Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait! Life has been a bit hectic between working two jobs, applying/interviewing for teaching jobs, etc. Also I may or may not have started a new fanfiction. Seriously, blame the new Captain America movie. It's all his fault. If you're interested in The Avengers, you might like it. I promise to keep updating in this one! I just need to get back into the flow of it. Also I'm getting a new Macbook Pro tomorrow with 7 hours of battery power and the weather is warming up so that = sitting outside and writing for hours on end. (My current Macbook of 5 or 6 years is rebelling against me and only has like 3 hours of battery power left in it, so it's making normal functions difficult.) My goal is to be finished with part four of this by early summer.

-71-

Ryll paced the forest floor nervously. It was the night Byron was supposed to be meeting her, but he hadn't showed up yet. The moon was high in the sky, and she didn't hear a single sound within the forest. The air was still and tense. Maybe his journey had taken longer than he had anticipated? She stopped pacing for a moment, standing still to listen. Someone was coming. She melted into the shadows, disappearing from sight until she was sure it was Byron. The man who walked into the clearing was not Byron.

"Theor?" she asked, stepping forward to greet the druid leader.

"Ryll," he said, bowing his head in respect to her. "I have come in place of Byron. He needs your help."

"What's wrong?" Ryll asked fearfully.

"During his quest, he was struck by a beast known as the Amphisbaena. It is a creature that resembles chicken with two snake heads coming from the head and the tail. Their bite is deadly."

Ryll couldn't breathe. "He's dying?" she asked. He'd gone on this quest for her and now he was dying? "Please take me to him," she asked.

Theor nodded. "He is near," he told her. He led her deeper into the woods until they reached a small camp. "I heard him cry out in pain in my head and came to look for him. He made it this far." Two tents had been set up. A blanket had been laid out beside a small fire, and Byron lay there, prone and unmoving. His face was covered in a sheen of sweat, and he looked pale.

"Oh, Byron," Ryll said, kneeling next to him and placing a hand on his. "How long does he have?"

"The poison will take a week to shut down his body. That means you have less than that."

"To do what? Is there a cure?" Ryll asked hopefully.

"There is," Theor told her. "It is hidden deep within a valley to the east. You must travel until you find the forever forest. It only shows itself to those in the greatest need of its healing powers. In the middle of the forest lies the valley and in the middle of the valley lies a tree. This tree has the power of life. Take one petal from its branches and fill it with the morning dew. Bring this back to Byron, and he will be cured."

"I will do this. I'll leave at once." She stood to leave.

"Amaryllis," Theor called her back. "You must be warned. This valley is hard to find, but it is even harder to leave. Do not fall under its enchantment."

"I won't," Ryll promised.

"Good luck."

"I'll be back before the week is up," Ryll said.

She ran back to the castle and to her room, throwing supplies in a bag. She was about to spring down to the stables, but she hesitated before leaving her room. Was she really going to run off again without warning, leaving everyone to worry? Not this time. She headed toward the physician's quarters. Merlin was asleep, but he woke when she touched his shoulder.

"Byron is ill," she told him. "But I've been told that I can save him. I'm leaving now, but I want you to come with me."

Merlin blinked at her, surprised. "Byron's sick?"

"Poisoned by some beast. Please Merlin. He was doing something for me when he was bitten. I need to heal him."

"Of course. I'll pack." Merlin got out of bed and dressed quickly, grabbing a leather bag and filling it with what he needed.

"I've got food and water. We just need horses."

"I'm ready," Merlin said.

They made their way down to the stables after Merlin left a note for Gaius, explaining where they had gone. "Ryll," Merlin said as they were saddling their horses. She turned to look at him. "Why did you come get me?" he asked. "I mean, I'm glad you did. You just usually…"

"Run off on my own with no warning?" she asked.

"Yeah."

She sighed. "I said I was going to stop doing that. I meant it. And I could really use your help." She gave him a shy smile. "I guess I've gotten used to it."

"I'm glad you've finally accepted that sometimes other people can be of some use," he said, grinning. "Where are we going anyway?"

"Theor says there is a forest that we can only find when we have the greatest need of its healing power. So we're riding east until we find it."

"That sounds vague."

"Yes, well, I guess it hasn't been charted yet. We have a week to get back to Byron, but I don't think it's going to take that long. I hope not."

"Arthur is going to have my head."

"I'm sorry. I didn't even think about that. I'll deal with him when we get back," Ryll promised him.

"It doesn't matter. I would still come," Merlin told her.

"Thank you," Ryll said.

"You said he was doing something for you. Do you know what?" Merlin asked as they walked their horses out the gates.

