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| - ARTHUR: I think it's been a good trip. MORDRED: Yeah, we all caught something. GWAINE: Including Merlin. [He laughs.] ARTHUR: What did he catch? MERLIN: A cold! LEON: If you learnt to track, you'd enjoy it more. MERLIN: I'm the best tracker here. MERLIN: Arthur, what is it? A deer? [He makes the crossbow ready.] A boar? PERCIVAL: Arthur. MERLIN: Saxons. ARTHUR: They were after the cargo. Weapons bound for Camelot. MERLIN: Morgana. GWAINE: This close to the city walls? ARTHUR: Check for survivors. MORDRED: Kara? Go! [He whispers more urgently.] Kara, go! ARTHUR: What happened? MORDRED: I thought I saw someone. I was wrong. Probably a deer. ARTHUR: Are you sure? MORDRED: Yeah. ARTHUR: Move out. GAIUS: I don't want that. I want lungwort! MERLIN: Maybe it's in the...thing. [He sets the bag down on the other table and goes about getting it ready.] GAIUS: What is it, Merlin? What's the matter? MERLIN: Mordred. [He sits on the bench.] GAIUS: You're worrying about what the sorceress told you. MERLIN: Finna was right. I must not trust Mordred. GAIUS: He's a loyal knight. He's proved it time after time. MERLIN: He's beguiled you. He's beguiled you all. GAIUS: You're wrong, Merlin. MERLIN: When we were out on patrol, a Saxon escaped and Mordred let him. GAIUS: Are you sure? MERLIN: Saw him. GAIUS: There must be a simple explanation. MERLIN: I can't believe that, Gaius. Not after all I've told. GAIUS: He's fond of the King. The feeling is mutual. They've become great friends. MERLIN: That's my fear. Arthur's blind to him. I'm not. I won't make that same mistake. GAIUS: We've patients waiting. [Merlin gets up and follows Gaius to the door. Gaius turns to Merlin as he opens the door.] GAIUS: Have you got everything? MERLIN: Yes. GAIUS: [He looks at Merlin and notices that he doesn't have the medicine bag.] Merlin? MORDRED: Kara. [He turns to his left and listens.] KARA: [Softly] Mordred? [Louder] Mordred. KARA: Mordred. LEON: We believe they approached from the gorge at Westhay and tracked the ridgeline all the way through to the ford at Rushwick. ARTHUR: We can't allow our supply routes to become vulnerable. I want extra patrols dispatched to the west and the north of the Citadel. LEON: We ride at first light. ARTHUR: Leon. I need not remind you we're at war. GWEN: What's troubling you? ARTHUR: Morgana's men attacked only a few leagues away from the Citadel. GWEN: She is brazen. ARTHUR: She does not fear us. GWEN: Then she's more foolish than I thought. ARTHUR: She has sorcery on her side. GWEN: And you have the strength and love of your people, Arthur. When you became King, you gave them something to fight for. That's the most powerful weapon of all. KARA: Could you believe...? MORDRED: No. [She pulls back and looks at him.] KARA: If it hadn't been you... MORDRED: I know. MORDRED: Your leg? KARA: It isn't deep. [He takes his bag off.] MORDRED: Let me see. [He looks at the wound then back up at her.] I'll clean it. [He pulls the vials out the bag and holds them up.] These will help it heal. [He starts to doctor her leg.] KARA: What're we going to do? MORDRED: I'm going to help you get better. KARA: You're a knight. MORDRED: That doesn't matter. KARA: Of Camelot. Why, Mordred? MORDRED: Arthur is a good man. KARA: I can't believe you'd say that. MORDRED: You don't know him. KARA: He's your friend? MORDRED: Yes. [She can't believe it.] KARA: Does he know who you are? You're a druid. You don't belong in Camelot. MORDRED: I believe in Arthur. You'll see. One day, it will change. You're safe here. [He puts a hand on her cheek.] No one will harm you, I promise. MERLIN: Where've you been? MORDRED: Nowhere. MERLIN: You’re lying. MORDRED: What right have YOU to question me? [Merlin shrugs] MORDRED: Why are you doing this? Everything I do you think the worst. [Merlin moves to stand in front of him.] MERLIN: I saw you let a Saxon go. Maybe I should tell Arthur. MORDRED: Merlin, she's a druid. I knew her. She was wounded. What could I do? Let her be captured? She had an arrow in her leg. She cannot walk! MERLIN: You're taking a risk. MORDRED: I can't let her die. She's... someone... I can't explain. MERLIN: Where is she? MORDRED: She needs a few days. [Merlin huffs.] She'll be gone, she means no