Quite a nice long chapter today, and maybe one of my favourites. Just please remember that I'm only posting for Hannah who I reckon is a much better author than me. I could never write something like this! Hope you enjoy, anyway, and we're both really grateful to those who have read and reviewed so far.

Chapter 6- The Last of the Dragons

The sun rose bleakly over the countryside, hitting the mountain, and Arthur full in the face. The prince blinked slowly at the almost blinding light. He sat up groggily, turning to see that the fire had smouldered into ashes and the other three were lying around him at various places on the outlet, still sleeping.

He clambered to his feet and paced over to Morgana and shook her lightly. She stirred, eyes fluttering against the rays of the dawning day.

"Arthur, what time is it? " she yawned quietly.

"Just after dawn. We need to wake the others and get to the cave."

Whilst Morgana rose and prepared a light breakfast, Arthur woke Gwen and Gaius, both wincing at the heavy sunlight. They then set about eating some bread and fruit and drinking a little wine. Gaius turned to Arthur.

"Is Merlin still alive? Is he alright? "

Arthur swallowed his last piece of bread, nodding as he did so.

"It was odd though. He and the dragon were both asleep and Merlin has this mark on his chest. Nimueh's injury wasn't there."

As he said this, Gaius had been taking a sip of wine, and then at Arthur's words he began to cough and splutter. In a minor panic, Gwen thumped his back. The physician's expression as he looked at Arthur was one of horror.

"What? !"

"I said the burn wasn't there," Arthur replied, slightly worried at Gaius' outburst.

"No not that part," Gaius said edgily. "What colour was the light? Was it gold? "

"Yes but what has the colour got to do with it? " Arthur replied. "For all we know, the dragon could have enchanted Merlin and made his condition even worse."

However, Gaius merely looked dumbfounded, his face becoming mildly pale. He looked at the three in turn.

"Dragons are powerful creatures of magic. What has happened to Merlin is just one of their many tricks. It's called Draconis Coniectura. A dragon can cause a person to fall into a deep slumber and dream of things that could have happened centuries ago. To force a person to have 'dragon dreams' they had to make contact with said person's skin, and it always left a mark, depending on the colour of dragon. There are many side-effects; the most common being your eyes turning the same colour as the mark for a couple of weeks."

Gwen felt confused.

"But why would the dragon go to all this trouble, just to show Merlin a few memories? "

"The dragon has been trapped underneath Camelot since the Great Purge of magic. The only reason I can think of is if something was going to happen and the dragon had to break free and show someone something, and that he just chose Merlin by chance, but the question is what would be so important? " This was partly untrue. Gaius had also come up with the assumption that because Merlin was to help Arthur bring magic back to Camelot, the Great Dragon may have wanted to show the warlock what had happened in the years before the near eradication of magic. As the old man pondered this thought more, he realised something. She had known Igraine and had been involved throughout the entire business concerning Arthur's birth and had been practically inseparable from the dragon, telling him everything through the mental bond that they had shared. What if the dragon wanted to pass this information onto the young warlock? At this Gaius turned even whiter than before and ran over to his possessions.

"Wait, Gaius. What's wrong? " Morgana asked, frowning heavily. But Gaius didn't answer. Instead, he rushed over to the stairs, beginning to ascend the remaining stairway that led to the inside of the Hollow Nest.

Arthur looked at the two women, obviously startled, before grabbing his own bag and following the physician, Morgana and Gwen doing the same.

Like the journey Arthur had made last night, it didn't take long for them to reach the top of the stairs and the gaping hole in the side of the mountain. It was considerably lighter in the cave, Arthur thought, than his previous trip. They could actually see the mounds of the dragon bones, the sun throwing them into sharp relief. Gwen gasped in horror.

"How many are there? " she whispered to Gaius, her eyes filling with sadness at the scene surrounding them. He patted her soothingly on the shoulder.

"Hundreds." The old man turned to Arthur. "Do you remember where they are? " The prince nodded slowly, still gazing at the remains of the mighty beasts, snapping out of his trance-like state rather slowly.

They trundled around the labyrinth of dragon skeletons, Arthur in the lead. He couldn't see the golden light that had emitted from Merlin's captor; the sun was filling the cave with its glow. Finally, when he felt like giving up, he saw a shimmering affect on the cavernous wall, not unlike the rippling light of reflected water.

Arthur immediately turned to his right and around a pile of bones, was the body of the Great Dragon, sending a wave of trepidation through Arthur's being. It continued to sleep, its massive bulk still curving around Merlin's body.

Gaius practically jogged over to the young warlock, clambering over the beast's tail. He felt Merlin's brow, which froze his hand, and inspected the gold mark that had indeed replaced Nimueh's curse whilst checking the boy's pulse, which beat against Merlin's wrist almost sluggishly. His breathing was heavy and prolonged.

"Merlin, can you hear me? " Gaius enquired, but to no effect. Merlin was still unresponsive. The physician looked up at Arthur, who had joined him on Merlin's other side.

