Merlin 1. Chapter 1

**I don't know where this came from, I just thought it would be interesting to explore how Uther came to be king and everything that occured as a result afterwards. I don't own Merlin or any of its characters, only the ideas in this story. If you enjoy, please read, review and let me know, and if you don't, please review as well so I can work on it and make it better, thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you enjoy it!**

"Soon, these lands will all fall under the one name, they will all be mine to rule over," Uther said, surveying the vast plain that lay beneath him, stretching out to the mountains that ringed the vast grassy expanse and beyond to the vast ocean that ran for miles across the earth.

"I trust that is not the only reason you are entering into this battle with Hanover," his sole companion muttered in response, his eyes remaining firmly fixated on the lush green grass that lay before them.

"You know what I mean Gorlois," Uther responded with a smile on his face as he turned to face his old friend, clapping him in the shoulder as he started to walk away.

"Remind me then," Gorlois replied, turning around to walk over to Uther's paused form to look him squarely in the eyes, "I want you to tell me exactly what it is that thousands of men are going to be giving their lives for. I need to know that what we are fighting for is not just some vanity project of yours," he finished, his eyes narrowing as he watched Uther carefully.

"You of all people should know that is not true Gorlois," Uther responded confidently after a moment's hesitation before taking a step closer to his trusted companion. "The men who are about to give their lives to this battle, are doing so to ensure the future of the greatest kingdom this world will ever know. _When_ we are victorious, the lands and people of Camelot will prosper. Trade will once again flourish; people will be able to live in peace and freedom and never have to fear the hardships of slavery or the worry of constant death. Yes, many will die as a result of this war, but many more will be saved, and if that is the price that I must pay, then I will gladly pay it," Uther finished, the ghost of a triumphant smile on his face as his heart swelled with the thought of the kingdom he had dreamt of building since he was a little boy.

Continuing to watch him with his intense gaze, Gorlois finally allowed himself a small smile, sharing in Uther's hopes of once again restoring the kingdom of Camelot to its former glory. "You will make a great King one day my lord," he finally said, a large beam now crossing his face as he clapped his friend on the shoulder, "I have no doubt of it."

Nodding his approval, Uther firmly gripped his friend's shoulder, his fingers tightening as he spoke, "your friendship and support means everything to me Gorlois. Without them, I do not know if I would have gotten this far," he finished, before turning back to survey the rocky valley brimming with soldiers brightly dressed in the crimson red of the house of Pendragon.

"We will make history here Gorlois, I can feel it," Uther said confidently, his eyes once again shining with confidence as he started making his way back down to the enclosed valley they had chosen to fight in.

"Have Hanover's men taken the bait?" he asked, turning back to face Gorlois.

"Yes, they are sending troops to the mouth of the valley whilst the remainder are making their way around the foot hills.

"Good," Uther replied, his mind hardening as he prepared himself for battle. "Prepare the men to enter the tunnels and have the archers on the ridges ready, we will trap them as they attempt to catch us unaware," he said, striding confidently down the slope towards the awaiting troops as he readied himself for what he hoped to be the start of his victory in his war to unite the former kingdoms of Camelot and allow for a new reign of prosperity and hope.

"Yes, this is the day that everything will change," Uther said out loud, his confidence continuing to grow as Gorlois fell into step behind him, prepared to tackle head on the coming blood-shed.

(xx)

A lone figure stood high up on the battlements, the faded purple fabric of her dress billowing out behind her much in the same fashion as her long, unruly hair that blew freely in the wind. Breathing in deeply, she inhaled the smell of the crisp autumn air that carried with it the faint perfume of falling leaves and damp earth.

"I never did understand why you loved it up here so much sister," said a melodious voice behind her.

Turning, the girl turned to look at her sister who stood in the protected cove of the battlements that rose high above them, her pale hair pinned delicately above her fair head with not a strand out of place, the royal blue of her dress standing out brightly against the dulled grey stone wall.

"Because I can see everything up here," the brunette sister replied, a brief smile on her face as she turned back to look around the lush green countryside.

"And is there anything in particular worth seeing?" teased her sister, her voice light as she pushed gently for the answer she desired.

"There is much to see sister, you need only come look," came the simple response.

Sighing in defeat, the blonde sister allowed herself a silent chuckle as she shook her head and looked over at her sister, "so no riders then Vivienne?"

Stiffening slightly, Vivienne broke her gaze from the surrounding lands of the large fort and turned to look at her sister carefully, her face betraying a small sense of her wariness, "and why would I be looking for a rider Ygraine?" she responded cautiously, her head dipped slightly to the side.

"Because you dreamt of one coming," Ygraine replied casually, peering her head around the wall as she quickly scanned the large field in front of them for any approaching riders before quickly returning to her sheltered cove.

Mouthing at her silently for a second, Vivienne paused for a moment before lifting her head and turning back to look out beyond the fort's walls, "yes well, it was only a dream and it doesn't necessarily mean anything and in any case, how did you know about it?"

"If it was only a dream sister, then why are you out here waiting?" Ygraine replied, a knowing smile crossing her face as she looked over at her younger sister who was now refusing to look at her.

"I told you, I'm looking out at the beautiful plains that we are so lucky to be surrounded by, _not_ waiting for someone," came the frustrated response as Vivienne placed her hands on the stony wall with bared knuckles, "and in any case," she added, her gaze now fixated firmly on the wall of mountains that lay far away in the distance, "how did you know about my dream?"

"I heard you talking to Agravaine about it," Ygraine responded knowingly, her eyes now carefully watching Vivienne's increasingly tense body as she waited for her to answer.

"That conversation was not for your ears," Vivienne replied in a forced voice, her grip on the wall tightening as she turned her gaze from the mountains in the distance to watch the progress of a swallow flitting amongst the trees looking for a meal, wishing that Ygraine would choose this moment to also flit away as she so commonly did.

"I did not mean to overhear it, it was by accident," Ygraine answered again in her casual tone that she knew Vivienne found so irritating, however it was this casual tone that made Vivienne realise that there was something more to her sister's seemingly nonchalant questioning.

"You are also waiting for a rider," Vivienne said, the truth dawning on her as she turned to look at her sister, her earlier annoyance forgotten as she surveyed her sister more carefully, this time taking note of the anxious way she was holding her hands and the anxious way she was standing.

"You're hoping for news of Uther," she concluded, walking over to grasp her sister's hands as she peered gently into her sister's eyes.

"It's been almost a month since we last heard about the war, and in that time he should have surely defeated Hanover and his men," Ygraine replied worriedly after a moment's hesitation, "why haven't we heard from him," she added, looking at her sister desperately for answers.

Grasping her hands tighter, Vivienne attempted to offer her sister a comforting smile as she gently brushed aside a strand of her Ygraine's pale blonde hair that had somehow broken loose from its bun, "I am sure everything is fine, Uther is probably heatedly negotiating a truce with the other lordlings and preparing for his next battle, you know how consumed he is by this whole war."

"Yes but…" Ygraine answered desperately before she was cut off by her sister.

"And in any case, I did not realise you were still so concerned about Uther's wellbeing," Vivienne added, mimicking her sister's earlier teasing voice.

Giving her little sister an annoyed glare, Ygraine turned away for a moment before looking back at her sister, "you know my feelings for him have not changed, father has promised him troops and Uther will repay him with an offer of marriage to make me his queen, an offer I will gladly accept because I know he would've made it with or without father's troops."

"I think father would offer to give him the troops in return for agreeing to not marry you," Vivienne scoffed in response, the words slipping out of her mouth before she had a chance to consider their impact on her sister.

"It would not matter," Ygraine answered angrily, pulling her hands out of her sister's grip and storming out onto the windy battlements as she determinedly took up position to wait for the rider that would bring her word of Uther. "Uther does love me, and he will make me his queen, you will see," she said resolutely as she warily scanned the empty field for signs of an imaginary rider.

"Ygraine I'm sorry but it was only a dream, I do not truly believe that there will be a rider today, and even if there is, there is no guarantee he will bring news of Uther," Vivienne said gently, walking over to try and soothe her now angry sister.

