This is my first story! So basically, it's set after Arthur's death. :( The only difference is that between season 4 and season 5 there's a ten year difference instead of three. During the ten years, all the things from the legend happened like that green knight who gets his head chopped off, and the quest for the Holy Grail. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!

After The Deaths

Merlin was heartbroken. He had left his best friend in the whole world there, at Avalon, to die. He felt that it was his own fault. If not for him, Morgana never would have turned against Camelot. If not for him, Mordred wouldn't have joined her. If not for him, Arthur never would have died.

Merlin had always thought of himself as a good person. Now that everything that he had worked for was gone, he realized maybe that wasn't the case. He had killed so many people, he had lied to his best friend, and he had caused the destruction of Camelot. Gwen was all they had left, and there would no longer be an heir. Camelot will fall, he thought as he cringed. Because of me.

As he rode back to Camelot, slowly on his horse, he thought of the horrors that had unfolded in front of his life. For 17 years he had known Arthur, yet he chose to tell him he had magic only a few days before he died. Some friend he was.

Merlin looked around at the forest while he rode. The land was at peace, but now what? What would he do when he got back? He would no longer have Arthur to serve. Now, he was useless.

Here, he thought, was where I used to hunt with Arthur. He tried his best not to cry. Now, the idea of hunting sounded like so much fun compared to what was happening. He then came to the hill that looked up at Camelot's mighty castle walls. It seemed different now. It seemed… sadder. As it should be. Guinevere would be a great ruler, but the loss of their king had made everyone suffer.

Merlin rode for the castle, though sad, tried to make it feel like a new beginning.

Gaius had lived a long time. He had seen the cycle of life, and though Arthur was special, he was just another that he had seen come and go.

Gaius was preparing up a potion for Percival, whose wrists were still sore from when Morgana had tied him up. He knew the king was dead, and he expected Merlin to arrive any day now. Like he had promised, he had Merlin's favorite meal waiting for him.

Gaius had gone out to the forest that morning and gathered fresh sticklewad. It was a rare thing, this herb, and he was glad he had found it. As he prepared the potion, he heard a strangely familiar voice. A sweet voice, a soft voice. It sounded like… no, it couldn't be. He shook it off and put Percival's potion in a small bottle.

He headed to Percival's chambers, and knocked on the door. Percival walked up and looked at Gaius.

"Gaius, I told you, my wrists are fine," He said shaking his head playfully. "Besides, it didn't hurt that much."

"Ah, but see, you are not yet fully recovered, Percival," Gaius said handing him the potion. "It may not hurt anymore but you must keep taking this otherwise you won't be able to train your men."

Percival nodded. "Thank you, Gaius. Is Merlin back yet?"

Gaius shook his head. "No. He still doesn't know that Gwaine died either."

Percival flinched at the mention of Gwaine's name. "Lots of things will have changed for him. I'm happy Gwen's found him the job of Court Sorcerer."

Gaius nodded. "Indeed."

That sat in silence, staring at the ground. "Well, I'd best be off. And make sure you don't hurt those wrists of yours."

"Thank you Gaius," Percival said as he closed the door.

As Gaius walked back to his chambers, he heard the sweet and light voice again.

He stopped abruptly. Who was that? The women servants nowadays were grumpy (jealous too at the fact that now a has-been servant was the ruler of the kingdom, and that could have been them), and he knew that wasn't Guinevere's voice. Gaius shook his head. It was probably just him imagining it. After all, he was 87 years old now. Gaius was astonished at how old he was. People these days died of old age around their mid-50s, maybe even earlier. Since Gaius wasn't born with magic like Merlin and Morgana, he wasn't immortal like them (unless you count being killed with magic or being stabbed in the heart with a blade forged in the dragon's breath), but since he had practiced some magic before and still had some in him, that might be what was keeping him alive.

As Gaius approached his chambers, he heard a noise come from inside. There was someone in there!

He walked quickly and opened the door and yelled, "Who's there?"

He saw a hooded figure looking through his potions. The hooded figure turned around and smiled a sweet smile.

