Author Note: Ok, this is gonna sound weird, lol, but Gwaine and Morgana are my two favourite characters from Merlin, yet they are also the two I find the most difficult to write. Don't know why...maybe it's because, being my favourites, I don't want to get them wrong...or maybe I'm just afraid to. Who knows? Anyways, I hope I do justice to their characters, but as I said, I find them the hardest to write - which is a bit of a pain because they are two of the main people in Dante's life. Hmmm.

Keep up the fantastic reviews as always, and hope you enjoy this next chapter. Poor Gwaine's really not having a good day...

(Oh and something I forgot to mention earlier...little bit of trivia for you. In the legends, Sir Gawain was often referred to as the Maiden's Knight because he was a fierce champion of women and children, and was the most honourable and chivalrous of all Arthur's knights. So there you go...hands up how many of you knew that? lol)

...

"So, Arthur believed your story?" Morgana asked as she ran her fingers along the silky drapes of the bed.

"He did, Mistress. And Lot's little stunt yesterday at the feast has strengthened the validity of it too. No-one has cause to suspect that it's nothing but a lie.

"Good. Good. And Arthur has accepted you as his guest?"

"He's accepted me as a Lady of Camelot and ordered his knights to protect me," Dante replied, with a slightly smug grin. Morgana spun round to face her then, surprised.

"Then you have done better than expected, my acolyte. Well done."

"Thank you, Milady." Praise from Morgana was a rare thing indeed, and Dante made sure to savour the moment for as long as possible, even as she knelt on the cold stone.

Morgana laughed then, ruefully. "Next he'll be making you First Lady of the Court, no doubt."

"Milady?" Dante frowned, unsure what Morgana was talking about.

"Well, he seems to be giving everything else of mine to you, why not my former title, as well? After all, not only has he given you my old clothes - which fit you incredibly well, I have to admit - but you have taken over my chambers as well," Morgana commented as she walked slowly round the once familiar room, pausing by the window to glance out at the street below.

"These were your chambers, Milady?" Dante asked, still kneeling on the floor, waiting for permission to rise again. "I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"It's not a problem," Morgana replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Rather amusing, actually."

"Amusing, Milady?" Dante frowned, not quite understanding.

"Amusing," Morgana repeated thoughtfully as she moved to stand in front of the mirror and study herself for a moment. These days she barely recognized herself - but considering she was a whole new person now, that was to be expected. Glancing in the reflection to see Dante still kneeling on the floor, she made an upwards motion with one hand - the permission that Dante had been patiently waiting for without complaint for the last fifteen minutes.

"Amusing," she said again at last, turning away from the mirror in time to see a bow of thanks from Dante. "That Arthur believes it to be so easy to replace his own sister."

"Nobody can ever replace you, Mistress."

"But Arthur believes that he can. This room is so alien to me now - there is nothing left to tie it to me. He's made sure of it. What does that tell you, Lady Dante, when your own brother denies your very existence and does everything he can to erase you from his life?"

"That he is a fool, Mistress. A fool who is making a terrible mistake."

Morgana said nothing then, as she paused beside the fire, looking into the dancing flames. "It would be so easy to burn this whole kingdom down without a second's thought, right here, right now," she muttered, toying with the flames in the fireplace by wiggling her fingers in the slightest of movements and causing them to leap higher, or die down to barely an ember, before leaping higher again.

"Then why don't you, Mistress? Why wait, when it is that easy?" Dante asked, confused.

"Because, my young acolyte, nothing is ever as it seems," Morgana replied eventually as she left the flames to settle back to their original state, and turned on Dante instead.

Instinct was telling Dante to bow again, and whilst she did not understand the reasoning, she'd learned to trust her instincts long ago. So she dropped to one knee, head bowed once more - as if kneeling before a King. "Then what would you have me do, Mistress?"

"Have patience, my friend. Bide your time, weave yourself into the very fabric of Camelot and keep yourself out of trouble."

"But, I thought I was here to be your eyes and ears? To...to make Arthur's life hell, on your behalf?"

