So here we are, the end. 25 chapters, 50000+ words and 1 month later. Thank you to EVERYONE who has read this entire story. Some of you have been here and reviewing from the start, I would thank every one of you amazing people but that would take too long and I'm way too excited to start writing this final chapter.

I hope this story has lived up to your expectations. That you enjoy the final moments our boys have and that I don't receive any reviews screaming at me for ruining it :S

My next story will be based on Pocahontas and I will probably get the first chapter up tonight or tomorrow. Please give it a read if you have time.

Enjoy and if you haven't reviewed yet, now will be your last chance :) Obviously you don't have too. I just hope if you're reading this that you enjoyed it.

The whole room shuddered as whatever was out there landed on the roof, the roar deafening enough that Arthur covered his ears and looked at the ceiling where cracks began to form. No one made a sound as the beast quietened down. Everyone simply stood there. Waiting. Watching. Praying that whatever it was would leave before any harm was done. Arthur feared that whatever was out there could hear how fast and loud his heart was beating, it was taking a lot not to start moving people to safer rooms. For now they could only remain quiet and hope it would leave.

Minutes passed and he felt a small hand grasp his own, turning his head he saw Morgana now stood at his side with eyes wider than he'd ever seen. She was terrified. No doubt just like everyone else in there. Most of them had left their loved ones at home to come here and there was no way to get to them unless they went outside. No sane person would go out there right now.

At the thought of people's loved ones however, he looked towards the doors to see Merlin stood perfectly still and staring at the window. There was an expression across his face that Arthur barely recognised and only when Merlin took off his mask did Arthur feel his heart sink. Merlin looked so serious. Like whatever was outside was a serious threat and that he knew something Arthur didn't.

Suddenly the world seemed to shift as the beast crashed down against the roof again with an almighty roar and the entire room went into panic. People began to run around, trying to find their partners so that they could leave, even Morgana left him to go in search of someone. Arthur in the meantime felt that he needed to reach Merlin. That he wouldn't be safe until he had his arms wrapped around that man.

Except through the crowd he could see Merlin turning, but not towards him. No, Merlin was turning to face the door and he was walking through it a second later. "MERLIN!" Arthur yelled and pushed past people as they ran about, his entire focus on getting to that door. He didn't even notice the cracks forming on the castle walls, that his friends were scared and needed their King to help them. "MERLIN!" He couldn't help but yell louder as the people swamped him and began to force him away from the door. "Get off me!"

"Sire," a deep voice said and he looked to see Lancelot standing there with Gwen at his side. "We need to get you to safety. It is not safe here. Camelot is under attack."

"I have to get outside. He needs me!" Arthur replied. However, instead of helping Arthur get closer to his destination, Lancelot grasped his arm and pulled him away from the door. Along with a couple of other men who had spotted the King heading towards the danger. "I order you to let me go!"

"Sorry Sire, this is for your own good. We must protect you above all else."

As Arthur was pulled into a side door, he struggled against the hold and kept his eyes focused on the door, willing Merlin to walk back through. To come back to him. Merlin was the type of guy who would go out there and face whatever was attacking the palace, even if it meant risking his life. Arthur refused to let him face it alone. Merlin didn't have to be alone anymore.

"I will have all of you executed if you don't release me this instant," Arthur threatened and fought them off even more as the door was shut behind them. The mass of scared people outside now no longer in sight. Wherever they were taking him, he'd get out, because he wasn't going to sit around and do nothing whilst the man he loved risked his life for every person in Camelot who didn't even know who he was.

Stepping out into the courtyard, Merlin looked up at the palace roof and saw the dragon sat there with a smile on its face. As if satisfied that it had gotten Merlin's attention. "You swore to me that you would cause no harm to Camelot. Not whilst Arthur was King. He has done nothing to you and this is how you repay his kindness?"

"A dragon is not allowed to change its mind?"

"No! Not when you know that I'll have to stop you."

"Stop me? Please Merlin, do not insult me. I have more power than you will ever have and you alone cannot stop me. I have come for my revenge against those who murdered my kind for money. I am the last of my breed and that will not be ignored."

"So you wish to destroy Camelot? Act like those people who destroyed your home?"

"An eye for an eye, young warlock."

Merlin sensed the dragon was going to carry on, however it's gaze traveled past Merlin and looked at something. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw someone small hiding behind a barrel that had fallen off a wagon as the owner had fled the scene. Whoever it was shook with so much fear that when their eyes met the dragon's, a small whimper left their lips and they ran from their hiding spot.

