Camelot

Arthur had woken up very groggy and tired this morning- the result of sleeping so late last night and even dreaming about the sorcerer he had seen.
Only a morning since the stranger had breached his chambers and Arthur already had a bruised ego and body.

Consequently, he had been a big ball of frustration all day, grunting and moaning after every five minutes of training-he even cursed at Leon, when the knight landed yet another blow on Arthur's person and his pride during a spar.

He cursed at the sorcerer, this time - he was the one who deserved it, not his most loyal knight.
The sorcerer from last night had been on his mind repeatedly since he saw him. The questions won't leave him alone, like, what had he been doing in Arthur's room? Was Arthur cursed and that is why he couldn't get the thoughts of the intruder out of his mind?
Who was he, if he could ride dragons and do magic without uttering a single word or gesture... then was he even human? His presence hadn't felt human.

So much power couldn't be in one ordinary man.

Arthur stops the training, finally giving up on actually getting anything done with a bleeding arm, a wounded pride and a distracted mind.
Leon catches up to him, he looks out of breath but happy- Arthur rolls his eyes- Leon did get his first hit in 3 years. He turns his head away and sees Morgana's pretty maid looking at him, he is about to smile at her when he hears Leon say,

"You should go see Gaius, sire." Arthur turns to look at Leon and sees him looking worriedly at Arthur's arm, which now he realizes is bleeding more than he previously thought.
His whole tunic arm is soaked and his fingers are dripping with a few drops.

Where is his mind! He hadn't even realized that he had been painting the ground red with his blood.
"Yes, Leon. That is where I was headed," Arthur speedily changes direction but before he leaves, he casts one last look at the maid, Guinevere - who blushes, still staring at him, he notes smugly- using the opportunity to also congratulate Leon on having a good day at training.
Not many knights managed to get a hit on Arthur's person since he turned 18 last year, today being the exception.

He pauses when Leon remarks, "You have been very distracted today, my lord. I have never seen you so...." Leon makes some kind of action with his hands that is supposed to convey 'lost'.

"Yes, I-um-I didn't sleep well last night." He doesn't wait for Leon to ask any more questions or make any more remarks.
He rushes towards Gaius's chambers, glad that he got hit now because he could use this situation as the perfect opportunity to ask Gaius some much-needed questions.

"Gaius." He calls out when he reaches the physician's chambers and sees the old man hunched over some potion or other before heading over to the worktable.
"Sire! You are hurt!" Gaius exclaims as soon as he sees the Prince and rushes to hold up his arm and put pressure against it.

Arthur had known Gaius, forever. The man had always been there for him, without fail. In fact, they used to be so close that he also remembers calling Gaius 'Dada' when he was very young.
He doesn't know why or when he stopped calling the old man that but was sure his father had something to do with it.

Uther barely used to see him when he was young, too busy running the Kingdom and grieving for his mother. Arthur also thought that it had something to do with how similar Arthur and his mother looked. In those times it had been Gaius that had given him the love of a father and a grandfather.
He shakes his head to get out of these thoughts and smiles at the old man.

Shrugging at Gaius's 'questioning eyebrows' and conveying the message of 'It just happened' to the physician.
For Arthur and everyone in Camelot, the eyebrows worked as an alternative form of speech for the old man – they were ridiculously expressive. They also were the only thing that could still make Arthur feel like a child sometimes.
He sat on the patient's chair and Gaius helped him removes his tunic and started cleaning the wound with some water.
Arthur knew this was as perfect a time as any to start asking questions.

"Gaius, you have been in this kingdom for a very long time, right?" He had to get some answers today and Gaius was the only one privy to the biggest secrets that the Kingdom had. He was a sly old man and kept many secrets for his father..... and others.

"Yes sire, I came here as a young man.... Your father saw the talent and hired me as the apprentice to the court physician, then. Those were.... the good days." Gaius ends with a sigh; his tone had tuned questioning at the end- as if wondering why Arthur was asking questions to which he already knew the answers to.

According to the prince, old people love to reminisce. Arthur just has to be subtle enough with his questions that Gaius shan't realize that he was actually trying to get some answers out for some not so obvious questions.

"So... Gaius," the physician is busy sowing his arm back together so just replies with an 'hmm'
"What do you know about the Dragon underneath the castle?" Arthus finishes asking the question in a rush. Yupp, subtle enough. Not.

The next stitch was more painful than the ones before it, he winces "I know nothing, sire." Replies the physician calmly. Arthur knows himself, knows that he is almost as subtle as the dragon itself at asking questions. He just closes his eyes and does what he can... he pleads.
"Please Gaius, this is important." He also uses his most persuasive voice.

The old man looks at him for the first time since he had started stitching Arthur up.
Gaius's look is at first chastising but when his eyes catch Arthur's and see that he is very serious, they turn considering. The old man stared at him for so long that he seemed to be read into Arthur's soul before a tired a sign passed his lips.
Gaius looked like he was having a debate inside that clever head of his, taking a deep breath to stall - as if still deciding where to start from and what to tell him.

