Balinor had felt the power rising through him as he unleashed the call. He could sense Kilgharrah's struggle, a determination to defy him, but in the end the dragon could not. Balinor sensed him before he saw him. As the dragon circled above them, Merlin gave a little yelp, hiding behind Balinor and clinging onto the back of Balinor's clothes. Cyan gave a low growl.
"It's all right, Merlin."
"He's big," Merlin whispered, his grip tightening.
"That he is," Balinor commented as the Great Dragon landed in the clearing. The dragon lowered onto his haunches, curling his tail around his feet and lifted his head to stare down at Balinor, and Merlin who was peering from around his father. Cyan hovered at Merlin's side. Thor hopped down onto a lower branch and after giving a low call started to preen his feathers. Kilgharrah regarded the sight calmly before lowering his head.
"Balinor, the last of the Dragonlords," the dragon murmured. "I never thought to see you again."
"Kilgharrah," Balinor's voice rumbled, lower than usual as he addressed the dragon. "Nor I you."
Both of them had thought it to be true. After Uther had betrayed them, it was safer for them to be separated. Plus Balinor had felt the guilt of helping Uther trap the dragon, even though he himself had been lied to. Kilgharrah said nothing on that subject, instead he lowered his head and stretched out his neck to peer around Balinor to look at Merlin. Merlin stayed pressed to his father's back, clinging onto him tightly, and peering at Kilgharrah from that safe haven. Balinor waited, the dragon was no danger to Merlin, he didn't even need to command Kilgharrah to ensure that. Cyan gave a low growl, in warning and apprehension as he sensed Merlin's nervousness. Balinor lifted his hand in a curt gesture and the wolf backed up, obeying his leader, moving to Balinor's far side. But rather than lying down, as he often would do, he stayed tense, and alert, rumbling again as Kilgharrah assessed Merlin.
Balinor felt Merlin's hands tighten on his clothes and he watched, with mild surprise, as Kilgharrah's eyes softened and the corners of his mouth quirked in a semblance of a smile.
"And hello, my little warlock," Kilgharrah said gently.
Merlin gave a little murmur of surprise, and his grip relaxed a fraction. Balinor's gut stirred with worry as the dragon addressed Merlin. He should have known really. The dragon was a creature of magic, from the old religion. He would be able to sense the power in Merlin, who was so similar. He felt Merlin shuffle towards the dragon, although he stayed close, and still held on.
"Hello, big dragon," Merlin said, his voice tentative. Kilgharrah blinked at the greeting and huffed with light laughter. Merlin's grip relaxed completely, so Balinor could turn his body towards Merlin and address him over his shoulder.
"His name is Kilgharrah," Balinor corrected. Merlin bit down on his lip, looking at the dragon, who kept his head down, still looking at Merlin intently.
"Hello, Kilgharrah," Merlin said, stepping forward, and surprising the dragon by gently petting him on the nose, laying his hand between the dragon's nostrils. Balinor smirked as he watched Kilgharrah's eyes widen and his nostrils flared, an action which attracted Merlin's attention. Tilting his head he peered into Kilgharrah's left nostril, hair rippling as the dragon exhaled lightly.
"Hello, Merlin," Kilgharrah answered him, keeping still as Merlin stroked him.
Merlin saw nothing wrong with petting the dragon. He was quite used to petting Cyan and Thor, and Merlin himself was fond of hugs and tactile contact. He found it comforting and clearly presumed everyone and everything else did. It was probably the first time anyone had treated Kilgharrah in such a way. But Merlin's actions were guileless and innocent. Kilgharrah patiently let Merlin stare at him.
"Can you breathe fire?" Merlin asked.
The dragon pulled his head back, lifting it into the air, he exhaled heavily and sent a jet of flame into the air before bringing his head back down to Merlin's level.
"Yes, my little warlock."
"We told you that," Balinor said gently.
"But I wanted to see it," Merlin said, going back to petting the dragon and leaning against him, his initial fear fading away. Kilgharrah again looked surprised, blinking in shock as Merlin moved to his side now rubbing his neck.
"Now you have," Kilgharrah said. He turned his head back to Balinor, while Merlin rested against Kilgharrah's shoulder. Cyan trotted from Balinor's side and went to Merlin, sniffing tentatively at the dragon. Thor swooped down to rest himself on Kilgharrah's back.
"I never thought I would see you helping Camelot," the dragon said to Balinor.
"I'm not, I'm helping you. You can't hold onto your anger."
"And you have not?" Kilgharrah asked, his voice lowering. Merlin turned to watch, leaning against the dragon but looking at the scene warily. Balinor glanced at Merlin, smiling at him to reassure him. Merlin smiled back.
"Not any more," Balinor said.
"The child has tamed you," Kilgharrah announced in mild amusement. The Dragonlord raised his eyebrows.
