hello every one here is the next chapter! :D
a clue for this chapter is that we meet the girl in Morgana's dream :)
please enjoy and please please please review!

Chapter 13 ~ Eleanor

Morgana groaned and open her eyes groggily. She was lying on the cold hard floor of a damp musty smelling cave. A bright sunset lit up the cave, revealing that it was covered in a fine layer of straw. Morgana groaned again at the sharp pains that laced her rib cage as she sat up slowly pressing on the bridge of her nose. There was a slight humming ring coming from somewhere near by and it was giving her a headache. After a moment she looked around.

'Oh look; sleeping beauty's awake'

Morgana turned her head and glared; Nimueh was leaning against the wall of the large cave and Mordred was sitting on the ground beside her smirking. Morgana shuddered slightly; she had never quite noticed how disturbing Mordred's smile was.

Nimueh straightened and walked over to stand in front of Morgana and look down at her. Morgana for her part gazed up at Nimueh with a mixture of loathing and curiosity; she had never actually met Nimueh before. There was no doubt that Nimueh was beautiful with her long black hair and fine cheekbones but, although her eyes were attractive there was something about their vibrant electric blue colour that seemed almost unnatural.

Nimueh tilted her head slightly and smiled 'I do hope that my…allies didn't cause you any unnecessary harm'

Morgana said nothing and eventually Nimueh crouched down in front of the younger woman with a sigh 'now Morgana you might as well talk there is no need to start off badly'

Finally Morgana said quietly 'what do you want?'

Nimueh's pale face split into a smile 'that's better'

Morgana narrowed her eyes 'what do you want?'

Nimueh sighed 'I want to offer you a choice-'

'If you're about to offer me the chance to switch sides then you can save your breath the answer is no'

Nimueh's expression didn't change but she remained where she was her head slightly tilted staring at Morgana with those unnerving eyes. Suddenly her eyes widened and she began to laugh 'well I suppose under the circumstances you wouldn't would you'

Morgana frowned at Nimueh not understanding. Nimueh beckoned to Mordred then leaned forward and touched the lower part of Morgana's stomach. Morgana's eyes widened and she flinched away from the touch bringing her knees up to her chest protectively. 'Don't touch me' she hissed

Nimueh smiled 'of course I had heard that you and Merlin were married not long ago but I suppose you must have been in a relationship long before that…' she closed her eyes suddenly and for a couple of seconds she remained still.

Mordred stared at Morgana over Nimueh's shoulder while Nimueh remained still and after a moment Morgana realised that he was trying to get into her head. She immediately focused on her defences and examined them for any weakness. To her satisfaction Mordred glared and let out a soft snarl.

Nimueh abruptly opened her eyes and turned her head to look at the former druid boy 'did you know that Morgause and Lancelot were in a relationship?'

Mordred blinked 'I noticed that they were very close why?'

'Turns out that Morgana isn't the only Le Fay sister who's pregnant' said Nimueh turning her head back to stare at Morgana 'the prophecy is commencing even faster than we originally thought'

Mordred stared at her then said 'Nimueh I want a word outside now!' he didn't shout in fact he spoke quietly but there as no mistaking the anger in his voice. He then turned and stormed out of the cave.

Nimueh sighed and stood 'children can by so bad tempered' she walked to the cave entrance but before leaving turned back and said 'oh Morgana, don't bother to try contacting anyone I have placed a spell that prevents you from contacting anyone with magic'

Morgana glowered at her until she was out of site then sagged against the wall and groaned. She pressed her hands against her stomach and rested her head against the wall allowing a tear to trickle down her cheek. Nimueh new about her child and she was terrified. What would Nimueh do? What could she do to stop her? Could she stop her? Morgana opened her eyes and swallowed then sat up.

Nimueh had said that she couldn't contact anyone using magic… but she had no other option than to at least try. Morgana closed her mind and closed her self off from every thing else. Then she pulled her self into the back of her own mind examining the lines that connected her to her family. This was how she saw the physical connection that linked her mind to those in her family. She could communicate with people other than using those connections but it was easier in some ways. She had never thought about them because she had only ever needed to talk to three of them and she new those lines so well.

