AN: I had problems when I first uploaded this but before I could upload it again my brother broke my laptop. Therefore I've had to re-write it completely. This is 'What If' but there may be a few changes to it.

Arthur paced around his chambers. He had been prepared to do it; to marry Princess Mithian. It would benefit Camelot and Nemeth with the treaty between their lands enforced by their marriage. He also got on well with Mithian; she was fun to be around and was a skilled hunter not to mention beautiful. Arthur could almost hear Uther praising him for his decision. However there was just one little problem.

He still loved Guinevere.

Arthur knew it was stupid; Guinevere had betrayed him the night before they were to be married. He thought that she loved him. That they would be married and she would be his queen. It was all he had wanted for so long but she destroyed it. She betrayed him with none other than Lancelot. Guinevere knew how he had been insecure when she was around Lancelot; that she would realise that Lancelot could give her something Arthur couldn't. Guinevere and Lancelot wouldn't have had to hide their relationship the way they had to. Nobody would have seen any scandal if a knight fell for a servant. Yet every time he asked her; Guinevere told Arthur that she loved him and only him; that her feelings for Lancelot, brief as they were had long since vanished. Therefore when he walked into the throne room to see them in an embrace… it was like she had ripped his heart out of his chest and danced all over it. Arthur rubbed his head and pressed his forehead against the window. His mind was battling with what to do. Did he marry a woman while his heart still longed for another? Did he risk Camelot's future for a treacherous woman whom he had banished? What was he to- hang on- Arthur looked again out the window. Running across the dark courtyard was Merlin. Arthur grabbed his cloak and followed his servant. After what had happened to Elyan last week; Arthur had been monitoring his best friends very closely and as far as he knew, Merlin didn't make a habit of running out of Camelot in the middle of the night.

Merlin sprinted into the woods. He had seen Gwen earlier and had managed to stop Arthur from killing her. However Gwen had fled before Mithian fired her arrow. They couldn't find Gwen and had no idea of whether Mithian missed or whether the arrow had hit home. Merlin had only just managed to slip away; work had kept him busy all day and he therefore ran like his shoes were on fire. He had lost Gwen once already; he wasn't doing it again. Merlin returned to where they were hunting earlier and scoured the area looking for some sort of clue. Just as he was going to cast a spell; Merlin was aware of the sound of footsteps and a very unwelcome voice stole the air.

"What on earth are you doing?"

"I thought I had seen someone here earlier. I wanted to be sure." Merlin replied. Arthur frowned and was suddenly aware that he didn't bring his sword.

"Who did you see?" Arthur asked.

"That's what I'm trying to find out." Merlin replied and began walking in the direction Gwen had run off to. He swore under his breath as his gaze fell on the twitching leg of a deer.

"The doe? Merlin you ran out here for a doe?" Arthur asked incredulously. This was insane. He had been expecting Morgana or bandits to leave out at them and attack. Instead Merlin was worried about a doe? Despite himself, Arthur approached the creature and felt some pity for the wounded doe. The doe had been hit in the right leg and the arrow was still lodged in the wound. The poor animal must have been in agony before it passed out. The wound was filthy; the hair around the wound was muddy and covered in blood. Arthur looked around and picked up a large rock.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked as he pulled out the arrow.

"We should put it out of its misery." Arthur replied but dropped the stone as a glowing golden light enveloped the doe. The light was so bright that both king and warlock shielded their eyes. When it faded Arthur's jaw smacked off the forest floor as he and Merlin re-approached the unconscious figure on the ground. Dressed in a tight and revealing harem-style burgundy dress that left very little to the imagination was Gwen. She was unconscious and shivering and twitching.

"Gwen," Merlin breathed, ripping off his jacket and pressing it to his friend's thigh. "What did she do to you?"

