A/N- Here on my birthday day, I give you the next chapter! I hope you like the 'small' change I've made :)

Paralelsky, whose birthday it is also (isn't that cool!?) has suggested listening to Skyrim music or anything by Jeremy Soule while reading the chapter, and I wholeheartedly agree!

And of course, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed :)

Enjoy!

o}O{o

By the second day, the plague had spread like a flood throughout the city. People were falling in the streets and the courtyard served as a temporary resting place for the dead. Tears glistened on Gwen's dark cheeks as she kept watch over her sleeping father. Her hands were entwined with one of his and she held on tightly. Her scared eyes looked to the late afternoon sun brimming through the window but the warmth of it brought her no cheer. "Dad?" she whispered tearfully. Thomas was pale and growing paler, his breathing was becoming laboured, and he was cold though his brow was hot. A sob escaped Gwen when her father did not answer; he had not done so for the last hour now. The dead were increasing and she desperately did not want her father to join them. Gaius was unable to help, so now she was left to tend her father with naught but hope.

The sound of the front door opening caused her to look around and do her best to dry her tears. "H-hello?" she called in a voice weathered from crying. The door was opening slowly and a shadow was stretching across the floor. A small figure entered the house and Gwen gasped.

"Merlin, what are you doing here?" she sniffed in a futile attempt to keep her grief from the boy.

Merlin looked to her sadly and then to Thomas before he scurried forward to give her a hug. The maidservant gratefully returned it. "Thank you, but does anyone know you're here?"

The boy shook his head causing Gwen to worry. "Merlin," she sighed but couldn't find it in herself to scold the boy. Just as she was to stand up, Merlin reached into his dark blue cloak and pulled out his newest toy. A fresh siege of tears stung her eyes at seeing it- Thomas had built it for Merlin and had given it to the boy the previous morning. Merlin stared at the wooden knight of Camelot that was the length of Gwen's hand with large cobalt eyes. The boy looked at her distressed before placing it on the bed beside her father's head.

Gwen brushed at her eye and then smiled at him. "You're a sweet boy, Merlin."

The child only frowned at the tear dripping from her long lashes. She gave an unconvincing laugh. "I'm silly, aren't I?"

Merlin looked sad and breathed an upset sigh through his nose. He bit his lip and looked to Gwen's father and almost immediately stiffened rigidly.

The maidservant froze when the child's light eyes blazed with a golden fire and she could not even think for fear and confusion. Her father's breathing calmed and evened out, the sound seeming louder after the laboured quality it had before. Gwen's eyes snapped to her father to find his colour returned and his expression calmed. "Father?" she gasped and felt his forehead. He moaned sleepily and Gwen realized that his fever was gone, as were the darkened veins.

She remembered Merlin when the boy breathed out slowly and she turned to him with her mouth parted. Merlin's eyes were unfocused and then they rolled up into the back of his head before he started falling. "Merlin!" she cried as she caught him.

He was a sorcerer? He used magic? A child used magic, she thought frantically. But that didn't stop her from being worried when he didn't respond to her calls. Merlin had lost the little colour he had and his skin was hot. "Merlin!" Gwen shook him gently. Her throat went dry and new tears seeped out of her eyes when her attempts to wake him proved fruitless. Gwen started to tremble.

She gathered Merlin into her arms in a panic and stood up, running for the door and to Gaius' chambers. Merlin was so light and too small for his age- it was a ruthless reminder that he was a five year old boy. Maybe he used magic, but the only fear Gwen felt now was for Merlin. He did not stir even a little as she sprinted toward the courtyard. She had never run so fast in her life so when she got to Gaius' chambers she was panting heavily along with sobbing.

"Gaius!" she yelled even before she had the door open. "Gaius, Gaius, something's wrong with him!"

The physician had vaulted up from the table and gasped when he saw that Merlin was in her arms.

