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Merlin looked down at the world below and wondered what it would be like to truly escape from Camelot. He had said that once Kilgh could fly, Merlin would head straight for the nearest island and make a new life for himself. He didn't fit in here. Yet he couldn't find the courage to leave the place he'd called home for so long. So here he was, flying on a dragon, with no destination in mind.

"You seem so sad Merlin. What is the matter?"

A small smile came to his lips and he bent down, rubbing Kilgh's scales on his neck. "Just thinking, that's all. It's truly amazing up here, isn't it?" Flicking his foot, Merlin changed the direction Kilgh's tail went in and the dragon turned on his side to avoid hitting a large rock. "If I had the ability to fly, I'd never land, I'd fly forever." Spreading out his arms, he imagined they were wings and it was himself flying, not the dragon.

"Flying is like walking. If you know how to do it, there's nothing special about it."

"At least when you fly you see things that people down below can only dream of," Merlin replied and dropped his arms, setting them at the base of Kilgh's neck. "Do you have any family?" He randomly asked and waited for a reply, when none came, Merlin sighed. "Me either. I guess we can just be each others family."

"I'd like that."

Rubbing Kilgh's neck again, he seemed to find a spot that he liked because suddenly they were dropping from the air and landed in a pile of grass. The dragon now rolled around from the aftershocks of his neck being touched. Merlin glanced down at his hand and smiled. It seemed everyone had a weak spot. Including dragons.

He once again found himself ducking behind another recruit as fire was shot at him and he raised his shield, waiting for this ordeal to be over. It was their last session. Weeks had now passed and whoever managed to get this dragon back in their cage, as well as impress the elder woman, got to kill their first dragon in front of everyone. Merlin simply wanted to curl into a ball. There was no way he would kill a dragon. Not after meeting Kilgh.

"Merlin, attack!" Arthur yelled from above and Merlin rolled his eyes, as if he was going to take orders from that prick. Doing the opposite of what Arthur said, he ran away from the dragon and leant back against a wall as he watched the scene play out before him. It was only a matter of time before Lancelot managed to win. Most of the other contestants were already out. Only himself, Lancelot and Gwen remained. Gwen wasn't exactly on top form today.

However when it looked like Lancelot was about to make the final move, something spiked the dragon's interest and it's attention turned to him. The distance was large between the two of them but by the way the dragon was looking at him, it didn't matter. Nothing could stop it from crossing that space. Merlin picked up his shield a second before he was pinned against the wall, the dragons breath hot on his face as it stared at him with amusement.

"You remind me of a certain prat that doesn't realise who they're dealing with," Merlin reached under the shield and after gently rubbing a few scales, he found the spot. The dragon instantly fell to the floor and rolled around, a smile on its face. Sagging against the wall, the shield was forgotten as he breathed deeply and tried to ignore the fact he'd been an inch of death. In these conditions, with everyone watching, he couldn't even have used his magic to protect himself.

"Merlin!" His vision became focused when he saw the Prince running towards him and an instant later his face was being cupped between two warm hands, big blue eyes staring at him with worry. "Are you okay? Did it hurt you?" The shock of Arthur being so attentive stopped him from answered and this worried Arthur further, his hands now dropped to his neck, a more intimate gesture as he moved closer. "Talk to me, are you okay?"

"A decision has been made!" Someone yelled from above and as Arthur turned, Merlin glanced over his shoulder to see the elder was looking at him, that couldn't be good. The recruits stepped out into the arena and Merlin went to join them, Arthur's gaze following him every step of the way. Holding his breath, he stood at the end of the line and they waited for a name to be called. He waited for someone else's name to be called. Anyone but him.

"Merlin Emrys!"

A loud gasp came from the crowd, followed by cheers and Merlin felt his heart sink. He was swarmed with the recruits, all congratulating him, asking him how he had done what he did, yet no words left his lips. All he could do was think that this was it. He couldn't stay here now. By announcing that Merlin was to kill his first dragon, that woman had exiled him and Merlin would have to find a new home. Where, he wasn't sure yet.

Shoving some clothes into a bag, he blew out the candle in his room and ran down the stairs. He couldn't hang around another moment. The other recruits had invited him out for some drinks and after not being able to give a good excuse, he had said he'd be there once he'd changed into something nicer. That gave him a few minutes before people came looking for him.

At least that's what he thought until there was a knock at the door. "Coming!" Merlin yelled and he threw open the door, only to find it wasn't one of the recruits. "Arthur?" The Prince brushed past him and entered his house, not even bothering to explain why he was here. "What do you want? I was just about to head out." Merlin kicked his bag behind the sofa when he walked over and he turned on the spot.

"I wanted to check you were okay. You were rushed out of that arena so quickly that I didn't get a chance to get an answer from you. That dragon shoved you pretty hard against the wall."

