Prince Arthur wanted to get a good night's sleep in a comfortable bed, so he left the next morning. Merlin ensured that they both got a large breakfast from the kitchens before departing so as to postpone having to deal with a cranky prince for as long as possible.
They set out leisurely with no particular destination in mind, until Prince Arthur suddenly remembered an old castle belonging to the ancient kings of Camelot that he had always wanted to visit. It did not take them long to get there, a fact for which Merlin was very grateful, since there was barely enough room for him on his horse, what with all of Prince Arthur's belongings stacked up around him.
When they arrived, though, Merlin wasn't terribly impressed. The castle was indeed very old, which meant that it was also extremely dusty and full of rat droppings. Not to mention the numerous bird nests in the rafters and the spider webs on the cold stone walls, which Prince Arthur would no doubt make him get rid of. Said prince, however, ignored all of the castle's obvious flaws, and instead stood in the middle of the great hall staring in awe at a rather small circular table covered by a sheet in the corner of the room.
Merlin didn't understand what was so special about that particular piece of furniture, apart from the fact that it was likely the cleanest object around by virtue of having been protected under the cloth. So he gave Prince Arthur a good five minutes to gape at it, and then nudged the other man, who was showing no inclination to move ever again.
"What is it?" he asked.
Prince Arthur abruptly remembered that he was not alone, and coughed embarrassedly. When he answered, though, his voice was still full of wonder. "It's the table where the ancient kings used to sit. They believed in equality among all men, so they created a round table so that no man could sit at its head."
Merlin, suitably impressed, said nothing for a moment. Then, tentatively, he asked, "Does this mean that you'll help me clean up around here?"
Merlin had just finished building a small campfire and heating the roasted pork he'd stolen from the kitchens for their dinner (and yes, the prat of a prince had made him scour the room all by himself while Arthur stared at that dratted table some more) when he heard a frantic knocking at the main gates. Prince Arthur heard it too, and surged to his feet, sword in hand.
"Who is it?" he shouted as he sprinted toward the doors.
"It's your sisters," a voice Merlin identified as belonging to Princess Morgause responded.
Arthur stopped running and groaned. "What do you want?" he called.
"Please let us in!" Princess Morgana shouted.
"And why should I do that?"
"Because the Great Dragon is right behind us."
"Oh, come on," Prince Arthur said crossly. "You don't actually expect me to believe that. You're just jealous because I found an exciting castle and you didn't, and now you want to spoil my fun."
"No, we're telling the truth," Princess Morgause said hurriedly, adding, "and the Dragon is going to kill us all."
Prince Arthur pouted. "But this is my castle. I saw it first. Go find your own."
Merlin, who had heard the tension in the women's voices, ventured, "Maybe we should let them in, Arthur."
"Shut up, Merlin."
"They really sound like they're in trouble…"
"Shut UP, Merlin."
"Come on, Arthur!" Morgause demanded. "You're just being childish."
"Oh, I'm being childish, am I?"
"Yes, you are," confirmed Morgana.
"Well, then, since clearly you don't expect me to behave like the competent adult that I am, I'll indulge you in your fantasy and continue to keep the doors shut."
"Arthur, please let us in." This time it was Gwen pleading. The prince's eyes bugged out of his face, and he promptly began to heave at the doors. They did not budge.
"Erm, hold on a minute," he called to them, and pulled with all of his might. Nothing happened.
"I can help," Merlin offered. Prince Arthur gave him an incredulous look. "Merlin, even the girls out there are stronger than you."
Merlin blushed, but repeated his offer. Outside, the knocking was getting more and more hysterical. Prince Arthur spared enough time to give his servant one more dubious look before standing aside and mockingly gesturing to the doors. "They're all yours," he said.
Merlin stepped over and pulled on the gates with all of his almost nonexistent strength. Predictably, they did not open. His face got even redder, if possible. "Er, maybe if we both try together…"
Suddenly, they could both hear the rush of air pushed along by leathery wings. "It's here! Let us in!" Princess Morgana screamed.
Prince Arthur looked helplessly at the doors for a second, then his resolve firmed. He strode manfully to the gate, ripping off his shirt as he went, and flexing his muscles in a warrior's challenge. Grabbing one handle, he pulled harder than Merlin thought possible, bellowing a wordless cry of defiance. The sorcerer, tugging on the other door, made sure that Prince Arthur was thoroughly distracted by his rage before quietly muttering a spell. The doors sprang open immediately, sending both the prince and his servant tumbling.
Merlin looked up from where he lay sprawled on the ground to see the gaping jaws of the Great Dragon directly in front of him. He scrabbled backwards, and made it inside the gates just as the combined strengths of all four women plus Prince Arthur managed to close them.
