Chapter 7
Arthur took point, while the other two followed behind. He had been surprised when Mordred offered to go with them, but he had accepted. Besides, according to him, if they didn't have a druid with them, the trees would attack them again the moment they left camp and he had already been poisoned enough for two lifetimes.
Merlin was thinking about Mordred, remembering what Kilgharrah had told him long ago; as long as Mordred lives he cannot fulfill his destiny. According to the dragon Mordred was destined to kill Arthur, destroying forever any chance of peace between magical and non-magical beings. However that wasn't the only voice in his head. He also remembered Dragoon's words; prophecies are not set in stone and sometimes what you do to prevent a vision is exactly what makes it happen. Ultimately, what had Mordred actually done? Sure, he had been with Alvarr when they convinced Morgana to steal the Crystal of Neahtid, but it had probably been Alvarr's idea; and yes, he had killed some knights, but it had been in self-defense. Why had he saved Arthur if he was destined to kill him?
In Mordred's case, he was trying hard not to smile; he was actually going on a quest with Arthur and Emrys! How many times had he dreamt of this? This was almost perfect. Almost… Why did Emrys keep looking at him like he had done something bad?
Arthur moved his horse next to the druid. "So Mordred, what have you been up to all this years?" he asked.
Mordred pondered where to start. "Well, after you left me with Iseldir, he took me to a druid camp that was led by a man called Aglain. He took good care of me and I was happy there, but unfortunately a year later the camp was raided. I managed to escape, but many others didn't, including Aglain."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Arthur said. "Who attacked you?"
Mordred looked at Merlin and then back at Arthur. "A group of bandits, probably looking for something of value," he answered.
Merlin knew that he was lying and he was grateful to him for that. He still remembered when Arthur and his men had attacked that camp, looking for Morgana who they thought had been kidnapped, when in reality she had been there seeking help with her magic. He felt guilty. In more than one way the raid had been his own fault; he had been who sent Morgana to the druid camp and he had been the one Arthur's men followed to reach it. He still had nightmares about that day.
"Anyway," Mordred continued, "after that, I spent some time living in the forest, hiding from the bandits. I still don't know how many days I was there, but I know that I would have died if it wasn't for another druid who found me. However, this was also my doom, because the fact that he had saved my life blinded me to his true intentions. He didn't care for me; he only cared for my powers. Unfortunately I didn't realize this until after I helped him do some things that I'm not proud of."
Mordred looked at Arthur and then down to the ground. "The druid's name was Alvarr; he's the one who stole the Crystal of Neahtid and I helped him; I'm sorry, I really, really am."
Mordred looked away, waiting for a scolding that never came; instead he felt Arthur's hand on his shoulder.
"Mordred, it's fine. You were just a kid; it wasn't your fault," Arthur said.
Mordred looked at him wide-eyed. "You forgive me?"
"Of course," Arthur answered with a smile.
Mordred's face lighted up. "You have no idea what that means to me, thank you," he said.
Arthur nodded in acknowledgment. "So, what happened next?"
"Where was I? Oh yes, Alvarr… When you captured him I was hiding nearby; I knew that he would escape, so I stayed in the camp waiting for him to come back. After two days I heard he had fled from Camelot's prison and I started to get ready for when he arrived." Mordred took a deep breath. "I waited him for a week before realizing he wasn't going to come back for me. That's when I understood his true nature; he didn't have any more use for me, so he left me behind.
"Once again I was alone, everyone who I ever cared for were dead or had betrayed me. I didn't know what to do, so… I did nothing." He looked down again, ashamed of how easily he had given up. However, he reminded himself that not everything about that time had been bad; he had met her. "The next thing I remember is Kara kissing me," Mordred said, blushing slightly.
Both Arthur and Merlin stopped their horses and looked at him. "Wait, what?" Arthur asked.
The confusion in their faces made Mordred laugh. "Is a druid healing technique that's used on people who are very weak; you could say she breathed life into me."
"So, you weren't actually dead?" Arthur asked.
