Chapter 8 … The Druid And The Stone
It was five days later when Lancelot and Gwaine's 'search' parties returned, on time. The two knights of Ealdor were not happy. They had been out for a month for absolutely no reason.
"I missed mead." Gwaine said petulantly. However they were both happy that they didn't have to go back out to search.
It was shortly after that when young Mordred arrived in Camelot.
Arthur had been eager to test the boy soon, so the next day the young druid had joined the knights for practice and was tested by Camelot's prince. It was clear straight away that the young boy had potential, though he needed training he was accepted to the program, much to his delight.
Mordred fitted in Camelot easily. He was officially the youngest warrior in Camelot, and everyone had taken to him. It was very easy to like him as well, he was honest and naïve. Merlin felt protective of him, like a little brother.
Mordred had taken to him too, it seamed. The two chatted telepathically a lot, mostly about magic. The young druid was eager to learn and the two became very close.
Talking telepathically was different to talking normally. When someone talked telepathically they mostly spoke of what they were thinking, rather than what they wanted to say. This is one reason that magical people only communicated this way with the people they trusted.
So when Mordred started shielding his thoughts from Merlin, the secret prince grew suspicious. Outwardly the boy didn't act that different, so it wasn't surprising when no one else seemed to notice when something had changed. However as someone who spoke to the boy mentally, Merlin noticed when those conversations started happening less frequently.
Thus Merlin decided to confront Mordred, and see what was wrong.
"Nothing!" was the agitated response he got for his effort.
"It's clearly not nothing," Merlin insisted. "You can trust me Mordred, you know that. Just tell me, so I can help you."
"I don't need your help!" The druid announced angrily. "Just let it go Merlin!"
Except Merlin couldn't let it go, so he took to watching the younger boy. And that is how he found himself one night, trekking through the forest after Mordred.
Mordred met with a young girl. For a moment he really thought that it was nothing, Mordred had just got himself a girlfriend. He smiled at his own paranoia, and prepared to leave the two. But then he noticed their stance towards each other, which was more hostile than friendly.
Nothing was being exchanged between them, so Merlin concentrated and eavesdropped on their mental conversation. Based on their not-so-friendly encounter, Merlin was surprised that they were communicating this way.
Mordred, being a druid, knew more about 'mental' communication, and what he had told Merlin is that when two people communicated this way, no one else could eavesdrop on them. Merlin had been surprised; back at the druid camp he had been able to hear everyone. His guess was that this was just another aspect of his unusual magic. He didn't tell Mordred any of this of course. But he used it to his advantage now and listened in.
'This will tell you if he's the one we want,' the girl was telling Mordred with her mind, while handing over something too small for Merlin to see. 'You know how to use it? Good.' She thought at his nod.
'What happens to Arthur if he is the one?' Mordred asked.
'Well if he is, Morgause would want him eliminated.' Merlin growled, not on his watch! The young prince left before either druid could hear or see him.
That night Merlin didn't sleep well. His mind was going in circles. How could Mordred do this to them? After everything Arthur had done for him?
Merlin had heard of Morgause from Nimueh. She was a sorceress that dabbled in dark magic and was an ally of Cenred. She was one of the enemies that Merlin was hidden from, and he couldn't believe that Mordred was in league with her, or one of her minions.
Merlin didn't know what to do. He didn't really want to tell Arthur yet. He had to confront the boy before he could do anything else. That decided he turned to sleep a troubled sleep.
The next morning Merlin looked for an opportunity to speak with Mordred privately, however it seamed impossible. Eventually Merlin had to make it happen.
After training Mordred, being the youngest trainee, was charged with the task of getting all the weapons back to the armoury. Arthur was babbling about training, and usually Merlin would be listening and putting in his own inputs. But today all he could do was stare as the young druid packed up the weaponry. When Mordred began making his way to the castle, a flash of Merlin's eyes caused all the iron to end up on the floor.
"I better help Mordred." Merlin cut Arthur off mid-sentence, and then dashed of without waiting for a response. "Let me help you." He told the younger boy when he got to his side. Mordred looked at him verily, but didn't say anything as Merlin began gathering some of the weapons.
