AN: Ok, so this was a chapter that was cut from the story but i decided to put it back. I wrote this chapter in like February and it's mainly A & H bonding that I thought was pointless, but now I think it's kinda important that the story has things like that. There's a few other chapters that were cut that I may or may not put back in. We'll see ;)

After stealthily placing the sword back where it belonged, Arthur decided to help a very injured and hurt Hazel and clean her wounds in order to repay her for her help. Afterall, he would probably be dead if she hadn't gone with him. Now it was his turn to help her.

The blonde headed out of one of the castle's outbuildings, carrying a bucket and a few rags. Despite it being very very late, he was taking Hazel to a nearby pond to wash her off in freshwater other than waking the whole staff up to get a single bucket of water. Clean water that wasn't recycled from washing dishes or dirty melted snow. He stopped and rolled his eyes when he saw Hazel was not with him. She was still inside the shed, reluctant to go out into the cold snow to an even colder lake where she would clean off.

"Come on Hazel!" he called into the shed.

"Absolutely not!" she shouted, like a whiny child. "Ow!" he heard her whine as her wounds began to sting more.

"It's gonna hurt more if you don't let me clean it!" he declared. Hazel still didn't budge.

"I don't care! It's freezing!" her voice protested from inside the dark stone house. Arthur prevented Hazel from taking a blanket with her, fearing her wounds would leak all over it, which would gather lots of questions from everybody.

"I'very told you this a thousand times Hazel! This lake is special. It won't be cold at all!"

"I'm not going!" Even though he couldn't see her face, Arthur knew she was scowling at him. The boy kicked the snow in frustration.

"I swear you're even more stubborn as a human than a squirrel," he muttered to himself. "Come on Hazel I'm tired!"

"I'm tired too!" she shot back. "I just got beat up all for the sake of some stupid sword of yours and I want to go to sleep! And that is what I'm gonna do!"

"Not like this you're not!" Arthur dropped the bucket and towel and stomped over to the shed, where he gently but firmly seized Hazel by an unscaved area of her arm and pulled her out into the cold and then began pulling her along with him.

"Arthur, this is ridiculous!" she whined as she tried to get away, but the stinging wounds on her back interfered. "Ow!"

"It won't hurt anymore when we're done." He bent down to grab the bucket, not letting go of Hazel in the process and continued to make his way. He could tell Hazel was a bit scared of walking in the forest at night after what had just occurred, for she inched a bit closer to him, not making eye contact the whole time. It was odd to see her so vulnerable and anxious. Not cocky and hot headed. He kinda liked it. Finally they had made it to the lake. The moon illuminated and reflected off the isolated lake and it was calm and peaceful. Hazel bent down to feel the water, expecting it to be freezing….but interestingly enough…it wasn't.

"Hey," she peeped in disbelief. "It's not cold." It was quite warm actually. As if it were a hot summer afternoon instead of a cold winter night.

"I told you." Arthur said.

"Why though?" Hazel's eyes widened. "Don't tell me that—."

"Before you say it Hazel, no. And I don't know. Nobody knows. It's just always been this way. Clean, fresh and warm."

"Makes sense," she muttered quietly. 'If you're nuts' Hazel stood still, not knowing what to do since Arthur was the one with the materials. However he had disappeared for a moment, leaving her by herself. The girl rolled her eyes. She was tired, cold and impatient. She didn't need any cleaning. Her wounds would heal by themself. She was about to sneak away, when a bucket of water splashed in her face. Hazel spit it out and coughed as she glared up at the blonde who had just thrown it at her. "Thanks alot." Hazel murmured, rather vexed, as she moved her wet hair out of her eyes.

"You're welcome," Arthur chirped, oblivious of the fact that Hazel wanted to wring his neck. He took one rag in his hand and gave the other to her and began to wipe the bloody cuts on her face with it. Hazel pressed the cloth on her shoulders, neck and upper back until everything was whipped clean. Hazel winced everytime a rag had touched her wounds and she was quiet for a bit. Arthur decided to take advantage of her vulnerable state. "Hazel…," he squeaked. "Who was that man?"

"I don't know." the girl replied and then said nothing.

"He looked like he was going to kill you." Hazel raised up her forearm that had a long deep cut in it.

"Ya think?" she asked, showing him the wound.

"Not to bring the hierarchy into this, but why did he go after you and not me? You're not a royal…are you?" Hazel looked into his eyes.

"Not that I remember." she said as she whipped her face again.

"Well…just for the sake of things….don't go outside by yourself again. Ok?" Hazel's eyes widened and she dropped the rag.

