Arthur's Awakening - PART 1

by Kazuki Matsuoka

It has been thousands of years since Arthur died and Merlin has moved on with his life as human society changed, but now Arthur has rose again and meets a girl named Maree, she helps Arthur find Merlin and so they take a trip on to find him.

34. Chapter 34 - The Key to Break the Circle

Morgana was warm, just a little bit. A little source of hope came for Merlin and Arthur.

"Oh don't get your hopes up" Morgana responded as she pushed away Maree's arm. "I will stay inside, I guess that the library will keep me company"

"Maree will watch over you" Arthur said and Morgana gives Maree a side glance. "No hard feelings" Maree glanced back at her and went back to drinking out of her cup. "His decision not mine"

"Lancelot too" Arthur added which made Morgana roll her eyes.

"So Arthur, I think that it is completely necessary that we may all agree on making sure that Morgana never finds out that you and Merlin are in a relationship" Maree suggested seriously.

"Yes, I definitely agree" Merlin and Arthur said in unison. "If she ever finds out…..she will know what our weakness is, and use it. We cannot trust her for everything that she may do"

"Agreed. So while I am here, let the cameras remain blinded. And I will make sure that she never finds out" Maree said.

"Then let us be cautious"

Arthur took a moment to think. And then finished his breakfast, "Whatever happens Merlin. Our private life stays private"

"There may be one day that she might mend some events together and figure it out" Maree considered, "Yes, she might. Let us do our best"

Once everyone finished their breakfast, it was time for Arthur and Merlin to leave. "Have a good day Morgana, settle in and hopefully things will go swiftly for you" Arthur said to Morgana.

"We shall see"

Arthur his stomach cringe a little, not for himself, but for Merlin. But then Merlin approached her, "Morgana" He bowed his head a little, "Do you feel any pain in your stomach?"

"None, what are you talking about?"

"The time when I killed you with Excalibur. Arthur still has his scar from Mordred"

Morgana considered this, "There is no pain Merlin, do not worry about me". Merlin let out a small breath, "Good, pleasure to know. Have a good day"

With that, Merlin left with Arthur, and Morgana watched them go.

"What are those big metal things?" Morgana asked. "They are called automobiles, or cars for short, they are a type of modern transport. People don't use horses anymore" Maree explained, "Not generally but they are still used"

"They seem a bit noisy. I like horses better in my sense" Morgana said, Lancelot agreed. "I agree too" Maree said, "Would you like to go to the library? There are new books, though most of them are in English"

"What is English?"

"People don't speak Brittonic anymore, the language people speak now is called English, it came down from Latin so there is actually western magic using the language"

Morgana raised an eye, "That is quite interesting, some people still use magic?"

"Yes, though it does not come from the old religion. The magic that Merlin, Arthur, I and you use Morgana. People still remember the druids, sorcerers, Uther's reign and mostly Arthur and Merlins Legend"

"You are joking" Morgana's voice became a tad angry. "No, Arthur is the great King that everyone knows. Thought most legends know him as an older man than his actual age and Merlin much older than Arthur"

"Merlin in his old age, Dagoon the great" Morgana sighed, recalling memories. "Ah, so I've read" Maree giggled to herself.

"You know?"

Maree paused. "Oh crud, Merlin's diary…..is it safe? Not safe? I should check first…."

"Give me a minute, come with me" Maree signalled them to come and she then went to the great hall. She found the cupboard where Merlin kept a second copy, and with relief, it was there. She took a moment to flip through all of the pages of content, and did a spell to grab all of the information just in case, she took a moment.

"Arthur" She called in her mind.

"What is the matter Maree?" Arthur replied. "Err…..Is it okay to show Morgana Merlin's diary?"

Maree swore she heard Merlin cough, "What?" Merlin joined in and then there was a huge sigh, "If it works with Uther, it may work with her. Do it" Arthur said.

"Wait! Oh come on you big prat, it may be a good idea but-but-but-but, no! Argh….go ahead then….." Merlin sighed.

