Morgana rose an eyebrow at the dark-skinned man kneeling in front of her, his helmet was kept under his arm and his hair, a thick set of tight curls was carefully held back. He was very handsome, and by the way her handmaids had whispered amongst themselves upon his arrival, they had thought the same thing.

"Excuse me?" Morgana mumbled with a dress still in her hands. Her handmaids, Katy and Mary were standing at each side of the doors, pressing their lips together in a poor attempt to hide their smiles at Morgana's bewilderment.

"I'm here to escort you to Camelot," he repeated, this time lifting his eyes to see her, he had a shadow of a smile in his lips. Morgana had been perplexed enough when he had managed to step into her chambers without any resistance from any knight. A confusion that only grew when the first thing he did upon stepping in her room was kneel in front of her.

"And you are?" Morgana rose an eyebrow, making a hand gesture for him to stand up. He promptly did so and soon she figured he stood almost a head taller than her.

"Sir Accolon at your service, your majesty, your husband saved my life in the battlefield and in return, the last moment I saw him, unfortunately during his lasts moments, he asked me to make sure that if you chose to leave the castle, you'd reach your destination with safety. If you decided to stay, make sure you were not plotted against" A sad smile grew in Morgana's face. Urien was one of the greatest friends she could have ever asked for, it was strange to think he was no longer in the castle and that they wouldn't stay up talking until late at night. That was the main reason she would be leaving; she had no reason to stay in a place where she had no one to confide in.

"That is a big favor to ask" Morgana mumbled, turning back to putting another dress in her vault, her handmaids returned to work, picking her jewelry and shoes and putting them in other boxes.

"And looking at you, I can understand why he'd make such a request" Morgana's eyes shot in his direction only to find him smiling, helmet still under his arm looking at the window as if the sky was the most interesting thing in the world. She rose an eyebrow, unamused, looking at him up and down.

"I don't trust smooth talkers" she sentenced, picking the last of her dresses and putting closing the vault.

"Not even honest ones?" he inquired. Morgana glared at him

"Especially those who claim they are the honest ones"

"Understandable" he conceded, taking a step closer to her "still, I am a knight who is true to his word, especially to those who saved his life"

"Does that happen often?" Morgana questioned. A different smile rose to his face.

"Not quite. That's why I always keep my word" Accolon assured taking a step back and standing in his heels, his armor rattling when he did so.

Morgana wanted to think of a million excuses to fend him off, a million ways she could assure him she was strong enough to take care of herself in the road to Camelot.

On the other hand, she knew Urien, all those years of marriage and friendship meant something to her. She knew how kind and worrisome the man could be, how he went out of his way to show her how his kingdom worked and the people he personally believed were trustworthy and those who weren't. He always made sure she felt welcomed, asking someone to take care of her right after his brother took over the kingdom was something, she knew he would do, and she didn't want to dishonor his memory.

"And after we're in Camelot, you'll leave?" Morgana inquired, making a quick movement of her hand. Accolon nodded.

"I'll do so once we're both sure you're safe"

"Very well, Sir Accolon, I hope traveling with you will be an enjoyable experience" Morgana put her hand in front of his face, he held it. The metal of his gloves was cold to the touch, but his lips kissing the top of her hand were warm.

"Believe me, your highness. There are many that will account in favor of my company" Accolon winked. The playful smile in his face was oddly contagious, and Morgana found herself smiling at him.

-.-.-.-.-..--..-.--.-.-

Jonathan could hear his heartbeat in his ears, he clutched his chest, the air he was breathing wasn't enough. It wasn't supposed to happen like that. He didn't know it would happen like that. How could he possibly ever think about using magic with more control? What he did to Gabriel was a horrid thing to do to anyone, and no matter how much he tried, he couldn't erase the way that Valerie was looking at him out of his head. Now there was no way he could look at either of them in the eye.

Three girls stood on the school's entrance; he couldn't distinguish who they were. He turned to the first door he saw and locked it. He could feel his hands shaking and he sunk in the floor, his back against the door. His mouth felt dry and a sense of dread and nausea made its way to his stomach. His hands went to his head over and over again. He shouldn't have allowed it to go to that extent. He stood there and couldn't do anything when it was important and when he finally did something, he ended up hurting a friend. Thinking about what he could have done if Valerie hadn't spoken to him made the nausea worse.

