Camelot
February, 507 AD
I animatedly sang Styx's 'Renegade' as the team walked down a grassy hill that leads to a forest in the middle of which stands a tall rocky tower. And when I say 'tall', I mean tall. Ginormous. The Empire State would crap its pants if it were made to stand next to it. It was completely spectacular.
As expected, the sun did eventually dry out my clothes, and now I was warm enough that I didn't even bother to put my extra layers back on. That, and there's a strange satisfaction in having Arthur carry my jacket. I've finally put the stubborn mule to good use!
I sprinted ahead to catch up with Merlin, who had separated himself a bit from the rest as he moved decisively towards the building.
"Do we have a plan, yet?" I asked him in a whisper as I linked my arm with his.
"We will have to find a way to split up from them when we get there," he replied in an equally low voice. I nodded in understanding.
Sure, 'cause that's gonna be easy.
Soon, we reached the forest and Merlin and I walked close to the knights again. I was sternly told to shut up my singing, so my entertainment now lies within the parameters of my own imagination. Such as an inward debate on whether Sherlock Holmes and Scooby-Doo would be friends or enemies if they were forced to work on the same case. I say it would be an enemies-to-besties situation.
My mental crossover movie was interrupted when Percival suddenly howled in pain. My eyes widened as I turned towards him and found an arrow sticking out of his leg. I gulped as a little dizziness tickled my brain at the sight of blood.
"Take cover!" Arthur exclaimed and, before I could react, my back was being pressed against a trench wall, the King shielding me with his own body.
The rest of the team followed in pressing up against the rocky wall, though Percival remained on the ground as his injured leg prevented him from standing up.
I jumped with a gasp when an arrow barely missed my head. Maybe I shouldn't have taken off my helmet when we left the horses…
Another arrow landed at Arthur's feet, causing him to move us further away from what appeared to be the shooter's line of sight.
My heart clenched when I heard Percival groan in pain.
"Y-you okay, Perci?" I asked.
"Yeah," he croaked out. But, obviously, he's not. He has a darn arrow sticking out of his leg!
"Where is he firing from?" Arthur wondered in a soft tone as he glanced above us.
I looked up, trying to find the aggressor, but the seemingly endless rows of tree branches blocked my view.
Arthur called Leon's attention by tapping his sword against the rock beside him. "I will draw attention," he whispered. Then he nodded towards Percival, "Get him to safety."
"Art–" I tried to protest his brilliant plan, but he cut me off with a chaste kiss to my lips.
"I will be fine," he assured me a nanosecond before he ran across the narrow path, diverting the man's attention to himself. An arrow barely missed him as he threw himself against the wall on the other side. I let out a shaky sigh and bit down on my bottom lip to muffle the wheezing sounds of my suddenly agitated lungs.
"Arthur," Merlin whispered, then he nodded at something towards the top of the trench. I followed his gaze and found a black-haired man lying on the ground with a crossbow in his hands, which was aimed in our general direction.
Gwaine grabbed my arm and pulled me deeper into the trench.
Arthur's phenomenal survival skills determined that it was smart to run out of hiding and towards a scalable part of the trench. Lucky for him, the man's crossbow suddenly flew out of his hands, crashed against a tree, and broke in half. I assume Merlin had something to do with that.
"Breathe," Gwaine commanded in a whisper as he gave my arm a gentle squeeze.
I swallowed the feeling of having my heart lodged up in my throat and gave a shaky exhale, earning another squeeze and a reassuring grin.
"What happened? Where has he gone?" Arthur asked – now standing atop the trench.
We all stepped out of hiding and glanced around.
"Perhaps he ran out of bolts," Merlin suggested.
"Y-yeah, I've learnt the hard way that they're not infinite," I added in a slightly shaky voice.
Arthur seemed convinced and he motioned for us to keep moving towards the tower before running off into the woods.
I sighed and took a few deep breaths to calm my erratic heart before starting to walk.
"Can you keep going?" I asked Percival, who was limping along while grimacing and flinching with every step he took.
He hissed, then he nodded. "Do not worry about me, Little Menace," he said softly.
I was taken aback, for a moment, by the fact that he's now apparently given me a nickname. Then I huffed, but decided not to insist, and I took off sprinting so I could catch up with Arthur. And Merlin, 'cause he's nowhere to be seen either. He better not have run off to get the egg without me!
