This is a little bit of a plot mover chapter. As larasmith correctly pointed out, where was Merlin in the griffin battle? Well hope this is a good enough explanation.

Gwen could see the whispers and rumours spreading amongst the crowd immediately Arthur exited the hall. She turned to Lancelot and asked him to take her home,

"I'm not feeling very well", she lied but as they left the banquet hall and she sensed the crowd eyes' on her, her heart started to race, her head started thumping and her stomach tightened. Gwen panicked she might throw up. Gwen put her hand on the wall to steady herself and Lancelot noticed her face had gone quite pale. He put his arm around her waist and half carried her back to Gaius's.

"Gaius? Are you here?" Lancelot yelled as he barged the door open with his shoulder.

"Hello?" Gaius inquired, "Lancelot…Gwen, are you alright?", and he rushed over to her.

"She was taken ill at the feast. She was very upset about something, then there was some trouble with Arthur and she pretty much collapsed as I walked her home", Lancelot explained, with concern etched into his face. A large bruise had started to form around his eye. "Gaius, why were you not at the feast?"

Gaius smiled, noticed Lancelot's eye and then looked at Gwen as he answered, "I was hoping to get an early night. I didn't manage to get much sleep the night before". Gwen instantly looked guilty remembering the worry she had caused the old man. Gaius, the constant professional, then set to work.

Once Gaius had finished checking on Gwen, Lancelot saw them have a quick whispered conversation before he told her to get to bed and sleep. Off she went without a word. Looking over to Lancelot's worried face and rather red eye, Gaius enlightened him on her condition.

"Don't worry, she's fine. She is suffering from…erm… delayed shock. Obviously with the griffin attack this morning, it just got too much." Gwen rolled her eyes as she listened to Gaius lie on her behalf. How she wished he could have come up with a less girly illness.

"Yes of course, I will make sure she takes it easy for the next couple of days", Lancelot responded. "I will check on her tomorrow." I'm sure you will, Gwen muttered to herself, lovely I'll have an overly protective Lancelot to deal with for the next couple of days. Fun times she thought sarcastically.

"I'm sure she will appreciate that" and Gaius gave him cold, wet cloth for his eye and patted him on the back as he left. As the door shut, Gaius said, "He is good man who seems to care about you a lot Gwen, you know that right?"

Gwen crept round her door and sighed, "Yes, I know that. Thank you for covering for me. I just didn't want to deal with what happened at the feast tonight. I'm sure he has a hundred and one questions to ask."

"Well, I would not leave it too long. The guilt and worry is making you unwell. Goodnight Gwen", he kissed her head as he went to his room.

Gwen sat down on the cold hard bench in Gaius's lab. She put her head in her hands and wondered what to do. She knew what she should do but she couldn't face it. I will just have to tell Arthur straight. I can't be with him, I don't want to be with him and if he banishes me from Camelot…Her mental pep talk faulted. She didn't want to leave Camelot. I love my job, I love Gaius and Merlin. Oh Merlin, she smiled to herself as she remembered their conversation only a few hours ago.

As the knights rode back in the Camelot, victorious after their defeat of the griffin, the crowd was deafening. But you could hear one voice above the rest, as Gwen saw Merlin running towards her as he elbowed and apologised his way to the front.

"Gwen! GWEN! YOU DID IT!" he shouted up to her.

She beamed back at him, got off her horse and walked with him back to the castle. The crowd followed after the rest of the knights and soon Merlin and Gwen were quite alone. Walking through the empty streets of Camelot, pulling her horse and in the company of a good friend, Gwen felt a sense of peace fill her.

"I knew you would do it but I was a bit worried, it's the first time I ever left Arthur in the care of someone else", Merlin rambled.

"Pardon?" asked Gwen confused, snapping out of her daydream.

"Well Kilgharrah said that I should trust you and that it will be good for you…." Merlin continued.

"Er…Merlin. Who's Kilgharrah?" She was thoroughly lost.

"Kilgharrah, you must know him? The great dragon, the only dragon left, locked up under the castle?" Merlin's eyes were wide with shock.

Gwen looked at him blankly.

"Oh well…there is this dragon locked up under the castle…" Merlin attempted to explain.

"Called Kilgharrah by any chance?" Gwen replied cheekily.

"Yes, anyway he is of the old religion like you and me and he said that the griffin attack was part of your destiny and you had to do it alone. It was very difficult I tell you watching you and Arthur ride out like that without me." Merlin frowned slightly.

"Oh…sorry?" she apologised not entirely sure what she was apologising for.

"Don't worry about it. It was to help you find the strength to perform even more powerful spells." Merlin grinned.

"Oh."

"This is a lot to take in. Don't worry I was exactly the same when I found out. Would you like a cup of tea?" he smiled warmly at her, clearly delighted to have someone to share things with.

"I would love one please" Gwen replied still rather confused.

And Gwen followed Merlin back to Gaius's. She had a million questions to ask but now was not the time. As soon as the water had boiled Merlin was sent for and off he ran to Arthur's side. Oh Merlin, Gwen thought to herself. He really was a sweet boy, who had a lot to teach her about magic and the old religion. She wondered why her father had never told her about the dragon. Perhaps he was worried she would attempt to free Kilgharrah.

Maybe Merlin and I could do something, two magic casters are better than one, and with that thought she snapped back into reality. After I talk to Arthur I doubt I'll even be allowed in Camelot let alone visit a dragon.

