Sorry it's taking me so long to write this. Saying I've been busy would be a major understatement… Graduation, summer plans, getting my first job… I'm so sorry. The good news is… This is the last chapter! It's done! :D

Previously

Merlin raised his hand toward Arthur's forehead. "There. That should do it."

...

"We're being watched," Arthur whispered.

"Well, well, well. You're alive."

"Surprised?"

"A bit. But that is no matter. Like I said before, Emrys cannot help you now."

"Oh, Oland. You couldn't be more wrong."

…

A dark blur hurled into Syra.

'Syra!' Merlin shouted.

A shadow fell upon Merlin.

The Kraken was awake.

…

Merlin dived as a tentacle nearly decapitated him. Again. He shouted a spell at the kraken, but it dodged the magic. Again. Below him, Syra was fighting her own monster…only it looked like she was actually winning. Merlin made the mistake of watching her too long, so he didn't see the tentacle until it was too late.

'Merlin!' Syra screamed in panic, but to Merlin, it sounded like a lulled whisper. It slipped over him, unable to penetrate the water that cocooned his being as he zoomed through the ocean. It was calming, in a strange paradoxical way. That is, until he came to an abrupt and painful stop.

Merlin tried to assess his injuries, but it was much more difficult than it should've been since his head wouldn't stop spinning – and that counts as an injury…right? Merlin knew his ribs were bruised, possibly cracked, from the way his chest burned every time he just thought about breathing, and it felt like something was crawling up his slowly crawling up his body.

Getting hit in the chest by a kraken's tentacle is not something Merlin ever plans on experiencing again.

'Merlin!' Syra's voice said again. It sounded louder, but it still seemed so distant. Her voice echoed and wobbled; it was muffled, as if she were speaking from a fading dream. Her silhouette came into Merlin's vision; that, too, seemed to have come from a dream. 'Merlin, are you okay?'

Soft hands gently searched his body. Eventually, they reached his shoulders and carefully began nudging him into a sitting position. Merlin ended up leaning heavily, or as heavily as one can get whilst underwater, against the owner of the hands. Syra stroked Merlin's hair and wrapped her tail around him. He felt safe encompassed in her embrace. That didn't mean that Merlin's head and chest didn't hurt any less though; and now, Merlin is beginning to realize what that tingly feeling was exactly – his arms and tail itched like hell.

He tried to ask what was going on – because something was happening, Merlin just couldn't place his finger on what it was, but he knew something had definitely been going on only a few minutes previous. He had only gets as far as, 'What is–?' before Syra interrupted him.

'It's coral,' she answered quietly. She was still stoking his hair and Merlin really liked that.

An image of 'coral' appears in Merlin's mental vision. It's bright and colorful and pretty and very, very itchy. He repeated this information to Syra, who laughs and places a hand on Merlin forehead.

'You might be allergic to it. Some mers are.' She paused and Merlin felt heat on his forehead. Searing pain nearly blinded him, but it barely lasted a second so Merlin wasn't even sure it actually happened. Syra started talking again before Merlin could ask anything. 'There that should do it. Come on, we've wasted enough time.'

As Syra eased Merlin off of the coral –and yes, definitely some cracked and bruised ribs– Merlin remembered why it was they were down here. He grabbed at Syra's shoulders in panic.

'Syra! The siren! Where–'

Calmly, Syra pried Merlin's hands away from her shoulders. 'Don't worry Merlin,' she said gently, though her proud smile beguiled her calm words. 'I took care of her. She'll no longer be in anguish.'

Merlin looks at Syra, trying to focus on her as his vision started becoming alarmingly clear before reverting back to blurry. He notices a trickle of black on the corner of her mouth. Yes, Syra certainly took care of the siren. With her teeth.

'But what about her memento? I thought that was her life force; something you couldn't touch.'

Syra carefully picked up the scattered pieces of…something. A shell? 'Lucky for me I didn't need to. You landed right atop her home, breaking the glass.'

