Author's Note: I can't believe I wrote nearly twenty pages in this today. I NEVER write this much. And I never update my fanfictions this much. In the past, I might update one once a week, maybe, but I just can't stop writing in this one. But I work six days in a row this week so I might be slowing down a bit. Anyway, enjoy! And thank you for all the favorites! It means a lot to me. I just have so much fun writing this story, I hope it shows. :)
-35-
Wilddeoren infested caves had nearly been the last straw for Merlin. Arthur hadn't even been sure the disguising smelling berries rubbed all over their faces would deter the 'baby rats' from eating them alive. Baby rats indeed. More like monstrous hairless rodents. They reached the castle around midday. It was sheltered within some low hills, hidden from sight unless you knew where you were going. In the light of day, Merlin could see that a village surrounded the castle. This time getting into the castle was going to be more difficult since he could not use magic in front of Arthur.
"We're going to have to scale the tower," Arthur said after a moment.
"Wait, what? You mean climb up that?" Merlin asked.
Arthur gave Merlin one of his looks. "Unless you've got a better way of getting in. Maybe if you go up to the front gates and ask them to hand Gwen over."
"I'm not good at climbing."
"Too bad."
Arthur proved to be a proficient climber even with chainmail weighing him down. Merlin glared up at him. He was having trouble keeping up. The stones provided some nooks for his hands and feet to go but not many. When they had finally reached the top, Merlin was thoroughly exhausted. "Ryll was being kept in the dungeons," he panted.
They skirted the halls until they came to a room where two guards stood. "We have to get past them," Arthur said. "Distract them, Merlin."
"How do I do that?" Merlin asked. Arthur shoved him into the room. "Hello," Merlin said as the men started in surprise, eyeing him suspiciously. Arthur was going to get some grief for this one.
…
"Ryll, are you awake?" Ryll opened her eyes, hearing Gwen's voice on the other side of the wall.
"Yes, I am. What's wrong?" She moved closer to the wall so she could hear her friend better.
"I just wanted to talk to you about something. About Lancelot." She hesitated. "He talked to me last night. There's a small grate at the top of my cell. He told me he had never stopped thinking about me."
"That's wonderful, Gwen. I know he cares about you."
"But there's something else," Gwen said. She fell silent.
"You can tell me anything," Ryll assured her.
"Arthur kissed me," Gwen blurted.
"Arthur kissed you?" Ryll asked. "How did that happen?" Gwen was a wonderful person, any man would be lucky to have her love, but Ryll had never really seen her and Arthur interact during her time in Camelot. Obviously things had changed since she had been there.
"There was a tournament in Camelot," Gwen told her. "Arthur thought his opponents were going easy on him because he was the prince. They were being chivalrous, but he wanted to be challenged. He wanted to be treated like everyone else. So he pretended to go on a hunting trip and then disguised himself and reentered the tournament. Whenever he needed to show his face, he had a farmer he found to play the part go out and pretend he was the one who had been fighting."
"I heard about that. Everyone was surprised that he was the victor. Now it all makes sense. It was Arthur fighting."
"Yes. While he was pretending to be away hunting, he stayed in my house. He was so ungrateful at first. He took my bed, assuming I had somewhere else to sleep. He stole food from the kitchens, pretending to have cooked it for me. He was so infuriating. Finally I gave him a piece of my mind. I told him how little he thought of others and how he just assumed and took advantage. Well, he changed over those few days. He really tried after that. He showed me he could care. And then he kissed me."
"Do you love him?" Ryll asked.
"It's not that simple. I can't ever be with him. Uther would never allow it. No, Arthur will marry a princess some day, not me."
"Sometimes it's the love that sneaks up on us that's truly worth fighting for. But Lancelot loves you too."
"And that is my dilemma."
"Sometimes we must wait to see how life plays out. If Arthur truly loves you then he will fight for your love. And if he does not believe it possible, then perhaps it was not meant to be."
"How I feel or don't feel shouldn't matter right now. There are more important things at stake."
"Don't ever think that your heart and how you feel isn't important. We'll get out of here, Gwen. It's either going to be Lancelot or Arthur rescuing you. You don't have to know how you feel right now. These things take time."
"Thank you for listening," Gwen told her. "I haven't had anyone to talk to. I think Morgana suspects something, but I don't feel like I can tell her. Not this."
"Everything will work out. Trust me. It always does."
That morning they were both brought food. Ryll was ravenous after not having eaten since two nights before. After they had finished eating, the guard told Gwen that Hengist wished to speak with her. Ryll felt nervous. Uther wouldn't have sent any ransom for Gwen, and Hengist would be growing suspicious.
Ryll waited quietly, fearing what might have become of Gwen. Finally, a few minutes later, Gwen was escorted back to her cell. She started crying as soon as the guard left.