Maree extended the book out to Morgana, "Here, this is the original legend. Aka, Merlin's diary" Maree said, which made Morgana instantly interested. "Oh?" She takes the book, "This will be interesting"

Lancelot sighed, "I hope we are doing the right thing"

They all went to the library where Morgana sat herself down on a chair to start reading the book. Maree hoped that things would go well, so to distract herself, she turned her attention to Lancelot. "So…." She sighed. Lancelot sighed back, "We have the time, let us just enjoy ourselves"

"Hmmm…" Maree thinks about what she would do, but then the information she grabbed from the book with a spell earlier was interesting, so she decided to grab a chair and sit next to Morgana. Morgana gave her a slight glare, "What?"

"Don't mind me, I'm just going to read this as well"

Lancelot sighed again, and decided to join them as well, soon their eyes were all completely glued to the book. It was terribly interesting, Morgana smiled a bit when she read that Merlin had a small crush on Morgana at first sight. It was awfully satisfying to read about Merlin's thoughts about Arthur in the early years after he was made his manservant, but there was a lot of worry for Morgana, the content of that surprised her how much he cared, then the more they read, the more guilt and frustration there was, and then Merlin had enough, he was fed up, and angry.

Their eyes clicked open, and realised that the sun was to set. They had been glued to a book all day and didn't realise. "Arthur and Merlin should be back any minute" Lancelot said, "I'll go and set for dinner"

"Agreed, we will be going to the gate for them. Morgana?" Maree looked at Morgana who looked so stern in the face. She closed the book and sighed.

"What are you going to do with that knowledge Morgana?" Maree asked and she sighed again, "To be honest, I am not sure" She said, not even sure of what to feel, or what to say. "I'll read this again, and again, as much as it takes to get some sense of it" She settled herself and starts from the beginning again.

"Feel comfortable to. We will know that you are here" Maree then turned to Lancelot, "Go, I'll leave a tracking spell on her" Lancelot bowed and left, Maree enchanted the book so she will be able to sense it. It doesn't look like she will leave the book anytime soon.

She went outside to wait for Merlin and Arthur to arrive. Soon, Morgana approached her unexpectedly, she looked at her "Coming to greet them too?"

Morgana nodded her head and then there was a moment of silence, "You are my niece are you?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"It is nice to meet you Maree" She said, as if it felt like Morgana, as her aunt was greeting her for the first time in her life. Maree was surprised to be honest, Morgana gave her a glee smile. "When did you start doing magic?" She asked, as if she wanted to get to know her.

"I started learning when I was 16, I was only able to use magic until after I met Arthur a few days after he came back"

"Why so? With that much practise, you would be able to do it easily"

"Magic slowly disappeared after Arthur died"

"What?"

"It's back now, but I am afraid that if Arthur died again magic will disappear again"

Morgana was shocked. "So…if you ever try anything, kill Arthur, magic will disappear, or if you try and harm Merlin, Arthur dies after him"

"What do you mean?"

"Arthur is bound to Merlin, he is immortal, so if Merlin dies, Arthur dies along with him"

"There really is no purpose for me to be here" Morgana whispered to herself. "Why?"

"We all have no idea, so we got to find out why. But while you are here, get along with us some more, it will be good for you all everyone else"

"But I don't know if Merlin cares or hates me"

"Is that what you are worried about?" Maree asked, surprised that she cares even just a little bit. "No, it's just that I don't know how to react around him if I am not sure about what he thinks of me, is he an enemy, or a friend?"

"What do you think?"

"Well, he surely shows me some respect, Arthur too. So I guess I will have to do the same thing. You never know, we might all just get along"

"So….with that, if Morgana ever found out, she won't do anything right? According to the diary, she has no purpose without magic, with Arthur gone, there is no magic and she wants Arthur dead. So what is the point? Would she still try and get rid of Arthur, and take the throne? No, there is another royal family under him that will take over his place, there is no point. Hm….we still have to think about this, at this point it wouldn't really matter if she doesn't know or if she found out"

Soon, Merlin and Arthur arrived back, and they were surprised to see Morgana waiting for them with Lancelot and Maree. "Morgana" Arthur let out a laugh, "You waited for us?"

