This is early because a) it was finished and b) I won't be able to on Monday so don't come to expect early updates! Anyway enjoy and any feedback is most welcome.

Arthur's POV

When the screaming had started I assumed it was nothing big- maybe Morgana had got a split end or something- but when the explosions came I knew it was bigger than some domestic tragedy. And now Ambrosia and Morgause are facing each other off, Ambrosia has tears streaming down her face whilst Morgause looks somewhere between shocked and determined.

"Admit it!" Ambrosia cries out her voice rising and cracking. "You're working with Mordred to overtake Camelot for yourselves."

I freeze then at the thought of anyone other than my father ruling Camelot. He may not be a good man or king but he's my father and no matter what he's done to people with magic he always does what he sees as best. And war would mean countless innocents would die! "Why would you care, Ambrosia?" Morgause spits back, her eyes full of hate as she addresses her mother. "Uthur Pendragon has hunted us and our kind for twenty years and the world would be better without him in it!"

"Morgause, you do not understand! This must happen and Arthur must become king not Mordred! That is not his destiny." Ambrosia's eyes glow golden and Morgause is thrown backwards. "You are not here to be with me or your sisters or even Leon. You're only here to spy on us for Mordred! You don't care about any of us. How could any daughter of mine be so cold and bitter?"

At the spy comment I see Leon turn deathly pale as he thinks of his lover's betrayal, of her lies, so I go over to him and rest a supportive hand on his shoulder. We both watch the carnage that is Ambrosia and Morgause.

Morgause gets up brushing leaves and other forest debris off of her. "Ástríce!" Morgause cries flinging her hand forward throwing Ambrosia back as she did to her. "Don't pretend to know what it's like Ambrosia. You didn't have to watch the temples burn to the ground with your friends still inside. You didn't have to run every time you saw the familiar red on the horizon! And you didn't have to see protectors, friends and innocents get slit open right in front of you, getting their blood thrown onto you like sticky red paint!"

Ambrosia gets up as her daughter did before her, eyes flashing in anger. "If you and your brother want to bring war to Camelot then I will stop you. I hate Uthur Pendragon and all he stands for but if war comes to Camelot more innocents will die and you will prove the king right that all magic is evil."

"We will prove that magic is strong and indestructible!"

"You'll replace a tyrant with a tyrant only this time magic will be the oppressor! The only way to end things peacefully is to let Arthur become king when the time is right."

"And whilst we wait more innocents die!"

Ambrosia hangs her head in defeat- knowing that her daughter will not be swayed. "Leave Morgause. Return to your brother with the news that neither I nor Balinor will give our support. That is after all what you were after, isn't it?"

Morgause nods curtly and turns to leave but then goes towards Leon. "Where do you stand? With me or with them."

Leon looks at her dead in the eye whilst a tear escapes his own. "I will not bring war to Camelot."

Morgause nods as if expecting his words and holds a ring out to him. A betrothal band. "Then I guess I have no use for this anymore." Leon took the ring his whole body trembling and had opened his mouth to say something more when Morgause began chanting. "Bedyrne ús! Astýre ús þanonweard!"

And then with a gust of wind Morgause was gone and Leon stands as if frozen with his eyes focused in where she disappeared. There are no tears just stillness and the whole forest is still with him until Morgana breaks the trance by walking over and placing a hand on Leon's shoulder. He doesn't respond and as I look at my friend I see his eyes darken slightly. Then without another word Leon shrugs Morgana off him and walks away to his tent.

Mordred's POV

I'm in my camber alone undoing my armour when there's a huge swirl of wind and a figure appears: Morgause. "Mordred!" She looks a mess, her hair is wild and her clothes have many mud stains and leaves tarnishing.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I say as calmly as I can yet she still flinches.

"I-" Tears begin to leak form her eyes and she looks upset. "Ambrosia discovered me and threw me out of camp."

I take off the last piece of armour and sit down in a chair behind my desk. "So?" I sneer. "Why should you care? She is nothing to us." Morgause is silent for a moment and I sigh. "Or have you developed some kind of affection for her?" Her silence and the way she has looked to the floor tells me enough. "You simpleton Morgause. Do you honestly think she actually cares whether we live or die?" I sigh and with a silent spell a familiar whip appears in my hand. "Do I need to remind you of why you listen to me and not our foolish traitor of a mother?"

Her eyes widen as she sees the familiar piece of leather and I barely hear her whisper. "No."

I smile at her and she offers me a tentative one back. "fríese!" Her whole body still but her eyes widen more. Her mouth is set into the line of determination it always takes when I give out my discipline. I walk around to her and lift up her tunic to expose her back still beautifully scarred from previous enforcements. "You know you deserve this Morgause don't you. You should never have been revealed and you should never have had doubts about where your loyalties lie. Yes I know all about your little thoughts of rebellion. Remember Morgause I own you and you can hide nothing from me." With that I give the first lash of the whip.

After about twenty lashes her whole back is covered in red as new and old scars bleed profusely. All the while whilst the whipping I had told her exactly who she belongs to. She's passed out now- probably from exhaustion as well because of the teleportation spell she used to get here. At just the thought the whip evaporates and I stare down at my passed out sister.

