Author's Note: For those who follow Merlin forums or Google Merlin often, you may recognise why I warn that this is a spoiler. For those who don't, BE WARNED. THIS IS CREATIVE INTERPRETATION OF SOME STUFF I READ FOR THE FINALE OF SEASON 4! (And it kills me that they end the season on the scene they are going to. *sobs* Have to wait a whole year to find out what happens... :'( lol I hope they don't mess up season 5 now...)

It has been so long since I published anything, and this is my first Merlin fic, although I have haunted the fandom for around two years now. It feels good to contribute something, but please god don't judge my talent by my old InuYasha fics. They are... old. lol

This will have two chapters, I believe. The next chapter will be up in the next day or two. I don't really want to explore beyond the end of season 4 in this fic, but I might put up a new story at some point later if the urge takes me.

And finally, ENJOY! :)

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine :'( Even the storyline isn't entirely original. *sighs* One day... lol

UPDATE: Thank you, reviewer Mark, for pointing out a problem with the council meeting members, which also led me to realise that I left gwen out as well! :O How mean of me! But all fixed now - thanks! :)

AND SO IT ALL COMES TOGETHER

Arthur pulled Guinevere closer, holding her on his lap with a hand around her waist as he tucked a wayward strand of her hair behind her ear, allowing him to rest his chin comfortably on her shoulder as he confessed his thoughts to her.

"It's just, she may never have turned on us if she hadn't been scared for her life. At the time we only knew her as my father's ward. She was probably terrified when she discovered she had magic. She grew up seeing Uther executing magic-users for simply having magic, saw him send the knights... send me... to raid Druid camps, with orders to kill everyone, even the innocents, the women and children. She probably thought he would turn on her as well if he knew and even now I wonder if she might have been right. Perhaps her being Uther's daughter, my step-sister, may have even made it worse for her if she approached him or got caught or anything.

"I cannot even begin to imagine what she must have been going through - I don't know that even I could have handled such stress . We both spent so long fighting for my - our - father's approval. To find out that you had the very thing he hated so much..."

Arthur trailed off, his pensive mood painfully clear in the heavy silence. Gwen turned towards Arthur slightly, cupping his face with one hand as she sought the right words.

"I know I would have broken long before Morgana if I had been in her position, but neither of us were, and as much as we could dwell in what-ifs about whether we would turned out quite the way Morgana did, with such a campaign against her family and her home, there is no longer anything we can do to change what has happened. We can't undo what your father did, and we can't turn back time and go back to when we may have been able to help Morgana find a different path. She chose her way, and paid the price for it when she chose such poor allies as Agravaine and that other sorcerer."

Gwen felt Arthur shift at Agravaine's name and saw the pain he felt at this new betrayal fill his face. It seemed he hadn't yet come to terms with his last close relative also turning on him and helping Morgana conquer Camelot - again.

"We can only move forward now," Gwen finished at nearly a whisper, kissing Arthur gently on the forehead.

"Yes," Arthur began. "Forward. I have spent a long time wondering what sort of Camelot I want to build. I have such wonderful people surrounding me. You, Merlin, Gaius and the knights. Geoffrey. You have all taught me so much, about being true to myself, and not simply following in my father's footsteps and trying to please the council, but to take care of the kingdom and its people. I wonder if, perhaps, my father made a mistake. All the sorcerers I have faced have been calling for revenge. Trying to kill my father or I as vengeance for a fallen son or daughter, a brother or husband or father, a wife or sister. A mother. I can't recall any of them attacking me for any other reason. Even Morgana was only fighting for her own freedom and that of her kindred.

"Perhaps the problem isn't magic. Perhaps the problem is how we have dealt with magic instead."

Gwen could feel it in the air - the significance of what Arthur was about to say. The power of his next words as uttering them made his weeks of internal debate real. Their result an almost physical presence looming over them.

"Perhaps it is time we changed the law."

MERLINMERLINMERLINARTHUR!

The wedding and Guinevere's coronation were absolutely stunning. Beautiful didn't even begin to cover it. Everyone was smiling, hope was restored, and the continuing efforts to once again repair Camelot's damaged buildings and fortifications were unable to dampen the festival atmosphere. The people loved Guinevere, and loved Arthur for loving her. They loved them both for freeing Camelot from Morgana's tyranny again, and loved the knights who fought at their side. Flowers, mead and music abounded as the revellers celebrated the glorious occasion.

Arthur waited a few days before he dropped his bombshell on them. He was unsure how his changes to the law would be received, so he was careful to not place the celebration as close to the law change as he would have liked. He announced it to a closed council of his new wife, his round table knights and only the most eminent of nobles, such as Geoffrey and Tristan and Isolde, and his most trusted advisor, Gaius.

Merlin was also present at the time, being both Arthur's manservant and close friend, it wasn't like Merlin didn't follow him everywhere anyway, and although he still hesitated to admit it, he did value Merlin's input. He seemed to be having those weird fits of wisdom more and more as time passed and Arthur found Merlin to be incredible moral support. Although he wasn't sure how Merlin would react to this one - he had only spoken of his plans with Guinevere, and they had both been very careful to keep it quiet until this meeting.

When Arthur had said his piece, announcing that he was lifting the ban on magic and making it so that only the usual criminal actions would be punishable - thus freeing the Druids, healers and innocent practitioners, although he knew it would take everyone quite a while to adjust to the new laws and freedoms given to magic users - he had gazed firmly and confidently around the table.

The knights took it in varying degrees from Sir Leon's cautious concern to Gwaine's cheerful grin, no doubt planning on how to find a sorcerer and get him drunk for who knew what antics - maybe he should make some sort of provision for that? Geoffrey gave an approving nod, as did Tristan and Isolde, although he had expected that given that where they came from magic wasn't controlled nearly as strictly as it had been in Camelot. Gaius, who he had expected the strongest reaction from, given that he was a practitioner before the Great Purge, hadn't reacted at all how Arthur had anticipated. His eyes were wide, and he definitely looked shocked, however he wasn't actually paying much attention because it seemed that all his focus was instead intent on... Merlin?

Arthur turned to see what was wrong and was greeted to a rather curious sight. Merlin was even paler than normal, all the blood gone from his face. He didn't seem to be able to decide on what expression he wanted to display on his face - in fact, his eyes seemed to be getting blanker by the second!

And Merlin promptly fainted against the council table.

It took a moment, but Gaius soon snapped out of his thoughts and bustled around the table to see to Merlin. Arthur watched as Gaius directed a surprisingly serious Gwaine to carry Merlin to the physician's quarters so that he could check him out, all the while wondering what could possibly have caused such a strong reaction - surely Merlin didn't fear magic so much, he was friends with a sorcerer himself back in Ealdor growing up, wasn't he?

"Well, it definitely breaks the tension a bit, having someone faint at the table, doesn't it?" Elyan supplied, before they uneasily got back to the meeting, minus three people, working out the finer details of Arthur's largely accepted new proposal.

Arthur's attention however, was most certainly now divided as he contemplated his puzzling manservant, who even after so many years, still managed to surprise him at the oddest moments, a niggling suspicion beginning to form in the back of his mind.

Please Read and Review - I would love to know what you all think about my interpretation of the spoilers out there! :)

Next Chapter: The moment we have all been waiting for...