Camelot

Uther was in the throne room waiting for his son to join him. He had just received reports that he wanted Arthur to look into. The reports where like a godsend to Uther, despite the seriousness of them. He still couldn't quite believe his son's actions with regard to Sophia. For a dreadful moment he had thought that his son, the heir of Camelot had eloped with a girl he scarcely knew. While part of it had made Uther laugh after all he'd had his own mad moments with girls. But he had certainly never attempted to elope with anyone and forget about his duties. Despite what his mad servant had tried to say Uther was disturbed by Arthur's sudden lack of discipline.

Looking down at the report on the table Uther felt it was important for his son to get straight back into his duties. He looked up as Arthur entered the room.

"Arthur I have reports that I need you to look into." Uther said making sure his son was paying full attention.

"Anything important?" Arthur enquired suddenly grateful as the prospect of escaping the castle for a while.

"I've received reports that a Druid had entered the lower town. I would like you to look into this immediately." Uther demanded using his most determined voice.

"Oh." Arthur said sounding slightly disappointed.

"You have something else planned?" Uther enquired an irritation in his voice noticing a sudden lack of interest in Arthur's form.

"No of course not father." Arthur assured him, stifling a yawn.

"Arthur I need not remind you that the Druids as a people pose a real threat to Camelot. This is a report that needs to be looked into with the greatest of urgency. Frankly after your escapade with Sophia I feel you need to get your self straight back to your duties."

"I can assure you father it was nothing serious with Sophia just a misunderstanding, as I thought Merlin had explained to you." Arthur said trying to cut the tension.

"I don't care what your half wit of a servant claimed. You forgot about your duties to Camelot and I will not tolerate that."

"No of course not." Arthur said, about to go then turned and asked curiously. "Why did you flog Merlin then?"

"It is one of the perks of the job Arthur, as one day you may find out when you become King."

"Right, I'll remember that." Arthur smiled.
"I want your report by the end of tomorrow." Uther commanded.

"Of course father." Arthur bowed and headed out of the room.

The sun was still shining as Arthur and a group of guards arrived into the lower town. Arthur sent his men out talking to the stall holders, Arthur headed to a food stall ran by a woman he knew by the name of Bridie.

"Afternoon there my lord." She smiled. "And what do I owe this pleasure too?" she asked raising her eyebrow with a cheeky smile.

"Hello there Bridie. Oh my father has received reports that a Druid was seen in amongst the lower town a few days ago. I don't suppose that you saw him?"

"A Druid you say, he must be desperate coming to Camelot." She remarked. "No disrespect of course." She added with a smile.

"None taken Bridie." Arthur laughed. "I thought the same thing why on earth would a Druid come here?"

"There's a stall down the other end run by a nice young man at the name of Tanmer. He sells herbs and spices he might know something." Bridie said.

"Thank you for that." Arthur smiled.

"My pleasure my lord." Bridie said with a laugh and bow.

Arthur laughed as he turned and walked over to where a group of his men where talking to other stall holders.

"Come with me I have received a tip off." Arthur ordered. Arthur walked off back towards the castle. He eventually came to the stall that Bridie had described.

Tanmer had tensed up when he suddenly saw the Prince and his guards arrive.

"Are you called Tanmer?" Arthur enquired looking straight at the young man.

"Yes my lord that is my name. Can I help you?" Tanmer replied a little tremor in his voice.

"There are a reports that you served a Druid a couple of days ago?" Arthur asked.

Tanmer paused for a second. "A Druid?" he repeated.

Arthur could sense that he had the young man caught in a trap. He knew it could go two ways, either he would deny it outright which would mean Arthur becoming more belligerent. Or maybe Arthur could reason with the young man. He much preferred the second option, as he didn't feel that shouting at people was always for the best. His father he knew would choose the former. Suddenly Arthur realised that he could get a result by doing it his way.
"Look I understand you are new here. You need to understand that the Druids are a menace to Camelot. They are a danger to law and order. By letting us have any information you are doing your duty to Camelot."

