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When Arthur was a young boy, his mother used to pull him onto her lap and tell him stories. There, nestled among hills of cotton and valleys of flax, he learnt all about Sir Borin’s quest for the Immortal Shield, and how Sir Monaghan discovered the Spring of Youth. He often fell asleep there, his head pillowed on his mother's breast and filled with the tales of Sir Hadrian's smiting of the Beast of Ancernia and Sir Terrin's rescue of Princess Maerwynn. Although he knew rescuing princesses to be a very important job, he didn’t much care for tales of rescue; he much preferred tales of quests – those of the bravest knights who undertook the most daring of challenges and went at it alone, battling their way through tedious obstacles to obtain some predetermined, mystical object.

When he was older, it was Arthur's father who took charge of the story telling, though he did it in a very boring way. When he wasn't performing his squire duties to Sir Leon or in training with the other junior knights, his father would sit him down and make him read the scrolls of the epic tales. He would drill him for hours on points of chivalry and honour and would often keep him awake long after the other boys his age had gone to sleep. His mother watched from the corner, frowning as she toiled at her needlework, but said nothing.

Over the years, Arthur grew into the very model of chivalry and became the pride of Tintagel. He was always the first to rise and always the first to volunteer his help to ready the training pitch for the other boys. He continued to assist Sir Leon with the tournaments though his years of squiring were long behind him. If ever a villager fell ill in the lower town, he was the one to run and fetch Gaius or carry the injured party to the physician's quarters. He grew close with Princess Mithian and the two of them became the darlings of the court, nobles whispering behind hands and veils and speculating on a possible union. Arthur, the perfect gentleman, never heard whisper of these rumours, as a true knight lived for honour and glory and had no business listening to whispers, but he did wonder why Queen Annis sometimes regarded him with a cold eye at the banquets.

It was on his twentieth birthday that Arthur was summoned before the court. He entered the throne room wearing a mask of stoicism, though his insides were roiling. There could be only one purpose behind this summons. Though he kept his gaze forward on the Queen, he could see his parents out of the corner of his eye. They both looked anxious, though his father with a slightly manic energy about him if the way he was rubbing his hands together meant anything. Arthur walked swiftly to the centre of the room and bowed before dropping onto one knee.

“Arthur Pendragon. Today marks your twentieth birthday and your Coming of Age. Though you are old enough to join the ranks of my knights, you are fresh and untested. You are a man in years but not in actions.  To prove yourself, you must undertake a quest of my choosing. This quest must be performed according to the knight's code of conduct. Do you agree to such an undertaking?” Queen Annis' voice reverberated around the throne room, cold and measured.

“I do,” he replied.

“Then Arthur Pendragon, I set before you the quest for the crown of Camelot.”

There were several shocked gasps as the courtiers began to twitter to each other around him. Over her mother's shoulder, Arthur saw Mithian's face, mouth open and eyebrows twisted in concern. No one had been that far beyond the borders in decades. Camelot was an all but deserted realm, infested with every manner of seedy creatures, human and non-human alike. Everyone knew the tale of how the foolish king, young and eager to prove himself, had built the foundations for his castle in the spot of his choosing, despite his advisors warning him to choose somewhere else. When the castle was finished, the king drove his sword into a plinth in the centre of his castle to declare his success. That mighty swing rattled its way down the stone of his castle all the way to the cavern below, where it dislodged a single fleck of stone. That fleck fell and landed in the eye of a slumbering dragon which awoke in a fury and roared in anger. Its yell woke the second dragon, sleeping at the bottom of the pit. Not known for being gentle creatures, the two dragons engaged in a fierce battle which shook the castle apart. The king and his people were forced to flee as the dragons burst through the floor, raining down chaos, their red and white forms breathing fire down on noble and peasant alike. It was said that all that remained of the once mighty city was the crown, left on the throne where the king abandoned it in his flight.

It was no small undertaking and it seemed unusual for the Queen to place such a heavy burden on one so young. But it was not Arthur's place to doubt his queen and giving him a quest of this much importance was surely a sign that she trusted him. Her steely gaze said otherwise, but Arthur looked her squarely in the eye as he responded.

“I accept the quest.”

He thought he saw a flash of something in her eyes but it was gone before he could make out what it was. “Then it is done. You have til midday to prepare yourself and say your goodbyes. Should you return, you will be made a knight in full standing. May the gods be with you.” She swept from the throne room without a backward glance, her usual entourage following close behind. As soon as the door closed behind her, the courtiers erupted into gossip and huddled together, smirking and pointing at Arthur. His father looked like he had much to say and started to approach him, but his mother slid her arm around her husband's and neatly pulled him away, mouthing ‘we'll see you at home’, over her shoulder. Arthur, for his part, got up slowly and calmly, every action measured so as to hide his nerves. A true knight showed bravery in the face of danger and Arthur was most definitely a true knight. His poise was somewhat rumpled by Princess Mithian flinging her arms around him and throwing him off balance.

“Oh Arthur, you idiot! Why would you ever agree to something as stupid as that quest?”

“My lady, please, not in public.”

“Sod public opinion!” Mithian slapped him on the shoulder. Arthur, ever the a gentleman, did not throw her over his shoulder and carry her to a less public location, but he was close to it. Instead, he sighed and gestured towards one of the small council chambers, indicating for Mithian to take the lead. Mithian rolled her eyes and stomped delicately towards the door. The genius that Mithian could stomp gently was not lost upon Arthur, in fact that was one of his favourite things about her.

Mithian was the perfect princess in most regards. She was beautiful, graceful, well-mannered, and kind. She cared deeply for her people and the people loved her back. Under normal circumstances, she was the height of poise and calm. This, Arthur conceded as she latched the door behind them and glared at him, was not a normal circumstance.

“Now that we're in private, am I allowed to start yelling again?”

“We really shouldn't be in here alone. You should have at least brought a handmaiden with you,” Arthur started weakly.

“I'm hardly worried about my virtue,” she rolled her eyes, “I'm worried about you going on this beyond ridiculous quest and losing your head! She's sending you to Camelot! Camelot!” She repeated the word with emphasis as if its mention would somehow slap sense into him.

“I'm perfectly aware of what the Queen has requested of me.”

Her expression softened slightly. “Arthur, please. It's just the two of us, you can let the formalities slip a little,” she pleaded.

He wanted to. He really, really did. “I'm sorry my lady, but things are different now. I'm to be a knight soon and we should start observing the proper code of conduct now. It will only be harder to start later.”

She stepped forward and cupped his face gently. “What happened to the boy who used to catch frogs with me in the brook and braided ribbons into my hair for my birthday?”

“He grew up. And he realised the meaning of duty. It is my honour to fulfill this quest and bring glory to the kingdom.”

Mithian stepped back as if she had been slapped. “Well then, my lord, I wish you all the luck on your quest. I hope it brings you everything you desire.”

Arthur stared straight ahead and pretended he didn't see the tears in her eyes as she left the room, and that he hadn't caused them. It wasn't gallant to make a lady cry, but he couldn't do anything to make it better. With a sigh he exited the room and headed back to his family quarters.

He was stopped on the way by various nobles and knights alike. Some wished him luck, others offered advice. Sir Leon's was perhaps the most cryptic of all.

“Just remember Arthur, be your own man. It's a big world out there, don't be afraid to carve out a chunk for yourself. If you aim true, you'll always hit home.” He finished his speech with his customary clasp on the shoulder and sent him on his way. Arthur had always liked Sir Leon, he was a good teacher and an excellent swordsman. But sometimes the man said the oddest things. Perhaps it was from being dismounted so many times during the joust. Arthur berated himself for thinking something so unchivalrous towards his (soon to be) fellow knight for the duration of his walk. As soon as he entered his family's quarters, both his parents descended on him.

“Congratulations on such an honourable quest Arthur,” said his father, vigorously pumping his hand.

“I've packed a satchel and laid out your armor for you. The basics are in there, do you have anything special you'd like to include?” his mother worried at him.

“Ygraine, he's a man now, he doesn't need all your mother-henning,” Uther clucked at her before turning back to Arthur. Arthur sucked in a breath, watching his mother's eyes flash dangerously over his father's shoulder.

“Don't presume to tell me how to raise my son, Uther Pendragon,” Ygraine growled. Uther, seeming to clue in to the impending danger in her tone, backed away carefully. Ygraine turned to Arthur, nothing but sweetness and light in her eyes.

“Arthur darling, I'm very proud that you have been gifted with such a quest,” she began.

“As am I!” Uther interjected from the background.

Ygraine pursed her lips in a practiced manoeuvre. “As is your father, who will undoubtedly corner you the moment I leave this room and fill your head with words like ‘chivalry’ and ‘discipline’. But before he does, I want to tell you that I'm proud of you no matter what the outcome of your quest is.” Uther remained mysteriously silent. She cupped Arthur's face with both her hands. “I remember when you were a little boy struggling to climb up into my lap to hear a story. And look at you now,” she rubbed his cheek fondly, “taller than me and off to make a story of your own. Write a good one my darling.” She pulled him into a tight hug and he allowed himself to bury his face in her hair, reasoning that the action was designed to make her feel better and was not a sign of weakness on his part. She pulled back far too quickly for his liking and went back to busying herself with his bags.

Uther, recognizing that he was allowed to make his approach, practically sprang forward towards Arthur. “Now son, we both know your mother means well, but she is a woman and can hardly be trusted in matters of questing.”

“Queen Annis is a woman,” Arthur interrupted, “and she's been ruling the kingdom by herself for nearly a decade.”

“Not entirely by herself. I, along with a choice few, are her closest advisors and make up her council, her inner circle. So I know what I'm talking about when I say this is a good move,” Uther thumped his back enthusiastically.

“What's a good move?”

“The Queen sending you on this particular quest!” Uther's eyes gleamed but Arthur still wasn't connecting the dots. “Oh for heavens sake- The Queen is sending you on this particular quest to test you. We haven't had anyone new come and settle in our lands for nearly five years, and no one has set foot in Camelot since the burning. If you succeed and return with the crown, you will have proved yourself the best warrior in the kingdom. And obviously you know what that means,” Uther smiled smugly.

“It means I'll definitely get knighted?”

“No!” Uther frowned at him like he was being slow on purpose. “Well yes, but it means marriage! Marriage to Princess Mithian!”

Arthur's mouth fell open in a most ungallant way. “How do you think retrieving a crown is automatic grounds to marry the Princess? We aren't even proper nobility!”

“Shhhhhh!” Uther looked around warily, as if peasants were waiting to pop out from behind the tapestries and yell ‘ah-hah!’ He slung an arm around Arthur's shoulders and drew him closer. “We are nobility in the eyes of the Queen and that is the only thing that matters. But just think: no one has entered our borders in five years. The Princess came of age two years ago and she has had no suitors. You are one of the only men even close to her age that the Queen would even consider as a prospect.”

“Father, this is ridiculous. The Princess is a dear friend and anyone would be lucky to be her husband, but I really don’t think the Queen has designs for that man to be me.”

Uther snorted. “The Queen will have designs for whatever I tell her to. You just focus on the quest. By the time you return, I will have talked her round to the idea and made her think she was the one who came up with it in the first place.”

“I really don't think-”

“No, you don't. You aren't being sent on this quest to think Arthur. You're being sent to prove that you are a man of action and of noble bearing. You will fight your way through any obstacle and persevere. Do not come home without that crown in hand.”

“Yes father.”

“Good man.”

“If you're just about finished nattering, the sun is about to reach its peak and we still need to get our son in his armor,” Ygraine called to them.

They dressed Arthur in a hurry, Uther managing to be more of a hindrance than a help as he kept getting distracted with trying to impart last minute pearls of wisdom on him. Arthur rode out of the city gates just as the trumpeter blew his first note signalling the midday point.

For the first day, Arthur's journey went remarkably well. He made good time on the main roads and kept a brisk pace on the forest trails. He stopped at regular intervals to rest his horse and check his map. The map checking was mostly perfunctory as he had studied the maps of Albion since he was a child, but that's the sort of thing knights did on quests and he wanted to do this by the books. The further he progressed, the more disturbed he grew upon seeing more of the kingdom had changed. Objectively he knew that they didn't receive many outsiders, but to see small, very specific marks such as a red ribbon on the third bow of the south facing ash, still intact nearly a decade after the map was charted was unnerving to say the least.