I found them hiding behind a tree, for some reason, and they appeared to be arguing (shocking!). I frowned and halted to eye my surroundings for a moment, wondering if there might be something I should be hiding from. I continued walking when I saw no threats.
"Did y'all see Jason Voorhees or somethin'?" I questioned.
The displeased look on Merlin's face broke as he grinned at my joke. Then he turned serious again and glared at Arthur as he said through gritted teeth, "He wants to wait until morning to keep going."
My eyes widened and I protested, "But that ass-butt will beat us to the egg!"
"The sun is almost gone, it would be stupid to keep going," Arthur argued.
I puffed. He's right, but I still hate having to wait.
Once again, Merlin and I played the parts of chefs and waiter/waitress.
We found that the campfire was almost out by the time the stew was done cooking, and what little wood was left wouldn't last us through the night. So, with a frustrated sigh, I turned to face Arthur and the knights, who were busying themselves with sharpening their swords.
"Hey! Meatheads!" I called out to them, earning a bunch of puzzled looks – and a hearty laugh from Gwaine. "Merls n' I are gonna get more firewood. Think y'all can manage to serve yourselves dinner, or should we call your mommies so they can do it for ya'?"
Gwaine kept laughing, Arthur clenched his jaw, and the rest shared sheepish glances.
"Good boys," I cooed with a triumphant smirk before linking my arm with Merlin's and walking off with him.
My brother bursted out laughing as soon as we were out of the team's sight. "Did you see their faces?"
I joined in his laughter and shrugged. "Someone's gotta put 'em in their places, we're not their maids."
"No, but I'm Arthur's servant," he muttered.
"'Cause ya' wanna be. You could quit, y'know?"
He snorted and nudged my side, but said nothing. I seriously don't get him, sometimes.
Not five minutes later, we returned with two decently-sized piles of wood just to find the five men in silver and crimson passed out on the ground and snoring, their plates discarded carelessly beside them with some food still in them. I frowned as I let the wood fall to the ground and I moved to inspect the pot.
"That's weird, they didn't even get second rounds," I noted.
"Maybe you straightened them up more than we had thought and they finally learnt to be considerate," Merlin replied as he crouched down next to me and he went to pour himself some stew.
I noticed a white sphere shift when the ladle moved and shot out my arm to stop him. "Wait, what's that?"
Merlin tilted his head and scooped up the sphere, retrieving what appeared to be a poultice. Our eyes widened simultaneously as we turned to face one another. Before either of us could speak, strained inhales called our attention.
I jumped to my feet when I noticed that Arthur was struggling to breathe and we both rushed towards him. "Art," I shook him, but got no response. His breathing grew more laboured and my lungs decided to join the game.
Merlin thought quickly and placed a hand on the King's chest before whispering a spell. I think it worked, because his breathing instantly returned to normal. I let out a sigh of relief and pressed a kiss to his forehead, then I rested my own against it.
Then I tensed up and straightened up again when I heard that the other guys were also struggling to breathe. Merlin hurried to fix them all one by one.
"The bandit?" I asked him when he was done performing his heroic actions.
"Probably," he replied in a whisper.
I sighed and looked around at the unconscious knights while starting to nibble on my bottom lip. "This might sound mean, but this gives us the perfect opportunity to escape without them noticing and save the dragon…" I pointed out.
Merlin nodded. "Yes, I was thinking the same thing."
I dropped my gaze to Arthur's face once more and gulped at the thought of something else happening to him if we leave. But the thief doesn't know that Merlin was able to counteract his spell, right? Unless he's watching us... However, if he thought that his evil stunt would succeed in disabling the whole team, why would he stick around for confirmation if he could run ahead and get to the egg? Call me crazy, but I'm willing to take the risk if it means saving an innocent creature.
I kissed Arthur's cheek and stood up.
"Let's go," I told my brother as I grabbed my bow and quiver off the ground. He gave a small grin and grabbed my hand.
I used my phone's flashlight to illuminate the way as we trekked through the darkening forest in the direction of the tower.
Merlin protested against me using the device, saying that he could just use his magic. But, last I checked, being from the future isn't illegal – sorcery is. And if we get caught, they'll at least have to pass some new laws before they can execute me. I think. I hope. That argument seemed good enough for my best friend, anyway.
We spotted the thief climbing the rocky outer wall of the tower and we hid behind a tree. I quickly turned off the light, and we waited until he was out of sight before following in his footsteps.
