Sorry it took a bit longer to write this one and I also apologize for the length. I particularly like this chapter because there is a lot of fluff for you all. Thanks to everyone who reads and I appreciate the continued support. Please read and review, I love getting reviews, even if they're just a couple of words. Keep following, the story isn't over yet! :)

I do not own Merlin. Enjoy Chapter 4! :D

Merlin's eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly, his hands out, ready to defend. Arthur put a hand over his mouth and pulled his hands back so that they weren't sticking out. Arthur tilted his head towards something moving and whispered, barely audibly.

"Is that what I think it is or am I just delusional?" Merlin squinted his eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them. It was late afternoon and something very big and white was moving in the shadows. It didn't seem to notice them and was just rustling bushes loudly for the most part. Suddenly a large, scaly, white tail came into view. Merlin instantly recognized it now.

Aithusa.

Merlin looked at Arthur and nodded silently. Arthur removed his hand from Merlin's mouth and whispered, "What the hell do we do about it?" Merlin smirked. Arthur looked less reassured.

"I know that look," he whispered cautiously, "You make that face when you have a brilliant yet really stupid idea. Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it. It's a bloody dragon and here we are, unarmed. I know you're a sorcerer and all, but even you can't kill a dragon so easily." Merlin frowned.

"I'm not going to kill her, Arthur. I, well...I'm a dragon lord. On top of everything else, I know. I am also the last Dragon Lord and have been for quite some time." Arthur cocked an eyebrow. Evidently he did not understand what this meant. Merlin explained as if to a child, "Dragon Lords control dragons. Dragons or related species have to obey me, at least to a certain extent and as long as it is within their power. Aithusa won't hurt us, I promise. Maybe we can even get a ride the rest of the way."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Fantastic…" he said sarcastically, "Not only the world's most powerful sorcerer, oh no, that isn't enough for little old Merlin. No, you're a bloody Dragon Lord, too. Is there anything you're not? Anything else you've neglected to tell me?" Merlin thought for a second.

"I'm not an ass," he decided, smirking playfully at his best friend before hopping into the clearing casually.

"That's debatable…" Arthur mumbled, following behind Merlin, but keeping a safer distance from the dragon. He watched curiously as Merlin murmured incantations under his breath to the dragon to keep her calm. Merlin reached out a hand to stroke softly along the side and Arthur jumped slightly when Aithusa's flank shivered slightly. They finally reached the head and they rounded in front of the dragon. Aithusa took one look at Arthur and roared, loudly and aggressively. Merlin shouted more rubbish sounding magic at her and she was silenced after a few moments, huffing and glaring at Arthur.

Merlin turned and apologized, "She was Morgana's pet for a while, she's pretty much been hardwired to kill you. Sorry." Aithusa whined at the mention of Morgana's name. He shrugged as if this was no big deal and he slowly approached the dragon. She grudgingly let him approach, only because she knew who he was. Merlin stroked her nose gently, and in spite of herself, Aithusa closed her eyes in pleasure. It had been a long time since anyone had seen her, much less stroked her and shown her love or affection.

"Can you speak?" Merlin whispered to the dragon. Aithusa shook her mighty head and laughed in Merlin's head.

I have been alive for a long time now Emrys, I have learned. Why do you bring him with you? She tilted her head at Arthur an snorted angrily again. He is the enemy, a Pendragon. He despises magic, in fact, he should not even be alive, still. How is he here?

Merlin opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly, after a few moments of staring at Arthur, she spoke again. Ah, yesss...the Once and Future King, am I correct? He has risen again...Morgana despised him, you know. She left me, ages back. I never found out what happened to her. Aithusa frowned as if contemplating. She opened her mouth in what appeared to be testing her vocal cords and asked Merlin vocally, "What happened...to the high priestess, Emrys?" Arthur looked furious and confused. He didn't want to talk to the dragon, especially once he knew that she hated him, and also knowing that she had once been Morgana's pet and taken out armies of Camelot at Camlann.

"Morgana is dead!" he burst out, his voice coming out in a vile hiss, "She betrayed me and she died the day I did." He stared at the dragon defiantly.

"Arthur!" Merlin protested. This was very unlike his friend to have such a hate-filled outburst. Aithusa roared in defiance as well, hissing as she tried to restrain from turning him to ash there and then. Merlin stepped between them, pointing a finger at Aithusa.

"You will not hurt him. I know you are the last of your kind, Aithusa, but I would defend him first." Aithusa let out what sounded like a light chuckle.

