Here's the promised chapter! It's a lot about Magic, Courage and Strength (if you know what I mean ;) ), but there are some scenes from Camelot too! :)
CHAPTER 8
Halfway There
Arthur was fighting the blood guard, one blow after another, happy when he finally managed to cut his arm. The guard growled at him very loudly, and then Arthur realized it wasn't the guard but actually one of the dragons. It sounded pretty close. And then he heard Merlin's desperate scream from behind him, just as he looked up to see the fire above his head.
It felt as if the time had slowed down. His breathing was deep and slow and the guard next to him wasn't moving. He was pretty sure he wasn't dead though. He couldn't see Merlin, but his scream kept repeating in his head to that point that he couldn't even be sure if Merlin wasn't still screaming. The flames above him were getting closer and he felt the heat on his skin.
He wanted to dodge away, but his body was too slow and too frozen in horror as he watched the fire getting closer to his eyes. He closed them and started putting his hands in front of him to cover his face. It was too late, and too slow.
Everything was too slow.
Then suddenly a miracle happened and everything was normal again – the heat disappeared. Arthur was still crouching on the ground with his arms in front of his body to try and block the fire, but... the fire was gone. All he could hear were his deep and so loud breaths. He hesitantly put his arms away and opened his eyes, slowly looking around him.
He saw Gwaine - his eyes were wide, but he seemed unharmed. The guard Gwaine was fighting was lying next to him, hopefully dead.
Then he noticed Merlin – he was already looking at him, his eyes full of desperation and effort. They were gold. And his arms were pointing upwards, as if he was...
Arthur looked up and finally saw it. The fire that had seemed to be so close was almost gone now, sliding down some kind of invisible bubble or something. And Merlin was the source of it.
He couldn't really see it, but it was glistening in the sunlight, giving it a faint golden gleam. It looked like some kind of a shield and it was protecting them – Arthur, Gwaine and Merlin, while everyone else was outside.
"Merlin?" Arthur asked as he stood up and kept staring into Merlin's wide gold eyes.
Merlin didn't answer. Instead, he looked around and when Arthur followed his gaze, he saw Morgana. She was standing behind the altar, looking at them with her arm raised into the air, casting some kind of a spell. The fireball she threw at them disappeared as soon as it hit the shield though. Merlin was stronger than she was.
Arthur realized the blood guard he was fighting was outside the shield as well, but still alive, trying to use magic against him just as Morgana. The dragons couldn't break the shield either. That was a good thing because if they managed to break it and attacked, Merlin wouldn't be able to stop them. He wasn't strong enough for that, especially after this powerful spell. He didn't even have to say anything, he just wanted to save Arthur from the fire and then his magic acted on its own and this happened.
The shield was there.
And so Merlin did the last thing he could.
"O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes! " With his eyes still gold, he looked up to the sky and started summoning Kilgharrah, the only one who could possibly help them with the dragons. At least to keep them distracted so they could steal the dagger in the meantime.
Morgana wasn't any problem, her magic wasn't nearly as strong as Merlin's magic was, but she was creative. She used her magic to pick up a sword of one of the blood guards and threw it at the shield, but the sword fell to the ground and didn't break the invisible wall.
Arthur gasped as he heard the blood guard next to him do the same thing. The shield was strong though, and Arthur couldn't help but feel proud of Merlin. But he was also worried because Merlin seemed exhausted.
Arthur prepared his sword and nodded at Gwaine, who ran to him and prepared his sword and position to fight too. Now the last blood guard was outnumbered, Merlin would be fighting Morgana and Kilgharrah would distract the dragons. Perfect.
It didn't even take a minute and there was another roar in the sky. Merlin smiled as he recognized his old friend and once he was sure the dragons noticed Kilgharrah too, he closed his eyes and his arms dropped lifelessly. The shield disappeared and Merlin collapsed on the stone ground, opening his eyes again and weakly looking up at Morgana.
"Merlin!" Arthur yelled just as Morgana started laughing. She thought she would win. She was so sure of it. But then she noticed Kilgharrah and realized he wasn't helping her against Merlin. He was fighting the other dragons! Morgana's eyes widened in rage and that was an opportunity Merlin couldn't not take.
With the last ounce of strength he had, he raised his arm against Morgana and yelled, "Astrice!"
Morgana's feet left the ground and her eyes widened once more, as she flew over the altar and hit a pillar behind her, hard. Her eyes closed and she fell down to the ground, not moving again. She wasn't dead, but she would be unconscious for a few hours at least.
