Hello everyone!
Look at that! Chapter 40! I honestly do not know precisely how that happened but well... I just hope you all still are enjoying this story! I promise we're getting nearer and nearer to the end!
I really appreciate you there still reading this story! And each review is balm to my soul!
Anyway, with a last thank to all of you and to my Beta, lat's go on with the story!
Enjoy!
Chapter 40:
Gwaine threw the figurine he had been carving into the fire pit with a frustrated sigh.
Merlin had been unconscious for three days.
Three days of doing nothing but staring at his best friend lying motionless.
It was the worst thing he had ever had to watch. And yet, he could bring himself to leave the room for more than the hour it took to find food and wash. And each time he came back hoping to find Merlin miraculously awake.
Unfortunately, that had still to happen.
The rest of the time, he sat around, carving wood, trying to make Merlin swallow thin soup or simply watching him.
It left him with far too much time to think and worry. It only highlighted once more how important Merlin was to him: important like a brother.
He pushed himself up and went to kneel near Merlin. Aithusa didn't even acknowledge him from where she was lying close to her dragonlord. She hadn't moved much either. Gwaine felt for her. He couldn't say he understood much of their bond but it was clear Merlin's condition was affecting her deeply.
He reached to gently stroke her head.
"Don't worry. I'm sure he's going to wake up soon." He told her even if he barely believed his own words.
The dragon didn't answer but that didn't stop the knight from trying to console her. It broke his heart to see her looking like that.
"You're sure you don't want to go stretch your wings a bit? I'll stay here and keep Merlin safe. You know that, right?"
"I'm fine." The dragon mumbled, shifting only to bring her head closer to the warlock's heart.
"Okay… Okay…" He sighed again and went back to his place near the fire, slouching against the wall.
Time went on. Slowly. Dragging minutes into hours. Gwaine was almost falling asleep, hypnotized by the flames when he saw Aithusa sharply move to look down at Merlin and then around the room.
It made him straighten and reach for his sword, feeling unease trickle into his stomach.
"Aithusa? What's going on?" He asked as he followed her eyes around the room.
"I… I'm not sure…" She answered distantly.
And then she stood up, stretched with a wince and went out, ignoring Gwaine.
"Aithusa! Wait!"
She didn't look back and he had to scramble up so he could follow her.
She led him back to the Isle shore and he was astonished to see two people stepping off a boat. He raised his sword distrustfully.
"Identify yourself!" He cried out.
He saw Aithusa turn toward him.
"Wait Gwaine! I think it's them!"
The knight frowned questioningly as he looked at her.
"Them?" He asked.
"The dragons!" She exclaimed, eyes shining.
He looked back up towards the couple now approaching them, lowering his weapon slightly.
They looked… Normal, Gwaine thought. Two simply dressed peasants.
They stopped a few feet in front of Aithusa and the knight, bowing slightly.
"We heard the call. Sorry for being so late, we had to cross two kingdoms to get here." The man explained, his companion nodding in confirmation.
Gwaine was speechless it was too utterly bizarre to think that the man and woman in front of him were in fact dragons in disguise.
"It's alright, you are in fact the first to have arrived." Aithusa answered for Gwaine. "My name is Aithusa and this is Sir Gwaine of Camelot."
"Ca- Camelot?" The woman repeated, taking a step back in obvious distrust.
This, at least, shook the knight from his silent shock.
"You have nothing to fear from me." He quickly said, putting away his now useless sword and raising his arms in a placating manner. "Or from Camelot. King Arthur has revoked the ban on magic and is welcoming magic into his realm."
The woman did not answer but kept a careful eye on him.
"Where are our callers? I thought they would be the ones welcoming us here." The man asked, cutting through the tension.
Gwaine cleared his throat, looking down to exchange a glance with Aithusa.
"Well… He is… unwell at the moment." The knight answered.
"He? As in a single person?"
Both Aithusa and Gwaine nodded.
"That's impossible! No one can do this!
"Emrys can!" Aithusa countered fiercely.
The man took a small step back at the small dragon's very obvious loyalty and protectiveness.
"Emrys is just a legend!" The woman commented with a snort.
It made Aithusa growl. Gwaine reached out to settle a calming hand on her head. It made her deflate slightly.