"Merlin!" Mordred cried out, his voice high pitched and scared. A number of Gaius' bottles and vases shattered into pieces but Gwen was too frantic to notice. The prince's manservant ran to Gwen and stole Merlin from her arms. Without a word he hurried through the chambers, past the dead courtier and to the back room.

Gwen followed the physician, barely managing to keep her voice steady. "I don't know what happened, he just fainted! His eyes glowed and- and he wouldn't wake up. Gaius, I-"

"Hush, Gwen," the physician silenced her, "try to calm down." He led her into the room and gave her a light push towards one of the beds before hurrying toward Merlin whom Mordred had laid on the other bed. Gaius hovered over the boy while Gwen looked on, biting her nails and failing to keep more tears from falling.

Mordred whispered something to Gaius that Gwen could not hear before standing up. He considered her gravely and the maidservant felt frozen under his gaze. Mordred then left the room but was back with a wet cloth within seconds, ignoring her and placing it on Merlin's forehead. The maidservant did her best to calm her breathing while Gaius and Mordred silently hovered over Merlin but she jumped when Gaius straightened.

"Be quiet, Mordred!" the physician snapped.

She looked back and forth between them, not remembering that Mordred spoke at all. Gwen had to put her face in her hands as a fresh sob escaped her.

Mordred just looked at him with eyes as cool as ice. Gaius glanced back at her before declaring all that Merlin needed was rest. "Stay here with Gwen, Mordred. I'm going to make a potion to calm is heart."

The maidservant looked up to see Gaius closing the door behind him and then to Merlin who was motionless and pale on the bed. Mordred turned and faced her, the movement causing her eyes to be drawn down to him. For a second the boy looked frightening.

"What happened, Gwen?" he asked her quietly.

She pressed her lips together and heaved in a breath to calm herself. She knew what happened, but she didn't want to say it out loud. But Mordred was looking at her with unyielding eyes of turquoise and Gwen realized that he was shaking slightly.

They stared at each other before Gwen began in a quiet voice. "His eyes... they changed colour. And- and then my father seemed better..."

Mordred nodded and then sighed before saying the words that she never wanted to hear. "It was magic."

o}O{o

Mordred's nightmare had come true. He felt himself trembling and his heart racing in his chest- his heart beat like a great drum hammering inside him. "It was magic," he forced out. Across from him Gwen paled but she was not surprised.

Mordred closed his eyes and when he opened them they were bright with unshed tears. If only Merlin had stayed in the room. He should have known the boy would do something when Gwen came earlier pleading for Gaius to help her father. The young sorcerer berated himself for letting Merlin sneak away from under their noses.

Gwen had miraculously calmed her breathing and she was now watching Merlin with disbelieving eyes. Mordred felt sick at his next thought. Turn her in. Tell them that she's the sorceress, that she healed her father. Merlin would be safe.

He knew Arthur might believe him. But Mordred liked Gwen, he did. But if she was to turn Merlin in, he would name her as the sorceress. God help him, he would. No matter how ill it made him feel.

"Mordred?" the threat to Merlin's life asked.

His eyes snapped up to hers to find a concerned gaze. Mordred furiously wiped tears away from his eyes. "You can't tell," he declared, "Merlin didn't mean it. It's not his fault, Gwen please don't tell, please."

Guinevere drew in a sharp breath and placed a hand over her chest. "You think- you think- Mordred I would never!" She looked to Merlin and her eyes watered again.

"Promise me," Mordred said sharply, "you won't tell anyone."

Gwen gaped at the boy, surprised at his fierceness. "...alright," she whispered and looked to Merlin again. "I promise, Mordred, I will not tell anyone that Merlin has magic."

He licked his lips and nodded. He abruptly turned his back and took a deep breath to calm himself, not turning around until Gwen called his name. Mordred looked to find the maidservant looking at him with dry eyes and a calm exterior.

"How?" she asked him, the shake in her voice betraying her.

Mordred took a seat beside Merlin and took the sleeping boy's hand. "He was born with it," he told her. "It's like breathing to him, he can't control it."

