Thank you to my reviewers and the favorites!
I shall continue!
Chapter Seven
Healing Dreams
Week Six, Day Six
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Still Dream scene
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Kilgharrah sighed sleepily as he stirred, awaking slowly to the dim cavern and settling bats, but he wasn't in pain.
In fact the dragon sat up and yawned widely, relishing the deep breaths without hurting and the absence of the itch from the soot covering his face.
A low chuckle made it to his ears from near his side, and Kilgharrah turned to find Balinor wide awake with a smile.
"Was wondering how long you'd sleep, usually you'd be up before dawn."
"Not when there's nothing else to do..."
Balinor could only nod as he reached up to pat the dragon's cheek, Kilgharrah lowering his head submissively.
"You know, you haven't changed a bit my friend, still filled with arrogance, but a soft hidden side that so few see."
A deep rumble that most would say was a growl emitted from the dragon, but to Balinor it was more of a purr.
"And you have not changed dragonlord."
"Enough! Do not not call me by such title Great One! I am not fit for such a mark when I betrayed the one mind I am tied to as strong as thyst chains bind thee to Uther's hatred carved prison!"
Kilgharrah waited for Balinor to calm down, watching him with aged practice as he paced in the cavern, patience settling into the dragon as he felt the stress over flow from the man.
Balinor didn't speak in the old from with thy and thee unless either he was commanding or extremely frustrated.
"Balinor..."
"What-"
Splash!
The man pops up sputtering.
"There's a river down here."
A low grumble precedes the man sloshing out of the river, growling as he shakes the water off his hands, then glares at the just arrived Gaius who's smirking ridiculously.
"Needed a bath that badly?"
Kilgharrah just absently lifted his tail to have Balinor run into it, his abdomen slamming into the limb as the dragonlord snarled in anger.
"Temper Balinor." The dragon mocked as he let his tail drop, then recoiled as a sharp slap smacked his shoulder, keeping his sensitive nose and head away from the man.
Balinor, right after the Great Purge had started had changed drastically, becoming very sensitive to words and actions, having a tendency to grow angry rather quickly; he wasn't as band now but still had a shorter fuse then when the dragon first met the man.
Kilgharrah just wished it wouldn't last like that forever.
The man had settled down by the time the dragon returned his thoughts to the present, turning to Gaius as he flexed his wings.
"Uther will return tomorrow, so Balinor must leave by nightfall."
Kilgharrah sighed heavily, eyes drifting half shut as his head lowered sadly, not even Balinor's hand on his shoulder helped ease the ache away.
"Kilgharrah?"
The dragon shook his head, not wanting to let Balinor help...he just wanted to be upset...not the Great Dragon everyone expected...
Gaius cleared his throat, catching the dragon's miserable attention, "Merlin won't last the night...he needs help now..."
Balinor gasped, his hand dropping from Kilgharrah's scales, "N-no..."
The dragon was speechless, but narrowed his eyes as Balinor stepped back to follow Gaius.
"Sleep Kilgharrah, I'll have need of you before I depart."
"Balinor-"
"Somnus Frater valetis debes curare, reddam tibi, Somnus!"
Kilgharrah stuttered a little, fighting off the heavy drowsiness overcoming his mind and body as he sagged weakly to lie on the stone, muscles going limp and his body relaxing.
He was still a little conscious to somewhat see a blurry Balinor come to him and rub his muzzle soothingly, warm waves of reassurance echoing the command as the dragon was forced into black.
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In the blissful realm of black, he didn't feel the cold stone pressed against his scales, but as something forced the warm cover that kept him asleep off of his very being, a soothing voice broke through the now dangerous world of black sleep. It called to him and beckoned him forward...to which he desperately followed...
...Slightly Arthur's POV until indicated otherwise
Arthur jerked back as Kilgharrah awoke with a snort, breath rough and heaving frantically to remember how to inhale and exhale properly.
"Easy...just breathe...I won't hurt you...It's alright Kilgharrah..."
Balinor continued to murmur soothingly to the dragon as the last of his command wore off and the dragon full awoke, though it took quite some time.
"Gaius?" Arthur whispered.
The physician took a moment to answer as he checked over the deathly pale Merlin, lying on blankets the man had set up before Arthur had carried the teen down here.
"Yes?"
"What's wrong with the dragon?"
Gaius looked over to the still 'on edge' creature, noting the difficulty breathing and stiff, groggy movements.
"Balinor put him in an induced healing sleep for a few hours, Kilgharrah still needed rest before we brought Merlin down here. But a heavy command like that should last for several days, not just a few hours, and Kilgharrah was fighting it to begin with so he was basically forcing the command to work harder."
"Like a noose leash on a dog."
"Yes sire, the more you struggle against it the harder it is. Then of course we don't have time for the command to wear itself off, so when Balinor woke Kilgharrah it has some ide effects, basically the dragon's disoriented and struggling not to fall back asleep while trying to remember who Balinor is while his mind is practically drunk."
Arthur snorted a little at Gaius' last few words, earning a small smile.
"Gaius how do you know this?"
"Balinor warned me of this, he had to the same thing last night but Kilgharrah's willingness sped everything up so it didn't happen then."
"Ah."
Finally the dragon stood slowly, wings flexing out stiffly and tail swinging, making the chain rattle a bit as the dragon yawned wide, exhaling a thick, dense stream of flame before settling on his haunches.
Balinor led him over to Merlin, kneeling on the far side of Merlin to let Kilgharrha get closer.
"Arthur."
Gaius gently tugged the prince back, "What you are about to see can't be undone, Merlin will die otherwise...whatever you do, don't shout."
