Knocking them out was the easiest solution. Arthur couldn't risk a power struggle up in the air. Once Merlin and his dragon warriors were unconscious, he eased his hold on Aithusa. The dragon made a reproachful sound, though she still stayed by his side. She kept throwing long looks at Merlin, who was lying motionlessly on the ground. Perhaps she was worried.

Arthur was still slightly overwhelmed by the fact the dragons were listening to him over Merlin. He couldn't even speak their language! But just as the Lady of the Lake had promised, the sword had come with new, mythical powers. Arthur wasn't about to look a gift horse – or dragon – in the mouth. He had taken advantage of his new skill as soon as he had realised what Aithusa's refusal to obey Merlin had meant.

He would have been a fool not to!

"All set, my lord," Leon said. He had just finished up binding their prisoners' hands with ropes from their own packs.

Arthur nodded at him.

"You'll want us to fly one dragon each, I take it, sire," Elyan said, clearly unhappy at the prospect.

"They will listen to my commands," Arthur tried to elevate his worries. "Won't you?" He turned his head towards Mynur and Vethoas.

"Of course, Great One, if you so wish," Mynur said, though he sounded distinctly unhappy about it. He was staring down at Arthur in a way that made him almost feel guilty for his actions, but he refused to have a bad conscience.

"Let's get them on the saddle," Arthur said and averted his eyes.

Together, they hoisted the prisoners onto the backs of the dragons and fastened them with some of the many straps. Arthur then climbed on Aithusa, while Leon took charge of Vethoas, Elyan of Mynur, and they tied themselves into place as best as they could.

"Fly us to Camelot," Arthur ordered.

"Uther will shoot us down as soon as we approach the city," Mynur pointed out, but dutifully started to unfold his wings.

"We'll land in the Darkling Woods," Arthur told him. "Try to fly as high as you can to avoid detection. Don't fly over the Forest of Brechfa. We're making a detour along the White Mountains. Let's go through the Pass of Camlann and approach the city from the North. They are less likely to expect dragons to come from there." He stopped, then asked awkwardly, "Um, did you understand these directions?"

Vethoas huffed as she adjusted her stance into a starting position. "We have lived in these lands much longer than you, Great One. We know the way." Clearly, Arthur being their prophesied leader didn't keep her from talking back at him.

Arthur still didn't know what to think about all that had been revealed at the Crystal Cave. He didn't really believe in prophecy. It simply didn't make any sense that Arthur, who had little connection to the dragons and their people other than the war, would be their saviour. Though clearly, Merlin believed in destiny enough to have what could only be described as a breakdown over Arthur claiming Excalibur. In fact, he had been so upset about it that he had cried and – most importantly – let his guard down enough for Arthur to take advantage of the situation.

Destiny or not, Arthur wasn't about to let an opportunity like this slip through his fingers. In his mind, he had already formulated a plan.

They had no trouble flying to Camelot. It was a longer, indirect route, but it ended up being the right call. In the late afternoon, they hand landed in the Darkling Woods north of the Citadel without having been detected and shot down.

Merlin had stirred a bit during the ride, but was still unconscious when they landed. The bump on his head looked nasty, but there wasn't any bleeding. He would likely wake to a massive headache, but should hopefully be fine otherwise.

Arthur didn't want Merlin dead. Quite on the contrary, he definitely needed him alive and lucid for his plan to work.

Arthur had directed them to a large cave in the Darkling Woods. They dragged their prisoners into one corner. The men stirred, blinked their eyes open and murmured, but didn't seem quite aware yet of what was happening. Elyan had done an expert job knocking them out.

"You stay here and guard our prisoners," Arthur told the dragons. "You are not to free them or help them in any way. Don't even talk to them. If they try to escape, stop them, but I'd rather you didn't kill them. Understood?"

"Yes," Mynur said. No Great One this time, Arthur noticed.

"You will obey my orders?" he asked to confirm.

"Yes," Vethoas confirmed. She sounded about as thrilled as Mynur.

"Now," Arthur continued, "about Merlin." He hesitated. "Is there any way I can control him?"

"Merlin was born to serve you," Mynur said cryptically.

"So I heard," Arthur replied, "but clearly, he hasn't got the message. He will use dragonfyre against me if he can. At the Crystal Cave, he wasn't able to use his magic by the lake, so I need to know: Is there any way I can control his powers like the crystals did in that cavern?"

The dragons stayed silent and looked away. Well, Arthur would make them talk!

"I order you to answer my question!"

Mynur puffed out of a small cloud of smoke and narrowed his eyes, but he inclined his head and said, "As long as you wield Excalibur, the crystal set in the hilt will prevent anyone from using dragonfyre on you."

"Right. Excellent," Arthur said, glancing at the sword. The crystal in question gleamed innocently. "But he can still use it on others or for himself?"

"Yes."

