I don't remember. Did I update yesterday or the day before...? Well, anyway, here's a new chapter. We get a look into Artemis's and Ava's past and how they met. However, this is from Ava's POV therefore there a few holes in the story that Ava can't fill. We shall see it from Artemis's POV later. Also note that Artemis is slightly bipolar and insane. There is reason for this. We shall find out later. Also, this chapter flashes between the past and the present a lot. Don't get confused now. Enjoy. I guess I should throw up another disclaimer. I own nothing. Merlin is own by BBC welll except in America... Syfy has the rights in America... haha... syfy... anyway... yup... I only own Artemis, Ava, and all those connected to Artemis's past while traveling.

Note: Prince William's name has been changed to Peter and Lord Odin's name has been changed to Zacharias. The purpose for this is to not confuse William with the William that was in Ealdor and King Odin from Lord Odin. I apologize. Odin and William are two names I use frequently.

It was well past midday by the time they finally made it back. Artemis unhitched the horses and went inside the house were Ava was…

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Artemis asked staring at the strange sight. "Why the hell are you reading?"

"I thought you wanted me to read?"

"I do, but you hate to read."

"I'll learn to like it," she replied. Artemis just stared in shock.

"Ooookay…," she said before turning to her trunk and pulling out the book she would be using to make Morgana's potion. It took Artemis the rest of the day to finish the potion. It was a pain to concoct. It require to sit several hours but to be stirred three times every quarter hour, once clockwise and twice counterclockwise. By sunset, Artemis had put the potion in a decent sized bottle and folded it up carefully in a cloth before concealing it in a basket of laundry.

"I'll be back in a little bit," Artemis said to Ava who was remarkably still reading.

"Uh-huh," she said as if she was actually engrossed in her book. Artemis set out to Morgana's chambers. When she arrived she lightly knocked. Morgana answer.

"Artemis, I'm glad to see you back."

"I am too. I have something for you," she said taking out the bottle from the basket. "It's a draft. You'll pass out right away from this. No dreams. However, some of the ingredients used in it have magical properties. If someone, who thoroughly knew magic, saw it you would be in trouble. So keep it somewhere hidden. You only need a drop before you good to bed. No more. I cannot stress that enough. If you drink too much, you'll put yourself in a sleeping coma and I would have to make an antidote."

"Thank you."

"It was no problem really. I had a good trip actually."

"I hope it was worth it, because Arthur's fuming that you weren't there when King Astor and Prince Vidar arrived. He wasn't pleased about your comments either. I believe I later caught him ranting saying you were the most infuriating, most rambunctious, most aggravating, most uncooperative, most ungrateful peasant he had ever met."

"You really used the word rambunctious? I'm surprised he knows such a big word," she laughed.

"Just be careful," Morgana warned.

"I will. I have to go make dinner for Ava and I. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodbye, Artemis," Morgana said.

"Bye." While leaving Artemis ran into another familiar face.

"You're back," Gwen said happily.

"I am."

"Where were you?"

"Just collecting supplies and visiting old friends."

"Well, Arthur was furious."

"So I heard. Oh, well," she laughed. "I have to go. Bye Gwen."

"Goodbye." Artemis set down the hallways once more. As she got farther down, she heard laughing and talking of two males coming her way. She was too distracted to really care. She really did need to get home. Artemis turned the corner and was face to face with Arthur and a man she did not know. She swore to herself.

"Finally back I see," Arthur said annoyed.

"No, I'm a ghost to haunt for the rest of your life. I died on my trip unfortunately."

"If that was the case, I would kill myself right now than have to spend any longer listening to the sound of your annoying voice," he replied. He clearly wasn't happy with her.

"Got your chain mail in a twist, I see," Artemis replied.

"It wouldn't be in a twist if my maid hadn't gone running off for two days."

"I had some things to take care of, okay?"

"Like what?" Artemis sighed. She really didn't want to deal with this right now. He was being a pain in the ass. She tried stepping around him, but he cut her off. She tried again and again he cut her off.

"Look. I'm warning you just move so I can go home."

"Or what?" he asked. "Are you threatening me?"

"You seriously underestimate my abilities. I can make your life hell."

"How?"

"I'm warning you. This is your last chance. Move."

"No." Artemis wanted to crush him just a little. She thought it would be fun to see Arthur in distress and pain. Just then she saw a small group of women start to come down the hallway. They were of noble status. She suddenly broke out in a grin before it fell and she began to fake cry.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME ARTHUR PENDRAGON! YOU SAID THAT YOU LOVED ME!"

"What are you doing?" Arthur asked in shock.