There was Morgause's which was like a strong cord the colour of scarlet rubies, Helena's that though the same thickness was the colour of emeralds and there was Merlin's which was exactly the same but which was a deep blue in colour. All three of them glowed with a slight gold in colour and each of them extended out into blackness.

Morgana hesitated then thinking jthat she might as well try she extended her mind cautiously towards those glowing cords and touched Merlin's with her mind. Nothing happened. Morgana sighed then turned her attention instead to the other connections she had. She had never considered them before because they had never seemed important. There were only two others; both were thinner, one more than the other, than the other three and both seemed to be almost transparent in colour. Morgana frowned slightly wondering whom they could represent. It seemed so far that these…cords, or in these two cases strings, seemed to represent the members of her family so she guessed that at least one of those cords represented Arthur. She was curious however, about the thinner cord. Stretching her mind out she touched the thin cord and again nothing happened. Morgana drew back and studied them again. Merlin was there because she was married to him, Helena and Morgause because she was related to them. Those three plus the thinnest string all had that very faint golden glow which she suddenly realised must represent magic. So maybe the other one was Arthur's, which would explain why it didn't have that glow and why it was there in the first place. Wondering if her guess was right she touched the connection very gently. And suddenly she felt Arthur's mind in a whirl of emotions and thoughts and feelings. Nimueh had meant exactly what she had said; Morgana would not be able to contact anyone who had magic.

Hardly daring to believe that she had finally managed to contact someone Morgana asked tentatively 'Arthur?'

She felt Arthur's shock then 'Morgana, is that you?'

'Arthur!'

She heard Arthur shout something to some people then 'Morgana! Are you all right? Where are you? Has Nimueh hurt you?'

'Arthur calm down please and listen to me I don't know how long I have'

'Sorry keep going'

'Nimueh and Mordred are here; I don't actually know where I am but its sunset here. No Nimueh hasn't hurt me and yes I am all right. Are you all right? Are Merlin and Morgause?'

'Yes…'

She heard the hesitation in his voice 'what? What happened?'

'Nothing happened it's just that when Merlin and Morgause realised where you were they left to find you… we're several hours behind them'

'What you mean that they're not with you?'

'Yes I am sorry even Helena knew that they would-'

'Helena? You mean that she isn't…'

'Don't worry she is fine she is with us now, we found her after the battle'

'Arthur please I need to speak to her, I cant contact her myself because of Nimueh's meddling but its urgent that I speak to her; Nimueh has found something out that she could use against both me and Morgause'

'Morgana wait I don't think that's good idea'

'Why?'

'Well if Nimueh has placed a spell that prevents you from contacting anyone with magic it might also alert her if you talk to someone with magic through someone who doesn't'

'You have a point'

'Look why not just tell me and I'll tell her?'

Morgana hesitated and bit her lip 'Arthur are you riding at the moment?'

'No we have stopped for a break'

'Good because this might come as a bit of a shock to you'

'I am all ears and it takes a lot to shock me'

Morgana took a deep breath then said 'I'm pregnant'

She felt his shock and astonishment and wished that she could see his face. Finally he said 'well that did shock me. Err… congratulations'

'Thanks Arthur' she smirked slightly

'Why would that affect Morgause?'

'Umm… she's also pregnant'

Silence. Then 'give me a minute'

Morgana waited impatiently for a couple of seconds before saying 'come on its not like you've never heard of something like this before'

'No it's just that I am finding it hard to adjust to the fact that you and Morgause have made me an uncle so young'

'Come on Arthur can you take a minute after?'

'Right sorry…do Merlin and Lancelot know?'

'No; Helena told us just before the battle when she drew us aside into a room and we decided not to tell them in case something happened to us and they would have to deal with both are deaths'

'Okay I wont tell Lancelot yet'

'You better not he might die of shock. But can you please tell Helena that Nimueh knows that we are both pregnant and that I don't know what to do? I will try contacting you later ok?'

'Alright be careful Morgana'

'I will, stay safe'

She pulled away before he could say anything else and opened her eyes feeling slightly better. Maybe Helena would know what to do…Morgana felt so relieved knowing that Helena wasn't dead and that she was all right. Admittedly she was a bit worried about Morgause and Merlin but she knew that until they got here they were relatively safe. Then she frowned puzzled as she remembered that fifth link she had in her mind. Contacting Arthur had confirmed that every one of those cords was a link either to someone she was related to or someone she was married to and the golden glow meant that the person had magic. As far as she knew she didn't have any other relatives, especially one who had magic… So whom did the fifth string represent?

