Holy Crap! Wow, so I'm not going to bother with the excuse rant. All I can say is sorry for the wicked long wait between updates and thanks to those who are still reading this for not abandoning the story. It means a lot to me. :)
Also, thank you to: TerraPrime, keacdragon, ZenaraTheDragon, Revenge of the Red Pen, and bluemeanies for reviewing last chapter those eons ago.
Chapter 4 - The Stubbornness of Kin
Kilgharrah could see why Merlin hated hunting. While the Great Dragon didn't hate hunting, he didn't necessarily enjoy it - it was just something he had to do to survive. However, in his current predicament of being a servant to Arthur (and therefore to the knights as well), Kilgharrah was slowly realizing Merlin's negative attitude towards this so-called 'sport'.
Thud!
His thought process was harshly cut short when the Great Dragon, who was supposed to be following the King and paying attention to his surroundings, walked right into Arthur's backside, thus causing the King to let his arrow loose too early, over-shooting the deer he was about to kill and scaring it away.
Saying that Arthur was livid would be putting it too mildly.
"Merlin you complete imbecile! What do I keep telling you? Can't you do anything right? One of the few times I need you to be quiet and you blow my chance of catching that stupid deer! I've never known anyone so clumsy!"
Kilgharrah's patience was running thin as it was. At this point, he lost it.
"Then go and actually kill it your Majesty!", the Great Dragon yelled. That immediately shut Arthur up. "If you're so great at hunting, then this should be simple". By now, Arthur was staring blankly at his servant, a bit shocked at the sudden outburst. Usually Merlin kept his cool, even when utterly frustrated. The King had never seen his servant this openly aggravated before and while it somewhat amused him, it opened up the conversation to some banter and a good challenge.
"Like you could do better Merlin"
"You're the King! You're supposed to be better", Kilgharrah retorted.
"Well, I..."
"At least I'm not complaining like a newborn"
"Careful Merlin, I'm still your King..."
"Who can't catch a simple deer!"
"Ooh, burn!". Immediately, both the heads of the king and dragon snapped to the only knight foolish enough to voice his comments. Both glaring dangerously at Gwaine - the silent but strong message of 'not now' being metaphorically burned into his head - the usually drunken knight finally took a hint and shut his mouth while everyone else was continuing to find the vast trees and shrubbery very interesting. A dangerous wave of silence then fell on the whole group. Clearly, both Kilgharrah and Arthur were not going to back down, not it they could help it - all that was left was to wait for the outcome.
They didn't have to wait long.
"Fine then Merlin, you go and catch the deer if I'm so horrible at it"
Without missing a beat, Kilgharrah rose to the challenge. "With pleasure Sire" he said, grabbed a crossbow and took off into the forest shouting " I'll be back before midday" all the while ignoring the looks the knights were giving him.
Ten minutes and three purposefully lost arrows later, Kilgharrah came back dragging an older buck behind him. Everyone was left speechless as their mouths dropped to the ground.
"Wha...how...Merlin..."
"You see Sire, that's how you capture an animal" and with that the Great Dragon dumped the kill at their feet and walked off towards the horses. So what if he used magic to actually kill the buck - as long as it shut the King up and got him off his back Kilgharrah could care less. Meanwhile, Arthur and the knights stood by the buck dumbstruck.
"Did that just happen?" Percival asked.
"I think it did" Elyan answered.
"Well, at least we know Merlin can hunt now" Gwaine nonchalantly stated.
"Men" Arthur started with his finger pointed at each one of them, "under no circumstance will we tell anyone what just happened. Understood?"
Surprisingly, all of them hastily agreed.
The rest of the ride home resulted in a quiet Arthur (thank the gods!) and a group of very curious knights (mainly Gwaine) inquiring how the lanky manservant knew how to hunt and why he didn't participate before. Kilgharrah gave very broad answers in return, trying not to be suspicious in the least (which only served to make him even more flustered). Lying clearly wasn't his strong suit.
And of course Arthur had to ruin his moment of glory when he asked...
"Merlin did you finish your chores?"
"...Well, that was random" Kilgharrah tried to change the subject but Arthur persisted.
"Merlin. Did. You finish. Your Chores"
The Great Dragon quickly lied and said he did, but his nervous demeanor, and the fact that he refused to make eye contact with the King, gave him away.