Trying to be as silent as we could, we chased after the man through the corridors of the tower and he led us to an inconspicuous wooden door. I wouldn't have spared it a second glance were it not for the circular stone on it that contained an engraved triskelion, as well as space to insert a second one. The key!
Merlin and I remained hidden behind the wall while watching as the thief put the key in its place. It turned on its own, then the door opened. The black-haired man stepped inside and, instantly, smoke started spewing out in all directions from holes in the walls, prompting the man to cough uncontrollably.
"Cover your nose," I whispered as I pulled my hood over my head and tugged on the cords, creating a sort of mask that only exposed my eyes. Merlin had to go old-school and simply press his arm against his mouth and nose.
Then he casted a spell that caused the smoke to dissipate and I was able to take off my hood. I think I made way too big a deal out of this, seeing how easily he took care of it.
"You're my favourite superhero," I told him with a nudge to his side before advancing.
He quickly grabbed my hand again and walked next to me. He stole the now-unconscious thief's torch as we passed by him, and we moved onwards until we found a narrow flight of stairs that go up in a spiral, which we promptly began to climb.
About twenty exhausting minutes later, we reached an enormous chamber that has two sets of ornamented square pillars lining it. And towards the back of it stands a stone pedestal atop which sits a pale blue object shaped like a tear-drop, about the size of a bowling ball. The windows in the chamber seem to have been built strategically so that sunlight will hit the object directly.
Merlin and I stood frozen for a few moments as we contemplated the sight.
I gulped before speaking, "Is that–"
"–the dragon egg," he finished for me.
We turned to look at each other with widened eyes and then shared a big smile as we laughed in disbelief. We held hands again and took a few cautious steps towards the egg.
I can't believe I'm actually witnessing this!
Merlin dropped my hand and slowly reached to touch the egg. His eyes shone with emotion and it spread a fuzzy warmth through my chest.
"Give it to me," a rough voice behind us demanded.
I jolted as I turned around while drawing my bow.
There stood the thief, his dark eyes menacing as he slowly walked closer, his posture hunched.
"It is not yours to take," Merlin replied in a slightly scary authoritative voice that I've only ever heard him use on Kilgharrah.
"You give it to me… and I will grant you two a half-share," the man offered.
I glared daggers. Check out the audacity of this guy!
"No, it must go free," my brother responded sternly.
The man scoffed, "Do not be a fool! Think of the power it could bring us! The lands we can rule over! The riches!"
Y'know, men like him are the reason why the twenty-first century is a crap show. Just sayin'.
"We're not interested in that," Merlin replied.
"With this dragon at our command, we will live like royalty!" the thief kept trying. "We will have the freedom and power to do as we wish!"
"Dragons cannot be used like that!" Merlin raised his voice unexpectedly, making me flinch a little. "They must be left unshackled, free to roam the earth."
"But this is your chance, Merlin," the man stated. "Your chance to escape your meaningless life, your worthless existence!"
A fire blew up in my nervous system. No one speaks to my brother like that!
"His life is worth a million of yours, you inbred sewer hagfish!" I snarled as I aimed my bow at the thief. He recoiled a little as his eyes widened.
That's right, b*tch. I'm a badass knight of Camelot.
"I pieced together the Triskelion!" the man grunted as his face turned red with fury. "I found the path that led us here! The dragon belongs to me! Now, hand it over!"
Merlin remained calm and firm as he said, "No."
The man tried to take a step forward, but I fired my bow, the arrow barely missing his shoulder, and I drew it again. "Careful, 'cause I rarely miss."
"Dragons are magical creatures, they belong to no man," Merlin stated. "They are for the benefit of all."
"What do you know?! You are but a serving boy!" the man growled.
"You're gonna wish that was so," I mumbled.
Merlin stepped closer to the thief with a fierce look in his eyes. "I am the last dragonlord," he revealed, still acting calmly. "And I am warning you – leave this egg alone."
The man charged at him with a roar and, before I could react, my best friend magically flung him against a wall, where he hit his head and was knocked unconscious.
I let out a puff. "Well, let's get the baby before that Grinch wakes up."
"Yes, good idea," Merlin replied with a nod and he hurried to grab the egg.
As soon as it was lifted off the pedestal, a rumbling sound shook the tower.
"Ah, crap. I think someone might've seen 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'," I muttered as cracks slowly began to form on the walls.
