Hi! Here's the latest chapter, hope you enjoy! Don't forget to review :)

Chapter Thirteen: Explanations

The uneven stone pressed uncomfortably against Merlin's back, but he didn't move, only sitting and listening intently for any sign of something going wrong. The ragged tunnel that opened up around the hidden corner and to his left brought no sound, though, and Merlin tensely let out a puff of breath.

That evening, Merlin had been reluctant to go back to Gaius's chambers and have to begin arguing with him about Elsa again. However, he'd been thinking about Elsa and how scared she had seemed at the prospect of meeting Uther. It had occurred to him that – though Merlin planned to help Elsa get out of Camelot to avoid meeting the king – the princess didn't even know that Merlin wanted to help her yet, and if she was so anxious to leave Camelot, then she'd do it as soon as possible. So, Merlin had decided to station himself outside of her chambers for the night, hiding himself behind a set of heavy drapes. As vigilant as he tried to be, soon Merlin had begun to doze off, despite how he attempted to keep his eyes trained on the door to Elsa's chambers.

Merlin didn't remember falling asleep, but he certainly remembered waking up; a sudden creak of stiff hinges had startled him awake, and his gaze had darted over to the hallway just as a slender figure obscured by a blue cloak shut the door to Elsa's chambers with a soft thud. The figure had turned towards Merlin, revealing the face beneath the hood – sure enough, it had been Elsa.

It had seemed that Elsa had been about to make her way towards the main stairway and out of the castle, but just as she had started off, she froze – but Merlin knew why, because he had heard the voice too.

You…whispered the unmistakable voice of the Great Dragon. After getting over his own shock, Merlin had carefully watched as Elsa fell to her knees, confusion evident in her quick breathing and tensed appearance. The dragon had continued speaking to her – You…come, Elsa. You'll know the way. And, after a long moment of indecision, Elsa had; she'd started off in the opposite direction of what she'd originally planned, instead striding towards Merlin's hiding spot. Merlin had jumped to his feet, ready to follow her, but perhaps it had been too hasty, because Elsa stopped, looking around intently. Finally she turned away and started on her way again – and Merlin had followed, his heart thumping loudly in his growing unease and worry.

Sure enough, Elsa had marched swiftly through the darkened castle, eventually descending into the dungeons and the tunnels leading to the Great Dragon's cave. Upon reaching the broken gate that marked the beginning of the narrow passages that let out in the dragon's cavern, Merlin had stopped, hesitant to follow Elsa all the way. He had known that going all the way through would be a mistake, for multiple reasons; firstly, there were no other branches of the tunnel past the gate, so when Elsa came back, she'd definitely bump into Merlin. Merlin didn't want to have to explain what he was doing following her around the castle, and then she'd be forced to explain to him what she was doing wandering it...for now, it was best not to breach that subject. Besides those reasons, however, Merlin also hadn't wanted to eavesdrop on her and the dragon's conversation. He remembered the first time that the dragon had called him down to the cave; what the dragon had said about Merlin and his destiny had been rather personal, and Merlin definitely wouldn't have wanted anyone listening in. Now, he would never willingly inflict that on Elsa – so, Merlin had found a hidden niche along the rough stone passage, settled himself down against the notched rock, and resolved himself to wait.

Unfortunately, waiting proved harder than Merlin had hoped.

Merlin found it impossible to keep his hands still; he tapped his fingers nervously against the rock floor, fiddled with his jacket, or simply wrung his hands with a clenched jaw and carefully controlled breathing. It seemed as if he felt every second go by with painstaking slowness, even though he couldn't have been hiding there for more than a few minutes; it really took all his willpower not to leap up and race down that tunnel to see what was happening with Elsa and the dragon. Why would he want to speak to her, anyway? Surely Elsa didn't have some great destiny in Camelot like Merlin did. The last time that Merlin had seen the dragon was during the incident of the Questing Beast, and though Merlin had saved Arthur, his mother, and Gaius in the end, he couldn't help but still feel a little resentful and untrusting of the dragon. Merlin knew that the creature acted only to ensure that magic would eventually be brought back to the land…and that he didn't care whether his actions were right or wrong.

What if it has something to do with Morgana's nightmare? Merlin thought suddenly, clenching his hands into fists. Maybe he's warning her...but no, he's always going on about how you can't change destiny and whatnot…Merlin's mind conjured endless possibilities, and each succeeded in making him more anxious than before. Unable to bear worrying anymore, Merlin closed his eyes and began to count, methodically chanting in his mind. For the most part, it worked, and after a minute the hard knot of tension in his stomach began to ease.

