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It didn’t make sense.
Arthur felt like a prisoner gnawing at the bars of his cell. He wanted to storm out of the room, out of the castle, and scour every inch of the woods himself until he found his useless manservant and could bring him back to where he was supposed to be: at Arthur’s side.
But no. He was the king. He had to stay calm, collected and act rational. From the nervous looks on his knights’ faces he still had to work on the ‘stay calm’ part.
“It makes no sense,” Elyan voiced Arthur’s thoughts. “They were King Lot’s men, they didn’t even bother to hide it. The peace between the kingdoms are fragile as it is. Why risk crossing the border like this for a manservant?”
Gwaine, ever the loyal friend, frowned at Elyan. “He’s more than just a manservant.”
“I know that,” Elyan said, tense, “but they don’t. That’s why it makes no sense, politically or otherwise. It can’t be about taking hostages. Leon and I were right there, wounded and knocked down. To them a knight and the king’s second-in-command would be more valuable.”
“He has a point.” Lancelot sighed and after a few seconds Gwaine allowed himself to ease back into his seat. Arthur had the feeling that Gwaine was just as desperate to go looking for Merlin as Arthur was. The two had been as thick as thieves practically from the second they met.
Arthur could feel them glancing at him, waiting for directions but Arthur for once felt just as clueless to the situation as any of them. Elyan was right. Nothing about these men’s actions were strategic.
To him it seemed the most likely that they wanted to know secrets that could help them to victory. While a king usually would not confide matters of the state to a servant, Arthur did. It only took one wrong person to realize this for Merlin to become a whole lot more interesting to their enemies. Merlin practically ruled Camelot alongside him. He wrote most of Arthur’s speeches, advised him on everything, and more. Or maybe they wanted to know the ins and outs of the castle. Merlin had been his servant for years now and probably knew more about the castle than anyone.
Servants don’t swear vows when they start their jobs the way knights do. Maybe they thought it would be easier to get a servant to talk than two knights. Arthur knew Merlin wouldn’t. But maybe with the right amount of persuasion… no, he didn’t want to think of what they might be doing to Merlin if he refused to talk.
They had targeted Merlin specifically. But why? Sure, Merlin has a talent for pissing of nobles and royals but did nothing bad enough to warrant a clearly well-organized kidnapping.
Maybe they knew how close Merlin was to Arthur, he mused hollowly. Steal the king’s manservant and wait until he descents into madness to bring down Camelot. To be truthful, if that was their plan it might actually work. The empty space where Merlin was supposed to be felt wrongly empty and Arthur felt the absence like a missing limb. Wherever he went, whatever he did, Merlin was never far behind.
“Do we know if Merlin has interacted with anyone from Lot’s kingdom?” Arthur spoke up for the first time since Elyan and Leon had burst through the doors and announced that Merlin had been taken.
Everybody shook their heads and Arthur wanted to groan.
“Do we know what King Lot has been doing the past few months? Last I heard he was more set on finding something to direct his focus on Camelot.” Gwen asked, looking pale and worried. Arthur had happily granted her a position at his council the day after she gained a title through her marriage to Lancelot.
Gwaine huffed, “Heard he was looking for some magical egg.”
Gaius tensed, as did Leon and Arthur.
“A dragon egg?” Gaius guessed.
Gwaine looked up and raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised that he’d said something useful. “Yes. Heard that he found one but it wouldn’t hatch. I heard he’s pretty angry about it.”
Arthur immediately relaxed. “That’s right. Only dragonlords can hatch them and the last one died years ago. The egg is about as useful as a rock.”
Gaius stood and Arthur inwardly berated himself. Right, the dragonlord – Balinor – had been a friend a Gaius. He had never outright confessed to helping Balinor escape but Arthur knew. At the time he had been too distracted by the Great Dragon attacking Camelot to think too much of it.
He opened his mouth to apologize, but the look on Gaius’ face stopped him. He looked tense, torn and…guilty?
“Gaius?”
“I..” Gaius hesitated. He stood a bit more upright, determined again. “I should have confessed this truth long ago-”
“I already know you helped Balinor escape years ago, Gaius.” Arthur dismissed. They had to focus on finding Merlin.
“I know why they took Merlin.” Gaius said. That caught Arthur’s attention.
