Apologies for the last chapter being so short.

Here's chapter 2. A lot longer than the previous chapter :)


When Arthur opened his eyes he was greeted by darkness. He tried looking around, and the only real thing he could work out was that he was in a cave of some sort. He had a slight headache and felt nauseous, and his whole body felt achy.

"Ahhh you are awake."

The voice made him jump, and he instantly sat up. Not a smooth move. He felt a wave of dizziness hit and the nausea grew, and he just managed to stop himself from seeing his lunch again. He looked around, but still could see no one.

"Who are you?" He demanded, standing up carefully, stumbling a little, but trying to cover it up quickly to not appear weak.

"Be careful Arthur, teleporting can take a little getting used to. Here, have some water." He turned his head to his left where the voice came from, and was greeted by what he could only describe as some sort of spirit. The ghostly figure was a beautiful woman, long waist length blonde hair, with a flowing red dress that hugged her petite figure in just the right areas. Her eyes were golden, and the initial distrust that Arthur had formed from seeing this spirit seemed to vanish when he looked into them. He still felt weary, but at the same time something was telling him she would not hurt him. She was gesturing to a goblet that was on a flat rock next to her.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?"

"My name is Cassandra. You do not have to fear me, I only wish to help you."

He was confused. She wanted to help? But what did she want to help him with, as far as he knew there was nothing wrong. And why did she separate him from the others if she wanted to help him? Wait. The others. How were they? Were they injured? Were any...

"Your friends are fine Arthur, do not worry. You will return to them shortly. But first I need to speak to you alone, and show you something."

"How did you know..."

"I know things Arthur Pendragon. Let's just leave it at that for now. Now then, we are wasting time and your friends will become more worried the longer you are separate from each other. Why don't you take the goblet and follow me."

She started to walk away down a narrow path, and Arthur had no choice but to follow. As he was still feeling a little unwell he decided to take the goblet with him. He took a small sip as he walked to check if it was some sort of trick, but could only taste water. He took a bigger gulp at that, and Cassandra turned to smile at him as she walked.

"Where are we going?" Arthur asked.

"Not far."

Arthur looked at the woman in front of him as they walked. She wasn't human, which could only point to her being magical. But she wasn't hurting him, she was 'helping' him. 'But those with magic are bad aren't they?' he thought. 'That's what I've seen from most of my experiences with it.' Arthurs mind flashed back to a few years ago, when a blue orb helped him to escape the cave with the flower for Merlin when he was poisoned. Magic was helping then, it saved his life in fact, so maybe... 'But then what about all those other times it tried to destroy Camelot?'

"Camelot kills people who have magic Arthur; many of those are innocent people. Do you really not expect some people to want revenge for killing their family members? Plus, with magic banned, do you really think many people would risk using their magic for help when it could lead to their death? Very few would."

Ignoring the fact that she seemed to have somehow read his mind again, he pondered what she said. It was true that many of the attacks on Camelot were due to the fact that someone wanted vengeance for how magic was treated. And what she said about those wanting to help could be true too. Most people who had magic hid away so that they wouldn't risk having themselves or their families executed, maybe some of them did want to help. Just live in peace and offer what they could for Camelot. The druids seemed to be a fairly peaceful people, and they seemed to want peace. His mind flashed to the druid boy, Mordred. Father wanted to kill him despite just being a child. He hadn't done anything wrong, he was innocent. Maybe what father said was wrong. But then what about Morgana?

Arthur was interrupted from his thoughts as they entered another small cave. A large basin of water was in the middle, covered in runes of some sort that Arthur couldn't understand. Cassandra walked up to the basin and turned to face Arthur.

"I am an oracle Arthur. Someone who can see the future and the many paths it could take. I wish to show you two futures, both of which could come true. Which one happens depends entirely on your choices and the actions of one other. The one you share your destiny with."

Arthur stood there, staring, trying to wrap his head around what she said.

"You can see the future? But how?"

"I can use this basin, and I have dreams about it. Your destiny is very important to many people, as is the destiny of the other side of your coin. I need you to see these to give the best future the chance of happening."

"My destiny? The other side of my coin? I don't understand."

"All will be explained, but first let me show you. Come here."

Arthur carefully approached the basin, and looking down, he saw it was full of some strange grey mist that seemed to swirl in intricate patterns. Cassandra went around to the other side of the basin, opposite Arthur, and spoke.

"The first memory I will show you is what will happen if you follow your father's beliefs. If you do not save magic from its current state. If you fail your destiny and prevent your other half from helping you."

She moved her hand over the bowl and spoke an incantation. An image of Camelot appeared. The castle was burning, crumbling apart. Bodies were strewn about everywhere, knights and peasants alike. The image changed into the court room, where Morgana was standing with another hooded figure wearing a black cloak. Morgana was holding the image Arthurs sword, and was surrounded by the dead bodies of Leon, Elyan and Percival, blood pooling around them. Near to the cloaked figure laid the remains of Gwen and Gwaine, who looked as though they were tortured before death. Merlin, Gaius and Lancelot were nowhere in sight. Morgana and the figure were facing the Arthur in the image, who was battered and beaten, hardly conscious, leaning against the throne. He was glaring at Morgana with the little strength he had left.

"Long live the King." Morgana sneered, and then stepped forward. The image ended.

Arthur looked like he was going to be sick. He had dropped the goblet he was holding mid-way through the image, and now could do nothing but stare at the mist. His mind kept replaying the images of his dead friends, his people. His mind registered that Merlin, Gaius and Lancelot weren't there, but whether that was a good thing or not Arthur didn't know.

"Camelot. It... it'll fall? I'll have failed my people?"

"If you chose to ignore and reject magic like your father yes it will. You will lose magic's aid and Camelot will not survive."

"But Camelot has not had aid from magic for many years."

"That is where you are wrong Arthur. You have had help with magic for a while now, and it is part of the reason Camelot is still standing now."

"I'm guessing this is in reference to my 'other half' then." Arthur said, using quotation marks around the words 'other half'. Cassandra smiled.

"Indeed it is. But there is the alternative future. The one where you and he succeed in returning magic to what it once was and create Albion."

She swirled her hand over the basin again, and Arthur reluctantly looked back into it. The image showed a Camelot looking prosperous, its people happy and joyful. Arthur saw people using magic to aid those who needed it, and no one looked scared or frightened. The image changed to the throne room again, only this time everyone was alive and happy. The Arthur in the image was sat on the throne, chatting to everyone, including Merlin, Gaius and Lancelot, and things seemed peaceful. Merlin, Arthur noticed, seemed to be in new clothes, wearing a cloak suited for a noble rather than a servant. The image ended. A small smile had graced his features after that image, but he said nothing, taking in this new information. After a minute he looked at Cassandra.

"My decision really makes that much difference?"

"Yes Arthur, you are the one destined to bring peace back to magic, to Albion. You are the one legends refer to as the Once and Future King."

"The Once and Future King?"

"Yes."

"How do I create that future? How to I make my people happy, and succeed in my destiny?"

"That is for you to work out Arthur. It is your decisions that will decide. You will find aid in your other half, should you find and accept him."

"Accept him? Who is he?"

"The druids, who created the legends, refer to him as Emrys. He is the most powerful warlock to have ever lived. His destiny is to protect you and Camelot from danger and help you to create Albion, which so far he has done pretty well. You need him just as much as he needs you."

"But I've never met Emrys."

She smiled.

"That's what you think. Goodbye Arthur Pendragon, and good luck."

"What do you-" His world went black again.