A/N: Well helloooo guys! Here's the last part of The Dragon's Calling. Hope you enjoy! I haven't gotten a chance to write much lately, finals week and all. Bleh. But my last final is tomorrow and then I'm all yours until January! So bear with me on the updates :) There probably won't be much of a schedule. Whenever I finish an episode I'll probably upload a chapter and then whenever I feel like adding a part :) Anyway. Read on, have fun, and enjoy my lovelies! 3
The Dragon's Call: Part 3
Merlin heard it again. It happened when he and Adrielle had lied down to sleep. A distant calling of his name. He hadn't told Adrielle or Gaius about it. He had heard it first the night he spent in the dungeons. He thought he had just been going crazy, but here it was again. This time not only did it call for him, it also called for his sister.
Adrielle. Adrielle.
A soft but commanding voice called to her in her dreams.
"Merlin," she groaned as she rolled over in bed. "Shut up and go back to sleep."
Merlin looked over at her curiously "What?"
"Stop talking to me. I'm trying to sleep," she mumbled.
"I'm not doing anything," he said as he quickly got out of bed.
"Then what are you doing?"
"You're hearing a voice call your name and I'm hearing one call mine. I'm going to investigate," Merlin whispered suddenly.
"What, no! No you can't," she said suddenly snapping awake. "Remember the talk we had earlier about not getting into trouble. Sneaking out in the middle of the night goes completely against that."
"I'm going and you can't stop me. You'll just have to come with me if you want to keep me out of trouble," Merlin said quietly as he pulled on his boots. Adrielle moaned, recognizing the stubbornness in his voice. She pulled on her flats herself and pulled her coat on over her sleeping attire. She wore dresses during the day but preferred to stick with pants and tunics at night.
The pair crept down into the main room. Gaius snored soundly from his small cot. They tiptoed quietly across the floor, until Merlin knocked into a cup on the table and sent it crashing to the floor with a loud thunk. She looked horrified from her brother to Gaius's sleeping form. He wiped his chin and rolled over in bed, but remained asleep the whole time. She sighed gratefully and made her way to the door. She turned and waited for Merlin, who had used his magic to pull the covers back over Gaius.
Adrielle and her brother quietly snuck out of the castle as the followed the sound. The steady call of their names. They followed the voice across the courtyard and down into the dungeons. The paused at the top of the steps as they spotted two guards distractedly playing with a pair of dice. Merlin's eyes flashed gold and sent the dice flying away from the table. One of the guards got up and bent over in an attempt to pick them back up. Adrielle smirked and sent the dice flying further away with a flash of her eyes. Merlin looked over at her and smirked as well. They each took turns magically flinging the dice further and further away until the guards were long gone from them, frantically trying to catch the magical dice.
They quickly and quietly hurried down the remaining steps and grabbed an unlit torch. Merlin lit it before they continued down into the bowels of the city. The calls grew louder and more defined as they descended further down the stairs. The air grew colder around them, smelling old and moldy. Deeper and deeper they walked, until the tunnel let out onto a smell ledge. The ledge looked out into a great and treacherous cavern.
There was one Uther decided to keep, Gaius's words rang through her ears. No, she thought. It can't be. There can't be a dragon down here. The voice that had been calling them suddenly chuckled. Merlin and Adrielle looked at each other unsure. A powerful breeze suddenly filled the room, blowing their hair around. With a roar a great, giant, dragon landed on a perch of stalagmites in front of them.
"I'm here," it said. It was the same voice both Merlin and Adrielle had heard. The dragon itself was huge. Even in the dark its scales glistened like he was made of gold. Its yellow eyes blinked at the pair of twins a few times before speaking again. "How small you two are for such a great destiny."
"Destiny? What destiny? What do you mean?" Adrielle questioned. The dragon curled its wings in and moved to sit more comfortably on his perch.
"Your gifts, Merlin, Adrielle. They were given to you for a reason," he spoke wisely. Adrielle smiled. So there was a reason they were born this way.
"So there is a reason," Merlin said.
"Arthur is the once and future king who will unite the land of Albion."
"Right..." Merlin said, confused. Oh great. Don't tell me our destinies have something to do with that pompous wompous. Please. Anyone but Arthur Pendragon. Anyone!
"But he faces many threats," the dragon continued, "from friend and foe alike.
"I don't see what this has to do with us."
