Chapter 26
Merlin opened his eyes to a dark sky.
The first thing he noticed was how much his head hurt. Whatever he had done to stop Sarrum from blocking his magic had taken a toll on him. It wasn't as painful as before, but still, he probably wouldn't be coming up with convoluted plans for a little while. And that wasn't all; he didn't need to see his face to know that his bruises were still there, besides a few more in his arms and legs, and a some rope burn on his wrists from when he tried to escape his bounds. But hey, he was still breathing.
A flash of light made him look to his right. The bonfire was almost out, but he could still see her sitting next to it, peering into what flames remained. She held her dagger in her hands, and she was sheathing it and unsheathing it, over and over again. Looking around, Merlin tried to find Aithusa, but she didn't seem to be around. He looked at her once more. What would she do now that she knew the truth? What could he say to show her that it didn't change anything? That he would never harm her. That he...
Merlin shook his head and sighed. He knew Morgana well enough to know that there was almost no chance they would keep being friends after this, or whatever they were right now. Her hatred towards Emrys was absolute. For Morgana, he was the one guilty of denying her what was rightfully hers. Probably, she also blamed him of killing her sister. And, to be perfectly honest, she was right, those things had been his fault. How could she ever forgive him for that?
Not that Merlin was going to ask her for her forgiveness, of course. After all, she would have killed Arthur and who knows how many others if he hadn't stopped her. There was no way that he was going to apologize for that... Right?
"You know," Merlin said, in a sort of joking tone, "I was half expecting to wake up with that dagger stuck in my chest."
Hearing his voice, Morgana jumped and pointed her dagger at him. She stood in place a few seconds, and then, still without saying a word, walked towards where he was, always making sure that the dagger remained between them.
"Come on, Morgana, please," Merin said, in a pleading voice, "it's still me, no—"
"Shut up!" she yelled, moving the dagger closer to him. "Just, shut up!"
"But, I—" Merlin started, but her face suggested that it was best to keep quiet.
" You..." Morgana said, pointing a dagger to him, "you... you are Emrys..." She spat his name as if it was poison.
"I am," Merlin said, while he sat up against a nearby tree. "But that's just—"
"No! I don't want to hear your excuses! You are the reason that magic is still banned in Camelot! You are the reason that sorcerers have to keep hiding! You are the reason that I've lost everything! EVERYTHING!" She shook her head in disbelief. "All this time, it had always been you... since the very beginning... Was that why you came to Camelot? To destroy me?"
"What!? No! No. I went there so Gaius could teach me how to control my magic. I didn't know anything about Arthur, or Emrys, or... or you. "
Morgana paused for a second. "Why did you help him then?" she asked, in an accusing tone. "You knew what Arthur felt about sorcerers. You knew that he would have had you killed the second he found out about you."
"That...," Merlin looked at her, there was no point in lying anymore, "that was because of Kilgharrah."
"And who is this Kilgharrah?" she asked, in a skeptical voice.
"The Great Dragon," Merlin explained, and her face showed she recognized that name. "He was chained beneath Camelot. He talked to me and told me that I should protect Arthur, that he was the one destined to bring magic back to the kingdom, but only if he was alive to do so."
"But... that's impossible, Arthur hates magic!" she exclaimed. "He hates it! He would never allow that, let alone make it happen."
"Didn't Arthur let you use your magic to save Gwen? Didn't he try to do the same with his father? He's not as blind as you may think."
Morgana shook her head in disbelief. " If any of that is true, why did you keep it from me?" she asked. "When you found out about my magic, why didn't you just tell me?"
"Because he... Kilgharrah..." Merlin made a pause and took a deep breath. "He also warned me against you," he said, looking at her.
"Warned?" she asked, confused.
"He saw what you would become," he explained. "He told me that I shouldn't help you, that you couldn't be trusted."
"And you just believed him!?" Morgana asked with anger in her voice.
