Playing with Pawns

[mordred]

The emotion of the day made Mordred's head pound, but he kept his eyes on the warlock, seeing the way that Merlin's shoulders slouched.His eyebrows raised a little, wondering what new trickery this was, even as the flames sank into the ground. The druid let out a shuddered breath, lowering his head briefly to gather his emotions, even as Merlin began to speak again, contemplating the fate he was destined to bring about as the warlock spoke.

The brunette raised his head, letting his eyes connect with those of Merlin, sadness in his blue depths. What we are destined to become is not always something we wish to be, Emrys. He swallowed the sudden thickness in his throat, taking a slow breath. "You truly believe I am destined to kill your King. I can see that in your eyes. You would not have acted as you have today if you did not." He paused. "I meant to hide my magic from Arthur, for as long as I could. I meant to try and become your friend, to learn more about the gifts that you and I share, for there is so much that is a mystery to me. I meant to try and be your friend.... to help you protect the King." The druid's eyes lowered briefly to the floor.

"I see now... that destinies can be avoided by only one means." Gathering the power that still crackled gently, like a dying flame, Mordred closed his eyes, before closing his eyes, taking a slow breath before speaking, very quietly, his words meant for Merlin and Merlin alone. "Good luck, Emrys." he gave the warlock the tiniest of trembling smiles, before taking a last breath, speaking the words that would condemn him forever. "þu you belúcan," he murmured, keeping his eyes closed and feeling the effects automatically as his throat began to tighten, denying him the blessing of breath as he began to choke.

[youngwarlock]

"No...." The word escaped Merlin's lips so quietly that it could barely be heard as he stood, shocked and unable to move within the brief moment that Mordred had cast death upon himself. He watched as the boy began to choke, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Just moments ago Mordred had told him yet again that he wished only for friendship and to assist in protecting the King. The warlock had convinced himself that these were lies but it now seemed that the boy had been telling the truth all along! He was apparently willing to take his own life to save himself from the destiny that awaited him! Merlin, completely wracked by guilt at this, could take no more.

"NO!!!" This time the word escaped his lungs in a desperate scream as he rushed forward, collapsing onto his knee's before the druid and grasping at the boy's shoulders with both hands. "What have you done?!"

The warlock's mind raced as his eyes flickered around the room helplessly as though looking for a way to make all of this madness stop. He could feel warm droplets trailing down his face, not even realising they were his own tears as he brought his gaze back to the druid. The boy he had condemned so many years ago, to a fixed destiny that would never come to pass.

He watched through gritted teeth as Mordred struggled to breathe, his thoughts momentarily blank whilst panic and adrenaline coursed through him.

Seconds ticked by.

"I was willing to accept your friendship! I could have helped you fulfill the destiny you had chosen!!!" he cried, meaning every word he spoke.

"I won't let you die like this" Merlin confirmed via their telepathic link.

[mordred]

Too exhausted to reply as the life force drained from him, Mordred looked over at Merlin with tired, age-old eyes and a air of finality about him. The warlock's reaction to what he had done surprised the druid no end; did Merlin not want him dead, after all? Then why the flames? Why the fire, why the threat? Why the hatred? He let Merlin grasp his shoulders, not having the strenth to flinch away even if he had wanted to, managing a tiny, bitter smile, keeping his eyes to the ground. Ridding you of one more doubt. Was his telepathic answer, as the druid's lips began to turn blue from the lack of oxygen.

You would have forever been in doubt, forever feared me, and forever burdened yourself with the task of being my keeper. He argued,, using their telepathic connection alone now; too exhausted to attempt speaking. You may tell your King I took my own life, ashamed of whom I was. he paused, thinking. No. Tell him... tell him what you will. He does not need another reason to hate magic, as I fear he would if he learned why I have done this.

His face was beginning to turn an awful grey-blue as the life drained from him, and Mordred's eyes no longer held the glow to them that echoed his personality. I will not let you die like this. Merlin's words would have earned a snort out of the druid if he had had the strength, but the world was beginning to drift from him; drifting and sliding in and out of focus. Mordred sent a final thought to the warlock, using the last of his strength to do so.

I choose my fate, Merlin.

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[youngwarlock]

I choose my fate, Merlin.

But the druid had chosen this particular fate for the wrong reasons. He'd chosen it because of Merlin. Because of his careless words and wreckless actions. No. The warlock shook his head speechlessly in response, refusing to let the boy make this terrible mistake. If Mordred died, Merlin would not be able to live with himself. The druid's blood would be on his hands for all time. That thought alone was too much for the warlock to bear.

Realising that the boy was slipping out of consciousness, Merlin acted quickly, his hand trembling as he held his open palm above the boy's chest, forcing himself to recall the spell which Mordred had used to bring such a terrible fate upon himself.

"undón drýcræft! belúcan wanhlýte!"

The magic surged through Merlin in an instant, releasing its power and emitting a familiar golden glow from his eyes as he cast the enchantment in an attempt to reverse the effects of Mordred's spell....

