A/N 2: Hey this is betaed now. Thankyou Kripkeisgod

A/N:Hello.

First of, I'm really, really super sorry about the wait. I have had none stop assignments at uni. I'd get two, hand them in and get 4 more. And i have exams yet. I have also got a new job so sleep is a distant memory.

Second thank Black Iron for their PM that helped me remember about this fic and semi kicking me into shape.

How awesome is Merlin series 5! Always knew Gwen was evil, no one is that sweet and perfect. And I bet she's not enchanted or else there would be no real point to the latest episode (bar killing a certain knight) as she could of just done it from the get go. And I also have a fair idea whats going to happen with the final episode. It's just a guess but it would be freaky if it happened. And I have a new favourite episode (The death song of Uther Pendragon)!

It was Remembrance Sunday yesterday, so a quick silence for those who have fallen.

This was hard to write. I think the only thing that got me threw it is Aithusa's lines. I really wanted to add them in for ages. This is still unbetaed. I have sent it to my wondrous beta but I've told her not to rush as Kripkeisgod is also super busy at uni. I will replace this with the betaed version when we have free time (a hopeful dream at the moment.)

Anyhow enjoy.

Chapter 9

As Merlin stared down at his friends, he wondered if his tremendously horrible luck was the price for having such powerful magic. He knew the old religion was all about balance but you would think that his price would be a tremendous lack of talent in another skill. But that wasn't the case. No matter what Arthur thought, Merlin can use a sword, the fact that he took down immortals in Morgana's first invasion should be proof enough of that, and Gaius was confident enough in Merlin's ability as a healer to send him out without him on that disastrous Lamia incident. Plus the occurrence of his clumsiness has decreased a lot now that he was no longer a teen, only cropping up at the worst possible times, further proof that he was cursed with bad luck.

A laugh dripping with disbelief drew Merlin from his thoughts. All eyes turned to the giggling Gwaine. The knight, conscious to the looks sent his way, slowly calmed down until he was no longer gasping from breaths between laughs. "It can talk? It can talk! Can it sing? Go on sing Dragon!"

It was a good thing that everyone present knew how weird Gwaine could be or they would be worried about the man. As it was, all he gained where a few raised eyebrows and a twitch of scaly lips.

"Indeed Sir Gw..erm... Strength." Inwardly Merlin sighed, it would be no good if he gave himself away. When he finally revealed who he really was he wanted to do it with five fingers and hair. "I do speak, however I do not and shall not sing."

Gwaine pouted but was ignored by his fellow knights. Merlin's voice had drawn them back to the situation in front of them, namely the huge should-be-extinct dragon standing on familiar looking rags. The warriors shifted their stances, wary and waiting for an attack.

It took tremendous will power for Merlin not to laugh. This was bizarre, normally when his friends faced down a magical creature; he's in the background waiting for Arthur to get knocked out so he can take the beasty out. Now he is said beasty. The tension built until a mutter from Elyan made the warlocks blood turn to ice.

"Oh no, Merlin!"

Arthur thoughts were running many leagues a minute. He was so sure that the last living the dragon had been killed by his hand and the last egg lay destroyed, buried under the rubble of the tower that housed it. So just how was this demon here? And even worse - were there more of them? That was a thought, he admitted, he wondered about every day, almost as much as he wondered about Merlin. That was a thought so ingrained that it had become shoved to the far reaches of his brain. He was about to order a charge when the voice of his brother-in-law registered.

"Oh no, Merlin!" The dark skinned man was staring at the rags. They were wrecked but looked like they were once clothes. A pair of shredded boots, a destroyed brown jacket, scraps of brown trousers, a belt and a ripped blue peasant shirt. But the last item, the most intact as in a mockery of what its owner made Arthur's soul scream. At the top of the pile, was a single peace of red cloth, the same shade as the scales ringing the Dragon's throat, a neckerchief that was well known to anyone who was friends to the happy-go lucky manservant.

"No, Merlin, anyone but him!" Arthur all but screamed, his heart breaking for the demise of the man who became like a brother to him. The other knights followed his sight and thoughts, quickly voicing their despair. The Dragon somehow managed to convey confusion and looked down. It took a surprisingly long time for the Dragon to understand what it was looking at. When it finally clicked, the beast's head snapped up, topaz speckled eyes grew wide.

"No No No, this isn't what it looks like." The monsters gravelly voice pleaded desperately. But Arthur wasn't listening.

"Silence creature. You have taken the life of a good man." The king yelled, distraught. It was obvious to the man what had happened. Merlin had been out on his errand when had encountered the Dragon. The young man would have been no match for it and would have lost his life. Arthur was angry. It wasn't fair for anyone to die like that, especially Merlin. The dragon's continued denials only further enraged the warrior.

"No you have to listen to me. I didn't kill anyone. I wo..."

"SHUT UP!" With that the blonde man charged, only to be thrown back as a hasty paw swipe caught him. His men yelled out and prepared to attack but were forced to dodge as the dragon charged, almost tripping over its feet as its wings unfurled and it headed for the entrance.

With a massive leap the reptile clumsily launched itself into the sky, wings flapping awkwardly. The frustrated knights watched it go, sadness weighing heavily in their minds.

"Sir what do we do now." Leon asked, turning slightly towards his liege.

"We return to Camelot and prepare to track down the beast before it attacks us." The men watched as the Dragon suddenly flipped on its side, spiralling down to crash into the trees.

Gwaine whistled lowly. "If it even makes it that far."

Merlin had crashed into no less then a dozen trees when Kilgharrah and Aithusa found him again. Laugher startled him from his efforts after his latest incident. This time, he hadn't just crashed into a tree; no he crashed into a tree swarming with ivy, his wings becoming tangled in the plant.

Resisting the urge to snarl at the larger Dragon, Merlin huffed and looked wide eyed at his chuckling friend. "Will you please help me, flying is hard, how long am I going to be like this anyway?"

Kilgharrah ignored the question, leaning his head down to snap away the bonds. Aithusa bounced towards the warlock, sniffing curiously at his claws. "Big-eared-Hatcher isn't a two-legged-human anymore, he's a dragon. Yaaay" Her voice was young, overlayed with a growl Merlin recognised as dragon tongue.

The transformed young man stared at the white hatchling. "Erm Aithusa, I'm not called Big-eared-hatcher." Honestly, Merlin was annoyed. Must she comment on his ears? "I'm Merlin."

The youngest of the trio started at him with all the wisdom of a child.

"You're not a bird silly. You're a dragon!"

Silence reigned as the two larger reptiles stared at the smug looking smaller one. Suddenly Merlin and Kilgharrah started to snicker, turning to full out laugher when Aithusa's face somehow managed to contort in a pout.

"Why are you laughing? It's true. Merlins have feathers and beaks. You have shiny black scales and big teeth, but not as big as Old-Gold-One-Kilgharrah but bigger than mine. I can't wait till mine are that long, but I bet they are going to be even bigger." The laughter increased as the hatchling started to bounce. Eventually the ancient one calmed down enough to comment.

"She is right, sort of. You cannot exactly go around introducing your self as Merlin. Not only would no one believe you, it is also not a true draconic name. All dragonlords have a draconic name. Search deep within yourself, young warlock."

Merlin took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Deep within his soul, he felt his magic, golden, immense and ready, swirl as inner dragon, that little voice in his head growled a single word.

"Ambrosius. My name is Ambrosius."

A/n: Joke

What did King Arthur listen to every evening at six?

The knightly news