"No," Mordred answered, "if I were, there was nothing she could have done. The only way to bring someone back from the dead is using the Cup of Life, but as druids we are forbidden to do so; the cost is too high."
Arthur was surprised to learn that the druids didn't use the cup that way. "How high?" he asked.
Mordred looked at the sky and started reciting a small poem that Lochru had taught him:
"A life for a life, a soul for a soul;
the balance of the world must be kept.
An exchange of two bound by love;
that's the price one must accept."
Now it was Merlin's turn to be confused. "Bound by love?" he asked.
"Yes, you can't use just anyone's life to resurrect someone; it has to be someone he loved in his life, or at least someone he cared for. You see why we forbade its use; it's just too cruel for one to live knowing that you are responsible for the death of someone you loved," Mordred said.
Merlin's mind went to the time when he had used the cup to save Arthur's life. His mother's life was the price to save Arthur, and Gaius' life the price to save her, and that made sense. However, if what Mordred said was true, how could had he used Nimueh's life to save Gaius? He would have to ask Gaius about this later.
"Moving on," Mordred continued, "luckily for me I wasn't dead, so she saved me and brought me to Lochru's camp. At first it was hard, I didn't trust anybody anymore, but they were very good to me and after some time I gave them a chance. Like you already saw, eventually I became part of their camp and now I'm really happy there."
"And you got yourself a girlfriend," Arthur added, smirking.
Mordred blushed again and cleared his throat. "We shouldn't be far now," he said, changing the subject, "according to the elders, the flower grows in a garden just across that swamp."
"Oh, do you mean just across that unbelievable large swamp?" Merlin asked.
"Don't pay him any attention," Arthur told Mordred, "he just likes to complain."
"Prat," Merlin said.
Arthur pretended he didn't listen. "Think it like this Merlin," he said, "the sooner we go in there, the sooner we are back in Camelot."
"And then I'll have to clean that swamp off your armor, I can't wait!" Merlin said, sarcastically.
Arthur could see that Merlin had a point there. "Alright then, I'll tell you what, if you reach the swamp before me I'll give you one day off."
"Really?" Merlin asked.
Arthur nodded and extended his hand towards Merlin, who shook it firmly.
.
.
.
It had been half an hour since they finished crossing the swamp, and Merlin was still trying to get the stench out of his nose. Even then he was smiling; he had won the race, and with that, a day off. Maybe it wasn't his best idea using magic to make his horse go faster, but a day off was a day off.
"I still can't believe that I was beaten by Merlin," Arthur said, remarking his name.
"You can't win them all Arthur," Merlin said.
"I usually do," Arthur replied.
Merlin let out a small laugh and shook his head in amusement.
"Here we are, the Grim Gardens," Mordred told the others.
Up ahead, Merlin could see a narrow road surrounded by some strange flowers, which were definitely not the Flower of Destiny. They looked like a sunflower with big black petals and a red core, and they reached almost six feet tall, making hard to see where the road led. "Arthur, would it be too much to ask that once in a while we go somewhere with a friendlier name? Like the Great Gardens or the Gleaming Gardens, for instance," Merlin asked.
"But there is nothing exciting about those places," Arthur protested.
"Exactly…"
"Come on Merlin, don't be such a girl," Arthur said, smiling, and looked at the druid. "Mordred, any insights on what we'll found?"
"I've never gone in there, but I've heard a legend about this place. It seems that a long time ago there was a big battle here, which led to countless deaths. The legend says that the bodies of those who died were swallowed by the ground and that the rage and hatred in those men arise to the surface in the form of the flowers we see now. It's said that there is one flower for every man who was slain here."
"Did you hear that Arthur?" Merlin asked, sarcastically. "Legends!"
"Oh, we'll be fine," Arthur replied. "One thing I don't get though; why is something like the Flower of Destiny in a place like this?"