Arthur had put his arm around Gwen's waist by the time that Merlin recovered from the shock of nearly being burned alive, and was guiding her gently to the campfire. "Are you all right?" he pressed. "The Dragon didn't hurt you, did it?"
"I'm fine," she assured him, fixing a smile on her face even as she deftly slipped out of his grasp and took shelter behind Morgana. The princess glared at her brother until he raised his hands in surrender and backed off. Merlin shot a sympathetic glance a Gwen, who smiled gratefully and sighed.
"We need to find some way to get rid of the Dragon," Nimueh pointed out as the three siblings and their servants made a temporary peace with one another and gathered to huddle around the small fire.
"We should boil a pot of water and put it at the base of a chimney, and trick the dragon into climbing down into it," suggested Arthur. Everyone else stared at him.
"I could enchant a spear to make it so sharp that it would pierce dragon scales, and we could have Arthur throw it at the dragon," said Morgana. Merlin watched Gwen frown in confusion, then shake her head minutely.
"I don't want to be anywhere near its mouth," retorted Prince Arthur. "And besides, we don't have any spears."
"You lot distract it. I'll sneak around behind it and blast it apart," proposed Nimueh. Princess Morgause looked at her disapprovingly.
A roar from outside cut them off. "Okay, no time to plan," Arthur decided. "Let's just fight it as best we can." The others nodded, and took up positions near the door.
"How can I help?" Merlin asked his master.
Arthur eyed him dubiously. "You can help by sitting in the corner out of the way."
Merlin glared at the prince but complied, stomping off to the corner of the room. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, slid down to the uncomfortable stone floor, and put his elbows on his knees sulkily.
Princess Morgause and Nimueh both began mumbling under their breaths. An icy spike took shape in front of Morgause, and the sky, visible through numerous cracks in the ceiling, darkened. Arthur pulled his sword from its scabbard, and Gwen picked up the nearest rock.
A silvery light appeared between Morgana's hands. "Princess Morgana!" Gwen exclaimed. "You have magic?"
The light flickered as Morgana was distracted, looking disbelievingly at her servant.
"Did you really only just notice?" she asked, dumfounded.
At that moment, a fiery blast disintegrated the door, and the dragon burst into the room.
Morgana sent her ball of light flying towards the dragon, just as Princess Morgause launched her spike, Nimueh directed a lightning strike at it, Prince Arthur threw his sword, and Gwen hurled her rock. Merlin watched grumpily.
All their attacks plinked harmlessly off of the dragon's scales, but did succeed in enraging it enough that it let out an enormous bellow. The roar was so intense, in fact, that it knocked everyone unconscious, with the exception of Merlin, who had had the foresight to put his hands over his ears.
Merlin got up slowly and looked around. All of his friends were lying on the ground. He was satisfied that there was no one awake to see what he was about to do.
"Hi, Kilgarrah," he said.
"Hello, Merlin," the dragon replied. It looked pleased with itself.
"You do know that you don't have to attack people just so that we can chat, don't you?"
Kilgarrah hung his head, abashed. "You never call for me anymore," he complained.
"I'm sorry," Merlin replied. "I've just been so busy dealing with Arthur constantly fighting with his sisters and thinking he's falling in love with Gwen and…"
"It's all right," the dragon cut him off. "I understand. Just… please do try to make more of an effort. I miss feeling needed."
"I will," promised Merlin. He glanced over as Prince Arthur began to stir. "Now, you'd better get out of here."
Kilgarrah nodded. "Goodbye, young warlock. We will meet again soon."
" 'bye Kilgarrah."
The dragon crouched and sprang into the air, soaring peacefully away. Merlin turned around in time to see all the others slowly regain their senses. He went over to help Prince Arthur sit up.
"Are you all right?" Merlin asked the prince.
"Fine," Arthur answered. He looked around. "Where did the dragon go?"
"Erm, it was mortally wounded," said Merlin. "I think it flew off to die."
"I killed it?" asked Arthur in surprise and disbelief.
"Don't be stupid," replied Morgana, who had overheard the conversation. "It was clearly me who killed it with magic." When Gwen opened her mouth, Morgana whispered to her, "We'll discuss this later."
"No, it was me," said Morgause and Nimueh simultaneously.
Arthur snorted. "How could it possibly have been any of you? You're all girls."
Morgause let out a frustrated growl. "Well, you're just a baby," she retorted.
The argument continued to escalate until Gwen finally shouted "ENOUGH!" Everyone turned to look at her. "Merlin was awake. He knows what happened."
All eyes turned to Merlin. "Well?" demanded Arthur. "Which one of us killed it?"
"Actually, I…" Merlin began, then thought better of it. "It was all of you. A combination of all of your attacks."
Every single person in the room scowled at him.
"You really are useless, Merlin," said Arthur.