"No you're wrong, the high priestesses' may not have had faith in your abilities but I do, it was a vision that you had and I will hear news of Uther, I am sure of it," Ygraine shouted back angrily, now attempting to blink back tears that were beginning to fill her eyes.

"Ygraine…"

"What are you two doing up here?" the questioning voice of her twin brother caused Vivienne to jerk away from Ygraine as she turned to look at Agravaine who was standing in the shadow of the cove where Ygraine had been standing earlier.

"Nothing," Vivienne replied hesitantly after a moment's pause as she looked at Ygraine's tense back before turning back to her brother's questioning face.

"We were waiting for signs of a rider," Ygraine retorted, angrily, the tension from her displeasure at Vivienne's earlier comments filling the air.

"I think it is time you went back inside now," Agravaine said gently as he walked over to grasp Ygraine's arms as he led her away from the edge of the battlement, shooting Vivienne a questioning glance as he did so.

"Very well then, I shall go inside and prepare for dinner, I suggest you do the same," Ygraine said in a newly composed voice, sending Vivienne one last pointed look before disappearing down the spiralled staircase as Agravaine watched her retreating form disappear before turning to look at his twin sister with a small smile on his face.

"What did you do this time to upset her?" he asked teasingly, walking over to stand beside Viviennr on the wall.

"It wasn't my fault," Vivienne exclaimed lightly, her words starting to be snatched up by the growing wind, "she began it by eves dropping on our conversation."

"The one about the rider?" Agravaine replied, turning to look down at his sister who in turn was now avoiding his gaze

"Yes," she mumbled in response, "she wanted to know if there was any truth in my dream which was why she came up here, she wanted to know if he was coming or not. I told her that it was only a dream and that it meant nothing."

"Which is why I suppose you went out for a ride today," Agravaine replied, throwing up his hands to hush Vivienne's intended response as he continued, "and not just any ride, but one along the messenger's road to wait for your rider?" he finished, before seeing his sister's confused face and adding in, "I know you too well Vivienne, there is more truth in your dream than you care to admit. It was a vision, and you know it."

Gaping at him soundlessly for a moment, Vivienne took a second to collect her now jumbled thoughts as she surveyed the land below them before turning back to face her brother, "we receive many riders," she said confidently, titling her head upwards as she attempted to match her taller brother's height, "is it so strange for me to dream of something that is a common occurrence?" she finished, feeling proud of herself for formulating what she hoped was an adequate response to her brother's probing inquiries.

"It is when the exact rider that you described in your dreams comes riding along to our keep at the exact time of day that you talked about," Agravaine replied, leaning his arms against the worn stone of the wall as he watched the progress of a thunderous messenger riding along the dirt road up to their fortress.

"Impossible," Vivienne said as she spun around to follow her brother's gaze as the messenger rode closer and closer.

Turning his back to the field, Agravain paused to look lovingly at his sister as she watched in amazement as the rider she had dreamt of neared the gates and paused briefly to converse with the guards before riding on through.

"You should have more faith in yourself dear sister," he said as Vivienne turned to look at him, a light shining in her eyes before she set off towards the staircase Ygraine had departed down only moments earlier. Chuckling at her enthusiasm, Agravaine shook his head as he followed after her, his curiosity building as to what news the messenger brought them, and why it was so important that his sister had received a premonition of it.

(xx)

"It would seem then, that I have little choice," Hanover spat out, staring daggers across the bloodied mud to where Uther stood opposite him with his hand on his sword and half his face covered in blood from a gash to his head. Yet despite this, he stood tall and strong, surrounded by equally bloodied knights covered in blood and grime who were also standing tall and proud and glowing with the success of victory.

"Oh you do have a choice Hanover," Uther said back strongly, his voice brimming with assuredness, "you can choose to embrace the future and join me in Camelot, to swear your allegiance to my rule and remain lord of lands that were never rightly yours , or to spend your last hours wishing you had chosen otherwise."

"Those lands are MINE! They were given to me by my father," Hanover replied angrily, attempting to get up before being forced back down by Gorlois who stood behind him, watching the man like a hawk, weariness and discontent covering his face.

"And your father stole those lands from my forefathers so I do believe that makes us even," Uther answered in a level voice, his face a careful mask of emotions as he watched the struggling man before him angrily shake off Gorlois' warning hand as he looked angrily around at the surrounding knights before dropping his gaze down to the ground.

Tasking this as a sign of compliance, Uther walked over and stared down at his fallen foe.

"If you become a part of the kingdom of Camelot, you can ensure peace and protection for your people for the rest of their lives, and their children's lives and for all those who will come after them. Right now, you do not have enough men to adequately protect your lands and so those people you swore to protect are suffering as a result. Whether or not you decide to join me, your people will and so they will fall under the protection of Camelot. I am merely offering you the chance to do the same given your knowledge of the land," at this, Uther, paused for a moment, giving the man before him a chance to consider his words the offer he was making.

After what he felt was an adequate length of time, Uther decided to swiftly break the silence and offer Hanover one last chance, "I grow tired of this game and I am losing patience, the choice is yours," he said abruptly, sparing one last look at Hanover before giving a nod to Gorlois and walking away as Gorlois roughly grabbed Hanover's arms and pulled him up as two guards came to take the man away.

"Wait!" Hanover shouted desperately at Uther's retreating back, "what of my men, what will happen to them?"

"They will be given the choice to join the noble army of Camelot, or to surrender their weapons and return home to their families after swearing to never again raise arms against anyone in Camelot," came the swift response as Uther continued to walk away, ignoring Hanover's struggles.

"And shall happen if I refuse?" Hanover demanded, staring desperately at Uther's back.

"You will be executed," came the simple response from as Uther paused briefly to give his defeated foe one last look before exiting the tent.

"It is a very generous offer, and I suggest you take it," Gorlois said roughly to Hanover's gaping face as he stepped around him and followed Uther out of the tent, pausing to give the guards instructions before he too departed, ignoring the conflicted look that crossed Hanover's face as he managed to close his mouth as he was pulled away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone whose read this so far, I hope you're all enjoying it and sorry this chapter took so long to get up. I hope you all enjoy it and if you have any suggestions, comments or constructive criticism, please review and let me know!**

All around her, she could feel the murmuring and echo of voices as the men quietly whispered their thoughts to one another in response to the messenger's words. A sort of pattern of noise had developed by this stage, the messenger would say something, the hall would fall quiet as everyone listened intently, the murmuring would then start as the men were given a fresh piece of news to tear into, after which her father or brother would ask the messenger another question at which point everyone would fall silent the pattern once again began.

Shifting her body slightly so she could lean back against the cool stone pillar behind her, Vivienne resisted the urge to cross her arms over her body and instead chose to look around her father's richly decorated greeting hall at the various men who had all assembled there to hear the messenger's news of Uther and his campaign. She too had gathered there with the rest for the same reason, however after hearing of Uther's initial success, she had tuned out and her thoughts had turned elsewhere, she was not particularly interested in the vicious savagery of battle and seemingly never ending loss of life.

Nevertheless, despite the barbarity of such activities, she could not deny their impact, nor their usefulness. Indeed, there was a certain look of hope that was reflected on nearly every man's face in that room, a small glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, Uther really could do the impossible and unite the warring lordlings, restore the kingdom of Camelot and bring about peace and prosperity between the various lands.

None seemed to reflect this hope that many had long since chosen to forget about more than Ygraine, whose eyes had not left the messenger's since he had arrived. Looking at her carefully, Vivienne could see in the tense way that she was clutching at her dress, that she was desperate for the messenger to give them more news of Uther and his wellbeing. In fact, Vivienne had no doubt that were it not out of respect for their father and eldest brother Tristan who stood in front of her questioning the messenger, Ygraine would have already grabbed the poor messenger's collar and be demanding answers from him before anyone else had a chance to draw breath.

Shaking her head and smiling softly at her sisters eagerness, Vivienne thought it obvious that if something had happened to the young commander, it would have been the first bit if information that fell from his lips. Instead, all that they had learnt thus far was that the battle had gone well and Uther was hurriedly preparing his forces to move out again to prepare for any lordlings and kings who did not favourably look upon the idea of a restored Camelot as he continued to march into the centre of the ancient kingdom.