"Of course not!" Merlin said, standing up, not without some effort. "I helped you, I took you to the druids."
"Again with that!" she said, letting out a small laugh of exasperation. "Yes, Merlin, thank you so much for taking me to some druids and then make me watch as they got butchered; I'm sure that helped a lot!" She moved a few step towards him and pointed at him with her dagger. "You didn't trust me, otherwise you would just have told me the truth!"
Merlin look away and then back at her.
"You are right! ALRIGHT!?" he snapped. "I didn't trust you. I. didn't. trust. you. And I hate myself for that. But what do you want me to do? I can't change it. No matter how much I want to, I can't change any of it! Every day... every day I ask myself what would have happened if I just had the courage of telling you the truth, but it's pointless. I can't change the past, but I am trying to fix it."
The implications of that last sentence hanged in the air.
"So what? Is that why you are helping me? To redeem yourself? To fix me?" she asked, making an incredulous smile. "Was anything you told me true? Did you actually not know I was Green?"
"That was the truth, Morgana, I swear," Merlin said, moving closer to her, yet stopping when she raised her dagger. "I've only lied to you about my... connection with Emrys, all the rest was truth. Please, you have to believe me..."
"How?" she asked. "How can I trust anything that comes out of your mouth? Tell me!"
Merlin got the feeling that she actually wanted an answer to that question. A way for everything to go back to what it had been before today.
"I... I... I don't know," said Merlin, shaking his head. "I don't know," he repeated in a low voice.
For a while none of them spoke.
"And what now?" Morgana asked. "What if I decide to conquer Camelot one more time?"
"Why would do that!?" Merlin asked, opening his eyes. "You saved Gwen, you helped Arthur!"
"So? That doesn't mean I have given up attempting to give our people the chance to live in peace!"
"Then join me! Together we can show Arthur that magic isn't evil. We can make him change his mind."
"And how long exactly have you been trying to make that happen? Four years? More?" she asked.
"In my defense, it hadn't been exactly easy with you always trying to kill everybody," Merlin pointed out, which earned him one of Morgana's deadly stares.
"Alright, let's say Camelot survives whatever Alvarr is planning," Morgana said. "Afterwards , there is a very good chance that Arthur decides that magic is exactly as evil as Uther said. I will not stay with my arms crossed while he carries on a second Great Purge!"
"That won't happen!" Merlin exclaimed.
"And if it does? What?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "Would you poison me again? Or will you finally muster enough courage to kill me with your own hands?"
"No!" Merlin exclaimed, moving one step towards her. "I won't harm you. Not again."
"Don't lie to me, Merlin," she said, and he could sense a hint of begging in her voice. "We both know that the second Arthur's life is in danger you'll stab me in the back, probably for real."
"I won't!" he replied, shaking his head.
"Stop lying!" she exclaimed. Her voice sounded broken.
"I don't care what you do. I don't care who you kill. I won't harm you," Merlin said. "I can't," he added, in a low voice.
Morgana closed the space that was left between them and pressed her knife to his throat.
"I don't believe you," she slowly said, looking at his eyes.
"Then kill me," he simply replied. "Kill me and you'll know."
Morgana pressed her dagger a bit more, but then stopped. Why wasn't he fighting back? He was Emrys. The Emrys. The most powerful sorcerer that would ever live. The source of her nightmares. And there he was, just standing still while he let her slit his throat. And smiling. Why the hell was he smiling!?
"Why?" she asked. "Why aren't you fighting me?"
Merlin looked at her in wonder. Did she really not know? He could feel the cold of the knife pressing against his throat. Part of his mind yelled at him to stop this madness. To just blast Morgana away. It yelled to him that he couldn't risk his life, that he was needed if Camelot was going to survive the coming battle. That everyone he cared about would suffer, or probably die, if Morgana pushed that dagger just a little further.
All that was perfectly reasonable, but it didn't matter. He just couldn't lose her. Not again.
