Hello, hello, hello, my loves!
Gif is a brokenhearted Merlin.
Summary: Merlin is brokenhearted and sends Rose away. Seth goes after him to fix everything.

     Rose had spent the better part of the night pondering over what to do, picking the petals off all the roses, until she finally made up her mind to tell Merlin her secret.
     She rushed out the door of the cabin in time for the sun to rise over the horizon. Bright light surrounded her and she transformed back into the princess she was.
     At that moment, Merlin appeared, walking up the hill toward her. She rushed toward him. "Merlin! I need to talk to you!"
     "No need, Princess. I heard everything last night. Like you said, 'Who could ever love a freak?'"
     "I thought that wouldn't matter to you."
     "Yea...well...it does." For a moment, Merlin's pain showed clearly on his face. Then, suddenly, there was the sound of horns blowing. "Right on time! Princess, I brought you a little present."
     Over the hill came an entourage of horses. At the front was a pure black horse ridden by a man in long black robes.
     "Princess Rosalia!" He called in excitement.
     "Just as I promised. Now give me what I came for." Merlin said, angrily.
     "Fine! The deed to the Darkling Woods, freed from all the fairytale creatures. Take it and get out!"
     Merlin took it.
     While Merlin took a moment to look over the document, he secretly watched with a broken heart as Karayan professed his undying love to Rose and asked for her hand in marriage.
     At this point, Rose paused a moment to look at Merlin. Part of him wanted to let go of his pride and beg her to refuse the would-be king's proposal but the other part was too heart-broken to care. And once Rose saw that look in his eyes, she accepted the king's proposal, her only wish being that they married that very evening before sunset.
     Karayan lifted Rose behind him onto his horse and the pair left. Merlin turned and began to walk the other way when Seth suddenly appeared and followed him.
     "Merlin! Wait! You can't just let her go!"
     "Of course I can! She doesn't love me! She never loved me!"
     "You don't understand! Look, I talked to her last night-"
     "I know you did! You're best friends, aren't you?! Now just go home with her!"
     "Merlin, I wanna go with you!"
     "No!!"
     Merlin ran off.
                           * * * * *
     As the day progressed, all three parties went about their day, all of them feeling upset.
     Merlin went back to the Darkling Woods. As expected, the woods were deserted. His cabin was just the way he'd left it. He sat down and tended the fire but his mind was miles away. He loved his home but with Rose and Seth gone, he felt empty.
     Rose and Karayan had made it to Duloc. It was a lot bigger than she had expected. The second they arrived, she was bombarded by servants dressing her and asking her preferences for the wedding. Karayan was no help at all for the only thing he seemed to be concerned with was looking good in front of his mirror. This was not what she expected.
     Seth had left Merlin and shapeshifted into his wolf form before racing off away into the crisp morning air. It was several hours and miles later that he stopped to rest and grab a drink of water.
     Just as he had shapeshifted into his human form and gulped down some water from a nearby lake, he heard the sound of flapping wings next to him.
     Seth turned in time to see Callista shift into her human form. He ran over to her as she ran over to him and they hugged.
     "Callista, how did you escape?"
     "I got lucky." She shrugged, nonchalantly.
     Seth suddenly had an idea and he quickly explained it to Callista. She agreed with him. And thus, they raced off to find Merlin.
                          * * * * *
     Merlin was sitting at his kitchen table, head in his hands, lamenting his entire situation. If only he hadn't have wanted so badly to clear out his home. If only he hadn't have gone to Duloc. If only he hadn't have accepted Karayan's deal. If only he hadn't have gone on the journey and met Rose. If only he hadn't fallen in love with her. These thoughts kept chasing themselves inside his head.
     Merlin wasn't sure how long he sat there, just brooding in his thoughts before he was pulled back to reality by a knock at the door. He walked over to the door and opened it to reveal Seth.
     "What the heck?!"
     "No time to explain. We gotta go!"
     "Where?"
     "To rescue Rose!"
     "She doesn't want me. I'm not going."
     "SHUT UP!!" Merlin was taken aback and Seth took his chance to finish his thoughts. "We are going to save Rose because I'm not going to sit here and let my best friend walk away from the best thing that's ever happened to him! You love Rose and she very clearly loves you!"
     "Loves me?! She called me a freak!"
     "She wasn't talking about you. She was talking about...er...someone else."
     A confused look passed Merlin's face. "So...she really does love me?" Then he realized, "The wedding! We'll never make it in time!"
     "Never fear! I have a solution!"
     Suddenly, a large dragon appeared. With an excited cry, Merlin and Seth leapt atop her and Callista flew off.
                         * * * * *
     Now Merlin, Seth, and Callista appeared at the gates of Duloc. When the guards saw them, they tried to stop the trio but Callista put a stop to that with her fire.
     Merlin raced into the church, Seth following close behind.
                          * * * * *
     The church was jam-packed full of princes and princesses. Rose stood before the crowd in a beautiful white dress, Karayan at her side.

     The preacher was just about to declare them as husband and wife when Merlin suddenly burst through the doors, shouting, "I object!!"
     Everyone froze as Merlin raced into the church. Finally, after a few moments, Karayan spoke up, "Now really? It's rude being alive when no one wants you but to show up uninvited to a wedding!"
     "Rose, I have to talk to you. You can't marry him!"
     "And why not?"
     "Because he's not your true love!"
     "And what would you know about true love?"
     Merlin gave a sheepish grin. Karayan saw the look and started laughing. "Oh this is precious! The sorcerer freak has fallen in love with the princess!"
     "Merlin, is this true?"
     "Who cares?! It's preposterous! A freak like him doesn't belong to a princess like you!"
     Rose stared at Karayan for a moment before she turned to Merlin, then to the window where the sun was setting.
     "By day one way, by night another...I have a confession to make."
     Then Rose took a step back as the sun set completely behind her. A suddenly light engulfed her and she prepared herself for the shocked faces that would surely be waiting on the other side.
To be continued...

Sorry for the long wait.