"Everything may not be as it seems, Gwen," Gaius detoured. The handmaiden shook her head. "No, no. I know what I saw," Gwen said shakily. Gaius took a step toward the young girl, his face expressing deep concern. "I've known Morgana for so long. I didn't want to believe it, but she-- she isn't the person I knew. She's changed, Gaius," she explained breathlessly. "I don't think she means we'll to any of us anymore." Gaius nodded, "I wish I could say otherwise, but I fear you're right."
Gwen felt her heart crawl into her throat. So her best friend, someone she trusted for so many years was plotting against them? One thing's for sure, she thought, this cannot bode well for Camelot.
***
The next day came quickly and Arthur had awoken from his slumber and found the strength to pull himself to his feet and continued walking towards the dark tower far in the distance. After walking for a few miles, Arthur climbed over a large mound of boulders and rocks. When the prince reached the top and stood upon the ridge, it was then he could clearly see the tall tower that was still a good 12 kilometers away.
Arthur pressed on.
He was halfway to the dark tower when he heard a screeching animal noise from above and stopped. Looking up to see where the screech had originated from, he was met with the sight of two ginormous dragon-like creatures hovering a few hundred feet in the air and looking like they were about to swoop in and snatch him up. Arthur drew his sword as the creatures closed in and prepared himself for a fight.
As this was going on, Merlin and Gwaine climbed on top of the ridge just in time to see the tower, the creatures, and a weakened Arthur in the distance. "There it is," Merlin announced, not having seen Arthur yet. "What's that in the sky?" Gwaine gestured towards the wyverns. "They're not birds." Merlin tilted his head slightly and squinted, "I've never seen creatures like that." They witnessed the wyverns screech and swoop in low to attack Arthur, still not realizing that it was him.
"Looks like they're hunting something," Gwaine pointed out. Merlin squinted again and noticed a familiar glint of a sword. Then his eyes widened, "What was that?" Gwaine looked in the same direction as the warlock and noticed the same glinting in the sunlight. "A sword," he acknowledged. "It's Arthur," Merlin declared. This motivated the two men to spring into action as they charged to their friend's rescue.
Meanwhile, Arthur took his battle stance and prepared to ward off the wyverns that were threatening to kill him. But as soon as he raised his sword, the Phoenix eye resumed with sucking the life out of the prince. His stance wavered when the beasts came upon him and he swung wildly at it trying to fend them off. When he temporarily kept them at bay, he took the opportunity to run full-speed towards the Fisher King's castle. However, the wyverns were gaining on him and flew fast to reach him before he got through the gates.
Arthur neared the entrance and literally threw himself into the castle, closing the gate in front of the creatures. They snarled at him and roared, gnashing their horrible yellow teeth as they did. He then quickly ran through the courtyard and bound towards the castle.
Outside the castle, Merlin and Gwaine neared the gates and then Gwaine finally got a better look at what those creatures were. "I should have known," panted. "What are they?" Merlin asked as they continued running. "Wyverns-- distant cousins of the dragon. Their creatures of magic so be careful," Gwaine answered. "Well, Gwaine aren't you forgetting something?" Merlin asked rhetorically. "What?" Gwaine replied. "I have the most powerful of magic at my disposal. Not to mention, I am the last Dragonlord," Merlin snarked.
Gwaine quickly looked at him, while still keeping pace, "Well, you didn't tell me about that Dragonlord bit." "Didn't find the time. Now, keep moving!" Merlin exhaled. The reached the gate and lifted it up so that they could get through one at a time and then chased after the wyverns who had resumed their hunt for Arthur. "Let's split up," Merlin said. Gwaine nodded and ran off in the opposite direction once they reached the courtyard, while Merlin kept on forward.
Inside the tower, Arthur hurriedly bolted up the stairs and ducked into the first room he came to. When he heard the wyverns approaching, he swiftly closed the doors and grabbed something to bolt it shut. Once that was done, breathing heavily and completely exhausted from the bracelet draining his energy, he leaned against the door and concentrated on trying to steady his breathing. That was quickly interrupted by the wyverns abruptly pushing against the door, jolting the prince back to full awareness.
Merlin ran up a flight of stairs that led to an empty room trying to find the prince and that's when he heard the screeching of the wyverns from down the hall. Knowing that it would lead him to Arthur, he quickly followed the voices of the creatures. On the other side of the castle, Gwaine was following the same screeching sound and called out to Arthur each time it got louder, but received no response. Still, he kept moving until he heard a banging against the wood. More specifically like a large creature trying to break through a door. "Arthur!" he yelled, running up the same staircase Arthur had trod.
Still locked in the same room and struggling to stay awake, Arthur held up his sword weakly as the door kept banging from the wyverns efforts to break through. He backed himself up against the wall and soon after he dropped his sword arm and collapsed in exhaustion. And just as he passed out, the double-doors flew off their hinges and in stepped the dragon-like creatures. The beasts hissed and growled lowly as they slowly went in for the kill.
At last, Merlin found Arthur and he stepped in between Arthur and the wyverns and spoke in the ancient dragon tongue, subduing the monsters. They bowed to the young warlock and made to exit the room they were currently in. When Merlin was sure they had left, he turned his attention back on the unconscious prat and snatched the bracelet off his wrist. Almost immediately, Arthur's strength returned to him and he regained consciousness and blearily opened his eyes. When his vision cleared and he settled his gaze on Merlin, the future lifted his head in disbelief. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Why can you never just say thanks?" Merlin sighed. "Thanks?! What, for completely ruining my quest?" Arthur snapped. "Well, it's a good job I was here, otherwise you'd be wyvern fodder by now," Merlin shot back. "How many times do I have to get it into your thick skull? I am supposed to be doing this alone," Arthur emphasized.
Suddenly there was a loud screech behind Merlin, making both men jump at the wyvern who apparently came back for round two. Now Merlin felt trapped. On the one hand, if he used his dragon speak to ward off the wyverns, Arthur would know he had magic and might possibly kill him.
On the other hand, if he didn't use his powers as a Dragonlord, they'd both die. And with the wyvern steadily closing in on them, it didn't really give him enough time to work out his other options. Thankfully, the decision was made for him by Gwaine who stabbed the wyvern in the back, killing it. He gave a subtle nod to Merlin, which the mage returned as he rose to his feet.
Arthur let out a sigh of exasperation before saying, "Great. This just gets better and better. Are Gwen and Morgana here, too? Are we going to have a surprise party?" Merlin winced and pulled his lips together tightly. "There are more wyverns on the way. We need to get out of here," Gwaine cut in. Merlin paled and Arthur got to his feet, saying, "I'm not leaving without the Trident. It was the whole point of this quest."
