Hello to my lovely readers. This story is a sequel to 'Harmony' and if you haven't read that, I'd suggest you do that before reading this. This won't make too much sense in some areas otherwise. A few things to say before you embark upon this journey:

1. I hope you enjoy the first chapter (and all the ones that follow, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it);

2. Please leave me a review so I know how this, as an opening chapter, is: I'm a bit nervous about it;

3. If anyone's interested, I was thinking of doing a series of M-rated one-shots alongside this story: I was going to make this story M and include some scenes of a sexual nature, but then I realised that some people then wouldn't read the rest of the story because of that. So, if I have an audience, I will publish them separately.

Merlin's finger twitched once, then twice, as she slowly stirred from sleep. She didn't open her eyes, but traced her hand along the bed to find her husband. Or, as soon became apparent, lack thereof.

Now Merlin opened one eye, and scanned the room. There was no sign of Percival anywhere. The other eye opened, and she sat up in bed, tucking the covers around her to preserve her warmth.

"Percival?" she called, her voice echoing back to her in their stone chambers. Merlin sighed. Training, she thought, although she still hadn't managed to work out what in the Old Religion's name had possessed Arthur to plan early-morning training sessions in these harsh, bitter winter months.

Grumbling, Merlin unwrapped herself from the cocoon of blankets she had formed and hopped onto the tile floor. The solid wave of cold that hit her feet rose up and up, throughout her entire body. "I hate you, Arthur," she moaned, plodding over to the tin bath. "Onhǽte þá wæter," she muttered, waving her hand over the tub that her maid had filled earlier that morning, turning the water hot once more.

Moving behind the screen to change and hang up her nightclothes so they wouldn't become creased, Merlin clicked her fingers to secure the bolt on the door.

The hot water was, at first, an unpleasant jolt to her cold body, and felt more like it was burning than anything else. Regardless, Merlin sank into the water up to her neck, knowing that soon her body would adjust and the temperature would become blissful.

Just as she had relaxed into the steaming water, there was a curt, polite knock at the door. Merlin closed her eyes for a moment in mild annoyance and then called out, "Yes?"

"My lady," came the voice through the door, "the King requests your presence in the Great Hall."

"Oh, bloody hell, Arthur," Merlin muttered, then raised her voice to query, "when does he need me?"

"He says urgently, ma'am; as soon as it is possible for you to attend."

"Thank you. Tell him I will do so," Merlin sighed and flicked a bit of water lazily. So much for her relaxing bath.

LINE BREAK

Merlin hurried down the spiralling stairs that lead from her chamber to the main corridor. It had only taken her five minutes to get ready with the aid of her magic, and she was dressed in a deep purple gown that complimented her alabaster skin and ebony hair – one that Percival had bought her shortly after their wedding.

As she approached the Great Hall, her heart began to beat faster. She loved emergency council meetings – it sounded odd but it gave her the rush of adrenaline that came with anticipation. There was something urgent happening and she couldn't wait to find out what.

The doors were closed but as she neared the guards nodded politely and heaved the doors open for her. "Thank you," Merlin said appreciatively, and entered the Great Hall. There were a few gathered around the Round Table – the first person she noticed was Percival, who smiled at her, a grin that was never used for anyone else but her. She beamed back, and then nodded towards Arthur, approaching the chair next to Percival.

Arthur waited until she was seated, and then cleared his throat. Around the table were Gwaine, Leon, Elyan and Gwen, all of them looking tense and worried. Merlin reached for Percival's hand under the table, noticing how his shoulders were stiff and he was sitting very straight against the back of his seat.

He squeezed her hand when she took it, and glanced sideways at her. There was the same love and affection in them that was omnipresent when he looked at her, but looking deeper, Merlin sensed a great deal of anxiety. They obviously all knew the gist of what was going on then.

"As you know," Arthur began, "we have a problem with the Saxons once more."

Merlin understood why everyone was so uneasy now – upon hearing the words, she also felt a little restless. Over the past seven months or so, the Saxons had given them nothing but anguish. They had pillaged several small villages on the outskirts of Camelot and attacked patrols in the woods. So far, there had been nothing drastic done, but Merlin had a feeling that whatever Arthur was about to say might be.

"There is another group approaching the borders of Camelot." Arthur took in a deep breath and glanced around at the solemn faces around the table. "They are much larger than any other so far, the patrols tell me. There are at least fifty or sixty of them."

Merlin rubbed her forehead with her free hand. The groups that had been trouble-making so far had been smaller, far smaller, with fifteen or twenty Saxons at the most. They were not trained strategically like Camelot's soldiers, but were ruthless enough to make up for that lack of training. They hacked at anything with axes and stones, causing severe injuries. A small group were moderately easy to defeat, but a larger group would be difficult.

"They have yet to breach the borders, but we have sent out clear warnings in the past: if they breach the borders, then we will have to attack. The warnings have been circulating for long enough and they will know of them. It will not be an unfair attack." Arthur paused, pinching the bridge of his nose as he always did when stressed. "However, that could lead to a war. We know that they have their own area of Britain and there are thousands of them. The Saxons have tolerated the killings of a few so far, but they may not be so accepting if we kill such a large group."

Merlin felt a weight sink down to her stomach: a war was something that Camelot could not afford right now, and something that was not a great prospect if it was against the Saxons. "We have allies, Arthur," she pointed out, her leg starting to jump up and down uneasily. "Mithian and Annis at the very least will support you in a war."

"I have already asked them for assistance should it come down to it," Arthur replied, ruffling his hair messily. "They have both agreed but warned that even with the three of our forces combined, it is likely that the Saxons have more."

"They're not trained," Gwaine chipped in. "We have far more powerful weapons than they, and we can prepare for a siege as soon as the threat rises."

"I know, Gwaine," Arthur sighed. "But it would take a massive drain on Camelot's resources and frankly, after all that had happened recently, we cannot afford it."

Nobody had any more suggestions, everyone's faces lined and tense. Arthur pinched his nose again. "Council dismissed."

The chairs scraping against the tile floor as everybody stood. "It'll be fine," Percival murmured to Merlin, seeing her anxious expression, as they began to walk away.

"I don't think it will," Merlin replied agitatedly, rubbing her fingers against Percival's hand. She glanced behind her and saw Arthur slumped in his chair, and Gwen standing behind him with her hands on his shoulders. "I hope so, though."

So? Good? Bad? Terrible?