So this is a tad bit late and honestly I have no excuse bar procrastination and serious lack of inspiration! All reviews, favourites and follows are appreciated as always! Not that I really deserve them after being late but I promise at the moment I'm feeling unusually inspired so hopefully there won't be this big a delay again. Hopefully. IDOM.

Kara's POV

Mordred has obviously trained his wife because I notice she takes a similar stance to his own. I notice I am at a disadvantage because unlike Mordred's wife I am wearing a full skirt whilst the 'lady' is in riding breeches. Mordred's wife faces me and bows and it feels really odd to actually fight properly in a mock duel. Mordred and I used to train like this when we were children but in recent years I've been mainly out fighting in the war.

"You ready?" She has a pretty smile I suppose but other than that her face is quite plain and to be honest I don't see what Mordred sees in this handmaiden.

I smile back nevertheless and incline my head. "I'm ready my lady."

We circle each other blades aloft for a few moments and I notice a few knights who were training have turned to watch us probably hoping for a cat fight. Mordred's wife doesn't put her weight down fully and is constantly moving as we circle each other waiting for the other to strike first. She seems to be comfortable with handling the weapon in her hand however she has a slightly weaker grip than you need meaning it will be easier to disarm her.

Deciding to exploit this weakness I strike forward not for her body as she probably expects but for her sword. She predicts what I'm aiming for however and swiftly shifts the other was and simultaneously ducks down into a leg swipe and takes my legs from under me.

I crash down onto the floor and the wind is knocked out of me but there's no way in hell I'm losing to Mordred's wife so easily. Jumping back up I go to aim for her left side and then swing my leg into her right whilst she blocks the swipe. My kick knocks her off balance but she doesn't fall and I grunt in frustration but I take her moment of weakness whilst she gets back on balance to strike at her.

Mordred's wife barely manages to parry and find her feet again but she is watching me with more caution than before and I suppress my grin. Mordred's wife thrusts her weight forward in one blow which I easily dodge. I move to take a strike at her undefended side but she's not there.

Then I feel the blunt hilt of her sword in my back throwing me into the mud. Then I feel the tip of the same sword lightly touch my neck. If I try to get up I'll probably end up with a sword through my neck. Not really a good option. I attempt to kick out but where ever she's standing it's out of my kicking range. "Do you yield Kara?"

One thing about me is that I know when I'm beaten, although it doesn't happen often. "Yes." She lets me get up and I face the woman who beat me.

"That was a good fight Kara. You must have had a great teacher." She puts out a hand for me to shake and I take it.

"As must have you." Little does she know that we had the same teacher.

As if summoned by mere thought Mordred suddenly appears at his wife's side. He looks casual and his shirt is open enough so that I can see just a few dark curls on his chest. "That was quite a fight. I think half the knights have been put to shame."

I smile at Mordred but his attention is only on his doting wife. I clear my throat in an attempt to get his attention. "And I think the other half were scandalised by the sight of my under garments."

Mordred's wife smiles at me and I resist the urge to scowl back. "I think you are probably going to get a few admirers now Kara."

"Yes well, knights aren't my type." With that I walk back over to the rack of weapons and return the sword and I notice the looks as I go: lust, admiration and disapproval. I notice the lust with pleasure and I might go and visit a few of the better looking knights.

Leon's POV

Dinner is an almost silent affair, Ambrosia somehow managed to separate Arthur and Morgana from Merlin's bedside. They sit in solemn silence and the rest of us only speak occasionally and any conversation dissolves before it begins. If Merlin was here she'd tell us to liven up but she's not exactly in a position at the moment to cheer us all up. Sometimes she doesn't mean to but she just gives off this relaxing air and fun.

I feel Morgause sit beside me and her knee press against mine. "You all care for Merlin a lot?"

Her voice is so low even whilst it's quiet I'm the only one who hears her. "Merlin is an amazing person. We all care about her." There's nothing else to say about Merlin because that's all that needs to be said.

"I want to try and heal her."

I turn to look at her in the eye but she's just staring at the flames of the fire. "Ambrosia already said she couldn't be healed."

"She said she couldn't heal Merlin. I haven't tried yet." Her eyes finally meet mine and I see the determination written all over her face.

"Fine let's go but don't tell the others. Don't want to their hopes up." With that I stand and mutter something to the others about watching Merlin whilst the others eat and give them a break.

Morgause joins me after a few moments and I back away to give her enough room to work. She sits beside Merlin's bedside and starts waving her hands above Merlin. Looking at the pair of them now I can see the family resemblance, they have the same stubborn chin and the same curved mouth, the thought gives me a small smile.

Morgause sits in the same position for a few moments before dropping her hands in frustration. "I can't figure out what's wrong with her! For all my magic can tell she's perfectly healthy and just sleeping!"

"Well that isn't right."

"I know but whatever this is I agree with Ambrosia magic can't fix this." She sighs and looks back at the girl on the bed. "Prince Arthur is heartbroken."

"He is. I can't even imagine what's he's going through now, just the uncertainty alone would be torture, if she dies I'm not sure Arthur will ever be the same again." I sit beside her but I don't touch her. "Thank you for trying though."

She leans back into my body and I see she looks tired after trying to heal Merlin. "I feel a connection with her, like I've known her for years. How is that possible?"

Guilt rises in my throat but then I remember Merlin's desperate pleas when she begged me not to tell Morgause of their relation and I hold my tongue. "I don't know."

