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Morgana tossed and turned in her sleep. Her dreams were vivid tonight though she couldn't quite grasp the images that flashed through her mind. As the night grew on, the images became clearer, and she could catch snatches of them. Then suddenly they were crystal clear as if she were awake and watching an actual scene unfold before her.

She stood in the darkness outside of a small cottage. Two dark figures crouched outside, waiting. They both held swords that glinted in the darkness. These were the men she had seen plotting against Ryll. The scene skipped ahead. Ryll was wielding a sword against the two men. Another man lay unconscious on the floor. A glass overturned, shattering on the ground. Ryll was fighting ferociously, but one of the men disarmed her, bringing her to her knees. In the light of the dying fire, her face was impassive. She held out her arms, staring up at the man. "Do it," she said. "Just kill me." She did not try to fight as the man swiftly brought down the blade, stabbing it straight through her heart. Morgana watched the light fade from Ryll's eyes. Blood from her wound mingled with her golden hair, and she fell sideways, her blue eyes staring but not seeing.

Morgana awoke with a start, crying out. No, this couldn't happen. Not to Ryll. She struggled to untangle herself from her sheets. She had to warn Arthur and Merlin. Over the last four months, her dreams had become more vivid and frequent. Hardly a night passed where she didn't dream of something that ended up coming true. She'd tried to justify it, tried to push it aside, but she wasn't taking chances this time. Ryll was in danger and if they didn't try to save her, she was going to die tonight.

She struggled into her clothes and grabbed her sword before rushing into the room next to hers. Arthur and Merlin were already awake and seemed to be arguing over something. They both looked up when she entered the room.

"Ryll is in danger," Morgana said breathlessly. "I just have a feeling." She couldn't explain her dream without arousing suspicion. Uther could never know of her dreams. "Please, we need to go now. Merlin, you know where she is."

"She doesn't want our help," Merlin replied. "I was just telling Arthur that there are men here who want to kill him. We need to leave tonight."

"Merlin, she said she didn't want our help because she doesn't think she needs help. She does. I'm not turning her away."

"I spoke to her again. She made herself very clear."

Morgana narrowed her eyes. Something had happened to take the usual optimism from Merlin. He looked terribly sad in that moment. What had Ryll said to him? "I don't care," she insisted. "I'm going with or without you."

"I'm with Morgana," Arthur said. "We came all this way. We'll be careful. No one is getting killed tonight." He rose, grabbing his chainmail and sword.

"Leave your armor, we need to go now!" Morgana hissed at them. Arthur tossed the mail aside and grabbed his sword. Merlin frowned, but followed them out of the room.

"She lives in the cottage at the end of the road," was all he said as they left the inn.

The streets were dark and devoid of life. No one appeared to threaten Arthur. Morgana was nearly running, keeping her eyes set on the little cottage at the end of the road. There was no one crouching outside. Either they hadn't arrived yet or–

The sound of metal on metal split through the air. Morgana rushed forward, Arthur and Merlin right behind her. She shoved the door open to see Ryll fall to her knees, a sword pointed at her heart. Arthur disarmed one of the men before he had a chance to react, knocking him unconscious with the hilt of his sword. The other man turned, distracted by their sudden appearance. Before anyone could move, Ryll leapt up, driving her sword straight through the man. He groaned before falling forward, her sword sticking out of his back.

"That's for threatening my friends," Ryll said, her voice filled with disgust. Her lip was bleeding and a nasty cut ran down her arm, but she stood breathing hard, unaware of any pain. She finally looked up at her friends. Morgana was surprised by the look in her eyes. There was something cold and deadly behind the bright blue. "I had to lie and say that someone was after Arthur," she said, looking straight at Merlin. "He threatened to kill you and to kill Lancelot." Morgana noticed another man lying unconscious in front of the hearth.

"Lancelot?" Arthur asked, looking confused.

"Yes, Lancelot. It's a smaller world than we think." Ryll smiled slightly, wiping a drip of blood from her mouth. "These men ambushed us. I tried to fight them off, but…well, I got clumsy."

"You clumsy?" Arthur asked.

"Maybe I didn't see the point in fighting anymore." She looked back at Merlin. Morgana stepped forward, pulling Ryll into a hug.

"Why wouldn't your life be worth fighting for?" Morgana asked her.

"I've done a lot of things that I regret, said a lot of things that hurt people." She sounded close to tears. This wasn't the Ryll Morgana knew. Something had happened in the last four months that had chipped away at Ryll's confidence.

"That doesn't mean you're not worth saving." Morgana pulled away. "I couldn't imagine losing my sister for good." She smiled.

"I missed you," Ryll said. "I missed all of you so much."

