I AM ALLERGIC TO SLASH :D
Disclaimer : I don't own Merlin. Believe me. I don't think you want me to.
Warning : Set after season four, Reveal fic
May Contain : A band of Floofs, UNICORNS, Terribly written spells, Cliffhangers to annoy the heck out of you, Aithusaaaaa (and Kilgharrah), Catboy!Merlin, King Arthur Pratdragon, the Knights of Camelot, GWAINE, EEEEVIL, Morgana, FLUFFINESS, aaaaangst, and a whole lot of MAGIC~
I'm sorry about any OOCness!
Thank you to anyone who gives me ideas to mutilate to my sadistic preferences!
What's this? Two chapters in two days after being dead for maybe a week or more? Well, don't be too happy... prepare for some angst, whump, and choppy paragraphs... I'M SORRY IN ADVANCE!
Merlin ran flat out in the forest, dodging the trees and rocks with unusual grace. He had to get away. He had to... he had to find out... make sure it wasn't true...
Tears blinded him as each added realization fit together to form a gruesome picture. White dragons held great healing powers, but Aithusa was greatly naïve in her youth. She could easily have been corrupted.
Merlin shut his eyes and ran faster at that thought. Thinking that way would be accepting that... that she...
Perhaps sprinting with your eyes shut whilst in a fit of grief wasn't the best idea. Merlin slammed head first into a thick tree, falling to the ground and clutching his head in pain. He lay there a few moments longer, sobbing in pain— both emotional and physical. This was worse than when Morgana had gone bad; he'd hatched Aithusa, saved her from Julius Borden and the crumbling tower, and been like a mother to her (since Kilgharrah wasn't very motherly). Having your child betray you was a similar pain to losing your child altogether.
The tears slowed and Merlin rolled onto his back, staring emptily at the darkening sky.
"Aithusa," he whispered. The word was near inaudible, but the power and feeling behind it amplified the message until it resounded across the entire forest.
The agitation and the head injury took their toll on Merlin. The edges of his vision were blackening.
"Aithusa," he murmured again.
His eyes closed.
Arthur was extremely distressed, even if he would never admit it. He was sitting back in the tent with Gilli, Alator, and Terrowin. The old Druid was calm as ever, reassuring them all that Merlin would soon return.
The young King wanted nothing more than to run off into the woods after his emotionally unstable manservant, but Merlin would want him to form an alliance with the Druids first. And to do that, he had to trust them.
That trust crumbled the second he felt the intense wave of magic go through him. Everyone staggered as they were overcome with acute grief that was not their own.
Arthur didn't even have time to be angry at the Druids for stopping him. The wind of power dissipated in a matter of seconds, but its effects lingered.
The King felt a lone tear spill past his cheek.
The wave was Merlin. He could feel it.
He ran out of the tent without looking back.
At the same time, Morgana was smiling cruelly as Deathbringer tore off the heads of twenty slaves with its bare teeth, bringing her the gory remains.
"Oh, my Deathbringer," she cooed softly, smirking at the magnificent beast. "How quickly you learn."
The white dragon raised its head to the sky, letting loose a wild roar. Morgana smiled wider, baring her teeth.
"Now, now, Deathbringer. You don't..." She faltered to a stop as a powerful wave of magic went through her, sending her to her knees. The great call of distressed, unconditional love was alien to her. She screamed as the pain she'd never known, blinded by her blackened heart, ripped through her, evoking tears she didn't know she could still produce.
Aithusa—no, Deathbringer looked to the sky and let the onslaught of emotions tear through it. The pain meant nothing to the terrible beauty, but it understood the message nevertheless.
Morgana gritted her tears and glanced at the dragon—at her dragon. Its head was pivoting from side to side, trying to pinpoint the source of the magic. The Deathbringer stopped and stared straight at a point to its left.
"Find it," the witch shrieked, all reason lost, "Find it and destroy it."
