Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin! I only own my OC, and any other characters or plotlines I make up along the way!

AN: Wow, I can't believe so much time has passed since I last updated. I assure you it was not intentional, but as a university student and someone who is working hard to get her own work published I have less and less time for Fanfic. BUT I AM DETERMINED to finish this one at least! I love these characters. I don't know if there's going to be anyone still around, but I will try my very very best! I might go back to making one episode multiple chapters just to see if things go faster. Like it won't be as daunting as doing one whole episode in one chapter. We'll see!

Enjoy!

We were chained to the back of the cart like the rest of the men that had been captured, but I barely paid attention, even as my feet slowly froze from being dragged in the snow. My gaze never left Mordred's, even when his back was turned to me. He was so… big. The little boy that I knew and cared so deeply for was now a man.

A man who was supposed to kill my king.

"Remind me, Merlin - how did we end up like this?" Arthur's voice brought me out of my reverie. "Oh, yes. You were thinking about your stomach, as usual. I told you it was a trap."

"And I told you to go back to Camelot," Merlin retorted, his eyes trained on Mordred.

"Merlin…" Arthur bit, but he was cut off by Ragnor yelling, "Halt!"

We staggered to a stop, and Ragnor dismounted from his horse. "We can't let them hand us over to Morgana," Merlin said quickly. "We need to get out of here. We need a plan."

Ragnor suddenly punched Arthur in the gut, who doubled over with a groan of pain. "You speak when you're spoken to!" He bellowed. He turned to the rest of us. "Faster!" He spat, and with that he turned his back on us and went back to the front.

Mordred's eyes flickered towards mine, but they betrayed no hint of what he was thinking. If he recognized Arthur, he had to recognize me. He had to remember how much I cared for him, how much I had risked trying to save him. Maybe he was just biding his time, waiting until we could be alone before he helped us. That had to be it. I refused to believe anything else.

When we finally stopped for the night, Merlin and I huddled close together to try and conserve some of our body heat. However, we both had our attention focused on Mordred. He kept looking over at us occasionally but never said anything, and it was just making me more confused.

I guess Ragnor didn't like that we were staring because he brandished his sword at us. "What are you gawping at?"

When we didn't respond, he stabbed a piece of bread and held it up. "Is this what you want?" Still we refused to respond, but Ragnor tossed the bread in our direction. "Catch!"

It landed in the snow a few feet away from us, and he and the other men just guffawed at their own jokes. However, Mordred's voice finally broke their laughter. "Maybe we should feed them."

Ragnor scoffed. "What for?"

"They'll be skin and bones," Mordred pointed out.

"Morgana wants slaves, not hogs for the fire," Ragnor shot back.

"Then, slow the pace," Mordred suggested.

Ragnor waved his sword at Mordred. "The quicker we get there, the quicker I get my money."

With that he piped back down, and eventually the cold became so unbearable that I buried my face into Merlin's chest. His arms looped around me, adjusting me so that I properly sat in his lap. Sitting here, trapped, hungry, and unsure of where we were going, the only thing that kept me going was the thought of Harry and Jane's faces. I was going to get back to them. I had to.

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing I knew a scuffling sound knocked around in my head and I was blearily opening my eyes. My head was in Merlin's lap and judging by the fact that he was in the same stoic position as he was last night and the bags under his eyes, he hadn't slept at all. I lifted my head and turned to him. I raised my tied hands to his face, gently stroking his cheek. "Are you okay? You didn't sleep."

He finally looked over at me, and I could see the storm brewing in his eyes. "I don't know," he said.

Before I could ask anything else, the sound of footsteps alerted us to someone else's presence, and we looked forward to see Mordred walking towards us. He had a serious expression on his face, but when he produced three small bread loaves from his coat, he offered a small smile. "Do you want them?"

I took mine with no hesitation. The bread was cold and hard but it was like a feast to my grumbling stomach. Eating palace meals had made me really weak. I looked over to see that Merlin hadn't taken his, and I assumed the third one was supposed to be for Arthur. I elbowed Merlin, and when he looked at me, I gestured with my eyes to the loaf because my mouth was full and it would have been unladylike to speak with my mouth full

Instead of taking it, Merlin turned back to Mordred. "Why are you doing this?"

"He once saved my life," he revealed. "I owe him a debt."

