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I do not own Merlin.
Silver Dragon
Evening
"What can I do for you, Uther?" Gaius entered the king's private chambers. Uther dismissed two servants with a wave of his hand.
"Come in, Gaius. Pour yourself a drink if you like."
Well, that was unexpected. Gaius looked curiously at the king. Uther seemed ill-at-ease for some reason. "No, thank you, Sire."
The king was seated at a table. He gestured toward a small, wooden box with an inlaid cloisonné lid. "Hand me that box."
Uther lifted the lid and removed a small ruby red bag with a drawstring. He handed the bag to Gaius. "Open it." He flickered his fingers toward the physician.
Gaius took out a slender silver chain with a single charm dangling from it. The physician peered closely at it. It was a silver dragon. Ah, he began to understand. He looked at Uther who seemed unable to speak.
"This was Ygraine's, wasn't it?"
Uther nodded. He cleared his throat several times. "It was a wedding gift from me." His voice was hoarse.
Gaius waited for Uther to continue. The king took several fortifying gulps of wine. "I meant to give it to Arthur on his last birthday."
There was silence in the room. Gaius knew that Uther never spoke of his late wife. It was unfortunate for his son. Arthur had grown up never hearing about his mother, possibly even wondering if his father blamed him for his mother's death.
Gaius knew what the king wanted, but if he waited for the king to tell him, he would be standing in this room for a very long time.
"I'll give it to him, Sire." The physician turned and left the room.
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Gaius entered Arthur's room with the little bag. The prince was sitting on the floor near his bed with two of his dogs lying close to him. He was scratching one behind the ears. Merlin was putting neatly folded clothes into Arthur's wardrobe.
"Merlin, I need to speak to Arthur in private."
Arthur frowned at that. He did not want his servant to leave, and he did not like anyone else dismissing him. If it had been anyone besides Gaius, they would have had a taste of royal temper. But Gaius had known him from birth and was one of the few adults that Arthur actually listened to.
The physician waited until the dark-haired young man left the room then handed Arthur the little bag. Curious, Arthur pulled the drawstring apart and poured the silver necklace into the palm of his hand. He looked at the little dragon then up at Gaius.
"The king wanted you to have this. He intended to give it to you on your last birthday."
Arthur looked steadily up at Gaius and waited.
"It belonged to your mother."
The prince took a few seconds to process the information then felt strong emotion overwhelming him.
"My m-m-mother?" he stammered. His breathing became labored, and the prince was left wheezing for breath.
"Take deep, steady breaths, Arthur," the physician said, concerned. He sat on the bed, the prince on the floor at his feet. He rubbed his shoulders. "I'll stay for a while."
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Several days later
Merlin checked to see if there was anything heavy within reach of Arthur's hand. Yes, several things, including a pitcher of water. Merlin prudently moved it to the other end of the table. Arthur, busy eating his breakfast of eggs and ham, didn't seem to notice. Also, there was a small pot of cream. Best to move that out of range, also.
"Merlin, what are you doing?" Arthur had noticed. The dark-haired young man sighed. Okay, get it over with.
"Um, your father wants you to spend the next few days entertaining Lord Acton and his sister, Lady Arabella." Merlin spoke rapidly, running all the words together. Arthur stared at him. It took him a few seconds to work out what his servant had said.
"I will not! I detest Lord Acton and Lady Arabella!" Arthur looked around for something to throw. Merlin had moved everything heavy out of range. Merlin started edging toward the door. Quick as a snake, Arthur jumped up and, moving rapidly around the table, grabbed Merlin by the wrist.
Merlin pulled back, trying to free himself from Arthur's grip. "Let go!"
Arthur ignored him, thinking. "I'll need to get out of here for a few days."
"Let go of me, Prat!"
Arthur turned loose, causing his servant to stumble backward several feet, nearly falling. "Don't leave this room until you're dismissed," he said, coldly. Still thinking outloud, Arthur continued, "I could take some of the new recruits. We could, um, we could patrol the perimeters." Arthur started pacing around the room. "The fartherest perimeters."
Merlin groaned. He didn't like where this was heading.
Arthur stopped pacing and looked at his servant. "You forgot to give me my father's message."
"But I didn't!" Merlin wailed. The day was rapidly becoming a full-fledged disaster.
"I didn't get the message, and we'd already left the castle."
"Clotpole."
"With any luck, we'll be long gone before my father thinks to send for me."
"Dollophead."
Arthur looked at his servant. "Pack enough food and supplies for three days. And hurry!" On a thought, "Oh, and you won't be coming."
Merlin briefly wondered if there was a spell to turn a prince into a frog. Maybe in the book of magic that Gaius had given him. He hadn't looked at every single spell, had he?
It was much later before it dawned on him that Arthur would be unprotected for three long days.
Elsewhere
The invaders' ship was anchored off shore in a wild and rugged area of the coast. Over the past week, the Angle invaders had come silently onto shore in smaller boats where they had stolen horses, sheep, and pigs, a few at a time, from outlying farms. They were keeping a low profile, moving mostly at night, avoiding engaging any of the local villagers. Their leader was a savage giant of a man, grizzled and scarred from countless battles, his face pitted and swarthy from the elements. Gerlach kept his men in line with an iron fist. The last man who questioned his authority lay buried in a shallow grave back on the mainland.
Gerlach and his men had set up base camp in a wooded area a few kilometers from the seldom used coastal road. The road had fallen into disuse by the locals due both to an ancient battleground nearby that some swore was haunted and a lawless element that roamed in the area. Gerlach's men had efficiently dealt with several of the latter which would have been a service to the community if they themselves hadn't posed the larger threat.
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Merlin spent the rest of the day in the stocks (courtesy of a wrathful King Uther) being pelted by rotten fruits and vegetables. His feelings toward the royal prat were less than charitable. Not for the first time, he reflected on what had got him in this position (both figurately and literally). He was completely innocent, had done nothing wrong. A strong sense of injustice gnawed at him, and he fleetingly hoped that Arthur was having bad luck wherever he was. Nothing fatal, of course. On the thought, a chill went through him. He mentally reviewed what Arthur had been wearing when he left. Nothing with the royal dragon. No rings with royal insignia. Merlin would know better than anyone since he practically dressed the prat every morning.
There was one tiny little detail that the warlock missed. Not his fault really since Gaius had sent him from the room before giving the prince the silver dragon.
That evening it was with a sense of vast relief that Merlin found himself freed from the stocks and back being fussed over by the kindly physician.
It was much later when Morgana woke screaming from a nightmare.