With a jolt like a blow to the chest, the connection is broken.
Merlin is sent reeling, and crashes down onto his back. Disoriented by the sudden transition from boat to land, he struggles to regain his breath as his confused mind tries to muddle through what had just happened.
The awful familiarity of his surroundings terrify the warlock. Old wounds doesn't remember receiving ache as the air hangs still around him like death itself.
Wincing, Merlin sits himself up. A glint in front of him catches his eye. It was a sword. A sword Merlin could have sword was still in the stone he himself had placed it in after the Morgause's takeover. His gaze runs down the ornate blade, stopping where blood coated it.
The bloodstained blade triggers a memory; an awful, impossible memory. A memory once contained within his nightmares.
Desperately, Merlin's eyes sweep the forest near him, hoping beyond hope that he was wrong. His gaze meets the worried blue eyes of his King, lying still where Merlin had left him. Two sets of memories come crashing together.
Merlin's wondrous life with Morgana was naught but a dream.
Merlin lets loose a great, soul-rending yell of denial. His magic, overflowing with pain, streaks out of him, pulling dark storm clouds out of nowhere with invisible threads of force. The first raindrops fall as he finally spots what he was so desperately searching for.
Without standing, he scrambles over to Morgana's prone body. Cradling her face in his hands, he gently calls her name. But it's too late. He had killed her.
Leaning back, Merlin lets the tears flow freely. His eyes study her still face, as the ghostly touch of Morgana's love wars with the solid pains of her rage.
Looking on, Arthur, unknowing of the true extent of the tangible connection that formed between the seemingly implacable foes, mourns.
He mourns for the death of his sister. And he mourns for the part of Merlin that died when he was forced to kill the only woman he ever had truly loved.
Author's Note:
I am sorry, but this was always going to happen.
However, this story isn't quite complete. Yet. There are one or two more chapters I will be uploading.