Most of the mess that is called history comes about because kings and presidents cannot be satisfied with a nice chicken and a good loaf of bread.

~ Jennifer Donnelly, Revolution

Chapter 11: Vivienne and Cenred

Balinor didn't get a wink of sleep at all. From the moment he heard Hunith's news he wandered aimlessly around the village with no clear destination in sight. He needed to be alone. Pregnant? Hunith was pregnant, with his child. A child that would undoubtedly inherit his power as he did from his father and he from his before him. Even if he did leave Hunith for her protection, would he be protecting his future son or daughter? Perhaps…it wasn't like it was possible to see that someone was a dragonlord's child by mere sight alone. However…his child will have a connection to this world that others just wouldn't understand. Hunith would be alone with a child she wouldn't be able to fully help. Not to mention that they will be born into a world that Uther is twisting to be against them. If it was ever discovered that he was their father, he or she would have a target on them as well. If he stayed away a connection might not be found. Yet with his family history, even if their parentage was safe they would still feel drawn to magic, it would be in their blood. That would mean that Hunith and their child wouldn't be safe with or without him. So he could take them with him? No, he couldn't do that. They would be condemned to a life on the run. Of course, if they stayed then they would be condemned to a life of hiding and fear. What was he supposed to do?!

Balinor decided to try and talk more with Hunith but he caught incoming movement before he could make it back to the house. He was startled to see that it was Gina and she seemed to be a little frantic.

"Gina, are you alright? You shouldn't be moving about like this. It wouldn't do any good for you or your child."

"Balinor, thank god. Can you tell me when Richard is coming back? I've been feeling some pains and I'm afraid that if it means that the baby is coming then he might miss it."

Balinor raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Richard's gone?"

"What? He told me that he was out doing an errand for you."

"For me?"

"Yes, he said that he had to leave Ealdor for you and your friend and shouldn't be too long. What friend?"

His friend? Balinor exhaled deeply. What was Kilgharrah up to? "Oh yes, don't worry Gina. I'm sure it shouldn't take him more than a day. In fact, I'm going to see that more time won't be taken on this more than it needs." He went over and gave her a small kiss over her forehead before he headed off to meet with a certain dragon of his.

As he ran he hoped that Richard wasn't going to do something stupid and rash on his account. He didn't have to guess that Richard was doing something in response to what they had heard about yesterday. If he got hurt then he wouldn't be able to face Gina and Hunith in good faith again. Balinor reached Kilgharrah's cave to see that the dragon was there as were three of the Druids.

"Balinor," Kilgharrah said as he spotted him. "Good morning."

"Kilgharrah, what's going on? Where's Richard?"

The dragon narrowed his eyes. "Don't sound so accusing Balinor."

"And don't try and divert my attention. Where Is Richard?" he asked stretching each of those words.

When Kilgharrah was finished explaining he didn't know whether to call Richard brilliant or crazy.

"How could you talk him into such…craziness Kilgharrah?!" he scolded.

The elder came up to Balinor and held him back from leaping at the dragon. "Please Balinor, calm down. Kilgharrah didn't do anything. Richard was the one to come up with this plan and he asked for Kilgharrah and our help for this to work. Your friend even tried to talk him out of it but Richard wouldn't have it and Abel was too happy to help once he heard it."

Balinor rubbed his face furiously. "Uther won't have to worry about me here for much longer. Hunith and Gina are going to kill me for him."

The influx of force brought by Lord Gorlois was greeted with cheers from all of Uther's already present men. They were ready to march off and bring in Balinor and the Great Dragon for good. Uther was regally dressed with his chief advisors as he welcomed Gorlois to Camelot. He rode to the front of the castle with some knights and with a pair of horses pulling a large carriage.

"Lord Gorlois," he said as the man dismounted. "Camelot welcomes you and your men with grace."

Gorlois came forward and gave Uther a gentle hug. "Uther, it's nice to see you again."