Freya.

"Ah, a treat." Everything went in slow motion as Merlin looked back at the dragon, it had gotten back to it's feet and was looking like it was about to take flight. What it was about to go after was clear.

Merlin felt like he was back at the scene all that time ago when Arthur had been in the hands of Cedric, when he had been too far to reach him and there had been nothing he could do. However now there was no sorcerer who could change history. If that dragon managed to get near the running little girl, that would be it. No rewinds.

"Freya!" He was already running, his feet taking him faster than ever as he ran towards her as she attempted to reach the bridge, obviously her home the only place she thought to go. "Don't," he whispered as he heard the dragon push off from the roof. It would be a matter of seconds. That's all he had to come up with some way of helping her. "Think Merlin, think."

That's when a memory came to him.

"You should have seen his face when he realised it was me and not you, Merlin. Priceless. He looked mad enough that he would try to kill me if I came near him again. I have to say though, that man can make some amazing sounds when you do certain things to him, I can see why you like him." Cedric said as he began to eat his breakfast.

"I'm going to be so powerful after this. Imagine all that power that's stored in those gems. They've been there for hundreds of years, holding numerous sorcerers powers that are waiting for a new owner."

"You will have their power forever Master?" Merlin asked from where he stood.

"Sadly no," Cedric paused as he took a sip from his drink and looked over at his slave. "Because I'm taking someone else's power, once I've used it, it's gone. However, that amount of power, it'll take decades for me to use it all. Especially if I get you to do all the major spells for me."

"So depending on the spell, you could lose it all?"

"Lose it all? What kind of spell do you think I'll be casting?" Cedric chuckled as he took a bite out of his apple. "It would take a huge spell to lose all that power, I mean, what kind of idiot would cast a spell big enough to lose it all? Especially after all it took to get it. Nope, not me. Once I have that power, I'm never letting it go, no matter what happens. If anything ever attacks me, you can protect me, alright? After all, a shield is one of the toughest spells to cast and you have enough power to protect at least me."

Merlin's feet came to a stop and everything went still. He knew what he had to do. As he looked down at his hands, he felt the power rise within him, the power that was not his own. It was enough to protect the kingdom against the dragon, a spell so great that never again would the Kingdom have to fear that anything would attack, they'd have a permanent shield around them. All it would take was one spell. Then everyone would be safe.

A smile came to his lips as he turned on the spot and looked up at the dragon. It must have sensed Merlin had a plan as it picked up speed to now take down Merlin rather than the girl. Great. Let it attack Merlin, it would give him the perfect target to aim the shield at.

Lifting the hand that already had magic swirling around it, he took a deep breath and let his entire body overflow with the power within. "Belúcan se cynebotl íc clipung mín eardlufu," the spell left his lips smoothly and the dragon let out a roar as a blast of air hit it's entire body and Merlin had to stop from wincing as it's teeth snapped inches from his face.

"You cannot do this! I will have my revenge," it roared at him and Merlin enforced the spell so that the dragon was pushed further into the air by the invisible shield. "You dare attack me after what I did for you?" Merlin didn't speak as he kept the spell going, something liquid came against his lips and he didn't have to taste it to know it was blood. He was pushing his body too hard. The magic he was using was no longer the power he'd taken, but his own.

"Camelot …" Merlin began to say as the dragon was pushed further away. "Is …" why was he finding it so hard to speak? "Protected."

The dragon made the loudest sound Merlin had ever heard and the buildings around him shook as the shield stopped expanding. Every part of the Kingdom was now protected from any creature that meant it harm and as the dragon attempted to break through it, Merlin couldn't help but smile. He'd done it. Camelot was safe. Arthur was safe.

"Emrys?" Freya's voice broke his thoughts and he saw her in the corner of his eye as she approached him, her small hand grasping his top as she looked at the beast attacking the sky. "Are we safe?"

"Yes … we're safe." He ruffled her hair and took a step forward, his feet feeling heavy as he kept going.

"Where are you going?" Freya yelled.

"Home."

Arthur gazed up in amazement as he watched the dragon striking something he couldn't see. He'd managed to get away from the men who'd attempted to restrain him and had ran out into the courtyard in hopes of finding Merlin. Instead he was met with this. No matter how much the dragon tried, it couldn't do any damage, even when it blew fire, the fire just came straight back.

It was magic. It had to be. Which meant Merlin had done something to make sure the dragon couldn't get in and now had disappeared like he usually did.

