Merlin made his way through the busy citadel corridors on his way to the physician's chamber. His brows rose when he saw Daegal lurking outside the closed chamber door. The boy reached for the latch, then took his hand away again.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked as he thrust open the door and walked in. He stopped dead on the threshold, eyes wide as Gaius and a woman with long grey hair broke apart.

"Merlin, don't you ever knock?" the physician demanded.

A wide smile split the sorcerer's face at Gaius' embarrassment. "Sorry," he answered. "Hello, Alice."

"It's good to see you again, Merlin," she replied, running a hand over her disheveled braid. "It has been a long time."

"Yes it has." His eyes scanned the chamber. "You don't have any strange box with you this time, right?"

Alice smiled. "I promise, no evil creatures are accompanying me."

"Why are you here?"

"Merlin!" Gaius said. "That's a rude question."

"I assure you, my intentions are honourable," Alice answered good-naturedly. "I'm merely doing what many of us can do now – returning home."

Gaius gave her a tender look. "I'm glad you did."

A warm smile lit her face as she met his eyes and Merlin cleared his throat to remind them of his presence. "Is there going to be a lot of kissing going on in here now?"

Gaius raised an eyebrow at him. "Why are you here?"

"I came to ask you to visit Mithian when you can. She's with child."

"Again?" the physician said. "And you have the nerve to walk in here unannounced and ask me about kissing?"

Merlin felt his face grow hot.

"If I can be of any assistance, please let me know," Alice offered. "I've helped with a great many births in my years."

With a grateful smile, Merlin accepted her offer. The splattered mud on Alice's skirts indicated she must have just arrived in Camelot. "If you need somewhere to stay," he offered.

Alice slid a glance at Gaius. "I'll let you know."

The physician gave her a coy smile in response.

Looking from one to the other, Merlin muttered an excuse and backed out of the chamber, closing the door behind him. He exchanged a glance with Daegal who still lingered in the hall.

"You could gather herbs," Merlin said. "Some of them are far away and take all day to find."

Daegal's face cleared of its uncertainty. "Thanks."

Merlin watched the boy disappear down the hall before he turned his steps back to the royal apartment where he had left Erec with Arthur.

When Merlin walked into the king's chamber he was in a mock duel with the little boy who could barely balance the wooden sword he wielded. The cleverly crafted sticks made a dull clacking each time they clashed.

"He's too young to play sword-fighting," Merlin said.

Arthur threw his friend a condescending glance over his shoulder without breaking off the fight. "Only if you want him to be as hopeless with a blade as you are."

Merlin rolled his eyes.

The king gave him a haughty look. "I'll have you know it's considered an honour to be permitted to send one's son to Camelot for training. Caradoc has already requested that his son Accolon be trained here and the boy is barely older than Erec."

When Arthur went back to calling out instructions to the little boy as he parried and struck with his own wooden sword, Merlin spotted a ring of keys lying on the bedtable behind the king. The sorcerer muttered a quiet incantation and his eyes flashed. The keys lifted into the air and dangled themselves behind Arthur's head, jangling slightly as they moved back and forth with the king's movements, always staying out of his sight.

Arthur brushed his hand over his ear and glanced around, but did not break off the duel. Erec laughed, his eyes going to the jingling keys.

"Pay attention," Arthur said. "If you let yourself be distracted the enemy can kill you."

Brow puckered, Erec ignored the dancing keys and concentrated on the mock duel.

Arthur shook his head slightly but did not look around again.

Gwen and Mithian walked into the chamber, Gwen carrying Niniane.

The queen frowned. "What's that jangling sound?"

Arthur paused in his duel and looked at her. "You hear it, too?"

The little girl giggled and reached out a chubby fist as if trying to grab for the keys suspended behind Arthur's left ear.

Erec took advantage of the king's distraction to strike a blow to his knee. Arthur looked down in dismay when the boy smiled triumphantly up at him.

"Merlin," Mithian said, her eyes on the keys hanging in midair.

He hunched his shoulders and the keys dropped to the floor.

Arthur stared down at the key ring and then scowled at Merlin, but before he could snap out a suitable reprimand the keys flew back up into the air, narrowly missing his chin and causing him to duck back.

"Merlin!" the king shouted.

The sorcerer watched the keys with open-mouthed surprise. "That wasn't me," he protested.

The key ring shook in midair, making a loud jangling, and Niniane laughed. Then it leapt into her outstretched hands and she shook it again, delighted at the noise it made.

All four adults exchanged a look before turning their attention back to the little girl Gwen was holding.

"I thought magic doesn't usually show up until one is … older," Gwen said. "Morgana was an adult before there was any sign of her ability."

Mithian narrowed her eyes at Merlin. "How old were you the first time you used magic?"

He flushed. "Well, I don't actually remember, but my mother said it was when I was in the cradle."

They looked at Niniane again, who happily shook the key ring and laughed.

Mithian laid a hand on her belly and Arthur raised his brows at the gesture.

"Merlin and Mithian are having a baby," Gwen said.

"Again?"

Erec tugged at the king's shirt. "Did I win the fight?"