"My thanks to you then, you bring us good news and it is my hope that you will share in our food tonight," her father said dutifully, his ringing voice filling the sparsely decorated hall as Vivienne snapped out of her thoughts and looked over to where her father was now standing in quiet discussion with Tristan as the men began to trickle out, murmuring amongst themselves as they went. Her focus now fixed upon her father and eldest brother, she turned her thoughts over to them, trying to determine his exact feelings about Uther and the news he had received.

Whilst she knew that her father shared in Uther's hopes for peace and prosperity, she was also mindful of his dislike of the feelings that had developed between Uther and Ygraine. Vivienne herself could understand his hesitance, Ygraine was beautiful and could easily captivate men with her looks, but she also had a tendency to be narrow-minded about certain things, especially when she decided she was right, something Vivienne knew about all too well. Ygraine may have been the second eldest after Tristan, but she was the one in Vivienne's mind, who most needed to be looked after, especially when it came to men.

Turning, she herself was about to leave with the others when the messenger spoke up, "there is one more thing my lord," he said loudly, catching the attention of everyone else who had also been about to leave. An eerie silence fell over the hall as all eyes once again turned to the messenger who now stood nervously in the middle of the hall, clearly worried about the effect the last part of his message might have on those around him.

"Well, what is it?" Tristan finally demanded after deeming the messengers silence had gone on long enough.

"My lord, commander Uther wishes you to know that he intends to travel here and is requesting an audience with you and your council," the messenger finally said, his eyes firmly fixated on the ground whilst all around him, the men rolled their eyes at each other and continued to leave, the messenger once again forgotten in their minds as they began to discuss Uther's campaign.

Vivienne however remained, she could see in the way the messenger was playing with his clothes and keeping his eyes downcast, that there was more to his story. Her father apparently also saw it, the unspoken message that was clearly causing the messenger some degree of agitation. Stepping down off the dais, he came to stand next to Tristan as he weighed up the messenger who stood bowed before him.

"What else do you have to tell us?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as he puffed his chest out to his full height and grandeur, the larger than life presence he had had for as long as Vivienne could remember filling the room and emphasising his confidence and authority that came with his hard earned title.

Vivienne watched curiously as a thin bead of sweat broke out on the now trembling man's forehead and rolled down his face. Clearly, the messenger was terrified of what her father would do if he should receive the last bit of news badly. A small sliver of sympathy for the man developed in her gut as she continued to make her way closer to where her father and brother stood imposingly in front of the messenger, curiosity and a small sense of dread beginning to fill her as she drew closer and closer.

Behind her, she was partially aware of the small crowd that had gathered in the doorway and not yet left. They too, were now alert to the fact that there was some other piece of news the messenger had to tell her father, some important piece of information in regards to the war, and more importantly, information relating to Uther.

As the hall once again began to fill up, a strange sensation stole over Vivienne as all around her, time seemed to slow down but not quite stop. Strangely, she felt as if she was almost sharing in the nervousness that was gripping the messenger, the loud, all-consuming pounding of his heart that thumped and beat strongly in his chest, his quickened pulse that caused his blood to race wildly through his body and reverberate in his ears filling him with a rush of adrenaline that did little to still his twitching fingers and shaky breath.

Gasping slightly, Vivienne tried to escape the sensation, to pull herself out of whatever it was she was in however she found herself trapped, unable to break free and falling deeper and deeper into a powerful force she did not understand.

She was still in her father's hall, but rather than seeing or feeling, she could sense something beyond the hall, an event that was not where she was now, but somewhere else, some place, and some time far removed from where she was now.

As if muted by some unseeable wall, sounds began to form in her head, sounds that had no right to be there and yet they were, screams, terrified, echoing screams raced through her head carrying only one thought, one all consuming, panic inducing thought.

Death.

So much death.

But there was something else, anther sound that slowly grew and became larger and larger, mixing with that dreaded sense of death until they became one, inseparable from one another, the same, all-consuming thought that turned into a roar, a loud, earth shattering roar that went pounding through her head, signalling something she could not quite understand.

She could not understand whatever it was that the roars meant, but she understood this, the sound terrified her, like nothing she had ever experienced before, and she was quite sure she would not want to again.

And through it all, she was stuck, helpless in that hall, unable to move, unable to breathe or break free, until a strong pair of hands grabbed her arms and pulled her out of the now stifling hot hall, breaking whatever trance it was she had found herself in.

Frail and shivering, she felt herself being pulled out into the blasting night air where her senses slowly returned in the fresh air and she weakly began to resist and kick at whoever it was who had her, desperately trying to recall what it was her father had taught her about fighting off assailants.

However the ordeal had left her weak, and her thoughts grudgingly refused to return to her as she continued to writhe feebly in the arms of her attacker until she heard her brother's familiar voice as he attempted to calm her down, and she realised that it was his strong arms who now encircled her, cradling her gently against his chest as the two twins stood alone in a small alley by the side of the greeting hall.

"Hush, it's alright, I've got you know, you're going to be fine," he said soothingly as he squeezed her tightly, however his strong grip and the slight tremor in his voice betrayed him, and Vivienne sensed how worried he was.

"The dragons," she muttered weakly into his chest, clutching at his jacked as she attempted to balance herself against him and stand upright.

"What was that?" he asked dropping his head to look down at her worriedly, the concern still shining behind his eyes whilst his face conveyed the perfect mask of brotherly concern and protection.

"Uther means to call upon the dragon lords," she whispered shakily into Agravaine's jacket, strength returning to her body as she sniffed slightly and attempted to steady her feet.

"That's why he's coming here to seek an audience with father and his counsel, he wishes to employ the use of the dragon lords in order to conquer Camelot," she continued after she found her balance, hating the way in which her voice was still shaky from her ordeal.

"Vivienne there is now way you could no such a thing," Agravaine said gently, his mask of emotions broken as he stared at her with open concern now, "and in any case, using the dragon lords is a risky move, Uther will surely want to consolidate his campaign further before even considering such a thing," he added in gently, attempting to consul Vivienne.

He was about to continue when a shout from around the corner drew their attention and a thousand arguments seemed to begin all at once. From where they were standing, they could hear snatches of the various fights that had begun in the hall as angry men's voices floated out to were they now stood.

"He has no right to use the dragons…"

"Could change everything…"

"Not meant to be used like this…"

"Dangerous, but also the most powerful force…"

Pulling away from Agravaine, Vivienne took a step back and looked up at her brother who was now watching in horror as a pair of men started shoving each other, clearly agitated and loudly arguing about Uther's intention to call upon the dragon lords.

"How, how could you have known such a thing?" he finally demanded, turning back to look at Vivienne who was watching the men fight with a certain lack of surprise, her cool gaze watching their every move.

"I don't know, I just did," she said in a small voice, shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts. "One moment, I was standing in the hall, waiting for the messenger to speak, and then, I don't know, I just knew," she said, looking up at Agravaine with a strange acceptance in her eyes.

"I just knew," she repeated again quietly, dropping her head to look down at the dirty ground beneath their feet, kicking at a loose stone in the patchwork of rock that made up the laneway.

Nodding his head, Agravaine accepted her uncanny response and breathed in deeply. He knew that in some way or another, the magic that resided in his sister, magic they had been assured was of little power and therefore unlikely to manifest itself, was the cause of the strange occurrence.

"There was something else though," Vivienne added quietly, interrupting Agravaine's train of thought. Turning to look at her, he took in the unnaturally nervous manner in which Vivienne stood before him. A far away gaze had entered her eyes, however her lack of eye contact did little to hide the worried lines in her mouth, lines that conveyed to Agravaine just how worried she was.

"What is it," he asked gently, taking a step closer to offer Vivienne comfort and support as he gently rubbed her arm.