"I was getting there," Mordred said. "After seeing all the death, the rulers of the battling kingdoms decided that it was enough and they accepted to sign a peace treaty. To remind themselves of what this war cost to their people, they decided to sign it in the middle of this battlefield. According to the stories, there is a clearing where they signed the treaty, and in the middle of it a lonely flower…"
"The Flower of Destiny," Merlin finished for him.
"Exactly," Mordred said.
Arthur nodded and looked ahead. "The path is too narrow for the horses; we'll have to walk the rest of the way."
Merlin was about to protest when Arthur's deathly stare stopped him. He got down from his horse and started to follow Arthur who was already entering the path with his sword unsheathed.
"At least try not to cut anything unless it's absolutely necessary," Merlin told Arthur, knowing of his habits of using his sword first and asking questions later.
"Merlin, I'm the king; you can't tell me what to do," Arthur replied, expecting some comeback from Merlin; however, when some time passed and Merlin hadn't insulted him in return, he knew he had gone too far. "I'll try," he added.
.
.
.
It took them almost an hour to reach the end of the path, and like Mordred had said, in front of them stood a small clearing with a flower in the center. It was the size of a normal rose, but it looked like it was made of crystal.
"There it is! The Flower of Destiny…" Arthur said and started walking towards it.
Merlin followed behind. "Remember, you have to be careful with the roots," he said.
"I know Merlin, I know," Arthur said. After some careful digging he picked the flower and placed it in a special pouch he had brought with him.
"Well, that was easy," Mordred said.
Both Merlin and Arthur suddenly turned to face him. "Don't say that!" Merlin yelled at him. "Rule number one of questing is never saying things like 'that was easy', 'it could have been worse', 'is that it?', and so on."
"Why?" Mordred asked, confused.
Arthur was the one to respond. "Well, it seems that every time someone says something like that—"
Suddenly he was interrupted by a loud noise coming from all around them. The floor started cracking and several skeleton hands broke through the ground, which were, unfortunately for them, followed by the rest of the skeleton.
"That happens," Arthur finished pointing at the skeletons coming at them. "So, Merlin, do you think I can use my sword now?" he asked.
"I think this qualifies as 'absolutely necessary'," Merlin answered.
"Good, get ready then, and aim for the head! The limbs still attack you even if they are unattached," Arthur said, remembering the skeleton attack on Camelot.
Arthur engaged the first skeleton, and he was ready for a great fight when the skeleton practically exploded at the touch of his sword.
"Alright, that's new," he said, looking at his sword in surprise.
He destroyed two more before turning to see how the others were doing. He saw Mordred using a spell that summoned vines from the ground which wrapped themselves around the skeletons, making them an easy target for Mordred's sword. Arthur felt weird fighting alongside someone with magic, but right now he had no choice. He looked to the other side of the clearing and to his surprise Merlin had already killed two skeletons and was fighting a third one. When did the boy who couldn't catch a mace learn to fight like that?
Since there were no more skeletons in his side he moved next to Merlin to stop the skeletons from flanking him.
"You are getting good Merlin!" Arthur said, watching as Merlin embedded his sword in the skeleton's skull, making it collapse to the ground.
"Thanks, I've been practicing," Merlin replied.
A few sword swings later, Arthur and Merlin were fighting alongside Mordred the last skeletons remaining, which didn't last long.
Mordred walked slowly to a rock nearby and sat trying to catch his breath. "I'm glad that's over," he said.
Arthur and Merlin looked at him again. "Didn't you learn anything?" Merlin asked him.
"Oh, come on Em— Merlin, there is no way that saying some words can make something bad happen", Mordred said, smiling. Since they just kept staring at him he began to grow nervous and started looking around. "Right?" he asked.
As if answering his question the ground began to tremble again, and this time stronger than before. It felt like the whole garden was breaking apart, and from the number of skeletons that was coming towards them, it probably was.
The three of them stood in the middle of the clearing, back against back. "Any ideas?" Arthur asked.
"Mordred, tell Arthur to raise his sword and close his eyes," Merlin told Mordred telepathically.
Mordred looked at him asking him for an explanation, but Merlin only gave him a 'just do it' look.
