Morning came, and Merlin felt a lot better. His throat didn't feel as sore as before. He looked to the side, and he saw a soft sleeping face. Merlin fell off the bed from surprise, but scrambled back up. Ethel was sound asleep in Merlin's bed.

"Ethel. Wake up." Merlin called quietly to Ethel. Her eyes slowly opened, and she sat up.

"Why are you in my bed?" Merlin asked. She looked around.

"I got scared." Was all she said. She got out of the bed, and walked to the cot where her day clothes were. Merlin rubbed his eyes, and went to fetch a maid to get her all ready for the day. Merlin walked over to Arthur's room in his own pajamas, and woke him up.

"Hon, wake up. Also I'm going to borrow some clothes since Ethel is getting dressed in my room." Merlin told him. He rummaged through the drawers to find the darkest attire he could find. He found a long sleeve dark green shirt, some brown pants, and brown boots. Merlin set out Arthur's attire, and the signature red cloak.

Merlin headed back to his room, and opened it. The maid was currently brushing her hair, and braiding it.

"Will she get her own room, sire?" The maid asked.

"This situation was just for the night. We are going to bring her around the city to see if anyone would like to adopt her." Merlin told her. Merlin looked around the drawers, and found a brown cloak, made of thicker wool. Merlin felt he looked a lot more like a servant today, but he didn't mind. It was getting colder outside, and it called for wool.

Thankfully Gwen thought about the weather ahead of time, and picked out a long sleeved blue dress for Ethel.

"Could you please go fetch a jacket from Morgana's room for her? It's the only room that still has children's sized clothing." Merlin asked her. She nodded, and left the room. Ethel had her hair braided very carefully. The braid made it look like her hair was cascading, like a waterfall.

"So today you, Arthur, and I are going to walk around the city and talk to the people. Since you have no home, we thought someone may want to have you as their child. Not every family in the kingdom is able to have children, so we think you might be a blessing to them." Merlin told her. She nodded, and looked down at her dress, and tapped her shoes together.

The maid came back with a brown sleeved cloak, just her size. Merlin helped Ethel pull it on, and the two went to fetch breakfast. This time, Ethel helped carry the two goblets. Merlin opened the door with a little magic aid, and placed the food on the table.

Arthur came to sit down with the two, and they ate. Ethel had a very small cup that she drank water from. Once done, the three set out.

They walked around, and stopped by every house.

"Excuse me, are you looking into adopting a child?" Merlin would ask, with Ethel standing in front of him. Usually their response was 'I already have enough children,' 'I don't want to adopt,' or 'I don't like children.' It was pretty hard to find anyone even remotely interested in Ethel.

They were coming down to the last couple of houses, when a young woman did have interest in Ethel.

"What happened to her original parents?" She asked. Merlin recognized her as a maid for the castle.

"We couldn't find them. An old woman found her in a cage on the side of the road. We think she was being smuggled. So we want to find her a home." Arthur told her.

"I would love to adopt her. I was just recently married, but unfortunately my husband has passed. I never got the chance to have children. Maybe this is a blessing for myself." She told them. She invited them inside, and they sat down at her table. The house was very small, but clean.

"I imagine there are papers I must sign in order to adopt Ethel." She said. They nodded.

"Since we found you, we can have the records keeper print up an official document. You work as a maid at the castle, I believe." Merlin said. She nodded.

"Not many people see me as I usually just clean the knights quarters, and do some miscellaneous work. Usually I am alone when I'm doing this, so I'm not seen as much." She told them.

"Well I think we are obligated to tell you this, but Ethel is a druid child." Arthur told her. She would have to know before she adopted of course. Her face turned a little negative.

"So she's a druid? I see." She said, not so sure of herself. She started to fumbled around the kitchen.

"Actually now that I think about it, I do not have that much money to raise a child. It's hard enough living without a man, and to work as a maid has barely any pay. I think I will have to retract my statement. Good bye sires." She hurried. Merlin knew she was scared off, and nothing would change her mind. He and Arthur just said goodbye, and walked back to the castle with Ethel holding Merlin's hand.

"The one woman willing to adopt in this entire city, and she doesn't want a druid child. We have the worst of luck." Merlin said.

"Maybe a druid camp would welcome her? I think that's our best bet at the moment. At least that way we know she will be with her kind." Arthur suggested. It was only noontime, but Merlin felt that he could find a druidic camp near the area. Many camps have been migrating into Camelot recently.

"Hey Ethel. Would you mind if we went on a horse to find a camp? I know the best one that has the nicest people. I'm very familiar with the chief." Merlin asked as they walked back.

"If I go to be with other druids, will I be able to see you?" She asked. It broke Merlin's heart to hear that, she just sounded so precious.

"Of course. I can visit you, and when you get older, you can visit me. You might be able to work in the city, and see me as much as you want." Merlin told her. She smiled very slightly.

"Then I do not mind. I just want to be able to see you sometimes." She spoke softly. Merlin stayed with Ethel while Arthur loaded Merlin's horse. Arthur decided to stay back since Merlin knew the way.

Once the horse was saddled and ready, Merlin climbed up, and Arthur gave her to Merlin. Ethel sat in front of Merlin, with both of her legs to the side.