"Everything," the dragon snapped back. "Without the two of you Arthur will never succeed. Without both of you, there will be no Albion."
"No," Merlin said in disbelief. "No you've got this wrong."
"There is no right and wrong. Only what is and what isn't."
"I'm serious! If anyone wants to kill him they can go ahead. I'll even give them a hand," Merlin retorted. The dragon simply laughed at him.
"None of us can choose our destinies and none of us can escape them," the dragon said stoically.
"No," Adrielle finally said, shaking her head. "No. This has to be wrong. There must be another Arthur because this one...this one's a complete idiot."
"Perhaps it is your destinies to change that, young sorcerers." The dragon finished and unfurled his wings. He took off and flew back into the depths of his cave. I can't even keep my brother from getting into trouble, Adrielle thought to herself. How are we supposed to keep Arthur from getting killed without getting killed ourselves?
~XX~
Gaius had found them help serving in the hall during the feast the following evening. Gaius was a member of the Council and a friend of the king's. Well, perhaps maybe a colleague, an ally. Uther didn't seem the one to really keep 'friends' around. Gaius was invited to these sorts of feasts and shindigs often. Horns went off, signaling the arrival of Uther and the other royals. Merlin and Adrielle followed Gaius into the hall, bowing appropriately as others passed them. Adrielle looked around and stopped when she saw Arthur joking around with some other men.
She couldn't believe it was their destiny to protect this arse. To help him rise to the throne and be a great king. Maybe there was some humble part of him, some respectable aspects that could be drawn out of him. If there were, they weren't that prevalent. It would take a lot of kicking and screaming to even find them. Getting him to act on them of his own accord and become a better person would be another story.
Arthur looked around the hall suddenly, noting that the girl, Adrielle, was standing off to the side. Next to her idiot brother and the court physician. His eyes looked her over once before he was pulled into the presence of the Lady Morgana. Adrielle hadn't had the pleasure of meeting her yet. Gwen told her she was rather nice compared to the other royals she had heard the maid servants gossip about. Morgana looked like a damn goddess as she walked into the hall.
Her dark, long, luscious curls were pulled up. A single strand hung delicately by her face. A simple red beaded cord was tied around her head. A golden halter piece hung around her neck and attached to her strapless dress. It was fabulous material; a deep, blood red colour it was. A golden belt of leaves hung off of her waist in a downward V. The sultry ensemble was finished with a small red jewel placed perfectly just under her eye. Merlin and Adrielle continue to watch, for different reasons, as Arthur approached the Lady and began to converse with her.
"She looks great doesn't she?" Gwen gushed as she appeared at their sides. "Some people are just born to be queen."
"No," Merlin said quickly. For what reason, Adrielle didn't know.
"I hope so," Gwen said sincerely. "One day. Not that I want to be her."
"Course not. Who'd want to marry Arthur," Adrielle said, faking a gag as she did.
"Oh come on. I thought you two liked those big rough, tough, kinds of men," Merlin joked.
"No, I like much more ordinary men like you," Gwen said.
"Believe me, he's not ordinary," Adrielle joked.
"No. No, I don't mean you, Merlin. Obviously," Gwen flushed. "Not you. I mean I like much more ordinary men...like you."
"Uh...thanks." Merlin and Gwen looked at each other for a second before she hurried off. Merlin looked over to Adrielle, hoping she would hold some answers as to what had just occurred. Her response was a confused shrug. The horns sounded again, announcing the entrance of King Uther. The guests moved and took their respective tables. Adrielle and Merlin ended up on the far end of the hall, off to the side and behind the head table.
The King came swaggering in with all his glory. The guests who lined the sides of the hall bowed respectfully as he passed. He took his place at the head table, in the middle between Arthur and the Lady Morgana. He stood and spoke to the hall before taking his seat.
"We have enjoyed twenty years of peace and prosperity. It has brought the kingdom, and myself, many pleasures. Few can compare with the honor of introducing the Lady Helen, of Mora." He began clapping before taking his seat. The rest of the hall followed suit and clapped for the Lady as they took their seats for the show, too.
Lady Helen took her place on a stage directly across the hall from the royals. She wore a glamorous golden gown with light blue accents. She smiled to the crowd before beginning her performance. Her voice was beautiful. She sang a song in a language she'd never heard before but it didn't matter. Her singing voice transformed the words as she sung Adrielle felt as though she were being transported somewhere else. She was no longer in Camelot, she didn't know where she was but she was flying.