"Hello, Gaius," she said. "What have I told you about your rude greetings?"

Gaius stood open-mouthed, not caring about how ridiculous he looked.

"A-Alice?"

Sir Leon had fought beside Arthur many times. He was there before his reign, during his reign, and after his reign. He was the one that had announced "The king is dead" and he was never really given any credit.

Not that he cared. He didn't mind that he wasn't the best knight of the Round Table. As long as he was loyal to Camelot he was happy. The only thing bothering Leon was, well… a delicate matter. He wanted to find love. He wanted to have a loving wife so that he didn't feel so alone. Arthur had Guinevere once. Why couldn't he find someone like her, who always smiled, who always gave good advice, and who wasn't afraid to speak her mind? One who was loyal to her friends, and put love first? One who would find fun in everything? One who loved hunting?

Although Leon didn't want to admit it… he had a big passion for Princess Mithian. She was sweet, caring, and he found her so brave to have gone through everything with Morgana. He didn't know how to express his feelings for her when she was all the way in Nemeth. He was also really afraid. He was really actually very shy when it came to women. He had to find a way to get to know her… Maybe if she ever came for a visit or something, he could ask to spend the day with her.

No, Leon thought. I would chicken out and run away from her I would be so scared.

Leon forced himself to go to training. It used to be him, Lancelot, Elyan, Percival and Gwaine, but now the only one he had left was Percival.

One day, he thought. One day, everything will change. One day, I might be happy again.

And with that, he went to training.

Percival wasn't alright. People thought he was, he wore a happy face so well, yet inside he was breaking. Gwaine had died right in his arms, and he didn't know what it was about Gwaine, but he had felt some connection with him. Something was special about Gwaine. He just couldn't pinpoint it. But he was still trying to convince himself he was okay.

He and Leon were now head of training. They helped new aspiring knights pursue their dreams, as Arthur had done to them. They followed in Arthur's footsteps because not only had he been their king- he had also been their friend.

"Welcome," Percival said. "You, my friends, are ready to be evaluated at your skills of becoming a knight. But remember- to be a knight of Camelot is not just to be good with a sword. If you want to be a knight of Camelot you must show one of the greatest qualities of all- chivalry."

"We shall start here," continued Leon. "Here, one by one, you will fight against me. If I think that you are good enough to pass this test you must move onto Percival, who will be standing over there. Let's get started."

As they all got into a line in front of Leon, Percival went to his spot where he would fight with the next knight-in-training.

He watched as Leon fought with the first one. He knew Leon was going to win, but this knight was doing fairly well.

"Percival!"

Percival turned around to see the queen running towards him.

"Percival!" she cried again.

"What is it My Lady?"

She exhaled deeply. "There's someone that you need to see."

"Mother!" Percival shouted with delight at the sight of her in the throne room. He ran up and hugged her, and he could feel her warm, comforting breath on his ear.

"I thought I'd lost you," she whispered into his ear.

The hug finally broke, and Percival stared at her in disbelief. "As did I! Mother, I thought you were killed by Cenred's army! That's when I went with Lancelot and I…" His eyes started to fill up with tears.

"Sh, sh, shh…" she whispered gently. "It's all right. I'm safe now. The others weren't so lucky."

"You mean… Annie, James, and little Lucy… They're all…"

"Yes, Percival. They're gone."

Struck by the loss of his little siblings, Percival dug his head into his mother's shoulder, even though she was quite small compared to him.

"How did you find me?" Percival said, his voice muffled by his mother's robe.

"Well," she laughed. "It took quite some time. After all the last time I saw you was 13 years ago! I searched for you for all those years, but then I came to a place called Ealdor, and a woman named Hunith, told me that you were a knight of the Round Table in Camelot! You have no idea how proud I was!"

Percival finally stood up and wiped his tears away. "Will you stay?"

His mother smiled. "Of course I'll stay my Percival."

"Ragnell?"

Percival and his mother turned around. Queen Guinevere was walking into the room.

"I've found some chambers for you to stay in," she said. "The maids are cleaning them up right now. I shall give you only the best, considering you have been searching for 13 years for your son."

