Title: Out of the Ashes
Author(s): Word-Stringer
Characters;Pairings: Merlin, Arthur, Uther, Gaius, Morgana, Guinevere, Lancelot, Percival, Gwaine, Elyan, Leon; Arthur/Gwen
Rating: K+/PG
Genre: Angst/Tragedy
Summary: A three shot of small chapters: a prologue, a supposed death and an epilogue.
Warnings: Supposed major character death
Beta(s): N/A


I: Magic on His Final Night

Magic, having danced through his fingertips in temporary freedom, seals his fate.

A dark cell. Damp, cold, much like all dungeons. Unfathomable dripping noises coming from black corners that seemed able to hold all manner of darkness and writhing shadows.

A young man is curled up in the farthest corner of the cell. His black hair blends in, and the only way he is visible is his pale skin – it glows slightly in the gloom.

The guards stay away from him; they are scared of the vulnerable form who is chained up inside. They don't see the tear stained face; they see the eyes that, they judge, must have evil within them. They don't see the shuddering fear; they see the power he used before. They didn't see him save their prince's life; they saw him kill someone else. They deny the goodness they'd seen before; they see only magic, they see only evil.

He watches them silently, seeing their shifting eyes, the awkward, alert way they hold themselves. They don't try and hurt him, unlike most sorcerers – maybe, on some unconscious level, they know he isn't evil. Maybe they don't to show respect to the prince, who is being restrained to his chambers. Maybe they're just too scared. In any case, neither of the imprisoned nor the people who keep him there speak, as Merlin counts down the hours of his final night.

As the moon rises, light finally enters the dark. He remembers his mother telling him that bringing light into a room is bad. She had said that light gave a chance for shadows, places to hide. But when you are in the dark, you can see, a little bit. He wishes the moon would leave again.

A cloud passes over it, and remains. He makes sure of it. Magic on his final night.


Because happiness only lasts so long,