We sit together in silence for a moment her body nestled in mine and my arms wrapped protectively around her. She breaks the silence with a soft whisper. "Do you think you're a hero Leon?"

I draw away from her slightly and look at her blank face. "No I don't. I've done bad things in my life, one of which is helping Uthur with his crusade against magic. But I like to think that I try to stop the bad people."

"Isn't that what a hero is?"

"I don't know exactly what a hero is but there's too much innocent blood on my hands for me to ever be one."

The disgust I expected to see in her eyes isn't there. "Magical people, how many have you killed?"

I shift but her eyes remained latched onto mine. "Too many. You and Ambrosia have showed me the good in magic and the druids with their peaceful way of life. I may never forgive myself or forget their faces but as long as I don't kill an innocent for having magic again…" I don't know how to finish the sentence and we drift back in silence. I hope she understands what I mean.

"I better get back to my tent. Good night Leon" I release her reluctantly and she leaves me alone with Merlin.

I watch over Merlin for a few more minutes until Arthur comes to take over and I leave him alone. As I walk back to my own tent I can't help but think about the day when the whole Le Fay family is reunited and the sisters reunite. Although with their collective tempers combined that may prove lethal!

Gwaine's POV

Unsurprisingly my attempt to get people down to the tavern to drink their sorrows failed so I have decided that a different approach is needed. Lancelot (annoyingly right about my previous idea) has decided to take the lead on this new direction.

So that's why I am currently sober and following Lance as he enters Merlin's tent. Freya's inside but somehow somebody's managed to persuade Arthur to get some rest. It's been almost three days of the same and I don't think Arthur moved from Merlin's bedside for an hour at most during those three days. Freya has been almost as bad, Ambrosia managed to persuade her to sleep the first night but after that she's been awake and at Merlin's bedside.

Lance walks over to her and places what I can only guess a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Freya this isn't healthy."

She sniffs and I find myself distracted by her face, scrunched up in sadness. There's no doubt that she is beautiful but somehow to me her face looks wrong. The similarity to Merlin is scary but the difference is their eyes, and that's where Freya looks odd to me, they don't seem to fit her face. Something about Freya freaks me out and that's why I tend to avoid looking at her. "I can't and won't leave Merlin."

"We only wants best for you and you need to get away from Merlin's bedside for a while. Don't worry I'll watch over her for you." I could see the reluctance on Freya's face but also the exhaustion of watching over her sister for such a long time.

With her big jade eyes pleading she looked at Lance's warm brown ones. "Very well but wake me if there's any change."

Lance nods his head sincerely and I can't help envying the amount of sincerity and the trust others hold in him. But the moment passes and instead all I see is Freya walking over to me where I'm blocking the tent flap. On impulse I take her elbow into my hand and lead her out of the sombre tent.

Without a word I steer her through the campsite still holding reassuringly onto her arm. I can feel the warmth from that slight touch and yet at the same time I can feel the shivers that are running through her body. We make it to the flap of her tent and the shaking of her body has increased drastically I turn to her to see her beautiful yet eerie face stained with tears.

Without thinking my arms are around her and pulling her into my chest. The sobs are even more extreme and I whisper comforting nothings to her as I allow her to just cry into my body. I maybe a drunk but I never could resist a damsel in distress. Her body heat reminds me of the many women that I've held in similar embraces but somehow this act of comfort feels more intimate. I'm helping her out of friendship and concern rather taking her to my bed after a few too many tankards of the good stuff. I think Lance maybe rubbing off on me...

Gaius' POV

Gods my old bones are complaining a lot today! Well it's no wonder after all this is my third day of foraging around the forest at three in the morning trying to find some herbs I need. I finally understand why Merlin was always complaining- getting up this early so many mornings in a row is dire! Memories flood me of Merlin coming back one such morning covered with mud after falling asleep and falling into muddy pond. A chuckle escapes me as I recall the girl's protests at my mirth and begging for me to tell Arthur that she had come down with some sort of illness so she could have a bath. Naturally I'd refused and ushered her out of the door. Her indignant squawking forces another chuckle to escape me.

Turning back to the basket that I have so far collected I recall the list I set myself, I've got most of them now but I still need a few more but luckily for my pretesting joints there is a patch of the very plant in the next clearing. Setting on my way I find myself slipping into old habits and using magic to feel the push and pull of the earth-nature in balance- although I've never been as gifted as the rest of my family and friends I've always been able to sense the magic of the earth. Father used to tell me that this was a rare and sacred gift to feel the essence of the earth. It was this connection that brought me to the art of healing in the first place and eventually extended to give me a knack for not only herb lore but also healing magic.

"Please!" An urgent voice broke through my reverie and I startle to see a thin, pale man with anxious eyes standing on the edge of the clearing with urgency written throughout his body. "My mistress is injured! She needs help!"

I jump into action. "Take me to her immediately. Don't worry I'm a physician."

The thin man led me quickly to the very clearing I 'd been heading to and there sitting regally on a fallen tree trunk was a woman who I never thought I'd see again-the Lady Catriona Tregor. Mordred's aunt. Uthur's old childhood sweetheart. And Ambrosia's sister in law. My jaw slackens and my eyes widen. This certainly wasn't what I was expecting when I went to finds herbs this morning.

Yeah I know that was all a bit random but I'm pretty sure it'll all end up being at least somewhat tied together later on. Anyway love it? Hate it?