On his return to Camelot, Gaius had made Merlin a tincture from the plant Arthur had brought, to take days before they left to prepare his body for safe travel. It had made him very tired, and Arthur felt he was tired in sympathy as when he woke he felt as though he had been training with his knights all nigt, not resting. He hadn't told Merlin what the faries had said for fear of scaring or worrying him, but nothing seemed to have happened to him curse-like since, so he brushed it off. Maybe Merlin's magic protected him from curses. Some days later Arthur was summoned to the throne room to consult with his father the king.

"Arthur, many reports have come in of a dragon around Camelot." Uther pronounced as Arthur stood in front of him. Arthur gasped and a shocked muttering went around the room. This was unheard of for many years now and a dragon would be a great threat both to the people of Camalot and also their livelihoods.

"That cannot be! The dragons were all destroyed in the Great Purge!" Arthur said aghast at the news. His father had told him many times of the great purge and how magic had been driven out of the city.

"Never the less, these reports keep coming. I want you to go out and investigate and see if you can find this beast. No one has reported and death or livestock being taken, but fear is spreading and we cannot have that." Uther proclaimed.

"Of course my father. I will take my best knights and go at once" Arthur nodded firmly and Uther waved a hand to dismiss him. Arthur beckoned his knights Leon, Gwain, Perival, Owaine,Kay, Lancalot Bors and Galahad and they went together to the amoury to prepare themselves for this scouting mission. There was no way they would be able to defeat the dragon but if they could find it then they would be able to gather enough forces to defeat it once they knew where it was and what it's movement were.

They left soon after as the Morning sun still hung in the sky brightening the land with it's bright and fresh light. A soft wind blew still carrying the chill of winter down from the mountains and the strems were gushing with the melting ice and snow that had fallen on the mountains in the previous winter months. They rode in a long line on their horses, first north to Greenswood, and Willowdale, but no one could tell them anything more. A great red dragon was seem flying over the villages and farms, breathing fire into the sky and screming into the night, but it had not attacked nor hurt anyone nor taken any livestock or burned any dwellings. No one had seem whence it had come from nor where it went. It seemed to be a fruitless task. They followed the stories south west to Howden but the same stories abounded. They rode back into Camelot as the sun set dimly over the land, having not gained any new knowledge, but they had all enjoyed the days ride and the oppurtunity to meet the people who lived under Camelot's rules.

They entered into the throwne room that eve upon their return, travelweary and worn to present to Uther the news of their travels.

"Sire, no one can tell us anything more about the dragon. It seems it just circles the settlements breathing fire and screaming a most horrible sound and then leaves in the direction of Camelot, but no one has seen it beyond the woods and there is no sign of it living anywhere." Arthur said, unhappy that the trip have not been more productive and he had no further news for the king.

"This is most diasappointing news" Said Uther with a stern frown touching his face in thought.

"You say no people have been hurt?" He asked after a moment, looking at Arthur.

"No sire, they're only scared but no damage has been done to any people or their poseisons" Arthur confirmed.

"That is a releif. We will do what we can to assure the people, but as no one is being hurt, it would be fooolish to waste the knights on such a foolish endevour. We'll keep a watch for further news." Arthur was torn. He knew that the dragon was a thrat that they should not leave but Merlin was due to have the child soon, and he could think of thonthing worse than to tbe torn from his side at this time.

"Yes father" Aurthur agreed, and Uther dismissed him with a regal wave of his hand. Arthur hurried away to find Merlin; he found that he missed him dreadly when they were apart and longed to hold him in his arms once more o chase away the disappointment of disappointing his father in that he could not find the dragon.

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That night the darkness fell like a blacket of silence over Camelot, broken only by the distance hoots of owls and other nighttime animals scurrying around in the darkness. The taverns were all quite and emptry, and everyone lay at rest in their homes. Merlin was not exception, as he was also curled up in the massive bed he shared with Airthur, sleeping soflty and soundly in the darkest part of the night.

Suddenly, and without warning, Merlin was jolted awake from the deep sleep that he had been in. His pulse was racing like the galloping hooves of a stallion racing through the Fields of Pellinor. And he gasped as he awoke. His whole body was shaken from his nightmare though the image faded to transcendent dust before his minds eye. He slowly started to get back his bearings and remembered he was sit in his bed. Blindly in the glooming dark he reached out a slender hand for Arthur searchingly, only to find the other side of the bed empty as a void, like the Caves of Balor in the night. Merlin was panicked.

One of the windows was open a crack, which Merlin found strange, but then he calmed. He was just perfoming a balancing act on a nervous knife edge from his dream, he reasoned. Arthur had clearly woken up during the night and then got out of bed for a stroll: he had done it before. Merlon shook himself lightly for worrying over nothing and he settled himself back down in the soft billowy bedding to sleep with a smile deciding it must just be the baby and the pregnancy hormones making hims worry like a mother whose son was away at war over nothing when ususally he would be relaxed. Arthur would be back. Arthur always came back.