Arthur was still staring at his former fiancée in shock. Aside from the fact that he never thought they would see each other again, her dress showed that she must have been held hostage by slave traders. Arthur had warned her that if they ever met again then he would kill her. However she was the doe. If they had killed her then he and Elyan, Merlin, Leon, Percival and Gwaine would have obviously brought the corpse back to the palace kitchens to be served up at the feast. That meant they wouldn't have been eating deer. They would have been eating…

"I think I'm going to be sick." Arthur muttered as his stomach lurched. However he composed himself and walked over to where Merlin was still pressing his jacket to the wound.

"I can't stop it; we have to take her to Gaius." Merlin insisted. Arthur looked at Guinevere. Her life was in his hands. Would he keep his word or would he let the woman he loved have a chance to live?

Arthur ripped off his cloak and wrapped it around the jacket as a heavier bandage. "I'll carry her."

The two of them moved as quickly as they could through the woods. Gwen was a dead weight in Arthur's arms and as they reached Camelot Merlin sprinted up to Gaius' chambers, stunning the elderly physician as he burst through the doors.

"Gaius we have a problem!" Merlin exclaimed as Arthur entered carrying Gwen. He set her onto one of the beds and allowed Gaius to attempt to stop the bleeding. Neither Merlin nor Arthur said a word but allowed Gaius to stem the blood flow and bandage up Gwen's leg. Once he was satisfied that the bleeding had stopped, Gaius turned to Merlin and Arthur.

"What happened?" he asked.

"She was in the woods. Someone had turned her into a doe and she'd been shot by an arrow. How is she?" Arthur asked. Both Gaius and Merlin noted the fact that Arthur didn't use Gwen's name was his way of distancing himself from the situation.

"Gwen's lost a lot of blood and the next day or two will be critical. There's also the possibility of infection caused by the wound give that she was in the forest. Naturally she'll have to stay for treatment until she has recovered." Gaius replied sternly. Arthur gave a nod and left the room. As soon as the door shut behind him; Gaius turned to Merlin.

"You know more than you're saying." Gaius prompted. Merlin shook his head.

"Morgana must have done this but I don't know why. Gwen's left Camelot; she's no threat to Morgana anymore." Merlin replied; it hadn't been that hard to work out what Morgana had done to Gwen and Lancelot. The only problem was that they had no way of proving Gwen was under some sort of spell. Arthur refused to listen to reason and none of them wanted to be the one who questioned what happened. Merlin looked at Gwen who was still unconscious. "What happened to you?"

Arthur returned to his chambers; his mind was racing. Now that Guinevere was back for treatment would there be some possible answers to how she acted? Was there a possibility that maybe they could reconcile? Yet even as Arthur asked that question he knew they couldn't. She had betrayed him and if he reconciled with her that just proved how weak he was to go back to a woman who had betrayed him. As King, Arthur couldn't afford to be seen as weak; not with Morgana out there as well as possible tensions between Camelot and the other kingdoms. Arthur needed to be like his father; strong and powerful, maintaining his commands and beliefs to the end. Yet look where that had gotten Uther; loathed by Morgana and killed by sorcery. Arthur had never known Ygraine and wasn't sure what his mother would have said in this situation. He couldn't talk to Agravaine or Gaius or the knights. Even if Morgana was here; Arthur would have impaled himself on his sword before he sought her advice. The King had never felt so isolated and alone. He needed a confidante; someone who would listen and understand and advice him to make the right choice. Yet who could do that.

"Someone help me," Arthur whispered as someone knocked on the door.

"Sire,"

Arthur bit back a scoff. Of all the people Fate could have sent him to offer advice he got Merlin. That being said; the servant did occasionally offer some genuine good support and advice. However that was few and far between. Merlin looked at Arthur and seemed to immediately know what was wrong.

"You still love Gwen." Merlin said; it wasn't a question. It was a fact. They all could see it and they all knew it. Even Mithian was aware that Arthur didn't love her. The princess of Nemeth knew that their marriage; like a majority of royal and noble marriages was one of convenience and alliance; love had very little to do with it.

"What do I do Merlin?" Arthur asked.

"You need to think everything through. Your duty to Camelot is important but your duty to your heart is more important than anything. Marriage isn't the only way to make peace between Camelot and Nemeth." Merlin advised.

