Alethea opened her eyes to find the full moon casting a peaceful glow over the forest, the stars twinkling behind it like diamonds on a roll of black velvet. She had no idea what time it was nor how long it was until dawn, but the fire was now just embers. She smiled slightly as she carefully sat up to ease her joints, trying not to disturb the sleeping Prince. She had half expected to wake up to find that he was gone or dead and that his waking had all been a dream but no, he was there with her very much alive. Letting him sleep, she simply sat by his side, watching over him. As soon as dawn broke then they would begin to find a way back to Camelot and work on a plan as they went along. Thing was, Alethea had the feeling that they wouldn't get to Camelot without the help of a sorcerer and the likelihoods of finding one here in this deserted place were highly improbable but not impossible. After all, just because she hadn't seen anyone didn't mean that no one was there.

She wondered what exactly Camelot was suffering with Nimueh as their victor. Did anyone survive? How many had died? Who had suffered under Alethea's name when it had really been Nimueh? Alethea didn't know and probably wouldn't until she actually reached Camelot. Then again, now she really began to doubt if she wanted to return if it had been decimated like the last time. Seeing such a mighty kingdom torn to shreds for one woman's revenge was bad enough, but to see it happen again after the people had only just recovered would break her heart. Camelot now could no longer exist for all she knew but there wasn't anything she could do about it. In fact, even if the castle did still stand, she doubted that the two of them could defeat Nimueh. After all, she had defeated them both before now and probably could still defeat them now. How could the two of them, both injured and hungry, regain Camelot and put it back to rights without help?

Absent mindedly tearing at the grass, Alethea turned around at the sound of a twig snapping to see a blinding flash of light and a silhouette of a familiar figure. Alethea didn't need another glance to tell her who it was. She knew already. Nimueh. Come to do some taunting or to see that they were dead, Alethea thought, staying where she was. She just hoped that the Prince would stay asleep so that her half plan would work.

"I know you're awake Alethea." the sorceress said softly. Alethea struggled to her feet, cursing her aching bones and hoping that she wouldn't stumble as she stepped towards her enemy.

"Nimueh."

"I see you escaped the ropes then."

"Obviously." Alethea smiled a little, not letting her fear take over. She knew that she could die at any moment, but at that moment in time all she cared about was saving her Prince and his kingdom. "Amazing what love can do to a girl no matter how weak she is."

"So the Prince is dead then?" Nimueh asked. Alethea just prayed that Arthur would stay asleep and not jeopardise what she was about to put into action.

"There was nothing I could do to save him. I was too late." she cast her eyes to face the ground, faking a few tears to make it look real. Thank god for Drama lessons in year 9 Alethea thought.

"Too late? Ah, my dear girl, it was for the best."

"No it wasn't Nimueh. It was for your revenge. One dragon dead, but you won't stop there will you? You won't stop until Uther has suffered for everything he did to you and your kind twenty years ago." she spat.

"How do you know this?"

"Amazing what you can hear when you listen." Alethea shrugged. "So you've taken over Camelot, but the people won't love you. Nobody will work for you after this. You've killed their Prince."

"Oh they'll work. They'll have no choice but to work for me if they know what's good for them. Now, I don't actually think you're telling me the truth. He's not dead." Nimueh said, nodding to Arthur who was turning in his sleep. Bugger!

"It's a miracle?" Alethea quietly suggested.

"You still want to go home, do you not?"

"What deal are you offering me?" she asked, now deadly serious.

"Do you want to go home?"

"Yes." Short answer. The long one was yes but not just yet. She wanted to spend a little bit more time with Arthur.

"Then I'll do you this deal. Leave Camelot to me and forget about it and you can go home."

"That's not all, is it?"

"I knew you were clever Alethea, just not clever enough. Alright then, in order for me to send you home, you must do something for me."

"What is it?" Alethea asked, her mind remembering what had happened last time.

"Kill the young Pendragon." She glared at the sorceress, hoping that she would have a twinkle of amusement in her eyes to show that she was lying. No such luck.

"You want me to kill him?" she repeated in shock. "No. I will not do it."

"You don't need to shove a dagger through his heart or anything like that. You simply have to make him drink this." Nimueh held out a small flask to Alethea. She didn't take it.

"No. I will not do it. I will not kill him."

"Then you stay here for an eternity. Your choice. Your life or his."

"I'd rather die a thousand deaths than kill him."

"It can soon be arranged." Nimueh said, looking at her fingernails.

"You've already put me through hell Nimueh. A few more things won't exactly make any difference."

"Are you sure about that?" Alethea felt shooting pains in her stomach and doubled over, collapsing to the ground. It was like a thousand knives being shoved into her flesh and piercing it. They were hot and it sent searing pains straight through Alethea's mid section. Biting down on her lip, she knew that it was all in the mind but it didn't stop the pain.

