A/N: Woo! An update! It's kind of short, though. Hope you don't mind, Stef, since you were the one who pestered me into posting. I guess I'll dedicate this chapter to you, since I think I haven't done that as of yet. I'm glad I have someone with whom I can discuss slash -- in the flesh -- I do love the rest of you, though, and a whole lot, but it's nice to speak to someone face to face. Now, I hope she repays me with a review, since I've never gotten one from her.

Disclaimer: I do not own the wonder brothers, aka. Gawain, Agravaine, Gaheris, and Gareth. Supposedly, and possibly questionably, they were real people, so who am I to lay a claim? But I am twisting their personalities, looks, etc. for my own benefits, and your interests. Just thought I'd add this so none of you would get the awesome idea to sue me. Don't, because I am so broke right now and it isn't even funny.

Chapter Two: Mother

I picked up the still sheathed blade quickly, using it to block Gaheris’s coming blow. He was taller than me, but, like any boy my age, I had practice fighting with sticks against boys bigger even than him. Because of this, I managed to hold him off, and pulled out the sword Gareth had so kindly given me. Even so, doing just that had already worn me out.

“Wherefore are you attacking me?” I panted, using my sword as a shield again. He was so close that I could feel his breath in my face, and the sparks our swords created kept lashing at me. He grinned at me.

“You’re just a peasant, nothing more, and I’m going to prove it to Gareth and Mother!” the blue-eyed boy shouted. He attempted to kick my legs out from under me, and while he landed a good kick to my shin, I managed to hold him off by using my sword as a shield. I heard Terry gasp behind me, and knew my friend was about to come to my rescue, but I heard a soft voice behind me berate him.

“Don’t move in just yet,” Gareth commanded, voice soft and gentle, and I wanted to glower at him. How could he come off as so kind if he let his brother kill me now? Were all of the High King’s knights and squires so immoral? Whatever happened to chivalry, to fighting fairly? Gaheris jumped back and took a swipe at my exposed legs with his sword, and I fell back. Thankfully, he wasn’t trying to kill me, or so I hoped, because all the injury I got was a superficial scratch against my thigh, so I lifted myself quickly. It wasn’t so bad, as I was a child used to getting injured because of my rough-housing, but it still stung and brought the water to my eyes, filling my lashes. Biting my lip hard, I charged at Gaheris, hoping to catch him off guard, which I managed, thank God. I took a shot at his armored side and tore up a bit of his exposed tunic. A shallow cut of blood welled up there, but unlike me, he paid it no mind, instead looking a bit angrier, if possible. He raised his sword, knocking mine from my very grasp, and I, completely worn out, knew that I could hold him off no longer. I was on the ground with my scraped hands before me in submission, unable to raise them to my defense, so I closed my eyes in defeat, calming my beating heart, and heard Terry call out behind me in alarm.

“Gaheris!” a voice suddenly called, and the blade froze just below my Adam’s apple. A thin strip of blood slid down my throat as I swallowed dryly. I opened my eyes and gazed at my savior. He was older than us all; a man with fiery red hair, but the same blue eyes as Gaheris and Gareth. He was fully armored, with a mighty broadsword at his hip, and that, along with his angered face, was truly a sight to behold. Another man, almost his twin but perhaps younger, with the barest showing of a man’s growth on his face, smirked from beside him at the frozen Gaheris.

“Gawain! Agravaine!” Gaheris finally whispered, his blue eyes wide with fright, and saluted the two men. The older one, Gawain, only scowled deeper, his handsome, pale face flushed red. He stalked over to the shivering Gaheris and boxed him over the ear, making his companion, Agravaine, smile wider. It was a malicious expression, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for Gaheris, no matter that he’d wounded me.

“What did you think you were doing?” Gawain asked, making Gaheris flush with shame. I took the chance to edge closer to Terry, who was gaping at his boyhood hero, and took his arm, wanting to make a run for it. But Agravaine pinned me with cool emerald eyes, the only thing differentiating him from his elder brother, save age. I couldn’t move with him staring at me like that, making my heart beat madly against my ribs. His smile inched wider, and all I wanted to do was hide behind my hulking Terry and beg him to protect me, but the idiot was as clueless as always.

“B-brother, you see, I was defending Mother’s honor! These knaves stole into the yard to steal from us, from our mother!” the boy explained, and for the first time, Gawain, the perfect knight, turned to look at Terry and I. His eyes widened for a fraction, before an odd coolness masked his face.

“That’s not true!” I finally responded, giving Gaheris my best glare. I realized that these were Princes, nephews of the High King, but that gave them no right to lie about Terry and I. It would break my brute’s heart if his hero thought he was a thief. All four of the brothers froze at my angered exclamation, and after a moment, Agravaine’s smirk widened, if at all possible. He looked far too smug. I softened my voice in surprise and said, “We only came to see if we could, perchance, meet you, Sir Gawain.” I placed a hand on Terry’s stiff arm. “Terrwyn’s brother is a knight who left for court some years ago to emulate you, and he wishes to do the same.”

Gawain flashed his eyes over Terry briefly, offering him a small, kind smile, before he scrutinized me with his calculating sapphire gaze. Finally, he smiled at me too, and gave me a half-bow. All of the brothers, save Agravaine, gaped at him, but he looked completely unfazed.

“I shall speak to you boys later, perhaps,” he promised, and beckoned to his brothers. “Come, brothers.”

They all followed after him, sparing me a glance or two, but Agravaine stopped to speak with me. He was a taller than me, perhaps Terry’s height, and had to bend to whisper in my ear.