"Help me move him." The prince picked Merlin off the floor, the boy's head lolling over his arm, and then carried him over to Gwen and Morgana, who enfolded the boy in many blankets. Morgana turned to Gaius, whilst Gwen rested Merlin's head on her lap.

"What do we do now? "

"We wait," Gaius replied. "I cannot wake Merlin and there is no possibility of getting down those stairs. We will have to wait until he wakes, and that includes before Uther kills the dragon." A slight edge crept into his voice. "Otherwise Merlin would die." Arthur gazed at Gaius, accessing the old man's expression.

"You don't think it should be killed, do you? " Gaius slowly shook his head.

"It is the last of the dragons. To do so would destroy the remainder of a once more powerful and ancient race than we humans."

"Gaius!"

Morgana had called out and the prince and the physician looked down, as a small smile crossed Merlin's face. Gaius spun around as the dragon shifted in its sleep. He was now positive he knew what the creature was showing the young warlock through dreams.

The days ebbed by. Arthur had assumed a seat at the mouth of the cave, watching for Uther's arrival. Morgana and Gaius spoke at infrequent intervals but mostly examined some medical journals Gaius had brought with him. Gwen sat in the same place as the time passed, cradling Merlin's head in her hands, watching as, at times, Merlin's mouth twitched into a smile or deepened into a frown at things Gwen couldn't see. All of them were too nervous to sleep, not knowing when the dragon would wake.

In the middle of the third night, Arthur came rushing over.

"I think they've just come out of the forest. Or at least I saw the torches. They should be up here by tomorrow evening." Gaius thanked Arthur, who returned to his position by the cave entrance, and then pondered his own thoughts, as he had been doing for the last few days, mainly involving the fact that the Great Dragon was his last link to... but he didn't want to think about that. That particular subject was far too painful.

Many silent and slow hours later, after the sun had passed halfway across the sky and was sinking towards the hills in the distance, Arthur heard a few grunts of breath and seconds later his father and a dozen knights, including Bedivere, came into view.

"Arthur, we found those two knights in a broom cupboard saying that they had been drugged by Morgana and her maid. Is Morgana alright? "

"She's fine. They're with Merlin-"

"The boy's still alive? " Uther looked perplexed. Had he thought Merlin would be eaten by the dragon?

"Yes. But Gaius said that the dragon had done something to him called Draconis Coniectura." At this Uther marched into the cave, his expression one of disbelief, to find Morgana and Gaius sitting around Gwen, who still sat supporting Merlin's head. The king glared down at his ward.

"Morgana, I thought I forbade you to go with Arthur. This beast is dangerous. If it was awake it could kill you!" he thundered. Morgana stood up, her face set in a look of defiance.

"But it isn't awake and I'm perfectly fine," she replied confidently. "I wasn't about to abandon my friend."

Before Uther could answer, there was a small whimper and they all turned to see Merlin, whose breathing laboured, had started to toss around; his movements however were hampered by the blankets. Not only that, the dragon had started to stir.

"Knights," Uther called and almost immediately, Arthur and the other knights came running. "Secure the dragon!"

The men ran towards the stirring creature, tying it down with ropes and nets, all except Arthur who jogged over to where the small throng of people were surrounding the boy. Uther moved towards the knights to observe their work.

"What's happening? " Arthur asked, trying successfully to keep the panic from his voice as he stared down at the maid who was trying to hush his servant.

"They're waking up, but they must be dreaming about something terrible, otherwise Merlin wouldn't be doing this," Gaius said over the boy's panting and moaning.

At that moment, the Great Dragon let out a mighty roar and the cave shuddered violently, causing everyone to look at the beast in downright horror. It opened both of its large luminous eyes but did not struggle against its bonds.

"Gwen..."

Merlin had stopped thrashing around like an eel and had finally opened his eyes. Arthur stepped back in shock and awe.

The young warlock's eyes were not the familiar blue ones. Instead they were intense gold, the same colour as the dragon's scale, just as Gaius had said. Even though the old man had mentioned side-effects, this was just plain scary.

"Your eyes!" Arthur shouted, but before Merlin could reply, both Gwen and Morgana embraced him, Gwen crying with happiness. He wrapped an arm around each of them, grinning up at Arthur and Gaius.

Uther, meanwhile, was now advancing on the dragon, drawing his sword from its sheath. Merlin heard the weapon being drawn and looked at the king in horror.

"No!"

Merlin was on his feet, running to stand between Uther and his prey, ignoring the hands that tried to grab him.

"Get out of the way boy," Uther growled. "You do not know what you are dealing with." Merlin seemed to ignore him and stood there defiantly.

"He's the last of his kind. Who wouldn't want to avenge the death of someone they loved, because they have nothing left? " he shouted back.

Arthur was feeling extremely tense. If Merlin wasn't careful, he would end up in prison for such insolence, or worse.

"Sire, surely you could spare it, or you would bring about the end of an entire species," Gaius called, rushing towards the king and the warlock.

"Be silent, physician," Uther said sharply, pointing his sword in the direction of Gaius' throat. He then glanced behind at Merlin. "Restrain him."

