A trader had come into Ambrosia and though that was common enough occurrence, Merlin just could not shake the feeling of uneasiness. There was something off about this trader.

But all thought had left Merlin's mind when he had spotted something in his caravan. It wasn't anything flashy or eye-catching. It just a simple spiral, or rather a part of a spiral. A part of the Triskelion.
Merlin had picked it up and studied the part carefully. This was it. This trader must have been the one who sold Julius Borden the first piece of the Triskelion.

Merlin had already been gifted the part of the triskelion that the Druids owned. Iseldir had given it to him after the 1st council meeting. Now that he had found the second part of it, He couldn't not go look for the third piece.

He looked up to see the trader looking at him.
"How much for this?" Merlin asked, all suspicion forgotten. He had all his attention on the Triskel.
"I c-can't sell you that. Someone else wants it." The trader replies after he gets over his shock of being spoken to by Merlin.
"Who?" Merlin asks, walking towards the trader, who Merlin notices casts a worried look to Merlin's right before replying.
"No-one. I will just them that I didn't find it. You can take it." Merlin knows that the trader is hiding something. What, though..... he doesn't know.

Merlin pays the trader with three gold coins and turns back towards the castle. He sees Manon and Kara standing on his right and the little girl comes running to him, barrelling into his arms.
He hugs her and pulls her up with him, and then he walks towards the aunt.
"How are you, Kara? Are you liking your class?" Merlin asks the little girl. He always loves spending time with her.
"I am good, Emrys! And I love my classes, especially the charm classes with you! I can't wait to learn battle magic and teach it to More-red!" The enthusiasm with which she says this makes Merlin chuckle. He is glad she loves the school.... Although what's with the 'more-red' again?
He asks her this and she replies that he is her cousin, son of her aunt Manon.

He remembers Kara mentioning a sibling when they met-
"Kara! Stop wasting Emrys's precious time." Merlin is brought out from his thoughts at the sharp chastisement towards the little girl. He forces a smile and lets Kara down,
"It's no waste. I love children." Manon only sneers at him.

He tries, he really does, but can't remember doing anything against anyone named Manon. Then why does she hate him? He frowns and asks,
"Why do you dislike me so, Manon? Have I done something to you?" His voice is friendly, open. But it doesn't seem to change anything as she grits her teeth and glares with the full might of her eyes, replying with only two short words,
"Not yet."

Manon roughly grips Kara's hand and walks away and Merlin is left confused. He knows what she means but it can't be....
It's not something he has done, it's something he will do.
He shakes himself out of this thought. He will try and not harm Manon in any way, hopefully. But for now, he enters his chambers and joins the first part of the triskelion(that the druid's had given him) with the second part of the key that he bought from the trader. He joins them both.

Now all that's left is the piece in Camelot.

*

Merlin had given the idea of hatching the dragons a bit of thought.

The eggs that he had found during his travels were ready to be hatched. If Merlin delayed a few more years then he wouldn't be able to spend enough time with them.
It was possible that he would get too busy with Camelot like he had been during Aithusa - who had turned away from him due to his neglect.

He could not make that mistake again, all his dragonlings will receive full care and attention from him, and for that to happen- he could think of only one solution.

He needed to hatch the eggs as soon as possible as he still had a year and a few months more to go before leaving for Camelot and when he did leave, his father could look after them in his absence.

Merlin knew he needed to break into Camelot. Tonight.

*

At dinner, he spoke to his mother and father about his plans regarding the eggs.

Balinor had been ecstatic to hear that Merlin had found dragon eggs and couldn't wait for Merlin to hatch them, he had also said 'it's the most beautiful thing you will ever see, Merlin. When a dragon comes out of the shell. It feels like the purest of magic.'
Merlin didn't have the heart to tell him that he had witnessed it himself. He just listened to his father talked on and on about the three dragons he had hatched.

Merlin had offered Balinor that he could hatch the eggs if he liked, but his father had refused, saying that 'I have hatched a few dragons in my time, Merlin. But after seeing them all slaughtered at Uther's hands, I don't think I could bear to hatch an egg ever again. Anyway, a dragon takes after its hatcher. It has to be you, Emrys.'

It had been one of the few times when his father had referred to him as Emrys. But Merlin had understood completely.
Emrys was ancient, powerful and wise. It would do well if he- as Emrys hatches the eggs- as the Dragons usually take after the dragonlords that hatch them.

