Chapter 5
For a whole month, things continued on in this pattern: Aithusa would slip away from Kilgharrah's care, make her way to Camelot, and terrify Merlin over whether anyone would notice her presence or not until he could sneak off in the dead of night to return her to the older dragon waiting in the forest. The absolute worst was the occasion she found him out on patrol with the knights, and Merlin spent the entire course of the day making periodic spectacles of himself in order to distract anyone whose attention was drawn by the unknown chirping in the trees around them. Arthur, in particular, kept giving him odd looks, as if he knew the dark-haired man was up to something but couldn't puzzle out why or what. For an entire week afterward, the king kept asking questions about what Merlin had been up to in his spare time lately, even making a couple mentions regarding Borden and the Tomb that set the servant on edge as he struggled to remember and stick to the lies he'd already told.
Exactly thirty-three nights after he first hatched her, Merlin carried Aithusa to the usual clearing for perhaps the twenty-fifth or -sixth time (honestly, he'd become so tired over the month he'd lost track of the exact number). Kilgharrah took the hatchling without a word, whereas Aithusa herself was projecting the usual mixture of unhappiness and expectation.
"I know I always say it," Merlin mumbled as he gave the little one a scratch underneath her chin. "But please stay away this time." With that, he turned and headed back towards Camelot, ignoring the wind generated by Kilgharrah taking off and the lonely cry that trailed behind.
Arriving in the castle well after midnight, Merlin had to stop by the armory to finish polishing Arthur's armor, and fetch an armload of firewood for Gaius on his way to the physician's quarters. Once there, he carefully stowed the load away before tip-toeing up to his room and collapsing.
At some point, his mind began to rouse due to the sunlight pouring in through the window, but the young man ignored it and stayed put.
When a knock came from the door a while later, Merlin didn't bother responding to that either, or even moving. He remained sprawled across his bed, physically and mentally exhausted, still wearing the same outfit as the previous two days.
Of course, his lack of acknowledgement just meant that whoever was at the door went ahead and came in, footsteps tromping over to his bedside before pausing. Not Gaius, then, as the old man was always much more quiet in his approach. Merlin mentally ran down the list of who else would want to seek out his presence, and hazarded his best guess.
"Go 'way, Gwaine, 'm too tired t' help you with anythin' t'day..."
"Well, this certainly explains why my breakfast never arrived." That particular voice definitely did not belong to the ridiculously cheerful knight. Turning his head sideways, Merlin squinted up at Arthur, who seemed to be holding back a mixture of amusement and annoyance.
"Uh..."
"Good morning to you too, Merlin." The blonde grabbed the nearby chair and pulled it over, taking a seat while his manservant continued to stare blankly. "So, tell me something. After that mess at Ashkanar, you said that Borden was dead and the egg destroyed. Right?"
"Right..." Reluctantly, Merlin pushed himself up onto his forearms, looking wary.
"And, by 'destroyed', you didn't by any chance mean that the egg cracked, and something living crawled out of it?" The younger man's eyes widened, almost to a comical degree, and he tried to stammer out a denial. One look of warning from Arthur was quick to shut him up though. "Merlin. You are going to answer me truthfully in this. Are you or are you not attempting to raise a baby dragon in my castle?"
"She keeps coming BACK!" Merlin cried out, his pain and exasperation causing the blonde to jerk in surprise. "Every night, I take her out into the forest, as far as I can, but then she shows back up - outside the windows, or on patrol or when you insist on a hunting trip - and no matter what I try she just won't. Go. Away!" With that, he flopped back down onto the bed, crossing his arms over his head and groaning in frustration, the potential consequences of what had just been said be damned.
Arthur blinked at him, still trying to make sense of the babbled explanation. He'd really only partially suspected his servant of attempting something so stupid, and honestly hoped that upon accusing Merlin of harboring a dragon he'd get an indignant retort followed by a few insults to his intelligence. Instead, the younger man admitted that his suspicions weren't unfounded in the slightest after all.
"Well, where is it then?" He finally demanded.
"Where's what?"
"The dragon, Merlin. Honestly, how you managed to pull off such a thing for so long when you're still an idiot is beyond me..."
"She's not here right now," the servant uncovered his head with a weary sigh. "But she'll be back. She keeps coming back, again and again and again and-"
"I get it." Arthur hastily cut it. "So, you didn't actually decide to raise the creature? It just keeps, what, haunting you?"
"It's not safe here for her," Merlin mumbled. "But I can't make her understand that, that she'll be killed if anyone spots her..."
"Why didn't you just come tell me, then? I could've put out the order to leave the dragon alone."
Instantly, Merlin's head snapped up. He stared at Arthur in shock, hardly daring to hope he'd just heard what he thought he did. "W-what?"
"Honestly, Merlin, it's just a baby. If it hatched in your presence, I can't say I'm surprised the thing imprinted on you." Arthur smirked. "Just like a chick and mother hen, after all."
"But- but- what about when she grows up?"