"I can't forgive her; I can't trust her but I still want to marry her. What does that say about me as a leader?" Arthur asked.

"There was something seriously not right about what Gwen did. Personally I think Gwen would leap off the battlements before she tried to hurt any of us. Lancelot was the same. He gave his life for us and for Camelot. Also I think you'd be surprised how much strength is shown by forgiveness. It shows that you know they did wrong and hurt you but you're a better person than someone who would seek vengeance. That's the sort of leader that Camelot needs; like Queen Annis. She wanted war to avenge her husband's death but had enough courage and grace to forgive you and agree to the compromise. You need to follow her example. Sometimes the strongest words you can say are; 'I forgive you." Merlin asked.

Arthur nodded and considered what Merlin said. "That's quite profound Merlin. Even though you said it; it's … wise. I have a lot to think about so,"

"Of course, I know you'll make the right choice. You're a prat but occasionally you're one brain cell tends to work." Merlin commented with a small smile.

"Goodbye Merlin." Arthur replied and sat at his desk. For the whole night Arthur sat up thinking about what Merlin said and weighing up his options. It took hours and hours of debating possibilities and inevitabilities as well as writing up what needed to be written as he made his choice. As the dawn broke Arthur took a deep breath, rubbed his eyes and looked at the parchment in his hand. He had made his choice and he was going to see it through.

That day Princess Mithian left Camelot the way she arrived. Unmarried.

Later that evening Arthur slipped down into Gaius' chambers after a lecture from Agravaine about what he had done and how this would be seen and how foolish he was to risk Camelot's future for a woman who broke his heart. Arthur ignored everything he was told and instead went to Gaius; knowing the physician would understand why he did what he had done. However when Arthur reached Gaius' chambers the door was locked and bolted. Arthur knocked on the door and could hear footsteps, a smack and a groan of pain before Merlin opened the door and allowed the king into the room. Merlin looked worried and he could hear Gaius moving around Merlin's bedroom.

"What's going on?" Arthur asked, pushing past Merlin and going into his room. Gwen was lying on Merlin's bed; she was still unconscious but her body was soaked in sweat and was trashing around on the mattress. Gaius was trying to restrain her to administer a potion. Arthur hurried over and grabbed Gwen's wrists and managed to keep her still while Gaius poured a potion into her throat. Slowly Gwen went limp and Gaius looked at Arthur who understood what was happening.

"The wound's become infected and she has a fever." Gaius explained.

"How bad is it?" Arthur asked. Gaius simply looked at him and he knew. "What can we do?"

"I gave her a potion to try and fight the infection and the wound has been cleaned and re-bandaged four times already but it's the fever I'm more worried about." Gaius explained.

"Gwen's tough; she'll pull through." Merlin reassured but he looked just as scared as Arthur felt.

"I'm not going to lie to either of you; at this rate she'll be lucky if she makes it until morning. Arthur I suggest you fetch Elyan. If anything else he should at least be here to say;" Gaius trailed off.

"To say goodbye." Arthur answered and he wondered to himself whether or not Elyan had even been able to say goodbye to Gwen before she left Camelot. Obviously he himself hadn't but had any of them? Arthur left the room and as the door shut behind him, Merlin quickly bolted it with magic and turned to Gaius.

"What can we do?" Merlin asked.

"You know what you can do." Gaius replied. Merlin shook his head. Ever since he had failed to cure Uther he had doubted his abilities to use healing spells.

"I can't. I killed Uther and I can't kill Gwen." Merlin replied.

"You know as well as I do that Morgana and Agravaine killed Uther. You will not kill Gwen but you'll have to be quick." Gaius warned. Merlin nodded and rummaged around for his spell book. Healing spells were extremely difficult and specific. There were separate spells for wounds, poisons, broken bones, fevers, vomiting bugs, diseases and infections. Merlin studied his book as Gaius dabbed Gwen's forehead and while they didn't share a word; they knew the fate of Camelot's future rested with both the conflicted King roaming the corridors and the dying woman on the bed.

