Thanks to Boxerbee and TheReinbachDragonlord (HOLY CRAP - four consecutive reviews). For you guys, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin
Chapter 10 - An Unexpected Friend
Lancelot had faith in Merlin, he really did - but that didn't stop him from being worried about the boy. He knew that the warlock feared the day when he would have to reveal to Arthur his magic. Although he wanted to stay, he knew that Merlin and Arthur both needed to talk it out.
Hopefully, things would turn out for the better.
The knight walked back to the forest where he tied his horse and sure enough, Arthur's horse was right next to his. Sitting on the grass, Lancelot leaned against a tree and waited.
And waited.
And waited some more.
It wasn't until the sun was setting that he stood up and began pacing. He told Merlin to call if he needed him. He hadn't heard anything so everything should be okay, right? So then, what was taking them so long?, he thought. Surely they should be done by now, the sun's setting and...
Oh no. Lancelot had forgotten all about the curse. He had thought that silence was a good thing, but in this case it was quite the opposite. Frantically the knight ran towards the clearing, his stomach tightening from anxiety. He prayed that he wouldn't be too late.
Arthur was feeling a lot of things. Annoyance, anger, confusion, a slight pain in his back where he hit the tree, confusion again, etc... one moment, he and Merlin were walking back to the horses and the next, said friend pushed him away and took off - quite hard too and with magic.
The prince was shaken from his thoughts when heard the sound of scuffling feet and, before he knew it, someone slammed into him.
"Arthur!"
"Lancelot! I thought I told you..."
"I know Sire, but I saw the sun setting and I had to come and ..." Lancelot rambled, almost too quickly for Arthur to fully comprehend. He only stopped when he noticed something missing. "Where's Merlin?"
"I don't know" Arthur admitted and looked away from the knight. He was still confused as to why Merlin used magic on him. Yes, Arthur was angry, but he was hurt too...and not just physically. The prince knew that he had a loyal friend, but why did he run away? After what they just talked about, did he really not trust him? Looking back at Lancelot, Arthur continued. "He was acting strange all of a sudden. He blasted me away and just took off"."
"Oh no, I'm too late."
"Lancelot, what's going on? You know something, don't you."
"Arthur it's a long story. You see, Merlin...he's been..." but he was interrupted by the sound of a terrifying roar that sent shivers down both men.
"What...was that!" Arthur asked.
Not wasting time, Lancelot grabbed the prince and pushed him towards the horses. "We need to leave now!"
"But Merlin's still back there!"
The knight bit his lip. There was nothing he could do now. The sun had already set. The Merlin they knew was gone. "There's no time!" he yelled back. Both men ran to the horses and took off.
While riding away, Arthur yelled to Lancelot, "What's going on? What aren't you telling me?"
Before the knight could answer, a black figure jumped in their path. Too dark to see it clearly, the evil creature roared at the group, causing the horses to panic. Immediately, Arthur steered his steed away and took off. It was when he entered an open field that he realized that somehow, he and Lancelot got separated.
Turning his horse around to find his knight, the prince began moving back to the forest when the dark creature jumped in front of him. Scaring the horse senseless, the animal reared up and ran away leaving the prince lying on the ground.
Arthur immediately stood up and drew his sword. The moon was shining brightly on the field, thus allowing the prince to actually see the beast he was facing. To his utter astonishment, Arthur realized that the creature was the wyvern they were looking for. The wyvern that bit Merlin, he thought grudgingly.
The black wyvern growled and bore its fangs while slowly circling the prince, its piercing white eyes focused on its prey. Arthur, noticing the familiar action of many predators, followed suit. After what seemed like eternity, the beast lunged at him.
He deflected the first blow only to be met with another claw coming straight for him. Blocking it with ease, Arthur aimed for the creature's exposed chest. It was a clear shot...until the wyvern used its wings as a shield and pushed the prince away. Fumbling a bit, he quickly gained his footing just in time to duck underneath its swinging tail.
With a sudden burst of strength, the wyvern growled before going on the offensive. It began viciously attacking Arthur to the point where all he could do was block the attacks. It's more aggressive than the last time we fought, Arthur thought as he dodged another blow.
Though it frustrated Arthur to be put on the defensive, the prince waited. With every blow, he knew that the wyvern was getting tired. Once he found an opening, it would be his time to strike again.
After a couple more minutes, his patience was rewarded. With all the grace and skill becoming of the First Knight of Camelot, Arthur thrust his sword at the wyvern. Though the blow didn't pierce its hard skin, it was strong enough to knock it back. Now, the tables were reversed.
Slashing at the beast, Arthur forced the wyvern back. Its wings rose to defend itself but it didn't lessen the impact of the blows. With one firm strike, the prince knocked the beast to the ground.
After catching his breath and letting the adrenaline rush subside, Arthur walked over to the unconscious wyvern and raised his sword, poised to strike. As he was about to bring it down to fell the beast, a voice cut him off.
"Arthur stop!"
Arthur's head snapped to the forest edge to see Lancelot on his horse. Brows knit in confusion, the prince yelled back, "Why?"
"Because that's Merlin!"
The Prince of Camelot was left speechless and his mind was racing. This was Merlin? How could this...thing be his friend? What the heck was going on?
