A.N.:// Behold, the final chapter :)


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Down on the court yard, bodies lay scattered on the ground. The knights, both Camelot's and Mercia's men, died where they stood. Fighting each other, impaling each other.
And half of them didn't even know why.

How cruel battles are.
In a war, there is no winner.
You cannot end a war by fighting it.
Peace is neither the result, nor the solution of war.
Peace is a stop sign. Peace is merely a pause before rich people feel confident enough to be greedy again.

And maybe, the darkness that had settled over the world had pressed a button.
The whole world stopped. For just a few moments, the knights were too scared to fight. Too terrified to reside in anything but peace.

Some people, who one second ago had tried to stab each other, were now sharing shelter behind walls and open doors.
Because it was never a good sign when the entire world turned dark.

And then the Castle tower exploded in bluish light.
What a sight that must be. When shock wave after shock wave hits you. And you can suddenly feel feelings that are not your own.
Fear, sadness, pain. So much pain.
But also love. Love for magic. For Camelot. For Arthur. For Merlin.
Neither of the knights was connected enough to either of them to actually see the memories. But they could faintly feel what they had felt over the years.

There was shame. There was desperation. The whole world felt blue. And from the ground, forgetmenots started to grow.
Blue and golden they sprouted, like they wanted the world to remember that everything has a price.
That life brought only death. And death granted new life.

Arthur Pendragon could not see his knights. Could not feel what they felt.
But he already felt more than enough.
So much that his mind decided it needed to stop. That he would only feel numb now.
Because numbness was what he needed. He would explode with anger and fear and hatred otherwise. Like his father once did.

He barely noticed the relief he felt over Merlin's resurrection. And he knew that Merlin knew that.
After all, their souls were linked now. Because Merlin's soul had been contained in a jar that bore Arthur's memories as well as his own.
They had shared their jar. Their memories. Everything. Now they didn't share a soul. They were still two separate people. But they shared a bond. Stronger and more pressing than any other anyone has ever born witness to.

"Arthur?", Merlin didn't have to say it. Arthur could hear him in his mind. But Merlin said it anyway.
Because he knew that someone needed to say something, to get Arthur out of the dark hole he was currently trapped in.
After all, he just held the dead body of one of his honorary siblings in his arms.
Katie was dead. And she looked oh so peaceful.
There can be peace in war. It's in death.

Arthur cried. It wasn't even a held back kind of crying.
No I-need-to-look-strong-attempt at holding it in.
There was no I'm-too-resigned-to-feel-anything-so-I'm-literally-unable-to-cry kind of numbness.
Arthur was full on sobbing at the body in his arms.

He had forbidden her to visit Merlin and him in their hut on the other side of the lake. And they never visited her. Because they couldn't risk being found.
He had neglected his duties as her tutor. All they had done was write.
He had abandoned her too.
And he hadn't even apologized for calling her a monster.

He would never see her open curious eyes ever again. He would never see her grow up. He would never see her become the awesome witch she was destined to be.
This was all that was left of her. A body. And a legacy.
Flesh and bones and blood. Cooling in his arms. A lost and empty glance in her eyes. Determination.
And fear.

Arthur's cries were loud and they echoed in the room full of people. It didn't matter, because whatever he did always lead to despair.
He was done.
He was so done.
Nothing could ever cheer him up.
He wanted this to end.

He needed this to stop.

If peace was merely a stop sign between wars, then Arthur wanted to raise the fucking white flag.
Who cares what Mercia wants? Just give them everything, so they just stop making everyone suffer.
"I need this to end.", Arthur voiced his thoughts. His voice hoarse from crying. Nobody commented on it.
Arthur had lost too much in too little time. His heart felt wrung out. Like someone had decided to twist it in every direction of pain. To make him feel everything. In utmost detail.

Merlin paled and Arthur knew that for a second Merlin waited for another genocide order.
But Merlin should know better.

"I don't want anyone to get hurt ever again. This war needs to stop. No matter how. And it needs to end now."