"I'm not sure. I think it had something to do with controlling my magic or suppressing it. He was supposed to tell me tonight, but he didn't show up. That's when Theor came to tell me he was sick."

"This forest – what are we looking for in it?"

"Inside is a field and in the field is a tree of life. We're to take one leaf and gather the dew from the grass of the field that will heal him. Theor warned me that it was more difficult to leave than to get there. I'm not sure what he meant by that."

"We'll be on our guard," Merlin assured her.

They entered the woods surrounding the castle, and Ryll felt the night pressing in on them. "Ride east," she muttered to herself. She was worried about Byron. She had no idea what he had been looking for.

"We'll save him," Merlin told her, giving her a confident smile.

"I'm glad you're with me," Ryll told him. "I'm sorry I've never let you help me before. I guess I was so used to doing everything on my own, it was hard for me to imagine that anyone would ever want to help me."

"You're not alone anymore," he assured her.

They fell into silence when they pushed their horses into a gallop, following the road east until they broke the cover of the trees as dawn erupted across the horizon before them. Ryll shielded her eyes with her hand as the blinding glare rose up before them. They kept riding into the wilderness, waiting for a forest to appear before them. A day passed and nothing appeared. Ryll tried not to lose heart. Clearly this wasn't going to be easy. They rested at noon, finding a grove of trees with a little pond. They set the horses loose to graze and drink from the pond. Ryll splashed water on her face and braided her hair back to keep it out of her face. She sat next to Merlin in the shade and they shared a brief lunch of bread and dried meat. Ryll rested her head on his shoulder and shut her eyes for a few minutes. She was exhausted. She hadn't realized it until now, but she hadn't slept the night before and she'd spent the night before that in the dungeons. She must have fallen asleep because Merlin nudged her awake awhile later.

"Did I fall asleep?" she asked groggily.

"For an hour or so."

"You should have woken me sooner," she said.

"You needed sleep," he said, his brow furrowed with worry.

"You do too," she said, stretching. "You spent the last few days dealing with a goblin."

Merlin winced. "That I set free."

"I can't believe I missed Arthur's donkey ears. When Gwen told me about that I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard. She didn't even mean to tell me. It just sort of slipped out. She looked horrified with herself. I guess my practically rolling on the floor in laughter didn't help."

Merlin grinned. "It was the best thing I've ever heard about," he said. "I wish I'd seen it too."

Ryll snorted. "So not all bad things came from it. Uther did practically apologize to me. Well, he made polite conversation and smiled at me. I think he might have been off or something. He's never that nice to me."

"You remind him of Morgana."

"That's what he told me."

"You remind me of her too – at least the old her," Merlin added quickly at Ryll's look. "You're always fighting for what you believe in. Your passion is your greatest weapon."

Ryll smiled. She liked the sound of that. "I'm also quite good with the sword," she added. "Did Arthur tell you I gave him a beating out in the training fields."

"No! He didn't mention that at all," Merlin said indignantly.

"Well, technically we tied. It was in front of all the other knights though. They clapped for me."

"I wish I could have seen his face," Merlin said.

"He actually handled it quite graciously."

"Maybe there's hope for him after all."

"Compared to when I first met him, he really has become a much less prideful prince," Ryll said.

"When I first met him he beat me up with a broom, so I don't think much has changed," Merlin said with a grimace.

"He'll probably beat you with a broom when we get back."

"Yeah, maybe after we cure Byron we could just take a vacation."

"Because that would go over so well." She smiled, getting to her feet and reaching out a hand to help Merlin up. "The sooner we get back the better," she said.

Merlin grew somber again. "We'll find the forest," he said. "Let's hope today."

"I hope you're right." Ryll's worry for Byron had washed over her again, and her smile faded. They saddled their horses and mounted, heading east into the afternoon.

…

They didn't find the forest by the time the sun vanished behind them like burnished gold or by the time the darkness fell and the moon came out to shed a thin path of light for them. Ryll wanted to keep riding, but Merlin insisted they stopped. She was beyond exhausted, and he reminded her that they would be of no use to Byron if they rode themselves into exhaustion. They camped in the grasslands, laying their blankets out on the ground. The stars were twinkling overhead, and Ryll tried to count the constellations while sleep eluded her. Merlin fell asleep almost at once, but her mind was churning with worry over Byron. Finally pure exhaustion took over, and she fell asleep. That's when the nightmare began.

Ryll was running through the forest. It was utter chaos. Knights of Camelot swarmed between the trees while men and women dressed in earthy tones attacked from all sides. Most were using magic. Ryll watched as one of the men's eyes glowed amber. The knight coming at him was flung backwards into a tree. He slumped to the ground, unconscious. Ryll wanted to stop it, wanted to force herself between the druids and the knights. Druids were supposed to be peaceful people. Why were they fighting? What had driven them to this?

