Merlyn's Last Dream

The Tears Of Uther Pendragon P4

Merlyn almost laughed when she saw the dragon flying overhead, watching as he scorched the ground around her, roasting the serkets in a ball of screeching flame. Fire illuminated the bright sky, Kilgaragh's golden scales shining magestically, royal as he mercilessly descended on the creatures surrounding her. She smiled, sighing in relief before she dropped to the ground, her vision turning black.

~

Merlyn awoke on hard rock, certainly not anywhere close to where she'd faded into unconsciousness. It took a while for her to gather her bearings: the pain in her shoulder had reduced, but, as she tried to sit up, it began to burn, agony radiating from where the serket had pierced her skin. Settling instead for turning her head, the witch met the amber eyes of her saviour, Kilgaragh sitting protectively near her feet.

"I didn't think you'd answer my call." she managed to croak, weak from a mixture of exhaustion and narrowly escaping certain death. Since she'd stopped the Great Dragon's revenge, she very much doubted she was in his good books, but she was glad that he cared enough to at least put his stupid prophecy above his feelings. Somehow she doubted her death by serket had been foretold for centuries.

"Merlyn, I couldn't resist a Dragonlord even if I wanted to." Kilgaragh said slowly, frowning slightly at her lack of knowledge. The witch had to admit that she was lacking in expertise, but in her defence, she hadn't exactly had time to do any in depth research, what with making sure Arthur survived his searches for Morgana over the past year.

Merlyn smiled up at the creature. "I'm grateful, thank you." Groaning, she tried to get up again, but this time, the dragon intervened.

"Lie still." he murmured gravely as she whined through her pain. "The serket's poison is powerful. I have given you an enchantment that will help you heal, but it'll take time."

Merlyn sighed. Evidently she wouldn't be back in Camelot before anyone noticed her absence.

~

Arthur had been asleep when Gaius had looked into his room, searching for Merlyn, so, just after noon, having missed his sword training for the day, he eventually made it out of bed, scowling at the thought of his wayward maidservant. After stumbling around his room, managing to find a slightly soiled pair of breeches and a crumpled, white shirt, he just about managed to dress himself before leaving his room to hunt down his servant. He could tell by the funny looks he received from those he passed that his hair was a mess and that it was quite clear he had dressed himself, but he made it to the physician's chambers without much sniggering.

"Where is that halfwit?" he sneered as he burst through the door, trying not to fiddle with a loose thread from his shirt.

"Merlyn?" Gaius appeared vaguely surprised at the interruption, putting down whatever ingredients he had in his hand.

"I've got no socks, no breeches and an archery session to go to." he marched over to his maidservant's door, pounding on it loudly. "Merlyn!"

"I thought she was with you, sire." Gaius gave the Prince an oblivious look, but there was something in his eyes, perhaps a sort of deep worry, that gave away his lies.

"Don't try to cover for her." Arthur warned the physician, suddenly aware of how dependent he'd become on his servant.

"She didn't come home last night. I can't find her." Gaius spoke solemnly, truthfully enough that the Prince chose to back off. He didn't need socks to shoot a bow, but he'd already missed one training session today, and he'd liked to have looked his best for the second, or at least, not like he'd just got out of bed.

"When you do, you can tell her she's the target." Arthur glared at nothing in particular, hiding his concern for Merlyn under a thick layer of exasperation. If it were anyone else, they probably would've considered the Prince outraged, spiteful even, but Gaius just raised his eyebrow, a ghost of a smirk on his lips as Arthur stormed from the room.