Disclaimer: Iyay oday otnay ownyay Erlinmay.
Chapter 5: The Prisoner
One day, when Mordred had been living with his mother for a few months, she unexpectedly announced that they were taking a trip.
"Where are we going?" Mordred asked.
"To the castle of Fyrien," Morgause responded, "I have business to attend to there and we'll be staying there for a while."
The way she said "business" struck Mordred as ominous, but he didn't ask any more questions.
They rode for the Castle of Fyrien in the dark of the night. Mordred fashioned a sort of sling for Eirlys, so he could carry her in it while he rode the horse. He refused point blank to leave her behind as his mother suggested.
Eirlys slept through most of the journey, only waking up when they were within sight of the castle. She wiggled around in the sling, then looked up at Mordred, tilting her head to the side as if asking a question.
"I'll let you down when we get to the castle," he whispered to her.
Eirlys let out a bark and Morgause looked back in irritation.
"Shh," Mordred said. He stroked Eirlys' back and she settled down.
As dawn was breaking they reached the castle and rode into the courtyard. Mordred dropped lightly down from his horse, keeping a hold of Eirlys so she didn't fall.
Handing the reins of her horse to one of the guards waiting in the courtyard, Morgause strode toward the castle and Mordred had to hurry to keep up with her.
Once inside the castle, Morgause strode to the doors of the throne room without breaking pace.
The two guards standing outside it hurried to open the door for her.
Mordred followed his mother into the throne room. There was a man lounging on the throne. He had long, dark hair and wore tight-fitting black clothes.
He rose from the throne when he spotted Morgause, smiling, "My dear Morgause. What a pleasure."
"Cenred." Morgause returned coldly.
Cenred? Mordred thought, So this was the king of Essetir…
Morgause beckoned Mordred and he stepped forward.
"My son, Mordred," she presented him coolly.
"Ah, yes," Cenred smiled down at Mordred, "I have heard much about you, Mordred."
Mordred just regarded him silently. He decided he didn't like Cenred much.
Apparently Eirlys shared Mordred's distaste. She stuck her head up out of the sling and growled at Cenred. Mordred hid a smirk.
Cenred gestured lazily to one of his guards, "Why don't you take the boy to a bedroom? I'm sure he's tired from his travels and his mother and I have much to discuss." He gave Morgause a smile that looked more like a leer.
Mordred followed the guard silently. He led Mordred to a bedroom, then left quickly. As he shut the door, Mordred heard him mutter something that sounded like "Spooky boy…"
Mordred was tired and wanted to sleep, but Eirlys had only recently woken up and she wanted to play. It took some time before he could get her to settle down, but once he was in bed, sleep came quickly, and he didn't wake until mid-day.
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Perhaps because he had slept so late in the morning, Mordred found himself unable to sleep that night. He had no idea what his mother and Cenred were doing here. He had been kept away from the throne room all day, and had seen neither his mother nor Cenred.
He left his room with Eirlys at his side and began to explore the old castle.
After wondering the castle for a while, he descended a staircase and found himself in the castle dungeons. There was a single guard posted, but he was asleep. He looked around the place warily, reminded of the short time he had spent in a cell in Camelot. But instead of bars, these cells had iron doors with a small flap in them that could be opened and closed.
Mordred turned to leave the dungeons. He had his foot on the first stair when he realized that Eirlys wasn't following him. He turned back and saw her sniffing at the door to one of the cells. She whined softly.
"What is it, girl?" Mordred walked back towards her and examined the cell door. He could reach the flap, but it was higher than his eye level. He found a dusty old crate in the corner of the dungeons and dragged it over to the door.
He took the lit torch from its brazier on the wall, then climbed up on the crate and slid the flap in the door open.
There was a man inside the cell. He had been sleeping, but he stirred at the sound of the flap sliding open.
He sat up and looked toward Mordred, no doubt expecting to see a guard or perhaps Cenred or Morgause. He was a young man with dark skin and short dark hair.
His eyes widened when he saw Mordred.
"Who're you?" his voice was hoarse.
"My name is Mordred," Mordred replied, "Who are you?"
"I'm Elyan," the man said, standing up to get a better look at Mordred, "What are you doing here?"
"My mother brought me here," Mordred answered.
"Your mother?" Elyan seemed puzzled.