"Camelot isn't the same without you," Arthur said. "I am sorry for my father's punishment. It was harsh."

"Perhaps when you are king, you can pardon me," Ryll said. Morgana could hear the longing behind her words.

"I swear that I will."

Ryll smiled and this time it was a genuine smile. Her whole face seemed to light up with it, her eyes shining brighter than before. "That would mean more to me than I can say."

From the floor, Lancelot groaned, sitting up. Ryll rushed over to him, helping him to his feet. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Fine." Lancelot glanced over at Morgana and the others. "Arthur, Lady Morgana, it's good to see you." He winced. "Some help I was," he said to Ryll.

"It's not your fault. I'm the one they were after; I'm just glad you didn't get hurt."

"How did you two meet anyway?" Arthur asked.

"We came across each other. We found that we were in very similar situations and decided to travel together. We're both in exile from Camelot, so it made sense to stick together."

"I'm glad for you," Arthur told them. "You both deserve better than my father has given you, but I'm glad you have each other."

Ryll smiled, coming forward to wrap her arms around him. "Thank you, Arthur. I know you didn't want either of us to be exiled." When she pulled away, she looked at Merlin and something passed between them. Morgana turned to Arthur and Lancelot.

"Let's take these men out of here," she suggested. "Lancelot, can you carry him?" she indicated the dead man. He nodded. Ryll came forward and tugged her sword from his back.

"He had no honor," she said quietly. "I'm sorry he wanted revenge this badly. Revenge never works out well for those who seek it as obsessively as he did."

She turned away and Lancelot began to drag the body from the cottage. Arthur and Morgana tugged the unconscious man out of the room.

"What will we do with him?" Morgana asked Arthur.

"He'll pay for his crimes. We will bring him back to Camelot with us for judgment."

"Good. He deserves Uther's punishment." She looked back at the cottage. "We should give them some time."

"Why?" Arthur asked.

"They have some catching up to do," Morgana said. "They were close."

"They did spend a lot of time together." Arthur kept his eyes on the unconscious man. "I wish my father hadn't been so cruel. I know she made some mistakes, but what she did, it wasn't enough to erase all the lives she saved."

"Uther doesn't consider such things," Morgana said bitterly. "He does what he wants and what he thinks will make himself look most powerful."

"I know you're upset, Morgana, but he does what he thinks is right."

Morgana let out a derisive laugh. "What he thinks is right is a far shot from what is actually right."

"That's not fair. You and I don't have the burden of being king on our shoulders. We don't know all that he goes through. He has to make difficult decisions. He must be strong for his people."

"But you agree that what he did to Ryll was unfair."

"I agree, but I see where he was coming from. Don't look at me like that. You know I wish Ryll could come back to Camelot."

"But she can't, and that isn't going to change until you're king."

"As much as I want Ryll back, I hope that day doesn't come too quickly. I'm not yet fit to be king."

"You'll be a much better king than him," Morgana said.

Just then Lancelot reappeared from behind the house. "I buried him in the field behind our land," he said. "No need to cause a stir in the village."

Arthur nodded. "That's the last thing we want. We don't need Bayard hearing about this. He might not be so understanding."

"It was good of you to come all this way to warn Ryll. We're both lucky to have such loyal friends."

"I know both of you would do the same for any of us," Arthur replied. "I know you'll take good care of her."

"Well, I don't think she needs taking care of," Lancelot said. "We're taking care of each other."

"We should get back to the inn," Arthur said, turning to Morgana. "We should get an early start tomorrow. My father will be starting to wonder if the prey ate us if we don't get back soon."

"You can visit us anytime, you know," Lancelot told them. "I know that would make Ryll happy."

"I'd like that," Arthur said.

"Me too." Morgana's heart swelled at the thought of seeing her friend again. Perhaps exile didn't mean she'd never see her again.

"I'll tell Merlin you've headed back to the inn," Lancelot told them. "Stop by tomorrow. I know Ryll will want to say goodbye."

"We will," Arthur promised.

Morgana didn't want to say goodbye just yet, but she also didn't want to incur the wrath of Uther if he fond out where they had really been. She followed Arthur back to the inn, wondering if Ryll was going to be all right. Whatever had happened tonight, something had made Ryll question whether or not she wanted to live. If it hadn't been for Morgana's vision… She shuddered to think of it as that. No, it had to be coincidence. Her strong connection to Ryll perhaps.

"Morgana," Arthur interrupted her thoughts. "How did you know Ryll was in danger?"