"Yes." she gasped, clenching her fists and desperately trying to stop herself from crying out.

"I'll stop it, but only if you agree to my proposal." Nimueh said ever so casually.

"Never."

"Fine then." Another flick of the wrist and Alethea felt like she was going to die. Perhaps if she agreed to it and then didn't… "And don't even think about tricking me. It'll never work."

"I'll… I'll do it." she gasped and suddenly the pain stopped.

"I knew you'd see sense. I'll leave this open. Bring his body to me once you've done the deed and then I'll let you go home." the sorceress smirked, handing the girl the flask.

"How much will it take?" she asked, hesitating before taking the lethal mixture from the sorceress.

"To kill him? Only a few drops." Nimueh turned to leave. "Oh, and I'll give you two days to do it…Joke, only two hours." When Alethea looked back up, the sorceress had gone but the portal was still open. Alethea went to step straight through it but found that she was refused entry. It seemed that she had no choice but to kill him.

Looking at the flask, she opened the top and sniffed it, only to find that it smelt of nothing. Screwing the lid back on, she looked at the Prince sleeping peacefully and her heart panged. Could she really do it? Could she really kill him to save her own life? Could she murder the person she loved just so that she could get home? The answer to these was no. She loved him too much and besides, it was not her life to take. If either of them was to die then it would be her. They probably thought her dead in her own time anyway and she wouldn't be missed much here in the Dark Ages. Yes, Arthur may miss her but he'd forget her in time. His heart would heal. What was she to do? Go home at the cost of Arthur's life? Or stay here and spend her last days with the Prince and with a chance of being rescued? Though the chances of a rescue happening in two hours were very slim.

Time ticked by and Alethea continued to argue with her conscience, the flask now lying on the ground in front of her. She couldn't stop herself from staring at it. It held the power of death within its container whilst she had the power of life. She'd already lost Arthur once. She couldn't lose him again. As the sky paled to a sky blue pink, Alethea decided exactly what she was going to do. Getting to her feet, she gathered her things together trying not to disturb Arthur. Putting on her coat, she didn't notice herself kicking the flask with its lethal contents towards him. A mistake she'd later regret. All she knew was that she had to get as far away from there as she possibly could. At least then she could try and escape Nimueh and her wrath.

"Alethea? Where are you going?" she turned around to find a still tired Arthur sitting up, looking rather confused.

"I'm so sorry Arthur. I really am." she apologised.

"You're not leaving me. Not again. Not after I've only just found you again. "

"I'm afraid I have to." she said, her heart breaking. "To protect you."

"No. I forbid you." He pleaded. "Please, do not leave me."

"I'm sorry Arthur, really I am." Turning to leave, she stepped towards the edge of the clearing before taking one last look back. It was then that she saw the Prince take a swig from the flask.

"No, Arthur, don't!" she shouted but it was too late. The flask fell from his grasp as he collapsed into the grass.

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Nimueh watched from her balcony for the remaining time left. Two hours she had given Alethea to kill Arthur and some part of her actually wondered if the girl would do it. Was Alethea's want to go home stronger than her love for Arthur? Only time would tell. Watching as the sky paled, she counted down. Alethea only had one hour left. Nimueh stayed where she was, a smile playing on her lips. She would keep her side of the bargain so long as Alethea kept hers. The sooner that the know-it-all student went back home, the sooner Nimueh could have Camelot to herself. Mind you, there wasn't a lot that one girl alone could do. If she decided to attack then it would be suicide as Nimueh would have no choice but to... Ah, now that was an idea.

There was only half an hour left when Nimueh saw the cart travelling through the streets, a weary girl leading the horses whilst a dead Prince lay inside. So she'd done it then. She had wanted to go home more than anything. Deciding that this needed a witness, Nimueh went to Uther's quarters and unlocked the door to find the former king sat on the end of his bed, staring at the table in front of him. He didn't even look up when Nimueh came into the room, which made the sorceress smile even wider.

"I think you should see this, Uther Pendragon." she said softly, going over to the balcony. The King reluctantly followed, wondering just what exactly Nimueh wanted him to see.

"That can't be..."

"You were right not to trust that girl. Your son is dead I'm afraid, but I didn't kill him. The girl did." Uther said nothing, just looked at the boy lying in the back of the cart and his first nstinct was to run to him. The girl would pay for this. She definitely would pay for killing his only son and heir. Nimueh just let him go, watching from her viewpoint and waited for the show to begin. Uther emerged from the steps, screaming at Alethea who did not put up a fight. She simply let the King run towards her, tear stained eyes accepting her fate and braced herself for the fatal blow that was inevitable. Uther saw his son lying there and tenderly stroked his forehead before turning back to Alethea.

"You will pay for this."

"I'm so sorry. There was nothing I could do." she said, closing her eyes and waiting for the fatal blow...