A.N.:// here we go again :)

I really like how this one turned out.

Thank you so much, Lucia for sending me this lovely drawing of Ciril. I must say, I can't believe how accurate it is :)<3



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They arrived in Senvilla only a few hours after they left camp. They hadn't been as far off as they initially expected. Merlin was hardly surprised. Dragon's tended to be secretive and careful.
They lived exceedingly long lives. Therefore they could afford to plan things on a great scheme and manipulate strangers into following their lead.
Take Kilgharrah as an example.
It took him years of manipulation to get Merlin to free him.
For someone who had been imprisoned for twenty years and desperately wanted to get out to get revenge, that was one hell of a patience.
Even if he almost lost it in the end.

Ciril had just made sure she was able to warn the town and inform the other dragons and the last remaining kin of their arrival, before letting two strangers in. An understandable course of action.
She had also, as Merlin assumed, informed them of the mark of Kilgharrah that should tell them everything they needed to know.
Whatever that may be.

The village itself appeared to be ... surprisingly normal. There were no gates or walls that protected them, like there were in Camelot. But there were dragons roaming the sky and playing just outside town.
Arthur had flinched, the moment he saw all those creatures being free and flying about.

There were no dogs, no horses. Sure, they had chicken and sheep and cows, but for someone who grew up training hunting dogs and young mares and stallions, Arthur found the difference rather... shocking.
The chicken were running around wild, being played with by tiny dragons (even smaller than Ciril). The cows walked the village freely as well, unbound by ropes or stalls.

Someone was freeing one of the sheep of their wool with a sharp knife and the sheep itself stood by, calmly eating hey from a small child who was feeding and petting them.

Half a dozen women were just coming in from the other side of town, carrying water and those exotic fruit that Arthur and Merlin had stumbled upon earlier.

What Arthur noticed early on was, there was no butcher. And the hut that appeared to belong to a blacksmith, was run by a teenage boy who was selling cups and strange clothes made of what looked like dragon scales.

Arthur halted at the sight, unable to take this in. His father had told him they were at war with the dragon lords. This looked like an ordinary village. Well not ordinary with all the dragons gossiping with the nearest human in sight. Or about the nearest human in sight. And with the lack of soldiers and men in general, it looked calm. Peaceful. Harmless.

When the first group of children started to enchant a small ball made of plants and hey and whatever else that was, Arthur almost had a heart attack. He grabbed for Merlin's shoulder, who followed his startled expression with surprise.
Merlin gaped, but then a mesmerized, fond smile grazed his eyes.
"Magic is legal here.", Merlin mumbled, completely overwhelmed, as he walked forward. Not away from Arthur, but to see them more clearly.

Arthur's hand lost it's grip on Merlin's shoulder. Right. Merlin had magic. The big confession from yesterday... right. How could he forget? He had been thinking about it constantly ever since.
Arthur held his head in his own stupidity. Of course Merlin would be happy seeing children use magic so freely, when Merlin himself had to hide his entire life.
It felt heavy, just imagining this. Merlin, afraid and scared, hiding from knights, while Arthur used to play with wooden swords, training to be they thing Merlin feared. Never before had a smile from Merlin, accompanied with a glint in his eye, managed to hurt Arthur like this.

Arthur blinked and looked up. Wasn't magic supposed to be this... great evil? Wasn't free magic supposed to be chaos and murderous?
As Arthur looked around, sure, he found chaos. But he saw fun and happiness. Despite everything the war had caused.

Camelot in comparison, was completely tired and exhausted from all the wars they had fought.

And while Arthur took this in, this freedom, Merlin's smile at magic and dragons and normal village life, he wondered – maybe for the first time in his life – was THIS, what they were fighting?

He shook his head. Merlin was an exception to the evil of magic. That didn't mean, he shouldn't be wary of other magic users. Or dare say... dragon lords. Or their kin.

It was then, that the village people had noticed their arrival.
Everyone who saw them, stopped in their tracks. They pointed at them. At the sword at Arthur's side. And it took everything in Arthur's might, not to grab the handle on instinct.

"Arthur, calm down.", Merlin was suddenly next to him and whispered in his ear. Arthur's eyes shot open at the sudden closeness and a shiver ran down his spine. It did exactly the opposite of what Merlin had intended, but at least Arthur's nerves weren't focused on the sword anymore, but the warm hand so close to his neck.