"You know why, Morgana," he said, in a soft voice.
"Why?" she asked again.
Merlin opened his mouth only to close it. How could he put in words what she meant for him? How could he make her believe him? Telling her would probably just anger her even more. Or maybe she would just laugh at him. This whole thing was foolish. Maybe he should come up with a lie, something plausible that explained— No. Not again. He had to try. This time he had to try.
Trembling a bit, he slowly moved his right hand towards her face. She pressed the dagger tighter against his neck, but he just gave her a warm smile and tucked her hair behind her ear. His fingers started to gently caress her cheek. She was so beautiful... too beautiful... and it wasn't just her figure or her emerald eyes that made her that way, but also her courage, and her strength, and her passion...
Merlin looked at her the way he always wished he could, with everything he felt for her showing in his eyes. Still with the knife pressed against his throat he started leaning towards her. Now, all Morgana had to do to get rid of him was to hold the weapon in place. Still, the knife backed away with his push. His hand grabbed the back of her head and drew her mouth towards his...
The kiss was supposed to be magical, to make them fall in love to each other, to make them forget about everything bad that ever happened to them. However, things rarely are as they suppose to be. Their lips met, yes, but Merlin just couldn't stop shaking. He was too nervous. He didn't know how Morgana would react, and the last thing he wished for was to force her into something she didn't want, especially after what happened with Sarrum. He was expecting some kind of reaction from her, some clue that told him that she felt the same, but she just stood still, not making any attempt to kiss him back. Definitely not a magical moment, and Merlin knew it.
"I'm sorry," he said, letting her go and backing away from her, "I shouldn't have..." He stopped and looked at Morgana. Her face looked somewhere between confusion and anger. He gave her a sad smile. "That's why," he explained, answering her earlier question. He looked away and tried to hold his tears. He couldn't face her. Not now. He was a fool. Of course that Morgana didn't feel the same. How could she? After everything that had happened between them.
Morgana was frozen in place. She hadn't expected that, not one bit. Not the kiss, she may have expected the kiss, but what she felt when their lips touched... that... that she didn't expect. She raised her hand to her mouth. She could still feel his... love for her. There just wasn't another way to call it. How? How could he still love her after everything she had done? And why did that make her happy? He was Emrys, Emrys! Her worst enemy! Her doom! Why was she even thinking about this? All she had to do was stick her dagger in his back and Camelot would be finally hers. Just one blow and she would have everything she had worked for all these years...
It was the sound of metal hitting the ground that made Merlin look back at her. The dagger was still bouncing off a rock when Morgana grabbed both sides of his face and smashed their lips together. It took him a second to understand what was going on and another second to embrace her with both arms and deepen the kiss. The rest of the world disappeared. All he could feel was her soft lips on his, and that was all he needed. All he would ever need. His hands moved across her back, drawing her to him, while she ran her fingers through his hair. It was everything Merlin had thought of and more. Much more.
They stopped for a second and looked into each other's eyes. Green looking at Blue. Blue looking at Green. They both let out a small laugh and without saying a word their lips met once more. As for moments go, they don't get much more magical than that.
They shared many more kisses before they remembered that breathing was something humans did. The second their lips came apart, they felt the need to merge them together, but kept themselves from doing so. For now.
For a little while they just stood there holding each other, forehead against forehead, looking into each other's eyes and smiling.
"Morgana, I want to explain—" Merlin started.
"Don't," she said, pressing her index finger against his lips, "you'll ruin it."
Merlin smiled and kissed her once again.
"Just promise me something," Morgana said, looking at him.
"Anything," he replied, nodding.
"No more secrets."
"Absolutely," he said, grinning.
They were about to kiss again, when a sound made them look up. Aithusa was approaching through some trees, holding a rabbit in her front paws. She landed near them and her gaze shifted between Merlin and Morgana.
