Not just a servant

Chapter 1:The calling

Mordred knelt before Morgana and said,"I bring you news of the one whom you have seeked for a long time."

Morgana became still and stared at Mordred intensely.

"You bring me the news of Emrys,donn't you?"Morgana asked.

"Indeed,my lady. The warlock named Emrys lives in Camelot. " Mordred replied.

Morgana could hardly contain herself now. Her forehead began to sweat at excitement. At last she will know the identity of her adversary. She will alter destiny with this knowledge by killing Emrys and wiping the Pendragon dynesty. She asked again . Her voice shaking.

" What is his name, Mordred? "

" His name is Merlin, " Mordred replied.

Silence. Total silence in the entire room. Morgana's jaw dropped at utter disbelief. How was this possible? Of all people she suspected of being Emrys, Merlin was the last person she thought of. That was totally unbelievable. Merlin was a feeble, scrawny servant of the king who was famous for his idiocy and clumsiness. He was certainly not her doom,let alone the greatest warlock, Morgana mused.

But when she thought about it more. It began to make sense more and more. Merlin was a constant companion of Arthur. Wherever Arthur went, Merlin went with him. Whenever she made an attempt on Arthur's life, Merlin was there to spoil it. He got free from Morgause's chain, survived the poison of serket. He even survived her own concocted poison given to him. He stopped the immortal army and eluded Aithusa. Nothing of those would have been possible if he didn't have magic. She sometimes suspected that there was somthing odd about Merlin. But even in her weirdest dream, she couldn't have imagined that Merlin had magic. Now she knew that not only Merlin was a sorceror but also the greatest one who was supposed to be her mortal enemy. Even just thinking about it sent chill down her spine. But now, Mordred had given her the knowledge to bring Camelot to her knee. For doing this though, she had to first change Emrys' loyalty . At present, it might be seemed as impossible but she had a plan to make the impossible possible. As for now, she had to entertain her new ally.

Rising from her throne Morgana placed a hand on Mordred's shoulder and said, " Come Mordred, you need not to bow before me. You have redeemed yourself and I am just glad that you've forsaken my traitorous brother and seen what he truely is. But you've travelled a long way . You must be hungry. Come, join me in the dining hall."

Mordred raised his head. The boy was quite surprised that Morgana forgave him that easily. The astonishment was evident in his eyes but there was also gratitude in there. Morgana could easily see it. The Druid boy looked at Morgana's eyes for sometime and then said," Words can't express my gratitude for the kindness you've shown me, my lady. I am ashamed for my past misdeeds. I am sorry. I am at your command. Until my dying breath , I will serve you in your fight for magic against Arthur and the traitor."

Morgana felt the boy's hatred for Emrys and that was essential for her plan to succed . She gave him one of her trademark evil smirk and raised him to his feet saying, " I expect nothing less. But now you must eat. We'll speak more during the meal. I have a job for you."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"That's ingenious, Morgana. But will Arthur go to that extreme . He is very fond of him as is his son," Mordred said after hearing Morgana's plan.

"You'll have to push him to do that. How much Arthur liked you before Kara's murder? " Morgana asked.

Mordred's eyes became glassy hearing his love's name but he took hold of himself and said, " Very much. He actually loved me as a brother. Even Merlin became a little jeallous. I was his one of the best friends. But everything became clear eventually and Arthur showed what a monster he was when it came to magic." He spat at Arthur's name.

Mogana's face brightened at Mordred's comment. "That's brilliant. He will trust you if you go back and do as I say. If you succeed, Emrys will be at our side and we will be able to win against Camelot even without the Saxons' help. Not even the combined might of Albion will be able to stand against the might of Emrys, me and you."

Mordred was still a little sceptical about the plan. So he again said,"But can't you control him by enchantment? That would be more fail-safe,wouldn't it?"

"No, Mordred. I tried to control him before but he broke free as did Gwen. I won't take the risk again. We need Emrys' loyalty at his own will. That is the only way to be fail-safe. If Emrys goes against Arthur, Arthur will be extremely vulnerable. You must not fail , Mordred."

"I won't fail you, milady. But we will kill Emrys at the end , won't we? " Mordred asked.

"Of course. No scene will make me any more happier than seeing the light of life leaving Merlin's eyes. And if you fail, don't worry. Emrys would already be vulnerable and you will kill him at my place with ease. But I suggest you to make his death as painful as possible. Use any means necessary." Morgana said with a sadistic smile.

"As you wish, my lady. You can put your trust in me."

"Of course, Mordred. Now go get some sleep. You will leave for Camelot at dawn. The guards will show you to your room."