"I'm calm.", Arthur deflected and shoved Merlin away.
Merlin laughed, as he was already used to jumping around to not fall on his arse.

Then he turned to the old woman who was approaching them curiously. She had a nice round face and gray hair. She looked old. And perhaps she was even older than that.
But Merlin and Arthur were not aware of dragon kin's apparent immortality. So the thought didn't even cross their minds.

The old woman came incredibly close, as she paused in front of Arthur and expectantly waited for something. It took Arthur a moment to understand what she meant, but then he drew the sword and placed it in her hands.
Not without reluctance, obviously. And the woman took note of that.

"This is a beautiful sword.", she said knowingly. Her voice decidedly too young for her old face.
"Is this the sword that Kilgharrah forged?", she asked and examined it.
Arthur wanted to say something, but it was Merlin who answered.

"Yes. He did."
Arthur gave him a side glance. Unnecessary worries roamed his mind, as even the dragons curiously circled around them. Everyone did, actually. New faces must be extremely rare, if they caught their attention so soon. Arthur also noticed how a majority of these people were women. There were a few men, but those were either very old, extremely young, or very few.
This too, was not an unfamiliar sight. Most men died in the war, after all.

"Did you steal it?", the old woman narrowed her eyes at Merlin. As if the mere fact that he answered the questions made him suspicious.

"I think you know that Kilgharrah would never have created such a sword, if not for a good reason. And he would not have hidden it somewhere, where a peasant like me could easily steal it.", Merlin locked eyes with her.
Arthur watched and listened at the exchange. He had the vague feeling that Merlin was speaking the truth. He knew more than he had told Arthur and was therefore unraveling one of those many secrets he had been keeping from Arthur.

"The sword was not made for you, boy.", the woman looked at him. "Why doesn't HE tell the story?", she asked, clearly amused, but also wary. She must be the leader of the village, or else she would not have approached them.

"My name is Merlin. And I asked the dragon to make this for him."

For a moment, Arthur's vision blurred from the attempt to concentrate on his servant. WHAT did he say?

"Why would a dragon trust a mortal?", the woman walked around Merlin now. It was obvious, that she asked Merlin why the dragon would trust HIM. But Merlin answered, as if she meant someone else.
Merlin took a deep breath. "Because this man is the once and future king.", Merlin straightened his back, as the woman fumbled with the sword.
"I'm still talking about you.", she said. And that was strange. Neither sorcerers nor enemies nor bandits ever focused on Merlin. She however, as most of the towns people actually, seemed extremely focused on him. It was like they weren't even worried about Arthur at all and the entire conversation was a test for the servant in question.

Ciril was circling their conversation over their heads, curious to how this would play out.

"Because I'm Emrys.", Merlin finally answered. That – whatever that meant – made the woman stop. Both in walking around him, and also in fumbling with the sword.

"What's an Emrys?", Arthur leaned forwards to ask Merlin, but Merlin shook his head. It was barely noticeable, but Arthur knew him well.
"Later.", he muttered and absently grabbed Arthur's hand for a moment to squeeze it in reassurance. Then he let his hand fall back down.
Arthur watched it fall in disbelieve.

"Can you proof it?", the woman asked, eyes still narrowed.
"What do I have to do?", Merlin asked. He was unwavering, certain, challenging even. Whatever this Emrys was, Arthur knew Merlin wasn't bluffing.

"Use your magic.", she said with unblinking eyes. "If either of you were allies of Uther, you would not be able to use magic. As he despises magic kind and kills them on sight.
Use it, and we will give you the benefit of the doubt."

Merlin nodded and then send Arthur a questioning glance. As if asking for permission. Arthur nodded curiously. He had never seen Merlin use magic. 'I mean... it's not like Merlin would be stupid enough to use magic in Camelot, now. Would he?'

Merlin stepped forward, so everyone could see him. Then he closed his eyes for a moment and raised his arms. A wind came up. For a moment, Arthur thought it was coincidence, but then Merlin must have done something, because a nearby statue of a dog suddenly barked at them.

The elder woman stepped back in surprise, as the dog approached Merlin. They appeared rather hostile, they way they barked and fetched their teeth, which reminded Arthur a lot of the dogs back in Camelot.
When Merlin turned around, Arthur could see a spark of gold just fading from those usually blue eyes.