harm. Please you mustn't tell anyone. You know if Arthur catches her she'll be killed. Please, Merlin, I beg you. [He whispers] She's one of us. Promise me. MERLIN: Your secret is safe with me. You have my word. ARTHUR: Merlin! ARTHUR: What ARE you doing? MERLIN: I'm like a swan. [He turns around to face Arthur.] It seems like I'm not doing anything, but there's a lot of work going on underneath. ARTHUR: Hm. Interesting. I see you more as a headlouse. MERLIN: Right... ARTHUR: Useless. Irritating. Come on. We've got a patrol to mount. ARTHUR: [Arthur sees something.] Merlin! Here. [Merlin walks up.] It's all about staying alert. What do you see? MERLIN: I see a pair of breeches that need cleaning. ARTHUR: Come and have a look. Closer. [He pushes Merlin to the ground.] ARTHUR: Now what do you see? MERLIN: Brilliant. [He stands up brushing dirt off.] Two pairs of breeches that need cleaning. ARTHUR: On the branch! MERLIN: It's broken. ARTHUR: What does that tell you? MERLIN: Something left the trail. [Merlin looks up and stares at something. Arthur keeps on looking around.] ARTHUR: It's recent. MERLIN: An animal. ARTHUR: You think so? MERLIN: A deer. ARTHUR: Would have to be a big one. MERLIN: With very big antlers. ARTHUR: What makes you say that? MERLIN: Because its looking at us. [Arthur finally stops looking at the ground and glances up. They see the deer.] MERLIN: Its... all about keeping alert. [Arthur sees something in the mud. Merlin looks at him, nudges his arm..] MERLIN: Come on. [Arthur walks forward and sees a bootprint in the mud.] ARTHUR: That's not a deer. [They follow the trail back to the carriage.] ARTHUR: Merlin. [He points to bootprints in the mud.] MERLIN: They're from when we were here yesterday. ARTHUR: It was dry yesterday, it rained last night. These marks are fresh. MERLIN: Our men have been patrolling this area night and day. It's probably one of them. ARTHUR: Who? I had their reports. No one's been through here. [Arthur follows the trail that Mordred left. Merlin follows. Arthur draws his sword as they come upon Kara's hiding place. Merlin has a feeling.] MERLIN: [Whispers.] Arthur. [Arthur still enters.] [They walk forward. Kara comes out from behind her hiding spot behind a rock.] KARA: Don't hurt me. [Merlin realizes who it is but doesn't say anything.] MERLIN: Careful. Arthur, she's wounded. KARA: Please...I mean you no harm. [Arthur puts his sword away and walks forward to help her. He gets distracted and Kara pulls a dagger out, but before she can stab Arthur Merlin uses his magic to make the dagger fly out her hand. With the force that she was going to use she falls and Arthur catches her.] ARTHUR: You would've killed me. KARA: I'm only sorry I failed. [Merlin is walking along a corridor when Mordred grabs the sides of his jacket and throws him into the wall.] MORDRED: Why?! MERLIN: I didn't tell him! MORDRED: You gave me your word! MERLIN: I swear. [Merlin pushes Mordred away.] MORDRED: You did it because you hate me. [He steps forward and Merlin a hand up to stop him.] MERLIN: No. MORDRED: This time you've gone too far. You'll pay, Merlin. [Gwaine and Leon come around the corner.] GWAINE: What's going on? [Merlin and Mordred look toward them.] LEON: What's this about? [Merlin and Mordred continue to glare at each other.] MORDRED: Nothing. [He walks between Gwaine and Leon bumping Leon's shoulder. Merlin straightens his jacket. Gwaine steps in front of Merlin. ] GWAINE: Merlin? MERLIN: Nothing. [He walks the opposite way of Mordred. Gwaine and Leon look at each other.] ARTHUR: Were you part of a cohort of saxons who attacked an arms shipment bound for Camelot? KARA: Yes. ARTHUR: And were you acting under the orders of Morgana Pendragon? KARA: What I did, I did for myself, for my people and for our right to be free. ARTHUR: I have no quarrel with the Druids. KARA: I have spent my life on the run because of my beliefs and seen those I have loved killed. ARTHUR: Once, maybe. But I'm not my father. KARA: You don't kill those with magic? [Arthur looks at her as she turns her head to look at him.] It is not I, Arthur Pendragon, who needs to answer for my crimes, it is you. You and your father have brutally and mercilessly heaped misery on my kind. It is you who has turned a peaceful people to war...and it is