A large crowd was gathering outside the castle. It was disgusting to see the amount of people who had come to see the trial of the "witch", and Eve cringed. They had all gathered around the large lake that Lana would be plunged into. Merlin kept a hand on Eve's shoulder, keeping her close to him. Her knuckles hurt where she'd punched the messenger.

Gwaine and Emrys were closer to the lake. Merlin planned to deal with Nimueh and break the spell over King George, hopefully before the bound Lana could be sent into the lake. Ellen and Rampion were near the two boys, backup in case something went wrong.

The only problem was that Merlin couldn't find Nimueh. It was as if she'd disappeared from The Story, which seemed to be making the sorcerer nervous. If he couldn't find Nimueh, he wouldn't be able to break her spell over Saint George, and they would have to fight to free Lana. That seemed to make him anxious.

King George stepped up to the podium, and even Eve, from several hundred feet away, could see from his vacant expression and emotionless voice that all was not right with him. Merlin's grip on Eve's shoulder increased, becoming rather painful. The King's voice echoed throughout the mumbling crowd, silencing them. "People of the kingdom," he said. "Today, this girl, Lana-a-Dale of Sherwood Forest, has been charged with witchcraft. She shall undergo the test to determine if she is a witch ... or if she is an innocent."

Lana stared at her feet, and Eve's heart broke for her when she saw the hopeless expression on the girl's face. "We're here!" Eve wanted to yell. "You're not alone." But to do so would have given up their element of surprise. Even so, it still hurt like mad to see her best friend tied hand and foot, gagged, ready to be thrown into the water. As if sensing Eve's distress, Merlin gave her a comforting squeeze. He looked like he could have used some comfort himself.

The crowd shivered as one abruptly. It was as if the spring air had turned to winter. Eve felt like someone was dropping icicles down the back of her shirt. She looked at Merlin. "What's happening?" she asked.

Merlin's eyes widened. "It's Nimueh," he breathed. "Come on! We need to hurry!"

Oh, please, God, don't let us be too late!

. . . . . . . . . .

Gwaine stood, tense, watching Lana. She didn't seem to notice him, Emrys, and Ellen standing not far from her, as close as they could get without being seen. Gwaine's hand rested on the sword Merlin had found for him. If anyone even got close to Lana, he would behead them, he promised himself.

A disturbance in the crowd made him turn his head. Merlin was running, pulling Eve along behind him. The crowd parted before them, but they were attracting attention—the very thing Merlin had instructed them not to do. Emrys tensed. "There's a foul wind blowing," he said.

George was motioning to the guards around Lana, and they lifted her off her feet by her arms, carrying her toward the water. Ellen pulled away from Emrys and Gwaine, running to her daughter. "Lana!" she yelled. "Don't you dare hurt her!"

"Ellen, what are you doing?" Merlin shouted, still a good distance away.

Gwaine started sprinting after Ellen, seeing what the others had not; the archers standing behind the King. "Ellen! Ellen, look out!" he called, desperately trying to get her to see what he was.

But the woman had a single-minded intent to rescue Lana and didn't pay Gwaine's shouted warning any heed. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach when he saw one of the archers draw the bowstring back to his cheek and sight. "ELLEN!" Merlin yelled.

The arrow flew forward from the archer's bow. It was a perfect shot and slammed into Ellen's chest, sending the woman staggering down to the ground. Gwaine skidded to a stop beside her, but he was too late to do anything. The arrow had struck Ellen in the heart.

She was dead.

. . . . . . . . . .

Lana screamed through her gag as she saw the arrow pierce her mother. She lost sight of Ellen as she fell and kicked out at the men holding her, desperate to get to her mother. The guards had no intention of releasing her and manhandled her into the water. Fear flooded through her. She couldn't swim, even with her hands and legs free of any bindings. And the lake looked deep, particularly in the middle where they were bringing her ...

After several tries, she got the gag off her mouth. "Let go of me! Please!" she shrieked, unable to resist them. Her mother. How could her mother have been shot? She needed to see her, needed to hug her again. If she were dead—

Further thoughts were interrupted as the men unexpectedly heaved her into the water, near the middle of the lake. For a moment, she struggled to stay afloat, trying to swim with her wrists and ankles bound. It was a losing battle and Lana slipped beneath the surface. Water closed around her, and she struggled to breathe. Stark terror threatened to overwhelm her. She tried to force her way to the surface, her lungs burning, begging for oxygen. She'd been taken by surprise and had little air left in her.

Against Lana's will, she inhaled and swallowed water. It went down her throat, burning painfully, and she coughed, trying to dislodge it. In the process, she ended up swallowing more water and her vision was going black around the edges. God help me ...

She lost consciousness.

. . . . . . . . . .

Gwaine left Ellen's corpse where it was and ran to the water. He peeled his shirt off as he went and tossed aside the belt his sheath was on before diving into the lake. His vision for a moment was all bubbles and ripples from the water around him before it cleared and he saw Lana, sinking to the bottom. She didn't seem to be moving.

It only took Gwaine a minute or two to reach Lana. He wrapped one arm around the bard's waist, pushing her red hair out of his face as it floated aimlessly. Then he swam as fast as he could, pulling Lana to the surface with him. His head broke through the water, and he coughed, dislodging water he'd accidentally swallowed in his efforts to bring Lana above water. She hung limp as a rag doll from his arms.

"Gwaine! Here!" Eve yelled. She was standing on the shore. Emrys was fighting a group of soldiers, using wind magic to hold them at bay and give Gwaine time to bring Lana to shore. Arms and legs burning, still coughing up water, Gwaine swam to them. Eve grabbed Lana and hauled her limp body onto the sand before helping Gwaine as well. "Is she ... is she alright?" The noblewoman looked terrified.

Gwaine said nothing. He started trying to get Lana to cough up the water, trying to get her to breathe. Her dark eyes were closed, her face white as a sheet. Her red hair was spread out around her, soaked and limp as her body. She had never looked more beautiful. Desperately, Gwaine kept trying, but it was ineffective.

Finally, he sat back on his heels, breathing hard, tears in his eyes. "It didn't work," he said, horror numbing his words. "I can't get her to breathe."

"No, no," Eve whispered, sobbing. She grabbed Lana's hand, squeezing, praying. "Lana, please. Please, wake up! Don't leave us! You can't die!"

Lana didn't answer. No breath would come from her lungs. Her eyes were stubbornly close.

She had drowned.