I couldn't get this idea out of my mind, from the very first time I watched the show. And so I thought I'd see what I could do with it in this fic. I liked the result, I hope you enjoy yourself too.

Merlin was furious. He'd never been madder in his entire life! He was shaking, his magic about to let loose a wave of destruction, it was only his many years of patience that reigned it in.

"What," he began in a threatening voice, "are you talking about?"

The Great Dragon shifted nervously. He was starting to think that this hadn't been a very good idea. Sure, he'd been getting sick of it. The joke had gone on long enough, much longer than he'd intended. And maybe that had been because he'd enjoyed the power he had over the warlock. But over the course of the years he'd forgotten exactly what he'd made Merlin do.

"Ummm…."

"I'm waiting!"

"I… errr… the thing is… I was really bored, when Uther had me chained up and well… I … ummm…"

"Yes?"

"I might have made it up." Kilgharrah finished in a rush.

"Made. What. Up?" Merlin said slowly, advancing on The Great Dragon.

Said dragon took a step back, "Your destiny… There is no such thing as destiny. I made it all up."

Merlin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He counted to ten. Nope, still furious. Counted to twenty.

Kilgharrah was waiting, feeling more than a bit unsettled at Merlin's stillness. Was he going to cast a painful enchantment on him? Or order him to let Arthur chain him up. Because, to be fair, when he started this joke, Merlin wasn't a dragonlord and did not have this sort of power over him.

Merlin had counted to hundred by now, still feeling absolutely intoxicatingly mad. So he opened his eyes at meet Kilgharrah's golden irises.

"You are so dead."

Kilgharrah gulped.

So here end The Trials of Merlin's Patience. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for coming on this journey with me, it's been a blast!