In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young boy. His name: Merlin.

Elizabeth's POV

It's the middle of the night. Morgana and I are in our nightgowns as we face my father. We had just learned Gwen's father was thrown into jail for treason. "Treason?!" Morgana exclaims.

"Yes, Morgana, treason. The blacksmith was consorting with a known enemy" father states.

"Enemy?" I ask.

"What enemy?" Morgana asks.

"Tauren. The leader of a band of renegade sorcerers sworn to bring down the King" Arthur states.

"And where is this Tauren now?" we asks him.

"He escaped" he answers.

"Well, then how can you be sure?" Morgana asks them.

"Because Arthur saw him with his own eyes" father states.

"You sure it was him Arthur?" I ask and he nods his head.

"Well, even if the man is who you say he is, you can't sentence Tom to death for just being seen with him!?" Morgana states.

"We have reason to believe he was forging weapons for Tauren" Father states.

"Rubbish! He would never do such a thing" Morgana states.

"Do you have any proof of this claim?" I ask him.

"Every man has a price" father states. Arthur slides the lump of gold across the table.

"Found this on the blacksmith" Arthur states.

"So he was paid! He's a blacksmith. He could've been paid for shoeing Tauren's horse!" Morgana snaps.

"Exactly" I state.

"In gold?" father asks us.

"This is madness! You condemn a man with no proof!" Morgana states.

"I have enough proof" Father states.

"Arthur! Have you nothing to say?" Morgana and I ask my brother.

"Father, the blacksmith committed a crime, but we don't know for certain he meant treason" he states.

"No. You're right. Nothing's certain. Save one thing. The law stands or this kingdom falls" father tells us.

"But the law must give him a fair trial!" Morgana states.

"Every man or woman deserves one" I add.

"He'll get a fair trial, and he'll be found guilty, 'cause that's what he is" father tells us.

"You execute Gwen's father, and I will never forgive you. Never" Morgana tells him.

"Nor will I" I state and we leave. "We can't let this happen" I tell her.

"We won't, we'll do everything we can to prove Tom's innocence" she tells me.

"Father has already made up his mind on this matter. You know he becomes blind and death when magic is involved. We have to get Tom out of here, out of Camelot" I tell her. She nods her head in agreement.

"Lets go visit Gwen" she suggests. I nod and we leave the castle. We walk down to Gwen's house in silence. "Gwen? Gwen?" she asks and no answer. We enter the house. I notice a leather bag.

"That's not Gwen's or Tom's" I state. Morgana picks it up, and pulls out the stone, it glows in her hands. "Whoa, we can' leave it here" I tell her. She nods her head and pockets it. We return to the castle. Where Morgana takes the stone to her chambers and puts it in a fancy box. We wished each other a good night.

We find out Gwen is in Merlin's home with Gaius. So after Morgana and I were dressed. We pay her a visit. "How is she?" Morgana asks when we see Gwen sleeping.

"She's doing ok" Merlin answers.

"We should let her rest" Morgana states and I nod my head in agreement. We go downstairs into the main room with Merlin.

"Elizabeth, Morgana, have you boh spoken to Uther? He must realize this is a mistake. Whatever Tom was doing, it wasn't plotting against the King" Merlin states.

"We know that" I assure him.

"We both know that. Of course we do. But Uther...Uther only sees enemies" Morgana states. I nod my head in agreement.

"But Tom is the most gentle soul I've ever met" Merlin states.

"But he was seen with Tauren a known sorcerer plotting against my father" I tell him sadly.

"And that makes him an enemy" Morgana adds. We go to leave.

"So there is little hope?" Merlin asks us.

"There's no hope, Merlin. None at all" Morgana tells him. We leave and go visit my brother. But he wasn't in his room. Morgana walks over to the bureau and searches for a key.

"Are you sure we should do this?" I ask her nervous.

"It was your idea" she reminds me. "You want to save him, right?" she asks me. "You believe he is innocent?" she asks.

"Of course I believe he's innocent, but if father found out" I say scared.

"He won't" she assures me. "You don't have to be involved, I can do this alone" she states.

"No, I care about Gwen as much as you do. We're in this together" I tell her. She finds the key and we leave heading for the dungeons. I keep look out while she speaks to him.

"I bring you no relief, Tom. I'm sorry. We both are, we came only to see you were comfortable" she tells him.

"How's Gwen?" he asks and I smile. Even stuck in here facing death, he only cares for his daughter. Why can't my father see that? Why can't he be more like Tom or Gaius?

"She's a brave girl. She wishes only to see you free" Morgana tells him.

