"So, the thing is," says Merlin, "I'm not used to this level of honesty."

Arthur says, "I think that, as my manservant, you're contractually obligated to be honest with me." Not that Merlin ever actually signed a contract—most servants don't sign contracts on account of not necessarily being able to read. Merlin, however—much to Arthur's luck—is completely literate…in several languages, no less. So, yes, Merlin isn't contractually obligated to be honest to Arthur but, honestly, the implication is there.

Merlin says, "It'll take some getting used to."

Arthur simply shakes his head, letting the matter rest. Instead, he turns his attention back to the papers laid out in front of him. Merlin's neat lettering is scrawled onto them, phonetics of a language Arthur does not know painstakingly copied down for his convenience. It's almost comical, the length Merlin went to ensure that Arthur would get the pronunciation as close as possible, writing down sample sentences and pronunciation guides all so Arthur can figure out a single phrase. Eyeing the words critically, Arthur stutters out, "O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes." Even hearing himself say it makes him cringe.

Merlin, on the other hand, just nods encouragingly. "Needs a few tweaks but it's comprehensible."

It's a wonder Merlin can stand to hear him without bursting into laughter. Opting not to annoy his servant today, Arthur asks, "And if I say this, the dragon will come?"

"Theoretically, yes," replies Merlin. "And don't worry, he won't attack you or Camelot—I made sure of that after he first escaped."

Arthur scowls back on the memory. "I still can't believe you didn't tell me that you're a Dragonlord!"

"Well, I was grieving the death of my father when I found out," he says lightly. "Telling you wasn't exactly the first thing on my mind, especially when your father might find out and behead me."

"I wouldn't tell him," says Arthur, indignant, though he's not entirely sure. In his defense, up until that point, every interaction he'd had with magic, to his knowledge, had been decidedly negative—though that was more his fault than anything…but that's beside the point. "I'm not a blabber-mouth, unlike you."

"Of course, sire," says Merlin, but it sounds distinctly mocking.

Arthur, grumbling, goes back to the parchment in front of him. "Wait, I'm not a Dragonlord so how will I be able to summon the dragon?"

"That," says Merlin cheerfully, "is where this comes in!" He then proceeds to present to Arthur a glowing necklace—the very necklace that had them both digging through a chicken coop to find it, which ultimately resulted in Arthur being forced to raise three chickens to keep up his alibi.

Arthur throws Merlin a withering glare. "No."

"Listen, once I stripped it of its original enchantment I realized how perfect it was for channeling magic. It took a few different layers of spells but now it should filter anything you say in the draconic language through my magic, making it a command." He leans over and, before Arthur can protest, he pulls it over Arthur's head so it's left dangling from his neck. "Of course, there are only two dragons left, but this will also control wyverns, so it will be handy on quests."

"Why on earth would I want to summon a wyvern?"

"Oh, no, with this you can make them go away. Here, hand me the parchment!"

"No!" says Arthur, much too embarrassed to attempt to speak more of the draconic language. "Let's work on that tomorrow."

"Sure," says Merlin.

Arthur frowns at him, then back down at his necklace. After a moment's pause, he says, "Merlin—this necklace is still glowing."

"Yeah…I couldn't figure out how to get rid of that. No matter what I do, even when it's stripped of enchantments, it glows."

"I can't exactly wear this around all the time," says Arthur.

"Just tuck it under your shirt!"

Arthur tucks it under his shirt. The necklace continues to glow, penetrating the cloth. "You really didn't think this through, did you?"

Merlin frowns. "Give me another day or two—I'll figure something out." And then, before Arthur could once again protest, Merlin pulls the necklace off of him—nearly choking Arthur in the process—and races toward the chamber door.

"Wait, Merlin, you still haven't—" Laundered my clothes is what he was going to say but then the door slams shut and Merlin is firmly on the other side. Arthur stares morosely at the clothes still in Merlin's laundry basket which were supposed to be collected, only for Merlin to start discussing illegally enchanted objects with him. With a sigh, Arthur goes back to the speech he was preparing, trying to put it off his mind. He's sure Merlin will think of something.

Three days later, the entire length of which Merlin has been missing and Gaius has been secretly fretting, Merlin stumbles back into Arthur's chambers. He's covered head-to-toe in dirt and grime, has a giant welt on the right side of his neck, and looks very wobbly on his feet, but he resolutely drops the necklace into Arthur's hands. It is no longer glowing.

"I did it," says Merlin.

"Merlin," says Arthur, "what the ever-loving fuck."

As it turns out, Merlin took his question to Gaius who, in turn, pointed him to the druids, who pointed him to Avalon, which led him to the Sidhe, who tried to kill him before he tricked them into leading him to the Disir, who made him personally consult with THE TRIPLE GODDESS HERSELF—

"Turns out," says Merlin as he finishes his tale, "the Goddess made the necklace and it glowed due to her essence. I just asked her if she would strip the necklace of her essence and she agreed."

"You met the Triple Goddess," asks Arthur who, up until this point in time, did not believe she even existed.

"Yes. She was very nice, too—but kept weeping about my awful fate or something like that. I just told her that I control my destiny and she petted my head and said that there's still hope for me yet." He pauses. "Oh, right, she also gave me this." He pulls out an ancient runic tablet which nearly cracks Arthur's desk under its weight when Merlin sets it down. Carved into it are glowing letters in a language Arthur does not understand.

"What does it say?" asks Arthur.

"I don't know," says Merlin. "I can't read it—which is a bit troublesome because I've mastered every language I've ever come across. I'm sure I'll figure it out."

"They look like druidic runes," offers Arthur.

"Yes, I should probably go back to the druids and ask, shouldn't I?"

"First," says Arthur, "please take a shower."

"Oh, right, sorry." Merlin goes off to do that.

Arthur remembers something. "And wash my fucking laundry!"

Merlin slams the door shut. The laundry remains in the laundry basket. The chickens cluck in sympathy. Arthur just puts his head into his hands and sighs. Goddamn stupidly-powerful warlock.

A/N: i wrote this almost entirely in my school library 3 anyway my favorite thing ever is when Merlin does stupidly powerful and insane shit and he doesn't even acknowledge how amazing it is and Arthur is just struggling to cope with it

i hope you liked this chapter and if you did, please FAVORITE, FOLLOW, and REVIEW