'Oh. Well, that's convenient.' Another thought occurred to Merlin and he asked, quite worriedly, 'And the kraken? Where is she?'

This time, Syra was the one to look around more closely. She let out an audible gasp.

'Gone. She's gone.'

'…Where did she go?' Merlin asked, afraid of the answer.

'Back to the lake. She went back to the lake.'

Merlin's chest ached with every breath he took, and he knew that if he were to use his lungs rather than his gills, it would hurt even more. If he were to fight the kraken again, his injuries would only get worse. Still, that was no excuse.

'Then we have to go back.'

'…Yes.'

'Syra? What's wrong? Your aura…'

'I just don't understand why she would go back.' Syra gestured around, her eyes linger on nearly every detail. 'This is the ocean. It's her home. She shouldn't want to go back to that…that pollution." The word 'pollution' was said with such venom, Merlin made an aborted movement to avoid the spit that didn't fly out of her mouth. "She should want this freedom.'

Hearing the passion in her voice, the longing, something in Merlin's heart grew taunt. 'Syra… Syra, do you want to stay here?'

The silence lasted for what felt like centuries, Merlin's heart beating ever the more rapidly in his chest with every passing minute. When Syra finally spoke, Merlin wanted to cry, but he wasn't not exactly sure how that would work underwater.

'No, Merlin. I miss this, but… I'd miss you even more.'

As the words hit Merlin's ear, he felt paralyzed. He knew he'd always been a romantic, but until he heard Syra's words, he didn't realize just how much he needed them and how much he loved them. In the next moment, Merlin hovered right beside Syra, pulling her close to him. Just before his lips touch hers, he has time to think, This must be the most we've kissed in one day without any further actions, but soon, his mind went blank as all he can think, feel, breathe, see was Syra.

x~X~x

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Oland asked, his voice taking on just the slightest hint of panic.

Arthur smiled. "Exactly what it sounds like. I've never been alone. Not really, or are you blind?"

Oland's eyes widen in horror; Arthur couldn't help but laugh.

"The boy," Oland whispered in confused terror. After a pause, he shook his head and shouted, "No, impossible. Impossible! He…He can't be Emrys! He can't!"

"Sire…" Leon questioned quietly, but immediately stopped at Arthur's raised hand.

"You really are blind, aren't you, Oland? As blind as you are stupid. Fight me like a man!"

"I'm not stupid!" Oland screamed. He lifted his hands and shouted words that Arthur couldn't understand. Smoke erupted from the hand, forming into (yet another) hell hound.

"Again?" Arthur asked. "I'm getting quite tired of this game, Oland."

His face red with rage, Oland shouted, "Attack!" and the hound leapt.

Arthur sidestepped and brought Excalibur down, chopping the hound's head off. It disappeared. Arthur could feel the protection spell, Merlin's magic, coursing through his veins. He felt strong, stronger than ever, but most importantly, he felt safe.

"Is that all you have?" Arthur shouted, walking closer and closer to the sorcerer. "You are nothing but a weak coward, Oland. You hide behind beasts and spells. Fight me with a sword!"

Oland's face swelled. His head seemed to be permanently red with anger and embarrassment. "Fine!" he yelled. "And once I beat you, don't think I won't spare this stupid vil–"

Arthur brought down his sword with fever, and the sorcerer's arms trembled from the intensity of Arthur's strength.

"You talk too much," he spat in Oland's face.

x~X~x

Swimming back through the portal made Merlin want to vomit. It wasn't just the difference in cleanliness, but the stench. The stench hadn't been there before.

'Poison,' Syra said, her voice infuriated. 'She's been poisoned.'

'And spreading it throughout the lake,' Merlin added. 'What will happen to us?'

'Nothing, if we stop her in time.'

Merlin knew he wasn't imagining the pain in Syra voice. He took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. She gave him a weak smile.