"It was… strange," Vivenne said slowly, her eyes slowly moving from side to side, her head cocked as if she was trying to see something that wasn't there, "it was something to do with the dragon lords, something, something bad that is going to happen, but not straight away. I don't know," she finished frustrated, dropping her head as she tried to piece together the memory of what had happened to her whilst she was inside the hall.

But try as she might, she could not find the information that eluded her, could not get a feel for what it had been, only knowing that it was something that was somehow linked to Uther and his use of the dragon lords.

"Ygraine," she finally said unsteadily, unsure why, but knowing that it was important.

"Ygraine," she said again, this time more confidently as realisation dawned upon her.

"What about Ygraine," Agravaine asked slowly, his eyes still firmly locked on Vivienne as he carefully watched her every move.

"She's still in the hall, she's still in there," Vivienne said panicked, all reason and logic abandoning her as she thought of her sister, trapped in the hall with all those men who were now angrily arguing with one another, many trading blows to emphasise their point.

Turning, Vivienne attempted to make her way back into the hall, determined to reach her sister and pluck her to safety, but Agravaine's strong arms once again caught her and pulled her back.

"What are you doing?" she screamed angrily, furiously trying to break free of her brother's firm grip, unable to understand why he too wasn't trying to get in there and save Ygraine, "we need to help her," she added in, still struggling, not willing to hurt her brother but still desperate to get away.

"Vivienne, Vivienne stop!" her brother replied angrily, still holding on tightly to Vivienne, trying to make her see sense, "Vivienne, Ygraine is fine," he added in, attempting to make her see sense, all the while trying to understand his sister's sudden lack of reason.

"No, she's in there, she could be hurt, or trapped or scared," Vivienne shouted again, the desperation in her voice growing, matching her urge to protect Ygraine and her desire to be more responsible and become a better sister.

"Vivienne," Agravaine said decisively pushing Vivienne back behind him and positing himself between her and the hall as he grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look him in the eyes, "Ygraine is not in there, and if she was she's hardly in any danger. There's barely any fights going on and if there were, Tristan and father would make sure she was safely out of the way, Ygraine is fine," he said soothingly, watching as Vivienne's angry struggles subsided, and a look of horror and confusion entered her eyes instead.

"But, I was so sure," she finally mumbled confusedly as the truth of her brother's words sunk in. Shaking her head slowly from side to side as if trying to gain her bearings and to clear the cluttered thoughts in her head she began to voice her thoughts, "I was so sure she was in danger, so sure" she repeated, finally looking back up at her brother with a look in her eyes that pierced Agravaine through to his core.

"Hush now, everything is alright now, everything will be fine," Agravaine whispered soothingly, pulling Vivienne in tightly to his chest for a hug as he attempted to ignore the feeling in his gut. Kissing the top of her head, Agravaine squeezed her again and held his sister protectively as he felt her shake for a moment, clearly distressed by the events of the evening.

For a long time, the two of them stood like that, Vivienne wrapped tightly in Agravaine's embrace whilst she attempted to sort out the emotions and pieces of information in her head, desperately trying to make sense of it all whilst little by little, she let go of the tension that had filled her earlier as she drew comfort from her brother's strong presence.

After a while, Agravaine felt Vivienne's body relax completely and looking down, he could see in her face that she had let go of her earlier fears and was now quietly standing in his embrace, her arms wrapped around his body whilst she stared off into the distance, no longer looking for something that wasn't there.

Taking in a deep breath, Agravaine gathered his courage and prepared himself to ask the question he had been dreading all night, still not sure if now was the right time, but knowing that it was something he would have to ask eventually, if not for his sake, then for Vivienne's, and quite possible, Ygraine's.

"Vivienne, what happened between you and Ygraine, why are you suddenly so protective of her?" he asked carefully, cursing silently as he felt Vivienne tense and move away from him.

"What, do you mean?" she replied coolly, looking at her twin suspiciously.

Sighing, Agravaine ran his hands threw his hair and looked away, drawing in a deep breath to gather his wits about him before facing his sister, who had lost all trace of her earlier fear and hesitation and was now standing before him with an angry air that conveyed the depth of her annoyance.

"You know what I mean," he finally said pointedly, knowing that Vivienne would only evade the question, but holding onto the faint hope that she might see his concern and finally provide him with an answer to her strange protectiveness of Ygraine, a protectiveness he knew had developed in response to _something_ that had happened, and it was that something he wanted to find out about, what could it be, that she wouldn't even talk to him about it?

Pursing her lips, Vivienne placed her hands on her hips and stared at him for a moment before she carefully replied, emphasising each word to let her brother know that this was her final answer, "I'm protective of Ygraine because that's what she needs, we all know how blind she can become towards an issue, especially if she's convinced that she's right."

Nodding his head in a silent defeat, Agravaine chose to let the initial matter rest, and instead, he looked at Vivienne and chose his next words carefully in an attempt to put her mind at ease.

"Perhaps Ygraine is stronger than you think, maybe you need to let her have the chance to make her own mistakes and choose her future for herself, whatever that future may be," he said gently, trying to ease Vivienne into the idea of giving Ygraine more credit than what she currently did, but he knew the effort was futile, and the look of incredulity on Vivienne's face confirmed his suspicions.

"If Ygraine is not careful, she will get herself hurt. She is beautiful and that is both her blessing and her curse, you and I both know that father will not hesitate to use that beauty to his own advantage!" Vivienne said angrily, her fists beginning to clench at her side as she stared defiantly at Agravaine, trying to convince him that this was the reason she was so protective of Ygraine.

"Hold your tongue!" Agravaine shouted back quietly, a dangerous tone entering his voice as he took a step closer to peer down at Vivienne, shocked at her words.

"You know our father would never intentionally hurt Ygraine, he would never do that to any of us, not if he had a choice," he said in a low voice, anger at Vivienne flaring up inside of him for suggesting such a thing about their father.

Seeing his hurt and anger, Vivienne dropped her head in an act of shame, giving Agravaine a moment to cool off before she responded.

"I know our father would never hurt as, at least, not _intentionally_," she said, her voice now echoing Agravaine's earlier soothing tone as she gently lay her hand on Agravaine's arm to show him she meant no offense, "but he also has a hold to run, lands to protect, and relationships to maintain. Ygraine is his eldest and most beautiful daughter, and he would be a fool not to use that to his advantage. I merely wish to make sure that in choosing Ygraine's husband, he chooses well, and for the right reasons," she finished softly, offering her brother a small smile of reassurance.

Smiling back at her sadly, Agravaine picked up Vivienne's hands and kissed them, holding them tightly in place as he looked down at her, "you are also beautiful, perhaps more so than Ygraine," he replied, shushing Vivienne's protests as he continued, "and one day, I am sure that both of you will find happiness, with or without a husband at your side. And if nothing else, you will always have me," he finished, a comforting smile now stretched across his face as Vivienne smiled back up at him whilst he pulled her in for a hug, drawing her close to show her the conviction of his words.

"I hope that one day you too will find happiness brother," she muttered against his jacket, once again gripping her arms tightly around him. "I can think of no-one who deserves that more than you," she finished, smiling into his chest.

"And I hope the same for you sister," Agravaine replied, resting his head against Vivienne's as he stared up into the night sky, a small fear growing in him as he thought of the future, and what it would mean for them all should Uther decide to call upon the dragon lords.

The dragon lords would be decisive in this war, they could easily win the campaign for Uther. But they were also deceptive, and could be notoriously difficult to work with. They played by their own rules and they had their own laws to abide by. Uther would have to tread carefully if he wished to gain their respect and receive their help for his campaign.

