AN: Gosh this chapter is long! But this is the last episode of Season 2 so I'm excited! It literally took me days to write this and I've added in three or four extra scenes which I really like. There were a lot of subtle Arthur and Merlin moments in this chapter so I had to write about several scenes. I tried to take some parts out but many felt too important. Sorry if reading this chapter is a little tedious for you but enjoy nonetheless!
Arthur could never remember feeling so tired in his life. Even as he rallied his men one more time he did not understand what strength it was that was keeping him on his feet. The flames roared up all around him, causing sweat to drip down his face, mixing with the grime to make a sludgy mess. He had a few burns himself from the near flames of the dragon and he could feel his pulse in every one of them as they flared up from the fire.
"I'm sorry you're having to do this." Merlin said behind him. The younger man had been with Gaius the majority of the night, but had left Guinevere to help the older man in order to aid his master. Arthur glanced at Merlin for just a moment, he could not let himself look longer or else he would reveal something.
He did not know what the dragon had to do with Merlin. Did Merlin release the dragon? Did he know who did? Why didn't he use his magic to stop the beast? Arthur could only conclude that Merlin's magic was useless against the magical creature.
"Why?" Arthur asked. "You're not to blame." His voice was cold as if daring Merlin to deny it. If they were not in the middle of an attack he might have seen how Merlin's eyes turned guiltily away at that moment, but the roar of the dragon had them all on alert once again.
Another three men were killed in the onslaught, Arthur called for the retreat running back to the castle. "Clear the square!" He shouted, Merlin was somewhere behind him, but Arthur's eyes were on the skies.
He glanced around and noticed someone pulling water up from the well. Who would be stupid enough to… Guinevere…
"Gwen!" Arthur shouted, the maid did not hear him. He turned his eyes back to the skies, the dragon was coming in again. "GUINEVERE!" He bellowed, this time she did turn, her eyes moving from him to the dragon swooping in on her. Gwen started running both Arthur and the dragon chasing her he grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her to the ground, but not in time.
A blinding pain sliced through his shoulder and he cried out, for a moment just lying on the ground. Slowly he pulled himself up, the dragon was coming back he grabbed Guinevere and pushed her towards the citadel.
When they were at the door he stopped placing both hands against the frame. "Merlin…" he whispered turning around and running back towards the square.
"Arthur!" Guinevere shouted, but he ignored her.
When he got to the square he slid to a stop and then hid behind a pillar as he watched the spectacle. Merlin spoke a few words encasing a lance in blue fire, then it flew through the air at the dragon. Arthur held his breath, it was the first time he had actually seen Merlin use magic. He had heard him whisper the words and a few times had observed through fuzzy consciousness, but nothing quite this clear. The spear hit the dragon in the chest and then bounced off. Arthur's heart dropped into his shoes as his suspicions of Merlin's magic were confirmed. He watched with bated breath as the dragon hovered in front of Merlin and then his heart nearly stopped at what happened next.
The dragon spoke.
"Do not imagine that your petty magic can harm me!" It said angrily and then flew towards the skies, away from Camelot for the night.
"Why are you doing this?" Merlin's anguished cry chased him. "You're killing innocent people." Arthur had to turn away from the boy's emotion, knowing that the city was no longer in danger… for now.
~.~.~.~
The "scratch" was a little more, if Arthur was honest, and the hard ride and rain had been hard on the wound. He pushed through the fog of pain in order to question the innkeeper and to scan the area for any clues of Balinor, but as they lay down the pain was getting pretty intense. Merlin had been quiet all day, completely useless as always, the one time Arthur wanted him to be distracting the boy did the complete opposite.
He glanced over at Merlin, lying on his own bed. Merlin's eyes skittered away from Arthur's and then Arthur had had enough.
"What is wrong with you today?" he asked.
"What?" Merlin responded dully, not taking to the bait of Arthur's biting tone.
"It pains me to admit it, but I do enjoy your surly retorts. In fact, it's probably your only redeemable feature."