This was going to be the Golden age of Albion. This was going to continue. If Emrys hatched these dragons, then they will be immortal. Just like him, with many of his personality traits. They will be the only children he ever has.

Merlin had bowed his head in gratitude and Balinor had only smiled and ruffled his hair. His mother at his side. He had realised then, that no matter how old you get, you will always be a child to your parents.

*

After dinner, Merlin bade his Mum and Balinor good night and made way to his own chambers.

He changed into his dark clothing, which was one of the things he had brought back in time with him- fake leather of very good material and it helped that it was the darkest piece of clothing he had in his closet.

He got the hood up and checked himself in the mirror once. His clothing sat tight on his body, Obsidian hanging down from his waist.
He would need something to cover his face, Merlin thought. His face must remain a secret.

Merlin looks around but cannot find anything in his room that would be useful, so he concentrates on what he needs and an eye-mask materialises in his hand.
The material is thin but sturdy.
He puts it over his eyes and wills his magic to make it permanent until Merlin, and only Merlin removes it.

This was his identity will be a secret even if he is captured. He won't get caught- but he has to think of all possibilities.
He looks at himself in the mirror again and deems himself ready.

Time to break into Camelot.
*

Merlin flew over Camelot on Gemini. It had been so long since he had seen this Kingdom.
After Arthur had died, Merlin had stayed at Camelot only for Gwen's reign. He had promised her that he would support her until her last breath, and he had kept that promise.
Merlin had left Albion after Gwen passes away, he could not stay in this land a year longer after all his friends had passed away to Avalon.

It was then that Merlin had decided to travel and when he had gathered enough courage to come back after centuries of travel, he came back to nothing. It was all rubble where Camelot had once stood. After so many foes, the mighty Kingdom had fallen to the mightier Saxons. Just like the stories Arthur had spoken of during patrols, the story of the Kingdom of Daobeth.
How such a mighty kingdom fell to the fires of Dragons, Camelot fell to the change of time.

It looked serene at night. No one could imagine that in this place thousands had been murdered or that many had given their lives for it voluntarily. It was like the dark of night hid every demon Camelot had.
But even from this far he could see a golden ray, bright as the sun. Merlin knew if he followed it, the ray would lead him straight to his Golden King.
It was hard for him to ignore it, but he kept his focus, at least for now. He landed Gemini in the forest near Camelot and enchanted her wings to make them invisible to make her seem like a normal horse.

Sneaking in and out of Camelot had never been a problem for Merlin, he even glided his way into the vaults. 'Why were the guards so ridiculous?' was Merlin's constant thought in order to distract himself from the call of visiting Arthur.

Merlin opens the vault door with magic and makes his way in.
The vault was filled with multiple small objects, most of them were magic and the non-magical things were mainly jewels and paintings.

One painting, in particular, caught Merlin's eye. It was of Ygraine Pendragon. Merlin had seen Arthur's mother once before and it was safe to say that she was a true beauty.

Merlin could see why Uther was so heartbroken after her death but nothing, nothing could justify mass genocide. Not even love.

Merlin moves further into the vaults, and then he sees it. There on a red velvet pillow was the 3rd and the last piece of the Triskelion. Merlin checks the area for traps and when he comes up with nothing he picks up the circular disc and makes his way out of the vault.

Merlin's next destination was the dungeons. He had to speak with Kilgharrah.
But he hadn't planned this well. He was on the roof of the castle, but in midst of being excited and a little bit nervous, he had forgotten that between the Vaults and the dungeons there were Arthur's chambers.

Once he was right on the top of Arthur's chambers, Merlin couldn't stop himself anymore. The call of his other half was too strong, he could feel it. Arthur's and his soul calling for each other. It was like an invisible thread of golden light between them.

Merlin was strong but not strong enough to ignore his soul's deepest cry and wish.
Surely, he won't disturb destiny with just one glimpse of Arthur.
That's it. Decision made, Merlin magically opens Arthur's window and climbs into the room after making sure that the prince was asleep.

And there he was. His Golden Prince.
Merlin tries to think how long it's been since he addressed Arthur as a 'prince' and not as a 'king', but he can't come up with an answer. His brain has literally stopped working.

It's due to this reason, that he left the window open to cold air.

