Ealdor

November, 507 AD

Arriving in Ealdor caused my heart to be submerged in an ocean of nostalgia as our party of five slowly descended the browning hill that overlooks the small town like a passive guardian. I remember when I first found the town, and how reality seemed to have gone nuts for me. At the time, I couldn't fathom the possibility of my life getting any crazier than that. Now here I am four years later – engaged to the King of freaking Camelot, best friends with the Merlin, and a knight of the round table.

If I didn't know any better, I might've considered the possibility that I stumbled into a medieval fantasy novel, rather than onto a time-machine.

My heart swelled with joy when I saw that the village seems to be prospering and that the ridiculously large allowances I get from Arthur are being put to good use.

Life was bustling despite the chilly weather as people strolled about while doing their jobs; oblivious to the chaos raining down upon Camelot not too far away, and oblivious to the arrival of King Arthur freaking Pendragon, as he blended in nicely considering that he was still wearing the hilarious clothes that Merlin got for him a couple of moons ago.

With our arms linked together, my brother and I expertly led the way towards Hunith's little home with smiles on our faces.

We didn't have to wait until we got to the little stone house, because the dear woman rounded a corner and appeared before us, her eyes widening and her lips parting. In a flash, she was hugging Merlin tightly and my heart warmed at the sight.

After a long hug and a tender word exchange, she moved on to me and embraced me as well. "How have you been, sweet girl?"

"Can't complain," I replied with a nonchalant shrug.

She gave me a warm smile and then looked past me, her eyes widening when they fell on Arthur.

"Ah, yeah. That's our new pet simpleton," I said while smirking at the King. Merlin bursted out laughing and Arthur looked ready to kill us.

"Children!" Hunith scolded us before curtsying to the King, who rudely ignored her in favour of continuing to glare at my brother and I.

"Here is your bag, dear girl," Hunith said with a kind smile as she handed me the backpack I sent to her in case Uther ever tried to kill me again and I needed to escape following the whole mess when Morgana tried to frame me for sorcery. "Are you sure you want to bathe in this weather?" she asked as she warily looked towards the window.

Unsurprisingly, rain was pouring down on the British lands once more.

"I'd rather freeze to death than spend another minute covered in all this grime," I responded with a grimace.

She gave me a sceptical look, but did not argue further. "All right, sweet girl. I will leave you to it."

With a sigh, I sprinted towards the outhouse that she had built at some point not long ago and filled up the tub. Then I heated it for a few minutes and hurried to undress and jump in before I could really freeze to death. The way in which the water instantly turned brownish made me miss showers a lot. But, as Merlin wisely said, beggars can't be choosers.

I think I broke a record in how fast I bathed, seeing as the atmosphere was extremely chilly and the tub was cooling at a quick rate. I scrambled to get out of it once I was done rinsing off and rapidly wrapped myself in a towel. My whole body shivered uncontrollably as the cold clawed at my bones.

Breaking another record, I dried off, threw on my grey sherpa PJs, and wrapped myself in a blanket – but I still wasn't warm enough. Lucky for me, I know the perfect solution. So, still shivering, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and sprinted back to the house.

I bursted in and carelessly let the bulk drop on the floor as I went straight to Arthur, who was sitting at the kitchen bench. I plopped down next to him and curled up against his side, trying to make myself as small as possible while trying to absorb his natural warmth.

With a soft chuckle, he wrapped both of his arms around me and moved me onto his lap. The shivers rescinded almost completely in an instant and I let out a contented sigh as I dropped my head to rest it on his shoulder.

I couldn't bring myself to mind the confused stares we got from Tristan and Isolde, nor the teasing grin I got from Merlin.

Hunith, who was chopping up something in the kitchen, turned her head slightly towards us and I heard her snicker. "Allow me to guess. Bathing was not such a good idea after all."

"I regret nothing," I responded, earning a chuckle from the woman.

You have no idea how much I wanted to stay in place; with Arthur's warm body pressed against my side and his strong arms wrapped safely around me. For the rest of my life, even. But I felt bad that Hunith was left doing all the work in the kitchen – seeing as Merlin was tending to Isolde's wounds – and I thought it unfair. So, very reluctantly, I stood up, kissed Arthur's cheek, and rearranged my blanket around my shoulders before moving to help the kind woman.

"Oh, you do not have to, sweet girl!" she protested as I grabbed some of the veggies she'd laid out.

I waved her off and started chopping them into little cubes. "It's the least I can do."

"You have already done plenty," she replied in a slightly stern tone that didn't drown out the natural softness in her voice.