"I am no longer the last, Emrys. I have a good few eggs over the years. There are a fair number of dragons roaming the skies nowadays, although they are excellent in stealth. I would say I have about fifty children." Merlin stared at her.

"But that's...impossible, isn't it? Don't you need to...you know...fertilize?"

"Such ignorance, Emrys…" she hissed lightly, "The dragons have no need for such devices. We were built to survive and thus we females can lay eggs without need of a male." Merlin's eyes widened, but he said no more. He would worry about that later. He turned to Arthur and pointed a finger at him.

"Stop talking. You're making it worse." Arthur looked as though he would protest, but from a serious glare from Merlin and harmless snort of fire from the dragon's nose, he crossed his arms and shut his mouth.

"We have one request, Aithusa. I have not asked anything of you from the time of Arthur's first passing until now. Nothing. And I could have asked much of you. So I only ask for one favor." Aithusa narrowed her eyes, but nodded as if to say 'Go on.' Merlin swallowed and requested, "We would like a ride to the resting place of Camelot. Arthur and I can ride on your back if you will carry the horses coupled with supplies in your...claws. Without eating them."

Aithusa was silent for a minute. Then she yawned and asked lazily, "What good reason have I to do this for you? I am not a taxi to carry passengers as they please..." A suppressed frustration rose up in Merlin.

"I am a Dragon Lord!" he shouted at her, suddenly very angry, "It was not a choice I offered you, but a command! You must do as I say! I have asked nothing of you, ever, and I could have asked the world from you! You will do this for us and we will leave you in peace, but if you do not, you will be punished!" At this sudden show of authority, Aithusa cringed and sat up. Her smooth voice replied,

"There's no need to be fussy, Emrys…" Merlin threw a satisfied glance back at Arthur, but Arthur looked a bit awestruck at Merlin's abilities to control the creature. The warlock reached out a hand to him and Arthur took it as Merlin led him closer to the dragon. As it turned out, it ended up being Arthur helping Merlin up rather than the other way around, but Merlin sat behind Arthur with his arms outstretched on either side to keep him from falling. His hands gripped the long twisted horns attached to Aithusa's head.

When they were up in the air, Arthur kept glancing down nervously. "I've never ridden a dragon before," he said stupidly, "Nor've I ever been up this high before."

"Yes, you have," Merlin said automatically before remembering why.

"What, when?"

"You were sort of...dead," Merlin replied.

"Thanks…" he muttered, shaking his head back and forth in disapproval. Aithusa swung by their camp to pick up their horses and bags with her thin claws and then flew them out in the direction of Camelot.

((()))

Arthur leaned back into Merlin the entire way to Camelot, as if afraid he might fall, which was not a completely irrational fear. Aithusa was flying higher than Kilgarra did when he carried Merlin the couple times that he did. She set them down just outside where the boundaries of the Upper Town would be. Arthur almost didn't want to look. They slid off the dragon's back easily and collected their supplies and horses. The horses were skittish, but seemed otherwise unharmed. Merlin tied them to a tree just outside the city gates and patted Arthur on the back.

"Let's go." Arthur finally looked up and saw the stone walls at their knees. His heart immediately sank. They climbed the slight incline to where the gates would be and looked down on the ruined city. Merlin looked at Arthur sadly and saw that Arthur looked crushed. Arthur pointed to a spot on the wall.

"My knights patrolled here, to keep the peace and watch for dangers." He knelt down and touched the dirt at his feet. They walked beyond the wall and little remained of the town except for the stone tile road. Most of the buildings were only a couple feet high. He pointed at another spot, and Merlin could see tears in his eyes, threatening to take him.

"There used to be a stand there. I would buy Guinevere flowers or little trinkets…" Arthur saw a small pink flower poking out between the tiles and knelt to touch it. He poked it with a finger before standing up again. It seemed to mock him.

Arthur continued to point out spots like this, although how he could tell exactly where each spot was in the ruins was beyond Merlin's knowledge. They reached where the castle would be. Arthur looked up. The walls and shape remained, but Merlin knew most of the inside was completely blown out. They treaded carefully through the wreckage and walked through what used to be a secret doorway into the kitchens. There was nothing there, not even a pot to confirm its existence.

As he had been doing earlier, Arthur made note of where things used to be. The stairs to the second floor still remained, but once the stairwell ended, so did the floor. Arthur stopped at the top and waited for Merlin before looking at him with a tad of annoyance.