Arthur walked towards Elyan's chambers slowly. His legs felt like they were the ones that had been pierced by an arrow. The King was scared. Guinevere was dying and there was nothing he could do about it. Arthur still loved Guinevere while he couldn't look at her without seeing her and Lancelot kissing the night before their wedding; love for her still dominated his head and heart. She was all he could think about night and day; at every meal and council meeting and training session. Guinevere managed to invade his thoughts. Arthur slipped into an alcove and let his mind roam, selecting various memories about him and Guinevere.

He's thirteen years old and about to pull the most brilliant prank on Morgana in the history of Camelot. Perched on a chair behind the door with a bucket of watered down horse dung in his hands; the immature teenage prince waited on his target to return. As he waited; Arthur could hear Morgana approaching. The king's ward had clearly been having another argument with the king. She was fourteen and Uther had dared suggest the possibility of her being married by her sixteenth birthday and Morgana was having none of it. The door opened and immediately Arthur leapt off the chair and upended the bucket onto Morgana's head and ran. As he ran he could hear Morgana running after him. Arthur sprinted down the corridor and hit a dead end. He could hear Morgana approaching when suddenly a hand reached out from the alcove and pulled him in. They stood for a moment in total silence as Morgana stopped, looked around and ran off yelling a warning that when she found Arthur; she was going to painfully hurt him. Arthur looked at his saviour and was surprised to see it was none other than Morgana's maid Guinevere.

"Thanks," Arthur whispered.

"It's fine, I think you should run while you can Sire." Guinevere advised.

"I think I will. Oh and Guinevere; if Morgana asks," Arthur began.

"I didn't see you; I know. My brother tends to ask me to say that to our father." Guinevere said with a smile. Arthur grinned and ran off to escape Morgana's temper and clutches.

He was competing in the tourney under the guise of 'Sir William' and hiding out at Gwen's house. Arthur's arrogant nature had caused Gwen to reveal the extent of her temper two days in a row. Arthur honestly couldn't think of a time he'd ever seen her so angry. Arthur had sat awake that night thinking. Nobody, not even Uther had managed to cut Arthur down to size the way that Guinevere had. It was somewhat astounding. The few days they had spent together had allowed the prince to see Guinevere in a whole new light. When he was getting ready for the final tournament; Arthur had taken the risk and kissed her. Somehow kissing her felt right. There were no social bonds between them in that moment. He wasn't a prince and she wasn't a servant. He was Arthur and she was Guinevere and that was all that mattered.

It was the first snow day of the winter and while he trained his knights; Arthur had spotted Guinevere walking across the white field towards them. The moment their eyes met; Guinevere pointed at Elyan and pressed a finger to her lips. Arthur smiled and ordered the knights to practice their arm movements. Arthur and Merlin watched as Guinevere scooped up some snow into her hand and crept up behind her brother and shoved it down his shirt before sprinting off across the field. Elyan yelped and chased after his sister; catching her and shoving snow down her dress. Within moments the siblings were firing snow at one another and Gwaine, Leon, Percival and Merlin had sprinted off to help. The next thing Arthur knew they were having a massive snowball fight which moved from the training field into the courtyard and everyone from servants to guards and even Agravaine and Gaius were seen firing a snowball or two. Everyone was laughing, having fun and celebrating being alive. Arthur was about to call an 'everyone versus Merlin' attack but a snowball exploded in his face. Gwen was already making her next snowball as Arthur wiped his face.

"You'll pay for that Guinevere." Arthur warned.

"Will I?" Gwen replied with a grin as she threw another snowball. By the end of the war everyone was covered in snow, shivering, red-faced yet smiling as they returned to their work. Arthur reached out and took Gwen's hand; her eyes were shining and she looked happier than he had seen her be since from before Morgana betrayed them. They stood in the snowy courtyard and kissed. It was one of those perfect romantic moments.