you...and Camelot that shall pay the price. ARTHUR: In your words...I hear the voice of Morgana. It is she and others like her who have abused the powers of magic. It is they who have brought the rift between our people. It is their deeds, that have terroised Camelot and forced us to outlaw such practices. But you stand before the court, not because of an act of sorcery or sedition, but because an act of murder. Your actions have brought about the deaths of many good men and threaten the lives of many more. [Mordred glances at Arthur.] KARA: They were casualties of war. And I would do the same again for I will not rest until you are dead and your kingdom is no more. [She turns her head and watches Arthur as he walks around the circle.] ARTHUR: Yet you have friends here. [Merlin watches to see if anything will happen. Mordred stares at Kara.] Somehow you got treatment for your leg...from someone in Camelot. Who? KARA: I treated myself. ARTHUR: You're lying. Whoever it was left a trail of footprints in the mud...[Mordred looks down at the ground realizing what he has done.] footprints that resulted in your capture. KARA: A stranger came across me and he helped me. I have no idea who he was. ARTHUR: You show no remorse for your actions. I have no choice but to declare you an enemy of Camelot. At dawn tomorrow, pursuant to the laws of this land, you will be taken from your cell...[Mordred looks at Arthur.] and hanged. [Merlin looks across at Mordred. Arthur nods to the guards to take her away.] KARA: You can do as you wish. It will not stop Morgana's uprising. [Mordred looks at her.] Your doom is near. [The guards are leading her away.]And my only sadness is, I won't be there to see it. MORDRED: Kara. [She wipes her eyes and looks at him. Kara gets up and goes to the door. Mordred glances at the guard that is sitting at the table close by.] The King has sent me to speak to you. He is frustrated...that you did not betray the person who helped you. You are very loyal. KARA: That person is...very dear to me. [Mordred walks up to the door.] KARA: I will never tell anyone. I would rather die than see them harmed. [The guard walks up with a bowl, Mordred turns toward him, the guard puts his hand through the bars and places the bowl on the floor of the cell. The guard goes back to his chair. Mordred turns back to the door and places his hands on the bars. Kara puts her hands under his, touching. He moves his hands down and places them on top of hers.] MORDRED: [Whispers.] I will speak with the King. KARA: He will never show mercy to someone like me. MORDRED: I will not let you die. [Mordred turns and walks away.] ARTHUR: Yes? [Mordred enters.] ARTHUR: Ah, Mordred. What is it? [Mordred walks forward and then kneels. Arthur and Merlin exchange a look.] MORDRED: It was me. I was the one who took the herbs to the Druid girl. Arthur, I'm asking you, please, to reconsider your sentence. She is a good person. She means no harm. She's not to blame. Morgana is using her in her quest for power. ARTHUR: You know this girl? [Mordred nods his head. He still hasn't looked up at Arthur.] MORDRED: She is...someone...Since I was a child...[He looks up at Arthur.] she's always lived inside my heart. [Arthur steps toward him and motions him to stand. Mordred stands, crying. Arthur has his hand on Mordred's shoulder.] ARTHUR: You know there's nothing I wouldn't do for you. You're a knight of Camelot. It's a bond we share. Yet what you ask...This girl, she is a danger. Not just to me. She's a sworn enemy of Camelot, ruthless to the cause. MORDRED: No. I will change that. She'll listen to me. ARTHUR: I cannot risk the lives of my citizens, Mordred, no matter who asks. MORDRED: I beg you, Arthur. ARTHUR: She's admitted her guilt. I have no option. I'm sorry. MORDRED: Sire. [He leaves.] [Arthur takes his gloves off.] MERLIN: What of the bond between knights? ARTHUR: The law must be applied. It is paramount. MERLIN: You're breaking his heart. You'll lose his trust. Think again. ARTHUR: There's nothing I can do. In time, Mordred will understand that. He'll come to forgive me. MERLIN: I fear you're wrong, Arthur. ARTHUR: Only time will tell. MORDRED: He would not listen. KARA: He has made his decision. MORDRED: I tried. KARA: It's too late. MORDRED: No,Kara. KARA: He doesn't