Merlin had only reached eighty-nine when the cold draft brushed towards him, from the direction of the dragon's cave. He tensed, about to jump to his feet, when the terrible roar echoed around the tunnel, reverberating about the stone passage and sounding like a huge beast in excruciation...Merlin gasped, pushing himself up, nearly launching himself out into the tunnel before he heard the footsteps approaching.

Merlin threw himself back into the niche, wincing as he hard stone jabbed his back. Inclining his head fractionally, he held his breath as Elsa ran past, her cloak billowing. She soon disappeared from sight, but not before Merlin caught the sound of her ragged cries of fear.

Merlin gulped, staring at the spot where Elsa had slipped from his line of sight. If she was hurt...Merlin's limbs were dying to go after her, but he steeled himself and stepped out into the tunnel to turn back the way she had come. The cries of the Great Dragon were still ringing through the air, furious and agonized. Merlin shook his head and clenched his jaw, striding towards the dragon. What could she possibly have done?

As Merlin neared the end of the tunnel, the flickering light of a torch left on the ledge lit the way. Merlin slowed, emerging onto the ledge cautiously, but he was still unprepared for the sight that met his eyes.

Perched on his usual spire of rock before the ledge that Merlin stood on was the Great Dragon, but no terrible wound marred his huge body. Instead, the beast's entire frame was strangely colored, glittering and seeming paler than usual. Parts of the dragon's body had thickened, locking some of his limbs in place, while others were merely discolored. The dragon flailed around, beating his wings on empty air and lashing his tail about; as Merlin watched in confusion, the dragon bowed his glimmering head to his forelegs and began using his sharp claws to try and scrape of the strange substance that still coated the beast. For a moment, Merlin could only watch in bewilderment, wondering if Elsa had enchanted him – but then, a shard of the glimmering material, laying by his feet on the ledge, caught his eye.

Merlin bent slowly, cautiously reaching out a hand to touch the sharp-looking piece, about a foot long and four inches wide at the widest part. As Merlin wrapped his hand around the weapon-like shard, he felt nothing for the first millisecond – but then, his palm burned as if he'd placed it on the surface of a hot stove. He dropped the object, grasping his hand with a hiss of pain – but despite the burning, he could tell that the object was cold, not hot.

"What?" Merlin whispered, crouching and nudging the shard with a finger. Suddenly, he made the connection, feeling a coat of icy water on his hand where he'd picked up the object – it was a shard of ice. Merlin took in a gasp of recognition – Morgana's dream. "Ice..."

Another sharp roar from the dragon grabbed Merlin's attention, and he whipped his head around to see the dragon twisting his head around, opening his jaw wide to let out a blast of golden fire aimed at his back. Melting off the ice...Merlin watched in fascination as the dragon bathed his body in the angry fire, the ice dripping from his body as water.

Finally the dragon reared its head up towards the distant ceiling of the cavern, roaring in fury. "...Traitor!" He finally burst out, growling ferociously. "Liar! I knew it! ...Witch!" He let out another tremendous roar, shaking his head in lingering fury.

"What happened?" Merlin shouted at the flailing dragon, spreading his arms. "Why did Elsa do this?"

The dragon continued shaking for a short moment before he composed itself, lowering his head to glare at Merlin with narrowed eyes. "You're on first-name terms with the witch already, I see," he said maliciously, holding his wings extended at uncomfortable-looking angles. "I suppose that you've already decided that she couldn't possibly be a danger to Camelot, hmm? And besides – the last time we met, you told me that you would not return. Have you had a change of heart?"

Merlin sighed, averting his eyes. "I'm only here because Elsa was," he said firmly, frowning. "I needed to know why she came here…why did you call her?"

The dragon bent its head closer to Merlin, examining him so intently it was unsettling. "You know that she has magic," he said sharply. "And if you were unsure of how powerful she is, wonder no more, for she is very powerful to be able to do this to me." The dragon shrugged his great wings in example. "I see I underestimated her abilities. Unfortunately she escaped, and now it may be that Camelot and the entire world will have to suffer the destruction that she will wreak, as the prophecies said she would."

Merlin felt a cold hand grasp his heart, and he took a step away from the dragon, shaking his head. "No," he breathed, thinking of Elsa – she's been so timid, unsure, innocent – and that feeling he'd gotten when she'd been about to use her magic; it had definitely been a good one. She can't be evil! "No…"

Merlin turned away from the dragon, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. After taking a deep breath, he put his hands on his hips with a frown. "I can't believe that," he said bluntly, shaking his head. "Elsa's not evil, I can tell – there's no way she could cause destruction."

