A/N Hi! This was supposed to be published almost three weeks ago... I kinda posted on my Ao3 account and then promptly forgot. By the time I remembered, I was halfway through a rather important assignment. So I figured it could probably wait another couple of weeks. But now that's over! So here we go...

It had all started with an odd request made by Gaius' new ward, Merlin. At the time, Geoffrey had put it out of his mind, it being one of many strange interactions he had had with the boy.

It was what happened afterwards which made him realise that maybe it hadn't been so strange at all.

The young boy had come in looking for books on how to kill the dead. Slightly amused by this, Geoffrey had acquiesced to the boy's request, fobbing it off as superstition about the black knight which had appeared on Camelot's doorstep, and which had already killed two of her knights.

Of course, Geoffrey knew as well as anyone, that anyone being Gaius, that to kill something that was undead, you needed magic.

So when King Uther claimed victory over the wraith, he knew something was up. Not to mention that Merlin had run off after he had mentioned swords and dragons.

Geoffrey always prided himself on knowing the going ons of Camelot, so to have something happen underneath his very nose, without him knowing rankled slightly with his pride. But, after thinking about it, there was only one conclusion that he could come up with.

The boy was a dragonlord.

That was the only possible explanation, the only reason for the boy to come to Camelot, seeing as Uther had insisted that the last dragon be kept under the castle like a trophy. Geoffrey and Gaius had always warned him that nothing good would come of it. It would seem that Uther's luck was running out.

Except… Merlin could have let the king die, could have not made the sword in the first place, let Uther die and have Arthur take his place. If Merlin's true intentions were to take power away from the Pendragon line without anyone knowing, then having a younger, less capable, less sure leader on the throne would definitely help him.

But that still didn't ring true. No. Nobody had known that the king was going to fight in Arthur's place, the prince having been locked in his room and drugged by Gaius. So… the sword was meant for… Arthur?

But why would a dragonlord, the last of the dragonlords no less, risk his life to protect a man whose father would kill him if he knew? No. There was something that Geoffrey was missing, a crucial piece of evidence.

Then he saw it, the report. Geoffrey skimmed it, heart pounding as he realised exactly what he was seeing. Gently, he eased himself up, grabbing his keys as he went.

As quickly as his old joints would allow him, he made his way to the vaults, where the true records of the purge were kept.

There, in one of the last years of the purge.

He ripped out the page, folding it beneath his robe, resealing the dusty tome. There was one person who could answer all of his questions, and that was where Geoffrey would head next.


It had been a couple of days since he had seen Gaius, both busy with their respective jobs, it was a wonder that Geoffrey had been able to snatch a moment of quiet with the physician. But this was too important.

"I know what your ward is," he whispered after Gaius had closed the door behind him, scanning the room for the subsequent boy in question.

"Know what he is?"

Geoffrey had known Gaius for years, had known him since they both started off as trainees in Camelot. So he knew what Gaius was doing, knew that he was pretending that he didn't understand what one was talking about, even if he did. Geoffrey didn't have time for his games today though.

"He's a dragon lord," Geoffrey hissed back, feeling a little smug when Gaius' shoulders stiffened. "Or at least he will be."

A range of emotions flitted across the physician's face, before he settled on neutral.

"How did you find out? Not even Merlin knows."

Now that was surprising.

"He came looking for a way to defeat the dead. Next thing I know, Uther had defeated the wraith, and as far as I was aware, there are no swords forged in a dragon's breath in the vaults, but there is a rather large and pissed off dragon trapped beneath our very feet."

Gaius muttered, worry flashing across his face.

"You must promise me that you won't tell anyone about this, Geoffrey, not a soul, not even Merlin himself."

"Why not?"

Gaius shook his head, "Hunith wished it to remain that way, too many secrets."

The weighty glance that Gaius sent his way after that sent Geoffrey wheeling. Of course. No wonder Hunith had sent her son to Gaius.

"He is far more powerful than you think he is, Geoffrey. In fact, I have a reason to believe that he might be Emrys himself…"

Geoffrey nodded, "And that would make Arthur the Once and Future King, I suppose?"

Gaius shrugged, "That is what the dragon has told Merlin… but whether I trust his word is debatable…"

Geoffrey got the hidden message, they would both need to do more research on the topic. For now, they would both do their best to help Merlin (Emrys?) do his job the best that they could do, and make sure that people stayed out of his way.


That night in his chambers, Geoffrey burned the page from the tome, watching as the paper curled in on itself, and the words disappeared.

Balinor, a dragonlord and known sorcerer, was rumoured to be in a small village called Ealdor. It was believed that he was being sheltered by a woman by the name of Hunith, however was gone when patrols were sent, and no evidence found of him ever living in Hunith's abode. She was let off with a warning.