"Thanks." Merlin said bitterly and with the same dull tone.
"There are loads of servants who can serve, but so few are capable of making a complete prat of themselves." He glanced over at Merlin, hoping his use of Merlin's word would result in something, but the younger man just gave a small smile and shook his head.
"What is it?" Arthur asked more seriously, giving up on getting a retort in lieu of concern.
"Nothing." Merlin said in a tone that said he didn't want to talk about it, but Arthur didn't care.
"It's something. Tell me." Arthur insisted, but Merlin would not look at him.
"All right," Arthur said sighing with a fake melancholy in his tone, "I know I'm a prince, so we can't be friends, but if I wasn't a prince—"
"What?" Merlin asked.
"Well, then…" Arthur began, "I think we'd probably get on." He actually had thought of it before, Merlin and him probably would have been friends in another life, now they were just servant and master, maybe that was why Merlin didn't trust him.
"So?" Merlin asked.
"So that means you can tell me." Arthur encouraged, because he was Merlin's friend and Merlin was his, even if neither of them admitted it.
"That's true, but you see, if you weren't a prince, I'd tell you to mind your own damn business."
"Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed, partially scolding and partially teasing.
"Are you missing Gaius?" Alright now he was starting to sound annoying even to his own ears.
"Something like that." Merlin let on.
"Well what is it then?" Arthur asked throwing his pillow at Merlin, exasperatedly.
"I'll tell you." Merlin stated. "I'm worried about everyone back in Camelot, I hope they're alright."
Arthur grew silent, he would be lying if he said that had not been a constant thought on his mind as well. "So do I."
Merlin turned over again and was silent and Arthur gave up trying to talk to him for the night.
~.~.~.~
Just because he was injured did not lessen his skills as a warrior, and his ears were still working just fine. They were lucky the thief knew where Balinor was. The sun was already beginning to rise so Arthur ordered Merlin to get the horses. They would not find any more sleep tonight.
When both Merlin and the thief had gone Arthur sat down heavily on his bed. The pain from the wound had intensified and he felt sweat beading his brow. It was getting worse, but if they hurried they would be able to find Balinor within the day.
As that day wore on, however, it only got worse. Arthur's head grew fuzzy and he felt hot. Merlin glanced back at him worriedly as he stumbled.
"It's alright." Arthur stated, his voice sounding strange to his own ears.
"No, it's the wound." Merlin said worriedly. "Let me have a look." Arthur nodded his consent only because he was not sure he could keep walking if it was not treated.
As Merlin peeled back the bandage Arthur clutched a tree in support feeling as though he would pass out at any moment. A crackle in the brush had his servant pushing him to the ground and whispering something urgently, but Arthur could not make it out.
He breathed heavily as he leaned his head against the log, and then, against his better judgment his eyes slipped closed.
~.~.~.~
Arthur had strange dreams as he slept, dreams of the dragonlord Balinor and Merlin talking around a campfire, but nothing they said seemed to make sense. When he awoke he felt better than he had since before Morgause's attack on Camelot. He was alone in a cave, but could tell he had not been bound, so they had not been capture.
As he walked out the front of the cave he spotted Merlin. "I feel great!" Arthur exclaimed cheerily. "What the hell did you give me?"
"It was all down to Balinor." Merlin said, Arthur was distracted by Merlin's tone by the words he said. His eyes moving to watch the figure down the stream.
"So we've found him, then. Thank heaven for that." Arthur said, his voice still cheery.
"Doesn't mean he's willing to help." Merlin said sadly.
"What?" Arthur asked.
"You won't persuade him," he responded.
"Does he know what's at stake?" Arthur asked incredulously. Merlin did not respond except for a subtle shake of his head. "What kind of a man is he?"
"I don't know." Merlin said shaking his head. "I thought he'd be something more."
