Hi there everyone. So yeah…the only good excuse I can possibly come up with for making y'all wait so long is college transfer crap. The other excuses are ….well, let's just say they're not good.
Whoever is still reading this, thank you. I had most of this written a while ago but stuff happened (cough…laziness…cough). Sorry for making you wait and here is the next chapter (it's extra-long for your amusement).
Thank you: Revenge of the Red Pen, TerraPrime, and keacdragon for reviewing last chapter.
Disclaimer: IDOM
Chapter 3 - The Everyday Struggles of Your Kin
To say it was a long trip back to Camelot was an understatement. It took him most of the evening to find Merlin's horse, but when he did, anger became the next prominent emotion. Barely able to tolerate his imposter-master, the horse led Kilgharrah (in utter terror) back to Camelot. By the time he arrived at the stables of the white city, evening was swiftly approaching. Slowly (for his walking skills still needed work), the Great Dragon was about to make his way to the Court Physician's chambers when...
"Merlin!" a cheerful voice sounded from behind him, causing Kilgharrah to visibly jump. A rugged looking knight with dark, smooth, shoulder length hair came rushing to him, a bottle of something in his left hand.
"Ah...good evening Sir Knight"
The knight cocked his head in confusion before his face lit up. "Good one Merlin. The princess does hate it when you address him properly. Can't...hic...fool me"
Kilgharrah panicked. Who was this strange yet familiar knight? Obviously he knew Merlin but what was his name? The Great Dragon tried recalling one of the many conversations he had with the young warlock about the Knights of the Round Table - well, at least the ones he considered friends - but nothing came to mind. His magic, however, hummed louder and louder as the knight continued rambling on about mead and someone he called 'princess'.
"...Now, I don't know where you've been all day but I think it's time you and your best buddy, Sir Gwaine the Awe-Inspiring and Ever-So-Handsome, spend some quality time in the tavern together. Come on, another hour or two more of tardiness won't hurt the princess. He's still fuming at you skipping out this morning by the way, but his highness will get over himself. Now then, how 'bout..."
It took a moment for it to click in Kilgharrah's head but when it did, his mouth dropped considerably. "Strength..." he whispered, apparently not low enough for Gwaine not to hear.
"Yes, I know. I am the strongest...Percival doesn't count. That man's not human in his own right" he quickly mumbled that last part out.
"Sir Gwaine?" the Great Dragon asked, partly disturbed that such an essential person in Arthur's destiny was getting himself drunk, and partly appreciative that in his given state, he hopefully wouldn't remember this conversation and start asking questions.
"The one and only" Gwaine answered with a mock bow before taking another swig from his bottle, the foaming substance spilling all over his beard and even on his chest. Seeing the strange, disapproving look on Merlin's face, the drunken knight held out his bottle towards the warlock. "My apologies my friend. Did you...hic... want some as well?"
Kilgharrah took one sniff of the bottle and violently turned his head away in disgust as the horrid smell burned his nostrils with fire. "No thank you"
"Suit yourself" the knight said before attempting to take another gulp. Annoyed and tired, Kilgharrah felt his eyes flash gold of their own accord and before he knew it, Sir Gwaine dropped on the hay-filled floor, unconscious and snoring loudly.
The Great Dragon jumped in surprise at the easy use of his magic. He hadn't even thought of using it but it still responded to his emotions. Panicking at the scene of a knight sprawled out on the stable floor with a servant looming over him, Kilgharrah tried pulling Gwaine up, but his limp body would not budge. Then, he roughly dropped to the floor and tried picking the knight up. That didn't work either. Frustrated, the warlock's magic slipped out again, sending Gwaine flying into the ceiling.
"Oww..." the knight groaned and was about to open his eyes when he suddenly felt himself crash back to the ground and blacked out again. All the while, Kilgharrah stood in shock before frantically looking around to see if he was caught. Seeing no-one around, he sighed in relief.
Okay, deep breaths. Just lift him slightly and let him fall over your shoulders, Kilgharrah told himself.
Slowly, the Great Dragon closed his eyes and released a sliver of magic, praying that it would do his bidding. He felt the rush of power and his eyes flashed gold behind closed lids before he dared to sneak a peek. When he did, he saw Gwaine (still unconscious) hovering slightly over the ground and standing in an upright position. He quickly made his way under the knight's arm to support him before releasing the magic holding him up.
Bad mistake.
Suddenly, Kilgharrah found himself pinned on the floor with a snoring knight unceremoniously draped over the top part of his back. He managed to huff a breath of cold air from his strained lungs.
"This could take a while"
It indeed took quite some time for the Great Dragon to get Gwaine off of him, let alone carry him to...gods, he hadn't a clue as to where to haul his snoring hide. After much thought, Kilgharrah settled for the only place he vaguely remembered - Gaius's chambers. Slowly, but surely, he made his way there.
