Uther raved as the four of them returned. Merlin shell-shocked, Gwaine clinging to him like a limpet, Morgana seething and Lancelot not entirely sure what to make of any of it, leaning heavily on Morgana until Percival came to relieve her.

"You left my son there!"

"He told us to go. He told me to protect Merlin."

"They will kill him!"

"No they won't," Merlin said looking dazed as he stared around. He gulped again, he had been sick twice on the way back, the shock and blows rattling him deeply.

"How could Mordred do this?" Morgana asked.

"Because that is what he is meant to do," Leon said as he sifted through the information they had on the computer. "It's Arthur he is supposed to turn against but Mordred hasn't had a connection to him. He doesn't know him, he never trusted him. You invested your time and energy into Mordred, so it had to be you he betrayed. If Arthur is right in what he says then they are powerless to do anything but follow the pattern they have created."

"As far as we know in that pattern Arthur dies," Lancelot said. "I think that might be quite a big flaw for us."

"Arthur isn't following this pattern," Leon argued. "We do so a little, we know the stories, and we've done the research but like Morgana we stand back somewhat. The enemy doesn't. Arthur isn't tied into any of it. He's been kept separate from everything."

"So what is he doing now!" Uther hissed. None of them answered, the answer was obvious. Arthur was doing what he had done for years, surviving as best he could. Merlin blinked, looking around, biting his lower lip for a moment.

"He's buying us, me, time..."

"What?" Gwen asked.

"He said, I built everything here, I laid Arthur to rest here, and I stayed here. Arthur apparently had a conversation with another version of me to that affect, but that version isn't here... now... I'm here," Merlin paused to look around. "So, I need to find what I left. I was the only one of us who was building something for Arthur."

"So, where are we looking," Leon said, he typed on the laptop, the screen flicking in different colours as he brought up several images.

"They did a few archaeological digs here, looking for whatever it is you might find. Nothing of significance came up but there is the odd thing, hints of buildings. That picture; where's that picture Arthur bought?"

Gwen leant over to scrabble through the pockets of Arthur's discarded coat.

"He did have it on him, but when he went into the lake, it would have been ruined."

"We don't need it! I don't need it!" Merlin snapped, he looked around frantically, eyes rolling in distress. "I've got to do this, I've got to find what Arthur needs, what I left here!"

"Merlin! Merlin!" Gwaine grabbed his wrists pulling Merlin round to face him. "Then stop panicking. Arthur sent you to try and find it, you have to be calm, take a breath and think about it."

"I'm trying," Merlin said, his voice rising in stress. "I needed to make sure he was ready this time! I wasn't there and he died, because of me."

"Arthur was in the middle of a battle, that meant he was in danger," Gwaine said. "That would always happen. Now, take a breath and think calmly. If you were... well... you... what would you leave here? Why would you leave it? Where would you put it?"

"Oh, erm..." Merlin frowned and thought, looking around carefully, blinking and wavering on his feet. Gwaine took tighter hold and Uther moved behind him, just in case he toppled.

"Mordred gave him a couple of blows on the head," Morgana said. "I'll get the first aid kit, he'll need a check up."

"I'm fine," Merlin said. "I can do this."

"I hate to bother everyone with a timescale, but can you do it before tomorrow afternoon?" Leon asked. Everyone turned to him and looked at him curiously.

"Why?" Uther eventually asked.

"I've correlated the information, and sort of circumspectly used a few different calendars to work it out, but by the look of it, as far as I can tell," he paused and turned the laptop for the rest of them to see. "Tomorrow, is the date, of the battle of Camlann."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Arthur did worry a little about the others, and what Uther might think of his actions. He lay back on the rough blankets in the tent while Cenred left to find some water and something to eat. Arthur heard the ever watchful Boris snarl as Cenred passed and then Boris' head poked through the flap in the tent. He nosed his way in and sniffed Arthur's bare shin and huffed.