They didn't say anything as they made their way to the armoury. Once inside however, and when all the weapons were put away, Merlin turned and slammed the door shut, standing in front of it and blocking Mordred's exit. The young druid rolled his eyes, and sounding exasperated, said:
"I told you Merlin, there is nothing to talk about."
"I'm not going to let you use whatever that druid girl gave you on Arthur." Merlin didn't see any reason to beat around the bush. Mordred's eyes rounded and he took a step back from Merlin.
"You – how – but –" He was pointing at Merlin, shaking all over. "How did you know about that?"
"I saw you last night."
"You followed me!" Mordred seethed.
"Yes." Was Merlin's simple answer, which seamed to through Mordred. The younger boy looked around, before contemplating the secret prince.
"How did you know what she said?" He asked quietly.
"That doesn't really matter." Merlin dismissed, not really wanting to reveal his secret. "What is important is that I'm not going to let you do this."
"I wasn't going to do it!" Mordred exclaimed. Merlin only raised an eyebrow in imitation of Gaius. "I wasn't!" the druid insisted.
"Maybe you should tell me the story…from the beginning." Merlin suggested. Mordred sighed, and then sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall. Merlin joined him.
"I've known Kara for a long time." Mordred began his tale. "We used to play as children. A while back a powerful witch passed through our camp. Her name was Morgause, and the elders seamed to fear her. They tried to keep all the young away from her, but they weren't completely successful. When she left, a few of the girls disappeared too. Kara was one of them.
"We hadn't heard of them since. Kara must have heard that I had come to Camelot. When I went on my patrol a few days ago, she approached me. I was so happy to see her. She told me she was in trouble, that she needed my help. She asked if I could meet with her that night. When I did, she wasn't alone. Morgause was with her. Do you know about the prophesy of the once and future kings?" At Merlin's nod he continued. "She wanted to know if Arthur was one of them, one of the kings. She gave me this rock last night…" He took out a shinny, black stone, slightly bigger than a pebble, decorated in runes.
"It's supposed to show the truth. If either of the once and future kings touch this stone, it'll shine brightly. But if both of them touch it, it'll burn so bright that the stone's magic will burn out." Merlin stared at the stone curiously, but weary to touch it. "I wasn't going to do it." Merlin regarded the younger boy, Mordred looked quite earnest. "Even if I used the stone for my own curiosity I wouldn't have told them, or I would have told them that Arthur isn't who they're looking for. Not quite sure what I would say really."
"We need to tell Arthur." Merlin told him.
"You tell him please," Mordred begged. "He listens to you more than anyone." Before Merlin could say anything in response, Mordred through the rock for him. Merlin raised his hand in reflex and caught it.
There was a beat of silence. During which Merlin's heart refused to beat. Then, the stone lit up with a bright, white light that was hard to look at. Eventually, Merlin closed his fist over the bright stone and pocketed it.
Mordred was staring at Merlin with round eyes, and the prince could just see the dots connecting in his mind. Finally, Mordred pointed at him, trying to speak.
"You – but – it –" He stopped, and after composing himself, he continued. "You're the Emrys Prince, aren't you?"
"How…?" It was Merlin's turn to stare. He hadn't expected that dot to connect. He must be getting too comfortable, not on guard as much; it's the only way Mordred could have guessed, right?
"I'm a druid, and we know that the Emrys Prince is one of the once and future Kings." He looked at Merlin's pocket, where the stone now dwelled. "You are clearly one of the kings, so it makes sense for you to be the lost prince."
"Please don't tell anyone!" Merlin begged suddenly.
"I – I don't know…" Mordred looked unsure, so Merlin decided to tell him his whole story. By the end of it Mordred was on Merlin's side, and agreed to keep his secret. "So is Arthur the other?" The young druid asked later. Merlin didn't need to ask 'other what?'
"Yes," the prince answered. "But we shouldn't tell him yet. We should tell him about Morgause."
MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA
Arthur stared at the two younger men in front of him. They had come to him with a tale of the witch, Morgause, and how she had used her resources to contact Mordred, so she could use him to get to Arthur. From what Camelot's prince knew of her, she was a friend to Essetir and had her sight on Ealdor. For her to be coming after Arthur was troubling news indeed. Did she have the Emrys Prince? Is that why she was coming after Arthur now?
