Sorry for the delay on this story, I wasn't sure whether to carry it on as it didn't speak out to me whilst writing previous chapters, however I got new inspiration and know where to take the story. So here we are with another chapter.

I'm not sure when I'm going to start writing as Arthur's POV, or whether I will. Depends on what people want. So let me know ;)

Enjoy and Review if you like =) it's what keeps me going.

A day had been and gone, no dragons had made an appearance yet which put everyone on edge. It was rare to pass a day this time of year without an attack.

The sun had set over Camelot and people retreated into their newly built homes with prayers that an attack would occur tomorrow. It's what they lived for after all. However the servants did not get to return home quite yet as they had jobs to do before bed.

Merlin got all his jobs done during the day so he could find the dragon during the night. It was known that Arthur enjoyed his sleep so he would have no trouble getting away. It would be easy.

Keeping his eyes averted, Merlin waited until Arthur had climbed into bed before going over to pick up the abandoned clothes that he would no doubt be asked to clean, it seemed when Arthur couldn't fight dragons he decided to have fun with giving Merlin more and more jobs to do. However Merlin had a secret which meant the jobs wouldn't take up any of his time unbeknown to Arthur.

"Is there anything else I can do for you Sire?" Merlin asked as he shoved the clothes into a bag he'd carry home.

"Since when did you start calling me Sire?" Arthur questioned and lay on his side, studying Merlin as he tied off the bag. When he got no response he frowned and watched as Merlin went over to put out the candle on the bedside table. Why Arthur couldn't do it himself, Merlin didn't know, but it was one of the many jobs Arthur had asked him to do. "Don't tell me you're still mad about me not searching for that dragon with you?"

"Of course not Sire."

"Yes, you are!" Arthur sat up and smiled, "I can see the frown lines even in the dark. Come on Merlin, it's not like you to hold grudges. I was just trying to help you. If people knew you thought you'd found that dragon they'd call you an idiot … more than they already do anyway."

"Goodnight Sire, sleep well." Merlin wanted to leave before he said something he'd regret. Arthur always seemed to bring out the worst in him and it always ended with him looking like a fool, especially since Arthur enjoyed throwing things at him when Merlin began insulting him.

Turning to leave, an arm snaked around his waist and pulled him backwards. Losing his balance, Merlin fell onto the bed which was now clear of Arthur and when his vision cleared, he found the Prince knelt at his side with a huge smile on his face. "Don't be mad at me Merlin," he reached out and before Merlin could stop him, Arthur was tickling his ribs. Another fact the Prince had somehow learnt was that Merlin was extremely ticklish.

"Stop it!" Merlin exclaimed and tried to get away, however Arthur trapped him by straddling his waist to hold him down. "Arthur, stop it!"

"Tell me you forgive me and I will," his voice managed to reach Merlin through the laughter and Merlin knew he was fighting another losing battle.

"Alright! You're forgiven! Now stop it!"

"Good," Arthur's hands seised movement on his ribs and now rested against his chest as Merlin attempted to catch his breath. "Wouldn't it have been so much easier if you'd forgiven me in the first place?" Arthur teased and Merlin glared at him playfully.

"Prat."

Expected Arthur to move, Merlin pushed himself up so he was sitting and instead of being able to get off the bed, he found himself pressed against Arthur who remained where he was. He went to tease him about it, tell Arthur that he never knew he liked straddling people, that was the plan until he felt the hands on his chest heat up through his top. It wasn't exactly like he could stop his heart from beating so quickly either and Merlin could sense the moment Arthur felt it since a faint blush covered his cheeks.

No words were said as they sat there. Each pair of blue eyes never leaving the other. Merlin didn't understand why there was a sudden change in atmosphere or why he was even feeling like he did, after all, it was just Arthur. There shouldn't be any reason why his body was reacting this way.

It didn't help that suddenly Arthur pushed against his chest so that he lay back on the bed, the young Prince now hovering above him with an intense look in his eyes that made Merlin's breath catch in his throat. No one had ever looked at him like that. "Arthur …" he hadn't realised he'd spoken until he saw Arthur's face harden with some form of determination and then his head was dipping closer to Merlin's.

He was going to kiss him.

Neither had to say it to know what was about to happen and Merlin tried to hide the fact that the mere thought of a kiss was making butterflies in his stomach, especially when he felt Arthur's lips brush against his. Just when he thought he would explode with anticipation, a loud bang came from outside the door and both of them moved away from one another. Arthur remained on the bed and Merlin rolled off the end, his body now pressed against the cold stone floor.

"Who's there?" Arthur demanded to know.

"My apologies Sire," a head popped round the door and it turned out to be none other than Gwen. "I dropped a tray, well more like I tripped and it fell out of my hands. I'm sorry if it woke … Merlin? What are you doing on the floor?"

"I-"

"You know Merlin, clumsy idiot that he is, fell over as he was going to leave. I'm surprised he's lasted as long as he has without getting killed by a dragon," Arthur teased and Gwen laughed lightly along with him. Both not really being amused. Merlin on the other hand felt embarrassed as well as angry. How dare Arthur say that about him. Fair enough if he didn't want Gwen knowing the true reason he was there, even Merlin didn't fully understand that, but he could have at least said Merlin was looking for something.