"Never took you as the judgmental type," Arthur said to him. Boris nudged his leg. Arthur lay back and drew the sleeping bag tighter around his naked form. His body ached but Arthur noticed that Cenred had been somewhat cautious with him. Arthur opened his eyes as Boris gave another snarl and Cenred paused halfway into the tent, eyeing the wyvern nervously.

"Quit it Boris," Arthur murmured.

Cenred sidled past holding two bottles of water in one hand and two packets of crisps in the other. Boris' eyes stayed on Cenred as he dropped one of the packets onto Arthur's torso and held out a bottle. Arthur reached out to take it.

"I remembered you only like plain crisps," Cenred said, as if doing so was something of a great concession.

"How very thoughtful," Arthur replied as he opened the packet. He held one large crisp out to Boris as the wyvern's nose quested forward. He huffed and his tongue snaked out to take the crisp. Then he settled down.

"Does that thing have to keep staring at me?" Cenred asked.

Arthur twisted the cap on the water and took a swallow. The bottle was warm, although he could hardly expect them to be carrying a fridge along with them. Arthur grimaced and said.

"Merlin takes the trouble to keep things like this cool. And Boris was sent to... well... I think he's a guide and bodyguard. So, yes he does. I'm not dinging him out of the tent if he wants to stick his head in."

"So, I have to put up with him then."

"Love me, love my wyvern."

"I don't love you Arthur, you're just convenient."

Arthur paused drinking, raising his eyebrows as he stared at Cenred. He paused to put the cap back on the bottle and went back to eating crisps. Boris laid his head down, his nose snuffing against Arthur's leg.

"As just a shag, or are you after something else?"

"What sort of else?"

"The else that might occur if this lot don't get their way."

"They're pretty confident Arthur."

"Yes," Arthur said. He shifted onto his side, letting the bedding drift a little but also keeping the leg Boris' head lay against in position. "Because, they think they won last time. I'm not sure that's true. I think I was just preserved."

"For what?"

"Now, this... what's going on. I'm the Once and Future king. I've done the once part, they had to make sure I could do the future bit."

Cenred snorted with laughter.

"I don't buy a single moment of it, but your lot appear to have invested their entire life," Arthur said in response to the derision.

"So have yours."

"Not as much. They know most of the facts, they understand them, but they are circumspect with the information. Things have no true basis in fact, they are legends and stories. Come on; are you telling me you buy it?"

Cenred shrugged. "At the end of the day, I get good money. Minding you for all those years did us well, Aled included until he fucked up."

"That was why he picked me up."

"He didn't lie about it. A client was looking for someone just of your description."

"Geoffrey Monmouth was the middle man of that transaction."

"Your every other Wednesday, correct."

"Everyone knew what was going on but me."

"We didn't know. Aled just received orders, and I followed whatever he told me to do."

"Was fucking me an extra perk of the job?"

Cenred smirked, "no. Actually we had strict instructions not to touch you, which seemed a little strange considering what we were making you do."

Arthur snorted. "You do know you've been involved before?"

Cenred responded with his own snort of cynical laughter. "I thought you said you didn't buy into it."

"I don't, but I did find a reference to you. Or at least a king by the name of Cenred. Quite an unsavoury character by what I read. Not very bright either."

Arthur sipped some more water, while he watched Cenred's reaction. He didn't want to be intrigued, and he most certainly didn't want to ask but Arthur knew he had put on the right tone to make Cenred want to ask.

"I'm sure he was shrewd enough," he said, trying not to sound insulted. Arthur suppressed the threatening smirk.

"I guess, although Morgause killed him, once he was no longer of any use."

"I'm best to remain useful then."

"She didn't look happy earlier on, when she had to let the others go."

"With you here, she knows they won't try anything. And I think you're right. They can't do anything to you, Mordred can only act when things are in place."

