It was a week later when things turned upside down. Until then Arthur had been going through the days like normal and his Father had been satisfied that there was no longer magic on the island. So when he walked into his chambers to find Uther holding some pieces of parchment with a frown on his face that Arthur had only seen when they discussed Merlin, Arthur kept a firm grip on the door. "Is something the matter?"

"What are these?" Uther asked.

Arthur went forward a few steps and then froze when he realised what Uther was holding. During the late evenings Arthur had often found himself bored and drawing out the journey he'd made with Merlin on the dragon, revealing the location of the island where all the dragons resided. It had taken a few attempts and research but Arthur had found the bearings to set course for the island if he ever wished too.

Now his Father had the information he no doubt had wanted most of his life.

"Are you telling me you've known all along where they've been and not told me?"

"No! Of course not. I only discovered their whereabouts a little while ago with Merlin-"

"Of course you did, no doubt he lured them here for pleasure." Uther looked back down at the scribbles and smiled, "They wouldn't expect us to attack them. This could be our chance."

"Father, you can't. There's a beast-"

"There are many beasts there, that's the point. If we attack at full force we could end this once and for all.'

"You don't understand-"

"You are to stay here whilst I'm gone, watch over the remaining people and await our return. We'll set sail immediately and be back in a few days by the looks of it. They've been living closer then I ever believed. This is perfect." Uther walked past him before Arthur could convince him not to go and within a matter of hours Arthur was watching over three dozen ships leave the dock. Heading straight for the home of the beast.

"Is it true?" Gwen asked as she came up behind him. "Have they really found the location of where the dragons live?"

"No Gwen, they've found something much worse."

"So what are we going to do about it?" Arthur raised an eyebrow in her direction in confusion, "You're not the type of guy to just stand around and do nothing. Is there anyway we could catch up to them?" He shook his head and sighed, they didn't even have enough people to sail a ship. The only people on the island were the women and children, along with people in dragon training but even then there were few.

"How did you get there last time?" Gwen questioned.

"It was by accident. Merlin was-" his words were cut off mid sentence when the thought of Merlin crossed his mind. He had never considered that Merlin might be able to help them. Unlike the remaining people on the island he had magic and stood a better chance against the beast then the rest of them. He could be their only hope at any of their warriors surviving. "We need Merlin."

"Arthur…" Gwen trailed off whilst she tried of a way to put her words delicately. "Merlin's gone. Your Father burnt-"

"He's not dead. I helped him escape and he said if I ever needed him I'd be able to find him." Arthur didn't notice the look of pity crossing across Gwen's face, to her he looked like a mad man looking for any possible way to save his people, even if that meant searching for a supposed dead person.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled as he stormed through the forest and went towards the first place he'd thought of. Where he'd first seen the dragon that Merlin was no doubt with. "I need you now. Time to show yourself." He pushed back a final branch and appeared at the edge of a cliff, the large lake down below where he expected Merlin to be sat beside. "You better be down there, I really don't want to climb back up here by myself."

He slowly made his way down the cliff side and yelled, "Merlin!"

Only when his feet hit the ground did Arthur stop calling out Merlin's name, if he was around he would have heard it by now and no doubt would have come to his aid. As the disappointment filled him that Merlin hadn't kept his word, Arthur approached the water and knelt down at the edge to peer down into its depths half expecting Merlin to emerge with a grin on his face.

Fortunately for him it was only a few minutes that had passed when a sound could be heard overhead and he looked up towards the sky to see a large shadow quickly descending towards him. He threw himself sideways in fear that the dragon would hit his back with its talons and watched as it landed with grace, a familiar figure sat comfortably on top with a confused expression on his face. "Arthur?"

"The one and only," he leapt to his feet and walked over to stand in front of Merlin as he slid off his dragon. "Where were you? I've been waiting."

"I was only gone for half a day, you couldn't have been waiting too long." Merlin teased and went past Arthur to approach the water, his hand outstretched as he did so. Arthur watched with wide eyes as fish flew from the water and landed in front of the dragon who was quick to digest them. "What brings you here?"

"My Father," he stared and realised that probably wasn't the best way to start a conversation with Merlin. "He found the island where the dragons are and has taken most of the people there to rid our island of the dragons. I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen. I need your help."

