Author's Note:

gingerduchirules you are SO sweet! Thank you for your kind review, and for being my first!

Ok, I am SUPER sorry for my totally late review; my internet won't work on my pc, so I've had to find extraneous solutions (aka, sneaking on to various family members' computers when they aren't home). Being as such, I don't think I'll be able to keep a regular update day. Sorry.:/

So, I want you guys to know that I'm not an alchemist, all the herbs and their "properties" are made up. Except, you know, the obviously real ones, but I don't actually know what they're used for. So don't hate on my unknowingness if you see that something with the herbs is wrong; I claim creative freedom so HA!

Oh, and I'm not very consistent with chapter lengths. And bear with me, you learn her name at the end of the chapter, she won't forever be known as "the girl", I promise.;)

And now, after this extremely long author's note, chapter two of Eve:

Smoke.

There was something unusual, something unnatural about it.

But it was burning hay, what was wrong with that? The village had a huge bonfire at the end of every harvest festival; it was her favorite time of the year. Everyone feasted, sang, and danced in celebration. Whether the crops had been plentiful or not, it was really just a celebration of life.

Another year of living.

Suddenly, the once peaceful forest was alive with the most horrific sound she had ever heard: human screams.

Dropping the basket, she sprinted back towards the village, hoping the idea forming in her head was wrong. At last, the curtain of leaves thinned out, and she was out of the woods.

And into a nightmare.

It was as if she'd been punched in the stomach. Hard. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think; there was so much smoke. Sheer terror froze her lungs and stopped her heart.

Fire. Everything was on fire.

And there were unfamiliar men riding horses up and down the rows of houses. What were they doing?

Wait-

"No!"

She screamed and shot straight up, covering her eyes and trying to erase the images that seemed engraved in her mind.

Strong hands placed themselves on her shoulders, and she tried fighting them, screaming as loud as she could.

"Calm down, child, you're safe. Shh, you are safe here."

The voice was calm, firm, and deep. She uncovered her eyes and found herself staring at the kindest face she had ever seen. He was old, and his eyes, though caring, were weary; this man had seen many tragedies.

She was still scared from the dream and he throat was incredibly dry, so she found herself unable to speak.

"My name is Gaius, and I promise that in my care, you are safe. Now, may I ask your name?"

As he was talking, he poured a goblet of water and held it out to her. She stared at it, wondering if it was poisoned. How did she know she could trust this man? She didn't even know how she came to be in his care to begin with.

Although, she thought, if he had wanted to hurt me, he would have done so already.

Still, she felt wary about accepting drinks from strangers, especially after everything that had happened to her, but then he said the words. What he said, however strange it might seem to onlookers, made her put her absolute trust and faith in this man for as long as she knew him.

"If I wanted to harm you, I would have done so already."

With those words in mind, she accepted the goblet and took a tentative sip. The water was cool and sweet, and before she knew it, the cup was empty. He took it from her and waited patiently for her to answer him.

Taking a deep breath and looking him straight in the eye, she said in the strongest voice she could, "Thank you."

She wasn't planning on giving her name, not until she knew whether or not she was completely safe. Realizing this, Gaius simply nodded his head, refilled her water, and continued talking.

"I am the court physician. You were brought to me mid-day yesterday and I have managed to clean your scratches and bandage your right leg, which is broken. Once you've eaten a little, I will send for a servant girl to help clean and dress you. Ah, here's Merlin now with your breakfast."

She turned to see a pale, skinny boy with black hair and blue eyes enter with a bowl in his hands.

Now that she had a proper look at the room, she realized just how weird a room it was. For starters, it was absolutely huge, and could probably fit her entire house inside of it. There were many tables covered in odd glass containers filled with unusually colored liquids that were bubbling and smoking.

Smoke…

Shaking that thought out of her head, she continued her examination of the room. There were bookshelves on every wall as high as the ceiling and stuffed with books that looked hundreds of years old. Some of them looked like they hadn't been opened in hundreds of years. To her right, a small stairway led to a separate room she couldn't see in to and there was only one window in the entire room.

Her attention was brought back to the boy as she heard a loud clattering sound. Apparently, he had bumped into a table and knocked some of the containers over.

"Honestly, Merlin! It's a wonder you can even walk straight," Gaius remarked, rushing over to take the bowl from Merlin and instructing him to clean the mess up. "And when you're finished, go fetch Gwen so she can help my patient here dress."

Merlin picked everything up, with impressive speed, but before leaving, however, he turned back and looked directly into her eyes.