"Merlin, come, let me introduce you to Aithusa," she said, dragging him by the hand. Before he could say anything she spoke again. "Aithusa," she said to the dragon, "this is Merlin, he's... a friend."
Merlin opened his mouth to explain everything, when he got interrupted once again.
"Mother, is father alright?" a voice asked. It sounded like the voice of a ten year old girl, but there wasn't any of those around. If Merlin and Morgana hadn't been looking directly at Aithusa at the time, probably wouldn't have realized who said those words.
"You can talk!?" both of them asked at the same time, looking at the dragon. "Mother!?" "Father!?" they asked to each other before Aithusa could answer anything.
"About the 'no more secrets'," said Merlin, looking at Morgana, "I think we need to catch up on a few things."
.
.
.
Albion's coast was already within his sight. His large fists were clutching his battle axe and his blood was boiling. He had been long without a good fight. Too long. He missed the sound of breaking bones, the sight of blood, the smell of death, the feeling of not knowing if you would survive...
Soon... soon he would have that...
The ship moved forward, making the land in front of him get bigger by the second. He grinned; that sight always reminded him of how it all started, so many years ago.
He didn't remember exactly the date or the location, but he remembered the village. He hadn't been very impressed when he first laid eyes on it, but for some reason the chief wanted to conquer it, and no one questioned the chief. Especially not his son.
Back then, his father only commanded a few hundredth men. It amused him to think how now, with Albion in his sight, that number felt insignificant. Back then they were considered one of the mightiest clans in the area, and not one of them thought that their numbers weren't enough to capture a small village in the middle of nowhere. They were seriously mistaken.
They reached the central square without anyone coming to meet them, attack them, or anything else. The silence was unnatural. He was walking along his men when he was drawn to a noise inside a house. He crossed the doorway ready to chop someone's head off, only to meet a cat looking back at him. He thought about chopping it's head off anyway, but he had a soft spot for those animals. He was walking back to the entrance when he was suddenly blinded by a bright light and deafened by a loud sound. An instant later an invisible force pushed him and made him crash to the wall behind him.
When he finally regained his senses, he stood up, not sure of how much time had passed. He grabbed his axe and walked to the door, limping, pushing the pain away from his mind. When he got outside, he looked towards where his men were supposed to be. Some of them were dead, some injured, and the rest had just disappeared. Where the central square used to be, now there was only a big hole. His eyes moved around, trying to find his father, but he couldn't. Instead, his gaze fixed in a old man standing in the center of the destruction.
"I've told you to stay away, Wutan," the main said, looking away from him, "you are not worthy of it."
That was his father name. He followed the old man's gaze to a man lying on the ground, bleeding from his leg.
"Who cares what you think!?" asked his father. "Not worth it? I will kill you and rip it from your dead cold hands!"
"Strong words for someone who just lost most of his men," said the old man. His voice didn't give any away any emotion.
"You are dead! Hear me!? DEAD!" his father exclaimed. "I don't care how well you've served my father, I will not rest until I get what I want!"
"I know, and that's why I must end this," replied the man, and raised his hand towards him. "Forgive me," he said, just as a ball of fire flew towards where his father laid.
Before he could understood what was going on, he found himself running faster than he ever ran before. His hands closed fiercely around the grip of his axe. His blood felt as if it was on fire. His sight was blurry, but at the same time he could feel everything much clearer. His eyes turned red, and an inhuman growl came out his mouth.
The old man turned around and raised his hands, but it was already too late. His axe went through the man's neck, killing him instantly.
He was still trying to calm himself when it happened. Something came out of the dead man and climbed to his shoulder, where it crawled into his skin. It was a tattoo, a winged serpent. At the time he didn't understood what it was, but for some reason he liked it, it made him feel better, more powerful. Even his pain seemed to have disappeared. So, he wore that mark as a trophy, showing to the rest of the man that he had killed the powerful sorcerer who murdered so many of their own.
