I came up with the idea for this about four days after the finale. I started writing it back then, but forgot about it until now. I've just been editing it for the past couple of days seeing as most of it was already written. I'm pleased to say that my writing skills have improved in the past seven months despite not having written much. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! And there will be SPOILERS FOR 5x13 ahead.
For a few moments, all Arthur could see was a soft whiteness. It started to fade away gradually, until he had a much wider range of vision. He was standing on the surface of a lake, yet it felt as solid to him as land did. When he moved his feet around a little, he created ripples in the water. He stared at his feet in wonderment; marvelling at the impossibility of it all.
That was it then, he was dead. He had died in Merlin's arms. This was the afterlife.
He could remember everything that had happened; he remembered being struck down by Mordred, he remembered the pain he had felt from his wound and the pain from discovering Merlin had magic. He remembered being held by his friend as he died, and he remembered patting Merlin's hand to comfort him.
He hadn't been afraid, the fact that he was going to die was undeniable; the only regret he had was that he was going to die alone in the presence of a traitor, but even that had vanished once he realised that Merlin had only ever used his magic for him, Arthur.
In the end, he had been comforting Merlin. He, the one who was dying, was comforting his friend. He was more afraid of what was waiting for his king than the king was himself; that had been the final proof that Merlin was his friend and not a traitor.
And then the end had come. It was more peaceful than he had expected, like slipping into oblivion, Merlin's words still echoing indistinctly above him.
The afterlife wasn't exactly what he had anticipated either. Standing on the surface of a lake wasn't quite how he had imagined he would spend eternity.
The lake in question was familiar. He had only had a glimpse of it in life, yet he knew exactly where he was: the lake of Avalon, where Merlin had been taking him. There was the island in the middle, with the distinctive tower atop the small hill, grass covering its banks.
He turned around to look in the direction he and Merlin must have been in. Was Merlin still there? Was he still there? His body? He searched the bank for signs of life, but he could see nothing. Of course not. If he was dead then Merlin would have given up, wouldn't he?
No. Merlin would never give up, even if he thought he was dead. That was just how he was. Loyal to a fault. Did that mean he would still try to get Arthur to the lake? Would he be able to see him or was he completely separated from the living?
A noise behind him – a ripple of water – made him turn around. Nine women were standing there, arranged in a crescent around him. They all wore hooded black cloaks, each one so long it floated in the water around them, pulsating in the swell. Arthur stared at them, startled by their sudden appearance. He looked at each of their faces in turn until he came to the one on the far right. His sister stared at him with a cool detachment. Morgana made no movement to indicate that she knew him, yet he could tell from her eyes that she still held him in the most utter contempt.
He instantly became more aware of each of the women before him. Perhaps they meant him harm. He unconsciously reached for his sword, but before he could realise that it was not there, or even what he was doing, one of them – the one in the middle – stepped forwards.
"Peace, Arthur," she said, holding up a hand. "We mean you no harm."
She stepped closer to him, so they were just a few feet apart, and drew back her hood. She had long dark brown hair and dark eyes to match, a soft and peaceful expression in place, undoubtedly to make him feel more relaxed. She seemed familiar for a second, but then the second was gone and he was once again positive that he had never seen her before. She smiled and said, "We are here to take you to Avalon."
He studied her face intently, yet she seemed genuine and honest to his eyes.
"So I really am dead then," he stated, an odd, dull feeling passing through him.
"No, only sleeping," she replied. "There will come a time again when Albion needs you, and then you will return to the world."
He furrowed his brow and adopted a look of dubiety.
"How?" he asked.
"You are the Once and Future King," she replied. "It is your destiny."
"That was why, not how," he stated.
She just continued to smile at him and turned away. The other eight women did so as well.
"Come with us," she said to him over her shoulder.
"Who are you?" he asked.
The lady turned back to him and said, "I am the Lady of the Lake, and we are all queens of our own domains. Each of us made our way to Avalon at some point or other, whether in this century or many eons ago. We are here to guide you to your resting place."
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" he asked, giving a pointed look at Morgana.
"No one can harm you here Arthur, and no one wants to."
She turned away from him again and she and the other queens began to walk towards the lake. Arthur still hesitated, and turned away from them to look back at the lake's shore. Something caught his eye just above the tree line. A large, dark shape was flying towards the lake.
"Wait," he said to the women. "What's that?"
He pointed at the dark shape, but something told him that any guess of his wouldn't be far off the mark. A dragon was flying towards them, and as it passed the tree line, he could see two figures perched atop it. Although it was impossible to tell from this distance, he would wager that one of the figures had messy, raven hair and a thing for scarfs. So Merlin could control dragons now. Compared with everything else he had learned in the past few days, it didn't surprise him, although the idea of Merlin controlling a dragon was a funny one indeed.
The giant creature landed on the shore and Arthur recognised it as he one he had supposedly killed years ago. It seemed his friend had been keeping more secrets than he could ever have guessed.
"It's inconsequential," the Lady of the Lake said, although she was regarding the shore with what looked like longing herself.