Jonathan curled his hands in fists, a sob escaping his throat as his eyes prickled with tears. He tried to clean them furiously and to try to find anything that would stop the sensation that a wave was going to pull him away. He wasn't going to let himself feel like that again. The ringing phone only worked further to raise his heartbeat. He resisted the urge to throw it to the other side of the room and instead put it on silence ignoring whoever was trying to call him. His lower lip trembled.

He wanted to get rid of it, even if he knew there was no way to do it. Maybe then he would be able to muster the courage to apologize to Gabriel and Valerie for getting them hurt. But now he was trapped, waiting until his heartbeat and the nausea subdued enough so he could go home and curl in his room.

-.-.--.-.

Valerie clutched onto her side, the pain in her ribcage har grown to the point it was almost unbearable. Morgana opened the house's door, but Valerie wasn't sure she had touched the doorknob. She had never seen Jonathan run that fast, reaching to him became nearly impossible when she realized every step she took was more difficult than the one before.

Gabriel had refused to leave her side until she had called her aunt who was holding her with a terrified look in her eyes. Valerie had tried to call Jonathan, but to no avail, the boy wasn't even answering a single one of her calls or messages.

"Valerie to the couch, now" Morgana commanded, with an almost unfamiliar finality. Valerie walked to the living room, letting out a complaint of pain as soon as she laid on the couch.

"I can't believe this" Morgana mumbled, her eyes glowing blue as her hands rested above Valerie's body. Valerie felt more relaxed. It was different than when Merlin had healed her, the pain on her body slowly fading away. Soon, she had nothing but the ghost trace of the pain she had been into.

"I'm going to call the school to let them know you're here and you have to tell me everything" Morgana spoke as soon as she was done healing Valerie, who nodded. Merlin approached the living room, wearing an apron under Valerie's gaze, who was too concerned on other things to take the time to mock him for it. She assured herself, she'd get another chance.

"It was a fucking shitshow" Valerie mumbled, relying in her elbows to sit straight in the couch, the pain now gone. Merlin frowned.

"Your highness I've told you multiple times, that language is not..."

"Not the moment Emrys" Morgana said, her tone stern and severe. He tilted his head, "Just, leave us alone for a couple seconds, alright?" Merlin nodded, raising his hands in defeat and retreated to the kitchen "Please, Valerie continue"

Valerie explained everything to them from the moment the knight showed up in front of Iman, Philip and her, to the moment Jonathan ran out of the attic. When she told Morgana what had happened her eyes opened wide.

"He didn't hurt you?" Morgana questioned.

"No..." Valerie mumbled with her eyebrows furrowed. "He did make Gabriel's mouth completely vanish, but I was able to approach him and shake him and he didn't hurt me, at all. Why?" Valerie questioned.

"Just worried" Morgana tensed a smile, sitting on the opposite edge from the couch.

"Do you know what that was?" Valerie questioned "I kid you not, after I shook him and he realized what had happened he stared at me like he had seen a fucking ghost... like..."

"Like what?" Morgana pried.

"Like he was shit-in-my-pants horrified, he didn't look that horrified when those kids bullied him, and I've been trying to contact him but he's not answering, will he be alright?" Valerie tried; her voice filled with worry.

"I'm sure he will be" Morgana reassured, but Valerie noticed the slight twitch in her eyebrow despite the familiar warmth of her aunt's smile.

"Is that kind of shit normal? Is it magical puberty? Like voice breaking or a first period at the worst possible moment?" Valerie questioned, trying to get anything to assure herself he would be fine.

"It's... different for everyone" Morgana tried, "I admit I broke a couple vases and windows when I was just beginning to get used to my powers" Valerie nodded. "Give it a few hours, once the scare goes away, he'll probably contact you himself" she gave Valerie a half hug, rubbing her arm with her hand.

Valerie's mouth tensed, and she furrowed her eyebrows, suddenly remembering another detail that had plagued her mind.

"Do ghosts bleed?"

"Excuse me?" Morgana furrowed her eyebrows, a half-amused smile in her face, breaking the hug from the girl.