Arthur watched Merlin and it suddenly occurred to him that Gaius probably told more to Merlin than he had told everyone else. Maybe this was someone that Merlin was hoping to connect with. A fellow sorcerer. He did not know that many other than Gaius. Maybe he hoped they would share his beliefs. But Merlin was obviously a strange one. Arthur knew of no one else that was loyal to him and Uther. Maybe Merlin hoped too much.
~.~.~.~
Arthur approached the dragonlord, trying not to show his anxiousness. The man was washing his clothes by the river and did not look up at Arthur as he approached. Arthur leaned over and held out a hand. "Arthur Pendragon." He introduced himself.
Balinor glanced up at him and then continued to wash his clothes. Arthur pulled his hand back awkwardly. "Well no need to tell me who you are." Arthur muttered. "I take it Merlin told you why we are here."
Balinor's eyes shifted towards Merlin but did not quite look his way. "Your manservant is very persistent…" he said, his voice sounding annoyed, "and very loyal."
Arthur shifted uncomfortably. It was habit whenever the conversation turned to Merlin, for the most part he tried to keep Merlin out of the limelight. "Yes, he is."
"You're lucky to have such a loyal servant. I do not know of many who would risk their lives by travelling into enemy territory." Balinor continued.
Arthur crouched beside the dragonlord. "Merlin knows what's at stake. He is more than he seems," Arthur stated thoughtfully, "He has the heart of a knight and a love for the people of Camelot." Arthur said gently, he paused for a moment to let the words sink in. "Camelot is in danger, it will be destroyed if we do nothing to help. The city and all its people, many innocent people."
"I owe nothing to Uther, except my hate." Balinor spit the words out. "You may return to Camelot as soon as you get your things together."
Arthur bit his bottom lip and stood to his feet. "You are Camelot's only hope," he said. "If you do not help them, then hundreds of innocent people will die. At least, consider their lives." Then he turned and walked away, convinced that Balinor would change his mind.
"What did he say?" Merlin asked.
"He'll change his mind." Arthur said, perhaps a bit too confidently.
"He said that?" Merlin asked eagerly.
"Just give him a moment." Arthur said holding a hand to placate Merlin.
They watched as Balinor approached and stopped in front of them.
"Farewell, then." Balinor stated.
"That's your decision?" Arthur asked.
"I will not help Uther." Balinor said angrily.
"Then the people of Camelot are damned!" Arthur exclaimed.
"So be it." Balinor threw over his shoulder.
"Have you no conscience?" Arthur asked incredulously.
Balinor spun on his heel and gave Arthur a steely stare. "You should ask that question of your father."
"And you are no better than him." Merlin said, taking Arthur by surprise. He saw Balinor's resolve falter for only a brief second before the walls slammed back into place and he turned to move back into his cave.
"Don't waste your time, Merlin." Arthur shouted angrily.
Despite what he said he heard Merlin saying something to Balinor as he left. When he was a good distance away he glanced back to realize that his servant wasn't behind him. "Merlin!"
Merlin glanced at Arthur and turned back to Balinor. Arthur rolled his eyes, they didn't have time for goodbyes. "Merlin!"
Merlin said one more thing and then turned and jogged after Arthur. Now that Balinor was not an option they had to get back to Camelot to try and help.
~.~.~.~
When they stopped for the night they sat in silence as Merlin pulled out the supplies. This whole trip had been far too silent. Arthur hadn't mentioned it much before because his wound had distracted him but now it was really starting to bug him. Without Balinor the city would be destroyed, this could be their last few moments of peace together, he just wanted to pretend everything was normal for a little while.
"I always thought that silence would be a blessing with you," Arthur teased, "but I find it just as irritating." Merlin looked up but not at Arthur. "You're a riddle, Merlin."
"A riddle?" Merlin asked, the question sounding forced.
"Yes." Arthur answered. "But I've got to quite like you."
"Yeah?" Merlin asked.
"Now that I realize you're not as big a fool as you look." He stated poking Merlin in the back with a stick. He was trying to egg out a response from Merlin, desperately hoping it would work.
