Looks who's only a few hours late instead of two months! (fun fact: about ten minutes ago i was having a panic attack because i thought i'd lost this whole chapter but then i did some merlin magic stuff and boom its back) Well y'all won't be too happy very soon... have fun ;)

"Why are you here, Morgana" Arthurs voice boomed.

"Relax, brother," Morgana said mockingly "I'm not here to harm you or your little family. I learned of this feast and thought 'What better time to visit my dear old brother'"

"What do you want." Arthur snarled.

"Testy, you always did have a short temper. Always took things out on poor Merlin. I see he sits beside you tonight, you know dear old father would be disgusted by you right now. A servant at your side and a maid for a Queen. Not to mention the peasants for knights." She sneered, gesturing around the room towards whoever she was insulting. Arthurs grip on his drawn sword tightened.

"What do you want." The words were more of a statement than a question.

"To give you a choice. I've gathered my ranks and I am ready to take back what is rightfully mine." She spat. "I'll finish this. Once and for all. Your other option is this: I've marked one of your commoners. She knows who she is. She is to come alone to the abandoned castle at the cliffs of Essetir as dusk in two days time. Should she come, I will call off my troops. I'll be waiting for your decision, brother."

And with that, and a gust of wind, she was gone.

The room remained silent for a moment, before breaking into nervous chatter.

"Everybody, be quiet! Morgana's made threats before. This one is just as idle as the rest. Now, please, continue with the festivities." Arthur called, speaking above the crowd.

Everyone calmed down, and began to resume the party. By the time dessert was served Morgana's warning was at the back of all but a few minds, the Queen's, the King's, Merlin's, and Lira's.

No one noticed as Lira slid from the room, clutching her burned arm to her chest.

That night, as the banquet came to an end and servants began to clean, Arthur called the remaining partygoers to his table, the only ones being the first Knights of the Round Table and Merlin.

"We need to find the woman with the mark. She must be protected; I will not let my sister win."He insisted.

"How will we find her without spreading panic?" Elyan asked from his spot beside Gwaine.

"I'm not sure, it could be any of the maids in the castle. We'll need to keep our eyes peeled and be discreet." Arthur said, lowering his voice as a servant cleared a nearby table.

"I think I may know who's been marked." A strong male voice came from behind the circle of knights.

"Who, Jack?" Merlin asked.

Jack hesitated, "I... You're not going to like it Merlin, or Gwaine for that matter."

Both their minds went to the same person.

"It's not Lira, it can't be her. I just saw her!" Gwaine exclaimed.

"Yes, I saw you two and the physician. Going to take a look at that burn on her arm, I assume." Jack emphasized the word burn.

"Burn? What burn?" Arthur questioned insistently.

"Lira... she burned her arm in the kitchens today. I didn't really take a look at it, it was just a big red welt." Gwaine spoke, his voice near a whisper.

"But Gaius treated it? I've used his burn poultices before. It takes away the swelling immediately, all you can really see is the- the mark. The mark where you were burned." Leon said as the realization struck them all.

"Where's Lira?" Merlin questioned frantically. The knights began to bounce about the room, checking the faces of all the serving girls.

"We'll find her, Merlin. I promise." Guinevere said, taking his hand as his breathing quickened nervously.

"She knows. She knows she's been marked and now she's going to Morgana. We have to stop her!"Merlin exclaimed.

"We will. Knights!" Arthur yelled, calling them all back to his table. "Prepare the horses; we're going to find Lira."

In the stables, the knights found that one of the horses was missing, the smallest one,the one Lira used on occasion.

The first place they checked was her house, but they found it was empty, and the food was gone from the cabinets and clothing gone from the wardrobe. Even the sword Arthur had given her when she'd gone in search of a cure for the sleeping sickness was missing from its place on the wall.

They took off for the woods, hoping that they weren't too far behind. It wasn't to their advantage that they'd all had quite a bit to drink, it was dark out, and that Lira knew these woods very well- doubtlessly significantly better than they themselves.

After riding for less than an hour, Arthur declared that they had to stop. They couldn't follow her train in the dead of night while half drunk and exhausted. Gwaine was furious.

"We can't let her go! She's getting farther from us and closer to Morgana the longer we wait." Gwaine seethed angrily.

"But we aren't getting anywhere. We'll do better and ride harder when we've all had a nights rest. End of story." The king said and he pulled his bedroll from his horse.

Gwaine made a noise of displeasure and pulled his own bedroll from his horse. Merlin was uncharacteristically silent.

"What's on your mind, Merlin?" Arthur asked as he watched the lanky boy spread out his blanket.

"It was my job to protect her." He said quietly. "I was supposed to watch over her and keep her safe and all she's done since she came here is get hurt and put herself in danger. Why does she always have to put herself in danger?" He moaned, holding his head between his hands as tears leaked down his face. He heard a thump sound beside him. He looked to the side to see Arthur, looking weary and concerned.