Getting to his feet, Merlin walked over and grabbed the bag of clothes he'd left on the table. Turning to face Arthur who sat on the bed, he gave a small bow, "My apologies for my clumsiness. I'll try to work on it. Goodnight Sire." Merlin didn't bother to wait for a response or meet the Prince's gaze, instead he left. After all, he had a dragon to find.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Merlin followed yet another trail of broken twigs and turned dirt at the hope of finding the dragon. He'd been searching for hours and he was beginning to believe it had flown off back to its home. "I've got yummy food for you if you come out."

He couldn't help but drift off and think about what had happened between him and the Prince. Never had things felt that way between them and yet he hadn't been disgusted at the thought of being kissed by Arthur. If anything, he'd wanted it more than he'd wanted anything before. Merlin's hand drifted to his lips as he remembered how soft Arthur's had been, even from a mere brush he'd known that a kiss from him would have been amazing and unforgettable.

If only Gwen had come a few seconds later.

What broke his thoughts wasn't the sound of the dragon growling or even his feet tripping up on something. Instead the ground beneath his feet no longer existed and Merlin only had a second to realise what was happening before he fell towards the ground. Turning in the air, Merlin reached out to grab the cliff edge in an attempt to stop the fall, instead he brought back blood covered hands that had been scraped against the rocks.

Just when he thought that nothing could prevent his death, a black blur went across the ground and Merlin ended up falling onto a soft surface that sunk a little upon impact. As he lifted his head, Merlin instantly recognised the smooth scales he lay on and smiled. His dragon. He'd found it at last.

"Thank you," Merlin said quietly and slowly slid off the dragon. When his feet touched the ground, the beast leapt away from him and crouched on a boulder that was nearby. Clearly not fully trusting the human before it. However Merlin was concerned that it wasn't flying away. If it was really that nervous or anxious, surely it could fly off and find somewhere safe to hide out in. "I've brought you food."

Looking around the land around him, Merlin spotted his bag that had fallen off during the floor and quickly walked over to it. Which obviously ended up in him tripping over an abandoned log and Merlin fell face first into some mud. Typical, he thought. Just when he wanted to show the world he wasn't a clumsy idiot, he fell over because of a tiny twig.

"Idiot," he muttered and pushed himself off the ground so that he was sat. However he wasn't alone anymore. The dragon had somehow managed to end up beside him without making a sound and now sat there, mud covering its own face as if it too had fallen. Merlin smiled at the thought and then raised an eyebrow as the dragon attempted to copy him. It's toothless mouth going up at the sides as it tried to smile. "Aren't you a clever little thing."

Slowly reaching out, Merlin put his hand to the dragon's neck and gently caressed his palm against one of the many scales. "I bet you're even smarter than I am," Merlin muttered and sighed. Yes, he'd found the dragon. Yes, he could start to train it up. Yet what could that do for him? He could show Arthur and the town that he had been right, that he could take down the dragon, but then what? They would want to keep the dragon for themselves.

Merlin felt oddly protective about the dragon already and that wasn't a good sign.

"Are you okay? You've seemed rather distracted lately," Will commented as Merlin sharpened yet another sword for the raging battle outside.

Unknown to his friends, Merlin had spent the past week going to see the dragon at night, even without the intention of training it. He brought it food everyday, talked to it and soon began to notice some habits it had as the time went on. Often enough Merlin was found off in his own world as he thought about the dragon and Gaius had started to comment that he was off with the fairies. If such things existed that is.

"I'm fine," Merlin muttered and threw the sword at one of the fighters who'd come to collect another weapon. It was only then that Merlin spotted Arthur battling yet another fire dragon that seemed to be cornering the Prince as his fellow fighters were distracted. "Look after things here for a second would you."

"Why-"

Will's voice was lost to him as Merlin dropped a sword that he'd picked up unconsciously to sharpen and leapt across the counter where people waited on the other side. Running as fast as he could without falling, Merlin ducked and dodged dragons like they were tiny obstacles that wouldn't pose any threat to him.

He didn't want to admit it but he'd miss the Prince if anything should happen to him. Even after they'd spent the past week acting like nothing more than their statues. Not a single word of banter had passed between them and Merlin sometimes wished that incident a week ago hadn't happened. Especially if this was the outcome.

Without thinking about what he was doing, Merlin leapt onto the dragon's back and wrapped his arms around it's neck, pulling back with all his weight so it's attention went away from the Prince. As the dragon attempted to buck him off, he looked at the ground to see Arthur staring up at him in shock, his feet not taking him to safety like Merlin had hoped. "Get moving you prat!"

"What are you doing?" Arthur exclaimed and picked up his sword that had been knocked out of his hand in the midst of the battle.

"Saving your royal ass." Merlin suddenly felt a shift in the dragon's body beneath him and a gasp left his lips as it soared into the air, leaving Camelot below where his people now looked like tiny ants. He held onto the dragon for dear life as it ascended, where it thought it was going to take Merlin was beyond him, all he knew was that if he fell now, there was no way he would survive it.