Merlin gave Arthur a look, "You sure about that?"

"Shut up Merlin"

Morgana smiled, "Of course I did. I fully understand that I am under your rule now brother, I have no reason here to be against you"

Arthur wasn't sure that he heard that right, Merlin blushed a little, knowing that she must have read his book. "Did you read that book already?"

"Our eyes were glued to it all day" Maree said. "We forgot to eat lunch"

"Seriously?"

Morgana nodded, "I still need to read it more, as much as necessary"

"Borrow it as long as you like" Merlin said. "Uther borrowed it for a while as well"

Morgana sighed. Merlin turned to Maree and she told him that it was okay, she knew. "Shall we have dinner then?" Arthur asked. "I'm sure that you all must be hungry"

Maree's stomach growled. Merlin laughed but then his stomach grumbled as well. They looked awkwardly at each other. "Like Father, like daughter it seems" Morgana said.

At dinner, Merlin was more comfortable and less nervous.

"How did your day go Father?" Maree asked. "Wonderfully, everyone is so excited. There are people everywhere, once we arrived they were all bowing in silence"

Merlin grinned. "Everything is all set in, people are greeting their King and sorcerer now, asking me to show them magic at every turn"

""You made it snow Merlin, I thought there was something wrong with the weather one second there" Arthur chuckled. "You were showing off, you almost scared the Queen"

"Queen?" Morgana asked. "Yes, the Queen Elizabeth is the standing Queen at the moment. The royal family line continues on after my reign"

"I see, Albion still rules under a King or Queen, why were you going there?"

"To make a friendship, and to reclaim my throne" Arthur said, Morgana wasn't surprised. "Did you make the decision?"

"No, she brought it up when she visited. Upon the prophecies I was to become King, and overcome the battle that may come for us. If there is going to be one, we need help"

"I can see your intentions, and what is this battle?"

"We don't know" Arthur said, "What?" Morgana was surprised, "We don't know. Nothing has come for us, but you are here Morgana and there must be a reason and I have not seen any intention of you being our enemy"

"I am afraid that I am in the same situation Brother" Morgana sighed in agreement. Merlin sucked up some fresh air, "Really?"

"Yes"

"Don't start to believe her Merlin, we never know when she may backfire on us" Arthur said. "Guys, with what I have seen today and worked out…..there is no certain reason why she would be against you. And your relationship, but even if she does find out, we don't know what she may do with that knowledge"

"Even if she did spill information, it would be an extremely serious accusation. No one will believe her, she was a recent enemy like we told the Queen. She is very nervous about her"

"What should we do?"

"I could always use a spell to make her keep a secret"

"No need Merlin. It's unnecessary, we have to stay in our separate Chambers from now on as I have told you, for our sake"

Merlin sighed sadly. Morgana ignored him, "You alright Merlin?"

"Yes, thank you. I was just talking to Arthur thought our minds, you know, a druid thing" Merlin smiled, "Thanks for asking"

"I see"

"Don't worry Merlin, separation won't be the end of us" Arthur patted his shoulder.

"The Queen advised me to watch over you carefully Morgana, if you take one step to trying anything….."

Morgana paused, "There will be serious consequences" Arthur finished. "You see, even if we have been asleep for centuries, we still have unfinished business. So therefore we cannot always believe what you say, I think you understand that"

"I do, I will watch myself" Morgana said. "Though I may not have any way to take your position, I will respect you as long as you respect me. As soon as I settle I'll land on a conclusion for myself" She then bowed her head, "Send the Queen my respect my lord"

Arthur was relieved with that answer.