"Run!" Merlin yelled as he sprinted past me while cradling the egg safely against his chest. I didn't have to be told twice as I dashed after him, almost tumbling down the stairs as we ran for our lives. The twenty minutes that it took us to get up were reduced to maybe five on the way down.
I almost expected to see a big boulder rolling after us if I glanced back, but I didn't dare to test that hypothesis.
We leaped over some rubble that blocked the main door of the building and landed safely outside with only a second to spare before a large fallen stone block covered the exit entirely.
"Fork, that was close," I breathed out as I panted from the physical effort.
"Come on, we have to hide it!"
I pushed myself to keep running and followed Merlin back in the direction of the camp, then I sprinted ahead so that I could cause a distraction and allow him to hide the egg in his bag. However, the knights and Arthur were nowhere to be found and it caused my intestines to twist. I hope they left on their own…
"Merls, hurry!" I called out.
He caught up and hastened to hide the egg.
Thankfully, the guys showed up only moments later, coming from the same direction we did. I guess they went to check out the tower… Hopefully they didn't see us leaving it… And, if they did, I hope they weren't able to catch a glimpse of the egg…
"Astraea!" Arthur exclaimed as he rushed towards me.
"Hi, Artie," I responded with the best innocent grin I could put on. I grunted when his body collided with mine, crushing me in a tight embrace as he lifted me off the ground. I returned the hug and rested my head on his shoulder while he nuzzled into the crook of my neck.
"I woke up and you were gone," he whispered.
"Well, Merls n' I couldn't wake any of you and someone had to go after the thief," I excused.
Arthur nodded, then he pulled away slightly to look me in the eyes and he frowned. "What the hell happened to the tower?"
"The tomb was a trap. The thief set it off and never got out," Merlin responded quickly. I nodded in agreement.
"What about the egg?" the King questioned.
"Art, look at that mess. There's no way it survived," I replied while motioning towards the now fully collapsed structure.
Arthur's eyes darted sceptically between my best friend and I. "Are you sure? We need to be certain."
"You're welcome to check, but I don't think you're gonna find anything more than a dragon omelette," I replied.
He seemed satisfied with that, and my best friend and I shared a relieved smile.
"It is a shame about the egg," Gaius commented while he, Merlin and I were eating supper on the night when we returned to Camelot.
"Yeah, real tragic," I responded in the best stoic tone I could dress my voice in against the excitement that buzzed through my body.
"You were not able to save it?"
"No," Merlin replied with a shake of his head.
Gaius narrowed his eyes at us and tilted his head. I bit my tongue to try to keep myself from smiling under his inquiring gaze, but it wasn't long before a smile curved my lips, and Merlin smiled widely again. Gaius chuckled faintly, also grinning.
My brother stood up and he went towards his bag, which he'd placed carefully atop the work table when we arrived, and he pulled out the egg. My eyes widened as they landed on it again, the sight causing my heart to fill with wonder.
"All the jewels, all the treasures, Gaius, they do not compare," Merlin stated happily as he carefully placed the egg in our guardian's hands.
Gaius regarded the egg with a fond look and I reached to touch it, unable to stop myself as I ran my hand over it as if I were petting a baby seal. It felt cool and smooth under my admittedly not-very-feminine hand.
"And it was nearly lost because of you," Gaius noted while giving my friend a pointed look.
"I am sorry, Gaius. I was too quick to act," Merlin acknowledged.
"You have to think things through," the physician wisely said. "Ashkanar did exactly that. He had the foresight to conceal this for more than four hundred years. And now it is down to you, Merlin. For you to decide what you intend to do with it."
"We talked about that," Merlin replied as he put an arm around my shoulders. "We are going to make sure it goes back to where it belongs."
"Speaking of, we should get goin' before Art finds a reason to come down here…" I pointed out. My brother nodded in agreement. "You sneak the baby out and I'll get us some fresh horses?"
He nodded again. "I will meet you at the northern gate."
"Cool." I gave him a side hug and then turned to Gaius, "Thanks for dinner, Pops. We'll see ya' later."
"Be careful, children!"
I sprinted all the way to the horse paddocks and hurried to tack up Shakespeare and Cinderella, then I mounted the former and led the latter, sneaking behind the wooden structures that make up the barn to reach the northern gate with less possibilities of being seen.
I only had to wait for a couple of minutes before Merlin showed up.
