So yeah, this fic has been bugging me for a while, and I have the plot figured out with plenty of cliff hangers.

Gets more interesting around chapter 3 ish, but first two chapters are crucial. :P

Enjoy the ride!


It was at the druid camp when he first saw her. The fifteenth camp he had laid down his head in a few years. Could he now consider himself to be one of them? Probably; at least to an outsider he was. With his tattered clothes, bare feet, and he himself knew about the atmosphere around him. Spicy and sweet with his more than powerful magic. He acknowledged his capability smugly to himself. His magic vibrated under his skin, forever pulsing and yearning to be used. Simple tricks did nothing to release it, and he needed something powerful. He wanted something challenging, something that required something more than a simple glance, or swiftly spoken incantation. He wanted to use his magic, not just skim over the surface. He was restless.

He was guarding the camp, under his own jurisdiction. The druids had complete faith in their hiding place, but he knew better. If he had managed to find them, then Emrys surely would be able. And the druids would welcome him gladly.

Ugh, Emrys.

He closed his eyes and leaned back against the tree, resting his arms on his crossed legs. He could sense every soul within 5 leagues. Every tree, every dip and curve to the land. He could feel the tents flapping in the breeze back at the camp, hear the hushed whispers of the older men, the giggling of children. Wasn't this peace just completely despicable. He drummed his fingers absentmindedly on his knees, the sound muffled through his soft grey cloak. Grey this time, not blue. Far more inconspicuous. Besides, he was no longer a child, and more capable. If he were wounded as he was five years ago, he would be able to heal himself with little more than a glance. Oh, the possibilities. And the potential.

Something new disturbed his rambling, and he sat upright sharply. There was someone moving towards them. No, two people. No... He opened his eyes and frowned. One person with a simple open mind, and another. Another... man? Woman? This one wasn't letting anything go. They clearly possessed powerful magic.

"Interesting," He murmured, a one sided grin curling on his face. Were things about to get lively at last? He stood, striding carelessly towards the people. "Who dares seek us out?" He thought to the woman, anger and power dripping from his words. He laughed softly as the woman shrieked and whirled around. He was closer, he could see her clearly now. Her blonde hair, her red dress and she whirled around, clutching a bundle to her chest. No... A baby. He stopped in his tracks, shocked. A baby had thwarted him? A mere child had prevented him, Mordred, from looking into her mind? Impossible. Yet he knew it to be true. "Who are you?" He tried again, quickening his pace. He tried diving into her mind, but it was a scrambled mix or fear, exhaustion and pleading. He reached her at last, and her brown eyes widened as she saw him. He smiled slightly, realising that she could do him no harm at all, and had clearly come to the druids with a request. "Who are you?" He asked gently. The woman drew in short, shaky breaths, and swallowed loudly. "I am Kensa, daughter of Kaine, a farmer in the southern regions."

"Well then, Kensa, daughter of Kaine. Why do you seek out the druids?"

Kensa glanced at the baby in her arms – no, not a baby. About two, possibly three, with a head of golden hair, and fast asleep. "It's her," She muttered with distaste.

"Her? Your child?"

"She is no child of mine!" Kensa hissed, and Mordred raised his eyebrows.

"Are you saying that you are not her mother? I can see the resemblance from here." And tell when you are lying to me.

Kensa scowled. "I want nothing to do with her. She isn't normal. She has brought me much shame – because of her, people look at me with disgust."

Mordred kept his face impassive, though anger was starting to boil with his magic. "And how is she not 'normal'?"

"See for yourself." She shook the child. "Wake up!" She snapped, setting her on the ground, and Mordred clenched his fists, wiling himself to remain calm. The child yawned and scrunched up her face, rubbing sleep from her eyes with balled up fists. She blinked firmly and looked up at Mordred with dazzling, golden eyes. Golden. Was she using magic? The child wandered away, tracing the tree bark with her fingers.

"What do you want us to do about her?"

"I want you to take her in."

"What kind of a mother would reject her child so willingly?" Mordred was disgusted. "Who is father?"

Kensa gave a hollow laugh. "Her father. Now there is a mistake, if I ever saw one. He was good for nothing, and I was glad when he left me. I only wish he had stayed for nine months longer, so he could take her away with him."

"Who is he?" Mordred repeated, furious.

"Balinor, the last dragon lord. Or so he called himself, anyway. The arrogant, self obsessed prat. He had magic, it isn't a surprise that he was a good-for-nothing - "

Mordred had heard enough. "Get away," He snarled. "Leave your daughter with us and be thankful that you have escaped with your life." He swished his hand at her, and the wind around her picked up, forcing her away. He stabbed at her with his other hand, each jerk slicing into her skin. "Your daughter deserves far more than you, you..." Words failed him and he shrieked, running after her as she limped away, sobbing, her arms folded across her chest. "If we cross paths again, I will kill you." He pulled her up by the front of her dress using magic, and shook her violently. She scampered away, and Mordred turned around to face the girl, who looked at the figure of her retreating mother with big, golden eyes. He knew what it was like to be shunned because of possessing magic, and he hated Kensa for that. She flinched as Mordred walked to her, and he halted. He shouldn't have done that in front of her, but he hoped that she had been too far away to see the blood against her mother's red dress. He knelt down on the ground.

"Hello, little one," He thought to her gently, smiling.

"Mama has gone," She observed, and Mordred felt a pang at her lack of grief. She should be upset, she should be disoriented and confused, crying for her parents. She didn't seem to feel any love for her mother, and Mordred wondered how badly she had been treated. Like she was just an object? Or a burden? She had been unloved, so surely she didn't know how to love in return.

The gravity of what he had just done hit him. He had taken in a child, wounded her mother, and he didn't even know her. What was he going to do with her? Still, there was something about her, something in her golden eyes, and the calm magic that was wrapped round her.

"What's your name?"She asked him. Well, we have to start somewhere.

"I'm Mordred. And you?"

She shook her head. "Mama didn't give me one. She said I wasn't worth it."

Oh, did she now. "Everybody is worth a name. And having magic isn't something to be ashamed about. In fact, you are worth much more than she is."

She grinned sheepishly, and Mordred moved closer to her. "I'm going to take you back with me now."

"Mama said you would. She said that I would have a new family, who were just like me. She said that it would be an adventure. You have magic, Mordred!" She giggled, and Mordred stood up, leading her gently back to camp, his hand resting on the back of her head. She gripped three of his fingers, and they walked back holding hands. It was a good job that she had taken to Mordred so quickly. Perhaps her magic was telling her that Mordred wasn't a threat, and that he would look after her. What an extraordinary child. She had no emotional attachments and no fear as she walked into the unknown.

"I will look after you," He thought to her. "I will keep you safe; I will make you happy, while you grow up." I will be all that your parents should have been, he added silently. He would make up for the way she had been mistreated. She squeezed his fingers, and a small smile crept on to her face, as she walked, taking in the forest with her astounding eyes of molten gold.


It gets better, I PROMISE. ^^

Please review? :)