The Finale

It was nearing midnight. The iridescent shine of the moon reflected off the highest turrets and the darkness created imaginary monsters in every crook and cranny of the castle. However, as so often happened in Camelot, a real one also emerged.

Merlin was hurrying home late, as usual. Arthur had kept him this late on purpose, just because he may or may not have tripped the Prince up. Accidentally on purpose. Mainly on purpose. It definitely wasn't Merlin's fault that there was a large mud puddle exactly at the place his face landed. Although Merlin was quite amused and after he had stopped laughing, he had looked up to see Arthur's livid face staring at him covered in mud and well, that just set him off again. Which meant that now he found himself well into the midnight hours, scurrying through the castle on his way back. Bloody Crown Prince.

A low growl from outside made him stop in his tracks. Merlin ran to the nearest window and peered out into the courtyard. There was nothing to be seen and Merlin craned his neck, listening intently for any other noise but heard nothing. He frowned before shaking his head to himself, putting his delusions down to his exhaustion and carried on, reaching Gaius' quarters soon after. He went straight to bed, the strange sound he had heard the last thing on his mind as he drifted off to sleep.

Merlin awoke to the sound of the warning bell ringing throughout the castle. He looked outside and groaned, it was barely past dawn. Merlin considered going back to sleep but he knew it was futile; the warning bell continued to echo outside and he knew Gaius' would be coming to wake him in an hour, he could already hear him moving about in the next room. With a sigh, he pushed himself off the bed and exited his room.

Gaius was just leaving until he saw Merlin had awoken. "Ah Merlin, you're up" he greeted, "The warning bell has been sounded-" As if Merlin couldn't HEAR that. "-I'm going to find out why, I'll need you to come along too." he finished.

Merlin nodded, briefly returning to his room to hurriedly get dressed before accompanying Gaius out the door.

When they arrived, they were greeted by a dead body in the courtyard. Uther and Arthur were standing by the side waiting.

"It's Sir Bevidere," Uther said "He's been attacked in the night."

Gaius immediately bent down to examine the body whilst Merlin inwardly groaned to himself. A dead body equals a monster which means Arthur will fight it and Merlin will have to use magic to protect him, potentially exposing his secret. He was quite happy with his head on his shoulders, thank you very much. Really, wasn't this getting a bit old now? It seemed every week something attacked Camelot and Arthur. Strange.

"It must have been some kind of animal," Gaius interrupted his thoughts, "I will look into the matter further."

Uther nodded and left without further word. Friendly man that Uther.

"MERLIN" Arthur burst into the room, startling Merlin into dropping the plate he was carrying. If Arthur noticed this, he didn't comment on it; instead he simply threw a bag at Merlin. "We're going hunting" he commanded.

Merlin groaned, "Do we have to? Everytime we go hunting, we end up getting attacked and then I have to use magic to save your life and you never notice. Plus, its been grey all day so it's likely to rain" he complained, without pausing for breath. There was a beat as Merlin realised he had just admitted to being magic. He waited for the cry of "Guards" but it didn't come so he looked over at Arthur, who had his back to him and was evidently not listening to word Merlin was saying.

"What are you babbling on about?" Arthur asked, turning around after Merlin threw an apple at his back.

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "I said: I think it's going to rain so we shouldn't go hunting." Arthur looked at him as if he was stupid.

"Don't be stupid Merlin, it's not going to rain" he said, sounding exasperated. Merlin pouted and argued, "It is sire. Look outside."

Arthur walked over to Merlin, stopping when he was straight in front of him, grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. "Merlin," he began slowly, "I am certain of this, there is absolutely no chance that it is going to rain."

Later that night, when they were huddled in a cave to shelter from the rain, a gloating voice sang "I told you it was going to rain."

"Merlin…shut up"

A moment later, "I told you so"

They eventually realised they would not make it back to Camelot before nightfall and decided to camp for the night. The weather was cold and the wind fierce, so much so that Merlin found himself shivering later that night and huddling under his blanket to find some semblance of warmth. The fire they had lit had died out long ago and Merlin daren't risk restarting it with magic.