Well; up until Merlin and Elyan pelted them with snow laughing and running away like the two little boys they were.

The more Arthur thought about it; he knew that he didn't want Guinevere to die. He knew he had banished her but that didn't seem to be matter anymore. He didn't want her to die. He didn't want her to be banished. He wanted her to be his wife. He wanted her to be the mother of his children. He wanted her to be his queen. Arthur didn't care about what anyone thought; he was the King and if he wanted to marry Guinevere then he would. Yet as he thought this Arthur was brought back to reality with a bump. He didn't know whether or not she would survive her fever and wound; how could he be considering this when she mightn't eve make it until dawn? Arthur got to his feet and hurried to Elyan's room.

Sir Elyan; the youngest of the Knights of the Round Table; was sitting on his bed absentmindedly polishing his sword with a rag and was lost in thought. These days Elyan had been doing some serious thinking. A lot, no everything that had happened between Gwen, Arthur and Lancelot made no sense whatsoever. They had had almost a year before the Dorrocha forced Lancelot to sacrifice himself to save them all. If they had had that much time; why didn't Gwen just dump Arthur at some point during that time and be with Lancelot? Why did she wait until he came back and why on the night before she was getting married? It made no sense whatsoever. Gwen wasn't that type of girl. Ever since he had been possessed by the spirit of the dead Druid boy; Elyan began trying to make sense of the situation. Was it possible that like him; Gwen had been possessed or under some form of enchantment the way they had all been enchanted by the Lamia? That the events of those few days weren't as black and white as they'd all thought it to be? Elyan thought back to the night before Gwen left; they had had a screaming match in their old home.

"Just tell me what happened why did you do that?" Elyan asked for the hundredth time.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Gwen yelled and she seemed to break in that moment as she repeated herself in a whisper. "I don't know."

Elyan walked over and hugged his sister as she cried. None of this made any sense and try as he might; Elyan couldn't make head nor tail of this situation. For some time brother and sister stood hugging; not wanting to let the other go. They had been in this situation before when Elyan left home. Gwen had begged him to stay but Elyan just couldn't stay in Camelot anymore. He wanted to try and make it on his own.

"I could come with you; the two of us could leave here; start again." Elyan suggested.

"No, you're place is here." Gwen replied.

"And so is yours." Elyan countered.

"Not anymore," Gwen stated shaking her head. "Just promise me two things. Firstly; look after yourself. I'm not going to be able to get you out of trouble anymore and secondly; when Arthur does marry; make sure that he's marrying a woman he loves. Not some arranged marriage but a marriage to a woman who'll love him and make him happy the way I didn't."

"He loves you," Elyan reminded.

"Not anymore." Gwen replied as they shared one last hug.

Gwen left at dawn the next morning.

Elyan set his sword aside and thought about what Arthur had said that morning. He had basically announced to all of Camelot that he still loved Gwen. Yet what was he going to do? Gwen was God-knows-where and none of them had heard of her from the day she left Camelot. Elyan knew Arthur had taken a massive risk today by making that announcement but maybe that meant that there was a chance Gwen could come home again. Elyan was jolted from his thoughts by a knock on his door. Elyan opened it to reveal Arthur.

"Sire; what's wrong?" Elyan asked. Arthur looked a mess. His face was red and blotchy and he looked scared. Elyan began to feel a foreboding sense of dread. What had happened now?

"I need you to come with me Elyan; it's really important." Arthur replied. Elyan followed him to Gaius'. Arthur didn't say anything but knocked once on the door and was let into the physician's chambers. Elyan followed him into the room and into Merlin's bedroom. Initially he stood frozen in the doorway before slowly moving forward and falling beside the bed numbly reaching for his sister's sweaty hand.

"What happened to her?" Elyan asked.

"She was shot by Mithian's arrow." Arthur replied. Elyan turned to him confused.

"How?"

"Someone turned her into a doe. It's possible Morgana put her under another spell after Gwen found out something she shouldn't have such as Morgana's hiding place or information about what she's planning." Gaius replied.

