Merlin was on his knees; stripped of his power and weaker than he had ever been. At last they had come to it – the final moment between them.
Morgana stood over him, smirking mirthlessly. But when Merlin raised his head to look up at her, her face fell, cast in a stony anger. There were tears in his eyes, but not of pain or humilation. More than anything he looked… sad.
He gazed into her eyes, and for a brief moment, the world and everything in it melted away until just the two of them were left – silently wishing it could be some other way. It was a bittersweet finale really, to the life they'd both led: one fight after another, constantly at war, constantly trying to wrong each other to make right their own mistakes.
She'd had many a chance to kill him before, but even before she knew of his power, it had been a confrontation she'd skillfully managed to avoid. And he knew why.
"I wish circumstances had been different." he said, his voice small and breaking. "I wish we had met in another time, another place, where we weren't tied to our destinies like slaves to their masters."
Morgana's eyes softened somewhat as she looked down at him, but when he lifted his head, he could not meet her gaze.
He took a deep breath, then continued. "I would have loved you…" he broke off as a tear escaped and rolled down his cheeks, resting in his sad smile.
"It wouldn't make any difference…" she replied. There was less ice in her voice now and she sounded bitter, but sorrowful too. She bit back the unsteadiness in her voice. "We would still have pitted against one another. Even if we'd met under other circumstances, Merlin, you would still be you and I would still be myself. Nobody can change that."
A moment of silence fell between them as the cold night drew in and the two sorcerers avoided one another's eyes.
"I'm sorry." he replied, nodding slightly.
When he finally looked up again, he saw her nodding as she too fought back a tear. He would never get more than that in way of an apology, but he didn't need it. It meant just as much from her; an acknowledgement of her wrongs.
Gathering all the strength he had left, Merlin stumbled to his feet. He swayed for a moment, steadied himself on a tree, then straightened up. Facing her head on, giving the last of his courage to stand before her as an equal, Merlin nodded as he smiled softly. "Do what you have to do, Morgana." he whispered.
There was a momentary pause. He didn't even have time to hear the words of the spell that left her lips a moment later. His lifeless body hit the ground with a dull thud, scattering leaves everywhere. It was finally over.