Thank you for the reviews. This is the last chapter, and just thank you so much for reading and taking the time to do so and leave reviews. I'm in the midst of writing a modern university AU, and will post once I have it written it out in its entirety. Thank you again.
Epilogue
Marriage is followed with two children. A boy with dark hair like both his parents and his mother's green eyes and a girl with curly dark tresses and her father's blue eyes. For a long time, they are the joy of Camelot, for the Lady and Court Adviser of Camelot have given the people an honorary prince and princess.
Without Morgana's constant threats as in her past life, Camelot flourishes and Albion is united sooner than before. Thanks to Nimueh's sacrifice and the new life they have been given, Mordred does not wish to claim Camelot for himself. Instead he stays with the Druids and sometimes Morgause, learning magic and how to heal others. Freya has found her way back to the Druids, where Morgause frees her of her curse. There she stays with them, expanding her powers, and learning how to control water, for no matter the life, she is the Lady of the Lake.
Uther is not killed by Morgana. No. He nearly has a heart attack when Arthur professes his love for Gwen, the handmaiden. He concedes reluctantly, at this point only wanting his children to be happy. He adores his two grandchildren already, and he's certain that more grandchildren, this time from his son, would be just as lovely as Morgana and Merlin's children.
Morgana and Merlin are obviously thrilled and the wedding is quickly planned (because heaven help them if Morgana is with child again and unable to wear her beautiful dresses). She isn't, not ever again, and she can wear all the dresses she wants comfortably.
The wedding takes place in the grand hall of the palace, with guests from all over Albion. Gwen's brother, Elyan, comes with a guest, Percival, a new knight, in tow. The pair of them spend the evening staring at Princess Mithian, a guest from a neighbouring kingdom, but she is far too enamoured with Sir Gwaine. Sir Lancelot, now a knight, never strays to far from the Druid girl, Freya. It's as if he knows her from somewhere and wants to know why. He knows that Merlin and Morgana had helped her escape, years ago. He likes her. She's polite and funny and incredibly pretty. Guinevere is Queen now, and he will not interfere with true love.
Hunith is there with Balinor, who made his way back to Ealdor (for in this life, he was not killed). Merlin's family is finally reunited and he is glad his parents can meet their grandchildren.
The wedding is beautiful and the King and Queen of Camelot are beaming and glowing and just about the happiest people on the entire planet at that moment.
The feast is enormous. Gigantic. There are enough guests to fill up every room of the palace. It is the first real royal wedding Camelot has seen in over twenty years, even counting the wedding of the Lady Morgana and Merlin the Warlock and Court Adviser three years prior.
There is dancing, singing, and a great deal of drinking. Gwaine falls over, repeatedly. Princess Mithian chats with Morgana, who has little Balinor in her arms, watching as Merlin twirls about with little Nimueh Lynelle, affectionately called Ella mostly because Uther refused to call her the same name as the 'witch'. Nevermind that the woman had essentially saved all of Camelot.
"You must be thrilled," Mithian drinks wine from a goblet, and Morgana nods.
"I have everything I've ever wanted. Gwen's been more than a servant. She's always been a friend, and now she's like a sister," Morgana grins broadly, "Arthur finally saw what was in front of him all along."
"And you have this little one," Mithian smiles at Balinor, who smiles back, examining the Princess's face.
"Ella won't let poor Merlin sit down," Morgana laughs at the sight of the little two year old refuse to be set on the ground. Merlin picks her up again, spinning around clumsily toward the bride and groom, past them, and towards the knights' table.
Morgana looks around. Hunith and Balinor are dancing closely together, the knights are drinking, Freya, Morgause, Mordred, and the Druids sit at a table, pleased and confused with their invitations. Uther interrupts a dance between the bride and groom, taking Queen Guinevere into his arms and actually smiles. He likes the girl well enough. She was always kind to him, despite his atrocities.
"I am sorry, Guinevere, for my past actions," he says sincerely, referring to her father's execution.
Gwen's face is stony and she nods curtly, "I know."
They will move on and try to be a family, for Arthur's sake.
Camelot has a prince, Thomas, named after his deceased grandfather. Ella and Balinor are thrilled to have a cousin and the three grow up as thick as thieves. They play together. They fight together. They get into trouble together. Balinor and Thomas run away from Ella whenever she wields a sword, together.