His teeth chattered and he released a shuddering "Brrrrr". He looked over at Arthur who was staring at him questioningly, with a raised eyebrow that could challenge Gaius.

"What are you you fussing about?" he asked wearily

Merlin rolled his eyes before retorting, "Oh I forgot, Crown Prince's must not feel the cold. I'm freezing you prat."

Arthur sighed before lifting up his blanket and demanding, "Get in here"

Merlin looked quite alarmed. "Er…what?" Was Arthur coming on to him?

"We'll never get any sleep with you being too much of a girl to handle a bit of chill and this is the best way to keep warm. Haven't you ever done this in winter - shared body heat?"

Now he thought about it, he didn't vaguely remember Gaius mentioning something about this in one of his futile attempts to 'teach' Merlin. "Yeah but isn't it a bit…you know?"

"Well I suppose so but we are contractually obliged to have at least one vaguely romantic scene per episode, to give the fan girls something to write about. Now hurry up, I'm tired."

Merlin gave up, because it really was very cold and crawled in the bed with Arthur, snuggling close to him. There may have even bit a cuddle. Maybe a bit of a fumble. Or two.

The next morning, they were packing to leave when an almighty roar sounded in the distance. Without thinking, Arthur grabbed his sword and said to Merlin, "I'm going to go after that thing by myself - I feel it's clearly the logical thing to do. You, stay here!"

"Well, I think past episodes have taught us that I'm not going to let you go off alone" Merlin retorted. Arthur sighed, before exclaiming "Fine, but hurry."

The pair ran off in the direction of the sound and once they had discovered the source, they rather wished they hadn't. The Beast was suitably horrendous, with skin scaled and rusted brown in colour, claws sharpened to fine points and a mouth which looked like it could happily fit a Merlin or Arthur shaped head. Oh, it was also the size of a large house.

Merlin glanced over at Arthur, who returned his gaze before turning to face the creature with a resigned look of determination. "Arthur, no you can't fight-" he began but Arthur was already charging towards the Beast, his sword out. Merlin looked on in horror as Arthur sliced through the air, however the monster was quick, easily dodging Arthur's blows. Arthur finally managed to land a strike to it's the front leg, it did not appear to harm the beast but it did cause it to retreat.

Merlin saw his opportunity and grabbed Arthur, steering him back towards the horses. "You've injured it sire, time to go now." Arthur opened his mouth to protest but Merlin didn't allow him to. "We can come back with all the Knights, but you can't fight that thing on your own!" This seemed to pull Arthur to his senses (what few he had anyway) and he stopped resisting Merlin. The two reached their horses and rode for Camelot.

The court had gathered as Arthur reported back to Uther about the weekly foe. "The Beast was sighted by myself yesterday, but, in order to drag out the episode, I was unable to kill it." Arthur concluded his retelling of the days events.

The King was deep in thought. "This must be the same Beast that killed Sir Bevidere a few days ago." he reasoned. It was almost possible to see the cogs in his mind working.

There was a beat as Uther looked around the room melodramatically. There was a collective intake of breath and Arthur rolled his eyes; he knew what was coming.

"This must be the work of a sorcerer" Uther stated, with almost glee. He did love killing sorcerers after all. Everyone in the court sighed and thought 'Not again!'

"But sire" exclaimed Sir Leon desperately. "How can you be sure? The beast could easily be non-magical."

Gaius backed Sir Leon up, "He's right sire, I've examined the wound and it appears to be a perfectly normal bite from a normal creature. There is no evidence that the it is the same one that Arthur faced." Member's of the court nodded emphatically; they knew once Uther got looking for magic, quite a few people tended to end up minus their heads.

Regardless of their pleas, Uther would have none of it. "Nonsense" he snapped, "It's always sorcery."

