Chapter Text
Ch 35: Once And Future
They carried Merlin down to the lake first thing in the morning. It didn't matter that Gwaine and Arthur only had a few hours of sleep each. They managed to rouse Merlin long enough to force some water and medicine down his throat, but the warlock fell back to sleep before they could give him any food.
"Let's go," Arthur said as he hefted Merlin into his arms. It was a short walk to the lake shore and Arthur gently set Merlin down before looking across the serene surface of the lake. He felt a little foolish talking to a lake, but he didn't have any fancy words to summon help. Stick with what you know, Arthur thought. "Ahem, excuse me, may I have your attention?" Arthur called, voice echoing across the lake. He ignored the bout of laughter from Gwaine behind him. He felt ridiculous enough as it was without Gwaine rubbing it in. Merlin had better appreciate what Arthur did for him when the fool was finally healed, Arthur thought viciously as he stepped closer to the lake. What kind of person walked into three injections of a drug that would obviously poison them anyway? Self-sacrificing idiots, Arthur silently answered his own question
"My friend, you may know him – Merlin, or Emrys I guess – is very injured and he needs your help." His voice picked up momentum and volume as he addressed the lake. "I am asking the Sidhe – or any other inhabitant of this lake, or follower of the Old Religion who can help me – to please heal my friend. The world will not be the same place without him."
Silence met his words. The wind gently stirred ripples in the surface of the lake which lapped at the shore a few inches from his feet. Arthur waited anxiously for a few minutes, even past the point when it became obvious no help was coming from this quarter. He hung his head in despair as he turned away from the lake. Plan B then.
"The Sidhe refuse to help," a familiar sweet voice said clearly from behind him.
Arthur swiveled on his feet so quickly to face the lake that he almost lost his balance. He didn't see anything on the lake, his keen eyes searching for signs of movement, until finally he glanced down.
Freya grinned up at him from below the surface of the lake.
"Freya!" Arthur greeted in surprise.
"Hello, Arthur. As you can see, I was offered my old post as guardian of the lake - apparently there was an immortal vacancy," Freya said wryly. "Now, what is wrong with Merlin?"
Arthur quickly explained the story to her in hopes that she would be able to do something for the man. Freya listened carefully, eyes not revealing her thoughts about what had occurred.
"Can you place one of his hands in the water, so I can assess his injuries?"
Arthur nodded frantically, and scrambled to move Merlin closer, stretching out one of the warlock's hands into the lake. Arthur watched Freya's hand raise from the depths and grasp onto Merlin's. Her eyes closed for only a split second before she released the hand and looked back up at Arthur. "It saddens me to see Merlin in such a state. I will try to help, but I do not have the power to heal him from such an injury."
Arthur's heart, which had risen in hope while talking to her, fell and shattered painfully at his feet. "Do you know if anything can be done?"
"There are many magical sites of this world, but there is one other that Merlin guarded jealously – as you have guessed, the Crystal Cave. The Old Religion is about balance and I find no balance in this. Merlin told me many stories of his life and though he feared it for the power stored there, the Crystal Cave provided him with direction, guidance, and upon occasion – healing. I think you would do right to seek out the Cave."
"Do you know how to find it?" Arthur asked hopefully.
"No, I'm sorry. I only have the privilege of knowledge about this lake, but I will do what I can for Merlin." Freya stopped her next sentence, cocking her head to the side as if listening to a voice Arthur couldn't hear. "It appears the Old Religion has sent its own guide for you." Freya pointed with a hand to the far shore.
Arthur squinted his eyes to see a figure moving from the far shore across the water. From a distance it appeared small as it swooped low to skim the water, but the size grew as it approached, until Arthur finally recognized it – "Zopyros!" Gwaine cried happily behind him at the arrival of the young silver dragon. Zopyros settled on the shore beside them and cooed sadly, nuzzling at Merlin's sleeping form. The dragon had grown larger since the last time they had seen him – now the size of a small horse. "Good lord!" Gwaine said to the beast, "What have they been feeding you?"
Arthur smiled at Zopyros's greeting to Gwaine – practically knocking the knight over with affectionate head-butting nuzzling. He looked back into the lake to address Freya again, hoping for more answers, but the water was dark and quiet. Berating himself for being caught up in the distraction of the dragon's arrival when Freya had obviously been short on time, Arthur leaned down to pick Merlin's hand back out of the water. He was surprised by the weight of Merlin's hand and was shocked to find two stoppered glass bottles of clear water in a net tied around Merlin's wrist. A small note was pinned to the cloth net, 'To keep his strength.'
