A/N Okay, so - I came up with this short little idea as I was playing the Merlin song Lost on the piano earlier today which is kind of depressing and sad and tugs at your heartstrings a little bit when you listen to it. It went in a different direction then I intended - I wanted it to be centered more around the boys - but I still like how it ended up and I figured it was good enough to post - and I hope that you do too! Please enjoy!

King Arthur died and Merlin, Camelot's loyal protector, never came back.

The life of the palace was gone.

That strange friendship that had started so many years past no longer lit the castle. It was painfully empty in their absence. Things were quiet and subdued. The halls were quiet without the familiar banter and laughter that once echoed through them. A heaviness hung in the very air, so deep and sorrowful and filled with the crushing feeling of pain and loss that didn't seem to have an end - it tore at the people's hearts and they cried for all that was lost.

Things became dull and grey. The land lost its lively spark, the fields died, and the sky was dark with storm clouds that covered the sun for days on end.

It was as if the world itself were mourning the terrible, terrible loss of what was and what could have been.

The survivors of the war tried to pull things back together, tried to return the kingdom to some semblance of normality but it seemed that it wasn't meant to be.

Gaius, the old physician, died within a few months of the king's passing. He served faithful to the end of his days... but in truth was never quite the same after losing the two most dear to him.

The Round Table was gone and the knights were so few in numbers after the battle of Camlann.

Old advisors, who'd been on council for years, began to die as well and those who didn't had no desire to serve or obey the Queen, who in their aged minds, had no true right to rule... and they left to their estates.

Queen Guinevere, though she tried and made good effort... wasn't enough. She couldn't run a kingdom - she was a servant in a nice dress without the king by her side. She hadn't been born to power and didn't have the knowledge it took to rule a kingdom.

And so Camelot slowly fell without its true ruler.

A/N Like? Yes, no, maybe a bit?

My headcanon - no. Merlin never went back to Camelot. We didn't see him at Gwen's coronation, which I think would have taken place after some kind of mourning period in respect for Arthur, however long it took. I'm pretty sure that's how they did it back then but I'm really not an expert and I didn't look it up, so you probably shouldn't trust me to be correct on how they do these things. But that's how I see it happening in my head, so that's what I'm going with. Either way, he wasn't there for that and if he wasn't there to declare allegiance to Gwen, I don't think he had plans to come back at all.

And please. Let's be honest - Gaius should have died in like, the third season or something. He was like, eighty-something years old by the end of the show, which is ridiculous for that time period. And if it wasn't for him, Merlin probably would have told Arthur about his magic sooner - Gaius held Merlin back and thought the only good time to tell Arthur about his magic was when he was dying. Tch.

I also don't think Gwen had what it took to rule an entire kingdom. She was a peasant - a smart one, but she wasn't born to rule and especially not by herself.

But anyways, I do hope you liked this and please review if you've got the time! I'd appreciate feedback! :D