"Boy. That is powerful magic.", she said in awe and finally smiled at them. Then she bend down to the barking dog and pet him into submission.

Arthur stepped forward, unsure what to do or say. Never had magic been used in front of him. Not like this. Not without attacking him. Not without endangering his life. To create life, instead of taking it.
He had so many questions. How... where had Merlin learned this? DID he use magic in Camelot? That was ridiculous, but to be able to do this, he must have practiced, right? Or had he learned that in Ealdor? 'That-', Arthur decided, 'is impossible.' Because came to Camelot when he was fairly young. And he knew that sorcerers of this caliber were usually of a much older generation. Which only left the conclusion that Merlin DID practice right under the king's nose. Arthur paled.

"Well then. Welcome to Drakonier, you two."

"Wait, don't you need to test me, too? I mean, I don't have magic, but -", Arthur suddenly asked. Not sure why he was doing this. He desperately wanted these people to trust him for some reason.
The woman raised both eyebrows at him, then she laughed.
"Oh don't worry. Dragon magic is connected to blood and soul.
This sword was made to serve you and you alone. It's obvious. That means, no one else can wield it. Except for anyone who shares your direct blood line. Your father, your mother or your child, if you have any of those.
Or... obviously, the one your soul bonded with.", she smiled at Merlin who just looked at her, as if startled it was mentioned. Not at the implication itself.

Arthur blinked. Did she just imply what he thought that she implied?

"Speaking of dragon magic.", Ciril suddenly spoke up and her voice was changing again. An angry growl appeared on her features. And a second later she headed of.

Merlin and Arthur exchanged a look, before turning back to the old woman.
She shrugged her shoulders. "Trouble at the gates, I suppose.", she said. It must be a normal occurrence. Nothing to worry about. Then she held out both her hands for the two of them to grab.
Not without hesitation, they complied. Arthur could only wonder, if by "trouble", they meant Sir Leon and the knights. Which made Arthur uncertain already. He wasn't exactly eager to fight these people. Not until he knew what their plan was, at least. If they had one.

Then again, could the others even get through the gates? After all, they needed to be dragon kin, right?
Oh wait... Ciril was on her way to the gates. She wasn't going to kill his friends, was she?
Wonderful. Now Arthur's head was clouded with worry and he himself was unable to do anything.

"My name is Rebecca. I am the eldest of this town.", she nodded with a smile. And finally handed Arthur back his sword. He sighed in relief. He felt safer with it.

Merlin politely smiled back and Arthur tried to mimic the expression.
"I'm Merlin and this is Arthur.", Merlin explained and the woman nodded again.

"Nice to meet you, Merlin and Arthur. Don't be surprised. We are always a little curious about our visitors. You see, not many people make it here. And those who try usually want our deaths.
Anyway, many houses here are empty, you can stay in one, if you like. There are no dragon lord's left, so their houses are abandoned.
Except the one.", she sighed at the last sentence.
"He's not here though. And I doubt he will ever return."

Merlin blinked, then he looked at Arthur who seemed just as confused. "Are you talking about Balinor?", he asked.
The woman raised both eyebrows.
"So you met the fool?", she frowned disapprovingly.

"Is he still hiding somewhere from Uther, instead of doing his job and rule over the Dragon realm, as it is his duty. Even after everything he did?", she looked unimpressed, if not angry.

Merlin and Arthur exchanged a glance. "Actually.", Arthur swallowed. "Balinor is dead."
Rebecca blinked for the first time, then sighed. But the anger in it still seemed overwhelming.
"Why am I even surprised? After all, he let that stupid friend of his take away his immortality. How did he die? I hope it wasn't something stupid."

Merlin's breathing was increasing. He didn't answer. Clearly a little shaken by the way this woman talked about the man who sacrificed his life for him.
Arthur felt the urge to protect Balinor from these accusations. For Merlin's sake.
"He died to protect someone else.", Arthur vaguely answered.

The woman blinked at him... and actually scowled. "That coward.", she growled and she didn't seem to be the only one who disapproved of that story. Merlin flinched.

"I'm sorry you two. You probably don't understand the importance of a dragon lord. Now that they are all dead and gone.
Just know, that the title of a lord isn't given lightly. Dragon lords were always rare to begin with. And we lost too many of them during the purge.
They are the ones who hatch our dragon eggs. Without them, the dragons will die out eventually as well.
And with Uther at our backs, it's unlikely that we will survive. After all, he found a way to take away our immortality and he's keeping the king of the dragons in his dungeons.