"YOU CAN'T JUST ABANDON ME WHEN I'M PREGNANT! THIS IS YOUR CHILD TOO!" Arthur was suddenly in shock. Artemis watched through fake tears as the women watched the scene play out. "FINE! IF THAT'S THE WAY YOU WANT YOU'RE CHILD WILL BE RAISED A BASTARD!" Artemis sprinted out the door of the building pretending to cry right past the women. Arthur watched her go and realized the women standing there, and he became horrified.

Artemis leaned against her door inside laughing until she couldn't breath. She was patting herself on the back. Ava just stared.

"So you've finally lost it, huh?" Ava said. Artemis was silent laughing now that she was laughing so hard. She tried to shake her head no, but she couldn't stop. Arthur's face, the women's faces, the aftermath of this was a riot. Artemis finally stopped.

"You'll hear what I'm laughing about," she said. Humming to herself Artemis made dinner. Her good mood made Ava wary.

Waking up the next day, Artemis knew that she would have to face Arthur, but when she got there only Merlin was to be seen.

"Where's Arthur?" she asked.

"His father summoned him. There's a rumor going around that he got some peasant girl pregnant." Artemis started laughing again.

"Artemis, what did you do?"

"He wouldn't leave me alone Merlin. I warned him." Merlin just shook his head laughing.

"I can't believe you."

"Well, I'll go tend to our guest then." Artemis practically skipped down the hall that she was so happy. She knocked on the door.

"Come in." Artemis entered to see the boy Arthur was with yesterday when she caused a scene.

"Hello, person-I-don't-know. I'm Artemis. Is there anything I can get you."

"Artemis," he replied. "I'm Vidar."

"Vidar, that's an odd name."

"I'm from a north eastern kingdom called Validus."

"VALIDUS!" she asked her eyes widening in surprise.

"Yes?" he said unsure of her behavior especially after the incident yesterday.

"That's only a bit away from Valde," she said happily.

"Yes. Why does that matter?"

"My fiancée was from Valde."

"Really? What's his name? Maybe I know him."

"His name was Kael."

"Kael? You're Kael's fiancée. You're the Artemis."

"Then you knew him?"

"I did. He sent me letters up until about three years ago. He always wrote of you. Where is he? He never wrote back to me." Artemis frowned.

"I'm sorry to tell you this," she said sympathetically. "But he died of an illness three years ago."

"Oh," Vidar said flatly. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"Kael told me many stories about you. I see he wasn't wrong with the scene you played out yesterday." Artemis grinned.

"Arthur deserved it."

"He wasn't lying about your beauty too," Vidar said with a light smile.

"Save your charm for someone more gullible," she replied. Vidar smiled.

"Of course." The door opened behind Artemis, and slammed.

"Do you have any idea what trouble you've caused me?" Arthur asked walking to Vidar, but staring at Artemis.

"I have an idea. I warned you to leave me alone, and you didn't. It's entirely your fault."

"Are you insane?" he asked.

"A little."

"ARTEMIS!" a voice called.

"Ava?" she questioned. Ava busted through the door. Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"VIDAR!" she shouted happily.

"Ava? Is that you?" Vidar asked. Ava tackled Vidar into a hug.

"You two know each other?" Arthur asked confused.

"Of course. Lady Ava of Valde, brother of Lord Kael, daughter of Lord Zacharias and Lady Aella, cousin to Prince Peter, Niece of King Alexander and Queen Kathryn."

"Wait, Lady? She's noble?"

"Yes."

"That means Artemis's fiancée was a noble."

"Yes. I knew Kael personally."

"What noble in their right mind would love her?" he asked nodding to Artemis. That struck a nerve.

"Um… Prince Arthur… I wouldn't talk about Kael that way," Ava warned.

"I mean. Was he insane? Artemis is crazy. She's incompetent. She's-"

"I'm going to kill you!" Artemis yelled before jumping on Arthur. They were both on the ground. Artemis had her legs wrapped around Arthur's waist from behind to restrict movement of his legs. Her arms wrapped around his neck choking him. Arthur tried to pull her off, but it was hopeless.

"Let… go!" he struggled to say.

"Apologize!" she yelled.

"For… what!"

"For insulting me and Kael! Apologize!"

"That's… a… stupid… thing… to… apologize for!" he yelled back.

"I'm not letting go until you do!" Artemis said. "I don't care if I kill you!"

"Sorry!" Arthur managed to say as he was loosing the last of his breath. Artemis released him. Before Arthur could say anything Artemis left the room in both a rush and in a fit of anger. Annoyed and angry Arthur left. Ava kind of just lingered for a second before she bid farewell to Vidar and went after not Artemis but Arthur. She reached his door and knocked gently.

"What?" he asked annoyed. Ava entered. He was sitting in a chair leaning against one of his arms. "What do you want?" he asked. Ava walked closer to him before she pulled out a chair and sat in it. She sighed.

"Artemis isn't what she seems," Ava said.

"You mean an annoying, insane, selfish brat." Ava sighed.