"Thanks, Freya." Arthur said softly as he unwrapped the net from Merlin's hand. "Gwaine, can you take these?" Arthur passed the net bag over the Gwaine and picked up Merlin carefully.
He turned to Zopyros and addressed the energetic dragon. "You can lead us?"
The dragon stopped bouncing around to look at Arthur seriously before nodding once.
"Alright, let us get our horses ready and we'll be off." Zopyros followed them as far as the road before the cottage, but refused to move further. Growling angrily and blocking the path when Arthur tried to carry Merlin back to cottage. "Ok, fine!" Arthur cried, as he set Merlin down. "I'll leave him with you and get the horses." Zopyros purred and settled down contentedly beside Merlin.
Gwaine followed Arthur, inspecting the bag and vials. "What do you think these are?"
"Freya left them. Must be some kind of energy drink or tonic," Arthur said. "Whatever they are, those vials and the dragon mean that someone wants us to succeed. And I'll take all the help I can get." They grabbed their saddle bags from inside the cottage and distributed the two vials across the bags. They left the cottage, bags in tow, and quickly walked around the cottage to the horse paddock. Saddling the horses in record time, they mounted and set off around the small building to the road where Merlin and the dragon waited. The horses twitched nervously as they drew nearer, until finally Arthur's horse threw its' head up in fear and refused to get closer. Arthur could see the whites of the other horse's eyes as they paced anxiously and their breathing grew shorter.
"I think we figured out what Zopyros has been eating," Gwaine said humorously as he fought to keep his horse under control. The horses were too well trained to run out, but it didn't stop them from letting their fear be known.
"Damn it," Arthur cursed. "So either we follow the dragon on foot, or we take the horses and try to find the cave on our own."
"Or –" Gwaine countered with a grin, "Zopyros can fly and we'll follow in the forest behind. He can leave us markers and direct us if we get off path."
"And how do we explain that to a dragon?" Arthur asked.
"It's not that difficult, Princess, you just tell him," Gwaine said rolling his eyes.
"Talk to the dragon?"
"Uh, yeah."
"But I thought you had to know the special dragon tongue and all that. Zopyros doesn't speak any human languages like Aithusa did," Arthur said with confusion.
"Well, during my short period as dragon baby-sitter, I realized that Zopyros does understand human languages, even if he can't speak them yet."
Arthur's frown cleared. "Alright then. Go explain the plan to Zopyros. I'll stay with the horses."
"Me?" Gwaine asked in surprise.
"You apparently bonded with the dragon while babysitting him. He obviously has a soft spot for you. So maybe he'll listen to you better."
Gwaine grinned and shook his mane of hair, "Alright," he said as he dismounted. He turned around a few steps from the horses, "I'll save you from the fearsome dragon, Princess. I'm never one to leave a damsel in distress!"
Arthur's face turned an incredible shade of red and he shook with fury at Gwaine's statement. "Gwaine! Get back here! I'll go talk to Zopyros myself." Arthur tried to get his horse to walk forward, but it planted its' legs and refused to budge. Gwaine grinned back at him and strolled down the hill with a swagger in his stride. Arthur fumed in silence as he watched Gwaine talk to the young dragon. Gwaine's arms were moving in grand gestures as he made his point to the dragon. Finally the dragon nuzzled both him and Merlin before raising his wings and springing into the air. Gwaine grinned at Arthur in triumph and motioned to Zopyros who was circling the air above them. The horses, none the wiser to the dragon over their heads, were guided over to Gwaine and Merlin. Gwaine passed Merlin up to Arthur before mounting his own horse and they set off in the direction Zopyros indicated by flying ahead of them.
Arthur vaguely recognized the way as the path they had taken with Merlin before the wild hunt, but now that he was on it, he doubted he would have been able to find it on his own. When they moved off the road and into the trees, it became harder to follow Zopyros, but the dragon left them clues with broken branches or scratches in tree trunks. Whenever there was a break in the tree cover, they could see the shadow of the dragon flying overhead.
As they continued, Arthur could feel Merlin's breath getting shallower. "Stop for a minute, Gwaine." Arthur grabbed the vial he had set in his bag. Gwaine grabbed Arthur's reins to hold the horse steady as Arthur tipped Merlin's head back and trickled in a small bit of liquid. The bottles weren't very large and only half of the liquid remained. A few minutes passed before Arthur felt Merlin draw in a bigger breath than he had felt since they left the lake. Arthur sighed in relief and nodded at Gwaine to keep moving.