Mordred nodded and followed the guards. Tomorrow he would return to the city he once called home, tomrrow the great plan of Mogana Pendragon would be set in motion, tomorrow the seed of destruction for Camelot would be sown. And he would not rest until Arthur and Merlin's friendship become a distant memory.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

When Mordred was fast asleep,Morgana went out of her castle. Her destination was Helva where the Catha people and their high priest Lord Alator lived . He was the only other person in entire Albion except Gaius who surely knows the identity of Emrys. Mordred told her that Merlin was Emrys but Morgana still didn't fully trust him . She would never fully trust him after his initial betrayal at Ismere. Mordred could work under Arthur's command to lure her to Camelot and capture her. And Mordred might be manipulating her even now to trust him.

So Morgana must be sure that Mordred was telling the truth. And so to testify Mordred's word, she teleported herself with two of her blood guards to the city of Helva.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Alator was eating his dinner when his apprentice Gilli barged into his room.

"Lord Alator , we have a serious problem here."

Alator raised his head annoyingly and asked,"What is it now,Gilli?"

"Morgana Pendragon."

Hearing that name, Alator's expression changed. His face became serious . He told his apprentice to gather all of the Catha people and leave Helvar.

"But what will happen to you ? Morgana is already tearing up the place . If you remain here, you'll die," Gilli said.

"Don't worry about me, young priest. Morgana wants me. so, I'll show myself to her. I'll distract her so that you can evacuate the people safely. And she will not kill me,yet. She wants to know who Emrys is. And I'll not give her the information no matter how much she tortures me . So I think I'll be able to hold up for enough time. And when all the people are safe, the order of the Catha will be able to mount a rescue mission, I hope."

"But where will we go?" The young man asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

" Lead them towards the Perilous lands, " Alator replied.

"Perilous lands! But no human lives there now. " Gilli almost shouted.

"When Emrys freed the Fisher king from the curse, his kingdom also began to heal. It has almost reached to it's former glory. The Druids are already immigrating from the five kingdoms to there as we speak . So I suggest you do the same and lead the order and the people there. The Druid chieftain Iseldir will be there and he'll help you all."Alator said.

Gilli was heavily confused but he knew this was not the time for questions . So he just gave Alator a short nod and said, "As you wish, my lord. "

Gilli and Alator both went out of the room . Gilli ran towards the townsquire to amass the people. He turned back to Alator and said, " Goodbye, Alator. "

Alator replied, " Good luck,Gilli. "

Telling this,Alator ran towards the outskirt of the town where the blood guards were wrecking havoc and the high priestess was enjoying the scene.

When Alator reached his destination, he was greeted by Morgana. The high priestess instantly threw a spell at him and he lost his magic. Alator began to grow wary as Morgana approached him and said,"Long time no see, Alator. Are you ready to know that I know who your precious Emrys is?"

Alator was dumbstruck. No, it can't be . How did she know? She must be bluffing. She was trying to wring out the truth out the truth by acting that she knew the truth. Yes, that must be it.

But his hope was shattered when Morgana spoke the next words.

"Merlin is Emrys."

Damn it. She knew the truth. This couldn't be good. I must throw my last trump card and reveal the secret prophecy. Otherwise she would think that she had won. It must not happen. If one of her fear is gone, then I must install a new one. He thought.

Regaining his composure , he said what he wanted to say for his entire life and now the time had come, he was sure of that. " It doesn't matter that you know the identity of our prophesized king. He will fulfill his destiny and will defeat you . The time of ' The calling ' is near and our king will unlock his true power gifted by the greatest one and will bring misery to your mistress. He will thwart her plan . Fear that day, Morgana .For your mistress' bane is close and whatever you do will not change that."

A spark of fear spread across Morgana's face. He snarled at Alator ,"What are you talking about ? Nobody can defeat my mistress. The triple goddess is immortal."

"That's where you are wrong , my lady ."

A loud sound echoed through Helvar and a massive whirlwind formed at the center of the town. A gust of wind threw Morgana and the blood guards on their back and they fell unconscious.

Alator got back his magic when Morgana fell flat on the ground. He got up on his feet and gave a last look on Morgana, saying, " You've made a grave mistake by wasting your time with me, Morgana. Now my people has reached Elmet and with the Druids, they will help our king to defeat you and bring about a new age. Goodbye, High Priestess of the Triple Goddess."

Then Alator began to chant a spell.

Bedwyn me. Astyre me, panonweard.

A smaller whirlwind engulfed Alator and within a second , he vanished from there.

When Morgana got up, Alator was nowhere to be found . She gave out a piercing cry of frustation which echoed through the night forest.

Author's note: This is my first fanfic. I am trying my best to avoid mistakes. But English is not my first language . So please bear with me if you find some mistakes. Any kind of constructive criticism is welcome. Please be kind to leave a review. I'll be forever grateful.

Assassin of Syria