The Great Dragon was pleasantly surprised. As hard as he tried, he couldn't avoid avoiding people but everyone who saw him carrying Gwaine gave him a knowing look before continuing on with what they were doing - like this was a normal thing for Merlin to do. Shaking that feel away, Kilgharrah finally made it to the physician's chambers, ignoring the voices he heard coming from the room.
"Gaius, I am back" he announced as he opened the door. Gaius was standing by his table, his body already turned in Kilgharrah direction. His face stared in alarm, which the Great Dragon figured was directed at him dragging Gwaine on his shoulders.
"Gaius, I'm sorry but I think Sir Gwaine is drunk. I had to help him get up here seeing as he's been at the tavern all day and cannot properly hold himself up. How I managed to do this in my current state is beyond me" he said, referring to him being able to carry Gwaine in Merlin's body.
"Merlin..."
"I know, I have a problem" he said dejectedly "but that's not important at the moment"
"Merlin..." Gaius said with more urgency, trying to get the dragon to stop talking.
"Do you know what Gwaine means when he says 'princess'? He told me he was very annoyed with me for 'skipping out this morning'". At this, Gaius massaged his temple while shaking his head. Kilgharrah gave the physician confused look until a low voice suddenly cut in.
"And he still is"
Spinning around, Kilgharrah was met with the sight of the Once and Future King who, at this moment, looked more like the Once and Future 'Where-the-hell-have-you-been-I'm-going-to-kill-yo u' King. At a loss for words, Kilgharrah was only able to make his mouth gap like a fish before Arthur deemed it fitting to spare him the embarrassment (and head straight for the kill).
"So that's where you've been all this time."
If Merlin's mouth drops any lower, he'll be able to catch flies, Arthur thought smugly. Serves him right.
"Sire, I..."
"Don't 'Sire' me Merlin", Arthur said. "And here I almost believed, for once, that you were actually being a responsible man and out picking herbs for Gaius. Instead, you've been out drinking"
"Sire..." but a held-out hand stopped Kilgharrah from continuing.
"You can't fool me Merlin, I can smell the alcohol reeking from the both of you". At this, Kilgharrah unceremoniously dropped Gwaine on the hard floor. The drunk knight didn't even show signs of waking up but opted to snore even louder as he lay sprawled on the ground.
"Arthur" Kilgharrah tried, "I really wasn't at the tavern"
"Really then? So, if you were picking herbs, where are they? Why does your voice sound harsh and worn out?"
"I..."
"Oh, I know! You ate them. That must be it" Arthur interrupted, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"But..."
"Did the herbs do that to you?"
Kilgharrah sighed. He obviously wasn't going to win this ridiculous argument with the King. "Forgive me Si-Arthur. It won't happen again"
Looking at his manservant, Arthur grabbed him by the collar and brought him so both men were looking at each other face to face. "See that it doesn't"
Releasing his hold, the King turned around and made his way to the door. Just as he was about to leave, Arthur turned back and gave one last warning, "Merlin, I expect to see you bright and early tomorrow for the hunting trip I spoke to you about. Make sure the horses and supplies are ready, we leave at first light. Oh, and have all my chores done by the time I see you or someone will be reacquainting themselves with the stocks...again". And with that, he left.
Kilgharrah let out a long held-in sigh before collapsing hard to the ground. "You could've warned me about the King!" he yelled at Gaius. "Now he thinks I been doing nothing all day...aside from drinking"
Gaius smiled, an amused grin gracing his aged face. "Well, that's nothing new"
"Excuse me?"
"Arthur always believes that Merlin is constantly slacking on his chores and/or is out at the tavern. As much as it annoys him and is not true, it has become an excuse that the King believes"
"What! But Merlin, he would never..."
"I know", Gaius said with his hand out, "but it's something Merlin has gotten used to. It's part of his job as both Emrys, the all-powerful warlock and protector of Camelot, and Merlin, manservant to the king."
Kilgharrah mused on this thought. His Dragonlord really did have a lot on his plate. How he managed to juggle all of it...No, Merlin has it hard just like the rest of us!, the stubborn dragon thought as he shook his head. And I'm going to prove it.
Gaius was about to question what was going on in the Great Dragon's mind when Kilgharrah's eyes snapped open. "Well, we have more important matters to attend to Physician" he announced before heading to the vast bookshelf Gaius kept below the staircase.
"But what about your chores...and Gwaine. We can't just..."
"I'll take care of that later. We have some research to do"
The road was fraught with many obstacles but eventually Merlin and Aithusa reached the mountain. Granted, it was a long afternoon filled with the incessant blabber of the white hatchling, but Merlin learned how to passively listen (or in other words, ignore) his young companion.