After dinner Arthur took Merlin to his chambers. "Arthur, for one thing. If she ever tries anything she will be coming for me, because if she wants to get rid of you, you can't die without me dying"

"I can understand that Merlin, from that point, I am the one who should be protecting you"

Merlin takes a nervous breath, "It feels strange to be honest"

"What Merlin, don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do, it's just that I am usually the one that does the protecting"

'Then I am going to make sure that she doesn't touch you"

Merlin smiled. "Goodnight then, I will see you tomorrow"

"Have some good dreams Merlin"

Merlin then went out of the door, closing Arthur's chambers as it felt like he was his servant again. Saying goodnight and then leaving to go back to Gaius chambers. But he sleeps next door now so that is a little difference expect that he won't be sleeping next to Arthur, this makes him sigh.

So he goes to his own chambers for the first time in a while and all of a sudden there is a new entrance without a door, he approaches it to see Arthur smirking from the other side. He gaped at him, "When was there a door?" He asked.

"I got someone to make it for me this morning in time for tonight" Arthur grinned, "Makes it easier for the both of us if anything happens doesn't it?"

Merlin smiled. "You knew I wouldn't notice didn't know you lil prat"

Arthur laughed, "You are just being you, the Merlin that is always ever so clumsy and doesn't notice the little things around him"

Merlin laughed back at the fact. "True"

Then Arthur raises a finger, "Hold on for a second" And he goes to his bed, and grabs something from underneath. Merlin noticed that it was a belt with a sheath, holding a fine sword in it. Before he could ask why he hid it there Arthur approached Merlin with it and took the sword out of its sheath.

At first sight it shone with a stunning silver, as if it was never used before. It was brand new he figured, along its length it was a bit smaller than the Knights swords and looked incredibly light in his hands. Then the other end caught his eye, there was an 'M', what does that mean?

"Merlin" Arthur rose his voice and Merlin took his attention to him. "Yes?"

"You may kneel"

Merlin gaped once again, this sword is meant for him. Merlin took in the moment and knelt down in front of Arthur.

"Merlin, will you obey and follow the laws of Camelot?"

"I will"

"Will you respect the knight's code upon your role?"

He then knew what Arthur was doing, he is being made a knight.

"I will"

"Arise Sir Merlin, Knight of Camelot" Arthur then uses the sword to touch each of Merlin's shoulders before he stood up again. With a big huge smile, Arthur gives Merlin the belt and the sword.

"Arthur…."

"You deserve it, I should have made you a knight centuries ago"

"You know…..until you are King you can't officially do that" Merlin chuckled, grasping the surprise.

"I know. But until I do, we will have an official one for you" Arthur watches Merlin look at his new sword before putting it back into its sheath and putting the belt on. Unfortunately, Merlin was so skinny, he noticed that he will be needing another hole. He felt Arthurs grin on his face.

"Would you like me to put a hole in your belt Merlin?" Arthur said with a clear bit of laughter in his voice.

"Errrrr…." This was quite embarrassing. "I think I will" Merlin looked up to face Arthurs amused face. Merlin then takes his sword out and gives the belt to Arthur, putting the sword away on his desk near him which gives him a sense of achievement.

After going to bed, Merlin struggled to sleep. Not because of the nightmares, he just couldn't sleep. "Arthur?" Merlin called out.

"What?" Arthur asked, groaning. "I can't sleep…."

"Have you heard of counting sheep?"

"Very funny, I really can't sleep"

There was a moment of silence. "Come in with me then" Arthur said and Merlin got straight out of his own bed and into Arthur's, meeting Arthur's lips before tucking himself in. "Ah, that's better" He sighed happily. Arthur didn't bother, he just wanted his beauty rest and let Merlin get up close as he wanted.

Morgana was trying to grasp the fact that there is really nothing that she can do, thoughts keep rolling through her head and every plan that she can think of seem to fail in her mind. Maybe, this is for the best. Maybe, it is time for a change and see the brighter possible road.

So she decides to start by going to see Merlin and say goodnight to him for a change. To show him some respect and a good start of trust between them. So she quietly walks down to his chambers, and opens the door a bit, hoping that she won't disturb Merlin's sleep- if he has already gone to bed.