"And that was why they wanted me alive, or at least Morgause and Mordred do. I can't say the same for a few other people that we have encountered, but they believe the story, that somehow the whole thing has to play out the way they believe. They think history will repeat itself and once I'm gone then their full power will return."

Arthur voiced the thoughts. It wouldn't hurt to in front of Cenred. Arthur doubted that he wouldn't report any of the conversation to Morgause. There was nothing of great interest in it, and also, Cenred would find it more convenient to keep information from the sorceress. It could act as insurance against the fate that was most likely to happen to him, if Morgause fully believed in what was happening.

"And you don't believe that?"

"I'm not the king of Albion, or Camelot. I'm just me. It's not the same because things aren't the same. I get the feeling that it was always the case. It's a different scenario, they might regain more power by killing me, it could as easily seal the magic off from this realm. What purpose does it serve anyway?"

"It serves the purpose of the person using it."

Arthur lifted his head and stared at Cenred. "How very insightful."

"I have my moments. Do you really think you can beat Mordred?"

"In most of the stories I give him a fatal wound."

"After he has nearly killed you," Cenred said.

"Doesn't sound good does it. Although, it's not the same this time. It's not some epic battle, I don't think we have much to do with it anyway. We're just pawns that something seems to keep shuttling about the board."

"We're the kings then, if you are going for a chess analogy. Who's your queen?"

Arthur frowned, his eyes drifting to look at Boris, who tilted his head to meet Arthur's gaze. It made Arthur wonder, as a few dots connected. Had he just encountered the people who had, years ago, tried to kill Gwen.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Uther prodded the fire, the embers glowed, but in a desultory fashion. He didn't think he was going to get much from them. The fire was almost dead, forgotten in the panic over Arthur's disappearance and the attack from the forest beyond. Now Arthur was trapped with them, and Merlin had wandered off in a desperate attempt to find what he was looking for.

Morgana and Gwaine had gone with him. Lancelot, Percival and Leon were working in shifts to watch the causeway, but it had seemed to have gone quiet out in the woods. They could see lights from the camps but no one appeared to be moving. Uther poked the fire again, reflecting that they had part of what they wanted. For the moment, they had Arthur.

Gwen shifted closer to the fire, wrapping the blanket she wore tighter around her shoulders. She watched Uther's attempts to wring some life out of the fire, failing miserably. His jaw was tense, and although he glanced at her briefly Uther turned his attention back to the fire. Gwen didn't think that pointing out the uselessness of it was a sensible thing. Instead she shifted the blanket around her.

"Do you think Arthur will be all right?"

Uther glanced at her. Gwen hedged her bets on the conversation opener. She didn't assure Uther that Arthur would be fine. If she had said that she didn't think she would get an answer. For a moment she didn't think one would be forthcoming at all. Eventually Uther broke the silence.

"He seems to think so."

"Merlin will find something," Gwen said, wincing as Uther glared at her, pointing out that such a comment was nothing short of inane. "Arthur seems to think he will."

"Arthur shouldn't have stayed up there."

"He was doing that to protect Merlin. Do you think he would do anything else?"

Uther huffed. "I wouldn't expect him to do anything else, but I've only just got him back, I can't lose him now."

"You won't. This doesn't feel right. Like Leon said, Mordred was destined to turn against someone. It was Arthur, now it's Morgana. I suppose I was supposed to in some way, from the bits I read, of what Arthur found I wasn't exactly the most honourable of wives."

"No."

Gwen blinked at the tone of voice. "You're not seriously hinting that that was the reason that you went mental at us talking."

Uther looked furious, but he went back to poking at the fire with such ferocity that Gwen knew she had her answer.

"So why did you take such an interest in my mother. The only reason you would do that was if you knew something was going on."

In the end Uther stopped fighting the fire, and the embers still maintained a low, dull gleam. Gwen could feel some heat radiating off it. Merlin probably had a hand in it still doing the job.

"I did think it suspicious. But no, I didn't entirely correlate the information. Arthur did that himself. Something made him look to you and if the information we had was anything to go by I would neither notice, or approve."

