AN: This is for the Mergana Prompt Party over on Tumblr this week (you can search for the merganapromptparty tag). The prompt was "dragons" so this is my interpretation. This one took me a long time and I think if I keep working on it it might have an interesting set up for a multi-chapter story. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

Day Five Prompt: Dragons

Aithusa's cold snout butting against her face woke Morgana. The sky had yet to begin lightening for the day and Morgana groaned, looking at the small, white dragon next to her.

"What is it?" Morgana asked, slightly worried. The dragon had never woken her before, so she obviously assumed the worst had happened.

Aithusa squeaked and whimpered at the woman, moving her head to gesture towards the tent flap.

Morgana rolled off of the cot and got to her feet, "Aithusa?"

The dragon didn't respond, merely turned to leave the tent, gesturing with her head for Morgana to follow.

Pulling a cloak on, Morgana hastened to obey. She had never seen the dragon act so strangely before…

Aithusa led Morgana through the trees, glancing behind every so often to make sure the woman followed, pausing only to allow her to catch up when the dense foliage proved too difficult to traverse. They continued for nearly an hour while the sky began to brighten slightly.

Aithusa stopped at the edge of the trees, with Morgana pausing beside her. The dragon snuffled at the woman, then gave her a stern look to stay put. Morgana nodded in response, agreeing to remain behind the tree line (for now).

The dragon moved into the field and approached the larger dragon standing there.

Morgana gasped softly as she realized what she was seeing: a man stood talking to the Great Dragon, and Aithusa had simply marched up to the dragon, screeching and whistling at it.

The Great Dragon drew its attention away from the man and glared down at the younger dragon, "Hush young one."

Aithusa sat at the older dragon's foot with a huff, causing a small chuckle from Morgana.

"Hello Aithusa," the man greeted.

Morgana thought he sounded familiar. And how did he know her dragon's name?

"Kilgharrah," the man continued. "If Aithusa is here Morgana can't be too far away…"

The dragon snorted, "I do not smell her, she is not here. As it is, you must return to Arthur before your absence is noted. You are so very close to realizing your destiny young warlock, do not allow yourself to be distracted now."

The sun had begun to rise, casting its bright rays across the landscape and illuminating the face of the mysterious man in the field.

Morgana's hand flew to her mouth when she saw the face of the man. Without hesitation she ran forward, wanting to question the man she had once considered a friend. How could he be talking to a dragon? And what destiny was that? He knew Aithusa? Merlin was just a servant, she thought.

Merlin and the Great Dragon both looked up upon her entry into the field, each taking up defensive positions once they've recognized her.

Aithusa reared up and began chattering at the dragon, causing him to relax slightly.

"The young one promises the witch will not harm anyone this day," Kilgharrah purrs to Merlin.

The man relaxes infinitesimally, but remains prepared for an attack. It's one thing to trust Aithusa and Kilgharrah, quite another to trust Morgana.

Morgana reached the man and dragons and came to a stop. She spared little more than a glance at the magnificent creatures, instead her gaze landed on Merlin and didn't leave. Her voice finally appeared, coming out in barely more than a whisper, "Merlin?"

Merlin returned her unwavering gaze, his eyes full of suspicion, chin raised slightly.

"How…?" she asked breathlessly, still in shock. "How are you here, talking to a dragon? He-he called you a warlock!"

The Great Dragon snorted at her, "Do not presume that Merlin had a say in speaking with me, witch."

Morgana faltered for only a moment before focusing on Merlin once again, "Merlin, do you have magic?"

Merlin cast a dubious look at Kilgharrah before answering the woman in front of him, "Yes."

Morgana's face nearly crumpled, "Why didn't you ever tell me? I thought I was alone!"

He shook his head and took a step forward, stopping when she recoiled, "I wanted to, but I didn't know if I could trust you. You know how Uther was."

She continued to look at him in confusion.

"Morgana, you know Arthur, why do you hate him so much?" Merlin finally ventured.

Morgana sighed, "I don't hate him. I wish I did… It's Uther I hate, and unfortunately Arthur appears to have inherited many of his beliefs."

Merlin snorted, "Please, Arthur isn't nearly as biased as Uther. In fact, Arthur will probably repeal the ban on magic soon. Actually, he might have already done it had you been there to show him that magic isn't evil, but no instead you're out here running around trying to kill everyone and everything just because you're mad at Uther!"

"How dare you," she hissed at him. "You are no better than me, you knew how I was struggling to come to terms with my power and you never told me that you had the same talents. I thought I could trust you, then next thing I know, you've poisoned me and left me for dead!"

Merlin blanched at her words, knowing she was right.

Kilgharrah chortled behind the feuding sorcerers, "Please, you act as though him revealing his powers would have changed anything…"

"It would have been nice to know I wasn't alone, and then maybe I wouldn't have had to resort to such extreme measures!" Morgana shot back.

Aithusa chirped in support of her mistress.

"As it is, you are still a witch and cannot be trusted," Kilgharrah said.

Morgana turned to Merlin, "So that's how you formed your opinion of me, Merlin? The words of a dragon I've never met?"

Merlin had the decency to look away, slightly ashamed of himself. She did have a point.

"Tell me this Morgana, how did you come across Aithusa?" Merlin asked, genuine curiosity lacing his voice.

She shrugged, "I'd been injured. She healed me. We've been together ever since, it really isn't that complicated."

Merlin regarded the young dragon in front of him, "Interesting. Did you know that Aithusa, being a white dragon is known as the Light of the Sun?"

Morgana shook her head.

"Merlin," Kilgharrah warned, sensing where the young man's thoughts were going.

Aithusa had perked up upon being the subject of the conversation. She took a few steps towards the humans in order to pay better attention to them.

Merlin hummed to himself.

Nearly stomping her foot in impatience Morgana spoke again, "Why? What does it matter?"

The warlock shrugged, "Oh it doesn't really. I was just thinking about how Aithusa might have something to do with helping Arthur reach his destiny…"

"What is Arthur's destiny exactly?" she asked.

"Unite the lands of Albion together in peace. Magic would return and everyone would be treated fairly and equally."

Morgana turned to look at the Great Dragon, "Is this true?"

The creature inclined his neck slightly, "Indeed it is. However, some pose a great threat to the realization of that world."

The sorceress didn't miss the jab at her person, "You mean myself and Morgause, right?"

She received no response.

Morgana turned away slightly, trying to control her emotions. She hadn't expected to feel so conflicted when she spoke to Merlin next. She'd expected to feel gleeful as she killed the meddling servant once and for all. But now? The last thing she wanted to do was kill him. The sudden realization hit her: she wanted to go home.

A tear slid down her face, causing Merlin to frown in confusion. Why was she crying? This was the evil sorceress trying to kill everyone he loved, she would never cry. He took a cautious step forward.

"Um…" Merlin said. "Morgana?"

She turned to meet his gaze, eyes shining with unshed tears and unspeakable pain. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry… I just want to come home."

Merlin embraced the woman on a whim as she began to cry in earnest, stroking her hair as she continued to murmur apologies. "It will be okay," he whispered into her hair, hoping that his promise wasn't in vain.

Kilgharrah snorted and flew away when he realized Merlin wouldn't listen to his warnings. Aithusa sat down with a satisfied hum and what seemed to be a smile, watching the young men and women in front of her as they embraced.

AN: Hope you liked it! Please leave me a review, I love hearing from readers :)