I am sooooooooo sorry that it has taken me so long to update! School and homework, and now swim practice has started up! Good grief, will there be any rest for the wearisome? Well, you didn't click on this story to listen to my whining, so I shall stop now. I hope you enjoy it, and please inform me if you find any spelling errors. The spell check on my computer is failing me. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Merlin yawned widely as he placed Arthur's breakfast tray beside the prince's bed. He hadn't slept at all last night trying to find information in the library on dragon curses, but of course there would be no more books on anything magical. And so Merlin had spent an entire night in the library, succeeding in doing nothing but waste time. Time that Kilgarrah was running out of. He had no idea what he was going to do next. Where was he supposed to find information on dragons? Unless he asked Gaius...

The warlock shook the thought from his mind. Nahzey had been very clear that she didn't want Gaius getting involved unless absolutely necessary. But when would he know when it was absolutely necessary? When Kilgarrah was an inch from death? If you asked him, it was already absolutely necessary. But he would wait one more day, try the records once more before informing Gaius of the situation.

Merlin took a deep breath, not really wanting to wake Arthur and have a full day of chores preventing him from his more important tasks, but he pulled back the curtains to Arthur's window. "Rise and shine!"

Arthur was a real pain that morning. He threw chore after chore at Merlin, who had to tackle those as well as accompany Arthur to training. It was as though the prince had an infuriating sixth sense that told him whenever Merlin had somewhere important to be. It drove Merlin insane, and he began to consider abandoning his chores for "running errands for Gaius", his usual excuse for when he ditched his work for magic-concerning ordeals. Seldom did he actually run errands for Gaius, but it was a better excuse than Gaius' usual one—which was that he was at the tavern.

Merlin decided on this approach, and so he went over to the council room, where Arthur was working on some document with Leon. The prince barely glanced up as he approached.

"Ah, Merlin," he said monotonously. "Good. Have you polished my armor yet? I need it done by tomorrow. Also, muck out my stables, and I also need you to-"

"Actually, I can't do any of that," Merlin interrupted.

Arthur looked up at him and raised his eyebrows. "What was that, Merlin?"

"I need to run some errands for Gaius," Merlin informed him.

"Oh?" Arthur didn't look convinced. "What kind of errands?"

"Oh, you know." Merlin gestured vaguely. "Some rare plant in the middle of the forest needs finding. I'll be back soon."

"Merlin, it's just a few hours from sunset," Arthur said.

Merlin shrugged. "So?"

"So you'll probably get lost, and then I'll have to send a search party out to find you," the prince said. "Why can't you wait for tomorrow?"

"It's an important ingredient in a cure for the...chicken...flu," Merlin stuttered.

Leon grinned. "The chicken flu? Sounds dangerous."

"Oh, it is," Merlin said, gaining confidence. "Gaius said it's coming back. Forty years ago, it was an epidemic. Huge, itchy boils, and bright red rashes all over you." He leaned in and whispered, "I hear it spreads through chickens that got bitten mosquitoes carrying diseases. If you eat a chicken that carries the disease, your whole face will swell and eventually erupt from all of the pus and infection, unless you get the cure in time."

Merlin held back a grin as Arthur struggled not to look horrified.

"Uh, yes," he said. "Of course. Gaius will need that cure. You may go."

Merlin bowed and backed away. He was about to leave when he heard Arthur mutter to Leon, "Have a servant tell the cook to dispose of all our chickens. Just until it's safe again."

George was not very fond of Merlin. It wasn't that Merlin was ever awful to him. In fact, he was quite the opposite, always asking how he was, if he needed any help with his chores. He was always easy to be around, and he was very likable. No, it wasn't that.

The truth was, George was jealous of Merlin. Before Merlin had come, George had been the star servant that everyone looked up to. Now, he was invisible whenever Merlin walked into the room. Before Merlin, all the maids had made time to flirt with him, and he had flirted back. Now, they flirted with Merlin and sighed when he passed, and the prince's manservant was completely oblivious to their attentions. Of course, this made the girls like him even more. Before Merlin, he was admired because he had managed to stay the servant to Uther for longer than anyone else. Now, Merlin was praised for being able to talk to Arthur as an equal and be able to put up with his moods. George looked back at the days before Merlin's arrival with longing. What had happened to all of that admiration? Where had all of the affection gone? Now he was alone with only his memories of past glory.

George sighed and stopped brushing Anmer, Uther's horse. The great war horse glanced back and whinnied in annoyance, wanting the soothing brushing to continue. George paid him no mind. He was done with Camelot. He had given it seven years of his life as Uther's manservant, and this was how he was repaid: by being passed over by an amateur servant who couldn't even polish armor correctly. George threw down the brush and stormed from the stable. He was quitting. He had almost made it to the king's chambers when he saw something that caught his eye. It was Merlin, glancing nervously about and heading in the direction of the library. George thought that he looked like he was up to no good, so he began to follow him.

He stopped at the door to the library and listened as Merlin asked Geoffrey for directions.

"...have any books about dragons?" Merlin was asking.

"Dragons?" Geoffrey said, sounding just as surprised and confused as George felt. "Why on earth would you want to read about dragons?"

"Well, ever since Arthur killed the dragon that attacked Camelot, I've been interested in learning a bit more about them," Merlin explained. "I thought that since they're all dead, there would be no harm in looking."