I snorted in response while keeping my attention on the knife. You know I'm dumb enough to cut off a finger if I lose sight of it.

Dinner was done in a flash and Hunith and I served bowls for Tristan and Arthur. Then I got one for myself before sitting down next to my King again. Merlin was still tending to Isolde, so his mom moved to help speed up the process.

"Cleaned the wound. There is no sign of infection, so as long as she gets plenty of rest, she will be fine," Merlin informed Tristan once he was finally done.

I was slightly amused to see Tristan's features soften completely; an interesting contrast to how he's been glaring at Arthur for the past half-hour. "Thank you, Merlin, for everything you have done for her," he said.

Merlin gave him a small smile and a nod before retiring to his room. Or, rather, his mom's, 'cause he surrendered his to the couple.

Tristan's eyes remained on Isolde's sleeping figure. It's adorable to see how much he cares for her. For all the roughness of his exterior, I can tell that he truly loves her. And that is enough to make my perception of him improve. Just a little bit.

"I am sorry I brought this... misfortune upon you," Arthur told the man. I glanced at him with a frown, not at all liking that he's still blaming himself.

The man turned to face him. "Well, I may have lost my cargo, but I still have my beloved Isolde."

Arthur put his hand on my knee and gave it a gentle squeeze while he looked down at me for a moment before returning his attention to Tristan as he claimed, "Then you are richer than you know."

My cheeks warmed at his words and I scooted closer to him.

"Good, you're up!" I chirped with a smile when I re-entered 'my' room the next morning following a nice yummy breakfast with Merlin, Hunith, Tristan and Isolde.

Arthur gave me a pouty look from his place on the bed (yep, Hunith has beds now!), which caused me to tilt my head in confusion. "I woke up and you were gone," he grumbled.

"Oh, the horror," I responded with a playful eye-roll as I walked closer to him, my hands subconsciously tightening their grip on the small wooden crate that Hunith gave me.

He sat up on the bed and quirked an eyebrow while seemingly analysing the stuff I was carrying.

I bit down on my bottom lip for a second. "Uh. Hunith asked me to tend to your injury 'cause she n' Merls are busy with Isolde," I informed him. "She promised that there's no blood, so I should be fine, but we can wait 'til they're done, if you'd prefer."

Arthur snorted. "I think we will be all right."

"Maybe you should lawyer-up," I said under my breath.

"I do not know what that means, my love, but I believe in you," he responded with an amused glint in his eyes.

"Cute. I hope it doesn't backfire," I mumbled before closing the distance between myself and the bed.

I set the box down on the bedside table and then I eyed Arthur. He was wearing a blue shirt that Merlin lent him and he looked especially handsome in it, given how it accentuated the colour in his breath-taking eyes.

"Um. I think you kinda need to uncover the bruise for this to work," I pointed out while motioning towards the side of his torso with my head in a silent request to have him lift the shirt.

Without warning, he took it completely off. My eyes widened and I could totally feel my face getting red while my heart-rate accelerated. I gulped and averted my gaze from his muscular abdomen, reaching for the crate instead so that I could retrieve the water-filled bowl and the cloth that I was given to clean the affected area.

I dampened the cloth and stepped closer, trying to ignore how my veins were now flooding with lava and causing me to feel very hot all of a sudden. Good thing that the weather is cold in Britain… I hesitated just as I was about to press the cloth to Arthur's ribs, the direct sight of his well-sculpted body causing my heart to pound violently in my chest.

"Astraea – do not tell me you are flustered," he said in a teasing tone.

I scoffed. "M-me? Flustered? Please."

He chuckled. "You are flustered!"

"Shut up," I growled.

A tingle ran down my spine when he scooted closer and placed a gentle hand on the side of my face. I refused to meet his eyes as I kept my gaze on the blanket on the bed. He gently rubbed his thumb against my cheek and he whispered, "I think you had better start getting used to seeing me like this, my love, or we are going to have a problem once we are married."

"Arthur!" I cried and slapped his arm before jumping away from the bed and throwing the cloth aside. Red Skull would've probably looked more like Snow White if he'd been standing next to me at the moment. "I'm just gonna get Merls."

"No! Wait! Come back!" he whined while stretching out his arm, trying to grab me. I stepped further back and glared at him. "Please?" he insisted with a cute pout.

Darn it. Who can say 'no' to that face?

I sighed and rolled my eyes before reluctantly stepping closer and sitting back down on the bed. "One more word and I'll break the rest of your ribs," I muttered while reaching for the dampened cloth once more.

