Hello, and welcome back to another chapter of Shackles of Destiny, Merlin belongs to the BBC. Happy reading~

Chapter 5

"Mordred, why doesn't Merlin trust you?"

Mordred knew the reason as to why Merlin didn't trust him. There was that stupid prophecy after all that Merlin was clinging onto that Mordred would be the death of Arthur and it scared Merlin. He didn't trust Lancelot to know about this, it could turn the knight against him before he could make his request. If he wanted to befriend Merlin then he needed to befriend those closest first…Lancelot, Gwaine and Arthur. Mordred had often thought that he was the youngest brother but that wasn't really the case, Merlin would always be the youngest brother to the knights. Mordred could handle himself with a sword while Merlin couldn't reveal his talents…how different would they treat Merlin if they knew what he could do? Mordred looked at the older knight with determination in his eyes.

"I don't know if I can trust you with that information but I can say that Merlin's scared of the information. I want nothing but to prove my loyalty to him, to prove that his fears won't come true. Gaius gave me the challenge. I come to you for information on how to become Merlin's friend," Mordred spoke to Lancelot. The older knight watched Mordred for a while before he smiled. Seeing him smile filled Mordred with hope, a smile formed on his face.

"I can't help you properly if I don't understand." Mordred looked down at his fingers. If he really was going to get the help he needed then it looked like he would need to tell Lancelot. If that's what needed to be done then he would do it. Determination filled his eyes as he looked at Lancelot once more.

"There's a prophecy involving myself and King Arthur, it is said that I will be the cause of his death. Merlin had taken that to heart while I personally have no intention of harming my king or Merlin. I want to prove Merlin that but I fear that the only way I can prove that will be to reach inside of Merlin and prove to him that I really mean no harm."

"You're speaking of treason Mordred. Magic is still illegal in Camelot."

"I know but what if me bonding with Merlin isn't enough? I can't stand seeing Merlin giving me looks of distrust. It…it hurts more than anything." Lancelot placed a hand on Mordred's shoulder.

"We have training soon, so let's go and get some breakfast with the rest of the knights."

Mordred nodded. He was pretty hungry after skipping his usual breakfast time to come and find Lancelot. While he still didn't feel any closer to achieving his goal he felt somewhat closer to Lancelot, they both knew about Merlin's magic and maybe because of that Mordred could share his secret later. If Merlin trusted him then Mordred would learn to trust Lancelot enough to tell him his secret. Lancelot stood up and waited for Mordred to follow him, together they made their way through the castle and to the kitchen where they could pick up their breakfast and then head to see the other knights.

Shackles of Destiny – Chapter 5

Training had gone rather well that day, Mordred had noticed that even Merlin wasn't watching him like a hawk when Lancelot had gone over to him for a friendly chat while taking a break from training with Arthur. What they were talking about made Mordred curious, they definitely weren't talking about him but from how Merlin's eyes lit up it was something he enjoyed. This was one of those moments when Mordred really wished he could lip read or read Merlin's mind…he couldn't do either but he could feel his excitement through their shared link. He dared himself to get closer to the pair of them to try and overhear what they were talking about.

"Maybe we can persuade Arthur to let you leave Camelot for a few hours?" Lancelot spoke to the manservant, it must be code for something because Merlin started to bounce on his feet at the idea.

"Arthur will let me go out if I'm collecting herbs for Gaius," Merlin spoke up.

"I'm sure I can ask Arthur if I could come with you."

"He'd maybe ask another knight to come with me, saying that I'm the reason all the bandits attack when really it's Arthur they target."

Lancelot couldn't help but chuckle at that comment. Merlin was their good luck charm to getting home without anyone dying. "I'm sure Arthur would say that."

"Oi! Merlin! Stop distracting Lancelot! Lancelot, spar with Gwaine!" Arthur demanded. Lancelot gave Merlin an apologetic smile for causing the issue Arthur had in the first place before returning back to the training ground to spar with Gwaine. Arthur sent a glare towards Merlin before he beckoned Mordred over to train with him. Mordred slowly approached Arthur but his mind was elsewhere which Arthur must have noticed because Mordred swore that training that day just got that tiny bit harder.

"Alright! When training is finished go and freshen up because today is a good day for a hunt!" Arthur called. Everyone laughed when they heard Merlin groan.

So, I've been stumped with how to get the story to where I want it to go. So I'm going to apologies for how short this chapter is and I promise the next chapter will be the usual length. The next chapter will be bringing more and will hopefully bring in something juicy~ No promises though. I will say something I know will happen...someone special will be making another appearance.

The Sorrowful Deity - When we get to where I plan to go, that will come more into play.

PadrePedro - Mordred's going to face obstacles, something he will have to overcome if he wishes to complete his personal quest~

emrysmorgan - Of course Arthur's worried about his friend (that he'll never admit), I plan to have more Mordred and Lancelot interactions in the future too~ I love Lancelot's friendship with Merlin, I'd hate to have to kill him off.

Eris - Thank you! Again, I apologies for how short this one is in comparison.

Thank you for reading, take care out there.