Suddenly, she felt tired. Extremely tired. Her breathing slowed down and her eyes drooped, heaving with all the worries of her day. She couldn't bear to stand here for much longer. She needed to sleep. Maybe if she just napped for a second. She could lean up against a pillar and no one would be the wiser.
She felt someone nudge her sharply from behind. She turned to see Merlin alert and frantic, holding his hands to his ears. She stared at him confused and drowsy. He quickly removed his hands and placed them over her ears. She quickly felt her sleepiness retreating from her, feeling like she could go days without sleeping. She suddenly understood as she replaced Merlin's hands with her own. The Lady Helen wasn't just singing a beautiful song; she was singing some sort of sleeping spell. An incantation. She looked around the hall as the now muffled sounds of Lady Helen's song continued.
The Lady had moved forward closing the distance between herself and the King. Her eyes were fixed almost crazily, not on Uther, but Arthur. Cobwebs had slowly begun forming on the sleeping individuals, the air decaying all around them. Her singing intensified and she slowly pulled out a dagger, still staring intently at Arthur.
That's when all the puzzle pieces suddenly hit her. The old crone they had seen at the execution. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. A son for a son. How she had done it, Adrielle didn't know, but the old lady had taken the appearance of the Lady Helen and was planning to exact her revenge. She was planning to kill Arthur.
Adrielle had to stop her. Without carefully thinking she looked up at the chandelier that the imposter Lady Helen now stood under. Adrielle's eyes flashed gold and the chain broke sending the heavy chandelier crashing to the floor. Lady Helen crumpled to the ground under the weight of the fixture, unconscious. The pair lowered their hands from their ears as the guests in the hall slowly began to wake. They glanced around the room and at each other confused. People brushed the cobwebs off of themselves. Merlin looked slowly from the chandelier to his sister, admiring her handy work.
Uther had woken up and was on his feet, looking wildly at the women under the chandelier. Her hair had faded and shriveled from black to silvery white. Her skin had shrunk and aged in mere seconds. The lady who lied on the ground was not the young and beautiful Lady Helen of Mora who stood there before. It was, in fact, Thomas James Collins's mother.
The guests whispered amongst each other as they pondered the situation before them. Arthur too stood, looking in disbelief at the woman. She stirred and propped herself up onto her hands. She grabbed the dagger and with a last burst of strength, chucked it at the young prince.
Adrielle could see the path it would take before it had come to pass. She watched it as it flew through the air towards Arthur. He just stood there and stared at it in horror. It would lodge itself in Arthur's chest before he could think to move. Merlin reacted before Adrielle could. He slowed time around the knife, and the entire hall, down and moved quickly. He pulled Arthur out of the way and the two fell to the floor. The knife plunged into the back of Arthur's chair.
The hall seemed to be frozen again. All eyes were locked onto the spot where Arthur had stood just a moment before. Adrielle hurried over to the two boys.
"Are you alright? Merlin? Arthur?" she asked quickly, her voice trembling. She couldn't keep the slight sense of fear out of her voice. Her adrenaline had been racing since the moment she realized Thomas's other was out for Arthur's blood.
Arthur stood, looking slightly taken aback at the boy who had just saved his life. It had been Merlin. The boy who had defied him, who had stood up to him, twice. He was the one who had saved his life. He looked from the boy to his sister whose face was riddled with fear and...concern? He couldn't be sure. Whatever had been there before flickered and died out, being replaced with only anger. Anger for unknowingly endangering her brother's life.
"You saved my boy's life," Uther said gratefully to Merlin. "A debt must be repaid."
Merlin looked at the ground suddenly embarrassed to be getting this much attention from the king. "No, no. That's not necessary," Merlin muttered.
"Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded," Uther continued.
"No honestly you don't have to your highness-"
"No absolutely! This merits something quite special." Merlin's face perked up slightly. "You shall be awarded a place in the royal household. You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant."
Adrielle had to bite her lip hard this time to avoid from making any inappropriate sounds. She played the smile that graced her face off as a kind one; that this was a kind and gracious gesture from the king, that Merlin's greatest dreams and wishes had just been granted. She smiled at the pair, both of whom seemed a little put off, and began clapping.