Ragnell smiled. "Thank you, My Lady. You will make a fine ruler of this land."

All Percival could think about was how happy he was that his mother, who he thought was dead, was finally back.

Gwen thought it was time to break the news to everyone. Well, she would have to wait until Merlin got back, since this was of great importance, and she didn't think Merlin would want to miss this. He would be really happy. This was the only thing that had kept her going after Arthur's death.

As she walked through the corridor, she spotted Leon.

"Leon, have you heard anything from Merlin lately?"

Leon shook his head. "I'm afraid not, My Lady. Why, is something wrong?"

"No, I just have important news for the court to hear, and he needs to be there."

"I have informed the lookout troops to check for any signs of him. We'll let you know if we see him."

"Thank you, Leon. I'm pleased."

She thought Merlin would be really happy at the news of him being allowed as court Sorcerer. He would also be happy at the fact that the ban of magic has been lifted. People may practice magic as they wish, as long as they do not attempt any plans against the court that is all. Merlin's job would be to help with his magic, and make sure the citizens used their magic for good.

She had also invited Hunith to come and stay in Camelot, and Hunith was supposed to be riding now. She wanted to make everything as happy as possible now that she was ruler of the land, because everyone, even herself, was depressed. But if she made things okay for everyone, maybe she could lighten the mood a little bit.

Already the way Ragnell had come was perfect, because she had no idea what Percival wanted. Nor did she have any idea what Leon wanted, but she would find out soon enough. She had sent for Alice, Gaius' lost love, and hopefully they would get married soon enough. For the first time in forever, she held a feast in the castle with the peasants. They seemed so out of place, yet by this, she thought they knew that she would treat Camelot well. It was also good that she knew what the life of a peasant was like, and she took that into consideration. It was still so much to handle, but she still knew she could make it work.

She headed back to her chambers. She now sat there by herself, when she used to share this room with Arthur.

She bit her lip and felt a lump in her throat. No, she told herself. Don't cry.

She sat down and stared at the paper in front of her. What was it for again? Oh yeah, she was supposed to be looking at the supplies coming from the Northern Borders.

She eventually just stared at the paper for 20 minutes, not doing what she was supposed to be doing with it. Sometimes she needed these times alone. Being queen was a big responsibility, and if she looked depressed, the country would be depressed (more than they already were) and Gwen would not let that happen.

"My Lady!" Sir Leon burst through the door, breaking her little moment to herself.

She sighed. "What is it Leon?" she said slightly agitated.

"Merlin's back."

Merlin looked different now. Physically, he was just the same. But now that he knew was a sorcerer- well, not just a sorcerer, a POWERFUL one- he seemed different.

Merlin's face looked tearstained, and Gwen, from up top of the stairs, run down and simply hugged him. He hugged her back. They shared the same grief. This time Gwen let her tears fall openly, not caring if anyone saw.

They broke their hug and Gwen looked at Merlin gravely. "Merlin, I know."

Merlin froze. "You know what?"

Gwen took a deep breath. "At Camlann. The sorcerer, in the battle. That was you."

Merlin looked paralyzed. "Gwen, I-"

Gwen smiled. "Merlin, I'm not going to chop your head off. You'll be happy to know that magic is now legal, and you, my friend, are now Court Sorcerer."

Merlin looked appalled. "W-what?"

"It's easy, all you have to do is help us with your magic when we're in trouble, and make sure no one in the kingdom is using magic against the court."

"I-I… I don't know what to say Gwen."

She gave him a welcoming smile. "Well, there's still much more for me to tell you, and you to tell me. Come, let's talk inside."

After Gwen had told Merlin everything, she called everyone to the throne room. Everyone was there- Gaius, Merlin, the knights, the librarian, even the maids and servants.

Gwen stood in the middle of them all.

"I have some exciting news I would like to share."

Gwen shifted a little bit. It was slightly embarrassing, but everyone would be really happy to hear this. Actually, they would all be ecstatic.