When Merlin and Morgause finally arrived at the small village on the other side of the White Mountains the sun had already set and both were exhausted having not stopped riding since that one time several hours ago.

Morgause brought her horse up short, Merlin following suit beside her, and glanced at her brother-in-law. Merlin was staring at the little village laid out several metres in front of them; there was a small stonewall running along its border that looked more like decoration then a defensive structure, there was no sign telling travellers the name of this village and from where they were they could see that the streets were wide and open. At that moment a young boy, probably close to his early teens, ran out from behind the stonewall and stopped in front of their horses smiling. His face was open and honest and it was clear that he had no fear of strangers. Morgause slid down from her horse landing in the dewy grass and approached the boy. Bending down so that her face was level with his she said 'hello, I'm Morgause what's your name?'

The young boy grinned 'Harry'

'Well Harry, my friend and I have been travelling for some time, do you know of a place where we could stay?'

The boy nodded and looked at Merlin who had come to join Morgause 'who's he?'

Morgause smiled 'that's Merlin'

The boy studied Merlin critically then said 'his ears are funny'

Morgause laughed at the offended expression Merlin's face then the boy said 'follow me'

He turned wandered back into the town. Merlin and Morgause followed him, leading their horses by their reigns, and took in the scene around them. There were a lot of people around, standing talking in the streets or wandering around whistling under their breaths and lights shone from the many windows reviling that most people had guests over that night. There were no children in the streets, it being the time it was, but the two sorcerers could here children laughing and playing in the houses. The boy lead them to a large inn situated quite close to the entrance from which they could hear laughing and singing.

The boy turned to them 'that's the inn, your welcome to stay in the lodgings there. There is a stable for horses just there' he pointed the a barn they hadn't noticed just on the corner of the inn 'I can put your horses there if you like'

'Thank you' said Merlin handing the boy their reigns. The boy led the horses to the stable and after a moment remerged then, after waving once, darted off into the darkness. The pair looked up at the swinging inn sign, which read 'the Silver Horse',then Morgause followed Merlin into the bustling inn. The inn was full of people laughing, some singing some whistling, but they managed to get to the bar without much trouble neither of them meting anyone's eye.

The bar man bustled up to them smiling a genuine smile before asking 'what can I get you two?' he seemed friendly enough

Merlin hesitated so Morgause moved forward and asked clearly 'do you have to room with two beds for the night?'

The bar man paused 'ill check' he shouted something to one of the bar maids who nodded before hurrying off. The man then turned back to them with a smile 'can I get you anything while you wait?' when both gave him a negative he said conversationally 'been travelling far?' he was eyeing their dark hooded cloaks.

Merlin nodded and, seeing no reason not to be honest with this man, said 'we've come from Camelot'

A wide grin split the innkeepers face 'Camelot eh? What brings you so far from home?'

'We're looking for a friend of ours' said Morgause looking around the inn noting that people were staring at them.

'Say you haven't seen anyone…not from here recently?' asked Merlin leaning forwards with an engaging smile.

The man paused, recognising the opportunity for some idle gossip, 'well your not the first travellers not from around here that we've seen if that's what you mean. Only the other day a band of odd-looking people matched past this place. They didn't come here though, they came from the other side of the mountain but went around this way before ascending it'

'Why come around though?' asked Merlin interested

'The other side is inhabited by…creatures that don't like to be disturbed. Mind you something has disturbed them because they've been seen on this side of the mountain'

Merlin and Morgause glanced at each other, as the innkeeper turned to the maid, was it possible that that band of 'travellers' had in fact been the remains of Nimueh's army? Was it possible that Nimueh was the reason that the mountain creatures were straying beyond their usual boundaries?

The inn keeper turned to them smiling 'your room is available, I hope you have a pleasant stay'

'So do we' said Morgause smiling. She and Merlin then followed the maid up the staircase to the right of the bar. When they reached the top they found themselves on a long wide corridor, the maid led them to the end of the corridor and gestured to the door on the right murmuring quietly 'have a nice stay' before scuttling off.