Arthur is faced away from him and sleeps soundly. Merlin had always loved Arthurs snores, it made him look less perfect. More human. He is sleeping without any shirt on, which worries Merlin because it is quite cold outside.
What was Arthur's current manservant thinking?

He walks around the bed in order to look at Arthur's face. It's a face that has yet to be marred by age and betrayal. It's the face of an Arthur, Merlin has never seen. He has never seen Arthur so young. He is now 19, Merlin had only ever seen Arthur after he 21. It's crazy how much difference these 2 years had made on Arthur.

He looked more innocent somehow and less like a prat who bullies everyone.
Merlin is pulled out of his thoughts when he sees Arthur shiver. It is then that he realises that he had left the window wide open when he had come in. Sometimes the sheer stupidity of himself astounded Merlin.

One look at the window and it shuts with a click. Merlin then looks down at Arthur and bends to straighten the bunched-up covers over his waist and makes sure that they cover Arthur fully. The prince won't do any good with a fever.
He had always been a pain when he ill.

Merlin decides to leave then, he had already over-stayed. He gives the prince one last look and exists the same way he had come in, this time remembering to close the window.
Not noticing that the young prince had stopped snoring.

*

Now to Kilgharrah.

Merlin made his way through the confusing spirals and staircases and multiple turns deep into the heart of Camelot where the dragon lived. When he descended those familiar steps leading to the Dragon's cavern, Merlin couldn't help but feel nostalgic.

When he entered, it was to find the Dragon already waiting. Merlin smiled at him.
"I felt your presence in Camelot, Emrys." The dragon bows his head as a greeting and Merlin does the same.
"I also heard your call to every magical being to come to your Kingdom. I tried to come as you can see-" Kilgharrah lifts up his shackled paw for Merlin to see. The shackles have dried blood on it, and Kilgharrah's paw had deep welts on its tender skin, still healing.

Merlin feels his mouth go dry. He looks up at Kilgharrah with an apology in his eyes.
"It wasn't your fault, young warlock." Merlin flinches at the name. He was anything but young.

Merlin does not get a chance to correct him though, as the Dragon continues
"It was my utter stupidity and frustration, to know that all my kin were together whilst I was here. Rotting like a living corpse. Well, you can imagine how that didn't sit well with me."

Merlin can see why Kilgharrah must have hated that. And though Merlin hadn't planned to release Kilgharrah today, he was thinking about it.

If he was to hatch the dragons, it would be good to have Kilgharrah there.
His father could only do so much in his absence, he would already be handling the Kingdom in his stead, the dragonlings could prove to be a bit too much.
Not only that but, Kilgharrah was a Great Dragon, he belonged in the skies.
With that thought in mind and his decision made, Merlin produced Obsidian from its scabbard and presented it to Kilgharrah.

"I will free you now." He said but before the Dragon could burnish the sword, Merlin held up a hand- to stop- he first needed a promise from the Dragon.

"Only if you swear to me that you will not harm Camelot or any of its citizens out of spite and revenge." The dragon that had looked happy at the prospect of being free again now looked mutinous.

Kilgharrah stands on his hind legs and is about to roar. Merlin had just enough time to cast a quick silencing charm when the dragon roars loudly and breathes fire in the air. The roar bounces back from the cavern walls in deep echoes.

When the Dragon comes down, he says,
"Then you might as well not free me, Emrys. I will have my revenge. He killed my children, my brothers... all whole kin. I cannot and will not forgive Uther for that." Merlin should have guessed that the Dragon would react in such manner.

Kilgharrah stands on his hind legs again, preparing himself to take flight and disappear into the cavern. Merlin needs to stop him.

"Wait! Dragon!" Shouts Merlin. But the dragon is now hovering in the air, not stopping
"Kilgharrah!" The use of the name shocks the dragon into landing again.
"W-what did you call me?" Kilgharrah demands, his voice shaky.
"Kilgharrah, the great dragon." The dragon is still in shock, Merlin takes advantage of that fact and continues.

"I promise you that you will have your revenge. And justice will be served." here takes a breath here before continuing, "But it will not be with bloodshed, but with a victory." Merlin knows he has captured Kilgharrah's attention with his words, he continues.
"I came here to Camelot, today, for a purpose. To retrieve this," Merlin pulls out the spiral disc that he took from the vaults and the half-finished triskele from his pocket. Then in front of the Dragon, he joins the third part of the key, completing it.