Arthur played along and snorted. "For your sake, I hope you did or you'll be reacquainting yourself with the stocks"
"Of course Sire, I would never forget".
Once they got to Camelot, Kilgharrah rushed in a poor attempt to start the chores he had forgotten. But Gwaine wanted to venture to the tavern, Gaius need herbs, Queen Guinevere (who Kilgharrah found to be the only person he enjoyed talking to) wanted to talk, Arthur needed to get dressed, Gwaine wanted to drink again and by the time the sun set to welcome the peaceful night sky, Kilgharrah found himself not caring about the chores that were nowhere near completed or Arthur's to-be-expected wrath but rather begging for sleep in the poor excuse Merlin called his living quarters.
Just as Kilgharrah was about to succumb to blissful slumber...
"Kilgharrah..."
The Great Dragon ignored him.
"Kilgharrah..."
Nope, he was going to sleep and there was nothing Merlin was going to say or do about it.
...
...
"Kilgharrah wake up!"
"Dragon's teeth..." Kilgharrah yelped (though he would never admit it) as he toppled out of his bed. "...Merlin!"
"Kilgharrah, we need to talk. Have you found anything?"
Sighing dramatically, the Great Dragon pushed himself from the hard floor. "Wait one moment Merlin." After waking up a grumpy Gaius, the physician had to retrieve his books, leaving an unintentional awkward silence between the Great Dragon and his Dragonlord.
"So...how's everything over there?" Merlin asked.
"Fine. And you?"
"Fine"
...
...
"How's working for his majesty?" the warlock couldn't help but ask. In fact, he'd been wanting to hear how Kilgharrah felt working for Arthur. The Great Dragon could almost hear the knowing smirk in the question. His response was to grunt in annoyance to which Merlin laughed. "He is lazy, selfish, and quite insulting. Dealing with him has been an utter nightmare. For some reason, all he ever thinks is that I'm at the tavern with Sir Gwiane. It's ridiculous! Why would I be at the tavern when I still have those wretched chores to finish?!"
"...You got that off your chest now?"
"Yes I did. Thank you" Kilgharrah mumbled quickly.
"Wait, you went to bed and still have chores left to complete?"
"So what. I am tired Merlin. What is your point?'
"Arthur's going to kill you come morning"
"He may be a pain Merlin but I highly doubt he would take such drastic measures"
"I don't mean literally but he is going to be furious"
"At this point, I'll take my chances"
"Okay...it's your funeral"
"Still doubtful, although?..."
"What is it?"
"Merlin, what are the stocks?"
It took a moment for Merlin to register the question but when he did, the warlock could only laugh riotously much to the confusion of the Great Dragon. I feel like I'm missing something, he thought to himself. When Kilgharrah tried questioning the unusual response from his Dragonlord, all he could get out of him was "You'll find out for yourself" and "Well, I guess you'll learn soon enough", both of which were not helpful one bit.
By this time, Gaius entered his ward's chambers per request of the Great Dragon. Great Dragon my backside! There's no need to wake me up at this ungodly hour in the morning, the physician mentally complained. When he came in, his ward's face was caught in a look that was part confusion and part anger and annoyance.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Kilgharrah asked the air.
"Ahem" Gaius coughed, startling the Great Dragon into turning around.
"Ah, Gaius thank you for coming"
The physician grumbled at Kilgharrah's lack on concern for his rude awakening before unceremoniously dropping the books on the hard bed. "I take it that you were talking to Merlin"
Kilgharrah let the magic flowing through him come to his assistance. After a muttered spell, he smiled triumphantly. "Yes, I did Gaius. Merlin, can you hear us now?"
"As clear as day...or night I should say" the Dragonlord answered, almost startling Gaius if he wasn't so tired.
"Good, so we can talk about what we've found about our situation"
"You mean what I've found"
"Right...what Gaius found out". At this, Merlin snorted obnoxiously while Gaius dangerously raised his eyebrows at the Great Dragon. "You mean you didn't help Gaius with the research?" Merlin asked, slightly annoyed.
"I..I..I was busy!" Kilgharrah stuttered.
"Again?". It took a moment for the Great Dragon to realize what Merlin was referring to. "Like I said two nights ago Merlin, I am busy."
"So? It doesn't stop me"
"Well, we all can't be you Merlin"
"Enough!" Immediately, Kilgharrah clamped his mouth shut while Merlin mentally winced at Gaius' booming command. With the two not arguing, the physician took this as his cue to speak.