The room was nice; two single beds sat in the middle of the room with the heads touching the wall and there was a large closed window between the two beds, in the corner of the room was a basin accompanied by a hanging mirror. Morgause flopped down onto the nearest one and sighed 'I'm exhausted'

'Its only to be expected; the last time we slept was just after we found out where Morgana was and you and I only had a couple of hours sleep' said Merlin sitting down on the other bed and pulling his cloak off.

Morgause nodded pulling her own cloak off 'so we rest until morning then we find out where the ruins are and go rescue Morgana' Merlin nodded but both knew it wasn't going to be that simple

'Are you sure that we should be doing this I mean what if Arthur catches up with us?' asked Merlin

Lying down and closing her eyes Morgause smiled 'trust me Merlin at this point in time Arthur and he knights are sleeping and they will until dawn; that still gives us several hours advantage if we sleep in'

Merlin nodded laying back and closing his eyes 'good night Morgause'

'Night Merlin'

It was well past dawn when Morgause woke up yawning widely. Merlin was still sound asleep, his mouth open slightly, on the other bed. Standing up Morgause looked around until she found the mirror on the far wall. She walked over rubbing her eyes and began her daily routine. After peering at herself in the mirror she filled the basin with water using magic and splashed her face gently to wake herself up. That done she pulled her long curly golden-blond hair into a loose bun on the back of her head and looked at herself in the mirror again.

Morgause turned back to face the rest of the room; there was no change, Merlin was still asleep. Crossing the room she opened the window situated between both their beds and leaned on the sill taking in the scene. The sky was a brilliant light blue dotted here and there with fluffy white clouds. The street below her was wide yet empty of people as it was behind most of the houses. She guessed that their room was at the back of the inn.

Looking down at the street Morgause suddenly realised that it wasn't empty. There were small figures hiding in the shadows their attention fixed eagerly in the middle of the street. Then Morgause saw why; standing in the middle of the street was a small, young girl. From where she was Morgause could see that the girl had hair the colour of chocolate, a dainty chin and slightly pointed nose. Because of where Morgause was standing she was viewing the profile of the child and the only other things she could see was that from her height the girl was probably only around five years old. Interested as to why this girl was the centre of so much attention Morgause leaned forward slightly.

It was then that the girl moved. Stretching her arms in front of her, palms down, and holding her arms so that her hands where as close to the ground as they could get without having to bend over the girl took a deep breath and turned her head slightly. Her smooth brow furrowed in concentration and her eyes glowed gold. The girl then began to raise arms slowly, palms still facing down, and the surface of the ground began to shift. Morgause leaned forward her attention entirely fixed on the girl now and watched in astonishment as the earth rose up and began to fold and twist. The girl was moving her hands quickly now her fingers flicking this way and that, the earth no longer rising but depleting under the girls fingers as she carved out detail after detail. Morgause's mouth was open as she stared at this beautifully performed piece of complex magic. The girl's hands stopped moving suddenly and Morgause moved her attention from the girl back to her work as gasped in astonishment.

Sitting on a plinth several feet off the ground was a skilfully carved statue perfectly resembling a dragon. Every detail was perfect making the statue look like it was really alive. It was sitting on its haunches like a cat, with a tail curved around its feet. Its jaws were open slightly and its teeth seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. Every scale was perfect, every spike, and every wrinkle made it look like it has been carved by the most skilled of masters. But the girl wasn't finished yet. Holding one hand out before her, palm up, she raised her hand slowly. A wall about two inches thick appeared surrounding the statue, a metre back from the plinth and slightly shorter.

The girl walked over to her masterpiece and then held her hands out over the space between the statue on its plinth and the outer wall. And the basin filled with water, not from the girl's hands but from the earth, the same way Morgause had filled a basin to scry. When the water had reached the top the girl suddenly moved her hands in a fluid motion raising them up over her head then around and down to her waist, her eyes glowing. The water rippled then a few seconds later water spurted out of the dragon's mouth, curving slightly before falling back down into the basin below. Morgause's jaw dropped if possible even further; the girl hadn't created a statue…she had created a water fountain.