Ryll's eyes widened when she saw their leader standing amidst the battle, commanding his people forward. His dark hair was pushed away from his face, and she could see his vivid green eyes blazing with an anger she had never seen from him before. It was as if every bit of hatred within him was charging him. He held out his hands, and his eyes flashed amber while two knights were tossed backward.

"Byron!" Ryll shouted. He turned to look at her and the fire in his eyes faded a little. It was soon replaced by a coldness, and Ryll realized she'd done something to upset him.

"You had the chance to pick a side," he told her. "You chose wrong." He turned away from her.

Ryll watched in horror as a blonde knight strode toward Byron. The knight swung his sword, ready to meet Byron's attack. Byron held out his hands. "Arthur, no!" Ryll watched helplessly as the blonde prince and the dark-haired druid faced off. One of them was going to kill the other. Ryll didn't want either of them to die. If Arthur was the one to die… Ryll began to fear that this was her moment of destiny. This was the moment she would sacrifice her life for the future king of Camelot. She wasn't ready though. She hadn't said goodbye to Merlin. She didn't even know where he was. She didn't have time to think. Arthur took a swing at Byron, and the druid ducked, throwing out a force that flung Arthur backward. The prince hit the ground but was back on his feet a moment later, facing off Byron again.

Ryll watched in horror as Byron mustered his power again. Arthur swung at him, and Byron blocked with a sort of invisible force field.

"What did we ever do to you?" Arthur asked.

"Besides persecute my people?" Byron shouted. "You killed our leader! We take our revenge."

"Druids are a peaceful people. We have no quarrel with you," Arthur insisted.

"Your king does. You think he would allow us to practice magic? To even live in Camelot? I'm going to show him how it feels to lose someone he cares about." He sent out another force at Arthur, but the prince was ready this time and dodged. He swung his sword forward and managed to catch Byron's side before the druid had a chance to move. He put his hand to his side, and it came away bloody. This wasn't going to end well. She had to do something about it. She looked down at a ring on her finger. She could use her powers, but then Arthur would see her for she really was. Was she ready to make that decision? If she did, then she would have to leave Merlin behind. She could live with Byron and the druids. Her life as she knew it would be over. Was she ready to expose herself like that though?

As Arthur and Byron moved in for the kill, Ryll made up her mind. She ran forward, dodging the knights and the druids. She heard an arrow whizz past her ear. Arthur and Byron hadn't noticed her yet. Just as Byron held up his hands to use his power against Arthur and Arthur raised his sword over the druid's head, Ryll threw herself between the two of them.

"Stop!" she shouted! "Stop!"

Arthur pulled up his sword with a curse, but Byron had already sent a force forward. It hit Ryll straight in the chest and flung her backwards into a tree. She hit her head, feeling dazed for a moment. "Ryll!" Merlin's voice shouted above the din of the battle. For a moment she saw his face as he threw himself down next to her, then everything went black.

Ryll awoke with a start, breathing hard. The dream was still vivid in her mind. Was that going to happen? Had she seen the future? She put a hand to her head which had started to ache terribly. What had happened to drive Byron to fight against Arthur and his men? Something was going to happen, and Ryll needed to change that. Byron had mentioned his leader being killed. Was Theor going to die? Her thoughts flashed to Morgana. She had met Byron. She knew that he meant something to Ryll. Was this her next plan of action? Turn Byron against Uther to the point of him leading his peaceful people into battle?

Ryll's head swam. If what she had seen came to pass then she and Merlin successfully cured Byron, but if he died in battle then this was all for nothing. She tried to steady her breathing, but she couldn't fall asleep again. Merlin awoke at dawn to find her sitting up, arms wrapped around her knees.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Couldn't you sleep?"

"I don't want this burden anymore, Merlin," she told him.

"What burden?"

"Seeing the future in my dreams. I've seen terrible things…" She shut her eyes, but the nightmare was still vividly in her mind.

"What did you dream?" Merlin asked.

"I dreamed that Arthur and Byron were fighting a battle. The knights against the druids. I'm so afraid of what's going to happen, Merlin. I'm so afraid that someone I love is going to die."

"No one's going to die," Merlin insisted. "We're going to heal Byron, and we're not going to let this battle happen."

Ryll tried to be comforted by his words, but she felt more helpless than ever before. If she could not change the course of the future then eventually someone she cared about was going to end up dead. If she had to chose between Arthur and Byron… She wasn't sure which she would choose to save if she could only save one.