Merlin's arm dropped to the ground, just as Arthur reached him and grabbed his shoulder, shaking it. "Merlin? Are you alright?" He asked. Merlin nodded weakly, but he kept his eyes closed and there was a little bit of blood flowing from his nose.
Arthur looked around and saw that Gwaine managed to defeat the last blood guard. The red dragon was fighting Kilgharrah, while the other dragon noticed his mistress was unconscious. He growled and flew lower, landing on the courtyard. Arthur quickly picked Merlin up, and carried him behind the altar to hide him. Gwaine reached them seconds later.
"What do we do with that bloody dragon?" He yelled over the sound of dragons roaring up in the sky.
"I managed to stab a dragon once, I can do it again!" Arthur yelled back, glancing behind him at Morgana. She was still unconscious. He turned back to Gwaine and nodded. "I have a sword that can kill the dead! You take the dagger and keep Merlin safe!"
Gwaine nodded and Arthur took a deep breath. He gripped his sword tight and stood up, facing the dragon. The dragon smiled as he saw the young Pendragon coming closer to him, and breathed fire at him.
Arthur managed to dodge away and run closer to the dragon. Once the dragon noticed it, he swayed his tail at Arthur and managed to hit him in the chest. Arthur fell down, but seconds later he was standing up again, raising his sword high and then stabbing it, right into the dragon's tail before he was able to react and breathe fire again.
In the same moment the sword pierced through the dragon, the tail started burning and the dragon roared in agony. The fire spread from the inside of the dragon to its belly and back with almost impossible speed, and soon the beast exploded completely, leaving nothing but smoke behind.
So that's what it looks like when a dead dragon dies again!
Arthur smiled, only to stop and look up to the sky again seconds later when the red dragon roared very loudly. Lucky for them, it stopped fighting Kilgharrah and started flying away, in the direction of Camelot. Which wasn't a good thing, but at least it wasn't bothering them here anymore.
As soon as the dragon was gone, Arthur realized someone was calling his name. He turned around and found Gwaine waving at him. "Gwaine?" Arthur's eyes widened when Gwaine pointed at something behind the altar. Merlin was there. He was pointing at Merlin.
Arthur started running back to them and once he reached the altar, his eyes widened again and filled with tears. He knelt down and shook Merlin's shoulders, but his servant was unconscious, just like he was before when Morgana and Morgause started the ritual. It must have happened because Arthur killed the dragon!
"What's wrong with him?" Gwaine asked, touching Merlin's forehead.
"It's probably because I killed the dragon." Arthur gave Gwaine the answer he wasn't sure about. But it made sense, didn't it? "He passed out when the ritual started too."
"And how long was he out?" Gwaine asked.
"A few minute-"
A loud bang sounded in front of them and the altar they were hiding behind, making them both jump. They feared it was the red dragon again, but it was only Kilgharrah landing on the courtyard. He took a few steps closer to them and to the altar and Arthur stood up.
"He's unconscious again." He told the dragon.
"Um, Arthur?" Gwaine smirked. "It's a dragon, I don't think it can talk-"
"I can talk, young man." Kilgharrah chuckled in response and Gwaine almost jumped in fear, making Kilgharrah laugh a little.
"Sorry." Gwaine backed away, kneeling down next to Merlin again. Kilgharrah only smirked. Then he nodded and once he spotted Morgana by the pillar, he frowned. Anger was in his eyes.
"Merlin is unconscious!" Arthur told him again, growing a bit impatient. The dragon turned his attention back to Merlin who was still lying on the ground, when suddenly Merlin stirred.
"Merlin?" Gwaine smiled and leaned closer to him to see better. Arthur immediately ran back behind the altar and not even caring who sees him anymore, took Merlin's hand in his. Merlin weakly squeezed his fingers and opened his eyes.
"Arthur?" He asked. When he focused on his surroundings and saw the dragon and Gwaine, he smiled. Then his smile disappeared. "I fainted, didn't I?"
"I'm afraid you did, young warlock." Kilgharrah's head hovered above him. "But you should be alright now."
"You saved us, mate." Gwaine grinned and with Arthur helped Merlin get up. Arthur supported him by putting Merlin's arm around his shoulders and Merlin smiled in gratitude at his friends.
"Do you have the dagger?" Kilgharrah asked. Gwaine nodded and showed it to the dragon, who nodded in return. "You should escape while you can. The witch lady Morgana won't be unconscious for long."