They stopped briefly at a stream to give the horses a chance to drink. Arthur set Merlin gently down on the ground and Gwaine took the horses to the water. Arthur trickled a bit more of the magical water into Merlin's mouth. Merlin sputtered a bit, "Arthur," he rasped.
"Shh," Arthur said, excited that Merlin was conscious, but not wanting him to waste his energy. "We're on our way to the crystal cave. Maybe you can be healed there."
Merlin's eyes blinked open to look directly at him. Arthur was privileged to see Merlin's bright blue eyes, though rimmed with red of sickness, before his eyes slowly closed and his breathing evened out as Merlin drifted back out of consciousness.
Gwaine came back with the horses. "How is he?"
"He woke up for a slight moment. I think this potion Freya gave us is helping out, but I'm almost out. The second is in your bags, which is good because he can ride with you for a bit." Arthur stoppered the last little dribble in his vial and placed it in his saddle bags. Gwaine mounted and Arthur passed Merlin up to Gwaine. "He weighs almost nothing," Arthur said morosely.
"He's always been a bit of a stick," Gwaine said trying to stay positive, but he could feel how Merlin's bones protruded.
Arthur waited until Gwaine settled Merlin in front before mounting his own horse. Whenever they stopped to check the direction of Zopyros's clues, Gwaine fed Merlin a bit more of the magical liquid. They had come to a fork in the path through the trees. The tree in the center had been clawed by the dragon to mark the path, but it was not indicative of which fork to take.
"Stay here, I'll ride forward and scout ahead," Arthur commanded before charging his horse down the left path.
Gwaine pulled the vial out of his saddle bags to give Merlin another sip. Suddenly his horse's head jerked up, with nostrils flaring. "Whoa boy." Gwaine tried to calm the horse while maintaining a grip on the vial and Merlin.
Zopyros landed in the tree he had previously marked, wondering what the holdup was. Gwaine's horse reared in response to the appearance of the dragon.
"Zopyros! Get out of here!" Gwaine yelled as he struggled to bring his horse back down to all fours and keep both himself and Merlin stable. Zopyros huffed but quickly launched himself back into the air. As Gwaine grabbed the reins with one hand to control his horse, Merlin started to slip off the side of the saddle. Gwaine grabbed Merlin with his other hand, realizing his mistake a few seconds later as he heard the glass vial shatter on the rocky ground.
Arthur reappeared back down the trail at that moment, speaking. "I think this is the right…." He trailed off as he took Zopyros flying off and Gwaine's struggle with his horse.
Gwaine's horse was still dancing around in place. Gwaine looked up from the broken vial pieces. "Well… that's good at least…"
"Did he at least get a drink before it broke?"
"No. Do you have any left?"
"Only two or three drops. We must move quicker."
Gwaine nodded and the three set off at a much faster pace. The flat land and trees became hillier and steep rises in the ground began jutting on either side of the path. Gwaine began to recognize the landforms from their trip a few months ago. "Getting close."
They took a turn through the twisting enclave and ran into a dead end.
Arthur looked around and then looked up the embankment in front of them. "This is it. It was somewhere around here." Zopyros landed at the top of the rise, out of sight of the horses, confirming Arthur's words.
Arthur and Gwaine quickly dismounted and lowered Merlin from the saddle before looking around.
"Any idea where the door is?" Gwaine called up to Zopyros.
The dragon shrugged in response. "Helpful," Arthur said sarcastically.
Zopyros huffed a small curl of smoke at Arthur in acknowledgement of Arthur's barb.
"Guess we need to wake Merlin up," Gwaine suggested.
Arthur nodded and tried to shake Merlin out of his fever. "Merlin!" Arthur barked, "Wake up!" Merlin continued to be unresponsive to Arthur's attempts. "Come on…"
Arthur stood up and grabbed the essentially empty vial from his saddle bags. He tilted the vial and shook it until the last few drops of liquid beaded together on the side before turning it over onto Merlin's lips. He tapped the bottom lightly to get the drop to roll down into Merlin's mouth. "Merlin, please" Arthur said softly, "I'll give you a day off…." He pleaded for the warlock to open his eyes.
"…two?" Merlin said softly.
"Yes. Two. Anything, Merlin, but you have to show me where the opening to the cave is." Merlin opened his eyes and feebly tried to sit up. Arthur supported his back as Merlin blearily peered around the enclave.
