The message had come a day before and since then Merlin could barely contain his excitement. It had been simple, short and completely to the point. Half of your kingdom or Camelot burns in the dragon's flame once more. ".Arthur's face when the letter had been delivered would have been enough to tell a blind man that this was serious. He'd walked off to gather an army and Merlin had sunk down against a wall wondering if there was just a chance that another dragon lived. Kilgarrah had been so sure he was the last, but then Aithusa had arrived was it possible that another of the precious creatures had escaped from Uther's wrath?
So that led them to the current situation. Arthur had dragged him aside that morning and asked if he had any way of getting them across the kingdom quickly. Merlin had smiled, "Yeah, I've got something" He muttered, time to kill two birds with one stone, get across the kingdom and ask Kilgarrah about the possibility of another dragon.
So he dragged the young king out of the castle ignoring his constant questions answering every demand to know where they were going, what was happening and what Merlin was planning with "You'll find out"
Standing in the clearing Merlin raised his head to the sky opened his mouth and called out in the ancient language, "O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes". He closed his mouth and stared at the sky and listened to the bird song in the distance all was still until his blond companion spoke.
"And I thought you were meant to be good at magic. This is your way to get to their army, stand here and wait for them to arrive?"
"Just wait" Merlin snapped turning to look at him. "You are such an impatient clotpole"
Arthur's mouth fell open in absolute shock as a huge creature came out of the sky, and landed completely silently behind his manservant. "Merlin?" He croaked out staring at the dragon that was settling itself back on its hind legs and folding its wings. That was when a white blur hurtled into his side and knocked him to the floor. When his vision cleared he saw that on his chest was a small but enthusiastic dragon.
The white creature flapped her wings happily lifting off Arthur and making her way steadily to Merlin and settling on his shoulders. "Hey Aithusa!" Merlin greeted smiling genuinely and reaching a hand up to pat the dragon on the head. "Still haven't quite mastered those landings huh?"
"Merlin that's a dragon" Arthur hissed eyes wide as he stared at the massive creature behind the currently beaming Merlin and the one that seemed to be purring as it nuzzled its head affectionately against Merlin's hand.
"Yeah" Merlin replied, he tickled the creature under the chin "A very cute dragon"
"That's a bloody great dragon" He yelled.
"I object to that." A deep voice rumbled. "I am perfectly clean"
"Oh hello Kilgarrah" Merlin said turning to the older dragon. "How are you?"
"Quite well, is the Pendragon boy though? He appears to be having difficulty closing his mouth"
"Arthur?" Merlin asked turning to his friend confusion clear on his face. "What's wrong?"
"That's a dragon" Why wasn't Merlin getting that rather important fact?
"Yes, how else did you plan on getting across the country in less than a day?"
"That's the dragon I killed? It's alive. Merlin what did you do?" The king screamed.
"You said you knew everything!" Merlin shouted back. "I thought that included the whole last-of-the-Dragonlords thing"
"Last of the what?" Arthur shrieked.
"Dragonlords" The senior dragon interrupted. "He's the last dragonlord, last person on this Earth able to control me and my kin. Now I'm presuming there was a reason I was called here?"
"Yeah, Olaf's claiming that he has a dragon" Merlin explained. "Is there any chance that's true?" Hope sparkled in the young warlock's eyes as he spoke.
"No" The dragon replied eyes lowered. "I would have sensed him the moment he was called into this world. We are truly the last of our kind, we are alone" He rested his head on his front paws and closed his old eyes. Merlin walked forward and placed his palm on his snout and spoke in a low voice.
"You are not alone. Not while there's breath in my body." Arthur stared at the strange gathering. Merlin, his magical manservant with a dragon resting on his shoulders and a hand on the nose of a supposed to be dead creature looked strangely relaxed.
"Since when have you been a dragonlord?" He asked.
"Since birth, but I came into my true powers about 2 years ago."
"Do I even want to know how?" Arthur asked, something making him feel as if this wasn't a conversation he wanted to have.
"Not really." Merlin straightened the dragon opened its eyes when the servant's hand left it. "Anyway so if they don't have a dragon they're bluffing?" Arthur nodded. "They don't have any, and we have two, well this should be interesting" Merlin grinned, a dangerous side to the normally friendly action.
~*~O~*~
The next day dawned to see an army facing two completely unarmed men. Olaf pushed to the front of his troops. "So Pendragon come to surrender your land to me?"
"Actually I was curious to see your dragon"
"As you wish." Olaf made a gesture and the chained beast was dragged forward. Olaf grinned in what was probably meant to be an evil manner but kind of failed. "Scared?"
"No." Arthur responded. "See that isn't a dragon. That's a wyvern, common mistake they're very similar. No it's a bit smaller than an actual dragon and can't breathe fire"
"It can still kill you"
"I'm sure it could," Arthur acknowledged. "But it isn't going to"
"And why won't it?" Olaf asked.
"Because I'll tell it not to" The manservant standing next to the king spoke. "And it'll listen, and if it won't listen to me it might listen to my kin."
"You don't have a dragon Olaf" A wind swept over the army below and a shape blocked out the sun. "I've got two though" And it was in that second that the last of the dragonlords and the King of the kingdom that banned magic, laughed as a pure white dragon landed right in front of Olaf and grinned at him barring all his teeth.