Chapter Eighteen: Reality

   ‘This is impossible,’ I exclaimed as I started on the third parchment sheet.

   ‘I managed. It shouldn’t take long at all.’

   ‘I don’t do a lot of reading. It’s taken me about twenty minutes to read through those two sheets and I’ve got about a hundred left. There’s no way I can read through all of these within a week. Especially without the time I need in fulfilling my other duties. When you were studying this you definitely had more time on your hands than I do. Also, you’re not what I happen to be, on top of actually being a sorceress.’

   ‘No, but you should at least be able to read quicker than this.’ He was sat next to me, also reading (a smaller pile of sheets).

   ‘Practice makes perfect. And I certainly haven’t had much practice at reading in quite a while. What’s the point of this anyway?’ I asked for around the fifth time that morning.

   ‘It’ll help clear any doubts you have about clear thinking. And if you’re going to be able to crack the riddles they give you, I suggest you get on with the task.’ He leant back in his chair with a sheet clasped in one hand, the other resting across his front and his feet up on the table top.

   ‘But it’s boring and complicated, and it doesn’t make any sense to me. And this is definitely not light reading.’

   ‘It was for me. And I found it changed the way I see things after I had finished. You’ll find you won’t want to doubt anything or trust any strangers you meet. Trust no one is something that works quite well, even in the worst situations. How about we make a deal? After you’ve read the first twenty sheets, you can have a break and we’ll go somewhere different.’

   ‘Sounds fair enough. But it’ll take some time,’ I agreed, though reluctant to carry on with my boring assignment.

   The sheets were scrawled in wavy fluid writing, very similar to Merlin’s, though I knew that it wasn’t him who wrote the texts and passages that lay on the table before me. The pile was rather too thick for my liking. When Delrand had said ‘light reading’ I had imagined a pile of about twenty sheets, not the hundred or so that he had placed neatly on the desk when he came into the library. I continued to read for the time being and counting as I went along. The task was tedious and mentally tiring as I couldn’t cooperate with what was inscribed on the crisp leaves of parchment.

   At last I had reached the end line of the twentieth page (which, thankfully, ended with a full stop) and placed it upside down onto my small already read pile. Noticing that I had stopped shuffling, Delrand bent over the corner of the page he was reading, got onto his feet and walked towards the door with me in close tail. Whatever he had in mind didn’t bother me, as long as it wasn’t to do with riddles or hints, I was willing to go wherever he lead me. Strangely he lead me to the Main Hall. Inside the room, at this time of day, was where my father and the knights (sometimes the whole royal court) had to deal with problems that happened in the villages and towns nearby. Something I rarely associated myself with; even though I was heir to the throne.

   Why here? What could I possibly gain from this?

   That’s why I brought you here. So we can all see your more political side.

   Father asked you to bring me here, didn’t he? Otherwise I know you wouldn’t have bothered and would have made me carry on reading. It’s not that I don’t understand what goes on, it’s just that I’m not queen yet. This is something that I have to wait to deal with after my father’s death.

   Will you know what to actually do when you do become queen? he asked me knowing what my answer would be. Precisely the reason why is that you  take in the skills now, while you still have him to show you how to respond.

   Since we’re here now anyway, follow me. I took him along the near wall towards where some of the knights stood still and quiet. I stepped silently into place next to Gawain and watched the proceedings.

   ‘You feeling alright, Elara?’ Gawain whispered beside me. ‘Since when have you bothered about this side of politics?’

   ‘Since now, apparently. If you would shut up I’ll be able to better understand it.’ Delrand chuckled lowly beside me. Gawain reluctantly looked back over to where my father sat. He was sat upright in his high-backed, carved wooden chair, it wasn’t quite what you’d expect of a throne. In front of the slightly raised dais was a man, he was speaking in a local accent. From what I now heard him say, I figured out what the situation was that was being discussed. After sometime, it became more clearer about who the discussion was based around. Only then did I realise that there was another person that occupied apart of the space before my father’s chair.