Merlin's shoulders slumped at that and he looked deep into Arthur's soul.
He had nothing to hide. He couldn't. But he wouldn't either.
"Okay.", Merlin whispered and went over to press a kiss to Arthur's head.
He didn't need to say more.
They felt the same.
Arthur closed his eyes at the brief contact. A simple, kind gesture can comfort a man. It wasn't nearly enough. But it was something at least.

Merlin rose up to his full height and turned towards the window that Katie had arrived in.

Then he rose both his hands and breathed.
Golden waves surrounded him, as he inhaled the magic of the world. And then he basically flew out the window.
High above the battlefield he floated, sending golden glowering glances towards Camelot's enemies.

He could hear the panic in their voices. Nobody was sure what he would do, what he was ordered to do.
But the thing was, Arthur never gave an order. Because Arthur would never force Merlin to follow an order.
Merlin could settle this his own way.
And ironically Merlin's way was Arthur's way.

"The king of Camelot demands that you put down your weapons now.", Merlin's voice echoed over the entire crowd.
It resonated within everyone's heads. And everywhere they whispered his name.
"Emrys."
"The shadow."

If they waited for death and destruction, that was not what they were going to get.
Those who knew what Merlin was capable of, didn't waste a second to put down their weapons and lay themselves on the ground to show they were willing to obey.
It wouldn't matter, if they defended themselves or not. If Merlin was ordered to kill, they would all die.
But Merlin wasn't ordered to do anything.
That's not the kind relationship he had with Arthur.

Those who didn't know who Merlin was, hesitated, before they followed their crew mates examples. Because who would be so stupid to fight a glowing demigod like creature that flew in the sky and made half an army drop their weapons and themselves to the ground?
Seriously. Who would be that dumb?
People with power are.

That's how the king of Mercia came out of the shadows and stood tall before his men. Scolding them for being cowards.

Merlin settled before him. His feet hit the ground almost gently. And magic emerged from his feet into the earth itself, as he did so.
Circles and runes embedded themselves into the earth as though Merlin truly was nothing short of a god. One who had been summoned by someone.
But Merlin wasn't summoned by anyone. Because he was free now. Because he was with Arthur now.

"King of Mercia. My king demands that you and your knights retreat to your own lands. This war is over."

The king scoffed. His scanning old eyes showed that he was only mildly intimidated by Merlin's glowing eyes and the way the world seemed to surround him. Rather than him being but a pawn on a giant field of chess.

"I want to speak to your king. King Mordred has committed crimes against all the kingdoms except my own. He has started wars with my alliances. And I know that YOU are the one who slaughtered their armies!
I have an informant in your castle! And he has shown me the negotiations between -"

"Enough."
Merlin didn't need to yell, to make the king shut up. There was no sound escaping his lips as Merlin's magic forced him to be quiet.
The king's eyes widened. He grabbed for his throat. But he could still breathe. Merlin had just stopped him from talking.

"My king is Arthur Pendragon. The once and future king. And he demands peace. For all of Albion."

The king's eyes narrowed. And Merlin let him speak again.
"The prince who ran away from his duties? The one your people ghosted as soon as king Uther died?"
The old man stepped forward, his robes reflecting the golden glow of Merlin within their expensive decorations. Gold buttons and yarn, webbed into the purple fabric.
"And now you! The shadow! Destroyer of armies! YOU follow HIS orders?"

Merlin sighed. "Arthur wants nothing but peace. And a chance to properly negotiate."
"Did he negotiate with king Mordred when he took his crown?", the king shot back. Now he held his sword in Merlin's direction. But only a wave of Merlin's hand and the weapon became one with the wind. It disappeared. There was nothing left but golden dust.
The king stumbled back in fear.
Unarmed... even the most powerful men are nothing short of complete helplessness.