It was as if there was some force pulling them together, a memory somehow linking the two. There was a strong feeling in her gut that this boy, this young man, was important to her, more important than anybody she'd ever known. It wasn't a romantic feeling; he felt familiar, as if she already knew who he was and vice versa.

Who are you? she asked in her mind.

It was a silent question, but it seemed to confirm whatever he was thinking, for as soon as she thought it, he nodded and ran out of the room.

Strange…

"Here you are, my dear. It's not the most appetizing food we have, but this mix of herbs will help ease your mind and help further along your body's natural healing process."

She took the bowl from him, looked at the brown colored mush, and sniffed it. He thought this was a sign that she was still wary of him, and sought to comfort her.

"I told you, if I wanted to harm you, I-"

"Lavender, bay leaf, and nimwheat," she interrupted.

Gaius stopped short, his eyes widening in amazement.

"What did you say?"

She looked into his eyes, and in a stronger voice, said, "Lavender, bay leaf, and nimwheat; lavender for comfort, bay leaf for healing, and nimwheat for peace of mind and restful sleep. However, I do not wish to sleep, but if you add some banesroot, it will offset the sleeping properties and strengthen the 'piece of mind' quality."

Staring at her with utter shock, Gaius took a few seconds before finally asking, "How do you know all this?"

She didn't answer him, only held out her bowl expectantly. Realizing, again, that he wasn't going to receive an answer, Gaius took the bowl from her and went to a table and started cutting banesroot.

He was just giving her mush again when a pretty, dark skinned young woman entered the room. Her dark brown, wiry hair was pulled back from her face and her eyes were the color of warm honey.

"Ah, Gwen, this is, um…" Gaius looked at the strange girl, not knowing what to call her.

"I am his patient. You were sent to help me clean and dress, but your services are not needed, so you may go."

Gwen and Gaius stared at the girl as she started eating the horrible-tasting mush with vigor.

"My child, you don't expect to draw your bath, clean, brush your hair, and dress all by yourself, do you? Besides the fact that your injuries make all that almost impossible, you don't have any clothes to change in to," Gaius told her in a calm voice.

"I have been able to care for myself for years; I assure you I can manage, although you do bring up a point. Gwen, was it? If you tell me where I might find a dress to put on, I will gladly fetch it myself. Otherwise, I'm sure you have other duties you need to see to."

"My Lady, my only duty at the moment is to help care for you," Gwen said patiently with a bow of her head.

Looking away, the girl replied, "I am not a Lady, and don't ever confuse me with one."

She then turned back to Gwen and in a low voice added, "And I do not ask for help."

"I understand, ma'am, but you aren't asking for my services, I'm offering them. And with all due respect, Gaius is right: you can't do everything with those injuries. Let me help you this once, and if I do not satisfy you, then you may pursue the course which makes you more comfortable."

Gwen was good with words, the girl realized. What she said made sense, and it didn't make her feel like she was begging for Gwen's assistance, which made her slightly more willing.

Giving Gwen a quick glance over, she nodded. "Fine."

As she finished her mush, Gwen took charge filling a huge wooden tub at the back of the room with steaming water. It took some time, as she had to keep running out of the room to fetch more water to heat up. By the time she was done, the girl had finished her mush and was waiting calmly with a frown on her face. Her eyes, Gwen noticed, were like storm clouds with yellow circles around the irises. They were beautiful, more so than the Lady Morgana's, which was saying something.

When the tub was full, Gwen offered her shoulder to the girl. She just stared at Gwen, unsure of what to do.

"Put your arm around my shoulder and lean on me to help you walk."

Gritting her teeth, annoyed that she was so vulnerable, the girl did as Gwen commanded and together they walked over to the tub. As Gwen started trying to remove the girl's torn dress, the girl looked over at Gaius with narrowed eyes.

"If I leave, would that make you happy?"

She didn't say anything, or give any hint of agreement, but he knew that was what she wanted, so he left, leaving the two girls alone.

Gwen removed the girl's dress and helped her into the tub. She sighed at the feeling of the hot water rushing over her body, a sensation she had never felt before. Back home, the only way to wash was to swim in the mountain fed creek that was a mile away. Since it was mainly made up of melted snow, it was always freezing.

Gwen used a rough rag to start scraping away all the layers of dirt and blood that had found home on the girl's skin.

"So, may I ask you what your name is?"

"You may ask, but I will not answer," the girl spoke in a monotone voice.