Suddenly there was movement in the shadows and out of nowhere there were children running towards the newly created fountain cheering and screaming and whooping in delight. And then a water fight began. Children were throwing their hands out to the water and, eyes glowing, a spinning ball of water would rise up into the air to be hurled at the nearest squealing child. Morgause stared quickly realising that half of the children surrounding the fountain had magic. Leaning forward she saw that half of the children with magic where druids, distinguishable by the signs and cloaks. But the other half weren't, they were children who had magic but were not druids. Never had Morgause seen so many children with magic, druids or other, in one place together much less playing openly in the streets. And then she received another shock. Those children who had magic were standing everywhere in the street but there was a cluster of children surrounding the water fountain splashing each other with their hands and squealing with laughter…children who didn't have magic. Morgause stared and smiled at a sight that she had never seen before, children with magic openly using their powers among children who didn't.

Morgause heard an intake of breath beside her and turned her head to see Merlin standing beside her tears in his eyes. Blinking he turned to her and said 'that's pretty advanced magic for someone so young'

Morgause smiled 'I only just remembered that this village has been protected from prying eyes since during the Great Purge. Those children and that girl would have been practicing openly since they were infants with out the worry of being discovered, they would have grown up among druids and people who didn't have powers'

Merlin smiled 'I wish my childhood could have been like that'

Morgause blinked then, not sure what to say, laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. The two of them looked back down at the street at the playing, laughing children and watched them for a while. Suddenly the young girl who had created the fountain looked up at them. Merlin and Morgause stared as the girl's eyes met theirs. The girls face was pale, finely carved and sensitive with high cheekbones and large emerald green orbs flecked strongly with blue stared up at them. Her long chocolate brown hair was wet in some places, as she had been hit more than once by water. She smiled up at them before turning back to the fray.

Morgause felt Merlin stiffen beside her and when she looked at him she saw that his expression was shocked 'what?' she asked urgently, concerned for her brother-in-law.

Merlin continued to stare at the girl 'that's the girl from Morgana's dream'

Morgause stared at him then looked back at the girl 'you're sure?'

'Positive' said Merlin nodding 'we have to speak to her'

Morgause hesitated 'is that a good idea? I mean if we involve her she could get hurt'

'She was in Morgana's dream, she is already involved…come on Morgause you know what happens if you try to change the future. Besides we need to ask someone about the ruins anyway'

Morgause hesitated; Merlin was right, trying to change what you had seen in the future was risky like the time Merlin had tried to stop Morgana from killing Uther, unintentionally causing the chain of events that led up to Morgana finding out that Uther thought she was his daughter and trying to kill him in revenge. Finally she nodded at Merlin who immediately crossed the room and sat down on his bed hastily pulling his boots on. Morgause did the same then slung her cloak around her shoulders and followed Merlin out of the room.

The innkeeper was busy polishing glasses when they descended the stairs. He looked up at them as they approached to pay and grinned 'morning, did you sleep well?'

'Like a log' replied Merlin smiling, pulling out his money bag and counting out the change

There weren't many people around that morning and in the silence they could here the squeals of the playing children from outside. The innkeeper crossed the room and opened a small window behind the staircase and looked out. After a moment he returned, chuckling quietly, and turning to Morgause said 'did you see who created the fountain outside?'

Morgause blinked once 'yes, a young girl probably only about five-'

'Chocolate brown hair, bright emerald green eyes?' asked the innkeeper smiling

Morgause nodded slowly 'yes, how'd you guess?'

The innkeeper laughed 'just a guess, its not the first time that that young girl has created a masterpiece like that'

Merlin looked up from his counting and asked curiously 'who is she exactly, that was pretty advanced magic for someone so young'

The innkeeper didn't ask how Merlin knew so much about magic but replied 'her name is Eleanor and like most of the magicians here she began her training the moment she started to show her magic which was in a couple of months after a berth in her case'

Morgause smiled 'she must have pretty skilled parents'

'Oh yes' the innkeeper nodded vigorously 'her father is one of the sons of the head druid who lives here and her mother-' he stopped suddenly probably wondering why two total strangers were taking so much interest in this child 'why the interest? Its not a crime to have magic now days'

'Oh we mean the girl no harm' said Morgause urgently 'its just that she looks oddly familiar'

'And we are just as thankful to the King of Camelot as the people of this village' added Merlin

The innkeeper stared at them for a moment before his face split into a wide grin 'oh I see! Well that changes things' he paused 'I would love to tell you more but I'm not sure its my place to…why don't you talk to Eleanor your selves?'