The rest of the evening dulled in comparison to the beginning of the feast. No one could stop talking about what had happened. The real Lady Helen was presumed dead. The guests also gossiped about the newcomer who had saved the Prince's life and been named his newest servant. The two men in question, however, sulked the majority of the evening. Neither of them, however, seemed overly enthusiastic with the news of the new arrangement.
Merlin was still sulking even after the feast. He sat in their shared room looking almost like he was in deep thought.
"Why do you look so down?" Adrielle questioned as she came in and took the seat next to him.
"Who says I look down?" he replied.
"Your face. Come on Merlin, you're a hero. You should be happy," she responded.
"I don't know if hero is quite the right word," Merlin joked. "Does he really deserve to be saved?"
"Maybe that's your job. To prove that he deserves to live," Adrielle offered. Merlin opened his mouth the speak when Gaius came walking in
"It seems that you're a hero," he said. Adrielle cocked her head at Merlin and breathed out a pointed laugh.
"Ha. I'm not the only one who thinks so," she joked.
"It's hard to believe, isn't it," he said to Gaius.
"No. I knew it from the moment I met the two of you. You both saved my life, remember," Gaius said. Of course, how could they forget? One does not simply forget the moment they used magic to save a man's life.
"But that was magic," Merlin said confused.
"Now it seems we've found a purpose for it." Merlin looked from his sister back to Gaius, hoping for him to go on. "I saw how you saved Arthur's life. Perhaps that's its purpose."
Merlin sighed heavily and muttered, "Our destiny."
"Whoa there, Merlin. You're the one who saved Arthur's life and gets all the glory. I'll save my magic and destiny for another prince," Adrielle replied.
"No. The dragon said it was our destinies to protect and save Arthur. I saw you. You're the one who reacted first; you're the one who dropped the chandelier onto the imposter. You saved him first," Merlin teased. "You like him. You fancy him! Adrielle likes Prince Arthur!"
"Shut up, Merlin. I do not like him. I do not fancy him," she said defensively while shoving his shoulder. Merlin didn't listen to her and continued to tease and taunt her. She only responded with trying to down out his voice with her own protests.
"If you two are done behaving like children," Gaius called. He definitely was fitting into the parental role quite well, Adrielle thought. "I have something the both of you might like."
He unwrapped the book he had been holding in his hands and handed it to the two.
"This was given to me when I was your age," he said. "I have a feeling it will be of more use to you two now." The twins looked over the book and slowly began to read through it.
"But Gaius," Adrielle said suddenly. "This is a book of magic!"
"And that is why you must keep it hidden," he warned.
"We will study every word!" Merlin said excitedly. A knock at their chamber doors brought the three of them back.
"Merlin," a voice called. "Prince Arthur requires your presence." Adrielle chuckled at the look that appeared on Merlin's face.
"Seems like your destiny is calling, Merlin. Better go find out what it wants," Gaius smiled with a nod toward the door. Merlin took off leaving the book in Adrielle's grasp.
"Adrielle, I know you were also responsible for saving Arthur's live," Gaius said.
"No one knows though. They were all unconscious. Besides, it's not like I can claim responsibility for causing the chandelier to fall. No one would believe it to be true unless the use of magic was involved," Adrielle shrugged.
"I know that. You always seem to be the one to react first. Your reflexes are strong, perhaps stronger than a cat's," Gaius spoke.
"So it seems," she said. She could sense Gaius was going somewhere but she wasn't sure where.
"Perhaps those reflexes could be put to good use. Merlin was rewarded for his bravery today. I feel you should also be rewarded for your integrity."
"Thanks Gaius but I'd rather not be anybody's 'manservant'," she replied jokingly.
"What I'm offering you, if you'll take it, is a position. As my official apprentice. You won't get paid for it, but you'll be granted all the same privileges as me. Besides a spot on the Royal Council, that is. You don't have to take it, but it's yours if you want it," Gaius suggested humbly.
"What would that entail?" she asked, her voice a mix of excitement and curiosity.
"Well, you would study to follow in my footsteps. Follow me on my rounds and practice the art of medicine. It won't be easy, but it is an exciting and interesting field. Who knows, it might even be fun," Gaius said.
"I dunno, that still sounds like I'm being recruited as your manservant," Adrielle said sarcastically but smiled all the same. "Gaius, I'd be honored to be your apprentice."