“What? Why didn’t you say anything?” he demanded.
“Because I did not know until Sir Gwaine’s statement just now.”
That confused Arthur. “Start making sense Gaius.” He demanded.
Gaius steeled himself. “When I helped Balinor escape all those years ago, I didn’t just help him out of the castle…I send him to the only safe place I knew.”
Gaius looked at him as though this should mean something to him. Arthur still didn’t get it.
“Sire, I sent him to Ealdor.” Gaius stated promptly. “He was safe for a while there, with Hunith-”
“Merlin’s mother?” Gwen asked in recognition before her face slackened in realization. Arthur was sure he looked much the same. Surely Gaius didn’t mean to say…
“It wasn’t safe for long.” Gaius went on. “Not with Uther still hunting him down. And his presence also made it unsafe for Hunith so he left-”
Panick was rising up his throat, or maybe it was bile. “Gaius-”
“We didn’t know where he went, only rumors. He didn’t know… Hunith wanted to go with him but in her state it would only endanger her more.”
“And with her state you mean” Arthur trailed off, fearing the answer. Flooded by memories of Merlin acting weird when they went to search for the last dragonlord, their last hope, and the tears when that hope, that man, died.
“Pregnant, with Merlin” Gaius had the sense to look a bit ashamed. “She couldn’t travel pregnant nor when Merlin was born. By the time he was old enough to travel we had no idea where he could have gone into hiding.”
‘No man is worth your tears.’
Arthur was going to be sick.
“Merlin didn’t know,” Gaius clarified. “Hunith never had the heart to tell him and at the time I didn’t feel it was my secret to tell. Until Kilgarrah- the Great Dragon – I had to tell him.”
Most of the knights were frowning, Gwen’s hand was over her mouth in shock. Arthur’s advisors that had also been in Uther’s service seemed to want to either berate or question Gaius some more.
Never before had Arthur been grateful for Gwaine speaking up until now because if Arthur tried to talk now, he knew he’d sound awfully choked up and un-kingly. “So Merlin’s father was the last dragonlord, what does that mean for Merlin?”
Gaius seemed glad for a practical question he could answer. “A dragonlord’s ability to speak to and tame dragons is a hereditary gift, passed down from father to son.”
“Which makes Merlin the last dragonlord,” Arthur concluded and Gaius nodded grimly. “Why-” He starts, trying to phrase it so he wouldn't sound petulant. Why wouldn’t Merlin say anything? Why did he keep this a secret? Not just from his friends but from Arthur. He thought…
“We were still under Uther’s rule, sire. He believed the dragonlord’s gift too close to magic.” Gaius reminded him gently. “Only Balinor survived the slaughter, and just barely. It was too great a risk to tell anyone.”
Arthur nodded numbly.
“I do not know how King Lot found out of Merlin’s parentage,” Gaius went on. “but we must get him back soon or I fear…”
“You think he might help hatch the dragon egg?” Leon asked, with a note of dread. Arthur wondered if the knight, too, felt haunted by the memories of burning bodies and heat licking at skin.
Gaius shook his head. “Merlin would rather die than betray his heritage. That’s what I fear. King Lot can be cruel and brutal when he wants to be. I’m unsure how long Merlin would survive the man’s anger.”
That promptly made Arthur decide to put any emotions that warred inside him aside for the time being. He could feel conflicted all he wanted when Merlin was safe and sound next to him again.
“This narrows down places to search,” he spoke up and Gaius sat down with a relieved look. As if he thought Arthur might let Merlin rot now that he knew. Not including the immense disaster of a future they would face if King Lot ever gained a dragon at his command, Merlin was Arthur’s friend. Dragonlord or not. Secret or not. Arthur didn’t want to think of a future without Merlin. Ruling Camelot without the person he trusted and valued most- no. He would not do it.
The others seemed to follow Arthur’s notion and shook themselves out of it.
“Would he need to be outside to hatch the egg?” Leon asked Gaius. “Because if he needs a lot of space he would sooner go to his estate in the valley than his castle surrounded by villages.”
Gaius shook his head. “All he’d need is the egg and Merlin. Dragons are as tiny as a cat when they hatch and won’t be able to breathe fire for a while after.”