It wasn't until a few decades later that it became obvious that he didn't age, and that made him a living legend. He became a myth between the clans, and with the time he became the leader of all of them. He was the king, and no one would ever question him.
This all changed when he met him. Ilko. A puny mage that challenged him to a fight. At first he thought the man was kidding, but then he insisted. The power Ilko showed that day still haunted him. He had fought his share of sorcerers before but nothing like that. At least not until the day he had met Dragoon.
After winning, Ilko had spared his life and proposed him a deal. They would be partners. Ilko would teach him magic in exchange of him using his army to conquer lands for him. Together they were invincible. City after city they all fell, until there was nothing more to be conquered.
It had been a good partnership, but he knew that sooner or later he would have to get rid of him. Probably sooner. After conquering Albion sounded perfect.
He grinned and looked at the land coming at him.
.
.
Albion's coast was already within his sight. His fingers were tapping on the rail of the ship. He was impatient to get his hands on the so called Emrys. To have him lying on his table. To dismantle him, piece by piece. Just imagine all the things he could learn... all the power he could gain...
Soon... soon he would have that...
He hadn't been this obsessed with anything since... since all those years ago. Since he first learned about the mark.
He was just another orphan of war, a little kid, trying to get by in a world that didn't want him, and that reminded him of that every day. Still, it hadn't been the first time someone didn't want him. His own parents had tried to sell him for food to his brothers. So he killed them. All of them.
One day he was getting something to eat in a town, which someone would call stealing, not him, when he saw the impossible. He had heard about sorcerers, but seeing one in action was a whole other thing. The man was healing some villages, and he approached to see him close a wound.
"Can you make them appear too?" he had asked, pointing at the place where the wound had been.
For some reason the people in the town looked at him funny, but the man just turned around and asked for his name.
"I'm Ilko," he answered. "Well? Can you?" he insisted.
The man explained him that he could, but that he only used his powers for good, that you weren't supposed to use magic to harm people. If that was true, then why could you? Of course, he didn't ask him that, he wasn't stupid. Not at all. Instead he asked the sorcerer to let him help him, become his apprentice.
At first the man was reluctant, but when Ilko told him about his past, not the whole truth, of course, the sorcerer agreed.
It turned out that he wasn't the only kid he had taken from the streets. Three other boys and one girl lived with him and helped him with his healing. Only two of them were really interested in learning magic, while the rest do so only to thank the sorcerer for his care. Ilko couldn't understand why they wouldn't want to learn magic. Magic meant power. Who wouldn't want power? They were probably lying. Plotting something.
He grew up watching them closely, pretending to be their friend, and they did the same. After some years he had become a powerful sorcerer, known in many lands, and so have the other two apprentices. One day, the sorcerer gathered all of them and told them a story. A great tale of how the first dragonlord had been born. Except, it wasn't a tale. In the end he showed them a tattoo that gave him the gift of immortality, and he promised that he would give it to the one of us that did most good.
Ilko knew that no matter how much he did he would never chose him, so he killed them. All of them.
After that his life had been simple. He would learn everything he could and get as powerful as humanly possible. Maybe a bit more. Unfortunately, this quest forced him to ally with Roth. A stupid barbarian, but one with an army, and, more importantly, another bearer of the mark. It was one of the few people he could trust not to kill him to get his mark, not that he wouldn't kill him for other reasons. Actually, he didn't see their partnership lasting too much longer. Once Emrys is in his grasp, he wouldn't need Roth anymore, nor his men. So he would kill them. All of them.
He made a wicked smile and looked at the land coming at him.
.
.
.
"You hatched Aithusa!" Morgana exclaimed, looking at the dragon, who was already enjoying her dinner.
"I did," Merlin replied, nodding.
"When!? How!?"
"It was right after Uther's death. There was a man who found the way to enter the tomb of Ashkanar. Inside it, we found a dragon egg resting on a pedestal. He wanted to enslave it and use it for his own gain, but I... stopped him."