"Arthur" She hears. "What?" A familiar voice calls.

"What is going on? Do they have connected chambers?"

She kept the door open just a tiny bit to hear what is going on. "I can't sleep"

"Have you heard of counting sheep?"

"Very funny, I really can't sleep"

Then there was a moment of silence until she heard, "Come in with me then"

She froze, instantly she shut the door quietly and went left to the other door to Arthur's chambers. Opening it just a little, she saw Merlin jump in bed and kiss Arthur. "Ah, that's better"

She couldn't believe her eyes. Considering that Merlin is even getting up close to his own master and Arthur doesn't mind at all, he doesn't hate it or anything, he does the opposite. He smiles and kisses Merlin back before going to sleep, getting comfortable in each other's arms.

If there was not a plan before, she may have to scratch that thought.

They are somehow- maybe….in a relationship. –But how is that even possible? There is just now way-

The first thing she thought of was to go to Maree's chambers immediately and demand an explanation- if she knows about it. She went into her chambers with a very disturbing creak of the door and came in, she didn't need to wake her up, she was already awake probably due to the doors loud creaking.

"Maree" She took a breath, "Something is wrong"

Maree got up from her bed, her hair down and all, she became curious about what she is talking about. "What's wrong?"

Morgana took a moment to gather her thoughts on how she is going to reveal what she just saw, Maree might not know anything so she has to calmly explain what she saw. "I saw Merlin and Arthur earlier…..sleeping. Together" She explained simply.

"Yeah, I know, Merlin has nightmares sometimes, Arthur sleeps with him to calm him at night so he can sleep easier" Maree didn't look surprised.

"Oh" That explained one thing, "I understand that, but they kissed each other too, I am so confused" Morgana couldn't get what just happened.

"Oh gods above" Maree groaned in frustration, "You did not just see that did you?"

Morgana was even more confused now, "I did"

She sighed again, "Merlin and Arthur didn't want you to find out because they were concerned about what you would do with that knowledge" She told her honestly.

Morgana sighed deeply, "I see, I understand. So does anyone else beside you know about this?"

"Lancelot, Gaius, Gwenivere…..Uther"

"And they have approved of this? Is there no law against it today?"

"They have, and there is no law that goes against it"

Morgana sighed. She sat down on the bed and starting to think it through, Maree gave her some time. "Ok" She finally said after ten minutes passed, literally. Morgana must have thought hard about this. "If that is so then I have no obligation to against that"

"Really?"

"Yes, I shall apologise for eavesdropping tomorrow morning. I can understand that they wouldn't want me to get shocked, and they certainly don't want the whole of Camelot to know. That would be quite an embarrassing position"

"They don't trust me…..but even if I still spilled anything, it wouldn't do any good to give me what I want. Hold on, I have magic after all, what did Uther do?"

"I'm surprised that you do Morgana, we can go see them together. And it's a free day so why not go out for lunch, the forest is safe now so maybe we can go for a ride" Maree suggested.

"That would be wonderful Maree"

"Uther would execute sorcerers to break their spell… so if I kill Merlin which will end Arthur's life, I will get my magic back and I can take control of the Kingdom with my magic" She thought dangerously. "I can cloak myself as Arthur and take my rightful place upon the throne"

Maree had a bad feeling, she was cold yet again and Morgana had a sense of accomplishment in her face. "This can't be good"

"But I will have to get my hands on that Excalibur, and I cannot kill Merlin so easily if he is sleeping on his side. And I won't be warm anymore at this point, Merlin and Maree will surely know tomorrow"

"I apologise for waking you"

"No worries, I will be here to listen to your worries anytime"

"Then I must let you rest, I need some sleep too" Morgana got up, "Goodnight Maree"

"Goodnight Morgana"

And she left, feeling colder than ever before. Maree knew that there was something terribly wrong. So she dressed up and followed her with a camouflaging spell.