“So he’s most likely keeping them at his castle,” Arthur concluded, pointing at the map. “It’s well guarded and he could show the dragon off to his entire court.”
“If he wants Merlin to hatch the egg for him he’d probably try to woo him into doing his bidding so we have to somehow search every guest chamber without being noticed” Elyan suggested.
“No, Merlin is more likely to defy Lot in front of his court” Gwaine pointed out with a fond smile despite the grave situation. “So we should probably try to get into the dungeons first. Get in, knock out the guards, steal the keys. In and out. Quick and efficient.”
This started a debate that lasted so long it made Arthur want to crawl out of his skin. One way or another, he was leading his knights into enemy territory.
They just had to find a way to do so successfully without starting a war.
They shouldn’t have taken Merlin if they didn’t want a war, Arthur thought bitterly.
=⫤|⩶>
It was two days later that they saw Merlin alive but not necessarily well.
Gwaine gripped Arthur’s arm tightly when they first spotted the brunette who was ofcourse mouthing off at the king, though he wasn’t sure if it was to hold Arthur back from doing something stupid or himself.
“-for the last time, my answer is NO!” Merlin was saying with poorly concealed frustration.
He was standing in the middle of the cell, two knights holding him up. His skin bruised and cuts everywhere, soaking his shirt in blood. It took everything not to kill the cruel king right then and there.
King Lot stood just in front of the cell, fists clenched and a furious look on his face. Arthur and Gwaine, in their disguises as guards, stood just behind the seething king keeping their heads down.
In front of Merlin laid a purple, nearly black dragon egg. It had tiny scales, which shimmered like polished metal in the moonlight. The thing should scare Arthur. He had seen what the creature inside it could do. But the egg looked fragile more than anything, utterly defenseless in the face of danger.
Percival and Leon stood on both ends of the hallway, also disguised, making sure the real guards didn’t raise alarm. Lancelot and Elyan were keeping their way out clear when the time to run came.
The knight on Merlin’s left tightened his grip on Merlin’s arm, making the servant wince. “You will address the king with respect.”
“He’s not my king,” Merlin looked Lot up and down with an impressive amount of contempt, unaware that the king he was speaking of was just out of his view. Merlin scoffed, “Respect should be earned and from what I’ve heard you’re about as worth of respect as horse dung.”
“You dare-” Lot fumed.
“Oh, I dare!” Merlin sharply cut off Lot. “I told you I’m not hatching that egg.”
“If you refuse I shall crush the egg.” Lot threatened, taking a step closer. “The blood of the last dragon would be on your hands.”
Merlin glared, “Knowing the fate it would gain under your rule, death would be mercy.”
A deafening silence followed the servant’s statement. Lot’s face turned red almost purple in his fury. The king started to argue again but Arthur tuned it out, focusing on Merlin. Merlin alive and breathing. Beautiful even in his defiance.
Accidentally, Arthur made eye-contact with the knight on Merlin’s right. Arthur quickly looked down at his feet again but it was too late.
“Sire,” the knight spoke up cautiously.
Gwaine glanced at Arthur who nodded.
Now?
Now.
With a flurry of movement King Lot laid on the ground knocked unconscious by Gwaine while Arthur jumped into the cell, shouting a quick “Down!” at Merlin who followed his order almost instinctively, diving out of the way as Arthur swung at the knights with Excalibur.
Trusting Gwaine to get Merlin to safety, Arthur made quick work of the knights. It was a bit hard with limited space but Arthur was nothing if not determined and pissed off.
He turned to Merlin who was now clutching the dragon egg tightly to his chest. He was glaring daggers at Lot’s unconscious form, looking like he was about the stomp on the man’s face but Arthur’s movement caught his attention and he relaxed instantly. Then, his
face twisted in guilt. “Arthur…” he started. And Arthur knew he would want to explain but now was not the time. They had to get to safety before any of the guards or Lot woke up.
“It’s alright, Merlin, but we have to get out of here now.” He said.
Merlin blinked at Arthur, looking a little dazed before shaking his head and standing up. He let Arthur and Gwaine guide him through the corridors they knew to be safe with Percival and Leon following closely.
Every room they passed that remained closed was another blessing and he considered the fact that no warning bells were ringing yet a miracle. Gwaine might have hit King Lot a bit too hard on the head if he wasn’t up and shouting by now. He realized, blissfully, that he didn’t really care.