'We'll have to cut off her tentacles,' she said quietly. 'It'll render her more susceptible to magic.'

A loud hiss vibrated through the water. A tentacle shot out of the darkness; it lashed at them, and the current it created sent Merlin and Syra in opposite directions. Merlin managed to stop himself just before he hit the floor again.

'How could she have been poisoned though?' Merlin shouted at Syra, dodging a persistent tentacle. He fired a spell, but it did nothing. 'When?'

'Something must've been wrapped around her egg. She could've eaten it or absorbed it. Not all poisons take effect immediately,' Syra replied back, trying in vain to cut off a tentacle.

Wait! She had an opening! She could do it! One down –

'Syra!' Merlin called out. 'You had a chance! Why didn't you take it?'

'I just remembered! A spell! Merlin there's a spell!' Syra began swimming though the mass of limbs, heading toward the portal.

'What are you doing?!" Merlin cried as Syra was nearly squeezed to death, only slipping out just in time.

'Get her heart Merlin! We just need one!'

Merlin was sure he was losing his hearing. 'What!?'

'I'll be right back!'

And with that, Syra slipped through the portal. Merlin wanted to chase after her, but he'd been distracted for far too long, and something wrapped around his tail, dragging him down.

The last thing Merlin saw was a row of teeth and eternal blackness.

x~X~x

Arthur ran through the trees, pressing onward despite his protesting lungs. He'll stop once he's reached the lake.

Dueling Oland had been one of the easiest feats he's ever accomplished. The man was a caitiff and a craven, hiding behind his magic and creatures and façade. Barely three minutes had passed before Oland had been on his knees, begging Arthur to spare him.

Arthur hadn't.

The coward hadn't deserved a trial or pardon, so Arthur didn't give it to him.

Leon nearly questioned Arthur's motives, but Arthur, not wanting to explain the entire situation, sent Leon away, informing him to lead his men back to Camelot, along with any wounded villagers.

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted. He'd arrived back at the lake, but no one was in sight. He was about to call his name again when something bubbled in the middle of the lake. Arthur stared at it intently, praying it wasn't anything bad.

It turned out, it wasn't 'bad'.

It was much, much worse.

The next thing Arthur knew, he was sprawled on his back and a sticky, smelly thing lay atop him. That 'thing' turned out to be Merlin, who had flown out of the lake like a spell does from a sorcerer's fingertips.

Both men gave a simultaneous groan as they feebly pushed away from each other.

"What the hell, Merlin?" Arthur asked with no trace of heat. The response was something Arthur never expected to hear come from Merlin's mouth. From anyone's mouth actually.

"Not my fault. Got eaten."

"…Say that again?"

Merlin looked up, some of the goop dripped off his hair and Arthur focused on not being sick. He'd been in many battles, seen many things that he'd rather not mention, and not once did he feel as ill as he did now.

"I said, I got eaten," Merlin repeated. He was holding himself up awkwardly, putting nearly all his weight on his arms and twisting to face Arthur in an uncomfortable-looking position, but then again, he did have a tail for legs. (And finally Arthur was able to get a close-up look on the tail. It was certainly gold, as gold as Merlin's eyes. It seemed to have a mind of its own as well, flipping and flopping on the wet mixture of sand and dirt. There were translucent attachments on it as well, similar to that of an actual fish. Arthur would never admit how beautiful he thought it looked, no matter how strange it was that the tail actually blended in with the skin on Merlin's waist.)

"That's what I thought you said. What, exactly, were you trying to accomplish with that?"

Merlin immediately looked annoyed at the comment, much to Arthur amusement, but before he so much as opened his mouth, something wrapped around Arthur's foot and dragged him under. Arthur was far too startled to do anything except inhale a surprised gasp. He heard Merlin startled "Arth-!" before his head went completely underwater.

For several terrifying seconds, Arthur was completely surrounded by cold, wet darkness. The only sensation he felt was the tentacle around his foot and the water rushing past him. Then his lungs started to burn.