"That may be considered so. His arrival was… coincidental."
"You don't sound as if you believe in such coincidence," Kilgharrah mused.
"I do not, neither do you, I suspect. After so many years, he ran, to me, without hesitation."
"Fate and destiny are powerful things, separately they control much, combined they are a force that cannot be reckoned with."
"And what do you know of Merlin's destiny?" Balinor demanded. "You are a creature of magic able to see the paths, what do you see."
"Even I cannot entirely understand it. So many years have been lost, paths changing so they have twisted incomprehensibly. But all lead to the Once And Future King, and the uniting of Albion, magic returning to the land, stronger, in a new guise."
"You must be part of it, for you to be free now."
"That is a mystery to me, Dragonlord. I know not who or why I was released. The chain links were severed by the rocks. I was not in sight when it occurred, and no magic warned me of the event, I merely felt the ripple down the chain."
"It makes no sense. Merlin has no place in destiny."
"I believe Dragonlord, that it is the only thing that makes sense."
"You can tell me no more?" Balinor asked.
"Not about the young warlock. I cannot see. But the threads are stretched, pushing beyond their boundaries. Yours among them. I have no sense of any destiny, just a knowledge that you and I should never have met again."
"But you know Merlin."
"Yes, I do," Kilgharrah said gently. Lowering his head he went close to Balinor. "I do not understand, the same as you. Just simply tell me what you wish of me, and let us be done with each other."
"Cease your attack, you will attack nothing and no one. Leave here and be at your liberty, but allow no innocents to come to harm around you. You have been chained for so long, be at peace."
"There is little peace for those that are alone, when the ghosts of memory come."
Balinor reached out and put a hand on Kilgharrah's nose. He smiled to himself, realising he had also become quite attached to physical contact.
"You are not that alone. Now go, let it go now."
"Destiny will still hunt us all," Kilgharrah said. "But for now, I will do as you command My Lord."
Merlin stepped back as Kilgharrah rose up onto his feet. Cyan ran back and Thor took to the air. The dragon settled back and started to lift himself into the air, his body moving as he rose up.
"I will see you again, you most definitely, my little warlock," Kilgharrah said. He turned in the air, circling around, gazing at Thor as he flew across the clearing towards the line of trees in the west and then suddenly he lurched up, flittering away from the canopy as several other birds scattered, disturbed from their roosting place. Merlin ran to Balinor and clung on, whimpering and hiding as the horsemen cleared the trees.
Balinor slowly started to back up, keeping Merlin behind him. Cyan paced, running round them and Thor flew over their heads, screaming out as he glided over the trees.
The soldiers and knights started to move in formation, the procession halting as Kilgharrah screamed out, roaring his anger.
"Again, Uther!" the dragon bellowed.
It almost worked as a signal, the horses started to run forward, following the signal of their leader, who took the front line forward. Balinor watched in shock and behind him Merlin started to whimper in panic. There was only one thing Balinor could do, order the dragon to scatter them, but as he opened his mouth to shout a command, something else rode over him, the magic crashing out like a wave.
Merlin heard the sound of the horse's feet, the thudding sound as they galloped towards him. It triggered the panic, his memory rising, the moment the men had come.
The thudding horse beats that made him look up in confusion. No one had horses, not to ride like that. There were the old docile ones that worked in the field, who plodded. They didn't run, they didn't make this sound. He had been confused, simply pausing in his task and looking up. Merlin, like the other youngsters, was helping gather the harvest with the women. The men had gone to start collecting wood. It was turning to autumn and it would soon be winter, they needed firewood, they needed supplies. The last thing the village of Ealdor needed was raiders taking the harvest.
But mere vegetables and grain were not what these ones had come for. Merlin had run, when his mother had screamed at him. There was just the pounding of feet and the screams. He saw one of the young girls grabbed, hoisted over the horse and she had cried as the man hit her hard on the rump, yanking her skirts up and ripping off her underwear.
"Soon to be ripe!" the man shouted, smacking again.
"She'll be better sold fresh, pick a colt if you want to break in to ride tonight!" another man's voice rang out coarsely. "I'll pluck it."
"That little brat will do!"
Merlin shrank down as the eyes fixed on him.
"Run, Merlin! To the woods, take Will! Do what you can to stop them! Anything Merlin!" his mother had screamed. Merlin, frightened and disorientated had done as he was told. But he had looked back, to check on his mother, to see her in front of the horses, waving to try and frighten them, and then struck down by the man riding one, to fall under the feet of another. The red liquid sprayed out from her head and Hunith had gone still. So did Merlin. Will had tugged at his hand but Merlin couldn't move, something held him, rooting his feet down in place, blanketing his body in inertia. He'd wait for mother to tell him what to do.
She never had.