"He's right." Arthur said, already helping Merlin across the courtyard to the main gate. "We have the dagger, now we need to find the dragon egg."
"Dragon egg?" Kilgharrah asked, raising his eyebrows. "I didn't think there were any left."
"There are more than one." Merlin smiled up at him. "But wait, Arthur's right. We have the dagger now. Can't we... command the dragons with it and make them stop?"
"Unfortunately, you can't. The dagger works only for the person who was part of the ritual." Kilgharrah said.
"My blood was part of it."
"But your body was not, young warlock. You weren't with them, saying the spell." He explained as he spread his wings and left the ground, flying away. Arthur and Gwaine frowned, but Merlin just shrugged.
They left the castle and walked back to the cave. Merlin felt much better, so he could walk on his own and use his magic to guide the way through the darkness. Once they walked through the dark cave and got back to their horses, they crossed the lake.
"Where's the dragon egg then?" Gwaine asked.
"It should be in the caves in the forest of Balor." Merlin coughed a bit and had to clear his throat. Arthur frowned as he looked back at him.
"You sure you're alright?" He asked.
"Yes, I'm fine, Arthur." Merlin nodded, turning back to Gwaine, who was sitting behind Merlin again. "Somewhere in the cave among crystals." He added.
"Caves again?" Gwaine sighed. "Well, we should get there as soon as we can, it's not very close."
"And the army has probably reached Camelot by now." Arthur frowned, kicking his horse to move faster. Merlin followed him and couldn't help but worry about Gaius and Gwen. And what if Lancelot already made it to the castle? He hoped everyone was alright. They needed to win.
xoXÖXox
Arthur was right. The army reached Camelot a few minutes ago, in the early afternoon. The dragons were flying high in the sky, by each minute getting lower and lower. Sir Leon with Camelot's best archers have climbed up on the walls, looking down at the army in front of the castle. The dragons started breathing fire down on them, but the knights were prepared for that.
"Shields!" Leon yelled and everyone raised their shields above their heads, creating a safe wall. The fire hit the shields and it would soon start to burn if the fire didn't last only a few seconds. When the knights looked up again, the dragon that attacked them was flying down to attack the knights on the courtyard.
Maybe you think that wars aren't silent, and you're right, they aren't. But you couldn't possibly imagine how many sounds you can hear in only one second. The fire, clashing swords, pounding against the walls and the ground, the sound of the arrows in the air and cries. So many cries and screams, either from pain or motivation. The screams and yells were endless.
Leon looked down over the wall and noticed something burning in the distance. His eyes widened and he quickly turned to the closest knight to him. "Go and tell the king that the Lower Town has been taken!"
The knight nodded and started running along the wall to the nearest ladder. As soon as Leon looked back over the walls, his eyes widened one more time. The enemy archers raised their bows into the air, preparing to send fire-arrows at them.
"Archers prepare!" Leon yelled and his knights immediately prepared their bows and ignited the arrows. "Hold!" Leon yells with his fist in the air. "Hold!... Fire!"
The arrows flew high into the air, hitting one of the dragons and the army below, just as the arrows from the army hit the courtyard and some of the archers on the walls.
And then the cries again.
A few knights fell off the wall, into the courtyard or over, into the army. It was horrible. Luckily, new archers quickly hurried up to defend the walls and Leon nodded at them in gratitude.
Then the dragons growled up in the sky and the knights' attention soon turned back to their enemies. Leon and his archers had to use the shields again against the hot fire as the dragons breathed down on them. It was beginning to feel hot, but they couldn't let go. They had to stay strong. The fire then stopped and just as they lowered their shields, they noticed ladders on the wall.
"Wait!" Leon told his archers who wanted to make the ladders fall back. "Wait until there are some enemies on the ladders and then throw them down!"
The knights nodded and looked down at the ladders. Some of Cenred's soldiers started climbing up and when they were in the middle, Camelot's knights took the ladders and pushed them as far away from the walls as they could.
The ladders fell back into the army, smashing the enemy soldiers into the ground. They didn't move again.
One of the dragons noticed that and attacked the wall. He sat on it and swayed its tail, hitting many archers and throwing them down into the courtyard. Other knights attacked it with swords, but the dragon only growled and breathed fire at them. Luckily, they managed to shield the fire in time and the dragon flew away, landing down on the courtyard again.
xoXÖXox
Lancelot and Percival with dozens of Camelot knights and the king himself were waiting in front of the gate to the courtyard. It was clear that the gate would be broken and opened by the enemies in matter of seconds. The endless bangs on the gate from the army outside were deafening, but not more than the roars of the dragons attacking the castle and the knights below. They were coming for Uther, but they couldn't spot him in the crowd just yet.