The prince nodded dumbly as the gold eyes of the dragon darkened to amber then bronze before settling on a dark copper color, gleaming in the cave.
A heavy accent took over the dragon's voice, deepening it even further as the sound was dragged deep into his chest.
"Clywed fy llais a dychwelyd o fyd tywyllwch, yn dychwelyd o Yns Marwolaeth, gwell dy glwyfau gan fy ffonio a..."
Merlin's pale face turned ashen white as the dragon breathed over him, the dragon pulling his head back slightly and watching silently, a single word sliding past his aged lips.
"...effro..."
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When he opened his eyes next, the dragon's cavern met his eyes, he slowly sat up glancing around, seeing the dragon curled miserable a little further down, staring at the underground river sadly as a black and gray cloaked man stood at his should, murmuring softly and soothingly.
He turned, and was confused, seeing Gaius down here as well, and...
"Arthur?"
The prince turned, then an annoyed smile covered his face.
"Merlin!"
The teen didn't see the dragon turn around fast at his name, nor see the relief cover the stranger.
Arthur helped him to his feet ready for when he swayed a bit on unsteady legs.
"Alright...take it easy Merlin, just woke up so take care..."
"Arthur...what are you doing done here?"
"Worrying like the rest of us over you Merlin." Gaius explained as he approached hugging the boy companionably and checking his eyes.
"Oh come on, Gaius I must've bumped my head, it's been what a couple of hours since I left our chamber?"
"Merlin..."
"Gaius relax I'm fine-"
The dragon's footsteps interrupted their conversation, "Merlin, you've been unconscious for just shy of a fortnight."
The boy pondered that, eyes narrowed a little before he glanced around, see a series of grooves on the rock by the stone perch the dragon used constantly, and the shattered sword blade.
Then it hit him, he slowly turned to meet the dragon's gaze, "Oh no...I'm so sorry..."
"Later Merlin."
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Arthur left with Gaius soon after that, the physician mumbling about a long explanation was due.
Merlin turned to the dragon with sadness marring his face as he sat down on a rock, trying to judge the dragon's mood.
"I forgive you young warlock, in fact it wasn't your fault, but mine...I should have known you weren't ready..."
"i must have done something wrong-wait what?"
The dragon just sighed, obviously saddened as he lay on his side a bit away from Merlin.
"It would take one hell of a spell to undo this chain."
Merlin turned to the dark clothed stranger, a bit peeved as he snapped back, "Oh and how would you know that?"
"Because I'm the one who put the enchantments on the links."
Merlin backed up a step, unknowingly stepping in between the man and the dragon to instinctively protect his old mentor.
"Who are you?"
"I? I am," The man dropped his hood from his face, revealing similar hair color and face shape as Merlin, but lacked Hunith's blue eyes, "I am Balinor, the last dragonlord."
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End of dream scenes
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Kilgharrah shook off sleep with a soft huff of air, feeling his stomach clench slightly, but it didn't hurt.
Merlin had from that point learned as much as he could from Balinor, the man telling him who he truly was as the boy's father, until the dragonlord had to depart that night.
Uther had been given a lousy but believable excuse that Merlin had had blood pressing onto his brain and when Gaius had treated the wound with bloodletting the boy had 'recovered'. Kilgharrah had mused after Merlin had left from telling him that the elder Pendragon was dumber than he acted.
Then a letter was received by only Merlin, bandits had been found outside of Ealdor, Balinor was dead.
The dragon had gone into yet another fit of rage, it only ending when Merlin came into his dragonlord heritage.
The memories did nothing to help his queasiness, no where near to the point he'd throw up but not something he enjoyed.
Standing didn't help much either, it was early morning, few people moving around.
Kilgharrah didn't see Gaius coming towards him as he suddenly stumbled, almost going down as his forelegs buckled beneath him, driving the dragon to lean all his weight on his elbows.
"Hold still!"
Gaius' hand brushed his foreleg, then the man stepped back, "Nice and easy, slowly shift your weight to your hind legs, don't jerk up otherwise you'll fall on your wing again."
The dragon did as told, stiffly forcing himself to get upright.
"There now, better?"
A nod was all the dragon managed, not feeling the best; Gaius led him to breakfast, watching as he ate half a cow before turning away.
"Kilgharrah? Are you alright?"
The dragon shook his head, retreating to the tent corner silently and settling back onto the straw.
A few moments later, after Gaius had sent Merlin away, the man came into the tent and gently tugged the flap shut.
"Kilgharrah, tell me what is wrong..."
The dragon couldn't, not fully knowing himself, only sighing heavily then wincing as his abdomen ached.
Kilgharrah shifted to lean on his side, keeping his neck curled in a little, "...just...old memories..."
Gaius couldn't really argue with that, the dragon had been in a miserable sleep, more than once murmuring the name of the dead dragonlord.
"I understand, though you will need to eat more later, you slept for quite some time, though it won't hurt you you still need to eat."
"How long," Kilgharrah mumbled, "How long was I asleep?"
"Five days, that's not completely unusual, but let's try to not do that again shall we?"
Kilgharrah nodded before letting his head drop again.
"If you'd like, I found a sleeping draft that would be safe for you if you have trouble sleeping."
Gaius waited silently, noting the dragon didn't really respond, just remained staring off into air.
"Well, thought I'd offer it, I'll send Merlin by later today if Arthur's not dragging all over the place."
The dragon didn't seem to hear him, and the physician had no choice but to leave.
Ugh, I think this chapter is bad...
What do you think?
