This was written as a request-fic for Princess Falling Star, and it is the 6th fic for "The Request Game". However, I liked the idea and got into it, so much so, that before I realized I had nineteen pages already written and and more coming. ^^;

Special thanks to TeganL74 who did a wonderful job betaing it. And thanks for the nags too :P It does me a world of good. ;)

Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

.*.

The Stray Dragonlord ~ for Princess Falling Star

Where Merlin is raised by Kilgharrah

Slight slash; Arthur/Merlin

~.*.~

"Merlin, humans live with humans. Not dragons."

"No."

"It would be time.."

"No." he said, looking straight into those golden eyes for a second, then turned back to focus on what he was doing: balancing on two stones in the shallow creek with a pole in his hand.

"You will need to do this."

"No!" he cut him off again, not even looking behind.

Kilgharrah sighed. He was getting too old for this.

"It would be good for you to start living with people!"

"I don't wanna.." he murmured.

The great dragon let out a puff which sent a little cloud of steam up the air.

"You will "wanna" because there is a destiny waiting for you that you won't fulfill riding across the land with me and spending your time lazing around or fishing," the magical creature snapped and got up to walk off.

The boy mumbled something of a growl but just kept his gaze focused on the water, then he thrust forward, cursing under his breath when the fish got away.

They had this conversation each day, recently; the dragon becoming more and more insistent on the matter and it irked the young warlock to no end. Kilgharrah had told him tales about destiny and Albion and the future, but Merlin figured everything was fine, so why change it now?

About one hour (and two fish) later, Merlin picked his head up to some distant voices and rustling in the bushes. He frantically ran his gaze along the forest line; trying to determine where they were coming from. Unfamiliar voices he somehow still knew, and he peeked behind him only to realize the dragon wasn't there anymore.

A twig snapped and he jumped, eyeing the trees. The voices were getting louder; there were people coming towards him and from the sounds of it, they were on horses. Slowly their figures broke out from the tree line at the small clearing, some distance across from where Merlin stood in the creek, and the warlock looked on with wide eyes. The men were wearing red capes and chain-mail, and for the moment they were preoccupied with getting out and around the lower branches of the trees, which densely reached towards the ground, making it hard for the riders to pass.

Merlin knew who they were in an instant, and he feared them.

After snapping out of the initial shock, he tossed the fishing pole away and darted towards where he figured the great dragon could be.

"Kilgharrah! Kilgharrah! Humans are coming! The red and silver humans on horses!"

The dragon picked his head up to the sound of the young man's voice, echoing in his mind. Red and silver hm? Camelot patrol for sure, he figured, and acting on some sudden idea, he got up and stretched his wings. This could be a good opportunity to have Merlin join his kind and finally move onto living with humans.

"Hey! You!" he heard someone shout.

So he flapped his large wings and with a jump, he was in the air.

Just at the moment his young ward's figure stormed out through the bushes, running straight at him.

"Kilgharrah!"

But the dragon gave him a single glance and flew off, determined to leave him behind.

"Stop right there!" a horseman shouted, and the great dragon could see several of them breaking through the greenery and catching up to the young man.

"Kilgharrah!" He shrieked with horror, only audible to the dragon.

It's for his own good. The dragon tried to steady himself in his decision, as he got higher and further away from the ground.

He then heard a defense spell in the tongue of his kin, and a glance back showed him the horses running off and the riders scattered on the ground, knocked off their mounts. Some were getting to their feet, drawing their swords and the warlock kept backing away.

"Kilgharrah! I command you to take me with you!" He roared in the ancient tongue and the dragon had no choice but to return for him. The knights, seeing the approaching beast, backed away and started running for their lives. Looking back, they caught only a glimpse of when the dragon lowered himself close to the ground, picking the scrawny figure up, and soon they vanished in the sky.