"Yeah." Merlin stated pushing himself back to his feet. "I feel the same."
He turned around to finally look at Arthur who still wore a smirk on his face. "Now that I realize you're not as arrogant as you sound."
"You still think I'm arrogant?" Arthur asked.
"No." Merlin stated shaking his head. "More… supercilious."
Arthur's eyes widened as he looked at Merlin. "That's a big word, Merlin." Merlin smirked and turned around. "You sure you know what it means?"
"Condescending." Merlin replied quickly.
"Very good." Arthur praised.
"Patronizing." Merlin continued.
"Doesn't quite mean that." Arthur corrected.
"No these are other things you are." Merlin stated.
"Hang on!" Arthur exclaimed but froze when he heard the snap of a stick.
"Overbearing." Merlin mumbled.
"Shh" Arthur exclaimed, Merlin was never very good at listening.
"Very overbearing."
"Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed.
"But you wanted me to talk." Merlin whined but went quiet when he noticed Arthur's stance, another twig snapped putting him on alert as well.
They both began moving towards the sound but spun around when it came again from behind them.
"Careful boy." Arthur heard the dragonlord's husky voice. "I thought you might need some help. This is dangerous country." Arthur approached him slowly.
"And will you return to Camelot with us?" Arthur asked.
"You were right, Merlin." Balinor said, causing Arthur to look at Merlin in surprise. What had Merlin said to Balinor. "There are some in Camelot who risked their lives for me." Arthur turned questioning eyes between the two of them but realized that he would not get an answer if he asked. "I owe a debt that must be repaid."
"If you succeed in killing the dragon, you will not go unrewarded." Arthur assured Balinor.
Balinor chuckled lightly, "I seek no reward."
"Great." Arthur exclaimed. "Let's eat."
~.~.~.~
Arthur turned in early that night, earlier than both Balinor and Merlin, though he could hear them talking as he fell asleep. He had seen them talking in the forest earlier as well but had tried to keep his distance. He wanted Merlin to have someone to talk to, someone like him. He knew that the boy did not get that quite often.
When he awoke the next morning he sat up slowly. Balinor was also awake but simply sat by the fire. "You were right." Balinor stated, staring at Merlin. "He is more than he seems." His eyes turned to stare at Arthur, studying him with a protective glare.
Arthur shifted uncomfortably. Had Merlin told Balinor about his powers? Part of Arthur had assumed he would and now he wondered if that had been a wise choice.
"You know, don't you?" Balinor asked, turning that frightening gaze back at Arthur.
Arthur's eyes widened and stared at Balinor. "Know what?" he asked unconvincingly.
"Don't play games with me." Balinor stated angrily. "You know."
Arthur stared a moment longer and then slowly shook his head. "I know."
"He does not know you know." It was a statement, not a question.
Arthur shook his head. Balinor huffed. "You make quite the pair." Balinor stated. "Tell me, Arthur, why is it that Merlin would stay in a place like Camelot where magic is persecuted and be so loyal to the son of a man responsible for nearly wiping it out?"
Arthur turned to look at Merlin who was still sleeping. "I wish I knew," he stated quietly then looked back at Balinor. "Merlin is a mystery to me."
Balinor leaned forward. "Then maybe you can tell me something else," he suggested, "Why is it that the son of the man who hates magic more than anyone else in the world, has been hiding a sorcerer, right under his father's nose?"
Arthur stared at Balinor, his brows furrowing. He had not really thought about it before, had not really thought as to why he was doing it. Sure he had always wondered why Merlin was so loyal, but he had never questioned why he was so loyal to Merlin. Arthur stared once again at Merlin's sleeping form. "He's the best man I know." Arthur stated. "He puts everyone above himself and has saved my life on many occasions." He turned to look at Balinor. "And he's my friend."
Balinor stared at Arthur, studying him and his answer, "Perhaps his loyalty to you has a similar reason."
