“Gwaine, you didn’t!  There was nothing you could do,” Fira insisted as she got up and stood next to him.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me, Gwaine,” Merlin asked quietly.  He didn’t ask in an accusatory way, but more disappointed.

“I tried to put the past behind me.”

Suddenly all three of them felt chilled.  It wasn’t just the winter breeze; this was unnatural.  Fira shuffled her feet.

“Let’s,” she started.

Merlin interrupted, “get inside.”

Even Gwaine agreed.  They quickly retreated back inside the castle tower.  They headed down the stairs and opened the door that led into the citadel proper.  Once inside, Gwaine allowed himself to be herded towards Arthur’s chambers.  He was too deep in thought to protest.

Fira knocked on the door, seeing that a candle was still lit from the light under the entrance way.  The shuffling of feet was heard before Guinevere opened the door.

Gwen grinned and gave Fira a quick hug.  She then stepped back, letting Merlin and Gwaine both inside as well.  Arthur sat at his bedside.

“Gwaine!  There you are!”

“Aye, sire.”

“I had a few questions.  First off, can your brothers be trusted?”

Gwaine considered this.  Could they be trusted?  Gwaine was confident in Gareth.  The kid just breathed honor.  Gaheris, however, was a different story.  But the man was honorable enough, just not towards Gwaine.

“Yes.  They can.”

“Good.  Second of all, have you ever heard of the Kingdom of Somerset, what with all your traveling?”

The others saw Gwaine’s mouth twitch up into the slightest smile.  His eyes seemed miles away in some distant memory.  Did he know of Somerset?  Oh yes, certainly he did.

“That I have, Princess.  Beautiful land, beautiful people.  And delicious food and drinks!”

Arthur rolled his eyes slightly but nodded.  At least Sir Tor’s story had some amount of credibility.  And the man seemed honorable enough.  But why had he been dismissed from the King’s service?

“Finally,” Arthur asked Gwaine, “can I count on you to be cooperative if you ever need to work with either of your brothers?”

Gwaine’s head shot up rigidly.  How dare the king ask that?  It was like questioning his loyalty.  Of course he would.  And that’s exactly what he told Arthur.

“Good.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes.  Go get some sleep.  You have the day off tomorrow, but I might call a meeting of the Round Table around noon, depending on whether or not I get the information I need from Tor.”

Gwaine, Fira, and Merlin left the King and his wife alone and headed to their various chambers.  Gwaine said goodnight as he turned and went towards the knights’ barracks.  Merlin and Fira continued on to the Physician chambers.

They opened the door quietly and slipped in.  A candle was burning softly and Gaius was at his desk reading a book.  When he heard them come in he turned around and motioned for them to stay there.  Gaius got up and hobbled over, pushing them back outside.

“Your three companions are sleeping.  Merlin, I have Sir Tor your bed and Fira, Gareth is using yours.  Gaheris is on the patient cot.  You two will need to sleep somewhere else tonight.”

Both warlocks groaned but gave a nod.

“Just let me get my nightgown,” Fira whispered.

Gaius told her to wait and he went back in.  About thirty seconds later he reappeared, two sacks in hand.  Inside of one was a nightgown and a dress for the morning.

“And here’s your stuff Merlin.”

With that the physician apologized and went back inside.  Merlin shrugged.

“I’m gonna go see if I can’t sleep in the Knight’s Hall.  You?” Fira asked.

“Sure.  Good a place as any,” Merlin nodded, following Fira.

They stopped by one of the linen rooms and pilfered a few blankets each.  Reaching the Knight’s Hall, they opened the door and were glad to find it vacant.

“Let’s take the window corner,” Fira suggested.

They set up pallets against the wall and wrapped up a blanket each to serve as pillows.  It wasn’t the most comfy arrangement, but it worked well enough.  Fira told Merlin to turn around as she quickly changed into her nightgown.  Merlin did the same as he slipped into some more comfortable pants and a loose off white shirt.  They lay down to go to sleep.

“Merlin?”

“Yes?”

“You haven’t told me what the Seelie Court is.”

Merlin sighed and sat up, prompting Fira to do the same.

“The Seelie Court is the name for the non-evil magical creatures that either inhabit Avalon or can contact Avalon.  The ones in Avalon itself exist in a way that permits them to interact with some members of our world.  Now I’m not saying they’re all good.  On the contrary, all it means is that they aren’t inherently evil.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, they are often tricksters and like to play pranks on humans.”

“What kind of creatures are there?”

“The Vilia, for one.  Also some of the Fae folk, Imps, Hyrcinian Birds, and Hufflepods, just to name a few.  Perhaps you could even count the various kinds of Nymphs.”

“If those are the non-evil magical creatures, what are the evil ones called?”

“They are part of the Unseelie Court.  Gargoyles, goblins, the Cû, trolls, wyvern, sirens, and the Dullahan are some.  They exist purely to cause humans harm.”

Fira nodded and both warlocks lay back down to sleep.  She spent some time mulling over what she’d learned, trying to sort through the information.  Merlin was asleep fast, and soon enough Fira followed.

The morning dawned bright and Fira gave a wide yawn as she sat up.  Elyan and Tristan were watching her, amused, from where they sat at a table.

Elyan called over to her, “Good morning, Fira!”

“Oh.  Hi.”

“Merlin’s already left.  Told us to be quiet and let you sleep,” Tristan explained.

“Right.  Well I have to change so turn around.  And if you peak,” Fira warned, “I’ll melt the flesh off your bones.”

Both men laughed but turned around to give her time to change.  Fira went as quickly as she could, slipping into her dress.

“Alright.  You’re safe now,” she smiled, picking up her stuff and slipping it into her pack.

“So why were you and Merlin sleeping in here?” Elyan asked her.

