Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights belong to their respective owners.

Sorry, know it has been a while with these. Hopefully will get catching up soon, maybe even before the series ends. This was really hard to write.

Merlin didn't know what to say.

He didn't even know what to think.

The only thing that was registering in his head as they finally burst through the final door of that forsaken tower was sheer and utter shock. He knew that Elyan had led the way; the knight's concern for his sister had caused him to be a driving force throughout this whole quest. Merlin wasn't sure who was more concerned about the Queen's safety between Arthur and Elyan. Yet somehow, knowing they would both fight to the end in order to make sure she made it out had given him a false sense of security. A warrior who had nothing to lose was one of the deadliest things around.

But that didn't mean Elyan was supposed to have lost. Merlin had sensed the magic from the second they had approached the door and had silently urged Arthur to open it quicker. He wasn't sure what it was that he was sensing, yet the warning was ringing loudly in his ears.

One of them wouldn't be making it back alive.

They had got here without mishap though, they had survived this long. This was the Round Table they were talking about, they always made it back. All of them always made it back. Merlin had almost just assumed that would be a given again this time.

Yet he had known that there was still the threat, and had let Elyan go off alone. Seeing him cradled in Gwen's lap, the Queen's tearstained face turning towards them as they burst through the door had caused the shock to crash into him with such a force that Merlin had truly believed that someone had stolen all of his breath away. Lancelot had died for Gwen, and now so had Elyan.

"Guinevere…" Arthur's soft voice broke through the silence and almost seemed to break through the shock that had fallen over the rest of the group. As he moved forward, so did everyone else. Yet Merlin found himself rooted to the stop. They had had no idea that something like this would happen, they were allowed to be horrified at the sight waiting for them.

But Merlin had known,

He had known that one of them wouldn't make it back alive, and yet he had been just as determined as the others to find Gwen and bring her home. Whether they had gone or not, the prophecy would have come true. If they hadn't come, Gwen would have been the one to disappear. But now that they had, it was her brother who had paid the ultimate price.

"You're safe now, Guinevere, I promise you. You can let go now, it's alright, everything is going to alright…"

"The sword wouldn't stop. It came out of nowhere; he would have won if it wasn't for magic…"

"He was a skilled swordsman, Gwen. It was magic that killed him, not the weapon. It was a coward's way of Morgana not wanting to face him. He died bravely, he died saving you." As Arthur continued to try and reassure his wife, Percival was moving forward. As Arthur gently pulled Gwen into his arms, allowing her to almost collapse against him as the sobs finally overtook her, the largest of the knights gently moved Elyan out of her vision.

Merlin could only stand there, mute and still, as the rest of the knights gathered around Percival. He knew that it was partly to allow Gwen and Arthur some privacy, to allow them to just be a married couple rather than their ruling monarchs. It was clear that Arthur was the only one that Gwen would listen to right now, and none of them wanted to intrude on the moment. But it was more than that. It was their time to pay their respects to their fallen comrade.

Seeing Gwaine's head bend as he knelt next to Elyan, Merlin found that he was biting his lip in order to hold back his own grief.

"He truly was a knight through and through." Leon said softly, leaning forward so that he could close Elyan's eyes with a gentle and careful movement. It was the silence that spoke louder than anyone word could ever say. For not even Gwaine to have something to say, Merlin knew that things must be bad. The Round Table were a close knit; they all had their own personal friendships within the group. Gwaine had spent a week locked in a cell with Elyan when Morgana had attempted to take over Camelot for the second time. To see the man who had been his pillar of strength through the time when all hope had seemed lost now lying dead at his feet was clearly getting too much for him.

Merlin's eyes didn't move from the knight's even as he took an automatic step to the side to let Arthur pass. The king had a strong arm wrapped around his wife, and it was clear that he was doing more than simply supporting her. Sure enough, as soon as Arthur got to the top of the stairs, he completely swept Gwen into his arms and proceeded to carry her down.

"You know what to do."

It was unclear who his parting words were addressed at, but Merlin found himself nodding anyway. His feet moved on automatic, crossing the room and picking up Arthur's cloak from where he had left it on the floor. The warlock barely felt the material, his senses wanting to shut down around him as he took it over to Leon. By the time that he reached the remaining knights, they too had unfastened their cloaks. They had to get Elyan home somehow, and so proceeded to wrap the man- no, body – in the deep red. Leon's hands were shaking as he drew it up over Elyan's face.

"I'm going to kill Morgana. I'm going to find her and make her regret ever taking our brother from us." Gwaine's voice was uncharacteristically furious and he leapt to his feet as he did so. The snarl on his face made Merlin take a step backwards, but Percival was on Gwaine's heels. The man didn't even make it to the stairs before his friend was pulling him back again.

"Arthur can't see you like this."

"I don't care! She killed him! Let me go after her!"

"Gwaine, calm down! Don't let Gwen see you like this. Elyan deserves the dignity of a knight, and you acting like this aren't giving him that. Morgana will pay, mark my words. But not now. Now is for Elyan, we have to get him home. Gwaine, please…"

It might have been Percival holding him back, but it was Leon who was speaking, twisting from where he was still kneeling. Gwaine looked like he was going to argue, but then his eyes once again fell on the bundle on the floor. All the fight seemed to simply disappear from him and he sagged against Percival. The larger man held him up for a few moments before softly withdrawing, letting his friend have a moment to compose himself before they faced the royals. Leon was right, they had to show Gwen how much they respected her brother and that they would give him the send-off he deserved. Not only as a knight, but as their friend, as one of them.