Merlin pointed left of Arthur, "The rock sticks out… looks like a… tiny crack, but… bigger on inside."
Gwaine ran over to the wall Merlin indicated. "Found it! I think!" Gwaine stuck his hand through the crack. "Yeah! There's an opening here, but it looks like a bunch of rock."
Arthur gathered Merlin into his arms and rushed over to the crack Gwaine indicated. "Stay with the horses."
"But-" Gwaine started to protest, but trailed off as Merlin whispered.
"Only Arthur."
Gwaine locked eyes with Arthur and nodded, stepping back to allow Arthur to pass by with Merlin.
Arthur looked at the solid rock wall and took a deep breath before stepping forward. He felt the cool air of a cave in front of him and spared a second to look back at the opening he stepped through. A faint rainbow shimmer glittered across the cave opening, evidence of the magic that concealed the opening.
Arthur stepped deeper into the cave, gasping as the cave widened to a larger room. White crystals jutted out in random patterns. Some were larger than a man and other crystals were only as big as a finger. Arthur walked to the center of the room. The air felt different here – as if charged with static electricity.
"What do I do now?" Arthur asked the cave, but the echo of his question was the only answer. Arthur set Merlin on the ground. When nothing happened, Arthur sighed and moved away, watching Merlin. "Please don't let him die." Arthur didn't know who he spoke to, but it felt like the cave was listening.
"You look familiar. Ah! Yes, I remember - I believe you are his friend?"
Arthur spun around to be face to face with a white haired bearded man. "Yes. Please, can you help him?"
"The magic will help Emrys. Give it time."
Arthur looked back at Merlin, laying still on the ground. "I hope it doesn't take too long. I don't think he has much time," Arthur looked back where the man had stood, but the space was empty. "Hello? Where did you go?" Arthur called. "Please come back! You have to help him!" Arthur felt his eyes wet with in frustration.
Silence greeted him when the last of the echoes faded. Arthur kneeled down beside Merlin and pulled Merlin's head into his lap, dragging Merlin slightly until Arthur could lean back against a large crystal. He watched the unsteady rise of Merlin's chest. Arthur could only name a few times in both his lifetimes where he felt truly helpless - when the Great Dragon attacked Camelot, or the year of searching for Morgana with no result as his father withered away before his eyes, or the time Morgana ran him out of Camelot leaving him and his people homeless in the forest, or perhaps just a few days ago when he watched Morgana impale Uther on her sword. But this – watching Merlin struggle to breath as he dies in Arthur's lap – this trumped them all.
A few more breaths and Merlin's chest didn't rise at all. "No! This can't happen. I can't lose him!" Arthur yelled furiously. The wetness in Arthur's eyes built until a tear rolled down his face onto the crystals beside him. Arthur leaned over Merlin, sobbing uncontrollably into Merlin's shirt as he held onto the warlock.
Merlin felt detached from his body. He looked down at himself in Arthur's arms before looking around the cave. Balinor stood behind him. "What's happening?" Merlin asked his father.
"Your physical body is dying. Your spirit and magic will remain and endure as it always has."
"I don't want to die," Merlin said quietly, heart aching as he watched Arthur sob. There were so many things that they still had not done.
"Then choose not to die," Balinor responded simply.
"How?"
"So far, you have been choosing to use your magic to not die – to fight the chemical in your body. Instead, let your magic choose to live."
It didn't really make sense to Merlin, but he could feel the magic of the cave calling to his own, so he let go – for the first time in millennia – and let his magic choose the course without his direction.
The crystal beside Arthur flared into a bright green. Arthur jerked away from it in surprise with Merlin in his arms. Forming a ring around them one-by-one the crystals changed color, lighting up the cave with the eerie green glow. Arthur let go of Merlin as his body started to vibrate. Arthur crawled back a bit, not wanting to interfere with the magic at work.
Arthur cried out in shock as a tiny cut and a small trickle of blood appeared on Merlin's arms. Other small incisions appeared all over Merlin – his clothes started to become damp with blood from all the small cuts.
Arthur felt tricked – the magic was supposed to heal Merlin, but it looked like it was only tearing Merlin apart. He quickly surged forward to Merlin, but was stopped about two feet away by force pushing him back. "No!" Arthur fought against the invisible force.
The green light of the crystals pulsed and Arthur noticed that Merlin's eyes were glowing gold so fiercely that it showed in a reddish tint through his closed eyelids. Sighing in relief that Merlin was alive and his magic was working, Arthur settled back, watching with his heart in his mouth with hope.
