Mordred POV

"I believe you all know why we're here?" Arthur said addressing the round table.

The sun had not yet reached midday so many of the knights were not yet in their armor due to the rushed nature of the meeting.
"Merlin was last seen on the bridge to the city, however he never made it home last night and I've already done a thorough sweep of his known hang outs."

"What about the Tavern?" Sir Gideon asked a smile on his face.

"He's not there." Arthur was tense, the rest of the knights who weren't taking this seriously began to see the gravity of the situation, the king was worried. "He was on an errand to collect herbs for Gaius, he probably went back out after Mordred saw him off." The words were sharper than that of a dagger. "But no patrol has seen him since last night."

Leon let out a deep breath which added to the weight of the already heavy atmosphere he was no doubt thinking about how Merlin and I left Camp while he was in charge, how it was his responsibility to ensure the safety of all who had been with him that night. Percival and Gwaine shared a similar Expression, that of guilt. I was the guiltiest of all I should have followed Marlin shouldn't have let him meet some sorcerer alone, especially with rumor that Morgana was in the forests.

"I'll take a squad back into the forest to search for clues." Leon volunteered. "Gaius, where do the herbs he was collecting grow?"

The old physician pursed his lips and raise a single eyebrow, he was pensive probably concocting the perfect lie. Something that would throw the knights off Merlin's scent and buy him time to figure out what actually happened to the King's beloved servant. The knights all awaited his answer, but only faints echos of people going about castle business could be heard for quite sometime.

"Well?" Elyan asked impatiently. "At least tell us which herbs he was looking for, anything to lead us in the right direction."

The right direction I thought... They would never get the right direction from Gaius. From my short time at court I had heard him lie more times than I could count. Merlin had definitely taken after him, but Merlin was much more adept at it and would not have hesitated to give them a cleverly crafted story. He hadn't when we had caught him. I decided Gaius's hesitation was my chance.

"He wasn't picking herbs." I said, eyes toward the table. I couldn't bare to look at any of them. But I needed to say my peace or we may lose Emrys forever, and that was an unacceptable outcome. "And I didn't see him off to the bridge."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gwaine asked.

"I..." I took a deep breath. "Your majesty... the nature of what happened is quite delicate."

Arthur's face gave away nothing. His eyes bore into mine, his lips were at ease. His fists tightened as he leaned on the table though. after a short pause he spoke.

"Sir Percival, Gwaine, Elyan, and Leon alone may stay." He stated "The rest, please leave us."

Their was a snicker from a few of the older knights but ultimately the shuffled out of the ceremony hall with the rest of the guards and servants. Guinivere and Gaius remained seated. I looked once more upon Gaius, now in his seventies, giving me a stern look. He trusted me less than Merlin it seems. Arthur caught on quickly.

"Gaius, please resume your normal duties."

"Of course sire."

Once the doors had shut behind him and had stayed for quite a bit I found my voice again.

"Sire, please know I respect and trust Merlin immensely." I started, the words pouring out much quicker than I had time to think them. "I would do anything for him to see me the same way, so last night I was hoping that I could win his favor by showing him that trust."

"Cut to the chase Mordred... If Merlin wasn't picking herbs what was he doing?"

I had to choose my next words carefully, Merlin would likely never trust me again, but I needed him to come back safely. Arthur needed him to come back safely. my heart could not take the strain as my brain searched for the best way to phrase it. but no suitable option came. So at last I stated it as simply as possible.

"He was meeting the sorceress."

AN: Still getting back into the hang of things, especially with no real plot to be seen yet. Also been rewatching S5 and Mordred is precious and should be protected at all costs. 2nd season Mordred can go get lost in the woods.