"You're kidding right?" she asked.

"No. I'm serious."

"What!? No! Arthur I lived out there on my own for years! I can take care of myself!" she protested.

"But you can't Hazel. A couple days ago you almost got sold as a slave and just now some perfect stranger almost killed you."

"I'm still here aren't I?" she asked as she crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Not for long."

"I cannot believe you! You can't do this Arthur! What am I gonna tell Mim!?" Hazel gasped and quickly sealed her mouth shut with her hands on top. She felt like she had just been punched in the stomach and would do anything to take her words back at the moment. "You didn't hear that."

"I know Hazel. I saw you leave last night and well….I think you were there to know what happened." Hazel slumped down.

"You're mad aren't you."

"Well…a little bit. Hazel of ALL people, what were you doing with her? Are you crazy? She could kill you!"

"Yeah Arthur. I figured that out a couple years ago!" she snapped as she climbed up and sat on a high tree branch.

"So you're that pesky little squirrel." the boy said. Hazel stood up on the arm of the tree and peered down at him.

"And you're that twitchy little male that abandoned me," she sassed. "All I did was kiss you! Is there anything wrong with that!?" she exclaimed with her hands in the air, balancing on the tree branch with only her feet gripping it.

"There certainly is when I told you to stop!" Hazel jumped off the branch and got in his face.

"I wish none of my fellow squirrels on you," she sneered, but then stopped when she felt her cuts start to tingle again. "Owa!" she yelped as they started to bleed again. "Why!?" she wailed.

"I don't think they were wet for long enough, Hazel." Arthur said, completely forgetting the topic.

"Swell." she muttered.

"Come here," the boy said. Hazel followed him to a ridge that rested about five feet above the lake's still surface. Arthur motioned for Hazel to take a dive into the lake, but she didn't seem to get the message he was displaying with his hands.

"Well?" he said. "Jump!" Hazel froze.

"Pardon me?" she asked, in disbelief.

"Now that you know it's not cold, why don't you just go in?" Hazel looked at the ground.

"Well uh…" she said, starting to blush.

"What's the matter? Are you afraid of water or something?" Arthur asked.

"Of course not!" she said with a crack in her voice. "I'm just…..not very good at moving around in it." she admitted, rather shyly. Arthur was getting a bit tired of her uncharacteristic timidness and anxiety. He knew the arrogant girl was in there somewhere, but Hazel was doing an awfully good job at covering her up. He paused to reflect on her words and tried to interpret their message. She was just trying to be stupid…..he thought. Then it hit him.

"You can't swim!?" he shouted in disbelief.

"Let the whole world know why don't you?" Hazel grumbled in embarrassment.

"I thought all squirrels knew how to swim."

"That is an ugly stereotype." Hazel hissed as she pointed an irritated finger at him and then lowered it.

"You can't swim as a squirrel or a human?"

"Look, just because I can climb, doesn't mean I can swim." Arthur just sat there in disbelief, until an idea popped in his mind.

"Well then I guess this is a good time to learn!" he said.

"What are you doing!?" she screamed as Arthur pushed her off the miniature cliff and into the deep water. Hazel loudly entered the water with a big splash and was creating white water all around , terrified. She was coughing and spitting out water. "I t-old you I c-ant s-a-s-s-wim!"

"You're never gonna know how if you don't try!" he called down to her. He did make sure he was watching her so she wouldn't drown.

He figured Hazel had been scared enough before he easily jumped in, grabbed her shirt and dragged her out of the water. Hazel collapsed on the land and spit out about a pint amount of water.

"What's the big idea!?" she growled, dripping soaking wet. "Are you tryin' to kill me!?"

"No. I'm trying to help you. I would be tryin' to kill you if I wasn't teaching you how to swim."

"This is insane!" she shouted.

"No, This is teaching." he said, enjoying his time as the dominant one.

"You can't even read! I don't wanna hear it!" she shot back.

"Hey, I won't die if I don't know how to read." he said proudly.

"Wanna bet?" Hazel threatened, her hair resting in front of her shoulders, dripping on the ground.

"Now get back in the water." Hazel shook her body like a dog trying to dry itself off. Arthur walked over to her and attempted to grab her yet again, but Hazel quickly flinched backwards.