He reached the edge of the border as dusk was falling. Dismounting, he set a few snares before clearing the ground to make camp. By the time he had spread his bedroll across the ground and got the fire to catch, one of his traps had managed to snare a rabbit. He stripped it quickly and ate it along with some of the foodstuffs his mother had packed him. Loathe as he was to admit it, his mother had stocked his supplies well. The fresh food he could eat over the next couple of days, while the dried fruits and nuts could be eaten in conjuncture with whatever he caught. Although he was across the border he didn't know how rewarding laying traps would be. Since no one had set foot in Camelot for decades, no one quite knew what it looked like anymore. Arthur had always pictured a vast burning wasteland comprised of charred stone and potholes. Though he was probably wildly exaggerating the number of dragons that plagued the land, he envisioned enough wings to block out the sun and if he was truly honest with himself, he thought that was downright cool.

He stoked the fire carefully one last time before lying down for the night. He refused to entertain fleeting fits of nerves or excitement; a knight remained calm in the face of danger and cool in regards to his task. It was a simple retrieval quest, nothing to become excited over.

He woke the next morning with the sun and sat upright, immediately awake. He built up the fire and reheated the rest of his rabbit, eating hurriedly while still taking care not to appear barbarous. After all, anyone could stumble across him.

On the road again, Arthur began to relax. He reached the border outpost in under an hour and gave the guards a brief nod as he passed through, inwardly pleased with their expressions of disbelief and awe. He rode on into the land of Camelot. Which was when it all went to shit.

He was surprised at how similar Camelot was to his own lands. The scorched earth he was expecting never manifested. Instead he was greeted by rolling hills and lush forests. The only marked difference was the very obvious lack of people. The first few homes he came across had clearly been abandoned for decades; creeping plants growing across the doors and windows, birds making their nests in chimneys. The further in he travelled, the less the homes actually held their structural integrity; half-standing, half-crumbled became the new standard. And yet he saw no other signs that there had been any skirmish here, dragon related or not. He stopped just as the sun was reaching its midday peak, intending to water his horse and stretch his legs. He was not prepared to see the giant lumbering beast making its way down to the river bank opposite them.

Arthur froze, one hand holding the reigns, his other slowly reaching for his sword, though he feared it wouldn't be of much use. The beast was massive, at least fifty hands high and equally as wide. Its small eyes blinked in the bright sunlight, slow and dumb. Either it hadn't spotted Arthur yet, or it wasn't particularly interested. He very much hoped it was the latter. He was just calculating the best way to retreat without making any noise when a breeze picked up, blowing lazily across the river. The beast raised its head from the river, water dripping off its horns, and sniffed. Turning its head, it looked directly at Arthur before sniffing again and continuing to scan. Arthur was in the middle of a brief prayer of thanks to the gods when the creature let out a roar. His horse reared and whinnied before bolting, leaving Arthur with nothing more than his sword and dagger.

Alerted by the movement, the beast lunged into the river. Arthur allowed himself a brief moment of panic before turning tail and scrambling up the bank. He ran through the forest, no clear sense of direction, spurred on by his base instinct of self-preservation. The beast was unlike anything he had ever been trained for. He had been trained for battle against men and dragons, not against giant monsters that looked like they were hewn from rock.

He could feel himself tiring and knew he wouldn't be able to keep up the pace much longer, but the angry bellows and the stench of rotting meat from the beast's breath spurred him on.

It turned out that stamina was not to be his downfall, but the terrain itself. On his next stride, his foot came down to meet empty air and he fell head first into a gorge.

Tumbling head over tail, a boulder brought Arthur to a sudden halt. He rose, dazed and disoriented, and tried to draw his sword. For some reason, he couldn't quite get his hand around the hilt. This confused him as he was certain his hand was capable of working normally and he tried to twist it. When he finally managed to grab hold of the hilt, he gave it a tug but only succeeded on pulling it out halfway. He continued to pull fruitlessly when a roar from above reminded him of the beast's presence. Fighting was apparently not an option so Arthur twisted round, looking for an escape route. He was rewarded with the sight of a cave, the mouth just wide enough for him to squeeze through.

Arthur staggered forwards, annoyed that his feet carried him in a zig-zag rather than a straight line to the cave. A thud behind alerted him to the fact that the beast had made it into the gorge. He pressed on and threw himself the last few lengths. Something in his shoulder made a horrible crunching noise and pain like he'd never experienced ripped through his arm. Behind him, he heard the beast bellow in rage. He turned to look back; the beast was wedged in the entrance, unable to get more than its head through. Satisfied, Arthur continued to crawl, using his uninjured arm to drag himself deeper inside. The cave floor sloped down suddenly and Arthur rolled helplessly down the short incline, coming to a stop in a crumpled heap on the floor. Adrenaline wearing off, Arthur became acutely aware of how rough he felt. Hurt, tired, dirty, and defeated, Arthur gave into the darkness and let himself pass out.

“Hey. Hey you.” Arthur woke to something poking at his side. He tried to open his eyes but even the dim light (and where had that come from?) of the cave produced a splitting headache and he settled for keeping them shut and groaning.

“Oh thank gods, you're alive. I thought you'd crawled in here to die and I was going to be really cross with you. Dragging your carcass out of here is really, really low on my to-do list.”

The voice sounded feminine but the speaker had an accent he couldn't place. He hoped desperately that it was a woman. Women were allowed to help with these sorts of things on quests. Usually it was the beautiful, young, virginal daughter of a lord that aided the wounded knight with his injuries. Of course they fell in love and got married when knight returned successfully which clashed with father's (and his own for that matter) plans for his future nuptials, but given how his shoulder throbbed even being sat still, he wouldn't say no to a little help from a well meaning, if misguided, maiden.

“Why won't you open your eyes? Is it too dark still? Let me get the light.”

There was shuffling to his left which made the woman sound considerably heavier than he had envisioned for such a high pitched voice. Then a burst of fire illuminated the cave which lit the small pile of logs at his feet but also showed Arthur that his maiden was in fact a dragon. Granted, the dragon was on the small side and white, but the fact remained that it was still a dragon. Arthur tried to reach for his sword with his uninjured hand but the beast caught sight of the movement and had the gall to chuckle.

“No good going to that, I took it off ages ago. You could hurt someone with a great dirty blade like that.”

Arthur blinked, hand frozen over the spot his hilt should have been. “That's rather the point.”

To his great surprise, the dragon let out a high pitched squeal of laughter.

“Point! Ah ha, good one.” At Arthur's expression it continued, “get it? Because points are sharp and we were talking about swords…”

Arthur attributed his inability to process the situation to his probable concussion. The dragon's laughter petered out and it wiped under its eye with the back of one scaly knuckle.

“It's alright, I expect your sense of humour will improve once you're feeling better. Merlin will be along soon and he'll sort you out.”

There was a beat of silence but all Arthur could think was “Merlins aren't native to this part of the realm.” It wasn't until the dragon started laughing that he realised he'd said it out loud.

“Yes, that was very much out loud,” said the dragon between spurts of laughter.

Oh bother, that was too then.

The dragon was either very weak or Arthur was funnier than he gave himself credit for, as the dragon's legs gave out under it and it fell to the ground laughing.

“Stop love, before you hurt yourself thinking too hard.” Instead of righting itself, the dragon stayed flopped out on the floor. “Merlin isn't a bird, he's my human. I'm Aithusa by the way.”

“Your human? Like a slave?” Arthur croaked out, and when had he gotten so thirsty?

“I'd like to think of him more as a pet, but he'd probably object,” the dragon rolled its eyes. “Have you ever heard of a tale called Sunder of Essetir?”

Arthur shook his head and winced. The dragon looked at him pityingly and brushed his hair lightly with its tail.

“The story tells that hundreds of years ago, the realm of Essetir was occupied by both the race of man and dragons. The two lived in uneasy co-existence, neither side really trusting the other. Every now and then, a fight would break out; humans entering dragon territory or dragons picking off human livestock, but these were covered up swiftly, as neither the human king or the High Dragon wanted it to escalate to open warfare. Then came the threat from the east and the armies that rode on wyvrns and other strange beasts. See, even though the wyvrns are cousins to the dragons, they don't have the power of speech and can't be reasoned with. The East Born treated them like mounts and rode on their backs like they did the great wolves and the chimeras. At first the dragons did nothing in the battle and stayed neutral, for though they were mighty, their numbers were small, and a dragon's first instinct is self-preservation. They watched as the humans fell and their cities burned, content to wait out the struggle in silence. But then tragedy struck: the raiders infiltrated one of the nurseries and-” the dragon's voice caught in its throat and it shook its head.

Arthur felt a confusing flash of sorrow. Though it conflicted with everything he'd ever been taught, he reached out his hand and laid it on the dragon's shoulder. It looked him in the eyes and gave a brief nod of its head before continuing.

“You can probably guess what happened. The council was incensed and sent out the call to battle. Together, with human fighting alongside dragon, the invaders were destroyed. From that day on, peace talks pushed forward in earnest and the people and dragons of Essetir have lived together in peace ever since. Most of us have even paired off. The number of dragons has gone steadily up since the old days, especially now that humans have created farms for us and we have steady sources of food. Merlin and I were matched when he was three and I was still in my egg.”

“They gave a three year old a dragon?” asked Arthur incredulously.

“Three is a bit young,” the dragon shrugged. “Human children are usually five before they're matched but they say Merlin was already displaying incredible gifts by that age. If you ask me I think he's gone a bit downhill since then, but no one ever does,” the dragon flicked its tail in a resigned manner.

“Right,” said Arthur, unsure how else to respond.

“What were you doing out there with Old Nate anyways?”

“Who's Old Nate?”

“You know, Old Nate? The big, lumpy fellow that was yelling at you? Looked like he scared you half to death the way you flung yourself face first into that boulder.”

“That thing has a name?”

“Of course he does, everyone has a name!” the dragon said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Speaking of which, what's yours?”

“Arthur. Arthur Pendragon.”

“What, no sir in front of that? With all your blades and your mail I thought for sure you'd be a knight.”

“That's what I'm trying to be,” Arthur took a deep breath and pulled himself into a sitting position. “I'm on a quest right now. If I complete it, I'll get my knighthood.”

The dragon's eyes brightened and it sat up excitably. “Oooh, a quest! I haven't been on one of those in ages, not a proper one anyways. Is it full of danger and peril?”

“So far the only danger has been from that thi-” he stopped under the reproachful eye of the dragon, “Old Nate.”

“What did you do, eat his berries or drink from his stream?”

“Neither! I didn't do anything, he just attacked me for no reason!”

“That doesn't sound like Nate. Are you absolutely sure you didn’t disturb anything?”

“Er,” Arthur thought back. “I guess the stream maybe? But that wasn't me, it was my horse!”

“Well that only makes it worse then! Nate's gotten very territorial in his old age and you let your dirty animal drink from his water. That's like serving wine out of a chamber pot,” the dragon flicked a stray grub off its knuckle, “it's disgusting.”

“I'll keep that in mind. Although I suppose it doesn't matter now. Raven has long since fled,” Arthur sighed.

“You named your horse ‘Raven’ but you can't accept a human named ‘Merlin’? You humans are a complicated bunch. Don't worry about your horse though, Merlin and I will help you on your way.”

“No, absolutely not.” Arthur winced as the dragon's face fell and he chided himself for his manners, even if he was talking to a dragon. “I'm sorry, but a knight muse seek his goal unaided.”

“Oh we wouldn't be aiding you, we'd just be keeping you company and possibly fighting off peril and danger with you.”

“That's what aiding is.”

“Yeah, but not with the actual quest bit. I'm assuming you have to pull something out of a stone or kill a baddie or something like that right? We won't do anything with that actual bit.”

Arthur closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Yes, but you see, a quest encompasses the entire journey.”

“Yeah, but not really.”

“Yes really!”

The argument probably would have continued in that vein for a while had it not been for sudden cursing echoing down the narrow tunnel.

“Where are you, you lazy winged bastard?”

“Fork to the left Merl,” the dragon rolled its eyes.

“I swear, if there isn't a fire going when I reach you, I'll learn how to magic these rabbits back to life and let you go hungry,” the voice drew closer.

“It's not as if you don't need to eat too. And of course I have a fire on, we have company.”

“What do you mean ‘we have company?’ We live in a bloody cave, precisely how does one have company over in a cave?” the speaker rounded the last corner and stepped into the light.