Everything was going so well that they might actually get out of the castle without a hitch.
They were halfway through a corridor when Merlin screeched to a halt, eyeing down the corridor suspiciously. Arthur sighed. He should know better than to think so optimistically.
“What are you doing?” Gwaine hissed, trying to pull Merlin along but the infuriating man stood his ground.
He mumbled something Arthur couldn’t understand. He took a steadying breath before his temper could get the better of him. “What? Merlin, we’ve got to get out of here.”
Merlin shook his head. His eyes focused on one particular wall with a look of disbelief. “He has more” he said, louder this time.
Arthur stiffened, “More dragon eggs? We heard he only had one. Are you sure?”
“I can hear it hum, in the back of my head.” Merlin gestured vaguely at his head. “Like it has it’s own song. I can hear this one clearly but there are more coming from around here somewhere.”
Arthur was tempted to ask if he was sure it wasn’t the blood loss but refrained. He ran a hand through his hair, impatient to leave. They did not have time for this. They needed to get out of here and tend to Merlin’s injuries. Any second now guards and knights could round the corner and capture them.
Merlin didn’t seem concerned by his wounds or a possible re-capture. He moved to the empty wall he’d been staring down and frantically started pushing separate tiles. He looked crazy. “Are you going to help me or what?” he whisper-shouted at them. Gwaine shrugged and stepped forward, also starting to push at the tiles.
“You can’t be serious,” Arthur mumbled but after a shared exasperated look with Leon and Percival they joined. He felt ridiculous. That was until he pushed at one slightly indented tile and it gave way.
They all jumped back when a few of the stones slowly opened the same way a door would. “No way,” he huffed with a disbelieving laugh. Merlin was gripping his arm so tightly his nails were starting to dig in skin but Arthur didn’t mind. Merlin’s smile was blinding when the stone door opened to reveal a tiny room with only the moonlight peeking through the cracks of the wall as a light source.
“One, two-” Merlin started counting, already stepping into the room. He turned to Arthur with uncontained glee. “Four! The bastard has five dragon eggs.”
They all turned to him with unspoken question in their eyes. They were in a hurry and it was a huge risk. Arthur had barely allowed himself to process the fact his best friend is apparently a dragonlord.
Merlin stared at Arthur evenly, blue eyes snaring him, and Arthur’s chest felt tight when he realized that Merlin feared Arthur would deny him this and Merlin would face that denial with a stiff lip.
It wasn’t even a question to him. The eggs could not stay in Lot’s hands. They weren’t his.
“They’re yours by birthright,” he heard himself saying with something he did not want to name in his voice. Merlin looked at him with something close to reverence before he and the knights were moving, each holding a dragon egg and Percival carrying two.
By the time they made it out the castle to the rendezvous point where Lancelot and Elyan were anxiously awaiting their arrival Merlin couldn't stop grinning.
Elyan gasped, “Are those-”
“Dragon eggs,” Merlin said, smiling happily, handing one of them to Lancelot who held it carefully. Arthur loves Merlin’s smile. The way it reaches his eyes reminds him of a sunny ray on a dark stormy day.
“If we leave now we can be back home before our absence alarms anyone” Arthur declared, before anyone caught him staring. “Lot can’t know that we ever even crossed the border. We’ll make sure his delegates in Camelot don’t make the connection.”
“Merlin disappears often enough just to turn up a few days later,” Leon shrugged. “And Lot doesn’t know that we know Merlin is a dragonlord. He would count on his self-preservation to keep the nature of his disappearance quiet.”
Merlin quickly bandaged up the cuts on his chest, assuring them all that he was fine and they were being mother hens. That earned him a round of protests. They secured the dragon eggs and soon were on their way.
It was easy to fall into camaraderie now that they weren’t worried about Merlin. They joked around and it seems the knights were content to know that Merlin kept him being a dragonlord a secret for his own safety. Merlin so rarely did anything for his own safety.
Arthur urged his horse to slow down so he was next to Merlin a small distance from the others. He studied the man he’d known for almost a decade. By now he knew how to read the other’s body language. Silence usually meant Merlin was upset, but this was more of a contemplative silence. “Will you hatch them?”
Merlin stiffened. “What?”
