Once out of the gates, Merlin shielded himself in spells and shifted into his human form. Hostile magic lashed against him, but it like fending off Kilgharrah. Easy. Merlin was glad that Arthur and the others were not with him or he would have to take a bolt for the sake of being "normal." He ran for the field without a care in the world even though the heavens around him crackled and shrieked with power in his wake.

Two forms waited for him on the edge of the clearing and his heart lurched against his ribcage. Either they had heard his mental calls or they had believed in him, it didn't matter which – Merlin plowed through the snow with tears in this eyes. He barked out a greeting to his kin and waved an arm over his head, panting. These creatures, strange and lovely beings, believed in him.

"I'm here!" shouted Merlin again relief in his voice. He was happy to see them. Aithusa keened, but made no move to fly to him. Instead the small dragon stayed in the shelter of the larger dragon's half stretched wing, his white claws fastened tightly to the ground below. Still, the little dragon vibrated in happiness, his warlock had finally come.

The large ancient dragon grumbled in a hurt tone, "Young warlock I feared the worst for you when you did not come. Why is it that I am to respond to your summons, but you are at your leisure to ignore mine? Are we not kin?"

Merlin looked up at his friend, annoyed, he was tired of being lectured, "Kilgharrah, I've had a hard time getting away from Gaius. Something happened. I've been under watch. I'm supposed to be under care."

"I cannot understand if you do not tell me, Merlin."

"What do you need from me, Kilgharrah? You two have been driving me mad calling to me day and night. I'm finally here and now you're reprimanding me on how long I took to get here? Forgive me if I'm not exactly thrilled about that. I've been having a hard time lately."

"You must tell me Merlin about what has been going on," insisted the Great Dragon who winced as a bolt of brightness attempted to strike the warlock, but Merlin batted the bolt away with some magic shielding as if it were nothing. Fragments of the bolt danced along the ground like stray bits of static electricity, but the warlock flicked them away with the back of his hand.

Merlin, hesitantly, started to explain, "The storm is magic. You know that much Kilgharrah. I got injured by it. I'm healed. Gaius has been hiding the fact that I'm alright." Kilgharrah was one to go to in a crisis. He was kin. He also had his own agenda. He was also a slave to Destiny himself. Merlin wasn't quite sure what the dragon's role exact role was, but even if he was kin – he could have a cold and clinical approach to getting a result.

"Injured," said Kilgharrah as if he were tasting the word and found the word vile. "Do not lie to me, Merlin."

"I'm not," protested Merlin haughtily. "What do you want, Kilgharrah? I didn't come out here to be accused of lying!"

"I'm sorry," said Kilgharrah quietly, "I guess you didn't. I guess that's what you actually believe, isn't it? You think you're fine as you've always been fine." The old dragon sighed wearily and he braced himself against another blast of wind as another blast of lightning attempted to blast Merlin. "We've had guests from the East."

"Wha.." Merlin tried to ask but the storm howled behind him. Kilgharrah roared back and slashed behind his warlock, before he grabbed up his dragon lord with his forepaws and then hastily rose to his haunches. Without warning he took flight. Squealing in protest Aithusa followed with difficulty – cursing furiously in dragon tongue.

Merlin muttered a warming spell through chattering teeth – trying to convince himself that Kilgharrah had a reason for this behavior. He closed his eyes and recited to himself all the reasons why he doesn't want Kilgharrah to die.

High over the clouds, a disk of marble floated. It was here that Kilgharrah had taken his dragon lord. Aithusa, panting and grumbling, landed next to the warlock – however the little dragon was to tired to continue his cursing. The disk was edged in silvers and golds. In the center of the disk was a small hut surrounded by a fishpond that had stepping stones in it so that a person could get to the hut without getting wet feet. This place was strange, but peaceful. The storm wasn't here, that was one relief.

