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This is set post series 3 of merlin

Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of the characters apart from my OCs.

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Fey of the Forest

He stands waiting nervously. He does not usually feel like this, but today he has a good reason to. He has been ordered to be the executioner of a traitor. It is a task he has never had to do before, and he knows that this will be a different experience of death than those he has encountered before. As a guard of Camelot he has killed before, but only those that have tried to break into the castle. Those deaths had been in the heat of battle. This one was on a rather peaceful day in front of many common people, people he knew. This time he was executing someone who he had time to think about, and what was worse was that he was having to execute this criminal in front of his sister.

He wipes his hands on his breeches and takes the hood from the hook by the entrance. Every guard in Camelot had this duty at some point during their life, and unfortunately it had fallen to him on the day that his sister was working in the castle, He knew that she would not forgive him for this, and he dreaded seeing her that evening, but to not do this would mean punishment, and with Uther's laws being harsh he would rather have his sister's disapproval than an empty place at home where he should have been. Putting the hood on, he takes the axe and goes to the platform in the middle of the courtyard.

The crowd jeers at him, but they are quiet when they see guards appear on the balcony. The execution will not be far off. The executioner tries to stop his hands from shaking and lets his eyes wander around the crowd. He knows he is looking for his sister, and when he cannot see her he wonders if she has managed to get out of watching this. He hopes that she has. He already knew that his mother disapproved, but he could live with that. His sister on the other hand was a different matter entirely. She would never forgive him. She hated the fact that he had already killed other men, even though they had been enemies of Camelot. She believed that the sword was not always the best way to solve an argument, and she also thought that Uther Pendragon's laws were too harsh. To some extent he did agree with her, but he had taken on the job in order to bring in money and if they wished to live then he had to do this. Looking around the windows of the castle he spots one or two servants stood cleaning the glass, obviously finding an excuse to watch. He then sees a familiar face and sighs. She was going to be watching and as he caught her gaze he could see the disappointment in her eyes. She seemed to plead with him to not do this, and he had a feeling that she knew something that he didn't. He was soon to find out that his feeling was real.

The drums began to beat as the doors opened and the prisoner was brought out. The King, who was still recovering from his experience with Morgana taking the throne, appeared on the balcony. It was clear to all that things were taking their toll on him, and there were rumours about how fit he was to be their ruler. Various factions were setting up, with many supporting Arthur as becoming king, though they differed over the methods. Some wanted Arthur to usurp the throne whilst others wanted it to be negotiated. However, all of these groups were united in the thought that Uther was now an unfit monarch.

The executioner listens to the king as he talks of the evils of magic and how it is banned in the kingdom. He listens to how the king's voice shakes, and saw how the Crowned Prince appears to be physically supporting his father. He takes note of how pale and drawn Uther looks, before turning to look at the prisoner as they are brought onto the platform. The guard had decided he would not look at the criminal until the last moment, for then he would not have the time to take in the look of fear on their face or any other emotion. If he did not meet their eyes then they would not haunt him for the rest of his life. Of course, the look of the criminal's face would stay with him for the rest of his life, regardless of the amount of time he looked. He just had no wish for the criminal to look at him for he did not know what they would see in his own eyes, nor did he wish to see their hatred for him.

His two colleagues bring the criminal onto the platform and the executioner sees the look of guilt and regret in their eyes. He is curious for a moment, for they were not usually like this at an execution. But then he looks down at the prisoner, and all the noise dies away. The king is still speaking but he can not hear him. He can no longer see the crowd or the guards. He no longer takes note of anything else in the courtyard. All he can see is the man in between his two colleagues, and he knows that he can not do this.

The man is thin, pale and drawn. It is clear that he has been mistreated and been left in the dungeons for quite some time. His skin is bruised and he looks exhausted. There are large dark rings around his eyes and the man is a shadow of his former self. He is barely recognisable. But the executioner knows him. He knows him far too well, and he knows that regardless of the consequences he can not go through with this. He did not care that it contravened with Camelot's laws. Uther could do with him as he wished, for he could not follow this order through. How could he kill someone he knew and loved?

For the prisoner, the criminal he was being made to execute, was his own younger brother...