Merlin belongs to the BBC.

This is going to be my first attempt at a multi-chapter Merlin story, I hope you enjoy it~

Prologue

Mordred felt the cold shoulder from Emrys before but now more than ever since he became a knight of Camelot and he wasn't sure why. There were three people he could possibly ask for a potential answer. That was Emrys himself, Arthur or his guardian, Gaius. Seeing how cold Emrys had been to him that left two people…but asking Arthur about Merlin when the pair had a strange friendship didn't feel right. If the reason was due to magic then Arthur was out, it was still illegal after all and revealing either one would get them killed. That just left Gaius. That's where he was now, standing outside the physician's room with his knuckles close to the door but yet to make a noise. He knew that Emrys wasn't there at the moment, Arthur had sent him to muck out the stables. Mordred breathed in and exhaled before knocking.

"Come in," came Gaius' voice from the other side and Mordred gently pushed the door open and walked inside.

Mordred was greeted with a mixture of strange smells, bubbling potions and crushed herbs. Gaius was busy watching a potion over a raging (yet tame) flame. He couldn't tell what Gaius was waiting for but if he was working on a time sensitive potion then Mordred didn't want to break the physician's concentration just yet. Sure he wanted to know why Emrys was giving him the cold shoulder but medicines and potions were important to everyone who needed them. He waited before Gaius took the bottle away from the flame and moved it somewhere it could cool down. Gaius looked up from his work and saw Mordred.

"Hi…" Mordred spoke nervously.

"Sir Mordred, what ails you?" Gaius asked him, hands tucked away in the sleeves of his robes.

"I've come to ask about Merlin…and what I can do to get him to trust me?" Mordred spoke nervously. He watched as Gaius tensed as Merlin's name before relaxing after he realised that Merlin was okay.

"I'm afraid to say, earning Merlin's trust isn't something easy. There are moments when even I question if I have it," Gaius spoke sadly as he came over to Mordred. "I assume you're unaware of the prophecy?"

"What prophecy? The one revolving around Emrys and the Once and Future King?" Mordred asked.

"The one involving you and Arthur."

"Merlin never said…" Mordred admitted, feeling lost now. There was a prophecy about himself and Arthur and he wasn't even aware of it.

"Sometimes I wish that dragon never told Merlin any of the prophecies or anyone else for that matter. They've brought him nothing but trouble," Gaius scoffed as he spoke. "The one about you though Mordred is that you're 'destined' to kill Arthur. Someone Merlin is sworn to protect. Merlin knew about this when you first arrived in Camelot when you were a child."

"Then why did he help me?" Mordred asked. "If that is my destiny then why did he help me?"

"That Mordred, was because back then, Merlin was still young and followed his moral compass. I fear that over the years his heart has been hardened by his responsibilities of protecting Arthur and the prophecies he's been told. He's certain that you'll end Arthur's life. If you truly want to earn Merlin's trust, you'll have to find a way to reach inside of him and show him the light he lost. You cannot do it alone though," Gaius said as he placed his hand on Mordred's shoulder before he got up again. "Now, I have work to return to. As do you."

"Thank you," Mordred smiled.

That's all I have for now. Any reviews are appreciated but not mandatory. Take care~