"We are going to find her, and we'll bring her back, I promise." He said, patting his manservant on the back. "Now, everyone, bed. We have a full day tomorrow." The king declared, standing and going to his own bed roll.

It was a restless night for them all.

"Wake up!" Gwaine shouted, pulling the knights from their slumber. He and Merlin were already cleaning up their camp, and breakfast was waiting in each knight's respective bowl by their heads.

Percival groaned and flipped onto his back. Gwaine was having none of this.

"Merlin! Give me a hand!"

Together, they rolled the giant knight off his bedroll and into the brush. Merlin rolled up his bedroll and handed it to Gwaine, who fastened it to the huge knight's equally large horse.

With a series of grunts and tired groans all the other knights forced themselves up, not wanting the same fate as their comrade.

"You run a tight ship, Gwaine." Arthur commented as he tied up his own bedroll and reached for the cooling bowl containing his breakfast.

"When I need to go fast, I go fast." Gwaine grumbled.

When everyone mounted their horses they continued to attempt to follow Lira's trail, but she was a master at hiding her trail. Her years on the road had made her extremely well-equipped for life in the forest.

They rode without rest most of the day until they came across a section of brush that was matted down and had obviously been trampled through by something human.

"She went this way!"Leon called.

"She can't be far. That horse is too small to go so far so fast." Arthur said, more for Merlin and Gwaine's sakes than anything else.

"Gods I hope so." Gwaine muttered under his breath.

They came to an open clearing where Lira's horse was tethered to a tree, her supplies still on his back.

"Why would she leave all her things here?" Elyan asked.

"I don't know, something must've happened." Gwaine replied.

A rustling sound came from the entrance of the clearing, followed by the zing sound of swords being unsheathed as the king and his knights prepared for battle.

And then Lira burst into the clearing.

"Lira!" Merlin yelled, sprinting across the clearing to his sister. He nearly tackled her in a hug, and the sound of her laugh sent relief flooding through his veins.

"Merlin. I thought I might never see you again." She said when they broke apart.

Gwaine was just behind Merlin, and nearly threw him out of the way in order to get to Lira.

"Please, don't do that again" he said as he pulled the small girl into a tight embrace.

"Thank you all for coming for me but you have to go. Morgana said to come alone and that's what I intend to do." Lira said resolutely.

"We aren't leaving you to my sister." Arthur came forward.

"No way are we leaving you to the witch." Said Elyan, who knew well enough what it was like to lose one's sister to Morgana's wrath. The other knights murmured in agreement.

"I can't let any more of you die, and if I'm all Morgana wants then it's a worthy price to pay." Lira answered as if it was the simplest solution in the world.

"No! That's not how it works. You have friends and a family; we can't just... just give you up!" Gwaine cried.

"There's another way, there has to be..." Merlin insisted.

"While there may be another way the only thing that will hold off Morgana's forces- at least for now – is for me to turn myself in. I don't know why she wants me or what she wants me for but it's all we've got." Lira said resignedly. With a sigh she stepped away from the group and back to her campsite and began to build a fire.

"What if she's right?" Merlin said quietly.

"What? How could you agree with such a suicidal plan?" Arthur sounded incredulous.

"Lira's strong, if we send her in it isn't necessarily a death sentence. It may even help us." Leon added.

"We can't let her do this!" Gwaine looked like he was about to blow his top.

"Gwaine, I know it's hard for you, but this isn't a bad plan." Arthur said after a long pause.

"I'm making venison!" they heard Lira yell from her spot by the fire. The sun had begun to go down, and it was disappearing quickly on the horizon. Soon enough it would be pitch black.

They all glanced at each other curiously, and made their way back to the fire.

After a satisfying dinner they all settled down by the fire as the cold of night blanketed them. They'd all set up their bed rolls and were about to hit the hay for the night, they were just listening to a story about younger Merlin from Lira.

"And so, he crawls out of the fire pit-n all coated in muck and ash- and says 'It seemed like a good idea'" Lira spoke through bursts of laughter.

"Only Merlin would try to hide in a fire pit before a celebration for a game of hiding and seeking." Arthur said, red faced from fits of laughter.

They all shared a laugh when a loud crunch emanated though the clearing. The knights and Lira all jumped to a standing position, Lira glancing nervously at her horse, where her sword was in its sheath.

Suddenly a pack of bandits came flying in, attacking from all sides.

Percival covered Lira's back as she ran to her horse and grabbed her sword. They all jumped into action, taking on the bandits. There were fewer bandits then they'd thought at first- only seven. They each dispatched one (with the exception of Merlin) and the other one ran off.

They regrouped at the fire, sharing breathless smiles and laughing lightly. Then, with a gasp, Lira stopped laughing. Everyone else stopped and looked at her. There was the distinct sound of a blade being pulled from someone's body, and Lira fell forward, revealing the one remaining bandit.