"You are. But not now. Not yet. As I said, bide your time, Lady Dante. Have patience. You must earn the trust of the Kingdom first. Then, and only then, will you be ready to move on to the next step. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Milady," Dante nodded. She dimly registered the soft sound of a silver chain rattling, but did not register the movement until Morgana had stepped forward and dropped something round her neck. Feeling the suddenly heavy object pressed against her chest, she glanced down to see a silver pendant with several circles engraved on it, like the ripples of a droplet in water - each circle bigger than the last as they spread from the centre. And in the very centre of the pendant was a sapphire in the shape of a droplet of water, just to finish off the whole effect.

"A reminder," Morgana explained as Dante studied the pendant. "The droplet represents you, and the circles are the ripples that each of your actions make. Every act has a consequence. The bigger the act, the further the ripples spread. But until I tell you otherwise, there is nothing else aside from you, in your world. Arthur Pendragon does not exist until I say he exists. Sir Gwaine does not exist until I say he exists. As your skills within these castle walls increase...as your reputation is built and your trust secured, you will progress to each new circle. Each new circle will bring you closer to retribution and to our long sought after revenge."

"I understand, Milady," Dante nodded as she tucked the pendant down inside her top, feeling the cool metal press against her bare skin - oddly comforting and reassuring. "It is a beautiful gift. Thank you."

"Then you know what you must do, Lady Dante?"

"I do."

"Good. Do not fail me."

"I will never fail you, Milady."

"Never say never, Lady Dante. Never say never."

Dante opened her mouth again to speak, then blinked in surprised as she cast all about the room in confusion. Morgana had vanished, seemingly into thin air, and Dante was once again alone.

The door opened and Tamina hurried back in with a mound of blankets, pausing and frowning in confusion when she saw Dante scrambling to her feet again.

"Begging your pardon, Milady...was I interrupting something?"

"Nope," Dante smiled quickly, thinking fast and holding out the earring she'd quickly pulled from her ear. "I just dropped an earring, that's all."

"Ah," Tamina nodded knowingly as she placed the pile of blankets on the end of the bed. "It's going to be quite chilly tonight, Milady, so the Queen requested I bring you some extra blankets to make sure you are comfortable."

"How very thoughtful of her. Please give her my thanks," Dante spoke as she walked over to the dressing table and removed the other earring, placing them both back inside the small jewellery box where she'd found them earlier that day.

"I shall, Milady. Will there be anything else?"

"No, thank you."

"Very well. Have a good night, Milady."

"Likewise Tamina. Thank you."

As the maid left, Dante once again sat herself in front of the fire and pulled the pendant back out to study it properly, tracing each circle with her fingers. "Patience?" She asked herself quietly. "I have patience. I can bide my time and act like a good little Lady...I'm sure I can..."

Who was she kidding? This was going to be so much harder than she'd ever expected!

Because if there was one thing the Lady Dante severely lacked, it was patience!

...

As luck would have it however, Dante actually didn't have long to wait to make a name for herself about the place. A week later, she was presented with an opportunity that was simply too good to miss.

As Morgana had instructed her to do, she'd been making herself useful about the Citadel, introducing herself to all the nobility and making new friends - basically getting to know everyone, including their traits and habits, their likes and dislikes, their social circles and whatever else she could find out without asking too many suspicious questions.

People did not seem to find this odd, and had welcomed her to Camelot with open arms, believing her to be a very polite and beautiful young lady. The knights, in particular, seemed to be falling over themselves to help her whenever possible, particularly the five knights of the Round Table - Tristan, Elyan, Leon, Percival and, of course, Trouble with a capital T (also known as Gwaine).

He'd been hanging round her like a bad smell at every given opportunity, presenting her with flowers to 'brighten her chambers', escorting her to places when she admitted that she did not know where to find them, offering her the seat beside him at mealtimes, and so on. Had she not been so stubborn and still mad at him because of their past, she may have accepted these tokens of his and maybe even allowed him to court her. But, their past was too big for her to ignore. And besides, why should he get it easy? If he wanted her back, she'd make him work for it.