After Aithusa pushed him off the cliff (and his heart returned to its normal palpitation), Merlin had scolded the young dragon. Wanting and trying to make-up for the offense (after all, daddy's girl didn't want to upset Father), Aithusa offered to teach him how to fly again. Merlin immediately protested the idea, but the quivering of the reptilian's lip added to the sad look made for a deadly foe, one that the young warlock could never hope to defeat.
So with a sigh, Merlin let Aithusa try to teach him again. With less physical help and more verbal instruction, the journey/training was more promising and bearable. He even managed to hover in the air for a bit before shamelessly crashing to the ground.
"I think that's enough flight training for one day. We still have a long way to go Aithusa", Merlin said to which the white dragon looked dejectedly to the ground. Seeing this, the warlock quickly added, "But thank you for the help" before another tear and quivering lip could strike him another blow.
Aithusa smiled at Merlin before her mouth opened wide for a draconic yawn, her sharp canines glistened under the setting sun. Seeing the sleepy dragon, Merlin lowered his head to address the white hatchling.
"Are you tired Aithusa?"
"No...I'm not" Aithusa said through a yawn, eyes drooping and her head nodding while they walked.
"Sure" Merlin answered sarcastically. Pressing his head to the ground, thus blocking the white dragon from continuing with his neck, the warlock gave her a knowing look. "Aithusa", he said warningly.
"But..." she began but another stern look from Father had the hatchling sighing in defeat before climbing up the dragon and resting on the warlock's scaled back. "Now, isn't that better?" he asked. Not getting a reply, he checked on his kin before releasing a toothy grin. Aithusa was fast asleep.
More importantly, he could finally have some peace and quiet.
And so the trip to the mountain was walked in silence, the warlock's thoughts drifting to Camelot, wondering how both Arthur and Kilgharrah were managing by themselves. Merlin really wanted to know how the Great Dragon was dealing with his royal Pratness. By now, he's probably threatened me with the stocks, the warlock thought smugly.
An hour passed before they reached the caves. The sun had already set and Aithusa was still fast asleep. At this point, Merlin was also tired. Not being able to fly made for a long walk and so, once they were within the safety of the cave, Merlin plopped on the hard ground, waking up Aithusa in the process.
"What's going on?" she slurred.
"We're here. And now we're going to sleep". Closing his eyes, the warlock fell into a blissful slumber...
...That lasted about two minutes before Aithusa began waking him up by shaking his head.
"Father"
"Umm..."
"Father"
"What?"
"I'm hungry". Merlin groaned at the fact that he completely forgot about food for Aithusa.
"What does Kilgharrah usually get you?"
"Nothing. He's been teaching me how to hunt"
"And?..."
"I've managed to catch a squirrel once"
"Can you not do it again?"
"...I guess, although...I was hoping you would help me"
At this, Merlin groaned. He hated hunting. It was bad enough he was horrible at it as a human - there was no doubt that he wouldn't do any better as a dragon. But Aithusa did need to eat...and so did he. The warlock realized he hadn't since yesterday.
"Okay, I'll help you"
So Merlin and Aithusa headed out, the Dragonlord dragging himself out of the cave and the white dragon bouncing around in excitement.
"This is going to be fun!"
After an hour of what Merlin did not consider fun, Aithusa had finally managed to catch herself a unsuspecting rabbit. The young dragon was elated at the improvement and while she jumped for joy, the Dragonlord's stomach rumbled loudly. He tried to catch diner for himself, but in the end he only managed to scare Aithusa's potential dinner away. Mouth watering at the rabbit but not wanting to take the white dragon's food, Merlin settled for the next best thing.
Vegetables...or the shrubbery, in this case.
Not surprisingly, the tree branch he had did not taste like broccoli but at this point, Merlin wasn't left with many options.
The moon was full in the night sky by the time they returned to the cave. Merlin dropped on the floor, thankful for the day to finally end. Just as he was about to doze off...
"Father"
"Yes"
"Can you play with me?"
"Play tomorrow. Sleep now"
"...But I'm not tired"
A loud noise echoed throughout the caves, the source coming from outside and cutting Merlin off from replying.
"What's that?" Aithusa asked, cocking her head to the side before looking up at Merlin.
"I don't know" Merlin answered, the noise too loud for him to even think about falling asleep. Listening carefully, it sounded like cheering from a rally of some kind.
"Let's see what it is but you must stay close Aithusa"
Both dragons ventured towards the noise until they saw a crowd of hooded figures. One person was standing on a rock, making himself rise above the rest, clearly edging the others on. Merlin and Aithusa listened carefully.