"So, first off, I couldn't find anything in my books. Even Curses and Magical Beasts* didn't have any information in regards to this particular form of transformation". At this, Kilgharrah sighed dejectedly at the ground. "However, after not finding the information there, it got me thinking. Your situation is unique to the two of you because you are Dragon and Dragonlord and the connection between the both of you is so powerful and ancient. So, I decided to check the records of the Dragonlords of Old...well, the ones that survived the Great Purge anyway and..."
"Wait, this has to do with my kinship with Kilgharrah?"
"It seems so. One passage spoke of something called the Draca Inbend." At this, Kilgharrah's eyes widened in recognition of the phrase while Merlin gave a quizzical look from the cave he lay in (though no-one would know that but him). Gaius flipped through the pages until he reached the only one that was marked. "Here we go. It says that in the old days, at the creation of the Dragonlords by those of the Old Religion, many spells were cast to ensure that the sacred bond between the dragons and the Dragonlords remained intact. Different situations called for different spells but the one I could find whose consequences matched what you two are facing was a spell known as the Draca Inbend, which like a curse would be sent upon the pair to re-solidify their bond".
"But Merlin and I have had our differences in the past and this has never happened before."
"I thought about that and further on, it speaks of a possible key factor that in rare cases had to take place for it to happen. They called it the Gewill Hréow. Kilgharrah, does that name ring a bell to you?
He nodded his head solemnly. "It does Gaius. It means 'regretful wish' in the old tongue". There was no explanation needed, the meaning spoke for itself.
"So, which one of you made this Gewill Hréow?", Gaius asked hoping that someone else would attempt to shed some light on the matter.
...
"Merlin, do you have any clue as to...?"
"Shh..., Aithusa's finally asleep"
"Wait! Have you been listening to anything I said?" Gaius asked indignantly.
"Yeah yeah, I heard everything"
"And?"
"And what Gaius?" The physician sighed. "Do you have any idea when the Gewill Hréow was made?"
"No, I've never...ohh, that wish"
"What wish?" both dragon and physician asked simultaneously.
"After we had our little fight Kilgharrah, I may or may not have wished to be a dragon", Merlin confessed sheepishly.
"Merlin!" Gaius exclaimed.
"What? So I wanted to be a dragon. Can you really blame me with my hectic life? Always running around after Arthur and saving his ungrateful hide. 'Do this Merlin, do that Merlin!' And then you" Merlin said, mentally pointing a finger at Kilgharrah, "had to go and say my life isn't hard and practically insult everything I do for this kingdom. And then there's Gwaine and his incessant need to badger me constantly about going on a drinking spree with him and...wait a minute. If I made the Gewill Hréow, you must have too Kilgharrah."
"Well, you can hardly fault me with your ceaseless babble about your life being much harder than mine. Really Merlin, how hard is it to..."
At this, Merlin scoffed and rolled his eyes (though no-one could really see it). "Here we go again. 'Oh Merlin, taking care of the King is your job. Stop complaining like a hatchling. Merlin, it can't be that hard'" the warlock lowered his voice to imitate the dragon's. "Well, you know what Kilgharrah, my life is much harder than yours no matter what you say!"
A tangible silence fell on the group. "So...at least we know how this all started" Gaius mumbled.
"Is there a way to stop this Gaius?" Kilgharrah asked, deliberately ignoring Merlin's rant.
"Unfortunately, the remainder of the passage was either burned or ruined by water. The only thing close enough to our solution that I could make out was the words 'pride', 'hearts', and 'release' but I can't figure out how that helps.
"Great, just when things couldn't get any worse" Merlin grumbled.
"We'll figure it out after a good night's sleep. Good night Merlin" Gaius called out before bidding the Great Dragon a pleasant sleep and departing from the room and back to the comfort of his bed.
"Good night Gaius" the warlock answered. With the physician gone, it left Merlin and Kilgharrah in very uncomfortable silence.
"...What does 'pride', 'hearts', and 'release' have to do with anything?"
"..."
"Well Kilgharrah?"
"Oh now you want me to speak"
"Stop being so petty"
"I'm being petty? What was that you were doing five minutes ago?"
"Me getting stuff off my chest...and rightfully so. Anyways", he started before Kilgharrah could reply, "you didn't answer my question"
The Great Dragon snorted. "I don't know but we need to find out soon".