Morgana looked over at him sharply. "It was just a feeling," she said. "She seemed to be trying so hard to push us away, I thought perhaps someone had threatened her." She was making this up although Ryll had been threatened. She'd obviously said something to Merlin about wanting him to leave, but Morgana wasn't about to give away her real reason for knowing. "I know her, Arthur. It just didn't sound like her."

"That makes sense. It's a good thing you're so intuitive," he said.

"Yes, it is." Morgana bade him goodnight before retiring to her room. She kicked of her boots but did not change into her nightclothes. She was afraid to go back to sleep. Afraid that she'd dream again. Afraid that her dream would come true. But it had saved Ryll's life tonight, so it couldn't be bad. Could it?

…

"Here we are again," Ryll said to Merlin as they stood alone in front of the fire. She was aware of the bloody sword she still held and the blood running down her cheek from a cut. What must he think of her? Stabbing that man straight through. Her fury and rage had gotten the better of her. Before he could speak, she plowed on. "I didn't mean any of what I said tonight. I said it all to protect you. I am so sorry."

Merlin watched her carefully for a moment before replying. "Somehow I knew you didn't mean what you said," he told her. "I should have known something was wrong."

"How did you know?"

"Morgana. She was so concerned about you. She said she had a feeling you were in danger. I wonder… did she ever mention any dreams to you?" Merlin asked hesitantly.

"She told me that she had nightmares and that Gaius gave her a tonic to help keep them away. She also told me that sometimes her nightmares come true."

"I think she might have dreamt of you tonight. I think she saw that you were in danger."

"What does this mean?" Ryll asked. She knew Morgana was terrified of this gift she seemed to have. And if Uther ever found out… It might not be magic, but it wasn't natural.

"I don't know."

"Do you think she has magic?"

"I haven't seen her do anything that would lead me to believe that, but these dreams she has can't just be coincidence."

"I've heard of people having fore dreams before," Ryll told him. "It might not be natural, but that doesn't mean it's magic."

"Uther wouldn't see it that way," Merlin was quick to say.

"No, not at all. He can't find out. Keep an eye on her, Merlin. She needs someone she can trust."

Merlin was silent for a moment. "Then you still want me to go?"

"No, of course I don't want you to go, but you belong in Camelot. Lancelot said that you're strong, and I agree. You don't have the same prejudices that Uther holds so dear. You can help lead Arthur in the right direction. He needs you. I can't put my needs in front of those of Arthur and of Camelot. But just because we go our separate ways doesn't mean we can't ever see each other again. Look at us now. This doesn't have to be goodbye. Arthur promised me that he would pardon me when he becomes king. It might not be in a year or even ten, but it will be some day."

"I'll wait for you."

"Merlin, I don't want you to spend your life waiting. Live your life; don't just wait around for me. Life's too short for waiting."

"We can't ever go back to how it was before, can we?"

"We won't be the same people in ten years, Merlin. Maybe not even in one. We both have our own destinies, and some day mine will lead me back to Camelot, but for now, my place is here. I want to be happy here. I want to give a normal life a try. I can't just wait around until Arthur is king and I'm welcomed back in Camelot. I'd waste what time I do have before that."

"You really think I have a destiny?" Merlin asked, his eyes lighting up.

Ryll grinned. "How could someone like you not have a destiny? But Merlin, learn to use a sword."

"I'm not sure a sword is really my weapon."

"Well, Arthur has a whole arsenal for you to chose from. I'm sure he'd get some satisfaction out of helping you learn how to use a weapon."

"Yeah, and some good laughs," Merlin added. They both laughed at this. It felt like it had before – before any of this had happened when they were still just friends and Camelot was still her home. "I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier," Merlin told her, serious once more. "I was so surprised to find you so happy. That's what I wanted, what I still want. I just thought you'd moved on already. And somehow I hadn't."

"Four months isn't enough time to move on. I miss you and Arthur and Morgana everyday. It's going to get easier though. Especially since this isn't really goodbye. Arthur is going to be a great king. People won't have to live in fear anymore. People like Morgana will be safe. I just know you're going to be the one to help him to greatness. Call it a feeling."

"Now if we could just convince Arthur of my invaluableness."

"Hmm, that might be pushing it. He'd probably dump a bucket over your head if you even suggested it."

"How about a day off?"

"That might still be pushing it. How about one day where he's actually nice to you?"

"Good idea."

"You should go get some sleep. I know I'm out of energy. Fighting off assassins does rather take its toll."

"Never a dull moment."

"Sometimes I think excitement follows me around. For once I just want a quiet day," Ryll said.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning," Merlin told her, heading toward the door.

"Alright." Ryll smiled sadly. "And Merlin." He turned back. "What you thought I was afraid to say earlier. Ask me that again in ten years."