The crystals pulsed again and Arthur realized that Merlin's cuts were healed, though he was still covered in the blood that escaped through the small wounds. There was a faint glimmer in the air around Merlin – small dust particles were hovering over his body. With astonishment, Arthur realized that the particles were all lined the same direction in a perfect circle. The crystal pulsed again and the particles pressed together into a solid circle of metal, three feet in diameter around Merlin.
Arthur jumped in surprise as the crystal closest to Arthur cracked down the middle, followed by another and another, until all the crystals in the cave were split down the middle. Arthur blinked and suddenly there was a small sapling tree growing in the center of the ring beside Merlin. As Arthur watched the tree grew up and out, leaves appeared on the branches, stretching tall until it reached its full height. The ring of metal caught around the tree, forming a band in the trunk as the tree grew. Arthur watched the tree in awe and when the tree stopped moving, he looked down at Merlin, who was now half sitting, supported up by the tree trunk that had grown beside him.
The cave grew quiet as the dust settled and the tree stop shaking with growth. Merlin was breathing easier now. Arthur held his breath and stepped forward, hoping he could get close. When no resistance met him, he hurried over to Merlin's side. "Merlin," Arthur whispered quietly almost afraid to break the silence after all the noise.
Merlin stirred and blinked at him. He coughed to clear his throat. "It worked?"
Arthur laughed in surprise and happiness and hugged Merlin to him. "I don't really know, but quite a bit happened, so I assume you did something that worked!"
Merlin tilted his head to peer up at the tree. He lifted a hand and felt the very thin smooth band of metal collaring the tree.
"What is that?" Arthur asked.
"The metal is the combined magnets that were in my system inhibiting my magic."
"So you are alright now?"
Merlin picked at the bark of the tree instead of answering, looking across the shattered crystals contemplatively.
"Merlin, please tell me you aren't dying," Arthur pleaded.
"Yes and no," Merlin answered. Arthur felt the years behind Merlin's voice as the warlock looked at Arthur. "The medicine would continue to do irreparable damage to my body as long as my magic was tied to it."
"So you don't have magic anymore?" Arthur asked quietly as if afraid to push a sensitive subject.
"I still have my magic," Merlin answered simply, as he stood up. "This tree is the physical embodiment of my magic. Tied to the earth, fed by water, stretching to the air, with the fire of life flowing through it. Son of earth and sea and sky. A hawthorn tree – how fitting." Merlin grinned in amusement at some joke Arthur didn't know – as Arthur had never heard the legendary tales with the magic included.
"I don't understand," Arthur admitted.
"Oh some legend about trapped me in a Hawthorne tree… you know what? Forget that. I had to push the magic out of my body before I could remove the magnetic inhibitors from the medicine," Merlin continued explaining, "Because I couldn't use my own magic to remove my magic, I had to borrow the magic from the cave." Merlin looked mournfully at the shattered crystals. The pieces of the crystals that had once glittered sparklingly, laid in disarray – dull, opaque, and white.
"The crystals let you take their magic?"
"The crystals aren't alive – they have no thoughts or feelings." Merlin chuckled, "Took me the longest time to understand that one – I thought the crystals were out to curse me and ruin my life at one point. No, the crystals didn't 'let' me take the magic. I took what I needed. But the crystals will grow again – it may take hundreds of years, but the magic of this place is still here."
"Oh, I didn't realize. I thought that man here earlier might have been the one to lend you the magic."
"What man?"
"Oh I don't know! He was about yea high and had a short white beard. Seemed to recognize us though, but then he disappeared."
Merlin grinned crookedly, "I think I know who you're describing. His name's Taliesin – he helped me heal you from an arrow wound once."
"What?"
"Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to write that one down in the journal. It was when I first discovered this cave, so I was distracted and it must have slipped my mind when writing."
"Forgot to slip your mind that I had been shot!"
Merlin grinned sheepishly and shrugged.
Arthur scoffed in good humor and peered around at the cave before looking back to Merlin. "So what does it all mean?"
"I'm alive, but this body is no longer immortal." Merlin looked up into the bough of the tree, "When my bodies dies, my spirit will come to this tree – which I suppose is also me. This tree will stand forever."
Arthur stared at Merlin in awe. And he thought he was the legendary one – truth was, and always would be – that the glory truly belonged with Merlin. Merlin placed a hand on the trunk of the tree, the bark glowed gold beneath his hand, proving his connection with the tree-that-wasn't-a-tree. His finger brushed the metal band ringing the tree trunk.