"He's dead?"
Merlin nodded. Another one in the long list of people he had killed over this past four years. True, he had only killed people to protect the ones he loved and to bring peace to this land. Still, sometimes he wondered if his enemies didn't think they were doing the same.
His thoughts must been reflected on his face, because Morgana walked towards him and kissed him. "Thank you for saving her," she told him, "both times," she added with a smile. "So, tell me," she said, "how did you actually hatch her?"
"Well, Kilgharrah gave me some tips, but in the end it was just giving her a name."
"Goddess, you are a dragonlord!" Morgana exclaimed, taking a step back and covering her mouth.
"Well, yes," Merlin said, "I thought you had already realized that, me being Emrys and all that."
"I haven't thought about that part yet," Morgana quickly replied. "So, what name did you give her?"
"Aithusa..." Merlin answered, giving her a confused look.
"No," she said, shaking her head, "I meant how did you call her when you first hatch her from her egg."
"Aithusa," Merlin repeated, nodding.
"Wait, do you mean... how is that possible!?" she asked. "I mean... It's true, I kind of felt that that was her name but..."
"No idea," he answered, shaking his head. "Actually, I wanted to ask you about that for a long time, but... well, I couldn't."
"Because you couldn't risk me finding out about you," Morgana said.
Merlin gave her a small nod.
She gave him an intense look, as if wondering if she should say what was in her mind.
"Merlin, I have to ask. Did you have anything to do with Aithusa saving me?"
Merlin gave her a sympathetic smile. "No, I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head. He could see the disappointment in her face. He moved towards her and grabbed her hand. "I would love to say yes, Morgana, but I didn't have anything to do with it."
"Actually you did," said a voice from above them.
They both got startled and looked up. A man was resting on a branch right above their heads, just laying there and eating an apple. They knew that man far too well.
"Hi kids, did you miss me?" Dragoon asked, looking at them.
Two fireballs flew to where he stood, making the branch explode.
"Woah!" Dragoon said, appearing from behind a tree to their left. "You are not still mad about the whole book thingy, are you?"
Both Merlin and Morgana tried to blast him away, but he just vanished.
"I can do this all day, you know?" he said, laying back on a tree to their right.
"You played us! You lied to us!" Merlin exclaimed.
"Yes, and it turned terrible for you, didn't it?" Dragoon asked, grinning.
"Still," Merlin said after a few seconds of looking at Morgana, "you disappeared, we could have used your help around here!"
"Yes, I've heard," Dragoon said, nodding. "Sorry for that, I was busy, but still, you can't count on me to always save the day. Besides, you did very good on your own."
"We almost get killed!" Morgana exclaimed.
"Almost!" pointed out Dragoon, raising his index finger, "that's the key word."
Merlin definitively didn't miss this Dragoon. He had to get the all-knowing Dragoon back.
"What do you mean I had something to do with Aithusa healing her?" he asked. "The last time I had seen Aithusa before the day that Morgana... got injured was the day I hatched her, and I didn't give her any commands, especially not healing her," he told Dragoon. "Sorry," he added, looking at Morgana.
"It's fine," she replied, nodding.
"That's the curious Merlin I like!" Dragoon exclaimed, clapping his hands once. "Unfortunately, there is a price to pay if you want that answer."
"Are you kidding me?" Merlin asked, raising his eyebrows.
"What price?" Morgana asked right after.
"Simple," he said, "you have to defeat me."
Saying that, Dragoon raised his hands and both of them were blasted away.
"What the hell!?" asked Merlin, as he got up from the ground.
"Isn't this what you wanted? Payback?" Dragoon asked. "Come on, then!"
Merlin raised his hand, his eyes glowed gold, and a ball of fire appeared of nowhere, in Dragoon's direction. When it was closing on him, he quickly moved to the side and the fireball ended up burning a tree.