Gwen shook her head. "That's impossible, sorcerers- are sorcerers- not all can be evil?"

"That's a lie made by Uther," Mordred spat, "Gaius told me that magic is not good or evil, it's just how you use it. Now tell me, Gwen, does Merlin seem evil to you?"

"No," she answered right away, "of course not. It's just... why did you come to Camelot?"

"Merlin is special," said Mordred, "the druids we were with, some of them wanted to use Merlin's power to get revenge. But Selwyn told me to come here to Gaius. He said that we'd be safe. Well as safe as we can be."

"Selwyn?" Gwen gasped. "We met him earlier. He was just outside Camelot!"

Mordred's lips thinned and the sun's warmth faded from the room. "He must have had a reason. The other druids are still out there."

Gwen took hold of one piece of information and it strengthened her resolve. "They still want Merlin?"

Mordred almost wilted in relief upon hearing the anger in her tone. "Yes, that's why we are safer in Camelot. If only Merlin would stop using magic."

"Will he be alright?" Gwen wondered, finally getting up to kneel in front of the bed. She reached out a hand to rest against Merlin's fevered cheek.

"When he uses too much magic he gets like this. He should be fine."

The maidservant sighed. "Good, good."

"What happened though, Gwen?" Mordred asked her.

Guinevere thought back. "I- it happened so fast. The moment he looked at my father...he used magic."

"It was an accident then. He must have wanted your father to be better," Mordred thought aloud.

"But how?"

Mordred gave her a sad smile. "He's special. I'm just relieved that it wasn't too much for him."

"Why? What would happen then?" Gwen burst out in response to the boy's tone.

"Merlin needs magic to survive, using too much would- would kill him."

"No," she breathed and looked at Merlin again. He looked smaller than he usually did and was still as pale as the sheets covering him. "Is that even possible?"

"Merlin is different," Mordred sighed. Gwen was fussing over Merlin now and the former druid could not resist grabbing her hand. "Thank you, Gwen."

She turned to him and saw something in his eyes that caused her to wrap her arms around him. "It's alright, Mordred. Stop shaking now, silly." She rubbed soothing circles on his back and Mordred held onto her tightly.

He felt tears press at his eyelids but he didn't let them fall. Mordred could not hold back a shaky inhale though. Gwen broke away and kissed his forehead and Mordred tried to imagine his mother. He felt like he could breathe easier now that Gwen proved herself to be completely trustworthy. At least now, when she watched over Merlin, Mordred would not constantly worry.

"Thank you, Gwen."

o}O{o

Ravens and crows were perched on the rooftops of the courtyard, spying the covered mounds strewn on the stones below. Their black feathers glistened in the sun and their caws scratched the morning air. Mordred could hear them through the window of his room. He was laying down beside Merlin, watching the boy until he woke up. The guardian's eyes were shadowed with lack of sleep but they remained on Merlin's sleeping form. He had not moved an inch once during the night, as far as Mordred could tell from his on and off battle with sleeping.

"Merlin?" Mordred whispered without much hope for response. He sighed unhappily at seeing Merlin's long lashes stay still against his cheeks. Through their closed door he heard someone enter the main chambers and Mordred got up to see who it was. He knew it was Gaius before he even opened the door, hearing the physician's familiar steps.

Mordred emerged into the main chambers to see Gaius rummaging through his things. The physician looked up and stopped when he saw the silent boy. "How is Merlin?"

"A little better. Healing Gwen's dad took a lot out of him," Mordred replied quietly.

Gaius nodded and went back to looking for his things- the look on his face told Mordred he was still annoyed with and worried over Merlin.

"The plague keeps spreading and the search for the sorcerer is remaining fruitless," he informed Mordred, having just come back from a council meeting.

"Just like you said it would be," Mordred said.

The physician grabbed a small shoulder bag and then a large ring which held a single key. "I have to find out what is contaminating the water."