From Arthur's sprawl on the ground it was hard to judge, but the speaker looked to be roughly the same age and height as Arthur. The light from the fire threw his cheekbones into stark contrast from the rest of his face and made his eyes sparkle unnaturally.

Oh bother. This could prove to be a distraction.

The man narrowed eyes. “We are not keeping him. If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times - people are not pets.”

“I don't want to keep him, I want to adventure with him. He's on a quest!”

The man raised an eyebrow. “A quest?”

“A solo quest,” Arthur clarified.

“Of course,” the man's lips twitched at the corners.

“I already told him we wouldn't actually help with things. Just keep him company and the like.”

“And I thank you for your offer but I really have to do this by myself,” sighed Arthur. He tried to lever himself up off the ground but pain shot through his shoulder like a lance. He gasped and fell back against the cave wall.

The man was at his side before he could blink. He laid a hand gently on Arthur's shoulder and closed his eyes.

“Why didn't you tell me he was injured?”

The dragon had the sense to look bashful. “Sorry. I just got so excited about the quest! But I think he might have hurt his shoulder.”

“You don't say,” the man rolled his eyes. He turned his attention back to Arthur and Arthur was suddenly aware of just how close together they were. “What's your name?”

“Arthur,” he panted.

“Pleased to meet you Arthur, I'm Merlin. And I'm sorry but we're about to get very intimately acquainted. Aithusa, help me with him.”

Gritting his teeth through the pain, Arthur tried to relax as Merlin and the dragon manoeuvred him until he was lying down on his back. Merlin took hold of his hand and gingerly stretched out his sore arm until it was lying parallel to his body. Arthur clued in on what he was doing with two seconds to spare. He gave Merlin a short nod and tried to slow down his racing heartbeat. Merlin pulled back on his hand slowly until there was a steady pressure on his shoulder. Arthur closed his eyes, willing the tears not to fall as he fought through the pain. With a sudden click, the pressure disappeared and the pain was gone. Arthur's breath came out in a rush and he opened his eyes to find Merlin smiling at him.

“Well done Arthur,” Merlin placed a hand back on Arthur's shoulder. “I've set your arm but there will be some lingering discomfort for a bit. I'm going to take some of the pain away now but I'd recommend not doing anything strenuous for a few days.” He spread his fingers over the joint and squeezed gently. Arthur watched, fascinated, as gold bled into blue and magic filled Merlin's eyes. He felt some of the heat disappear from his shoulder and a numbing cool settle over the area. It reminded him of the herbal soaks his mother prepared for him when he was little and almost sighed with relief.

“Feels good, doesn't it?” the dragon popped into view upside down. “Merlin is great with healing.”

Arthur slowly eased himself up, Merlin supporting the weight on his bad side. “Thank you,” he said awkwardly. “Now how does one go about exiting the cave?”

“Don't get ahead of yourself,” Merlin warned, drawing out a long strip of fabric and binding Arthur's arm to his chest. “We'll have a meal first and then we can all head out together.” He turned his attention to the dragon, “Aithusa, get those rabbits on the spit.”

“No, I'm sorry, but you really can't come with me,” Arthur struggled to pull away from him. “A knight must prove his worth on his own.”

“Yes well, as your saviour, I'm pretty sure I get to claim a reward in all this.”

“What do you mean ‘my saviour’?” Arthur scoffed.

“Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's your sword arm I just fixed, is it not?”

“Yes,” Arthur frowned. “How did you k-”

“The scabbard is on the opposite side of your body,” Merlin interrupted breezily. “Anyways, as your rescuer, I demand that Aithusa and I be allowed to accompany you on your quest.”

Quite possibly it was the absurdity of the entire situation catching up with him that made Arthur react in the way that he did. Which was poorly.

“Does no one understand the meaning of the word ‘solo’?” he yelled. “It means by myself. Unaided. Party of one. I can't be responsible for looking after the two of you while completing my mission.”

“So far, you've been the only one that's needed looking after on this leg of it,” Merlin pursed his lips.

Arthur was temporarily distracted by the lovely shape they were making before remembering he was in the middle of an argument. “That may be, but I've thanked you for your services and I really must keep going. Alone.”

“Because that's worked out so well for you so far,” Merlin snorted.

“Look, it's not my fault. I didn't write the knight's code. Besides, have you ever heard of a legend where a knight is helped by a sorcerer and his pet dragon? No? Because there aren't any!”

There was a crackling tension in the cave as Arthur and Merlin scowled at each other. There was a soft cough and they both turned to look at the dragon.

“The rabbits are ready,” the dragon sniffed and turned away but not before Arthur caught sight of the tears in its eyes.

Immediately his anger vanished and he was left with a plummeting sense of guilt. He was behaving in a manner that would have his father cuffing him around the ears and his mother shaking her head in disgrace. This was not the way a true knight acted. Knights were always patient and kind, although Arthur doubted any of the ones in the stories had their patience tested by an irksome warlock. He was about to retrieve his sword when Merlin caught his arm and hauled him in close.

“If your precious honour means more to you than doing a service to a dragon who only wants a bit of excitement in her life then fine, be on your way. But at least come and dine with us first. I imagine you used up a lot of energy dislocating your shoulder and you'll need to keep your strength up for what's to come.” He released and shoved Arthur aside to stalk towards the fire moodily.

Arthur's temper flared again but he caught himself just as he opened his mouth and gave himself a mental slap. What was it about this man that made him forget his years of training and act like the village bully? He sighed and resigned himself to one awful meal before heading out on the road again. Leaving his sword in the corner, Arthur sat himself next to the dragon. She gave him a weak smile and slid half a rabbit towards him.

“I made sure to roast them evenly on both sides. Let me know if you like them darker.”

“That's quite alright, this is more than adequate,” Arthur forced a smile. “You've done more than enough for me already.” The dragon's face brightened visibly at his words. Arthur shot a sneaky glance across the fire at Merlin and was pleased to see some of the anger had drained from his face. Feeling confident he was on the path to making things right again, Arthur tore off a hunk of meat and stretched out.

“So why do you want to go on a quest so badly?” he asked.

The dragon snorted. “You're not the only one who heard great tales when you were young. I was raised on the stories of Porath and Shorolth; two of the greatest warriors of our age. Or the tale of Mesarth the wise and Dammath the brave. All the noble old ones who saved our race time and time again. Since the peace with Essetir, we haven't had any kind of excitement. Not that I would trade the peace for anything in the world!” she looked at Merlin as if she had said something wrong but Merlin just chuckled. “It's just that sometimes I want to feel useful, and since there aren't any wars that need fighting I thought maybe a quest would be a good way to do that.” The dragon curled in on herself and picked apart her rabbit half-heartedly.

“I really am sorry that you can't come,” Arthur said earnestly. To his great surprise he found he really did mean the words. “But I really can't have any sort of help. It would negate the entire purpose of the quest.”

“It's alright,” the dragon shrugged. “I'm sure something else will come along. Maybe I can help Nate guard his borders or something equally as thrilling.” She tucked her tail under her in a sulk.

“I don’t understand what questing alone is supposed to prove,” said Merlin.

“What do you mean?” asked Arthur.

“I mean, so long as you complete the objective, who cares if you do it by yourself or with ten people?”

“It's the principle of the matter,” Arthur bristled. “It proves that the knight as at the height of skill in all things needed to protect the kingdom: strength, bravery, endurance. All the things that get written about in the stories.”

“Funny things, those stories,” Merlin said nonchalantly.

“Oh?”

“In all your tales, these knights are all by themselves?”

“Yes.”

“And they all adhere to the code to be honest, modest, etc?”

“Of course!”

“So tell me,” Merlin leaned towards him. “Who is it that writes their stories?”

“I…I don't know,” Arthur faltered.

“According to your code, a knight must not brag and must downplay their accomplishments. So how is it that anyone ever hears tell of their great deeds?”

“I don't have an answer.”

“Could it be that perhaps someone comes with them on the quest? To record their accomplishments?” Merlin asked softly.

“No.”

“To report back to the court for them?”

“No.”

“To tell their stories to the world?”

“No!”

“Then how else do you explain it?”

“I…” Arthur stood as he tried furiously to think a way out of Merlin's logic. How did the great tales get passed down? Why had his father never told him about this part? Was he supposed to figure it out by himself? Was it part of a test he had to pass? He turned back to see Merlin's gloating face and the dragon's hopeful one. Surely these weren't the companions his father had hoped he would find. Yet they had proven useful so far. And his was sure to be the first story that featured a dragon as an ally.

“Alright. If we are to do this, we do this my way. I will allow you to accompany me on the understanding that you are only my chroniclers. You are not to engage in any questing, fighting, skirmishes, adventuring, or, or, anything else that could be quest related. If I am on the edge of defeat in a battle you let me fall. There is to be no interference from the sidelines in any way shape or form, do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, absolutely!” the dragon nodded enthusiastically. “Thank you Arthur! By the way, what exactly are we questing for?”

“For the lost crown of Camelot,” he said proudly.

“Wicked,” the dragon pronounced before lumbering off to pack.

 “Anything else to add, your majesty?” Merlin quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Don't call me your majesty, I'm not royalty Merlin.”

“Of course sire.”

“Merlin!”

“Stop flirting and get packing, we've got to go!” the dragon called from the corner of the cave where she was stuffing blankets into a pack.

“We're not flirting!” Arthur yelled, flabbergasted. He turned to Merlin for confirmation but Merlin was clearly fighting to hold back his smile.

“Anything you say sire,” he gave a deep bow and retreated to the back to help pack.

Arthur was left standing by himself in the center of the cave, watching a warlock and a dragon bickering over how many blankets they would need. This was not how any of this was supposed to go.

“I don't suppose you have a horse hidden around here, do you?” asked Arthur feebly.

Merlin stopped rummaging through a chest and straightened up. “As a matter a fact, I do.”

“Really? Could I borrow, ah, hire it for the journey? To carry supplies and the like?”

“You can try,” Merlin shrugged, “but I don't think it's up to carrying much more than a thimble.”

“What do you mean?”

Merlin crossed the cave to where he had dropped his bags when he first came in. “I mean, it can literally only carry a thimble.” He pulled back the cloth covering one of his bags to reveal a cage. A cage that had a tiny pony no bigger than a rat lying in the center.

Arthur crossed the cave for a better look. He knelt down with a great sense of trepidation in his gut. “R-raven?”

The horse whinnied excitedly at the sound of his voice and got to its feet.

“Oh,” said Merlin.

“Ah,” said the dragon.

There was a beat of silence as the horse nuzzled the bars of the cage. Then Arthur lost his temper once more.

“You shrunk her! Why would you shrink my horse?!” he bellowed.

“I didn't do it on purpose!” Merlin yelled back. “I was minding my own business when your horse nearly ran me down. What were you thinking letting her run off on her own?”

“Actually it was Old Nate that startled her,” the dragon supplied helpfully. “Arthur let her drink from his stream.”

“Oh that explains it then,” Merlin hummed.

“Can we please return to the small matter of you magically shrinking my horse!”

“Right. Well, like I said, Raven here charged towards me out of nowhere and my magic kind of reacts instinctively in those types of situations and obviously I didn't want to hurt her so I just sort of…reduced the risk a little.”

“Reduced the risk,” Arthur repeated flatly. “Can you reverse it?”

“Mmm, ah. See, the thing is, when my magic reacts defensively like that, I don't really have much of a say in what it chooses to do. I didn't know I actually had the ability to shrink things like that. Would have been nice to know before Aithusa and I set out on our own; would have saved us a hell of a lot of time on packing,” his grin slid slowly off his face at Arthur's expression.

“So you're saying you can't fix this?”

“I told you he was going a bit downhill,” the dragon whispered.

“Oi, shut it you! I never said I couldn't fix it, I just don't know how to at present,” he finished lamely.

“Can you at least try?”

“Yesssss,” Merlin's voice rose as if it was a question.

“You aren't filling me with much faith Merlin,” Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Alright. It's got to be some sort of basic transfiguration spell, so in theory all I have to do is-” he closed his eyes and raised both hands in front of him. “ic i álíede friþhengest.”

There was a flicker of gold under Merlin's eyelashes that Arthur did not find captivating at all. The three of them turned to look at the results.

“Well done Merlin,” Arthur drawled, “that was a very impressive display of power with absolutely no results.”

“I…I wouldn't say no results,” Merlin stammered.

“What?”