care. No matter what he preaches, he is no different from his father. A tyrant, a brute. MORDRED: I thought he and I were friends. KARA: He's a Pendragon. You did all you could. [She sits on the bench.] ARTHUR: Mordred. MORDRED: I wanted to...to apologize. ARTHUR: There's no need. MORDRED: I'm sorry for what I did. I hope you'll forgive me. ARTHUR: I'd never let something like this ruin our friendship. MORDRED: You took me in. I will always remember that...and everything you've done for me. ARTHUR: You've rewarded me by becoming one of my most loyal of knights. MORDRED: Thank you, Sire. [Mordred nods his head and leaves.] ARTHUR: I knew he'd come round. [Merlin glances at Arthur and then leaves the room.] MERLIN: What are you doing? You're leaving. You're going to take her with you. [Mordred stops walking and turns to face Merlin.] MORDRED: Do not stand in my way. I don't want anyone to get hurt. MERLIN: Mordred... MORDRED: Kara is sentenced to die in the morning. What would you do? MERLIN: You can't. MORDRED: Tell me you wouldn't do the same for the woman you love. MERLIN: Don't be foolish. MORDRED: You see...you cannot. [Mordred turns and starts to walk.] MERLIN: Mordred...[He stops walking.] Please. [Mordred closes his eyes.] MORDRED: I know you did not betray before. Do not do so now. [Mordred leaves.] GAIUS: It's nothing you haven't done yourself a hundred times before. MERLIN: No, this is different. GAIUS: How? MERLIN: Mordred isn't just going to set Kara free. He's going to leave with her. If he does, there'll be no chance of reconciliation with Arthur. Arthur's decision's already set Mordred against him. With that girl at his side, he runs straight into the arms of Morgana. GAIUS: You cannot want Kara to die. MERLIN: But I don't want Arthur to either. As long as Mordred is within these walls, there's still hope. I have to stop him. [Gaius doesn't say anything, just stares at Merlin. Merlin stands up and takes a couple of steps back while looking at Gaius.] MERLIN: Gaius! I have no choice. [Merlin leaves.] GWEN: Merlin! MERLIN: I'm sorry, my lady. I need to speak with Arthur. It's important. ARTHUR: It'd better be. MERLIN: It's Mordred. [Arthur looks up at Merlin.] ARTHUR: What is it? [Gwen looks worried.] MERLIN: Arthur... [Merlin seems uneasy.] ARTHUR: Are you going to tell me? MERLIN: he, uh... ARTHUR: Well? MERLIN: He's going to help the Druid girl escape. [Arthur gets up from the table and leaves the room followed by Merlin.] [The guards in the corridor are passed out on the floor from a smoke bomb. Arthur and Merlin enter and cover their noses with their sleeves. They get to the cells and see that Kara's is empty. Arthur checks the other cell too.] ARTHUR: Rally the guards. [Arthur and Merlin leave.] KARA: He's a Camelot soldier. [Warning bells sound. They run.] [Guards are in the square setting up patrols.] [Arthur, Merlin and Leon meet up with Gwaine and the others in a corridor.] GWAINE: We're searching the Citadel. ARTHUR: No. They'll be gone. Search the forest. LEON: I want them captured. ARTHUR: Alive? They're fugitives. The law is clear. LEON: Dispatch as many riders as you can. ARTHUR: Put all personal feelings aside. MORDRED: You need to rest. KARA: We can't. [She pushes on. Mordred follows.] [Knights ride across the clearing and head into the woods. They get to an area and stop. Leon dismounts.] PERCIVAL: Over here. I thought I saw something. [Arthur and Merlin dismount from their horses. Arthur draws his sword. They make their way on foot. Arthur and leading them.] [Kara and Mordred keep on running. Kara stops and kneels holding her leg. Arthur, Merlin and the knights follow their trail. They split off into pairs and spread out. Mordred and Kara watch from behind a tree.] KARA: You go. Please. MORDRED: I won't leave you. ARTHUR: Mordred! [Mordred turns the way that the voice came from. Arthur, Merlin and the others get closer. Kara and Mordred look at each other for bit. Mordred draws his sword, stands up and walks out of hiding to face Arthur. Mordred glances around at the knights.] KARA:[Telepathy] Use your magic. Kill them! [Mordred looks at her over his shoulder.] MORDRED: They are my friends. ARTHUR: Give yourselves up. [Mordred looks back at Arthur.] MORDRED: Let her go. We will leave Camelot and never