Author's Notes: Here's the next chapter. It's a bit shorter (i think) than what I normally post for them, but I do hope that you all will like it. I do have a plot in mind. I swear it.

Gwaine found his eyes traveling back and forth from the lake beyond which the prince would face the dragon, to the knight who was so tenderly caring for the tired horses. It was a long day, had been a long couple of days and it was only going to get longer as far as Gwaine was concerned. There was no way that it was going to be as easy as the prince seemed to think. Nothing in the world came easy, not for anyone. It wouldn't matter that Arthur's a prince, he was still human.

"Look…" His eyes focused on Lancelot who was looking towards the Isle again, and Gwaine watched as the figure of a dragon seemed to fly down into the castle. The rumors had been true. "We will not be here long now…"

Again, he looked to Lancelot and stood up going over to the knight, placing a hand on his shoulder. "From here? Who knows where we will have to go next…"

You should tell them…

A shiver ran up his spine and he pulled his hand back from Lancelot's shoulder, glancing around cautiously. Where had that voice come from… He could feel Lancelot's eyes on him.

Tell them who your father is.

Who the hell was talking? How the hell could they possibly know about his father…about who he was and who he had been all those years ago? No there was no way, he hadn't told a soul.

"Gwaine?" He felt Lancelot's hand on his shoulder, felt the warmth and sense of security it brought to him, and he glanced over his shoulder at his fellow knight. "What is it, you look as though you've seen a ghost."

You are Gwaine, son of Lot of Orkney.

His stomach began to churn. "Lancelot…I got something to tell you…"

Your father is dead. Your uncle took the throne. Should have been you. Should have been you, you cowardly noble.

"Talk to me."

Gwaine looked at his fellow knight, his friend, and the man he was starting to care about so deeply, then he looked away. "I'm not…I didn't…I lied about where I'm from…" The voice sounded so familiar…so very familiar and yet he could not place it. "I'm from the kingdom of Orkney…"

Arthur Pendragon kept his head held high despite the complete and utter terror that filled his veins at the sight of the beast landing in the courtyard barely ten feet from where he was standing. The shock at the sound of his voice and sent him into a state of panic and he had drawn his sword, but when he saw the dragon, saw the one he had been searching for, the weapon slid from his fingers, hitting the ground with a soft thud. He did not dare to look away from his gaze, it would show disrespect to the dragon if he did. That was something Arthur did not want to do, disrespect him. So for the first time in his life, he did an act his father would have seen as traitorous and grounds for execution. His eyes stayed on the dragon's as he sank down to one knee, one hand touching the ground, the other resting on his arm, then, and only then, did he bow his head. "I've come to ask…to beg for your help Great Dragon… I know of no other who would be able to help me… My father has wronged you, he held you captive, he killed your kind. I would understand why you would not help me. But I plead for your understanding…I need help…"

There was silence, and Arthur was certain his heart was going to burst from his chest. He could hear the shifting of scales, but did not dare look up, not unless he was told to. "You have my attention young Pendragon, tell me what is it that troubles you so that you come seek my help?"

"Merlin sir…a gray dragon took him…My father told me to forget him. To move past him but I can't. I owe him my life, I owe him so much more than that…" Arthur shut his eyes, trying to calm his racing heart but he couldn't, he was completely frightened to be in the presence of such a powerful creature and not be its dinner. "I love him…"

That seemed to amuse the dragon and he chuckled. "Look at me young one." Arthur looked up at him. "You have a great destiny to be fulfilled, you and Merlin both, you need each other yes… But if I am to help you find him, to take you to the land most sacred to my kind there are a few things you must know first. And something that you must swear to me you will do upon your return to Camelot."

"I will listen…and I will do whatever it is you ask."