[mordred]

The druid gasped back into life, his body jerking heavily in response to the magic that Merlin had cast, as it shuddered into being once more, his mind being ripped out of that dark, silent place that it had begun to condemn itself to. As Mordred's body and mind began to piece themselves back together into some kind of understanding, the druid boy's eyes opened, and he blinked twice, taking a deep breath as the world began to refocus. Above him, he saw Merlin; the last person he had expected to see, and somethign deep within the druid that he did not wish to even acknowledge winged a prayer in thanks to the gods that had sent Merlin to him.

As he waited for a few moments for his nerves to refire themselves and for feeling to come back into his system, the druid managed an exhausted smile up at Merlin, too tired to speak yet, but instead using their telepathic link, one he had thought never to use again. Thankyou, Emrys...

[youngwarlock]

"Mordred" he breathed, his chest heaving with a mixture of panic and relief as he watched the boy's eyes fall open. He'd done it. He'd reversed the spell and brought life back to the druid. This was his chance to make up for everything. This time he would trust the boy and help him to avoid the destiny so many had spoken of. It was his only option. The warlock only hoped that Mordred would not cast the same fate upon him that he'd just attempted upon himself. It was a risk Merlin was prepared to take.

Thankyou, Emrys...

The words were like music to his ears, or rather his mind as the druid spoke to him in thought, and slowly, a smile began to tug at the corners of the warlock's lips, followed by quite possibly the biggest sigh of relief to ever escape his lungs.
Merlin stayed silent for a moment, watching as the young druid came around. He was still quite unsure what to expect, but there was only one way he was going to make up for his actions, if he had any chance to at all... "I'm sorry... for everything." he said sincerely, knowing it wasn't really enough right now. But he was prepared to do whatever it took to make amends.

[mordred]

As the druid looked up at Merlin, still slowly regaining his strength, he prayed he could live up to the expectations that the warlock had now set. He would have been truly willing to die in order to avoid the fate of being the King's assassin, especially as Merlin had once seemed to believe there was no way for him to avoid such a fate. But now, it seemed the warlock had, for some reason, changed his mind "I'm sorry... for everything. The warlocks voice spoke, and Mordred blinked up at him, surprise clear in his features. Merlin was... apologising? To him? But why? All the warlock had been trying to do was protect his King; to prevent Mordred's destiny. Mordred managed a small smile, swallowing around the thickness in his throat, before speaking quietly

"There is nothing to forgive, Merlin. You have saved me from a fate, and now I owe you everything."

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[youngwarlock]

"There is nothing to forgive, Merlin. You have saved me from a fate, and now I owe you everything."

The words echoed throughout his mind as Merlin opened his eyes to the same darkness he'd been present in mere seconds ago, only this time Mordred was nowhere to be seen. The druid had apparently vanished in the blink of an eye. Was this some form of sorcery?

The warlock sat upright, shocked and confused, his eyes searching the darkness for his friend. "Mordred" He whispered, not realising he was sweating until his consciousness began to return to him, bringing with it a dull ache that spread around his whole upper body, accompanied by a throbbing sensation in his back. He winced at the sudden soreness and wiped his brow on the back of his tunic sleeve, noticing something strange about the area as he blinked away the haziness.

As his vision adjusted to the darkness, he noticed for the first time that he was sitting on the cold stony floor of his own chamber, beside his bed. It was then that the realisation struck him. He was awake. The whole occurrence had been a dream. A very intense, realistic dream, but a dream none the less.

Feeling somewhat relieved at first, he slowly clambered back into his bed, a wave of comfort washing over him as he rested his head upon his pillow, but it wasn't long until the familiar sense of dread he'd grown so accustomed to lately, finally returned, twisting his stomach into knots.

The Mordred he had confronted was not real.... The druid did not wish to be friends... Arthur was still in danger... Camelot was still destined to fall.

[mordred]

Across the Castle, arm hanging over the side of the narrow bed as he slept, Mordred awoke with a shout, his hand immediately going to his throat. HIs eyes flickered about for a few seconds before he placed his surroundings, and he breathed a quiet sigh, trying to calm his thoughts as he realised it had all been a dream. Mordred turned to the small table and took the cup of water that sat atop it, taking a long sip, his hands shaking a little. A small sheen of sweat broke out on his skin as the Knight stood, moving over to the small window overlooking the city, his eyes glazed a little as he thought upon the dream.

Dreams were no stranger to the young druid, but one like this... was it a propecy? A warning? Mordred had no desire to hurt Arthur in the way that the dream Merlin had seemed to think he would, and it made the brunette wonder upon the actions of the warlock these last few weeks. There was certainly something about Mordred that Merlin was uncomfortable with, but the druid had assumed it was simply the fact that he was a druid, rather than the thought that he would harm the King of Camelot. With a frown, the druid sighed, resting against the wall a little, his hands still clenching the cup.

Would it be worth talking to Merlin? The dream had shown such a thing might cause reaction, which might eventually cause Mordred's death... or his succombing to Merlin. He had nothing against the warlock, but Mordred wished very much to make his own path, rather than be beholden to another. Swallowing another sip of water, the druid quickly decided. For now, he would do nothing. To react to something which could be merely the result of hsi own fears could lead to either his death, Merlin's, or some unpleasentry between them. Something which Mordred was most keen to avoid. So for now, he would sit, he would wait, he would watch, and hope that one day Merlin would come to trust him.