"I'm not about to seduce your son, if that is what you are thinking."

"I know that. I think the history tells us that you were neither in love, or compatible."

"From what I read, Arthur loved me and I betrayed him. I don't think our roles are entirely exact anymore. I am not the woman who betrayed him." Gwen paused and as Uther frowned in confusion, she put herself into hot water. "His mother was."

"Igraine loved him."

"But she betrayed him, not by leaving him to the streets, but by dying, by almost making him watch what happened to her. He didn't tell you about that, about the day he walked in and just saw nothing more than a living corpse."

"I just don't understand why she didn't tell me. Arthur wouldn't have suffered as he did if she had just let me know how to find him."

"And if she hadn't, Arthur would not be as strong as he is."

At Gwen's confident tone Uther raised his head, and the fire between them flickered with power.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The negotiation meant that Cenred had Arthur until dawn. For the last couple of hours Cenred hadn't overly bothered him again. Their conversation had paused and Arthur had obliged a few of Cenred's needs; a blow job, a massage of his shoulder where an old wound bothered him and, very carefully, no more conversation.

Now he slowly dressed as the light of the sun started to strain through the trees. Cenred still hadn't stirred and Arthur saw no point in bothering him, the light would rouse him soon enough. It seemed overly demanding to Arthur; the sunrise, red against the horizon, but that seemed to be the point. They had found the island and these people knew that it was linked to what was to happen now. As soon as Arthur found something the relevant fight appeared. Morgause and Mordred knew it was going to happen, they had been planning it for years... maybe.

He opened the tent flap and stepped out, eyeing the sunrise for a moment, a picturesque scene which lit up the island. Arthur smiled as he looked at what he saw. Boris huffed, informing him he was quite stupid not to have expected it. Arthur could see the castle and even people moving around it, flickers of light and power, and something pulsing deep within the ground. Looking around he realised that no one, not even the ones with magic could see what Merlin had done. Arthur didn't want to give away anything.

Mordred, however, had clearly been waiting for the moment he left the tent. And probably preferring the fact that Cenred was not with him. Boris huffed again, pressing himself against Arthur's legs. The wyvern had stayed as close as possible all night, although his head retreated from the tent occasionally, Arthur felt aware of his proximity.

As Mordred approached, ambling across the camp Boris snarled, the sound rumbling up through his throat. Arthur tried not to smirk as Mordred hesitated, eyeing the beast with both caution and anger. Arthur guessed, accurately, that the thought of a magical beast playing bodyguard to him grated on his rival's nerves.

"Boris, enough of that."

"He won't be there to protect you when you face me."

Arthur said nothing, simply staring at Mordred for a moment. He would have expected to feel some fear, knowing what was to happen, but Arthur didn't. Since the encounter with the old version of Merlin Arthur felt calm. He didn't know if he was handling any of this in the right way, a few people, his father included, might not agree with him. However, he got the feeling that whatever he did, they would follow him. Arthur wondered if Mordred felt that secure.

"Maybe not, but I can look after myself," Arthur said.

"I'm sure."

Arthur shrugged. "That's up to you."

He turned away from Mordred as Cenred appeared from the tent, looking around with a frown on his face as he searched for Arthur. The frown smoothed out momentarily, as he spotted him, but then returned as he looked at Mordred.

"I have to go," Arthur said.

"And you think we'll just let you walk out," Cenred asked, glowering as Boris snarled.

"That was the deal," Arthur told him. "And as untrustworthy as you can be sometimes, I don't think you will be able to help yourself sticking to that bargain."

"You don't want to listen to anything we have to say?"

All three of them turned to look at Morgause as she strolled into the clearing. Arthur raised his eyebrows as he looked her up and down, hardly dressed for wandering around the woods. Her blonde hair tumbled down her shoulders, which were clad in red material, the dress clinging to her slim body. He remembered Lancelot telling Morgana that most evil people were snappy dressers, and he thought of the carefully chosen wardrobe that Morgana had picked for him. He guessed if Morgause was her sister it ran in the family.