"Our guests, are there," Kilgharrah indicated the hut with one claw before folding his wings neatly and staring through his dragon lord. "Merlin, I'm sorry, I wasn't able to explain. We were under attack back there. Either way, the truth comes out now, and you will have choices to make. Choices that you won't want to make."

Merlin nodded and made his way to the hut.

Half of the clientele of The Rising Sun were naked by the time Arthur got there. Most of the patrons were to wasted to even bother worrying about their dignity however Gwaine, half dressed from the waist down, was carrying an arm load of clothes. Leon, red from head to toe, was trying to cover himself with his hands a buxom redhead was pressing against him from behind giggling. She obviously did not care her prince had just walked into the pub.

"What on Earth?" exclaimed the royal with extra disgust at the depravity displayed.

Gwaine's face split into a grin.

"I don't have time to deal with this. Explanations will have to wait," Arthur growled, "We have work to do."

Five foreign looking strangers sat on green mats drinking from white cups. The smallest one, a female with a dark straight hair, looked up and glared at Merlin when he walked into the room, "You are finally here, Emrys. I was starting to think that you would make us wait for eternity."

Her voice was like a bell.

"I-I-I..I, didn't realize, t-that," Merlin stuttered searching for words.

An exaggerated blond woman scolded the the first one, "Ginny, he could not have known we were waiting for him. Don't be rude. I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation why he was detained and he doesn't even owe us any reason at all. If anything he owes the explanation to his dragons! Just relax will you?"

Secretly Merlin marveled at the second speaker. He imagined how she must have had some spectacular back muscles to support her attributes. She was upright and that in itself was either physical prowess or magic or both. The others looked away and avoided his gaze, they were only along to accompany the little one or so it seemed.

"Quiet!" snapped Ginny at the blond women. As tiny as she looked, she commanded the room. Merlin stood patiently, like he would for Arthur, with his feet slightly parted, hands behind his back, and his shoulders squared. He readied himself for some sort of ridiculous request. Ginny modified her tone when addressing Merlin, "Emrys, please.., uh, You should not still be standing."

"Errr?"

"Please sit?" asked Ginny with sweeping gesture. Merlin found himself staring at the little woman before him. As oddly attired in a robe of green with embroidered gold dragon flies – she might as well have been wearing a disgusting amount of wealth. The fabric was rare, the bead work was intricate, and from what he could tell – she wore a small fortune in jewelry. Her eyes were her strangest feature, for they were the blackest black and shaped like almonds. Merlin found himself lost within them. He sat down before her, staring deeply into her eyes until Ginny began to blush furiously. "Stop staring!"

"Errr, sorry," apologized the warlock matching her blush and looking away for a moment, confused for lack of anything for anything better to say or for anything else to do – he picked at his neckerchief. The silence was getting to him. While Ginny was squirming around in her blush the other foreigners were now staring at him and he found his discomfort growing. Eventually, he found his voice again, "Why are we here? What is this meeting about?"

"Emrys..."

"Merlin," he corrected.

"Fine. Have it your way, Emrys. As I was saying, Merlin," Ginny's bell like voice filled the small room. Each word rang with a purity of sound. She was so exotic looking that she could not be completely human. Merlin liked the way she smelled. "I have come to ask you to, well, stop playing around."

Merlin barked out a laugh, "What? What do you mean?"

Ginny frowned, "You allow magic to suffer. You haven't finished anything. Granted, it might be more interesting to leave loose ends but honestly all you are accomplishing is … forgive me, Lord, for speaking so plainly, but... uh.. all you're doing is being cruel."

Merlin opened his mouth to protest, but snapped it shut. So much was wrong with what Ginny had said to him. "I think you have the wrong person. I'm not a Lord. I'm just Merlin. It's my destiny to see Arthur to become the Once and Future King. I'm just a warlock. Granted, I have a little more ability than others, but that's about it. My part in destiny, to be part of Albion being born? I'd be very proud to see that happen. As for the rest? I'm not doing anything except protecting Arthur. I'm not being cruel. I'm not leaving anything unfinished. I am sorry, but you might have me confused for someone else."

