The atmosphere remained tense in the morning. Gwaine, still reeling from the night before, said little. Leon, who could be as stubborn as Gwaine and refused to apologize, still wished he would speak, wished he would tell some foolish story of his. Fira’s downcast face was drawn tight in tense contemplation.

“We should head out. Hopefully we’ll reach the coast this evening.” Tor was snuffing out the fire as he spoke. He turned to their resident warlock. “Have you ever seen the ocean, Fira?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head in denial. “Though I do wish it.”

Morholt smiled at her. “Truly it is a sight to behold. Endless water, as far as the eye can see.”

“Come, Tor is right.” Leon mounted Hengist, his steed.

The whole group followed his example. Within minutes they were off and cantering South. Leon and Gwaine rode a bit further ahead, whispering animatedly about something or other. Behind those two went the rest of the group, riding mostly in silence. Fira’s face betrayed how unnerved she was.

It was around lunchtime when Fira heard it. It was like a bee buzzing in her ear. Instantly she was awake, jolted out of her daydream slumber by whispers.

She shouted as loud as she could. “Mercenaries!”

Indeed, they heard a large number of horses closing in fast. Fira whipped her head around and found they were coming from behind. Gwaine shouted. She turned quickly and found more coming towards them from his end.

She closed her eyes and took a breath. As the knights readied their swords, Fira did something most considered stupid, but she had a plan. The warlock dismounted from Aland, instructing him to run for safety. She centered herself, physically and mentally.

Deep breath in, deep breath out. She closed her eyes as the sounds of screaming men reached her ears. She let her magic feel the terrain. It was flat grassland.

Her eyes flashed open and she shot a spike of ice at the first mercenary to draw near. She didn't think about the knights; her best bet at protecting them was to kill as many of the Menace as possible.

The gurgling scream of the man she hit was but whitenoise. She glimpsed Gwaine cut off a man’s head, and she saw Gaheris shoot a horse out from under another with his crossbow.

A flash of her eyes and three mercenaries flew from their steeds, breaking their necks on impact. She chanted a spell and a ball of flames hit another. Suddenly she was set upon by a group of them. Fira put up a ward to stop their swords.

As her ward held, she closed her eyes, calming her mind. The men were trying to break through the barrier. Closer and closer. Her eyes still closed, Fira breathed an incantation.

“Edwylm hring bælegsa.”

Finally broken, the ward dissipated. The mercenaries found her standing absolutely still, eyes still closed. But when one swung, she opened her eyes and released the spell.

A massive wave of scarlet flames spread from her body like a ripple in water as she threw her hands out and her irises flashed gold. It caught the men unawares, killing several instantly and burning many others. Their shrieks sounded loud enough to catch the knights’ attention.

Fira panted as the spell ended. Though practice of the past year had allowed her to learn to cope with the use of great amounts of magic, it still exhausted her. She turned to the left and used her magic to unhorse two more men, allowing Galahad the chance to say them as he sped by.

The battle raged on for several more minutes. Gaheris and Tor chased down the few that fled. Fira collapsed to her knees, one hand on the ground as she tried to catch her breath. When Galahad approached her she batted him away.

“I'm fine,” she assured him. “Anyone injured?”

Galahad looked around. He didn't see anyone particularly in pain. “I don't think so.”

“Good.” She pulled herself to her feet slowly as the knights of the round table approached her.

Leon nodded at her, an eyebrow raised. “You've been practicing.”

She smirked. “A lot of mental discipline, really. And I've learned to think big. According to Emrys- Merlin,” She halted for a moment. “According to Merlin, I’m placing my own constraints on my magic. Which he of course does all the time. But while I'm here, I might as well stretch and see. He told me that the only time he ever let go was when he killed Nimueh.”

Gaheris and Tor came riding back towards them, leading Aland. Fira grinned and called to her horse. The palomino came charging and neighing. Fira pet him in the flank.

“We should keep moving,” Morholt urged them. “More mercenaries likely stand between us and Adney.”