“The spell was to make her bigger.”

“And?”

“Well, part of her is bigger.”

Arthur and the dragon leaned in closer.

“Oh wow!” the dragon breathed.

Jutting out from the centre of the horse's forehead, was a very small but very distinctive horn.

“A unicorn. You've turned my horse into a unicorn,” said Arthur flatly.

“Yes. Yes I have done that.”

“Of course you have.” Arthur took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He cast his mind back to his training sessions with his father. A knight must show kindness to those less fortunate than himself. A knight must stay calm in the face of danger. A knight must not take out his temper on idiotic sorcerers, even when said sorcerer magics his horse into a tiny unicorn. And release. On the exhale, he forced himself to open his eyes. Two worried faces stared back at him while Raven happily battered her new appendage against the bars of her cage in the background.

“Shall we be off them?” Arthur ignored their gobsmacked expressions and crossed the cave to retrieve his sword. Fastening the scabbard on the opposite side of his body was tricky, but with patience he managed it eventually. When he looked up again, the two of them were still standing where he had left them.

“Merlin, feed and water Raven and put out the fire. Dragon, finish packing and move our supplies to the mouth of the cave. I want to be ready to leave in ten minutes. Honestly, I thought you two wanted to go on an adventure?”

The dragon's face split into a grin. “Yes sir!”

The dragon thundered across the cave to retrieve the bags. Arthur watched her for a moment with a feeling of contentment before he noticed Merlin still looked like he was waiting for the hammer to fall.

“Oh and Merlin?”

Merlin froze mid stride. “Yes?”

“Do try and cheer up a little, I can't be seen questing with someone who looks so maudlin.”

Merlin let out a stunned laugh before slipping back into what Arthur assumed was his default state of insolence. “Your wish is my command sire.”

“And stop calling me sire!”

And so the lone warrior joined into an unlikely party of three. The trio made good time out of the forest with minimal guidance from Merlin.

“Take the next fork to the right.”

“Merlin, I've told you not to help me, I have to find my own way there.”

“Of course.”

They faced their first real test as a threesome just as dusk was falling, when they were stopped by a hooded figure on the side of the road.

“Please, could you spare a few coins for a poor old woman?” she croaked.

“Of course my lady,” Arthur knelt in front of her and reached into the change purse at his hip. “Would two gold pieces suffice?”

“I am a very sick old lady,” she whimpered, the hood shaking as she coughed. “Anything you can spare would be helpful.”

“Four coins then?”

“Arthur,” Merlin warned behind him. “You might need your money later.”

“Quiet Merlin, this is the sort of things knights do, just leave it to me. Four coins, dear lady.” He reached out to take her hand but the woman flinched away from him.

“Come on then sonny, you can do better than that, can't you?” the woman's voice remained rough but she sounded decidedly less sick than she had the moment before.

“I'm sorry my lady, but I only have six coins on me total, and my companion is right, I will need some of that for my quest. Perhaps we can assist you in some other way. Would you care to seek shelter with us tonight? Or maybe I can return to you on my way home and spare some more coins then.”

The woman let out a terrible cry and straightened up. She ripped the hood off her face to reveal a gorgeous young woman. “Arthur Pendragon, I have looked into your heart and found it wanting.”

“Oh wow, a sorceress!” said the dragon excitedly.

“Time and a place buddy,” muttered Merlin.

“Because of your refusal to help the old woman, you and your companions must now receive punishment.”

“But I tried to help!” cried Arthur. “You don't understand, I am already on a quest and only have so much I can spare-”

“Silence!” the witch bellowed. “I will hear no more of your excuses. Arthur Pendragon, with these words, I curse you-”

“No you don't,” interrupted Merlin.

“Yes I do,” the witch snapped. “Silence your fool Arthur, for it shall be your last act as a human!”

Merlin snorted. “I don't think so.”

Arthur turned towards Merlin. “If there is an slight part of you that listens to reason then please shut up Merlin. I can bare the brunt of her curse to give you two time to escape, but not if you keep shooting your mouth off!”

“Enough! Say your goodbyes Arthur Pendragon. You and your party will soon know a fate worse than death!” The sorceress began chanting, “egestas a morte ani-”

“Merlin, dragon, run!” Arthur shoved Merlin aside.

“Oh for the love of- acwele!”

There was a terrible scream as the witch disintegrated before their eyes. Arthur lowered his arm just in time to see scraps of the witch float away gently on the breeze. There was a beat of silence before Arthur found his voice again.

“Did you just blow that woman up?”

“Yup.”

“Wow Merls, that was amazing!” Arthur watched wordlessly as the dragon patted Merlin on the back with her wing.

“Well, let's get a move on,” said Merlin, reaching down to retrieve his fallen bag. He paused as he took in Arthur's horrified expression. “Arthur? Are you alright?”

“There are so many things wrong with what just happened that I don't even know where to begin,” said Arthur in a detached voice.

“Do you want to rest for a minute? I'm a little peckish and we have time to take a break. I've got some berries if you want a snack,” Merlin said uncertainly.

“Do I want a snack? Do I want a snack! Merlin, you just made a woman explode! How can you be thinking about food?” Arthur's voice reached very unmanly levels.

“To be fair, she wasn't a very nice woman,” said Merlin evenly.

“Yeah, she was going to curse you even after you tried your best to help her,” the dragon added.

“But you made her explode!” Arthur looked between them in disbelief. “Is that not out of the ordinary for you two, or do you blow people up all the time?” How could they not understand what was wrong with this picture?

“Relax Arthur, you're acting like this is the first time you've seen a death,” laughed Merlin. Arthur didn't respond but looked pointedly at his feet. Merlin ducked down to look him in the eyes. “Oh. Oh Arthur, this is the first time, isn't it?”

“Maybe. But that's not the point. You just…obliterated her without even blinking.” Arthur's head swam and he sank down into a crouch. Merlin followed him down and pushed him backwards until he was resting gently against the dragon's side. Arthur tried to match his breathing to the steady pulse of the dragon without much success. He refused to break his calm in front of Merlin and the dragon, but a scream was building slowly in his gut and was threatening to burst out.

“If it makes you feel any better, my magic is going to be shot for the rest of the day, possibly tomorrow too.” Merlin sat cross-legged in front of him. “Doing magic like that comes with a price. And it's not something I treat lightly.”

“But she didn't even get the chance to defend herself,” Arthur mumbled.

“She wasn't going to give you that chance either. She's a hired witch; Camelot is plagued by many like her. When the priestesses have a bad year and don't have enough sacrifices, they set witches out on unsuspecting travelers. You could have given her every coin in your pouch and it wouldn't have made a difference. She was always going to curse you.”

“I just wanted to help the old woman,” said Arthur, defeated.

“Look, it's getting dark. I don't want you to push yourself too hard with your arm still healing and I am more than ready for a rest. Why don't we camp here for the night?”

Arthur nodded mutely in agreement.

“Aithusa, see if you can't find us a clearing or something nearby. Let Arthur catch his breath a bit more before we move.”

“Righto,” the dragon acquiesced.

Arthur felt Merlin's arm wrap around his shoulders to help hold him up as the dragon stomped off into the underbrush. As nice as it felt to have Merlin that close, Arthur was deeply ashamed at his behaviour. A knight did not fall to pieces on his first quest, did not need to be coddled by a civilian, and he certainly didn't need saving.

“What happened to not interfering with anything?”

“Hmm?”

“I told you, if I'm in imminent danger and about to die, don't help me.”

“That's what this is really all about, isn't it?” Merlin jostled his shoulder gently, “You just can't bear to share the credit with anyone else.”

As much as Arthur appreciated Merlin deflecting the situation, the knight's code required him to tell the truth. “That's not why I'm doing this.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“Because I need to prove to myself and to my Queen that I am strong enough to defend the kingdom and her people. Times are changing, and Annis' realm has been stagnant for too long; clearly, as we knew nothing about the Escetirian wars or how Camelot is overrun by the old religion. The realm has its walls but nothing else in the form of protection. I need to be strong enough to defend the people from whatever may be coming,” he felt his resolve break, “but how am I supposed to do that if I can't face a single witch on my own.”

Merlin regarded him thoughtfully. “That's not the answer I was expecting; you're surprisingly deep for a knight.”

“Thank you. I don't even need the code, I can just rely on you to keep me grounded,” Arthur rolled his eyes.

“You're welcome. But I think you will find your strength Arthur.”

“Merlin, I didn't even know she was a witch until she started cursing me. How am I supposed to make it on my own?”

“You just need to give yourself permission to loosen up a little! You're so fixated on that damn code. If you let your gut instinct take over sometimes you'd be much better off. And in all the stories I heard, the knights seemed to rather enjoy questing. Think of it as an adventure rather than a judgement.”

Arthur laughed. “I do believe you're right Merlin. Maybe I can relax a little now that I know you aren't totally useless.”

“Mmm, don't count on me defending myself all the time. Battle magic takes it out of you. And you were very brave back there, trying to be all noble and self-sacrificing,” Merlin slid a little closer.

“It's what I do,” Arthur chuckled.

“So smooth. I bet you have all the ladies lined up waiting for you to return.”

Arthur threw back his head and laughed at that, aware of how Merlin's eyes lingered on his neck. “Maybe that witch was right Merlin, you'd make an excellent fool.”

“So no ladies then?” Merlin licked his lips.

“No, and if you must know, no gentlemen either. I've no one of importance waiting for me beyond my family and friends.”

“Excellent.” Merlin closed the gap between them in one swift motion and pressed his lips against Arthur's.

To say Arthur was completely caught off guard would be a lie. He wasn't blind, and despite his chaste upbringing could still tell when someone showed interest in him. He was however surprised at the speed at which Merlin was moving. Arthur barely had time to close his eyes before Merlin was threading his fingers in Arthur's hair and running his tongue along his lower lip. This was all a little fast for Arthur, who had been raised to believe the wooing stage of the relationship should last at least two seasons before the courtship formally began.

“Merlin, Merlin stop,” Arthur broke the kiss with a gasp.

“What? What's wrong? Is it your shoulder?” Merlin's eyes were wild and his cheeks flushed.

“No, it's fine. But we need to stop.”

“Why?” Merlin's eyes narrowed.

“Because I'm on a quest, that's why!”

“I fail to see how that has any bearing on me shagging you senseless.”

“While questing a knight must stay pure-”

“No.”

“-pure of mind and body.”

“Nooooo,” Merlin groaned, rolling onto his back.

“Sorry Merlin, there are some parts of the code I can't loosen up on.”

“I hate this quest,” Merlin threw an arm over his eyes dramatically. “And I hate your stupid code.”

Arthur ruffled his hair sympathetically. “I thought you liked it when I was ‘all noble’.”

“Don’t use my words against me.” He turned his head sideways to look at Arthur. “Is it just the code that's holding you back from taking this any further?”

“Oh definitely,” Arthur leaned down close to his ear, “if it wasn't for the code you'd already be down to your breaches and writhing underneath me.” He let his breath ghost across Merlin's neck as he pushed himself up off the ground. Merlin made an intelligible whimper.

“Glad to see even the most powerful sorcerers are weak to the wants of the body,” Arthur grinned.

“I hate you.”

There was a whistle and Arthur turned to see the dragon standing some twenty paces behind them. “I found us a clearing for the night if you want to come help me set up camp.”

“You two go ahead, I'm just going to lie here for a bit,” Merlin crossed his hands on his chest.

“Alright Merls?” asked the dragon.

“Yeah. Just going to contemplate what I did in my past life to deserve this infuriating blond punishment. I'll catch up.”

The dragon shot Arthur a questioning look but Arthur just smiled. “Lead on dragon. I'm sure Merlin can find his own way.” The pair set off, the dragon in the lead and a smug Arthur bringing up the rear.

“I have a name you know,” the dragon said after a beat of silence.

“Hmm?”

“I have a name. So far you've only called me ‘dragon’ which is a bit rude. It'd be like me calling you ‘human’.”

“I…I'm sorry,” said Arthur, taken aback. “I didn't even realise I was doing it. We don't have dragons where I'm from and I wasn’t even aware dragons could talk until I met you. I'll try harder in the future to address you by name.”

“Thank you,” the dragon nodded at him. “And I do appreciate that you tried to save me back there, even if I wasn't in any real harm.”

“Oh?”