"I'm fine Arthur," he held out his arms as if presenting himself. "See for yourself." Arthur seemed to take this literally as he came forward and pressed a hand against Merlin's chest, extremely gently as he tried to see if it caused Merlin any pain. "I didn't mean actually come see for yourself. Look, I'm grateful that you came to check up on me, but I honestly have-"

"Somewhere to be. I get it," Arthur stepped aside and watched as Merlin pulled on a jacket he'd flung over the sofa sometime this week. "How have you been?" He suddenly asked and Merlin looked over his shoulder at him in question. "Well we haven't exactly talked much since …" he paused for a moment and glanced at the ground, "…you know what. Everything been okay? Gaius not working you too hard?"

"He works me the usual amount," Merlin replied and frowned a little. "What's this about Arthur? You're acting strange."

"I've just had a lot of time to think and I-"

"Don't," he said abruptly and held out his hand in front of him as if to defend himself. "Nothing you say will change anything. I really have to go. You can let yourself out yeah?" He was out the door before Arthur could tell him not to go and he ran through the darkness, heading straight for the forest.

Sometime later he was using his magic to get down the cliff edge and when his feet hit solid ground, he leant back against the nearest boulder. His heart was racing and it wasn't because he'd been running. Arthur had probably been about to say what he'd wanted to hear from the start and he'd told him not too say it. Even though Merlin would never have to face the consequences of those words, he'd still stopped him. "You really are an idiot."

When his heart had finally got back to a normal pace, he looked around to try and spot Kilgh. However the usually happy dragon wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Kilgh?" Merlin yelled and walked forward, trying to see him. However finding a black dragon when it was staring to get very dark wasn't going to be easy. "Don't make me use-"

"Who's Kilgh?"

Merlin jumped at the sound of Arthur's voice and he spun round to see the Prince stood there like it was an every day occurrence. "What are you … How did you … When did you … What are you doing here?" Merlin demanded to know and prayed Kilgh would remain hidden.

"You seemed on edge when we talked and when I saw you running into the forest rather than towards where your friends were waiting, I suspected something was going on. So tell me, who's Kilgh? Is this person someone who's been helping you train to fight against dragons? We're all dying to know how to managed to take down that dragon without even a sword in hand."

"Luck?" Merlin backed away from Arthur and saw movement in a bush near where Merlin had first been when he'd dropped down off the cliff. As expected, Arthur followed his movements and his actions took him away from the moving bush. Merlin had no idea what Kilgh would do if he saw Arthur, there was no way to know how a dragon would react to people and Merlin suspected he had only been spared because he had spared the dragon's life first.

"Come on, you can tell me. Did you use your-" Arthur waved his hand "-magic stuff?"

"Magic stuff?"

"Did you cast a spell on the dragon to defend yourself? It's alright if you did Merlin. Dragon's are scary beasts and I never really suspected you to find the courage to fight one. The fact you jumped on ones back was just instinct when you saw me in danger. You wanted to protect me."

"Oh you'd be surprised how not-scary I find dragons," Merlin replied and dived at Arthur when a black blur shot towards them. Holding him to the floor, Merlin looked back over his shoulder to see Kilgh circling a boulder and heading back towards them. "Woah! Easy!" Jumping to his feet, Merlin kept his back turned to Arthur who had shot to his feet at the same time and his eyes remained fixed with Kilgh's. "He's a friend. A good guy."

"Merlin, that's a dragon, what-"

"Shut up!" Merlin hissed and stepped backwards, forcing Arthur to do the same. "Kilgh, I wouldn't let him hurt you."

"Me hurt that? It's more likely-"

"What do you not understand about shutting up!" At the sound of Merlin getting upset, Kilgh leapt towards them and Merlin only had a second to put up a shield around Arthur before he was attacked. Kilgh bounced off the shield and crouched next to Arthur, eyeing him up. "Kilgh, look at me!"

"He is the one who has been upsetting you?"

"Yes, but no …" This would be so much more simpler if Arthur wasn't here to listen to half a conversation. "He's not here to harm or upset either one of us. He followed me because he thought I was acting weird. Which was none of his business I'd like to point out-" a quick glare was sent Arthur's way "-but you don't need to act this way."

"He's going for his sword."

Merlin looked back at Arthur to see Kilgh was right and he stormed over, grabbing the sword himself to throw into the lake next to them. "Hey!" Arthur exclaimed.

"See, no danger. You're safe. I'm safe." Merlin ignored Arthur's glares as he approached the cautious dragon and he gently cupped his face. "Take slow deep breaths and go somewhere to calm down. Please."

"Will you be safe with him?"

"Yes," Merlin hoped so anyway. Kilgh nodded and ran across the ground, disappearing into the shadows cast down on them. Sighing with frustration, he turned to face the Prince and found a knife held to his neck. "Okay, not exactly what I was hoping for. Might want to stop that before Kilgh comes back."

"You are on the dragon's side?"

"No of course not," Merlin said quickly and gently pushed away the knife. "Just this dragons. All the other dragons are nothing to do with me. I swear." So why did Arthur look like he didn't believe him?