“If everyone is okay, we should get moving now,” Leon agreed.

Everyone checked themselves over. Gwaine had been sitting in the grass. He had taken his boot off, trying to shake a rock free. Now Leon walked over and offered an arm to help him up. Gwaine took it and nodded his thanks.

“Let’s go,” Leon said as he mounted his horse.

The others quickly followed. They rode with a renewed sense of urgency. They wanted to reach the coast by evening. It was imperative. Fortunately, the ride was quiet for the rest of the day. They made good time and soon found themselves riding up an incline. Tor and Morholt whispered together before the latter called out.

“Fira,” he said quickly. “You wanted to see the ocean?”

Her heart beat quickly in her chest, a pounding which she could hear deep in her ears. Immediately she spurred Aland into a gallop. He sped up the incline, breaking past Leon and Gwaine with such fury that Gringolet reared up in confusion. Aland took her across the grass until she reached the top. What she saw stunned her into silence.

Without speaking, she slid off her horse and knelt in the grass, looking out over the edge of the small cliff they perched on. Before her, deep blue water stretched for miles on end, all the way to the horizon. The sun was setting, kissing the horizon line and splashing purples, pinks, and oranges all throughout the sky. The ebbing and flowing crash of waves resounded like music, and nearby the cawing of many birds rung in her ears.

Gwaine and Leon reached the edge next. Leon sat upon his horse as shocked as the warlock, but Gwaine had a smile full of happy memories on his face. Soon the others joined them, each expressing varying degrees of awe. Directly below them lay a beach. It was composed mostly of rocks, but several spots had sand enough to be comfortable for the night. Tor and Morholt guided them away from the edge and down into the coast.

“Where are we going to find a boat?” Elyan asked Tor as they began setting up for the evening in a sandy spot.

Tor gestured to Morholt.

“I come from a village west of here, not too far but far enough we cannot make it tonight. It’s a fishing village.” Morholt spoke as he constructed a fire out of deadwood. “I know several people who can lend us transportation to the Isle of Adney.”

They others felt satisfied with the answer. When Morholt finished placing the wood together, Fira lit it with a spell. In the flames she felt, or perhaps even saw, a pair of red eyes. It was like the stag had shown her. Instantly she was on edge.

As she tried to distract herself, she noted that Gwaine and Leon were speaking again. It made her happy to see this. She watched them.

Gwaine sat with a bottle of mead in hand, taking a drink every so often. Between drinks, he was telling the company some kind of story about how he and Lorie had camped on the beach one night. Fira noted that Gareth was particularly enthralled by his brother’s story. This didn't exactly surprise her; the youngest of Morcades’ sons absolutely worshipped the eldest.

Fira stood and quietly wandered off. Her feet took her to an area along the beach not far from camp. Finally here was a sandy spot at the water’s edge. The warlock took off her boots and socks, rolled up her pants, and stepped into the water. The waves tickled, and it stung at first, the cold taking a good minute to adjust to. But she remained. She persisted. Soon, she adjusted.

Visions, daydreams perhaps, began filling her mind, flashbacks to the stag’s knowledge. Camelot in flames was the strongest. She felt, she knew that Camelot stayed in grave danger as long as the Emerald Lady and Green Knight remained alive.

The moon now rose in the sky, and the first stars twinkled in the night. Fira withdrew from the waves and dried her feet with her socks before slipping them and her boots back on. She slowly wandered back to camp. Once there she found Gwaine and Percival on guard.

“Are you ready?” Fira whispered to them, drawing closer. “For tomorrow?”

“Why, you scared?” Gwaine joked.

Her face fell. “Of course I'm scared.” Fira sighed and ran her hand through her hair. She sat on a large boulder. “You should be too. If Morgana is here, we will probably all die.”

They fell silent. Neither knight had an answer for her. Of course they were nervous. Percival knew he at least was nervous before every battle. It's what kept him on his toes and alive.

“You've killed sorcerers before,” Percival reminded her. “Let's hope Morgana isn't there so you can deal with the Emerald Lady.”

She agreed.