Merlin considered strangling him with his neck scarf but, after much consideration, decided against it.

Uther turned to Arthur, "You shall ride out tomorrow with the knights, I want this creature dealt with."

"But sire," Gaius protested, "We know nothing about this creature, nor how to kill it. I need more time to investigate."

"There is none" Uther shouted. Merlin was now considering turning him into a frog. He'd previously learnt to do this especially so that he could make this threat with the knowledge he could follow though on it.

"Very well father" Arthur said slowly and turned to exit the room, Merlin hot on his heels.

The second they entered Arthur's chambers, Merlin grabbed Arthur's arm. "You can't face it Arthur" he exclaimed angrily, "I won't let you."

Arthur rounded on Merlin, pushing him against the back of the door. "You won't let me? You forget your place Merlin" Arthur said, his voice low and threatening. His eyes glared into Merlin's and Merlin stubbornly met his gaze, matching it for intensity. Eventually, Arthur broke away and released his vice-like grip on Merlin. His angry features melted and he looked back at Merlin, his face apologetic. "I must face it." he said quietly, his voice almost breaking.

Merlin shook his head, "But I saw, you landed a blow with all your strength and it was barely fazed." Arthur sighed deeply and sat down, his head in his hands.

After a second, he looked up at Merlin. "Wait a second…this scene is strangely intense?" he asked, his voice suddenly clear and free of emotion.

Merlin considered this for a moment before thoughtfully replying, "I think this is that scene in every episode where we showcase our friendship?" To this, Arthur nodded in realisation.

"So where were we? Oh yes - Please…" he said, his voice resuming its earlier overly passionate tone, "Just…wait. Give Gaius more time to research it-" but Arthur was already shaking his head.

"I can't, you heard my fathers order. I will ride out tomorrow to fight it." Arthur said softly.

"I'm coming with you and don't bother saying no, 'cos I'll come anyway." Merlin said. Arthur simply nodded then dismissed Merlin for the evening.

Merlin had no intention of retiring for the night yet. He hurried down the steps to below the castle, a torch in his hand.

"Where are you?" he bellowed, upon finding the cave empty. With a flash of wings, the Dragon swooped down and settled on his usual rock.

"What is it this time young warlock?" he drawled, sounding exasperated.

"Arthur rides out to face an unknown monster" he cried, "Gaius and me - we couldn't identify it and I don't know what to do. The usual weapons are useless against it."

"Ah to kill that which has yet to die is but the mystery of the world" the Dragon said knowingly.

If you were to freeze frame on Merlin's face when the Dragon said this, the perfect caption to his expression would be 'What the f**k?'

"What does that mean?" Merlin demanded angrily. He really didn't have time for this shit.

The Dragon smiled, "That is for you alone to determine" he replied. Merlin still looked expectant so the Dragon continued, "This battle is but the beginning of the end of the middle of your war. Destiny will wait for no man young warlock."

Merlin contemplated this for several seconds before crying out "WHAT?"

"The path before you is set out already - you must now decide how you walk it." With that, the Dragon disappeared back in the chasm of his cave leaving a completely confused Merlin behind him.

"Thanks for all your clear and succinct advice, as usual" he yelled after him before kicking the ground in temper and leaving.

The Knights set off early the next morning, Arthur and Merlin leading the party. After a few hours, they reached the area of the forest where the Beast was last seen.

"Well looks like there's nothing here, lets go home Arthur?" Merlin said hopefully. Arthur rolled his eyes. In that moment, the beast launched out from behind the trees; apparantly nobody had seen or heard it approach. The creature looked around at the Knight's who all had their swords aimed at him before lazily batting them away with it's paw, conveniently killing them all leaving just Merlin and Arthur standing.

Arthur decided that this meant he should attack it. He weighed his spear in his hand and launched it directly towards the heart of the monster. Merlin watched as the spear soared through the air and shattered on impact. Arthur looked horrified, he drew his sword and adopted a battle stance. The Beast looked down at him and slowly began to creep towards him.