And this was when the opportunity presented itself to her, as she watched him and Arthur train down on the front lawns, one day. Gwaine had caught her watching him from the wall above, and had loudly declared to Arthur that he would not be wearing his chainmail anymore, because he did not need it. Arthur had scoffed and told Gwaine that actions like that would get him killed, but Gwaine was only out to impress one very particular person, and glancing up to follow the knight's line of sight, Arthur could see why.

"Milady!" He called up to her. "Won't you come and join us?"

"With all due respect, Sire," she called back. "I have a pretty good view from up here."

"Come on," Gwaine called up then, digging his sword into the grass and pulling off his shirt, basking in the sunlight. "Humour us."

She appeared to consider for a long time, and both men seriously thought she would turn them down. But then she nodded and stepped away from the wall, heading towards the steps that led down onto the lawn.

As they waited for her to arrive, Arthur scowled. "For mercy's sake, man, put your shirt back on!"

"Afraid of a little competition, my King?" Gwaine grinned as he flexed his muscles, rolling his shoulders and stretching.

"From you?" Arthur laughed, as he pulled off his own chainmail and padded undershirt (though choosing to leave his white linen shirt on), tossing them towards Merlin, who was smirking in amusement. "Never."

By now, Dante had joined them, and was standing beside Merlin, as the two men took up their swords and began to circle each other once more, each twirling their weapons in impressive displays of swordsmanship, their moves far too fancy to actually be of any use in a real life combat situation. But both had become enthralled in a silent battle of skill, determined to show off to their audience.

"Are they always like this?" Dante asked Merlin sceptically as she watched them both spin and twirl their blades, causing streaks of glinting silver to encase them as they moved.

The young servant laughed. "Only in the presence of beautiful women."

Dante coughed, feeling the colour rise to her cheeks. Merlin glanced at her and grinned, dumping the heavy chainmail on the ground at his feet. He had to admit, it was rather hot, standing out here in the midday sun, and he was sorely tempted to remove his jacket. But what would Dante think if suddenly every single man around her began to remove his clothing?

"You look hot, Merlin," She commented, as if reading his thoughts.

"Just a little," he admitted.

"Well you might as well take your jacket off. Everyone else seems to be doing the same." Was that a hint of bitterness in her tone? Clearly she was unimpressed by the display that was being put on in front of her.

"I did not wish to offend you, Milady."

"I've known Gwaine pretty much my entire life, Merlin. I was even engaged to him at one point. So put it this way, it takes a lot to offend me, these days. Take of your jacket it you want. Don't want you collapsing from the heat." Even as she spoke, she herself removed the purple cloak she'd donned earlier that morning when black clouds had threatened to bring rain. An empty threat, as it had turned out.

"You were engaged to Gwaine?" Merlin gasped, stunned, as he joined her and removed his tan jacket, dropping it on the ground beside Arthur's chainmail.

"Don't sound so alarmed, Merlin," Dante laughed as she hung her cloak from one of the spears resting in a nearby weapons rack. "It WAS ten years ago."

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking?"

Dante leaned back against a wooden railing that someone had propped a few shields against, and folded her arms across her chest, squinting against the sunlight and the flashes of silver as light bounced off both Arthur and Gwaine's swords. Finally, the pair had entered into a proper duel, swords clashing together loudly.

"I was sixteen," She spoke at last. "Too young to be getting married...in my opinion, anyway. And Gwaine? Well, he had his whole family situation to deal with. He left me one evening to beg Cenred for help, and never returned. At first I thought him dead. It wasn't until later, one of my brothers told me that he'd actually gone 'travelling' as he put it, to clear his mind after Cenred refused to help. And by travelling I mean moving from one tavern to another, drinking himself stupid and getting into fights. I guess he got a taste for the roguish lifestyle, because he never came home. He did write to me once, apologising for leaving the way he did, and stating that I'd probably be better off without him, but that was the last I ever heard of him...until I came here."

"I thought there was something between you both," Merlin nodded thoughtfully. "I just had no idea what. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Dante shrugged. "I've moved on...learned from my mistakes. Gwaine hasn't, but then, I doubt he ever will. And that's his problem, not mine."

"I wish I'd been in the woods when you punched him, though," Merlin grinned, and Dante failed to keep a straight face then, laughing with him.