   She was kneeling rather than standing, her hands were tied behind her back and her head was bowed. She must have only been about ten years old, her hair was lank and thin; similar to her body. Her skin almost allowed the structure of her bones to stand out. What little of her cotton dress she wore was tattered and stained from years of wear. How could someone so young possibly be convicted of anything?

   ‘I saw it all with my own eyes, and she could not be mistaken for any other little girls in the town,’ spoke the townsman. After his confident voice he remained silent, watching my father as he decided on the best course of action. I prayed that he would see sense in letting this eradicate and nothing would happen to the vulnerable child. Would no one speak out for her? Be a voice in place of her unheard one?

   Eventually my father stood up and he walked down from the dais towards the child who still lay unmoving before him. It was like watching an angry wolf-pack leader bear down upon a cub who had stepped out of line. His calm expression revealed none of his intentions but I guessed at what he might say.

   ‘Do you deny these charges against you?’ he asked the girl. She trembled under his gaze as she looked up. In answer she didn’t speak but shook her head in quick shuffled movements. ‘Very well, your punishment shall be...’ Before my father could finish his affirmation of the punishment, I stepped forward with hurt inside me. My father looked over at my unexpected gesture. ‘Elara, what have you to say?’

   ‘How can you punish her?’

   ‘She has intently broken a law of the land and I have no choice but to punish her accordingly.’

   ‘But she’s innocent. She’s just a child.’ As I spoke I brushed my hand through the air towards the kneeling girl behind me. As I had walked from my previous place, I had positioned myself between her and my father.

   ‘There is nothing you can do that can force me to change the way things are and have always been.’

   ‘I will not stand by and watch her be hanged for a crime she has been wrongly accused over. Yes she might have stolen some bread but that is only so she could carry on living. That’s one instinct we all have, the instinct to survive. You can’t deny her that rite. After this experience she’ll have learnt from her mistake, all you have to do is give her the opportunity to correct her wrongness.’ I knew I was going to be in serious trouble later but that didn’t stop me standing up for what I believed was just. ‘Who are we to decide that she has no worth within this world? She is as important as you or me,’ I said directly to my father. As ever he showed no change in expression. Delrand, you could at least back me up on this view.

   I could but I have no say in these matters. Only you can really change their way of thinking. That didn’t resolve my problem of being alone against the rest of the courtiers. If he wasn’t going to help me then I would have to come up with a reason good enough that they would have nothing to do but release the charges upon her.

   ‘Are you challenging my right to press charges, Elara?’

   ‘No, I’m trying to make you see that executing this child is wrong and unjust. There are other ways to ensure she won’t do it again.’

   ‘Such as?’ I was ready with an answer to this.

   ‘Have her work in the shop that she stole from, therefore she can repay the owner for her so-called crime and at the same time be given somewhere to live without fear of when she’ll get her next meal.’ That had to settle the case, for everyone involved would gain something from the outcome. In my anger I had narrowed my eyes and pushed my shoulders back and held my head high.

   ‘You seem to have thought this through very carefully. Is there anything that would make you change your standing?’

   ‘Nothing. Either you consider my proposal or I’ll take the girl under my wing. Therefore you won’t be able to extinguish her life without getting through me.’ I didn’t smile at this severe matter.

   ‘Granted.’ He turned his back on me and walked back over to his chair. I turned around as well and knelt down next to the frightened girl who still trembled on the hard, cold stone floor. I smiled warmly and gently at her. Her eyes held fear of me and tears seemed to want to seep out of the corners.

   ‘Sssh,’ I whispered. I drew a knife out of my boot and she leant back straight away as the shear blade edge sparkled in the daylight. I quickly loosened my grip until the point faced the floor. ‘It’s alright, I’m not going to harm you. Let me cut the bonds that tie your hands.’ I tilted my head slightly to the side and awaited her response.

   ‘Thank you,’ came her sweet, shaky voice. Once it might have been full of glee and brightness, now only to be replaced by wariness from the many days out on the streets. How her life must have been, before I had intervened with my considered changes, must have been malicious. I shuffled behind her and in one brisk pull of my knife cut the cords of rope from around her wrists.

