Oh my goodness, it's an update! Still plenty of real life drama going on for me, but I couldn't let March slip by without finishing another chapter for you. Plus, it's Mother's Day here in the UK, so I was actually allowed to sit down here and there and cobble together something post-able. As always, thank you for the continued story alerts/favorites and reviews, I appreciate every single one. And while I continue to be probably one of the slowest writers in the world, I do promise that I will finish this story. Eventually. *eyeroll*

And also, apologies in advance, because while I fully intended to reveal what I had in mind for the dragon, after waffling through this chapter (which is what I do best *snort*), I have discovered that I'd really rather you found out what I had planned the same time as Arthur. *hides from glares* Besides that, I am a complete pantser with my writing. I know the end goal, but each chapter is as much a discovery for me as it is for you. So... there we go... here endeth my rambling.

And I still don't own Merlin. *pouts*

The grin Merlin had thrown over his shoulder disappeared as soon as he turned around. For Arthur's sake, he had kept a lid on his feelings of grief, not wanting to add to his friend's worries, but facing nothing but a view of the forest, Merlin felt his smile slip. He'd known Kilgharrah's time was almost upon him, and he'd suspected he'd never seen his dragon-kin again, but knowing something was going to happen and actually having it happen were two entirely different things.

Kilgharrah had been in his life for a long as he'd been in Camelot, and had been a huge part of it. Quite apart from his- albeit overly cryptic – words of wisdom, the ancient creature had been a source of comfort to Merlin many times, as well as a friend. Well, family really. They'd been kin after all. The space where Kilgharrah had dwelt deep within Merlin was like an open wound, and the warlock was shocked that he hadn't felt the old dragon's passing as soon as it had occurred, so acute was the pain he now felt.

"I'll miss you, old friend," he whispered, pausing a few seconds to recollect himself. There was a nasty little voice at the back of his mind telling him that he had better get used to the pain of loss, for he would lose everyone eventually. Such was the fate of Emrys. But Merlin stubbornly ignored the insidious whispers, knowing he would never be able to function if he dwelt upon his long future.

So he concentrated on the here and now. He had no idea how to summon Aithusa; at least, he figured that it would be much the same as when he had called upon his old friend, but Aithusa had never answered those calls, so obviously something else was needed.

"Aithusa," he whispered sadly, picturing the deformed young dragon. "How I wish I'd known of your suffering. I would never have let anything harm you."

On the verge of falling into that black pit of self-blame that was unfortunately so familiar to him, Merlin rubbed his hands over his face and drew some deep breaths.

"Focus, Merlin, focus," he said to himself. The soft rustling of leaves behind him alerted him to the fact that he wasn't alone. He turned, about to admonish whoever it was – Arthur, most likely – for following, but the scolding never left his lips as he came face to face with sad countenance of Aithusa herself. Not caring how it had happened (for he knew his dragon call had not been what had brought her), he gently approached the small dragon with his hands outstretched and his voice soothingly quiet.

"Hello little one, what brings you here?"

The dragon shuffled her feet and made a series of short, distressed chirps, but she held her ground, staring at Merlin with eyes that were unfathomable wells of grief. It was then that Merlin understood. He hadn't felt the passing of Kilgharrah, but Aithusa obviously had.

"I'm sad, too," he whispered, taking a few more tentative steps towards her. "How you must feel, little one, to know that you are the last of your kind."

The grief in the dragon's eyes was mixed with fear and confusion, and Merlin wished that the broken dragon could speak to him. He knew she could understand him, but it was frustrating that he could not understand her. He had so many questions for her, and no way of getting any answers.

"I wish you could speak to me," he said. "I wish I knew what had happened to you so that I could fix it. I wish I could make it so it had never happened to begin with."

The steady stream of softly spoken words had relaxed the dragon, and she stopped shuffling her feet. Merlin took the last few steps it needed to be stood next to her, and carefully held a hand out to her.

"It's alright, I won't hurt you. I would never hurt you," he said softly, staring directly into the dragon's eyes and willing her to believe him. The dragon pulled back slightly, then slowly, hesitantly, pushed her snout towards Merlin's outstretched palm. She sniffed it cautiously, and Merlin held his breath, curling his palm upwards. The dragon suddenly pushed her snout so forcibly into Merlin's hand that he almost lost his balance. He laughed, and smiled at the dragon with encouragement.

"That's it, that's right. See? I won't hurt you. We're family."

The dragon emitted a few more chirps and closed her eyes as she settled into a sitting position. Merlin continued to murmur softly as he stroked behind her ears and just generally calmed the nervous dragon. He subtly used his magic to try to discern all that was wrong with the creature, but everything struck him as wrong. He was by no means an expert on dragon physiology, but even he could tell that bones had not grown as they should have, or that tendons and muscles were twisted far beyond what could be fixed. These were not injuries to be repaired, but deformities that were so deep they could never be rectified. Merlin had no idea what had happened, and was angered that a such a vulnerable magical creature had been so abused.