"And why would I do that?"

"You may think us to be on the wrong side, but we want to achieve what you do, the balance of magic is important to us as well."

Arthur shook his head. "I read all the information my father has collected over the years. You are trying to recapture something that is gone. That can't be done. That's like me trying to regain my virginity."

"That's long gone," Cenred drawled. Arthur rolled his eyes and turned his head to glare at him.

"That was the point of that analogy. Everyone also seems rather over-fixated on that."

Arthur couldn't deny Merlin's, old Merlin's, observation of that. People had used that as an insult, and had kept Arthur on the streets, forced to sell himself to survive. He wondered what the point of that was. It kept him contained, and cowed, most certainly; but it had hardly broken him.

"Perhaps," Morgause agreed causing Arthur to raise his eyebrows, looking at her in surprise. "It would certainly not have been what your mother wished for you."

"And what would you know about my mother."

Arthur felt the usual antagonism rising in him, which happened whenever someone mentioned her. He had worked through quite a portion of the emotional mess in his head but those feelings he hadn't quite dared to touch yet. That wound still remained rather raw, and probably always would.

"I knew your mother, long before she became involved with Uther. She trusted me with your care."

"Oh, yeah, that was such a fantastic job. You really expect me to believe that!"

"It was never my place to interfere," Morgause said. She paused and regarded Arthur for a long moment before she turned slightly. "Come with me."

Arthur blinked as she turned and walked off into the forest, she didn't look back to see if they were following, as if she possessed complete confidence that he would obey her. That made Arthur hesitate for a brief moment until Cenred prodded him in the back, pushing him forward. Arthur tensed and turned to glare at him, but there seemed to be little point in arguing, plus he felt a little curious as to what Morgause had in mind. Boris trotted next to him and they walked a short way through the woods to another clearing. Morgause moved around the edge, avoiding stepping through the circle of stones in the centre. Arthur looked around, eyeing the symbols drawn on the ground, and daubed on some of the stones warily. A few he recognised from some of the books that Merlin read, others he didn't, but that might have been because Merlin never actually turned to that page.

"What's that?" Arthur asked.

"Has your all important protector and advisor never shown you anything?"

"Of course he has," Arthur snapped. He walked a little way around the circle. It reminded him of the one that Merlin had carefully constructed, to help protect him when they had first found him. That one had taken time to build, or, when Merlin explained it properly, the circle had protected him while the longer spell that Merlin needed to create, to permanently protect Arthur, had been constructed. The one that, due to various circumstances, had never been completed.

"But that doesn't explain what you are doing?" Arthur said.

"Step into the circle."

Arthur took a step back in retaliation, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. A slight smirk played around her lips as she watched his reaction.

"You don't trust me?"

"Can you blame me?"

"I knew your mother, you have the same look about you. This is for your benefit, so you can understand what your mother did. But for me to do that you have to trust me."

There was little chance of that, Arthur thought to himself, but he felt curious, and Mordred had already pointed out, Arthur himself knew that Morgause could do nothing but wait for the moment that the pair would battle. She could try and sway the tide as long as he remained aware of that, she hopefully couldn't trick him.

Slowly, and with an exaggerated movement he stepped over the line of the circle and moved into the centre. It didn't feel very different.

"Now what?" he asked Morgause.

"There are many pockets of magic, and that makes the veil between the worlds thin. From that I can draw through the spirits of the dead."

"Really?" Arthur drawled. He let his gaze trail round as she walked around the circle and he turned on his heel, his eyes widening as he realised he was suddenly not alone in the circle. The blonde woman had not stepped it with him, but as he turned, she just seemed to appear in his line of vision. Almost as if he had drawn her into his line of sight.

"Mum?"