“Dragons are impervious to curses: it's our magic. She could have thrown every spell in the book at me and I wouldn't get so much as a broken claw. Enchantments however are a whole different story; we're extra weak to those. Merlin tried to explain it once, something about there needing to be a balance.”

“Good to know,” Arthur ducked under a tree branch and they came into the center of a clearing. The dragon had stacked all their packs against a boulder and had set Raven's cage a careful distance from what was meant to be a fire pit.

“So does me gathering twigs count as aiding you in your quest, or am I allowed to help with that part?”

“I think we can afford to be a little flexible,” Arthur smiled. He threw his pack into the pile when Raven caught his eye. “Has she gotten bigger since we left?”

The dragon sidled up next to him. “Maybe? I have to be honest, miniature ponies aren't my strongest area.” The two peered into the cage.

“She's definitely grown a little. It used to take her several gallops to cross the cage, now she's doing it in two.”

There was a slight rustling behind them as Merlin entered the clearing.

“Hey Merls, you didn’t mess up completely, Raven is getting bigger!”

“Excellent!” Merlin crossed to where they were stood. “Maybe the magic just had to build for a while. I wonder if I could help it along now.”

“Didn't you say your magic was going to be shot for the rest of the night?” asked Arthur.

“Yeah but this isn't the same. The spark is already in Raven, I'd just be giving it a little bit of a push. Like this: ic i flicore.”

The three leaned in closer to examine the results.

“Wow,” said the dragon.

“Oh,” said Merlin.

“Please don't try to help my horse again,” said Arthur.

“That's not exactly what I hoped would happen.”

“No Merlin, I didn't assume you set out to give my horse wings. And yet here we are.”

“Think on the bright side: if she ever does grow back to full size you'll have a flying unicorn to ride on,” said the dragon brightly.

“Marvelous. Shall we get supper on?”

The unlikely trio supped well that first night and all fell into deep sleep, worn out from injury and the earlier battles. The next morning, they packed up efficiently and set out at a brisk pace, all the more inspired to complete the quest.

“Wait, we need to stop,” said Merlin.

“We've just made it out of the forest,” said Arthur as he glanced wistfully at the long stretch of open road ahead of them, “unless your bladder is the size of a bean we press on.”

“It's not about me needing a pee, though I wouldn't say no to one,” Merlin scowled at him. “I think we need to take Raven out of her cage.”

Arthur circled back to inspect the cage that was strapped to the back of the dragon. Raven had definitely grown in size; her horn was jutting out between the bars and her body was almost pressing up against the confines of the cage.

“If we wait much longer she might get too big to take out.”

“But she's still too little to keep up with us on foot,” Arthur argued.

“Lucky she's got those wings now,” said the dragon brightly.

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Yes, what a stroke of luck.”

“It was an honest mistake,” Merlin bristled. “Look, she can't stay in that cage much longer. She can walk or fly until she gets tired and then one of us will just have to carry her.”

“Fine,” Arthur rubbed at his forehead as Merlin fiddled with the latch. He wasn't sure if he could suffer the indignity of a knight having to carry his horse. Then he gave himself a mental slap for dwelling on thoughts of pride. Knights helped those who could not help themselves, and Raven certainly couldn't help the fact that she'd been miniaturized.

“That's it Raven, out you come,” Merlin stroked her muzzle, “you don't have to stay in there anymore.”

“She's a horse, not a dog Merlin. And she certainly isn't going to respond to-” the words died on his tongue as Arthur watched Raven clomp into Merlin's hands and nuzzle him affectionately.

“Who's a good girl?” Merlin cooed at the hare sized equine. Raven whinnied in return and both Merlin and the dragon laughed.

“Of course,” Arthur muttered as he untied the cage from the dragon's back. “Shall we leave this behind then? We shan't have any future use for it and we'll travel quicker if we lose some dead weight.”

“I can help you lose some weight, if that's what you're after,” said a voice behind them.

The group turned as one to see three men standing just beyond a tree line.

Behind him, Arthur heard the dragon gulp and shift uneasily. “Thank you kind sirs, but we have everything under control.” He glanced between the three men who drew slowly closer.

“Are you sure now? It looks like you've got quite a load we could help with, wouldn't you say boys?” Five more men slunk out of the forest, all flashing varying strengths of the same unsettling grin.

Oh joy, bandits. Under normal circumstances, Arthur would have relished the chance to prove himself in combat. Unfortunately he seemed to be on the quest from hell which meant he had a weakened sword arm and two innocents to protect. One against eight was not an odd he'd  favour even on his best day.

“As I said before gentlemen, we are in no need of assistance. Please continue on your way and we will do the same.”

The one doing the talking tilted his head to the left and the thugs spread out in a loose circle around them. “I'm sorry, but I really must insist on letting us help. There's bandits on this here road, and you wouldn't want them making off with any of your supplies, would you?” A couple of the bandits sniggered. “Much better off leaving it with respectable fellows like us, we'll take good care of it for you.”

Arthur drew his sword with his left arm. There were a few scoffs and guffaws but no one else moved.

“Looks like we got us a fighter boys,” the leader leered at him.

“Merlin, whatever happens do not interfere. Get yourself and the dra-thusa,” the dragon shot him a dirty look, “to safety but leave the fight to me.”

“I'm glad you feel that way Arthur, because I'm fairly certain my magic isn't going to do anything worse than break a nail right now,” Merlin laughed nervously.

“Oh good.” Arthur turned his attention to the leader. “How shall we proceed? The most honourable option is to fight one on one until one side is defeated.”

The bandit leaned towards him in mock secrecy. “The thing about being a bandit though, is we don't much go in for honour. Boys!” he shouted the last part and the thugs all responded by drawing various knives and other sharp implements.

Arthur tensed as the bandits started to close the circle around them. He widened his stance and prepared for his first move. In his peripheral vision, he could see the dragon hunkering down, Raven on it's back, and Merlin picking up a stick. Just as the bandit raised his arm for the first blow, a blur of motion caught his eye and caused him to look up. Jumping from the hill to their right, two women landed on either side of him, both dressed in armour and armed with swords.

“You,” the bandit leader narrowed his eyes.

“Me,” the woman to his left responded, her lips curving into a cruel smile.

The leader promptly lost all interest in Arthur and bellowed, rushing forward towards the woman. The woman bellowed back and met him in the middle, steel clashing together as the two traded blows. Arthur dropped his sword lamely at his side. The other woman caught his eye.

“Don't worry, we'll have this sorted in an instant.” She gave him a sweet smile before letting out a cry and charging two of the closest bandits.

With three of their fellows now engaged, the remaining five thugs leapt into the fray. Arthur quickly raised his sword and eagerly met one of the bandit's swings. He was soon joined by the first woman who kicked his assailant in the stomach, dropping him to the ground, before she danced away to battle -another opponent. Arthur spun on the spot, looking for someone else to fight. He locked eyes with a man wielding a particularly nasty looking broadaxe and squared his shoulders. The man charged, but before Arthur could so much as parry, the second woman threw a dagger. Arthur watched in dismay as the blade sunk into the man's shoulder and he dropped his axe with a cry.

No matter which way Arthur turned, the women seemed to have every opponent covered. As soon as one was on the ground, they switched their attention to another attacker. At one point, they stood back to back, using each other for support as they fended off three men at once. Arthur shot a look over his shoulder at Merlin and they shared equally dumbstruck expressions. There was a brief moment when one of the women was disarmed by a sneaky feint that Arthur thought he might actually get to assist in the fight. But no sooner had he stepped forward than the other woman tossed her partner a knife. Arthur sighed as the woman sliced the back of the bandit's knee out and watched as he dragged himself off towards the forest. The fight was over as quickly as it had begun; the bandits slinking off back into the forest or lying unconscious on the ground. The woman closest to Arthur picked herself up off the ground and went to stand beside her partner who had her sword at the leader's throat.

“What did we say about poaching in this area Rodyle?” the woman tutted.

The bandit muttered something inaudible. The other woman angled her sword more closely to his neck.

“What was that?” she asked.

“Never again,” the man spat out.

“Good,” the first woman cooed at him. “Gwen darling, give him a mark.”

The second woman sheathed her sword and pulled a dagger out from her boot. She grabbed the man's hand and forced him to tilt his forearm upwards. “Tsk tsk. That's two strikes already. You know what happens when you get a third.” She pushed the tip of her dagger into his skin and carved a cross into the soft flesh next to an existing scar.

The man grit his teeth but said nothing. The first woman pushed a hand into the man's hair and bent down next to his ear.

“The third mark we carve into your heart,” she said, her voice dangerously low. She straightened up and pushed his head suddenly backwards. The man staggered to his feet, shot them one last glare, and ran for the trees. The women watched him briefly before the first threw her arms around the second in celebration.

“Careful Morgana, I've still got my dagger out,” the second woman chided, though she returned the hug.

“Yes but you're always careful with me,” the woman drew back and cupped her face gently.

“Yes, but I wish you'd be more careful with yourself,” the woman's tone was stern but her eyes were still soft. “Why did you let yourself get disarmed?”

“Maybe I just wanted to see you toss me that knife. You know how attractive you are in the middle of battle,” the women pressed their lips together softly and the other moaned a little.

Arthur felt deeply uncomfortable watching what was obviously a private moment and a little bit irked at being forgotten about so quickly.

“See, why can't we do that after a battle?” Merlin whined as he wrapped his arms around Arthur from behind.

“Because quest,” Arthur snapped irritably, forcibly removing himself from Merlin's grip. Merlin sighed but didn't push the issue.

“Ah, excuse me fair…ladies?” Arthur called tentatively.

There was a soft “oh” from the shorter woman who broke away from her partner and turned to look at him.

“So sorry about that, you know how it is, the lust of battle and all that,” the woman laughed as she extracted herself from her partner's arms. “But that was terribly rude on us not to check on you first. Are you alright? Did they hurt you at all?”

The woman seemed earnest in making sure he was alright, but Arthur couldn't feel a little bit miffed that it was his wellbeing in question.

“I was going to ask the same thing to you,” he replied.

The other woman turned to face him with narrowed eyes. “Why?”

“Well…because, you're maidens of course,” Arthur stumbled over his words, “and it's dangerous for young ladies like yourselves to be wandering…” he trailed off as the pair burst into laughter.

“It's been years since either of us were virtuous enough to be called maidens,” the taller one gasped out.

“Shhhh,” the shorter one blushed and tried to hide her smile behind her hand.

“So you're…oh,” Arthur felt himself going slightly red. Beside him Merlin sniggered.

“Don't feel too violated good sir knight,” the taller one laughed, “I made an honest woman out of her first. Took me ages to get under her petticoats.”

“Tell me about it,” Merlin muttered. Arthur elbowed him in the ribs and stepped forward.

“Virtue aside, you really should of let me handle the fight.”

They stopped laughing and the taller on stepped forward to meet him.

“Oh? And why is that. From our vantage point, it looked like you needed some help.”

“Well clearly you weren't looking hard enough,” Arthur huffed. “I had everything under control.”

“Is that so? With your bad arm, a burnt out sorcerer, and a dragon who's barely out of the nesting phase?” the woman arched an eyebrow as she took in the trio's dilapidated state.

“Yes,” Arthur crossed his arms.

The taller woman matched his stance. “So we shouldn't have interfered at all? We should have sat back and watched you get slaughtered?”

“Not that we don’t' think you're not a good fighter,” her partner interjected. “It's just that you looked a bit cornered and Rodyle isn't someone you should face alone.”

“I could have managed.”

“Don't mind him,” the dragon called out. “He's just a bit testy because he's on a quest and doesn't want people to help him.”

“A quest?” The women looked at each other excitedly.

“Yeah, to retrieve the lost crown of Camelot and gain his knighthood,” the dragon elaborated.

“How thrilling,” the shorter woman bit her lip. She grabbed her partner by the arm and pulled her into a huddle. After a rapid fire conversation the pair turned back to Arthur.

“We've decided to join you,” the taller one announced. “As defenders of the broken realm, it is our duty to see that you have safe passage across the land as you complete your quest.”

“Therefore, I Guinevere Thomas-”

“And I, Morgana Gorlois-”

“Swear allegiance to you good sir…”

“Arthur Pendragon, but he's not knight yet,” the dragon supplied helpfully.

“To you, Arthur Pendragon. We will assist you with whatever power we have.” She finished with a slight bow of the head and a bright smile.

Arthur opened his mouth to object loudly when Merlin through an arm around his shoulder and turned him around.