"So that doe we were all trying to kill earlier was Gwen?" Elyan repeated numbly and hung his head. It was bad enough losing all contact with his sister but possibly being the one who killed her… This made no sense, as far as he knew before she went off the deep end, Morgana was one of Gwen's best friends.

After a few moments of silence; Elyan asked the others; "What does Morgana have against her anyway? We all fought her in the past but what did Gwen do to her?"

"Only Gwen could answer that." Arthur replied but Merlin seemed to happen upon an epiphany.

"Maybe it's not what she did to make Morgana hate her; but what she was going to do. We all know that Morgana can see the future in her dreams right? Maybe she dreamt something about Gwen; a wedding or a new-born baby and connected it to you. If you had married; right now she'd be queen. In time there would possibly be children; heirs to gain the throne. Each new addition to the family was a barrier between what Morgana and what she wanted." Merlin explained.

"I think I see where this is going. So rather than run the risk of that happening; Morgana decided to get rid of Gwen." Elyan replied.

"Exactly; we all know that there's a traitor in Camelot. Maybe they suspected you still loved Gwen and told Morgana. Or maybe she stumbled across something she shouldn't. Either way she was in trouble." Merlin explained. Arthur and Gaius nodded. While Arthur slowly began to consider this possibility Gaius knew what Merlin was thinking. That Agravaine was still passing information to Morgana and there was most likely something about to happen. Eoghan was innocent; Agravaine had stolen the plans to get to Morgana. Yet the plans were still there; it seemed like they had hit another brick wall.

"So you think that Morgana is planning something and that somehow Guinevere found out." Arthur replied.

"I think so; I mean when isn't Morgana plotting something." Merlin replied. The men lasped into silence and kept their vigil over Gwen as she fought for her life. They were grouped around the small bed; Gaius was occasionally wiping her forehead and checking the bandage around her leg. Elyan was holding onto his sister's hand; almost as if he could literally pull her out of her fever. Merlin and Arthur were loitering around the room, unable to say what they wanted to say. Gaius stepped back and they watched Elyan; intruders on a personal vigil and fear. Arthur ran what Gaius and Merlin had said and one thought stuck out.

"Gaius, what did you mean when you said 'Maybe Morgana put her under another spell'?" Arthur asked. Everyone looked at him and the physician seemed confused. "When I came back with Elyan you said that maybe Morgana had Gwen under another spell. What did you mean by that?"

Gaius's expression turned from confused to stunned and the man seemed to grasp around for some sort of answer. He caught Merlin's eye and the warlock slowly nodded. "We, Merlin and I believe that Gwen must have been under some form of enchantment whenever Lancelot returned."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked but a flicker of hope appeared in his mind. If Guinevere had been under an enchantment that changes everything…

"Think about it. Lancelot died the second he stepped into the Veil and the only way the dead can be raised is through very powerful dark magic. The only person with that power is Morgana. We think that she must have used magic to raise Lancelot and she must have put Gwen under an enchantment to fall in love with Lancelot." Merlin explained.

"So if Gwen was under an enchantment it would be like when I was possessed by that Druid boy or when all of us were under the Lamia's control. We couldn't stop ourselves; I couldn't bear to be around anyone but Lamia; I actually wanted to harm the others to be with her. And when I was possessed by the Druid boy I couldn't stop myself from trying to kill you. It was like nothing I'd ever felt. I was screaming inside my head trying to stop but I couldn't. Then it would stop. Do you think that was what Gwen was going through?" Elyan asked.

"I think so, mind control enchantments can force a person to focus on one specific feeling such as rage, happiness or love. Morgana could have found a way of enchanting Gwen." Gaius explained.

"It still doesn't explain why she raised Lancelot. If she wanted to ruin the wedding by having Gwen fall in love; why did she pick Lancelot? Why not Gwaine or Leon or Percival? Why go to all that trouble of raising Lancelot?" Elyan asked.

There was silence but then Arthur spoke. "Because Morgana knew about Gwen and Lancelot's history."