"Can't you...magic it?" Arthur asked, waving his hands like he was trying to cast a spell. Merlin sighed and sat down on the last stair, his feet hanging over the edge. He did not reply for a long time.

"What is it?" the former king asked, his voice laced with genuine concern. He sat down next to Merlin after he stayed silent, his hands clasped together. He waited for a minute before saying quietly, "I'm sorry, Merlin. I know you loved this place too. It was home to both of us, and many others who are lost." Silence. "Come on, Merlin, show me a smile. That charming smile that made everyone's heart melt. That stupid grin you get when you're thinking of something you know I won't like. That devious one that terrifies me because I know you have a stupid idea that you're doing no matter what." He elbowed him softly. Merlin kept his poker face on, just staring at the ground.

Arthur rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, you asked for it." He reached an arm around Merlin's shoulders slowly before quickly wrapping that arm around his neck and pulling Merlin close to him in a headlock. From there he took his other arm and noogied him hard, rubbing his knuckles against Merlin's scalp. Half of the sorcerer's body was hanging over the edge precariously, but Arthur had him in a hard lock. "Come on Merlin!" he growled, trying to get him to talk. Merlin started to laugh in spite of himself and tried to unwrap Arthur's arms from his head.

"Stop, stop, please stop!" he finally yelped, "I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" Arthur stopped, but carefully made sure his friend was safely on the stop before taking his support away. "Not promising you'll like it though," he added. He contemplated telling Arthur for another minute ("Do I have to headlock you again, Merlin?") before turning to him.

"Okay. Uh, hang on…just give me your face."

"My...Merlin, what are you doing?" Merlin put his outstretched fingers on each side of Arthur's head, right where his temples were, his eyes closed and his head tilted down slightly.

"Merlin!"

"Shh, I'm concentrating. Think of Camelot the way it used to be. Think really hard about it, Arthur, I really want this to work." Arthur wanted to ask more questions, but he huffed and closed his eyes after a minute too, and concentrated on Camelot.

He thought about Gwen when they were married and the many words exchanged between them that meant to much to him. He thought of Morgana before she turned her back on Camelot and everything she loved. He neglected to think about Uther, since he had basically learned to dislike his father after thinking about it for a while. He didn't want Uther in his dream. He thought of his knights, Gwaine and Percival and Leon. They were all so brave. He hesitated to think of Mordred or Lancelot, but he did anyway. He had loved them both at one point before they had done him wrong. Elion was there too, smiling and laughing with the other knights. He visualized himself walking through Camelot, around the grounds, on the training field in the morning when dew had just been deposited on the soft grass. Arthur allowed a wider range of people into his mind, Gaius and the cooks and everyone in the castle when he had left it. He thought of the many people he had helped while he was in charge. He began to fall into this dream, visualizing himself sitting at the Round Table and walking around the hallways. When he turned around, he suddenly saw Merlin behind him.

"Merlin…" he whispered, his mouth slightly agape in awe. He suddenly understood what Merlin was trying to accomplish. Suddenly his eyes flashed open and he was thrown slightly back from Merlin. Merlin's eyes were open now too, his hands still raised but not connected with Arthur's temples anymore. They both looked at each other and Merlin slowly turned his head to see if it had worked.

"Arthur...look…" he murmured. He looked to his left and froze. The building had filled itself in, it seemed, and brought Camelot back. But it wasn't completely back. It was shimmering slightly, like an image. Arthur stood slowly.

"Can we…?" Merlin nodded. He put one foot out and rested it on the smooth rock floor of his castle. He took a few steps forward and glanced back at Merlin.

"How long can you keep it like this?" he asked, his voice as excited as a child on Christmas. Merlin shook his head.

"I'd give you thirty minutes at best. It's a very powerful spell, Arthur, I can't hold it any longer than that." Arthur nodded and started to jog in a direction he wanted to go. Merlin smiled, happy that he was making Arthur happy. That was all he ever wanted.

Merlin took a different route himself, going down the stairs towards Gaius's chambers. They would not be able to interact with the people, but they could visualize it. He pushed open the wooden door and sighed happily. Gaius's chambers looked the same as ever. Gaius himself was seated at a table with a ghost of a younger Merlin. They were having dinner and talking about their days. It had been a good day. Merlin walked past them and into his bedroom. Happy tears rose to his eyes. It hurt greatly to be this close to home and yet so unable to be there. He couldn't decide if this spell was a good thing or a bad thing anymore.