As she stepped towards him, Arthur froze, staring at her in shock. She reached up to touch his face, cupping his chin with on hand and she ran her fingers through his hair with the other.

"Oh my boy, my son."

Arthur tensed slightly as Igraine hugged him. She didn't feel real, but that could have been the thought in his mind telling him that she wasn't real. There was a hardness to her, and as Arthur reached up to touch her arm he felt the cold, resilient skin underneath. He didn't wonder how it was possible, not too long ago he had seen a spirit of Merlin. Arthur guessed that whatever Merlin had done to the island, Morgause had done in the clearing, on a smaller scale. What did make him wonder, was Merlin more powerful, or had he just simply taken more time? Had he been waiting and preparing even longer than Morgause and the others who had attacked them.

From what he had seen of the confrontation earlier, they didn't think much of Merlin's power, although Morgause seemed invested in trying to utilise Morgana in some way. That wasn't ever going to happen, Arthur decided in that moment. Even if Morgana was meant to be evil, some of the legends had been ambivalent about that fact and even if it meant a few rows with her Arthur would find a way to keep her on side.

"Are you all right? You've been through so much. Nothing you deserved."

"I'm fine mum, I'm okay," Arthur actually meant that. "Although things are a bit weird. Why did you never tell dad where I was?"

Arthur didn't put any blame into his voice. He didn't feel any. His mother had her reasons, Merlin had told him as much, but he wanted to hear it from her, if he could, and he seemed to be able to.

"I couldn't trust you with him, not after what he had done to me!"

"What had he done?"

"He used magic, he didn't care if it killed me, and he would never have let me be with you, to look after you. I only had you for a short time and I didn't dare..."

Igraine trailed off.

"He would have taken you from me. All he cared about was your potential. Don't believe what he says, he would have seen me die Arthur! He didn't care about me, only the fact that I was to produce you."

Arthur blinked, stunned by those words. The next thing he said he blurted out without realising. His mind processed information, and some part of him seemed to be ahead of that, already knowing the truth. He watched his mother draw away, staring up at him in shock. Arthur looked down at her, letting the thoughts wash through his mind. Because what he heard, didn't sound right. In fact, it sounded right, but it was wrong.

There was no doubt, when the time was right, Uther wouldn't have had a second thought about sending him away from Igraine. There would be a point when Uther would insist on Arthur becoming independent. Morgana had been sent away to school in that way. But on the flip side Arthur felt that his father would have enjoyed, indulged, the early years of Igraine and Arthur together. He had hinted that he would have done anything to keep that unit safe. Even Cornelius Segan had hinted that Uther would have murdered to save his wife's life.

Arthur watched the image of his mother pull back, an expression of confusion on her face. Again Arthur's mind flickered with images of Igraine, the ones he remembered; of her looking tired, the pain of her illness etched into her face. It was something she had never bothered to hide, and certainly not from him. Her pale, fragile features looked too perfect now. This was the way Morgause remembered her. He supposed the dead could come back as they wished, restoring themselves to their former glory, but he didn't feel convinced.

"Arthur, what? I don't understand."

He repeated what he wanted to know. So many things clarified in his head. His mother wouldn't lie to him; she wouldn't. It now made sense to him; all of it.

"What was his name?" Arthur repeated.

Memories flickered in his head as he looked at her. Those first five years of his life, the memories had always remained strong. He had read somewhere that memories only started to stay with people when they reached the age of three. But instinct remained before that. Arthur remembered too much, and he had never forgotten it. For so long he had held onto it, but it was hard to keep the details sometimes and one thing now flickered in his mind, suddenly having a significance that it had never had before.

All he had previously remembered of that moment was coming back with his ice cream looking at the living remnant that was his mother. The bald head, the skin tight on her bones and the aura of sickness that emanated from her. Now he remembered more, as he looked at the far too perfect image he was faced with now. His mother's words from those years ago walked round his head.