"I want to help you, but I don't think I can," he said sadly. Aithusa chirped again in her unique way, and Merlin sensed her despair.

I cannot be fixed, Emrys. Morgana has tried.

Merlin jumped at the voice in his head. Of course, Kilgharrah had called to him in his mind all those years ago, and Mordred had communicated telepathically right from the start. He'd just never thought of using the same powers for Aithusa.

"So you can speak," he said, smiling at the dragon."Why didn't you speak to me before? At Ismere? I wanted to help you."

I do not think my words very much; I have never needed to with Morgana. She understands me without such things as mundane as words.

Merlin shifted uncomfortably at the silent reprimand.

"I am sorry that I didn't understand you before. I am sorry that my negligence of you meant that it was necessary. If I had taken my responsibility towards you more seriously, you would never have needed to use your mind to communicate. I am sorry, Aithusa. I have let you down. I will not do so again."

Aithusa offered no reply, though Merlin sensed a softening in her.

"Will you stay with me now? When you hatched, Kilgharrah said you were a good omen for Albion. I would like to make that statement true. Will you help me? Help me defeat all that is dark, and create a world full of light instead?"

Aithusa shrank away.

You wish to kill my family. The Great One was the last of my dragon brethren, but Morgana lives still. She is my only kin now. I won't let you kill her. She has taken care of me. She never left me... never abandoned me... she has only ever loved me.

Merlin closed his eyes, a feeling of defeat settling over him. It was more serious than he had thought. He knew the witch shared a bond with Aithusa, but he hadn't realized how deep it went. An image of a darkened cell entered his thoughts, small – too small to hold its captives – damp, and rank with the smell of decay. Morgana huddled protectively over the white dragon, who was emitting pitiful sounds of distress. Merlin was horrified.

The moon was at its brightest more than a score of times while we were there. And Morgana could have left, but she would not leave me. She would not abandon me, and I will not abandon her.

There was a note of finality to the dragon's words, and Merlin found he could not fault her for them. Indeed, along with his feelings of horror and sympathy for the dragon, there was a feeling of pity for Morgana, too. Nobody deserved the fate that had fallen to them. It was little wonder that Morgana was the person she was today. She had already been bitter towards those who were against magic; her imprisonment would have made her bitterness magnify tenfold.

"Aithusa, I cannot promise that Morgana will not be harmed, though I do promise that it will be a last resort. You must understand that she has to be stopped, though. She may have shown only loyalty and kindness to you, but she is not that way with everyone else. She intends harm to all those that cross her in her quest to become Queen of Camelot. That quest cannot and must not be achieved. Arthur is the Once and Future King. You must know this. As a creature of the Old Religion, you have to know this."

The dragon reared back and started shuffling her feet again, and Merlin could feel the waves of uncertainty coming from her.

I will not hurt my mistress!

"I am not asking you to. I could, if I wished to. I am your Dragonlord, and I could compel you to do this. But I will not. I would not do that to you. But I have to know that you are on the right side in this terrible war, and the right side is not with Morgana."

The dragon chirped angrily at him, and turned her back. Merlin wisely left her to her thoughts, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he did so. Everything hinged on what Aithusa would decide. Merlin had been truthful when he said he would not force her decision. If he forced the young dragon to bend to his will, the creature would resent him for the rest of their lives, and he could not do that. While a Dragonlord was able to command their charges, it did not mean they should do so. Dragons, like magic, should be free.

ooOoo

Initially, Merlin had been determined that Morgana needed to die, however unpalatable that thought had been. She had crossed too far into evil for any kind of redemption. Mordred had been more difficult, despite his recent actions. Mordred was still so young, and up until the past week, his time at Camelot had shown him to be nothing more than the loyal young knight that he appeared. Merlin still wasn't convinced that fate could never be thwarted; if he thought any different, then he could never find the strength to go on. He believed wholeheartedly that Morgana could be stopped, and therefore defeat the prophecies that had been foretold. But he also knew that Mordred had to be stopped too, no matter what, despite his aversion to actually killing the druid boy.

Now his perceptions had shifted, owing largely to the images that Aithusa had imparted to him, and also to the alarming swiftness that Mordred had turned from loyal knight to vengeful druid. It was worrying how quickly Mordred had turned; Merlin had guessed at the ramifications of Kara's death – of course he had, that was why he had tried so hard to stop it – but he could never have fathomed how quickly Mordred would have turned to dark magic. Morgana's descent into evil had been rather gradual, and it had been years before her bitterness has fully emerged. Not so Mordred. And Morgana still had a thread of kindness left in her, a fact proved by her determination to stay in horrifying captivity with Aithusa rather than flee. He doubted Mordred had any kindness left at all, not after what he had put Merlin through recently.