Arthur stared him down. "He couldn't use any magic at the cave. You're not telling me the whole story, are you? What am I missing?"

Mynur said nothing.

"How can I prevent Merlin from using dragonfyre at all? Answer me now!" Arthur commanded.

Mynur bared his fangs and answered very reluctantly, "Dragonfyre is harnessed from dragons. If you order us not to provide our powers to Merlin, he cannot use them."

"Then I order you to do exactly that. Don't give him access to your powers. Nor his men." He almost walked away, thinking this business finished, but then thought better of it. Sneaky dragons! "You can talk to other dragons with your minds, can't you? I saw you do it at Ealdor. Answer me!"

"Yes," Vethoas replied.

"I order you to tell all dragons to stop Merlin from harnessing their powers," Arthur commanded.

Vethoas growled and Arthur knew he had been right – they had been trying to trick him. "You are making a grave mistake," she said.

"Obey my orders!" Arthur barked. "Tell the others!"

There was a moment of silence, then Mynur said, "It is done." He sounded beyond angry at this point and was letting out a steady puff of smoke through his nostrils, as if only just keeping his fire in check.

Arthur supposed he hadn't treated them very respectfully. Even as Crown Prince, he hardly talked to his own men like this. He suddenly felt a strange urge to apologise for his harsh tone, but refrained from doing so. There was no reasoning with dragons, this much he was sure of.

Besides, he had made a plan, and he would stick to it. And for that plan to work, he needed Merlin not to attack anybody or escape using dragonfyre.

"Lay low, you can't afford to be seen," Arthur finished, aiming for a slightly more conciliatory tone.

He waved at Leon and Elyan to follow him and they started making their way towards Camelot on foot.


Uther was having a war meeting with some knights, lords and his chief advisor, Lord Agravaine, but immediately interrupted their conversation when Arthur stepped into the council chamber and bowed his head respectfully.

"Your Majesty."

"Arthur! You have returned, as I knew you would!" He looked and sounded too collected to be surprised by his sudden appearance. Undoubtedly, someone had informed him as soon as Arthur and his knights had come within sight of the city gates. The king stood, walked over and clasped Arthur's shoulders to greet him, then stepped back to take him in. "What on Earth are you wearing?"

Arthur looked down and realised he was still wearing the mismatched clothes Merlin had lent him for the feast, now roughened up by travels and fights. He rather looked like a filthy peasant, except for precious Excalibur tied haphazardly to his hips with a piece of rope.

"I needed to make a rather unconventional escape from Ealdor," Arthur said.

"I dare say. And a new sword?" Uther asked with an interested glance at Excalibur.

Arthur nodded. "Father, I have much to tell you, some of it is quite urgent."

"Why don't you get yourself cleaned up and join us?" Uther replied. "I will have some refreshments brought here."

Arthur bowed his head and left for his chambers. By the time he had returned, the worst of the grime washed off, wearing his own clothes, his signet ring and carrying Excalibur at his belt, there were a plate and goblet waiting for him at the table on the opposite end from his father. Most of the knights and lords had left, but his uncle Agravaine was still there and a freshened-up Leon had also joined the meeting.

Arthur took his seat and indulged in a rather large sip of wine. This would be an interesting conversation.

"Arthur," Uther began, "Sir Leon has already informed us of the circumstances of your capture at the Gorge of Gedref." He fixed Arthur with a disapproving look. "What were you thinking, taking such a risk with so few men?"

"It was a mistake," Arthur acknowledged with an apologetic bow of his head, and Uther seemed satisfied with that.

"Well, you are here now, which is all that matters. I told the council that you would find a way to escape, and that there was no reason at all to barter with the likes of Balinor. I never doubted you for a moment!"

"Thank you, sire." A glance at his uncle's strained face told Arthur that things weren't quite so straightforward as his father had said, but let it rest for now.

He gave his father and uncle a quick recap of what happened after his capture. He allowed some time for Uther to rage about Balinor's audacity at forcing Arthur to serve Merlin, though he applauded Arthur for his plan to use the opportunity to get closer to Balinor's heir.

"Ingenious! A shame you didn't manage to kill him while you were there," the king said wistfully.

"I didn't kill him, no," Arthur confirmed. He hesitated for a moment and exchanged a look with Leon, then continued, "but perhaps you will be pleased to hear that I have captured him."

This had both Uther and Agravaine sit up in their chairs.

"You have captured Balinor's son?" Uther exclaimed. "Arthur, why didn't you say so at once? Where is he? Have him brought here immediately for questioning!"

"It's rather more complicated than that," Arthur continued. "I have not only captured Merlin, but three of his warriors as well as three dragons."

"Three dragons, you say?" This was Agravaine, looking uncharacteristically flabbergasted.