Unfortunately for Arthur, at the sound of its name the wyvern's eyes shot open. Taking the prince by surprise, it tripped him with its tail, rushed at the prince, and pinned him to the ground the same way Merlin was being held down before.
Arthur stared at the wyvern - or should he say Merlin - with pleading eyes, hoping to find his best friend somewhere hidden within the beast.
He found nothing.
The wyvern lifted its head to the night sky and roared over the prince. At that moment, Arthur knowing that this would be his end, closed his eyes in resignation.
He heard the sound of running footsteps.
Someone yelled his name.
He vaguely heard the sound of flapping in the distance.
The breath of the wyvern hit his face as it drew closer...and closer...and closer.
He felt its weight as it tightened its hold on him.
And he felt true fear as he took his last breath.
And then all of a sudden, the weight was gone - literally, he didn't feel the weight of the wyvern pressing down on him. Slowly opening his eyes, Arthur was left in shock at the scene.
The Great Dragon (the one he supposedly killed) had knocked the wyvern off of him. Within seconds, it had pinned the evil creature with its left claw. Although it struggled, the wyvern couldn't break free from the Great Dragon's mighty grasp.
The prince stood, his mouth hanging in shock (once again). What just happened! The Great Dragon was supposed to be dead. He should know, he killed it...didn't he? I killed it! Merlin told me I...The prince stopped his train of thought. Of course the bloody dragon's still alive! What other secrets has the idiot kept from me?
"It's nice to finally meet you, young Pendragon, though I wish it wasn't under such circumstance", the dragon said.
Snapping out of his daze, the Crown Prince of Camelot asked the most important question he could think of at the moment. "You can talk?"
"Yes. How observant of you". At this, the prince scowled. He's just like Merlin, he mused. By this time, Lancelot, hesitant at first, had finally reached Arthur.
"Arthur, are you okay?", he asked, his eyes still fixed on the dragon.
"I'm fine Lancelot" he answered before glaring upwards. "You're supposed to be dead! How...?"
"We have more pressing matters Pendragon", Kilgharrah growled. "I cannot deal with you right now. My Dragonlord is in need of my assistance."
"Dragonlord! Are you kidding me? You're telling me that Merlin's a bloody Dragonlord now!", he yelled. Lancelot put his hand on Arthur's shoulders, effectively gaining the prince's attention and calming him down.
"There's a lot you - we don't know about Merlin. I already asked you once to listen. Now please, do it once more. Let the dragon do what it needs to do", the knight said. Merlin had once mentioned something to him about the Great Dragon being an ally, so Lancelot knew it wouldn't do them any harm. Still, he couldn't help be feel shaken at the power that emanated from the mighty creature before them.
It took a couple seconds for the knight's words to sink in. Lancelot was right, he needed to stay calm ...and he realized that yelling at a creature that could probably kill him with less than a blow wasn't a good idea.
After a deep breath, he looked at Kilgharrah. "Is this really Merlin?" On cue, both men turned and looked at the still struggling wyvern.
"I'm afraid so".
"Can you help him?"
"I'll try". With that Kilgharrah took a deep breath and focused his mind on Merlin's.
The past day, he had felt the warlock try to contact him, but something was in the way. He tried calling back, but something had interfered once again. And little earlier, he had barely heard the Dragonlord's plea for help. Now, seeing the situation Merlin was in, there was no doubt in his mind. Powerful dark magic was at work.
When he finally made contact, the wyvern began thrashing wildly. It took two claws and most of Kilgharrah's strength to keep it still.
-Merlin... Merlin!
-Kilgharrah?
-You need to regain control young warlock.
-I can't. I've tried. It's too strong.
-Merlin! You are a Dragonlord! Such a creature is yours to command.
-But not even a Dragonlord can command such dark magic.
-Even so, you forget that you are also Emrys! The man who is to bring magic back to the land. The man who is to aid the Once and Future King in building a world of peace and prosperity. If you give up now, you will kill Albion. You will kill all of your friends. You will kill Arthur. Now fight it Merlin!
And he did.
Feeling the Dragonlord's renewed strength, Kilgharrah let go of the wyvern to the dismay of both men. The wyvern stood up and began (what can only be described as) fighting with itself, its head swaying from one side to the other. It eyes flashed from white to gold, then to red and back to gold and it kept doing that for quite some time. Then suddenly, it raised its head to the night sky, eyes brilliantly gold, and roared.
-'Ic i béo sé endefæstend ealdhláford sylfum dracentse ond Ic i béo Emrys. Ic i behieldee sé ríce hátan þu ond þu manest níedhæs.
-Drýcræft sylfum deorcnes wiðinnan, biþ geleoren!''
In a cave deep in the forest, three women stood there plotting their next move. Anatol suddenly jolted upward to the surprise of the other two ladies.
"What's wrong?" Morgause asked.
"Something's happened." Anatol replied. "The curse...I've lost connection with it".
"What do you mean?" There was a long dramatic pause before the red-haired sorceress walked to the entrance of the cave and looked up to the sky. " Something's broken my connection with the were-wyvern. Right now, I can't control it".
There it is. Please leave me a review, even if it's one word. Suggestions, comments, criticisms, and the like are always welcome.
Spell Translation:
I am the last dragon lord and I am Emrys. I hold the power to command you and you will obey.
Magic of darkness within, be gone!
The next chapter should be up by Friday.
Until later,
-STL13