Thank you Knighted-Geek, Revenge of the Red Pen, and Boxerbee for reviewing last chapter. As promised, here is the next chapter before I take leave. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin

Chapter 11 - More Plotting and Bad News

Anatol couldn't believe it. Somehow, someone had broken the control she had on the were-wyvern. Granted, the curse wasn't broken, but without anyone to control it, their plan wouldn't work.

Morgana was the first to break the silence. "What do you mean 'you can't control it'? I thought you said nothing else could"

"I know what I said!" Anatol snapped. At this point, she didn't care if it was Morgana she was speaking to. The red-haired sorceress was frustrated. Only someone extremely powerful could do this. Whoever had the gall to interfere would pay.

At the snappy retort, Morgana glared at Anatol, who returned the favor. Seeing the tension, Morgause stepped in. "Anatol, what is going on? How could someone sever the connection you have with the beast?"

Calming down a bit, Anatol replied, "I don't know exactly how. What I do know is that whoever did it is extremely powerful. No mere sorcerer or sorceress could even dream of damaging such a curse".

"Is there a way to fix it?"

At this, Anatol rifled through her belongings and took out her book, Of Spells and Curses. After flipping through the pages, she found the curse she had used, read the paragraphs following it, and smiled.

"Yes. Fortunately for us, there are ways to force more control...although the curse should strengthen over time. If I am to exert more control, the man I cursed - what's his name...Merlin? - has to be here".

"Then you better find him" Morgana said. Turning around, she pointed her hand at the cave wall and muttered a spell. áwréon! Ice immediately sprouted from the wall and a picture of Merlin reflected on its crystal-like surface. "This is the man you'll be going after. Find him."

"Oh, believe me, I will." the sorceress said before grabbing her black cloak and leaving. Before exiting the cave, she turned around. "Where shall I bring the boy?"

"We will meet at the Castle of Fyrien" Morgause said. "It's a well fortified stronghold and our army will be able to prepare while we deal with the problem. Now go!"

At this, Anatol muttered a tracking spell and left the cave. After dealing with the boy, she would find the sorcerer responsible for damaging her curse...and make him pay.

Arthur's mouth was hanging. Not because the dragon let go of the wyvern - or should he say Merlin. No, he got over that rather quickly.

No. It was the fact that the prince had just heard the conversation between Merlin and the Great Dragon...in his mind! Thinking he was crazy at first, Arthur had glanced at Lancelot to see if he heard it too, but it didn't look that way.

The conversation itself had left him even more confused. What did the dragon mean by 'Once and Future King'? What was this 'Albion' he had spoken of? Who was Emrys and how was Merlin involved?

Then, of course, he was startled out of his train of thought when the wyvern roared painfully to the sky. It shouldn't have surprised him when he heard (again, in his mind) Merlin speaking in the ancient tongue. Though he couldn't understand it, Arthur somehow knew that whatever spell his friend had used had a deep meaning to it, like if it came from the very earth itself.

While contemplating everything, Arthur almost didn't notice when the wyvern grew quiet and collapsed on the ground.

"Merlin!" Lancelot cried out.

Arthur looked up at the dragon. "Is he alright?"

"I believe so Pendragon. He'll be conscious soon enough"

"What about the curse?" Lancelot asked.

"Curse!? What curse? You never mentioned anything about a curse" Arthur said indignantly.

"Oh yeah...I forgot to mention that Merlin's been cursed, hence the whole changing-into-a-wyvern-after-sunset deal...Sorry."

"Actually, it's a were-wyvern." Kilgharrah interrupted before Arthur could give Lancelot a piece of his mind. Why doesn't anyone tell me anything?

"What difference does it make dragon?"

"It makes all the difference Pendragon." At the use of his last name, the prince scowled.

"Would you stop that!" Arthur yelled. "I have a name, you know"

The dragon smiled, thus baring his pointed teeth slightly. "As do I, but you don't see me complaining"

Arthur furrowed his brows. "You have a name?" he said before scolding himself. Obviously you dollop head. What, did you really think that all dragons address each other by 'dragon'?'Hi dragon', 'how's it going dragon', 'oh good and yourself dragon'. Sure, because that makes perfect sense, a sarcastic voice, that strangely sounded like Merlin, said in his head. Kilgharrah, on his part, didn't even bother to comment at the question. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Arthur asked, "So what is it then?"

"It's..."

"Kilgharrah", a weak voice moaned in the prince's head. Arthur jumped and looked around to see if Lancelot heard it too. Strangely enough, the knight looked like he did.

"Did you hear that?" Arthur asked. Lancelot nodded his head.

"Ah, the young warlock has finally awaken" Kilgharrah said casually. At this, both men looked at their friend.

"What happened?"

"Merlin..." Arthur called out hesitantly. The prince was slightly in awe. Merlin was speaking telepathically.

At this, the wyvern lifted himself from the ground and stood up. "Arthur. Lancelot. How did you guys get here?" He looked around the field. "Where is 'here' anyway?"

"Um...what do you remember?" Lancelot asked

"Well, Arthur and I were leaving the clearing. Then... darkness and pain. I..." Merlin began but stopped when his memories of the past hour rushed to him. His white eyes widened, and the cursed warlock looked at his hands - or what should have been hands - to find that he had a pair of razor sharp claws instead. "No, no this can't be happening!"