When Merlin continued to glare at him, Mordred sighed. "Don't be so quick to judge me." He narrowed his eyes at Merlin. "You fear me, Emrys, don't you? I know the hatred and suspicion with which men treat those with magic. You and I are not so different. I too have learned to hide my gifts." He looked at Merlin with a look that I perceived to be utter sincerity. "I promise... your secret is safe with me."

He gave me a soft smile, which I returned. I hadn't spoken directly to him yet; I didn't know what to say, and it didn't seem like the right time. So, Mordred just set the other two bread pieces next to us and got back to his feet.

It was when he was a few paces away that Merlin spoke, "What's Morgana looking for in Ismere?"

Mordred stopped, then looked over his shoulder. "The Diamair."

This was a safe question to ask. "What's that?" I wondered.

"In the language of my people, it means 'The Key'," Mordred answered.

"The key to what?" Merlin pressed.

"The key to all knowledge."

We managed to come up with a plan. Arthur feinted passing out, and in the process Ragnor rough handed him long enough for Arthur to sneak a dagger. Once we were sure that they had no suspicious and Arthur had cut himself free, Merlin pulled the bags that sat in the cart in front of us so they fell.

Ragnor rode his horse over to where we had come to a stop. "Who did this?" He demanded. "Who?!"

Arthur inclined his head in Merlin's direction. "We need to rest," he insisted.

"Right," Ragnor said, getting off his horse. He drew his sword. "You can rest forever!"

Before he could swing it at Merlin, Arthur socked him in the jaw with the handle of the dagger he had clinched. Chaos followed afterwards, with Arthur tossing the dagger at another one of Ragnor's men. Arthur then cut me free, and I grabbed a sword while Merlin grabbed an ax and Arthur nabbed a crossbow. We turned and booked it, not bothering to look back.

We had reached a clearing with a large crack in in the earth in between us and the other side. It was quite a far leap and drop, and I was definitely not as young as I used to be when we did stuff like this.

When Merlin turned to Arthur, Arthur nodded his head, which led to Merlin groaning. "You've got to be joking…"

"Do you have a better solution?" Arthur demanded. With that, he jumped over the crack and managed to make it to the other side.

Merlin and I looked at each other, and I shrugged. "No other choice," I said. I slipped my sword through the holder that was at my belt (though this sword was slightly bigger than my own), ran back, and then jogged forward. When I got to the ledge, I leaped, soaring over the crack and landing right in Arthur's waiting arms. As I gained my bearings, Arthur turned to Merlin. "We haven't got all day, Merlin!"

Reluctantly, Merlin made the jump, and I grabbed his arm and pulled him the rest of the way. One of the men who had caught up to us managed to make the jump, but with one shot from Arthur's crossbow he went falling back into the crevice, his screams following him all the way day until they abruptly stopped.

Merlin's eyes flickered with an idea, and he ran over to the ledge. "I'll make sure they can't get across."

"Merlin!" Arthur and I protested, but he went ahead and hacked at the ice. It eventually gave away, and he ran back over to us as the ice crumbled and made an even bigger gap that would be impossible to jump over.

At this point, Mordred had made it over to us, but he skidded to a stop and watched the ice fall. His eyes met Arthur's, who had his crossbow trained on him. A tense few seconds passed before Arthur lowered his weapon and ducked behind the small hill he was using for cover.

Merlin and I both ducked too, and he immediately demanded, "Why did you spare his life?!"

My jaw dropped as Arthur gave his reasoning, "He couldn't come after us."

"He was leading us to our deaths!"

"He showed us kindness," Arthur reminded him.

"You should've killed him!" Merlin insisted.

The idea of Mordred's cold, dead body hit me with despair. With that, I hit him in the arm, a little harder than necessary. He whipped his head to look at me. "Merlin!" I hissed.

"What is wrong with you?" Arthur wondered, staring at him in confusion.

Merlin looked away from me. "You had the chance!"

"We escaped, didn't we?" I told him.

"Next time, we might not be so lucky," Merlin grumbled.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I love your optimism." He took a look at our surroundings and then got to his feet. "Come on, we need to keep moving."

Arthur ran a bit in front of us, but I lagged back a bit with Merlin. "What was that back there?" I whispered.

"What do you mean?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Don't play dumb with me," I growled at him.

