"Gaius I can't just ignore what I've seen! It's fixed, it's destiny, fate, whatever you want to call it!"

"Merlin, we don't know that. The future is unclear, things can change."

"Not this."

Gaius sighed, he knew Merlin could be stubborn, but he also knew there was no changing his viewpoint at the moment. "Merlin, go to bed. It's late, you can sleep on it."

"It won't change." Merlin said matter-of-factly and turned to walk to his bed. He didn't want to believe it but he couldn't change what he saw that day in the water, what he had been shown, Mordred putting a sword right through Arthur's chest.

Killing the king was what Merlin was there to prevent, god knows how many times Merlin had saved his life, it seemed the king was prone to all types of incidents. Merlin liked Mordred, he really did, ever since he had met him all those years earlier. Mordred was just a young boy, a young druid boy who Merlin had helped escape. And now that young druid boy had grown up into a hansom young man who had killed Morgana to save Arthur and had earned his place as knight.

Merlin was tossing and turning under his covers, his body tense, face covered in sweat. He'd only been asleep for three hours but already he's dreamt of Mordred killing Arthur twice. Every night this would happen, Merlin would wake from his own dream, and always the same dream. Mordred would be standing their in his chainmail and red cloak with his sword out and Arthur would just be knelt there, as if to be waiting for the sword to enter him. The dream was as if Merlin was there watching it all happen. He tried to shout every time for Mordred to stop to cause some kind of distraction but it always seemed that Mordred could not hear anything going on around him, like he was transfixed. Merlin was, in every sense of the word, useless in the dream. There was nothing he could do, nothing his powers could do, he'd tried it, even right in front of Arthur, but still Mordred's sword cut through Arthur's flesh like scissors to silk.

Merlin sat up in bed and rubbed his face with his hands. Maybe Gaius was right, maybe the future was unclear and Arthur's destiny could be changed. Merlin slid out of bed and into his clothes, it was still dark but coming up to dawn, he would have to be quick and he ran out the castle and into the forest.

Merlin ran quickly to where he had been many times before. He quickly summoned the dragon hoping for an answer.

"The druid boy? His and Arthur's fate are dawn together like Ivy around a tree."

"Is there nothing I can do?"

"Sometimes to save the tree, the ivy must be cut. You had a chance to kill the druid boy before, if you have another, you must not fail."

Merlin ran back to the castle with a sunken stomach. That had not been the answer he had wanted. He had to kill Mordred or let Arthur be killed. It was clear to him where his duty lay.

"Where have you been! I've had Arthur on my case looking for you!" Gaius spoke franticly as Merlin ran into him in one of the many corridors in the castle, he hadn't realised how light it was now, and Merlin knew when he was in trouble. "Come on then, where were you?"

"I- I went to the dragon. He said there was nothing I could do. I have to kill Mordred before he kills Arthur!" Merlin realised he had spoken too loudly, Gaius looked past Merlin's head suddenly and Merlin turned to look. There stood quiet nearby staring right at Merlin was Mordred, his eyes wide, taking in what he had just overheard.

Merlin turned straight back to Gaius with a worried look.

"We'll take him down to my quarters." Gaius replied to Merlin's look rather calmly. "Come with me boy." Gaius said louder for Mordred to hear.

Merlin just stood there, frozen while Mordred slowly moved past him towards Gaius, clearly very shaken.

"Merlin!" It was Arthur who had just walked onto the corridor. "I've been looking for you, where were you? I swear you're useless half the time. Anyway, have you seen Mordred? I'm looking for him."

Merlin was still stood where he was sort of frozen into place.

"Merlin?"

Merlin cleared his throat. "Um, yes? I mean, um, no. I haven't. I've got to, um, go." and he quickly ran the way Gaius had taken Mordred.

"Merlin?" he heard Arthur shout from behind.