"Ready?" I asked. He grinned in response and swiftly climbed onto the dark bay mare. I handed him the reins and we took off into the forest once more.
Merlin summoned Kilgharrah to a clearing and we waited no more than a minute before he flew in and landed smoothly on the ground, standing regally in front of us. With a smile, my brother retrieved the egg from his bag and he carefully laid it atop a tree stump.
The dragon beheld the object with a glint in his eyes and a reptilian grin formed on his mouth.
"Is it still alive?" Merlin questioned, looking concerned.
Kilgharrah nodded. "They can live for more than a thousand years."
I frowned as I echoed, "They?"
"There are two of them inside."
My eyes widened and I turned towards Merlin, feeling lighting flash throughout my nervous system as a big smile formed on my lips again. He mirrored my smile while his eyes became pooled with happy tears. "No freaking way!" I exclaimed and jumped to hug him. He breathed out a laugh and wrapped an arm tightly around my shoulders.
"So, you are no longer the last of your kind!" he told Kilgharrah.
"It would seem not," the dragon replied with a chuckle.
"When will it hatch?" Merlin inquired as his gaze travelled to the egg.
"Young dragons were called into the world by the dragonlords. Only they had the power to summon them from the egg," Kilgharrah explained. "As the last dragonlord, this solemn duty falls to you, Merlin."
"That's so cool!" I chirped.
My brother's eyes widened and he looked back up at the dragon. "How do I summon them?"
"You must give each of the dragons a name."
Merlin nodded pensively as he averted his gaze again. Then he turned to address me, "Pick one."
My cheeks suddenly started to hurt from smiling so widely. "Are you serious?!"
He chuckled. "Of course!"
I breathed out a shaky sigh and fixed my gaze on the egg as I racked my mind for a good name. As you may imagine, my first instinct was to name it after a beloved fictional character. Maybe 'Bucky' or 'Castiel' or 'Stiles'. But, if I'm honest, that feels a bit childish and lacking in reverence for the amazing creature that will hold the name. Merlin conceded me an unimaginable honour by allowing me to pick, and I need to pick wisely.
It needs a name that represents hope, and perseverance, and strength… Something that's symbolic of Camelot rising from the ashes of Uther and blossoming into the grandiose future that I know Arthur will create.
"How about Phoenix?" I finally suggested.
Merlin smiled and nodded before taking a step closer to the egg. He let out a sigh as he stared at it with a glimmer in his eyes.
"Aithusa! Phoenix! " he said in his deep and commanding dragonlord voice.
A crack instantly appeared on the egg and I moved closer to Merlin again, clutching his arm tightly. More cracks followed and my heart did a ton of backflips, and cartwheels, and a whole 'Cirque du Soleil' spectacle. Fireworks were brought in when squeaking sounds began to emerge from the egg.
Suddenly, two little white heads with big round eyes popped out and I think I felt what mothers feel when they look at their babies for the first time. One of the babies has bright blue irises, and the other one has amber-coloured ones – just like Kilgharrah.
I couldn't help the tears that filled my eyes at the sight.
I don't think I've ever seen anything so adorable!
"Two white dragons," Kilgharrah narrated softly. I grinned up at him for a moment before continuing to watch the babies. "A white dragon is, indeed, a rare thing. And fitting. No dragon birth is without meaning."
Merlin's body trembled against mine as we hugged each other tightly and I glanced up to find that he was crying. Tears of joy, obviously. And the sight filled my soul with a contentment that I don't think I've ever felt before. I began to freely cry, too.
We kept watching as the baby dragons broke out of the egg completely and they began glancing around at the dark expanse of fresh wilderness, discovering the new world around them with shiny eyes.
"Sometimes the meaning is hard to see, but this time I believe it is clear," Kilgharrah spoke again. "The white dragons bode well for Albion, for the two of you and Arthur, and for the land that you will build together."
I smiled at him again and then I pushed away from Merlin so that I could move to kneel down in front of the little dragons. I cautiously reached towards them and, as soon as my hand was close enough, the one with the amber eyes grabbed my finger with its little webbed hand. I breathed out a chuckle full of disbelief and looked back at my brother, who continued to cry happily as he moved closer and kneeled down next to me, reaching for the blue-eyed baby. They seemed to smile as well, and they seemed happy to let us pet them.
Suddenly, all the loss and grief really does seem worth every drop of pain, doesn't it?