Author's Note: I finally made myself finish Merlin. I've been putting it off for years because I knew I would cry and yep I damn sure did. But honestly, the way they handled Mordred at the end pissed me off more than anything else. So I decided to do something I usually don't do: I came up with a happy headcanon and wrote it. And then I actually ended up really liking the way it came out. So I'm sharing it in the hopes that some other Mordred fan will find it and smile.

Title, as usual, is taken from a quote. This time it's Tennyson:

She is coming, my own, my sweet;

Were it ever so airy a tread,

My heart would hear her and beat,

Were it earth in an earthy bed,

My dust would hear her and beat,

Had I lain for a century dead;

Would start and tremble under her feet,

And blossom in purple and red.

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the Tennyson quote. This is purely for entertainment purposes and I make no profit from it.

Prologue

"Help me."

Senga turned around, confused. "Father?" she called, tugging on her father's coat to get his attention. "Father, did you hear that?"

Her father, Aonghas, had to get down on one knee to make his face level with hers. "Senga, dearest, I love you, but I need to finish bartering with this nice man. Can you go play for a bit in the courtyard? Try to stay out of everyone's way."

Senga nodded and obediently walked away, trying not to let her disappointment show. She knew she was too small to help with her father's work, since he was a blacksmith and she was only eleven—and small for her age, according to everyone she met. But she would much rather help her father than play by herself.

"Help me, please."

Her head jerked up and she looked around for who had said that. It was a boy's voice, she could tell that much, and no one she recognized. She didn't hear it with her ears, either, she realized; the voice had been in her head, the same way her thoughts were. Senga turned in a slow circle, searching the courtyard for the source of the strange call.

There.

A boy wearing a blue cloak stood alone on the edge of the courtyard. He watched the guards, she noticed. As if he wanted to hide from them.

Senga ran over to the boy and took his arm. "This way," she said, pulling him over to a low wall beside the well. They hunkered down together. "My name's Senga," she whispered. "What's yours?"

The boy stared at her with the bluest eyes she had ever seen. There was a pattern woven into the hems of his shirt, she noticed. A pattern that reminded her of someone she'd seen her mother talking to once, many years ago, just a couple days before mother had died.

"You're a Druid, aren't you?" Senga asked. "My father told me about the Druids. He said your people are peaceful. He also said the king hates you for no good reason." She clapped a hand to her mouth and mumbled through her fingers, "I'm not supposed to say that."

The boy simply kept staring at her.

Senga frowned. "I heard you before, when you were asking for help. Why can't I hear you now?"

"Senga!"

She twisted around to look in the direction of her father's voice. Turning back to the Druid boy, she smiled at him. "My father's calling. I have to go. You should stay here. It's a good spot to hide until someone comes to help you."

The boy clutched at her arm as she stood up, his eyes widening in sudden panic.

She put a hand on top of his and gently tried to pry his fingers open. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you're a Druid. I promise. But I really do have to go before my father comes looking for me and finds you. He'll want to help you but he'll get in trouble for it. I'm sorry, I have to go."

Senga got up and darted off toward her father.

"My name is Mordred. Thank you, Senga."

Not wanting to bring any attention to the boy, Senga didn't stop to acknowledge him. She just kept running toward her father and hoped the guards wouldn't find him.

Mordred clutched at his wounded arm and watched the girl until she disappeared into the crowd. People had told him that there wasn't anyone left in Camelot with magic. Apparently they were wrong. She would not have heard him if she didn't have at least a little bit of talent.

Pain shot up his arm and he had to bite his tongue to keep from crying out. "Help me," he called with his mind again. He could feel Emrys drawing near. Mordred had to use all his concentration to keep himself awake. There was too much blood, he knew; the cut was deep and if left untreated he would pass out soon. So he focused all his energy on surviving.

As the years rolled by, Mordred never forgot the people who saved his life. Emrys, more than willing at first and then oddly reluctant. Morgana, surprisingly compassionate toward the Druids and who proved to be an ally. Her servant, who was kind enough not to report his presence. Arthur, the most surprising of all and possibly the one with the most to lose.

And a girl with dark hair, a rough dress, and eyes the color of dove's wings, who had saved his life without even knowing it.

He remembered all of them as he grew up, but she lingered in his mind the most.

AN: And now I shall attempt to explain how I fiddled with the timeline. While writing this story, I made every episode of Merlin stand for about a month of time. If episode 1 happens in October, then episode 2 would happen in November, and so on. So every series is 13 months and the first four series total 52 months, which is just over 4 years. Additionally, we know there is a 1 year break between series 3 and 4, and a 3 year break between series 4 and 5. Therefore, 8 years pass between the beginning of series 1 and the beginning of series 5. By starting with Asa's age, Mordred was 11 in series 1 and 19 at the beginning of series 5.

For this story, I stretched out series 5 a bit. I delayed Morgana's declaration of war. There is a extra 2 years of peace after episode 5, before Morgana steals Gwen. So at the beginning of the next chapter, Mordred will be 21 years old. And Senga is about the same age.

As I upload further chapters, I will explain exactly where that chapter falls in my timeline.

If anyone is curious and wants to see the full timeline (including headcanon birthdays, ages, and astrology signs for characters), just PM me and I'll send it your way.

Phew that's a long Author's Note. I apologize and leave you (hopefully) with a smile. :)

Please review!