“I know what you're going to say, but hear me out. Those women just saved your life and you owe them a favour in return. If they want to come on your quest, I say we let them,” Merlin whispered hurriedly.

Arthur bit his lips in frustration. “But it's bad enough having you two along already- oh you know what I mean,” he snapped at Merlin's frown. “You saw what they did to those bandits back there. If I let them come, they'll do all the fighting and I won't be able to claim a single victory for myself.”

“I don't think it's a matter of you ‘letting’ them do anything. I think they're coming whether you like it or not.” Arthur looked over his shoulder to where Morgana was filing the dragon's claws with a dagger and Gwen cooing over Raven. He sighed, trapped in the knowledge that Merlin was right and his solo quest was very much becoming a quest of fellowship.

Merlin shook his shoulder a little and gave him a small smile. “If it makes you feel any better, pretend you're doing them a favour. They may consider themselves protectors of the broken realm, but at the end of the day, you're the one that's going to get a knighthood. Even if Camelot was still a functioning kingdom, the best those two could ever aspire to is being ladies. This is the closest to any sort of honour they're going to get.”

“Yes,” Arthur drew himself up. “Yes, you're right Merlin, this is an act of kindness, of chivalry!”

“Excellent!” Merlin beat out a rhythm lightly on his back. “My most esteemed ladies, it is my honour to welcome you to our company of three, er, five now. Six if you count our equine friend. Allow me to introduce us: I am Merlin, the greatest sorcerer to ever walk the earth. The fine reptilian specimen sat among you is none other than Aithusa the white, bringer of hope and goodness. And of course, who could forget our astute leader, the one and only, Arthur Pendragon, future knight and protector of the land of Tintagel.” He shot a wink over his shoulder at Arthur who rolled his eyes at the showmanship.

“Is any of that true?” Morgana raised an eyebrow.

“No, but it sounds impressive, doesn't it?”

Morgana's composure held for all of two seconds before she burst out laughing. “Well, if you find yourself not living up to your title, you have a great future as a crier.”

“Shall we be on our way?” Arthur called out.

“The title of ‘greatest sorcerer’ is a little intimidating,” Merlin agreed. “Personally I'm aiming for something more like ‘mediocre’ or ‘modestly successful’. What about you two, what should your questing titles be?”

“Hello?” Arthur tried again.

“Maybe we should have a dual title,” Morgana suggested.

“Oooh yes, something like ‘the wild women’,” Gwen clapped her hands.

“‘Protectors of the innocents’,” Morgana chimed in.

“I like it,” Merlin approved.

“I'll just start on my own then,” said Arthur to no one in particular. He turned and set off down the path that would carry them into their next stretch of forest. He had just made it to the forest's edge when there was a muffled cry from one of the four tiny specks behind him. Satisfied that he'd made his point, Arthur stepped into the forest.

This one was much sparser than the thick grove they had exited from that morning. There were several larger trees that dominated the space and prevented much underbrush from growing. As he wove his way down the path, Arthur could hear a stream bubbling to his right and he made his way down to the bank to investigate. Wary of the last time he stopped at a stream, Arthur made sure to scan the entire area before kneeling down to take a drink. At first glance he seemed to be alone, but as he raised the first handful of water to his mouth a slight movement caught his eye. What he saw made him gasp.

What he had first thought were branches were actually the horns of a giant stag. The enormity of the pattern was mesmerizing as the beast made its way down to the water to drink. Sunlight shone through the horns and dappled its otherwise pure white body; it was possibly the loveliest thing Arthur had ever seen. Which meant he had to capture it. For the first time since setting out, he regretted leaving his companions behind. One of the women probably had a crossbow in their arsenal which would have come in handy. He was just considering doubling back in hopes of reaching them in time when there was a sudden pop beside him and Merlin appeared.

“What the hell was that Arthur?” he fumed. “You can't say you're okay questing as a group and then take off without us. Last time I checked, you need more than one person to make a group.”

“Shut up Merlin,” Arthur hissed, clamping a hand over his mouth. “I wasn't trying to ‘take off’, it was you lot that weren't listening but that doesn't matter right now.” He removed his hand from Merlin's mouth. “Do you have a crossbow on you?”

“Does it look like I have a crossbow on me?”

Arthur did a quick full body scan and rolled his eyes at the lewd way Merlin wiggled his hips.

“What do you need one for anyways?”

“See that stag over there?” he pointed and watched as Merlin's mouth fell open.

“He's gorgeous,” Merlin breathed.

“Yes he is. And I'm going to kill him,” said Arthur proudly.

“What?” Merlin all but bellowed. “How in the hell do you go from ‘yes he's beautiful’ to ‘I must kill him’?”

“Because if I kill him I can drag him back to the court and have him stuffed in Queen Annis' honour,” said Arthur excitedly. “Just think of how impressed she'll be with her new ornament.”

Merlin just gawked at him. “That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. What kind of backwards realm do you come from? Why would anyone ever want that?”

“Because that's the way things are.” How could Merlin not understand this? “The Queen loves hunting. This is the biggest prize I've ever seen. I present it to the Queen along with the crown, and she forgets that I ever had any help on the quest. Don't you see? Merlin, this could solve everything!”

“It could also ruin everything. I'm not overly familiar with the forest guardians of this region but I'm fairly certain that's Cernunnos.”

“Who?”

“Cernunnos? Lord of the forests, patron god of the druids, all around someone who should be on the DO NOT KILL LIST?!”

“Oh,” said Arthur weakly.

Merlin gave him a hard look. “It's a good thing you're pretty.”

“Thank you Merlin. Shall I continue walking then since I am no longer in need of a crossbow?”

Merlin grabbed his arm. “Are you mad? You can't just wade through Cernunnos' pond.”

“Why not?”

“Did you miss the part about him being a god? Custom dictates we must ask his permission before crossing.”

“Well let's not cross then. I veered off the path coming to this place anyways.”

“He's seen you and now it would be rude not to make an offering. Besides, the path crosses this river at a further point up ahead anyways.”

“Okay, so I'll wade over and ask him.”

“Yeah okay, and then after he smites you into a thousand pieces maybe you'll come up with a sensible plan. He's a god Arthur, he's not going to accept some bloke just sauntering up to him and saying ‘oi, let us pass m'lord’ deer sir.”

“I'd never be as crass as all that,” Arthur snapped.

“Watch your tone, you don't want to be knighted ‘sir grumpy pants’ do you?” Merlin taunted.

Arthur's mouth twisted into a pucker but he forced himself to calm down before speaking. “How do you propose we find a solution?”

“Um…”

“You don't know either, do you?”

“I'll be right back,” said Merlin. There was another pop and Merlin vanished.

“Show off,” Arthur muttered. Not the type to sit idly, he sat down and pulled his boots off. There was a high probability of some sort of water crossing in his immediate future, no matter what Merlin came back with. He had just finished rolling his trouser legs up when Merlin popped back.

“Good news, the others have almost caught up. Once Gwen gets here we're set.”

“How is Gwen going to fix everything?”

Merlin grinned at him. “You're going to love this.”

Before Arthur could continue his line of inquiry, there were footsteps behind him and the others came into view. While Morgana and the dragon stopped at the top of the hill, Gwen continued walking straight into the lake.

“What are you going to d-” He stopped speaking as Gwen shivered from head to toe and inexplicably turned into a deer.

“Merlin.”

“Yes?”

“What the hell just happened?”

“Gwen's a shape shifter.”

“Ah,” Arthur nodded, “of course she is. Got anything to add Morgana? Do you turn into a harpy or anything similar?”

“Nope, I'm just your run of the mill banshee,” she said dryly.

“Seriously?” asked the dragon.

Morgana smirked. “I'd scream for you but I assume you don't want your ears to bleed.”

“Yeah, no thanks,” the dragon acquiesced.

“So are we just supposed to wait here while Gwen bleats at him?” asked Arthur impatiently.

“I can think of something to pass the time,” Merlin waggled his eyebrows at him.

Arthur pointedly ignored him and opted for watching Gwen and Cernunnos across the pond. Next to him, Raven hovered in mid-air, gently flapping her wings. As she nuzzled gently at his shoulder, Arthur was hit with the sudden realization that this quest was not going according to plan. He didn't have much time to linger on the depressing thought, as Gwen bowed her long neck and began crossing back towards them. In one flawless movement, she righted herself and changed back into a woman.

“So?” Arthur asked anxiously. “Are we free to cross?”

“He wasn't very impressed with your plan to shoot him,” she gave him a disapproving look and Arthur felt suitably shamed. “But he was interested in your quest and wants to see how it plays out, so he's consented to let you pass.” There was a great cheer from the group and Arthur let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

“Thanks Gwen,” Merlin grabbed her into a hug and Aithusa wrapped her tail around the pair of them, Raven whinnying happily behind them.

“Yes,” Arthur coughed, “thank you Guinevere. Shall we press on?”

Everyone stopped celebrating abruptly and turned to look at him.

Thrust into the center of attention, Arthur felt suddenly awkward. “It's just that we need to keep up a good pace. Merlin, how much further until the castle?”

Merlin shrugged. “We probably won't reach it tonight. Most likely we'll get there midday tomorrow.”

“All the more reason to cover as much ground as we can today. Company, march.” Arthur caught a glimpse of their disbelieving faces before setting off at a quick pace. The others followed him after a brief moment of hesitation, but Arthur kept himself at the front of the unit, separate from the others. Occasionally he caught snatches of their conversation or bits of laughter, but he forced himself to stay focused at the task at hand. He was so close to reaching his goal he could almost feel the weight of the crown in his hand.

When it finally grew too dark to see, he consented that it was time to make camp for the night. Dinner was a team effort, and though Arthur did his fair share of the work, he turned in not long after the meal. As he crossed to where his bedroll was, Merlin made a movement as if to grab at him but pulled back on himself before making contact. Arthur pretended it didn't sting a little but reminded himself that it was his decision to distance himself from the group. The rest of them were just doing the quest for fun, he was the only one that had anything riding on it. His last thought before falling asleep was he hoped his father would be proud of him.

The next morning Arthur woke early. The sun was in the early phase of rising and the forest around him was grey and still. As quietly as he could, he began to pack up the campsite around his sleeping compatriots. He briefly considered sneaking off and leaving them behind, but the idea of making Merlin cross again was unsettling for reasons he couldn't properly justify. Instead, he set about preparing a breakfast of leftover rabbit.

The others began to stir as the smell of roasted meat wafted over them. Gwen was the first to surface, her yawn turning into a smile as she saw their meal.

“Thank you Arthur. It's very kind of you to make us breakfast.”

“You'll need to keep your strength up for the journey ahead,” he replied briskly.

“Oh,” she said, her smile faltering. “Well, thank you.” She plucked a stake from the ground and carried her rabbit a short distance to a fallen log. Across the fire, Morgana scowled at him and to his left Merlin snorted.

“What? What did I say?” Arthur turned to Merlin for clarification.

Merlin shook his head. “You need to learn on how to take a compliment.”

“But we do need to keep our strength up,” he tried to reason.

Merlin just gave him a pat on the shoulder and hunkered down next to him for breakfast.

Conversation felt oddly stilted after that and Arthur couldn't figure out why. He tried to reason that this worked out in his favour and would let him complete the quest without distractions but he still felt strangely put out about it. They packed up in silence and set out once more. Arthur took the lead position again, navigating mostly from memory and occasional suggestions from Merlin.

In perfect fable composition, they crested the last hill just as the sun reached its highest point, bathing the castle in its light. Despite the dilapidated façade, Arthur still had to catch his breath at the view of the once grand citadel. He looked behind him and saw that the others were in similar states of awe.

“Haven't any of you seen it before?” he asked.

“Never,” the dragon spoke the word almost reverently.

“We were warned to stay away from it as children; those that stayed within the borders say it is still cursed,” Morgana breathed.

Merlin, Arthur noted, was staying uncharacteristically quiet for once. He moved to stand beside him and bumped their shoulders together.

“You've seen it before, haven't you?”

“Once, when I was very young. My father brought me to this very hill to show me the castle. Said I was meant to have a destiny here once upon a time.”

“What kind of destiny?”

“Well we'll never know now then will we?” Merlin gave him a blinding grin. “In another life.”

Arthur chuckled and started the descent down the hill. At the very bottom was as small cottage, hidden in the shade of the hill.