   ‘What is your name?’ I asked kindly out of curiosity.

   ‘Teyla. Why did you help me?’ she asked, in hushed tones, as I helped her up off the floor and onto her feet.

   ‘Come with me. First you need a bath, some new clothes and some warm food. Then I’ll tell you what you wish to know.’ I motioned with my head for her to follow me. As I began walking towards the kitchen door, her small hand clamped firmly into mine. It was cold, freezing, as though no blood ever reached past her wrist line.

   How could you afford to do that? Delrand asked me privately when we were in the kitchens. Teyla was gauging through the food I had got the chef to plate up for her. This must have been her first proper meal in quite some time.

   I won’t have gotten away with it completely. I’ll be expected to understand that things must be carried out for the purpose of the rest of the kingdom.

   Explain? he asked softly.

   If one person, no matter how young, gets away with something others will think that they could also get away with other crimes. Eventually it would get out of hand and we’d have to begin executing everyone who steps out of line at all, only to reinforce the authority we have over them.

   His hand wrapped around my waist. Still, you were right. It’s wrong to kill a child out of mere tradition. Do you know anything more about her?

   I don’t really need to. I have seen enough of the village life to know that things are never as they seem to be. Life isn’t easy for them, especially for those in her predicament.

   After she had finished draining the cup of water, Teyla looked around the vicinity before asking me again her previous unanswered question. ‘Why did you help me?’

   ‘Because everything I stand for is justice. You only stole that loaf to reassure yourself that you would live another day. I have no knowledge of what your life must be, but I can imagine. Have no fear of me, I will make sure my order is carried out. If needs be, I’ll make the shop owner swear that he’ll take good care of you.’ I looked sideways at Delrand. He bore no problematic lines upon his face. Do you think otherwise about my decision? Because I would like to know.

   No, it was the right thing to do. Though I’m not sure if all that she did was for that one reason. Leave it as it is, no good will comes out of making the matter more complicated.

   ‘You can sleep here tonight,’ I said to Teyla. ‘Tomorrow you will begin a new life. Promise me one thing.’

   ‘What?’

   ‘Don’t try and get yourself into trouble.’ She smiled heartedly at me. In her eyes I was probably the only person to have ever shown her any kindness (except for her parents, if she ever knew them).

   That evening wasn’t the most pleasant of evenings. The knights looked at me as if to say I was mad to have even considered doing what I had done earlier. My father remained quiet as well, all the more to make me anxious. I fixed my attention onto my meal. I was desperate to get upstairs where Delrand was waiting for me. (He never joined us at supper.) To have his comforting arms around me was a feeling I looked forward to about sleeping. Without seeing his face before I closed my eyes would allow me to have nightmares, something I was unwilling to relive after the last one months ago.

   I found him reminiscing on the balcony. I watched him for some time before disturbing him. He didn’t stir, though, when my hand touched his. He took it in his own and lifted it up to his mouth before kissing the back of my hand. He let my hand go and placed both of his on the small of my back. After pulling me closer into his embrace, he leant down to kiss me. I kept my eyes open for as long as I could before the tide of bliss washed over my mind. My hands automatically rose up and around his neck. His lips moved in correspondence to mine. I only faintly felt the touch of his hand raise up my back and up my neck into my hair. His fingers entwined into my locks as I moved my hands down onto his chest.

   He began to pull away but to no avail. I was totally reluctant to allow him to stop. This time I wanted to be the one who chose when the moment had faded. Another minute or so passed before I tensed my lips and pulled away, though I remained in his arms. I looked up into his emerald eyes. The soft, warm, velvety emotion that was concealed within them was amusing. Though his eyes didn’t change to the apple green as usual when he had just kissed me, they still held a tint of admiration. He removed his hand from my hair and placed it over one of mine that still lay upon his chest. There was an emotion beset within his irises that I could not identify. Curious, I tilted my head to the side and furrowed my eyebrows in concentration.

   ‘Your eyes tell me that you’re not happy about something. Is it do with Friday?’