He looked to Merlin, who seamed quite anxious. Was he ever this worried over Arthur? The brunet had been full of ideas in how best to protect young Mordred, but not Arthur. For some reason this bugged Arthur more than anything else.
"Did your druid friend tell you anything else?" he asked the young knight. Mordred looked at Merlin nervously. Arthur bristled silently when Merlin smiled reassuringly.
"Not much else, sire," The boy, replied. "Just that she needed my help to gather information on you. She seamed to think I would do it just because we used to be friends."
"And that didn't tempt you?" Arthur asked, curious.
"Not really," Mordred shrugged. "If she was really my friend she wouldn't use me like this. Besides I've sworn my allegiance to you, I'm not going to break my oath." Arthur smiled despite himself, proud of this young man.
"Don't worry," He told the younger boy. "Just don't contact her again, and I'll take care of the rest. You might have to recite your story to my father, but you wouldn't be in trouble. You did the right thing." He gave his own reassuring smile to the boy.
Some time passed and there was no sign of Morgause or Mordred's druid friend, and things settled down some. More patrols were sent to the border between Camelot and Essetir, which proved that Tristan and Isolde were right. The couple themselves had remained in Camelot. Tristan trained with the knights some times, Arthur had a sneaky feeling that he wouldn't mind becoming a knight. He was good too, Arthur thought, if a bit rough.
Nothing new or exciting had happened; the only thing that troubled Arthur these days was Merlin and Mordred.
The two young men seamed to have grown close, and would be found together on their spare times. He didn't know if that was because they both had magic, or something else. Arthur hoped it was the magic thing. He didn't really know why it bothered him so much, and he knew it was irrational. Yet he found himself giving Merlin extra chores whenever Mordred was free.
A particular example is when Arthur was walking along a corridor, passed the armoury, and found the two young boys in there, going about their business in total silence, apart from the sounds of sharpening a sward and mending armour. It was the most comfortable silence that Arthur had ever seen.
Occasionally the two young men would look up at each other and smile, or roll their eyes, or one time wink. It was like they were having a conversation that no one else could hear. Come to think of it most magical people were like that.
Arthur hadn't been able to take it. He'd barged in and demanded why Merlin hadn't finished yet. That seamed to make things worst. Merlin had rolled his eyes and Mordred had sneakered after looking at Merlin and then had raised his eyebrow at the servant, who then laughed out loud.
Arthur had stormed out of there.
MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA
The Stone was with Merlin all the time. It seamed to weigh a tone in his pocket, wrapped in a cloth. He didn't dare separate with it incase he lost it and it fell into the wrong hands. Some nights in his little bedroom, he'd take it out and hold it, staring into the light that would shine brightly. However Merlin knew that it was nothing compared to what would happen if both he and Arthur held it together.
The Stone was also very hypnotic. It seamed to call to Merlin, asking him to do something. What that thing was, Merlin didn't know. He could make an educated guess, that the Stone was seeking Arthur's touch as well as Merlin's.
Arthur himself was acting weird. Sometimes Merlin thought that Arthur didn't like Mordred. Other times he seamed to care about the young druid a great deal.
Mordred had turned out to be a good friend too. He had kept Merlin's secret and quickly became a confidant of his. They had many telepathic conversations about Merlin's secret, magic and many other things. This way they kept their discussions to themselves, with out having to worry that they were being overheard.
Sometimes the two young brunets would talk mentally when among others. For example if Merlin had a joke in Arthur's expense he would tell Mordred, who would usually find it hard not to laugh.
Mordred also got on well with Lancelot and Gwaine. Once they realised that they all knew about who Merlin really was, the four young men would often be found late at night having a good time. Merlin would mostly insist on walking around town instead of sitting in the castle or a tavern. The people quickly got used to the four of them in town, and would sometimes join in their fun. They brought a lot of joy and it was easy to like them. These were some of Merlin's best days, especially on nights when Arthur would join them…and the other knights of course.
Things were going great, and one day Merlin found Mordred making lovey dovey eyes at the baker's daughter, Sefa. Needles to say that he teased the poor boy mercilessly.
However, as Mordred was young and naïve, he would come to Merlin for advice. Once he even practiced asking Sefa out, on Merlin. Half way through this, Arthur had barged in demanding what they were doing. Merlin had glared at him and Mordred had turned a bright shade of red. The poor boy had mumbled something about armour before dashing out of there.