"I know it won't be nice, Arthur. But someone will look after you, if the bad thing happens to me. They'll be there, I'll make sure."

The words slammed into his memory, and he blinked, shook his head and let it reiterate itself in his head. By the tone of her voice, and her intonation, there was only one person she meant by that. She meant her husband, his father; and Gaius, and all the others who would come along. People assumed she hadn't tried to find Uther, there had been no indication of such a thing. Arthur's stomach stirred coldly as it occurred to him, there was only one person who could have prevented it. Who had time, and patienc,e and immortality and who, first time round, had not trusted Uther Pendragon.

The conversation he had had last night was not just to give him information, it was an apology. Very well disguised but Merlin had almost confessed, he had got it wrong. He had left Arthur to his own fate, to allow him to grow. Arthur smirked, that was the last thing; Merlin had waited, the old version had waited for that last thing, to at least make sure Arthur was there, and he had prepared the ground with Uther. Merlin had come to Uther, and tested him and Merlin didn't even realise now, in his youthful version, what he had done. He had tested those boundaries before Arthur had come up on anyone's radar.

"You must remember Mum. You were forever sewing him back together, I threw a tantrum once when you washed him. And you always sprayed him with your perfume, so he'd always smell of you."

"Arthur, it's not important."

"Actually," Arthur said, very carefully taking hold of the image, which was a bit weird he decided, and he stepped back away from her, holding her at arms length. "It's very important. Because you're not my mother. You look like her, you sound like her, but you are the person Morgause remembers. You're not my mother, because my mother would never lie to me."

She pushed forward against his hands. "I'm not lying."

"Yes, you are. You just don't realise how you are lying. You'd never look like this to me. Never, even once, did mum shirk the truth of what might happen. If you were really my mum, from the dead, you'd come back looking as you did when you had cancer. That's what I remember of you, and you wouldn't even lie to yourself about that. You are just a well constructed image, and I know that Morgause tried this before, to use you to get to me.

"And you don't know the name of my teddy bear, so you are most definitely not my mother."

Arthur stepped back, staring at Igraine for a long moment. Uther probably had pictures of her, hundreds of them. No doubt if he asked his father, he would produce them for him to look at. At least he could now use this to put over his own memory, so he could remember her now, as she was before he had come along, and she had carried whatever curse had been meant for him.

"Don't leave me Arthur... please..."

He had already turned away from her. Nothing she could say would change his mind, because she was not his mother. Nothing even close. No one but himself knew who she really was, at least for those years. That all belonged to Arthur, and Arthur alone.

"Come on Boris." Arthur frowned and looked around. "Boris?"

The wyvern wasn't in the immediate vicinity. Arthur stepped towards the trees to make his way back to the camp.

"You think we will just let you go?" Morgause snapped. Turning back Arthur realised the circle was empty again. He shrugged.

"Don't have much choice do you? You have to wait to see the outcome of..."

Arthur tailed off, turning in time to see Boris cavorting through the trees a long string of sausages in his mouth and someone from the camp running after him. All things considered it suddenly looked like the most ludicrous thing Arthur had ever seen and he laughed loudly. He turned to address Cenred rather than Morgause.

"I think the full English is off the menu. Boris, enough of that!"

Boris lifted his nose and snorted, his jaw still clamped on his prize but he ran down the hill in the direction they needed to go to get back to return to the island.

"This is not over!" Mordred snarled. "And you can tell my cousin, I'll see her soon."

Arthur paused and turned again. Boris snarled as Arthur covered the distance between himself and Mordred. The youth tensed, straightening up and glaring at Arthur. Arthur smirked, and responded to the threat to Morgana.

"You know what, I don't think I will. Now if you don't mind, I have to get back."

Arthur did feel a moment's sorrow as he walked away, he glanced at the empty circle, shrugged and then turned. Boris huffed in satisfaction. Arthur guessed he had done the right thing, that, or Boris really, really, liked sausages.