Author's Note: I will try to be more punctual in my updating, but we'll see. Life always comes first. Anyway, this is the fifth chapter, so read, review, and enjoy!

PS: I'm sorry if Kilgharrah's a little OOC, but it's hard to get him right.

"Um," Merlin began, "You're a dragon."

The great beast gave what Merlin could only assume was a laugh and then it said, "Indeed, young warlock. I have been calling for you."

"Yeah, I heard. Nimueh told me to ask you about the name Emrys and what it means that the name is mine. Or something like that. What's going on? Oh, and my name's Merlin, what's yours?" Merlin asked, his torch held high. He had been slightly shell-shocked by the appearance of the dragon, leading to him stating the obvious, but he had reined in his shock by now.

The dragon lowered his head and let it rest on his front feet (paws?). He let out that strange dragon chuckle before saying in his deep, reverberating voice, "I am Kilgharrah, the Great Dragon and the last of my kind. It saddens me that you will learn of your destiny so soon."

Merlin's brow crinkled, "What destiny? I'm only here to spy for my father!"

Kilgharrah heaved a great sigh and said, "I am afraid not, young warlock. You were given a destiny long before you were born. It is what you were born for. The prophecies tell of you. You are Emrys, the most powerful warlock to ever walk the earth, in the past, the present, or the future. It is your duty to protect the Once and Future King, who is currently Prince Arthur. You are two sides of the same coin. Protect him with your life."

For a second, Merlin just stared at the dragon. Then he burst out laughing, "You have got the wrong person, my friend! I am not that powerful. And I certainly am not going to protect Prince Arthur. He is what the Resistance is trying to rid the world of! Why would I protect him?"

When the dragon spoke again, he sounded truly angry and for a moment, Merlin was afraid, "Fool! You do not have a choice! The Resistance is trying to bring back magic. It is your role in the universe, as Emrys, to protect the Once and Future King and to aid him in uniting Albion and bringing magic back to the land. You must do this."

Merlin scrambled for something to say that would help his point. He settled on the, admittedly, weak point, "But he's a prat!"

Kilgharrah could tell that he was winning and he grinned a toothy smile, "Perhaps it is your destiny to change that." And with that he flew away, up to a ledge where all that Merlin could see of him was his thick chain hanging loosely. Merlin sighed and walked back to bed, muttering all the while about bloody dragons and cryptic messages being bloody rude to perfectly polite people.

The next day flew by, with Merlin gathering herbs for Gaius in the woods, or helping him to mix together poultices and potions. He hadn't told Gaius about his late night visit with the dragon, but he had the strangest feeling that his mentor knew. Merlin wasn't about to risk it though, opting instead to ask his father about it first. The young warlock kept thinking over the dragon's words, picking and pulling them apart and seeing if he had missed something. The thing that really bothered him was the prophecies. If there were prophecies about Emrys, then his father and Nimueh would have heard of them. If they had heard of them, and knew what Emrys was supposed to do and who he was supposed to protect, then why wouldn't they had said something when he talked to them? There was plenty of opportunity!

Merlin ground his teeth in frustration. This was getting him nowhere. He would just have to wait until he talked to his father again and not think of any of that until then. He had a feast to go to anyway! He hadn't ever really been to a feast since the Resistance didn't have any.

Gaius and Merlin made it to the feast just as it was beginning. Morgana walked into the room wearing a rather risqué dress that showed off every angle. Merlin, forgetting his mentor, just stared at Morgana, completely entranced. Gaius looked at him sternly, saying, "Merlin. Remember, you're here to work."

Merlin nodded hastily and said, "Oh, yeah." He still didn't take his eyes off of her. It wasn't that he was feeling any attraction toward her, it was just that she looked really beautiful right then. Not that she didn't always look really beautiful, it was just even more so that day. Merlin was confusing himself in his head.

Gwen sidled up to him and leaned over, whispering to him, "She looks great, doesn't she?"

"Yeah." Merlin answered, tearing his gaze from Morgana and onto Gwen.

He was about to comment that she looked great too, but just then Gwen spoke again, "Arthur looks nice tonight, also. Whoever he marries will have some nice arm candy. Not that I'd want to be her. Who'd want to marry Arthur?"

Merlin chuckled and leaned towards her, saying quietly, "Oh, come on, Gwen. I thought you liked those real, rough, tough, save the world kind of men." He had gotten that phrase from her in a conversation they had had that morning. She had been comparing him to Arthur and saying how brave it was that Merlin stood up to him.

Gwen smiled and said, "No, I like much more ordinary men like you."

Merlin raised an eyebrow and responded, "Gwen, believe me, I'm not ordinary."

Gwen blushed furiously and Merlin was confused before she said, flustered, "No, I didn't mean you, obviously. Not you. But just, you know, I like much more ordinary men like you."

Merlin raised his eyebrow again and quirked his lips into a grin, "Thanks." She smiled and blushed, looking down again. Merlin decided that as long as they were talking about awkward things, he would ask something else, "So, what was it that you and Morgana were so intent on hiding?" He didn't notice that Morgana had walked up at right that moment.

He heard Morgana's sweet voice behind him say, "That's not really any of your concern, Merlin, is it?"

Merlin just grinned at her, but Gwen looked at her mistress before whispering in his ear, "But perhaps one day we'll tell you." His grin grew wider and he was about to say something before Uther called for everyone to sit down as the food was served. Gaius and Merlin stood against the wall while the nobles ate.

Then, Lady Helen walks into the room and immediately starts singing. Everyone's words die on their lips and even Merlin could appreciate her singing. He was tense, though. He knew that this woman was Mary Collins in disguise and that this would be a great time to make her move. Merlin could feel magic humming through the air, but he couldn't tell what it was doing or what was casting it. Lady Helen's eyes weren't turning gold. Then he saw it.