Then and there, Agravaine vowed to himself that he would be involved in this decision every step of the way, his father had worked long and hard in order to create some sense of peace with the dragon lords, and he would not see that work undone by one man. Pulling Vivienne closer, Agravaine also reminded himself that every decision Uhter made also affected Ygraine, and so by default, Vivienne was also affected. He knew that neither his father, nor Vivienne approved of Ygraine's intense feelings for Uther nor of her desire to marry him now, especially when he had yet to win the kingdom of Camelot, and there were still many years of hard battles yet to be fought. So until that day came, he knew he would have to protect Ygraine in order to protect Vivienne and the rest of his family. He did not know what had occurred between Vivienne and Ygraine that had resulted in this fierce protectiveness and he did not necessarily agree with Vivienne's controlling view of Ygraine's love life, but he knew he would do whatever it took to ensure they were both protected, no matter the cost.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Sorry it's taken so long for me to update this but a big thankyou to all the people who've read this and added it to their alerts list, I really hope you all enjoy this next chapter and the next chapters will be up more regularly from now on. **

It had been a breeze that carried the smell to him, a faint breeze; light and shadowy that flew gently through the air and caught his attention, urging him to follow the scent through the woods. It smelled of jasmine, and it reminded him of the perfume his mother used to wear, and for a second, he had convinced himself that the figure he could see up ahead tending to her horse was his mother, but it was only a momentary thought, and it was quickly replaced with the knowledge that his mother was dead, and in any case, the person up ahead had long brown hair as opposed to his mother's fair hair that he had known so well.

Creeping up carefully behind a tree, he peered around and watched as the woman, hunched over her horse's shoe, attempted to dislodge what looked to be a particularly difficult stone. Standing there quietly behind the tree, Gorlois debated best how to approach the woman without embarrassing her and startling her out of her wits.

However before he could step out and do so, a bird called out from the opposite side of the woody glade, and the figure straightened up, her shoulders tensing as she froze, her unseen gaze fixated on some far away point he could not make out.

"I know you're there," she finally said shakily, her head dropping down centimetres from the horse's shoulder and muffling her voice as she stood deathly still, clearly waiting for him to make the next move.

Confused as to how she had sensed his presence, Gorlois pushed the feeling away and stepped out from behind the tree and moved towards the lady and her horse, stepping slowly and gently so as to not startle her any more than necessary, her tense posture and stiff shoulders clearly indicating her discomfort at his presence.

"I mean you no harm my lady," he said quietly, continuing to tread slowly over the moss covered ground, pausing momentarily as he saw her head drop further as she took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Are you alright my lady?" he suddenly questioned concerned, his eyebrow creasing as he started to wonder if some hidden ailment was the cause of her tenseness, that perhaps she had been attacked earlier in the woods and she now feared that he was her earlier attacker back to finish the job,

"No, ah no, no I am fine," she responded quickly into the horse's side, still refusing to meet his gaze as she continued on hurriedly in a now flurried yet more confident voice, "I am simply tending to my horse, there is no need for you to delay yourself, I am sure you have far more important matters to attend to so you may be on your way," she finished, barely glancing at Gorlois as she began to run her hands over her horse and made soothing noises.

"I assure you, I mean you no harm," he repeated again as he attempted to move closer to confirm to himself that her words were true and she really was not harmed.

"I'm fine," she said again tersely, sensing his movements and turning her back further into the horse's shoulder so that he could not see around her, momentarily halting his advances.

Stopping once again, Gorlois took a moment to assess her strange behaviour before continuing, adopting the lord-like tone he had had instilled into him since he was a little boy in an attempt to reassure her of his intentions, "be that as it may," he began, "the woods are no place for a lady by herself and as a knight, it is my sworn duty to see you safely on your way," he finished, hoping she would calm down at the news he was a knight and not refuse his help, however her swift response proved otherwise.

"Good sir knight," she replied promptly, a defiant tone entering her voice, "I am perfectly capable of looking after myself and whilst the concern is appreciated, it is not required," she continued indignantly, forgetting her earlier hesitation as she turned to glare at Gorlois angrily before seeming to remember something as a flash of horror entered her eyes and she quickly turned back to face her horse once more.

With confusion growing in his gut mixed with curiosity about this obviously well to do lady given the authority with which she spoke to him and the quality of both her horse and garments that were poorly covered by a dusty coat, Gorlois took a few small steps closer and came to stand next to the horses head, keenly aware of how the figure in front of him quickly tensed again and took a small step away from him, keeping her head low as she breathed in deeply. Clearly, something was troubling her, and as a knight, he felt himself honour bound to figure out what it was, and how he could best assist the poor woman.

"My lady," he said, dropping his lords voice and once again using his earlier gentle tone in an attempt to bring her around, "I meant no offence, your horse is lame and I merely wish to help you on your way," he finished, tilting his head and watching the figure in from of him freeze, and then slowly turn to look at him, a confused and somewhat lost expression on her face.

"I don't know you," she said weakly after a moment's hesitation as she shook her head softly from side to side, the expression on her face becoming almost pleading, as if she was begging him to go and forget the whole thing.

Taken back for a moment at her blatant fear of him, Gorlois realised he had forgotten to introduce himself and felt like kicking himself for forgetting something so basic that would have instantly calmed the lady in front of him and put her at ease. Stepping back, he bowed low to the ground as he began to speak, "then allow me to familiarize myself to you, my name is Gorlois, son of –"

"No!" the word flew from her mouth as she step back horrified, her hands darting to her side as she turned her back to him and looked into the forest, once again breathing deeply as she attempted to calm herself.

"My lady I am sorry, if I have caused offence…" Gorlois replied hurt, staring at her back more confused than ever. For a while, neither of them spoke whilst all around them, an eerie silence filled the sunny glade where even the birds had stopped their singing and the earlier breeze that had alerted Gorlois to the lady's presence had faded as even the horse ceased its whickering.

Finally, the lady straightened her shoulders and turned to face Gorlois, a somewhat composed look on her face replacing her earlier one of fear. "I apologise for my rudeness my lord," she said in a small voice, her trembling shoulders clashing with her composed face. "My horse has a stone caught in his hoof, perhaps you could help me get it out?" she asked dropping her head to look back at the horse as she gently stroked its side.

"Of course," Gorlois replied, more confused than ever at the change in her demeanour. Reaching to the hidden pouch in his jacket, he retrieved a small dagger as he knelt down to pick up the hoof he had seen her inspecting earlier whilst more and more confusing thoughts whirled through his head. Who was this lady, obviously wealthy and thus from a well-to-do family, that was out here by herself in the woods and seemingly so frightened of him? Questions buzzed and flitted through his mind as he worked at the small stone that was deeply lodged in the horse's hoof before it finally came out and landed with a satisfying plod in his hand.

"Thank you for your help kind knight," she said, her green eyes now watching Gorlois with an intense gaze as he straightened up, dusting off dirt from his breeches.

"It was my pleasure," he began, keen to see that she appeared to be more at ease with him as now stood facing him, a neutral expression on her face. Opening his mouth to continue, he intended to ask her where she was heading so that he could see her there safely, however she cut him off before he could do so…

"You should return to your group now, they require your assistance," she said as she swung up onto her mount before he had a chance to respond.

Yet just as he was about to do so, a loud shout in the distance caught his attention and he turned, his senses automatically fine tuning to pick out the various sounds around him. His breathing stilled, he waited for a moment, and then he heard it, the faint sound of steel clashing in the distance.

"Damn it," he swore under his breath, cursing himself for not realising earlier the strange silence that had filled the woods, silence that more often than not signalled the start of battle. Pulling out his sword, he ran forward a couple of steps, before remembering the woman behind him. Cursing again, he turned, trying to figure out in his head how to best get her to safety whilst getting back to the battle, before realising that both she and her horse were gone, disappeared like ghosts, and he hadn't even heard them leave leading him to think for a second that he might have actually imagined the whole thing, save for the small stone that he still held in his hand.

Cursing at the whole situation, he turned around and pounded back through the woods, his earlier stealth all but forgotten as he jumped over bushes and darted around trees as he mentally prepared himself for battle, all the while wondering at the young woman's strange behaviour. His thoughts continued along this path until he found himself at the top of a small slope where below him on the path he could see the ensuing skirmish between Uther's small force and what looked to be a large contingent of bandits and merchant fighters all brutally hacking away at one another as men lay dying or dead in vast pools of blood that stained the leafy ground.

Pausing for a moment, Gorlois desperately searched for Uther, and quickly found him, standing in the middle of the brawl and shouting out orders and encouragement to his men as he hacked away at various attacking bodies, his thundering voice rising above the din of scraping metal and bloodied screams as he and his surrounding men fought back at the far larger force that surrounded them.