Shit, Merlin, hurry up, he thought in panic. A second later, though it felt much longer to Arthur, the tentacle released his foot. For a few moments, he hovered in the water, unsure of which way was up. However, it didn't matter which way the surface was. Hands clasped the sides of his head and heat flared. Everything felt different.

Words echoed in his mind. 'Breathe, you idiot!' And only because they were Merlin's did he trust them. He took in a breath…

…and he didn't drown. No water entered his lungs.

(Okay, so he hadn't been completely trusting in Merlin's voice, but it'd been enough for him to listen, and Arthur was glad he had.)

'You can open your eyes now,' Merlin said, his voice a mixture of concern and alacrity with just a touch of amusement.

Arthur did. The first thing he saw was Merlin's face and the next thing he saw was Merlin's hair, which floated atop his head and was sticking in a multitude of directions.

I'm underwater, he realized belatedly.

'Yes, you are,' Merlin's voice replied though his lips hadn't moved except to smile. 'Now come on, we need to get her heart.'

Arthur blinked. Did he really –

'Yes, you heard that right,' Merlin interrupted. He was glancing around, probably looking for the kraken.

How is it that the beast can hide so easily in this small place? Arthur wondered, aiming the question at Merlin.

However, all Merlin did was shrug.

Arthur rolled his eyes at the gesture, but otherwise did nothing. He treaded water, waiting for Merlin to say what their next move was. When Merlin continued being uncharacteristically silent, Arthur asked, So how exactly do we get this beast's heart?

A small shudder ran though Merlin, starting from his shoulder and ending with his tail. Arthur wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer now.

'I saw them, but…'

But? Arthur prompted, already regretting this decision, especially after hearing the word 'them' associated with the kraken's heart – or, uhm, hearts.

'But we'd have to be inside her to reach one.'

You mean we'd have to be swallowed.

Merlin nodded.

Arthur really regretted asking.

x~X~x

Asking how to get the heart was much more bearable than actually getting the heart, considering it was Arthur who was swallowed, much to his disgust and, from the brief look on his face, Merlin's sheer horror. Thankfully, Excalibur was still miraculously by his side, so it wasn't too difficult convincing the kraken to let him go. Just a few slashes later, Arthur was spat out and sent hurtling (again) into Merlin, who barely managed to stop them from crashing though some sort of glowing, circular hole.

Just as Arthur's brain and stomach started catching up to him, Merlin gasped and swam away from him. He returned shortly, cradling some sort of object in his hands.

'You did it,' he said in amazement. 'How did you do it?'

The thought of talk – er, thinking made Arthur groan. Do what? he managed to ask.

Merlin carefully unclasped his hands, showing Arthur something that looked very similar to a –

Heart? That's the heart?

'Yes!'

So we killed it, then? Arthur felt extremely relieved.

'Uh, well, not…exactly…'

…What do you mean by 'not exactly'?

Merlin didn't get a change to explain. Syra arrived, nearly swimming right into them, with her arms filled with all sorts of…stuff.

She looked surprised to see him, not that Arthur could really blame her. Looking at Merlin, she tilted her head inquisitively and Merlin shook his head then showed Syra the heart. She looked positively delighted.

Arthur was positively confused.

x~X~x

"Repeat that please."

Syra sighed in exasperation. "I've already done that, Arthur. Twice."

Arthur glanced at Merlin beside him. He was, for once, being extremely quietly, but that was probably because he was concentrating really hard on the concoction in his hands. Arthur had to do a double-take as he realized that the concoction was swirling, mixing without any outside force – meaning Merlin was using his magic. The thought didn't startle, or even scare, Arthur like it would have a few measly hours ago.

Turning his attention back to Syra, he asked slowly, testing the absurdity aloud on his tongue, "You want to…turn the kraken into…a human?"