"He fell like a sack of potatoes." She actually giggled then, like a little girl once more, and wow, did it feel good!

"What's so funny?" Gwaine asked as he and Arthur finally walked over to join them, both sweating profusely from their fight. And it was only then that Dante actually had no idea who had won, because she hadn't been paying attention. From Arthur's triumphant grin, however, she guessed it must have been him.

"Just telling Merlin here how you were beaten by a girl," she shrugged casually.

"I was not!" He protested a little too quickly. "You just...caught me off guard."

"That's funny, I thought the Knights of Camelot were always prepared for anything," Arthur joined in, before taking the flask of water that Merlin offered to him and taking a long gulp.

"I'm sorry, it was very rude of me," Dante replied sincerely, stepping towards Gwaine and running one finger down his bare chest, from shoulder to stomach. He tensed, and a shiver ran down his spine as she moved slowly round behind him, one finger still trailing across his bare flesh and muscle.

He closed his eyes, forcing himself to physically breath as she leaned in close and her breath tickled his ear.

"Gotcha," she whispered.

And then something that felt suspiciously like a booted foot slammed into the back of his knee, which buckled under the impact and he felt his stomach drop. He opened his eyes to find himself looking up at the cloudless sky above, and in a daze, his muddled mind tried to figure out WHY exactly he was lying on the floor. And then the sounds of roaring laughter broke through the confusion. Sitting up, he saw Dante standing over him, a very smug grin on her face, whilst Arthur and Merlin could barely contain their tears of laughter. Across the field, the other knights were roaring with laughter, too.

"Every time!" He snapped, indicating to the others that this was not the first time she'd pulled that trick on him...and it most likely wouldn't be the last, either.

"I thought you'd learnt never to turn your back on me?" she laughed.

"And I thought you'd grown up!"

"I'm sorry," she said after a moment, seeing his wounded expression, though he knew that she wasn't sorry at all. In fact, he could clearly see it written in her eyes.

"No you're not," he grumbled, pulling himself back to his feet and brushing off the dry grass, as he retrieved his shirt.

"Gwaine, don't be a spoilsport," Arthur chided as he picked up a quarter staff from one of the racks and threw it towards the knight, who caught it deftly. "Finish your training. THEN you can go and sulk."

"I don't sulk," Gwaine pouted as he adjusted his grip on the staff and stepped away a little. Then he beamed again, back to his old self. Or so it would seem. "Be warned, Sire. I won't go easy on you this time."

"At least you're keeping your shirt on," Arthur retorted back, good naturedly as he picked up another staff and moved to join Gwaine. "That's a start, I suppose."

"I am merely thinking of the Lady Dante," Gwaine grinned, throwing a not very subtle glance in her direction. "This heat, plus my body...well, it's a recipe for disaster. We can't have her fainting on us again, can we."

Dante sighed and rolled her eyes but chose not to rise to his taunts this time.

And so Arthur and Gwaine began another duel, this time with the wooden staffs, which cracked loudly - even louder than the swords, if possible. And Dante watched as this time, it appeared that Gwaine was finally getting the upper hand. Though she'd seen her brothers duelling enough times when she was younger to understand that Arthur was, in fact, letting the other man win. He was holding back.

But then Gwaine miss-timed a shot and cracked Arthur's knuckle instead of the staff. The King howled in pain, dropping the staff and gripping his wounded hand to his chest in agony. Mortified by what he'd just done, Gwaine dropped his own weapon and ran towards the wounded King.

Dante saw the attack coming, long before it happened, but chose to say nothing. If Gwaine was as good as he claimed, then he'd have seen it too.

CRACK!

Apparently not.

Gwaine fell to the floor as Arthur twirled the staff in his good hand, still clutching his wounded hand to his chest. When he'd dropped the staff, he'd made sure to keep it within reach of his foot. As Gwaine had rushed over, Arthur had planted his toe under the staff, kicked it up in the air, caught it and swiped Gwaine round the head, knocking the knight flying.

"Never drop your guard, Gwaine," he reprimanded, before walking back towards Merlin and Dante, who were both laughing again in amusement. Poor Gwaine. This really wasn't his day.

