Chapter Text
Mordred watched as his arm thrusted to stab the king of Camelot. But Merlin was there. Emrys? EMRYS!
KILL THEM. KILL THEM. He clenched his head as he fell onto his knees, watching Arthur cradle the unconscious warlock. I TOLD YOU TO KILL THEM.
“Get. Out. Of. My HEAD!” The druid screamed as his eyes flashed gold. The loud voice got banished, leaving his mind clear for the first time in days.
“Mordred.” Merlin called weakly, staring at the younger man.
“Merlin. I’m sorry. I’m so so-”
“It’s fine.” The rare smile given to the fated killer of King Arthur was something that Mordred always wanted, forgiveness. But Merlin couldn’t die. He couldn’t!
“NO!” Morgana’s feral screech could have shook the whole earth as she grew in anger. “WHY DIDN’T YOU DIE!” Rising in fury, Mordred gripped his sword and limped to Morgana. As her hate fueled tirade continued, he got close enough to stab her, the last time her eyes would look at him. She was dead, in an unsatisfying way, doing nothing to soothe his pain. So the young man stood there, staring blankly ahead as the Saxons fled.
“Merlin is asking for you.” Arthur’s voice rang as he called from behind him. Mordred scoffed as he turned to see his king.
“Why should he? I tried to kill you. I guarantee his death.”
“It’s his wish, not mine.”
“I can’t.”
“You weren’t responsible.” A hand on shoulder made him look up to Arthur’s blue eyes, shimmering with barely held back tears.
“I pierced him with my sword. How is it not my fault?”
“Gods, Merlin is so much better at this than me. But it isn't, okay? It was Morgana, who started this whole mess because she wanted the world to be as hurt as she was.” Both men stood quietly for a minute, as if they were just processing the events that passed.
“I’ll go.”
“Thank you.”
“Emrys?” Mordred called as he sat next to his bedside, red blotches on the white bandages covering his torso.
“I thought you would never come.”
“Arthur convinced me.” An awkward silence followed, as Merlin gathered his words.
“He knows. About everything, and all the mistakes I made. Including the fact that I never considered what you were going through.”
“I was going to kill Arthur, you had no right to trust me.”
“Prophecies aren’t set into stone. And you lost your love, I know what that felt like. I never thought that leaving you alone was going to make Morgana take advantage of it.”
“... I’m sorry.”
“You should stop saying that. Death drives the hearts of men mad and burdened. I chose this. At least I’ll finally die now in peace.”
“I don’t know if Arthur could ever forgive me. Or let me live.”
“I would haunt him from Avalon if he mistreats you.”
“Just one last favor?”
“Anything.”
“Watch Arthur and his family. Make sure they’re safe.”
“I will.”
“Thank you.”
Arthur watched as the boat drifted from the shore, almost the entire population of the citadel attending. Merlin, still (he was never still) and cold (he was always radiating a bright warmth. Where did it go?) was laid on a boat, hands clasped around his staff. Gwen laid her head on his shoulder as she watched the citizens leave flowers floating in the lake, all in shades of red and blue. And lanterns, cream paper lanterns with scraps of thank yous hanging on them were sent across the sky, hoping that some deity would allow them to reach his hearing even in death. While everybody had a fear of sorcerers, no one could fear Merlin, who was the resident favorite. No one could stand there and condemn him when he saved their kingdom from destruction. But Arthur stood there. He stood there for hours, watching until the flowers sank and the lanterns fell, until the knights herded him away. There was no way to say a proper goodbye to his friend.
10 years later:
No man, no matter how great, can understand his destiny. He cannot glimpse into the workings of the author that is jotting the story onto paper and thus into life. Like everyone, he must walk through blindly, experiencing life and learning on the way. And so it will also be for the young warlock born and raised in the great castle of Camelot, the center of life in Albion. There, a boy that will soon come across the fate that destiny has thrust upon him because of a diverging path. In a land of myth and the time of magic, the final destiny of a great kingdom will be shaped through the hands of a young boy. His name: Merlin Pendragon.