A/N: First of all I want to apologize for such a long wait. I had so much going on in life that I didn't have enough time to sleep or even breath! But I didn't forget about this story and you, my faithful readers. This chapter is really short, but it's better than nothing, right? Hope you enjoy. I don't want to make any empty promises, but if everything goes according my plan, I'll update next week.

A couple of days later the knights reached their destination. Ysbaddaden's kingdom and his castle looked just like Culhwch described: majestic and intimidating at the same time.

Not everyone was allowed to see the Chief of Giants, so while Merlin, Arthur and Culhwch were shown to the throne room, the rest of the knights stayed at the training grounds.

Once the official greetings were over, the negotiations began.

'What is he doing here?!' growled Ysbaddaden, looking at Culhwch.

'Sire, please calm down.' said Arthur. 'He wants to explain the situation.'

'I don't need any explanations. He stole Dryhtsibb béag! And after that he had enough stupidity to send it to me!' Ysbaddaden's voice was as loud as thunder even if he was trying to speak quietly, but at that moment he was almost screaming.

'I didn't steal anything!' said Culhwch.

'I don't care whether you stole it with your own hands or somebody else helped you! The peace between us, magical creatures, and you, people, has been broken. And I am willing to start a war. This deed won't go unnoticed and unpunished! I have every right to do this. I won't continue this conversation. You are free to go. For now.' finished the Chief of Giants, sitting down on a huge chair.

Arthur was about to protest, but Merlin whispered

'Arthur, take Culhwch and wait for me outside. I'll try to do something here myself.'

'Merlin...'

'I have my ways, and you know it.'

After that the King of Camelot and his cousin left the room.

'Ysbaddaden, I know what you are going to say' began Merlin. Courage was building in him and suddenly he felt really confident about everything. 'well, save your time. I am not just a human. I am Emrys. And you will talk to me. You and I both know how important this peace is. We need to restore it.'

'You are young and you don't understand...'

'Maybe I am young, and maybe I don't understand everything yet, but you have to understand something too. Your hatred for Culhwch has nothing to do with this peace. Besides, you can't be sure that it was him who stole Dryhtsibb béag. All I am asking you is to put everything aside and concentrate on returning the bracelet to its rightful owner. Don't make any rushed decisions, you will regret them. War will turn things for the worse. We have to be on the same side.' said the prince of Airia, looking Ysbaddaden in the eyes.

There was a long silence, while the Chief of Giants was thinking. Merlin never thought that you could actually hear silence. But there he was standing, listening to that intimidating silence. Everything in Ysbaddaden's kingdom seemed to stop, even the wind hid in the branches of the trees.

After a few very long minutes Ysbaddaden spoke up again. This time his voice was much calmer.

'This is a question of trust. I need to know that magical creatures can trust people. You must understand that I can't give you the Bracelet. Not now.'

'Of course I understand. This is why we are here today. We are here to prove that you can trust us.' replied Merlin, releasing a breath, which he didn't know he was holding.

'Good. Have you heard about Dyrnwch?'

'If you are talking about Dyrnwch the Giant, who lives somewhere on the Distant Isles, then yes.'

'Good. Our Kingdoms have some arguments, mostly about land. We can't solve them, because there is an agreement between us, that my people won't put a foot on their soil, and they can't come to our Kingdom. I need someone to negotiate from my name. There is nothing very serious, but I don't like when there are any unsolved problems. If you agree to go to Dyrnwch's Kingdom, I'll consider it as a big step forward to earning our trust.'

'We will be glad to help. Thank you, for this opportunity. Is there anything we should know about those arguments before we start our journey?' asked Merlin.

'My adviser will give you some papers. That is all.' answered Ysbaddaden, waving his hand as a sign that the conversation was over.

The prince of Airia bowed and left the room.

After all the papers were gathered and everything discussed, it was decided that the travelers should start the journey right away. A messenger was sent to King Balinor, while his son along with the King of Camelot and his cousin went to the Distant Isles. Camelot was on their way, and so after a few weeks they reached the white walls of the great castle of Camelot.

Merlin looked up at the sky and smiled. Even though he loved Airia with all his heart, Camelot was his second home... This is where the young warlock belonged.