Again, I hesitated before touching his bare torso. I let out a shaky exhale when he covered my hand with his and he gently guided it to press against his bruised ribs. If the contact hurt, he didn't show it as he kept his gentle gaze on me. Meanwhile, my hand felt as if it'd been thrown into a furnace, but I did my best to ignore the scorching feeling as I gently cleaned his skin, trying to take off all sweat and grime.

Feeling a bit more confident now, I discarded the cloth and got the small flask of arnica from the crate, then I took a generous quantity from it with my fingers and gently smeared it onto the bruise. Finally, I grabbed the bandage and wrapped it around Arthur's torso, being careful not to make it too tight.

"'S that okay?" I asked in a whisper as I secured it with a knot.

"Perfect," he whispered as he brought a hand to my face again. I smiled and dropped my hands to my lap, finding that my job was done. "Thank you."

"I won't be held accountable for any complaints. I'm not a doctor," I stated with a goofy grin.

My heart fluttered when he leaned down to brush his lips against mine, almost tentatively, before he pulled back, making me pout. He smiled a little and slid his hand to the back of my neck as he pressed against my lips more firmly. He wrapped his other arm around my waist. I slowly moved my arms to wrap them around his neck and he pulled me flush against his bare chest, his body heat causing my insides to combust. He deepened the kiss with a gentle swipe of his tongue that parted my lips. I sighed a little, relieving some tension, and began to run my fingers through his hair. He hummed in contentment while tightening his grip on me.

"I love you," he whispered when he pulled away for air, his forehead pressing against mine as he inhaled deeply.

"I love you three-thousand," I responded with a small grin.

He smiled and pressed a much softer kiss to my lips before he lay back down on the small mattress, bringing me with him. I curled up beside him and rested my head on his chest. My hands found one of his, which rested on his stomach, and I started to play with the faux leather bracelet I gave him.

"We were in this room the first time I really wanted to kiss you," Arthur said after a few minutes. I glanced up and gave him a questioning look, earning a breathy chuckle and a kiss to my forehead. "It was when we were preparing for Kanen's siege and I helped you to put on some armour," he continued and I smiled at the memory. "You looked so nervous, but you still kept trying to lighten the mood. All I wanted to do was take you into my arms and kiss you until you were no longer scared."

A buzzing sensation ran through my nervous system and I placed a soft kiss over his heart. He tightened his grip on me.

"What do you think would have happened if I had kissed you that day?" he asked in a whisper.

"I dunno. I might've punched you in the eye," I replied with a little giggle as I recalled the conversation I had with Gwen and Morgana when I told them about Will's failed attempt to kiss me. Then my stomach churned at the thought of Morgana and I quickly shoved that memory aside. "Or I might've melted right there and then and you would've been one person short against Kanen," I added with a grin.

Arthur chuckled and he kissed the top of my head. "Melted, huh?"

"I still feel like I do every time I'm with you," I confessed in a low tone, feeling my cheeks getting warm again. "'Cause you're so hot," I threw in with a playful smirk. It's true, though. Both literally and metaphorically.

He responded by rolling me onto my back and moving on top of me before kissing me again.

I let the thoughts about Morgana flow back into my mind once I was alone, sitting outside the house while attempting to craft crappy arrows for my bow out of some wooden sticks. But that's much easier to do on 'Minecraft'.

The memories from the time she (and Gwen and Arthur) followed Merlin and I to Ealdor seem so far away that I almost could've thought that they happened in a different lifetime. There hadn't been any evil plots hiding beneath the surface in those days. Simply an innocent willingness to help just 'cause it seemed like the right thing to do, coupled with a kind smile and an even kinder heart.

Might she still remember what things were like back then? Might she still remember what that camaraderie was like? Or has she been fully consumed by hatred and greed? Could we still bring her back somehow?

"You seem troubled." I jumped when Merlin suddenly, as if by magic, appeared at my side.

The brusque movement caused me to cut the palm of my hand with the knife I was using to sharpen the sticks.

My brother reached for it with widened eyes, but I waved him off and went back to my task. I've had way worse.

"You've known me long enough to know I'm made up of at least thirty-percent anxiety," I responded to his statement with a nonchalant shrug.

A few moments of silence ensued before he took the knife and the stick away from me and grabbed my injured hand in both of his; then he whispered a few unintelligible words, his eyes glowed gold, and the pain faded entirely.

"Pops told you not to do that anymore," I pointed out with a teasing smirk.

"Well, Gaius is not here."