"Hold!" Another knight from the back of the courtyard yelled as the dragon landed in front of his group of knights. "Hold!"
But nor Lancelot nor Percival were really listening. The screams and bangs and growls filled their ears enough and they had to try and concentrate. The gate would open soon and the fight would begin.
Suddenly, a knight ran to the king. "My lord! The Lower Town has been taken!" He yelled at the king over the various sounds of the battlefield. Uther nodded and in that moment, every sound became louder as the gate opened.
"For the love of Camelot!" Uther yelled and everyone who could, repeated it after him as they ran forward into the crowds of their enemies.
No more banging and more clashing of swords and cries.
xoXÖXox
When Merlin, Arthur and Gwaine finally reached the forest of Balor on the South, it was afternoon. They rode through the forest, not really knowing where the caves were located other than 'in the middle'. After a few minutes, they found them though.
"We're here!" Merlin smiled and jumped down from his horse. Gwaine sat fully into the saddle where Merlin had been sitting and made the horse go after Merlin and Arthur, who were already standing in front of the dark hole in the high rock.
"Here we go, then." Gwaine smiled and dismounted. Arthur tied his horse to a nearby tree and Gwaine did the same with Merlin's horse.
"Someone should stay outside and look after the horses." Arthur suggested.
"I need to go!" Merlin immediately raised his hand and pointed at the dark cave. "I'm a Dragonlord, remember?" Arthur rolled his eyes and then looked at Gwaine, awaiting an answer.
Gwaine just shrugged. "Not really fond of deep dark unknown caves, so looking after the horses is fine with me." He smiled. Arthur nodded and walked over to Merlin.
"We should hurry up then, who knows what's happening now at Camelot." He said and walked right into the cave.
Merlin nodded and followed him, taking his hand again as before once they were inside. "Leoht." He whispered into his palm and a white light appeared in his hand. He smiled at Arthur who smiled right back and they took first few steps into the darkness together.
"Wait." Arthur stopped Merlin. Merlin turned to him and enlightened their faces so that they could see each other. "How are we going to find our way back? What if the egg is too deep inside the cave?"
"We can't get lost, you're right." Merlin let go of Arthur and put his finger on his chin, thinking of something. Then he smiled and looked into Arthur's eyes. "Do you trust me?"
"Of course I do." Arthur answered without hesitation.
"Then hope I won't mess up this spell. I've never tried it before, I don't even know if it's an official spell, but it's the only idea I have right now." Merlin told him. Arthur nodded and swallowed. "Don't swallow like that, it's making me nervous."
"Swallowing is normal, Merlin. You do it too." Arthur frowned.
"Yeah, but you swallowed which in this situation meant that you're nervous and thus you don't trust me with the spell." Merlin smiled.
"Alright, alright. I'll shut up then." Arthur rolled his eyes. He was glad he and Merlin were alone again. Gwaine was their good friend, but Arthur couldn't flirt with his boyfriend in front of him. Or kiss said boyfriend. Which is why Arthur suddenly leaned closer and kissed Merlin's lips.
Merlin kissed back, smiling and almost forgetting to keep the light in his palm. He took a deep breath, inhaling Arthur's scent and putting his free hand around Arthur's shoulder, pulling him closer. When Arthur slowly pulled back, he smiled and took Merlin's shoulders, looking into his eyes. "I trust you. Trust me." He said.
Merlin smiled and nodded. "I can try." He took a deep breath again and tried the spell. "Beo þu leohte bewunden!" His eyes flashed bright gold in the dark and suddenly their bodies were enveloped in some kinds of blue light rays. The rays were tied around their bodies and led back to the entrance of the cave.
"You didn't kill us!" Arthur exclaimed. Merlin punched him in his arm.
"Of course not, I'm not an idiot... don't reply to that." He added as he saw Arthur's grin. "This spell should last as long as we need to get the egg and then come back. It'll map our way in the cave so we can follow the light back outside."
"Smart." Arthur said.
"Did you just compliment me?"
"Of course I didn't." Arthur rolled his eyes with a fond smile on his lips as he took Merlin's hand again and entwined their fingers. Merlin reached out his palm with the light to enlighten the cave in front of them and they started their quest for the dragon egg, with the light rays still tied around their waists like ropes.