There wasn't time to waste arguing. "Arthur," Mordred said, "I have a plan, but I need you to raise your sword and close your eyes."
"Why? Are you going to use magic?" Arthur asked.
"I think so…" Mordred answered and glanced at Merlin. "Yes," he added seeing Merlin nod discreetly.
Arthur was torn. If he did as Mordred said, he would be, in a way, using magic himself, which he had promised himself never to do again after what happened with his father. However, if he didn't do what Mordred had said, they would very likely be skeleton food in no time. Alright, maybe it wasn't that hard of a choice after all. Arthur looked at Merlin who nodded in agreement, and then did as he had been told.
The second Arthur closed his eyes (which wasn't actually part of the spell) Merlin positioned himself in front of him, stretched his hand towards the sword and his eyes began to glow. Casting silent spells like this was twice as hard, but his training with Dragoon this last two weeks had paid off.
Mordred looked at the scene with wide eyes. He had already seen Merlin doing magic, but this was the first time he had actually seen Emrys, the man who was destined to be most powerful sorcerer who had ever lived. He could feel the power of the spell in the air, and the fact that he was doing it without speaking the words made everything more unbelievable; even Lochru himself would have trouble pulling this off.
Merlin finished the spell and Arthur's sword began to glow with a golden light. Merlin looked around and saw that the skeletons were just a few feet away from them.
"Arthur! Thrust the sword into the ground! Now!" Merlin yelled at him.
Arthur opened back his eyes, grabbed his sword with both hands and plunged it down. When the sword touched the ground its golden light started to spread along the cracks until every one of them was also glowing gold. The three of them watched as the light grew brighter and brighter, until they could no longer see behind the clearing. An explosion of light forced them to close their eyes and when they opened them a lot of things had changed. There was no light, no skeletons, no cracks in the ground, and no black and red flowers. Instead, they were surrounded by a garden of normal sunflowers looking at the sun.
"I think they'll have to change the name of this place," Merlin said, jokingly.
"What do you think of the Golden Gardens?" Mordred asked.
Merlin looked around. "It certainly fits," he answered.
"See Merlin," Arthur said, "your wish has been fulfilled; we are in a place with a friendlier name."
Merlin chuckled. "Not exactly what I had in mind, but I guess it's better than nothing."
"That's the spirit, now let's get out of here before Mordred opens his mouth again," Arthur said.
"Hey!" Mordred protested.
Arthur smiled at him. "I'm just kidding; if it weren't for you we would probably be dead by now, what was that light?"
"Oh, the light… Yeah… It was… It was… a spell to banish the undead," Mordred guessed.
"It seemed pretty powerful, where did you learn it?" Arthur asked.
Mordred was starting to stutter when Merlin interceded. "Arthur, don't you think that we can talk about this later? It's getting late and it would be wise to get to the druid's camp before nightfall."
"You are right, sorry, I was just curious; let's get going then," Arthur said.
"Thank you Emrys," Mordred told Merlin telepathically.
"No, thank you," he replied.
On the way back Mordred was smiling; he had been on a quest with Arthur and Emrys and had fought alongside them! How many times had he dreamt of that? He looked ahead and saw Arthur hitting Emrys on the head while they both laughed. This was perfect.
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A/N: I hope you liked it!
Thanks SunnySmile1324 , QueenKordeilia, sdsmile and The PhantomHokage for the reviews of the last chapter =D
I decided to split this chapter in two (7 and 8) so I could submit this part today. The good news is that I have most of the other part already written so it shouldn't take too long for me to submit the next chapter.
So, as you can see, my take on Mordred is that he sees Arthur and Merlin as some sort of older brothers that once upon a time saved his life. Arthur reciprocates this feeling, but Merlin is a bit confused with all the prophecies stuff (more on this next chapter).
SunnySmile1324: I know that I'm leaving Mergana a bit aside, but I need some background to work with afterwards. The next chapter will have a flashback of sorts with Morgana and I think she'll appear in 'real time' two chapters after that.
EDIT: Changed the format a bit.