Merlin had let Arthur have it. He told the blonde prince off like he'd never done before. Then he had marched out of there angrily and left the idiot prince open mouthed.
Merlin had found Mordred much later and had apologized for Arthur's behaviour. To his surprise, Mordred laughed in response and said that 'it doesn't matter'. He had then given Merlin a mysterious and knowing smile that made Merlin blush. The secret prince didn't like the fact that they seamed to have swapped places. And no matter how much he pushed, Mordred wouldn't say a thing.
MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA
Arthur was irritated all the time these days. He didn't really know why, he just knew he was angry. Except when he was out in town with Merlin and his knights some nights. He found himself more annoyed with Mordred and Merlin, and he didn't even know why. Whenever he saw them together he felt this feeling in his stomach, like something was eating it's way from the inside out.
When the two acted like they were having a secret conversation, the munching thing inside him would bit Arthur harder. When the two young brunets would spend time alone together the monster would munch faster.
This was annoying Arthur so much.
One particular time things got really out of hand.
Arthur was going to see Gaius about one of his injured knights. However the physician wasn't there, so Arthur turned to leave when he heard voices from the back room, Merlin's room. It was Sunday, so Merlin was off work.
When Arthur got closer to the door to the room, he heard a voice that clearly belonged to Mordred.
"– You're really beautiful. I can't help but notice when you smile, and your brilliant brown eyes crinkles at the edges –"
Arthur froze; Merlin and Mordred were a thing? The Munching Monster in Arthur's belly was bigger and meaner than ever before. His mind couldn't think about anything concrete. Later he could only remember one thought that crossed his mind, Merlin has blue eyes, not brown!
At that point he just couldn't take it anymore. He closed his eyes and barged in.
"What is going on here?" he demanded loudly. The two young men in the room jumped. Merlin then glared hotly at Arthur, who refused to back down. Mordred had turned a brilliant shade of scarlet. The poor boy began mumbling. Arthur caught words in there like, 'should', 'sward' and 'armour'. Then Mordred all but ran from the room.
As soon as the young druid had gone, Merlin turned fiery eyes on him.
"What is wrong with you?" the younger boy demanded. "Why would you do something like that? Couldn't you see we were having a private conversation? Poor Mordred must be feeling so humiliated. Can't you think before you do something like this? This is my room, the one place I don't have to put up with you. And you just don't care about privacy, and just barge in." Merlin paused, giving Arthur another burning look. "I'm going to find Mordred and make sure you haven't done any lasting damage." With that he turned his back to Arthur and marched out of there.
Arthur, for his part, stood on the spot open mouthed. Did Merlin really like Mordred that much?
The Munching Monster was more violent than ever. It was really painful.
Arthur really didn't know what he had been thinking. What business was it of his, what his servant and knight did together? The monster bit a little hard, disagreeing with Arthur's line of thought. The prince ignored it.
Arthur thought that he should apologize to the two for ruining their moment, even if the thought of them having a moment was hard to accept.
Arthur sat on Merlin's head and put his head in his hands. He didn't know what was wrong with him these days. So what if Merlin and Mordred liked each other? Arthur rubbed his face with his hands, why was life so hard all of a sudden?
The prince didn't know how long he sat there, but the next thing he knew was the sound of someone moving about in the main room. He sighed, not knowing how to explain his presence to Gaius.
He got up to leave when he stood on something. When he looked down he found a small stone, covered in drawings. Must be something magical. He thought. When he picked it up, it lit up with a bright light. Arthur turned his eyes away. Definitely magical! He thought he should put it on a table, but for some reason he pocketed it before he left.
End of Chapter!
Hey guys! Hope you liked this one, I enjoyed writing it so much myself.
What do you thing Arthur will do with the Stone? And what does the naïve, young Mordred know? Will Arthur ever get a clue? Find out in the upcoming chapters.
I now know that there is going to be another six chapters (Excluding the Epilogue) after this one, and everyone will find out Merlin's secret in the next two chapters… muhahaha (my version of an evil laugh :-/)
A shout out to everyone who commented those lovely comments, and anyone who favorited my story, and me, or followed.
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