Author's note: Hey, Guys! Here's another chapter. A huge thanks to Teekalin, mersan123, saroura92, Dizi Lyali and CHARLES CHUKU for their kind reviews. I am glad that people are loving Aren. Oh! Dunwall is the name of a city of the video game 'Dishonoured'. Suo Gan is the opening song of 'Empire of the sun'. So, enough with my babbling ; let's jump into action.

Chapter 4

His golden eyes

Thousands of soldiers were gathered at the outskirt of the city. Almost 2500 men were assembled for the assault. War machines were also being readied by the engineers of the army. Supplies were readied for the seven days' march on Dunwall by the servants. Evereyone in Camelot was busy. The people were very happy , which was very odd before a battle. But this battle was different. In all the previous battles against Morgana, Camelot was taken by surprise. But this time Camelot had the element of surprise against Morgana. 'The tale of Mordred's heroism' was already widespread throughout the city. People had already begun to praise the young man's bravery for standing against Morgana . Some even dubbed him as 'The noblest of them all'. Hearing the title given to Mordred angered Merlin so much. Lancelot was the noblest knight. How could people compare the young knight to the man who saved all of Camelot from the Dorocha was beyond him. And he still wasn't sure if Mordred's intentions were noble. The knight talked with him this morning. And his words left him with more questions than answers. He was bringing breakfast to the royal chamber when he met Mordred.

Mordred appologised to him for his previous rash behaviours towards Merlin. Merlin was utterly confused. The Druid boy seemed genuinly sorry. But something was still telling him in his mind that the boy had some uterior motive. So although Merlin accepted Mordred's appolgy, he was going to keep an eye on the Druid boy. Right now, he was helping his king to wear armour. They were both silent. The two of them spoke no words after yesterday's confrontation. They were silent for the entire morning. Merlin broke the silence.

" You are ready for battle , sire. Here is your sword."

He stretched out Excalibur towards Arthur which was glowing because of the sunlight poured onto it through the window. It was very beautiful.

Arthur took the sword and began to speak," Merlin, what I told yeste-" But Merlin cut him short.

"If his majesty does not need anything now, I will take my leave." Arthur understood that his words caused Merlin pain. That's why he was trying to avoid conversation. But Arthur must amend himself. What he said previous day was horrible. So he said quickly without giving Merlin a chance to interrupt him.

"That will be all. And I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

Merlin stood still in front of Arthur for a moment. Then said," A master shouldn't appologise to his servant. I will take my leave now, sire. " Then giving a short bow, Merlin exited the room.

Arthur sighed in defeat. Merlin took his words seriously this time. He still didn't forgive Arthur which was highly un-Merlin type behaviour. Merlin always forgave him no matter what he did to him. So that meant this time Merlin was seriously offended by his words. But how could that idiot think that he could protect his king was unthinkable. Still Merlin was the best friend he had. He was utmost loyal to him. 'I must have a serious talk with him after the battle.' Arthur took a mental note. Then he went out of his room to meet the army for the final preparation.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

All of the knights exited the castle and joined the army at mid-morning. All knights except one. Mordred was walking through the castle corridors . He had started the first phase of his plan a few minutes ago. He had told Morgana of the army using an amulet which increased the range of his telepathy. Morgana ensured him that all was going well in Dunwall. And reminded him to complete the second phase. Mordred assured her that he would not fail. Now he was heading towards the royal chamber. The queen was with the king now. So that meant Aren was alone with his nanny and some guards. But he stopped in the midway when he heard the prince's voice and hid in a nearby alcoove.

"Uncle Merl, Take me." Aren said. He was standing outside his room's door.

Merlin's voice said, "No, Aren. We're going to war. You can't go there. We'll return within two weeks. We'll take you with us when you'll be a big boy. Okay. Now go to your room and be good with your nanny. Your mummy will return soon. Bye, Little prince." Merlin gave Aren a short kiss on his cheek and Aren returned it.

"Bye, Uncle. Come back soon." Aren was a little sad but he never disobeyed Merlin's words. He was more obedient to Merlin than Arthur himself. So he turned around and began to enter his room. Now he was alone in the hallway.

Mordred came out of his hiding place when Merlin went away and called," Little prince."

Aren looked at Mordred and came forward. He asked ," What?" The prince was not quite fond of Mordred. 'Just like his uncle' Mordred thought.

"Will you go with me to war, Aren?" Mordred asked with a smile.

" But Uncle said no."

"C'mon. It'll be fun." Mordred insisted.

"No," Aren said firmly.

Mordred was greatly annoyed now. The prince was a tough nut to crack. Oh well. Mordred's eyes turned gold for a moment and Aren fell into sleep.

