Previously: 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.

Oblivious

Chapter 8: Home Sweet Home

Merlin felt a little queasy passing through the gate, he had no idea what would happen once they were inside, one possibility that haunted him was of an immediate arrest and swift execution, but whether that would happen sooner or later meant that he would be tense and anxious, constantly waiting for a guard to pop up out of nowhere and accuse him of sorcery. And no doubt once he was arrested, someone with a brain (a rare occurrence in Camelot) would put two and two together and maybe for once get the right answer and figure out that it was he who released the dragon and unleashed the mayhem.

Gwen was the first to greet them, she had seen them coming when she had been fetching water from the well and upon catching sight of them she abandoned her duty and rushed over for news.

"How did it go?" she asked unsure as to who she should be addressing: Arthur, Merlin or the stranger that was with them.

"The dragon is… gone." Arthur replied with some hesitation, he was still trying to work out how to explain the same to the King.

"That's great!" a huge weight of worry was lifted off her small shoulders, "Would you like me to start informing the people?" she asked.

"No, not yet. The King will probably wish to make a public announcement."

"Alright then." She turned to leave but abruptly remembering something she spoke briefly to Merlin.

"Merlin, your mother is here."

"She is?!" What was she doing here? Merlin thought frantically to himself. Whilst he absorbed this startling news, Arthur took the moment to interject himself into the conversation.

"I will go tell the King what has happened. I believe he will schedule a meeting at midday to discuss it." Balinor nodded, understanding that Arthur was giving him a few hours of free time. Merlin shuffled about uncertainly. "I won't need you until then Merlin, try not to be late."

"Yes sire." Merlin doubted that he had ever felt this grateful to Arthur before, he might still be executed later today but for now he had the chance to see his mother, his only family.

"Where is she, Gwen?"

"The infirmary, last I saw, she was helping with the wounded."

"Thank you." Merlin left quickly heading to what Balinor assumed was the infirmary. Gwen explained that she had duties to attend to and she too left, although in a different direction to Merlin, leaving Balinor and Arthur alone.

"You shouldn't be so hard on him." Balinor advised the prince, not needing to specify as to who he was referring to.

"He broke the law." Despite the words he said there was little conviction in his tone.

"By existing. The same way I broke the law."

"That's different!"

"How so?" Balinor challenged, if he could get Arthur to see the truth then maybe the future would be brighter for all, sorcerers and warlocks and dragonlords alike.

"You- you never lied about who you were!"

"Because then you couldn't be executed for speaking the truth. Which is why so many people attack Camelot. Most desire freedom from persecution although there are some who want only power. With all this it would be invaluable to have a loyal warlock at your side. And if what Merlin said previously was true, then if he hadn't been so loyal it is likely that you would already be dead."

The prince was silent. "Anyway it has been years since I've been in Camelot. It will be nice to see if things have changed. I'll see you later, in the throne room, am I correct?" Wordless, Arthur nodded and was left alone.

Heading to the infirmary, Merlin saw all the carnage that he had caused indirectly by releasing the dragon. All the death, all the destruction, every single injury was his fault. He doubted he could ever repay this debt. Guilt suffused him, before he had not had the proper time to feel the pain, he had been too busy trying to save Arthur and then worried about whether they would find Balinor or not. Now he felt the full impact of his bad judgement. If had not been enough that he had poisoned Morgana, he had also brought pain to the entire city and its inhabitants.

He wondered if there was any spell to make him forget what he had done, he hadn't heard of any. Perhaps he could invent one, if it was possible to invent spells.

Hunith had just finished tending to a patient, he managed a smile despite how he was feeling, she looked up and saw him and made a little cry of delight. Moments later she barrelled into him.

"I've been so worried! Is everything okay? Are you hurt?!" She checked him over frantically for a non existent injury, then hugged him again with renewed enthusiasm.

"Mother, what are you doing here? It wasn't safe!"

"I was coming over to visit and then I heard about the dragon! I'm just so glad that you're okay!" Merlin could not respond; he did not know how long he would be "okay" for.

Balinor had enjoyed his wander around the city, he had not had the chance to observe the hustle and bustle of everyday life for a very long time, he had been too worried about capture. He toyed with the idea of going to see Gaius but wanted a chance to clear his head before the upcoming confrontation with Uther. There would be plenty of time to visit his old friend later… as long as everything went well.

It did not take the Dragonlord long to reach the throne room, aside from the destruction the castle was relatively unchanged and he already knew the route. He was stopped at the entrance by two heavily armed burly guards, Balinor eyed their swords warily knowing that if things went wrong he would have to face them although he was comforted by the weight of the sword at his side. Having announced that he was expected, the guards allowed him through.

Hardly anyone else was in the room, there were a few more guards standing around doing their best to look intimidating and there was Merlin. Clearly not taking any chances of being late. The warlock glanced over at Balinor's arrival and Balinor noticed the unnatural paleness of the boy. He was scared.

Balinor walked over to the window where Merlin stood. The boy had been looking at the scaffolding that had miraculously survived the dragon's attacks, no doubt he was worrying about execution. Reassurances were not the Dragonlord's strong point but he tried anyway.

"It might not happen." Merlin snorted.

"You don't know my luck." Balinor opened his mouth to advise Merlin to be more optimistic but was interrupted by the arrival of King Uther and Arthur.

The King did not look pleased and looked far older than the last time Balinor had set eyes on him. Although both he and the King were about the same age, Uther's hair was completely gray and the lines on his face spoke of a long life filled with hard decisions. Balinor on the other hand had only been going gray recently; he looked and probably felt a great deal younger than the King.

Uther glared at him upon noticing and recognising the Dragonlord. Balinor hid a smile; he knew the King's mood was only going to get worse.

AN: I promise next chapter is the Balinor-Uther faceoff, I know some of you were expecting it to be today but I needed a few extra scenes before the confrontation.

Thanks to reviewers: Lientjuhh, Laughy-Taffy the Grape, Amethyst M, Mediatrix, MamzelleHermy, blackwolfs900, WE-ARE-SHER-LOCKED, rmatri540, Guest, StarBolt1966, IndiaMoore, Questionable Answers.

Response to reviewers:

Laughy-Taffy the Grape: Escape plan? You'll just have to wait and see! Balinor's plan is revealed next chapter.

Mediatrix: Next chapter Balinor's plan will be revealed!

blackwolfs900: We still have a few chapters to go until the big reveals but not long now.

Guest: You should have seen the chapter length when this was 25 chapters long! I had to compound quite a few chapters together :)