Hi everyone! I'm a bit over my self-imposed deadline but I did my best considering IRL deadlines for assignments. A warning for this chapter (as with probably any featuring Cenred): there are no specific events described in the text but there are potentially triggering suggestions of stuff happening off-screen.

This is not a happy chapter. At all.

"What took you so long?"

Valiant scowled and rolled his eyes. The day Valiant outlived his usefulness, Cenred planned to dig out those insubordinate eyes. "It was a wasted trip. Edwin is dead, luckily for him."

Cenred narrowed his eyes. "Why is that?"

They were in his throne room but Cenred had been caught off guard. He wished he had not thrown his crown across the room when he read that blasted report. He wished he had ordered someone to retrieve it. Instead, Valiant had walked in, without knocking, and found Cenred ducked under a table trying to retrieve his crown.

He was still smirking.

"He was cautious with the first towns he searched. No one remembered him. I can't say it stayed that way for long." He paused, obviously enjoying making Cenred hang on his every word.

"Give me your report in full or I will tear it from you along with your tongue, Valiant." He strode back to his throne, anger lending confidence to his steps. He noticed Morgause enter quietly through a side door but she merely hid in the shadows. Whatever she wanted, she seemed content to wait.

When he faced Valiant from his throne, his smile had disappeared. Standing to attention, Valiant continued. "For some reason, he unleashed those foul pets of his on the townspeople. He would question and search each village, and when he failed to find Emrys, he left his pets to feast on the people. Soon, word spread on the Camelot side of the border and Uther sent out his physician to investigate. Together with the princeling, they headed off Edwin at one of the villages. When he arrived and heard of their presence, he completely abandoned his mission. From what I understand, he tried to lure the physician and prince into a trap but was caught instead." Cenred cursed Edwin to the depths of hell. He was supposed to search without drawing attention to himself. Worse, he got himself caught by Uther's dogs!

Valiant was still speaking. "They didn't get far. He overpowered them and tried to burn the physician and prince as revenge. Somehow, the princeling got free and killed Edwin. All but one of the Camelot party returned to Camelot. The knight left behind was enthusiastically telling the story to the townspeople when I arrived."

Morgause stepped out of the shadows and stood next to Cenred. He was about to ask a question but she beat him to it. "How did the prince get the best of Edwin… twice?"

Cenred saw Valiant start to shrug and growled warningly. Valiant stopped himself. "They must have deduced his identity. The knight said Edwin had approached the old man – the physician – under the guise of offering help but the physician recognized him. When Edwin showed up to begin his own plans, they ambushed him. He was knocked out and the physician sedated him."

"Edwin is not susceptible to common sedatives." Cenred had learned that the hard way. Edwin had almost slipped away when they first caught him, and several other times until he was finally collared.

"Yes. He must have decided to play along until they were somewhere more isolated. He overpowered them later that night."

"And how did they stop him then?" Cenred watched Morgause. She seemed inordinately interested in this matter. It annoyed him that she was in control of the conversation. Valiant swelled with her attention.

"The knight did not say. He only said that Prince Arthur got free of his bonds and killed Edwin. We found his body. There was a fatal knife wound."

Morgause quietened. Cenred wanted to know what she was thinking but once again she interrupted him. "Did he discover Emrys' whereabouts before he met his end?"

"No, I found nothing on his body or his possessions. We burned it all just in case Uther thought to investigate Edwin's origins. They did notice he was collared, but their attention was diverted by his attack. I wasn't going to bring it back to their attention by asking. In any case, they were surprised by it, so it is unlikely they have seen anyone else with a collar. There also haven't been any executions recently so if the boy crossed into Camelot, he's still in hiding. Are you sure the trackers followed the right trail?"

Cenred's fury must have shown on his face. Valiant paled and quickly backtracked. "I only meant, Your Highness, that the trails dismissed as false may need to be searched. There were several leading into the mountains and the boy could easily have hidden there."

Cenred glared at Valiant while he thought. Valiant very deliberately averted his eyes. Cenred did not want to admit that Valiant may be right. The reason he focused on the border with Camelot was because the squad tracking in that direction never returned. The second squad lost the trail in the swamps – it was looking more and more likely that they simply wandered to their deaths in the swamps.

Or maybe it had been part of their plan. He had wasted enough time now that the winter snow had arrived. It would be impossible to search the mountains now!

Cenred leaned back and waved a hand angrily. When he got his hands on that stupid boy, oh, the things he would do. Breaking him would be secondary to making him suffer. He would pay for the humiliation he had caused a hundred times over. Remembering his audience, he snapped, "You may go, Valiant."

Valiant cleared his throat. "On our way back, we encountered some of your 'soldiers' as well."

Cenred sat up. "Branded?"