Merlin nodded and turned to Morgause 'we should get going anyway' Morgause nodded and Merlin pushed the money over the counter 'thank you, we had a lovely stay'

The innkeeper bade them a cheerful farewell and watched them to the door and when it shut he smiled slightly then went back to polishing his glasses.

The water fight hadn't died down at all when they reached the fountain children were still running around hurtling balls of water at each other. Merlin and Morgause paused at the edge of the fray unsure how to approach when suddenly a sphere of water hurtled out of the crowd and hit Merlin full in the face.

Morgause burst out laughing and the children stopped there playing to turn to look at the two travellers; one sopping wet, the other laughing so hard that they were bent double. The children all looked at Merlin mixed expressions of humour and nervousness on their faces as if they were unsure whether to laugh or apologise. Merlin blinked several times then turned with a mock-offended expression to look at Morgause who still hadn't stopped laughing. Merlin held out his hand towards the newly created fountain and a ball of water rose almost gracefully out of the water before floating over to rest in his hand. The children watched in surprise, not at seeing magic performed but at seeing a total stranger perform it.

Morgause looked up at this point and saw Merlin standing there a spinning ball of water in his hand and a rather mischievous expression on his face. Her expression changed instantly and, holding her hands in front of her face, she backed away 'Merlin just think-' her sentence was cut of as Merlin threw the ball of water straight in her face.

It was Merlin's turn to burst out laughing and this time the children, realising that these two strangers were magicians and that they didn't look at all angry, joined in. Morgause glared for a second at Merlin then held out her hand towards the pool. Three spinning balls of water were soon hovering in front of Merlin's face.

Soon both in-laws were sopping wet from the water fight they ended up starting. Around them the children had started again and the water that hit the two adults wasn't necessarily cast by the other. After several minutes the water fight died down for good and the children sat on the ground or leaned against each other or rolled in the mud.

Merlin wiped the water out of his eyes and turned to Morgause who had pulled her hair out of her bun and was wringing the water out of it. Her hair was wet, her dress was soaked and her face and neck was covered in droplets of water. Merlin himself wasn't really any better, his hair was plastered flat on his head and his cloths were even wetter than Morgause's.

Morgause held out her hand in front of her and her eyes glowed. The water drops were sucked out of her hair, clothes and skin like a vacuum until she was completely dry. Blinking the last drops from her eyelashes she walked over to the fountain and dropped the water back into the fountain. Turning back she saw that Merlin was also dry and that several of the children were as well. Looking around she saw the girl that had created the fountain, Eleanor, whispering with a couple of druids who were every now and then glancing over at Merlin.

Morgause walked over to him and indicated the group of young magicians, which had increased in number, and raised her eyebrows in question. Merlin took a step towards the children with a slight shrug when suddenly the group of whispering children, who they now realised were all druids, turned to Merlin and one of them, a boy who looked older than the others stepped forwards and said 'greetings Emrys!' and bowed his head. As one the group of druids behind him bowed their heads. The other children all looked at each other, some in surprise and confusion but most of them in awe and respect.

Morgause raised her eyebrows and glancing at Merlin, who looked both surprised and chuffed, and whispered 'you've made quite an impression'

The druid children rose, smiling, and the boy said 'we all have to thank you, Emrys it is mainly thanks to you that we can live with out fear of discovery'

Merlin smiled at the boy 'it doesn't look like any of you have lived in that fear'

The boy grinned 'true, when I say we I mean our kind'

A girl, not a druid said 'why have you come here?'

Merlin glanced at Morgause who said 'we're looking for a friend of ours'

'We're looking for an abandoned ruin somewhere in the mountains…do any of you know where it is?'

The children exchanged glances and then Eleanor stepped forward 'I do' her voice was high and clear with a musical lilt to it. This close they could see that she was probably only five years old.

Morgause smiled 'you're the one who created the fountain aren't you?'

Eleanor nodded 'I can take you to the ruins if you like'

Merlin and Morgause nodded and, after farewelling the other children followed Eleanor though the village. Being this close to her made both Morgause and Merlin realise how familiar she looked and they were finding it increasingly frustrating not being able to place that resemblance. Eleanor suddenly stopped and turned to them 'my name's Eleanor by the way'

The two introduced themselves then Morgause said 'um Eleanor, have you ever been to Camelot?'