"Yes," Syra replied. She added a bit of a colorful-something to the concoction. Merlin didn't even blink. "It will also heal the poison, that way we'll – what do you humans call it? Kill two birds with one rock?"

"Stone. How are you supposed to get it–"

"Her," Syra interrupted.

"Her," Arthur repeated with only a smallest hint of distaste. "How are you supposed to get…her to swallow this?"

Syra's look was incredulous, as if the answer was obvious, but she wasn't able to answer, for Merlin's cry of, "Done!" startled them both.

"Are you sure?" Syra asked, reaching over to take the jar. She smelled it and her tail twitched in the water. "Yes, it's done." Her face had scrunched up at the sour smell.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Arthur stood up, fully intending to walk right back into the lake.

"Wait!" Merlin grabbed onto Arthur wrist. "You should stay up here."

Arthur stared down at Merlin. He noticed how dry the golden tail looked. "What did you say, Merlin?"

Merlin fidgeted, clearly wished he could stand up and well. He never liked seeming more submissive to another, especially one of royal blood, even if that 'one' was Arthur.

"Better yet, you should go get some clothes."

Turning toward Syra, Arthur stiffened. "Excuse me?"

"Clothes. You know, those fabrics that you humans use to cover yourselves." Syra twisted her hair, not as a sign of insecurity, but rather a sign of boredom. Then, as if she realized she left out a crucial detail, Syra added, "For the girl, I mean. We don't want her to be naked when she turns human." She pauses, tilting her head. "Well, you don't want her to be naked. I, for one, don't care either way. This is how mers are born–" she indicated toward herself "–and this is how we remain throughout life. We don't care that we're naked."

With a roll of his eyes, Arthur stated just what it was Syra was implying. "Humans, on the other hand, do care. Oh, all right. I'll go. What size do you think I should find?"

Syra shrugged. With a deep sigh, Arthur turned around and began walking back toward the village. He hoped the majority of the people left with Leon. There were always a few stragglers with these things, but so long as most of the village is vacant, his chances of be slapped by an outraged woman or kicked out by an enraged man become much slimmer.

"I know you're nervous," Merlin said quietly once Arthur was out of earshot, "But I know this will turn out okay."

"What if she doesn't want to be?" Syra whispered.

"Then we'll heal her and send her on her way as a kraken."

"But–"

Merlin put his hand on her fin. "It'll be fine. Now let's go get swallowed."

A laughed bubbled out of Syra's chest and Merlin felt accomplished.

x~X~x

After semi-swallowing two beings already, the kraken refused to let something get even a smidgen close to her mouth.

'This is going to be way harder than we thought,' Merlin said with a grimace.

'No kidding.' Syra rubbed her head from where she had smashed into the lake floor.

Not only were they trying to get the kraken to eat the concoction, but also keep her away from the portal. If she went out into the ocean, they couldn't turn her human. They couldn't heal her. If they couldn't do that, then that would mean Oland won, and Merlin was not going to let that happen.

'Distract her!' he yelled at Syra, a new-found energy surging through his veins.

Somehow, amongst the twirling and diving and distracting, Merlin avoided the tentacles.

Well, here goes nothing, he thinks, going head-first into the dark, slimy, smelly mouth.

x~X~x

Arthur tripped for the third time. He constantly reminded himself that this was a very important task –because having a naked woman wondering around would not be the best idea– but Arthur couldn't help but feel like a foolish servant. (Not that he would ever tell that to Merlin.) It didn't help that there were still a few stragglers at the village, mostly the older patrons who refused to leave, and they eyed Arthur with curiosity, because he was the king and he was carrying scraps of clothing. At least one of the villagers handed Arthur a basket for him to get food with.