"I must act now if I want to get what is truly mine" Morgana sneered to herself. She went back to her own chambers to take off her shoes, they clatter when she walks around, so she wouldn't want to get found out when she stepped in. She went out again and opened the door to Arthur's chambers, creeping in she found Excalibur and lifted it out of its resting place. It gave her a tingling sense, the weapon had magic, it did not like her at all but she gripped it in her hand and approached the bed. Merlin could sense Morgana's cold aura and shivered, pulling the blankets over him and rolling over to lay on his back. Arthur quivered too but went closer to Merlin and mumbled a bit.

"Finally, I will get what is truly mine"

She raised the sword…..

And she was suddenly stopped. She turned her head and saw Maree with furious gold eyes, her arm stretched out fully dressed. "Morgana" She breathed. "You may not kill my Father"

Her eyes shone again and Arthur instantly woke up, his warrior instincts kicked in and threw himself at Morgana, grabbing her neck and pining her to the rock wall. The vibrations of the bed shook Merlin awake, and candles went alight. Merlin couldn't believe his eyes.

"Morgana" Arthur seethed, with one hand he took Excalibur from her hands, the other on Morgana's neck. Merlin looked to his left to see Maree, relieved that she was there. But there was a deja vu, Morgana has tried to kill the King once before.

"Morgana, what did you expect to accomplish here?"

"She was trying to kill Merlin" Maree explained. "With Excalibur"

Arthur turned his head from Maree back to Morgana, "You had a choice, now you have made it. And it was a very wrong decision to make"

Morgana couldn't breathe with the grip that Arthur had on her. At the time security sprang straight in the room, "Sire!" They called. And at that second, Arthur let go of Morgana and let the guards take her. "We saw what happened on the security cameras sire" They said. "All of it"

"All of it?" Maree asked, the guards nodded. "Good, then we have evidence about what happened. We can send them to the Queen for her sentence tomorrow" Maree concluded before looking at her Father, "Father, what did the Queen say?"

"Upon our conservation about Morgana and the upcoming battle in the prophecies….if she is to try any move on trying to kill either myself or Merlin, the punishment is death by first thing in the morning. She is too dangerous and is a threat to this kingdom and everyone else, I cannot risk my people's lives"

Merlin nodded, he sighed in disappointment. For a while there, he thought that she would change. Maybe not. "Take her away then" He said and the guards took her away without a sound, Morgana send them glares as she was dragged out of their sights.

"Thank you so much Maree" Merlin said, "You did something before anything could be done. I did the same once"

Arthur eyed Maree, "Thank you. You saved Merlin's and my life"

Maree smiled, "I had to do something, I couldn't let my own blood be killed couldn't I?"

"Course not"

Merlin sighed again, "Morgana will be executed under Excalibur will she?"

"Yes. She will, I'm sorry Merlin"

"No, don't be. I braced myself for anything that may happen, Morgana chose her fate, besides, I feel a little happy on the side, without Morgana or Mordred…there is no battle, we will be peaceful again" Merlin said, looking into Arthurs eyes. "It almost feels….a bit too easy for some reason, there must be something more to it"

"Merlin, whatever it may be, anything that may come in our way…we will face it, and we will win" Arthur assured him.

"Yeah, we all will. With Lancelot, and Maree" Merlin gets up from bed and gives Arthur and Maree a group hug. "We're all family here, father, Daughter, Papa I suppose...and our bravest Knight Lancelot, we can stand against anything"

Merlin gave them both bright smiles.

The next morning Maree was in a rush to go and see Merlin and Arthur, she has had another vision. The key, the answer, Kilgharrah has it, and…it's good but….there is something else. "Arthur!" She called out, reaching the great hall, Morgana was held inside with guards holding her down, the Queen, Lancelot, Arthur and Merlin, and everyone was all there.

"Kilgharrah has the key! The prophecy lies upon Morgana's execution!" She said.

Arthur put a hand up to quieten everyone. "What is it? Speak"

She took a breath, "Arthur made a pact centuries ago with the elders"

Merlin took a breath, "That day…Remember when you rejected magic?"