"You want the truth about her? The honest to God's truth?" she asked. This caught Arthur's attention. What did she mean the honest to God's truth? Ava knew he was listening. "Artemis arrived in Valde about 6 years ago when she was 15. I was the first to met her. I was the perfect little girl. I always wore what I was told and did what I was told. That day I was told to go pick out flowers from a nearby forest for my mother. It was her birthday, and my brother didn't want a servant doing it. I walked into the forest and I was attacked by a band of renegades. They took out my guards. I didn't know what to do. I was screaming and suddenly from the trees this girl jumped down. She was wild. Her hair was all over. She wore gypsy clothing, but she still had knives concealed on her. Her movements were beautiful. She moved with such grace and agility. She was amazing…"

Seven year old Ava watched this wild woman in awe. She was gorgeous and terrifying. She had never seen a woman like her in her wildest dreams. She easily took down the renegades. When she finished killing them, she looked at Ava. Ava just held her breathe not sure if this woman was going to kill her. The wild woman put her knives away gently and cautiously, but walking with perfect grace to Ava. She held a hand out to her offering it since Ava was on the ground. Ava took her hand and she helped her up.

"You shouldn't be out here without proper guards," she said. She had an accent to her voice. It wasn't thick, but it was there.

"You were amazing," Ava said with a blush. The woman smiled.

"I am Artemis. Who are you?"

"I'm Lady Ava, first daughter of Lord Zacharias."

"Artemis was welcomed into our household with welcomed arms. She saved my life. Everyone was grateful. My brother especially. My brother was the best warrior in Valde, well, besides for Prince Peter. They always tied when fighting. He took a fancy to her right away. I think… it was because he didn't understand her. He knew people well, but Artemis was different. She was always surprising him. Everything was perfect, but I lived in this perfect naïve little world. I never saw the political stresses and difficulties Valde was having, but Artemis did better than perhaps the king himself. I was naïve until the day it happened. It was a ball. All the nobles and all the court and all the knights were invited. Artemis was there as well with Kael. They had started a strange relationship that no one understood. He wasn't courting her. He wasn't allowed to. My parents made it clear that if he did they would disown him. That's kind of the reason Artemis was upset about what you said. Everyone thought Kael was insane for going after her. She was wild, untamable. He was a lord meant for better, but he loved her with everything he had. The day of the ball, Kael was trying nervously to admit his feelings for Artemis, but she was so calm, so collected. He felt awkward. He felt it wasn't the right time. I was in my own little world. I was always off, but I still had a remarkable eye for detail. Artemis says that it's a gift. That we wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for it. As my uncle John walked by, I noticed the sword with him was my Uncle Alexander's, the king's. It was the sword that belonged to the heir of Valde. A sword that had never been defeated that had certain properties to it. The glyphs glowed a different color depending who held it."

"Mother?" Ava asked her mother, who was speaking to her father. Her mother looked like the spitting image of Ava while her father looked like Kael. Both Kael and Zacharias possessed brown hair and green eyes with a soldier's build. "Why does Uncle John have Uncle Alex's sword?" Aella looked across the ballroom just in time to see John order a group of knights, whom Aella had never seen before, to shut all the doors. They did so. Enraged Aella went to him.

Ava watched as her mother spoke to him. She tried to grab the sword from him and in one fluid move he cut her Mother down as if she was no one. Ava watched in horror and in a few second panic hit everyone. There was screaming and rushing and the knight working with John started to leave a bloody trail behind him showing no mercy. They reached the king.

"Hello Alex," John said.

"You betrayed us."

"Hm, yes, yes, I did. Power is such a great thing to waste on you."

"While it was going on, Artemis had opened a secret passage in the wall, and was getting people out. Kael and I was one of those people, but she wouldn't come with until Peter was out safe too. She said that if Peter survived the true heir to the Valde throne still existed. Unfortunately things didn't go as planned…"

"Will, get your arse in here," Artemis said.

"I will not let my Father die!" he said a little too loud.

"What is going on?" John boomed. He saw the passageway. "Kill them!" he yelled. Artemis threw Peter in the passage. The knights came running for them.

"Come on Artemis!" Kael yelled. Artemis looked at him. Pain was covered in her face. She slammed the passage shut with her outside of it.

"She sacrificed herself, so that she could destroy the passageway door so John and his men couldn't follow."

"But she's here now," Arthur said. The story had engrossed him.

"At a price," she said. "She had to fight John. She managed to get away, but that sword… it did something to her. He managed to pierce her side and even though it didn't do any vital damage… Artemis was still screaming in pain. Her screams still ring in my head. Kael was devastated. I've never seen anyone in so much pain."

"What did you do?"