"Why is that?"

"Giving one's name is a sign of trust. I do not know you, Gaius, Merlin, or even where I am. I do not know how I came to be here, what will be done with me, or where I am to go from her. I will not give my name until I know it is safe to do so."

Gwen was silent for a while as she finished cleaning the girl and moved on to her hair. Gwen tried to be as gentle as she could, but the girl had twigs, leaves, and dirt tangled in it and she had to make sure everything was out. It didn't seem to bother the girl though; she didn't wince in pain like Lady Morgana did. The girl did, however, never relax. It was as if her muscles were permanently tensed up, like she was ready to fight or flee at any time. And she hardly blinked.

Once Gwen was sure everything was out of the girl's hair, she started brushing it and said, "I can answer some of your questions, if you'd like."

The girl didn't say anything for a few moments, but finally, she spoke. "Where am I?"

Relieved for some sort of communication, Gwen answered, "Camelot, ruled by King Uther Pendraon."

Those names were meaningless to the girl, but Gwen said them as if she should know and praise them. The girl had grown up in the small village, but she knew of every city in her kingdom. This meant that she wasn't in her kingdom.

So…she was safe?

"Would you like me to braid you hair?" Gwen asked after she was finished brushing the girl's hair.

"No. I leave it down."

"Alright, well I have dressing gowns for you."

It was a slightly awkward and painfully embarrassing experience, trying to get the girl's dress on. She hated asking for help because that made her feel like she owed the person afterwards, and by the time she got the dark blue gown on, she felt like she would forever be indebted to Gwen.

"You look beautiful, ma'am," Gwen said softly, gazing at the gorgeous girl in front of her.

Woman, she corrected herself, for now she was clean and dressed, Gwen realized that they were about the same age.

"Thank you, Gwen. You may go and tell Gaius that I am done," the young woman said, now limping her way towards a chair. When Gwen tried to help her, she brushed aside Gwen's shoulder and completed the journey by herself.

"As you wish." Gwen bowed and then exited.

She barely had time to think when three more people entered the room.

Gaius and Merlin were followed by an extremely handsome young man with dark blond hair and blue eyes. He was tall, his shoulders were broad, and his face seemed sculpted to mimic that of an angel's.

She felt disgusted with herself for suddenly feeling attracted to him.

When he saw her, he was in complete and utter shock. Were they sure she was the same girl he had seen come out of the forest? Surely this stunning young woman was an angel, not some helpless, lost child.

Her skin was as pale as moonlight, yet her hair was blacker than night; it shined so as to look like stars were woven into it and fell in ever so light waves down to her waist. She had small, red lips and a smooth jaw, slightly raised as a sign of defiance and superiority. She was thin, and though she was sitting, he could tell from the length of her legs that she was tall. Her beautiful grey eyes were sheltered under thick lashes, and they were accented by high, arched eyebrows.

It was as if she were and exotic creature, sitting before him in a deep blue dress that he was sure belonged to Morgana, but it would never compliment the Lady as it did this woman.

"Ah, you look absolutely beautiful," Gaius told her.

She didn't thank him, smile, or even acknowledge he was there. She simply stared at Arthur.

"Um, may I present Prince Arthur to you," Gaius introduced, noticing the intensity in her eyes.

Again it was as if Gaius had not spoken. Her eyes were glued to Arthur.

He started feeling uncomfortable, like she was staring at him as if he were inferior.

And he hated that.

So, he bowed and said, "I hope you are alright and have found some small comfort here. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes, you can tell me how I got here."

The seriousness of her tone was like a slap in the face. He looked at her incredulously, not sure whether or not to feel offended that she didn't remember him or that she didn't find him as enchanting as he found her.

"You stumbled out of the forest outside the city walls yesterday. Arthur brought you here to Gaius," Merlin answered when he realized that Arthur was probably in shock.

"I didn't ask you," she spit at him.

"Hey, you do not have the right to speak to him like that. Who do you think you are?" Arthur snapped at her.

"I think I'm someone who has spent a week running and living in the forest. I think I'm someone who has no clue where she is other than some place called 'Camelot' ruled by some man named 'Uther', whom one could only guess is your father. Other than that small detail, I have no idea who any of you are, and no offense your highness, but your title means nothing to me. You want to know who I am? My friends call me Eve, and before you go and flatter yourself, you aren't one of my friends so you will not address me as such. My name is Evangeline. Evangeline Emrys. Now, are you satisfied?"