Another's Favor by ebhg
Rating: T
Pairings: Merthian/Arwen
Spoilers: Series 1-4 and up to episode 4 of Series 5.
Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to BBC.
A/N: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! I thoroughly enjoy reading them, they really make my day! Ilovethestorys, no worries, I knew you weren't being mean by your comment. You are right that Merlin's speech felt out of place in the episode. I felt like it was setting up a reveal, not the disappointment that came after! That's why I stole it and repurposed it:)
Teine Diaga
The screams were the worst, Mordred decided. One didn't grow up in a druid camp and not know the terror inherent in a blood-curdling scream. Mordred had been witness to enough raids to know that screams like that were never a good thing. Now he heard them every hour of the day. Even from those he knew to be dead; his mother, Cerdan and even Kara. They were all screaming, day after day after day.
The laughing was almost as bad though. Ever since he had embarked on this new journey as a Knight of Camelot, Mordred felt younger than he had in years. The other knights had been good about sharing their knowledge and experience and helping him learn the art of swordplay, but there had also been plenty of teasing. It had all been in good fun; a brotherhood, they had said.
But ever since he had been brought to this dark, foreboding tower, all Mordred could see was smirk after smirk on the faces of the men who claimed to be his brothers. They mocked him with jeers and taunts, ridiculing his every cringe and flinch. It was all Mordred could do to keep himself from squeezing his eyes shut, curling into a ball and clapping his hands over his ears.
Merlin though, was the worst. Mordred had come to fear the sight of the older warlock the most. This Merlin had a darkness about him that seemed unnatural. The glinting power in the thin man's eyes seemed to be pure evil. The vicious sneers and teeth-baring growls seemed inhuman.
The only respite from it all had been Morgana.
Mordred had tried several times to block out the sights and sounds of the tower room in order to find his center like Cerdan and then Aglain had taught him, but there was no concentrating with the laughter and the screams. Morgana had been right, after all. Trying to hide magic was no way to learn how to use it.
"Mordred," Morgana called out, causing the huddled knight to scramble from his corner.
"Morgana!" he exclaimed in relief.
"Let's get something to eat, shall we?"
Mordred nodded, following the dark-haired beauty in much the same way he had as a boy.
"I need you to do something for me, Mordred," Morgana began as they sat at the table. Mordred quickly tucked in to the food waiting there for him.
"Anything, Morgana," Mordred promised, not even looking up from the plate of food. He was ravenously hungry; he couldn't recall the last time he had eaten. Or what it had been for that matter.
"It will take a sacrifice on your part," Morgana said, testing Mordred's will. The young knight had been far easier to break than she'd thought; he had a hidden vulnerability that Morgana was easily able to exploit, using her knowledge of his early life. His being orphaned at a young age, being passed from hand to hand until he reached adulthood. He was almost too eager to please her in his quest for any sort of approval from any mother-figure he could find.
His magic, though significant in its raw strength, was mostly untapped and untamed. Mordred had very little skill with actually controlling his gift, relying mostly on the earliest stages of magical tutelage to gather his power and release it in an uncontrolled burst. He was volatile, as well, prone to emotional outbursts. There was little finesse, but plenty of brute strength, Morgana mused. Mordred may have been of a high-priest caliber warlock, had his education not been interrupted. It was no matter to Morgana though. He would serve his purpose, and serve it well.
"I will do anything you need," Mordred promised blindly.
"Good. Tell me please... Who is Emrys?"
Mordred's face scowled comically at the question.
"He doesn't like me. He is always glaring at me and he doesn't trust me! What do I have to do to make him trust me?! I saved Arthur's life!"
"Mordred," Morgana soothed, frustrated that Alvarr may have had a point about Mordred just telling stories.
"He thinks he's so powerful," Mordred groused again, pouting over his plate. Morgana had to wonder if the mandrakes hadn't made the knight regress somewhat into childhood.
"I need to know who Emrys is, Mordred, if our plan is to succeed," Morgana said hypnotically.
"Emrys, he's in Camelot," Mordred said.
"I know that, I need to know who he is, not where he is," Morgana said, straining to keep the frustration out of her voice.
"He's the last person anyone would expect to be the most powerful warlock to ever walk the earth, past, present or future."
"WHO IS HE?!" Morgana roared, losing her patience at last. Mordred looked at her as though injured.
"Emrys... The warlock Emrys is the king's oafish manservant, Merlin."
"What?" Morgana asked after a full minute of shocked silence. "You must be mistaken. That is impossible, I have held him captive, I WOULD KNOW!"
"Emrys, he is Merlin," Mordred repeated. "He has been the king's shadow these many years, protecting him in secret. He thinks he is so much better than me. He hates me!"
"NO!" Morgana raged, screaming in utter fury, causing Mordred to cover his ears and cower back into his chair. Morgana recovered herself, breathing deeply and forcing a charming smile for Mordred.
"Morgana?" the knight asked tentatively.