"Well I don't know, do you think you could train such a creature to defend Camelot instead of destroy it?"
"Yes!" It took a few moments to wrap his head around it, but as soon as he did Merlin beamed. "Yes, I can teach her, I swear."
"Good. Then, as long as it doesn't cause trouble, the dragon can stay-" Even as he said the words, Arthur was distracted by a scuffle at the window. Turning to look, the man was taken aback at the sight of a cat-sized, white creature attempting to claw its way in.
"Aithusa! Stop, hold on, I'm coming-!" Merlin scrambled off of his bed, nearly falling over in the process, before hurrying over to the window and yanking it open. The dragon immediately tumbled into the room, chirping enthusiastically as she clung to Merlin's jacket and got herself situated upon his shoulder. Arthur watched with his jaw hanging slack as his manservant proceeded to cuddle the creature, murmuring soft assurances as his fingers stroked down delicate legs and wings.
Clearly, it was just as good he'd decided to let the little beast live, seeing as Merlin had already gone and bonded with the bloody thing...
-BA-
It only took Gwen ten minutes to warm up to Aithusa.
"Oh she's just adorable!" the woman exclaimed, running her fingers along all the right spots to turn the dragonling into a purring puddle. Off to one side, Merlin grinned, both at the two of them and Arthur's disbelieving expression.
"It's a dragon, Guinevere - that's the opposite of adorable or cute or any other similar description."
"Don't listen to the big bad king," Gwen cooed as she stroked Aithusa's wings. "He wouldn't know cuteness if it walked up and bit him on the nose."
"I would too!" Arthur protested, ignoring Merlin's amused snort. Aithusa chirped, sprawling even more loosely in Gwen's lap and looking more smug than a cat taunting the hounds from atop their kennel. "Maybe this was a mistake..."
"Oh, come on Arthur," Merlin piped up, fighting back a yawn as he did so. "You're just jealous Gwen doesn't pay that sort of attention to you."
"I am not! I'm simply- it's- well-"
"Merlin," Gwen interrupted with a frown. "When was the last time you got a decent night's sleep?"
The dark-haired man grimaced at that. "Honestly? Not since before Aithusa hatched, I don't think. Even on the nights I didn't have to take her back to the forest, I'd still lie awake worrying about her."
"Of course you did," Arthur muttered under his breath, before sighing. "Alright then, Merlin, I'm giving you today off."
"...You're what?"
"I know you aren't that hard of hearing, Merlin. Today, you're going to just focus on your baby dragon, while I spread the word that it's to be left alone. I'll make sure to send the knights by to get the same introduction as Guinevere, and tomorrow we'll let you show her to the council." Merlin beamed at him, and Arthur let his lips twitch into a small grin in reply. "Now, thanks to a certain lazy manservant sleeping in, I'm going to go get my breakfast for the day. Will you join me later, Guinevere?"
"Of course, Arthur. I'm just going to spend a little more time with Aithusa first."
"You do know she isn't a pet cat, right?" Merlin asked with no little amusement. Arthur paused briefly on his way to the door at hearing that, before shaking his head and continuing out.
Not much later, after a conversation about what young dragons needed in the ways of food and exercise, Gwen encouraged Merlin to lay down for a bit. He did so, reluctant but unable to deny the growing frequency of his yawns, and was asleep within moments. Seeing this, Aithusa rolled herself upright and jumped from Gwen's lap to the bed, where she promptly curled up against Merlin's shoulder, her head resting on his chest above his heart. Guinevere smiled at the sight, watching them for a few minutes, before she got up and quietly departed.
Down in the main room, Gaius and Arthur were in a hushed discussion, though both looked up at her appearance.
"He's asleep now, and Aithusa too." She murmured softly, shutting the door behind her. "How in the world did he manage to keep her a secret for as long as he did?"
"Sheer dumb luck." Arthur rolled his eyes before focusing on the physician. "And at least a bit of help too, I'd wager."
Gaius sighed. "Yes, sire, I knew about Aithusa, and covered for Merlin a few times when he needed to keep her hidden or sneak out to the forest yet again."
"Then do you know why he decided to raise the bloody thing instead of- no, never mind, Merlin can't even bring himself to kill anything on a hunt, let alone a creature that's actually dangerous. But why wouldn't he tell me?"
"Fear, Arthur. It's not been so long since the Great Dragon's attacks that you or anyone else would take the hatching of the last dragon egg well. And Merlin is bound to protect Aithusa, whether he'd otherwise want to or not."
"What are you talking about, Gaius?" Gwen frowned as she moved to lean against Arthur's side, his hand automatically coming up to wrap around her shoulders.
Sighing again, the old physician glanced at the closed bedroom door before continuing. "It used to be well-known that Dragonlord powers were passed from father to son upon the father's death. Balinor... Before taking refuge as far from civilization as possible, he'd hidden from the Great Purge in a small village, just across the border, by the name of Ealdor."
Arthur abruptly stiffened. "Gaius... Please tell me you're not saying what I think you're saying."