Not realizing that Arthur and Lancelot could hear him, he twirled around and inspected himself in a panicked frenzy. A tail, a set of wings, and spikes down his back confirmed it. He was in the were-wyvern's form!

"I think he forgot that he's cursed." Lancelot observed to Arthur when Merlin began freaking out. Arthur, despite the situation, was laughing inwardly at his friend's antics. He just couldn't help it - the wyvern before him was flailing and spinning at the same time like a wild, bucking horse. At this point, it completely failed at 'striking terror' into anything.

Arthur wasn't laughing when he found himself on the ground after being knocked down by Merlin's tail. I probably deserved that.

"Merlin, calm yourself" Kilgharrah commanded. Immediately, the warlock stopped his incessant spinning and took a deep breath.

"Sorry about that" he apologized, not just to the dragon but to Arthur as well.

"No problem" Arthur grunted. Lancelot offered his hand and helped the prince up. Looking at the dragon, he nodded his head and said, "You saved my life. Thank you...Kilgharrah, is it?"

"That is correct...and you're welcome Sire", Kilgharrah replied before bowing his head, leaving a rather stunned prince. The dragon then looked to his Dragonlord. "I am sorry that I didn't come sooner Merlin".

"The dark magic was too strong. I didn't think you'd even hear my call in the first place." Merlin paused. "How was I able to tame the were-wyvern? From what Lancelot told me, only the sorcerer who summoned it in the first place can control it."

"As I said before young warlock, you are Emrys and a Dragonlord. The power you were born with allows you to - how shall I put it - bend the rules at times. As you can see, the curse isn't broken, but it is weakened."

At the remark, Arthur turned to his friend. "Okay, what exactly is going on? No-one has actually informed me about anything, so please, I need someone to explain".

So Lancelot and Merlin both explained to Arthur what had happened, beginning with the moment they met the previous were-wyvern, to what Lancelot and Gaius discovered, and all the way to their present predicament. After a few moments of silence to let everything sink in, Arthur took a deep breath and looked over at the knight.

"Lancelot, could you give us some space. Merlin and I need to talk...again." he said. This time, however, his tone lacked any malice.

The knight nodded his head. "I'll see if I can find your horse Arthur" Lancelot called back before disappearing into the forest. Truth be told, he had no idea where his steed went to since it also ran off when it saw the were-wyvern in the field. This was going to be a long night for him.

The prince, happy that his knight willingly left, looked at his friend. "I'm sorry Merlin. I should've protected you back at the clearing and..."

"It's not your fault...you prat"

"Here I am, trying to apologize and you're just calling me names! How is that fair?"

"Because you deserve it. The world doesn't revolve around you, you dollop head, so stop blaming yourself for something that's not your fault. If anyone's to blame, it's whoever sent it in the first place".

"Fine...idiot"

"Clotpole"

"Moron"

"Dollop head"

"I think", Kilgharrah interrupted, "we have more important matters to discuss than the childish act of name-calling".

Both prince and were-wyvern looked sheepishly at the ground. "He's right. So, let's recap", Arthur said turning to his friend. "You've been cursed to turn into a were-wyvern when the sun goes down. You have the power to control it at the moment, but in a few days the curse will be completed and you'll be stuck like this forever. And to top it all off, we don't have a clue as to who cursed you or why he or she did it in the first place...Did I miss anything?"

"That's about everything we know from the information we gathered from Gaius' book"

"Actually, that book is incomplete", the dragon said. Merlin and Arthur gave him a quizzical look. "There is much that has not been written about many magical creatures, only what has been observed. The were-wyvern, like others, seldom appears thus why the information sorcerers have written about them is very limited."

"But you know something, don't you", Merlin stated, to which the dragon nodded. "Then spit it out...what is it?"

"It is not something you'll want to hear...any of you, for that matter and I am not sure if it will help the situation at all" Kilgharrah said looking at both men.

"Kilgharrah...please"

Sighing, the dragon eyed his Dragonlord sadly. What he was about to say was definitely not good news.

"Fine. If the cursed victim is killed before the final day, then it will be lifted but at the cost of him remaining that way forever."

"Wait, are you saying that...?" Arthur asked, fearing the answer he knew would come.

"Yes, I am. If Merlin dies before the last day of the curse, then he will remain a were-wyvern for the rest of his life and nothing could be done to change him back. The perpetual cycle of reincarnation the book spoke of would be broken and he wouldn't be under the control of the one who cursed him, but still..." he finished, leaving the last part hanging.

An eerie silence befell the group. Even Kilgharrah didn't have anything to say (and that was saying something). After what seemed like eternity, Merlin bowed his head in resignation, sighed deeply and spoke up.

"I guess we have no choice. Arthur, you have to kill me".

Aww, slight cliff hanger. I'm mean...and you foolish mortals have to wait a week and a half until the next chapter (cue evil maniacal laughter in a Shal-Khan voice). XD

...Anyway...

Spell translation:

áwréon! - Reveal

Just to clarify a bit more, while in his were-wyvern form, Merlin will speak telepathically (hence why his dialogue is italicized).

Drop a review and tell me what you think.

Until later,

-STL13