George heard Geoffrey give an understanding chuckle. "Ah, yes. Whenever knights come back questing and encounter a strange creature, they come in here and look for as much information on them as they can. I guess there's something about coming to within an inch of death while fighting something that really-"

"Uh, yes, that's it," Merlin said, his voice uncharacteristically annoyed. "I'm kind of in a hurry, if you don't mind. Gaius doesn't want me staying too long in the library. He says he has a few chores in mind for me."

"Oh, yes of course, I understand," Geoffrey said, not at all offended. "Books on dragons are that way."

George heard Merlin thank him, then footsteps slowly faded away, and the sound of Geoffrey's quill on parchment lightly scratched the air. George waited a few moments, then he entered the library. Geoffrey glanced up and smiled warmly at George.

"Ah, George, my boy!" he exclaimed. "That is so strange. Merlin just came in a moment ago. It must be a day for the curiosity of the manservants to arouse. How can I help you?"

"Actually, I'm looking for Merlin," he said. "I have some questions concerning who will be serving His Majesty and the prince this evening."

"Merlin is over in the North Wing," Geoffrey informed him. "I guess his encounter with the dragon a couple years back has peeked his interest in the ancient creatures."

George smiled somewhat impatiently. "Yes. Thank you."

He turned and walked north, his anticipation growing with every step. For some reason he was suspicious of Merlin's newfound interest in dragons. But then, all the dragons were dead, so there really could be no harm in looking into them. George just had a gut feeling that Merlin had not been completely honest with Geoffrey. It may have just been his jealousy causing paranoia, but you could never be too careful. Right?

Merlin was leafing through a thick, dusty book when George found him. He looked wild with desperation, then his eyes alighted with relief when he landed on a page near the end of the book. His eyes scanned the page carefully, and he muttered a few strange words, too softly for George to make them out. Then his gaze sharpened in confusion.

"Mandrake root?" he murmured. "Strange..."

He turned around so that he was facing George, and he looked up from the book. He let out a startled cry, nearly dropping the ancient book, then quickly slammed it shut and stuffed it back onto the shelves.

"George!" he said, breathing heavily. "You startled me. Do you need something?"

"Uh, I was just clarifying that I will be serving Their Majesties dinner this evening," George said. He really knew that Merlin was serving them, but he needed some excuse as to why he was looking for him. To his surprise and utter astonishment, Merlin nodded.

"Yes, you are," he said. He shuffled awkwardly and glanced about. "Well, I have to go. Chores to be done. Herbs to gather. I'll see you."

"Right," George managed, and Merlin brushed past him, obviously trying not to run. George stared after him, confused. Was Merlin trying to skip out on his chores, or had he truly forgotten that it was his turn, not George's, to serve the king at dinner? He couldn't see Merlin purposefully skipping out on his chores. As much as the boy hated them, he always got them done in the end. And he had always made sure that he never pushed off his chores onto others. George exhaled sharply, annoyed at this new responsibility. He obviously couldn't go back to Merlin and say that it was really Merlin's turn, because then Merlin might ask why he had even asked if he had already known the answer. And so now he had to serve the king and prince their dinner that night.

He was about to leave the library when he was struck suddenly for just one moment with a strong sense of curiosity. He turned back and pulled out the book Merlin had been reading. He flipped through the back pages until he came upon a page filled with a most horrifying picture. It showed a dragon lying on its back, its wings dried up and shriveled like a grape under the hot summer sun, its scales colorless and peeling, a thick fog of smoke rising from its nostrils. Its eyes were covered in a thin film so that they looked like pearly white orbs inside the eye sockets, and it had a look of such anguish that George could hardly bear to look at it for long. He quickly looked at the other page and saw a list of herbs captioned by: POTION OF THE ANCIENTS: DESTINY'S CURSE. George didn't recognize any of the herbs listed, and there was a jumble of strange symbols that he didn't understand. His eyes wandered to a short paragraph that seemed to be a description. It read:

Destiny's Curse absorbs the soul of even the mightiest dragons. It is a slow, painful curse that only the most powerful of sorcerers can cure. Never before has one succeeded in saving the life of a dragon after the curse has been inflicted. Beware you that attempt this feat. For a soul to be saved after the twentieth sunset, a soul must be lost in its place. May the Old Religion hold you in favor, and may your dragon live.

George stared down at it, confused. He was sure that this was the page Merlin had been looking at. 'Mandrake root' was one of the ingredients listed. But why would Merlin, Merlin, of all people! be interested in curing a curse on a dragon? There weren't even any dragons left to cure!Besides, Merlin would have to be a sorcerer in order to cure any dragon, and of course Merlin was too...well, good to be a sorcerer. All the same, George decided that someone needed to look into this. He couldn't go to the king. He would have Merlin executed before George could finish his sentence, and he very well couldn't tell Arthur. He would just laugh it off, or throw him in the stocks for accusing Merlin of such a thing, and the knights would never believe that Merlin would be even remotely interested in dragons. No, this was something that he needed to do himself. If Merlin was innocent of any mischief, then he would pretend that nothing had ever happened. If he found something that he didn't like, he would gather proof and present it to the king. He knew he wouldn't find anything to hold against Merlin, since Merlin could never do any wrong, but deep in his heart of hearts he wished with great passion that he would, that he could go back to a life where there was no more Merlin to steal away his life.

Please review! I'll do my bestest of bestests to update sooner than it took me this time! Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing!

God bless.

OW