Title: The True Meaning Behind The Prophesy

Author: LM_Quin

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, sadly.

Word Count: 2872

A/N: This is unbeta-ed so all pretty mistakes go to me! We're nearing the end of S4 *Cries* so I hope you like this (it's my wish that hopes to be fulfilled during S5 xD )

X

She has always known.

Maybe it was the first time she laid eyes on him, maybe it was even before. It did not matter. What mattered was that she had known then just as she knew now that this man standing before her would be her doom.

They were alone in the throne room, her men had killed everyone that stood in their way and, the ones who were lucky enough not to meet the end of a pointy sword, were now running for their lives.

He was the only living soul that remained in the castle, apart from her, of course.

She found it funny though, that of all people, it was he whose destiny was so strongly linked to hers. How could a man that looked skinnier than a broomstick and who was clumsier than a clown be the powerful Emrys?

Life was indeed an irony, Morgana thought, as she looked down on him.

"What do you want, Emrys?" She spat, venom dripping her every word.

Merlin met her icy gaze and stood his ground. He was not going to let Morgana intimidate him, or persuade him to abandon the mission he had been entrusted with.

"For you to stop this, Morgana"

The usurper laughed evilly, throwing her head back shamelessly. She couldn't believe how a servant could speak to a woman like her so freely, as if he knew her. He thought he did, but he didn't. Maybe he had known her in the past, they had been friends after all, but the girl who had befriended this man standing before her now was dead, murdered at his very own hands.

"Stop?" she mocked, leaning forward in her chair to be closer to him "Why would I do such a thing?"

Merlin seemed to take her words silently. He did not flinch under the intensity of her gaze, he merely stood there, as rigid as he could. He knew he was the only one powerful enough to defeat her now. Her powers had grown too much.

"Because if you don't, I'll be forced to kill you"

"You?" Morgana burst into a mocking laughter again "Kill me? Please, Merlin. Spare yourself the humiliation"

Merlin took some steps closer to her. She was still leaning over the throne so that her face was merely inches away from his.

"I beg you, Morgana" He whispered "Don't make me do this"

Maybe it was his imagination but Merlin could swear he saw Morgana falter for the briefest of seconds. However, she recovered as fast as she had doubted and straightened herself in the throne again.

She was clearly rejecting his plea and challenging him to do what he was claiming he could.

Merlin took a step backwards and shook his head in denial. He didn't want to do this but she was leaving him with no choice.

"No" he whispered, more to himself than anyone else, but Morgana still heard him.

"I'm the rightful heir to this throne and no one will take that away from me" she said, her voice devoid of all emotion "you people took everything I had away from me already. I will not lose this too" Morgana stood up and lifted her hand to the air, already casting a spell.

Merlin looked to the ceiling, where the spell was being conjured. A cloud of black smoke was being formed there. It spiraled like a tornado, furious in its uncontrollable rage, much like its owner.

"Morgana, stop!" He pleaded into deaf ears as the air in the room began to turn into a whirling wind.

"Never!" she hissed, momentarily shooting a devious glance to him.

The tornado Morgana was conjuring in the ceiling was expanding, growing in width and turning darker in time. The strength that the spell had was causing the air to whirl furiously around them. Suddenly the tornado began to descend to the floor until it touched the stone ground.

Merlin gasped, he knew what she was planning to do.

There was a time in the forest where he had used that same spell on her. He had casted a powerful black tornado and sent it her way. The impact sent Morgana flying backwards and colliding harshly on the ground.

She was using that same spell on him now, only that hers seemed to be twice more powerful.

"Morgana, please stop!" He cried from across the division that the tornado had created between them.

Morgana looked at him and what he saw made the hair on his arms stand on end. She was no longer the frightened little girl he had met all those years ago in Camelot. She was no longer the King's rebel ward. She was no longer the fragile girl whose nightmares kept the whole castle awake. No, she had come a long way from that. She was no longer a girl, she was a woman, a woman that had power enough to conquer this Kingdom and, possibly, all the rest of the Kingdoms as well.

Morgana had to be stopped.

The tornado began to advance, heading closer to him. He could feel it, but he did not care. His mind was somewhere else.

Morgana.