She took a deep breath. "As you all know, the king is dead, and it is my responsibility the help this kingdom at my best. I have changed a few laws that I think will be suitable. And while I'm here I promise you that I will try my best to make this kingdom the best it can be. I will try and make peace with a few of the neighboring kingdoms that were our enemies."

Everyone nodded with approval.

"Unfortunately, there is one problem that has crossed our path, that I assure you, I am aware of. After my reign is done Camelot will not have an heir. Without an heir, we will be forced to end our kingdom after my death. I would never want my death to be the cause of the destruction of Camelot."

People started getting sad looks on their faces. They all knew this very well, and they didn't know what they would do after Guinevere would die.

"Luckily, I have found a solution for that."

Everyone's faces lit up after that.

Gwen's heart was pounding… In front of everyone of the court… Oh, gosh, what would they say?

Here goes… she thought. Three…Two…One…

"I am pregnant."

Morgana looked at the white light shining down on her face. Wait a minute, she thought. I thought death was supposed to be eternal darkness… So why was she still seeing the light? Hang on a minute…

She was dead.

Merlin had killed her.

Merlin was Emrys.

He is your destiny. And he is your doom.

The light became clearer, and Morgana could see only a strange figure above her through the white light. She looked down. She wasn't wearing any clothes!

Right, she was dead. She didn't expect this other world to have clothes. But this figure had white hair, light skin, pale eyes, and a white cloak draped around it. Was it a woman or a man?

Morgana was confused. What was going on? "Who are you?" she demanded, threateningly.

"You must not fear Morgana Pendragon. I am always here to greet the newly-made dead."

"What is this place?" she shouted angrily.

"Calm yourself. Here is not the place to be afraid. Here is where you find your true self. Here is where you find what your soul was made of."

Morgana smirked. "So, you… What is my true self, then?"

"Ah… That is not for me to tell you. That is for you to find out."

Morgana came to the conclusion that this was half woman half man.

"Tell me… what do you see?"

"Right now?" Morgana asked, still smirking. "Right now, I only see whiteness. What should I see?"

"Look around you, Morgana. Really look."

Why did this- man woman, you could say- make her feel like she could trust him? But words came pouring out of her as soon as she saw something in the distance.

"The whiteness is going away… But I'm on the hill that overlooks Camelot."

"What are you wearing?"

Clothing started to appear on her. "My long, blue dress… The one I wore on the day Uther executed Thomas Collins." She said the name Uther with so much hate, when she looked at the man-woman, he/she stared down, disapprovingly.

"Do not dwell on the emotions you had in your life. Now is the time to find out what you really feel. Forget all that has happened. Now, can you hear anything?"

Morgana listened carefully. "It's Gwen… She's calling for me… She's laughing."

"What do you smell?"

"I can smell fresh flowers… The ones I used pick when I was little, when I went on hunting trips with Arthur."

"What do you feel?"

"I feel… I feel in my hands Gaius' cloak. But that doesn't make sense, he's not even here."

"Do you taste anything?"

"My favorite soup I used to eat with my mother."

"Are you with anyone?"

Morgana turned to see the last person she expected to see… Merlin.

"How do you feel Morgana? Inside?"

"I-I feel… Happy."

The visions started fading back to white.

"You have just proven to me, despite your faults, you truly are a good person inside. You truly can have love. You have proven yourself worthy. Those who see only evil are not. Tell me, Morgana… Do you want another chance at life?"

Morgana was shocked. "I… Pardon?"

"I said do you want another chance at life."

"Is there a price to pay?"

"No, My Lady. There is no price to pay, only that this time, you choose to live your life correctly."

"I-I don't know."

"I am giving you a chance to do it all again Morgana. Do you want to take it or not?"

Morgana didn't know. Arthur was dead, she could feel it. What was there left to do? If it meant "live her life right" did that mean she wasn't allowed to take the throne of Camelot? But something inside her spoke out. This time, she could get her friends to forgive her. She knew what the answer was.

"Yes."

I hope you like it! I would really appreciate it if you guys could review on what you think! I have the whole story planned out, so there are gonna be more chapters!

Next time: Merlin goes out in the forest to find his mother who got hurt, but ends up finding someone else... Hmm... I wonder who...