Freya said it would be somewhere in between crystals. Perhaps they could take back the crystals too? Merlin smiled slightly, but then he realized they wouldn't be able to carry it and that it would damage the beauty of the cave. The crystals belonged there. And he didn't even know yet how they looked like. Or the egg.
And who knew? Maybe the crystals were just like the crystals in the crystal cave. But something was telling him those crystals were unique and only in the crystal cave, the place where all magic started. But these crystals they were currently looking for could still be magical in some way.
It took them almost half an hour. Maybe more, Merlin lost the track of time. There was dark and only more dark and so very cold that soon their teeth were chattering and they had to walk forward in a hug. And then Merlin suddenly had this weird feeling in his stomach. As if he wasn't alone – and he knew Arthur was there with him, but it was as if he... felt another life. Somewhere out there.
"Arthur," Merlin squeezed his hand and Arthur squeezed back. "I think I... feel something." He whispered. Honestly, the cave was terrifying. Every shape they saw could either be a stone or another bat. They already met a group of them.
"What do you mean?" Arthur asked, concerned a little.
"I don't know, it's like... this feeling, it just feels as if..." Merlin turned to Arthur. "I think it's the egg, Arthur."
Arthur paused. "You feel the egg."
"Probably," Merlin mumbled and closed his eyes. He moved his head, not really knowing where to search for the feeling yet, and then opened his eyes again once the feeling grew stronger. "Follow me, I think I know where it is now." Without waiting for Arthur's consent, Merlin started walking in another direction, dragging Arthur behind him.
He enlightened the cave with his magic light and they had to climb down a dangerous sloping cave wall with rocks and more stones on it. They had to go through a narrow hole in another cave wall to get into a huge room on the other side.
Merlin gasped slightly as he let go of Arthur and stepped out of the hole. There was dark, but when Merlin purposely made the light in his palm bigger and sent it flying into the space in front of him, he could see the far end of the room. Not thinking about the bat family hanging from the ceiling, he noticed many, many pink crystals on the bottom of the cave room.
"Arthur, I think this is it." Merlin smiled and turned back to his prince. Arthur's eyes were wide, filled with enthusiasm, which made Merlin smile even more.
Then came the more dangerous part. Carefully, very carefully climb down to the bottom of the cave room. There were rocks and flat areas and then some stalagmites and stalactites and even a little pond on the right side. But the pink and purple crystals were the most important part.
They tightened their grip on each other's hand and carefully started climbing down. Merlin had to move the orb of light back into his palm so they could see better where they were going and in the end it took ten minutes, but they were finally there, among the crystals. Not even the bats woke up to attack them.
"The feeling is stronger now." Merlin smiled as he looked around the sea of crystals. And then he saw one white crystal, that wasn't a crystal at all.
It was the dragon egg.
"I think I can see it." Arthur told him. Merlin nodded and carefully entered the area of crystals. Arthur followed him and a moment later, they were standing around the egg.
Merlin knelt down and carefully put his hand on it, closing his eyes. He smiled. "I can feel its life. It's pulsating inside." He said. "Sleeping."
"We should return." Arthur told him. "We've been down here for almost an hour now." He wrapped his arms around his stomach and his teeth chattered.
"You're right." Merlin agreed. He couldn't stop looking at the egg, it felt as if it was calling out for him. He was the last Dragonlord after all, the only one who could take care of it. The egg was big, but not too big so they wouldn't be able to carry it.
Merlin took the egg and pressed it against his chest, but in that moment his light died and there were lost in the darkness, illuminated only by the faint light rays around their bodies.
"Perhaps I should carry it." Arthur suggested.
"True." Merlin sighed and took a step closer to where Arthur was standing. He reached out his hand, barely managing to hold the egg and when he felt Arthur's hands around his fingers, he carefully placed the egg in them. Then he used his magic to make light again and smiled when he saw Arthur holding the egg against his chest and under his chin.
"Like a true father." Merlin grinned.
"What?"
"Nothing, dollop-head."
His chuckle echoed in the cave and they started walking back, following the light rays that showed their entire way back to Gwaine and the horses.
TBC
Spells I used:
- Beo þu leohte bewunden! - means "You are surrounded by light!" and was used by Morgause in 3x13 when she and Morgana gave Gwen a potion and then let her escape, tracking her thanks to light rays that appeared behind her (I didn't use the potion though).
- Leoht! - means "Light" and was used by Merlin in 4x01 to create a sphere of light on his hand when they were in the village with Dorocha.
The plot moved forward again and you can look forward to meeting a new little dragon in the next chapter! ;)
