Title: The Lost Heir
Summary: An old secret from Uther's past sparks a race to find a lost heir. But no one said finding the heir would be easy. Secrets and lies spin webs of deceit over Camelot and Merlin is forced to make a choice that could change Camelot's future forever.
Rating: T
Chapter One
The sound of screams filled the air as hundreds of men thundered into the city. Women shrieked as the armed men broke into their homes and ravaged the place. The men who tried resisting them were struck down and left to die. At the front of this group of ruthless men was their leader, Cenred.
It had been years since Cenred set foot in Mora. The last time he was here did not end well. He had been forbidden from ever setting foot in Mora after being accused of doing a terrible deed. Robert never even gave him a chance to explain and banished him without a second thought.
"Leave no house unsearched." Cenred ordered his men. They nodded obediently and rode off into the city. Cenred rode on, his eyes set on the tall castle looming over him. As he approached the castle gate, he saw a hooded figure standing near the gates. He got off his horse and walked towards the figure.
"Lord Cenred." The figure said as she took off her hood. Cenred nodded curtly towards her.
"Malena, I trust you held your part of the bargain?" He asked. Malena nodded and stepped aside so that Cenred could see the bodies of the knights and guards on the ground.
"I'm impressed. I wasn't sure if you could handle all those men." Cenred said. Malena bowed and looked at the castle.
"It's the least I could do after that coward killed my sister." Malena hissed furiously. Cenred smirked.
"Just wait, we'll get our revenge soon." Cenred said. He strolled through the courtyard and opened the castle doors. Malena followed him, casting glances at the bodies of the men she incapacitated.
As they threw the doors of the throne room open, Cenred spread out his arms and smiled at the man standing in front of the throne.
"Robert, it has been years." Cenred greeted. Robert took out his sword and glared angrily at Cenred.
"Why are you doing this, Cenred? I've spared your life before, you owe me." He said furiously. Cenred laughed.
"You were foolish, Robert. You couldn't see the lies that were being told right under your nose. You believed him without letting me say a word." Cenred seethed. Robert stepped back as Cenred advanced.
"You always were weak, Robert." Cenred said as he took out his own sword. Robert roared and swung his sword downwards at Cenred. Cenred dodged and kicked Robert in the stomach. The king doubled over and fell on the floor. Cenred walked towards him and rested his foot against Robert's ribcage.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You've let yourself go Robert. You've become so weak." Cenred hissed. Robert winced as Cenred pressed his foot down harder.
"Please, stop." Robert said weakly. Cenred looked down at Robert but kept his foot on him.
"You need to know the truth Robert. All these years, you've hidden away secrets from your family. Or should I say, what's left of your family." Cenred said. Robert looked stunned.
"I-I don't know what you mean." Robert said back. Cenred gave him a scorned look.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten what you did to your own daughter." Cenred said. He smirked as he saw Robert's guilty expression.
"I had no choice." Robert whispered sadly. "If she had lived, she would've…" He trailed off, not wanting to continue. Cenred looked down at the broken man who betrayed him.
"You had a choice, Robert. You could've stood up to Uther and let your daughter live." Cenred said coldly. "You tore apart your own family with your own cowardice. And I've come to take my revenge. Do you remember your loving wife's sister?" Cenred said as Malena approached Robert.
"Malena," Robert said in shock. "You helped him?" Malena laughed.
"My sister died because of you. I watched her die in front of me. You never did find out exactly what happened that night, did you?" She said menacingly. Robert looked terrified and shook his head.
"I was arrested that night because of you." Malena spat. "All because I had magic. You sided with Uther Pendragon in the fight against magic and the whole time, you didn't even know your own wife had magic. She came down there to rescue all of us who had been arrested. She always put everyone else ahead of herself." Malena said with tears in her eyes. Cenred had released Robert and watched as Robert cowered in fear in front of Malena.
"When the guard came to stop her, she blasted him with some of her magic. She thought she was safe. She thought we were safe." Malena said angrily. "But when her back was turned, the bastard took out his sword and stabbed her in the back." She choked. Robert swallowed.