"H-HOW DARE YOU L-LEAVE ME THERE?!" The boy clamored and the dragon couldn't help but feel a bit guilty as in his grip he could feel every pulse and every breath that was in the small body of the warlock; also he could sense his tremors and the dread that filled his small human heart. "Don't you ever do that to me again!" He added in a half-sob, and as much as the great dragon had sturdiness when he woke that morning, it only lasted till that moment.

He said nothing for a while. The boy was dear to him, it saddened his heart when he was upset.

Merlin was furious.

"I won't do it."

Kilgharrah sighed once again and decided to give it a rest; at least for a while.

Stubborn lad that baby grew up to be, he thought to himself.

Nearing the mountains, he peeked down only to notice Merlin had fallen asleep in his grasp. It wasn't unusual for the young man to sleep during flights, but the dragon couldn't help but wonder if he hadn't flown too high again. As much as Merlin's behavior irked him sometimes, and would really put Kilgharrah's trained-in-decades-time patience to the test, he cared a great deal about the dark haired boy, and caring for him was the least he could do to repay a sacrifice as great as his parents had made for the dragon.

He landed on the cliff and once he stepped inside the cave, he let the body he was carrying drop onto a stack of hay that served as the sleeping place for his human companion. He sniffed him slightly and was relieved that indeed the boy just fell asleep during the flight and showed nothing irregular about his breathing or heartbeat.

Merlin turned to his other side, mumbled something in his sleep and pulling his legs up, continued his slumber.

Kilgharrah strutted deeper inside the cave and lay down, curling his long tail around himself. Looking at the young warlock, he pondered how he would get him to go back to the human world.

It has been nearly twenty years ago that his father, a dragonlord, the very last, chose to flee from Camelot, refusing to imprison him, Kilgharrah. But Uther Pendragon wasn't known to give up on something he wanted, his reach even going further then his borders to force his will onto the dragonlord, or make him pay with his life for his defiance.

Balinor was a smart man. He knew the tyrant would use any means to get what he wanted, so he decided not to let his woman and newborn son fall into the clutches of such a man; thus deciding to run from Ealdor, and take his family with him.

It was a good plan, Kilgharrah agreed. It just didn't work out quite that way..

The great dragon let out a deep sigh, drifting back to the present from his thoughts, looking over at the curled up figure on the ground.

He turned his head towards the middle of the cave, and with a puff the fireplace had flames dancing in it. Night would fall on them soon and he had learnt that keeping a human warm needed more than just a thick skin.

He was wise, yet he was amazed at the amount of things he had to learn, bringing up the son of the dragonlord. The last dragon caring for the last dragonlord.

Kilgharrah smiled, sensing the boy to be waking.

Merlin stretched, yawned, scratched his messy dark long flocks and then just lay looking at the fire, eventually looking up at the great dragon.

"I fell asleep again." He stated.

"I might have flown a bit too high," the dragon said. "And I'm sorry about the fish." The dragon thought of the catch the boy had in his grip, just before they heard the riders approaching.

Merlin gave a wide grin.

"Don't be." He then sat up and reached to his neck, pulling out a string from around it and eventually the two fish pinned on it emerged from under his tattered shirt.

"So that's what smelled. And here I was thinking of suggesting you take a bath," the dragon giggled.

The boy smiled, proudly looking at his catch.

Looking on as the young dragonlord started preparing his meal at the fireplace, the dragon lowered his head and let his thoughts drift off once again, to think up a way to have the boy return to his kind. The task at hand seemed to be more difficult then he thought it would be.

.

"It is a privilege, Great Dragon, to care for the young Emrys." He recalled a druid chieftain's voice from some years ago. "However, the boy is not a druid. He is a creature of magic. He is most welcome here, but I fear he is not happy." And Kilgharrah remembered a very sulky young boy kicking stones around the edge of the camp.

Yes, indeed he had tried to have the boy get raised and live with the druids. And Iseldir was more than happy to help, knowing well of the prophecies about the young warlock, destined to change the land and help create Albion. It worked while he was a mere baby and needed taking care of, but as he grew older, it became more obvious that magic or not, he was different then the druids.