"Ghosts, can they bleed?" Valerie insisted.

"No... ghosts don't have a physical body, why is that?"

"The sword, it was covered in blood where I stabbed the guy" Valerie explained, turning her bracelet back into a sword and showing Morgana the stains that had dried. Morgana took the sword from the girl's hand looking at it closely.

"I'll have to look into that" she mumbled, returning the sword to the girl's hands "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine" Valerie left the sword in the table, wondering what were magical swords supposed to be cleaned with "When you picked me up my entire body felt like I had been ran over by a bus, I'm pretty sure I had a broken rib, but now that I'm healed, I'm fine. Even my fingers are cut-free" Valerie rose her hand to Morgana's eye level.

"Right" Morgana nodded, smiling "Why don't you go and take a nap? Let me know if you need anything, even if it is just talking." She put a hand in Valerie's back, the girl nodded, albeit a bit hesitant.

"Fine" Valerie stood up from her chair "My schoolbag! I must have left it at school, I..."

"I'll try to find a way to get someone to bring it here" Morgana said, "But before I forget, you're not going tomorrow, alright?"

"Oh! Cool!" Valerie smiled.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Try it" Morgana's voice resonated in Valerie's still half-asleep morning walk to the kitchen. The girl glanced at her phone, still no news from Jonathan, only a couple of messages from classmates and friends asking if she was alright and a pair only to confirm the rumors that with the earthquake a piece of the roof had fallen on her. Even Gabriel and Audrey had texted her, and she had answered with a thumbs up.

By the time she had woken up from her nap, her schoolbag was carefully put in the living room's couch. She didn't know who had brought it, and her aunt had refused to say anything about it while they were dining.

"Morgana, that thing is jumping, one drop of that burns"

"Emrys, don't be a cry baby and just turn the sausages, be a modern man and learn to cook with oil" her aunt's voice was filled with amusement.

"Or what? Morgana, you can't make me cook with oil" Merlin's voice was playful.

"Are..."

"Good Morning Aunt, pest" Valerie greeted as soon as she stepped into the kitchen and pretended not to have seen her aunt quickly break apart from hugging Merlin. She sat on the table as she rubbed her eyes thinking about the fact that she'll have to be the one to do the dishes after.

"Valerie" Morgana scolded.

"I'm sorry, good morning Merlin, what a pleasure it is to see you so early in my day" Valerie put up a smile and joined her hands.

"Finally, the greeting I deserve, good morning, your highness"

"Valerie" she corrected rolling her eyes while Morgana laid a plate of breakfast in front of her.

Soon, both Merlin and Morgana were sitting on the table enjoying their own food. The time went by fast, the conversation had begun about Valerie skipping school for the day and it eventually evolved to Merlin mentioning he had finished reading all of Shakespeare works and now had moved on to read about Jane Austen. Valerie was barely taking the last bite of her breakfast when her aunt stood up drinking the remains of her coffee in one go.

"I have to get ready for work" she mumbled.

As soon as Morgana left the kitchen, Merlin picked up a thick book titled 'The complete novels of Jane Austen' and began skimming through it. Valerie didn't move from her chair and began to play with her phone hoping that at any second a message from Jonathan would show up in her screen. Up until then, she hadn't had any luck, but her aunt had told her to wait and give him some space. Normally she would plant herself in his house, but her aunt probably knew way better how to deal with that sort of things than she did

When Morgana walked into the kitchen, she was wearing a blue blouse, a black jacket loosely hanging from her arm and a pencil skirt that reached to her knees, accompanied by a pair of high heels and black stockings.

"You look great" Valerie was quick to compliment, Morgana smiled, her lips a dark shade of red. "What's the occasion?"

"A work meal, I left you two money on the counter so you can order takeout. Emrys is learning, but I don't trust him in the kitchen on his own and I know you two cooking together will most likely end in chaos"

"Aren't you uncomfortable?" Valerie rose her eyebrow noticing Merlin looking at her aunt. Morgana furrowed her eyebrows, a half-amused smile in her face. "That thing you're wearing doesn't look very comfortable"

"My skirt?" Morgana mumbled looking down and turning, Valerie tensed her lips staring at her phone, trying to resist an amused smile. "I'll have you know, it's very comfortable" she smiled looking at her watch "I have to go now! Valerie take care and you two behave!" Morgana threw her purse on and kissed Valerie's forehead quickly before leaving for work, Valerie was sure she had left a lipstick stain. Merlin's eyes followed her aunt until she was no longer visible. A wicked smile formed in Valerie's lips.