"Thank you old friend." They then separated and Gorlois went to carriage door to open it and reveal a woman in a veil.

Uther watched as the woman was helped out of her horse carriage and Gorlois went and pulled her veil back. Uther was a little taken back by what was revealed. The woman was quite a beauty with high cheekbones, ruby red lips, a button nose, long and silky black hair and a fair complexion. Most of all, it was her eyes that drew Uther in. They were green eyes that shined like the finest emeralds. For a moment, he forgot anything and everything…until Gorlois voice broke him out of it.

"Uther, you haven't had a chance to meet but allow me to introduce to you my wife, the Lady Vivienne."

Vivienne gave a small curtsy. "It's a pleasure to meet you Uther Pendragon."

Uther snapped himself out of his stupor and bowed to Vivienne. "The pleasure is mine." Uther took a moment and re-analyzed the woman. He saw that there was wore a wedding band and that she was a little large in her midsection that her former position of getting out of the carriage had been hiding slightly.

Gorlois spoke again. "Vivienne is currently carrying my child. We are expecting our child to be born any day now."

"I'll be sure that she receives the utmost care during her stay then," Uther offered.

Vivienne wiped some sweat from her brow. "I'm sorry my lord but I'm not feeling well at the moment. I think I need to rest," she said.

"Of course, it's been a long journey and we don't need you to be stressed with the child," Gorlois said before asking for some servants to help his wife and make her comfortable.

"I'm sorry," she said gently.

"It's alright. I'll come and see you after I'm done with my business with the king." Both Gorlois and Uther watched as the servants helped lead her away. "Forgive me sire but I don't want to miss the birth of my first child."

Uther stopped looking at the doorway Vivienne went through and waved his hand carelessly. "It's quite alright Gorlois, you don't need to apologize. I can understand about wanting to be there for your child's birth."

"I suppose you can. Let me personally say that I'm sorry for what happened to your wife. Losing Ygraine was a true tragedy."

"Thank you," he coughed out.

For a moment, Uther wondered just what he was doing. The memory of Ygraine was still fresh and he was ogling a loyal friend's wife? They were expecting their first child and he was thinking things right next to her husband. He had to stop.

"Shall we go inside and discuss the situation?" Gorlois asked snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Of course. Please, this way," Uther said leading the way to his throne room.

The meeting went well into the day with his men sharing information about the progress of the new weapons and the knowledge of the area in which they were heading.

"The dragon's cave is uphill," explained Jarvis. "There is ample tree cover but not a lot of space for multitude of men to storm it all at once."

"Then our best bet is to draw the dragon away from the cave and take the fight to more open terrain in range of our catapults," said Uther.

"Just how strong is the dragon's hide?" asked Gorlois. "I must say that I've never fought a dragon personally before and I'm unaware of its strengths and weaknesses."

"The dragon is of magic and those who use magic have been shown to be vulnerable to salted iron," said Sir Lehman. "We have had our forges working tirelessly to make spears and arrowheads of salted iron and our catapults with have jars of oil with iron spikes inside to launch at the creature. That should be enough to bring the dragon down for us to kill it on the ground."

"Also," said Sir Tate. "Balinor is the weak link. He controls the dragon so if we could find and capture him then we can subdue the dragon." Then his face fell. "Unfortuantely, he has proven to be able to slip away from under us and he can command the dragon from a distance. So he might not be in sight of the battlefield once the fighting starts but I'll still be leading men to try and find him regardless."

"Uther," said Gorlois. "Forgive me if I sound a little lost here, but wouldn't all of this mean crossing into another kingdom's borders with our forces?"

"Unfortunately yes but we are left with little choice old friend."

"We both know what type of man Cenred is. He won't take this lightly."

"It's alright Gorlois. I've already taken steps to handle the situation."

"What steps?"

The other men at the table who knew of Uther's plan went silent as the grave. Uther began to feel a little uncomfortable. Unlike with his previous men, he couldn't lash out this time. Gorlois was a powerful man and much of this force was made up of his men. His participation in this attack was vital. He knew Gorlois would never approve of his plan to dispose of the village or he might pull back his support.