"I will tell you but whatever is spoken in this room does not reach your father or I will never share anything with you ever again." The eyebrows are raised again, this time prompting a nod from Arthur. He was finally getting somewhere.

Not everything reaches his father anyway.
There had been many times that Arthur had broken the rules. Some rules were something his Father would definitely not approve of breaking, in fact, he might throw a hissy fit.
Like teaching Morgana sword fighting or going to the tavern with the elder knights. But these rules his father would forgive him for but there was one more thing he did that went against his father's very strict rule. Tumbling.

Tumbling with girls or widowed ladies of the court. His father had made it very clear that he did not want Arthur having relations with any woman before he got married but he was the prince and getting girls was a perk that came with this position and his inherited looks- he knew this was not ideal but he was still a growing man and had some... needs. And he always made sure to pull out before he came and also to satisfy his partner.
He had been suggested that tumbling with men was a more appropriate option- like many of his knights- because that lessened the risks of a bastard child but Arthur had never been attracted to one before. Ever.

He turns to Gaius and nods his assent once more, more decisively.

Gaius nods once too and then says, "Almost 20 years ago your father, the king, killed all the dragons." He pauses there, before saying, "All but one. The great dragon, who was captured by him and kept prisoner beneath Camelot.... Both as a warning against magic and a-,"

"A trophy" Arthur cuts Gaius off by finishing the sentence.

Gaius looks at him once and then lowers his eyes, he doesn't need to say anything to confirm that Arthur is right. He just continues with, "The Dragon's hatred for Uther, matches Uther's hatred for magic. Your father killed his family and children in front of his eyes before chaining a creature of skies to rot underground. God save Camelot if he ever manages to get out... He alone is powerful enough to roast Camelot and eat it too." Gaius finishes grimly.

It feels like multiple stones dropped in Arthur's stomach at the same time and lodged themselves deep in his body because he suddenly feels heavy dread settle over his countenance. If such a creature was to break free- which it had- then it would not bode well for Camelot.

He looks at Gaius, waiting for him to continue but the old man raises his hands to his front and says, "That is all I know, sire.".
Arthur knows that this is definitely not all the physician knows but lets it go, this was the maximum he was going to get out of the old man regarding the dragon.

Arthur purses his lips and nods to himself. This had been a stupid mistake by his father, to imprison a Dragon underneath Camelot was a very bad move- his father's need for show-off might just become their end.
He had always known that his father was blind when it came to magic, many nurses that had dared of telling Arthur any stories that contained even the mention of magic had been burned at the pyre. He had been made to watch and sobbed his heart out each time. He still had nightmares about that.

After the first 3 had been burned, Arthur stopped talking to any that came after them. They might think him spoiled but he was not ready to lose another citizen that he knew was innocent. He had become spoilt for both their protection and his.

Magic had intrigued him since he was young but he felt guilty every time he thought of magic in a different light to what his father preached. It had killed his mother. It had broken his father.
But how many mothers had Uther burned, how many children drowned... he knew that at least one of his nurses had a family- with a loving husband and 3 kids. Those kids were the only friend he had when he was young but they were never seen again after their mother was burned at the stake.

He shook his head again. He just had to remind himself that magic was dangerous, a power from the devil himself, something... evil.
Just like his father said. And then out of nowhere the sorcerer from last night pops into his head.
Arthur grits his teeth and convinces himself that magic is pure evil, almost.
He asks Gaius the next question he has.

"Have you come across a Sorcerer that could perform acts of magic without the aid of.... spells or.... gestures?" Arthur wriggles his fingers in an attempt at mimicking magic.
Gaius frowns, hand on his forehead and eyebrows jumping once again to the forehead at the question.

"I think who you are speaking of sounds like... Warlocks, sire." Now Arthur's eyebrows are in his hair. He has no clue what that term means and is glad when Gaius continues "These are the people born with magic. They are born with their power; thus, they don't need spells for most things. Or in some cases, gestures as well. Depends on how powerful the warlock is or how early did the magic manifested in them. Some Sorcerers can also do some spells without incantation when they have had a lot of practice."
Arthur nods, thinking. He had already known that the sorcerer in his room was very powerful now, he just had a name for him- Warlock.

If this warlock had freed the great dragon then it definitely didn't bode well for Camelot. Although, the way Gaius had explained things then this warlock and Dragon together would have been more than enough to level Camelot. The fact that they didn't, should speak for something. Right?

While Arthur is lost in these thoughts, he doesn't see Gaius studying him very carefully. The next question brings Arthur out of his thoughts,
"Sire, I have told you what you wanted to know. Now, if you don't mind me asking... why these questions?"

Arthur didn't want to say anything, didn't want to acknowledge that something had happened- something that he should have reported to his father as soon as he saw it but... didn't. That for once he wasn't the prince his father wanted.... Wait, cancel that- He was never going to be the prince his father wanted but this was going against everything his King preached.

But Arthur also knew if he was to ever make Gaius his informer or confidante then it had to be a mutual trust relationship. He couldn't just ask for information from the old man without ever giving anything in return.

