AN: Hi guys! Story number two for the series Fire and Fate is here! Quick suggestion...if you haven't read Do You Trust Me? go read that first. There is going to be conversation that won't make sense to you if you don't.

And, no, I don't own Merlin...

Tears of Uther Pendragon Part 1: Cyneric of Powys

"Is there something wrong with you?" Arthur scoffed.

"I've been on a horse all day." Merlin replied. They had been riding all of yesterday, and the day before that, too. Merlin was beginning to think that they'd never succeed in finding Morgause. It wasn't as if she was just going to turn herself over to Uther's "mercy." Why were they even trying?

Oh, yes. Because the sorceress's attack had spooked Uther so badly that he nearly started another purge. Sleeping spells and immortal knights were not to be tolerated. If it hadn't been for Gaius, executions would still be going on more than a year later.

The physician had pointed out that Uther's focus should be on Morgause, as there likely wasn't a more powerful sorcerer in all of Albion. Defeat her and all the other magic users would be wary of trying anything. What he hadn't mentioned was that there were two potentially stronger magic welders living in Camelot. Merlin, known as Emrys to the Druids, and the Lady Morgana.

"You know, you've got a lot of nerve for a whimp." And now, Arthur had decided it was a good idea to mock the former of the two, and Merlin wasn't going to take that sitting down. Ok, so he would be sitting (on his horse), and he had started it, but he was going to give as good as he got.

"I may be a whimp, but at least I'm not a dollophead." The warlock could tell he had stumped Arthur, which was good because he wasn't even sure what that meant. He really needed to stop speaking without thinking. It nearly got him into trouble so many times.

"There's no such word," the prince declared.

"It's idiomatic." Ha, now Arthur was going to want to know what it meant. It was always great fun to tease his friend. Plus, he wasn't really noticing his sore rear.

"It's what?" Too easy.

"You need to be more in touch with the people."

"Describe 'dollophead.'" He could almost see Arthur rolling his eyes, in spite of the fact that the prince was riding ahead of him.

"In two words?" Come on, Arthur, go for it. He had to try to contain his grin.

"Yeah."

His magic swirled around him, sending warning signals and whispers of dark intent. He was cautious now, and his reply was slightly absent-minded, "Uh..Prince Arthur."

Arthur had stopped the group, noticing an abandoned campsite, and they spread out to surround it. They had barely begun their inspection when an arrow took down the first knight. With a roar, bandits swarmed the tiny campsite, and the knights reached for their weapons.

It was a short, bloody fight. Arthur and the knights masterfully defeated their opponents, as Merlin did his part while dodging swords and hiding behind trees. Just when the campsite was once again calm did Merlin's magic react. There was someone - or something - else out there. Someone his magic didn't like.

Arthur had noticed it as well. His sword half raised, and his knights prepared, he stepped forwards to meet the unknown.

A man stumbled out of the mists and slumped against a tree. His clothes, despite their elaborate cut and make, were tattered and dirty. There was mud and blood on his face, hands, and torso. His shoulder-length blonde hair hung limp and wet, and exhaustion was clearly visible in his dark brown eyes.

"Thank goodness for Camelot's knights. You have no idea how glad I am to see you."

It was late that afternoon when Merlin knock on Morgana's door. It had become a habit of his to check up on her after a patrol or hunting expedition. Though she still feared discovery, she had calmed when she knew Merlin could and would help her. It was his way of reassuring her.

And with the constant searches for Morgause, she wanted to make sure that Merlin and Arthur both returned in one piece. She had made him promise to keep her involved with everything that he was dealing with. As she had so aptly put it, only a week after Magic had saved Camelot, Arthur, and her: "You shouldn't be dealing with this all by yourself. And besides, what better way to learn to control my magic?"

He was pretty sure that both Arthur and Gwen thought that there was something between the two of them. And there was...just not romance. He was teaching her magic. Morgana needed a friend, someone she could talk to about this, and he knew how she felt. It was an amazing feeling to be able to confide in someone about what was really going on in Camelot.

Not that he couldn't talk to Gaius, but his guardian didn't really understand the need for constantly using magic. The physician wasn't powerful enough to have to try to contain magic, all he needed to do was ignore it. If Merlin or Morgana were to do that, it would eventually act out on it's own. Gaius knew this, but it wasn't the same as experiencing it.

He realized that he had just been standing there, even as the door was opened and Gwen ushered him into the room. Blushing, and thanking her, he waited until the maidservant left the room. She knew to leave the two alone.

"What news, Merlin?" Morgana asked. She hadn't been sleeping well lately, and it showed.

He filled her in on the entire trip, making sure to expound on the parts where Arthur had made a fool of himself. She could use the cheering up. Within minutes, she was giggling. "So, we brought him back with us. Turns out he's the son of one of the king's childhood friends. He's staying in Camelot for a while."

"What's his name?" The seer looked curious. She had grown up hearing about the adventures of Uther in his youth, and she wondered if she knew the man's father.

"Cyneric of Powys, if I remembered it correctly. He wants to be a knight."

Morgana frowned slightly. "Powys is quite a ways away. He must have been very determined to be a knight of Camelot."

Merlin shrugged. "Well, he and Uther are in the council chambers telling old stories, so I guess he just wanted to see where his father spent his childhood. He seems like the type of person Arthur would love to have as a knight, and I'm sure that he'll fit in here easily."

She smiled. "Well then, the best of luck to him. He'll need it if he's going to try out for the knights. Arthur quite the swordsman - and don't you dare tell him I said that!"

"Of course not. Don't need his head getting any bigger," Merlin replied. "Although it's only been recently that he's gone back to normal. That sorcerer really shocked and humbled him. It's been really refreshing."

"Have you figured out anything more about what happened?" Morgana asked. When Merlin had come to her two weeks after Kilgarrah attacked Camelot and told her that he thought that Arthur had been saved by magic too, she had been stunned. Who would help Camelot besides the two of them? But someone had, and they had no idea why.

"Nope. Nothing Arthur said made any sense. And I highly doubt that we'll figure it out soon."

So, that's the first chapter...I hope you guys like it. There's only one problem: I'm not sure how fast I'll be able to update. There are a few reasons for this.

First, this story is going to be a lot longer and require more detail. Detail that I'll have to re-watch and rewrite episodes as I go. The last story I wrote didn't really need any of that, so I could update a lot faster.

Second, I start collage full time next month, so I'll have even less time to write. And it'll be pretty sporadic.

Third, I don't really know where I'm going with this story. When I came up with Fire and Fate, it was originally one story that takes place after Arthur is king. But I needed a good Morgana, and so Do You Trust Me? was born. And now I'm realizing that I need a few fill-the-gaps type of stories. So, now this is in the works.

But I will try to update semi-regularly.