"Yes. They attacked us when we approached them. It seemed like they were trying to defect so I took the liberty of dispatching them. Your hunting squad arrived just after we finished. We left them to clean up. My men will be mounting the heads of the escapees outside their barracks."

Cenred grunted. He had planned to torture them publicly but their heads would have to suffice. "Make sure they are all assembled when you mount those heads. Let them know how swiftly they met death at your hands and make it clear that I will not be so merciful. If you really want to be useful, find out who associated with them and bring them to me."

"Yes, Sire." Valiant left the room looking gleeful. Cenred knew the message would be delivered quite graphically and plenty of men brought back to serve as further examples.

He turned to Morgause. She forestalled his questions by saying, "I must go visit my sister."

Cenred was taken aback. "You contacted her already?"

Morgause clucked her tongue. "I did not mean her. I will be back soon. Have Mordred call me if you catch wind of my prey."

Cenred began to ask her what she meant when Morgause disappeared into the wind. She dominated the conversation just now and obviously something caught her attention. She hadn't explained why she needed that man and his daughter; only that they were highly dangerous and needed to be tracked stealthily. And now she had disappeared once again to who-knows-where. He cursed. It irked him that he had so little control over her. She never gave straightforward answers and now she was even making demands! If she weren't so beautiful and somewhat helpful…

He clenched his fists and remembered the report he had been reading when Valiant arrived. If Morgause was right, the creature attacking his forces was magical, and now that she left abruptly without doing a single thing about it he would need Mordred to capture it. It put an early end to his plans but needs must. He headed to his chambers, glad at least that he didn't have to go as far as the dungeons.

He entered his rooms and took his time getting comfortable. He removed his cloak and shirt and folded them where he would normally have thrown them aside carelessly. He knew his 'guest' would be listening intently, trying to anticipate his mood and brace himself accordingly. The thought made him smile. He had purposefully left the door open for just that.

He entered the specially designed side room and paused, taking in the glorious sight before him. His boy hung deliciously in the center of the room, conscious but with his head down in submission. The bright red welts stood out on his pale, milky skin and he happily stepped forward to drag his nails along them, savoring the tremors beneath his hands. He pressed close to the striped back, knowing the pain it would cause, and wrapped his arms around the bruised ribs.

"I am very disappointed in you, Mordred." He pressed hard on the bruises before he drew back to place his hand on Mordred's shoulder as if to comfort him. "I finally thought you were ready for real combat training and you failed miserably!" He pushed down until Mordred whimpered. "Not only did you fail to kill the targets you caught, but you let half of them escape entirely!"

Cenred stepped in front of the hanging boy. "Luckily for you, Valiant cleaned up your mess and I have received news of a mission that requires your talents. Do you need further reminder of the pain you will suffer should you fail me again?" He tapped his ring against Mordred's face and watched him seize every time his own magic was turned against him. He pressed the ring against him until the boy shook his head frantically, gritting his teeth against the pain.

"Are you ready to be released? Are you ready to redeem yourself to me?" Mordred nodded eagerly. "There is a magical beast attacking the city. It attacks only at night and seems to have developed a taste for my soldiers. You are to capture it, subdue it, and bring it to me. Can I trust you with this mission?" Mordred nodded again.

"Then prove it." He allowed Mordred access to his magic. The boy shivered as he felt the release and then his eyes flashed as the cuffs opened. He dropped unceremoniously to the ground. Cenred was pleased by the show of submission. Mordred could have lowered himself gently, but in deference to Cenred, he let himself drop knowing Cenred would enjoy it. His boy was obviously eager to end his punishment. "You have a few hours before nightfall. I expect you to be ready by then. Take two squads with you." Cenred watched as Mordred curled up and tried to master the pain of his wounds. "You may heal yourself before you face the beast but let the men see you first. I want it clear that I do not tolerate failure from anyone."

Yes, Master. Mordred began to rise. He leaned on the walls for support as his legs wavered.

"Aren't you going to thank me for being so merciful?" He watched as Mordred licked his chapped lips nervously.

Thank you for your mercy, Master. He bowed low.

Cenred crossed his arms. "Show me just how grateful you are."

He relished the pained grimace and nervous swallow as Mordred obediently kneeled in front of him.

The fog around the island would be disorienting to any who encountered it but to her it was comforting. She breathed deeply and savored the grounding feel of the ancient magic surrounding her. Reluctantly, she gathered her focus and approached the channel. As soon as she crossed the wards around the Isle, Morgause let her magic reach out to find Nimueh and felt her sister respond almost immediately. In the blink of an eye her surroundings changed and she found herself inside the Seeing Room. The room was fairly empty; all but one object was pushed against the walls. In the center of the normally neat room stood Nimueh, looking as strikingly beautiful as a High Priestess should.

"Did you finally get tired of Cenred's charming company?" Nimueh waved a hand and various objects on the floors flew onto shelves.