"What's wrong? Did he hurt you?" Ryll asked. She would punish Hengist if he'd laid a finger on Gwen.
"He's beginning to suspect," Gwen said. "He was asking why the king hadn't send a ransom yet. I told him I didn't know. I'm sure he knows I'm not Morgana. He's going to kill me."
"I'm not going to let that happen," Ryll promised her. "Lancelot is going to find a way to get us out of here. Nothing is going to happen to you."
…
The afternoon had worn on and no one had come for Ryll or Gwen. She hoped that Hengist was still waiting on the ransom, but he wasn't a fool. He would figure out that Gwen was not the Lady Morgana sooner or later.
Then she heard footsteps. She stood abruptly, pulling the knife from her boot. For all the good it would do, she thought angrily. "Lancelot!" she heard Gwen say with relief. There was the rattling of keys as he unlocked Gwen's cell. Then he brought the ring of keys to Ryll's cell.
"Good timing," Ryll told him. "I was afraid you'd take the gold and run." He gave her an exasperated look. "I'm joking."
"None of these keys are working," he said. He tried the last one. "I don't have the key." He looked at her in desperation.
"Hengist. He has it. I know he has it." Ryll stomped her foot in frustration. "You need to go. Save Gwen. Arthur and Merlin are on their way. I'll figure a way out of here or they'll help me."
"We're not leaving you," Gwen insisted.
"You have to. You don't have much time. I will be fine. Go!"
Lancelot gave her one more desperate look before putting a hand on Gwen's shoulder and guiding her out of the dungeons. Ryll listened until she could no longer hear their footsteps. And then she was alone.
…
Merlin and Arthur heard shouts coming from a room down the hall. They peered in and saw that a great crowd had gathered. In their freshly acquired guard clothing they blended into the crowd. They slipped into the room, curious as to what the commotion was about. The crowd was gathered around a large cage set in the very center of the room. And inside the cage was… Merlin peered closer. Then he recognized the man. "That's Lancelot!" he told Arthur. His hands were bound behind his back. As they watched, another person was thrust into the cage. "And Gwen! We've got to do something!" He looked around for Ryll, but she wasn't there. "Where's Ryll?"
"I don't see her."
There was a growl from the other side of the room. Merlin would know that growl anywhere. "Oh, no." A great ugly Wilddeoren had been let into the cage. It was pacing toward the bound Lancelot and Gwen now. "We've got to do something."
"I've got this. You find Ryll and get her out of here." Arthur ran forward, drawing his sword and leaping into the cage. He cut the rope binding Gwen and Lancelot in an instant and turned to face the Wilddeoren. Merlin turned away. He needed to find Ryll. She'd probably be in the dungeon, but he needed a key to get her out. Something glinted, catching his eye. He saw that a golden key hung from Hengist's belt as the bandit got to his feet. That had to be the key to Ryll's cell. He wouldn't take chances with her; he would keep the key close at hand.
Hengist's attention was fully on what was happening in the cage and so when Merlin used magic to steal the key, the bandit did not notice. The key flew threw the air, and Merlin caught it. Before anyone noticed, he slipped out of the room, sprinting down to the dungeons. Ryll wasn't in the same cell as before. He ran on, looking into each cell as he went. Finally he came to the last one. This one was surrounded by stone with a heavy iron door. He fit the key into the lock and turned it. He swung the door open.
Ryll looked up at him from where she sat on a small cot. He watched as her blue eyes lit up with hope. "Merlin," she said, getting up slowly. "You came for me."
"You doubted me?" he asked, grinning.
Ryll stood for a moment and then she ran forward, throwing her arms around him. He hugged her back, realizing how much he had missed her and that he wouldn't have to miss her after this. She was coming back with him, coming back to Camelot. "No," Ryll said, her voice slightly muffled through his shoulder. "I never doubted you." He took her hand, leading her from the dungeons and up the stairs toward their freedom. "Where's Arthur?" Ryll asked.
"I left him in the cage with Lancelot and Gwen," Merlin told her. "He was in the process of saving them. Hengist set the Wilddeoren on them."
Ryll cursed under her breath. "He's going to pay for the pain he's caused."
They skidded to a halt outside the dining hall. The crowd was going wild. Arthur and Lancelot were fighting off the hairless beast while Gwen stood behind them. "Get in here," Arthur shouted at Merlin. He was backing toward the opening where the Wilddeoren had come from. Merlin and Ryll ran forward, vaulting over the top of the cage. They ran toward the opening. Merlin let Ryll run ahead.
"You go on, I'll hold it off," Lancelot told Arthur, Gwen, and Ryll. "Go!"