"You're staring" Valerie mumbled before drinking from her glass of orange juice. Merlin turned to her, a scowl in his eyebrows. Still the faint blush in his cheeks was unmistakable.

"Excuse me?" he spat. Valerie shrugged.

"I know my aunt is a fashion icon. I wish I could dress half as good as she does by the time I'm the age she seems to have" Valerie commented, Merlin opened his mouth to speak but she spoke before he could do so "but I also know you were not looking at her outfit"

"Can't I be interested in the ever-growing shift on style and materials clothing has taken over the last few centuries?"

"You can" Valerie shrugged, glancing at the copy of 'The Complete Novels of Jane Austen. "What color was her blouse?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You said you were interested in the materials and the style fashion has taken over the years, then at least you should be able to tell me what color was her blouse if you were interested enough to look at it so much just to know what it was made of"

"I don't have to answer to you"

"You said I was your highness" Valerie batted her eyelashes, a proud smile in her face "feel lucky I didn't ask you what it was made of, but I can understand if you don't know"

"It was gray" Merlin said with confidence, Valerie smiled.

"It was blue" Merlin's face fell "I'm not aware of medieval etiquette and that shit, but staring in the twenty-first century is considered a rude thing to do"

Valerie smiled proud noticing Merlin's embarrassed face. Her eyes moved to her phone, Iman had sent her a message, as had a couple of her classmates. Apparently, some rumors about ceiling falling on her had erupted and they wanted to be the firsts to whether to deny or confirm the rumors.

Valerie told them it was truth, but she also told them wildly different stories.

She went to Jonathan's chat and moved it up and down over and over again hoping that by the time it was down again, a new message would have popped up. He hadn't connected since yesterday before the incident.

"I remember An...Morgana saying it was rude to check your phone on the table" Merlin mumbled. Trying to get a small victory on the girl.

"Shut up" Valerie mumbled "It's not the same thing"

"How so?" He rose an eyebrow, but Valerie ignored his question.

"You have powers, don't you?"

"I'm glad you noticed. I was starting to fear your mind had been stunted by all those poorly made stories about my life"

"They hardly are about you" Valerie spat, rolling her eyes. "I'm worried about Jonathan"

"Did something happen to him?" Merlin furrowed his eyebrows, this time closing the book and letting it in the table.

"You didn't hear my conversation with my aunt?"

"I was taught that eavesdropping is ill mannered and advised against" Merlin shrugged.

"But not against staring?" Valerie smiled.

"Irrelevant" Merlin tried to dismiss. He sighed "Whichever thing happened; the kid will be fine" he assured.

"You don't know that! He could be seriously hurt, or you know, brainwashed, or possessed, or I don't know" Merlin looked at her cautious, as if he was carefully analyzing each of the words she had said.

"Possessed?" Merlin questioned eyebrows knit together, his voice turning serious, "What happened to that kid?"

"I don't know if I should tell you" Valerie mumbled looking at the phone again, "I mean, it's his life and I would hate if he told you about my life, but he's ignoring me! And well, I'm worried about him" she admitted, Merlin looked at her up and down, leaning on the table.

"You shouldn't worry too much; he will be fine. Whatever he has, I'm sure he'll work it out, if he's physically hurt, he'll heal fast people like us always do"

"It's not that simple" she mumbled, pressing her hand against her face.

"Why not?"

"Because..." Valerie began, her mind wondered about all the things that made her worry about Jonathan that Merlin didn't know about. The look in his eyes was still sealed in her memory, and she knew how worried he got, she knew how things could escalate "...because I know him, and this isn't like him" she tried. Merlin nodded as if taking her words but not fully believing them.

"Then the best you can do is wait until he comes back to normal" Merlin tried, Valerie looked at him, her mouth tense into a line.

