"You're the dragon that attacked Camelot after Morgana went missing," Arthur said grimly as the last of the soldiers disappeared in the direction of the castle.
"Indeed."
Arthur put his hand to his sword hilt.
"I can kill you with a breath," the dragon stated.
"Not if I don't let you," Merlin said quietly, putting his hand on Arthur's and brushing it away from his sword.
"My argument was not with you, Arthur," the dragon said patiently. "It was with your father."
"It doesn't matter to me who your argument was with!" Arthur exclaimed angrily. "It matters that you attacked and killed my people!"
"They were not your people then. They were Uther's." Arthur went for his sword again and Merlin grabbed his hand. "Uther was the one who imprisoned me! Who killed all of my kind, ordered the Dragonlord to summon me, claiming that he wanted to make peace with me, and then betrayed us both! He was false and a butcher of ancient beings and ancient wisdom!"
Arthur's nostrils flared. "I do not deny that what he did was wrong—although he thought he was doing it for the safety of his people. But you had no right to take your anger out on them."
"They were Uther's servants. Destroy his servants, and you destroy his power to do harm."
"And become a butcher of innocent beings yourself!" Arthur shouted.
He almost thought the dragon smiled at him. "Thus speaks the Once and Future King," the dragon said. "But I wonder how merciful you are when others have betrayed you. Have you never wondered how it was I managed to get free?" He looked over at Merlin, and Arthur followed his gaze. Merlin's face was white and drawn.
"Kilgarrah," he said quietly. "I thank you for your help."
Kilgarrah hesitated a moment, and then bowed his head. "A pleasure as always, young warlock," he said, and flew off into the night, the wind from his wingbeats almost throwing Arthur backward.
"Merlin. What did he mean about how he got free?" Arthur said sternly.
Merlin took a deep breath. "When I told you about my magic, and what I had done with it… I only told you the things I was proud of." There were tears in his eyes when he looked up. "I didn't tell you—about Morgana."
Arthur frowned in surprise. "What about her?"
"Well, I have to go back a bit, to the attack by Cornelius Sigan. I went to Kilgarrah for advice, and in exchange for his help, I had to promise to free him. I held out for a long time, but at last when the Fires of Idirsholas were lit and the people of Camelot were falling asleep, he insisted that I must free him in exchange for his help. So I promised to set him free—that night." Merlin swallowed. "The dragon said I had to find the source of the spell, and that it had to be somewhere in Camelot. Eventually, I realized it had to be Morgana—you remember she was unaffected by it. So I—I poisoned her." Arthur was staring at him now, aghast. "Morgause appeared and agreed to stop the attack in exchange for the name of the poison I had used, so she could counteract it. It was the only way I could save Camelot—but it turned horribly wrong." The tears began to spill over Merlin's cheeks. "It is what pushed Morgana over the edge—what made her finally turn her back entirely on Camelot. It made her what she is today."
"No, it didn't," Arthur said gruffly, turning away as Merlin wiped at his face. "It was only the final straw. You did not make her evil—no one did. Evil is a choice that we make, not something someone else can cause us to become." They were both quiet for a moment as Merlin collected himself again. "So you freed the dragon," Arthur stated.
Merlin nodded. "I was afraid that he would attack Camelot—but I felt I had no choice. He had helped me so many times in the past, and I had to keep my word. So I freed him."
"But you control the dragon," Arthur said, confused. "Why couldn't you just tell him to stop?"
"I didn't control him yet," Merlin answered quickly. "There is only one Dragonlord at a time. And at first, the Dragonlord was—"
"Balinor," Arthur said, piecing it together. "And when he died—you became the next Dragonlord."
"Yes. The gift is passed… from father to son." He held Arthur's gaze as his friend's eyes widened.
After a long moment of silence, Arthur stepped forward. "I do not like what you did—but I understand why you felt you had to do it. And though you freed the dragon, you did not cause him to take out his revenge on the people of Camelot any more than you caused Morgana to make the decisions she has made." He put his hand on Merlin's arm. "We have both lost our fathers. Let us be good to one another." Unable to speak, Merlin nodded, gulping. Arthur looked at him for a moment—and then drew him into a hug.
000
There was a celebratory atmosphere in the castle when they returned to it. The knights who had been paralyzed seemed to feel, like Percival, that they had "slept" enough that day, and were inclined to make a late night of it. Gwen had made sure that Gaius's patients had been moved up to the surgery, where the noise wouldn't bother them, and had then ordered wine and food brought to the Great Hall for an impromptu celebration. She smiled with relief and ran over to Arthur when he came in—the men who had been healed had told her how they had left the King and Merlin alone with the dragon.
"You're alright!" she said, giving him a hug.
"There's very little danger from dragons when you're accompanied by the Dragonlord," Arthur said wryly. Gwen's eyes widened and she turned to stare at Merlin, who gave a grim little smile.
Gwaine and Gaius walked up before she could say anything. "Everything alright?" Gwaine asked.
Merlin glanced over at Arthur before answering. "Yes. We're fine."
"Good."
"Where's Anna?"
"She was exhausted. I took her home."
Merlin nodded. "It was harder on her than it was on me. After all—" he gave a wry smile—"I just had to lie there."
"I am still astounded that you managed to possess her in the first place," Gaius observed. "Geoffrey and I looked through the records and the only cases of full possession by a living person that we could find were of the High Priestesses possessing one another."
"That's what Morgana said," Merlin answered.
"They were only able to do it because they worked magic together," Gaius explained. "It is usually worked alone. The Druids sometimes perform powerful spells as a group, as when they utilize the Cup of Life, but they are only combining the force of their magic, not working magic through one another. Other than the High Priestesses, you are the only person I have ever heard of who has managed to transfer his power to another person for their use. It's the only way such a possession would work."
"It was certainly effective," Arthur said. "I thought for sure Sifa was done for, but your healing spell was astounding."
"Anna's spell," Merlin corrected him. "My raw power, and Anna's control of it."
"You also managed to scare off Morgana pretty completely," Gwaine said.
Merlin looked thoughtful. "Maybe it wasn't me that frightened her," he said quietly. "She's not one to run away from an enemy, even a powerful one. Maybe it was the question she was running from."
TBC
AN: Woohoo, chapter sixty! Thanks again to my reviewers! You really make my day.
