(Note: Based on the idea that with the Disir, Mordred actually died and therefore this single event caused a rippling effect where both Gwaine and Elyan lived, and Arthur, while heavily wounded, wasn't destined to die. First Merlin fic so forgive me if they're not in character)

The woods were quiet as he hung onto Merlin's shoulders. The Saxon patrol they'd hidden from continued on without pausing. Arthur tried not to moan in pain, instead letting out a soft, pained grunt. The blade the warrior had used had, apparently, been magical in nature. That was all that Arthur had really understood about the conversation between Gaius and Merlin and he could only assume that that made the healing process more…complicated.

A whinny broke out and he heard Merlin yell out. He opened his mouth to say something, only to watch in horror from his position on the ground as his friend was thrown back. Morgana, looking ragged and more than a little insane, moved slowly over to him. "Pleasant to see you again, brother. I see you aren't long for this world, but don't worry. You won't be alone."

Before he could say anything, do anything other than gasp a bit when she pressed onto his wound to cause pain, some violent force had thrown her back, slamming her against the tree. Merlin was looking downright murderous. As if not even aware of what he was doing, he thrust his hand out and slammed her with the same lightning that Arthur had seen on the battlefield. Though Morgana screamed in pain, she levered herself up and he saw what he viewed as pure madness in her eyes. Their powers clashed again and again, cracking the bark of trees and it was a wonder Merlin could even move. When he did lever himself off the ground, he moved slowly, as if his very bones were broken and he was forcing them to work anyway.

"I am a high priestess! No mortal weapon can kill me," she hissed, reaching out and sinking her magic into Merlin.

"This…is no…ordinary blade," was the reply and when had Merlin managed to move close enough to grab his sword? Excalibur was thrust into Morgana with a ferocity he wouldn't have believed in the gentle soul that was his friend.

"I die…Emrys…but I will take…you with me…"

With a strength that amazed him, Morgana drew the sword from her own body before plunging it into Merlin's stomach. He heard someone scream and realized belatedly that it was from himself. Morgana slumped to the ground, the life disappearing from her before she hit the earth.

"No!"

Arthur crawled his way over to Merlin as he slumped to his knees and pressed his hands to his chest. Before he could even lever himself to his feet, he felt hands gripping his shoulders, distantly realizing that he had paid no attention to the approaching hoof beats. Everything was white noise in his ears. Arthur didn't even recognize the blood pouring from his wound or the hands of his friends on him. "Merlin! Merlin!"

It was Percival and Elyan holding him back, trying to support him, get him on his feet. He didn't even feel the pain anymore. Something deep in his chest roared at seeing Gwaine and Leon holding Merlin, whose eyes had slipped closed. "Merlin! Are you listening to me?! Open your eyes! Heal yourself, use your damn magic! Damn you, that's an order! Merlin!"

Merlin didn't move and Arthur didn't know what to do. He knew nothing of magic, didn't even know the true meaning behind Excalibur until just a few minutes ago. All he knew was that they were heading to the lake because something in there could help Arthur and if it could help him, it could damn well help Merlin. "The lake! Get us to the lake!"

"Sire—"

"The lake, Leon! If you won't do it, I'll drag him myself!"

It was only as Percival was easing him up on his horse and swinging up behind him did Arthur realize that the adrenaline brought about by what happened to Merlin begin to fade and he felt woozy and lightheaded. By the time they reached the lake, it was taking all the power he had over himself to remain awake. Merlin was too pale, he feared they wouldn't make it.

"We're at the lake, My Lord," Leon said, Percival shaking his shoulder to get his attention.

"Get…Merlin down. Something about the lake…can help."

Elyan helped him down and they laid them both down next to the water's edge and Arthur waited…but nothing happened. "Why…is…nothing…happening," he growled. "Merlin!"

"He's unconscious, My Lord. He has, at most, hours," Gwaine muttered quietly, shifting the young sorcerer in his arms. His hand fell, the knuckles lightly brushing the water.

As if that was the floodgate, the lake began to glow and lights appeared. They hovered over the group before focusing on Arthur. He leaned back into Percival's arms. Despite not knowing what this was, indeed that he could look a fool by doing so, Arthur panted out, "No. Not…me. Merlin. Help…Merlin."

Despite his order, his pleading, he could feel his own wound repair itself. The blood he felt seeping from him stopped and the dizziness that came from blood loss and such a severe wound disappeared. Slowly he sat up and he reached out for one of the lights, but they disappeared back into the lake. "No! No!"

He surged to his feet, tripping over them and landing on his knees in his haste to get over to his former servant. He spared no thought to his knights as he gathered Merlin up in his arms. "Merlin! Merlin, I'm ordering you! Use your magic to save yourself! Wake up, please! Please!"

Somehow the calmness that he had felt at the prospect of his own death had deserted him. The panic he thought he should have felt for himself had been gone and now he thought he could begin to understand how Merlin had felt when he'd been so wounded and they'd trekked to the lake. An admiration filled him at the thought that Merlin had managed to keep all of this, this pain and grief and fear, bottled up beneath a calm face whereas Arthur just…couldn't. He had once said that no man was worth his tears, but this was no ordinary man and he felt no shame as they fell from his eyes.

Never once had he ever considered Merlin's death. He had been confident in his own power to protect him and when he'd learned that Merlin was a sorcerer, had seen his power with his own eyes, his death seemed even more remote. What anger he'd felt, the resentment at Merlin keeping it from him for so many years, seemed petty and stupid when his friend himself was dying in his arms.

"You cannot leave me, Merlin," he begged. "Not now that I know how much you've done for me. How many times you saved me. If you're not here, who's going to save me in the future?" He turned to his knights. "Search the lake, find what saved me! It can help Merlin!"