"But I don't know how long that will take" Valerie muffled into her arm.

"Waiting is one of the best things you can learn, and it would benefit you greatly" he spoke, opening his book again. Valerie rolled her eyes standing up from the kitchen chair and began to pick up the dishes to watch them.

-.-.-.

It was around midday when Valerie's phone began to ring. Her heart skipped a beat and she paused the show she was watching in her computer before realizing it was Iman's name in the screen. Still, the idea of being called made her happy.

"Iman, hi!" Valerie greeted.

"Hey Valerie! I'm glad you're fine" Iman's voice seemed to sound relieved. Valerie could faintly hear a person in the background

"Yeah, magical healing has its perks, how's everything there?"

"Philip is still shocked, and wants you to come so you can answer to his many, many remaining questions" Valerie laughed.

"next Monday maybe, put me on speaker for a second. Hey Philip!"

"I'm going to put you back to normal" Iman commented, ignoring the boy that spoke trying to get the phone to talk to Valerie "Hey I thought you might like to know, Audrey, a girl from eleventh year and me went and deleted he footage of the school's cameras"

"You did what?" Valerie sat straight on her bed.

"Yeah, it was the girl from eleventh year that dragged us, I don't know her name, unfortunately."

"What did she look like"

"Like about your height? Blonde hair, brown eyes, a birthmark on her left cheek" Valerie's eyes opened wide, recognizing the description

"How did she...? Unimportant, thank you guys for that, really you've saved my life"

"It's a shame we couldn't do anything about the cafeteria" Iman mumbled, Valerie furrowed her eyebrows.

"What happened to the cafeteria?"

"I didn't send you a...? Never mind, you've got to see this, and I've got to go, goodbye Valerie, talk to you later"

"Wait have you seen Jonathan?" Valerie questioned, taking her chance.

"I don't think so, why?"

"No reason, bye Iman" Valerie hanged up, listening to Iman and Philip's goodbye.

Valerie looked at the picture Iman had sent her, her eyes opening wide once the image loaded, the fact that it was the school's cafeteria was undeniable, however the entire floor was covered in plants and flowers, vines intertwined on the pillars and all of them were covered by a thin layer of ice above it shining even on the low quality security cameras that the school had.

"Fuck me" Valerie mumbled, running a hand through her hair.

-.-.-.-.

She almost had to beg Morgana to allow her to go to fencing practice, which was something almost unfamiliar to her. Valerie had spent the entire day at her house, and while it wasn't a problem most of the time, she wanted to do something. She also didn't want to give Michael the luxury to think what he told her had hurt deep.

"Back for more Pendleton?" Michael's voice resonated as soon as she stepped inside. She didn't try to mask the face of disgust that crept into her face.

"Give me a second, Bailey, I'm going to call some museum or maybe a lab, they'd probably want to know about the fact that the dodo bird evolved into whatever you are, maybe then you'll be somewhat interesting" she spat holding her phone up to her ear

"I..."

"Pendleton, Michael, I want to talk with both of you"

Her coach voice was loud and stern. She heard Michael sigh exasperated. Only then, she noticed the bruise that had formed in Michael's cheek. Good. She shouldn't have been as proud of it as she was. There was a gleeful jump in her step she was sure Michael had noticed by how loud he scowled.

The coach's office was small. It consisted of a dark desk with two chairs in front of it and a chair that grinded the moment he sat in front of it. What little space remained was mostly filled by with either paper, old trophies or fencing equipment that had become obsolete and the man refused to throw away.

"Sit down, the two of you"

Both teenagers did as they were told. The coach sighed loudly. Valerie saw him drum his desk with his hands, his mouth tensed in a line. He looked to them and sat straight.

"I know you two don't get along" he began, "And frankly I don't care about that, I've worked with kids far enough to know that get all of you to work well together is a wish I will probably take to my grave" Valerie glanced briefly at the floor and then back at her coach.

"What I want to know is what made you two get to the point that Michael's cheek is purple, and a student left in the middle of my class while it was raining. Care to explain?" Valerie furrowed her eyebrows, trying to find the right words to say, words that would get her out of trouble.

"So..."

"It was Valerie's fault" Michael interrupted, pointing at her, Valerie's mouth hung open, and she blinked a couple times.