Finally, Merlin dropped his pretences. "You saw the same thing that I did in that cave."

"That doesn't mean anything," I shot back. "We don't know if that's going to come to pass or not."

"You do," he insisted. "You just won't see it because you love Mordred."

Before I could respond, Arthur called out, "You know what they say, Merlin - appearances can be deceiving."

"Not in this case," Merlin responded.

I sent him a glare, which he matched, and then we both looked forward and followed Arthur.

We finally made it to the castle, and we hid behind a large boulder so that we wouldn't be seen. A few of the men who had captured us returned to the castle, including Mordred.

"I told you - you should've killed him when you had the chance," Merlin said. "We'll never make it in there."

Arthur's lips turned upwards. "There's always a way, Merlin."

After rifling through what was essentially a garbage chute, we finally reached the area where Morgana had enslaved the men to dig. Arthur and Merlin forced me to stay behind in a hidden crevice because while they could disguise themselves, the fact that I was a woman would be too hard to hide. I relented, and I hid myself away, keeping out of sight until they returned with Gwaine in tow.

"Oh, Gwaine!" I whispered, throwing my arms around his sweaty neck.

"Nice to see you too, Beth," he said, lifting me off of the ground slightly.

"Come on, we need to keep moving," Arthur reminded us.

Gwaine put me back on the ground, and I hung back until I matched my pace with Merlin's. We were only walking a few paces when Merlin abruptly stopped. "Something's wrong." When we all turned to give him an inquisitive look, he elaborated, "The Saxons - where have they all gone?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "First there are too many, now there aren't enough. Are you ever happy?"

A faraway cry rang in the distance, and my blood ran cold as Merlin and I instinctively looked at each other. " What was that?" Merlin asked.

"What?" Arthur wondered.

Merlin stepped a few feet in front of us, lifting his face. "Feel the wind."

Another roar, a lot louder this time. "That wasn't the wind," Gwaine concluded.

Before we could think, a tiny white dragon emerged from a cave in front of us, letting out another strangled cry.

A dragon? Kilgharrah was the only dragon that Merlin and I knew of. I mean, except for the dragon egg that we saved a few years ago.

Aithusa?

Arthur grabbed Merlin, pulling him back, and tossed his torch in his direction. With that, Merlin and I locked hands and ran, with Arthur supporting Gwaine behind us.

We had just managed to duck ourselves into a smaller crevice when Aithusa blew a hot breath of fire. Thankfully she didn't see us hide and just kept going, giving us enough time to recover and regain our bearings.

"Was that what I think it was?" Gwaine said.

"Where did Morgana get a dragon from?" Arthur hissed.

Merlin and I briefly shared a guilty glance before he said, "I've no idea." He cleared his throat and turned to Arthur. "Get Gwaine back to Percival. I'll lure the dragon the other way."

"Merlin," Arthur cautioned, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. "I knew you were stupid, but not that stupid."

"No, I really am that stupid and if you don't believe me, watch!" Without warning, Merlin took off.

"Merlin!" I called, and I ran after him without a second thought.

Once we were out of earshot from Arthur and Gwaine, I turned to Merlin. "Was that really the little baby dragon that we hatched?" I asked.

"It has to be," he replied. "We know of no other dragons."

"But…" I stammered. "She's so small. And frail and weak. She shouldn't look like that, right?"

"Right," he said, but didn't say anything further as he skidded to a stop. I stopped too and looked over his shoulder to see Aithusa, cowering away from us.

Merlin took a few steps forward. "Aithusa," he began.

Without warning, Aithusa opened her mouth breathed fire right at us. I instinctively shrank back behind Merlin as he threw one protective arm in front of me and used his other to block the fire from touching us. When Aithusa finally stopped, Merlin lowered his hand and shouted, "Nun de ge dei s'eikein kai emois epe'essin hepesthai!"

I still couldn't understand the dragon tongue, but whatever Merlin said made Aithusa bow her head in submission, her tiny body shuddering. Encouraged, Merlin took a step forward. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

Aithusa stumbled away from us. "I won't harm you," Merlin insisted.

At his prompting, Aithusa made a few strange noises. Merlin looked over his shoulder at me, but I just stared at him helplessly. Kilgharrah thankfully spoke English when he spoke to the two of us, but maybe this was some sort of dragon talk that I didn't understand?