   ‘Not about my concern, but about yours.’ I pulled my head backwards. ‘Am I to trust what happens between you and them? Though I class them as our allies, I... we cannot afford to place our whole trust upon their part in the matter. They should easily be persuaded into helping us, as it affects all aspects of magic, whether sorcery or wizardry. Still they refuse to take up any burden that befalls upon our side.’

   ‘I can easily persuade them into thinking of the prospects of joining us,’ I began to explain, but my mind was set upon what had happened the previous day. ‘What did you and Lancelot talk about before you recklessly fought each other?’ I pondered on the possibility that they came to an agreement on the subject involving myself.

   ‘You,’ he mumbled. ‘Don’t fret, he just wanted to know whether I had promised to protect you or not. He also mentioned how the others don’t like the fact that I took you from them all but in one way. He’s more than I first gave him credit for; I can see it in him that he wishes you had chosen him over me, and I can cope with that. It’s hard for you as well, isn’t it?’ He didn’t wait for me to answer. ‘It must be difficult to discuss matters with him on a stretched friendship. He still loves you, even if you opted to turn him down.’ His eyes had turned away from my face and focused through the posts of the balcony wall. His breathing had become slow and regular. How was I to explain the situation between Lancelot and I? Delrand would never really understand what it was like every time I saw Lancelot’s face. Though he would smile at me, his eyes showed the despair of having to see me with another. If ever was a time for repairing lost and doubted bonds, now seemed like the right time.

   ‘You’re right, it is hard. It must be harder for him than it is for me. The longer I stay here though with you, the more he seems to grow in resentment. Understand that I love him as well, but it will never compare to the love I have for you. If it meant he’d ground out the hatred he’s placed upon you I would talk to him. Will you let me speak to him privately tomorrow, Delrand?’

   ‘You hardly need to ask. I promise not to listen through you either if that helps. Though it is late, I think you should continue with your task.’

   ‘Why must I have to waste time reading? I don’t understand what it means anyway,’ I complained.

   ‘By the end you will. One thing it taught me was to be myself in tight situations and always think clearly. Do not overlook the obvious. And, as much as you are already, be as confident of your authority and powers when it comes to dealing with others. You never knew me as a child or teenager, but I was always shy and held my tongue when what I knew could have helped resolve a problem.’ He smiled meekly at his said past traits.

   ‘That I find very hard to believe. No matter what gets in your way you can easily brush it aside without a second thought.’

   ‘As I said, you did not know me when I was younger. Which reminds me. Have you come to terms with what is to happen?’ he asked carefully and with certainty of my knowledge.

   ‘Come to terms with what?’ I asked back, unsure of what he was referring to.

   ‘That I have to challenge Mordred before you do...’

   ‘Yes, but I won’t let you. You said yourself that if it means you must die in order for me to succeed then so be it. I will not allow you to throw away your right to live, Delrand. You are far too meaningful in my life now, that I try hard not to think of it; to watch you die at his hands. I’m begging you to change your mind about challenging him. Your life is worth far more than mine...’ I trailed off as I had run out of things to say to dissuade him. Tears filled my eyes and overflowed down my cheeks. I held back the sobbing so as to show as braver face as possible.

   ‘We both know that I won’t yield away from the inevitable. For as long as I have breath in me, on the awaiting battle plain, I will duel him. If not for your love of me, I would have died some time ago. Do not think I chose this out of recklessness, I know full well that I go to my death on the upcoming day. Elara, this is one thing I must do before you take up the stage and defeat him. Please do not try to undo it, whether it means talking me out of it or duelling Mordred before it is time. I’ve granted you a favour tonight, will you grant me this in return?’ His gaze upon me was intense, full of sorrow that beheld his wrath of Mordred. I fought against the urge to agree but without success.

   ‘Alright, but this is not the last time I will try.’ I spoke no more on that subject. Moving my hands onto his back, I let him cradle me before I retired into bed.