Arthur nodded. He removed Excalibur from his belt and placed it in the middle of the table for all to see. "I will not bore you with the details on how I managed to obtain it, but I have come into possession of this sword. It is a legendary dragonblade called Excalibur." He studied the faces of both men, but neither seemed to have heard of the sword. "It grants me the power to control dragons."

Uther stared at him. "Control how?"

"They have to follow my orders," Arthur said. "I tested it thoroughly. The dragons cannot disobey my commands. It is how I escaped from Ealdor. I rode on a dragon to come back here, as did Sir Leon and Sir Elyan."

"Impossible!" said Agravaine. "Only a dragonlord can control a dragon!"

"I thought so, too," Arthur acknowledged. "But it seems this sword is a special artifact, a weapon of dragon magic. Balinor's people seem to believe it is infused with extensive mythical powers, and I can confirm that it grants at least one, namely to force any dragon to adhere to my commands."

Uther leaned forward with interest. Before Arthur could stop him, he had touched the weapon with his forefinger, only to hiss and pull back his hand.

"What—?" he exclaimed, staring at the angry blister forming on his fingertip.

"Only I can wield it," Arthur explained quickly. "The sword seems to have accepted me as its true master. It repels anybody else. Even Balinor's son could not touch it."

"This is incredible," Agravaine chimed in. "If all of this is true, we have just won the war!"

"I cannot believe it," Uther said, clearly in denial. "Arthur, you must be mistaken about this."

Arthur bristled at his father's doubts, though he had to admit that the story sounded quite incredible. Had he not seen it with his own eyes and experienced the immediate effects, he might not have believed it either.

"Your Majesty, if I may," Leon ventured. "I have seen the power of this sword myself. The dragons bowed to Prince Arthur. They were compelled to answer his questions and did not dare attack any of us, though they had every chance to do so."

Uther still looked cautious. "Where are these dragons now?" he asked suspiciously. "There were no reports of the beasts flying near the city."

"I couldn't risk being shot from the sky, Father. We came from the North after passing through Camlann. I have left the dragons with the prisoners, in a cave in the Darkling Woods."

"We shall send out troops at once," Uther decided. "Agravaine, see to it! Have Arthur lead you to the cave. Have the men bring draconite harpoons to kill the dragons, but keep Balinor's son alive! I have plans for that boy—"

"Father," Arthur intercepted quickly, "I do not deem killing them wise."

Agravaine, who had already stood to follow his king's commands, stopped in his tracks.

"What are you talking about?" Uther demanded, the beginnings of anger in his voice. "We must slay the beasts if the chance presents itself. They are dangerous monsters, all of them!"

"I can control them," Arthur stressed. "If I tell them not to attack, they will follow my command. There is no reason to kill them."

Uther scowled. "No reason?" he snarled. "Dragons are vile and corrupted creatures who can never be trusted. I thought I had taught you this much. I will see every last one of them slain until they have gone well and truly extinct."

To Arthur's surprise, Agravaine came to his help. "Your Majesty, Prince Arthur may be right. If they have to follow his every command, we could use them to our advantage! Turn the beasts against their own people! We could have Ealdor burnt to the ground and Balinor destroyed in no time."

"I will not listen to this— this treachery!" Uther shouted and Agravaine cringed back. "The dragons will be killed! That's an order! See to it!"

Arthur stood from the table and approached the king. "Father," he urged, braving Uther's anger. "May I speak to you privately about this matter?"

Uther glared up at him. "There is nothing you can say that will change my mind, Arthur!"

"Father, please. You always told me not to make a decision without all the facts. There is more to tell, if you are willing to listen."

Uther stared at him for a long moment. Arthur met his gaze head-on.

"Agravaine," the king finally said. "Have the men prepare to seek out the cave." He held up an impatient hand when Arthur opened his mouth to argue again. "Don't leave until I give the order."

Agravaine bowed. He threw Arthur a quick look, clearly unhappy that he would be left out of the rest of the conversation, then ordered Leon to follow him. Together, they left the council chamber.

"What do you have to say?" Uther asked and sat back in his chair. He sounded less angry than before, but by no means looked as if he would change his mind.

Arthur braced himself. This was likely his one and only chance to succeed with his plan. He straightened up where he stood and laced his fingers behind his back, gathering the strength he knew he would need to convince his father.

"We need to end this war," he stated.

"It will end when all dragons and their lords are dead," Uther replied curtly.

"And when will that be?"

"Sooner than later, if you really can control the beasts, like you say."

"I can control them," Arthur confirmed. "But I need to be able to talk to them. I doubt I can shout loud enough to call them down from the skies during battle. I need at least one of them to relay my orders to the others."

"We will spare one of them, then," Uther said with an impatient wave of his hand. "You should have said so before. We can kill it along with the rest when you have control of them all."

Arthur shook his head. "That will still leave us with Balinor's people, eager for revenge and with nothing left to lose."