And so they decided that the dragon would take the boy with him, but come back every now and again and bring Merlin with him, so he could get used to being around people.

However after a while, when Kilgharrah came by with the young warlock in his grasp, all they found were torn tents, shredded homes, dead bodies and missing druids; and Kilgharrah knew that Uther had found the druid camp.

"Where are the druids, Kilgharrah?" the small child asked.

"They are gone, Merlin. They are dead."

"What killed them?"

"Hatred."

.

Kilgharrah didn't dare look for other camps. The boy was old enough to be around the dragon without problems; and the creature could sense his young kin felt safest with him.

He taught him of magic; and he taught him of kings and people; he taught him about destiny and doing the right thing, and the boy, Merlin, proved to be a good apprentice. However when it came to going back to live with people, he didn't even want to hear about it. And as the time to act was fast approaching, Kilgharrah was getting fidgety about it. Little did he know that the opportunity would present itself, and that he should just be patient, like he himself had always advised the young warlock to be.

.

"Bringing something home again, Merlin?" The dragon turned to face the warlock the next day, as he heard him carrying something inside the cave.

It wasn't the first time the boy came back to the cave with some animal in his arms, wanting to keep it as pet. Kilgharrah understood that it was because he felt lonely, and longed for company that wasn't a few decades old, like himself; however explaining it to the boy was a downright impossible task, and his stubbornness tired even the aged dragon. Of course the animals got scared of the magical creature, and at the first opportunity, escaped from their new 'home'; once night settled in and their young 'owner' fell asleep. Accusations were flying the next day, as Merlin always suspected Kilgharrah had eaten his pets, which of course the old dragon was growing increasingly tired of (well, except for that time Merlin brought back a sheep to the cave. Yes. He did eat that one, but the boy doesn't have to know.)

Sometimes however, arguments escalated to fury.

"I will eat YOU if you don't quit this foolishness right now!" Kilgharrah thundered, and a few ground shaking steps later, he flew off into the sky and disappeared, leaving the young warlock on his own to 'cool down'.

But he later returned, like he would do each night, whenever they had a fallout, and his ancient heart softened at the sight of the curled up human form; more so when he saw clear tear stains on his dirty cheeks.

"I'm sorry Kilgharrah," he whimpered half awake, once he noticed his guardian return. Rubbing his eyes and turning over to face him, smudging the dirt on his face even more, his cheeks still damp from tears. "I didn't mean it.."

"I know.. It's alright," his giant protector said, gently rubbing the boys back with the very tip of his tail until Merlin fell asleep again.

.

His newest "pet candidate" however, was completely different and it left even the great dragon with widened eyes.

"Merlin, you cannot keep a human as a pet," Kilgharrah said categorically, after he got over the surprise.

"But he is injured," the boy said with a hint of whining in his voice, "and the rest of them are dead."

"Dead?"

"Yes, just below the mountain. The red and silver ones."

The creature stepped closer, then noticed something he found very much familiar on the human form, especially his scent, and as it brought back memories for a second. He felt dread creep up under his scales.

"Turn him over; let me have a look at him."

Merlin knelt down next to the figure on the ground and looked up at the dragon, before turning him on his back. "You can't eat him!" he said warningly.

"Hm.. I see." Kilgharrah smiled inwardly once he recognized the injured man. The time has come indeed.

"You will need to heal him Merlin," he said

"Me?!"

"Yes, you. He will also need a poultice for that wound."

"I can gather the herbs faster, why don't you just heal him?"

"I cannot. For that injury, healing magic alone won't be enough."

"How can dragon's magic be not enough?" Merlin furrowed his brow.

"Because what he needs is genuine care, not just magic."

Merlin looked at him, puzzled, and decided that just didn't make any sense to him.

"Besides, the herbs he needs are far from here, I can reach them faster than you.

Tend to his wounds Merlin, I'll be back shortly."

And with that he flew off, and left the very confused warlock to tend to the injured Prince of Camelot.

~.*.~