A/N: I'M ALIVE, EVERYBODY! WAHAY! I've just posted a short oneshot. It's not very good; it's just off the top of my head, more of a 'hey, there' than anything else.

Anyway, the important thing is that we have a new computer and, as of ten minutes ago, Microsoft Word! So I've just posted these as a kind of fireworks display.

To all the readers who've followed ValkyrieVeela, I'm really sorry about the quality of these fics and about disappearing off the face of the earth for a while there. I know a lot of you think that I should expand my fic 'Bad Timing', and I agree with you – trouble is, I'm in exactly the same position as you: I want to be spoon-fed the next part! I've no idea how to write it without you all turning against me with pitchforks and torches.

So now, I'm going to think of something to write so that I can justify this quite long A/N.

"Tell me you wouldn't do the same!" Yelled Mordred. "Tell me you wouldn't do the same for the woman you loved."

Merlin froze. He made a decision. As Mordred turned away, Merlin half-whispered, "Believe me, I tried."

Turning to face him, Mordred's eyes widened. He said, "What?"

Merlin met his astounded gaze. He cleared his throat. "Around two years after I arrived in Camelot, I saw a girl trapped in a bounty hunter's cage. Gaius told me that she had been captured for having magic, and that she had been taken to Camelot because Uther would pay handsomely for any sorcerers that were brought before him." He took a moment to steady his breathing. "When I walked past that cage for the first time, I couldn't tell that there was a living creature inside it until she lunged towards me. The bars stopped her, but I took one look into her eyes. . . . I was lost.

"I didn't see the rags, the matted hair, the filth. I saw deep brown eyes that seemed to be pools of despair and desperation. I saw a girl who would do anything to get out of the cage, to be set free. I looked at her and I realised that it could've been the other way round, that I could be the one trapped in a bounty hunter's cage to await my doom. But that wasn't really why I helped her.

"When I looked at her, I saw something else, buried under the grime and the sorrow. I saw the most beautiful creature ever to have lived; I saw the delicacy and fragility and innocence that I had only ever seen before in a unicorn; I saw the raw, primal power that I had only ever associated with myself before, though I also so fear and shame clouding it.

"Later that night, I returned to the cage and freed her. I led her to the catacombs beneath the citadel. I stole food and candles for her. I told her of my magic, my destiny. She told me of her home, her childhood. We fell in love."

Mordred breathed deeply. This was a new side of Emrys: when he'd first met him, Emrys had been open and kind and trusting. The next time he'd gained consciousness, Emrys had been distant, confused and suspicious. He'd almost forgotten that Emrys could be this. . . . gentle. Then Mordred frowned. No, this must be a trick. Emrys hadn't trusted him for years; he wouldn't tell him such a closely guarded secret unless he meant to manipulate him.

"Freya – did I tell you her name was Freya? – Freya and I planned to run away together. She was reluctant, though – but I wouldn't find out why until it was too late. So." Merlin paused to gather his thoughts. "We planned to run away. I packed supplies and chose a horse for us." He cleared his throat. "Whilst all this was going on, a creature had been killing people in Camelot. I was busy getting to know the love of my life, so Gaius bore the brunt of the investigation. He concluded that the creature was a bastet: there were never any prints leading towards the bodies, only barefoot human ones leading away. Human footprints that could only be there because the bastet had killed and subsequently transformed back to its original form.

"During his investigations, Gaius worked out that the druid girl had gone missing on the night of the bastet's first kill. He knew that Freya was the creature, and though I did not want to know it, so did I. I. . . . I begged him to give me just one more night, during which I would smuggle Freya out of the city, but. . . . He went to Uther and told him of his suspicions. I went straight to the catacombs, only to find Freya already gone. She'd left so that I could fulfil my destiny here in Camelot instead of running from it with her. By the time I caught up with her, she'd transformed and had been mortally wounded. . . . By Arthur."

Mordred gasped involuntarily. "Arthur-? But – how-?"

"Arthur had no idea. He thought she liked killing, that she was and evil sorceress, out to destroy and murder. He thought he was saving his people from a threat. He didn't know – couldn't have known – that if only he'd let me near her, I could have sat with her through the night till she transformed again and she would've recognised me. I was the only one. . . ."

"What happened?" Mordred breathed, hardly daring to interrupt but desperately needing the conclusion.

"She fled, back to the catacombs. I gave her a dress of Morgana's and brought her to the Lake of Avalon. She died in my arms. I laid her to rest in the Lake." Merlin came out of his reverie and looked Mordred directly in the eye. "So you see, Mordred, that our destinies have a way of catching up with us. If you run with Kara, you will be caught and arrested. Kara willed be executed for sure, leading you to break out and join Morgana in order to get revenge on Arthur. If you stay, she will be killed and you will turn against Arthur."

"Then what is the point?! What is the use in giving us free will if we are forced to choose the same path? Why did you tell me anything at all if nothing you do or say can change the outcome?" Snarled Mordred.

Merlin smiled sadly. "There is another option."

Mordred's breath caught. "Tell me."

"You won't like it."

"Tell me!" Mordred repeated.

"Very well." He paused. "I could lead Kara out of the citadel and to a druid camp I know. I will place binding spells on her to prevent her from rejoining Morgana and I will instruct the druids to show her the way forward as far as they are able. We will be vigilant and thwart your destiny for as long as we can – we may even be able to bypass it completely. However, we shall have to remain alert for as long as both you and Arthur live."

"And why would I dislike this third option so much that I might reject it? It seems that it is the best one out of a bad lot."

"You know why, Mordred. What I need to know is – are you willing to go through with it?"

Mordred thought about it. It really was the only option available to him that could possible have a happy ending. "I am."

". . . . Good. Good."