"I will be back shortly." Merlin told Arthur. Merlin used some of his magic to keep Ethel in place as they rode out of the city.

Merlin felt the energy around himself, and could feel the familiar airiness. It was Thew.

Thew was a middle aged man who was the chief of an older camp. Merlin only briefly met his father a couple years back, but he died soon after. Thew now took his place, and Merlin had been meaning to visit him soon.

They spent a good hour riding, before they arrived at the camp. Druid's walked around, talked, cooked, and danced around. Merlin jumped down, and then helped Ethel back down. He held her hand as they walked around the camp. Soon the familiar man walked up to them, and hugged Merlin.

"It has been awhile Emrys. So glad that you could join us again. And who is this?" He asked, looking to Ethel.

"I'm glad to see you too. And this is Ethel. I actually came because I wanted to ask if you could make room for her in your camp." Merlin told him. Thew nodded, and they walked around.

Merlin told Thew of Ethel's story, and why he came here. Ethel was interested.

"We do have one druid woman who would accept Ethel. Her and her husband tried having children for the past two years, but she failed to hold the pregnancy long enough to birth the child. I think she may like Ethel." Thew told Merlin. They walked around the tents, and arrived to a tent, that was opened slightly for people to see inside. Inside was a single woman, long blonde hair and brown eyes, cooking something in a pot.

"Greetings. And Emrys, it is so good to meet you." She greeted. She stopped what she was doing, and stood in front of the two.

"Mella. Emrys has brought us an orphaned druid child, and he wants us to accept her into our camp. I believe we can do so, but she will need a family. Are you interested in keeping her as your own? I do believe this is the miracle you've been hoping for." Thew asked. She looked down at the child and smiled. She crouched down to meet her eye level.

"What's your name?" She asked.

"Ethel." Ethel told her shyly. Mella held her hands out, and motioned for Ethel to take them. Ethel let go of Merlin, and held her hands.

"Do you have a last name?" Mella asked her. Ethel just shook her head.

"Would you like to be apart of our family? You can be called Ethel Moore. You would be apart of the Moore family." Mella told her. Ethel smiled to Mella. She seemed to like the name.

"I can be with you, as long as I can see Merlin sometimes." Ethel told her. Mella looked up to Merlin, and then back to Ethel.

"If Emrys joins us again, you can see him, and when you are older, I will allow you to visit if he is alright with that." She promised. Ethel walked forward, and hugged Mella. Mella just had the look of pure enjoyment all over her face. Merlin took that as a sign that Ethel would live with them.

"Thankfully since Ethel is not assimilating into a non magic house, there is no paperwork. I can say that she can safety live here. But would you mind if Ethel and I walked around the area for a bit?" Merlin asked. Mella nodded, and let go of Ethel.

"Of course Emrys." She said. Thew walked to a different area to talk to the others, and Merlin walked with Ethel around the camp.

They found a small creek, with stones surrounding it. Ethel separated from Merlin, and went to fetch a rock. She brought Merlin back a very pretty dark blue stone. It was smooth from the water carrying it around, and it had swirls of grey.

"That is very pretty." Merlin told her. "I have an idea." Merlin held the rock, and whispered a spell into it. It glowed momentarily, then it dissipated. Merlin handed her back the stone.

"I put a little spell onto that stone. If you are ever in danger, or feel scared, just whisper Merlin to the stone, and we can speak. It will probably only work for short sentences, and it will be weak. You can use it to tell me if there is an emergency. Okay?" Merlin told her. She nodded.

"Can you find me a stone as well? One that looks unique." Merlin asked of her. She nodded, and placed the stone in her pocket. She then looked around the bank for another stone. She dug in some areas, and soon found a purple clear stone. It was a bit jagged in some areas, but mostly round. She handed it to Merlin. Merlin performed the same spell on it, then demonstrated it.

"Ethel." He whispered into his own stone. Ethel's stone glowed blue. "Can you hear me?" He asked. Ethel's stone reverberated back what Merlin said. She giggled, and tried her stone out.

"Merlin. Can you hear me?" She repeated, and Merlin's stone glowed purple, and echoed her voice.

"See. Now alert me if you feel scared, or if something happens to the camp. I will arrive as soon as I can." Merlin told her. She kept her stone in her pocket, and Merlin walked her back to Mella.

She was standing there with her husband as well. He seemed nice, with soft features, and brown hair. Ethel walked over to the two, and looked back to Merlin.

"Thank you for this miracle, Emrys. We cannot thank you enough." Mella thanked him.

"It is nothing. I want your happiness, and the happiness of Ethel. But the day is ending soon, so I think I must go now." Merlin told them. He said goodbye to them, and to Thew, and left to ride back to Camelot.

He rode as fast as he could, and soon he was arriving in the evening to Camelot.

Merlin placed Night back into the stable, and he walked inside.

Arthur was in the throne room talking to a knight as he saw Merlin walk in. He excused himself, and walked to Merlin.

"Did everything go over well?" Arthur asked. Merlin nodded.

"She staying with the Moore family in a druid camp. I promised to visit her, and let her live here if she wants to when she's older." Merlin told Arthur. He was glad that Ethel was in a better place. Arthur and Merlin finished up their work for the day, had dinner together, and then went to their own rooms for the night.