"Mordred has given Arthur the crown willingly.
Now, please. Follow me inside. Arthur would love to grant you hospitality, so you can discuss matters of peace over dinner."
Merlin turned around and waved his hand. Not in a magical gesture. But it was still an order.

The king of Mercia, completely bewildered by this development, had no choice but to follow Merlin.
Through the bodies of dead knights and whoever else had been out there as a collateral damage.
And while they passed, Merlin's magic began to repair what has been broken, to heal what has been hurt and to regrow what had been damaged.
The entire court yard was covered in glowing lights. And maybe it was this wonder that kept the king of Mercia quiet.
And willing to listen.

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Arthur resumed to his rightful place on the throne of Camelot.
It hadn't been an easy decision on his part. Just -
He had lost so much during the war. That Lancelot, Morgana and Gwaine had returned from the battle nearly unharmed was nothing short of a miracle.
He knew everything there was to know about Merlin now. But that didn't mean they were completely done discussing everything that had happened.
They couldn't possibly return to their home at the lake of Avalon. Too much had happened. Arthur couldn't bring himself to return there and Merlin seemed to agree.
The place, would, however, be their personal vacation residence.

Arthur began by declaring that magic would be kept legal.
And Morgana would become court sorcerer.
Leon would become his royal advisor, as he had been a trustworthy voice during the years of Arthur's absence to Mordred.
Mordred was the one who had asked Arthur to do him this favor. As Leon was the only neutral and objective voice he had been able to count on.
As Agravaine was a traitor, Kara was manipulating him for power and Merlin was being controlled by all three of them.

Mordred himself was declared Morgana's ward. Mostly because Morgana still wanted him around. She was still wary of Merlin alias Emrys. But she had decided that maybe.... one day she would be able to decide how she would die.
And whether that would be tomorrow when Merlin stumbled on her with a knive or in a thousand years, when Merlin and her decided they've lived long enough, she would wait for it.
After all, it might be her destiny to die by his hands.
But maybe they could decide... how and why it would happen.

Lancelot and Gwaine were officially knighted, and a few changes had been made to the knights code.
Such as : "raiding villages is hereby forbidden by the penalty of banishment, loosing one's title or another penalty fitting the crime committed."
Lancelot was also proclaimed first knight after Leon's position had changed.

Arthur also reinstalled the round table to Camelot.

The hardest day after all the wars however, was when Arthur had to ride back to Brieldier to hold Katie's burial with her parents.
Their shocked and exasperated faces would be forever burned within Arthur's memory. And he knew Merlin shared that feeling among other things.
Nothing was worse than the funeral of a child.
But there was a strange kind of comfort radiating from the gently and kind way that Merlin bedded her within a small boat, like he had done with Freya once.
Covered in flowers. Forgetmenots, of course.
After all...
They had always been her favorites.

And when Arthur, Merlin and Katie's parents watched the boat burst into flames... they could hear laughing in the distance.
If you looked any closer, you might see Freya pulling down the boat and welcoming her friend to the lake of Avalon.
Where they would guard over the gates together. Neither of them alone ever again.

For the remaining time of Arthur's reign, he would make peace with all the kingdoms.
He didn't force them into peace, even though most of them initially thought Arthur did.
After all, the kingdoms feared nothing more than Arthur's personal manservant and husband. But Merlin was only doing what he had always done. Protecting Arthur and Camelot.
That was all. He wouldn't fight the wars of other kings for anyone else.
He would only help Arthur keep the quiet they had now.
And that didn't effort any deaths or wars. It demanded the opposite.
It demanded nothing at all.

For Arthur and Merlin it was surprisingly hard to go back to their relationship after that, because so much had changed. But at this point in their lives, they knew they would manage it.
Not just because of their vows. But because they loved each other. They always had, in a way. The way they loved each other had just changed.
And they were stronger for it.
They just needed to figure out how the changes affected them. They would figure it out eventually.

And because death had parted them once, when Arthur freed Merlin from Agravaine's chains,
Arthur would just have to ask Merlin to marry him again.