There's something different about her that I haven't noticed before now yet I can't quite out my finger on what it is. I run a hand down her soft, golden face thinking absently of how the weeks she's spent in the woods have done her skin some good.

Then it hits me and papers fly off the desk as I realise- Morgause is pregnant. Shocked I perform a wordless restore spell and the woman herself begins to stir. "Who's the father?"

After a few moments of struggling Morgause rises and looks at me weakly. "What?"

"The father of the child currently growing in your womb." I say as evenly as I can. If the baby is of Pendragon blood it may come in useful but otherwise it will be useless and Morgause would be to.

Morgause's mouth falls open and I see shock clearly in her face. "I'm… I'm pregnant?"

"Yes." I reply then I lean forward and squeeze her shoulder where a particularly raw cut is. "Now tell me who the father is!" She flinches and that tells me enough- the baby is useless. "Morgause you idiot!" I shout angrily as well as squeezing down harder on the wound. "You should know by now that your virginity is more important than anything else! Now that you are tarnished Cenred will not take you and I needed that to secure the treaty! You filthy little whore!" I take a deep breath and look at my trembling, whimpering sister. "You'll have to get rid of it. I can't allow you to be out of commission right now with this spawn."

The whimpers stop and Morgause although still shaking stands despite her torn back. "I want- I want to keep the baby."

I laugh at her stupidity. "Morgause have you forgotten? I own you. You do what I want when I want and I want you to get rid of this baby soon."

"NO!" She screams and I am forced to duck as her magic explodes and glass, papers and anything loose in the room flies towards me.

Once it stops I grab Morgause by the neck and throw her back against the bedpost. She gasps as she tries to catch her breath but under my vice like grip she struggles and her eyes bulge. "I could choke the life out of you and the little brat right now, Morgause. I could-"

I'm about to continue when the door flies open and guards and Guinevere rush through looking scared. Shit. My grip loosens slightly on her neck and she takes the opportunity to throw me back with her magic and then before I can stop her she manages to choke out. "Bedyrne ús! Astýre ús þanonweard!" And with that she disappears.

Elaine's POV

"Galahad!" I cry out into the wilderness starting to get worried. "Galahad? Where are you?"

"Mummy I'm over here." His voice sounds from quite close by and I take a sigh of relief that he's safe.

I follow the direction of the voice and it leads me to a clearing where I see my son crouched down in the centre. "Galahad! What have I told you about running away from me like-?"

I stop as I see what Galahad is crouching over. "Mummy she just appeared in front of me in a lot of wind and fainted!" My son's eyes are wide with fear. "I think she's badly hurt!"

I get closer and see my son is right. The blonde woman on the forest floor looks like she's been badly whipped and her neck has got hand print on it that are bound to bruise. I gasp as I see the extent of her back injuries and I know she needs Iseldir. "Galahad go back to camp and get Iseldir and the healers. Tell them about her and make sure they come quickly!"

Galahad scrambles to his feet and runs away back in the direction of camp and I get closer to the woman and kneel down beside her and take her hand. She looks somewhat familiar and I feel like I've seen her somewhere before.

I gently stroke her hand, tracing druid symbols into the skin on the back of her hand. She's beautiful but there's a cold, sad edge to her face which shows the horrors this woman must have gone through and I feel more pity for the beaten woman. She was probably weak after the beating so this spell must not have taken her where she intended or else the Triple Goddess sent her here for help.

I hear quick footsteps and murmured talking close by and hope rises in my chest as Iseldir and a few healers appear through the trees with Galahad leading them. "There she is!"

Iseldir shuts his eyes for a moment to take in all that he's seeing and then begins ordering the healers around quietly. Then he turns to me. "This is horrible but she will be fine in time physically. Mentally is a different matter. The Triple Goddess has sent her to us for healing and I think that you shall n=be part of this, Elaine."

"I am no healer." I say nervously looking at the woman beside me who is being attended by the other healers.

"No but what Morgause Le Fay Tregor will need soon is a friend."

Le Fay? As is Ambrosia Le Fay? Is this her daughter? And if so why isn't the High Priestess attending to her? The questions are silenced when Galahad wraps his arms around my waist as he watches the woman with fear in his eyes. "Is she going to be alright mummy?"

"Yes, Galahad. She's going to be fine." I smile down at him. "We're going to help her. Ok?" Galahad nods into my side and we both wait for the healers to finish doing what they can.

Lance's POV

"Are you alright Leon?" I say after having stood looking at the man for about five minutes.

"I'm fine Lancelot." His tine is clipped-final.

"Look if you want to talk-" He cuts me off abruptly.

"No thank you Lancelot."

"I know she loved you Leon."

He's silent for a moment at that and then in a hollow voice he replies. "But sometimes love isn't enough."

I open my mouth but can think of nothing to say to the man in front of me, slouched in defeat his eyes full of hollow acceptance for his fate. I have no words to make this better so I leave him to his sorrows.