Merlin didn't know what to do. He couldn't use magic, Arthur would see but if he didn't, Arthur would die. He pulled at his hair in desperation, searching his mind for something, anything to help him. He thought back to what the Dragon had said before remembering: complete nonsense.

The beast launched itself at Arthur, who managed to land his sword in the monsters shoulder, before the beast slammed into Arthur and threw him across the clearing. Helpfully, this knocked Arthur out and Merlin was free to do magic. He wasn't sure what would work so he started by uttering a spell to light the creature on fire.

"Eoch fey berne" he shouted, his hand outstretched. Immediately upon bursting into flames the beast let out a piercing shriek and promptly died. Merlin blinked. 'Well that was easy' he thought to himself. "You can handle those swords and spears but no match for a bit of basic magic are you?" he gloated happily.

Around two and a half seconds after this, Arthur groggily lifted his head up from the ground. Merlin immediately ran over to him. "Arthur, you're awake" he cried, joyously.

"Well, I had to wait until you were finished saving the day" he said, "That way I can wake up and pretend I've not noticed anything"

"I understand sire. In that case, that little tiny blow you inflicted mortally wounded the creature and killed it." replied Merlin.

Arthur nodded and smiled. "That's what I thought" he said, happy in his little bubble of denial.

As Arthur and Merlin arrived back at Camelot that evening, Merlin noticed they only appeared to be taking a st

ep every ten seconds.

"Wait…why are we walking so slow?" Merlin inquired. Also, there appeared to be some extremely loud, dramatic music resonating from an unknown source.

Arthur looked at him as if he was stupid, "Honestly Merlin, we've got to have our slow-mo theatrical return to some dramatic music" he retorted. Honestly, didn't this boy know anything about finales?

At this moment, Gwen ran up to Arthur and jumped into his arms. He wasn't sure what happened to keeping their relationship "secret" but decided to go with it and held her close. The two embraced for a while before walking off into the distance, holding hands.

Merlin looked forward into the courtyard, awaiting his own greeting. To his disappointment, his equivalent of a romantic reunion was a grinning Gaius striding towards him and enveloping him in a hug. "You've done well my boy" he said after releasing Merlin. Merlin smiled in reply before taking Gauis' arm.

"Slow-mo dramatic walk into the castle?" Gaius suggested, raising The Eyebrow at him in a questioning manner. Merlin laughed and the two proceeded to walk into the castle in a joyous manner, regardless of all the devastation which had occurred that week.

Later that day, Gaius placed a bowl of "food" on the table in front of Merlin. It had the colour and consistency of cat sick but it wasn't really for eating so it didn't matter.

"Gaius, it's not time for dinner yet" Merlin remarked, looking at the outside light.

"Honestly, it's not for eating" he said with a sigh. Merlin looked puzzled and so Gaius continued, "It's just so we have some excuse for sitting at the table." Then Merlin suddenly understood; it was that moment at the end of every episode when they sat around and discussed what happened in a serious manner then made a joke and laughed.

"How is Arthur?" Gaius asked.

"He'll be alright" Merlin replied, "It was only a light blow to the head - can't make him more of a prat than he already is. I managed to do something magicky to kill the monster before it could maul him too much."

Gaius raised The Eyebrow (was that thing ever in line with the other?) and said, "I suppose I should say well done Merlin. Even though it's a miracle that you were not caught. How you've survived this long is a complete mystery to me."

"Well I suppose I could magic myself out if I ever got caught" Merlin countered cheekily. He paused for a moment before continuing in a whisper, "Shall we start laughing now?"

Gaius thought for a second before, "Now's as good a time as any, I'm running out of things to say anyway." Just as Merlin had suggested, the pair looked at each other before breaking out in small chuckles of laughter, before suddenly stopping still as statues and waited for the line to come from the Dragon. Sure enough a second later came the swell of music and those dulcet tones echoing "Merlin."

THE END.