"That is not true!" Valerie said, noticing the coach rub the bridge of his nose. "I had just finished fighting with Adam who had to leave, and he decided to be an unbearable bloody prick!"

"I've always been told I'm a delight" Michael turned to Valerie, who laughed bitterly "It's not my fault that you're a crazy, violent wench!"

"You don't even know what wench means you idiot!"

"How do you know I don't know?"

"Because if you can't figure out vertical from horizontal, I doubt your brain has the capability to know words that are outside your regular vocabulary"

"Quiet you two" the coach silenced "I brought you two to talk this here to solve this like civil people. I don't know how this started, so both of you will tell me your version and I will decide what to do after you're done, understood?" Valerie nodded.

"Michael will begin" the coach sat in his chair. Michael smiled proud, adjusting himself to sit straight. Valerie took a deep breath, begging to have the patience to not make his cheeks match each other.

"I was just minding my business, like I usually do and then I see her alone and I thought, hey, maybe I can actually do something instead of waiting forever until someone's done, but when I called her, she just told me 'I don't want to talk to you!' and punched me in the face, I only didn't return the punch because I was being held back, but doesn't this tell you of the unfairness of the situation?" Michael spoke, Valerie looked at him with incredulity. Their coach rose an eyebrow.

"Is that it? Very well, Valerie, your turn"

"I had just finished going against Adam because he had to leave, so I thought maybe I could enjoy five seconds of peace. It shouldn't have been so surprising the fact that this guy had no one to go against, I get them, really, given the choice, I wouldn't want to go against him either. So, this guy started pestering me, going on and on and on. I wasn't in the mood and I got sick of it and told him to stop, which he didn't care about and he just kept going until I lost my patience. Yeah, I threw the first and only punch in that fight..."

"See? She admits it!" Michael pointed; the coach ignored him.

"...but it's not like he didn't deserve it" Valerie crossed her arms, sitting as far away from Michael as possible.

A heave silence filled the room, the coach looked in between Valerie and Michael, an eyebrow risen while both teenagers waited for a reaction. Valerie hoped all the blame would be thrown onto Michael for pestering her, but she knew it was too hopeful from her to even think about it.

"You will apologize to each other" the coach sentenced, Valerie's eyes opened wide and she looked at the coach with indignation. He spoke again before they had a chance to interrupt, "after that, you two will help clean this place after the class is done"

"That's not fair! She's the one who punched me" Michael complained, Valerie rolled her eyes.

"Did she, or did she not tell you to stop?" the coach questioned.

"Well, she did but..." Michael tried, Valerie had to tense her lips to prevent the smile that was threatening to form.

"Forewarned is forearmed" the coach said, rubbing the bridge of his nose "Well, then, apologize"

Valerie began looking at the boxes around her, and only glanced at Michael enough to see he was doing the same thing.

"None of you will leave this room until you apologize"

"I'm sorry that you can't..."

"No, Bailey, again"

"I'm sorry for going too far" Michael groaned, Valerie rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry for punching you" She mumbled.

"Now, you two go and practice, Michael you have a competition soon, and Valerie, you have to make up for the class you left"

Both stood up. Valerie's mouth was tense, and she rose her eyebrows momentarily, her mouth turning into a gesture of distaste. She didn't like the idea of having to stay after, however she recognized that it could have gone a lot worse than it had gone.

She walked to her bag, looking through her phone. Usually she kept it in vibration mode during fencing, this time she had every single volume to its highest capacity so if Jonathan were to call or answer a message she would know immediately. So far, her messages remained unseen. She sighed looking around, realizing that once again, she was left with no one to go against but Michael.

She put her phone on its usual spot, holding her sabre in her hands. Valerie turned to the boy who was knelt on the ground, picking his equipment from his bag.

"Ready to get your ass handed to you?" Valerie questioned, raising an eyebrow, holding her sabre in her hand. Michael's eyes shot in her direction, looking at her up and down.

"Fuck you Pendleton," Michael spat, adjusting his helmet.

A.N.

Thank you so much to everyone reading this chapter if you like it, please consider leaving a vote or a comment. Thank you so much and have a lovely day!