"Humph!" she sighed loudly and leaned back on the table behind her.

Well I'm just going to get this over with. Not point in sitting here and worrying! Gwen sat up, straightened her dress, chin held high and marched off towards Arthur's chambers.

As she approached Arthur's room she quietly put her head round the corner and whispered a spell. The guards outside the door started to snore and they both crumbled to the floor. As Gwen crept over them she mentally apologised to the guards and hoped they would not wake up with any bruises.

Gwen stormed into Arthur's room him expecting to have to wake him only to find him still up, sitting at his table with a look of fury in his eyes.

"Gwen?" he asked all anger vanishing. "What are you doing here, how did you get passed the guards…?

Panicked Gwen desperately tried to distract him from the whereabouts of the guards by screaming "How dare you attack Lancelot! What's he done to you?"

Admittedly, she thought to herself, not the greatest thing to have said.

"I'm sick to death of him sniffing around you," he roared right back as he sent the chair he was sat on flying backwards.

"Well he is allowed, we are courting after all", Gwen responded, cursing herself for getting completely off track.

"I hate seeing you together, it makes me angry", Arthur growled.

"Arthur what do you want to do? You know we could never be together and I don't want to be alone for the rest of my life, hoping for a couple of minutes a day with you, I can't do it. Lancelot loves me and I love him" was Gwen's comeback. She was glad she finally said what she was there to say even though tears began to form in her eyes. She angrily blinked them away.

Arthur looked at her, his blue eyes revealing nothing as he paced towards her. Gwen could hardly breathe as he approached her.

He gently cupped her face with his hands and whispered, "No, you don't" and kissed her.

She tried to pull away but Arthur kissed her harder.

"Gwen, I love you. I think I have since you nearly beat me in the guards' quarters all those weeks ago. I'm not good at this, I don't know what to do or what to say. But I ask, will you please choose me?" asks Arthur, never feeling more scared in his life. "I know it's a selfish request and I am sorry for that. I am truly sorry for my actions earlier this evening. I have no idea how to behave anymore when it's about you.

Gwen was quiet. She thought about all that she would have to give up, a life with a man who loves her, a man who is free to express his love for her, a family. In her mind's eye she saw herself surrounded by beautiful dark haired children with Lancelot still looking handsome in his old age. But as she looked deeply into Arthur's fear filled eyes she knew her answer and wondered if she was making the biggest mistake of her life.

"I will wait for you", she answered quietly.

"What?" Arthur stared at her completely taken back.

"I will wait for you", and she kissed Arthur with a smile on her face. She felt his slightly damp cheeks and knew she was making the right choice. "I just needed to know that you cared".

"How did you not know?" Arthur smiled back at her and knew that this was the beginning. He felt the rightness of his decision in the very depths of his soul.

He would one day be the first king to marry a commoner, and he would be the father of Gwen's children, the man she would grow old with. And he couldn't wait.

Suddenly there was a loud banging on Arthur's door and Merlin and some guards burst into the room. Arthur and Gwen jumped apart but nobody seemed to notice their guilty yet happy expressions on their faces. Apart from maybe Merlin who had a small smile on his face before it vanished completely and serious, wise Merlin took over.

"Sire, your needed urgently, Cenred's army are less than an hour away." Merlin stated.

"What? How could this have been allowed to happen?" Arthur was furious.

"Well with the feast last night and the one tonight, the guards and knights got a bit carried away…" one of the guards tried to explain but a glare from Arthur was enough to silence him.

Cenred's army was massing at Camelot's gates. Their timing was perfect as all the knights had been drinking and some were injured from the attack this morning. Arthur suspected that Cenred might have had something to do with the beast. But they went out regardless, with barely anytime to put their armour on. The knights fought bravely. A couple of men lost their lives that night however Cenred's army was eventually in retreat. It was only then when Arthur realised Gwen was nowhere to be found and must have been killed or kidnapped.

That was not exactly what happened. Gwen joined her fellow knights in the battle but her aim was Cenred. They shared a lot of history together and the thought of inflicting pain upon him was one she couldn't resist. Side by side she and the knights battled against the continuous surge of Cenred's men. Twisting and turning, slicing and stabbing, Gwen killed many men.

She also managed to save a man. Lancelot had been knocked to the ground with one of Cenred's soldiers stood above him, sword raised to strike. Gwen sneaked up behind and dug her sword deep into him. Blood gushed everywhere and she watched him fall face first. As Lancelot pushed the soldier off him, she gave him her hand and helped him up. Lancelot smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Gwen watched him go fearlessly back into the thick of fighting and wished she felt even of half of the love that he clearly felt for her. He would have been a great choice for a husband but she had to fall for an arrogant, conceited, egotistical prince.

She bravely battled her way to the main group of fighters protecting Cenred when she was captured by three soldiers who crept up behind her. They clawed at her arms, trying to restrain her while one attempted to disarm her. She was about to blast them apart and continue on her quest to kill Cenred when he turned to her, smirked and said,

"I wouldn't try using your fancy magic, I have something you want",

"Yeah and what would I possibly want from you?" Gwen spat out

"O, I don't know. Perhaps your best friend, remember Gwaine?" Cenred grinned.

The colour left Gwen's face and took her fighting spirit with it. "What have you done with him?"

"Nothing. Yet. Now come along with us Gwen and if you fight, he dies."

And that was how Gwen ended up in Cenred's dungeons, alone, unarmed and afraid.

Please continue reading to the next chapter :)