Deathbringer regarded her, as if questioning her judgement.
Morgana narrowed her eyes and stood up. "Go, you wretched monster," she spat viciously.
The dragon obediently flew away.
Arthur ran blindly into the woods. The Druids called him back, but they were unimportant at the moment. He was going the right way... he had to be.
He ignored the branches that snapped beneath his feet or scratched at his face. He had to get to Merlin. And he would.
His lungs burned. His shins were splitting. He ignored it all, focusing on a single priority; Merlin.
No matter what destiny had to say, Merlin was his manservant, so his responsibility. No harm would come to the younger man while Arthur was there to stop it.
If only he were going in the right direction.
Merlin was awakened by a loud thumping. It took him a moment to realize he recognized the sound... it was almost like... something dropping... or a dragon landing!
The young warlock opened his eyes with great difficulty, ignoring every nerve telling him to close them again. His vision didn't want to focus properly, but he kept his gaze on a pale grey form striding slowly to him. It came closer, and he broke into a painfully relieved smile at the familiar sight of a dragon; his dragon.
"Aithusa," he croaked, pushing himself into a half-sitting position on his elbows. His face fell slightly when the beautiful creature sneered and growled with hate.
"What's wrong?" Merlin said, squinting to see better. He gasped softly when he saw the innocent face marred by blood red eyes.
Merlin felt his eyes spilling over once more. It was true. It was all true. And he couldn't fix it.
"Aithusa," he whispered brokenly.
The warlock's words meant nothing to the empty-hearted beast before him. Aithusa had long since left, and Deathbringer was conducting the raw remains.
Merlin didn't even have the sense to move away from the furious creature, too overcome was he by grief. Aithusa, his Aithusa, was dead.
Regardless, Merlin still tried for a smile, trying to ignore the tears dripping down his face. "Don't you remember me, Aithusa?"
The beast snarled and took a warning step forwards.
Merlin's fake smile wavered. "Aithusa..."
The Deathbringer stopped and cocked her head, waiting for him to go on. Why was... Did she know this strange cat-man? What were these emotions his voice stirred up within her?
The smile disappeared altogether. "Aithusa, please," he whimpered.
Deathbringer eyed him disdainfully. Whatever this creature was, it was weak. She did not help the weak.
The white dragon bared its teeth, growling viciously. She would carry out her Queen's orders.
Deathbringer leapt forwards, jaws wide open. In less than a second, she had him pinned to the ground, teeth sunken deep into his shoulder, tasting the strange being's blood. Her claws tore up his leg, and she felt more blood still coming from his head.
Merlin gasped in pain, too emotionally drained to scream. He winced as the dagger-like teeth slowly pulled out of him. There was a burning in his leg, and his head was throbbing, but his shoulder... he simply felt nothing at all. He dropped to the unforgiving ground. He didn't even have the strength to curl into the pain. His breathing slowed as the blood drained out him.
Deathbringer glared with disgusted red eyes at the pathetic little human before her. Nothing could defeat her, maybe not even her Queen. She was invincible.
Deathbringer swallowed the blood in her maw.
Aithusa immediately gagged and spat it right back out. What... what was this... horrible taste? She'd had the blood of many, but why... why was it having this effect on her? Why did she feel so... horrible?
The dragon backed away fearfully. What have I done?
She immediately dismissed the thought. Why should she care? This was what her Queen had wanted. The victim was dying, slowly but surely. She could always quicken it, though... She stepped forwards, any hesitation absent. She raised a clawed paw, ready to tear open his exposed throat...
The wall of dark fur took her by surprise. She, the invincible Deathbringer, pitiless huntress; surprised by a measly animal. The Queen would be ashamed. Best to destroy the weakling as quickly as possible.
Deathbringer turned on the raccoon, ignoring its angry hissing. With an indifferent swipe of her claw, she tore open its fleshy stomach.
Leda's death was instant. The light left her eyes mercifully quickly.