“Shall we stop here for lunch?” Arthur asked, coming to a halt. “We have to be prepared to face all manner of evil within the castle and we need to be at top levels of performance.” There were various murmurs of agreement and one whinny of excitement from Raven so Arthur threw his pack on the ground and the others followed suit.

“I'll check inside and make sure the coast is clear,” he said, drawing his sword. He had just put his free hand on the door to push when there was a great cry from above.

He twisted around just in time to see two small figures throw themselves off the roof of the cottage. They landed with an almighty thump, surprising given that they couldn't be any taller than twelve hands, and Arthur would be surprised if the shorter of the two came up past his waist. Though small, they were clearly ready for a fight, as indicated by the dual set of axes they were both armed with. The shorter haired one was the first to speak.

“Ah Gwaine, we may have underestimated the situation slightly.”

“Hmm?” His companion looked around. “Oh.”

Arthur looked away from their assailants for the first time and was met with the frightening image of Gwen and Morgana both armed to the teeth, Merlin with both hands raised and fire swirling around in the palms of his hands, and the dragon wearing a fearsome expression that Arthur had never seen on her face before.

“Alright, why don't we all take a deep breath and lower our weapons. There is no need for this to turn into a fight,” Arthur said evenly.

“Arthur,” Merlin warned, his eyes golden. “They were about to attack you with your back turned.” The fire in his hands swelled and changed to a bright blue colour which was somehow more frightening than seeing normal fire magicked out of thin air. Arthur was temporarily distracted by the alluring colour of Merlin's eyes until the newcomers spoke again.

“No no,” the first one said quickly, “he's right, we don't want a fight, see.” He slowly lowered his axes and let them fall to the ground on either side of him. Arthur was proud to see that no one is his group gave even a twitch to indicate they were thinking of doing the same.

The second man grumbled but followed suit. He turned around in a circle, hands up and palms open. “See, nothing. I'm as harmless as a maiden on a sweet summer's day,” he shot a wary glance at Gwen and Morgana, “although in present company that might be very dangerous indeed so let's just forget that analogy, shall we?”

Arthur gave them a hard look before lowering his sword, a nod of his head indicating that the others should do the same. Morgana gave a bit of a huff but began to process of sheathing all her weapons. Gwen and the dragon backed down warily, but Merlin remained as he was.

“Merlin, it's alright.”

“How do I know they aren't magic users?” he answered Arthur's question but kept his eyes fixed on his targets.

“This one wouldn't know magic if it came up and slapped him across the face,” the first one shrugged.

“And that's a true story,” his companion shrugged. “Besides, where we come from, the closest thing we can call magic is my ma's cooking.” A dreamy look overcame both the men at those words and they sighed in unison.

Arthur arched an eyebrow at Merlin. “Satisfied?”

“For now,” Merlin lowered his hands and Arthur watched as blue bled back into his eyes.

“May I ask who you gentlemen are and why you felt the need to attack us?” Arthur addressed the newcomers.

Arthur's words snapped them out of their daydream and they both shook themselves before talking.

“Good sir knight, I am Lancelot and my brother in arms is Gwaine. We come from the Isle of Mora, the third great dwarven kingdom of the age, as travellers and sell-swords, prepared to battle our way to glory,” he finished proudly.

“Why the display of force?” asked Merlin  coldly.

“That's just how dwarves say hello,” Lancelot shrugged.

“And the leaping off the roof?” asked Arthur.

“If you're going to do something, you might as well do it in style,” Gwaine grinned.

“Of course,” said Arthur.

“May we ask what you are all doing here? Such a motley band of travellers we've never seen this close to the castle,” said Lancelot.

“We're on a quest!” said the dragon eagerly.

“A quest,” the dwarves chorused in unison, and oh dear Arthur recognized that glint in their eyes.

“Yes, quest to gain my knighthood, retrieve crown from a ruined castle. Meant to do it alone but hey, who needs rules right? Merlin, sorcerer, dragon, dragon, Morgana, banshee, Gwen, shape shifter, Raven, horse turned flying unicorn, Arthur, long-suffering leader. Yes you can join us. No you can't help with the actual questing bits. Have I left anything out?” he turned to Merlin.

“Just that the dragon's name is Aithusa.”

“Ah yes, which I apparently can't bring myself to used because of my deeply internalized speciesism. Any questions?”

“Is there any money in this quest?” asked Lancelot.

“No.”

“Is it a lot of fun?” asked Gwaine.

“Yes,” the dragon answered without reservation.

“Brilliant,” the dwarves said together. “We're in.”

“Wonderful,” said Arthur. “I'm going to continue where we left off before this merry exchange and check to see that this cottage is safe before we eat.” He turned and drew his sword, this time entering the cottage.

The inside was not what he had expected at all. Instead of the usual furnishing, the entire cottage was bare save for a single large mirror hung halfway up the wall. Arthur approached it cautiously, sheathing his sword as he did. A crunch under his boot caused him to stop. Pulling his foot back, he saw with horror what he had stepped on. Bone, human bone. The strip of floor in front of the mirror was covered in bits of human skeletons. Horrified, Arthur looked up and caught sight of himself in the mirror for the first time. His own reflection stared back at him, but it was not alone. Dozens of people stood in the mirror with him, and though he couldn't hear anything, they all had their mouths open; crying, screaming, and beating on the glass.

Gasping, Arthur tried to turn and run from the sight, but he found that he was frozen to the spot, unable to do anything other than stare. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his limbs to move. And the more he struggled, the wider his reflection opened his mouth in a silent scream. He couldn't have been stuck from more than a few minutes when he heard Merlin calling his name behind him.

No, Merlin had to run, he couldn't come any closer, couldn't be stuck with him. Arthur fought harder than he'd ever fought before, but all his strength wasn't enough to free him from the enchantment. Aghast, Arthur could do nothing but watch Merlin's reflection join him in the mirror.

“What the, oh-” was all Merlin got out before he too was frozen. Arthur met his eyes in the mirror and tried to convey his apology. Because of him, they would both be stuck here for forever until their bodies rotted away like so many before them. And Gwen and Morgana would soon join them, if the voices from the door of the cottage indicated anything.

“What has got you two so-” Morgana froze in place beside Arthur.

“Morgana? What's happened to you?” came Gwen's voice from somewhere behind Arthur.

“My lady, get down,” Lancelot yelled. There was a thud and a cry but Gwen's face did not appear in the mirror.

At least she will be saved from this fate, Arthur thought wearily. Beside him in the mirror, Morgana's mouth was opening rapidly.

“What's wrong with them?” Gwen cried.

“It's the mirror, it must be cursed. I've heard many dark sorcerers have traps like this across the land. The mirror holds the souls of its victims until the sorcerer returns to devour them,” said Lancelot somberly.

“Well how do we save them? Can we break the mirror?” asked Gwen frantically.

“Such magic would also need to be broken with magic, and I don't think Merlin is in any shape to be helping us right now,” Lancelot replied.

“Aithusa, could your fire melt the glass?” asked Gwen.

“Possibly. But I'd have to be close to it. I'm not sure I'd have time to do it before I got frozen too,” the dragon lamented.

“There must be something we can do!” Gwen yelled.

“Ladies and gent, you are forgetting about our trump card,” Gwaine interjected. Arthur could hear his footsteps directly behind him but couldn't see him in the mirror.

“What's that?” asked Lancelot.

Gwaine's voice was light with laughter. “We have a banshee.”

There was no way Arthur could have prepared himself for what came next. Beside him, the real Morgana gave voice to her mirrored counterpart's expression as she let out an unearthly scream. The force of it shattered the mirror and Arthur fell sideways into Merlin, toppling them both over on the floor. The scream finally stopped as Morgana collapsed and Gwen caught her before she hit the floor.

“What the hell was that?” asked Arthur as he disentangled himself from Merlin.

“That was the sound a banshee makes when you pull her hair,” said Gwaine with gusto.

“Did you have to pull quite so hard?” Morgana winced as she rubbed at the base of her braid.

“I had to be thorough,” Gwaine shrugged. “We might have only had one shot at it.”

“Why weren't you frozen when you stepped in front of the mirror?” asked Merlin, who was making himself difficult to be disentangled from by clinging on to Arthur's shoulders.

“I'm too short to see my reflection,” Gwaine grinned. “Rule number one for dark sorcerers; never underestimate a dwarf.”

There was nothing else to do but laugh at that. Arthur felt the chuckle start, deep and low in his stomach, building until it burst from him in guffaws. Merlin joined him, the shakes from his body radiating into Arthur's, and soon the rest of their party had joined in. They laughed until the last drop of humour had left them and the broke apart slowly to prepare lunch.

Lancelot, it turned out, was an excellent cook (which he attributed to the years spent hanging out in Gwaine's kitchen, learning from his mother) and could do the most interesting things with a few sparse ingredients. Lunch was a hurried affair, as they were all eager to reach the castle and finish the quest. It took less than an hour to cross the last stretch of plain between the cottage and the castle. Arthur stopped them just before they crossed the rickety drawbridge.

“You have all shown great strength and fortitude on this journey,” he said solemnly, “and I want to say, that no matter what we may face in there, no matter how great the peril or danger, I'm glad to have you by my side. You're all knights in your own right and I would be proud to fight alongside you any day.” His heart swelled with pride at his words and his companions' answering grins.

“Get a move on you sap,” Merlin yelled at him, though his grin was the widest of all.

Feeling like he could take on the world, Arthur turned and charged across the drawbridge, the others close on his heels. Beside him, Raven soared through the empty streets, now the size of a large dog, and flew on ahead. They thundered through the town and reached the citadel in a matter of minutes. He slowed their pace to a walk as they reached the castle doors.

“Be cautious,” he said over his shoulder as he pushed open the double doors.

The inside was much like it was described in the stories. Banners of gold and silver hung crookedly on the walls, covered in thirty years worth of dust. All the windows were blown out and wild vines crept in from the outside. Birds were clearly the primary inhabitants of the castle, as both raven and songbird alike had nests in all manner of crevices. Down the center of the hallway, a large crack ran straight ahead, dictating the path Arthur knew led to the throne room, the center of the fissure.

They crept ahead slowly, careful not to disturb any of the loose stone. Before long, the crack widened out into a proper cleft and they were forced to walk on one side of it. In front of them, the throne room loomed, tall doors hanging off their hinges, giving them an excellent view of the gigantic hole in the floor.

“Wow,” said the dragon as they came to a halt. “My family sure knows how to smash up the joint.”

Arthur agreed. The floor of the throne room was almost completely destroyed, with only a few patches remaining. The roof was mostly gone as well, evidence of where the two dragons burst forth. As the others took in the spectacle, Arthur scanned the room for the object of his desire. His heart fell as he took in the scene.

There, across the chasm, resting idly on the throne, was the crown. Despite the tarnish and cobwebs, it was unmistakable. It was also completely unreachable, given the length of pit stretched out in front of him.

Ever on the same wavelength, Merlin was the first to realise the problem.

“I could pop over and grab it,” he suggested.

Arthur shook his head. “Too risky. The throne barely fits on that precipice, there's no way you'd fit there too.”

“Perhaps we could construct a bridge to get across,” said Lancelot.

“I don't trust any of these walls to be strong enough anchors,” Arthur bit his lip.

“I could use my whip as a lasso and snag one of the peaks,” Morgana offered.

“Darling, as much as I trust your rope work, that's a one in a million shot,” Gwen gave her a one armed hug.

“There must be something we can do. We've come so far, and I refuse to let Arthur fail!” the dragon lamented.

Arthur's heart swelled at her words and he turned to thank her when movement near the roof caught his eye. He raised a hand to stop the chatter and everyone watched as Raven fluttered down gently from the roof. There was a collective gasp as she nudged her horn gently under the lip of the crown. The crown slid down slowly until it rested on her head. With a whinny of success she flapped across the chasm in four great gusts and landed neatly in front of Arthur still wearing the crown.

“Did that just-” he started.

“Yes. Yes it did.” Merlin replied without needing to hear the rest.

“Well that's a little anticlimactic,” he said, still unable to do anything more than stare at his flying unicorn horse.

“I think what you meant to say is well done Raven, thank you for allowing me to complete my quest,” said the dragon, though she too sounded a little dazed.

“Thank you Raven,” Arthur said slowly as he raised the crown from her head, “I couldn't have done it without you.”

Raven nuzzled into his side affectionately and he patted her on the neck.