"But that's Merlin," he said, taking a few steps towards his friend. "Can't – can't I –"
"It is only very rarely that we are allowed to communicate with the living. We are allowed to watch only. I'm sorry Arthur, you can't speak to him," the Lady said, her eyes filled with genuine sadness for him. "We must go."
This time, instead of turning away from him, the women waited, almost like they were seeking his permission. He looked back at Merlin and the dragon. He couldn't go. He couldn't leave him there.
If he listened carefully, he could just about hear the dragon talking. That was a first: talking dragons. The noises were muffled though, almost like there was water clogging his ears so he couldn't hear the sounds properly. There were pauses in its speech where he supposed Merlin was answering it, although he couldn't hear him at all. After a few moments, noise broke through the barrier, and Arthur heard an anguished yell, then a voice crying, "I CAN'T LOSE HIM!"
It was Merlin; he was still trying to save him! Even though his spirit had already left his body, he was still trying to bring his friend back.
Arthur didn't hesitate, he started to walk swiftly back towards his friend.
"Arthur," the Lady called. "Arthur!"
He didn't listen to her, he only focused on Merlin. The voices had become muffled again and he could barely hear them this time. He didn't allow himself to worry about what this might mean.
"There is nothing you can do!" the Lady said. "Arthur, stop. You can't go back to him, it's impossible."
He continued to ignore her and began to walk faster, almost breaking out into a run.
"Arthur! You will see him again one day, but this is not that time!"
He stopped. He could still see Merlin on the shore, clutching Arthur's body close to him. He watched the dragon take off and fly away, and then he saw Merlin lay his body on the ground.
"Come back. I promise you will meet him again."
The king kept looking at his friend, the knowledge of what he had to do weighing heavily in his mind.
Just one more look. One more minute.
Please.
"Goodbye, Merlin."
Eyes glistening slightly, he turned around slowly.
The women had all linked hands and were once again standing in the crescent around him, just a few feet away, despite the fact that he had just walked away from them. The Lady gave him a brief, but sad smile, and then they all sank beneath the water.
Beneath the surface was a completely different world. Shades of blue and green pervaded his eyes, constantly changing due to the shifting of the water. The first rays of the day's sunlight were filtering through the lake, dimming and brightening with its movement and sliding across the women's faces leisurely. The lake seemed bottomless, a dark and unending expanse of water beneath them and there was nothing to be seen except for him and the women, all ten of them floated demurely a few inches beneath the lakes expanse, completely cut off from the living. Here no breath was needed, no sustenance or drink; nothing the living depended on was coveted in the ethereal waters. He found it beautiful. Yet eerie too.
"Reach up," said the Lady, her voice reaching his ears as easily as it would have travelling through air, no bubbles escaping from her mouth as they should have done.
He looked at her.
"What?"
"Reach up," she repeated.
"Why?"
She continued to gaze at him with warm eyes, betraying nothing.
"Reach up," she said once more.
Slowly, and feeling rather foolish, Arthur stuck his arm into the water above him. His arm penetrated the water, and he felt a cool breeze he had not been able to feel when standing on the surface of the lake.
He looked back at the nine women and waited for further instructions, but they said nothing. Starting to feel like he was being made a fool of, he was about to retract his arm when something heavy collided with his palm. His fingers compulsorily closed around the object and his head snapped upwards in surprise. Slowly, he brought his arm beneath the water again and a gleaming sword followed; the very same sword he had pulled out of the stone. He gaped at it, his confusion to how it came to be in his hand evident on his face. After a moment of looking at the weapon in bewilderment, he accepted the strange event and turned his attention back to the women surrounding him.
"What now?" he asked, but as soon as he did so, they began to slowly sink further into the lake once more.
"You will stay with us in Avalon until it is time for you to return to the world," she said.
"Why am I supposed to return?" he asked.
"There will come a time again when Albion will need you and when that day comes, Merlin will be waiting for you."
"How long will it be until then?"
He found a tone of desperation edging into his voice.
It couldn't be all that long, surely. It couldn't. He had to go back.
"We don't know, but when the time comes you will," was the reply.
They were several yards under the surface now, the water around them growing darker with every inch they sank, and still no sign that the lake wasn't endless.
"Merlin will be waiting for you though. He won't ever leave your side, even when the Gates of Avalon separate you."
"I know," he replied.
A small light came into existence before him, growing larger and brighter with each passing second. Everything the light touched altered itself to mirror the whiteness that was emanating from it. It wasn't blinding, only soft, almost gentle. Soon the light had covered everything in his vision, staying for a single moment before fading away. It was then that Arthur knew he had reached Avalon.
I guess I'll continue this if people want me to (I already have some ideas about what Arthur will find in Avalon), but if I do there won't be an update for a while seeing as I'm going to Scotland tomorrow. It's unlikely that I'll take my laptop as I won't have much time to write, I'll be far too busy watching people run up hills and toss cabers!
I guess I only have one more thing to say and that's TAKE ME TO GLASGOW!