Hello my dear readers!
Look at that! I don't even think I'm late this time! Isn't that miraculous, heh?
I hope you are all well and still enjoying the story! Special big up to my Beta who is doing an amazing work!
And thank you all for bearing with me :D! I love every single one of you! And I hope you will like this chapter because I loved writing it!
And without further chat, ENJOY!
Chapter 39:
Atihusa was tracking a hare when she felt the familiar tug of her dragonlord's call. On instinct, her head turned in its direction and she gave a small whining growl even if she knew he was too far away to hear her.
She knew exactly why he had called her. She knew that he was ready for the last part of the calling ritual.
Kilgharrah had told her everything about it. He may not have wanted Merlin to go through with it but he also wasn't about to let them both fly blindly into it.
He was intelligent enough to know that neither she nor Merlin would agree to stop.
If her dragonlord believed there was a chance that there were dragons hidden somewhere then she trusted him and would do everything in her power to help him.
The fact that Kilgharrah shared his knowledge with her proved that at least some part of him believed the warlock too.
She hoped they were right. It would be so good to have other dragons than just her old friend. Not that she didn't like him. She just… wanted to meet other dragons, learn their stories and knowledge.
Shaking her head, she spread her wings and with a parting telepathic message to the slumbering great dragon she flew off, intending to reach Merlin as quickly as possible.
Her wings pumped effortlessly through the air and, for a few seconds, she closed her eyes enjoying the wind on her face and the feeling of utter liberty that flying created.
It always made her think back to Kilgharrah's tales of imprisonment. She couldn't imagine what she would feel like if she was kept captive like he had been. She would go mad. Flying was as important as breathing or eating to her.
She suddenly wondered how the human-dragons felt if they existed.
Did being trapped inside a human body feel like being in prison? They wouldn't be able to fly but they would still be able to go wherever they wished, would they?
She interrupted her musings when she saw the Isle of the Blessed beneath her, two small humans clearly visible in the central courtyard.
She had never been to the Isle herself but Kilgharrah had talked very reverently of it and as she approached, she could understand why. She could feel the magic emanating from it. It felt like diving into warm water. It felt comforting.
She carefully landed in front of her Dragonlord and was very happy to see that none other than Sir Gwaine was accompanying him. She could honestly say he was her favorite human after Merlin.
She first bowed respectfully to the warlock before moving closer to rub against Gwaine, liking the unique smell of him. She had to repress a very undignified purr when he reached down to rub the scales on her back. She could already almost hear Kilgharrah's choked reprimand that they were not pets and that this was no way a dragon should conduct itself.
She watched uneasily as Merlin kneeled in front of her, looking more serious than she had ever seen him before.
"Do you know what I have to do?"
He spoke gently as if afraid. She nodded and waited patiently as he prepared a knife. She could feel how reluctant he was to hurt her but she trusted him. He wouldn't do it if it wasn't absolutely necessary.
It was heart-warming to see Gwaine's disgust when Merlin explained he needed her blood but she ignored it in order to focus on her dragonlord.
She gave him her paw but couldn't stop her flinch when the knife pierced her skin. It was a small would but it hurt. A lot. Dragon skin was designed to be almost unbreakable and, therefore, the nerve endings beneath them were far more sensitive than one would imagine.
She forced herself to wait patiently while Merlin harvested her blood but the second he released her she drew her paw close to gently breath on it, focusing her healing magic on her skin.
She looked up to see Merlin bow to her and shuddered in uneasiness. A dragonlord wasn't supposed to bow to his dragons. So she step forward to nudge him up again.
He smiled before pushing himself up. She could sense his impatience to carry on with the ritual.
It was contagious and she watched impatiently as Gwaine gave his last recommendation to his friend, hugging him.
She wondered why he looked so worried. Did he not trust Merlin and his powers?
She watched him expectantly while waiting for him to obey Merlin's orders to step back.
"Fine. Fine." He said to her and finally walked back.
She followed him diligently before turning back and settling to observe Merlin, watching as he stood unmoving in front of the stone altar in the middle of the courtyard.
"What's he doing?" Gwaine asked distractingly.
"Focusing his magic." The dragon answered, laughing as the knight jumped. He obviously did not expect her to talk.
She looked up at him and saw how his hands was clenching and unclenching while his eyes were fixed unblinkingly on his friend. She stepped closer to him, hoping to comfort him.
She turned back toward her Dragonlord and it felt like time had dramatically slowed down. It felt like the magic of the Isle itself froze.
She watched as he drank a potion and then fell to the ground.
Her insides dropped with fearful worry as she automatically reached out to her lord's mind, finding it overwhelmed with pain.
Gwaine's desperate cry shook her out of it and she just had time to jump on his leg as he took a step forward.
"Let go Aithusa!" He cried out, trying to break free. She held on. "We've got to help him! Please, Aithusa!"
She shook her head, not moving even as she could see and feel Merlin's pain in the back of her own soul.
"Can't. Ritual." She tried to explain.
She knew they couldn't interrupt Merlin now. She knew that would do more harm than good. And it wasn't in any way easier for her to watch than for him.
"Damn the ritual!" The knight cried out in anger turning towards her.
