Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.
Chapter eight: Missing dragon
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Merlin walked quickly from the fortress, the biting cold wind of the Ismere plains. He had one last thing to do before he could return home. He came to a halt in a large clearing surrounded by snow covered rocks, it was sheltered from the wind, but it was still freezing cold.
Glancing round, Merlin frowns. Aithusa wasn't here. Sighing Merlin throw his head back and roared at the sky, in hopes he would be able to summon Aithusa, but just like the many times before, he was unable to. Cursing Merlin began pacing.
Aithusa had been here, he'd been so close to bringing the youngest dragon home and finding out what had happened to the dragon for the time he had been missing. But now he was gone once more and Merlin had more questions than answers.
Suddenly a wind whipped up out of nowhere, causing snow and ice to be thrown through the air in a whirlwind. Merlin throws his hands in front of his face in an attempt to shield himself from the snow and ice, his magic quickly leapt to his defence.
Once the whirlwind had died down, Merlin lowed his hands. Standing across from him was a young man with dark hair, dressed in druid clothing and a thick winter cloak pulled around their shoulders. There carried a sword at their hip and a dagger in their boot, but apart from that they had no other visible weapons.
Merlin grins. "Mordred!"
The young man spins round, he had changed a lot since Merlin had first meet him in Camelot, hiding from the guards. He still had some resemblance to the small boy Merlin had helped, but Merlin doubted Arthur, Morgana or Gwen would recognise him.
"Merlin!" Mordred answers, striding forward and Merlin pulls him into a one armed hug.
"What are you doing here?" Merlin asks, as the two step apart.
"Freya sent me" Mordred answers. "You have her worried."
Merlin sighs. "I knew I forgot something… Well it's too late to send word now."
Mordred looks up at the fortress. "What happened to Morgana?"
"She's gone," Merlin answers. "After Tristan run her though, she disappeared. I don't know where she went, I was unconscious at the time… The Saxons are gone too."
Mordred glanced at Merlin. "There is something you are not telling me, Emrys."
Merlin sighs again. "I found Aithusa."
"Surely that is good news." Mordred replies.
"He's working for Morgana." Merlin adds.
Mordred stares at Merlin in shock. "How is that possible?"
"I don't know," Merlin shakes his head. "I tried summoning him, but it's the same as before, he doesn't respond… I have failed him, Mordred."
"You have not failed him, Emrys." Mordred answers. "As soon as it was known Aithusa was missing, you haven't stopped looking for him."
Merlin shakes his head. "It is my responsibility as a dragon lord to protect and look after the dragons… You didn't see him Mordred, he wasn't the dragon he was when he went missing. He is weak and ill, I have failed him."
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Gwen hurried down the steps as Arthur led his men into the courtyard. Relief swept through her as she saw Arthur relatively unharmed. Many of the men who had gone missing whilst on patrol had returned to, but there were many injured. Alice and Gaius were going to be rushed off their feet for the next couple of days.
Stepping on the bottom step, Gwen looked horrified. Where was Merlin? He wasn't with Arthur and he wasn't with the injured. Gwen caught site of Gwaine and Percival, but Merlin wasn't with them either. Had something happened? Had Merlin gone missing? Why else would they leave Merlin behind?
"Guinevere." Arthur smiles as he quickly made his way over to her.
"Arthur." Gwen smiles, as Arthur quickly pulls her into an embrace and they share a kiss.
"The mission was a success," Arthur informs Gwen, as they pull apart. "I have saved my men and Morgana no longer has Ismere in her control."
Gwen nodes and smiles. "I'm just glad you are home and safe."
"My lady." Gwaine greets, as he walks past, heading towards the physicians chambers.
"Sir Gwaine." Gwen answers, before turning back to Arthur. "Where is Merlin?"
"What do you mean 'where is Merlin?' he's right… Here." Arthur turns, only to find Merlin wasn't with him or anywhere in the courtyard.