Mordred bit his lip. "Be careful."

Gaius smiled and walked toward him. "Look after Merlin." He patted Mordred's shoulder and departed, leaving behind his worried ward. Mordred watched the door for a moment before going back to his room to do exactly what Gaius said. Leaving the door open, he went to sit beside Merlin. He told Merlin a story, the new kind he liked where Mordred was a knight and Merlin the dragon. The tale was not quite done when the door burst open again. Mordred vaulted up and hurried to the doorway. He found Gaius snatching one of his books and opening it without his usual care.

"What's wrong?" Mordred asked while skipping down the stairs.

"A monster was in the water supply," he replied without looking up.

"A monster?"

Gaius just rifled through the book and drew his head back when he found his answer. "It was an afanc." He pointed to the page and Mordred went to his side to look at it as well. There was an illustration of a faceless beast that made Mordred glad that he did not see it. "A beast made of clay and conjured up only by the most powerful sorcerer," Gaius went on.

The physician paused while Mordred studied the open pages. "Now we have to find a way to defeat it. But where?" his voice was quiet with thought and Mordred followed his gaze to the stack of books on the second floor.

Mordred clenched his hands into fists, knowing that Camelot did not have that kind of time. Gaius already feared that the emergency supply would not last for much longer. He glanced at the physician who had seized another book before sprinting out of the chambers.

"Where are you going?" Gaius shouted after him but Mordred did not stop to reply. He tore through the castle halls and slowed his pace when he got to the courtyard, not wanting to bring extra attention to himself. But the only ones in the square were the guards and crows watching over the dead.

Mordred's eyes were drawn to a pale hand that was sticking out from under the sheet. It belonged to a child. He quickly marched past the grisly area and into the halls across, the dragon's cave as his destination fully in mind. But he skidded to a halt when as Guinevere came around a corner.

"Mordred!" she called in surprise.

Mordred was once again forced to slow his pace. The maidservant walked up to him and gave him a nervous smile. "How is Merlin?"

"Still sleeping... what about your father?"

"He's better. Still in bed, but better," she smiled.

The ravens' screeching reached his ears once again, reminding him of his mission. "I have to go, I'll talk to you later!"

Mordred blustered past Gwen and did not look back. He felt her gaze while he turned the corner and he hurried down the levels until he was in the dragon's cave.

He arrived out of breath and was surprised to see that the dragon was nowhere in sight. Mordred peered into the dark cavern, and waved the torch he was holding to try and illuminate his vision. Eerie light bounced up from the watercourse below, lending limited visibility to where the torch did not reach.

"Hello?" he called out and his voice echoed far.

"Hello," the disembodied voice of the dragon returned. Mordred looked up upon hearing the dragon's chains rattle and his wings sound above. Kilgharrah flew down to his usual perch and spoke before landing.

"The young guardian returns, as I knew he would." The torchlight gleamed brightly of Kilgharrah's aged scales, causing them to glow like golden embers.

"I need to know how to defeat an afanc," Mordred put forth.

"Yes, I suppose you do," the dragon reflected with amusement.

Mordred waited but it seemed Kilgharrah wanted him to ask for his help. "Will you tell me?" Mordred asked, miraculously keeping his impatience out of his voice.

Golden eyes narrowed at him, but Kilgharrah answered. "Trust the elements that are at your command."

"What do you mean?"

"You cannot do this alone. You are but one part of a coin. Arthur is the half that you will need," Kilgharrah went on, unheeding of Mordred's confusion.

"I don't understand, what- Wait!"

Kilgharrah had stretched his wings and was now pushing off from his roost. "You would help Merlin!" Mordred called out angrily.

"I have helped you," Kilgharrah laughed and flew away to a different part of the cavern.

Mordred groaned and turned his back on the dragon's cave.

o}O{o

Thank you for reading! Please tell me what you think of the change I made. Plus reviews are like wonderful presents :)