He deflated suddenly and she tentatively lessened her grip.
They both tuned back in unison to watch Merlin reach for the second potion.
Aithusa's whole body flinched when Merlin fell with an even louder cry.
The pain she felt coming from him had washed over her like a wave and she didn't have the strength to stop Gwaine this time. She forced herself to follow him, terror filling her.
They were almost immediately stopped by an invisible wall. She distantly heard the knight next to her criy out in frustration before pounding the invisible force but she focused on Merlin.
She focused on him like she had never done before, her back curving against the pain coming from him.
She could feel he was lost in it. He wouldn't be able to perform the ritual. And if he didn't then he would surely die.
She couldn't let that happen.
She closed her eyes and let her mind reached out to him, ignoring the suffering that wanted to burn her too. She had to find him.
She had to help him.
"Merlin." She sent to him, trying to be as soothing as possible. "It's okay Merlin." She felt his mind focus on her, calming a bit. "Just focus. You can do it."
She tried to send as much faith and calm to him as she could and it seemed to work because a few seconds later, he threw his head back and cried out the words of the calling.
The deep familiar words washed through her just before a wave of powerful magic. She had never felt as much power and it made her shudder. Power like that could be deadly.
Power like that was terrifying.
She felt Gwaine fall down next to her and turned to make sure he was alright.
It took a little time before he pushed himself upright and the relief she felt at that was quickly extinguished by his cry for Merlin.
She watched helplessly as her Dragonlord fell for a third time and this time it was even more heart-stopping as she felt his consciousness disappear.
She wasn't aware of the roar she let out nor of leaping towards her master until she reached him. She used her jaws to pull him out of the stone circle, ignoring the magic she could feel pressing against her.
She whined at her Dragonlord, using her snout to bump against him, willing him to wake up.
She needed him to wake up.
She was responsible for killing him.
She shouldn't have helped him.
"Please Merlin! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" She despairingly cried out in her mind.
She was trying to reach for his consciousness but she couldn't find it. She could only find the lingering, unstoppable pain. It brought tears in her eyes.
She was responsible for it.
"It's okay Aithusa." She heard Gwaine say, obviously trying to sooth her. She felt his hands on her head trying to stop her frantic attempts to shake Merlin awake. "It's okay, he's just unconscious."
"He's in pain." She answered finally just lying her head on Merlin.
She could feel the human's heart flutter underneath it and she focused on it, trying to convinced herself it meant Merlin would be fine.
He had to.
"Come on Aithusa, we have to take him inside. He needs warmth."
Only then did she notice Merlin shivering. She didn't want to but she stepped back after a moment, allowing Gwaine to pick the warlock up.
It felt as if her heart was being ripped apart when Merlin groaned in pain and she kept close to the knight as he went into a room that had been arranged like a temporary camp.
She let Gwaine settle her Dragonlord down and cover him with a thin blanket but the moment he turned back she stepped as close to Merlin as possible and lied down, extending her wing over him, sharing her inner heat with him.
She felt Gwaine stroke her head in reassurance but she just pressed closer to Merlin, closing her eyes against her tears.
She needed Merlin to wake up.
For the next couple of days, Aithusa didn't move from her place curled against Merlin's side. She kept an attentive ear to his heartbeat and regularly tried to find his consciousness. To no avail.
Many times, Gwaine tried to encourage her to leave, fly around for a bit or hunt, but it was useless. She could go weeks without eating if she needed to and she wouldn't leave her Dragonlord before he sent her away. And even then he would have to use his power to do it because she never wanted to leave his side again.
She didn't want him to ever suffer like that and would do anything to protect him.
She watched as the knight tried to busy himself but it was clear that he, too, was feeling guilty about what had happened. He never strayed too far for too long.
Overall, the days were spent in subdued silence that was only broken when Gwaine tried to make Merlin eat light broth.
At the end of the third day after Merlin's collapse, Aithusa was staring at the hypnotic dance of the dimming light of the sun against the stone floor when she felt something different.
A tug, deep in her soul.
She raised her head, eyes falling on Merlin's face, expecting him to wake.
But nothing changed. He kept breathing deeply, features lax in his deep sleep.
She frowned and turned her head around, concentrating on the feeling, trying to find its source.
"Aithusa?" She heard Gwaine ask as he too straightened. "What is going on?"
She ignored him for a moment as she concentrated.
"I… I'm not sure."
Slowly, she pushed herself up, muscles screaming after so long spent unmoving. She stretched her wings. She focused her mind on the tug again and let herself be guided by it. Without noticing she found herself on the Isle's shore.
She felt her jaw drop as she saw two people disembarking from a rickety boat. The pull emanated from them.
She felt Gwaine behind her.
"Identify yourself!" He commanded and she glanced at him to see he had his sword drawn threateningly up.
"Wait Gwaine!" She said, suddenly understanding. "I think it's them!"
The knight looked down at her, eyebrows furrowed.
"Them?"
"The dragons!"
So, tell me your thoughts in a review!
And in other news, I'll be in London next week end to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and this is a dream coming true! I am soooo excited! I can't wait! Best birthday present ever (and yes I totally gifted me that XD)