   ‘I’ll stay with you no matter how harsh our disagreements become. Times are hard and cruel for us but I’ll be beside you even through the worst of times.’ His soft voice harboured my train of thought. I leant up and kissed him on the cheek. Without letting go of his hand, I walked over to the bed. Shuffling under the covers, I gently pulled him towards me but he held his ground. I sat up and released his hand from my grip. He sat beside me while keeping his gaze transfixed on the quilt. I reached out and stroked his upper right arm.

   Delrand, I don’t have any wishful intentions, you know that as much as I mean it. Please, all I want is your company tonight. If you ever went away I’d wait forever for you to return to my side. Until we’re married, if we do get married, at this he returned his gaze onto my face and I smiled. Until then, nothing will ever happen, I’m sure that you’d prevent it and so will I. All I need from you about it is your trust in me.

   Are you leaving it up to me to decide upon that? In reply, I nodded. Good, because I hope to surprise you when I ask you. Just don’t expect it to be brilliant, he added teasingly.

   I’m sure you’ll find a way to dazzle me on the day, I teased back.

   Or night, who knows when I’ll ask you?

   Is that a hint? He slowly narrowed his eyes and curved his lips into a wry smile. I leant over and kissed him smartly once on the lips. So how will you prepare me for our meeting with the druids? I dare say you know many riddles and how to decipher them.

   ‘Here’s one for you, though it is one you need to make sense of rather than find an exact answer to... What we see is never how things appear to be. There are many secrets with which are not given to us but we must find our own ways to put them to use. We may develop knowledge from truth, but what we believe to be true does not necessarily mean it can’t be false.’ He finished his somewhat long-winded phrase. I pondered over what he had said for about five minutes before I eventually smiled in the candle light and answered.

   ‘The future is never as we wish it to be but we can change the outcomes by our decisions in the present. The past can not be lived through again, though it can be learned from and similar events can repeat themselves. To answer your first phrase: we may witness the same events but the way we interpret them can be entirely different. I am not you, you are not me. Our minds do not see the same but can work together by forging our parts of our knowledge into a whole.’

   He didn’t reply verbally at the extent of my thinking. A proud grin met his lips when I had finished with my speculation. ‘I seem to have underestimated your abilities of quick thinking. Mind you, that was philosophic stuff that I spoke of.’ I nodded in acceptance. ‘Many reasons for the druids melancholy nonsense is to understand the extent of others’ reasoning with the world around them. Many people do not allow their minds to wonder past what they think may change what they have grown up to accept as truth. Those who can rarely pass under the eyes of the druids who travel the land. That is how they find their apprentices, unlike us wizards and sorcerers who look for the magic within those we meet. Though they are not ones to deceive, their tests may sound unbelievably hard to perforate but that is because they hold onto the basic knowledge. Whereas we deem to forget that which our entire thinking is based upon. We strive to understand the more complex things in life, where they strive to complicate the simple, lesser things.’ He paused in his lesson, for that is what it was to me. I remembered all that he said to better help me in my chance to convince the druids of what they should be doing.

   ‘Do they consider being asked riddles a sign of their magic within someone? Because that is how I plan to gain their aid; by using that which is close to them will surely make them change their use of their minds.’

   ‘They may, it depends upon those who are present at the meeting. I guess they’ll send their best thinkers and magicians. Those who will probably be hardest to convince. Using the insensitive, perhaps, will be your most useful way.

   ‘Let’s not dwell on that which is still to come,’ he added. ‘Are you feeling sleepy?’ he asked so I would end being tired and then fall asleep so he could go off and do whatever it was he did at night.

   ‘No, why do you ask? I’m curious, do you ever sleep at night?’

   ‘Very rarely do I even get the chance. Especially now, with all the spies we have around the affected villages someone needs to keep track of everyone involved.’

   ‘And that someone is you. Why can’t you pass it on to someone else? Merlin or your other close friends?’

   ‘Because Merlin is not involved with this. And no one else is willing to take it up because of all the responsibilities and reasoning of the role. I wish I had more time to sleep or forget about my position but I don’t. And I shouldn’t complain, because the only other person who could really deal with the whole business is you.’

   I guessed that would be the case. ‘Can’t you forget your duties tonight? Please, for me? I want to go to sleep knowing I have you to keep me safe if something happens.’

