Disclaimer: Merlin isn't mine. I wish he was...
Merlin had to die. No-one was allowed to be as powerful as her. No-one. He had to die, and he had to die slowly, and painfully, like the last mage to get in her way.
She hadn't been this angry in twenty years. She'd made her plans carefully, and happily. Merlin would die for his insult to her. Slowly.
But, though she tried to ignore it, when she came face to face with Merlin for the first time, she felt the slightest twinge of regret at what she had to do. There was so much potential there... if he wasn't so obviously devoted to Arthur...
But it wasn't just that. He cared, more than anyone she'd known since... he cared for people so deeply. He even seemed to care for her. If he weren't so devoted to Arthur... oh, he could really have been someone. She could have helped him with that. She could have given him the recognition he wanted, and deserved. He really could have been someone.
He could have been someone to her.
Well?