"I came for this, the key to the tomb of Ashkanar." The dragon still looked unimpressed, cheeky lizard. "It's the tomb that contains a Dragon egg." Now, the dragon looks shocked and hopeful. Merlin knew he was getting to him.

"This is the key to revenge, Kilgharrah. Uther aimed to kill your species, to kill magic. The best revenge is by surviving. The best revenge is when he realises that his daughter has magic. The best revenge is when he realises that his son would undo all the work he did and bring magic back into the land." The dragon is listening and hanging to his every word.

Merlin knows that look, it's the look of determination in the Dragon's eye.

"Kilgharrah, if you decide to take revenge now. I won't stop you." The dragon narrow's his eyes, "But know this, you will not be harming Uther at all but killing thousands of innocent people and the castle walls may burn with your fire, but he won't, the coward is protected by the walls of Camelot. Revenge is true when we hit him where the walls don't hold. It is not revenge but stupidity if we attack now, it will only work in making Arthur bitter towards everything that is magic."

Kilgharrah closes his eyes at this and exhales a heavy breath, defeated by Merlin's words. He had always known that the Dragon had regretted killing so many people in the past, even though he hadn't accepted in so many words.

"Alright Emrys. Free me and I promise not to harm any innocent. But don't ask me to not kill Uther if I ever see him. I won't be able to show face to my kin in Avalon." Merlin nods and knows that's as far as he is going to get with Kilgharrah.

So, he holds up his sword up again and presents it to the dragon to burnish it. With a newly burnished sword, Merlin jumps and lands near the shackles.
With eyes glowing golden and as much force as he can manage, Merlin swings the sword and cuts through the chains like butter. He then climbs on Kilgharrah's back and they both head towards Ambrosia.

*

*Back In Camelot*

Arthur jerks up on his bed as soon as he hears the sorcerer leave. All he can think of was why was a sorcerer in his room, if not to harm him. Arthur shivers remembering the moment he had felt the presence.

The sorcerer's presence had been very strong. Almost electric. Arthur had woken up as soon as the sorcerer had used magic to close the window, the air had sparked with residual magic.
In a contained room the sorcerer's presence had been stifling.

He had wanted to grab his sword more than anything when he had realised that someone was in the room but something..... had stopped him, so he had just opened his eyes a little bit.

He wasn't able to see anything much, but he had seen a pale hand with long and elegant fingers trying to get his covers up. He had also spotted a ring. The most exquisite ring he had ever seen.

It had a sapphire stone but a shiny bird in gold and in-flight could be seen through it. He didn't know what kind of a bird it was, but he remembers seeing it on one of his hunts.

Arthur gets up and heads to the window, opening it to see if the sorcerer was still there, and was disappointed when he saw nothing. He was going to close the window but something stopped him.
The same intuition that had prevented him from attacking the sorcerer.
He waits for another fifteen minutes but when nothing happens he shakes his head and is about to move away when from the corner of his eyes he spots something.

No, it couldn't be.

A Dragon! Arthur didn't know that Camelot had dragons! And this Dragon definitely came from the dungeons.
What surprised Arthur more was that there was a person on its back. His eyes widen when he realises that- that must be the sorcerer.

Multiple questions rose in Arthur's head. He knew that he should probably go and alert his father, but his father had been keeping secrets. He was sure that the Dragon was one of them. Arthur had heard stories about a dragon beneath Camelot and had asked his father multiple times regarding it, but each time his father had shut him down and declared that they were just stories.

Who was this sorcerer? Why did he come to his room but did not hurt him nor steal anything? Well except the dragon, that is. Was he so powerful that he could command dragons and ride them?
Arthur knew that the answer to the last question was, yes. Yes, the sorcerer had been very powerful. Even Arthur had felt it. The power that surrounded the stranger like a shadow.

He was going to ask Gaius some questions first thing tomorrow morn.

He lies back down on his bed still trying to figure out why would a sorcerer come into his chambers and not steal anything from the room, he had multiple things worth stealing......

Arthur falls asleep and dreams of dragons, sapphire rings and beautiful hands.

Notes:

next chapter there is a picture of Merlin's attire.

lemme know if you have any question with a comment or also if you like the story or have a suggestion.

Also, when Merlin flies away on dragonback, he contacts Gemini to follow them through mind-speak, so don't think that I forgot about the Pegasus.