"We will have our revenge" the leader said with a fist held high in the air. The crowd responded with another loud cry.
"Arthur's manservant will rue the day he dare betray his kind and foil my plans yet again"
Any thoughts of sleep immediately vanished at those words. Golden eyes widening, Merlin observed the leader (he presumed) carefully before realizing that the man was Slagan. His features and his voice, even when shrouded under the cover of night, were unmistakable. So this is Slagan and his men, he thought to himself. Aithusa looked up at Merlin curiously.
"Father, aren't you the King's manservant?"
Merlin only responded with a nod, more focused on listening to their plans. Slagan monologued for a little while longer, claiming how the Pendragons wronged him and how they would pay and...yada yada yada, Merlin finished in his head. Man, could there be an evil sorcerer whose reason for attacking wasn't based on some sort of revenge. Apparently not. The warlock only began listening again when his name, followed by a few obscenities and death threats, was heard.
"We'll attack Camelot will all our strength, but first we need to deal with that traitor" Slagan announced, spitting out the word 'traitor' with such vehemence. Hearing enough, Aithusa rushed to the group, fully intent on making those men pay for speaking about Father in such a way.
"Aithusa, get back here", Merlin hissed but the white dragon ignored him. Groaning, the Dragonlord went after her; not catching her in time, Aithusa jumped on Slagan, claws digging into his unsuspecting shoulder. Yelling in pain, the poor sod tried shaking the white dragon of but she just latched on tighter at the resistance and began biting on his hood. His comrades tried helping but no-one could get a grip on the beast riding the man.
It wasn't until a nameless hooded figure used magic to throw a log at Aithusa that she stumbled to the ground. The men quickly surrounded her, leaving only an arms-length between them and the hatchling. She snapped her jaws at anyone who got too close but eventually they managed to back her into a corner.
"Well well, a dragon. And here I thought the Pendragon had killed the last one" Slagan announced smugly.
"Yeah, although Emrys is a Dragonlord, he still let the King kill it for attacking the city….that traitor" a hooded figure blurted out, causing the others to mumbled agreements to his last statement.
"Perfect. Take it alive. Maybe we can use it to attack Camelot"
Over my dead body!, Merlin yelled to himself.
Just as the leader was about to grab Aithusa, Merlin's bulking form barged into the group, roaring in anger and standing protectively over his kin. All eyes widened in terror at the presence of the supposedly-dead Great Dragon. Correction: the supposedly-dead-and-now-pissed-off Great Dragon. Before anyone could utter a word, Merlin swung his tail at the renegade sorcerers, knocking many of them to the ground. Those who managed to dodge the blow were quickly met with a back-handed claw.
While the one-sided fighting was going on, Slagan used the distraction his comrades were unwantedly giving him and went after Aithusa who sat back and watched in amazement at her Father's powerful rage. He grabbed her at the base of her neck and skull, being careful to avoid her snapping jaws and thrashing talons. Before she could cry out, Slagan clamped her mouth shut with the hand holding her head.
That proved to be his worse mistake of the night.
Just as Slagan turned around to make a quick escape, he came face-to-face with the Great Dragon's snout, eyes glowing dangerously at him with righteous furry.
"Put…her…down" Merlin dangerously commanded, seething at the way he handled Aithusa. Body fully trembling, the leader, ever so gently, put the white dragon down to which she quickly scampered to the safety of the Great Dragon's hind legs. Thinking he was in the clear, Slagan began backing up slowly to get away in one un-maimed piece.
Merlin, however, wasn't going to let him get away that easy.
Grabbing the leader's hood in his powerful jaws, Merlin picked him up and dangled him in front of his face so Slagan was forced to gaze hauntingly into his golden orbs that were his eyes. Not wasting another moment, he gave a low growl and tossed the leader across the field, causing his head to smash against one of the boulders and render him unconscious. Snorting a puff of smoke at the unconscious sorcerers for a job well done, Merlin looked down at the hatchling.
"Let's go Aithusa"
With adoration in her eyes, Aithusa followed Merlin back to the cave. After promptly collapsing on the ground, Merlin immediately went to sleep while Aithusa snuggled right next to him.
"Good night Father"
"Good night Aithusa"
The sorcerers all woke up sporting terrible headaches. Slagan stood up, anger flashing in his eyes.
"Those dragons will pay. Emrys will pay…"
"…and I know just how"
I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I have most of the next chapter written but I probably will not post it until I have most of the story finished. Now before you complain and groan at your laptop/computer (and possibly make false-death/mob threats at me) remember that this story is supposed to be six chapters long, so we're halfway there.
Please leave a review. Even if it's one word or a criticism, I welcome all of them with open arms (just no flaming please). :)
Until later,
-STL13