Luminescence ✺ Arthur Pendragon

Beauty and the Beast [5]

Arwen sounded like she'd been overcome with a coughing fit. At least that's what it seemed. In reality, she was doing her best not to burst out laughing as Merlin sent her a scolding glare which soon passed to the creature with much less restraint than her. Kilgharrah's laughter echoed around the cave and didn't seem to be stopping any time soon.

"This isn't funny." The older of the Ambrosius siblings scolded both his sister and the large dragon standing before them.

But the dragon was the first to disagree. "Oh, it is, it is. The thought of Uther marrying a troll! Was it a very public affair?" He questioned, eager to know all the details.

"Public enough." Merlin called in a pointed tone, terribly annoyed that Kilgharrah couldn't see the problem in this as his laughter continued. "Don't laugh! If she can't be stopped, Arthur won't become King. Albion will never be born."

Merlin's reminder served as cause enough for Arwen to calm her own amusement, at least enough to speak up herself. "Merlin's right. Uther has already disinherited Arthur and made her his heir. It's only a matter of time before her greed grows and she wants all the power for herself." She told the dragon, and finally, their words seemed to reach him.

"I'm sorry. You are right, of course." Kilgharrah finally calmed down enough to listen.

"How can we break the enchantment?" Merlin asked. After a long time searching, they hadn't managed to find any answer in Gaius' books. Not even in Arwen's books on Prairene which spoke a lot about magic too.

"These are not trifling tricks. Troll magic is very powerful." The dragon warned.

"There has to be a way." Merlin refused to give up, especially as he kept Gaius' warning about trolls and dragons often being allies. He didn't want Kilgharrah's loyalties to possibly obscure an answer from them.

"The only way you could break this enchantment is if Uther were to cry tears of true remorse." The dragon finally revealed, the information making Arwen's hopeful face fall.

"Well... Perhaps all hope is finally dead."

Her comment earned her yet another glare from her brother before he turned back to Kilgharrah again. "How do we make him do that?" He questioned, once again treating the dragon as if it were all-knowing.

"That I can't answer." Which he wasn't. "Your sister is right. Uther's heart is cold as stone. He's never been sorry for anything."

With a small sigh, Merlin soon realized he'd gotten all the answers he could. The rest was up to them. "Thanks, I think." He told the dragon before turning, about to leave and get to it, but he was prevented from doing so as Kilgharrah spoke again.

"Young warlock, it was some time ago you promised to set me free. The help I give is not unconditional." The dragon reminded him, making Merlin give a hesitant nod. He wasn't sure when or how or what to do, but he knew that with every new visit, the dragon would grow more and more impatient with him.

Wanting to break through some of the tension, Arwen didn't instantly follow after her brother but instead spoke to the dragon again. "I have a council meeting to get to, but once Camelot is safe again, do you want me to come back and tell you the full story?" While she couldn't free him herself, the least she could do was provide him some entertainment while he was still stuck down here.

"I would be very upset if you didn't." Kilgharrah's eyes shone with new amusement as he answered, making the smile on the physician's face reappear.

"Arwen!" Merlin yelled at his sister, less than amused by her antics but that didn't stop her form promising to be back soon before she rushed off after him.