Kilgharrah is the only dragon who has the power to control other dragons. That's why he was caught in the first place. If he were free, we might have a chance against Camelot's army. Now we can't even defend ourselves, so we hide."

Arthur blinked. His mouth was open, then it closed.
"Kilgharrah is free.", Merlin suddenly said. "But he will not attack Camelot. It was his last order not to." Merlin's voice had changed. Suddenly it lacked all emotion. And it was hard to see what that meant.

The woman looked at him confused.
"The great dragon is dead.", Arthur suddenly said and swallowed hard at the shocked expression.
"Uther Pendragon managed to kill Kilgharrah?"

Suddenly, there was panic growing in the village.
Merlin shook his head with a sigh and held his head. But he seemed to catch himself and looked up.
"Forgive my friend. He's a bit confused. He never really had the chance to talk with the dragon. Kilgharrah is very much alive. But he is deadly annoying."

That seemed to calm the village down. Arthur however, felt a sudden rage wallowing up inside him and he grabbed for Merlin's arm. "What do you mean, he's alive?", he hissed in his ear. And it truly was a miracle that nobody had heard.

"Later.", Merlin hissed back, louder than before. "I will explain everything."

"Maybe -", Rebecca suddenly calmed the masses. She sighed as she approached Merlin.
"Maybe you would like to tell his mother about his death. Not Kilgharrahs. Balinor's."
She still looked mildly angry, but at that, sympathy replaced part of it.

"Wait...", Merlin turned away from Arthur and stared at Rebecca.
"His ... Balinor's mother? She's... alive?"

"Yes. What, did you think she was dead? Irene is tougher than most people. Especially at her age.
You see, we never knew Balinor would be a dragon lord.
The other children used to call him the chance kid. Because there was a chance, that he could be one. But the circumstances were unclear. He was a poor child. With little to no friends.
Yet he managed to pick the worst of the bunch. He picked a friend who poisoned Irene's husband and managed to kill him. Then he ran away with that traitor.", she sighed once more.
"His mother survived that. There is nothing she can't survive." Rebecca sounded bitter at the admission.

Merlin's eyes widened and he gaped at her.
"Irene lives a little outside the village. At the river bank. You should be able to see the cabin, once you left the village on the other side.", Rebecca waved them to follow her.

Arthur noticed that Merlin was suddenly wrecked from nerves. What, did Balinor's mother really intrigue him so much?
They just crossed the village and could see the river from above, when Merlin suddenly grabbed for Arthur's hand again.
This time, to reassure himself rather than the shocked Arthur.
Arthur felt his face heat up at the contact, unable to be mad about the sudden revelations from earlier. Merlin may have talked to a giant dragon before, he may have lied about it's death and he had lied about where the sword came from. But all that paled in comparison, because Merlin was holding his fucking hand.
Arthur admitted, he was a bit of a mess.

Rebecca pointed in the direction, as if they hadn't already seen the cabin and smiled as she noticed their hands. Arthur flushed, but his startled reaction made Merlin grab for his arm with his other hand to stabilize himself. As if he were afraid Arthur would shake him off. And Arthur felt he couldn't move at the realization.
Had Arthur ever believed Merlin would use magic against him, it would be right now. Unfortunately, Arthur knew Merlin would never use magic against him, so he was very much aware, that all these feelings were his own. And not an enchantment.
He was completely overwhelmed by them.

Arthur would push him away again, if only to save his own sanity, but Merlin seemed to need this. To hold on to something that wasn't going to leave and Arthur didn't exactly want him to let go, so he did his best to ignore it. As you can imagine, he failed spectacularly.

"You can go and visit her, if you like. We will prepare one of the houses for your stay. If you need anything, just ask. I assume Balinor's death is the reason why you came?"

Arthur nodded, not really listening. But hell, any reason to explain their sudden arrival was better than none. So, he cleared his throat.
"Yes. It is. We thought it would be good for you to know."

Rebecca nodded with a sigh. "Well, it can't be helped then. Have fun you two. Try not to scare her off though. Remember, the last person who visited her, the last person she trusted, poisoned her and her husband."

With that incredulous story, Rebecca slowly turned around and walked back the way she came. She barked orders at Dragons and dragon kin alike, and they obeyed her will.
She was certainly no dragon lord, but she was a strong person with an even stronger will.