Merlin hadn't felt anger, no emotion that he could really use. Now suddenly it came. Hunith had been taken from him, but she had been wary of him using his magic, he could have torn down the raiders without even thinking about it. Balinor had never put such restraint on him. No sign of his power has shown around the few people he had met since then, simply because it was not needed, and still his mother's lessons had held. Balinor would need to know because he was father, like mother, it was their secret to know.
This time he couldn't let it happen, the bad things. Merlin's power rose, panic riding the wave as it crested, crashing out of him but with a newly found skill, control. Merlin knew what he was doing, he practiced around Balinor, and he had played with his power, testing it again and again, knowing what was right and wrong to do. Bringing things back to life was bad, making things grow was good. Hurting nice people couldn't be done, but these couldn't be nice people, they were making the bad sound.
But still something of a conscience held. Balinor had told the dragon not to hurt people, so Merlin couldn't do any different. Even if you were angry, hurting people might not be right. Like the angry men who had hurt Gwaine.
Merlin didn't understand it. A world of moral dilemmas crashed down on him. The only thing he did know was he wasn't letting anyone hurt father, like they had done mother.
The front line of men and horses crashed against the solid wall of Merlin's power. He didn't ask it to do anything but be there, and they ran into an invisible force. The foot soldiers crashed down, horses toppled and a hurricane ranged as Merlin screamed, in panic and fear and denial. He wasn't going to let his happen. Kilgharrah screamed in response. He had been ordered not to hurt anyone but he flew forward, flying low over the knights to scare the horses, disorientate the men, and he bellowed out, sending flames low enough over them to make them all duck.
The only one that stayed on his horse was Uther. His legs clamped around the animal, his hands pulling the reins, sawing on it's mouth to keep the animal in place, until he could look up, glaring at the Dragonlord and his child.
"The boy's a sorcerer! Take them both!"
"Merlin run!" Balinor shouted, pushing Merlin towards the trees. Merlin turned and then Balinor pushed him again, hurrying Merlin along. Balinor was behind him so Merlin ran. Cyan plunged ahead of them, leading the way, skirting around obstacles, Merlin following him, his head filled with panic. He turned as he heard the sounds closing in. The soldiers were just making it through the tree line. Merlin lashed out again, without even thinking. Trees toppled as the ground cracked underneath. Merlin didn't think about what he was doing, or at least how the task was achieved. All he wanted to do was separate himself and Balinor from the soldiers.
The men cried out as the gaping hole opened up, diving out of the way of the toppling trees. Balinor grabbed Merlin's arm, pulling him along as they fled.
It had done some of the work to give them a head start, but the horsemen either jumped or skirted the fissure in the ground. Merlin yelped as one rode out from the left. The horse reared as Cyan charged forward, snapping at the horses legs, diving out of the way as they flailed. Balinor ran forward, grabbing the man as the horse plunged down, yanking him off and bringing him to the ground. Snorting and jumping the horse backed up, eyes rolling and foam dripping from it's mouth. Cyan lunged again and the horse bolted, charging through the forest. Balinor slammed his fist into the knight's head knocking him out, and he grabbed the sword that had fallen from his hands. Merlin whimpered, his eyes rolling as much as the horse's had, as he tried to comprehend what was going on. He staggered back as more horsemen came. Balinor grabbed him before he could fall and pushed him onward.
"Keep going Merlin, run!"
Merlin paused, turning to look at Balinor, grabbing his arm.
"No!" Merlin yelped, getting a hint of what Balinor was going to do. Like Hunith had done years before. Merlin clung desperately. Balinor pulled him close, holding onto Merlin tightly, he heard some words as Balinor spoke, and Merlin felt a surge of something, he somehow knew the words, and understood was Balinor was saying. Overhead the dragon roared in response hearing the commands that Balinor was giving.
"Merlin, you need to run. I'll be fine, I'll find you, I promise, just run. You need to get away, promise me!"
"Father, don't go!" Merlin whimpered, clinging for a moment.
"I'll be right behind you, I promise, I'll follow you, but you need to go. I want you to stay safe."
Merlin jumped as the sounds of shouting became louder. He whimpered again, confused and uncertain, until Balinor turned him round and gave him a little push in the right direction.
"Go Merlin! You have to run!"
Merlin ran forward, turning once and then fleeing away, tears running from his eyes, stumbling along. Balinor watched him go, slowly backing up to try and follow Merlin, but he was going to have to take out some of the soldiers. The dragon would help scatter them, distracting them. Hopefully they would believe the dragon was with them, and he could lead some of them away, as commanded. Balinor would have to deal with the rest. He turned to look at Cyan. The wolf had paused, looking at him steadily, panting from the exertion of the flight. He bounced back, blinking as he regarded Balinor, then the wolf jerked round, streaking off after Merlin before Balinor could command him to do so.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Arthur didn't even bother with a saddle, he just hurriedly put a bridle on one of his horses, flung himself on it's back and thundered out of the castle. Lancelot followed, Arthur knew he would without even seeing him. But Leon didn't seem to be with them, although he had chased them down. No one tried to stop him, no one could have, so intent on his mission.