"Get away from me!" she snapped. "Arthur, I will bite you!" the girl threatened, saying anything she could to get out of the situation. Before Arthur knew it, Hazel bolted away and he ran right after her. "You may be able to swim, but I'm ten times faster than you on land!" she shouted. The former girl squirrel jumped and clung to the trunk of a tree and began to climb up it. Arthur stopped when he reached the tree as it was far too steep and dangerous for him. Only Hazel, a professional forest acrobat, could climb it. She ascended up until she reached a study branch and walked on it with ease. That's as until it abruptly snapped and she fell right back into the water, panicking as it got ready to consume her.

"Don't open your mouth!" Arthur called from the land. Hazel obeyed. She would do anything he said at this point. "Don't move your legs like you're walking. Keep them straight and kick! Then just use your arms to pull yourself!" Hazel followed his instructions, and slowly but surely felt a bit more comfortable and less like she was going to die. She was able to doggy paddle her way back to the shore. She looked like she was too weak to get up, so Arthur jumped in, grabbed her and pulled her out, letting a giggle escape while doing so. Hazel coughed up more water and concluded it all with a great big sigh.

"Ohhhh." she moaned as she collapsed on her back in the cool sand. Arthur loomed over her and smiled.

"Ya did it!" he said joyfully. Hazel opened her eyes, gave a smile and then passed out again. "Well it's a start," he said as he pulled the girl up and let her limp on him.

"I wish I was a fish instead of a squirrel." Hazel said, half asleep.


The two had decided that they were having too much fun to go back to the castle, despite it being about two o'clock in the morning. England displayed no sign of its iconic snow or wind, which was strange. The night was actually quite oddly warm, which was why Arthur and Hazel stayed out a little late…and besides, sleeping was for grownups. They were sitting on a tall branch (one Hazel made sure was solid) looking at the moon. It was quiet…..very quiet since Hazel's swimming lessons incident.

"Hazel?" Arthur spoke to break the silence.

"Yeah?" she answered quietly, her tiredness starting to show.

"If you lived with Mim all this time, how did you go to an orphanage?" Hazel only continued to stare at the gleaming moon with her chin resting on her hand.

"I didn't live as much as I got kicked out of them." she answered.

"Kicked you out? Why?"

"I don't know Arthur. I'm always dirty. I have no dresses. I've never brushed my hair. You be the judge."

"They didn't let you come because of that?"

"Mhm," she replied, before fully sitting up. "I always wanted to be like them. Believe it or not I wanted to wear dresses and makeup and own a doll. And I still do. I would give anything if I could be a lady again."

"Again?" Arthur mirrored. Hazel broke a small sweat.

"Did I say that?"

"Yea—."

"It doesn't matter." she cut him off.

"So an orphanage never took you in?"

"Pfff! 'Course they didn't. They don' even like me," she admitted quite nonchalantly. "But hey, I'm still alive. Granted I'll probably get arrested for pulling a job when I'm seventeen but I'm still alive," Hazel sighed and flared into space. "You don't know how great you have it." she grumbled.

"Me?" Arthur repeated, both out loud and in his head.

"Of course. You have a home. Everybody loves you. You're tall." Arthur giggled at her last statement.

"Hey, at least you can read. You can speak English and Gaelic," 'Sure I can' Hazel thought, adding her illiteracy right behind not being able to swim in her list of things she couldn't do. "You don't have thousands of people pressuring you to be something you're not." Hazel looked at the ground, her chin in her hands again.

"A noble title is nothing to be ashamed of Arthur. Take it from me."

"Well you're ashamed of what you are." he argued. Hazel looked up at him with a deadpan face.

"You're a king. I'm a rambler who works for a witch." she said plainly.

"That reminds me Hazel," the boy said, changing the topic yet again. "Promise me you'll never go near her again."

"Hey wait just a minute!" Hazel protested. "First you ban me from going outside, now I'm not allowed to go see my employer who may I note could zap me dead if I'm half a minute late!?"

"That's exactly why Hazel. I just don't want her to hurt you."

"Would've been a useful trait to have when we first met as rodents," she uttered. "You don't know what you're talking about Arthur. I'm not as dumb as she or you think I am."

"I never said you were."

"It's implied," she said as she hopped off the tree and landed the eight foot jump and started to stiffly walk away. "Can we get outta here now? Before you know it the sun'll be up." Arthur started to climb down the branch of the tree but ended up slipping.

"Wha- w-woah!" he exclaimed as he fell hard to the ground. "Ow." he groaned as he rubbed his head. Hazel paused from walking to look back.

"It's called gravity Arthur," she said slyly. "Ever heard of it?"

"Oh boy have I!" he moaned.

"C'mon let's go."

To Be Continued...

AN: Pls review if you can. They are so fun to read. :)