Merlin left the chambers quickly and went to find Arthur. His place was there, at his side. He located him quickly, trying to interact with Gwen. She was staring out the window, biting her lip and looking generally concerned or distracted. It was nighttime now, so the image of a previous version of Arthur was present too. He was sitting silently at the table, looking half-asleep. Merlin walked over to the real Arthur and put a hand on his shoulder and warned him, "She can't hear you. She's not here, Arthur." Arthur's head turned to look at him, and he looked slightly angry, as if what Merlin was telling him was a deliberate lie. Then his expression cleared and he looked back at Gwen. He reached out a hand to touch her, but his hand passed through the image. "Only objects are solid here, not people," Merlin added sadly. Arthur nodded, his head bowed and left the room.

They strolled down to the hallway and down to where the knights would dress and undress accordingly for the day. Since it was evening now, they would be there to take off their armor. Arthur skipped down the stairs and swallowed at what he saw. Merlin followed closely and his eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. There he saw Gwaine, Percival, Leon, and Elion, all laughing and horsing around, but also present were Lancelot and Mordred. Merlin knew why they were there. Arthur had loved them both once as brothers before they betrayed him. In fairness, Lancelot wasn't in his right mind when he was betraying Arthur, but it still hurt him deeply, Merlin knew.

Gwaine was trying to wrestle something from Mordred, a helmet it looked like, and Mordred and Percival were laughing hard. Lancelot was talking to Leon about something, funny presumably, because Leon looked like he was having a fun time listening to the story. Elion was watching Gwaine, Mordred, and Percival and taunting Gwaine. Arthur smiled after a minute of taking in the scene before then. A real smile. Merlin looked at him and did a double take and his lips curled up to mimic his friend's beautiful smile.

As Merlin's power dwindled, they made their way back to the staircase where they had begun. On their way as they marched down the hallway, Merlin saw a face that made him freeze in his tracks. Arthur glanced at Merlin before looking in front of him. His mouth dropped slightly as his mouth formed a small "No…"

Walking towards them, still an image, was a younger version of Morgana. She looked happy and completely care-free, the way she used to, so many years ago and before all the hurt that she caused. She was talking to a maid, presumably one who took care of Gwen now that she was queen. There was no hidden intent behind her eyes, no malicious ideas or violent thoughts. Just peace and kindness and compassion, the old Morgana. The one that had taken in the druid boy that grew to kill Arthur and the one that had been so kind to Guinevere before she had tried to kill her to prevent her from taking the throne. This is the Morgana Arthur loved as a sister, not the monster she grew to become. Merlin glanced at Arthur.

"Take it away. Take it away, now," Arthur ordered. Merlin hesitated for a second to take note that the poor man was shaking. "I said NOW, Merlin!" he repeated, his voice cracking now. He pulled Arthur on to the step that was still existent and waved his hand. The image disappeared. With a thump, Merlin fell on his rump on the staircase. He would have fallen back, but Arthur shot out a hand and caught him by the arm. He pulled Merlin back up to the top step and led him down the stairs by the hand to make sure he could hold on to him in case he fell again. When they reached the bottom, Merlin's legs gave out and he fell to the floor again. He was shaking, his legs quaking with the effort it had taken him just to hold himself up going down the stairs. Both of their faces were blanched and Merlin was sweating suddenly and his hands shaking violently. Arthur hesitantly sat down next to him, holding on to his hand.

Merlin didn't look at Arthur, he just stared at the floor and wiped away the sweat on his brow with his other hand. His expression was greatly troubled and Arthur looked at him with great concern.

"Merlin?" he asked very quietly, as if afraid if he spoke too loudly he would shatter his friend. He put his other hand under Merlin's chin, tilting it up and to the side so they were looking at each other. "Are you okay?" he asked slowly. Merlin shook his head 'no'. "Can I help you?" Another shake 'no'. Arthur had stopped worrying about seeing Morgana and was intensely worried about the wellbeing of his friend at this point. He was still holding Merlin's hand with one of his own and he knew Merlin wanted it that way. Merlin was still shaking violently, as if he was cold. He didn't seem to be getting any better.

Arthur looked at Merlin for another minute more before murmuring, "It's alright, Merlin, it's all okay now." As he said this he wrapped his other arm around Merlin, twisting them so they were facing each other, and slowly pulled him into a hug. Merlin gladly accepted it, burying his face in Arthur's chest. Both of Arthur's arms were around him protectively and he held him close, one hand on his back and one behind his head, slowly petting his hair. Softly, Arthur cooed, "I'm here, don't worry, it's okay...shh, it's okay." Arthur felt Merlin's body shudder when he started to cry softly. The former king swallowed a lump in his own throat as he tried not to join Merlin in crying, but soon enough tears rose to his own eyes and fell down his face silently. He rocked back and forth in a comforting manner, trying to comfort both himself and his friend. Merlin's arms were wrapped around Arthur's back and they stayed in this same position for a long time.