Arthur stayed silent a moment dropping his head slightly. "I'm sorry for what my father did to you."
"A father's mistakes should not be passed to his son." Balinor replied. Arthur looked up at the dragonlord but he was staring at Merlin again. Arthur's head moved back and forth between the two of them for a moment, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
A flash of color at the corner of his eye caught his attention and he moved quickly over to Merlin, clapping a hand over his manservant's mouth.
Merlin sat up quickly. "Cenred's men." Arthur whispered loudly, releasing Merlin and pulling him to his feet. The forest was quiet and Arthur scanned the trees anxiously for the soldiers he had glimpsed earlier.
They came from behind and Arthur pushed Merlin behind him once again as he fought the soldier head on. Balinor was up now and fighting too, but the soldier Arthur was fighting drove him back, deeper into the forest.
He saw Merlin pick up a sword but could not make his way over to him, soon the brush concealed Balinor and Merlin from his view. He heard a shout and then another that he definitely recognized as Merlin's. He sounded angry and Arthur felt a shiver run up his spine. Apparently his opponent felt it as well because at that moment he faltered allowing Arthur to gang the upper hand. It only took a few blows after that before his opponent was dead and he ran back to the clearing.
He came up behind Merlin but he could see Balinor's sightless eyes staring up at the sky. Tears ran down Merlin's face as Arthur shouted in rage.
"No!" Merlin brought a hand to his face, trying to stifle his sobs, but Arthur was too caught up in his own despair to notice or comment. He fell to the ground as Merlin stood up to look at him.
"Camelot is doomed." Arthur murmured.
Merlin did not reply or even breathe as he tried to contain his sorrow, a sorrow Arthur did not fully understand.
~.~.~.~
They gave Balinor a hasty burial and then raced back to Camelot.
"I'm sorry Father, I have failed you." Arthur said when he stood in front of his father, surrounded by the knights of Camelot. "The last dragonlord is dead."
There was a collective breath of despair, Arthur glanced at Gaius* who was watching Merlin, he heard Merlin's hasty intake of air behind him, once again dangerously close to sobbing. Gaius' eyes dropped to the floor. Although curious at this exchange Arthur forced himself to look around instead seeing the looks of despair on his knights' faces.
Arthur knew there was now no hope. The only chance they had was to meet the dragon away from the city, at least give Camelot one night of peace. Arthur knew he would probably die even as he gave a rousing speech to his knights, but he had gained their loyalty and respect and so they prepared to meet the dragon.
Merlin was quiet again as he helped Arthur with his armor, far too serious for Arthur's liking.
"Well look on the bright side, Merlin," Arthur started, "Chances are you're not gonna have to clean this again." His joke did nothing to lighten the mood.
"You must be careful today," Merlin stated, strangely authoritative. "Do not force the battle."
"Yes, Sire." Arthur chanted teasingly.
"I'm serious." Merlin whined.
"I can hear that." Arthur responded still teasingly.
It was silent for a moment and Arthur thought Merlin was going to stop. "Let matters take their course."
Arthur rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "Merlin, if I die, please…" he said.
"What?" Merlin asked.
He was going to say something along the lines of "don't be an idiot" but he saw the still teary haze in Merlin's eyes and was suddenly afraid. He had seen how Merlin had cried over Balinor, he did not want the boy to shed tears for him as well.
"The dragonlord today, I saw you." Arthur admitted placing a hand on Merlin's shoulder. "One thing I tell all my young knights," Arthur said encouragingly, "No man is worth your tears." Arthur didn't feel as though he deserved them.
"Yeah." Merlin nodded, a smirk teasing his lips, "You're certainly not," he teased. Arthur chuckled lightly and picked up his sword, surprised when Merlin picked one up as well.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm coming with you," Merlin stated.
"Merlin, the chances are I'm going to die." Arthur said.