“You are worthy, little Prince,” he murmured, sounding almost affectionate, and I froze, but the feeling was fleeting because he followed after his brothers again. Terry watched them all with confused brown eyes, but for the first time, I paid him no mind.

Finally, he asked, “What was that about, Mordred?”

I shrugged my shoulders, once again feeling the sting of my wounds, and replied, “I haven’t a clue, but I think I’ll just return home, Terry.”

I borrowed one of Terry’s father’s pack-mules to return home. It made for an awkward journey, but it was dark, and I wasn’t keen on coming home alone in the fog. Finally, however, our little castell came into sight, the fog shrouding Mother’s garden, and the little vines creeping all the way up to my chamber’s window. It was through these vines that I often made my escapes, but it would be hard to return unnoticed with my injured thigh, along with all my other bruises and minor cuts. I had bandaged my leg off with a clean strip of cloth, but I’d need proper medical care if I didn’t want it to get infected. I’d seen men lose limbs for much less.

So, after taking the mule over to our small stalls, I decided it would be in my best interest to just take the door. Perhaps I’d get lucky and my mother would still be asleep. My mother and I lived alone in this castell with some attendants, and it had been that way since I was old enough to remember. But while they cooked and cleaned for us, the servants never spoke, so I knew they wouldn’t tell Mother a thing about my brief spell of mischief. On some days, I liked to think that my father had left my mother and I those attendants, to make sure we were well cared for, but I wasn’t so sure. Even so, Mother would find out about my outing eventually, when she saw me limping from my wound.

The first thing I heard when I came through the door was a very soft crying. My heart clenched at the sound because I knew it belonged to my mother. Had she found out about my escape? Was she worried? I hurried to her side, limp and all, and found her in our main greeting chamber, where our rare guests were entertained before the hearth. Though her hair was a mess and she was as pale as a ghost, she was dressed perfectly, looking as if she’d been awake for hours, which was strange since I'd thought she’d gone to sleep.

“Mother?” I ventured, voice hushed, and she looked up sharply. She was a pretty woman, though not eccentrically beautiful, with a soft, plump body, hale cheeks rouged red, and dark brown curls. Her eyes, a bit like Terry’s, were a warm, sweet brown. In all honesty, we looked nothing alike, what with my reed-like, lanky frame, midnight black locks, and ivory colored skin. I had emerald eyes, which always stood out against our dark-faced Welsh neighbors, and just now I realized that Agravaine’s eyes, so familiar, were green like my own. But now was not the time to think on that odd prince.

“M-Mordred,” Mother whispered, voice broken and weak, and I fell to my knees at her side. “I thought you had left me forever.”

I felt guilt well up within me, and I hugged my mother close to my heart. Belatedly, I realized that I had gotten taller than her, and the thought made me happy and sad all at once. We could never go back to my loving childhood, where I'd sat on her lap and heard tales of kings.

“I’d never leave you, Mother,” I finally promised, trying to control my voice so that it didn’t waver, and pressed a gentle kiss into her sweetly smelling hair. It smelled like the vanilla salts she always used. She began to sob against my chest, and though my kneeling position was awkward, I barely minded it. She loved me, and I loved her. That was all I needed to know.

“Hm,” a cool voice scoffed from the doorway, sounding mildly irritated. I turned immediately, noticing how Mother’s bone-white hands clenched my tunic fearfully, and saw a beautiful woman, perhaps my mother’s age, with verdant green eyes. She was obviously not a servant, nor even a villager, because she wore a deep emerald gown with precious gem jewelry. Her bright red hair was piled on top of her head carefully, pinned like a flower with a jeweled comb. She was very pale, with bright red lips. Lips that were currently pulled down into a sneer. “You shouldn’t bow to the hired help, little Prince.”

“Who are you?” I asked angrily, seeing as how she’d upset my mother even further. But, really, I already knew. Whom else could it be but Queen Morgause? She was obviously a noblewoman, and, though I shivered to think on it, she’d called me ‘little Prince,’ just like Agravaine had. Who could she be, but the mother of those Princes? So I knew that, but what I didn’t know was, why was she here?

“Why,” she replied, calm as the surface of a lake. “I am your mother, Mordred.”

A/N: See, I told you it was short. You zoomed right through it, didn't you? But that cliffhanger was fun, huh? It was a 'Luke, I am your father!' type of thing. So cool; I always wanted to say that. I introduced all of Mordred's brothers. What do you think of them? Gaheris and Gareth are twins, in case you couldn't tell. They're a couple of years older than Mordred. Gawain is the oldest, obviously, and Agravaine is...well, he's Agravaine. Personally, I like him. But he was always viewed as somewhat evil in the original legends. Then again, so was Mordred, and look where that got us, eh?

Thanks: To my beloved and sparse readers. I love you guys more than anything else -- which is a hyperbole, but I do love you more than a lot of stuff -- like chocolate. Amazing, isn't it? To have someone love you more than chocolate -- which, by the way, I love. I'm feeling witty today.

Aviatorlisa: I'm glad you like Terry. This chapter didn't have much of him. It was an action chapter. But the next chapter definitely will. :) Thank you for your continued awesomeness. You make me make up words because existing words cannot possibly describe you!

R&R: Goodness, I'm tired. Anyway, I've decided to ask you all a question to see if I get any feedback on it. What did you think of the action sequence? It was my first. Not in ever, because I tried to write one four years ago -- because I was in love with shounen anime and violence -- but I was terrible, so I'm not sure how this'll go over. But I hope it's fine because this story'll have quite a bit of action -- battling knights and all that jazz. Anyone who thinks this is boring so far, worry not because it'll get really fun and you'll miss out if you don't give this a chance. ;P