All of the nobles and servants were falling asleep, cobwebs growing and spreading around them. Merlin then noticed that the longer Lady Helen sang, the deeper their sleep. He slapped his hands over his ears and saw Mary Collins walking forward, eyes fixed firmly on Arthur's prone form. Merlin didn't think. He just reacted. With a flash of his eyes, the chandelier fell from its rope and onto the woman below.

He was momentarily dumbstruck. Merlin had just killed that woman. Then he realized that she wasn't as dead as he thought she was. She raised an arm, pulling a dagger seemingly out of nowhere. With her strength fading, the sleeping spell faded as well. Just as Arthur drearily opened his eyes, the witch threw her dagger.

Once again, Merlin didn't think, but just reacted. He instinctively slowed down time, racing forward and pushing Arthur out of his chair just as time reached its normal speed again. He and the prince fell onto the ground, the dagger vibrating from its position buried in Arthur's chair, right where his head would have been. Arthur looked at Merlin, then at the dagger, then back at Merlin. The young warlock got off of the royal and stood up, offering his hand to the prince as well. For a moment, all Merlin could think was: the dragon was right. It was his destiny to protect Arthur Pendragon. He hadn't even considered not helping him.

Merlin looked up then, seeing that Uther and Arthur were staring at him. Uther said, "You saved my boy's life. A debt must be repaid."

Merlin still wasn't thinking straight, having just killed a woman and come to terms with his destiny. It was a bit much. He just responded, "Oh, well…"

Vivienne smiled at Merlin, "Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded."

That wasn't really what Merlin wanted, or deserved. He just killed one of his own and now he was going to be rewarded. That just wasn't right. He protested, "No, honestly, you don't have to, Your Highnesses."

Uther had other ideas, though, "No, absolutely. This merits something quite special. You shall be rewarded a position in the royal household. I heard that you are Gaius' new apprentice. You shall be Arthur's Shadow. It is an ancient position held by the Court Physician's apprentice. You are to go with the Prince on any and all outings he has, and you are to tend to his needs when on these outings. You will be his physician at all times, and his servant when he leaves the castle!" The crowd applauded, but Arthur and Merlin just stared at each other in horror. They hated each other! Now they had to spend every waking moment together! There was no changing Uther's mind, however.

Merlin was sitting on his bed, thinking over everything and waiting for his father to call on the crystal when Gaius knocked before coming in. Merlin smiled at him and Gaius said, "Seems you're a hero."

Without either of them noticing, Merlin's crystal lit up and Balinor and Nimueh's faces appeared. They listened as Merlin replied, "Hard to believe, isn't it?"

Gaius chuckled and sat at the edge of Merlin's bed, "No, I've known it for a while now. When you saved my life, remember?" Balinor and Nimueh exchanged looks; Merlin had left that one out.

Merlin chuckled back, responding, "That was magic."

Gaius nodded, suddenly serious, "And now, it seems, we finally found a use for it."

Once again, Balinor and Nimueh exchanged looks; what had they missed? Merlin smiled wistfully, "My destiny."

"Indeed," Gaius began. It was only then that Merlin saw that Gaius had a parcel in his hands, "This book was given to me when I was your age, but I have a feeling that it will be of more use to you than it was to me." He smiled as Merlin unwrapped it.

Merlin gasped and a smile lit up his face, "This is a book of magic! Gaius, this is wonderful!" He went and hid it alongside his other book of magic, the one he had had since birth. In the background, Balinor and Nimueh smiled, even though no one could see them.

Suddenly a new voice called from outside of Gaius' chambers, "Merlin, Prince Arthur wants you right away."

Merlin sighed and Gaius chuckled again, "Your destiny's calling. You'd better find out what he wants." Merlin rolled his eyes one last time and got up, walking to the door. He paused and smiled back at Gaius before leaving.

Gaius sighed and smiled, about to go into his workshop for some light reading, but a voice stopped him, "Gaius! Could you wait a moment?" It was Balinor.

The physician jumped in surprise, before holding a hand to his heart, "You scared me, old friend. How long have you been listening?"

Balinor's cheeks colored slightly and Nimueh answered, "The whole time."

Gaius laughed and said, "Well then, you know that Merlin just left. Is there anything you want to talk to me about in particular?"

Before Balinor could speak, Nimueh asked, "Why would Arthur be calling for him?"

Gaius sighed and relayed the events of that night, also mentioning that he thought that Merlin had talked to the Great Dragon below Camelot. Balinor sighed and put his face in his hands, rubbing them up and down. Nimueh put a comforting hand on his shoulder, saying, "We knew this was a possibility. His magic was so powerful that many already assumed that he was Emrys. Now it is just confirmed."

Balinor sighed again and said, "But he is in Camelot to take down the Pendragons, to find their weaknesses so we can remove them when the time comes. How do we know he'll do that now that he thinks he has to protect the young Pendragon?"

Nimueh's eyebrows pinched together and she said, "We must set up situations where we can view the outcome and we will see what Merlin chooses to tell us. We must also believe that he will do the right thing. He knows that what we're doing is right. He'll stay with us." Balinor sighed again, but nodded, a slight smile brightening his features. They both bid Gaius a goodnight and the crystal went dark. Gaius didn't mention to them that he was personally rooting for Merlin to accept his destiny and do the real right thing, which was do what the Fates created him for.

Merlin, however, was oblivious to all of these recent developments and simply walked to Arthur's chambers, following the guard since he still didn't know his way around the castle.