Title: The Last of Their Kind
Author: Sidhe_Faerie
Fandom: Merlin
Characters/Pairings: Merlin Percival Kilgharrah Aithusa Gwen Gaius
Rating: PG
Word Count: 6335
Warnings: mentions of Arthur's death
Summary: Merlin goes on a quest to find the two dragons. He finds them both with different results.
Authors Notes: Originally meant to be an entry for "dragonbigbang" Round 2. Minibang
The Last of Their Kind
(ch1)
It was sundown on the following day when Percival found Merlin. He was sitting on the shore looking out into the lake. It looked as if Merlin was waiting for something to happen.
"Merlin?" Percival cautiously approached, He looked around and realized that merlin was alone. "Where is Arthur? Merlin, where is the King?"
"Arthur is dead. I put him in a boat and sent him to Avalon. There was nothing that I could do to heal him. I couldn't prevent the prophecy from happening." Merlin turned to look at Percival. There were tears streaming down his face.
"What prophecy?" Percival asked. He had no idea what Merlin was talking about. "What are you taking about?"
"It's not important." Merlin stood up and dusted off. He pulled a ring out of his pocket and looked at it then held it out to Percival. "I have to do something. Will you give this to Gwen?"
"Aren't you coming back to Camelot with me?" Percival asked as he took the ring.. He looked at the ring and realized it was Arthur's wedding band. "Gwen needs all of us now, especially you."
Merlin shook his head. "She has you, Leon and Gwaine. She doesn't need me. Please Percival. I can't face her yet."
"Merlin, Morgana killed Gwaine. She captured us while we were looking for you and Arthur. She tortured him to death." Percival told him.
"So that was how she found us. She won't be doing any more torturing to anyone else. I killed her. She caught up to us and I killed her." Merlin wiped his face with his hand. "You should tell Gwen that too. I have to go."
"Where are you going? Gwen will want to know." Percival asked as Merlin walked off.
"To find an old friend." Merlin said cryptically. He walked into the tree line and disappeared.
Merlin walked through the trees in the direction where he last saw Kilgharrah heading. Merlin was determined to search for him. He knew that the old dragon could be leagues away by now but he had to find him. He needed to make sure that he was all right.
There was something in the way that Kilgharrah spoke that set off alarm bells in Merlin's head. At the time, he was more focused on Arthur and it didn't sink in.
Once he sat on the shore and went over everything that happened in his mind, he was more aware there was something wrong.
The torn wing, the tired eyes, and the dullness of the old dragon's scales should have sent up an alert right away. Merlin had never seen Kilgharrah look so sickly. He even struggled a bit when he was carrying him and Arthur to the lake.
Merlin should have asked more questions. He knew he would have only gotten riddles but it would have been some kind of answer.
The twist in Merlin's gut was telling him that the old dragon was not well and may even be dying. He didn't want his friend to die alone. That wan a fate no man or creature should endure.
Merlin walked straight ahead and hoped that Kilgharrah had not turned somewhere off the straight line path he had appeared to take.
After a few hours, he tried to summon Kilgharrah but there was no response. Merlin waited there almost an hour before he decided that the best thing to do was to make camp and get some rest.
Merlin piled some firewood and started it with magick. He sat by the fire and nodded off. He hadn't had any real rest in several days.
He started to dream of Arthur and his first memories of Camelot. He saw Arthur as the bright haired young man that he had started a fight with in the market place. Arthur was strong, healthy, and full of life. There was a twinkle of mischief in his eye as he looked at Merlin. Merlin reached out to him but he was too far away. The image faded and Merlin sat up with a jolt.
"Arthur!" Merlin cried out then realized it was nothing but a dream. Merlin started to cry again as he looked into the dying fire. "I so sorry I couldn't save you Arthur. Please don't hate me."
A cool wind blew suddenly.
Merlin wiped his face. "I suppose that was your way of saying goodbye. I know that I will see you again. It will just be a long lonely wait."
Merlin leaned forward to stir the flames. He looked at the fire as it started to flare.
"I wonder what my fate will be when I return to Camelot. Gwen was no friend to magick either." Merlin put another piece of wood on the fire and leaned back. "She will burn me. It's not like I don't deserve it for letting Arthur die."
Eventually Merlin drifted off again into a fitful sleep. He awoke still tired and bleary eyed as the sun was beginning to rise.
Merlin turned the fire to cold ash and continued to walk in the direction that Kilgharrah had gone. He stopped at every large cave along the way and checked for the dragon or at least a sigh of him.
Every few hours, Merlin would repeat his dragon lord call to see if there was any response. By late evening, he had given up trying to summon the old dragon.
Merlin knew there was no use in continuing to summon Kilgharrah because he was most likely dead by now. All that there was left to do was to find the beast and make sure he was properly buried.
Merlin made camp as soon as the light was gone. He started the small fire and leaned against a rock as he ate the wild berries he had collected along the walk.
It wasn't much of a dinner but Merlin had gone on less more than once in his life. Sometimes food had been scarce in Ealdor when he was growing up. He had often given part of his food to some of the younger children to keep them from starving.
Thinking of Ealdor made him wonder what his mother had heard about what had happened to Arthur. It had been long enough for word to get that far from Camelot. He hoped she wasn't too worried about him. .
Merlin finished the berries and leaned back against the rock. He drifted off after a while into a deep dreamless sleep.