Chapter 7

"questions, questions…"

"There's nothing serious with your ankle, child," old man, who turned out to be a healer, examined my leg and bandaged it. "Still, avoid putting too much pressure on it."

He got up and went to his table. I looked around the room. It was just a regular room of a servant in a castle. You may ask, how I know, what the servant's room in a castle looks like. Well, I have an experience of living in one of those old buildings with a high stone wall and cold dark corridors. Not the best experience, though.

The room was full of books, dried plants and suspicious bottles. There were two beds and a big table covered with manuscripts and some equipment I didn't know.

"What is your name, again, child?" the old man, Gaius, was already absorbed in his work.

"It's Nin," I said, standing up and heading to the window. I stood up on a bench and looked outside. I saw the rooftops a small square. I heard people's voices, probably from the market, which was not too far from the castle's walls. "You have a pretty nice place there, this Camelot place."

"Oh, yeas, it's nice. It's nice and big and noisy. Sometimes too noisy… but never boring."

Huh…I like boring. Boring is usually safe.

"Nin, I guess you can stay in one of the servants' rooms. Come on, I'll show you. You can have some rest before Gawaine and Arthur will be back. I believe, the Prince will be glad to talk to a boy, who saved one of his Knights." Gwen motioned to me to follow her.

"wait…the prince? Is he?.. He is… He can't be!"

"So I see you've already met Arthur… he always makes this wrong first impression." Gwen sighed lighly and nodded her head.

"And the Knight… so Gawaine is…a Knight of a Camelot. A noble man…" Surprise- Surprise, Nin…

"He is, indeed."

"Gwen…what was a noble man, a Knigh even!, doing in a tavern, all alone? Fighting all those people, wandering around the forest with me?"

"Oh, Nin, that's… that's Gawaine. He and his nobility are in a rather weird relationship. But he's a decent man. And he likes good booze. So, he always ends up in some tavern. That's how they've met with Merlin and Arthur. What a funny story that was!"

"Uh, Gawaine told me about it. I guess that day changed their lives…"

"So, here's the room for you. I'll get you some clean clothes; let me take a look at you." Gwen turned me around and looked all over.

I'm a boy, I'm a boy, I'm a young boy…don't notice that I look too small and slender for a man… I'm a teenager…

"I need to go, but I'll be back soon and show you around! Now, rest."

Gwen left the room and I just fall on a small bed which actually took almost all the space. Ouch, that was hard. But after sleeping on a tree roots I was glad to be able to stretch my legs and just relax.

So, what to do next? Grab my stuff and run away right now, while nobody's looking after me? I can do it even with my twisted ankle without any problem… Gwen said that knights and soldiers were out training, so nobody will pay attention to me wandering around… Another option is to stay there, rest, sleep, eat, and wait for Gawaine to come back and start that talk of his… Hmm…could he had noticed me casting a spell or doing something else involving magic? How will he react? Oh, come on, why do I care about his reaction?

And, by the way, that Merlin guy… I don't mind hanging out with someone of my kind. How did he manage to survive in magic-hating Camelot, anyway?

What will Gwen think of me if I leave right now, without saying "bye-bye, Gwen"?..

What's that Gawaine wanted to talk to me about?..

Questions…

Why was the Prince of Camelot wandering around the forest?..

Questions, questions…

Why do I feel so tired?..

Oh, right, we had a fight in a forest… I used my powers, I use it pretty much since I've met Gawaine…

I was drifting away and all the decisions will be made later. Now, it's time to rest.

Gawaine?..