"Once their dragons are dead, they will be an easy target," Uther said dismissively. "We will take back control of the lands Balinor has usurped and win the war within the matter of weeks."

"They will not go down without a fight, though," Arthur said. "There will be battles to win and Balinor will throw everything he has left at us with full force. Many men will die."

"Such is the way of war, Arthur," Uther told him with a disapproving look. "What would you have me do? Use the dragons to burn Ealdor down, like your uncle said? I will not have my men sully themselves by working alongside these creatures. It pains me enough to know that you have ridden on one of them."

"No," Arthur said. "I would ask that we negotiate."

"Negotiate?" Uther repeated.

"I can control their dragons," Arthur pressed on. "They care deeply for these creatures. I have heard them referred to as brothers and sisters. We can use them as a bargaining tool to reach an agreement. To make Balinor surrender. To broker peace."

"Broker peace?" Uther stood abruptly, his chair almost toppling over in the process. His anger was back in full force. "There can never be peace! Where is this talk coming from?"

Arthur swallowed, but held his ground. "Over twenty years of bloodshed, Father," he said. "Two decades of death and destruction. Yes, with the dragons at my command or dead, we could likely win this war, but it would cost more lives! Why risk weakening us further if we could force Balinor to submit to us? We can keep the dragons alive and use them—"

"Enough!" Uther shouted. His face had flushed an ugly red colour and he was approaching Arthur with a finger raised in a clear warning. "I will not have this kind of talk from you! You have gone mad!"

"It is not mad to consider a different strategy," Arthur responded, trying to keep his calm in the face of the king's ire. "We have been handed the solution on a silver platter! We can end this war without spilling another drop of blood! I am sure Merlin would be willing to speak—"

"Is that it?" Uther hissed. "Balinor's son, this Merlin, has he corrupted you?"

"Father, we only talked—"

"He has!" Uther exclaimed. "You told me you got close to him, but perhaps it was the other way around. He got close to you! He bewitched you with his dragon magic and enamoured you with his creatures!"

His father looked and sounded so insane at this moment, Arthur was taken aback enough to retreat a step. He caught himself quickly though, and squared his shoulders. Arthur knew his father hated Balinor, but the king had always been somebody that could be reasoned with. Arthur would simply have to find the right words.

"I couldn't care less about the dragons!" Arthur stated clearly, hoping to appease his father. "They could perish tonight and I would not bat an eyelash. But I care about our people! If I can spare them any more hardship and sacrifice, I will do so by any means at my disposal!"

Uther narrowed his eyes, but it looked like Arthur had at least convinced him of the fact that he had not been corrupted by dragonfyre. The king seemed willing to listen when he said, "You would have me go against my principles?"

There was an opening!

"Our prime responsibility is to Camelot and her people," he said firmly. He was aiming for that tone of authority and statesmanship his father had always tried to instil in him. "You taught me that, Father. Keep the dragons imprisoned. Bring Merlin here, have him represent his father as we come up with a treaty, then send him back to Ealdor with the draft. We will keep the dragons here to ensure Balinor's compliance, and I will see if I can make them call upon the other dragons to draw them out of Ealdor and further increase the pressure."

There it was, laid out in the open. It was a solid plan. If it worked, it would end the war with little further casualties and might even create a path to future reconciliation.

"Balinor won't surrender," Uther argued. "He is not the kind of man to submit."

"He might, knowing his dragons are at risk. I have talked to Merlin. He is willing to make peace, so let's call their surrender just that, a peace treaty. We are in the stronger position; we can make any demands we like and ensure we will not give away anything we cannot reasonably part with."

Uther studied him. Arthur could see from the vein at his neck that his pulse was still racing, that he was agitated, but he was no longer in a state of indiscriminate rage. He started to pace, stopping every once in a while to take a look at Arthur, or Excalibur resting on the table. Arthur tried to keep calm and stood at attention.

"You think this Merlin can be trusted?" Uther asked doubtfully.

"Absolutely," Arthur stated. And it was the truth, too. Merlin had been nothing if not adamant about wanting peace.

"How do you know?"

"He saved my life at Ealdor," Arthur explained. "Balinor's men wanted to kill me, but he stepped in. He longs for peace and knew killing me would make that goal impossible."

Uther made a derisive noise. "He sounds like a weak man," he said, "but that might work to our advantage."

He stopped and stared Arthur down for a long moment. Arthur liked to believe he was old enough not to quiver under his father's eyes anymore, but it took all of his self-control not to fidget.

"Fine," the king said. "Lead the way to the dragon cave."

Arthur's shoulders relaxed and he suppressed a sigh of relief. His father had seen reason.

"You will not regret this, Father," he promised and grabbed Excalibur from the table.

"We will see about that. Go, and tell them to have my horse saddled as well. I want to see these tamed dragons for myself."