After a while, Merlin shifted to be more comfortable, scooting closer into Arthur's warm embrace and nuzzling his head into Arthur's neck. Arthur didn't seem to mind, on the contrary, he seemed to like it, leaning into his friend slightly. The way they were sitting now, Merlin was practically in Arthur's lap, his arms around his middle and Arthur just held him, shifting slightly ever so often. He rested his head on Merlin's now and felt comfortable enough to fall asleep, but he knew they couldn't do that, nor could they stay in this position forever.

"I'm sorry," Merlin started finally. Arthur pulled back to look at him.

"What for?"

"Acting like a baby. I was being stupid."

"Merlin," Arthur reprimanded, sounding almost angry, "You didn't do anything wrong. In fact, you did something right, like always. That was really quite impressive magic." Then he looked worried, "You're tired, aren't you? That must have taken a lot of power."

"Exhausted and a ton, yeah." Arthur looked at him sympathetically.

"You didn't have to do that, you know."

"I know."

"So why did you?"

"It made you happy. And that makes me happy." Merlin blushed slightly when Arthur did in response, but he hid his face from him by nuzzling back into his shoulder again.

"You okay now?" Arthur inquired. Merlin nodded silently.

"Shall we then?"

"Shall we what?"

"Oh goodness, Merlin...clueless as ever." He stood, untangling himself from Merlin and offered him a hand. Merlin took it and they headed back out of the broken citadel. Arthur looked troubled and so Merlin decided to ask him about what they had seen, but hesitated at first.

Once they were on the horses and heading back to town, Merlin decided to ask Arthur, "That…simulation of sorts was based on your thoughts about Camelot. Why were Morgana, Mordred, and Lancelot there?" He was fairly sure he already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from Arthur. Arthur sighed and joked at first,

"The endless questions, Merlin, why the endless questions?" Merlin did not reply, signaling for Arthur to just answer the question. "I think...well, I think they were there because I cared for them...at some point. They were important in my life and I wanted them back the way they were. Lancelot was easy, since you told me that both he and Gwen were enchanted when I thought they had betrayed me. Morgana, well…you knew her before, too. She was sweet and kind and she stood up for what she believed in. I'd like to believe she was a lot like me at first, except perhaps a bit more innocent." He let out a light guffaw at the idea of Morgana being innocent. "She was close to me, Merlin. I loved her as a sister. I wanted that back more than anything. And then Mordred...I suppose his anger was my fault-"

Merlin suddenly interjected, "It was not your fault, Arthur. He shouldn't have gone running to Morgana no matter how he felt. He didn't give you a second chance. And you had all the right reasons for killing that girl. She had threatened your life and Camelot, and it was not an unjust decision. It was Mordred's fault for not realizing this." Arthur gave him a pointed, almost angry look and continued as if he hadn't heard him,

"I loved Mordred too, like a little brother. So to answer your question, Merlin, I loved all three of them and I wanted the versions of them that loved me back. I missed them as I had known and trusted them," he finished proudly. He fell silent then and they remained silent until night fell and they stopped to rest.

As they turned over and settled into their sleeping bags and blankets, the horses safely tied and watered, and the pair with full bellies, Merlin yawned and rolled over. He put one hand out to stretch and it jammed in Arthur's face.

"Merlin!" he yelped, annoyed.

"Sorry…" the other grumbled, turning over to fall asleep. Regardless of the pain Arthur felt in his right eye from being accidentally poked, he still felt safer sleeping as close to Merlin as possible. He didn't find the intimacy strange, Merlin knew him too well for that, and vice versa. Merlin felt Arthur shifting next to him and just tried to sync his breathing with Arthur's to induce sleep. Their breathing slowed together and slowly they fell asleep in the dark forest…

Merlin's dreams were immediately and rudely interrupted by Freya's face.

"Freya, what is it?" he asked impatiently. She looked troubled. "Is everything all right?" he added, his voice softer. She didn't appear to be able to hear him. She looked scared now. She was calling out to him, whispering his name over and over, like it comforted her, but also like she was looking for him. She was lost.

"Merlin?"