to rain as her tears began to fall.

How could her mother just forget about her and move on. Have another child. How could she do that to her? Why wouldn't she just flee with her? Instead she left her on her own at only fifteen. She was old enough to marry, but she didn't feel old enough to be on her own without her mother to look after her. She thought her mother had cared about her. That she loved her, obviously not.

Anna flopped down on the soft ground and stared up at the darkening sky. She had been her longer than she thought. The rain fell softly on her face and she felt suddenly calmed. Closing her eyes Anna relaxed into the ground feeling all her worries leave her. She wasn't even aware she was shivering.

Anna awoke hours later, frozen stiff and drenched. She tried to sit up but found she just didn't have the energy. She knew she needed to get inside quickly else she would die from the cold, raising her hand weakly she managed to hold a flame in her hand and held it over herself trying to dry her dress. It dried slightly and Anna realised it would take long for it to dry properly and she just didn't have the energy to keep the simple spell on for long. Forcing her protesting body to its feet she staggered to a tree and leant on it breathing deeply. Making her feet move one after the other seemed an impossible thought but she did. Slowly she began to walk towards the house leaning on the trees as she passed through the forest. It was a very slow process and she seemed to not be making any progress, as she walked the distance seemed to become even father and she just couldn't imagine being able to make it. When she was finally out of the forest she made the decision to shed her dress. She still had the under garments on and was covered to her knees. But without the heavy and freezing material she had more energy to stagger up the hill. She had made it about a mile before she tripped and fell over. Lying on the floor with her arms wrapped around herself Anna gave up; giving herself over to Mother Nature she drifted unconscious.

A/N Thanks for reading, the Adventure continues next week!