Merlin could remember her smile, that radiant smile that seemed warmer than the sunlight. He remembered the way she carried herself around the castle halls, always stealing glances from the knights and servants. She had the whole Kingdom at her feet. She was the life of this castle, always brimming with joy, always fighting to defend the helpless. She had such a beautiful soul, such a compassionate spirit.

Merlin allowed the tears that were welling up in his eyes to roll down his cheeks and let his head wonder around thoughts of the girl who had so long ago stolen his heart from him.

He screamed.

X

Silence reverberated all around him, not a sound could be heard. Everything was submerged into darkness because he refused to open his eyes. He refused to see what he had done.

A whimper in the distance made him snap his eyes open in panic.

No.

Merlin ran to the figure lying sprawled over the stone floor of the throne room, blood oozing from her wound.

A mortal wound.

"No… what have I done?" Tears fell from his cheeks as he took in the horrendous sight before him "Morgana"

He kneeled in front of her and put a hand on her shoulder to turn her around so that she could face him. Her face made his heart constrict.

Pain was written all over her features, her eyes were closed and her lips were pressed tightly into a thin line. Her face had turn ashen and her skim clammy.

Merlin brought a hand to cover Morgana's wound in her side and the other to touch her forehead.

She opened her eyes slowly when she felt his hand on her skin.

Their gazes met and locked in what seemed an eternity, both lost in each other's grief.

"So th-this is how.. how it ends" Morgana struggled to say, blood spilling from her lower lip.

Merlin could only shake his head, the pain he was feeling already too intense to utter a word. He didn't want to do this, he hadn't even been aware of what he was doing. He wanted to stop her, yes, but he never intended on killing her, not really.

"No" tears welled up in his eyes again "No" he said more firmly, pressing his hand harder on Morgana's wound.

He was trying to stop the bleeding but it didn't take a physician apprentice to notice that Morgana was beyond saving. She had but minutes, maybe even less.

"I al-always knew you were… going t-to be my… doom" Something similar to a knowing smile appeared on Morgana's lips as her eyes began to close again.

She cannot feel the pain from her wound anymore but she still feels pain. Even more pain than the wound was causing her to experience. This kind of feeling has nothing to do with physical pain, no. it's but a complete different kind, one she wasn't used to experiencing for a long time now.

In her earlier years, when she lived within these castle walls as Uther's beloved ward she had been so sensitive of those around her. She had always cared beyond what was considered healthy, she had stood up for the innocent, even if it meant ending up in the dungeons and chained up against a wall. It did not matter to her, because her soul was at peace with helping others, with seeing to it that good prevailed.

When Morgause took her away she was consumed by rage and hatred, not because she truly hated anyone but because she was utterly confused. The people she had cared for, the people she had stood up for and defended had turned their backs on her when she needed them the most.

She had always been there for them, and when she needed them in return, they were gone. Even more so, this man trying to stop the bleeding from her wound and begging her to stay with him had killed her. No once, but twice. He was the reason that compassionate girl had died, he was the reason she had become what she was now: A lost and misunderstood girl.

But no matter what harm had been done to her, no matter how much her soul was torn, a part in her still craved to be accepted by her friends and loved ones again. She still craved to be the Lady Morgana back again; the girl who stole the knight's hearts, the girl who defied Uther like no one else dared to, that girl who everyone adored. She wanted to be simply Morgana again.

But she couldn't.

She was dying, and she was grateful that she was. Death meant oblivion and, for a soul as tormented as hers, oblivion was as close to heaven as she would ever get.

"Can you hear me? Stay with me, Morgana"

Merlin's voice sounded so far away now.

"Please, Morgana" he begged, and even though she couldn't see him, she could feel his tears landing on her skin "Please, don't leave me"

Morgana felt her heart clench and, just for a moment, she remembered what being the old Morgana was like. She felt what compassion could do to one's self and she opened her eyes. She did her best to focus her gaze on Merlin's watery eyes. The pain from the wound was back again, throbbing like a million little needles piercing her skin but she paid no attention to it. She had to find his eyes; she had to let him know.

"It's-it's alright" she whispered, another prickle of blood spilling from her lips "Let me g-go"

Merlin shook his head frantically, tears falling from his eyes as a waterfall. His pain was too great.

"No I can't let you die, Morgana" he had somehow found her hand, without her noticing, and was now giving it a squeeze "I saved you once, I can save you again" he said, determination brimming on his face.