"Sleep now, Little prince. Soon you'll be the undoing of your beloved uncle."

Mordred took Aren in his arms and went out of the castle through the siege tunnel and handed the prince to another druid named Ari, an ally of Morgana.

"You know what to do." Mordred said.

Ari smiled and said," Yes, the lady's work will be done and Emrys will be ours."

"Good. Now be on your way."

A whirlwind encircled Ari and then he was gone . Mordred smiled and ran at the top of his speed to join the army. A few hours later when Gwen came back from the edge of the southern woods bading farewell to the Army, Aren was nowhere to be found . The warning bell began to ring . And when Gwen wanted to send out a messenger to Arthur, she found all of them were dead. All of them were suffocated to death.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

When Merlin joined the army, he didn't find Mordred. That made him worried. Before leaving the castle, he checked on Aithusa's sword and it was still in Arthur's room. But if Mordred was not here, then that meant he went to replace the sword. His thoughts were making him worry so much. But soon, he saw Mordred and he was bearing a regular knight's sword. Seeing it lessened his worry a little. Perhaps he was worrying too much. Perhaps Gaius was right. But then again the word 'perhaps' bothered him. He couldn't be sure about Mordred. He won't be able to trust him fully. He realized how much he had changed. When he came to Camelot, he was a boy of eighteen who was naive, who trusted the people with whom he just met without a second thought. But now, he was a fully grown man of twenty-five who had become much harder than the cheerful boy he once was. He heard that time changes man. That was very much true for him. Heaving a sigh, he marched with the army towards Fort Dunwall bearing a sense of uneasiness in his mind.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

After a week's march, they reached the fort. It was in the middle of the dense forest and sat atop a hill. Arthur ordered the army to make camp on a nearby hill. The castle was clearly seen from there. The catapults were in position soon. And with the king's command, engineers began to bombard the fort . Merlin was almost sure that the barrage wouldn't harm the fort as Morgana had surely put some enchantment on the wall. So he was very much astonished when the stones began to hit the fort's wall. Soon the wall of the northern side of the fortress collapsed. Arthur and his men began to cheer. Mordred also joined them. Then the ground assault began. The entire army began to climb through the dangerous path leading to the northern gate of the fort. The saxon defenders tried to stop them using bow and arrow. But it seemed like that they had lost their morale to fight. Merlin didn't have to use magic once to protect Arthur which was a record. Merlin was becoming very much anxious. The battle seemed too easy. And where the hell was Morgana? Why wasn't she coming out? Did she already flee? These thoughts were whirling inside his mind when an arrow shot passed his ear. "Careful, there, mate." Gwaine told Merlin. He was engaging with a saxon guard and soon the knight defeated him. Then he came closer to Merlin and said," What's the matter? You look worried."

"This battle is proving to be too easy. And where the hell is Morgana?"

" That is also my question. But the battle should be easy. We outnumber them almost four to one."

" Yeah. Right. I hope this battle gets over soon."

And soon the battle came to an end. The Camelotian army Overwhelmed the saxons and almost all of them were killed. Those who survived , soon fled the castle. The army began to cheer. Then all of a sudden, a bone- chilling laugh echoed throughout the fort. All began to look for the source and soon they found it. A man was standing at the top of the tallest lookout tower of the castle and he was the source of the eery laugh. He stopped laughing and said, "You think you've won. But you are wrong. My lady already knew about the attack and left for her other hideout. She will soon be successful, Arthur Pendragon. And you will not be able to stop her."

Arthur shouted to his men ," Arrest him."

The man laughed and flicked his hand. A hovering small figure came from his behind. It was a boy of maybe three or four years. He was sleeping. Merlin recognized him instantly and a terror seized his heart. It was Aren.

" Oooh. Then you don't want your son? Pity."

He flicked his hand again and Aren was now on the air. Merlin realized what the sorceror was planning. He wanted to shout. But Arthur beated him to it. "Let my son go."

"Okay. " the sorcerors eye shone golden again and Aren began to fall. The man gave a last high-pitched laugh and vanished.

Arthur was shouting in terror. His only son was falling at high speed. He would be dead soon. There's nothing he could do. But suddenly Aren slowed and he began to land at a slow pace. He was very confused. But all his confusions were gone, when he looked at Merlin. His eyes were not the usual sapphaire blue. Instead his eyes were pure blazing golden.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sorry, this chapte is a little short. Next chapter will be much bigger. Whump and Angst is coming soon. Please, leave a review.

Today's question: What is your favourite movie? Mine is Inception. If you haven't seen it, watch it soon. It's amazing.

Next chapter: The aftermath of the reveal and the third phase of Mordred and Morgana's plan.

See you later, guys. Next update will be a little late as I have some exams to catch up to.