AN: Here's a short fic that I've decided to post since my big bang fic is just not cooperating right now. :/

Gwen took one step into the forest. She wasn't supposed to be there - dad would be so angry with her - but the sun was shining high in the sky and the forest really didn't look any more dangerous than the fields that she usually played in. Maybe she would be able to find some new wildflowers. The townspeople often spoke about the forest as if it were haunted but Gwen didn't believe in ghosts. They were stories probably cooked up to stop her and the other children from playing in it. One of the more fanciful stories she heard was that if a boy rescued a girl in the forest, they would be bound together for life. When Elyan told her that, she had laughed at him. Anyway, she was going to be very careful and no one would need to rescue her.

The smell of fresh grass and the feel of the wind in her hair filled Gwen with a sense of freedom she never felt back home where dad and Elyan were constantly arguing, where her mother suffered from one bout of sickness, then another. Here, the damp grass under her bare feet, the songs of birds in the air, she was just Gwen. A smile blossomed on her face as she ran through the forest as fast as she could, stumbling now and then over twigs and stones, but never stopping.

"Hello?"

Gwen stopped, her hand reaching out for a tree trunk to stabilize herself. It must have been the leaves rustling in the wind because as far as she could see, she was alone. When there was no other sound except her pounding heart, she got ready to run again. Back home this time.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

Gwen whipped around, a chill enveloping her. She was pretty sure she was all alone. And ghosts were not real, she chanted to herself.

"Hello! I can hear you breathing, you know." The voice sounded annoyed now, almost petulant.

"Hi?" Gwen leaned back against the tree, its rough back biting into her back. At least now, no one would be able to attack her from behind. "Where are you? You're not a ghost are you?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course I'm not a ghost. Come and help me!" The voice scoffed. There was a tone of authority and Gwen knew instinctively that unlike her, he was not a commoner.

Edging closer to where the voice seemed to be coming from, she saw what looked like a disused well, almost completely hidden behind years of weeds. She peered in and saw a blond boy glaring up at her, a pout on his face.

"Took you long enough. Don't just stand there! I don't want to die here."

"You're so rude!" Gwen huffed as she leaned over the well and reached down. The boy grabbed her hands and with all the strength she had, she pulled. They tumbled onto the damp grass in a heap, breathing heavily. He was heavy and she shoved at him. Obligingly, he rolled over, panting.

"Are you ok?" She stared at him. He looked oddly familiar but she couldn't place him.

"Yeah." The boy eyed her warily. "Are you a servant?"

"I am a blacksmith." She stood up so she towered over him. What a prat.

"I don't believe it anyway." He stood too and Gwen realised he wasn't as tall as her. It was also then she noticed the royal shield on his belt buckle.

"Believe what?" She wondered who in the royal family he was. Surely he wasn't the prince because who would let the prince wander around the forest on his own?

"That dumb story about the forest. Also, you're not a boy and I'm not a girl and there's no way I'll ever marry a lowly blacksmith."

Shocked at his impertinence, she stuck out her tongue at him. "Well, I wouldn't marry you even if you were the King of Camelot." Then she ran because he might be the prince and she didn't want to get hauled into the dungeons for being rude to him.