Daegal fic- Veiled

Title: Veiled

Author: Britophile/ Tonksbeybey

Characters: Daegal and Merlin (and some of the others like: Freya, Sefa, Arthur, Ruadan, Gaius and so on. But mostly Daegal and Merlin)

Rating: I don't know yet. There will be a bit violence and maybe a bit bad language.

Warnings: Contains spoilers for Merlin season 5. Do not read if you haven't seen "The Hollow Queen" (S5 episode 8) because it's kind of based on it. And therefore the plot is often very similar.

Timeline: A bit prior to the happenings in "The Hollow queen" and then whilst the happenings of the episode. It contains also flashbacks and foresights in time. So it's kind of Semi-AU(but with parts of the actual episode).

Summary: Daegal, a boy who's told in his dreams to find and save a man called Emrys, makes a deal with the Lady Morgana. All he has to do is bring Merlin, the King's manservant, to the Valley of fallen kings. But not everything is as it seems. Can he really trust the Lady Morgana? And what kind of connection exists between him and Merlin? Daegal soon has an important decision to make. His choice will seal the fate of all Camelot… and his own.

~Introduction~

You have to listen carefully my darling. Mummy loves you. We love you so very, very much my darling. Your dad would be so proud of you. But I can't keep you here. It's not safe for you. You have to go back. You have to find him. I knew a man who worships the lake. He will raise you until you are old enough. It all began with the poison and the dead of the king. You must find the one the druids call Emrys my darling. You must safe him. Only he can save the king. He must not be late. Not this time. You don't have magic. You will be safe my darling. You will remember my words and your mission when you are old enough. I only wish your father had seen you at least for once. We love you my darling. The portal is ready. Remember me my son. I love you. Save Emrys.

Daegal woke up. The world was still covered in mist and except from some birds there seemed to be no living creature around. He raised his head carefully.

He remembered something about a weird dream. In his dream there was an island. An island covered in fresh green grass. The light was dim but at some points it glittered like a thousand diamonds. The air smelled of apples and a small and curvy road made it's was through a grove of huge apple trees. It was warm and he lay on the ground. But when he looked up into the sky, there were no clouds and a strange movement went through the azure blue air. It nearly looked as if there were waves. Some silvery fish flew around over the tops of some trees. And then there was a voice. It was a soft voice, warm, but it sounded also as if the person was near to tears.

It was a woman's voice, but he could not understand what she said. He didn't know why but it made him sad that she cried. If he only could understand her words, maybe he could find the reason for her unhappiness and comfort her. But before he could do something the world began to spin and suddenly he lay on hard and cold ground, the sun was shining merciless in his eyes and a cold and cruel wind tugged at him. And then a shadow appeared over his head and a deep voice said: "I received your present milady. I will raise the boy along with my own children. I'll keep him safe. As long as I live he will have a place to sleep and a full stomach. I swear by the name of the triple goddess."

Daegal shook his head. For nearly two months, since his master had died, he dreamed the same dream every night. He did not know why and what his dream meant or to whom the female voice belonged, but he knew the voice at the end of the dream. It had been the voice of his master Ruadan, who had raised him. Ruadan had magic and this was the reason he had been killed-killed in a battle against the knights of Camelot. Because in Camelot sorcery was regarded as a crime and the only sentence a wizard or a witch could expect for committing it was death.

Because of this reason Daegal was happy (for once in a lifetime) about not having magic. The rest of the time he always wished he would show some great magical skill someday. But this day never came to the very grief of his master. By the thought of it Daegal tasted bitterness in his mouth. Not that his master had not been kind to him. He had given him a place to sleep and food. But this was everything he ever got from him. There had been no kind words for the boy, who was (according to his master) nothing but a spare of room and time. If he would have had magic his master would have trained him to be a great sorcerer or a druid. But he was only a normal boy who tended to get in trouble.

According to his master the only reason that made him keeping the boy would be a promise he made years ago and the fact that his little daughter Sefa needed a companion after the death of her mother. Sefa who was also non-magical had been everything to her father. He had not cared about her being normal she had been his daughter after all. But in one point he had been very strict. Sefa was not allowed to call Daegal "brother". Ruadan always told her that Daegal was not of their blood. That he did not matter. Daegal did not questioned it because he was told so since he was a little boy, but Sefa who was very warm-hearted and fond of him never failed to soothe the rage of her father when Daegal had got in trouble again. She cared for him and every time Ruadan was away she still called him brother.

Until the day when her father told Daegal to leave for a while because he had to discuss important things with his daughter. So Daegal got out for a stroll and when he returned Ruadan had gone and Sefa was packing. She told him that she would be the new maidservant of the Queen Guinevere and that her father had important business to do in the north. What business she did not tell.

So Daegal had been on his own and after the message of Ruadan's death, Sefa had gone missing. Daegal had searched the whole forest and some villages in order to find her, but no one had seen her.

After a few weeks he stopped traveling around in order to find her. He became sure of the thought that if he only would stay in the hut she would find her way back to him sooner or later.

But until this day he had to make a living out of something. It was not easy and he was often forced to steal from people who had hardly more than himself. But it was already autumn and once the forest and the meadows would be frost-covered, he would have to beg for his surviving or die because of hunger and cold.

With these thoughts in mind Daegal stood up from his roost and dressed himself quickly. Today he would travel to a lake not far away. The last time he had been in a village he had heard a rumour about a druid camp and he intended to exchange the last belongings his master had left against some food. Some of those artefacts were possibly magical and so he could not go to the village with them. It someone would tell the guards that he walked around with something magical he would be taken to Camelot and then die. The druids were his only choice and so Daegal packed the artefacts and a bit of food and left the hut.