"It's actually quite…sensitive Gorlois, I rather not say, please."

Gorlois seemed curious at Uther's hesitation but he made no further comment. Something was telling him that he wasn't getting the whole story. There were too many holes with Uther's plan and with this whole situation. For one thing, if it was this hard and this type of action needed to be taken then how did Uther manage to defeat Balinor and capture and imprison the dragon before? It hadn't been made to call for such actions as these so why not do so the same way again? And…just what was Uther planning to do about intruding on Cenred's land? He would have to keep his guard out for these answers considering that Uther and the others seemed to be tight lipped about it all.

Richard and Abel were riding through the fastest main road to Cenred's castle. He was in his uniform and was being approached by a squad of Essetir soldiers when he came at a checkpoint on the way to the castle. He gave his name and rank and reported that he had emergency reconnaissance for Cenred's ears only.

"Who's the man behind you?" one of them asked.

Abel looked to Richard who nodded covertly to him. "I'm the one with the information for the king and he needs to hear it right away."

"Then tell us this 'information' and we'll see that the king gets it." The soldier had made quotes with his fingers that had the other men laugh maniacally along with him.

"Why? So you could steal it and rip me off?" Abel shot back silencing them. Abel put on a fierce front but Richard could feel him shaking from behind him.

"Enough," Richard scolded before Abel's nerves let up. "The king needs to be told of this immediately and I rather not face him when he learns too late why he was not informed of the situation sooner. Would you?"

Thankfully his officer status gave his some credence to be taken seriously. The men provided an escort there and this way it made the way cleared of any potential problems that might hinder them.

"Are you sure this will work?" Abel whispered from behind him so the other riders couldn't overhear.

"I hope it does. It's the best plan I can come up with at short notice and we don't have a lot of time to compare," he whispered back. "You remember what to say?"

"Yes, I just hope I'm convincing enough."

"You'll do fine. If you run into problems then just bring the proof from Kilgharrah into this and that should help reassure Cenred that the claim is genuine."

Abel was starting to sweat a little. "Do you think that Cenred will be able to recognize it for what it truly is?"

"If he doesn't then let's hope one of the others in his court does. What Cenred does understand best is Greed so display some and he won't have much reason to doubt you. Remember, be calm and only speak when Cenred addresses you to do so."

It was another hour before Richard and Abel were able to see Cenred's castle ahead. The city of Essetir wasn't anything too special. It was an average place with average people that just had Essetir's castle lording over it. The fortress was quite an intimidating sight with its guarded stone turrets and high walls surrounded by a great moat. The drawbridge was lowered to let them into the mighty structure. Richard stated that he had emergency news for the king. They had to wait for a while before they were allowed to go into the castle itself and into the throne room. There, Cenred was waiting with a few members of his court. Richard had only seen Cenred once before but that was a little afar, now this was face to face. He wasn't the friendliest looking man and the young soldier honestly didn't expect him to be. He was leering at them when Richard and Abel were escorted in.

Richard stepped forward and gave Cenred a grand bow. "Sire."

"State your name," Cenred sneered out.

"Lieutenant Richard Forell of the Southern Battalion."

Cenred looked to one of his men, a stern looking old man, who nodded to confirm that Richard's claim on his rank was genuine. "Tell me then Richard. Why have you come to me today?"

"Sire, there is news of the most urgent matter that I knew had to reach you right away. It is quite time sensitive."

"I see, how did you come by such information if you don't mind me asking?"

"This druid stumbled into our land and ran into me. What he told me was shocking and I believed you had to hear it as quickly as possible."

"You," Cenred pointed at Abel. "Druid, who exactly are you?"

Abel bowed his head. "Call me Abel sire. I'm a druid who lives beyond your southern borders."