"Yeah, you probably would if I wasn't there." Merlin joked… at least, Arthur thought it was a joke…
Arthur chuckled and didn't look Merlin in the eye, surprised by the honesty hidden underneath the joke. "Right!"
"Do you know how many times I've saved your royal backside?" Merlin continued teasing, Arthur had composed himself by this point.
"At least you've got your sense of humor back." Arthur responded having now recovered. He smacked Merlin's sword out of the way and walked to the door, Merlin stood beside him when he got there.
He studied the secret sorcerer incredulously. "Are you really going to face this dragon with me?" he asked.
"I'm not going to sit here and watch." Merlin insisted.
Arthur frowned at Merlin scrutinizing him, trying to decide whether he was loyal or suicidal at this point.
Merlin still held his teasing smirk. "I know it's hard for you to understand how I feel but. . ." He trailed off and Arthur gave him a suspicious look, "Well I care a hell of a lot about that armor. I'm not going to let you mess it up."
Arthur laughed an honest laugh. He had to admit it was good to hear Merlin joking again. Merlin laughed with him and then steeled himself to follow Arthur into battle. Arthur gave him a grateful look before punching him lightly in the arm and heading out the door. One last battle with the dragon.
~.~.~.~
The knights were wiped out in seconds, all but Arthur, Merlin and Leon who had been knocked from their horses. Leon still lay unconscious on the ground**, Merlin stood to the side behind Arthur, weaponless. Arthur grabbed the lance Leon had been holding, facing the dragon, he waited.
The dragon unleashed a fury of fire and Arthur rolled underneath the dragon managing to strike the beast in the chest right where he believed the heart to be. The creature roared and knocked him to the side and the world slipped away.
When Arthur came to the dragon was nowhere to be seen and Merlin stood where Arthur had been before he had lost consciousness.
"What happened?" he asked, surprised to still be alive.
"You dealt him a mortal blow." Merlin stated.
"He's gone?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah." Merlin replied. "You did it." Merlin laughed.
Then Arthur laughed, an exultant and joyous laugh, they were alive, both of them, Camelot was safe.
~.~.~.~
Arthur wouldn't think about it until later, but he realized that there was no dragon body. He sat puzzling about this for days until Merlin started annoying him about being so silent. Then one day it just clicked.
Merlin's nervousness over meeting Balinor; his disappointment when Balinor refused to come with them; the way he had sobbed over the dragonlord's death; the look Gaius and Merlin shared when they returned; the dragon's mysterious disappearance. But the thing that really convinced him were Balinor's words "A father's mistakes should not be passed to his son" and the way he had been staring at Merlin as he spoke.
Arthur was not an idiot and it was a few days later as he watched Merlin polish his boots that he realized…
Merlin was a dragonlord, just like his father.
AN: I didn't realize this initially but I decided I wanted Arthur to know about Merlin being a dragonlord, but it was hard to explain about him knowing that Balinor was Merlin's father when he told Merlin "No man is worth your tears." I like how Arthur puts the pieces together afterwards, makes for an interesting development.
I also enjoyed adding in the Balinor and Arthur conversations. I was nervous about writing Balinor but I thought I did a pretty decent job and I hope you did too.
* At this point in the episode you can see that Arthur actually is looking at Gaius which I thought would be interesting to add into the story.
**Come on, we all noticed that Leon stepped forward yet all the knights were killed right? Wrong, there were three people knocked from their horses by the dragon tail, one was a knight wearing a helmet so that you could not see their face, so I decided to make this Leon in order to tie up some loose ends in the show. Why did Merlin and Arthur leave without him? I'll say they thought he was dead and when they returned to bury the dead they discovered he was still alive. There one loose end the show left is now tied. :)
So now that Season 2 is over I am eagerly awaiting writing on Season 3 which has many fun episodes, in particular I am looking forward to the Goblin and Gwaine (though Gwaine will probably be a much shorter chapter as Merlin and Arthur do not interact much in that episode).
Thank you to all my faithful readers. As always leave a review!
God bless!