“There was no room in our chambers with Gaheris, Gareth, and Sir Tor.”

They nodded, and said good bye to Fira as she left to return to her chambers.  As she was leaving, Sirs Bedivere, Ambrosius, and Erikur came in.

Once she reached her door, Fira went in and was glad to see that the three patients were all up and about.  Tor was pulling a shirt on over his head, Gareth was tidying up, and Gaheris was eating an apple.  Fira found that amusing, as she realized that an affinity for apples must run in their family.  Gwaine had a particular liking for that fruit.

“You all slept well, I hope,” Fira said happily.

All three of the nodded enthusiastically.  Gaius came over from behind his shelves and handed all three bottles of colored liquid.

“Drink.”

They wrinkled their noses but downed the medicine, and the disgusted looks on their faces were priceless.  Just then, a knock on the door was heard and in came Arthur and Sir Leon.

“Good morning, Sire,” Gaius bowed.

“Gaius,” the king nodded, “Sir Tor, would you come with us please?  Fira, you as well.”

Sir Tor nodded and Fira dropped her stuff on the ground to hurry after them.  She wasn’t surprised to find that they were heading towards the Round Table room.  Leon opened the door, holding it so that the other three could enter.

King Arthur gestured for Tor to take a seat anywhere.  Fira went to her usual spot, waiting to be addressed.  She wasn’t entirely sure why she was here.  Once both Arthur and Leon and sat down, the King began speaking.

“Yesterday, Sir Tor, you mentioned a prophecy.”

The knight nodded.

“Now, you’ll have to excuse me for being skeptical, but to be honest I didn’t truly believe your story.  I’d never heard of Somerset, but after doing some research I’ve confirmed it exists.  However, before I’m willing to trust you, I need to know something.”

“Anything, lord.”

“You said you were “Sir Tor, formerly of King Roldan’s court” but that you had been dismissed.  Why were you dismissed?”

Sir Tor closed his eyes for a moment before speaking.

“As I said, dark powers are growing near Somerset.  I read the signs, as did many of my fellow knights.  But the King, he would not listen.  He told us that Camelot was on its own.  He would not help a land that persecuted magic users.  We felt this was dishonorable and cowardly.

“So two of us set out, Sir Morholt and myself.  The king forbade us from leaving, but we escaped before he could slap us in irons.  After we arrived in Camelot, we became separated.  Neither of us knew where Camelot city was, so Morholt and I decided to split up in the hopes of finding you.”

“Very well,” Arthur nodded, “I’m listening.”

“The prophecy goes like this:

      “When the world is deep within winter’s grasp, two shall emerge from another’s past.

“The Pendragon King’s court shall face a dangerous threat, one born out of magic and deep regret.

“For out of the land of summer, dark forces shall take hold, and many shall fall under the spells of the Lady Emerald.

“When the green and black spread across the lands, whispers shall warn that her revenge is nigh at hand.

“Bonds will be tested, friendships tried, even the king’s most trusted shall divide.

“One shall step forward when all quail in fear, for the Maiden’s Knight will not draw back when the enemy is near.

“Yet alone he will not pass the test when at last he reach his goal, for indeed this enemy strikes at one’s very heart and soul.

“But working together, they may prevail.  Yet if they stand not as one, all will fail.”

“Grim,” Leon muttered.

Fira grunted in agreement.

“I thank you for bringing this to my attention.  As a reward, I grant you asylum here in Camelot.  You are welcome in the city for as long as you wish,” the king offered.

“I thank you, and accept your generous offer.”

Arthur nodded and stood, followed closely by the others.  He led the way out of the room and called a servant to him.

“Show Sir Tor to our guest chambers and see that his needs are met.  Inform Mark and Michael that they are to serve Sir Tor until further notice.”

The boy bowed and then beckoned for Sir Tor to follow him.  Once he disappeared around a corner, Arthur told Fira and Leon to head back inside.

“What do you think?”

Leon looked at Arthur and then Fira.  Fira did the same.  She spoke first.

“Well, it certainly fits the whispers I heard.”

“I for one believe him,” Leon added.

Arthur nodded slowly, “I do as well.  Stay here, I’m going to call the Round Table.”

The king went outside and flagged down another servant.  The king instructed her to find the others.

Percival and Gwaine were the first to arrive.  Guinevere and Elyan trickled in afterwards, followed by Gaius and Merlin.  Arthur repeated the prophecy to the others.  He also explained why Sir Tor was here in the first place.

“Would anyone care to interpret the prophecy?” Arthur asked, glancing hopefully at Gaius.

“Well, sire,” the old man began, “it is winter.  And the two from another’s past could mean Sir Gwaine’s younger brothers.”

“The land of summer,” Elyan mused, “could refer not to the season, but to Somerset.”

“The green and black.  Perhaps that means the mercenaries?” Percival added.

“And the whispers,” Fira nodded, “refer to the voices I heard giving me a warning.”

“I’d say the rest has not happened yet,” Leon reasoned.

Arthur agreed with all of them.

“The feast of Samhain is tomorrow.  Let’s think this prophecy over until after the celebration.  Dismissed.”

Fira decided to go find Galahad.  As she passed her chambers, however, she decided to change out of her dress and into a warm tunic and pants.  Dressed warmer, she began searching for the knight again.  She had become good friends with him over the past several months, and missed his company.  He always seemed to know what to say when she was worried.  And worried she was.

Eventually Fira tracked him down.  Galahad was outside with Gareth, sparring.  She realized that all three were around the same age, with Galahad nearly nineteen and the other two near or already seventeen.  She grinned at the thought.  When she had first come to Camelot, Fira had been worried about being the only “kid.”  But then she had met Galahad, and now Gareth.

“Hello, you two!” She shouted, walking up to them.

“Hello Fira!”