Arthur spoke, "I don't know how you got the metal pieces to align so perfectly with you magic, but it was incredible to watch."
"Align?" Merlin asked surprised.
"All the bits faced the same way – toward the inside of the circle – like you were the other magnet pole."
Merlin's face scrunched up in confusion, before it lit up with a bright grin. "Oh that's brilliant, Arthur! Magnets!"
Merlin had obviously made a mind leap that Arthur wasn't on board with yet, so he watched the warlock race a circle around the tree in confusion. Merlin peered closely at the ring on the tree. The metal particles had bonded together with his magic, but Arthur was right, they were all facing inward. Merlin's mind jumped to the bits he recalled from Nimueh's studies and stretched it further to the evidence he saw here in the cave. When the magic waves had started, this cave had become like a pole for magic which disrupted the normal magnetic poles of the earth. The magic field overlaid the magnetic poles. Compasses hadn't been pointing north because the magic field was directly contesting the Earth's magnetic field.
Merlin's mind whirled. If magnetic fields were caused by a moving current or electric charge, then the magic field created a disruption to the flow of currents – leaving technology useless. All it would take to make electricity work again alongside magic, would be a realignment of the magic pole to not work against the magnetic poles.
Arthur watched in confusion as Merlin paced, muttering under his breath. "Alright, whenever you're ready to tell me what's going on, I'm ready," Arthur ground out sarcastically.
Merlin stopped mid-step and turned to look at him. "Technology, Arthur! I can fix it!"
"What are you waiting for then?" Arthur exclaimed.
"I have to word the spell properly to change the magic pole to the correct spot. Do you have anything electric on you?"
Arthur ignored the nonsense in Merlin's statement and gave Merlin an 'are-you-stupid' glare.
"Right… why would you? Electricity hasn't worked in months."
"And you were dying. I didn't stop long enough to say, 'And bring me a hand torch!'" Arthur rolled his eyes at Merlin. "Wait a second…" Arthur patted his pockets down before pulling out a key ring. "I used to have a little light keychain." Arthur removed the keychain from the key ring and pressed the power button. "Can't say it has any battery left, though."
Merlin accepted the keychain from Arthur and looked over it cursorily. "I supposed we'll find out." He turned to face the tree and held up both hands. His eyes glowed gold as he began to speak.
Arthur was sure that as Merlin spoke, the Earth rotated around him, as if moving in response to Merlin's words in the ancient language. Finally, Merlin spoke and the golden glow faded from his iris.
"Was that it?" Arthur asked uncertainly. There was no sound nor epic quake, nor sudden flash of light.
"'Was that it?'" Merlin echoed, "I just performed what is – most likely – the biggest piece of magic that has ever been done, and you say 'Was that it?' There's no pleasing you." Merlin tossed the keychain back to Arthur. "Try it."
Both seemed to hold their breath as Arthur pressed the power button. The light stayed determinedly dark. Merlin shrugged, "Batteries…"
Arthur nodded and gestured towards the exit of the cave, "Ready?" Merlin followed behind as Arthur picked his way through the broken shards of crystal. Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur caught sight of a shimmer. Arthur turned to it, "Merlin! Hold on!" Arthur scrambled over to the side of the cave. One small crystal sat unbroken, tucked beside its dull, broken brothers. Only slightly bigger than a man's finger, the crystal glittered and glowed.
"Huh," Merlin said wonderingly as he saw the small crystal, hesitating to fully look at it. It felt like an insult to not look into the last crystal, so Merlin took a deep breath and peered into the crystal surface.
He saw himself walking out of the cave and greeting Gwaine. Gwen and Lancelot and Gaius engulfing him with hugs. A crown on a golden head. Camelot with the after battle repair work in progress. Elyan building a windmill to provide power to the city. Camelot glowing with electric lights. Morgana kissing Gwaine in the forest. Arthur and him in the throne room. A new round table. A car driving down the road. A sword in a stone. Three children with light caramel skin and dark brown hair running alongside Gwen in a garden. The British flag flying over the castle's ramparts. Arthur, with graying blond beard, smiling. Arthur placing the king's crown on a younger man's head. Arthur, old and wrinkly, in a hospital bed beside another old man with a long white beard. Two tombstones below a large tree growing up through a hole in the cave roof.
Merlin jerked himself out of the crystal's scenes and looked over at Arthur, smiling. "Let's go home."
FIN