"Fireballs, a classic," Dragoon said, in a lecturing tone, "however, flying objects are useless unless you somehow prevent your opponent from dodging them."
Morgana approached at him from behind, plunging with her dagger. Dragoon drew his sword, turned around and parried her attack.
"Physical attacks, while rudimentary, are not that bad choice. However, they depend on your weapon and how good you are using it. Daggers, for example, are good for stealth attacks, but not so much for close combat." He did a swift movement and Morgana's dagger flew out of her hand and into a tree.
Morgana raised her other hand and tried to blast him away, only that she was the one who was sent flying backwards.
"Blasting is good, alas, I was expecting it and so I created a shield to counter it. Making a small blast to check for a shield is good practice when fighting other sorcerers."
A bunch of vines came out everywhere and trapped his hands and feet. Dragoon could see Merlin with his eyes glowing and both of his hands on the ground.
"Now we are talking!" he exclaimed. "However, as strong as this spell is, it leaves you unprotected to surprise attacks. "
Merlin felt something heavy hitting him in the head and had to stop casting the spell that was trapping Dragoon, who raised his hand to grab a rock that was flying towards him.
"Also, always remember that a powerful sorcerer doesn't need his hands or feet to cast spells, so immobilizing him is not that useful."
Merlin and Morgana got up once again and walked until they stood one next to the other.
"Kids... think! You are failing to use the best advantage you have against me," Dragoon said, looking at them.
"And what is that exactly?" Merlin asked, half annoyed, half intrigued.
"There are two of you, obviously," Dragoon said.
Merlin and Morgana looked at each other.
"I hate to admit it but he has a point," Merlin told her, telepathically.
"I know," Morgana answered. "This is what we are going to do..."
Merlin and Morgana started moving to opposites sides, surrounding Dragoon. Morgana raised her hand and a ball of fire came out of it. Dragoon was going to say something about that tactic not working, but when he tried to dodge it he couldn't move. His feet were stuck to the ground. He raised his hands and made a shield, just in time to stop the fireball, but not to dodge its explosion.
He was blasted backwards but could regain his feet at the last second. Now it was his turn. He raised his hands and threw two fireballs at each of them. Morgana moved behind Merlin, who created a wall stone ahead of him, which was destroyed protecting them from the balls of fire coming towards them. Dragoon couldn't see anything. The explosion caused a cloud of dirt that was blocking his sight. He was about to use a wind spell to clear it when a dagger came flying towards him though the cloud. He created a wall of ice to stop it, but the dagger disappeared the instant it touched it. At the time it disappeared, Dragoon felt something poking him in the back.
"We win," Morgana said, pressing her dagger against Dragoon, at the same time Merlin appeared from behind the cloud of dust.
"How did you—" started Dragoon, addressing to Morgana. "You've learned how to blink!"
"Blink?" she asked.
"The instant jump from one side to the other," he explained, still standing with his back to her. "I'm genuinely impressed."
"You know?" said Merlin, looking at Dragoon. "I thought it would take a lot more to defeat you."
Dragoon didn't say a word, he just smiled amused and suddenly shattered to pieces.
Merlin and Morgana were confused until the sound of clapping made them look above once more. Dragoon was sitting there, clashing his hands together. He jumped down and look at them.
"That was good kids, very good, we may stand a chance after all," he said.
"What do you mean?" asked Merlin.
"We'll talk about that later," Dragoon replied, making a dismissive gesture, "right now you have earned an answer."
With all this fighting Merlin had almost forgotten why this had started. Dragoon had claimed that he somehow had something to do with Aithusa healing Morgana. Was that true, or was it just another one of his games?
"You see," Dragoon started, "in the old days hatching a dragon was a privilege that only a few dragonlords get. Actually hatching Aithusa like you did is outlawed in some parts of this world, but don't worry about that, I won't say anything," he said, grinning. "The reason behind this is that when a dragonlord hatches a dragon, he doesn't only give it a name, but also a part of himself.
