Chapter 28: A Servant's Aid

Sefa returned to Lyra and helped her put on a dark purple gown. "Why are we having a feast, anyway?" Lyra asked.

"To celebrate your wedding of course!" Sefa answered like it was the most obvious thing. "The king said you had prepared a speech-"

Lyra tensed, "What? Speech? No! I haven't-!"

"Mi lady... I don't mean to speak out of term, but...Something is going on with the king and you, isn't there?" Sefa looked at her as Lyra ran her fingers in her dark hair.

"Sefa, I trust you. So I'm going to tel you, but you cannot say anything to anyone - including Eira. OK?" Sefa nodded eagerly. "So..." Lyra told Sefa everything.

"Oh my... Mi lady-"

Lyra shock her head. "Sefa, your my friend, call me Lyra. Please."

"Lyra, you can't stay here." Sefa said.

"That was the plan, but I need to leave the feast early, somehow." Sefa smiled.

"I think I can help with that..."

"How?"

"I could distract Mordred."She said simply.

Lyra shock her head. "Thats dangerous, Sefa. You'd be risking your life."

"My life isn't as important as yours." Sefa said. "And anyway, I know exactly what to do."

The feast was boring, in Lyra's opinion anyway. "Show me your ring." Mordred had said suddenly.

She did as he bid and held out her hand and Mordred took it, looking at the ring and he put his finger on it and it transformed back into a diamond. He smiled. "Good." He said. And without another word, he let go and continued eating.

Lyra wanted to know what he'd done and, "Mordred?" She asked slightly shyly.

"Yes, my love?" He said in a annoyingly seductive tone.

"What did you to the ring?" She asked, staring at it.

"Wouldn't you love to know?" Mordred sneered. He then called Sefa over to poor him some wine, which she stained Mordred's tunic. Sefa winked at Lyra who realized that was only chance to escape.

She ran to the Darkling woods and all of her friends had gone, only Arthur stood waiting for her in the moonlight. "Arthur." Lyra said breathlessly.

"Lyra." He hugged her.

"Where are the others?" Lyra asked.

"They're waiting in a cave." Arthur said, Lyra's eyes widened. "Not the cave I died in." He had noticed Lyra's shocked face in the darkness.

They walked for a while and when they reached the tiny cave Lyra was embraced by all her friends. "We thought you weren't coming!" Merlin told her.

"I couldn't stay with him! But we haven't finished there yet. Theres two others who need saving." She stated.

"Who?"

Lyra sighed. "Sefa and Eira. If it wasn't for Sefa I'd still be at the feast. And Eira is my friend too. I wont leave them. Sefa's life is in danger, we must save her." Everyone stared at her, stunned.

"Lyra, we can't go back, now. It's too dangerous." Gaius said.

Gwaine thought for a moment before, "No you can't. But Mordred doesn't know I've gone. Does he?" Arthur shock his head.

"It's too dangerous."

"I love Eira. I'm not about to leave her." He said sternly. The rest of them exchanged worried glances before falling into dreamless sleeps.

Gwaine's so sweet!