"Follow us then, and you can judge for yourselves."
And with that she turned around and walked back towards the castle, leading the way to return to Merlin followed by the two human dragons and Gwaine.
The unlikely company soon arrived in the familiar room and Gwaine couldn't stop his disappointment that Merlin hadn't moved an inch during the time they were away.
It seemed that Aithusa felt the same because she went back to her chosen place close to the warlock's side and observed him carefully before setting down.
"I can't believe this." The man said, walking slowly inside, eyes fixed on the unconscious man. "He is so young and yet I can feel so much power in him… He really is Emrys."
The woman snorted.
"If he is why is he unconscious? And why didn't he call sooner?"
"You said it yourself: no one should have been able to make the call by themselves. How can you expect him to be okay after that?" Gwaine answered before Aithusa had the chance to.
"Well, he is of no use like that! He can't give us our true form back!"
"He will. Once he's strong enough! Surely a few days won't make that much of a difference!" The knight exclaimed, his patience worn thin after days of sitting around doing nothing.
The woman looked outraged and opened her mouth to answer but the man put a hand on her shoulder.
"Of course. We understand. Is there somewhere we can settle to wait?"
"There are a lot of empty rooms here, I'm sure we can fine you one." The knight said. "And I'll show you where the garden is."
The woman still looked rebellious but she accepted the offer and followed Gwaine when he left the room.
He led them to an adjacent room where they deposited their small bags and then he showed them to the garden. He expected more questions but both man and woman just looked around themselves in silent contemplation.
"Well, I'll leave you to it." Gwaine announced as they arrived back at the room he chosen for them. "Don't hesitate to come knocking if you need anything."
They nodded and he left, returning to the room where Merlin and Aithusa waited for him.
The dragon looked up when she heard him and seemed relieved to see him alone.
"How is he?" Gwaine asked as he came closer to assess his friend.
The dragon shrugged and the knight sighed.
"Well, I say he'd better hurry and wake up soon because I'm not sure how long we can make those dragons wait."
It was meant as a joke but it made Aithusa growl. Gwaine raised his hands.
"Sorry, sorry. It wasn't funny." He petted her head in apology.
The arrival of the two first human dragons seemed to open a floodgate. Over the next two days, more and more arrived until there was almost twenty waiting to be given back their true form.
And every time a new human dragon arrived Gwaine and Aithusa went to greet them and had to explain again and again what was going on. And each time they were faced with the same disbelief. And even after they had been showed Merlin only a few of the dragons trusted that the young man would be able to do something for them.
And yet, they all stayed and waited.
It made Gwaine itchy and Aithusa tense. She clearly disliked the fact that so many of her peers were distrustful of her dragonlord's power.
But, even amongst all that, there were a few who seemed truly worried for the young man. One old woman especially, had asked frequently if she could do anything to help. She had been one of the last to arrive. She had settled as a physician when it became clear she wouldn't be given her dragon form back and therefore thought she could help.
It took a lot of convincing from Gwaine but Aithusa eventually acceded to stepping back so she could examine the warlock.
"You were right." She said after a little while. "He is simply exhausted but I can tell you cared for him well as he is not too dehydrated. I trust he should wake up soon enough."
"Thank you." Aithusa said as she took her place back.
"He is lucky to have both of you. Such loyal friends are rare to find."
Gwaine bowed his head, he didn't know how to receive compliments, despite what everyone thought.
"Keep giving him thin soup and water and we will all carry on waiting." The human dragon concluded pushing herself up to leave.
Gwaine nodded. That was all he could do.
Soooo... How was it?
And, now, off-note: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was absolutely, absolutely MAGICAL! I loved it to bits! I can't even express how much I did! It was so thrilling and emotional and funny and impressive and beautiful! I did not expect all that! It felt as if I hadn't even read the book! And what can I say, I'm just in love with the characters and especially Sorpius! I already was loving him in the book but for real? I did not expect him to be like that and I loved him! Also I want to say a HUUUUGE thank you to Eliane Gil who told me to take my book with me to get it signed! I did it and it was so great! And I got to take a selfie with Sam Clemmett (it's blurry as hell but I love it)!
But really, if you're in any way a Potterhead, really, really, go see it because this is definitely what magic is.