Everyone grows old, withers away, and dies eventually. The Golden Age of Camelot lasts an incredibly long time, for generations and generations of subjects. The rule of Arthur and Guinevere lasts for fifty years, until the King and Queen die within weeks of each other. Thomas is crowned King at the age of forty-nine. His wife, Eleanor, and his children, Arthur II and Amelia, are now Queen, and the prince and princess, respectively.
Merlin is still court adviser, now looking more and more like Dragoon the Great. Morgana too is old and gray. Balinor, Hunith, Uther, and Gaius are long gone, dwelling somewhere in the Other World.
Freya died young. Far too young. She and Lancelot had been married for five years and had a little girl, only three years old, when Freya died, her spirit returning to the lake it was meant for. Lancelot passed ten years ago, at the age of sixty-two, leaving behind his only child, ending up in the Lake once more.
Gwaine, despite his abhorrence for royalty and titles, ended up a prince, wed to Mithian. The people's prince, he was. Percival married Blanchefleur, a lady of the court whom he met at Gwaine's wedding. Elyan married the Lady Annabel, while Sir Leon married Lady Genevieve. All were married within four years of one another, their children growing up to be best friends.
One by one, Merlin and Morgana's friends died. It wasn't in a terrible battle like before. This time they are taken away by old age and heartache and their grown-up children are left to mourn, and then move on with their lives because now they have children of their own to care for.
Ella and Balinor are concerned for their parents, who continue to advise Thomas in laws and such, allowing Camelot's golden age to continue.
Then one day, they don't leave their chambers. A maid finds them in bed, holding each other, seemingly asleep. They are not.
The last living remnants of the start of the Golden Age are gone, and it is the end of an era. They lasted only a year after the deaths of the King and Queen, their closest friends.
Balinor and Ella continue to advise the new King, but it's not the same. The Knights of the Roundtable, the High Priests and Priestesses, and the King and Queen are now all dead.
She opens her eyes, light flitting in through the windows. She buries her head into her husband's shoulder, earning a sleepy chuckle from the man himself.
"Morgana, get up," he kisses her hair and she opens her eyes, green and tired.
"Nope," she closes her eyes again, settling on her stomach.
He sits up, yawning. He takes the watch from the dresser and slides it onto his wrist. Morgana takes his hand and tries to pull him back to bed.
"Morgana," he sighs, trying to hold back a laugh.
"Come back to bed," she mumbles.
"Arthur's waiting for us at the café for brunch, remember," he leans over and kisses her cheek, and rubs her back.
"Can't we just send the kids?" she finally sits up, pouting.
"They're ten, Morgana. We can't let them take the tube on their own," Merlin rolls his eyes.
Ella and Balinor were most definitely awake, the sound of cartoons coming from the living room.
"Arthur can send a car," she grumbles.
Merlin snorts and gets out of bed, walking towards the cupboard to find some trousers and a shirt for the day.
"The blue one," Morgana says immediately, "with the red scarf."
"You, my lady, are too settled in your old ways," Merlin dresses quickly and smirks at his wife.
"I like familiarity," she shrugs.
"Good. Because you're stuck with me for eternity, remember?"
"I'd never forget," Morgana grins, sliding into jeans and a blouse before kissing Merlin softly.
"Eternity," he whispers and she nods.
"Eternity," she smiles brightly, ready to live another day with the family she loves so much, the family she didn't get to have before.
It was their wedding in Camelot that bound them together. It was Nimueh's spell and later sacrifice that let them live a few more lives on earth together, and kept them together as a family for whenever they were in the Spirit World. The modern world is more peaceful than it had been. A longer Arthurian rule in Camelot ended up causing harmony in all of England, which spread throughout Europe, and the rest of the world. Now Arthur is Prime Minister in this life, the world war-free. Merlin and Morgana are still his advisers, the Great Dragon's words from so long ago finally making sense.
Every now and then, Morgana would look to the sky, and silently thank Nimueh for everything, for letting them right their wrongs, for making amends about their regrets, for letting Merlin be beside her every step of the way.
And that's all, folks! Thank you for reading, and please review if you'd like.