Apparently it wasn't, because Merlin turned back to her and asked, "What does that mean?"

The realization dawned on me a few moments later. "She can't speak," I said, and Merlin looked at me just as Aithusa tipped her head awkwardly. I stepped forward, coming beside Merlin. "It's alright, Aithusa," I said. "My name is Maeve. You can tell us what happened."

Before that could happen, Arthur's voice rang throughout the cave. "Merlin! Elizabeth!"

Merlin and I exchanged a wide-eyed panicked look before he turned back to Aithusa. "Go!"

When the little white dragon shook her head, Merlin changed to the dragon tongue. "Ithi!"

This time it was a command that Aithusa couldn't refuse. She walked away from us and then expanded her wings. They looked so frail I wasn't sure if they could even support her own body weight, but she managed to get off the ground and take off.

Once she was gone, I turned to Merlin. "We need to get back to Arthur and get out of here before Morgana finds us."

He nodded, and we ran back in the direction we came. Unfortunately, that happened to be right into Morgana's path. She stood towering over Arthur, Mordred behind her, a dagger hovering in the air in front of Arthur.

"Arthur!" Merlin and I both cried.

Before we could do anything, Morgana waved her hand in our direction, and the magic pushed us into the hard cave walls behind us. Pain exploded in the back of my head, and once I hit the ground, dizziness consumed me.

"Well, now it's a family reunion!" Morgana teased. Her gaze trained on me, her lips turned into a growl. "Once I finish off my brother, it'll be your turn, sister."

She turned back to Arthur. He looked up at her, a pleading look in his eye. "Morgana... Please…"

She jerked her head, and the force of the magic knocked Arthur back. "Don't speak, dear brother. It's too late."

I watched Merlin out of the corner of my eye shakily a raise his hand, but before he could do anything, Mordred raised a dagger, stepped forward, and stabbed Morgana in the back with it.

She let out a surprised gasp. Mordred slid his blade out of her and let her drop to the ground. On her knees, she looked up at Mordred with a bewildered, hurt gaze. "Mordred?"

He didn't answer, and she flopped forward, unmoving. I was still too disoriented to get up, so I just watched as Mordred put Arthur's arm around his shoulder and hefted him to his feet. They staggered out of my sight just as I finally started to properly gain my bearings.

Arthur was safe, so I turned my attention to my husband. I crawled my way over to Merlin. Once I got to him, I cupped his face and turned his head. "Merlin?" I said. His eyes struggled to stay open, and he was trying his best to maintain his focus.

"Maeve."

A glow illuminated the walls around us, and I looked up just in time to see a strange, human-like figure crouching beside Merlin. I say "human-like" because she had human features, but her limbs were long, her head shaped like an almond, a strange symbol in the middle of her forehead, and she emitted some sort of unearthly light. I involuntarily gasped, but I stayed still as she raised a hand over Merlin's face. "Ic the thurhaele thinu licsar."

I looked back down at Merlin, and after a few seconds, he managed to properly open his eyes. "Lizzie?" He said immediately. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I assured him. I looked back at the figure, and Merlin followed my gaze. He instinctively tried to sit up, but the figure pushed him back down. "Lie still. Much blood has been shed this day and all for something few wise men would ever want."

Merlin raised a brow. "You mean the Diamair?"

At her nodding, I asked, "I take it Morgana never found it?"

"And she never will," the figure assured us.

Merlin wrinkled his brow. "Because it is you," he breathed. "You are the Key to all knowledge."

The Diamair stayed silent. Merlin shook his head. "There are times, I feel the weight of my destiny crushing me, but... that is nothing to what you carry."

"It is both a blessing and... a curse," the Diamair confessed. "Is there anything you wish to ask me?"

Merlin looked up at me, his eyes asking what he didn't need to say aloud. Should we ask something? Will it be a good idea?

Knowing something that was going to happen before it happened had never worked out well for us in the past. Plus, there was something almost nice about living in ignorance. At least if you didn't know you could blame it on the fact that you didn't know. There was no point dealing with a problem that didn't exist yet. I shook my head.

Merlin looked back to the Diamair. "No. I don't think it would be good."

She smiled. "You are wise, Emrys and Maeve. Your wisdom will live long in the minds of men."