And so now Merlin's thoughts had taken a turn; now he thought that perhaps Morgana could be brought back. As to Mordred, it was really rather simple. While Morgana was fated to be Arthur's doom, it was Mordred who was fated to be the instrument of it. And that instrument had to be removed.

Mordred had to die.

"Merlin! I thought you were summoning a dragon, not escaping the rest of us just so you could sit around daydreaming!"

Merlin jumped at the words, and raised an eyebrow.

"Who's daydreaming? I'm formulating a plan."

Arthur's own eyebrows raised at this, and he sat down next to him.

"And it turned out that I didn't need to summon Aithusa after all; she came anyway. She knew that Kilgharrah had passed and it drew her to me."

Merlin almost laughed at the wary look on Arthur's face as the king looked around him carefully.

"She's behind those trees," said Merlin, stifling his chuckles. "She has some thinking to do. As do I, as a matter of fact," he added pointedly.

Arthur looked blank, and Merlin found he couldn't force his friend to leave him alone, despite his need for solitude. Arthur looked completely bemused at the idea of being dismissed, and it was just so typically Arthur- like that he didn't have the heart to send him away.

"So... why do we need a dragon again?" asked Arthur, obviously trying to sound casual, but failing abysmally.

"I don't recall that I told you before," snickered Merlin, but held his hands up at the look on his friend's face. "Fine, fine! Well, I'd been hoping for Kilgharrah, as he was the oldest, and most powerful magical creature that existed, and could have possibly helped me with something. Failing that, he would have at least been here to join us in battle. I knew he was weak, but I believe he would have relished the chance to help us win this fight before death came for him."

"And this... Aithusa... cannot do the same?" asked Arthur tentatively.

"No to the first, mostly because she is still so young and has much to learn, but also because it is increasingly clear that she will not intentionally hurt Morgana. As to helping us in battle, that is yet to be discerned. I will not force her, Arthur, I will not break her spirit that way. She has already been through so much in her short life, and also has to deal with the fact that she is now the last of her kind."

"You will let her return to Morgana?"

Merlin sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"No," he said eventually. "At least, not unless she is willing to do what I ask. But if she decides not to help us, then I fear I will have to forbid her to return to her mistress. She may not want to help us, but she can't be allowed to help Morgana, either."

"Merlin, what exactly do you have in mind? You're being very vague. You obviously have some kind of plan."

"I think we both know that I'm not exactly the best when it comes to planning, Arthur, but you're right in the sense that I do know what needs to be done. Kilgharrah's death changes things, of course, but in the larger scheme of things, the outcome is much the same. Well, hopefully, at any rate."

"And that outcome is?"

"That you win, of course," said Merlin, grinning widely. "That you will become what you are destined to be. That's always been the goal, Arthur, and nothing will ever change that."

Emrys.

Merlin turned his head, and saw Aithusa walking hesitantly towards him. She looked at Arthur and paused, glancing at Merlin fearfully.

"It's alright, Arthur won't hurt you."

"Honestly, I'm a little more concerned with her hurting me, not the other way around," whispered Arthur, and Merlin once again fought the urge to smile.

"She's perfectly safe, Arthur. Now hush, you're scaring her."

Arthur still looked doubtful, but kept his silence.

I still will not hurt my mistress.

"I know."

"You know what?"

"Hush Arthur, Aithusa is speaking in my mind."

Arthur threw his hands up in despair and muttered about annoying magical creatures, but soon shut up when Merlin glared at him.

The Great One told me many things after I hatched, and impressed on me the importance of your destiny. I will not hurt my mistress... but I will help you in all other ways.

Merlin blew out a relieved sigh, and sent a smile of reassurance to Arthur, who was looking severely disgruntled.

"She's going to help us," he said in an undertone, before walking towards Aithusa and bowing before her.

Why do you bow, Emrys? You are my Dragonlord.

"I bow at your nobleness, and your willingness to do what is right. I bow because I might be your Dragonlord, but we are equal, and as such demand such courtesies from one another. I would not see you bow before me unless I would do the same for you. I bow in gratitude for your sacrifices, both before today, and what may come after. I bow because we are kin."

Aithusa tilted her head slightly, and gazed at him keenly. A few breathless moments passed when Merlin could almost physically feel the magic that bound them, and then the dragon bowed her head.

The strange thing was, when Merlin stepped closer to the dragon to place a comforting hand to her shoulder, he could have sworn he saw Arthur bowing too. When his friend looked up, he was visibly flustered, and Merlin smiled knowingly.

"You still haven't told me why we need a dragon," the king grumbled.

Merlin finally let out a laugh.