"Don't get me wrong, it's not like she's another Merlin or anything like that. Aithusa is her own self, but her first experience in life was to see... well, you," he said, looking at Merlin. "Not your history or your name, but what you are inside. The way you see the world, your hopes, your dreams,... she was born knowing all of that, at least at some level."
Now his gaze shifted towards Morgana. "So, and I'm guessing a bit here, one day Aithusa was drawn to a dying girl. She didn't know exactly why, but the moment she saw that girl she knew she had to help her, to protect her. And so she did."
"Wait! Are you saying that Aithusa only likes me because of some spell?" Morgana asked, disturbed.
"It's not like that," replied Dragoon, shaking his head. "I've told you, she is her own person, but... think it more in the terms of when you met someone new and you immediately like that person. That doesn't mean you will still liking them once you truly know each other. Aithusa might have healed you because of Merlin hatching her, but since then he had no part in your relationship with her."
Both Merlin and Morgana stayed silent, thinking about what Dragoon had just told them. After some time Dragoon started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Merlin asked him.
"You do realize you are holding hands, don't you?" Dragoon asked.
Both Merlin and Morgana looked down, to see their hands grabbing each other. They quickly released their grasp and their faces turned red.
Dragoon laughed some more. "You are adorable," he said, mockingly wiping a tear from his eye. "Alright, now back to business!" he exclaimed out of the blue. "First we'll need to find a new place for you", he said, pointing at Morgana. "Your cave is obviously not longer safe, if Sarrum found you there it's likely other can too." He turned to Merlin. "You—"
"How did you know about that?" Morgana asked, interrupting him. "It literally just happened."
"Let's just say that finding you two wasn't an easy task," Dragoon replied, in a tired voice. "I probably traveled across half of Camelot following your trail. First Camelot, then the Disir, then your cave, then Sarrum's fortress, then here..."
"It have been a busy couple of days," Merlin pointed out.
"I've noticed. So, kid, you have to go back to Camelot. I talked to Gwen, who apparently already knew about me, thanks for the heads up, and I managed to convince her to try to calm Arthur, but I don't know how long that will last. Besides, for them you went missing hiding the Cup of Life, of which we talk about later, so they are extra worried."
"And what about Morgana? Where will she stay?"
"I'm glad you asked!" Dragoon exclaimed. "Due to recent events I think it would be wise for you two to keep close, and from what I've heard there is an excellent place to hide a dragon in Camelot. It even held one for many years without almost anyone knowing about him!"
"You are kidding me, right?" Merlin asked, realizing what he meant. "She can't stay in Camelot, it's insane!"
"Exactly! That's why is the last place anyone would ever look."
"What is he talking about?" Morgana asked Merlin.
He looked at her. "Beneath the castle there is a secret dungeon where Kilgharrah was kept prisoner all those years. Almost no one goes down there, I suspect that now even less that before, but is very dangerous. If you were to be discovered..."
"Come on kid! You know that there almost no chance of that. Besides, there is no place safer than Camelot for what's coming."
"And what's exactly that?"
Dragoon took a deep breath.
"Alright," he said, "I've got one last story for you."
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A/N: I hope you liked it!
So it finally happened! What everyone was waiting for all this time! Dragoon eating an apple!
What? It wasn't that? Oh, right...
I won't lie, I rewrite the kissing scene a few times before I liked it. That's one of the reasons I took so long uploading this chapter.
Also, Aithusa can talk, names and pasts of the two kings, fight with Dragoon, explanation of why Aithusa has healed Morgana... What more can one person possibly want?
One bad news though, it's very likely that I will take some time writing the next chapter u_u, maybe another three weeks, but after that I think that I'll have more time and be back to the one chapter every other week =D
Thanks Patiku, Howarand, AndreKl, CHARLES CHUKU, SpanishPlume, mersan123, just a panda (who can write!), hithere and Lady Flurryous for the reviews =D