Morgause studied Nimueh, noticing the faint strain around her eyes. "A long time ago. Did you finally get tired of Seeing Camelot?"

She seemed to have hit a sensitive topic. Nimueh turned away from her. "What do you want, Morgause?"

"What has happened, Nimueh? Something is wrong, I can tell." The gentleness in her tone was genuine. Nimueh was one of the few people with whom she allowed her true nature to rise.

Nimueh approached her and searched her face before she answered. "Someone is blocking my Sight in Camelot." On seeing Morgause's expression, she asked, "You know something about it?"

"Perhaps. You know, of course, that Cenred has lost Emrys." She ignored Nimueh's snort. "I am afraid that he may have found his way to Camelot after all."

Nimueh's expression grew furious. "After all that we have done to prevent just that! We were fools to trust Cenred with him! And where were you? I thought you were overseeing his training?"

Morgause waved her hands and several cushions and blankets appeared over the nearest bench. She made herself comfortable before answering. "I was busy furthering our plans and obviously held too much confidence in the collars. The boy had help – and I have made sure Cenred does a better job of keeping his men in check. I don't need you to point out my mistakes, Nimueh. I am more than capable of castigating myself."

Nimueh watched her for a moment more before seating herself next to her. "How can you be sure the boy is in Camelot?"

"I am not sure. This may well be pure speculation, but it does seem suspicious that the boy goes missing and your Sight is blocked not long after."

They were silent as they each considered the possibilities. It was Nimueh who spoke first. "I do not think it likely to be Emrys. Even if he found a way to remove the collar and made his way to Camelot, from what I understand of Cenred's… methods, he would not have been in any condition to work magic so powerfully."

"What do you mean?"

"The magic blocking my Sight is ancient, and deeply powerful. I have only sensed Emrys' magic on those few occasions but I would have recognized his essence. This is something different. See for yourself."

She drew Morgause to the Seeing pillar. "This is not my strength, sister."

"Just open yourself to me. I will do it."

Morgause brushed Nimueh's mind and felt her sister call up the Seeing spells. She looked expectantly into the water as she felt the incantations peak. The water wavered and clouded before slowly clearing. In an instant, the water boiled and they were thrown back as something fought back.

"What was that?"

Nimueh wiped her brow. "As I said, not Emrys. This is something far more powerful. I do not think you would have been foolish enough to teach him magic this advanced."

Morgause paused. "Of course not. You don't think – "

Nimueh shook her head. "He would never protect Camelot, of all things, and I have already tried calling to him. There is never a response. I suspect he is still hibernating, waiting to be woken by Emrys. That leaves only the old man - he is incapable of this type of magic. But there can be no mistake – someone is protecting Camelot."

Morgause's eyes flashed. "I still think it too much a coincidence."

"How would you confirm it? It would be folly for either of us to set foot in Camelot before we are ready."

"I agree, and I cannot spare the time for this. As you know, I must focus on tracking those two."

"Hasn't Cenred tracked the boy? You said he had help; perhaps if we found them, we would find the boy."

"Yes, he sent out various squads but none of them were successful. Two squads disappeared in the marshes along the border with Camelot but there has been no sign that Emrys has crossed them."

"Then they must have fallen for false trails. The boy will be in hiding. I do not think anyone helping him would have taken him to Camelot."

"I agree to some extent, but I would not leave this avenue unexplored."

"What would you have me do? Do you want me to try Sighting them?"

"No. They would sense it and be lost to us forever. I have to do it the mundane way. As for this, I think I know of a way that will clearly indicate just who is interfering here. I will do my best to help you. And it has the added benefit of causing your favorite kind of mayhem."

Nimueh raised a brow. "The kind that causes Uther Pendragon great pain? What are we waiting for?"

He snorted in annoyance at being woken by yet another attempt to See inside Camelot. This was getting ridiculous. He should not have to deal with matters such as these – it was neither his responsibility nor his desire to protect Camelot… and by extension Uther Pendragon.

Shaking off the last vestiges of sleep, he stretched languorously and pondered this latest intrusion on his peace. This was not in line with any of the path of destinies he had foreseen. It gave him the distinct impression of wrong. Events were occurring out of order and the effect was accelerating in time. The time for patience was past. He had to know what was happening and he had to know now.

EMRYS! He had given Emrys plenty of time to recover from his mysterious ailment. The warlock could no longer ignore him, he would not allow it. The boy must be told of his destiny now, before something catastrophic happened. EMRYS, YOU WILL ANSWER ME NOW. EMRYS!

I had a lot of trouble writing this. I'd much rather write fluffy scenes featuring Merlin giggles. Anyway, thanks for reading and keeping up with the story. Thanks again to all the reviewers! There's nothing quite like turning my phone on after a long day to see your lovely reviews :)

Expect the next chapter in about 2 weeks. I have exams this week and group projects due the week after which will probably amount to an angsty chapter :/