There is where my actual story starts. Hope you like it. :)


Six months.

It had been six months since he had last seen Sefa.


Now a Knight of Camelot Mordred was at a point in his life that he never expected. But Merlin had been right, if Arthur knew the truth then it would be over and he would be where Sefa was. Or where he thought she was.

Four days later, it was his first council meeting. Sitting at the Round Table he felt nervous and anxious because he didn't know the ways of Camelot.

As the council meeting progressed Mordred became increasingly bored because the meeting seemed to be never ending.

The last issue in the meeting was what had happened in Camelot while Arthur had been in Ismere. Guinevere addressed the council, "As you know Morgana's men were able to intercept you while you were in Ismere. This is because we had a spy in Camelot."

The Queen sighed before continuing. "The spy was Sefa, my maidservant. After being dismissed of her duties the night after you left, she too left Camelot through the southern gate. She visited her father, the druid Ruadan, where she told him of what was discussed in the privy council. This is how Morgana knew from where you would be approaching Ismere. Once some of the Knights returned to Camelot, Sefa was arrested and sentenced to death for her treachery."

Hearing what had happened Mordred feared for Sefa's safety and well-being. He knew himself the conditions of the dungeons and hoped to see that she was at least well. 'I don't know what I'd do if any harm came to her.' Mordred thought dreading what Gwen would say next.

"However. I saw an opportunity to catch Ruadan and so used Sefa to get to her father. Her plight had to be believable, as I never planned to carry out her sentence, if Ruadan was to come to Camelot and save his daughter. Which he did. During their escape Ruadan was injured and later found dead in some old ruins while Sefa was nowhere to be found. I believe she escaped and see no reason to go after her." Gwen could feel everyone's eyes on her.

'Thank the Gods for her escape' Mordred thought as he released a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. Arthur looked questioningly at his wife, "Why do you see no reason to pursue her? She betrayed Camelot."

Gwen smiled at Arthur and held his hand, "She thought she was doing the right thing. Her father used her as a pawn for his own gain. Tell me, would you have done any differently if your father had asked the same of you?" Everyone stayed silent knowing that Gwen had spoken the truth.


Gwen looked at each of the men before her and their reactions to her news and knew then she had done the right thing.

What perplexed her though was Mordred's reaction to the news. She remembered him from when he was a boy and she had attempted to help Morgana sneak him out of the castle. 'My, that all seems so long ago now.' She thought as she watched him.

Gwen had seen Mordred become more alert when Sefa's name was mentioned and watched him as she told them of Sefa's fate.

She recognised the look in his eyes as the one her eyes held when Arthur was away and she was left unaware of his fate. She saw him visibly relax and the tension in his shoulders disappear knowing that Sefa was alive.

Sefa had only been her maidservant for a short while but Gwen had learned nothing about Sefa's past or where she was from. During Sefa's short stay in Camelot Gwen would swear that she had seen chemistry between Sefa and Merlin and was convinced of their growing attraction to one another.

She didn't know what Sefa's feelings were for Merlin or Mordred or if she had any at all towards the two men, but Sefa had revealed to her before she left to tell Arthur's plans to her father that she had someone special in her life that she couldn't talk about.

Seeing the way Mordred reacted to news of Sefa it was obvious to see that he loved her and loved her deeply, the kind of love she had for Arthur.

'He clearly has grown up.' Gwen thought as the council meeting ended and everyone left.

Arthur saw the thoughtful look on Gwen's face and looked at her curiously.

"Guinevere. What is it that troubles you?" Gwen was roused from her musings and looked at Arthur. "Nothing troubles me but I was wondering about Mordred. He seemed troubled himself when Sefa was mentioned but visibly relieved when he heard she was at least okay."

'This is occupying her mind.' Arthur thought to himself. "Guinevere, whatever Mordred's reaction to the news is, it is none of our concern. It is his life."

Gwen smiled at Arthur knowing that Arthur was right, although she was curious. Taking the hand that Arthur offered, she kissed him quickly and the two left the hall to attend to other official business.


Mordred followed the rest of the Knights to the training ground hoping that training would take his mind off of Sefa and wherever she was now.

For the next few hours Mordred trained intensely. So much so that it caught the attention of the other Knights. What also caught their attention was the level of skill that Mordred had with a sword. He was as good, if not better, than some of the Knights there and they had been training in Camelot for at least three years.

Merlin also noticed the intensity of Mordred's training as he dropped off more equipment for the Knights.

He watched for a few moments, standing next to Gwaine and Percival and asked, "What's his problem?" Nodding towards Mordred.

"Don't know. He's been like this since we came here after the council meeting." Percival replied.

"Clearly something in the council meeting riled him up." Gwaine added before picking up his own sword and began training.

Percival clapped Merlin's shoulder and picked up a sword, "Well whatever it is, he's in the right place."

Merlin was still suspicious but let it go for the time being.


Mordred didn't realise just how hard he had pushed himself until he had stopped training and went back to his quarters.

That night in his quarters, after taking off all his armour and removing his boots, he allowed himself to relax for the first time that day.