As he carefully walked through the woods, Arthur began wondering what the kraken looked like as a human. Was she large? Or maybe she was really skinny considering she'd been poisoned. By the time he arrived back at the lake, Arthur had a mental imagine of what would be going on: Syra and Merlin would be calming down a robust woman with big, bushy, and curly red hair. The woman would be shouting at them, waving a beefy fist and cursing Merlin and Syra for turning her human. Her eyes would probably be black. Or dark brown. Arthur purposely didn't imagine any other part of her – he is carrying her clothes after all.

When laughter reached his ears, Arthur began to question his mental image. Finding a patch of grass that looked adequate, he placed down the array of garments, and when Arthur looked back up, it was clear his image had been completely and utterly wrong.

Splashing around with Merlin and Syra was a small, chubby girl. She couldn't be any older than four. The closer Arthur walked, the more detail he could pinpoint. The girl had very blonde hair, far blonder than his own, and freckles painted her face, arms, legs, and buttocks. She looked like she was enjoying herself…until she saw Arthur.

Arthur's steps faltered as the girl gave him a look of terror before diving towards Merlin, who looked startled as she did so. Cautiously, Arthur continued walking towards them, hesitant of scaring the girl any further.

"It's okay," Merlin was saying, stroking the girl's hair. She hid her face in Merlin's chest. "This is Arthur. Remember? He's our friend."

"Where are the clothes?" Syra demanded Arthur, completely ignoring Merlin's hushed tones. Her tail smacked the water, splashing Arthur quite thoroughly. The girl peeked at Arthur for a full two seconds, a pinch of amusement in her eyes before ducking back into Merlin's chest.

Pointing behind him, Arthur said, "I put them back there, but I don't know if I got anything that small."

"Well, I'll go find out," Syra humphed, rolling her eyes. "Come on, Cadell."

The girl looked up at Syra at the sound of her name. She, and Arthur and Merin, watched as Syra dragged herself from the water. A few minutes passed and Syra's legs began changing. Arthur looked away, not really wanting to watch the process; however, Merlin and the girl, Cadell, continued watching. Arthur realized what it was that was so strange about the girl, besides the fact that she had previously been a magical creature. Cadell's eyes were a light pink. Not black, dark brown, or even blue. They were light pink.

"Let's go, Cadell!" Syra called. After a moment's hesitation, Cadell scrambled out of Merlin's arms and followed Syra, stumbling as she attempted to catch up. Arthur watched them go before it dawned on him that he was watching two naked females from behind, one of them a little girl and the other Merlin's girl. Quickly, he turned his face, and saw Merlin eyeing at him. He didn't look annoyed or angry, but he didn't look entirely…Merlin.

Fishing for what to say, and, really, the pun was not intended, Arthur stammered out, "Syra's isn't…she's not…uhm, she's very, uh…she's not really–"

"Modest?" Merlin finished, raising an eyebrow.

Arthur bit his lip. "I was going to say timid."

Merlin blinked in surprise, then threw his head back and laughed. It sounded so…free. With just the tiniest hint of hysteria. It was enough for Arthur to start laughing as well. They laughed for so long that Arthur had to kneel down to keep his balance. He was already wet from Syra's splash that he didn't care if he got any more drenched.

After several minutes, the pair finally calmed down. Merlin was wiping tears from his eyes and Arthur was trying very hard not to breathe too deeply – his sides really ached.

"I haven't laughed like that in a long time," he admitted to Merlin, grinning.

"Me too," Merlin confessed.

"If you two are done," Syra shouted, "Come up here! We've got dinner!"

"Dinner?" Merlin repeated in confusion.

Arthur huffed. "I got dinner. I'm the one who brought food from the village," he grumbled, but there wasn't any malice to his tone. Standing up, Arthur stretched out his legs and arms, feeling relief he didn't know his limbs were craving. He was about to take a step, but, instead, he turned around.

Merlin was looking around rather helplessly, his arms kneading the wet soil. His tail twitched.

"Do you," Arthur paused. "Would you like some help?"

"Uhm…" Merlin looked about as uncomfortable as Arthur felt.