Something was whispered and his breath caught. Merlin's eyes fluttered once, but remained still. Arthur leaned down, pressing his ear to his mouth, but the words made no sense. Both Elyan and Gwaine had started to wade in the water, to find the beings that had saved the king. He pressed his gloved hands to the wound in Merlin's stomach, earning the softest of grunts that reassured him that the man was alive, at least right then.

There was a roar from above and Leon yelled, "Dragon!"

Elyan and Gwaine rushed out of the lake as the four knights surrounded Arthur, their swords drawn, but instead of attacking, the massive dragon landed in front of them. He'd recognize it anywhere and his jaw dropped. "You… Camelot…"

"My name is Kilgharrah, Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot. I have come to the call of the last Dragonlord."

Dragonlord… He looked down at Merlin in his arms. A sorcerer…and the last Dragonlord on top of it. How many more things had Merlin neglected to tell him? If he was a Dragonlord then… "Save him!" he ordered. "It was your breath that made Excalibur, wasn't it?!"

"Yes, it was, and I cannot."

"Why?!"

"Merlin was born, destined to be yours. He exists to help you and help you he has. He has sacrificed more than you will ever know for you and it was through his actions that you are alive now. The death that you were destined to have was thwarted by Merlin himself, but the world craves balance. The prophecy said you were to die at Mordred's hand and Merlin would live. By saving your life as he had, balance calls for his own death. He knew this. If he lived, you would die."

Arthur sat there in stunned silence as a surge of bile rose in his throat, the same rage and anger he'd felt when he'd first found out that his father had used magic on his mother to conceive him. "I refuse to believe that our fates are predestined! He is not destined to die because I lived! I will never let that happen!"

"Merlin was—"

"He was not born for this!" Arthur yelled, clutching that fading body close to his chest. "He was born to live, to smile! Have you ever seen that smile, dragon?! It makes you want to smile too, it looks like it'll crack his bloody face, and whenever you see it, that he's happy, that's all that matters! I refuse to believe that he was born merely to be my servant, to sacrifice everything he is for me! He was meant to live, to love, to find happiness! He shouldn't have done this!"

"Your life was more important."

"Never! No one's life is more important than his, least of all mine! It is in no way worth less than mine, dragon! If anyone on this earth deserves to live more than anyone, to get that happiness, it's Merlin! Now save him!"

"You do not command me, Arthur Pendragon!"

"No, but he does! Are you really willing to let the last Dragonlord die?!"

There was a moment of grave silence and he heard the shifting of chainmail of his knights as they moved their weight from foot to foot, ready to defend their lord if necessary. "You play with fire, Pendragon. If he is saved, the balance will be lost. There will be no telling the future from there."

"I don't care if I die tomorrow so long as he lives! I never needed any prophecies! I'll make our own future, but I can't do it without Merlin with me!"

There was a heavy sigh before Kilgharrah began to speak, but this time it wasn't in a tongue that Arthur knew. The lake seemed to glow again and the balls of light appeared once more. They hovered there and the dragon said something more before they moved forward to hover around Merlin's wound. It began to slowly close. Despite his clothes soaked in blood, the wound was gone in a matter of minutes. He smiled in relief, running his gloved hand through Merlin's black hair, but the smile disappeared quickly. "Why isn't he waking up?"

"The wound was made by Excalibur and was very grave. I do not know when he will wake, but Merlin is strong. If there is enough life, enough reason to come back, he will." Kilgharrah seemed to gather himself before launching back into the sky.

"We ride for Camelot," Arthur ordered, picking up Merlin who honestly should weigh more than he did.

"Arthur, what's going on?" Gwaine asked the king commandeered Percival's horse and pulled Merlin front of him once he'd swung onto the seat, leaving his knights to sort out who would be riding with who.

"Merlin is a sorcerer, has been since he was born, and is apparently the last dragonlord. He sacrificed himself to save me probably more times than I'll ever be comfortable with and now we have to get him back to Camelot."

Percival swung up behind Elyan. "So he's been hiding all this time?"

"I do not question his loyalty," he said sharply as he urged the horse into a canter. The betrayed feeling had disappeared in their journey to the lake as he realized that Merlin…was still Merlin. He was still his friend, who wanted to make sure those he cared about were safe. He was still the man that took care of him like a servant even though there was no way Arthur could ever consider him as such again.

"No one would ever question Merlin's loyalty, sir," Leon said without a hint of disbelief or doubt.

"The laws will be changed when I return."

"For Merlin?"

He glanced at Gwaine and shook his head. "Because Merlin showed me that magic itself is not evil. It is what people do with it. I cannot believe that Merlin is the only good sorcerer out there."

"I'm just saying that if it was for Merlin, it would be okay with us."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"We all know now, that's all."

"Know what?"

All of his knights gave him odd looks. "About your love for Merlin."

"Love?"

Leon hesitantly spoke, seeming to take over for the rest, "We might…indeed…be misinterpreting what happened at the lake, but to us it seemed as if…you love Merlin. Not even I have seen you so…frantic before."

Love? With Merlin? Arthur looked down at Merlin's unconscious body in his arms. The feelings he'd had back then were similar to that of what he'd felt when Guinevere had been taken…if not eclipsing those. Did that really mean…that he was in love with Merlin? He thought back over to their years together, how he couldn't imagine any of that life without him. Those grins of his as he seemed to play himself for a fool, how they'd laughed and shared so much… Love?

He tried to put the thoughts of out of his mind. There was no time to dwell on it. It was far more important that they reach Camelot. Merlin needed Gaius.