   ‘I always watch over your room when I’m not here. If something did happen I would be here in a flash. Don’t think I like being away from you, even at night, but some things just have to be dealt with straight away.’

   ‘Please?’ I didn’t want to plead or beg with him but I wanted him to get some rest. I wanted to hold him while he lay next to me. I could tell from his eyes that he wanted to stay. They were almost blank, they held restraint and longing in them. Longing to be with me as much as possible, before... I stopped myself short of what I knew to think next.

   His eyes focused onto something distant behind me. I guessed he must be ordering the other three to continue without him, for he said, ‘I’ll stay. But I’ll be awake before you tomorrow, so if I’m not here when you wake up just call me.’ With that he lay down on his back beside me. His left arm outstretched sideways where I knew my head would rest if I lay down alongside him. Which I did. His hand rested on my shoulder and I turned over so my front touched his side. I lay my left arm and my head across his chest, while his free arm wrapped around me and his hand smoothly traced along my lower spine.

   After a while he seemed to have fallen asleep as his breathing had slowed down a lot. There was about three to four seconds between him breathing in and breathing out. Why I had managed to stay awake was beyond me, I just did. I shuffled my body from over him, got out of bed and walked over to the balcony.

   Resting on the parapet and looking out over the darkened land, I wondered what was going on with the catch up on information. If Delrand was the highest ranked amongst them, what potential did that leave me? He went on so much about my powers that it was possible that some could see me as a threat inside their community. A threat that could challenge the leadership and running of the society. Not that I planned to; I wouldn’t need to challenge Delrand after the battle, we both knew he wouldn’t be around anymore. Though may be I would have to duel others in order to gain the rank that was my apparent rite. Why me? What had decided my fate? What made it so that I had to deal with the worst thing to happen to Albion in centuries?

   I looked up at the sky, at the moon as it shone its reflective light down on the hilly countryside beyond. A falling star caught my attention, and I followed it through the looming darkness above me. Staring down onto the hills that could be seen from my point of view, I focused in on any shadows and shapes that could mean he was watching. One shadow stood out in the moonlight. He stood on the hilltop whose peak was above the tree line behind the walls. His cloak billowed behind in the obvious breeze that whistled through the air at his level. I narrowed my eyes wondering if I should meet with him. After all, he wouldn’t dare try anything with us being so near to Camelot. I considered it over in my head. Would Delrand wake up as soon as I left the cover of the walls? Perhaps he wouldn’t, but if he did he would have left me be. He called out to me with his mind.

   You wish to talk with me I hear. Come down and we can talk more privately.

   Do I have your word to not kidnap or kill me?

   You have my word. I see you want to negotiate things between us.

   I didn’t answer, I let my mind take up the magic I needed to take me to where he stood. The magic was strong around him when I appeared beside him. I kept my mind shut completely, we could talk out loud here. As my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, I focused in on his face. His hair was as dark as Delrand’s, though a little shorter and straighter. The colour of his eyes were shadowed in the light, though his face was thin. I narrowed my eyes and inclined my head. He wasn’t much taller than me but by doing this I showed my underlined authority before him.

   ‘What is on your mind? I can never stand being in there for even a second before I end up filled with confusion.’

   ‘Tried to get into my mind, Mordred. I can tell the difference between you and everyone else. What is on my mind is none of your business. However, I would like to discuss the issue between you and Delrand.’

   ‘That is something that is beyond even your control.’ I bared my teeth at him, he wouldn’t care if it hurt me. No matter what it took, I was willing to try my best to make him see that it wasn’t meant to be. Delrand felt it his duty to help me, but he didn’t have to. After failing in dissuading Delrand, Mordred was my only other option of breaking the upcoming duel. I was frustrated at everyone who didn’t see eye to eye with me at the moment. And no one did. ‘Don’t bother trying to stop it. He opted for that route, I have no option but to protect myself against his plans.’ He tried to explain his point of view. ‘With him out the way I can concentrate on challenging you. Unless you chose to join me before the fighting starts. That way we all win.’