"You did well, Mordred," the witch replied through clenched teeth. "Let's go back to your room."
Mordred looked alarmed for a moment and almost refused to go, but when Morgana gripped his arm, he stood obediently and allowed her to lead him back to the room where the screams and scornful laughter kept him curled up in the corner.
Morgana leaned back against the door of the room into which she had just locked Mordred. It had taken all of her self-control not to release a torrent of white-hot rage when Mordred had finally revealed Emrys' true identity.
Merlin.
How had she missed it all these years? Morgause had taught her to recognise magic in others; she had thought that she was infallible in that particular skill. How had Merlin masked himself, Morgana mused. The witch had held him bound and captive before finally deciding to use the formorroh on him all those years ago. Just recently he had even touched her when he was helping 'Hilda' back at the ruins. Yet still, Morgana had felt nothing of his power.
Of course, there was always the possibility that Mordred was confused or mistaken, but the more Morgana thought about it, the more sense it made. The unbelievable luck that the manservant seemed imbued with. The unrelenting drive the old man had shown in killing the formorroh. The smug look on Merlin's face when Morgana's magic had failed her the second time she'd taken Camelot as her own.
Growling low under her breath, Morgana finally stalked away from the tower room and went to her own makeshift bed. She needed to rest, because when next she met Merlin, he would rue the day he ever laid eyes on her.
Some hours later, Morgana woke with a scream upon her lips, the sheer terror of the dream vision she had seen causing her whole body to tremble. She had seen Merlin defeat Alvarr and all of his men with barely any effort. Then she had seen him here at the tower, every bit as powerful and terrifying as she imagined Emrys to be, toppling the tower and calling lightning from the heavens to strike her down with it. There was no way she could allow the dream to come to pass. She had to take Mordred and leave the tower. If she could intercept Arthur's pathetic rescue party, she could use the element of surprise to take them off guard and pass off her newest ally into Arthur's unwitting and grateful hands.
Her mind decided, Morgana wasted no further time. Unlocking the door to Mordred's makeshift prison, the witch stormed in.
"Morgana!" Mordred called out, happy to see her.
"We're leaving," Morgana said curtly, offering no other explanation.
"Where are we going?" Mordred asked.
"We're going to take you back to Arthur."
"What?! No! Why?" Mordred protested.
"This is your new task; you will be my informant inside Camelot. I need time to think and plan and find new forces, perhaps the Saxons. You will give that to me by keeping me informed of Arthur and especially Merlin's decisions. But I'll have to do something terrible to you to make Merlin trust that you're not my ally. You'll have to trust that all is done for a purpose."
Mordred nodded, following Morgana's swiftly moving form without question.
"Anything, Morgana. I am your friend and ally forever."
Morgana smirked, glad that her back was to Mordred, preventing him from witnessing her triumph at how easily he complied with her whims.
"Hold on to me," Morgana commanded, holding out her arm imperiously as soon as they had left the tower. Mordred instantly complied, trusting her implicitly. "Níedfaru ús oþ eftsíðas gád æthwearf!"
Mordred closed his eyes against the sudden tumult swirling around them, carrying them back to the forest where they had camped with Alvarr. Morgana looked around her as soon as the dust cleared and nearly growled in her fury.
The camp was deserted, and had been for many hours. The vision that Morgana had seen must have been happening as she saw it. Which meant that Alvarr was dead. A muffled whimper sounded nearby; Morgana whirled around, searching for the source. There was still someone here, and the witch intended to find out who.
"Show yourself!" Morgana commanded, putting the strength of her magic into her words, making it impossible for a weak-minded individual to disobey. Sefa's tear-streaked face came into view.
"They are dead! All of them! I saw their funeral pyre!" Sefa cried out.
"Then they die as martyrs to a worthy cause," Morgana answered coldly.
"No! They did not," Sefa answered angrily. "They died under your orders and victims of your selfish whims! I saw Merlin using magic in front of the king to light the pyre! The king let him do so with no condemnation. You are the one attacking villages for no cause!"
"Yet another way you've disappointed me, Sefa."
The girl scowled at the witch, no longer timid, but strong and resolute.
"You have no heart, no mercy. You have become just the same as Uther, the man you proclaim to hate."
"DO NOT MENTION THAT MAN!" Morgana shrieked in rage, grabbing a hold of Sefa with magic and throwing her to the ground on her hands and knees.
"Will you kill me as well?" Sefa asked. "One who was born a druid? One that you claim to be fighting for?"
Morgana looked coldly into Sefa's eyes.
"You would side with my worthless brother. You are no better than him."
With a twist of her wrist, Morgana pushed Sefa back with a wave of magic. The Druid girl slid through the leaves and dirt until she ran into a tree, leaving the girl in an unconscious heap.
"Come Mordred, we have a king to surprise."
A/N: Uh oh! Poor Mordred. This is a rather short chapter, and since I'm so nice, *wink, wink* I'm giving you two chapters. I'll not beg for them, but I will say, reviews make me happy:)