"Merlin?", Arthur finally asked, but Merlin wasn't letting go.
"Should we go?"
Merlin nodded, but instead of loosening his grip, it only tightened.
"Jesus, Merlin. What's wrong with you? You're never this clingy."

Finally, Merlin snapped out of his stupor and realized what he was doing. Embarrassed, he let go of Arthur, who rolled his eyes as an excuse not to look Merlin in the eyes.
"Sorry. I just didn't know.... he had family left."

"Merlin... why is that so important to you? Ciril might be attacking the knights at this very moment! Shouldn't we go there and help them?"

Merlin blinked. As though he hadn't even thought about that. "Oh.. right.", he murmured.
Arthur looked him up and down. The way Merlin's shoulders hunched, the way he looked at the ground and nervously played with his hands.
There was no way they wouldn't go and visit that strange woman now, would they?
As if Arthur could ever deny Merlin.

"I suppose, the knights can handle themselves.", Arthur melted a little and scratched his arm. He noticed a tat too late that he was scratching right where he missed Merlin's warmth.
"Are you sure? They might... die.", Merlin muttered.

"Have you seen Ciril's teeth? She's lucky, if she can chew grass with that. I'm sure they will be fine." At this point, Arthur was convincing himself more than he was convincing Merlin. But Arthur shoved Merlin in the right direction. To see Balinor's mom.
Because that was more important than caring about his men, apparently.
Actually, it served as a good cover mission. Find out what happened here. Convince the people you had a good reason to come in the first place. Convince them you didn't plan on murdering the last remaining of their kind.
If they abandoned the mission now to help intruders, Arthur wasn't sure he could guarantee for Merlin's safety in return.
Magic or no magic, Merlin couldn't hold off the entire village. And if Arthur was honest with himself, he would probably sacrifice kingdoms just to see this man smile.

The knights would be smart enough to escape. Arthur had to believe in that.

So they walked in silence. "Say, Merlin...", Arthur finally began, as they walked through fields of grass.
"What was that about the dragon? You promised to explain later. Now is later."

Merlin flinched. And then he outright laughed and scratched his neck.
"About that...."

"You released the dragon, didn't you? For what? In exchange for a sword?"
Arthur shook his head. The conclusion that Merlin had let the dragon free FOR the sword, sounded reasonable in his head. How else had the dragon escaped, if not with the help of a powerful sorcerer? Why else would Merlin be so hesitant to tell him about it?
Apparently there was more to this sword than Arthur knew as well. More power than he had expected.

"Yes. I did release the dragon.", Merlin sighed. "But not in exchange for the sword. I got that sword, when the undead knight challenged you to a duel and you were stupid enough to accept."

Arthur frowned. "I didn't end up fighting the knight, though.", he pointed out. "And my father defeated him."

Merlin grimaced. "Uther used your sword to win. It's a magical sword. Therefore it is able to kill the undead. Unfortunately, Kilgharrah did not like that Uther wielded it. Which is why I had to throw the sword in a lake.
Then we fought Morgauses immortal army, where I needed it again. Freya was taking care of it in the lake, by the way. And after the immortal army was defeated, I sealed it in the stone, where you got it from.
I did not lie. Only you could have pulled it out. Because you are the once and future kind and this is your sword."

Arthur stared at him for a second. "Wait... you mean.... YOU defeated the immortal army?"
"I had the sword. Therefore I had the best chances."
"But you and Lancelot went to take out the warning bell! That was your plan. And it was a good one! Even if you failed."
"Yeah. But getting the chalice, pouring out the blood and therefore killing all the undead people at once was a much better plan. And it worked.", Merlin pointed out and Arthur could not find a flaw in that.

"SO... alright. Then what about the dragon. How did you even meet him?"

Merlin frowned at that question. "That bastard.", he muttered and sighed, as he saw Arthur's amused unamused grin.
"He called out to me as soon as I entered Camelot. Then he held a speech about me being some prophesied warlock who is destined to protect the once and future king, warned me to never tell you about it and kept annoying me ever since."
Merlin rolled his eyes.

Arthur blinked. "DESTINED to protect me?", Arthur raised an eyebrow.
Merlin sighed again. "He's never really specific. But he went on about us being two sides of the same coin, and destined for each other and all that jazz.", Merlin's ears turned red at the last part, though he tried to conceal his expression.

