Merlin One Shots

Kilgharrah and Aithusa

I fly over the trees deep in thought. What Merlin has asked me to do weighs heavily on my mind. How can I fight Aithusa? Of course he is working with the Witch, Morgana, and therefore against Albion, but he is still a dragon. The only other member of my ancient and dying species. But even as I debate the idea I know what I must do. Not because Merlin ordered me to, the boy does not abuse his power, he has respect for me, but for that very reason I will do whatever I must to help the young Warlock.

I open my mouth to call out to him. I have not seen him since he began helping Morgana and I'm not sure that he will answer my call but I have to try. For Merlin, for Arthur, and for the world they will create together.

Just when I have decided that it is hopeless, I have already lost the young dragon, Aithusa appears in the sky ahead of me. I am filled with hope. Maybe I can talk to him and a fight won't be necessary. Maybe I can inspire him with the tales of Albion that my mentor told me so many thousands of years ago.

There is a clearing ahead to my right, I veer off towards it and Aithusa follows. When we have landed in the clearing, about twenty yards away from each other I turn to face my apprentice. One look at him tells me that no amount of talking, no inspiring stories, no pleading not to make me do this, is going to work. Aithusa is not the adventurous young dragon I knew before. He is not anything near what I hoped to raise him to be.

I know that Merlin was right. I have to do this. He and Arthur will not last an hour against Morgana's army if she has Aithusa with her no matter if the whole of Camelot fought beside them. The thought brings a tear to my eye. But no matter how far gone he is, I still have to try to bring him back.

"Aithusa." I greet in the dragon tongue, trying to sound welcoming rather than hostile. "Thank-you for coming."

"Kilgharrah." he answers. "Why have you called me here?" Aithusa takes a step towards me. "I am to be fighting with my mistress. But you know that don't you? Since you collaborate with the enemies of magic." he accuses.

"Aithusa." I say again. "I am not here to fight you." I reassure him "I am here to try to make you understand something." I take a step foreword as well. "But I can assure you that if you are still determined to fight the coming of Albion when I have done that, I will not hesitate to make sure that you will no be able to do so. Do you understand me?" I ask.

"I understand. I understand that you were supposed to be my mentor. You were supposed to raise me and take care of me. And I understand that when I was captured and kept in a tiny hole in the ground you were not there to protect me." Aithusa spits at me. "You know who was there, teacher? Morgana. She was there for me. She comforted me and she protected me when our captor came to hurt us. But what I don't understand is how you can claim that you are helping the protectors of Albion and magic when you wouldn't help Morgana when she was just learning she had magic! How could you turn on her like that and still claim to be what you do?!?"

"That is enough, Aithusa!" I growl at the young dragon. "I am sorry that you went through all of that and I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you! But this, you working for Morgana, has to stop! Can't you see what she is doing? Don't you remember the prophecies I told you about Arthur and Merlin bringing on a time where magic is accepted and respected?!? Morgana is fighting that with the claim that they turned on her. All they have ever done is try to help her. They tried to save her from the corrupted monster that she has turned into. And she fought them every step of the way!"

"How? By trying to kill her? By leaving her to live in the woods, alone? They abandoned her when she most needed someone to help her!!!" Aithusa yells back at me.

"No, Aithusa!! Merlin did everything to help her, save tell her about his magic. I warned him that she would be nothing but trouble if he did not kill her before she learned of her magic, but he refused." I tell him, but I see that I am not getting through to him.

"He should have told her! She needed someone to tell her that magic is good and that Uther was wrong about it!" he argues, flapping his wings angrily.

"And what has she done since she gained that knowledge?" I ask coldly. "Try to kill him because he is in her way. He is the one person that could help her and all she has done is sought out a way to be rid of him. The greatest sorcerer to ever live. Who, now Aithusa," I ask "is against magic?"

Aithusa growls and leaps at me. I jump up automatically, flapping my wings to rise into the air. Aithusa follows me, his wings are not as powerful as mine but he is smaller. When we are at least a thousand feet into the air I stop rising and instead hover, facing Aithusa. "If you really wish to fight me, Aithusa, then so be it. But I will warn you that I will do whatever it takes to protect the Warlock and his King."

Aithusa just growls and flies at me, breathing fire. I duck under him and spin upside-down, raking my claws along his belly, drawing blood. He hisses and turns back around to face me. I fly at him, teeth bared to bite his neck, but he turns and slams his tail into my left wing. I roar and pain shoots up my wing all the way to my tail. Something was broken, it is painful but I can still use it. I surprise Aithusa by breathing fire into his face, he didn't bother to move away thinking he had crippled me with his attack, and fan the blaze with my massive wings.

My fire seared the skin of his right wing and he struggles to remain aloft. Just when I think he will fall from the sky he shoots at me once more, tangling his claws with mine. He sinks his teeth into my already crippled wing as I bite at his neck and we both begin to plunge to the earth far below. There is nothing I can do to stop or even slow our fall as the ground rises up to meet us, closer . . . Closer . . . Clos-

　

My eyes fly open and I jump into the air, rattling the chains around my legs. It takes me a moment to realize that I was dreaming. I am used to such visions but none I have ever had have been so vivid as this one. I must tell Merlin. I think as I settle back onto the rock I had been sleeping on. The Witch, Morgana must not live.