"Well that clarifies things"
"You're the one that asked"
"And you're the one that's supposed to know these things"
"Must I do everything for you." Kilgharrah replied which surprisingly shut the warlock up (truthfully, he did make a valid point). "If I have to cleanse one more sock, I swear I'll..."
"Oh, is the Great Dragon getting tired of the King's laundry already?"
"Never" Kilgharrah replied coldly.
"Okay then, I'll leave you to your fun with the morning chores. Although I hope you did most of them at least. Arthur is particular about his bed sheets being freshly made every single day. He can sense when they're not clean"
"Really?"
"I kid you not"
"I'll deal with it when the time comes. Right now I'm going to sleep"
"Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you"
"I'll take my chances with the King Merlin" Kilgharrah said before smirking mischievously. As loudly as he could mentally yell, he added, "Anyway, you should make sure Aithusa doesn't wake up."
"What was that Father?..."
"'Kilgharrah, you woke up Aithusa!"
"So sorry Merlin but I guess you'll have to deal with her now. My bad."
"My bad. My bad my golden, scaled, a...!"
"MERLIN! Why weren't my bed sheets laundered!"
"Oh great"
"Good luck Kilgharrah" and with that, Merlin disconnected their link, leaving the Great Dragon to deal with the grumpy King while he dealt with the hatchling.
As Arthur stormed in only to drag the manservant back out, Gaius figured that he was the only one who would actually get a good night's sleep. Serves both of them right. He smiled as he welcomed the blissful oblivion of the night sky, silently wishing his wayward foster son the best of luck in the upcoming days.
"Aithusa, you need to go back to sleep" Merlin pleaded for the tenth time. Stupid Kilgharrah! Of course the one time Kilgharrah purposely woke Aithusa up was the time she decided to stay awake like a child on pounds of sugarcane.
"But Father..." the white dragon whined, practically jumping off the cave walls.
"No buts Aithusa, you need to..." but the warlock-turned-dragon didn't have a chance to finish his sentence when something cold harshly wrapped around his snout. Before both dragons could fully comprehend what just happened, another steel bolas wrapped around Merlin's hind legs, causing him to unceremoniously crash to the frozen stone ground.
"Father!" Aithusa yelled but the sound of men crashing into the cave drowned out her small voice. The druids had returned and somehow they discovered where the dragons were taking residence.
"Bind him!" a voice shouted out orders. In the midst of the men surrounding him, Merlin finally made out the tall form of the leader of this group of rebel druids, Slagan. Anger flashing in his eyes, Merlin smacked the nearest druid out of the way. A deep thud resounded through the cave where the druid hit the stone wall but the warlock didn't focus on that. Two more druids replaced the last, bolas and chain swinging in hand before throwing them over his back and neck, pulling tightly, and magically attaching them to the ground. And to top it all off, the chains - of course - were magic proof, stopping his attempts at snapping his bindings and letting all hell break loose on those druids.
"Get the smaller one" Slagan shouted and to his horror, Merlin watched as four druids stalked dangerously towards little Aithusa. Frozen, the white dragon crouched to the corner and just stood there, wanting to help her Dragonlord but too scared to face all the druids at once.
At that moment, Merlin knew what he had to do. Vigorously pushing himself upwards against those holding on to his bonds, he managed to force some of the druids to let go and undo the chain, giving him enough room to slam two druids into the four cornering Aithusa.
"Aithusa run!", Merlin mentally screamed as the bindings around his neck were quickly refastened.
"But Father..."
"Don't worry about me, just get out of here!"
Conflicted, Aithusa stared at Merlin before nodding her head and taking heed of her Dragonlord's command. "I'll come back for you. I promise", she said as she flew out the cave, careful not to let the rebel druids reach her.
"The hatchling escaped. Should we go after it?" one druid asked.
"No" Slagan answered. "Let it go home to her Dragonlord. When he comes for this one", the druid leader tauntingly patted Merlin's bound snout, "Emrys will pay".
*For those who read WereWyvern, it's the same title of the book Gaius and Lancelot read when Merlin first transformed.
The last chapters are on their way soon. They are already finished so it will be a few days until the next update. Thanks again for your patience.
On a side note, I just noticed that Mordred's psychotic girlfriend's name is Kara with a "K" and Merlin's first crush (which was the evil Nimueh in desguise) was Cara with a "C" (both pronounced the same).
Coincidence...I think not. ;)