As Merlin tended to Arthur's hand, Dante waited for Gwaine to rise so that she could taunt him some more. But he didn't.

He remained very still, sprawled face down on the dry grass.

She stopped laughing then and stared at him, suddenly frightened. Glancing across to Arthur, who appeared unconcerned as Merlin wound a strip of cloth over his knuckles, she turned and rushed to Gwaine's side. "Gwaine? Gwaine, are you alright?"

Gently, she turned him over. He seemed so serene and still, a thick bruise already forming on the side of his temple.

"Gwaine," she called to him again, her voice threatening to crack with a sudden and unexplained emotion, brought on by the sight of seeing him wounded.

But then his face twisted into a perfectly stupid expression and he burst out laughing. And that was when, as she heard Arthur's laugh too, she realised that it had been a trick, all along - though perhaps the King had hit him a little harder than intended...but for an evil trick like that, he deserved it!

"Oh!" She cried, and she punched out at him again. He caught her hand this time and pulled her in close, and she willingly crashed on to him, wrestling furiously.

Gwaine finally managed to roll her over and pin her, and she stopped struggling, suddenly aware of the closeness. She looked up into his deep brown eyes and felt the press of his body upon hers.

Gwaine blushed and let go, rolling away. Then he stood and very seriously reached his hand out to her, as Arthur cleared his throat.

"When you've finished wrestling my knights, Lady Dante, I believe you made a promise to me?"

Dante frowned for a moment, as did Gwaine.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking suspiciously between Arthur and Dante, just as she remembered what it was she supposedly promised the King.

"Oh! That's right!" She beamed. And then she pouted. "I'm afraid these clothes are simply no good, Sire. I couldn't possibly duel you in a dress. Would give you such an unfair advantage."

"Fight?" Gwaine repeated, looking between the pair, dawning realisation appearing. "Oh no...no no no, you can't."

"Why can't I?" Dante challenged.

"Because you're a - " Gwaine started, but suddenly broke off mid sentence, realising he'd been about to put his foot in it big time. But, it was already too late, and Dante scowled, folding her arms across her chest.

"Because I'm a what, Gwaine? A woman?"

"No!" He protested quickly, trying to think rapidly of a way to get himself out of this mess. "That's not what I meant! What I actually meant was...ah...that it's because you're a ...hmmm...well, see, the funny thing is...it's actually because you're a..." he glanced at Merlin and Arthur then, and whilst Arthur looked suitably amused by the knight and his floundering, Merlin was deep in thought. Gwaine saw this and leapt at the chance to save himself.

"It's because...well, Merlin, tell her why she can't fight. It's because she's ...?"

"Because she's - I mean YOU are..." Merlin floundered, just as stumped as Gwaine to provide a valid explanation.

"What he's trying to say IS that it's because you're a woman," Arthur laughed eventually.

"I know," Dante smiled back. "I just like to make him squirm."

"You! You...you...why you..." Gwaine once again floundered, this time unable to create a complete sentence because of his anger, rather than a lack of suitable excuses. "You are a terrible person!" He exclaimed eventually, and Dante grinned smugly.

"I know." Then she turned to Arthur. "Needless to say, I cannot fight in a dress."

"No, that would not be wise, I suppose," Arthur nodded. "Another time then, perhaps?"

"Another time, Sire," Dante agreed. Then glancing up towards the battlements, where Gwen had wandered out with Tamina by her side, Dante grinned to the group of men.

"If you will excuse me, gentlemen, I promised Her Majesty I would go to the market with her this afternoon."

"Have fun, Milady," Arthur grinned, bowing his head to her.

Merlin also bowed, but lower than Arthur, as he also wished her a good day.

Gwaine just huffed, and muttered something unintelligible, nodding his head towards her.

"Grow up," she scolded him quietly as she walked past, back towards the steps, where Gwen was now waiting for her.

Gwaine said nothing, but equally could not tear his eyes from her until she had disappeared out of sight. Then he turned back to Arthur and Merlin, ready to bash the living daylights out of something - or as Merlin now feared from the look in the knight's eye - someone.

Someone called Merlin, most probably.

The look in Arthur's eye confirmed this, and the young warlock gulped.