They ran off though Gwen hesitated before following Arthur and Ryll. Hengist and some of his men had come into the cage in an attempt to stop their fleeing prisoners. They skirted around the blind Wilddeoren. Merlin flicked his magic out, causing the gate to close with a resounding crash. Hengist and his men were locked in with the Wilddeoren now.
"Still up to your old tricks, I see," Lancelot said, smiling. Merlin shrugged. There was a terrible scream as the Wilddeoren attacked. Merlin looked away, not wishing to see the Wilddeoren attacking the men. "Come on." Lancelot led him down the tunnel until they caught up with the others.
"I heard a scream," Ryll said, looking worried.
"Hengist got trapped in the cage with the Wilddeoren," Merlin told her, watching her face.
"Good," she said after a pause. "He gets what he deserves."
"Are you going to tell me about how you know him?" he asked her.
"Later," she said. "I promise, I'll tell you everything."
…
Everyone was exhausted after their escape from Hengist's castle. When they set camp at dusk, Ryll was the first to pick a spot on the ground and collapse. "Your timing is impeccable," she told Arthur and Merlin. "I'm pretty sure Hengist had plans to feed me to his beast."
"You should have rubbed some gaia berries on your face," Merlin told her.
Ryll made a face at him. "That would that have done?"
"It puts them off your scent. Ask Arthur, he's an expert in the matter." Arthur just glared at him.
As Gwen and Arthur settled down, Ryll noticed a distinctive tension between them. She looked over at Lancelot who seemed to sense it as well. "I'll keep watch," Merlin volunteered. He sat down next to Ryll who smiled at him. She couldn't put into words how wonderful it felt to have him close again. She didn't have to push him away. There was no one threatening his life. It was just she and her friends on their way home. She glanced up at Lancelot. Well, almost all of them. A wave of sorrow passed over her. What would he do now? He had nowhere to go. Before she could dwell on the matter, she was asleep, entirely exhausted after the day's excitement.
She hadn't been asleep long before someone was shaking her awake. She opened her eyes to see Merlin crouched down beside her. "Lancelot wants to talk to you," he told her. He nodded to where Ryll could see Lancelot standing against a tree a little ways off. She got up, walking over to where he stood.
"I wanted to say goodbye," he told her.
"Goodbye? You're not leaving."
"Yes, I am. I can't go back to Camelot."
"What about Gwen?"
"I have to let her go."
"No, you don't. You told me how you cared about her. You can't just give up."
"Arthur is in love with her," he said.
"She told you?"
"She didn't need to. I see the way he looks at her. He pretends as if he only came because Morgana asked him to, but he came because he cares very much for Gwen. I can't get in the way of that."
"You're always so honorable, Lancelot. What about your own happiness?" Ryll asked.
"It would make me happy to see her by the side of such an honorable man," Lancelot told her.
"What will you do?" Ryll asked. "I don't have to go back, you know."
"Yes, you do. Morgana needs you. Your friends need you. Merlin needs you." She blushed slightly at his words. "He still cares for you. I never doubted that he'd wait for you. I'll be fine, Ryll. We'll see each other again one day."
Ryll felt tears falling down her cheeks. She pulled Lancelot into a hug. "I'll never forget you," she said. "Remember – destiny. We will meet again. You and I will both be knights of Camelot someday. Never stop hoping."
She pulled away. "You've always given me hope for the future I'd almost given up on," Lancelot told her. "Thank you." He smiled once more before turning away. Ryll let him go, her tears falling silently. A moment later she felt a hand slip into hers. She turned to find Merlin at her side. She smiled at him through her tears and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"I'll miss him," she said.
"Me too," Merlin agreed. "He's a good friend."
"The best. He gave up Gwen so that she had a chance with Arthur."
"You'll see him again," Merlin told her.
"I know." She looked up at him. "And in the mean time, I've finally found my home again."
He looked down at her, and she could see the happiness behind his eyes. She moved so that she was facing him, and his free hand slid around her waist. "I want you to know," Merlin told her, "that I never stopped waiting."
That was all Ryll needed to hear. She put a hand on the side of his face and brought her lips to his, kissing him softly. "You don't have to wait anymore," she said. "It's always been you and it always will be." She buried her head in his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him. This was where she felt safest. She was tired of running. Tired of the past always creeping back up on her. Now it was time for a fresh start. It was time to stop running and start trusting. She promised herself that she was going to open up her heart. She would tell Merlin everything she knew about her past. He wasn't going to turn her away because of who she was before. She needed to stop fearing that.
"Come on," Merlin told her finally. "You must be exhausted."
She nodded sleepily, letting him guide her back to the camp. She lay back down next to the fire, and he sat next to her, holding her hand as she fell asleep. For the first time in a long time, Ryll slept the whole night through without any nightmares piercing her dreams, only thoughts of Camelot. Her home.