"What can I do?"

"Take me there, your dragon knows the way and I don't have enough men to sail a ship fast enough across the water. I know you don't want to help my Father but please help me, he's the only family I have and many innocent people will die." He waited for Merlin to say yes but instead was met with silence. "Merlin, please."

"Taking you there will make little difference on whether those people die or not. It's better you stay-"

"Are you seriously saying you won't help me? We could go there and you could use your magic to hold the dragons off so my people can get away. You could save them all. Show them that magic isn't evil."

Merlin glanced over at Kilgh who had been very quiet during this dispute and he willed him to speak, to tell him what to do. Of course he wanted to help Arthur, he didn't want all those people to die, but he had no idea how powerful that beast was and could very well be too powerful for Merlin to defeat. He also didn't want to risk Arthur going into battle when he could easily get himself killed. "I cannot help you."

"You said that you'd help me. They're your friends out there-"

"My friends?" Merlin turned his head to glance over his shoulder at the young man behind him, "Where were those friends when I was being burnt inside my own house?" When no reply was given Merlin gave a small smile, "And there's your answer." Walking over to Kilgh he crouched down and gently stroked his snout, finding comfort from the dragon from a mere touch.

"What do you want me to do Merlin? Beg? Cause I will if I have to." A low growl coming from Kilgh told Merlin that Arthur was coming closer. "Please Merlin. Help me do this and I'll never bother you again. I'll leave you alone, you can leave with your bloody dragon and never come back. Just help me find this island and save my people."

"So basically he wants your help and then has no further use for you."

The words stung but Merlin found that he couldn't argue against them, Arthur was saying exactly that. He wasn't even trying to tell Merlin to stay afterwards. Infact he was pretty much telling him to bugger off. "Merlin, will you help me?" Arthur asked in a voice that Merlin knew would convince him and he sighed, pressing his forehead to Kilgh's snout.

"Tell him no and we'll leave. I'll even show him who's boss before we go."

"Easy," Merlin muttered and got to his feet. "I'll help you, after that I'm gone."

"Thank you!" Arthur exclaimed and grabbed his hand, pulling him closer with a smile covering his face. "Thank you Merlin, seriously, I will be forever in your debt." Merlin held his breath as Arthur brought their bodies together, "I am willing to pay it back in any way possible." It didn't take a genius to know what he meant and Merlin instantly backed away, his knees knocking back against the dragon behind him. "Mer-"

"We should get going, if we don't leave soon then your Father won't stand a chance." He moved around the dragon and climbed up into the saddle, "Come on then." Arthur seemed hesitant to join him and he rolled his eyes, for someone who was so desperate to face hundreds of dragons he wasn't showing much nerve by not being able to face just one. After what felt like a life time Arthur sat behind him and wrapped his arms around Merlin's waist, tighter then necessary.

"Arthur!" Gwen yelled as she saw him entering the ring and the others turned their heads to see the man himself approaching. With someone they thought dead right behind him. "Merlin?"

"Hey!" Arthur watched as Merlin rushed past him to greet everyone and felt a serge of jealousy go through him as he saw Merlin smile. Merlin hadn't looked that happy when he'd seen him. "How do you guys fancy riding a dragon?"

Before he knew it they were faced with five dragons that were calmly stood in a row after Merlin had lured them out of their cages. There was a dragon for Gwen and Lancelot, another for Leon, Sophie, Morgause and Gwaine. Arthur didn't know which dragon he was meant to share since Merlin hadn't allocated him one. It took some convincing to get the dragons to accept a rider on their back but soon enough Arthur was watching his friends being flown into the air.

"Arthur," his name was called and he turned to see Merlin waiting for him.

"What if we're too late?" Arthur asked as he took a seat behind Merlin. "Everyone could be dead, we could be doing all this for nothing." He didn't even notice when they took off, the other dragons quick to follow as they went up towards the clouds where they couldn't be spotted. "I may never see my Father again."

"He's alive Arthur," Merlin quietly replied and nothing more was said. He would know if Uther was dead because the huge beast would have awoken and Merlin would have felt it. Something that powerful would be furious if their home was attacked and Merlin was afraid of how it would react.