2

First Encounters (…of an uncertain kind?)

Ouch! Something was poking me in the back! I rolled over, accompanied by a crunching sound and an outdoorsy smell. Puzzled, I opened my eyes. What I found certainly did not ease my confusion.

"What the-?" I was lying in a forest. A forest with towering trees and moss covered rocks, the whole shebang. Sunlight streamed down in dappled, green spots. It was misty and a little chilly. I sat up, totally focussed on my surroundings until I looked down. I was no longer wearing my pajamas. In their place, I wore a medieval-looking dress, green and grey in colour. Not as glamorous as what a princess might wear, I thought, but nicer than a peasant's clothing. I also wore a large, blue-grey cloak of coarse material. The hood covered my face nicely, and probably protected my hair from all sorts of nasty forest things. It was amazing… astounding… and it had to be a dream! There was no other explanation! Fearful of becoming a cliché, but also wanting to resolve this, I pinched my arm. The forest still surrounded me. I waited a couple more minutes and then tried again, but it was the same result. I remained in the forest.

After that, I wandered around, picking up things, touching the bark and the leaves and the plants. I figured, eventually, some sense would be triggered and I would wake up. Until then, I walked. As I walked about, I had the strange feeling that this forest was familiar. But that was absurd! I can assure you that I didn't spend an excess amount of time in any real forests! Be that as it may, the forest was familiar, I was sure of it! I walked on, the sense of familiarity growing with every step I took. Suddenly, I heard voices and fast-paced footsteps. Through the mossy trunks of the trees, I could see a path. Intrigued and a little scared, I crouched behind some ferns to watch.

A person wearing a cloak similar to mine came barreling into my sight. It appeared to be another girl, with an injury to her leg! Something in the back of my mind prodded my memory at the sight of her. A familiar forest, a familiar girl, an injured leg…She fell painfully, drawing my attention back to her in the present. I was contemplating whether I should go help her up, when another person ran in, sword drawn and shining through the mist. At the sight of him, I nearly fainted!

It was Mordred.

Mordred! My Mordred! The Mordred from Merlin whose death scene I couldn't watch without breaking down! I stared in wonder, in disbelief, but there he was, standing not five feet away from me. And if the boy was Mordred, then that would make the injured girl…

"Kara!" Mordred hissed. His voice sent shivers up my spine, entirely familiar, but never heard so clearly before. Kara stared up at him, almost as shocked by his appearance as I was. "Go Kara, GO!" She scrambled away from him, but not before I could hear other footsteps approaching. Even before I turned around, I knew I would see Merlin, the great warlock himself, staring at Mordred with undisguised suspicion. I felt sick to my stomach. Merlin had been right about a great deal of things throughout the course of his run on the BBC, but mistrusting Mordred was not one of them. Technically, it was 'right', because Mordred would eventually turn on Arthur, but Merlin's distrust was one of the main reasons for that betrayal. Mordred stared back helplessly at the other man's suspicion. He seemed younger than he had been in the show, twenty at most. Only 4 years older than me!

The rest of the approaching footsteps drew closer. Despite my knowledge of how this all played out, I was still floored to see Arthur and the other knights (Leon, Percival, and Gwaine) running towards them.

"Everything alright?" Arthur asked. Mordred nodded.

"I thought I saw someone, but I was wrong. Just a deer."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Mordred managed to sound certain, even though he wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. Arthur paused for a moment more.

"Alright then. Move out!" He and the other three headed back towards the dead knights and their horses that I knew were in a clearing not far off. Merlin and Mordred stayed standing there for a second longer, and I remained watching them. In that moment, it seemed that time stood still.

What had just occurred in front of me was word for word, exactly, from Episode 11 that I'd watched earlier today,The Drawing of the Dark! It was a crucial episode in that Mordred and Merlin made all the decisions that would determine the outcome of the battle of Camlann. The girl that Mordred had just let go? Kara? He was in love with her, and though he tried to help her and prevent harm from coming to her, Arthur discovered them and was forced by law and his own moral compass to condemn Kara to an execution. The only problem with that? It turned Mordred against him forever. I'd spent a large amount of time lamenting how fixable the situation was, if only dealt with sooner. I had the means, the knowledge. And I had the situation right in front of me! I made a spur-of-the-moment decision (although you wouldn't think it with the size of this paragraph) and lept out of the bushes and onto the path.

Both men started. Mordred brandished his sword, looking quite breathtaking while doing it. Naturally, my breath caught.

"Who are you?" Merlin asked. I took another step forward and let my hood fall about my shoulders. Mordred's sword point dipped, his eyes softened, and his mouth dropped open. We stared at each other for a good two minutes. I didn't even notice Merlin's reaction. I only had eyes for Mordred. But then I remembered why I had revealed myself in the first place.

"Please," I said, raising my arms to show I had no weapons, "I mean no harm. I am here to help prevent a great tragedy." That peaked their curiosity, if not totally dissolved their suspicion.

Mordred sheathed his sword and asked, walking up towards me, "What tragedy do you speak of?"

"Arthur's death. I know what you must do to prevent it from happening." 'And your death,' I added in my head, 'and the deaths of countless others.' Merlin looked at me with surprise. I saw his eyes slide to the back of Mordred's head, and knew I must speak to him alone about what was to happen. Mordred could only know so much about his own destiny! Speaking of Mordred, he was still looking at me with a trace of suspicion and doubt.

"Why should we believe you?"

I took a deep breath. "I am a seer," the words rolled off my tongue easily enough, "I have seen what is to pass. The girl you saved today, Mordred?" he flinched visibly when I said his name, "Kara? She will die unless you do as I say. And if she dies, so will Arthur and many others!" That was enough for Mordred. He would do anything for Kara. Merlin was staring at me, no doubt trying to piece together what I meant. He no longer looked wary, but just to confirm that they could trust me, I added, "I know both of you are sorcerers. I know what you have gone through in the past, against Morgana and many other threats to Arthur and Camelot," I looked mostly at Merlin as I said this, "I know the goodness in your hearts, and in that of your king's. I would not see him, or any of you, die!" And, now I had them. They both nodded.

"Well spoken, seer," Mordred replied, "We will…"

"MERLIN!" An angry cry came from down the path. I stifled a laugh, for I recognized Arthur's angry summons in a heartbeat. "Mordred!" Merlin looked down the path, then back at me.

"I'm afraid it must wait. Can it?" I did a quick check in my head, then nodded yes. "Good. We will return tonight, so no one notices us missing." I nodded again. Merlin gave me his well-known half smirk and it sent my blood racing. It wasn't anything like the effect Mordred had on me, but it was still thrilling to see such a familiar look on a beloved face that hadn't really existed for me except for a few moments ago. He turned to leave, and Mordred did as well, before turning back to me. He gave me a smile too, one that made my heart run a marathon.

"What is your name?" I blushed, and a smile burst out on my face. I just hoped it was a charming one!

"My name is Bailey."

"Well then, I'll see you tonight…Bailey."