Cursing their decision to only bring a small force as a sign of good faith towards Frederick de Bois and the dragon council, Gorlois tightened his grip on his sword and jumped headfirst into a group of enemy fighters who had not yet seen him and began slashing at their turned backs, slashing at the back of one and moving on to slit the throat of another before lifting his guard and raising his sword defensively as three men came swinging at him, one wielding a rather nasty looking axe.

Jumping out of the reach of the axe, he coaxed the axe wielder forward, and managed to sidestep around him after a particularly vicious blow and using his momentum, stabbed the man in the neck whilst rolling over his back in a calculated move that caused the two other men to lunge at him and miss, leaving both of them vulnerable to a swift execution.

After that, he then ran forward, slashing and cutting at the various bodies, attempting to make his way to Uther who at the centre, was still standing tall and fighting off various opponents all around him.

And then, out of nowhere a thundering roar filled the air and started to resonate in every fibre of his being as a swift rush of wind began to fill the battle ground. All around him, Gorlois felt the forest came alive as leaves swirled upwards in a billowing gale that drowned out the screams of the men below whilst the rushing wind continued to billow around him and began to block out the sounds of screaming men.

Holding on tightly to his sword and blinking heavily to try and clear his eyes, Gorlois paused and looked upwards, as did those around him, to determine the source of the commotion. Overhead, he could see little else save for the masses of leaves that now tore through the air and made vision near impossible, until another earth shattering roar cut through the commotion, and briefly, Gorlois thought he saw a large, dark shape dart through the sky and come closer and closer.

Then without warning, Gorlois felt an enormous pressure building as the air started beating down around him and from the rooftop of the trees, an enormous beast began to descend, its stretchy wings flapping strongly and then slowing as the creature lowered itself down from the sky, its long, snake like neck turning from side to side to reveal a vicious looking head with sharp fangs descending ominously from its mouth whilst rows of horns rose up from its head to meet in deadly sharp points. And sitting astride the beasts muscly, dark shoulder was a man, whose upright posture and long flowing hair gave the impression of a god descending from the heavens to cast judgement upon mortal men.

For a moment, Gorlois felt an overwhelming feeling of fear and insignificance grip him in the face of the powerful beast that now stood before him, its beady red eyes staring down and taking in all those around him, a small grumbling scaring away the bandits and causing them to scamper away whilst Gorlois stood there paralysed, unable to move, immobilised by fear.

For a long while, the man atop of the large beast sat there, his dark eyes taking in all that happened around him until Uther stepped forward, caked in blood and grime, and looking every inch the king he one day intended to be.

Walking tall and proud admits the bloodied bodies; Uther came to stop metres from what seemed to be the beasts, large, clawed feet. Dropping his head in a sign of respect Uther gave a small bow and drove his sword into the ground in front of him in a sign of peace before stepping back to look up at the man who still sat atop the massive beast as both man and animal watched Uther curiously, waiting to see what he would do next as all around the forest, Uther's men sheathed their swords and stood at a cautious distance from Uther and what Gorlois could only assume was a dragon.

"I thank you good sir, for assisting us with those bandits," Uther said in a kingly manner, his head held high as he kept his gaze firmly on the man seated confidently up upon the dragon, "you helped prevent a great deal of blood loss by your intervention, thankyou once again," he finished, dropping his head again in a sign of respect.

Lifting an eyebrow in response, the dragon-rider tilted his head to the side as he regarded Uther with an almost bemused expression, before swinging down gracefully off his mount and walking over to Uther, his long stride and straight posture coupled with the intimidating dragon behind him whose large body filled the entire area with an almost uncomfortable heat, reinforcing the godlike perception of the man Gorlois had experienced earlier. Coming to stand in front of Uther, the dragon-rider stood little more than an inch above Uther, yet his air of confidence and some other self-assuredness served to make him appear far taller and larger than life, and reflected in Uther's eyes, Gorlois saw a hint of admiration that he rarely saw. Uther hardly ever looked at anyone with as much reverence as he was now for this man, and Gorlois realised that Uther envied this man for the impact he had on others, and that one day, he too hoped to have a similar kind of effect on people.

"You know who we are," the man finally said, his voice lacking the god-like superiority Gorlois had expected, yet his voice still carried far more authority and superiority than any other Gorlois had heard before.

"Indeed I do," Uther replied formally, once again establishing eye contact with the impressive man that stood before him.

"Then you came to ask for our help?" he responded, the tone in his voice indicating that he already knew the answer.

"Indeed I did," Uther answered formally, keeping his voice level.

Nodding in response, the man cast a lazy glance around at Uther's men, taking in their dishevelled appearance and wary faces mixed in with a sense of tiredness.

"Then continue on your way, and perhaps we shall meet again in the court of Frederick de Bois," he finally said, turning his back to Uther with one last look of superiority before he walked back to his beast.

"Wait, how did you know we were here?" Uther asked, unprepared to just watch the impressive man leave.

"We have our ways," the man replied from atop his dragon before appearing to give his mount some unseen signal as the beast unfolded its leathery wings and began to beat them up and down as it lifted its large body off the ground before Uther had a chance to respond. As before when the creature had landed, Gorlois felt the forest around him come alive as the previously settled leaves were once again propelled up into the air as even the trees seemed to move out of the way of the dragon.

Coming to stand next to his friend, Gorlois craned his neck towards the sky as the two of them watched the impressive beast leave as it continued to beat its way further and further into the sky until its size had significantly reduced and the creature let out a resounding roar as with one last powerful flap of its wings, it suddenly shot away swiftly, its shape and that of its rider quickly lost between the trees.

Standing there next to Uther, Gorlois became keenly aware of his breathing which up until now, had been rapid and shallow as he realised he had been terrified, not just of the creature, but of how easily it could have killed not only him, but Uther as well with one swipe of its claw, and and in that moment, Gorlois realised just how much he cared and valued Uther as his friend, not only because of their close bond, but because of how important he was for the future of the land and for Camelot.

"It would seem, that we have permission to continue on," Uther finally said, turning to face Gorlois with a large beam on his face.

"Looks like you'll be seeing good old Frederick again," Gorlois replied with a shaky smile, still feeling more unsettled then he would have liked.

"And Ygraine," Uther whispered wistfully under his breath, a faraway gaze momentarily entering his eyes as a soft smile played upon his lips.

Watching him carefully, Gorlois chose to bite his tongue as he watched Uther, his old concerns about Uther's affections for the girl ruining his chance at forging an alliance with her father resurfacing. Gorlois had never met the girl, he had not been with Uther when he had met the de Bois', yet he had heard enough about the girl to know that Uther was infatuated with her, along with a large number of other suitors. Yet despite his friends apparently vivid and intense feelings for the girl, a small part of Gorlois could not help but wonder if part of Uther's desire for the girl came from her family's association with the dragon lords and that his feelings were not entirely pure and would simply lead to another messy situation like the one they had left behind when they were younger men.

Pushing the unpleasant thoughts away, Gorlois left Uther to his musings and turned to see to the men, many of whom were still standing shell shocked, staring up at the gap in the trees where the dragon and its rider had earlier departed.

"Alright, pull yourselves together men, see to the dead and injured and let's get ready to move out, if all goes well, we should be feasting on roast meat with a jug of mead in our hands by tonight," he said, pleased to see that all traces of his earlier fear had left his voice which now sounded as it ought, strong and authoritarian.

"Yes, well done everyone," Uther added coming to stand beside him, "today, we have seen the power of the dragons and with their help, we will be unstoppable!" he finished in a roaring voice, thrusting his fist into the air as all around them, the morale of the men visibly lifted as they two lifted their fists to the sky with a weary shout.

Watching the cheering men with a small smile, Gorlois cast a sidelong glance at his friend who was staring triumphantly around at his men, a large beam on his face. Whilst on the outside he could feel himself smiling, internally, Gorlois felt concerned at Uther's assumption that the dragon lords would readily assist them and that Uther was already talking like they had.

