It had been four months.
Four, long, excruciating months since the battle for Camelot had ended.
It was almost unafathomable to believe.
The battle had raged on for only a couple of days. Everyone had been sure that it would last for weeks, that Camelot's courageous knights and their King would be able to defend them, would be able to save them from the unspeakable horror that awaited them should their army fail.
But that had not been the case.
The battle began on the dawn of one morning and ended on the sunset of the other. It had been quick, brutal, and without mercy. Both sides were determined to finish the other one off. In the end, both sides of the battle had suffered great losses, not only in the knights ranking - but in their leaders as well.
Merlin had been there.
He had seen it all.
He had heard the battle cries.
Had watched as crimson blood stained the ground.
He had been helping as much as he could to fight back the forces around them, but he could not be everywhere at once and in one second - everything that he had been living for got struck down in a mighty blow.
Arthur Pendragon had fallen.
The King of Camelot had fought gallantly. He had cut down the enemy with his knights by his side and things had looked bright there for a time, but then he got seperated from the others and he had found himself face to face with the maker of this battle.
Mordred.
Merlin had seen them there in the wooded area, their swords clashing, the hate in their eyes as they faced one another. He had rushed across the battle field, passing the dead and the barely living as he had done so, trying his best to get to the two of them to help Arthur the best that he could. But he was too far and their battle was quick. Mordred was younger, faster, and with his sword he plunged it into Arthur's side. Arthur's mouth opened in a quiet scream of anguish as he fell to his knees. Merlin had then watched as Modred stepped up to him, ready to finish him off. Everything within the aged warlock had frozen within him. He knew in that instant he was about to watch his King die at the hands of a horrible enemy - however, Arthur would not be Arthur if he did not surprise Merlin from time to time.
With all the strength he had left, Arthur yanked the sword from his side and plundged it up into Mordred's gut. The movement had been swift and his target had been struck. Modred stumbled back in shock, unable to believe what had happened, then, slowly, he too fell to the ground. A moment later, his body was motionless, his soul gone forever.
Merlin's feet did not seem to get him to Arthur's side fast enough. When he did manage to reach the King he was almost lost to the world. He smiled, faintly, when he looked up into the aged warlock's face.
"Merlin," He had said. "You're here."
"I told you I would be."
"I'm sorry...the battle is lost. I tried...I did..." Arthur's voice was weak.
Merlin did not want his last moments to be in regret. He smiled warmly down at his King. "You have not failed Camelot, Arthur. It is safe now because of you. You have done well."
Arthur's lips managed a bigger smile at those words, then, slowly, the light began to fade from them. Merlin held him in his arms, watching as his King, his friend, passed away from this world and into the next.
The day was still fresh in Merlin's mind, as if it had happened yesterday.
After the battle, Camelot was saved, yes, but it fell under new rule and it was not the same since Arthur had passed. Merlin had not brought himself to go back, in fact, he had remained closed off from the world, unable to face it in his grief. He felt as if he had failed Camelot, had failed Arthur, and in a way he had. Arthur was meant to be the best King Camelot had ever known and he had been - for a short time. Now Camelot was just another Kingdom, just another place.
The worst part was having the Sorceress Mabe constantly around, gloating about how her young Modred had managed to kill the great King Arthur.
Merlin had hidden away to get away from her taunting words, though they still haunted him in his sleep.
He was heartbroken.
He had watched as Arthur grew from a babe to the young man he was when he became King. He had watched him go from having nothing - to having everything. True, Arthur's time as King was not as pleasant as they had both dreamed. There had been the time Lancelot and Guenieve stole away together and there had been many other battles and trials with the people and enemies of Camelot, but in the end Arthur was the King everyone loved and adored and he had made the kingdom such a better place to be in.
His grieving period was over though.
True, it had only been four months, but Merlin did not waste those four months crying and despairing. No, he had been hard at work coming up with a plan - a plan to fix what had gone wrong.
If anyone else knew what he was up to, he knew that he would be stopped. The Druids and other's out there like him would say it was unreasonable, that his plan would only produce results that would harm everyone, but Merlin had to believe in what his heart was telling him.
And his heart was telling him that he could fix what had been done.
For the past three months he had been working on gathering his strength, on working on a spell that would change everything - not just the results of the battle, but everything else leading up to it.
Merlin was going to change the world.
He figured it would be the only way. Once he started up the spell it would only be a short period of time before the Sorceress Mabe realized what he was doing and tried to stop it. If he tried to change only a little bit of history, Mabe would soon realize what he had done and would make everything the way it had been again. He had to go farther back. He had to make changes in everyone's lives, he had to rewrite history in order to make things work the next time around.
The spell was strong and he knew once he used it, he too would cease being the warlock he had become. He would have to relearn everything, his life would not turn out the way it had the first time around. It was a risk - but it had to be taken.
Merlin's aged face looked down at the spell before him which letters glowed with power. His soul trembled at what he was about to do, but his heart was calm.
"I will not fail you a second time, Arthur." He said quietly, his eyes scanning the spell. "Camelot will be yours and you will live a long life, and everyone will know happiness and peace again. I swear this to you."
With those words, Merlin's hand laid itself on the piece of paper and he began to recite the spell.
"Vox ut es intus mihi , audite is poena repletus vox. Averto manuum of vicis rewrite ut quod has been perfectus , adfero a novus semita pro totus sumo." His voice echoed throughout time, his eyes shinned brighter than the sun, and the world around him began to shift and groan under the weight of the spell. Somewhere, far off, Mabe felt the powerful magic being used. Instantly she knew what Merlin was trying to do - but it was too late. The spell was too strong for her to stop.
In an instant everything as they knew it, ceased to exist...
Ealdor - Cendred's Kingdom.
"Push! You must push!"
"I can't! AHHHH!"
"The child is coming, you must push!"
Brunette curls spread about on pillows, sweat lingered on the young woman's brow. In all her life she had not done anything as difficult as this and she wished she had a strong hand to hold, but she was alone except for the midwife that was trying her best to help her through the birthing of the child within her.
A pain filled cry resounded all around. Outside, villagers were listening in. Some were pacing, others were just sitting there, praying that the young woman within the house made it through the child birthing. Though she had no husband to claim her, the young woman inside was loved by everyone and they all wanted things to go smoothly for her.
"PUSH! Now!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The young woman pushed with all of her might. A moment later, the sound of a baby crying filled her ears.
She heaved a sigh of relief, tears springing in her eyes instantly. "Oh my baby..." she said breathlessly, more tears filled her eyes as she began to laugh , happy that it was over with. She looked over at the midwife who was cleaning up the child. "What is it?" She asked.
The midwife smiled brightly, bringing the now robbed baby over to her. "Tis a boy."
The young woman smiled brighter and brought out her arms to take him. The midwife placed the baby in her arms and she brought him close to her, looking down into the precious face of the baby boy that God had blessed her with.
"He's beautiful." She said, tears trailing down her face.
The midwife nodded in agreement. "What will you name him, Hunith?" She asked.
The young woman, Hunith, looked down at her newborn son and for some reason a name sprang to mind that she just couldn't shake.
"Merlin." She said lovingly. "His name will be Merlin..."