The thing was. Arthur wasn't entirely sure what his mission was, who he was going to face, and who he was going to protect. He wasn't sure who his anger was aimed at. He wanted to know why his father was doing this. Arthur had told him of Balinor's plan, and that he would leave once he had dealt with the dragon. Uther had said nothing on the subject and Arthur had assumed that although Uther wasn't happy about using Balinor, that he would let it go. Now he realised it was simply because he knew Arthur would object, and would also find a way to warn the Dragonlord.
He knew his father had not wanted to let the dragon go, but Arthur's only goal was the protection of Camelot. It was now occurring to him that not only did he want that, but he also, deep down, agreed with Balinor's reasoning on the dragon. He had done no harm to Camelot, until he had been kept prisoner there for two decades.
He galloped through the trees and into the clearing, hauling the horse back as he saw the devastation. Arthur urged the horse on and reached the other side, the animal under him skidding to a halt by the crack in the ground. He circled his steed and looked at a nearby soldier.
"What happened?"
"The boy, My Lord, he made the ground shake."
"Merlin?" Arthur asked in shock. If it had been the dragon or Balinor responsible for the damage he could have perhaps understood it. But Merlin, the young boy was so placid, at least over the few days Arthur had known him.
"He's a sorcerer! The king has gone after them, they're searching the woods."
Arthur cantered round the crack and the horse hopped over a fallen log. As he rode into the forest he knew it was useless on the animal, he couldn't move at any speed. He jumped off the mare and sent her back. She'd head to home, or one of the other men would find her. Arthur drew his sword and ran off into the forest.
Again he still didn't know what his aim was. He just followed the sounds, some of the men had torches, searching the area. Then some instinct caught him. Arthur turned and headed, running straight, leaping objects, skirting trees without even thinking about it. He knew the area, it was around his home, he could move through it without any danger. But this felt different. He had no idea what drove him, until he jumped into a small gorge and paused, his chest heaved with the effort, arms and legs aching, his sword ready as something scuffled to his left.
He watched the figure huddle against the rocks. It was the rumbling sound that followed that told Arthur who it was, as Cyan moved forward, his eyes glittering in the moonlight.
"Merlin?" Arthur said, lowering his sword and stepping forward carefully. He gasped as he saw Merlin.
He was a sorry sight; eyes wide, clothes torn, his face smeared with dirt. The worst part was the look on his face. He was so frightened and confused, not understanding what had happened. Arthur couldn't equate the damage he had seen with the trembling youth he saw now. Merlin meant no harm to anyone. Arthur stepped forward and reached for him. Merlin retreated.
"Merlin, it's all right," Arthur said gently. He risked another step forward. Cyan rumbled the sound rising from his chest, just as confused. He knew Arthur, his scent had become familiar, it was one that was now present in the cave he knew as home. They had travelled with Arthur to Camelot. But again, he sensed Merlin's apprehension, and automatically that made the wolf's caution rise.
They all jumped at the sound of people coming closer. Merlin pressed himself tighter to the rocks. Arthur reached out and grabbed Merlin's wrist, pulling him again.
"Come on, we need to get you out of here."
Without any further preamble he turned and pulled Merlin with him, dragging him out of the gorge and running for it. Arthur wasn't quite sure what possessed him. He knew the rules of Camelot. Sorcerery was forbidden, dealt with by execution. But Merlin wouldn't have known that. He didn't want to hurt anyone. He had reacted to the soldiers attack. Arthur didn't want to see Merlin dead, or dragged to Camelot.
He yanked him some distance and then paused.
"Go west through the trees, keep going, I'll distract them."
"But father! Where's father?" Merlin whimpered. "I don't want him to be gone, like mother! Mother got hurt by the horses."
Arthur pulled Merlin closer, looking him in the eye.
"I'll try and find him, I'll look I promise. But you can't stay Merlin, you have to run, just go beyond the ridge and follow the track. You'll be fine. Go!"
Merlin clung to him, and Arthur felt the urge to keep holding on, but he couldn't, the sounds were coming closer. He spun Merlin round and pushed him forward, backing it up by slapping the youth's backside with the flat of his sword.
"GO!" Arthur ordered.
Merlin again ran. Cyan dived forward and then paused, turning to look at Arthur. Arthur looked back at the wolf's eyes. Then the wolf's head bobbed down, and as it came up Cyan spun and shot into the darkness, tailing Merlin. Arthur turned and dashed back the way they had come, intercepting the men at the gorge and telling them he hadn't seen anyone when he came this way.
Arthur went to his father, and they scanned the woods until dawn. But much to Uther's chagrin he found neither the boy sorcerer nor the Dragonlord.