enchanted | a. pendragon [on hold]

iv | aithusa

"we really ought to work on this language thing. i'll need to give gwaine a talking to."

[4.4 — Aithusa]

Merlin had many faults, one of which was his inability to quietly sneak into someone's room. At least to Lia, he was horrible at it. She didn't snore like a beast like Arthur and her hearing wasn't fading like Gaius's. So, when she woke to the quiet, somewhat clumsy footfalls that she knew for certain belonged to Merlin in her room in the middle of the night, she did not panic.

"What d'you want, Lin?" Lia mumbled tiredly, rolling over and shoving her face in the pillow.

"What do you know about dragon eggs?"

"Read a book some time," she grumbled. "This can't wait until morning?"

"No," he insisted. "Get up. I'll tell you all about it on the way to meet Kilgharrah."

Merlin grabbed Lia's shoulders and sat her up in bed, trying to somewhat tame her messy curls while she tiredly wiped her eyes. "Why are we meeting Kilgharrah?"

"What do you know about dragon eggs?" Merlin countered, raising an eyebrow.

Lia groaned but got out of bed, knowing he wouldn't answer any of her questions until she answered his. Merlin and Lia were both very different people when it came to their natural curiosity. As soon as Lia found out that she was a Dragonlord, she read every book there was about dragons — she read about everything from different breeds, lifespan, and the magical abilities that some can possess. Merlin, on the other hand, preferred to only seek out knowledge when he needed it.

While Merlin dragged Lia all the way out to the clearing outside of Camelot, she recounted everything she knew about dragon eggs and infant dragons. He soaked it all up but never fully explained why he wanted to know all that. It wasn't until they called the Great Dragon and he arrived that Merlin told the whole story.

A man named Julius Borden was in Camelot in search of a third of a Triskelion — but that wasn't his real prize. The Triskelion was simply a key to access the last remaining dragon egg in the Tomb of Ashkenar. He would have to steal the artifact out of the vaults of Camelot, and Merlin wanted to help him, but Gaius was against it, claiming to not trust the man.

Of course, both Lia and Kilgharrah were excited about the news. For so long, Kilgharrah had been the only of his kind, but now there was a chance to preserve his species.

"I never dared dream of such a moment, Merlin," Kilgharrah admitted. "Until now, I believed the egg would never be found, that I would be the last of my kind."

"So the legend is true?" Lia asked excitedly. Given Gaius's lack of trust for Borden, she couldn't help but doubt a little bit.

"This is a chance in a thousand," he told them. "Merlin, Illyria, you must retrieve the egg."