Gwen raised an eyebrow at her husband. "Well? Where is he?"
"I could have sworn he was with us," Arthur answers. "I don't know where that idiot has got to."
"Well," Gwen replies. "You can tell the wife of 'that idiot' that you've left him behind. I'm sure Freya will be pleased to hear the news."
"But he isn't missing!" Arthur mutters. "I'd never leave Merlin behind!"
"Where is he then, Arthur?" Gwen asks, hiding a slight smile as her husband begins to panic."
"My lady," Percival approaches them. "Merlin stayed in Ismere, they were something's he had to take care of. He didn't want to endanger the sick and injured by making us wait for him."
Gwen smiles. "Thank you, Percival."
Percival bows before heading into the castle. Gwen turns to her husband.
"You let Merlin stay at Ismere on his own?!" Gwen demands.
She knew Merlin was powerful, but she was still worried about her friend. Who knew how many enemies he could be facing alone? Ismere was Morgana's strong hold.
"I didn't-" Arthur tries to explain.
"You could have at least let a couple of men stay with him, Arthur." Gwen cuts him off. "He is your best friend and you left him there on his own!"
"I-" Arthur tries to answer.
"What if Morgana is still there?" Gwen questions. "What if she harms him? What if she and her followers attack him? Merlin's powerful, but he's still only one man. He needs someone to watch his back, he needs friends who will be there for him, Arthur Pendragon."
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Alice helped Isolde over to one of the benches, Tristan was sitting at the small table with Gwaine tucking into a steaming bowl of stew. Gaius was brewing a potion over an open flame, the mixture taking a pale orange colour.
"The damage to your throat isn't too bad," Alice explains, as treats the wounds on Isolde's wrists, the cuffs had done some minor damage. "It'll be sore for a few days, but as long as you keep taking the tonic Gaius is making, it'll clear up with no lasting damage."
"What caused the problem in the first place?" Tristan asks.
"Straining the throat," Alice answers. "Over use of the voice when the throat was damaged. It was mostly caused by prolonged screaming and limited water to soothe the throat."
"Prolonged screaming?" Tristan questions. "What did they do to you, Isolde, my love?"
"Nothing," Isolde answers. "I screamed and begged for them not to harm you… Even when my throat hurt and I could barely make a sound, I begged for her not to harm you."
"Isolde…" Tristan mutters.
Isolde shut her eyes, tears glittered on her eyelashes. "Morgana just stood there and would gloat, every time I screamed and begged for them to leave you alone… She never told me what happened to you. Every scream and every time they burned a dead body, I feared it was you and that I would never see you again."
"Death has nearly parted us before," Tristan answers. "I will not let it do so again."
Isolde opens her eyes and smiles. "That's twice now Merlin has saved me. We owe him so much."
"And he will never ask for anything in return." Gwaine speaks up.
Tristan nodes his agreement.
"Here," Alice hands Isolde a cup. "Drink this."
Isolde takes the cup and drinks a mouthful of the warm liquid. It was honey mixed with tea, a simple remedy to soothe a sore throat. Isolde nodes her thanks to Alice as she sips the tea, who nodes in return and moves over to Gwaine to check him for injuries, even though he'd been mostly healed at Ismere.
Gaius glances towards the door to the chamber, frowning slightly.
"Merlin should have returned by now." Gaius spoke to Alice.
"He's probably gone home first, my dear." Alice replies. "He hasn't seen Freya or the children in days and you know how worried Freya has been lately."
Gaius nodes. "I'll have to invite him to eat with us tomorrow night… It's been a while since the two of us have eaten together."
Over the years Merlin had lived in Camelot, Gaius had grown used to having Merlin around. It got to the stage when Gaius couldn't imagine not having Merlin around. So over the years he had grown to miss just the two of them sitting down and eating in the evening, talking about the vents of the day and helping Merlin with his studies.
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Hello, I hope you enjoyed reading that chapter. Until next time,
Blessed be,
TreeOfLife1997.