"And why did you let him go?", Arthur asked, curious to find out more and desperate to change the topic of soul bonds and the like.
Because that would open the conversation to feelings much deeper than just anxiety and self doubt.
Merlin already knew about Arthur's feelings.
Talking about it, didn't seem like a good idea just yet.

"Well. There were a few.... instances, where you almost died.", Merlin began and looked away.
"Define... a few.", Arthur had a bad feeling about this.
"Oh... erm. The questing beast, for instance. Or Nimueh in disguise as a servant who tried to poison you or sorcerers or bandits or...", Suddenly Merlin was in his element and named instance after instance. And they were halfway to the river, when he finally shook his head at Arthur's incredulous expression.
"Anyway... at some point he lost his nerves from all my asking him for help, when I didn't know how to safe you. And I had to promise him to let him go, in exchange for information."

"And then you did.", Arthur nodded, finally understanding what had happened. Even if he wasn't exactly pleased about the revelation.

"Not immediately. I... procrastinated. That made him mad. And he haunted me in my sleep. Which I needed, to keep you safe. In the end, he outright refused to help me again and.... I had to uphold my promise. After that, he did help me again.", Merlin concluded.

Arthur stopped. Merlin kept walking until he noticed Arthur's pause and then he stopped as well.
"You're not freaking out, are you?", Merlin nervously asked and shyly met Arthur's eyes.

"Who is Emrys?", Arthur managed to ask instead. Because after what Merlin just told him, Arthur could guess that Emrys was a name from a legend. It sounded logical. A magical prophesied name for a warlock who was said to serve and guide the once and future king.
Surely, that's what they meant, wasn't it? So, there must be something extremely special about this man in front of him. And if he worse such a special name, Arthur needed to know what it meant.

"Emrys is said to be the most powerful warlock to ever walk the earth. I mean... I doubt that. But that's what the druids believe.", Merlin looked at his feet and pressed his lips together.
Arthur stared at him. Eyes wide. Okay... maybe his expectations hadn't gone quite THAT far.
"Then.... you're.... Your magic... how long have you practiced it?" There was no doubt anymore that Merlin had used magic in Camelot. He had needed it to protect Arthur, after all. That Arthur came to that conclusion right in this moment was little to not important.

At that, Merlin smiled. Another wind picked up, ruffled at Merlin's hair and there was a twinkle in his eye, as he he answered. "All my life. I was born with it."

"Born with it?", Arthur asked, completely caught off guard by that concept.

"I could move objects with my mind, before I could talk."
Arthur shook his head, taking in deep breaths. Not only was the love of his life secretly a magic user. He had a death wish as well. Using it right under Uther's nose, what was Merlin thinking?
Coming to Camelot in the first place? Was he stupid?
Arthur bridged his nose with his hand, to stiffle a groan.
Merlin chuckled at his antics. But he still looked nervous.

"I really hope for you that were all of your secrets. Because if I hear any more of that heroic nonsense, I don't think my heart can take it."

Merlin blinked. His smile fell a little. But in surprise at Arthur's honesty. "You're not mad?", he asked, as if that was ever a concern.
"No.", Arthur laughed. "Humiliated? Yes. Concerned? To death! Are you kidding me? How on earth did you manage to hide all that?"

Merlin rubbed his left arm. "Well.. I mean... your father and the witch hunter did have a few good hunches. And I did tell you guys at court that I was the sorcerer who healed Gwen's father, when Gwen was accused a witch. I guess, it was mostly just luck.", Merlin shrugged.
Arthur, however, was freaking out on the inside.
"You always got so close to being executed.", Arthur muttered and tried to concentrate on his breathing.

"Arthur, you okay?", Merlin asked and at the look in his eyes, Arthur couldn't exactly conceal his emotions.
"My head is spinning.", he admitted. And he had never admitted anything like it. Even when he broke an arm during training, he always played it off as nothing.
But this? This conflict in his mind? It was too much to openly deny.
Yet again, Arthur fought himself to be more open with Merlin. To finally show him that he cared. And Merlin DID share stuff with him now. Arthur just wasn't sure he could deal with it.

"Do you want to sit down?", Merlin asked and stepped closer. Which didn't exactly help Arthur's situation.
"I could...", Arthur wasn't sure what made him ask this, but he did it anyway. It was selfish. But Arthur had already started opening up to Merlin. And once you open up, it's hard to stop yourself from overflowing. Spilling everything. It had helped last time. Surely it would help now too.