Ginny shook her head, "You don't know? You haven't realized? You, Merlin. are so much more than that. You are Emrys."

"I don't understand."

Ginny held her tiny hand out, palm up and Merlin hesitated before he covered it with his, "Lets talk outside."

For the moment, the storm had ceased it's centralized attack on Camelot. It brief reprieve gave way to opportunity for precious firewood collection. Several servants organized the citizens from the lower town. They combed the forest to pick up kindling and to break down any fallen branches. Wagons went out to collect grain, food and other sundries from neighboring villages. Arthur sent knights to check on borders, but even as his orders were carried out – he kept his eyes sky ward.

The druid had never mentioned the possibility of a break in the attack. Had Emrys done something? Arthur did not believe the attack was over. From what the druid said... He wouldn't worry about that right now, right now all he could do was prepare for the rest of the siege.

Several kitchen maids led by George went out into the fields under Gaius's instructions went foraging for medicinal plants. With Merlin still laid up, precious supplies would be needed. They had to travel far by foot since most of the vegetation had been devastated by the snows. What was worse, the colder weather had been advancing naturally in parts not affected by the magical storm and what was needed by the physician was withering or unable to be found. When George and the maids came back almost empty handed, Arthur had a fit. He filled George's pocket with gold and sent him off on horseback with Gwaine as his bodyguard in hope that he could find supplies from a nearby village. Gaius would have had much powdered or dried in reserve, but thanks to a paranoid kingdom always breaking or tipping over his supplies – well – it was safe to say that Camelot was going to have to attempt to buy questionable supplies from unknown suppliers in order to make it through the winter. Winter was when most of the population would at one time would succumb to some form of illness. This year it would be difficult to say the least.

Precious feed for horses and livestock was carted in by the wagon load. Standing in the middle of the square Arthur barked orders, wishing not for the first time, that Merlin was here to take over this duty. His manservant had a practical head on his shoulders and understood these matters better since he had grown up as a simple farm boy. Arthur asked the stable boy how much hay and oats the horses needed daily and the boy went mute from the shock from being asked a simple question! It was so annoying! He tried not to show his frustration. He tried to think of the words Merlin would tell him, "you have to believe in people or they won't believe in you. They won't believe in what they are doing is worth the effort. If you are brave, they will be brave. If you are calm, they will be calm."

Merlin was so much better at organizing for a siege than Arthur. He was half tempted to run to the physicians chamber and demand step by step instructions on how to pull this off, but Arthur's pride kept him from running to Merlin. He had to do this himself. He had to show Merlin that he could do this and he had to prove this to himself. Aggravaine had a few nuggets of wisdom that were almost counterproductive, but Arthur ignored them. They were time wasters.

Eye to the skies, Arthur put his mind to priorities: Security. Health. Food. Water. Sanitation.

Simple, right? Oh how he wished. After all of this, he might just let Gwaine soak his brain in mead - IF he was guaranteed not to end up naked. He made a mental note to ask about that and then ran to help an elderly man catch an escaped chicken.

Her hand was so small. He felt like he was being led by a child. Ginny led Merlin outside the hut to stand on the edge and look down into breaks of the clouds to the earth below. The world looked so small from up here. His problems were connected to the ground below and while up here – for a moment he was removed from them. A small breeze lifted strands of Ginny's hair and it danced around her. Merlin thought of ribbons rather than snakes – her hair was very shiny.

Another small hand reached out and hovered in the air, invitingly. Merlin took it in his, wondering what it was they were doing. He would play along. He was patient, but he did not have much time to spend here. He did sneak out last night and now it was daylight. He had no idea how long or how far Kilgharrah had flown, but it was daylight here. Gaius was going to be furious with him.

