This was written for the 'Resurrection' drabble challenge on the Heart of Camelot website:
Choose any character who has lost their life on the show and bring them back from the dead.
A/N Beta'd by LyricalSinger and brainstormed to perfection (well, in my opinion!) with nooneushudknow and Moonfox from the Heart of Camelot chat-room
Resurrection – Mary Collins
Merlin shivered. He could not explain why, but something felt off, as if there was some sort of tingling with his magic. He wished Gaius was home, so he could see if his mentor had any idea what was going on, but the physician was at the Samhain feast.
Merlin scowled. It was the first Samhain since he'd come to Camelot and he'd wanted to see what the customs were in his new home. However, he'd been ordered not to attend Arthur that evening though, likely since the dignitary from Nemeth was still in Camelot. Well, it wasn't Merlin's fault that the man had bent to retrieve his dropped brooch just when Merlin had moved towards the table to serve breakfast that morning, resulting in a disgruntled noble with egg-on-his-face, literally. Oh, and elsewhere too!
Merlin snickered at the memory, but then shivered again. He frowned and looked about only to take a step backward, eyes widening in fright.
Before him was Mary Collins, the sorceress he'd killed not so long ago – an action he still had guilty nightmares about, even though he'd had no real choice.
"But… you're dead," the warlock whispered.
To Merlin's surprise, the witch smiled. Warmly.
"I've been granted three-minutes to talk to you," she explained. "To set your mind to rest and to free my own soul."
Merlin stared and waited for her to continue.
"I wanted you to know that I was not in my right mind that night you killed me," she said. "When Uther murdered my son, it was as if my world came to an end. I lashed out the only way I could think of."
"My mind … is still not resting," Merlin stammered.
Mary smiled softly, "So I regret what I did," she said, "and I forgive you for killing me."
"You do?" asked Merlin in surprise. "But why?"
"I had a role to play in your destiny," she explained. "It was all necessary to set you on your path...one that will bring about a day when mothers like me no longer need to watch their children be killed for their gifts."
Mary watched as Merlin's pensive gaze gave way to a smile as his lingering guilt fled, and with a flash of light she was gone.
The only nightmare Merlin had that night was about the chores Arthur would surely be piling on him the next day.