Arthur's attention snapped back to the boy in chagrin.

"It seems you did," Gwen said.

"I was distracted," Arthur protested.

Erec put his hands on his hips. "Then the enemy can kill you."

Gwen and Mithian laughed aloud.

Merlin smothered his grin when Arthur gave him a sharp look.

"About those keys –" the king began when there was a knock at the chamber door

A harried Leon entered at the same time the warning bells began to chime.

"Sire, you better come quickly. The people are in a panic."

"What's going on?" the king demanded.

"A dragon has attacked the city."

Arthur glanced at Merlin. "Attacked?"

"It flew over and is circling the citadel," Leon said.

"What colour is it?" Merlin asked.

Leon regarded him in surprise. "What colour?"

"Yes, how big and what colour?"

The First Knight met his eyes gravely. "It's not nearly so large as the one which laid waste to Camelot some years ago and much lighter in hue." He turned his attention back to Arthur. "It's the one that attacked you in Ismere, Sire, and which has assaulted us more than once since. We should prepare our defenses."

The king looked at Merlin, who nodded and hurried out of the chamber. Instead of heading for the courtyard, he took a staircase that would lead him up to one of the highest peaks of the castle. When he reached the battlement, he rushed out to see Aithusa circling in the air. Although the spring day was warm, the wind was cold so high up, the air further stirred by the dragon's wings when she came closer, whipping his hair around.

At the dragonlord's appearance, the white dragon perched herself as best she could on the wide parapet. Her heavy tail knocked loose a few stones which rattled down the side of the tower and dropped onto the courtyard below.

Merlin noted with satisfaction that she had grown in size and her deformities had become less noticeable. Her legs had thickened and her wings had lengthened, although she was only a quarter the size of the Great Dragon.

She nodded her head in greeting and he responded in kind.

"I bring you sad news, my lord," Aithusa croaked.

Merlin's delight in hearing her speak was immediately doused by foreboding.

"Kilgharrah is dead," the dragon said.

Merlin closed his eyes briefly. "Thank you for telling me."

"He was pleased that he lived to see all you dreamt of building come to pass and he said it was a privilege to have known you," she recited.

Merlin was silent for a moment, his head bowed.

There was a scuffle in the stairwell behind him and Merlin looked back to see Arthur motion his knight to accompany him downstairs. Leon's perplexed expression was heightened when the king sheathed the sword he had drawn and gestured at his knight to do the same. With a final glance upwards, Leon followed the king down the staircase.

At their departure, Merlin saw Gwen standing on the stairs with Mithian and Erec behind her. The queen set Niniane down and followed Arthur and Leon to assist in quelling whatever panic was brewing.

Merlin looked at Aithusa. "Do you know what has become of Morgana?"

The white head dipped. "Yes. She's safe and well." The dragon raised her head again and met his eyes.

An echo of remorse went through him for what Morgana had become and what he had robbed her of, but there had been no other way. Now the time for bloodshed and battles was over. "I understand your bond with her will not be broken and I will not keep you from her."

Aithusa acknowledged that concession with a bow of her head.

The white dragon had begun to develop the thick ridge of scales above her eyes and down her neck which Kilgharrah had worn and a nub had formed between her ears where she would have an adult horn. Merlin wondered whether she had grown to possess some of the knowledge of her mentor as well.

"I was shown a vision," he said. "I saw Arthur fall in battle, struck down by Mordred. And Kilgharrah told me long ago that it was Mordred's destiny to bring about Arthur's doom. Has this been averted, or is that prophecy yet to come true?"

The white dragon shook her head sadly. "I'm young; I have little knowledge of the past, so I cannot see much of the future."

Despite his disappointment, Merlin nodded in acceptance of her words. He looked back into the stairwell behind him where Mithian stood holding Niniane's hand. Erec caught his eye and started up the steps. Mithian opened her mouth to call the child back but Merlin shook his head.

When Erec reached the parapet, his eyes widened at the sight of the dragon and his face lit up.

"Hello," the dragon croaked.

The boy's eyes grew wider at hearing the creature speak to him but he bent his tiny frame in a properly respectful bow. "Good day."

Aithusa cocked her head at him.

Erec examined her with equal intensity. "My name is Erec and I have seen three winters."

The dragon twitched the powerful wings folded at her sides. A tiny shower of rocks trickled from the battlement. "I am called Aithusa."

"Can you play with me?"

There was a swell of noise from below and a crossbow bolt sailed over their heads.

Merlin glanced down toward the courtyard. "Not today, and not here," he said to Erec. Then he frowned at Aithusa. "Where will you go?"

"You can call me any time you wish and I will come," Aithusa said.

Merlin recognized the rebuke. He thought how quickly the last two years had sped by and how little attention he had given the young dragon. "I will," he promised.

Erec's face had fallen when he realized the dragon was about to leave, but he brightened at the prospect of seeing the creature again.

Another yell echoed from below followed by a shouted command. With a final look back, Aithusa lifted into the air, sending another loosened stone clattering down. Someone in the courtyard swore loudly.