He sat on his bed and his mind once again wandered to Sefa. Was she okay? Where was she? Had she found shelter? All these questions and more ran through his mind. He knew that the Knights had noticed how hard he had pushed himself but hoped that no-one would push him for answers to his training session today.

He knew he loved Sefa and had loved her since they had met one another three years ago. It had been shortly before the news of Uther's death became widespread. The two of them had met while Ruadan, Sefa and Mordred had been passing through Nemeth.

Ruadan had been attempting to get to Ismere and happened across Mordred while he had been staying in an abandoned hut.


Flashback

Sefa had been ill and Ruadan knew that he needed to find suitable shelter and soon. He had left Sefa in the cave they had used for shelter and was planning to retrieve her once shelter was found.

That's when his luck changed and he happened across a small hut in the middle of the forest. It looked abandoned but decided to be cautious. Wielding his sword he stepped inside.

Mordred had been staying in the hut for only a couple of weeks when the door swung open and a man,who he later knew to be Ruadan, stepped inside and held a sword to his throat.

Mordred used his magic to fling the sword across the small room. Ruadan looked surprised, "You can use magic." He stated.

Mordred looked at him indifferently, "Since I was a child." Preparing for a fight Mordred remained cautious of Ruadan as he picked up the sword Mordred had flung across the room before turning back to Mordred.

"Are you here alone?" he asked, something Mordred was not expecting, but answered, "Yes." Ruadan took a deep breath, "Please my daughter, she is sick and needs proper shelter to rest and and recover. Will you allow us to stay with you?"

"Yes." Mordred replied, not really sure what to make of the situation. With this Ruadan smiled and left to collect Sefa.


An hour passed and Ruadan returned with Sefa, who was clearly sick. Ruadan lead her to the bed and laid her down gently, getting her to rest.

"Thank you for what you are doing." Ruadan said, making sure Sefa was comfortable. "By the way my name is Ruadan. This is my daughter, Sefa. We are druids. What is your name?"

"Mordred. I am also a druid." Mordred replied sitting down himself as he had been standing since Ruadan had entered with Sefa.

Ruadan looked at Mordred for a few moments before saying anything else, "I assume you are on the run as we are. Tell me, Mordred, how old are you?" To Ruadan Mordred looked too young to be on his own, but knew that since the Great Purge many druids had been killed and many families torn apart.

"I am 16." Ruadan nodded, "The same age as my daughter then."


Over the next few days, Sefa recovered from her sickness and the three of them had settled into a routine.

Ruadan was out hunting for dinner when Sefa awoke from her nap. "Where is my father?" Mordred looked around from the fire, "He has gone out hunting." He handed a drink to Sefa. "Thank you." She replied as she took a sip before putting the drink down.

She watched Mordred for a moment and got up and sat next to him. Looking at her briefly before turning back to the fire once again, Mordred felt himself beginning to blush.

This had never happened to him before, but then again he had never stayed anywhere long enough to get attached or attracted to anyone. This was all new and he had no idea what he was doing. After all he had only known Sefa for a few days. Sefa spotted Mordred uneasiness and began to fidget herself and looked down at her hands.

"Do I make you uncomfortable, Mordred?" His head snapped toward her and he replied, "No. Of course not. I am just tired." He tried to smile reassuringly and found he couldn't look away.

Before either knew what was going on their lips met in a gentle kiss, a first for them both. Pulling away they smiled at one another.

Then the door swung open and Ruadan entered carrying three rabbits. They moved slightly away from one another but the mood change in the room was evident to Ruadan.

As the three ate dinner Ruadan decided to voice the decision that he had made earlier in the day. "Mordred. I thank you for your hospitality that you have extended towards Sefa and I but I am afraid that it is time for the two of us to move on." Mordred paused and sneaked a glance at Sefa, who had snapped her head towards her father when he told them of his plans.

Mordred swallowed, "Of course I understand. I myself must be moving on also. I have stayed in one place too long."

"My daughter and I shall be leaving shortly after dawn tomorrow." Ruadan said and watched as Sefa's face fell. He knew that the two teenagers in front of him had become close in the last few days but also knew of the importance of reaching Ismere. Mordred nodded in understanding.

That night Sefa sat outside the hut looking at the stars. She felt someone sit next to her and turned to see that it was Mordred.

"You do not want to leave tomorrow, do you?" Mordred asked. Sefa laid her head on his shoulder and sighed, "It is not that I don't want to leave this place. It's that I don't want to leave you. Can you not come with us?" She asked lifting her head to look at him.

Mordred looked down momentarily, "No I can't. It's not my place. Although, I am sure that we will meet again someday." They kissed each other again that night and neither knew just how right Mordred's words were.


Thinking back over it now, Mordred was sure that was when he'd fallen in love with Sefa. Throughout the next three years, Mordred and Sefa did cross paths numerous times and each time he was sure that his feelings for her grew.

The nature of their relationship was never specified between the two of them and they tended to go with what felt right and what the situation allowed. However if there was one thing that experience had taught him in recent years was that it was not sensible to let his emotions control him or to get overly sentimental if he wanted to survive in a world that currently wanted people like him dead.


Please read and review. Be aware that I will likely be slow in posting chapters due to college and temporary writer's block. I apologise now for the long intervals in between chapters.