Merlyn's Last Dream

The Eye of the Phoenix P3

Merlyn was starting to regret splitting up with Gwaine. As she sprinted through the corridors, she listened for the sound of swords or screeches, something to give away Arthur's position. Instead, all she heard was an unnerving silence reverberating off the walls. She was racing against time: the prince surely couldn't survive for very long, not, at least, with the Eye of the Phoenix strapped to his wrist.

Finally, she heard a sort of hissing sound, her eyes widening in alarm. She couldn't hear Arthur, but the noise only loudened as she hurriedly turned a corner. There, sprawled on the floor was her beloved prince, his eyes closed and his breaths far too shallow for her liking. Advancing on him were two wyverns, their grey scales nothing compared to the shining gold decorating Kilgaragh's skin. They didn't even notice her presence, their beady, red eyes fixed upon their prey. Merlyn almost drew her sword, but realised in the confined space, it was unlikely she'd be able to slaughter both creatures, at least, not before Arthur's life was drained by that stupid bracelet. Instead, she threw herself between her prince and the creatures, pausing for a moment before remembering what Gwaine had said. These weren't exactly dragons, but if she were lucky, perhaps they would listen to her.

Then again, when was she ever lucky.

"Nun de ge dei s'eikein kai emois epe'essin hepesthai."

To her surprise, the wyverns bowed their heads, retreating from the room without so much as spitting in her direction. She sighed in relief, sure that she'd bought herself some time, before realising that not all crises had been averted.

Kneeling by Arthur's side, she tore the metal bracelet from his arm, pocketing the jewellery before the prince opened his eyes.

Arthur blinked slowly, looking up at her for a long moment. She knew she was grinning stupidly, but in her defence, she had not only saved his life from Morgana, but warded off two magical beasts with nothing more than words.

For a moment, Arthur just stared at her, his face clear from all worries, love shining through his eyes as he reached up to softly stroke her hair out of her face. Then, almost as if waking from a dream, reality began to dawn on the prince.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he cried, sitting up quickly from his position on the floor.

Merlyn kept smiling, but she'd lost some of her previous relief. "Why can you never just say thanks?"

"Thanks? What, for completely ruining the quest?" Arthur glared at her in outrage, frantic panic evident in his expression. The servant wondered for a moment if it would have been easier just to leave him to his death, to be torn to pieces by wild creatures. Maybe it wasn't too late to join Morgana: at least she had manners.

"It's a good job I was here, otherwise you'd be wyvern fodder by now." she hissed, not particularly wanting to attract the attention of any other wandering beasts. It wasn't like she could just send them away again, not with Arthur awake.

The Prince apparently had no such qualms. "How many times do I have to get it into your thick skull? I am supposed to be doing this alone." he spat, but there wasn't much fight in his words. Merlyn reckoned he'd missed her.

Just as she was about to say as such, a sudden roar eclipsed her thoughts. She turned around, flinching at the wyvern in front of her. It was rearing up on its hind legs, its sharp talons poised to attack. Her hand went to her sword but, before she could do anything, the beast let out a high pitched squeal and fell limply to the floor. Gwaine stood behind it, wiping his bloody sword on his trousers, his face the picture of displeasure.

"Great." Arthur was the first to speak, his gaze shifting between the dead wyvern and Gwaine. "This just gets better and better. Are Gwen and Morgana here, too? Are we going to have a surprise party?"