"I could need a hug.", Arthur said and almost immediately deflected at Merlin surprised expression.
Then, the servant broke out into a grin and literally jumped at Arthur.
Still a little nervous and unused to the feeling, Arthur buried his head in the crook of Merlin's neck and took a deep breath.

"You know, you're a lot cuddlier than I imagined."
"Shut up Merlin."

Actually, that had Arthur look up curiously. "You imagined hugging me?", he asked and felt Merlin stiffen under him. "Maybe? Since you were always so keen on shoving me away, since the Troll accident?"
Ah yes. The first time Merlin ever asked him for a hug and Arthur had basically hunted him through the entire castle to conceal his real feelings.
"Sorry.", Arthur muttered, but still didn't quite let go.

"Erm... Arthur?", Merlin finally asked after a while.
"Yeah?", Arthur asked, eyes closed and ready to drift off.
"I think, we should keep going to tell Balinor's mom about his passing."
Oh right... shoot.

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*Flashback*

"HECTOR!", Rebecca's voice echoed over the entire Village. The village looked bigger than before. Not due to it's size. But because of how empty it was.
There were barely any dragons present. But additionally, there were a few unfamiliar faces. Dragon lords, they must be. They all had the same tattoo of a Dragon and a sword marked on their wrist.
The only dragon left, seemed to be Kilgharrah and he stood there, right behind Rebecca.

"You have committed treason to your kind! You have poisoned us and made us easy prey to our enemies! For that you are exiled from this day forth!
You and your kind will never be able to lift a toe on the island without suffering the upmost pain.
Since you're mortal now, be glad if the pain kills you now rather than never."

The anger that radiated from the woman was nothing compared to Hector's absolute ignorance.
Instead of appearing hostile and angry, he smiled and bowed. As if he was praised for an accomplishment, instead of punished for treason.

Balinor was standing before Kilgharrah. And you can tell by his guilty expression that it was him who ratted out his friend. Hector narrowed his eyes at the man in disapproval. Betrayal. Disappointment written all over his face. And anger.

"I couldn't care less. Dragon lords are poison in their very existence. They deserve what's coming to them.", Hector said proudly, but his easy smile looked forced as he locked eyes with the man he once called a friend.
Rebecca nodded and waved at Kilgharrah. He lifted his head and breathed in Hector's direction.

Instead of a healing spell however, this one had immediate effects.
For a moment, Hector stood there, chest puffed out, ready for what was to come. But then, the pain increased and he blinked. Only moments later he was already clutching at his head, gasping for air.
The sight was familiar, too. Unfortunately.
He looked just as sick as Leon during the ride to Drakonier.

"Isn't this too much?", Balinor finally reconciled. Balinor had seen his friend suffer from the hands of their kin for years. Had learned that Hector could actually be killed, because of the torture he went through.
He couldn't pardon the betrayal. He couldn't forgive that Hector had poisoned his father.
Some Dragon lords, like Balinor's father were actually dying from it. But Hector was still his friend. The only friend he ever had.
He couldn't allow him murdering people. But he didn't want him dead.
But Hector was dying now. Suffering to death. The highest punishment, served for traitors. Served for treason.

"If he can leave the island in this state, so let him.", Rebecca had rolled her eyes. She shook her head in sympathy, but she hardened her glance almost as soon as Balinor thought to have noticed it.
"But if you decide to help him escape, Balinor, don't expect to be welcomed home."

Balinor watched his friend for merely two minutes longer, before Hector was already coughing out blood.
Balinor shook his head. He had always believed in his gut instincts. He had known what Hector did was wrong and that the town had to pass a sentence on him.
But this was too cruel. This was wrong.
"Then I suppose this means goodbye.", Balinor said and turned around to nod at Kilgharrah.

"Balinor, if you go now -", Rebecca said, confusion evident in her voice.
"He's my friend. He deserves to pay for his crimes. But he does not deserve to die. Not like this."
And finally, Balinor heaved his protesting friend up and started dragging him towards the gates of Drakonier.

"I don't need your help, traitor.", Hector spit in his direction.
"Your actions are killing my father. Count us even.", Balinor muttered back, ignoring the guilt on his back, as he left the only place he ever called home.

*Flashback ends*