The dragon snorted, his scaled nostrils flaring. "This witch has been in Camelot for only a few days – you don't know her or anything about what she would or would not do. Why do you protect her so firmly?" He narrowed his eyes, tilting his head.

"I don't expect you to understand!" Merlin shouted, gesturing angrily. "Not when all you care about – your only goal is to bring magic back to this land, no matter the consequences or the price that others have to pay."

The dragon merely blinked, adorning a skeptical expression. "Merlin, do not bring old quarrels into this matter; it is beneath you. If you wish for my help, then you must cooperate."

Merlin opened his mouth to find no words, and he looked away with a short sigh. "…When we brought her to Camelot, she was about to use magic as she was being attacked. And when she raised her hand to do the magic – I had this feeling, like something good was about to happen. I didn't sense anything bad about her. And, here in Camelot – we have this…" Merlin struggled to find the right words. "…connection…it's like I know what she's feeling, even when she tries to hide it. I don't know if she noticed it too, but…I can tell you one thing, she's not evil. There's no way." Merlin shook his head firmly, staring the dragon in the eye.

The dragon slowly looked away, closing his eyes. When he turned back, they were bright with determination. "Merlin. I know that you hate to condemn someone for a crime that they have yet to commit. I agree, it does seem wrong, but can you not see how many lives are saved through this process? You have disagreed with me on many occasions, but this time you must listen. Elsa is no friend of yours – in time you will see that, especially if you continue to try and help her. If you side with her, it will result in the destruction of your future – your destiny with Arthur to unite the lands of Albion. I implore you, Merlin – ignore this connection. No good will come of it."

Merlin had turned away halfway through the dragon's speech, and now he faced him again, frowning. "How can you know so much?" Merlin asked simply, his voice quiet. "You can't know all possible futures, and you can't know which actions bring about one future and which ones bring about another. How can you know that my ignoring my connection with Elsa will stop this prophecy, whatever it is? How can you know that, by helping her and guiding her, I won't end up stopping that prophecy after all? Because the way Elsa is, right now – it's not evil. And the way she is right now – I know that I can help her, and make sure that her magic goes the right way."

"By trying to stop a prophecy, you may very well end up causing it. By trying to help her use her magi for good, you may end up causing her to turn to darkness."

"Well then how do you know that you aren't causing this prophecy by trying to talk me out of helping her?" Merlin shouted, gesturing wildly. "Elsa's not evil – she's just someone who needs my help."

"Elsa," the dragon said in a ringing voice, lifting his wings. "is an elementalist whose name has been surrounded by prophecies since before she was born! Dozens of different futures had been seen, but this one prophecy was always the most foretold, the most pondered, the most feared. She was prophesized to betray other's trust and force innocents to pay the price of her mistake – and she was prophesized to cross paths with you, Merlin, for you have a part in her destiny as well." The dragon fell silent, waiting for Merlin's reaction.

Merlin examined the ground beneath his feet with a hard stare, chewing his lip and shaking his head stubbornly. After a long moment, he lifted his head without meeting the dragon's gaze. "An elementalist, what's that?" he asked shortly, wrinkling his brow in confusion.

The dragon sighed, lowering his head. "An elementalist is one who was born with the power to control the forces of a natural element – such as, in this case, ice. Elementalists are instinctively powerful, as well as quite rare, especially since the Purge. They will always have more control over their own element than any other person, and that includes you, Merlin. However, there is an advantage to be had over elementalists, and it is this: elements that are opposites are vulnerable to the other. So, in this scenario, you are in luck."

Merlin raised his eyebrows, skeptical. "What do you mean – I'm not an elementalist!"

"On the contrary," The dragon said, sounding like he took immense enjoyment from knowing things that Merlin didn't. "You have powers over the element fire. Therefore, you have a weapon that will allow you to defeat Elsa when the time comes, because your magic is stronger than hers."

Merlin let out a burst of skeptical laughter, frowning. "How am I," he asked dubiously, touching his chest. "an elementalist? I wasn't born with the power to set things on fire – I was born with the power to move things, or do other practical things – there's no special connection to fire. And I can control my magic, but it seems like Elsa can't. Wouldn't we be the same, if we were both elementalists?"