Sighing, Gorlois stepped away from his friend and moved to help with the wounded men that lay scattered around the bloody battlefield, deciding that for now, the most important thing was their men, the rest could wait.

**I apologize for any errors or if anything didn't make sense in the battle scene or in general. Any tips/comments/constructive criticism etc. is greatly appreciated so please click review!**


	4. Chapter 4

"You ask and therefore expect much of me Uther Pendragon," Frederick de Bois said brusquely, lifting his head to look down on Uther, a slight sneer on his face, "and I am not convinced you have properly thought this all through," he added in as an afterthought, leaning back in his foreboding chair as he watched Uther, a somewhat curious and yet at the same time satisfied expression on his face. It was an expression that had not changed much over the last hour or so of negotiations, Uther thought bitterly as he lifted his chin and attempted to restrain himself. Pausing for a moment, he took a second to gather his thoughts before carefully considering his next words. Frederick did not like them, or rather, Frederick did not like him, this much he knew. The man looked down on him, he made it blatantly obvious that he thought him too cocky and self-assured and perhaps he was right, however in Uther's mind, it was these qualities that had helped to get him this far. Surely he reasoned, not just anyone could accomplish what he had in such a small amount of time?

And yet, a small part of him recognised that the main reason Frederick de Bois looked down on him so, was simply due to his interest in the stern man's eldest daughter, an interest he knew she too reciprocated, an interest which unfortunately, had prevented her from being in the hall with them now. A small part of him had been desperately hoping that she would be there for the proceedings so that he may gaze upon her even for a moment before turning to business, knowing that her light smile and beautiful eyes would give him the strength required to endure stubborn father.

Alas, he had been denied the chance to gaze upon Ygraine's beautiful face, and so instead he had dove headfirst into his reasons for being there as soon as the formal introductions and necessities had been dealt with. And now, as a result of his forwardness, he found himself dealing with a tenacious overlord who clearly seemed to be enjoying his ability to treat Uther like a dog by hanging a treat just in front of his nose, close enough that he could sense it, and then cruelly jerking it back every time Uther thought the treat was within his reach. Cursing the gods, Uther groaned inwardly, wondering how it came to be that Frederick was the one man he had to go through to reach the dragon lords, that this one man, who clearly despised him due to his interest in his daughter, was the man who had been appointed liaison between the dragon lords council, and the rest of the seven kingdoms.

Pursing his lips, Uther cast a quick gaze over to Tristan, Frederick's eldest son, a son who shared many of the fair features of his sister, the pale blonde hair, bright blue eyes. Shaking his head, Uther quickly collected his thoughts, cursing himself for allowing his thoughts to wonder so easily. Turning his attentions back to Tristan whilst doing his best to ignore the obvious resemblance between the man and his sister, Uther thought back to his earlier observations about the man. He had detected early on in the proceedings that Tristan was far more sympathetic to his cause than his father, and that whilst Frederick would draw this out for as long as possible so that he could remind Uther of the power he currently held over him, Uther was sure that if he could reach out to Tristan, Tristan in turn would be able to convince his father to support Uther.

Taking a deep breath, he respectfully waited for the elders who were all clustered around Frederick and whispering fervently into the lords ears to finish doing so before he continued on. Keeping his face composed so that he could not be accused of showing any disrespect, he moved his fingers behind his back, aware that they had once again began to twist uncomfortably, how he wished he could have a good drink to wash away his worries. Meanwhile, his ever faithful friend Gorlois stood behind him, and he could hear the man muttering quietly under his breath to calm down. Drawing strength from his friend's presence, Uther unclenched his hands and moved them again to his signs, and prepared himself to speak as he saw that the elders were down, once again grateful to Gorlois that his friend had managed to calm him down so that he could get on with business.

"My good lords," he said in a loud voice, careful to address both men so that Tristan knew he too had the opportunity to weigh in equally in this conversation and hopefully, sway it in his favour. "I wish to bring an end to the bloodshed that plagues the currently divided and warring kingdoms. I believe that with your aid, if I am given the opportunity to present my case and all those who share in my vision to the dragon lords council, they will see the wisdom in my proposition and so offer their support and help put an end to this bloody war. To do so would mark the dawn of a new age, a peaceful one, and all who hear about it would know it was done so with your aid" he finished, pointedly looking at Tristan, hoping that any shred of aspiration he was confident the young man would have, would be enamoured by the proposition of being partly responsible for the building of a new age.

Watching Tristan carefully, Uther hoped that the thoughtful look that had entered the young man's eyes echoed the line of thought he himself had been pursuing only moments earlier. Whilst Tristan thought over his words, Uther turned his gaze back to Frederick, hoping that he would finally consent and so put an end to the ongoing dance between them. It frustrated him, that he had come so far, had already spoken to one of the dragon lords, and now, when he was so close, the accursed man in front of him would not organise a meeting and allow him to continue.

Taking in yet another deep breath, he looked up at Frederick who was watching him carefully, an unreadable expression on his face and a strange look in his eyes, a look Uther did not like. It was a look that told him that there was some very important piece of information that he was withholding, something Uther know desperately wished he knew what it was.

"Father, the Pendragon makes a valid argument, I believe we should grant him his request for an audience with the dragon lords," Tristan finally said, breaking the tense silence in the hollow hall as he looked down at his father and broke Uther out of his earlier train of thought. Holding back a smile, Uther pushed down his worries about the unknown information and instead allowed himselve to feel proud for being able to reach out and put Tristan on his side, knowing that this valuable ally would help to bring him one step closer to achieving his goal, both that of meeting with the dragon lords council, and perhaps even towards gaining favour with Ygraine.

Turning his attention back to Frederick, Uther narrowed his eyes and made sure he had a neutral expression on his face as Frederick continued to regard him with that strange look in his eyes. However it was a small glance between the man and his eldest son that convinced Uther that Frederick would not turn down his son's argument, no matter how much he clearly wanted to.

"Very well, I shall arrange the meeting as you wish," he finally said, his loud voice ringing out in the flickering hall as he stood up, nodding his head stiffly at Uther who bowed in return, his eyes never leaving Fredericks.

Seeing Uther's intense gaze, Frederick gave a smug smile, and stepped down off his daius to stand in front of Uther, the smug smile now reaching up into his eyes. "However, I do grant this request because his claim has persuaded me to. I do so one because my son has persuaded me and two, so that he may learn exactly what kind of effect his claim will have on the dragon lords," he finished complacently as he stepped around Uther as if he were little more than a pile of dirt. "You may all go now, hospitality is offered to you and your men Pendragon, may you find it satisfactory," he threw back over his shoulder as walked down the long hall and out into the central courtyard. Behind him trailed Tristan and other members of his council who nodded silently at Uther and Gorlois as they left, none save Tristan refusing to meet their gaze.

Standing resolutely, Uther watched them go before turning to face Gorlois whose face displayed little of his earlier enthusiasm and instead looked at Uther with a hint of concern on his face.

Matching his friend's gaze, Uther looked into his eyes, and saw the same question reflected back at him. Clearly their proposition of peace seemed to have some unintended and unrealised connotations, just what kind of effect was Frederick talking about? Dropping his head in confusion, Uther looked away, and sensed the smile on his friend's face that he was sure mirrored his own, as they both broke down and let out a loud chuckle at all that had gone on that day.

"Well, I do not know if that went as planned," Gorlois chuckled lightly, clapping his hand onto Uther's shoulder. "But at least we now have a chance to go and fill our bellies with hot food, good rum, jolly music and merry company," he finished happily, the prospect of decent food and a comfortable bed seeming that much more appealing after the many months they had spent on the move.

"Are you saying I have permission to drink and be merry?" Uther teased back at his friend, knowing how Gorlois became extra protective of him when drink was involved.

"I think this one night you will be fine," Gorlois responded with a smile and a laugh as he gave Uther a forceful shove towards the door and out to where the mess hall lay waiting for them.

(xx)

Pushing off the sword that moments earlier had been rushing towards her face, Vivienne ducked under the follow on stroke and danced far enough out of the way of the blades sharp edge that she knew she had bought herself a few moment's respite from the vicious onslaught of her partner. However the break was momentary, and her partner was quickly on her again, hard and fast enough to keep her on her feet, not quite enough to defeat her although she knew that if he so desired, she would be on her back faster than she could…

She was on her back.