Tanmer had looked at the Prince his mind was in a haze. He had seen the Druid, a nice man he had only been too glad to help. But facing the Prince he suddenly realised the danger he had put himself into. How could he get himself out of it? He really didn't want to inform on the Druid, he had a lot of respect for them and their ways. But the stall actually belonged to his father, and if he lost the stall, his father would never forgive him. With a terrible feeling, he decided he had no other choice, he had to come clean.

"Yes my lord it is true a Druid came to me a couple of days ago. I am trying to get some herbs for him."

Arthur nodded his mind suddenly springing into action. "He is coming back for these supplies?" he asked.

"Yes tomorrow after two o'clock." Tanmer said with a fear of dread knowing what was coming next.

"You can help us catch him then." Arthur said. "Tell no one about this."

Tanmer nodded by now hating himself, at the time he had felt as though he was helping the man, now he was leading him to his possible death.

"I will say nothing my lord." He said.

Noticing the young man's sadness Arthur took a bit of pity on him.

"I know this seems harsh, but what you have done is the right thing. This way Camelot stays safe you will be free to continue your work here. Thank you for your information Tanmer."

Tanmer nodded at the Prince the words made no difference to him though. A couple of days ago he had taken the decision to help a man out of pity, but now he had just signed his death warrant. It would be his fault. For the first time he could see people's faces on him. They knew too what he had just done. His friends had warned him to stay away from Camelot, but when his father became sick he knew he had to step in. Suddenly his friends warnings about the place came back to haunt him. Why was it that by doing the right thing by his father, things could end up the way they just had he wondered?

Arthur had sworn the guards to secrecy over the plan the next day. They would take the Druid by surprise. By apprehending him he would prove to his father that he put the trails of Sophia behind him. As he walked back up to the castle he wanted to be excited by it. Yet something stopped him feeling it, somehow it just didn't seem right. The man had just stopped by for supplies, it wasn't as if he was planning to overthrow Camelot.

The Druids where a mysterious people to Arthur he knew little about them, other than his father hated them, and feared them. To Arthur it had always seemed pretty irrational. He'd had little experience of them in truth, where they really as bad as his father made out? He just didn't know, but like it or not he had a duty to perform. He also knew he was on trial where his father was concerned, as ever he had things to prove to him. He forced the negative feelings to the back of his mind, and concentrated on the task that lay ahead.

A Druid Camp in the Forest of Ascetir

Mordred and Kara had decided to spend their last afternoon together at their favourite place. As they walked in silence for once, Mordred's mind went back to the first time he'd taken his friend there. He laughed silently as he recalled Kara doing her little dance of delight as she saw the little clearing for the first time. It had been a moment of pure joy, and Mordred would never forget that as long as he lived.

That whole day had opened his eyes and mind to so much. He had gone from being a frightened and tense figure, to actually seeing the world for the first time, and all its possibilities. Kara had shown him how to live, and he had begun to shed his fears and to accept what and who he was. Now though once more it seemed that fate had stalked them here too. Mordred and his father where being forced to move to another camp, and he was still struggling to understand why that was. To Mordred's sadness so was Kara.

"Why do you have to go Mordred?" Kara asked tears not far away. To Kara the whole thing was irrational. Mordred had saved her life, and yet he was being treated like a criminal, when to her he was a hero.

"My father has decided Kara, I cannot persuade him otherwise." Mordred wished she would stop questioning him as he wanted the day to be special. But by now he knew his friend had a stubborn streak in her about some things.

"But by running away like this, it's as if you are guilty." Kara had argued.

Mordred agreed with her but then he thought back to the little argument he'd had with his father. He had put forward the same reasons Kara had just mentioned, and with the same passion and anger. He would never forget the look in his father's eyes as Mordred said the words. For a terrible moment he thought his father was about to cry. He had gathered himself though, and gently explained that it was for the best for both of them. It had left a scar on Mordred though, and from that moment on he was determined to trust his father's judgement. He knew deep down that he knew best. He must trust him, even if it did mean leaving Kara behind.

"Please Kara let's have a nice afternoon and not talk about this." He appealed to her.

Sensing Mordred's sadness Kara nodded. They held hands as they entered their little enchanted kingdom. Kara suddenly ran ahead as she came to her favourite hiding place, sitting on the big rock by the cave.

"Come and join me Mordred." She smiled
Mordred did so, thankful that Kara was putting her sadness to one side now.