Outside the tent Arthur pulls me aside. "Did he say anything?" Arthur's whole face is full of concern for his friend and brother in all but blood.

"No more than he said to you and Percival. I'd say try Gwaine but he'd probably just get him drunk." I sigh. "He's a broken man, Arthur."

Arthur nods because he knows. 'Sometimes love isn't enough.' The voice echoes in my head and my heart agrees because love, as wonderful as it is, doesn't stop you from being hurt by the world. In fact most of the time it opens you up to more pain than you'd ever expect from something so amazing. Her face floats through my mind but I shake it out as soon as the hazy image comes. There's enough pain going through this camp without mine.

Merlin's POV

Morgana is in tears when she tells me what happened and for a moment I just stare at her processing exactly what she said. Then I sigh. "We always knew this would happen."

Morgana glares at me angrily. "I didn't want it to happen. I wished more than anything it was just a dream! I wished that she would become as much of a sister to me as you are. I wanted her to be our friend!" She lets out a cry of frustration. "I HATE this STUPID power!"

Gingerly I swing my legs off the bed for the first time since awaking and a tentatively walk over to where Morgana is sitting and I wrap my arms around her. "No you don't." I whisper softly to her. My own tears begin to leak out and run into her hair. "It's a gift only sometimes it shows you bad things. Horrible things. But it's part of you as much as your magic is. We couldn't stop it as much as we wanted to. We did what we thought was best and maybe that wasn't the right thing but sometimes you don't live in the future and think about it." I kiss her black hair. "You never know we might still get to be siblings yet. We may even meet Mordred and be a happy family. The future is uncertain to us but we still have some control over it."

We sit there wrapped in each other's arm until Morgana's ragged breathing evens out and she sleeps- probably tired after all the events of the day. I lay her gently down on my bed using my magic to levitate her and then tuck the blankets in around her.

Leaving the tent with support from my magic to keep me balanced I manage to get across to camp to Ambrosia's tent. "Mum?" I peak my head round only to see my mother asleep with tear stains on her cheek tucked into Balinor's arms, I smile and leave.

My feet lead me to Leon's tent and I hear curious snuffling noises coming from within. Stepping inside I see Leon sitting on his bed, slouched over sobbing quietly into his hands. I don't say a word and just walk over to him and wrap my arms around him.

He doesn't say a word and neither do I as I hold the night whilst he cries all the tears he has. After a while of not stopping I take sympathy on him and pressing a hand to his forehead I whisper. "Swefe nu." And just like that he falls into a dreamless sleep. I lay him down in his bed and tuck him in to reflecting the similar movements I did with Morgana. Securing them both for a good night's sleep.

After I've done this I leave again as I did before with my sister. I wander through the camp with no purpose but a restlessness that comes from being bed ridden for a few weeks. As I approach the fire pit I see Gwaine sitting beside a small fire prodding it with a long, thin stick. "Hello." I greet him as sit across from him.

He looks at me and gives me a half-hearted grin. "It's good to see you up on your feet. Although I can't imagine your sister, Arthur or your mother know about it."

I smile back and nod. "I think my mother wants me to stay in bed for the rest of my life to stop me from getting into trouble."

"Where's the fun in that?" Gwaine replies with a rogue wink but again it's half-hearted.

We're silent for a moment until I speak again. "What are you doing up anyway. I thought because of Ambrosia's guards we didn't need a night watch."

"We don't but I couldn't sleep." His eyes are fixed on the small flames.

"I could put you to sleep if you want." I offer.

"No, I'm fine and you should conserve your energy."

"Are you kidding I've been in a dead sleep and then bed ridden for weeks. My magic is exploding to be used! I'm the great Emrys after all I was going stir crazy after a few hours of being conscious." I let out a weak laugh but the sound somehow feels forbidden and I stop quickly.

"Even if that's true I don't want your family and Arthur coming after me if you used your magic on me unnecessarily." Gwaine smiles and again we fall silent.

I see him yawn after a while. "Go to sleep Gwaine."

"No." His voice is the most serious I've ever heard it- no trace of a joke.

"Why? What are you afraid of?" I whisper to him searching his face.

He sighs. "I'm afraid that if I go to sleep something bad will happen and when I wake up someone else will be gone or…" He trails off and looks at me as if I'm about to laugh at him and his vulnerability.

"I'll stay awake and protect them all." He looks like he's about to argue but I continue. "I'm fine Gwaine and I've been asleep for days."

Gwaine nods and goes to his tent and then turns back. "Can you put me to sleep?"

I nod and follow him to his tent. "Lie down." When he's settled I utter the sleeping spell for the second time that night and then leave Gwaine in a dreamless sleep.

I take my place back at the dwindling fire. "Forbearnan." I whisper and the fire springs into life as I settle down beside it. A woman with dark blonde hair, golden skin and brown eyes leaps to mind as I stare at the flames and send a prayer to the Triple Goddess in the glow of the fire.

Please…Please protect my sister, Morgause… I don't know what else here is to say but I feel like she's in danger so please… just protect her.