Beneath her, she was vaguely aware of the muddy ground, mud she could feel sinking through her clothes and reaching her body with a strange coldness that she could already feel present in her bones, yet strangely a coldness that did not seem to be affecting her.

"Ready to talk yet?" came the toneless question from her sparring partner who stood above her, his hand offered out to hers.

"About what, I didn't realise we were talking," she replied haughtily, taking the offered hand and pulling herself up to give Balinor a pointed look before walking away and resuming her guard opposite him on the muddy piece of ground that they regularly used to train.

"Hmm, what about the fact that you were right and Uther's men were there," Balinor responded as he began circling her, reaching in quickly to jab at her left side and pulling back again as Vivienne quickly replied with a sharp parry before continuing on and striking at his side in an unexpected and unforseen blow.

Smiling at him, Vivienne raised her guard again and flashed Balinor a look that warned him that she would take advantage of any loss of concentration, no matter how fleeting in his attack, and what was worse, was that she knew that his concentration was at its lowest when he was talking, a fact that normally she would take advantage of, yet today, she was less willing to do so, and he was pretty confident he knew why.

"You know ignoring this won't make it go away," he finally said, moving in to strike again and then stepping back as Vivienne's footwork moved fluidly to match his pre-emptive strike.

"I'm not ignoring anything," Vivienne replied as she broke from her defensive stance and moved in to strike, all tell-tale signs Balinor recognised from his many years of training with his often stubborn sparring partner that something was not quite right.

Easily defending her sloppy attack, Balinor pushed her away, and then dropped his sword, straightened up and walked away to the edge of the training ring and put his sword away, making it obvious that he was done.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Vivienne demanded coming up behind him, "I thought you were training with me?" she added furiously as she shot him a frustrated glare with daggers in her eyes, warning him against pursuing his earlier line of conversation.

"Not until you talk about your dream," he replied as he chose to ignore Vivienne's warning glare. Turning back to look at her, he faltered slightly under her intense gaze before regaining his composure and settled back into tend his sword. Behind him, he heard Vivienne suck in deeply and he was sure, look away angrily for a moment before turning back to face him.

"I get so little time to practice I need to make the most of every opportunity I get, and you're not helping," she said defiantly, stepping around to his other side in order to shoot him another death glare as she regained her composure.

Tilting his head to look at her, Balinor flashed her a smile before turning around again to rest against the wooden frame, giving her a smug look as he replied, "and if you want to make the most of our little sessions, then you need to ensure that your mind is clear of any distractions, which is why if you talk about any distractions you might have now, you can clear your thoughts, get over them, and have a more effective training session. Otherwise if your mind is elsewhere occupied, then this session will be pointless and I see no reason in continuing on with a pointless session," he finished, crossing his arms and looking over at Vivienne who was now glaring at him with a familiar passion that in the past would have made him cower but now, he thought proudly, had little effect on him as he stared down at her, waiting for her to respond.

"Then I guess we're done," she finally said after staring at him and seeing that it was getting her nowhere. Turning her back, she ignored his open mouth look of confusion and frustration and the little voice in the back of her head that told her she was being childish as she wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead and turned to leave, placing her training sword on the ground as she did so.

"Wait Vivienne, you need to talk about this, you can't just ignore your dream," Balinor said as he gently reached out to grab Vivienne's arm and attempted to get her to look at him so that she might see he was only trying to help her and so open up to him about her troubling dreams.

"It was only a dream Balinor, that's all they ever were or ever will be" Vivienne responded without a moment's hesitation in a plain and neutral as she stared out over the side of the rocky flat where they were practicing, her gaze never wavering as she refused to look at him.

"Look, I know the high priestesses weren't prepared to take you in and train you…" Balinor began before Vivienne spun out of his grasp and turned to gaze up at him angrily, a fierce fire burning in her eyes he hadn't seen before and that caused Balinor to lose his earlier confidence and wilt under her burning gaze.

"The high priestesses refused to train me for a reason and that reason was because I have no valuable magical powers. They were just dreams and coincidences Balinor, that's all they ever were and I was wrong to involve my father or anyone else and if you ever grab me on the arm like that again, you will be sorry" Vivienne threatened, visibly angry that he had touched upon a topic he knew was sensitive for her. "It was just a dream, nothing more," she spat out again, punctuating every word as she continued to stare down Balinor.

"Does your father know about this latest dream?" Balinor finally managed to reply shakily as he stepped away from her and attempted to make sure that he kept a mask of composure on his face whilst carefully watched the seething female before him, unsettled that she had not only responded so viciously to his offer but that she had also threatened him, something she had never done before.

Swallowing deeply, Vivienne looked down at the ground, and then back up at Balinor, her face now matching his own cool exterior, her earlier threat forgotten as she responded in a practiced voice, "my father was right. It is pointless for me to put faith in such things. I was wrong before, and this, this was just a coincidence," she finished icily, stepping closer to him as she punctuated her last words before spinning around and retreating down the rocky slope, heading back the way she had come earlier.

"Vivienne that's not true and you know it," Balinor called out to Vivienne's retreating back, concerned that she was trying too hard to hide from what was happening, "I've been talking to Agravaine and he told me about –" Balinor stopped as Vivienne spun around and fixed him with a dangerous glare that froze him in his tracks and told him that this time, he really had taken it too far.

"So you and my _brother_," she spat out the last word, "are still conspiring against me!" she finished shouting, angrily stating rather than questioning his words, her tone implying that there was no use in him responding.

Taking a deep breath, Vivienne shot him a filthy glare before lowering her voice and began to talk back to him in a deadly voice, "perhaps you should spend less time plotting with my brother, and more time training with your precious dragon," she snarled venomously, "last I hear, I'm not the only one who needs more training," she finished angrily, breathing heavily as she threw her last comment at him and for a split second, took a perverse satisfaction in watching the look of ashamedness cross her friends face until she blinked and a moment later, seemed to realise the hurtful words that she had just spoken.

A look of sadness crossed Balinor's features and he looked away briefly before turning his gaze back to Vivienne who had the decency to look embarrassed as she swallowed deeply and looked away remorsefully before looking back at him, a look of regret evident in her eyes at the words she had spoken, words that could not now be taken back. Shaking her head in astonishment at her own bitterness, she dropped her gaze down to the ground and seemed to blink back tears before she turned and made her way silently down the rocky path that lead to where her father's keep lay, her broken figure making it painfully obvious to Balinor that she was just as conscious as he was at to how their relationship had all of a sudden changed drastically in just a few small sentences.

Watching her go, Balinor tried to wrestle away the feeling of hurt and sadness that Vivienne had caused him, worried at the damage that had just been done to their friendship. Cursing Vivienne for reacting so venomously when he was only trying to help her deal with an issue that was clearly causing her a lot of grief, he turned around, picked up the two swords and began heading back to his quarters, his thoughts shifting to his own problems in an attempt to move on from the pain that Vivienne's words had caused him. Whilst he had easily mastered the art of swordplay, there were various other aspects of being a dragon lord that he lacked in, and it was for this reason, he knew his chances of being lorded would take far longer than they did for most and that even then, it would still be a stretch for him to be lorded. His argument with Vivienne had reminded him of that and her comment about him needing to train more had struck home. It would seem that both he and Vivienne would be denied that which they had spent so many years believing would one day be theirs.

Sighing again, he pushed the troubling thoughts away as he strode into the main compound of the dragon lords as he mentally decided to commit the rest of his afternoon off to the training he knew he so desperately needed in the hope that it might make some difference to his progression towards becoming a lord.

**A/N So I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Tristan de Bois was Ygraine's brother (and not the Tristan at the end of season 4). In fact I think the black knight in season 1 of Merlin who challenges Arthur is actually meant to be Tristan de Bois seeking revenge for his sister (Ygraine)'s death and this is the basis for the character Tristan in my story, I hope that made sense. **

**Thanks for reading! **


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