I chuckled and gave him a side hug. "Thanks, bud," I said and kissed his cheek, then I snagged back my items so that I could continue working.

"So, what is troubling you?" Merlin demanded.

I huffed, knowing that he's not gonna let it go. "Just thinkin' 'bout Morgana."

"Oh?"

"Art said something that made me think of the time she came to help us defend Ealdor and my brain just spiralled from there, I guess," I explained briefly, my eyes still focused on my art project. "It's nothing."

Merlin let out a sad sigh. "Yes, I have thought about that as well… Things were so different back then."

"They really were," I answered under my breath before silence encompassed us for a few more minutes.

At some point, he began to help me with the arrows using a knife of his own.

A dreadful thought that I probably should've had sooner crossed my mind, causing my hands to freeze as my eyes widened. "Oh sh*t! Merls!"

He started. "What?!"

"She knows where Ealdor is! If Aggravate saw which direction we took, it won't take 'em long to figure out where we are!"

Merlin tensed up. "We have to get out of here before they attack all these innocent people."

I gathered the fifteen-or-so 'arrows' I managed to make and shoved them into my quiver, "Let's go."

We started to power-walk towards the door to the house, but I froze again as another bad thought crossed my mind and I quickly grabbed my brother's arm before he could enter.

"Wait, no! If we're gone, they might hurt your mom to get info!" I whisper-yelled.

"So what do we do? We cannot fight them, there are too many!"

I nibbled on my bottom lip for a few moments. He's right, obviously. But maybe there's a third route we could take.

"We can set up a watch, wait 'til they come, then run like hell and draw them to us. Hopefully they'll be busy trying to get to Arthur and they won't cause too much destruction to the village."

"They have horses, we will never outrun them. Especially with Arthur being injured," Merlin pointed out.

"Fork," I mumbled and twirled the strings of my hoodie around my fingers as I bit down on my lip again, this time hard enough to draw blood.

Then I thought of something else.

"Okay, I know it's crazy, but hear me out – how about you summon Special K and ask him to just scorch 'em wherever they are?"

Merlin was about to speak, but his jaw dropped instead as his eyes moved towards something behind me. "Too late!"

I tilted my head and turned around, only to have my heart fall to my stomach as my gaze landed on a sea of silver and black that was claiming the hill as its own.

"Sh*t!"

"Quick, we have to warn them!" Merlin pushed me towards the door and we stumbled through it to find our party gathered around the kitchen bench while having supper, completely oblivious to the tsunami raving its way towards Ealdor.

"Guys, we gotta run! Snake bastard found us!" I announced, then I ran to my room to get my sword, bow and backpack. Arthur followed me and he hurried to put on his chainmail, which I helped him with seeing as his movement is a bit limited by his ribs.

We all huddled near a window as we watched the invaders get closer to the village. My heart pounded loudly against my chest, threatening to break out of its carefully crafted bone cage.

"Any suggestions?" Tristan asked.

"We gotta draw them outta here or they'll destroy everything in their path," I said.

"How? It is suicide!" Arthur responded.

"Let us go around the back," Merlin proposed.

That seemed good enough for the King, who wasted no time before going towards the back door of the house with Tristan and Isolde, and they snuck out. In the meantime, Merlin and I turned to Hunith, who was insistent on staying behind to help deal with whatever destruction came. I gave her a quick hug after she was done exchanging parting words with her son.

"I'll send help as soon as I can," I assured her.

"Thank you, sweet girl. For everything you have done for us," she responded and gave me a soft squeeze before letting me go.

I latched onto Merlin's hand and we sprinted out of the home.

We spotted Agravaine as we crossed the path heading towards the forest and my brother slid to a stop before fixing his eyes on something, then his irises glowed gold and a cart that carried crops began rolling towards the traitor. He seemed alarmed by the unmanned vehicle's movement and got distracted from looking around for a second. Merlin set the thing on fire for extra measure before we took off running again, chasing after our companions.

We caught up quickly thanks to the fact that Arthur was handicapped by his injured ribs and that Isolde was still limping, which also slowed down her husband as he helped her to move.

Is it bad that I'm kinda proud of myself for being injury-free for once?

"Come on, I know where to go!" Merlin announced as we took the front of the pack.

Oh, no! Not the tunnels!

"There is a cave system! Will and I used to explore it all the time as children!" he added when he got a sceptical look from Arthur.

Oh, goody. More claustrophobia. I think I'd prefer some broken ribs and a limp! But I didn't voice my complaints as I continued to run alongside my brother.