"...Thank you."
There had been many times during the years that Merlin had spent in Arthur's service in which the young sorcerer would have given anything to hear his King speak those words to him; to finally hear Arthur grant him the recognition and credit that he deserved for what he had done. Unfortunately, today was not one of those times. Right now, at this very minute, Merlin would give or do anything that was asked of him if it would prevent the current situation; if it would provide him with an alternate pathway in which his friend was not asking to be cradled in his arms whilst dying from a wound that the sorcerer's magic could not heal. In the past, Merlin had longed for Arthur's gratitude, and yet now that he had it, he would give anything for it to not be so. Merlin would rather have a living Arthur who was still the arrogant, oblivious, dollop-headed clot-pole that he had originally befriended, rather than a dying one who thanked Merlin for the assistance that the sorcerer had been only too happy to give.
With the pair barely holding back the sobs that were threatening to break through, Arthur raised his arm and clasped his hand to the back of Merlin's head, drawing the sorcerer's gaze down into his own. Courage and Magic were both reflected in the other's eyes, as magic didn't only come in the conventional form of incantations and enchantments that Merlin had been born with. It could be used to describe a bond, or a friendship, which would remain unbroken despite the influences of Time, Death or Destiny. It would be apt to say that Merlin and Arthur's relationship was 'magical', as it was a rare thing indeed to find two people, each of whom could truly accept the other for all their faults, and could forever remain as mutually loyal and devoted as Merlin and Arthur could.
In one last reconciliatory gesture, as both a peace offering and an apology from the King who had remained blind to his servant's magical talents and their combined true value and potential until it was too late, Arthur granted Merlin insight into his most guarded thoughts and feelings; ones that he no longer had the time or life force to express. Merlin did not need to be in the possession of magic to understand the importance of what he was being allowed to experience. He was one of the only people to have seen Arthur in the moments where the King's vulnerability had shone through the facade of unwavering self-confidence which he wore for the sake of his people, and Merlin knew that it took a lot of bravery, trust and friendship for Arthur to lower it and reveal his innermost, true fears again.
During those brief few seconds in which Merlin managed to maintain direct eye contact with Arthur before the eyes of his friend became unseeing, the sorcerer saw that Arthur was sad and scared, but most of all he was truly sorry for how he had treated Merlin in the past. The sorcerer also saw Arthur's acceptance; acceptance of the reasons behind why Merlin had hidden his secret for so long, acceptance of the knowledge that his father Uther's attitude towards all magic had been wrong, and acceptance of the knowledge that he was going to die. Arthur was resigned to his death, stubbornly refusing to say goodbye to Merlin because he just knew that somehow they would be reunited again. He couldn't tell Merlin how he knew this, and he no longer had the energy to try and do so. All he knew was that this knowledge was now as indisputable as the fact that night follows day, or that 'two' always comes after 'one'. Arthur could see now that both he and Merlin had been on their own at the beginning, and that Fate had drawn them together to form the partnership which the prophecies had foretold.
Now that Merlin and Arthur were being torn apart again by similarly predetermined events, it only followed that the friends would reunite again when the time came. This knowledge came from the same place that his prior understanding had, of which he had remarked to Merlin upon. As his death grew closer, Arthur's life had flashed before his eyes, but this time he saw the events in his life from a different perspective, as if he was a third party watching from afar instead of being one of the central players in each story. He'd revisited Ealdor with Merlin and Will, watching his sorcerer friend conjure up the tornado that had saved his life, instead of witnessing the phenomena after its conception and unknowingly forcing the innocent Will to take the blame. The King saw Merlin banish Wyverns and Dragons alike when they had shown interest in bringing about his demise, and also witnessed the young sorcerer knocking his living self unconscious at the Isle of the Blessed, when Merlin had once again offered to lay down his life for the King, despite believing that Arthur might never truly accept him for what he born to become. In short, Arthur saw it all, but that was nothing compared to the knowledge that in the future, he would bear witness to it again.
"Arthur...No! Arthur! Arthur!" Sobbing and unaware of Arthur's epiphany, Merlin shook the King desperately in a futile attempt to awaken him. The King was dead - he could never awaken again. "Arthur! ARTHUR!"
Merlin didn't understand. He knew that the Crystal Cave had granted him immortality now; this was the power that Balinor had referred to, saying that Merlin had never imagined that he could possess this before. After all, he'd almost died by the hands of many foes over his lifetime, and he had certainly not been immortal for during those experiences. He'd been vulnerable to Nimueh's poisoned chalice, susceptible to the sting of the scorpions sent by Morgana, and target practice for various bandits whom both himself and Arthur had failed to incapacitate in time. This was no longer the case, but what was the point of this if the one person whom he was to devote his whole life to defend and protect was now dead? Because of this, Merlin was not just grieving for his friend, but for his other half. He'd believed everyone when they'd said that he and Arthur were like two sides of the same coin; in other words, they were physically inseparable. And yet here they were, separated by the biggest barrier known to man; Death.
Merlin was just about to resort to his last iota of a back-up plan - which was calling upon Kilgharrah and asking his old friend for assistance one last time - when he became aware of somebody rapidly approaching their location. Unwilling to leave Arthur's body alone, Merlin used his 'sight' and scoured the surrounding area, until he stumbled upon the source of the noise. It was Sir Percival.