“Well. I guess we can go then,” Arthur shuffled back towards the courtyard.

“Did anyone else expect the castle to crumble as soon as she picked that up or was it just me?” asked Gwaine. There were various mutters of affirmation and some nods.

“I figured there would be some kind of guard dragon rise up from the pit,” Gwen shrugged.

“Ooh that's a good one,” Merlin enthused.

They traipsed through the lower town, discussing various monsters and scenarios they had expected to face. All the while, Arthur kept a look out for any sort of hidden threat or last minute attack. Surely it couldn't be this easy? And he was right.

It was even easier.

As they left the last gate behind them, the dragon turned to face them.

“Alright, who wants a ride home?”

“What do you mean?” Arthur frowned.

“Well, I figure since the quest is done it means I can participate now, right? So again, who wants a ride home?”

Before Arthur could rephrase his question, the dragon turned her face towards the sky and let out an almighty roar that shook the ground beneath their feet. There was an answering roar from off in the distance, and before Arthur could fully comprehend the situation, another dragon was flying into view.

This one was nothing like his travelling companion. Fully grown, it loomed over them, all gold and brown scales, with a wingspan as wide as a jousting ring's length. It also appeared to be laughing at them.

“Greetings dearest niece. I see you've made some new friends.” Though it spoke with the voice of an old man, the sound still boomed from its mouth and made Arthur shake a little in his boots.

“Uncle Kilgharrah!” the dragon chirped happily. “I'm glad it was you in the area and not Aunt Mildred. I don't think she'd be very agreeable to what I'm going to ask.”

“Ask and you shall receive young one.”

The dragon circled around and bunted Arthur forward with her head. “This is Arthur Pendragon. I'm on a quest with him and Merlin and the others to retrieve the lost crown of Camelot. We've succeeded in the retrieval bit and I was wondering if you might be able to fly us back to Tintagel. You know, save us the walk,” the dragon finished sheepishly.

The larger beast bent its neck and gave him a steady look. Arthur felt oddly like he was being measured and stood up straighter.

“So the young Pendragon has come to Camelot at last,” the dragon's gaze fell on Merlin. “And with his warlock too! Good, good,” the dragon chuckled in a surprisingly high timbre. “And we've more alongside them. This is very well done young Pendragon.”

He stopped talking and Arthur realised he was supposed to say something. “Ah. Thank you?”

This set the dragon off again and Arthur wasn't sure if he should feel insulted or not. Merlin slipped a hand into his and interlaced their fingers.

“Destiny can be a funny thing,” the dragon said finally. “Dearest niece, I will grant your request.” With that, the dragon flopped down on its stomach, causing several trees to shake and Gwaine to fall over on rump. They all helped to push and pull each other up on the back of the giant beast, Arthur and Merlin riding together with Gwen and Lancelot and Morgana and Gwaine behind them sitting paired between the ridges of the dragon's back.

“Let us fly,” was the only warning the great dragon gave them before it lifted off the ground and shot upwards, the smaller one and Raven flanking it on either side.

It flew at a leisurely pace, allowing its smaller comrades to keep up with its massive wings. When they grew tired, the dragon flexed its claws and allowed them to settle in its palms. Once it was the sole flyer, it picked up speed, and Arthur was thrown backwards into Merlin's chest.

“This is the strangest thing I've ever done,” Arthur yelled over the wind. Merlin just laughed and let out a whoop of joy.

Tintagel came into view just as the sun began to set. Arthur looked down as they passed over the great wall and waved at the guards, their mouths open in shock.

“There's a field in front of the castle, there should be enough room for you to land,” Arthur shouted to the dragon. It gave no response other than to start the descent at breakneck speeds. It pulled up at the last second to release its niece and Raven before dropping down to the earth on four legs.

Arthur slid off the beast and was pleased to find his legs still worked and if they wobbled a little nothing but Merlin's smirk revealed that anyone else had seen.

“Thanks uncle!” the dragon beamed up at him.

“You are most welcome dear heart. Arthur Pendragon, good luck in the remainder of your quest. I hope to see you again someday.” With one last nod of its head, the dragon spread its wings and pushed into the air with one neat flap. Arthur covered his face as dirt kicked up around him and watched the dragon fly off. When it was nothing more than a speck in the distance, he turned to face his companions.

“I know you're all eager to see this quest through to completion, but I feel it's only fair to warn you. If you follow me into the throne room, it will most likely be a disappointment.”

“But you got the crown!” cried the dragon. “How can they find fault with you?”

“I was meant to do it alone,” said Arthur gently. “In the end, though the crown will bring Tintagel fame, it was never about the end result. It was about testing my skills as a knight, and in that I have failed. I couldn't have completed the quest without any of you and now I must bear responsibility for my actions.” He hung his head.

“Arthur, I'm sorry. This is all my fault.” He opened his eyes to see Merlin standing in front of him, looking more distraught than Arthur had ever seen him. “I shouldn't have pressured you into bringing us along. In the cave, the knight's code seemed like something far off and removed but here in front of your home it's real again and-”

“It's okay,” Arthur interrupted his babbling. “Really,” he ducked his head to meet Merlin's eyes.  “I don't even know if I want to be a knight anymore. It's all I've been trained to do since birth and it'd be nice to have a break from the code for a while. Maybe I'll become a farmer.” He gave Merlin's shoulder a gentle shake.

Merlin snorted. “You'd make a rubbish farmer. You wouldn't know the first thing about crop seasons or planting. Clearly I'd have to come with you.”

“And me,” the dragon chimed in. “I could plough the fields for you.”

“Gwen and I could harvest the crops,” Morgana offered.

“And Lancelot and I could take them to market. No one sells better than a dwarf,” Gwaine winked at him.

“It's decided then,” Arthur laughed. “After I turn in the crown and get a royal tongue lashing we all ditch for Camelot and become farmers.”

There was an answering huzzah and somehow Arthur felt a little more cheered as he started the walk that would end his lifelong dream of knighthood.

As they approached the castle, a regiment of guards came out to meet them, all armed with pikes.

“Arthur!” Leon cried as he pushed his way to the front of the ranks. “What on earth is happening? Scouts are saying they saw you fly in on the back of a dragon!” He did a double-take as he took in the rest of Arthur's companions. “Who are all these…people? And why do you have another dragon? Is that your horse?” he gawked at the flying unicorn hovering beside Arthur's shoulder.

“Sir Leon, I promise you that I will explain everything to Her Majesty if you let us pass,” Arthur held up his hands in a placating gesture.

Leon looked like he wanted to object but Arthur held his gaze steadily. After a tense moment, Leon relented.

“Men, stand down. Arthur and his companions may pass on the strict understanding that he is responsible for their actions.”

“Thank you,” Arthur gave a quick nod and started forward, leading the way to the throne room. Along the way, dozens of curious villagers and nobles alike flanked their party, starring and whispering at the strange creatures ‘that Pendragon boy’ had returned with. When they finally reached the throne room, their party had grown to what Arthur was sure a third of the castle and its inhabitants. Queen Annis was waiting for him, seated calmly on the throne with Mithian by her side. She looked confused but Arthur gave her quick wink and her confusion melted into a smile.

“Thought you said there wasn't anyone waiting for you,” Merlin muttered under his breath.

“There isn't. Mithian is a dear friend but nothing more. And I'm surprised with your great powers of observation you didn't pick up on the way she's eyeing Gwaine,” Arthur shot back.

“My talents are very Arthurcentric,” Merlin conceded.

Arthur would have laughed at that, had his father not broken away from where his mother stood to step in front of him.

“Arthur, what is the meaning of this?” Uther hissed.

“Hello father, if you excuse me a moment, I have something I need to present to the queen,” he replied, stepping deftly around his father.

“Arthur!” Uther cried, aghast.

“Don't worry father, you can ream me out momentarily,” said Arthur cheerily. He spared his mother a brief smile before stopping just short of the dais the twin thrones sat on and dropped to one knee.

“My liege, my lady,” he addressed the queen and Mithian in turn, “I come before you today to present you with the crown of Camelot. Long may it bring the great land of Tintagel fame and glory.” He held the crown out for Annis to inspect.

She took it deftly between her fingers and turned it from side to side, lips pursing as she examined it. “This truly is the crown of the lost kingdom. But tell me, Arthur Pendragon, why is it you have brought this band of vagabonds before my court?”

“Because my liege, they are the true victors in this quest. Without them, I never would have made it passed the first forest, and I certainly wouldn't have been able to retrieve the crown. I was aided every step of the way.” There was a great gasp from the court and Annis drew back onto her throne.

“I see,” she said, her mouth tightening even further.

Uther had apparently stayed quiet for as long as he could manage and exploded. “How could you let this happen Arthur! We have been over the code a thousand times! A knight must prove his worth on his own!” he bellowed.

“Well then I must be worthless,” Arthur stood calmly and turned to address his father, “because I required the help of all of them. And I'm proud of it. The knights code is about chivalry father. It's about working together to make the world a better place to live in. Aiding those who can't aid themselves. To be humble in the face of temptation. To be generous, even when you have nothing. All of the creatures who stand before you have shown each and every one of those values. Merlin taught me that appearances can be deceiving and that sometimes you need to loosen up a little. Morgana taught me to never underestimate a woman's wrath and not to write off those you think are weak. Gwen showed me that the gentlest way is sometimes the most effective way. Lancelot and Gwaine taught me not to judge a person based on their size, and to never underestimate the cunningness of dwarves.” Gwaine gave him a wink and Arthur smiled back.

“Arthur, you brought a dragon with you!” Uther yelled.

“Her name is Aithusa! And she was the glue that kept us all together, never letting us give up even when everything looked hopeless!” Arthur yelled back.

There was a ringing silence and Arthur suddenly remembered he was in the presence of his queen. He turned back to face her and found her expression unchanged.

“Your majesty, I understand that I failed in this quest, and voided my own chances at knighthood. But please, when your chroniclers write this tale, don't make it the story of how I failed. Make it the story of how we all succeeded.” He backed up slowly until he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Merlin.

There was a silence for a moment, and as Arthur stared at the queen, he was certain he saw the corner of her mouth twitch. Just as Uther seemed to be gaining his second wind, there was a sudden clap from behind him. Arthur looked up to see the queen bringing her hands together again and it took him longer than it should of to realise she was clapping. Mithian and Ygraine joined in immediately and slowly the courtiers around them joined in.

Annis held up a hand for silence and the applause petered out, and with it went all the tension in the room.

“Well done Arthur,” the queen said at last. “You have learned the true meaning of the code. That one cannot rely on their own strength alone, but the strength of their brothers, and sisters, in arms. I will grant you your knighthood. Congratulations.” There was the hint of a smile on her face as she finished her pronouncement, and the court burst into applause once more. Uther looked flabbergasted.

“And,” she continued, “since you have made such a compelling case for your companions, I grant them all asylum in Tintagel. They are warriors for the crown indeed.” She settled back on her throne, looking pleased as the applause rose in volume.

No one was celebrating louder than Arthur and his group of misfits. There were cheers and hugs and hair ruffles all around. Mithian ran down from the dais and threw launched herself at Arthur.

“I knew you could do it!” she cried as he spun them around. “Now who's your cute friend? The one with the beard.”

“That's Gwaine, and he's well matched for you. Not a care in the world,” Arthur whispered. She gave him a wink and sidled up to Gwaine. Over Morgana's shoulder, he saw Annis roll her eyes.

“Well done sweetheart,” his mother pulled him into a hug.

“Thank you mother, I'm glad you're proud of me.”

“Arthur,” she pulled back. “I will always be proud of you, even if you fail.” She cupped his face and kissed his forehead. “That goes for your father too.”

They looked in unison to where Aithusa was yapping away at Uther. Uther looked like all his nightmares were coming true.

“Oh dear,” Ygraine tutted, “I better go help the poor dear.” She walked away, leaving Arthur to wonder who the ‘poor dear’ was in that scenario.

“Congratulations sire,” Merlin appeared at his side. “Seems like you got everything you wanted.”

“Not everything,” Arthur sighed dramatically. Merlin frowned and tilted his head to the side.

“What more could you want?”

“Well, the quest is finished now.”

“Yes.”

“I distinctly remember something about you wanting to make me a bit less pure of body. Tell me Merlin, do you know how to walk on your knees?”

Merlin's mouth curved into a wicked grin.

“As you wish, my lord.”