He went there every day. The pier. She'd watch from a distance as he stood there, day after day. There was no need to guess what he was waiting for. She could feel it in the air just as well as he could. Arthur was returning, and soon.
It was a strange feeling, making the journey back towards the living. She'd been the first to return, awaking in the cold, snowy North, a place achingly similar to the vague memories she retained of her own birthplace.
After that, she'd done everything she could to make returning easier for the others. Tristan and Isolde, awaking separately in their respective homelands, France and Ireland, discovered plane tickets in their pockets, guiding them together again. Gwen found herself with a flat in Cardiff and a message asking her to be patient. Freya was given all the information she needed to find Merlin again, accompanied by a note advising her to wait until Arthur's return before using it, advice she'd strangely listened to. With a great deal of effort, she managed to delay the knight's return and bring them all back together, so they could accustom as the team they were used to. And Morgana, Morgana was personally led to her sister, and the child Mordred, and advised to make a new start, someplace far, far away, or face her wrath.
But it wasn't like their old times. Not yet at least. Not without the young Pendragon. But when he came, everything would be as it was. Magic would return and order would be restored, just as was destined. But as she watched Merlin, it occurred to her that the world could never be what it was before. Because he people in this future, a thousand years later, they'd found their own magic; technology. They could do things they would never have even dreamed of in the days of Camelot.
But still, here they were. Waiting. Waiting on a pier in Brighton. As frozen in time as the day magic had claimed them.
And if Merlin had turned around just a second sooner, maybe he would have seen her. Caught her blue, blue eyes. Glimpsed that dark hair from beneath her bright blue hood. And that would have been enough. That would have been enough for him to know her. But he was too late and she was gone.
Later though, when he returned to his flat, Merlin would find a note. A simple note, containing only the bare essentials, but enough to lift him from the pit he'd been slipping into, for good this time.
` Pen-y-Fann, Brecon Beacons.
2/12/13, Midnight.
He will need a friend.
-N
A/N- Okay, so this story's been echoing around my head for a while now, but I never really had the urge to write it down until the other day. I know I never explicitly said who the narrator was, but I'm hoping I made it obvious enough. If not, then clearly I'm overdoing the subtleties again. Sorry… Also, for the many of you who probably won't know it, the Brecon Beacons and Pen-y-Fann are real places. The Brecon Beacons are a collection of hills/mountains in Wales, not too far from where I live. Oh, and finally, 2nd December is the Winter Solstice, which I thought would seem a very powerful day for Arthur to return. It's the only thing I looked up.
And that's about it. Please review as it helps me massively with my ability to keep writing!