Merlin and Erec watched as the white dragon flew north past the city proper, then the lower town beyond the city walls, until she disappeared in the distance.

Once Aithusa was gone, Merlin lifted Erec to carry him back into the citadel. The boy was staring at the spot where the dragon had disappeared from sight.

Aldric slammed his hand down on the Round Table. "Why do we sit here talking when that monster is roaming loose?" His disfigured face was twisted with fury, his one good eye fixed on Merlin with even more hatred than usual.

A few of the others nodded in agreement and Arthur recognized both anger and fear in the faces of those knights who had fought for Camelot during the Great Dragon's assault long ago.

The king called for quiet and the raised voices of those seated at the Round Table ceased one by one. Merlin had told him the purpose for the white dragon's appearance and in the face of his friend's inexplicable grief that the larger monster was dead, Arthur had tried to conceal his own relief at the news. He recalled in vivid detail the city in flames night after night, trying to keep up the spirits of exhausted defenders by day, followed by months spent rebuilding the citadel and the town. The creature which had paid them a visit that afternoon had caused enough harm by its appearance alone, and Arthur judged it to be less than half the size of the other beast.

"Leon," Arthur demanded. "Did the dragon do any damage in the city or out of it?"

"None, Sire," the knight said.

"Was anyone injured?"

"A few in the marketplace when there was a panicked rush for cover and one of the palace servants was grazed by a falling stone," Leon said.

Arthur met the eyes of each of the room's occupants who still appeared angry or fearful. "So the dragon did not attack anyone or destroy any property?"

"No, Sire."

"Is the creature gone?"

Leon gave an affirmative nod. "It seems so, Sire."

"Then I see no need for any further action on our part," the king said.

There was some muttering but no one protested.

Aldric's knuckles were white where he grasped the table, his jaw tightly clenched, but he said no more.

"Is there any other business we need to take care of since we are assembled?"

The First Knight slowly stood and cleared his throat without raising his eyes. "Actually, there is news that came to us earlier. I was about to alert you when the dragon was sighted."

"What is it?" Arthur asked when Leon hesitated.

"It seems that King Urien was wed this past autumn."

Arthur was mildly surprised at the news, but puzzled at Leon's anxious expression. "He has been widowed for some time, surely it's no concern of ours."

"It is his choice of bride," Leon said. "He has married Morgana Pendragon."

A hush fell over the room at this announcement.

"She's a traitor to Camelot," Percival said. "How can she live openly in a kingdom that has pledged fealty to Arthur?"

"She is a king's daughter," Ector said. "And now a queen. She will not be held to account for her past deeds."

"There is more, Sire."

All heads turned to Leon with trepidation.

"Word is that the queen of Rheged is with child."

So Morgana would have an heir and he did not, Arthur thought. That did not bode well for the future. "Well, it will be some time before his mother's bitterness and his father's ambition poison that poor child's mind," he said aloud. "If there is nothing more?"

Leon sat down and no one else spoke.

"Thank you all," the king dismissed them.

Aldric marched out of the room, scowling.

As the others who had been gathered at the Round Table followed him out, Arthur turned to see the downcast expression on Guinevere's face. She remained seated, her hands folded before her.

"If you had an heir," the queen said, "Morgana would no longer be a threat. There would be no question of who would succeed you to the throne."

Arthur took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him. "I would give you the world, anything you asked for, and I regret that I never gave you a child." He brushed her cheek with his thumb. "But there is no other I could ever love. Without you, everything I have, everything I accomplished, would be hollow."

A smile touched her face. She laid one hand on top of his where it rested on her cheek.

He glanced sideways at Merlin. "Soon you'll be able to help Mithian juggle another child."

"Again?" Gwaine said, overhearing Arthur's comment.

"What's that?" Percival asked with interest, glancing sideways at them.

"Merlin and Mithian are having a baby."

"Again?"

The sorcerer gave them both a grin while ignoring their rude gestures, but Arthur thought there was a graveness behind Merlin's lighthearted response to their teasing. The two knights followed the others out of the hall, chuckling to themselves.

"What are you worried about?" the king asked after the others had left. "Neither Morgana nor her child will be a threat any time soon. You've fulfilled that destiny you were always babbling on about."

Arthur recognized the look Merlin gave him in response, that all-knowing expression.

"I know. And whatever is to come will come in its own time."

"What do you mean? What happens next?"

"I can't see the future," Merlin replied with a shudder. "Well I could with the Crystal of Neahtid but no good ever comes of it."

Arthur stared for a moment, wondering if he would ever cease to be surprised by some new revelation about Merlin. He shook his head. "Well, thanks to you I have more than enough to keep me busy for the rest of my life. I thought one kingdom was enough of a responsibility." He heaved a sigh.

Merlin raised one brow. "You think you'll be able to handle all that on your own? I'll have my hands full keeping your head from outgrowing your waistline. And that's quite a feat."

"Merlin," Arthur said. "Shut up."

I hope you enjoyed! Thank you so much for every follow, fav, and review.

There are four more chapters but if you do not want to go down the dark road do not read on.