"The dragons and dragonlords. There is a reason we obey them, there is a reason why they can speak our language. It is a trait passed from father to son in the dragonlords, but there is much more than that. They possess within them the blood of a dragon. Dragons are very difficult to kill, Uther succeeded in killing none of my kind." Arthur's eyes widened listening to the dragon. "During the time of the Purge, however, he did manage to successfully kill several members of the dragonlords and of the dragons, and their families as well. Merlin's family was affected. His mother was kept safe because his father never spoke a word of it to anyone, he did not know Merlin existed until you went to find him when I attacked Camelot."

"Balinor…"

"Yes. Balinor. He did not die as you would call it. No dragonlord or dragon truly dies until they are killed by one of their own kind. Balinor was not. Balinor was reborn." The Great Dragon lowered his head his face close to Arthur's. "What happened to Merlin when you were in the forest was a curse, someone forcing him to change into what he would should he have died. I sent that dragon to take him, to care for him, but they have disobeyed me."

The prince was having a hard time understanding what exactly it was he was being told. The dragon had ordered Merlin to be taken? And more importantly why was he telling him about his father? "But…why do you tell me these things?"

The dragon laughed softly, his wings flapping just once. "Because they disobeyed me, they disobeyed the Great Dragon, the first of their kind. I am Kilgarrah, and the only dragon that is able to resist the call of any old dragonlord. Except for Merlin and his family. Young Pendragon when a dragonlord is killed they do not die, they are reborn into the form of a dragon. Someone decided to hurry that process along with Merlin. Myrriden Emrys, Merlin's grandfather, went against my orders to heal him and release him with no memory of our land. I tell you this, so you will not be surprised when you eventually make it there. I will be the one to bring you. They will need proof that you are safe, proof you contain magic like-"

"I do not have magic," Arthur said then mentally cursed himself for speaking out of turn and interrupting him.

Kilgarrah again chuckled, something Arthur was beginning to wonder if he just liked doing or if he was so ignorant that the dragon found him funny. "Your father's understanding of magic is the one that has been passed down for generations, but not the real truth. Magic is everywhere. Magic is in everything and every single person. Most do not have access, some do but simply believe it to be a sickness of the brain and are treated by physicians for it. Those who are born to magical parents are stronger, while those who aren't do not possess as powerful magic. And then there are those who have access to it since they day they are born." Kilgarrah nudged him with his tail, seeming to be grinning at him. "Then there are those like yourself, who access it only when they need to, only one something they care truly for is threatened. You've already used it. You dream of the future, you saw your own." There was a stunned look on Arthur's face and he slowly got to his feet, sword in hand. Magic…he had magic…if his father found out… "Your father is a hypocrite, he claims magic is only to be used for evil, when it is because of magic that you were able to be born. His wife, your mother Igraine, was unable to have a child. He wanted a son. He asked the sorceress Nimueh for help. But for every life created through magic, for a life that was never suppose to exist, another must die. It is balance. Your mother was the causality. That is why your father hates magic, believes it to be evil."

That jus stunned Arthur into a complete state of shock, and at the same time, everything was falling into place…no wonder his father hated magic. Arthur could start to feel the tickling tendrils of anger pricking at the back of his mind. My father hates magic, yet he used it to have me be born…the bastard…

His attention was drawn back to the dragon as Kilgarrah cleared his throat. Again, Arthur looked up at him. "Now Arthur what I ask of you is simple. You are to return to Camelot. You are to face your father and you are to tell him everything. The people, your knights, they will all stand beside you. No one wants a ruler who was afraid of his father. And no one wants King Uther to remain on his throne for longer than he has to. You do that, I will take you to the land of the dragons. So now young Pendragon. Are you ready to risk everything for him?"

Arthur's fingers wrapped around the sword's hilt tighter as he thrust it back into its sheath. Face his father. Admit the truth. Save Merlin. He opened his eyes, the ones that were once so blue, suddenly were as golden as those of the dragon. "I am ready."

What's this? Arthur has magic? Why yes, yes he does. It's not in the show you say? THAT'S BECAUSE I LIKE DOING THINGS MY OWN WAY :3 Yay for not sticking to Canon!

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