A/N; Hello! Thank you all for reviewing so just a couple of pointers, yes Arthur does know about magic but all shall be revealed hopefully now! I'm new to all this so I apologise. To make a bit more sense this is set just after Lady of the Lake so basically Merlin misses Freya and that.
Arthur was walking through the forest. He had taken to doing that now, his kingdom and palace was empty without Merlin. He didn't expect much now from the land, the Druids had mourned Merlin's death with him and now when he walked past the place where his friend was stabbed. He saw the pieces of material tied to the tree to honour him. Arthur walked out into the clearing and sat down, the sound of the forest talking to him soothed his mind liked he had hoped it would
"Ah, this is where the king seeks peace then?" the voice made him jump. Where the voice was coming from was hardly unavoidable
"Y-you? The Great Dragon"
"That is I" the dragon lowered his head and looked at Arthur. His gold eyes were deep but soft, full of wisdom
"I thought you were dead"
"So did I, but the young warlock has the habit of sparing lives"
"The young warlock?"
"Merlin, he is a Dragonlord" Arthur just stared at the dragon. No not Merlin, yes he had magic and yes Arthur had caught him using his magic to do chores and outsmarted Percival and Gwaine in their prank competition but a Dragonlord as well? The Great Dragon looked at Arthur
"Young Pendragon, your servant was a lot more than you thought he was"
"He wasn't just my servant! He was a loyal and kind friend! And brave!"
"I know he was all these things" the Great Dragon sighed almost
"But you assume he told you everything"
"He's my friend, of course he did"
"Why do you think the Druids mourned him?"
"Because they are peaceful people and Merlin had magic?" the Great Dragon let out a laugh making Arthur angry
"Oh young Pendragon, how I envy your empty mind, so young"
"Well care to tell me?" The Great Dragon smiled
"You have heard of the name Emrys no doubt?"
"Yes I have, the Druids said something about it when Merlin died"
"And why do you think that?" Arthur looked at the dragon
"But…they said he was the greatest warlock to ever live" the dragon nodded
"So Merlin…was Emrys?"
"He was"
"So…wait he had the ability to destroy all of Camelot and he didn't do one bad deed?"
"You misjudged magic"
"And he could have stopped himself from dying?" the Great Dragon looked at Arthur, his expression was pained almost
"Yes, he could have, Arthur, go to the lake this lake, there you shall find all the answers you require" the dragon breathed gently onto Arthur and he felt a warm feeling rise through him. Arthur looked at the dragon and bowed
"Thank-you"
"Young Pendragon" Arthur turned and looked at the Great Dragon
"What Merlin chooses is not your fault, if you understand the loss he went through then you would understand his choice, he still is there to protect you" Arthur looked at the dragon
"I'd just…I know I could have saved him"
"It was a burden Merlin carried for a long time" Arthur nodded and after exchanging more kind words with the great dragon he left.
When Arthur arrived at the lake, he was awestruck with the beauty of the mountains. The tall mountains towered over him, the tree's sheltered the lake and the sand was gold. Arthur looked around him and took a small breath
"Merlin?" there was no answer
"Merlin, I know now who you are. That dragon friend of yours told me, I thought you said I killed him? Well then again you lied about having magic so it's ok" Arthur found a rock and sat down on it, placing his sword down
"I should tell you, you were the greatest servant I had. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it was for you, denying who you really are, and seeing all those people die who you knew you could have saved" Arthur sniffed
"And I could have saved you…you could have saved yourself. For god sake Merlin you are the greatest warlock of all time!" Arthur took another deep but unsteady breath
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped" he mumbled. He walked over to the edge of the lake and kneeled down in front of it. He took his glove off and rested his hand on the top of the water
"Gwen said you're now free, free from the fact you hid your secret for so long. Free from all the deaths you could have stopped and free from all the hurt you got" Arthur bowed his head
"And I respect you Merlin, knowing something that no one else does and acting on it takes bravery, fighting past the pain that you couldn't tell anyone else about" Arthur couldn't think what else to say to him. He turned away but just before he did he saw a figure, he wasn't entirely there but he was there. Arthur spun round, his sword ready to strike but he raised his hand
"Now Arthur attacking your already dead friend won't do very much!" Arthur dropped the sword. A smile spread onto his face
"MERLIN!" he ran forward but Merlin put his hand up
"You can't touch me"
"But you're here"
"I know, thank Freya for that one, I'm just here really to say goodbye"
"You heard what I said?"
"Every word" Arthur blushed slightly
"Arthur, it was beautiful, thank you and I apologise for not telling you that Kilgharrah was still alive but it would be a bit hard to explain to you everything" Arthur smiled
"Is that his name, Kilgharrah?"
"Yes, he's a bit stubborn but he will protect Camelot, I made him swear. I also made him swear not to attack Camelot again so you won't be having any difficulties from him"
"Is there any other secrets I should know?" Merlin looked down for a minute
"You know that about Kilgharrah, you know I have magic, you know I'm Emrys and you know that I'm a Dragonlord so I think that's everything" Arthur smiled and then rubbed his nose. Merlin looked at him, his expression soft
"I could have saved you Merlin"
"I know"
"You could have even saved yourself" Merlin looked a little hurt
"I know, but…" Merlin looked around at the lake, he knew Freya was there
"Arthur I lost someone very dear and close to me and I loved her. With her I could be me, I could be Merlin or Emrys or anyone it didn't matter to her"
"So you died to be with her?" Merlin hung his head and nodded. Arthur set his sword down and looked at his friend
"Well I suppose this is really, goodbye?" Merlin sighed and looked at Arthur
"You make it sound like we're never see each other again"
"Well we won't will we?"
"Every full moon, I can come out of the lake"
"I'll see you there then" Merlin smiled and nodded. He started for the lake again but stopped and turned round to Arthur
"Goodbyes aren't forever Arthur, nor is it the end" Merlin raised his hand letting a small butterfly form and smiled as it fluttered away
"It simply means I'll miss you until we meet again" Arthur looked at the small butterfly and as soon as he looked back at the lake, Merlin was gone.