"Malena, I'm so sorry." He said, trying to appease her. Malena looked at him with so much fury, he could feel the castle literally shaking.
"NO! I could never forgive you for what you've done. You killed my sister and your only daughter. Did you think that you could get away with all that?" Malena said angrily. With a flash of her eyes, Robert was lifted up and thrown across the room like a rag doll. He landed with a thud near the door and Cenred and Malena made their way towards him.
"There really is only one person to blame for your actions, Robert. You let yourself get influenced by Uther and that was your biggest mistake. Mora belongs to me now. With no heir, the kingdom is as good as mine." Cenred said triumphantly. Robert coughed and shook his head.
"You cannot sit on the throne, Cenred. Only a Beaumont can sit on the throne." Cenred pressed the point of his sword against Robert's chest.
"You can't stop me from taking it. No one can." He said. Robert gave a weak laugh.
"The throne itself has powers you will never understand. Only a Beaumont can wield its powers." Cenred gave a roar of fury and pushed his sword down. Robert's eyes bulged as he felt his life slipping away from him. He looked down at the wound in his chest and gave one last dying breath.
"You'll never find her." He said. He looked at the ceiling and moved no more. Cenred laughed triumphantly.
"After all these years, Robert has finally paid for what he has done." He said as he strolled towards the throne. Malena followed him and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"My Lord, do you remember our deal?" She asked. Cenred nodded.
"Mora is yours. I only came to relieve Robert of his duties." He said. Malena smiled gratefully at Cenred and moved to sit on the throne.
"Wh-What is this?" She gasped. The throne started glowing brightly and Malena could feel it heating up. Cenred could barely see with all the light but he heard Malena scream.
"What's happening?" He shouted. The throne finally stopped glowing and Cenred could see that Malena had been thrown off the throne. He rushed to her side and helped her up.
"Robert was right. There's a spell on this throne that prevents anyone but a Beaumont from sitting on it. I've never felt such power before. This throne could destroy a thousand kingdoms in one go." Malena said in an almost reverent voice. Cenred looked at her in disbelief.
"Do you mean to tell me that we have a great power in our hands but the only one who can use it has died?" He said. "What use is this power if we cannot use it!" Malena held up a hand.
"Do you remember what Robert said before he died?" Cenred looked confusedly at her.
"No, what did he say?" Malena looked at the body of Robert lying a few feet from them.
"He said, 'You'll never find her.' Do you know what this means?" She said. Realization dawned on Cenred's face and he nodded.
"She's still alive. Robert's daughter is still alive and hidden somewhere. If we can find her, we can become rulers of all the kingdoms in Albion." Malena looked thoughtful for a second.
"But we need to find her quickly. If anyone else hears of this, we will have much trouble getting our hands on her. And there's also the question of whether or not she's still alive." Malena said solemnly. Cenred heard little of what she said and dismissed it with a wave of his hand.
"Once we get our hands on her, the first thing I'm going to do is take Camelot away from Uther Pendragon." He vowed. Malena walked to his side and together, they stared out at the city and started plotting their plan to find the lost heir of Mora.
But they didn't know they were being watched. Hiding in a false wall behind the throne was a servant girl. She had been with King Robert during the time of the attack and he told her to hide behind the wall. Terrified, she had watched Cenred kill Robert and also saw the magic throne.
After Cenred and Malena left the room, the servant girl left her hiding place and hurried over to the King's dead body. She looked down at it and took off her own cloak to cover his body.
"I'm so sorry, sire." She whispered, tears trickling down her face. She wiped them away hastily and made up her mind to leave Mora and warn Uther about Cenred's plot.
As she snuck out of the castle and headed towards the stables she saw a lone guard standing by the horses. She looked around for a weapon and her gaze landed on a magnificently carved bow lying on the ground. She picked it up and lined up her shot carefully before releasing the arrow.
To her surprise, the arrow lodged itself in the man's chest, sending him to the ground. It had been a while since she had handled a weapon and now, her old self was kicking in. She ran to the man and disarmed him, taking his sword and knife and tucking it away on the small bag she managed to grab. She saddled one of the horses and rode off into the night silently.
A/N: Please tell me what you think of my story! Reviews = happy authors :)