Chapter 11
"Mum, I think we have to do something with that necklace," Arthur said.
"Yes, dear, I know. It has caused us too much trouble." She sighed. "I will miss it, though. Our grandparents didn't have much from the old country to pass down."
"It's for the best," Merlin added.
They went outside and saw that the lights were coming back on. Arthur placed the necklace on a tree stump. Uther put his arm around his wife as the neighbors came out to watch once more.
"All right," Arthur said, holding up the sword. "If this doesn't work, I don't know what will."
"Get on with it," Merlin replied.
Arthur raised Excalibur over his head and brought it down fast. As it landed on the stone, it shattered into a million tiny pieces. Glittering tiny crystals went flying everywhere like shooting stars in the night sky. There were few things he had done that had ever felt so right.
"No one person should have that much power," Merlin said. "Not even me."
Gaius put a hand on his shoulder. "It was the right thing to do."
"Yes. Now, I wonder what Morgana and Morgause are going to do now that they're stuck here? Do you think they'll find honest work?"
"Those two? Ha!"
"We should celebrate," Uther said.
"How do people celebrate these days?"
"Barbecue time," Uther's neighbor shouted from over the fence.
"At 8:00 in the evening?" Arthur replied.
"Why not?" his father responded.
"Sure, why not."
Soon the entire neighborhood was having a huge barbecue party.
In the hotel room, Morgana awoke to find Morgause watching TV. "What happened?" she asked. "I no longer sense Nimueh's presence."
"They destroyed the gemstone," Morgause replied. "Emrys did something to her. I know not what."
Morgana closed her eyes. Everything they had been working for was for naught. "What shall we do now?"
"I plan to go back to our old lands. You may do as you wish, sister. I strongly advise taking another identity for now. Our old names are too recognizable."
She nodded. This was going to be tough, living in a strange time in a strange land. But she had survived tougher things, and she was determined to make it through.
Meanwhile, Merlin and Arthur relaxed in lawn chairs as the smell of roasted hot dogs and hamburgers wafted into the air.
"You know, it's going to be weird to be back in class next week," Arthur said.
"That's right; I'd forgotten you were a student," Merlin replied.
"What are you going to do?"
Merlin shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose I should try to find a job. I really haven't got any modern skills, though."
"They still have house cleaners in this era," Arthur teased. "I'll give you a reference."
The warlock rolled his eyes. "As if I want to do that again." He leaned back against the tree. "I should teach magic. There could be people who have the ability who don't even know it because the language has been lost, and most people had stopped believing in it until now."
"You'd be good at it."
Merlin grinned. "Yes."
"Hot dog?" Gwen asked, holding up a plate with one on it.
"What's a hot dog?"
"It's sort of like the sausages we used to have, but different."
Merlin looked at it skeptically but took a cautious bite. "This is good."
Arthur gazed into Gwen's eyes. "At least we don't have to cross an ocean to see each other," he said.
"No, but it is getting expensive to fly," Gwen replied. "I could move to New York once I finish school."
"Yes," Arthur said. "Or you could transfer."
She grinned. "Yes, I might just do that."
That morning, after breakfast, Merlin took one last look around. "I talked to Percival and there's a lady I need to meet with in order to officially be a legal UK citizen. I'm going to see her tomorrow."
"Good. Keep in touch. I'm sure someone at the pub will be able to teach you how to e-mail."
He nodded. "Arthur?"
"Yeah?"
"Be careful. Just because Nimueh isn't around anymore does not mean that Morgana and Morgause won't try something."
"I will."
Merlin's eyes glowed at he cast the teleportation spell and wound up outside the Dragon's Roost. He opened the door and stepped inside.
"You're back," Kilgharrah said. "The gemstone?"
"Arthur destroyed it."
"Good. Nimueh?"
"She won't be coming back anytime soon."
"Wonderful news," the dragon in human form replied. "Please sit down; we have a lot to talk about."
Merlin nodded. "How exactly do you have a daughter?"
The dragon gestured to one table. Suddenly, it all made sense as Merlin saw Balinor and his mother stand up.
"Merlin," his mother exclaimed.
His jaw literally dropped as he rushed over to hug her. "Oh gods…you're here!"
"Yes," she said, as her eyes welled up with tears. She kissed him on the forehead. "As soon as I remembered everything, I knew I had to see you, but they said it wasn't safe."
"Nimueh would have targeted you if she had known," Merlin said.
Balinor put a hand on his shoulder. "Hello, son. I know we never really got to know each other before, but we have time now."
He grinned. "Yes, yes we do."
"How long…"
"They found me when I was a boy. We really should go and talk somewhere more privately."
Kilgharrah gestured for them to follow him, and he led them to an office. He closed the door behind them. "It was out of necessity that we learned how to hatch the eggs magically. Our population has grown, but not without cost. The hatchlings do not always survive their births. We knew that we still needed a dragonlord's magic to make it work 100% of the time."
Merlin and Balinor exchanged glances.
"Go on," Merlin said.
"This is where I get to the unusual part of the story. We knew that we needed dragonlords, so we found a way to manipulate the magic after centuries of research. We found a way to ensure that a human child would be born with it, and that their father would not have to die to pass it on. That child was Balinor. Since he is not technically your biological father in this lifetime, Merlin, you still have the magic as well."
He gaped at Kilgharrah. "So there are now two dragonlords?"
"Actually, there are four. Two of them are living in this town and are still children. Their parents are members of the druid community and understand what it means."
Merlin's jaw dropped. "Four dragonlords!"
Balinor nodded. "And there is something else. Go on, dear."
Hunith took a deep breath and held out her hand. "It seems that fate has a certain amount of irony," she said. Her eyes glowed and a small globe of light appeared in her hand.
"Mother?" Merlin gasped.
"In this life, I have magic."
He hugged her. "That's great!"
"There's something else," Balinor said.
"What?"
"We've both moved here," he replied. "And we've got a house."
"That's fantastic!"
"Yes, well, if you need someplace to stay…"
Merlin grinned. "I'd love to."
"Wonderful," Hunith said. "It'll be like old times. Even better."
"And I can teach you magic."
"Yes." She smiled.
Merlin wondered what else the future held for him. It certainly wasn't anything like he had ever imagined, but at least he wasn't alone, and that was what counted.
The End