"We fled Valde with the people we escaped with, but John refused to let it go. To him, Artemis ruined his victory. Peter had escaped as well as a few other nobles. It was a lose to him. He had everyone searching for the gypsy. It wasn't safe. On the second day, Artemis stopped screaming and bit back her pain, but she was sweating and she was cold. She was dying and we all knew it. Artemis told us 'candle, candle, candle.' We didn't understand until we found a Babylon candle in her bag."

"What's a Babylon candle?" Arthur asked.

"It's the fastest means of travel. You light it and it takes you where you tell it to. It's magic yes, but it saved us. We lit it, and Artemis uttered the name of a kingdom. We reached the kingdom of Telmore by then Artemis was nearly dead. It had been too long. I'd never seen Kael so torn apart. Telmore welcomed us as they were allies of Alexander's not John's. They took us in. Peter, Kael, me, Artemis, and the countless others that escaped. We were far east now. To the point were magic was practiced openly. They took Artemis to the court sorceress."

"Please, help her," Kael said holding Artemis's hand as they laid her on the table. She was pale and sweat no longer covered her. Now she no longer moved or bit back pain. She was limp. She looked like she was gone already. The sorceress was a beautiful woman with long light brown hair and beautiful gray eyes. She wore gorgeous red robes. She looked at Artemis and gasped.

"Oh my Gods," she muttered. "Ambrosine."

"What? Just help her!" Kael yelled. The sorceress nodded. She muttered multiple incantations over Artemis's wound but nothing help. The sorceress shook her head.

"She's too far gone. I can't help her."

"There has to be something!" Kael yelled. He laid his head on Artemis's stomach and cried. The sorceress watched him.

"She is meant for so much," the sorceress said. "She is destined to be great, to be remembered." The sorceress raised her hand. A goblet appeared in it. Rain fell from the sky and into the goblet that she stuck out the window. She walked to Artemis and tilted her head up and tipping the water in her mouth. It was a moment before Artemis gently gripped Kael's hand. He looked up to see her eyes awake. She smiled gently.

"Artemis," he said before on impulse of seeing her alive he pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss. "I love you."

"It took me nearly dying for you to finally admit what I already knew," she teased. "I love you too," she said before kissing him again.

"The sorceress died about a week later. Artemis said it was a life for a life. She was too close to death for anything else to work. So the sorceress traded her life for Artemis's. Artemis said the sorceress believed her destiny was to keep Artemis alive for her destiny, She died believing that. Artemis didn't dress like a gypsy after that not knowing if John would come after them. She dressed like she does now. Kael, Artemis, and I started off on a journey. It was not time to take back Valde not yet. Artemis said there was a time, but it was not then. We traveled together to many places. Kael eventually asked Artemis to marry him. She accepted. Everything was perfect for once… except… Valde. It was home to all of us, Artemis included. When Peter turned 18, Artemis decided it was time. We gathered information that told us Peter was not going to stop at Valde… he wanted several nations and in his eyes one nation was strongest in the west. Camelot. Peter prepared an army to battle John for the throne while Kael, Artemis, and I headed to Camelot to persuade King Uther to take our side and not John's. However… Kael got sick and he convinced Artemis to make a detour to Ealdor. She agreed. She didn't know he was sick. He didn't tell her. He figured he just needed a little rest. There was still time. Or he thought there was. He died a month later." Ava looked away. A few tears fell down her eyes. "Artemis is like a mother to me, and I can never return anything to her. She sacrifices everything for other people never asking one thing from anyone. You treat her like she's nothing like she's just some peasant. You say she's incompetent. You say she's selfish, but she's not. She's none of those things. She lives and breaths to help others… I see this look in her eyes sometimes. It's always there if you look closely. It's this tired, broken look. The kind of look you see in people who have lived too many fights and are old and worn down. Artemis doesn't live for herself anymore. She doesn't do anything for herself anymore. She lives for others… and it's not right. She's given up on her own life. She just wants peace. She wants a happy ending, not for her, but the world. She says she's a servant of the world, and that's all she wants in her life, but I think she needs a happy ending. No one deserves a happy ending more than her, but the Gods just keep throwing things at her. They kick her while she's down, and you do the same. Do you have any idea what she's been through? What kind of person she is? You talk like your words don't matter, but they do to her. She doesn't want to be reminded that she failed Kael. That she never made it her in time. Peter's army was wiped from the map with the help of your father. Every order you give her reminds her that she's nothing more than a peasant here. That she's back to ground zero, and that all that remains for her. She doesn't need you telling her that Kael was insane for loving her, because she already wishes she never knew him because she believes his death was her fault, and that if he never loved her he wouldn't have died. So stop treating her like she's just some peasant, because she's not. Let me tell you right now. She may dislike you, but she'll never hate you. She doesn't hate. It's not who she is. She would gladly die to make sure you stay alive, and you would be okay to watch her. That's the difference between you and her. As far as I can tell, she's the noble and you people are the scum." With that Ava left Arthur, and he sat there pondering her words.