return. You have my word. Please. [Arthur doesn't answer. Mordred looks at a couple of the other knights.] MORDRED: Gwaine. Leon. [Gwaine doesn't answer and Leon looks away.] KARA:[Telepathy.] Use your magic. Do it! [Mordred glances at Kara one more time. He glares at Merlin. Merlin glares back. Mordred lowers his head, closes his eyes for a second. He looks back up, back at Merlin. Merlin gets ready to use his magic. Percival knocks Mordred before he could use his magic.] MORDRED: What are you going to do to me? ARTHUR: I wish I knew. MORDRED:[Telepathy.] Why couldn't you just let things be? MERLIN: The very thing I was trying to stop, it's happened. GAIUS: There are some paths woven so deeply into the fabric of the world, Merlin, that nothing can be done to change them. MERLIN: There must be an answer, some way out of this. Perhaps... [He walks forward] if Arthur was to repeal the sentence... GAIUS: He won't change his mind. MERLIN: But if I could manage to persuade him, then Mordred would no longer be set against Arthur. He'd be...you know... indebted to him. GAIUS: You know Arthur. I cannot see him agreeing. MERLIN: I have to try. It's my only chance. [He leaves.] MERLIN: I know it's not my place to speak...Arthur. ARTHUR: I know what you're going to say... MERLIN: The girl... ARTHUR: Her fate's sealed, it's Mordred's that concerns me. Should I allow him to go free? MERLIN: Free them both. ARTHUR: The girl's murdered innocent men in cold blood. We are at war, I must be resolute. MERLIN: Well how will one more death bring about the peace we long for? She's young, I don't believe she's beyond redemption. You've witnessed their love for each other, that's something far greater than her desire to serve Morgana or her cause. Give her one more chance, she'll take it. ARTHUR: As King, I'm sworn to uphold the law. It's the future of Camelot that concerns me. MERLIN: Please, Arthur. You have to listen to me. ARTHUR: It's my decision...my decision alone. MORDRED: If I hadn't come to you... KARA: I would've died from my wound. MORDRED: It was my fault. [Kara puts her hand on Mordred's arm.] KARA: I have no one to blame but myself. I chose my path. I have just one regret...only one regret. MORDRED: Kara. LEON: We've come to take her to the King. [Mordred is confused. Kara takes Mordred's hand and kisses it. She walks out of cell. Leon glances at Mordred before he leaves. Mordred looks out through the front of his cell and sees a guard put irons on Kara's wrists.] ARTHUR: Every person present knows the crimes for which you are guilty...but I'm willing to offer you a chance. I know that the Druids are a peaceful people. And you are young...and impressionable...an easy target for the likes of Morgana. If you repent your crimes, I will spare your life. [Merlin nods his head. It also looks like he is mouthing the words that Arthur is saying.] KARA: I cannot repent a crime I have not committed. [Merlin can't believe her choice of words. Neither can Arthur.] ARTHUR: Kara... KARA: It is not a crime to fight for your freedom. [Arthur sighs and closes his eyes. He leans back in the throne.] It is not a crime to [Arthur glances at Merlin. Both at a lose of what to do.]fight for the right to be who you are. You deserve everything that is coming to you, Arthur Pendragon. MERLIN: It's almost like he's vanished. The guards searched as far as the river. There was no sign. ARTHUR: I let him in. MERLIN: You have a good heart, don't blame yourself for that. ARTHUR: I shouldn't have trusted him. [Arthur rubs his hands over his face, then brings them together and folds his hands down resting his chin on them.] I've made a terrible mistake, haven't I? MERLIN: I hope not. MORGANA: My old friend. MORGANA: Last time we met you tried to kill me. MORDRED: I am here for a purpose, Morgana. I did not break stride to find you. I bring you the news you have longed for. MORGANA: Arthur's death? MORDRED: The key to it. I was wrong to ever question your wisdom, my lady and I wish to make amends. MORGANA: Tell me! MORDRED: There is someone you have been searching for, someone that has always eluded you. MORGANA: Emrys. MORDRED: I know where he is. MORGANA: Where? MORDRED: Camelot. And I have his true name. It is Merlin.
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