She turned to leave, but Merlin stopped her before she could. "Wait... There is one question. If Mordred is not Arthur's Bane, then, who is?"

The Diamair's voice was as old as time itself when she responded. "Himself."

"Arise, Sir Mordred, Knight of Camelot."

In the hall of ceremonies, Mordred got to his feet from where he had been kneeling in front of Arthur. To thank him for his services to the crown, Arthur had knighted him, and if it were possible for me to be even prouder of Mordred than I already was, I would be. I clapped harder than anybody and had to refrain to jumping up and down.

Jane tugged on my skirt, and I looked down at her. "Mommy's happy?" She wondered.

I bent down to her level and kissed her sweetly on the cheek. "Mommy's very happy," I assured her. I wrapped my arm around her and Harry, and hugged them both to me. "You have a new uncle!"

Jane and Harry were taken away by their babysitter (the day had just begun, and there was still work for me to do). Merlin wasn't present at Mordred's knighting, but I didn't know where he was. I found out when I ran out of the hall looking for Mordred. By the time I got there, Merlin had Mordred's robe and some of his armour in his hands. I looked away from him and at Mordred, who was smiling tentatively at me.

I grinned and stepped forward, putting my hands on his upper arms. "You looked so good in Camelot red," I cooed. I stroked his arm affectionately. "Just as good in the chainmail as well, but it's still a little loose on you." I nodded firmly. "We need to feed you properly so that you can fill this out."

The tips of Mordred's ears turned pink. He gently shrugged out of my grip. "I am not longer a child, Elizabeth. You don't have to mother me."

I put my hands on my hips. "You will always be that little boy that came bursting into my chambers that day. And I'll have you know that I am actually a mother now, so it's in my instinct to mother."

He dipped his head shyly, and I just giggled before wrapping him up in a hug, resting my chin in his shoulder. That was when I noticed that Merlin had left at some point. A sinking feeling pressed in my stomach, but I shrugged it off. "Thank you for choosing us, Mordred," I whispered in his ear. I rubbed his back soothingly. "I am so, so proud of you."

"The kids are asleep," I announced as I walked into the dining area of our chambers. "And it seems like Jane's fever's finally broken." I sat down across from Merlin, who had an expression of deep thought on his face. "So hopefully she'll start feeling better soon."

"Mmhmm," Merlin said noncommittally.

I rolled my eyes and waved a hand in front of his face. "Earth to my husband?"

He blinked, and suddenly he was back on Earth. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Jane's fever's broken," I explained.

"Oh, good, good," he said. He grabbed the water pitcher in front of him and poured us each a glass.

I took the glass he offered me but didn't drink from it, setting it down on the table. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said immediately.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "How long have I known you, Merlin?"

Reluctance was plastered on his face, but at my unrelenting look, he sighed. "You won't like it."

I gritted my teeth. "This is about Mordred." When he didn't respond, instead choosing to give me the look he always did when he had bad news to tell me but didn't know where to start. I leaned forward. "People can change, Merlin." I put my hand on the spot just below the hollow of my throat. "I did, remember? Kilgharrah prophecized that I would side with Morgana and Morgause but I chose you." I reached forward and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. "If I can change my destiny, anyone can."

Merlin blew air out of his lips. "Kilgharrah also said that Arthur would meet his end at the hands of a Druid."

"We don't know that he's talking about Mordred," I reminded him. I moved my hand from Merlin's to cup his face. "We can help him. Show him that the way we live life isn't bad, that good is better than evil. And now that he's sided with us, we have that chance." I bit my lip. "Promise me you'll give him that chance, Merlin. Please?"

He drew a deep breath but nodded. "I'll try."

With a smile, I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tight. "You'll see. Great times are coming to Camelot, and we will be at the heart of it all, just like we always are."

TBC…

Oh Lizzie, have you forgotten that "May You Live In Interesting Times" is a curse instead of a blessing?

It seems like Merlin and Elizabeth are going to disagree on what to do with Mordred, but that's to be expected with Elizabeth's connection to the boy. But what will that lead to?

I hope you're all doing well in this pandemic and are taking care of yourselves, and I hope that this brightened your day!

I also think I'm going to abandon the preview thing, I know I've done it for every chapter but I want to be motivated to finish this so I'm just not gonna do it LOL.

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