He watched as Kara reached forward and took hold of the chain around his neck.

"You're still wearing it." She said with a laugh.

"I'll always wear it that way it reminds me of you." He said.

"You're such a serious boy Mordred." Kara said looking at him gently. "It's like you're almost old before you're time."

Mordred by now was use to Kara's honest opinions. He remembered that to begin with she sometimes shocked him with her brutal honesty. Now though he saw it as a positive thing. So many people kept secrets from him, Kara had been a blessing as he felt they never had any secrets between them. They where totally what they were, no lies, no deceit, no pretending everything was alright. She had been a ray of sunshine in his brutal dreary world. She was a light that made the darkness of his world a place of colours and honesty. She had proved to him that he could yet strive for a life of normality, as she had shown him the way.

"I suppose it's because of the way we've been forced to move around." he replied remembering that she'd just said something to him. "Before you came along I've never had a friend."

"Well other's don't know what they've missed, you are a special person Mordred don't let anyone tell you any different." Kara said with a smile.

For a moment they smiled at each other, both feeling an intense feeling, yet neither quite understanding what it was about. As if wanting to break the tension Kara stood up and looked at the cave behind them.

"Have you ever been inside?" she asked Mordred.

"We can't go in there. It is full of spirits Tyrien said." Mordred argued feeling a bit fearful. He knew that Kara would get her way, she always knew how to. Reluctantly he followed her into the cave.

It was still light outside as they climbed into the entrance it took them a couple of seconds to get their bearings. Having got use to the reduced light Kara began to climb over the rocks. Her hands reached over to the walls on either side as she slowly guided her way, hearing Mordred struggling behind her.

"Look Mordred there is writing on the side of the walls. I wonder what language it is?" she asked.

Mordred attempted to read it, suddenly remembering the tale that Tyrien had told him of how the wizards and seers from years ago would line the caves with old spells and prophecies.

Kara laughed at Mordred's attempts to read the language.
"Mordred you cannot read it, it's ancient very few can." She said.

"Tyrien told me about this. Some of these are spells from wizards who would drop in and leave their secrets to be discovered by the next wizard."

"Really?" Kara breathed. "My father once told me stories about this, that somewhere they stored all their literature. Just think this place has been here all the time we've come and we've not realised."

Mordred was suddenly not listening, as his eyes narrowed to a word scribed on the wall in front of him. There was no escaping it as his eyes looked at the word again. His mind went back to the night that Tyrien and him had looked at this ancient language. Mordred had been full of curiosity but to his annoyance Tyrien had been quite elusive about it's roots. In the end all he had got out of the seer's mouth was how Mordred could spell his name in the old language. As Mordred looked at it again there was no mistaking it was indeed his name, written on the wall of this cave. Yet that was all he could read.

A cold dread suddenly overtook Mordred. Tyrien would never allow Mordred to go into the cave and look. He would insist it was for his own protection, and in the end weary Mordred had agreed to never go into the cave. But now as he stood there and looked at the paragraph of old writing the only thing he could see was his name written in the mist of it. What was it he wondered? Was it a prophecy about him, was this the reason behind other people's fear of him? Suddenly hundreds of questions filled his mind. The air in the cave suddenly seemed to become thin, causing him to feel light headed, he knew he needed to get out quickly.

"We need to go Kara." He said suddenly.

"Mordred, we're not even half way through the cave." Kara argued.

"Please Kara we need to go. I need some fresh air."

Looking at him Kara could see the paleness of his face, and hear his breathing becoming suddenly heavy.

"Okay we'll leave Mordred." She said looking concerned at her friend.

They where soon out in the last of the sunshine of the day, after taking a brief rest they began their walk back to the camp. Mordred had to make a huge effort to listen to Kara's chatter, aware that this would be their last afternoon together, for who knew how long. Just before they had arrived at the camp, Kara had stopped and looking into Mordred's eyes had checked he was now okay.

"Sorry about that." Mordred had said hating to lie to Kara, "I just felt very short of breath, I had to get out of there."

"As long as you are okay now, you were so pale." She said a gentle smile on her face. Lifting the chain she'd given Mordred she softly kissed it before gently putting it back around his neck.
Mordred eyed her curiously as she did it.