   ‘How does that work out?’ I asked. That to me meant Delrand and I both got hurt.

   ‘I have you on my side. You have Delrand alive and Delrand has no fear of dying.’

   ‘That won’t hurt him, but seeing me help you with your work will. Seeing me hurt under you will destroy him. Knowing that I am alive and knowing he couldn’t help me because my life would be at risk, that would drive him mental. Please, I’m begging you to leave before you kill him.’ Though I hated having doing this, it was the best I could do at the time. ‘Leave these lands and never come back.’

   ‘I can’t do that. That’s the main reason why I’m here, why I exist... to take over these lands.’

   ‘Why? What have you against the other magicians? What have they done to you to turn you so against them?’

   ‘They turned me away when I needed them most. My powers were much more than they believed I could master. They feared that they would over power me and I would use them destructively. And for that, they expelled me from the school. I had a friend at the time who tried to help but to no avail. That friend was Delrand, and after the masters explained to him the dangers of me, he turned his back on me as well.’

   No, I thought, it couldn’t be true but it explained the grudge between them. Delrand, why didn’t you tell me?

   ‘So what was I to think at that age. Nothing apart from that no one cared about me, no one would help. So instead of asking for redemption, I turned my back on them and took with me all the stuff I’d need in teaching myself. I’m alone now and have been since that day. How am I to trust a world that has only shown me hatred?’ he asked me.

   ‘They would have done it for the best, for the protection of the majority. You, personally, weren’t a threat. They feared your capabilities. At the time the only other who was as strong as you was Delrand. Can you not see why they turned him against you? Don’t place the burden upon his shoulders, he was young, how was he supposed to know what they told him was wrong? If they believed you would turn evil they had to balance it out. They had to create another of your abilities who would be made to counteract your deeds. And being friends that made the bond between you two strong, that would also have made them fear you both.’

   ‘That doesn’t make what they did to me any different. Delrand is older now, he should be able to see his mistake, but he hasn’t. Therefore that makes him no different from them. Which also connects to you?’ I breathed in sharply, afraid of what he was going to say next. My eyes widened and my lips tightened into a thin line. ‘They made him what he is now, what he thinks now. But he has done the same with you. Made you think that I’m the enemy, the one needing to be stopped. He turned you against me before you even had a chance to meet me. I had to try and kill you in the forest, before I had another like him to deal with. Unfortunately, that was the actual first time I felt your true powers from within. If you look at the full picture you may see that things may be the opposite of what you think.

   ‘I didn’t become the enemy, I was made the enemy. Over the years after they shunned me away I have added to and advanced my powers, only for one purpose.’ He paused, which gave me a chance to speak.

   ‘And now that you are stronger than him, you know he hasn’t got a chance of defeating you,’ I stated. He nodded slowly, I thought I saw the tint of a smile upon his lips but the shadows across his face obscured it. ‘The only problem with your plan is that you didn’t count on my abilities. I can kill you and I will. Even if you might not be the man I’ve, apparently, been led to hate, that doesn’t mean I don’t see you as any type of threat. In my eyes, as the heir to the throne, you are a threat to my people that needs to be neutralised and that can only be resolved with your demise.’

   ‘So, you still do not wish to change what your views are. Then you declare your hostility against me with your words.’ His shoulders rolled back and he stiffened his posture. ‘We shall have to wait until the final battle, still. Neither of us are ready for it to be soon and sudden, and I want it to be as fair a fight as possible for both of us. That way whoever wins can prove to be the ultimate sorcerer.’ Without any sign he vanished into the night. I stood there, petrified with shock, hatred, fear and, above all, confusion. I lowered my head in despair, shook my head, bit my lip and shut my eyes. Was it possible for that to be the case? I covered my face with my right hand and looked to my left at the distant window lights of Camelot. I focused in on my bedroom window, the light shone unshadowed and undisturbed. I imagined him lying there with no idea of what I had found out, of what I knew, now, of his childhood. I couldn’t ever imagine him being friends with Mordred, not by the way he was with talking about him.