He looks at the old physician, the one who had taught Arthur many things in his younger years. He knew that the old man had magic himself but refrained from using it because of the law. Surely if Gaius was the man he knew him to be then magic couldn't be all bad. The sorcerer that had been in his room, didn't have to be all bad, right? If a warlock was a child born with magic then, How could someone be born evil?

He would tell Gaius what he could- no more, no less.
He couldn't share the memory of the sorcerer in his room- that was his memory. He didn't know why he guarded the memory so protectively but he did. Even from himself. Only a few times over the course of the day had he allowed himself to think of the tender moment when the sorcerer-warlock- had dragged his covers to his shoulders when he had shivered from the draft.
He had been awake then- awake enough to remember the ring, awake enough to remember the long, elegant fingers.

So, he tells Gaius this, "I don't think that the Great Dragon is beneath Camelot anymore, Gaius."
The old man who had looked away for a while whips his head towards Arthur, a gasp answering him, the old man suddenly seemed to lose his will to stand and sat down heavily on the workbench, all the while looking at Arthur for an explanation.

So, he continues, "Last night, I... heard something and woke up to check. I looked out from the window and a humungous shape was flying away in the air. It rounded over Camelot once before flying away and when it rounded... It was the dragon, Gaius. I am sure of it." Arthur was looking at Gaius intensely and saw that the physician's mind was already working a mile a minute. The wheels churning.

Gaius only knew of two people that were capable of such a feat. One of them wouldn't dare to return to Camelot after he was almost executed the last time and the other....

He was not stupid.
Gaius, like many other magical beings, had heard the call of Emrys, felt his presence in his mind. Not once but twice.
Once when Emrys had been born- a shockwave had passed through every magical being, every practitioner of the old religion- many wouldn't have understood what the shockwave meant but they must have felt the feeling of joy and hope resound through the bodies. Gaius had known exactly what it meant.

A feeling of pure magic, felt by him only a few times. Once, when he was in the presence of the white goddess and the second time was when he was standing very close to the great dragon breathing fire.
And the last time, he had felt it when Emrys had come into this world. 18 years ago.
But, what he had felt recently was completely different.

This feeling had been more intense, more magical... just more than anything he had ever felt. The power he had felt invading his mind when Emrys had made a call to his Kingdom was.... earth shattering.
More powerful than even a fleet of dragons. Emrys's power had reminded him of good days. A time where magic was ichor of life, the beat of Camelot's heart.
The feel of Emrys in his mind this time, was not of joy, the feeling he had felt recently was something much more dangerous- like the feeling of Victory or survival. Good but Dangerous.

No other person could break through those chains, no other.

It was Emrys.

"Who is Emrys?" Gaius was brought out of thoughts with the sudden question. He had completely forgotten about the present Prince. He must have said the last thought out loud.
"Who. is. Emrys, Gaius?" The prince asked him once more, looking at him intently.
He sighed, the prince was as inquisitive and curious as ever. It had been a problem of his since he was but an infant, Gaius also knew that the prince won't let this matter go until he replied. so, he resigns himself and answers.

"He is a legend, sire." Arthur raises his eyebrows at this, Gaius sees this and continues, "Emrys is a mythical figure, I am not... not sure if he is even real, but if he is, then he is only one" Gaius pauses, amending, "One of the very few who could free the great dragon and prevent the attack the Dragon was surely planning on Camelot."

Arthur thinks of his warlock. A man who had held so much power in his body that it oozed from him without prompting. A man whose presence alone had filled his chambers with static. He remembers the brief touch on his shoulders when the warlock's fingers had barely skimmed his bare shoulder, he had almost jumped at the electric touch but had forced himself to stay still.

Emrys was real, he was sure of it.

"Sire, what we spoke of today... should not reach your father. It's imperative that it does not reach your father." Arthur lifts up his eyes and looks at the physician point blank, nodding once Arthur turned to leave.

As he said, not everything reached his father anyway.

*

Geoffrey of Monmouth was the slowest man ever, in Arthur's opinion.
Arthur had entered the library in hopes of finding a particular book, but instead here was Geoffrey that wouldn't stop talking about some random 'theorem' or some other stupid bullockery that Arthur was just not interested in.
Right now, he just wanted one thing and couldn't understand that why did he- the prince- had to wait for so long to get a book from his own castle library.

"Now sire you see, this man was very good at politics. Aristotle-,"

"Geoffrey! Just the bird book please!" Arthur cuts off the old librarian by demanding the book through gritted teeth for the umpteenth time and finally after a few more minutes- that felt like months to Arthur, he gets what he asked for.

Arthur returns to his chambers and locks the door before taking a seat at his table and looking through the thick tome.
What he is looking for- It would definitely be classified under 'small'.

Arthur looks. Diligent.
.
Keeps looking. Determined.
.
Still looking. But a little bit less determined after an hour passed, he never knew there were so many types of birds.

Until he finally stops when he finds what he is looking for under the 'falcons' section.
There... right beneath the Du-Bois sigil of his mother is the exact bird he had seen shining through the sorcerer's ring, engraved in gold.

A merlin.