"Beyond the border...that would mean that you're from Camelot. My condolences for your people's plight. I hear telling that Uther is being quite relentless against your people, anyone with magic for near two years now." Cenred's words may have sounded caring but his tone suggested that there was no feeling for any of those people whatsoever.

Abel just nodded ignoring that. "Thank you sire."

"Now what exactly have you to say that would have one of my soldiers from the borders bring you here with great speed?" he asked almost impatiently.

Abel cleared his throat jumped right into it. "Sire, news from Camelot. It is quite valuable...and wasn't easy to bring especially with these troubling times to my people as you just said."

"Go on," Cenred huffed.

"It's about Uther sire. He's calling up an army to march on a very prominent member of the magical community. They will be ready to march within a few days from now, maybe less. It is said that Uther will be leading this charge himself."

"Really?" he said mildly curious. "And how is that relevant to me?"

"The army is marching to your lands, through the southern borders," Abel further explained.

The men around Cenred seemed visibly alarmed at what was just said. Cenred seemed a bit surprised himself but he quickly choked it down and answered with a small chuckle. "And just why would Uther just march into my land all of a sudden? Are you saying that he's going to conquer my kingdom?"

"No sire, not at all," Abel said shaking his head quickly. "His objective is to destroy Ealdor without your knowledge."

"Ealdor?" Cenred asked out to no one in particular.

"Sire," Richard said stepping forward. "It's an outline village along the southern borders."

"I see," Cenred said before turning to Abel again. "Now, why would Uther do something like this? He knows that it would give me free reign to declare war on his kingdom and that there are those that would flock to my side against him as well. Why risk all of that to destroy one small little village? If he wanted that village so much he could've just sent someone to buy it from me. It wouldn't have been cheap but I wouldn't have minded selling it to him."

Richard covertly tightened his jaws and clenched his right hand to a fist at Cenred talking about his home like it was a prized lamb to sell to a butcher.

Abel kept this all moving along. "It's simple sire. Uther wouldn't want you to have known that you had a dragon and dragonlord within your kingdom."

Cenred, who before was ready to ask the guards to toss this man out for wasting his time now was lit up with unflinching interest. "Excuse me?"

"It seems as if the last dragonlord, Balinor, and the last dragon have both sought refuge there. Uther has decreed that he wants them dead. Uther didn't want word of his location reaching back to you which is why he is doing all of this. He didn't want word of Balinor or of his actions to detain him to reach you sire."

"Sire," one of his advisors said. "I remember hearing about this dragonlord laying siege to Camelot and getting captured but managing to escape. There is no doubt that he is enemies with Uther. With a dragon at his beck and call he could make a valuable asset for the kingdom. Uther might've feared we would've acquired Balinor and his dragon for our own should he give us reason to pay closer attention to that part of the kingdom."

"Well, his fears are well founded then. A dragon," Cenred growled greedily. "And a dragonlord to command it to carry out any order given. And the last of them as well. It would be a power un-rivaled and uncontested. Balinor and his beast could become the key to further my power."

"That is why Uther is sparing no effort to slay it," continued Abel. "He has catapults and ordered salted iron weapons to be crafted to engage them."

"Wait a minute sire," one of the lords in the room holding a hand up. "How do we know that what this druid is saying is true or not. For all we know, he is just trying to trick us to engage Uther and try to get rid of their problems for them with little to no effort."

"Yes...he's got a point," he said as he leered over at Abel. "I'm supposed to believe all of this by your word alone? How do I know that you aren't trying to pull a fast one on me druid?"

Abel enacted the next part of Richard's plan by taking out what he had asked Kilgharrah to give them to ensure Cenred's interference. He pulled out one of Kilgharrah's golden scales.

End of Chapter 11

A/N: Well, it seems that more events are now set in motion, or rather people like Merlin, Morgause and even Morgana. Not only that but Richard's plan is being put into place with trying to intercept Uther on his plans. I hope you liked my portrayal of Cenred. The next chapter will have a kink appear in the plan and put Ealdor future in a grim setting.