"I know what Uther thinks about sorcery. I'm a dead man, aren't I?" he asks her.

"I cannot see the future, only the present, and one must always seize the moment" Morgana tells him. Handing him the key, wishing him good luck. We leave the dungeon.

Gwen's wail echoes in the Square the next morning. Morgana and I watch from a window as tears roll down my cheek. How could they kill him? "No, Father!!!" she cries. Morgana storms off and I follow her.

"You have blood on your hands, Uther Pendragon! Blood that will never wash off!" she snaps.

"May I remind you that you're speaking to your King" he tells her.

"May I remind you father, that a king is wise and just" I sneer.

"You are neither. You rule only with the sword" Morgana states. I nod my head in agreement.

"You both know nothing of what it means to be King. The fate of Camelot rests in my hands. It's my responsibility to protect the people of this land from its enemies" he tells us.

"Then the kingdom is doomed! For one by one you make enemies of us all!" Morgana states.

"You speak treason, Morgana" he says.

"Only a mad man hears the truth as treason" she tells him.

"You've changed father and not for the better" I state.

"Take care, children, or I'll have you both restrained" he warns us.

"You just try" Morgana tells him. Suddenly we're both grabbed by the guards and I scream in shock. He's really going to throw us, his only daughter and ward into prison. We're dragged to the dungeons and chained to the wall. Tears roll down my cheeks as I hang my head, I can't even look at the man I call father.

"And you both will remain here until you both have learnt your lesson" father states.

"Then release me because I've learned it already! That you care not for me, Elizabeth or anyone but yourself! That you're driven mad with power! That you're a tyrant!" Morgana yells. He left and we're locked in. I silently cry. "Elizabeth" Morgana says gently. I look up at her. "Come here" she says and I rush over burying my head into her shoulder crying. "It's ok, we'll be ok" she assures me.

"Why is he so cruel? How could he do this to us?" I cry. We kneel on the floor, using each other for support.

"I don't know, but I won't let him get away with this" she assures me. "You're like a little sister to me and I will see you free" she tells me.

"You're the big sister I've always wanted" I tell her looking into her eyes. "Sometimes I wish Uther would die, so that Arthur could be king" I say lowly. I'll no longer call him father. What kind of father throws his own children into the dungeon? First Arthur when he tried to save Merlin, now me and Morgana. Who he has raised like a daughter for years.

"We'll both get out of here, try to get some sleep" she tells me. I nod and we lay down. I rest my head on her shoulder and drift off to a restless nightmare plagued sleep. Where Morgana and I never get out of this cell.

Neither of us got a lot of sleep. Arthur opens the door and enters our cell. "Arthur" I say softly.

"You. How proud you must be. Son of the mighty Uther. How you must look up to him. Does the King's little helper bring a message? Or have you just come to gloat?" Morgana asks him.

"Guards!" he calls. Morgana and I get up. We back away, she lightly pushing me behind her as the guards enter the cell.

"Get away from us, you cowards!" she shouts.

"You're free to go" Arthur tells us. The guards remove our manacles and leave. Morgana walks to the door. "I swore to him you both would never challenge his authority again. I swore that you both had learned your lesson. Tread carefully. Next time, I may not be able to help you" he tells her.

"Thank you. You're a better man than your father. Always were" she tells him and holds a hand out to me. I walk over slowly and take it.

"Thank you Arthur, you'll always be my brother" I tell him. Then leave with Morgana. We go to her chambers and are greeted by Gwen.

"My ladies" she says.

"Gwen. I didn't expect to see you here" Morgana states.

"What happened to you both?" Gwen asks her concerned.

"Nothing. Well, nothing a hot bath wouldn't fix" Morgana tells her. Gwen sees the wounds on our arms from the manacles. "We spent the night in the dungeon" she admits.

"Uther" Gwen says.

"He doesn't like to be challenged" Morgana states as I sit down on her bed.

"It wasn't about my father, was it?" Gwen asks.

"You have enough to deal with without worrying about such things" Morgana tells her.

"You both shouldn't have done that! Not on my behalf. If anything happened to you both, I couldn't bear it" Gwen tells us.

"You need to go home, Gwen. Get some rest. Please" Morgana tells her.

"I'm fine, my lady" Gwen states.

"No you aren't, we insist" I tell her gently. Gwen walks past Morgana with her head bowed, picking up a hair brush. "Gwen?" we say.

"I can't go home" she tells us.

"It's understandable to feel so alone" Morgana says.

"Tauren" Gwen says.