"Merlin. You have left many matters unfinished for the sake of protecting the Once and Future King. He is part of your destiny, but he is only part of your destiny. One would think you would prioritize better, Merlin. After all, he has failed you admittedly through no fault of his own – however you do have your duties. You can't keep doing what you are doing without taking responsibility for what you are doing. It's getting bothersome. You're causing pain. You defeat many and leave them without a leader. For instance, you killed the King of the Sidhe," explained Ginny.

Merlin interrupted, "Arthur has never let me down. And the Sidhe King? He tried to kill me! I was asleep and he tried to assassinate me!"

Ginny shook her head, "That does not matter. You killed the Sidhe King," explained Ginny, "You have not taken your place as their leader. Instead you abandon them. They are a violent and vicious people with strong magic. They are strange and powerful. They can be the worst of enemies but also powerful allies. You conquered them and disregard your responsibility."

Merlin recoiled, "What?"

"When you killed Nimueh, you willed the magic to restore Gaius. The rain that would normally fill the cup, fell on Gaius directly. You don't need the cup itself to do the magic. You abandoned the cup itself and so it fell into the hands of the druids. You know the rest."

"But...I pulled down lightning."

"And, it killed her and then the rain came and that water revived Gaius. Did you not think it strange that he did not have to drink from the cup? Did you think that you just reversed her spell or something? Would that have made sense? If you stopped her spell, wouldn't that have meant your mother would have been ill again?"

"I never thought of it," admitted Merlin.

Ginny nodded sadly, "You don't like thinking about it, do you?"

Merlin sighed. "How do you know these things?" asked Merlin suspiciously, "How do you know about me?"

"I know the prophecies and the scriptures. I have traveled to speak to you about them. It is my duty. My friends have chosen to keep me company on my journey. It is my duty to impart certain knowledge to you, however I did not realize how much you did not know. The prophecies say much, but they are not as detailed as we would like them to be. I'm sure you have had a taste of what I speak of – it's like getting a straight answer from a dragon."

Merlin laughed at that. The tension he was feeling lifted a little, only a little, he still felt as if this woman was adding to his destiny burden and he did not like it.

"What else?"

"According to the scripture, if it is correct, you are still ignoring the druids even though they need you."

"They have their leaders!" Merlin protested realizing to late that he was confirming yet another one of the woman's accusations of his crimes. Her hands trembled in his. He stroked his thumbs gently over her soft palms.

"You are their Lord, Emrys!" snapped Ginny who then took a deep breath and added, "And now, the one thing I know for sure I must tell you, please forgive me – well... The one thing that it is my duty to tell you above all else, you must put an end to the old religion itself. Ease its suffering, Emrys," pleaded Ginny, awkwardly.

"No. You cannot be serious. No. I want magic to be welcome again. I want magic to be respected. I want people to know it can be a force for good!" argued Merlin.

"Why allow the old religion to sputter? It's practically offering you its throat! And you ignore it! It does suffer and you allow it to writhe. As it suffers, the earth itself suffers. Do you not care the tragedy that it causes? World wide in places you cannot see because you do not live there, people are dying because of the old religion's death throes. The earth quakes and tsunamis. Floods and droughts. Fires and famine. Pestilence and disease. All that and more from Uther's sin. Uther's hatred. Uther's false retribution, but you prolong it by not finishing the job. You are a creature of magic – you should feel the pain of the old religion. You should know that it is past its time."

Merlin swallowed. He did not feel it.

Ginny frowned at him. The disapproving lines morphed her doll like face into a more human looking mask, "Are you afraid of the priestesses? You've killed many. There are not many left. As for the remaining creatures..."

"No. Wait. You've been talking nonsense. I am not. I have not. You're INSANE! AND... You... Yknow what? That is... Uhtth... What...the hell? I can't kill the old religion. I can't kill off MAGIC!" roared Merlin angrily.

Ginny let go of his hands and met his blue eyes with the sincerest saddest expression Merlin had ever seen. Her little hands pulled at each other and pearl like teeth bit into a full bottom lip as tears raced down her cheeks.