"The reason that your power over fire was never revealed when you were younger, or that you feel no special connection to fire, is because you are also Emrys, with more power than any other. Your abilities to use your magic for other uses besides manipulating fire are just as potent, and because they are, as you say, more practical, they appeared more often. However, let me just ask you this – of all the elements, which seem the most appealing to you? Water, ice, earth, wind, light, shadow…or fire?"

Merlin chewed the inside of his cheek as he thought, but in the end there was no denying it. "…fire," he admitted with a sigh. "Though I'd rather it wasn't, because fire seems more destructive than most elements…but anyway, what about me being able to control my magic? Why can't Elsa, if I can?"

"That is merely a matter of practice. Of course, because you are Emrys, your abilities are greater, so you are more able than Elsa. But, she could learn to gain a better control over her magic, though I would prefer that she didn't considering the damage that she could already do here." The dragon lifted his wings slightly, gesturing at the lingering pieces of ice that still clung to his body. Merlin frowned, tilting his head and examining the dragon.

"That's another thing," he said slowly, confused. "If fire and ice are opposite elements and they have power over one another…then how could Elsa do so much to you? I mean, you're a creature of magic and fire, so wouldn't you have more power than her? Why couldn't you stop her?"

The dragon ruffled his wings, still seeming extremely offended by Elsa's actions. "Because," he pronounced delicately. "She was lucky. If Elsa had tried to freeze my fire or to shoot a blade of ice at me, it would have failed, for my fire would have prevailed and my scales would have protected me from the ice. However, by chance, she chose to freeze me, which did have effect; the fire in my body is vulnerable to her ice because it cannot retaliate. If her magic had been any stronger, she may have frozen me."

Merlin examined the dragon in concern, unable to help feeling anxious at the fact that Elsa had nearly killed him. After a lingering moment of silence, Merlin pursed his lips, shaking his head. "Why would she do that?" he asked with a troubled frown.

"As I have said, Merlin, she is destined for evil; hurting others is of no concern to her –"

Merlin cut the dragon off, slashing the air with his hand. "No! That's not what I meant." Merlin shook his head. "I mean, what happened? You're telling me that she just strolled in here and tried to kill you with her ice? I'm pretty sure that she would have been terrified at the sight of you, at least at first. So what happened?"

The dragon turned his head, irritated. "I merely tried to explain the situation to her. I told her of the future that she would undoubtedly lead, and I tried to resolve the matter. In retaliation, she did this."

"You tried to resolve the matter." Merlin stated skeptically, sensing that the dragon was hiding something. "Exactly what does that mean?"

"It does not matter," the dragon told him, lifting his head haughtily. "For I did not succeed. Now, I fear you are the only one with the chance to stop her. Merlin, do not ignore this. You must beware her. Use your powers to kill her, and then we will never have to experience the disaster that her existence would lead to." The dragon's voice was pleading, more than commanding; he lowered his head towards Merlin in his insistence.

Merlin closed his eyes, turning away. Slowly he shook his head, resolved. "No." Merlin said clearly, working his jaw. "I won't – I refuse to punish someone for something that they haven't even done yet, or even tried to do. I don't know what Elsa's future will bring, but I do know that I have to try to help her. I know that I can do it. And I will." He took a step back, towards the tunnel.

"Do not be a fool, Merlin; you do not understand the consequences! It will be too late for you to take back your actions when the world as we know it is no more! You cannot –"

But Merlin was already striding down the tunnel, shaking his head and clenching his jaw. Behind him, the dragon's cries still echoed about the narrow passage, rebuking him, but he ignored it. "Merlin –" the dragon cried, angry and desperate. "Merlin!"

Thanks for reading and hope you liked!

Also wanted to clarify one thing: when the dragon says that Merlin is an elementalist of fire, this is not quite true, because Merlin is actually a dragonlord who hasn't become one yet. Merlin doesn't know this yet, because the setting here is only between season one and season two. Despite the fact that Merlin hasn't inherited his position of dragonlord yet, he still has considerable powers over fire, for one because he is Emrys and then of course because of the dragonlord thing. But, because this story isn't centered on the dragonlord thing, the dragon just lies to Merlin and tells him he's an elementalist to make things easier.

And one other thing: I'm not actually sure if Merlin is aware, in the time frame between season one and season two, how powerful he is and exactly what being Emrys means. But, for this story, he does need to know that Emrys is the most powerful sorcerer to ever be and all that, so I'm just going to pretend that at this point he does know, even if he technically doesn't. Sorry!

~whatswiththemustache