Previously: Without trust there cannot be a friendship. If you cannot believe a word from your friend's mouth how can you trust them? Arthur could not simply take Merlin's word for it that "All he'd done was help" he would have to investigate and until then believe the worst.

Oblivious

Chapter 7: Dragonlord and Dragon

With Arthur walking up ahead, seemingly trying to put as much distance between himself and Merlin as possible, Balinor fell into step with the warlock. He was not in high spirits; his feet dragged across the ground with every step he took.

"He will calm down soon enough." Balinor told him in a weak attempt to reassure him. Gaze still determinedly on the ground Merlin could not help but answer bitterly regardless of the budding friendship he had with the dragonlord.

"I don't know. He's very angry."

"Exactly! So he is not behaving rationally. When we arrive at Camelot he will realise that you meant him no harm. And even if he doesn't, escaping the dungeons shouldn't be too difficult for someone of your power." Abruptly and seemingly without reason, Merlin laughed, a short angry sound which held little amusement.

"Just think, after tonight you will be free and I will be the wanted man." He shook his head at the unfairness of it all, to be persecuted because of your birth was something both he and Balinor had in common and something that should never happen because you couldn't be blamed for something which was beyond your control.

"I wouldn't say that. Uther is not known for keeping his word. Chances are we will both be stuck in the dungeons." Merlin frowned.

"But if you think Uther will throw you into prison, then why are you helping us?"
"I have a plan." Balinor said smiling widely, "If it works I will walk straight through Camelot's front gate without anyone in pursuit."

Intrigued, Merlin wanted to question the dragonlord further but from his expression Merlin guessed he would just have to wait and find out.

A few hours later they were near the outskirts of Camelot and Balinor took charge of the group. The sun was starting to rise, colouring the world in red, as he led them into a large empty clearing that was perfect for what he was about to do.

"Stay back" He warned and he reached within himself for the long untouched power of the dragonlords. The feeling was akin to removing the dust and cobwebs from an artefact of priceless value and he revelled in the power of it. He shouted the ancient words and felt them pierce the air and reach the dragon's hearing then penetrated past that into his mind, into the place only this type of magic could reach. Kilgharrah roared in protest but the magic continued to reinforce the bond that had been weakened by time and brought it back to its full strength. Dragon to Dragonlord. He was forced to obey the order.

Balinor heard both Merlin and Arthur step back in alarm at the dragon's large mass flew down and alighted on the ground, metres in front of Balinor.

"So old friend." His voice boomed out across the clearing. "You have come to kill me for your freedom?"

"Not quite." Balinor replied and using the language of the dragon he issued the commands that were instrumental to his plan. Once finished, the dragon nodded his assent and chuckled.

"Very well."

"And you will be completely free once I have passed from this world." Balinor reminded him as if to compensate for what he had ordered the dragon to do. Kilgharrah looked confused at this.

"You mean, you don't know?"

"Know what?" Balinor asked equally as confused as the dragon had been. Kilgharrah laughed in the only way that dragons could which is to roar loudly in varying pitch. He spread his wings out and leaned back to take off into the air.

"You will find out soon enough." He called to Balinor as he flew upwards and away from Camelot. Half tempted to call him back and demand an explanation since Balinor was not someone who enjoyed being left in the dark, however he decided to let the dragon have his fun, whatever it was it couldn't have been that serious.

Merlin and Arthur had both been too far to hear the transactions between Balinor and the dragon. Both prince and warlock stood side by side, Arthur seemingly having forgotten he was supposed to be angry at Merlin and more than once he hissed "What is going on?!" to which Merlin's only reply was a shrugging of his narrow shoulders. Curious as he might be, Merlin couldn't bring himself to use a listening spell as he was unwilling to violate the dragonlord's privacy. At this point, Merlin knew as much as Arthur. He remembered that Balinor had spoken of some plan he had to evade Uther's wrath and wondered if the secret conversation he was having with the winged beast had anything to do with it.

Then the dragon leapt from its powerful haunches and into the sky, leaving without Balinor making any signs of stopping him.

"What the hell is he doing?!" Arthur snapped, then suddenly remembering that Merlin was unspeakably evil he threw him a dirty look and shouted angrily at the approaching Balinor, "You were supposed to kill it!"

"Killing him would have served no purpose." Balinor replied and looked at Merlin pointedly, ignoring the jab, Arthur continued.

"And what if it comes back to kill more people?"

"He won't. I asked him not to."

"You asked it?!" Arthur screeched incredulously.

"Yes I asked him. Politeness goes a long way." Balinor was still musing over the dragon's last words to him, but he should worry about that later, right now he had more important things to worry about than an old dragon's riddles.

"What shall I tell my father then?" The prince demanded.

"Allow me to deal with that, now shall we head to Camelot? Or are you going to shout some more?" Arthur flushed at the reprimand and tried to think of a clever retort but failed and later realised that insulting a dragonlord would not be the smartest idea in the world.

Balinor's last memory of Camelot was the day he had escaped its dungeons. Looking back, the view had been impressive: an impregnable castle with high spiralling turrets and a large formidable gate which was the only visible way of getting past the wall that held everything inside.

Now, stepping back to that same gate that he had escaped from the castle of Camelot looked worn. One of the turrets which he had admired was now a collapsed pile of rubble that had taken part of the castle and a nearby wall with it. Some of the homes which had relied on Camelot for protection were now burnt to the ground. All in all, it looked like Camelot had been besieged by an army, not one sole dragon. However twenty years of building hate had managed to be unleashed on this once proud city. With magic, the damage, extensive though it was, would be repaired in a few days. Without it, Balinor could not guess how long it would take.

Hoping that the dungeons were in an equally dilapidated state so that if his plan went awry at least his chances of escape would be high. No doubt today he would have to face Uther Pendragon for the first time in two decades.

AN: Had a busy week and a busy day today, including recently setting up Twitter and trying to sort out Uni applications. Also just heard that 'Merlin' has been cancelled which is stupid since they said they were going to continue while people were still enjoying it. I don't get people sometimes. On another note: halfway through guys! (not counting any bonus content chapters I might give you)

Thanks to reviewers: rmatri540, Mediatrix, fairy goatmother, Ana, MamzelleHermy, Laughy-Taffy the Grape, Lientjuhh, IndiaMoore, Alexis, Guest, That-is-illogical.

Replies to reviewers:

Ana: Don't worry about it, any review is appreciated :)