"Sire, we found this little girl standing on the bridge, do you know if her parents were at the party?" Leon's said and Arthur saw him holding Freya in his arms.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur asked and knelt down as Leon set her on the floor.

"I saw the dragon coming and came to warn Daddy. Emrys protected me though. He defeated the dragon!" Freya exclaimed and Arthur watched as her smile disappeared. "He went home though."

"Home?"

"Yeah. He said something funny and then walked off saying he was going home. He didn't look well. I hope someone is there to take care of him," Freya's attention was then gone as she spotted her Dad emerging from the castle. Arthur on the other hand now knew exactly where Merlin was and nothing on earth could stop him going to find him.

"I'll be back," Arthur told Leon and brushed past him as he ran across the courtyard. If Merlin was going home, it meant that something was wrong, especially since he'd told Freya. Merlin wasn't stupid, if he was okay and didn't want to be found, he'd disappear. Which meant that he was either dying or no longer cared what happened to him.

As Arthur ran down the streets of Camelot, he recalled the nights he'd spent doing the exact same thing, trying to find the thief who had caused him sleepless nights for years. Now the very same person kept him up every night for other reasons. Since every time Arthur closed his eyes, Merlin would be there, smiling at him, laughing with him, making him feel like a real person rather than the man he was born to be. The King.

Only when he reached the small alley did he slow down, making sure to avoid the points that set off the alarms, no point scaring Merlin away when he was so close. As his hand pushed back the drape that covered the arch, his heart stopped dead in his chest as his eyes fell upon Merlin's body lying in the middle of the room, his chest not even moving.

"Merlin!" Dropping to his knees once at his side, he pulled the boy's head onto his lap and tapped his cheek. "Hey, wake up! Come on. Don't die, not after everything we've been through." Brushing the hair from Merlin's forehead, he waited to see those two blue eyes that made butterflies in his stomach, to see that smile that told him everything would be okay. Any sign that he was alive. "You don't like taking orders, fine! I order you to die Merlin Emrys. As your King, I am telling you to give up, forget about me and let that dragon win."

What felt like a lifetime passed as Arthur looked down at him. Merlin didn't move. It seemed that after everything, he had reached his limit. He no longer had the energy in him to fight to live, couldn't stand hiding in the shadows anymore and was taking the easy way out. Without him.

As the thought of never seeing Merlin hit him, he lifted his body into his arms and held him tightly. Burying his head in Merlin's neck, he knew the tears would be running down his face, that his entire body would be shaking as the grief overwhelmed him. At least before, when Merlin had left, he'd known that there was a chance that one day they'd meet again. That if he really got into trouble, Merlin would turn up. To think that he'd never be able to hold him again was the worst part. He'd never gotten a chance to tell Merlin he loved him.

"I told you-" a voice whispered in his ear and Arthur froze "-I don't take orders from anyone."

Pulling away from Merlin, he looked down to see the thief staring up at him in amusement, the life coming back into his body before his very eyes. "I thought you were dead."

"Can't get rid of me that easy," he replied and smiled.

"You idiot!" Arthur threw him against the ground and watched as Merlin rubbed his head from the impact, "I thought you were dead! That I was never going to see you again! You keep doing these stupid things that will get yourself killed and you never think that it'll affect me. You think it was easy not to come looking for you? I needed you so much these past few weeks, I'm King and I've never felt so alone. For you to then get yourself almost killed, to pretend that it's funny, to make jokes, you have to be an idiot! A stupid, idiotic, pathetic, annoying, stubborn-"

Merlin silenced him with a soft kiss to his lips and Arthur felt his anger slowly die down as Merlin's hands gently caressed his cheeks. "I love you Arthur Pendragon, nothing in this world could keep me away from you, not even death." The words he had wanted to hear for so long, that he'd dreamt of Merlin whispering to him as they lay in bed together, were now being said and Arthur smiled against Merlin's lips.

"I love you too," Arthur whispered.

"I know," Merlin teased and smiled at him in his own goofy way. "You've loved me since the first night you chased me. You just didn't know it." Arthur felt his body heat up as Merlin moved to straddle his waist, his hands still cupping Arthur's face as he stared down at the King, never had he looked so happy than he did at that moment. "I'm afraid I don't have the strength to leave you again. I guess you're stuck with me."

Arthur lifted his head so that his lips brushed against Merlin's and he held him tightly around the waist. "You're not going anywhere," he said quietly so that only Merlin could hear him speak. "You stole my heart, Merlin Emrys, and I don't plan on ever getting it back."

The End