I had no idea it'd be so difficult to explain to Will why I had to leave. It was not that he couldn't understand it. He just didn't want to.

It took him three or four days to recover, though the bruise on his temple was visible even on the day when I left Ealdor. I expected him to be there saying goodbye along with my mother on the very last day, but he wasn't. The last time we spoke was two days before I left. But I didn't mind at all. Will wasn't a man of goodbyes, and I loved him the way he was.

On the last day we spent together, we were sitting on an old wooden trunk not far from his house, staring at the wheatfields surrounding the village. We used to play a lot on those fields. They were perfect for hide-and-seek for two little boys; we drove all the farmers crazy with treading down the crops each year. But those times had been over long ago. I was too tall, and my black hair could have been easily spotted among the sea of golden spikes.

"Why did you lie to my mother?" I asked. He sighed.

"You've already caused enough trouble. I thought it was my turn."

"You shouldn't have. I told her the truth. I always do."

"I don't care." He turned his head away and took a deep breath. "It doesn't matter. You're running away anyways."

"It's for the best," I answered. We already talked about this, and I tried to make him understand just like my mother said, but I couldn't. Will didn't want to accept my decision.

"Fine. I don't care. I never did," he said coldly.

"I understand that you're disappointed, but I need to find my own way."

"And I was always here, ready to help you with that."

"I know. And I'm grateful. I don't know what I'd have done without you. But..."

"But you think it's more fun risking your neck by practicing your fancy little tricks under Uther Pendragon's nose," he interrupted.

I waited a little before answering.

"You know," I looked into his eyes, "once my best friend told me that you can't learn new things if you don't take risks."

He frowned and turned his head away.

"Do whatever you want. I never wanted your kind around here, actually."

I knew he didn't mean it, but it still felt as if he had stabbed a knife into my back. I glanced at him for a moment, and I knew that look I saw on his face; it meant that he finished the conversation. I stood up, keeping my eyes on the fields. I didn't want to push any further, that had always been his way, not mine.

"Well, good luck," I said.

I stayed there for a few seconds to wait for his answer, but there was none. When I finally took a few steps away, he muttered "likewise, mate," probably thinking that I was already too far to hear him. I didn't turn back but smiled quietly, then I started to run home.

I set off from Ealdor two days later, and arrived to Camelot the next Wednesday with my mother's letter to Gaius in my bag. The city was almost as terrifying as I'd imagined. After entering the castle, witnessing an execution of a man who was accused of practising sorcery, and seeing Uther Pendragon himself for the first time in my life, I could barely find my voice to ask for directions to the court physician's chambers. Everything was so new, so different, so... scary. But I couldn't turn back now that I was finally here. Eventually, I found the narrow and dark staircase leading up to the small wooden door.

"Hello?"

No answer. I took a few steps inside.

"Hello?" I repeated, then I suddenly heard a noise from above me. "Gaius?"

And the next moment my new life began with a loud crack.