"No" she whispered, more firmly this time "I de-deserve this… let me d-die" she closed her eyes as another wave of excruciating pain swept over her.

"No, I won't" he said, trying to sound decided but failing miserably "I won't let you"

Morgana opened her eyes to meet misty blues. She studied his features for a moment, trying to see right through him but not being able to, not after all this time apart from him.

"Why?" she asked, confusion echoing in her voice.

His eyes bore into hers with such intensity that Morgana thought she was going to burn alive. He had never looked at her that way; it was making her skin crawl.

She felt him drop her hand and something similar to disappointment ran through her. He took his hand away from hers and placed it over his own, on top of her wound, and pressed his palms flat against her stomach.

"Because I love you" he answered in a mere whisper, so fragile that Morgana wondered if she had heard him at all or it was the excruciating pain that was making her imagine things.

She didn't have time to wonder what it had been because a strange wave of warmth invaded her body and began to spread all over, reaching every inch of her. The nice warmth soon turned into heat and that heat into unbearable fire surging through her. She felt her skin sizzling and she thrashed in the floor, convulsing desperately from the sensation. She screamed in pain and tried to rip her clothes off in a vain attempt at ridding herself from the fire.

But nothing would help.

Just when she thought she would die like that, burning from the inside, the flames seemed to extinguish and her body slowly met the cold floor again.

For a moment, Morgana tried to catch her breath, her hand still clutching the clothes over her heart. It didn't take her long and when she did, she also opened her eyes and met his.

Merlin was leaning over her in a protective stance, his face was contorted with palpable grief and suffering but what shocked her most were his eyes. His normally beautiful sea blue eyes were now a misty, bloodshot dark blue and they were filled with tears.

She raised a hand to brush his tears away but he caught her wrist in mid air and pulled her up, bringing her body into a crashing embrace. She buried her face into his chest and sobbed, allowing two years' pain to roll down her cheeks, and he, in turn, tightened his grip around her in a soothing manner.

"I couldn't let you die, I couldn't" Morgana felt him cry again as he rocked her body, they were both crying "I couldn't"

Morgana raised her head from his embrace to meet his haunted eyes. She can see the pain, the guilt. She can now see all that he has suffered, the weight that poisoning her has made him carry upon his shoulders all this time. She understands what he's been through and she forgives him. Just as he forgives her for all the things she has done.

"Shh" It is her time to soothe him now "You saved me, Merlin" She whispers, brushing a tear away from his face "…in more ways than one" she leans closer to him until her lips brushes his "You saved me"

X

Morgana stares at the horizon; the breeze causes her raven hair to whirl around. She is at the highest tower, the one she used to visit when she was a young girl to clear her mind.

She can see the villagers of Camelot down below. They returned after some time when the true king took his rightful place upon the throne. Somehow her brother was able to forgive her and he allowed her to stay in the castle with him.

There are some things in life that she will never understand, but Morgana knows better than anyone that there are no ones to blame, not anymore. Both sides wronged each other, both sides made their mistakes. Maybe that was what Arthur understood as well. After all, he had always seen the good in people.

She finds comfort in watching the villagers rebuild the houses that her army burnt to the ground. It feels like a new beginning, it feels that there is still hope.

A pair of arms slip around her waist and she leans into the touch. He always knows where to find her.

"Everything alright, My Lady?" he asks, planting a chaste kiss on her neck.

She has always known, she was even warned about him once. She was told that this man, who is now holding her in his arms, would be her doom. And he was, just not in the way she thought he would.

"Yes, everything is fine now"

X

I deeply believe that this is how the story will end. I believe Merlin is Morgana's doom, just not in the way they make it seem he will. I believe he will be the end of her dark days, the doom for her evil plans. I believe he is gonna save her from herself.

Well, guys this was my first Mergana fic so bear with me! Be nice and welcome me to the family with some reviews? Pretty please with sugar on top ? nah, seriously, I would really like to know if you liked this, if I should continue writing, if I should dedicate myself to sell fruit instead or.. yeah you get it xD

Also, if you like vids im a youtube vidder and you can find my Mergana or Armor vids here:

.com/user/xCrimsonRedRosesx?feature=mhee

Least but not last: MERRT X-MAS TO YOU ALL 3