Mordred stood impassively, arms crossed as he watched the knights file into the armory.

Leon and Percival seemed to be trying to maintain some form of interest, while Elyan just looked annoyed.

The last light of dusk filtered in through the one window, creating a shadowy, dusty aura around the room. Mordred knew his own face was partially concealed by darkness, and he was glad of it.

He was about to commit high treason, after all. And he'd rather his comrades couldn't see the trepidation written plainly across his face.

There was always the chance they wouldn't believe him, of course. They'd known Gwen for years and years, and one of them was her bloody brother. Mordred had earned their respect as a knight, but he knew that he had yet to completely gain their trust, as a friend.

They had an aura of wariness about them as they sat down, as if they were expecting another lecture. It wasn't fear, exactly.

But close enough, Mordred thought with a small smirk.

An awkward silence stretched on as Mordred stared at them, and they returned his gaze, obviously waiting. The young druid fought not to chew his lip as he contemplated how exactly to address the…issue at hand.

He rubbed his eyes with a sigh. This was going to be harder than he'd thought. He was basically telling all these men that their beloved sovereign was actually a puppet for a wicked sorceress that was their king's sister, whom they had all hoped, and begun to believe, was dead. Mordred hated to be the bearer of bad news.

But he especially hated bearing the news to men whom he had begun to consider his friends. Not to mention, men that were perfectly capable of beating him to a pulp without hardly breaking a sweat.

"Oh, for the love of-!" Elyan began to grumble exasperatedly, when Leon cut in,

"Mordred. You have summoned us here for a reason, correct?"

Mordred nodded, still pinching the bridge of his nose against an oncoming headache.

"Yes," he reassured, looking up and taking a deep, cleansing breath, before giving the men in front of him a long, earnest look.

"I'm going to be frank," he started, and than said in one, uniformly rushed breath, "Guinevere is working for Morgana, and is probably under some kind of spell."

There were a few seconds of complete and absolute silence, where the knights sat slack-jawed with unreadable expressions. Mordred tensed for the blows.

He jumped when Percival suddenly slammed his fist against the barrel next to him and barked out,

"I knew it!"

…

Leon's thoughts moved so quickly during the silence that it seemed like an eternity.

Somehow, what Mordred said made sense. And every fiber of Leon's being rebelled against the idea because…well, because the Gwen he knew couldn't be a traitor.

And Leon would have noticed before, wouldn't he?

His mind flitted back to earlier that evening, when he had approached Guinevere's chambers in what had been his own attempt at gaining some answers. She had never come to the door, though. Could it possibly have been because she was otherwise occupied…betraying the kingdom? He had been struggling with his view on recent events beforehand. And then Arthur had gone missing, and Merlin and Gwaine.

Leon was so lost in the whirlwind of his mind that Percival's outburst was barely enough to pull him out of it,

"I knew it!"

Leon couldn't help but stare at him, aghast. Percival blushed and then brought his fist into his other hand, and folded the both of them in his lap,

"Sorry, it's just…she was acting so strange. And then, Merlin…it seemed like something might be wrong."

"Then why didn't you say anything?" Mordred's voice was like ice, echoing what shone from his pale, unnerving eyes.

Percival bristled a bit at his tone, or rather, lack thereof.

"I was afraid, that's why. Arthur would have my head for questioning Gwen's loyalties," Leon opened his mouth to protest against that, but no sound came out. Percival had a point. Arthur had been very sensitive about the trust he placed in people after Agravaine, and didn't often like his ties being put in a skeptical light.

"Besides," Percival continued, his brow taking on a thoughtful air, "I wanted more time to observe, to see if there was anything that needed to be done, or if there was anything wrong at all."

"Wait, wait, wait," Elyan broke in, waving his hands emphatically, "Why are we even considering this?" His eyes flared with anger and the indignation of an older brother, and he stood and jabbed a finger in Mordred's direction, who did nothing in response,

"We can't trust him. Gwen would never betray us!"

Mordred looked offended at that, and opened his mouth as if to say anything, but Leon intervened,

"He has a point, Mordred," he said coolly, "These are some serious accusations you are making. Do you have any evidence to back them up?"

Mordred unfolded his arms in what Leon realized was a casual effort not to look defensive,

"Well, first of all, I didn't accuse anyone of anything," he explained calmly with a pointed glance in Elyan's direction. The young knight was still visibly trying to contain his fury, "Except, Morgana for being a manipulative bitch, which I'm sure none of you would argue with."

None of them did.

"But still," Leon continued, trying to establish some semblance of order before giving into his own, personal suspicions, "What evidence? Do you have proof?"

Mordred hesitated for just a moment, but then spoke up with a grim confidence,

"I saw them…in the catacombs. Gwen was obviously under some kind of spell."

"What did they say?" Elyan asked skeptically, seeming to relax only slightly at hearing Mordred say his sister was not willing in her involvement.

Mordred gave him a brief glance, then leaned back on his heels, so that the shadow obscured his face and figure just a little more,

"They've been trying to kill Merlin," Leon felt his jaw drop, "And they are attacking the kingdom tomorrow."

And then his heart followed suit.

...

A/N: Okay, so that was the next miny chapter. Still squeezing these out like a malfunctioning meat grinder! I've decided that writing Mordred is a ton of fun. Hmm, maybe I should base a story with him as one of the main characters...? :/ Don't know. Do you guys like him the way I'm writing him?