Chapter Text
Chapter 1
The Lady in the Lake
He knew that he shouldn't have done it. He knew that his mother would tell him off once he returned but he just couldn't stand it when they argued. They knew that it affected him differently to his siblings. They knew that he could feel the magic more. He had to leave. He had to stop the drumming noise inside of his head.
The teenage stopped for a second to clear his head, feeling like he couldn't run any more without tripping over. He placed his head in his hand and screamed into the empty forest
He knew he was special. Mordred had told him that many times before. He is one of the reasons for peace. Yet Gorlois always believed he was only getting half the story. He knew his father was a dragonlord. The stories he would tell would be so fascinating that Gorlois had wondered why he hasn't seen one before now. He would have to admit that the story of the dragon that attacked Camelot was his favourite. It just amazed him how a small manservant could stop a thousand-year-old dragon.
However, Clarine's favourite had always been how Uncle Arthur went to save Aunty Gwen. It was a good story and his father had shown bravery but it didn't show off his father's power.
There were many stories, showing off different elements of their friendship. Yet Gorlois found it weird that there were no stories that showed off his mother's power or the fact that there were so many stories that seemed to miss her out completely. He knew that his parents were equal in power. His mother was just better at healing while his father was good with the elements. Mordred had told him that different sorcerers were better at different things.
It was like himself. Gorlois believed himself to be the son of the forest. He had always felt weirdly at home in the forest. It either helped to amplify his magic or to calm it down.
With his head clear and with some hope that his parents had stopped arguing, Gorlois looked around to see where he was. He knew that he was in the Darkling Woods but didn't recognise this part of the forest and had no idea how long he had been running from and now, from where he stood, he couldn't remember the direction he ran in either.
Gorlois put his head back in his hands and groaned. This was not good.
His mother would be furious at him. She was more protective over him than his siblings but he never understood the reason behind it. Another story that they were probably missing out. He was fourteen. He knew how to use his magic and a sword. He was well equipped to look after himself, even if he didn't have his sword swing on his hip and it wasn't like it was the first time that he had done something like this. He would usually find his own way back or his father and uncle would always find him before his mother had a chance to find out.
He looked up and closes his eyes, trying to feel with his magic rather than by sight, feeling for the same energy that he just ran away from. His magic was his sixth sense and he knew that Clarine was jealous that he had more power than her. But sometimes Gorlois feels like he is more cursed than blessed by his magic. Mordred had told him that it was because of his parents. Two of the most powerful sorcerers to ever live. Any offspring are bound to get a section of their power.
His magic felt a pull to his left and he instantly turned that way and opened his eyes. He made sure that his magic locked onto the pull before he started to follow it. Gorlois knew that it would do him some good being out in the forest for a bit and allowed his mind to clear. He had a bit of anger building up inside of him. He might be the son of the Great Emrys, but that didn't mean that he was exempt from the snide comments the lords would make. Gwaine had tried to tell him to forget about it. His father was a true nobleman because of his heart as appose to any title that he now had. It was something that Gorlois knew and he wasn't ashamed that his father was once a peasant. Others might do, but not him.
It was more the whispers that he heard. The fact that he was called a bastard and that he was born of the Black Witch. Again Gwaine had explained the bastard thing to him and he could understand why he was being called that. He was born out of wedlock but his uncle had made sure that he would gain his father's titles when Merlin died.
It was the Black Witch part and Gorlois didn't know who he could ask due to the fact that he had been told that the Black Witch was Nimueh. There was this sickening feeling the rose in Gorlois everytime he thought about it. He knew that he was the son of Merlin and Morgana. He knew that Morgana was his mother. So why were some of the Lords saying that he was the bastard of the Black Witch?
Gorlois stopped just before the trees did and looked out of the trees. He knew that this wasn't the way home due to the massive lake in front of him but he couldn't help but see it as a sign. He took a step out into the clearing and stepped towards the lake. He wondered whether he was finally going to meet the Lady of the Lake, someone that he didn't believe in.
"Hello, Merlin." A woman's voice said.
He looked around for the voice and was surprised to see no one there.
"Sorry, you must be Gorlois. Down here." She said.
Gorlois turned back around slowly, looking towards the lake. He had to rub his eyes a few times to make sure that he was seeing what he thought he could see.
"Why does he always have to be right?" Gorlois said sitting down on the banks of the lake.
"I'm sorry." She said.
"You are Freya. The lady in the lake, as father calls you. Why does he always have to be right?"
Freya laughed. "He is your father. To you, he always seems to be right because he has made all your mistakes."
Gorlois tilted his head to the side. "Yes but I don't think he had a full blown argument with his father that a lady cannot be in a lake."
"No, probably not. Yet that is the joys of the old religion. It works in weird and wonderful ways."
Gorlois gave Freya a half smile.
"Anyway, you should probably be getting home," Freya said
"If I knew what way was home," Gorlois said looking at Freya properly.
She was a very beautiful woman. Maybe that's the reason that father saved her. Maybe there is more to the story than he is telling us.
"The dragons talk in riddles and for the moment, so shall I. The old religion is a little funny like that. You always know the way home Gorlois, but our meeting has been no mistake or accident. Follow your heart home. It will always lead you there. Yet this time, it may not take you the way that you might think. You have a lot to learn about your family. Without this, you will never know. Just don't be frightened by what you might find out."
Gorlois found himself nodding but before he could open his mouth to ask any questions, she disappeared. He cursed as he stared at the water. Not only had his father been right, but she had given him so cryptic clue as to how he was going to get home. An actual direction would be helpful as appose to some riddle. Yet he knew that he had to take her advice.
You have a lot to learn about your family.
He knew that already and he knew that he had a lot of questions but he didn't know whether this was the right way to go about it. He hoped that she was wrong and that by following his heart, he would just get home. But with every step he took, he unwittingly took a step away from Camelot and a step closer to the truth.