Arthur nodded at the bag holding the eggs. “Will you hatch them?”
Many emotions crossed Merlin’s face in the matter of seconds before it settled on apprehension. “Dragons are not weapons.”
Arthur was confused for a few seconds before realizing what his question must have sounded like. “That’s not what I meant. If were up to me battles would only ever be fought with swords and shields.”
Merlin’s mouth twitched down. “If it were up to me, there would be no battles fought at all.”
Arthur scoffed. That was such a typical Merlin thing to say. Something in him settled at having Merlin by his side again acting like himself despite what happened. The world felt calmer around with him around.
Merlin looked wistfully at the eggs. There it was again, the pained joy on his face. “I think I will.” He said, with a fleeting glance towards Arthur. “Hatch them, I mean. I’m the last dragonlord. If I don’t hatch them and anything happens to me…” he shook his head.
“How does it work?” Arthur asked, suddenly amused. “Do you have to sit on it like a chicken until it hatches?”
Merlin looked at him stunned, then incredulous. “What? No!” he laughed, beautifully. “No, all I have to do is name them and they’ll hatch.”
“That’s it?”
Merlin shrugged, “In the dragon’s language.”
“And you know that language?” Arthur asked doubtfully.
“It comes naturally to me,” Merlin explained, throwing him a small grin. “It’s a certain tone of voice deep within me that I share with the dragons. I didn’t know I could speak it until after…”
“Balinor,” Arthur finished in understanding. Merlin nodded solemnly.
Arthur wanted to apologize. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but no sound came out. He hoped Merlin knew that if Arthur had known, he would have...what? Comforted him? Hugged him? Arthur wasn’t sure what he would have done but anything else was better than his ‘no man is worth your tears’ speech.
Merlin seemed to understand from his expression, like he always did. He knew Arthur better than anyone. He gave a small smile before telling him “I am grateful we found them but I am not looking forward having five dragons to babysit on top of a spoiled prince.” he said, his voice hearty again.
Arthur pointed a warning finger at Merlin, “Call being my servant babysitting again and you’ll spend a night in the stocks.”
“Whatever you say, sire.” Merlin chuckled, not looking even a bit concerned. It had been years since he’d actually spend any time in the stocks so the threat fell flat.
They rode in a companiable silence for a while when a sudden thought occurred to him. “I didn’t kill the great dragon, did I?”
Merlin looked down in shame and shook his head. “No,” he confirmed with a pained expression on his face. “Kilgarrah…I know he probably deserved death for the lives he took when attacking Camelot. But, I just…” his brows furrowed, looking at Arthur with sorrow “he was the last of his kind.”
Arthur nodded, deep in thought. He still couldn’t fathom why his father kept the great dragon – or Kilgarrah, apparently – alive and chained under the castle for so many decades. And Merlin, sweet Merlin who had so much empathy and cared about all living beings he came across. Ofcourse he would take pity on the creature. Had Arthur had the power to command a dragon, even one that was actively attacking him and his kingdom, would he have spared the great beast?
“I commanded him to never attack Camelot again. If he does, I promised I’d kill him. He’s an old dragon, so he’s now living his last days out in the mountains in peace.” Merlin assured, drawing Arthur’s attention back to him. He looked nervous for Arthur’s reaction.
Arthur felt the need to soothe Merlin’s worries. “I’m not mad.”
“You’re not?” he heard the doubt in Merlin’s voice. Which was fair. Arthur himself didn’t know he wasn’t mad until the words left his lips. But he meant them. Merlin would never knowingly harm him or the citizens of Camelot.
He shook his head. “I was at first, I think. But I know you, and I trust you.”
“Thank you.” Merlin slumped in the saddle in relief. He caught his eye, a devious smile forming on his face which Arthur knew meant Merlin was about to say something utterly ridiculous.
“Do you want to meet Kilgarrah? He’s a bit of a grump and talks more in riddles than actual sentences but I have the feeling you’d get along just splendidly.”
See? Ridiculous.
“Don’t push it.” he said, forcing himself to sound more annoyed than he felt.
Merlin’s eyes shone with mirth but gave an accepting nod. “Alright, no meeting talking giant lizards anytime soon. Got it.”
“Merlin.”
“Shut up?”
“You guessed it.”