"You said to reject it as well, you told me what you thought"

"That rejection created a circle. Let me explain, the circle created the war of Camlan. In the end Mordred was killed by Arthur, Morgana was killed by Merlin. Now the circle starts again centuries later"

"How do we break the circle?" Arthur asked.

"Mordred is dismissed under the hands of the Lady of the Lake, aka, my Mother, I am your blood Arthur, and therefore that ends Mordred's life under your own hands and blood. So next, Morgana must be executed under Merlins hands to end to circle and finish the prophecy" She caught her breath when she finished.

Merlin and Arthur looked at each other in surprise, "That's what we have to do Maree?"

Merlin took in a breath, "I'll do it. For the good of the Kingdom, for the people"

"That is not it Merlin" Maree shook her head. "There is more"

She gulped, "When she is dead, I will die too. Because I am your guide and when the prophecy is finished I won't be needed"

Merlin went pale. "You can't be serious"

"Listen to me Pa, my death will free the magic's of Avalon and everyone else. Gaius, the Knights, everyone will be released and magic will be free to use for everyone. It will be free"

"No" Merlin gasped, "No…..you're my one and only daughter Maree"

"Merlin" She said. "We will meet again warlock"

Merlin smiled. "Really? We will?"

She nodded. "We will see each other again, I can be sure of that"

Arthur sighed deeply, "Are you sure Merlin? You have gone through a lot already" He asked, concerned for his brother.

Merlin still smiled, "Arthur, even if you died again, I'd wait a million years for you to come back. It will say the same for our daughter, if she will come back, then I will wait"

Arthur assured himself that it'll be alright, if Merlin says so. "Maree, come here" he said and she approached her Father for the last time, Arthur gave her a hug, Merlin joined in the hug and within upon the moment they shed tears. "Goodbye Merlin, Arthur, my good Fathers. I will see you again" Maree said, sniffling.

Their hugs became tighter. "Thank you" Arthur said.

Merlin had to push through, again for someone he loves. So he took Excalibur out of Arthur's sheath and approached Morgana. Arthur's hands were on Maree's shoulders as they watched.

Morgana had no doubts, she had tried, if she didn't, she wouldn't fulfil the purpose she came back for. So she closed her eyes and accepted her fate.

Maree's eyes then slowly closed and her soul left her. The circle was broken. There was some relief upon everyone but then there were tears for the uncrowned princess Maree. Arthur caught her before she could hit the ground and laid her down carefully in his lap, softly stroking her cheeks.

"Maree…." Merlin turned back as the guards took away Morgana's body, tears shed upon his face yet again. He went straight to his daughter's side to hug her dead body, putting her hand on her sword that she kept and fought with her heart and soul.

Then with Maree's last breath she put her hand on Merlin's stomach and mumbled a spell so quietly it was barely audible. Merlin cringed at this, and then he felt awfully odd.

"Maree…" he gasped, as his body felt like it took on a toll of sensation. "What did she do?"

"She's inside me Arthur, her body only died. Her spirit was put inside me…."

"Is that even possible?" Arthur asked, wide eyed. I think….it is. Hold on, the only spell I can think of is from the book she read when she accidentally became a baby"

"Is it possible that she might have been looking for a spell that might actually save her soul?"

Merlin nodded. "We can only find out when we meet her again"

"We are yet to find out Merlin"

Merlin was happy, not sad, he was glad. No more tears were shed, for the rest of the day they celebrated Maree's life, her clothes and belongings were kept along with her sword, and necklace that Merlin gave her. "She thought of you Merlin" Arthur said as Merlin looked at her belongings.

"She did" Merlin smiled as he looked through her collection of books.

Lancelot smiled in the distance. "Her loss was a loss that had to be done"

"Yes" Merlin looked at Lancelot and back at Arthur. "Let's celebrate, you are going to be King after all, it is such a shame that Maree won't be witnessing that"

"It is. Come on Merlin"

"I'll be right after you Arthur"