Mulekia yawned sleepily as he stretched his sparkly scaly limbs across the cool grey rock cave. His stomach rumbled loudly his deep crimson eyes watched an early morning sun make its ascent into a blue cloudless sky. Mulekia wondered about his last meal. Yes, it was a fat merchant, nit much meat on him, just a bunch of gristle. It disturbed his belly. Gave him a terrible bout of gas. Couldn't attract a bunny with his foul smell. Mulekia frowned as he thought of leaving to hunt down a meaty snack; he hated morning dew, it made his scale glitter. He didn't need any attention drawn to him.

He eyed his broken, shred tail mournfully. His misadventures in King Alined's kingdom were troubling blights on his mind. A lucky soldier slammed a sharp gleaming sword on his poor unsuspecting tail. Mulekia crept away leaving a trail of blood and tears after he sprayed venom from his teeth. Actually, he felt a fondness for Alined, that greedy old fool. His greed, thirst for riches caused him to tunnel deep into the earth. His servants accidentally freed Mulekia from his cool dark prison. After three hundred long years, sunlight beamed on Mulekia's red eyes. He spent years surviving on stale water, worms, and nasty crunchy bug. The smell of humans lured Mulekia from his prison. Mulekia was merciful to his liberators, he spared them. Calmly, he crawled towards a nearby village. Famished. Mulekia ate, chomped, munched, and crunched in Alined's kingdom until he suffered his grave injury.

Mulekia had to hunt for his dinner. He wasn't born beautiful like a vampire or Siren. Simple humans weren't drawn to his appearance or gentle voice. His father was a demon serpent from the East, and his mother a demon from the heart of darkness, her scaly green skin and sharp teeth brought warriors to tears. Together, they created a child freakily ugly and hideous. Mulekia ran a claw along his sharp teeth. His sticky pinky tongue licked along the bumpy ridges on his mouth. He arched a rough green eyebrow as his nostrils inhaled a familiar scent, his favorite scent: INNOCENCE. Mulekia smiled an evil grin as his feet thumped loudly. His breakfast arrived; happily, Mulekia crawled from his dark cave.

Silently, Mulekia crept though the damp grass. I hate being wet, he thought as his small paws ploughed through the damp grass. His red eyes spied a tall lanky male carrying a brown canvass bag. Mulekia rolled his eyes in disgust, was he whistling? He hated happy food; it was always bitter and tough. Or worse, just stringy. Common folks were usually a very lean treat, not much fat. But, he preferred young Nobles, well fed and juicy. Mulekia closed his evil eyes as he dreamed of eating a few Nobles. He watched the skinny man, he's not much, but he'll do. Mulekia froze when the man stopped to collect a few flowers. He's one of those. He won't taste good at all. He just needed three meals to fill his stomach before his long winter's sleep.

Mulekia stalked the man for several minutes. Quickly, he wrapped his body around a hundred year old Oak. Penetrating blue eyes scanned the empty clearing; Mulekia held his breath as the blue eyes flicked past his still form. The man's lips twisted in confusion as he stomped deep into the forest. Mulekia smiled gleefully. Humans were so stupid.

Fine hairs rose on Merlin's neck. Something, dark was in the forest. Merlin noticed that the trees were empty, the forest was abandoned; something was wrong. Carefully, Merlin hunted for flowers. He needed to be quick. Or was he overreacting, his mind was tired from helping Arthur care for the children. The young Pendragons were a spirited bunch, and they knew Arthur wasn't aware of their mother's orderly routines. Arthur was overindulgent because he spent so much time away from his young family. Merlin smiled as he quickly moved deeper into the forest. A shiver ran along Merlin's spine, he wasn't alone. His large feet broke twigs. His heart pounded rapidly as a cool darkness enclosed his tired body. His eyes lowered as he listened to a soft melody floating in the forest. Merlin summoned magic to his finger tips. Slowly, he was drawn to the magical tune. Curiously, he saw a small girl sitting on a mossy tree trunk. Her long dark hair hid her face; her small body draped in emerald green silk.

"Hello, Father."

Merlin looked around the clearing. Who was she talking to?

"Excuse me?"

"I said Hello, Father."

"You're mistaken, child."

"No, Merlin, you're my father."

The girl lifted her face. Merlin swallowed nervously as he looked deep into his own blue eyes resting in Morgana's beautiful face, a face once beloved.

"How?"

The child arched a dark eyebrow. "Really?"

Mulekia danced in a thicket as he watched the pair. He loved eating families. It was his lucky day.