Two of the knights came forward and grabbed the young warlock. He struggled aimlessly in their hold. Morgana and Arthur rushed forward but Gaius held them back.

"Don't do anything," the physician murmured. "It may provoke him to hurt Merlin."

Uther had, by now, stepped over to the dragon, sword hanging at his side. To everyone's amazement, the dragon chuckled.

"You may as well destroy me Uther but no matter what you do or who you kill, magic will never be completely vanquished or forgotten."

A spasm of rage crossed Uther's face. He raised the sword and drove it into the dragon's back, into his heart.

"NO!" Merlin cried, as the Great Dragon let out a bellowing howl. Uther didn't even flinch.

"We leave when the sun sets," he said, briskly pacing away, the knights falling behind him, the sword dripping with crimson blood.

Merlin stood there, staring at the fallen beast, with no sign of ever moving again. Gwen slowly walked up to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to face her and Gwen saw his golden eyes were full of traumatised shock. She felt a surge of terror course through her as Merlin sank into a sitting position, once again staring at the dragon, twiddling his thumbs in his lap. Kneeling beside him, she hugged him soothingly, hoping that what Merlin had gone through since he had collapsed had not sent him mad.

Gwen then felt a hand resting on her shoulder and looked up to see Gaius smiling down at her.

"You can get your things ready, Gwen, I'll look after him," he whispered.

She stood up and walked silently over to Arthur and Morgana, who had also remained behind. Morgana smiled sadly at her then together they all left the cave.

Gaius was about to attempt talking to Merlin, when there was a low, weak voice.

"Merlin."

The warlock sprang to his feet. The Great Dragon was still alive but only just.

"Merlin."

The warlock sprinted to the dragon's side, closely followed by Gaius. When they were close enough the dragon spoke again.

"Do not torture yourself about what happened the last time you visited me, young warlock. The love for those we hold close to us can make us act irrationally and with vengeance. I must apologize for being so selfish myself." Merlin nodded, his fists tightening, turning to Gaius.

"I could save him. I could use-"

"Don't even try," the dragon interrupted. "Uther would find out about your gifts and he would have you killed and then there would be no Albion. It is my time to go and I go gladly, for I have seen many things and lost many, even in my egg."

"Can I just ask something? " Merlin queried. "Gaius said that you've lived for centuries but the dreams suggested that you hatched about twenty years before Arthur was born." At this Gaius spoke up.

"Merlin, when dragons age, it is slightly different from our way of doing so," he explained. "When an egg is laid, the dragon already has incredible mental abilities and has the power to see beyond the shell, even though they cannot move around of their own free will. They start counting the dragon's age from when they are in the egg and then after they hatch." Merlin looked confused.

"He speaks the truth Merlin," the dragon said, his voice becoming weaker. "Now, will you listen to me? "

The boy looked round, in case somebody had come back to look for them, before leaning closer towards the dragon.

"Look in the nest, the only remaining nest here. There you will find the future of my kind and part of your destiny. It is your turn to inherit our legacy, Dragon Keeper." Merlin was confused once more. But then he remembered the dreams about the small girl, who had grown into a beautiful young woman.

"That girl in the memories you showed me," he said. "Who was she? " The dragon smiled bleakly.

"That was my companion, the last Dragon Keeper, the one person who watched over me as I watched over her from when left my egg. Then Uther had her killed during the Great Purge." The creature then looked at the sun, which was almost touching the horizon. "You must go now, before anyone comes. Merlin, Gaius, it has been an honour knowing you both." With that, the dragon's large eyes closed, he let out a gasping breath and fell silent for the rest of eternity.

A single tear fell down Merlin's face but he wiped it away, standing and walked over to a bundle of sticks and bracken: the last dragon nest.

"Gaius."

The physician went over and peered into the thicket of dead plant life.

"Good Lord."

There, nestled carefully in the branches was a solitary dragon egg, white as snow and patched with specks of mud brown.

Merlin gently picked it up and felt a wave of happiness spread through him, suddenly feeling as if beforehand he had been incomplete yet now he felt whole. He smiled softly, clutching the egg to his chest. Gaius watched him, observing the emotion fill Merlin's currently golden eyes.

Behind them, the sound of approaching footsteps suddenly echoed around them. The two men looked at each other in terror before Gaius hurriedly opened his bag and Merlin placed the egg inside. Just as Gaius closed the bag, Arthur came around a pile of dragon bones.

"My father says we need to leave," he said, staring at the warlock in a peculiar manner. "Are you alright Merlin? " Merlin nodded, looking at the floor. Arthur turned around and began to walk away when...

"Arthur." Merlin was looking at him, attempting to give him a friendly smile. "Thank you. For coming after me." The prince grinned back.

"I've told you before Merlin, a half-decent servant is hard to come by," he joked, then proceeded to the cave entrance followed by Merlin. Gaius, however, remained where he stood for a few more seconds, lamenting the loss of the Great Dragon but realising that this was the beginning of a new era for dragon-kind.