Chapter 4: Dragons Call Part 3

Merlyn hadn't seen much of Arthur since their talk and she wanted to know if Arthur was still bulling servants. She stopped when she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

"Merlyn" Arthur called and she turned around. Merlyn frowned when she saw that Arthur's gang was behind him.

"Good, I thought you were deaf as well as dumb." Arthur sighed with fake relief. Fine then, if he wants to act like a bully, I will treat him like a bully and not a friend.

"Look, I already know that you're an ass, what I didn't know was that you were a royal one." Merlyn smirked as Arthur's smug smile crumbled in shock.

"I could take you apart with one blow" Arthur said proudly.

"I could take you apart with less" Merlyn challenged and her blue eyes were shining with anger.

"Come on then, fight" One of the knights jeered throwing a mace at Arthur and Merlyn. Both of them looked at each other in shock, not wanting to fight each other. Arthur was the first to react by saying

"Ok. But I warn you, I have been trained to kill since birth" Arthur bragged and Merlyn wasn't about to let him win.

"Wow and how long have you been training to be a prat?"

Arthur snorts " You can not address me like that"

"I'm sorry. H-How long have you been training to be a prat, My Lord?" Merlyn asked with a mocking bow.

They start fighting for a while and everyone gathers around. The trouble started when Merlyn fell and she could tell Arthur didn't know what to do without hurting her.

"Ha-ha... You're in trouble now" Arthur said with a fake smile on his face.

Merlyn looked around and saw a couple of large hooks. Her eyes turned gold and Arthur's mace got caught in it. Merlyn quickly got onto her feet and started the fight again. Arthur pursues her again and trips over a rope which Merlyn tightens with her magic.

"OW" Arthur complains as he quickly stands up and Merlyn smiled a little at the dramatics of the Prince.

Arthur backs up, catching his foot in a bucket and falling over backwards. Merlin, thrilled by her victory, spots Gaius in the crowd and pauses. Arthur attacks her from behind with a broom therefore knocking her to the ground. The guards began picking Merlyn up.

"WAIT STOP" Arthur protests. "She may be an idiot, but a brave one at that. There is something about you that is different, Merlyn." And with that he left.

"HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID?" Gaius shouts at Merlyn with an incredulous look upon his face.

"He was the one who was being mean to me and he needed to be taught a lesson." Merlyn defends herself.

"Magic must be studied and mastered, for good. Not for some stupid, idiotic pranks." Gaius stated angrily.

"I never studied, I have been able to do this since birth." Merlyn says, looking down sadly which Gaius missed in his fit of anger.

"Then, you should know better and know how to control yourself!"

Merlyn felt anger and hurt rising, without magic, she felt useless and it felt as though she might as well die.

"I don't want to! Without magic, I am a nobody and I always will be. If I can't use magic, I would die." Merlyn said with tears running down her Elvish face and she ran upstairs with a heavy heart.

Gaius sighed as he went to collect his medicine basket for Merlyn's bruise. Why did his kind hearted niece have to be so complicated?

His old heart nearly broke when he saw Merlyn laying on her bed silently crying. She didn't even look up when he came into the room, she just hid her face.

"Merlyn, sit up. Please?" Merlyn reluctantly sat up and wiped the tears from her face.

"Can I see, where the bruise?" Gaius asked and Merlyn moved her neckerchief to reveal a bruise on her smooth neck.

"It was just an act, Uncle. Arthur needs to prove himself worthy to his father." Merlyn explained as she saw Gaius's shocked and angry face.

"I know, Merlyn, I know" Gaius sighed at the blonde boy who always tried and failed to prove himself worthy in his cold fathers eyes.

"Do you know why I was born like this?" Merlyn asked the question that she wanted to know her whole life.

"No" Gaius replied, making her face full of disappointment. She really wanted to know why she was like this and then a sudden memory came flooding back.

"No you are a monster child" The 9 year old Arthur said.

"I'm not a monster, am I?" Merlyn half joked. Gaius quickly looked her straight in the eye and said sternly

"Don't ever think that"

"Then why am I like this " Merlyn asked desperately " Please, I need to know."

"Perhaps there is someone with more knowledge on that matter. " Gaius says wisely.

"Here, take this.. It will help with the pain." Gaius handed her a potion and left.

Uther is dining with "Lady Helen" and trying to see if he could hear her sing before the feast.

"You will have to wait, Sire" She smiled mysteriously at the man who killed her son.

"Will everyone be at my performance?" Mary Collins asked.

"Who would dare miss it?" Uther asked.

"How about your son? Would he be there?" Mary tried again.

"Well..." Uther frowned, trying to think.

"It is a shame. Not to have met him." She said with a cruel smile.

"That's Arthur." He replied curtly.

"Poor child." She said sympathetically.

"Hmmm" Uther said thoughtfully.

"It can't have been easy to grow up without a mother."

"No, it wasn't." Uther replied.

"The bond between a mother and son. It is very hard to replace."

"It hasn't been easy"

"I'm sure" She smiled and Uther smiled oblivious to her plans.

Merlyn heard that voice again and decided to investigate. She followed the voice to a couple of guards playing with a dice in front of the door where the voice was coming from. Using her magic, she made the dice roll away and quickly went over to the door while the guards were busy looking for the missing dice.

She froze as she saw a dragon sitting at the cave that she entered.

"Merlyn, how small you are for such a great destiny" The voice sounded old and wise.

"What do you mean by destiny?" Merlyn asked, wondering if the dragon knew why she had her powers.

"Arthur is the Once and Future King. But he will face many threats from friend and foe alike."

"But what has this got to do with me?" Merlyn asked curiously.

"Everything. You are the Once and Future Queen. Without you Arthur will never succeed. Without you, there will be no Albion."

"But Arthur, only thinks of me as a friend and nothing more. " Merlyn replied. "You are wrong, Arthur wouldn't marry a servant like me."

"There isn't a right and a wrong. Only what is and what isn't." His wise eyes sparkling.

"But Uther wouldn't approve. Arthur always listens to Uther and would never disobey him." Merlyn explained.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, young witch." The Great Dragon said and left.

"Wait I need to know more" Merlyn said, but the dragon didn't listen and so she left the cave. She couldn't be a Queen, could she?