"Tauren?" we ask.

"He attacked me. He threatened me. He was looking for some kind of stone" she explains.

"Stone?" Morgana asks and I look at her fancy box.

"He said if I didn't bring it to him, he'd kill me. He's waiting for me in the Darkling Woods. I have to do something. If I don't get this stone to him by dawn tomorrow" Gwen explains. Morgana begins walking off purposefully. "What are you going to do?" she asks her confused.

"I'm going to send the guards, of course. It won't be you that Tauren meets. It'll be the Knights of Camelot" Morgana declares. "Please tend to Elizabeth" she adds and leaves.

"Let me look" Gwen says and I offer her one of my arms. "Does it hurt?" she asks me.

"Not as bad as Morgana, she yanked on her chains more then I did" I say softly.

"I'll go fetch some water and heat it up. I'll even go see if Gaius has anything for the pain" she tells me. "Will you be here or in your chambers?" she asks.

"Here" I say and she nods her head.

"Try to get some sleep Elizabeth, you look exhausted" she states.

"I will once you've tended to my wounds. But only if you sleep beside me, you to look exhausted" I state. She nods her head and left to fetch the supplies.

(Time skip)

It's been two days since Morgana and I were freed by Arthur. I've been avoiding my father. But for some reason Morgana hasn't. In fact they are going to visit her father's grave together. I'd gone a few times with her, it is a beautiful spot.

But I don't get it, he has treated her worse then me. How can she forgive him, when I can't? I spoke to Arthur a little and Gwen. Otherwise, I've hardly said a word since the dungeon.

I'd finally started to become my own woman and get some freedom. But father has taken that all away. Maybe I can visit my friend, yes I will. I leave Morgana's room and head down to the dungeons. It was hard after what happened, but I really wanted to see my friend. So I just ran through the dungeon and down the tunnel. "Dragon!" I call.

"Hello little princess" he says as he lands in front of me. "Are you well? I heard you crying" he states. I show him my healing bruises. "What happened? Who did this to you?" he asks with a low growl.

"The man I once called father" I state. "Morgana and I stood up to him after he killed our friends father. He did not like it and had us thrown into jail. We spent the night, it was horrible" I tell him.

"Once called father?" he asks.

"I'll never call him that again, a father doesn't through his own children until jail. He doesn't choke a woman he considers an second daughter. He is no father of mine, Arthur will always be my brother though" I explain.

"I am sorry you had to go through that" he tells me gently. I look at his chain. "It does not hurt me, it is just a nonsense" he tells me.

"I wish to leave here and never return" I tell him. "But Uther would never let me go, unless he thought me dead" I state.

"You could stay here, no one would search for you here" he tells me.

"Tempting, but I don't think that would work" I tell him sadly. "Please tell me of Nimueh" I plead.

"Are you sure you wish to know?" he asks me. I nod my head. "She is a powerful sorceress. Uther knew how much your mother longed for another child. So that Arthur wouldn't grow up alone like Uther did. But after Arthur's birth, she was baron" he states.

"Then how was I born?" I ask confused.

"Uther sort out a sorcerer for help and found Nimueh. She agreed to help, but neglected to tell him to create a life one must be given. Sh e claimed that she had not foreseen that it would be Ygraine's life. But Uther did not care, he only knew his wife and love of his life was dead. And magic caused it" he states.

"I was born of magic?" I ask shocked and he nods his head. "But then it's not Nimueh's fault my mother died, it's Uther's" I state. "He has no one to blame for her death except himself" I add.

"True, but he refused to accept that. He'd rather blame magic and punish anyone connected to magic" he states.

"I hate him" I state and he chuckles. "I do, I hate him and I wish I'd never been born!" I snap.

"You can't change the past little princess or your destiny" he tells me.

"What destiny? I'll be forever tripped here until Uther marries me off, then I'll be trapped in a loveless marriage for the rest of my life" I tell him. "I should go, before I am missed" I state. "Thank you for listening to me and telling me of Nimueh. I promise I won't tell a soul" I assure him. He nods his head and leaves.

I return to Morgana's chambers. I've been staying there, as it made me feel safe and loved. I look down at the bracelet Lancelot had given me, wishing he was here or that he'd taken me with him. I sigh and look out the window wondering when Morgana will return. I decide to take a nap before dinner and lay down on the bed. I soon drift off to a dreamless sleep. Thankfully, as I have been plagued with nightmares of the dungeon since I was imprisoned with Morgana.

A/N

Picture above of the grave and picture in chapter of Elizabeth in her nightgown.