Eleanor shook her head, her chocolate locks bouncing up and down, 'no…my mother has but I haven't. One thing though before I take you to these ruins there are some things about it you should know'

'Like what?' asked Merlin interested

They had reached the edge of the village know and Eleanor led them on explaining that she could tell them the story on the way as it would take a while to get there and as Merlin and Morgause were in a hurry. Morgause frowned 'how do you know we're in a hurry?'

'My mother is a Seer; I've inherited her powers. I had a dream in which two travellers were chasing people who had captured some one who was very dear to them and that they would arrive at the village that night. I dreamt that they needed my help and that to attract them I would have to create that fountain' she smiled at them

Merlin frowned 'speaking of your mother, wont you parents be worried about you?'

Eleanor shook her head 'my mother is away helping some relatives of hers and my father is trying to find something for her. Father wont be back til tonight and…' she paused a frown creasing her alabaster forehead 'I don't know when mother will be back'

Morgause frowned 'so your parents just left you in the village?'

Eleanor nodded staring up at Morgause with those wide emerald green eyes 'they're nor being irresponsible…I am perfectly safe in the village… you must have seen that'

They had seen that…it was hard to miss. 'Besides' continued Eleanor 'they are both doing things that will save the future of Albion and that comes first…I haven't seen my mother in several days'

Morgause and Merlin glanced at each other and Merlin said 'so tell us about these ruins' they were just beginning to scale the mountain and it was a lot less steep than it looked from a distance.

'It's a story that's been around for years:
The ruins were not always in the state they are now, it is said that it was once a magnificent temple home to some of the most powerful Priestesses of the Old Religion. Magical people used to travel from all over the land to seek the guidance of these sorceresses.
What made this temple so special however was that deep in an inner chamber was a room with five crystals, each a different type of precious stone, each resembling an Element. These crystals, if used properly and at the right time of day could change someone with magic into someone who didn't.
During this time magic was not a crime but there were still people who were afraid of their powers and didn't want them… they would go to the Priestesses of the Old Religion and they would have their powers removed. They would become normal…their powers would be forever stored in those crystals.
This lasted for hundreds of years but there was one thing that the Priestesses overlooked. Eventually over those years the amount of power in the crystals became to great for them to hold and one day during a ceremony the power exploded out of the crystals. The amount of power killed everyone there…and when it fell into ruin the other Priestesses left it that way deciding that it was a too bigger risk.' Eleanor looked up at them 'there are rumours that its haunted and even if it isn't no one goes there because of what happened and because of the fear that it could happen again' Eleanor finished speaking and looked up at them, probably wondering why they both looked like they had been slapped 'what?'

Morgause took a deep breath 'Eleanor…those Priestesses…could they transfer someone's power to someone else?'

Eleanor nodded 'so says the story'

Morgause turned to Merlin and by the expression on his face she knew that he had just realised what she had 'Nimueh is going to use those crystals to take our power' she whispered

Merlin nodded his eyes wide 'we need to get to Morgana'

Morgause nodded and said 'I think I should contact Helena…she needs to know this and if she is with Arthur then she can tell him'

Merlin nodded, wondering for the first time if it had been a bad idea to go on ahead. Morgause closed her eyes and was on the verge of contacting Helena when Eleanor's high clear voice said 'that's my mothers name'

Morgause's eyes flew open and she and Merlin turned slowly to face Eleanor who was sitting on a rock watching them though those big emerald green eyes, eyes they now realised that they had seen before. 'What?' asked Morgause shakily, realising that if what she was thinking was right everything would fit together; the reason why she seemed so familiar and the reason why they felt they knew her.

Eleanor blinked, surprised by their suddenly intense gazes 'my mother's name is Helena'

And it clicked. The reason why Eleanor seemed so familiar, the reason why she had been in Morgana's dream. Staring at her now they wondered how they had taken this long to realise, Eleanor had the same eyes and features as her mother and her hair was the same style, though it was a different colour. Eleanor had told them that her mother was a Seer and that she had been helping some relatives in Camelot…helping them.

That was what Helena had been doing before she had saved them, that was why she never spent more than a couple of hours with them…she had a family…she had a daughter.

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