"I'm sorry…" Merlin's voice sounded faint to even his own ears, and he knew by the look of concern on Percival's face that he too heard the violent tremor in it.

"Don't be. It's Morgana who should be sorry. This is her fault, not yours, Merlin." Gwaine might have been slightly calmer, but the hatred was still burning in his voice. Merlin found himself swallowing heavily around the lump in his throat. How could he tell the man that he was wrong? Merlin was as much to blame as Morgana; he had been warned that one of them wouldn't be making it back alive. Yet he had still let Elyan go off alone, he had let this happen.

This time, Merlin didn't even try to disguise the tear running down his face. He made no move to brush it away, not seeing why he should hide the fact that he was mourning the loss of a dear friend. Leon was right, Morgana would pay for this. She had taken too many of Merlin's friends from him and threatened even more.

Merlin was not going to allow this to continue. He would not let this happen, not any longer. How could he be a powerful warlock when he couldn't even protect those closest to him? He had been the one to lead them here in the end; he had led Elyan to his death…

Before his thoughts could go any further, Leon nodded at Percival. Between the two of them, they hoisted Elyan's body into the air, resting it on their shoulders and holding him high. Gwaine looked for a long second like he was going to crack again at seeing that, but straightened his shoulders and drew his sword. With it held in the air as a salute, he slowly began leading the way down the stairs, Percival and Leon directly behind him.

Merlin found himself following again before he knew what he was doing. As the strange procession reached the top of the stairs, he found that he was watching the scene in almost slow motion. Gwaine had disappeared around the bend, but as Percival reached the same bend, his foot seemed to slip on the stair slightly. The knight reacted immediately to correct his position, but as he did so, Elyan seemed to wobble slightly.

Merlin didn't think, he just reacted.

Gold flooded his irises as he let the magic escape from him. Elyan was held perfectly still as Percival steadied himself again. The knight glanced back over his shoulder at Leon, the latter giving a nod to continue when Percival was ready. As they carefully continued, disappearing from sight, Merlin sank to the floor. He might have not been able to stop Elyan from being killed, but he could certainly make sure that he didn't fall now.

Sitting on the top step, the warlock rested his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. For a long moment, he could just feel the grief crushing down on him. How many more were going to warn him about the dangers to come and just force him to watch from the side lines? What good was a warning if he couldn't do anything to stop it from happening? He should have done something, he should have made sure that Elyan…

That Elyan what?

Merlin knew deep down that he would have never been able to stop the knight from pulling ahead when the rest of the group were held up by the traps. It wasn't just his Queen and his friend that he was fighting to save. It was his sister. The one person who meant more to him than anything else, that had helped define the man Elyan would eventually become. Merlin could have said all that he wanted, it wouldn't have made any difference. Arthur might have listened, but there was no way that Elyan would have. He had wanted to get to Gwen no matter what it took, and regardless of the cost.

Merlin knew that Elyan would do the same again if it meant that Gwen was safe from Morgana. In a way, he knew that any of the knights would. Gwen was their friend as well as Arthur's heart, there would be no telling what would happen to the kingdom if she had been allowed to be lost. Yet it was fitting in a twisted way that it was Elyan who had fallen prey to Morgana's magic.

He had fought for his sister, and he had won. No further harm had come to Gwen because Elyan had slowed down any other magic by continuing to fight the sword. He had saved her, he had done what he had set out to do. With that thought burning in his mind, Merlin slowly stood up. He had to cling to the idea that Elyan would have done anything to save his sister, regardless of what the consequences might have been. Even so, his magic was angry at the fact that they had been manipulated into this sort of situation again and Merlin turned to face the room.

With a wordless cry, his magic erupted from him. Dust fell from the ceiling as the stones stirred in their settings. But it was the sword that had cost Elyan his life that felt Merlin's true wrath. The warlock didn't even know what spell he was using, if indeed he was using one at all. He could feel Morgana's dark magic pressing back against his, but with a snarl that rivalled Gwaine's, he forced his way through it and ordered the metal to obey him rather than the witch.

By the time Merlin finally drew the magic back again, panting softly, the sword was unrecognisable. Rather than a deadly blade, all that was left was a twisted heap of metal. Certainly not something that could harm anyone ever again.

"Merlin?"

Hearing Gwaine's concerned voice floating up the stairs, Merlin forced himself to take a deep breath.

"Coming!" He knew that he couldn't allow the knights back up here, he couldn't let them see what he had done to the sword. Instead, he moved back into the room and picked up Elyan's own weapon. As a knight, he was entitled to have it with him as he journeyed to the next life, and Merlin was going to make sure that he was given every honour he deserved and more. Somehow, he didn't think that Arthur would argue against his requests this time. Tucking the weapon under his arm, he moved back across to the stairs and began his descent.

Leon had been right about one thing though. Morgana was going to pay for this.

Merlin was going to make sure of it.