Merlin's pain filled eyes managed to conjure up even more tears. Leda had been loyal to the end. He would definitely miss her.
This was not Aithusa. It couldn't be.
But... maybe she was still in there? Was it worth sacrificing the plan he'd made with the Keeper of the Forest?
Merlin gazed at the furious creature tearing apart his innocent friend. He had to save Aithusa. She was worth anything.
He closed his tired eyes, but remained awake, calling with his mind. Now.
The Keeper of the Forest appeared behind his eyelids, glowing in a soft green atmosphere. He looked sad as he replied. Are you certain, Merlin?
Yes. Please.
The Keeper sighed, but nodded. As you wish, Emrys.
Merlin smiled weakly and opened his eyes, glancing once more at the beautiful black sky before willingly giving in to the warm darkness that fought to envelop him. Best of luck, called the Keeper's voice from far away.
Merlin breathed out a final time. A soft ribbon of golden light was expelled from his lips, floating off into the quiet woods.
Deathbringer felt the warlock's heart stop. She paid it no heed; he'd been on the brink of death anyways. What she did not expect, though, was for the sudden darkness to overcome her vision, calling urgently for her. She did not want to follow it. The Queen hadn't told her to do this. She fought with all her might, but it was futile. The empty blackness took over, and she fell beside the cat-human.
Her red eyes took on a soft orange hue as she left the world of the living.
What was taking Deathbringer so long, Morgana wondered? How long did it take to dispatch someone? Then again, she'd witnessed firsthand the unmistakeable power of her new foe, but her dragon was invincible. Nothing could defeat it.
Just as nothing could defeat her.
Arthur was panicking. He was very, very lost, in a dark forest, at night. Where could Merlin be?
The King was about to lose hope of ever getting anywhere, when he saw a flash of gold from behind him. Spinning around, he gaped up at the wisp of gold as it climbed above the shorter treeline ahead of him and slowly began to fade.
Merlin.
Arthur broke into a dead sprint, keeping his eyes on the gentle gold as it disintegrated. As it completely disappeared, melting into the trees, Arthur had already memorized its exact spot in the sky. He followed that same spot to a small clearing.
His heart stopped at the sight before him.
There was Merlin, lying in a pool of blood, with some of the mocking red liquid staining his clothes. He prayed it wasn't his. His head was turned away, so he couldn't see if his eyes were open or not. Beside his manservant's still form was a white dragon, sprawled out around the remains of what could have been a cat or a dog. It almost seemed as if it was protecting the dead creature... until you saw the blood staining the dragon's snout.
Arthur was wary of the dragon—had Merlin called it Aithusa?—but it seemed dead enough. While Merlin would probably be beyond sad about that, Arthur couldn't really bring himself to care. It looked like such a savage beast, with its red eyes and bloody teeth... had its eyes always been red? Merlin would know...
Merlin! Arthur shook himself out of his thoughts as he stared at his manservant. He ran forwards, dropping to his knees at the limp figure's side. He gently turned him over, and gasped, before covering his mouth with his hand and trying to suppress tears.
Merlin's normally lively blue eyes stared unblinkingly up at the sky above him.
Emrys was gone.
HOLY $%#&* I JUST KILLED MERLIN.
I JUST. FREAKING. KILLED. MERLIN.
WHAT IS THIS.
I FEEL REALLY. REALLY. REALLY. ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. I AM A SADISTIC MURDERER.
BUT! IMPORTANT : Did I say this was a deathfic? ;)
I PROMISE you'll get all your explanations next chapter. And you'll (probably) see Merlin again!
Seriously. The first word of the next chapter will probably be "Merlin".
I'll throw in plenty of blubbering everyone. Just for the heck of it.
lol I am reminded of the ending of The Deathly Hallows... the book, I mean.
I'm really sorry! Don't cry... but tell me if you do XD you probably won't lol I suck at feels.
Please review!