Mordred nodded, "She's working with Cenred."
Elyan scowled at the name.
"Why are they keeping you here?" Mordred asked.
"I don't know," Elyan's voice was frustrated, "All I know I they kidnapped me from my forge. And the brought my sister here too, but I don't know what they did with her."
Mordred could hear the worry in Elyan's voice when he spoke of his sister.
"Hang on," he said, "I'll see if I can find her."
He climbed down from the box and pushed it over to the next cell. Sliding the panel open, he held the torch up and shone it into the cell. It was empty. He repeated the process with all of the other cells and found them all empty.
He dragged the box back over to Elyan's cell and peered in again, "She isn't here. All the other cells are empty."
He saw the worry pass over Elyan's face as the older man wondered what this might mean.
"I don't understand what they want with us!" Elyan burst out, "I'm just a blacksmith and Gwen's only a serving girl."
An expression of startlement crossed Mordred's face at the name Gwen, but Elyan didn't notice. Again his mind went back to his time in the city of Camelot.
In his mind's eye, he saw a stone ceiling above him, and two worried faces hovering over them, one of them belonging to Morgana, and one to a young woman with dark skin, though quite a bit paler than Elyan's. Gwen was the name of Morgana's maid servant. Mordred doubted that it was a coincidence.
Elyan coughed.
"I don't suppose you have any water?" he asked Mordred hoarsely.
"Hang on," Mordred replied, "I'll get you some."
He stepped down from the crate and replaced the torch in its brazier. He walked over to the table where the guard slept, but all he found there was an empty jug that from the smell of it had contained strong wine earlier that night.
He left the dungeon with Eirlys at his heels and made his way back to his bedroom, where he knew there was a jug of water on a small table.
He retrieved the jug and was about to head back to the dungeon when he had another idea. He took a detour and entered the kitchens, which were dark and silent at this time of night.
He set the jug down on the table, then rummaged around until he had found some cheese, a few strips of dried, salted meat, and a loaf of bread that had been baked earlier that day. He fed Eirlys one of the strips of meat, then wrapped the rest of the food in a cloth.
Carrying the bundle and the jug, he made his way back to the dungeons.
The guard didn't stir as Mordred passed him once more.
Mordred set the jug and the bundle of food down on the crate, then retrieved the torch again.
"I brought you some food too," he said to Elyan as he opened the slot in the door.
He handed first the jug of water, then the bundle of food to Elyan through the slot.
"Thank you," Elyan said, taking a long drink from the jug.
"You should thank Eirlys," Mordred told him, "I wouldn't have found you without her."
"Eirlys?" Elyan asked, his tone puzzled.
"My dog," Mordred scooped up the puppy, then held her up so Elyan could see, being careful to keep the torch away from her, "She sniffed at your cell door and whined."
Elyan flashed a grin, "Well, in that case, thank you, Eirlys."
Mordred set Eirlys down on the floor again as Elyan began to eat the food Mordred had brought him.
"You better give me the jug and the cloth back when you're done, I think," Mordred said, "Otherwise they might wonder how it got in your cell."
Elyan nodded, "Good thinking." He finished the food and water, then handed the jug and cloth back to Mordred.
"Thank you," he said again, "You're a good boy, Mordred." He flashed another smile, "And you have a good dog, too."
Mordred smiled back, "Thank you." For some reason, Elyan's words affected him deeply. So often, especially since learning of the prophecy about him, he had felt ashamed, like there was something wrong with him. He had wondered if his father would be ashamed of him. He had felt anything but good. But he knew his father would be proud of him for helping Elyan. It was something Cerdan would have done himself.
"I better go," he said to Elyan, "I'll try to come back tomorrow. And maybe I can find out what happened to your sister. Good night, Elyan," he added.
"Good night, Mordred." Elyan replied.
Mordred slid the slot in the door closed and climbed down from the crate. He replaced the torch in its brazier once more and then returned the crate to the corner where he'd found it.
"Come on, Eirlys," he said, stooping to pick up the cloth and the jug. His puppy trotted at his heels as he made his way back to his room, where he set the jug and the cloth down on the little table and then climbed into bed. Eirlys hopped up beside him.
Mordred yawned, "I wonder what my mother and Cenred are planning, bringing Morgana's maid servant and her brother here…"
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