"I have blessed it." Kara explained. "It will keep you safe, and you always remember me."

"I will never forget you Kara." Mordred said softly taking her hand. "You will always be my special friend." He gently kissed her on her cheek. She looked at him for a long minute before throwing her arms around his neck.

"This isn't fair Mordred, sometimes I hate adults, they complicate everything." She cried tears falling down her face.

"Kara this was supposed to be a special day." Mordred said suddenly feeling useless and unable to comfort her.

"I'm sorry." Kara sniffed. "I just can't bare the thought of never seeing you again."

"We will see each other again." Mordred insisted "I promise you, please be happy I don't want to cause you any sadness. I've loved our time together and thinking of us meeting again one day we keep me going."

Kara laughed "You sound like my dad."

Mordred's face dropped not knowing what to say.

"That's what makes you, you." Kara smiled.

Suddenly Kara's mother called her, looking back at her Kara sighed.

"I'd better go. Don't forget to say goodbye to me before you go." She said.

"I won't." Mordred watched Kara go, his heart suddenly as heavy as his mind. He needed to speak to his father, he walked back into the camp a familiar feeling of dread stalking him.

Cerdan smiled as Mordred appeared. "Did you have a nice day with Kara?"

Mordred nodded "We went to our little clearing the one by the cave." He replied.

"You both loved it there, didn't you?" Cerdan asked feeling uneasy.

"Yes it's very special. I remember Tyrien telling me all about it, how it was the place of old wizards and seers and things."

"Yes well we need to get dinner Mordred we have to leave early. We need to go to Camelot to pick up some supplies and that will be dangerous."

Mordred knew his father was trying to change the subject for some reason. But he was determined to say his piece.

"We went into the cave father. We saw the ancient writings, I saw my name on the cave. Why is my name on the cave?"

A feeling of pure dread entered Cerdan's mind, this was the moment he was dreading would happen. Part of him wanted to explode as he had warned his son to never enter the cave. But he knew it was too late, but what could he possibly say to him?

"You don't suppose you are the only Mordred in the world do you? Cerdan said desperately.

"Do all the other Mordred's have people forcing them out of camps, and hating them? Mordred asked.

He was desperate for his father to be honest with him, no matter how bad the truth. For too long he'd had things kept from him, Kara had shown him that keeping secrets never did anyone any good.

"Mordred please believe me I do not know anything about this." Cerdan said, going over to his son his bent onto his knees putting both hands on his shoulder. "Tomorrow Mordred we begin a new life. Once we have our supplies we can start away from here. We will have a free life in this other camp, it is very different to this one. We need to eat and sleep, we have an early start to make tomorrow." Cerdan kissed his son on the cheek.

**********
Cerdan watched his son for the rest of the evening closely. He was quiet but he knew leaving Kara was making him sad. As he watched him get into his straw bed and close his eyes, he hated himself for lying to his son, but what choice did he have? To tell him what the prophecies said would be to rob Mordred off any chance of making a life for himself. No one deserved such a thing hanging over them. He would gladly do this to protect the only person who meant anything to him. One day Mordred would thank him for this choice, until then he had continue to guide him in the only way he could. By doing what he felt was right.

Mordred heard his father's breathing become more even as Cerden eventually found sleep. He sat up and thought of what his father had said to him. Cerdan had told Mordred everything he needed to know. By lying to him he knew his own fears where true, he was indeed the Mordred that was mentioned on the walls. The Mordred that people feared for whatever reason. He did not blame his father, he knew he was doing what the thought was best. But at least now he was beginning to understand that he was indeed different. In time he would learn what it was, but for now he must leave with his father and start their new life together.

Yawning he settled back down for some sleep. Just after dawn Cerdan and Mordred set off for Camelot to pick up their supplies. As they left the woods overhead a crow flew low over them. Mordred stopped for a second watching it with alarm.

"What's the matter?" Cerdan asked concerned.

Caught in two minds Mordred smiled and shook his head. "I'm sorry he took me by surprise, that's all." He closed his eyes for a second hating to lie to his father.

As he followed Cerdan he had a sense of foreboding filled his mind. He ran forward and caught hold of his father's hand feeling suddenly frightened.