"Oh, just carrying him!" Syra shouted, startlingly both the king and warlock. "Hurry up or we'll eat all this without you!"

Arthur looked back down at Merlin, who, after hesitating for a minute, awkwardly offered an arm for Arthur to grab.

At first, Arthur attempted to carry Merlin on his back, but because of his not-legs, Arthur was nearly chocked. Then Arthur tried to swing, despite his protests, Merlin over his shoulder, but because of Merlin's slippery tail, all they accomplished was falling backwards and getting completely soaked. They only had one option left.

"No one is to know about this," Merlin gritted. His face was entirely too close to Arthur's, and his arms was gripping Arthur's neck and shoulders a little too tightly.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to say anything," Arthur assured the servant-turned-merman in his arms. The only person he ever wanted to carry like this was Gwen, his wife. Not Merlin. It wouldn't have been too bad if Merlin's tail hadn't been so long; since Merlin hadn't wanted it to drag –"It hurts!" he had complained– he'd wrapped it around Arthur's hips. It wasn't painful, but it was certainly uncomfortable, and feeling Merlin's gills flutter around his hand and chest was something he'd rather not feel ever again.

"You two look adorable," Syra commented. The glares she received from both men didn't faze her, not that either of them thought it would.

Gingerly, Arthur set Merlin down on some moss. Immediately, Cadell crawled into Merlin's lap. She was wrapped on one of the fabrics, making a tunic-styled dress. She was sucking on one of the dried meats Arthur had brought.

"Want one?" Syra asked, holding out a basket full of dried meats, bread, and fruit.

"Gods yes," Merlin and Arthur said, reaching for the basket with enthusiasm.

x~X~x

"Hey, are you okay?" Arthur asked, noticing Merlin's labored breathing.

"I'm fine," he replied breathlessly, and Arthur frowned because thatdidn't sound fine. Turning to Syra, Merlin asked, with unveiled desperation, "When will my legs return?"

Syra yawned. "Whenever the potion wears off," she replied. Her eyes began dropping, and soon, she was fast asleep. Cadell had fallen asleep not too long ago, cradled in Merlin's arms.

"Gee thanks," Merlin muttered, rolling his eyes.

Arthur offered his waterskin and Merlin took it and drank greedily. This time, his 'thanks' was much more genuine.

A comfortable silence fell, but Arthur broke it within minutes.

"You're going to keep her, aren't you?"

Merlin tipped his head. "Who? Cadell?"

Arthur nodded.

Merlin looked down at the sleeping child. "Yeah," he whispered. "We want to."

"Good. You should."

Merlin's smile was blinding. "You know we would've raised her no matter what you said though, right?"

Arthur laughed quietly. "I figured." He paused then, and licked his lips. "Merlin, we need to talk about…"

"About my magic?" Merlin guessed. His voice lowered just like Arthur's had.

"Yeah."

Merlin nodded. He didn't feel nervous though; he knew Arthur wouldn't hurt him, and they'd already, sort of, had this conversation before. He felt ready. "What do you want to know?"

Without hesitation, Arthur said, "Everything, Merlin. I want to know everything."

"That's a really long conversation," Merlin commented. "And not everything is going to be good."

"Not everything is," Arthur replied. "Besides, I need what exactly it is you've done so I can award you with the proper gifts and titles."

Something bubbled in Merlin's chest. He doesn't want anything, really he doesn't, but just hearing the offer being made was enough for Merlin's heart to soar. "I didn't do it for gifts and titles, Arthur."

"By 'it' do you mean saving my life?"

"I've saved far more than just yours, but, mostly, yes, I do mean that."

Smirking, Arthur said, "Well, you've just upgraded from personal manservant to personal warlock, let's see if you can reach High Court Sorcerer."

For one stunned moment, Merlin could only blink. Then his mind finally processed the entirety of Arthur's words, and he gave a sly smile. "…Would you like to see something really cool?"

Arthur grinned. "Most definitely."