To celebrate the fact that we survived the "apocalypse" and that I finished my Christmas shopping here is another chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my OCs and this storyline.

Hope you enjoy.

Wake Up

Jasper opened his eyes and found he was lying under a few blankets in a tent. He didn't remember how he had come to be here. He had passed out, his energy completely gone, and there had been a knight running towards him. At that thought, Jasper sat up quickly, checking for any wounds on his thin body, but found none, other then maybe a few scrapes and bruises. Nothing major. So what had happened?

Jasper looked over to find a stack of clothes next to his makeshift cot. He was still in his clothes from prison. Suddenly they felt heavy and disgusting, with all the memories hanging about them and the fear of whoever had worn them before him. He quickly changed into the warmer clothing, slipping on the brown jacket and putting up the hood sewn on the back.

He threw the dirty prison clothes into a corner of the tent as if they were death itself. He couldn't bear to be in the same tent as them so he carefully made his way out of the tent door, peeking out to make sure there was no danger. There were lots of people around. Doing lots of different things. Some were cooking or warming up by a roaring fire in the middle of the camp Jasper now found himself in. Others were putting up more tents and some were tending to their weapons.

"I see you're finally awake." A voice said beside him. Jasper jumped, coming out of the tent. His eyes were wide as he looked over at the stranger, still on edge, and his heart pounded in his chest as he saw the emblem of Camelot sewn into his uniform. A knight.

"Whoa." The knight put his hands up. "There's no need to be afraid."

"Where am I?" Jasper demanded.

"Just take a second and calm down." The knight implored him.

"Tell me where I am!" Jasper was starting to feel weak in the knees. He was freaking out.

"Jasper!" Someone said sharply behind him in a strong voice, one that he knew.

"Magnus!" Jasper gasped as the man he had come to know only vaguely came up beside him, placing a strong hand on his shoulder.

"Excite yourself too much and you might black out again." Magnus warned.

"You gave us quite a scare." The knight said, drawing Jasper's attention back. "You've been out for two days."

"Two days?" Jasper didn't think it had been that long. "Who are you anyway?"

"Jasper, this is Sir Galahad." Magnus introduced the man.

"Sir Galahad, a knight of Camelot?" Jasper knew he had heard the name somewhere before but he couldn't place it just yet.

"Don't worry." Magnus told him. "He's on our side. He's the one who saved your life."

"He is?" Jasper was still unsure about the man.

"You're not the only one who doesn't trust me." Sir Galahad pointed out.

"It's been a hard time trying to keep the others from tearing him limb from limb." Magnus nodded.

"Maybe it's the uniform." Jasper suggested.

"I had thought of that." Sir Galahad almost laughed, but it just wasn't the time for such things.

"I told him to but he refused to leave your side until you woke." Magnus said. "He's been guarding the entrance for two days."

"You have?" Jasper didn't know what to make of the knight. He was conflicted. The man's uniform and loyalty still gave him doubts. He made the oath and became a knight of Camelot. Has he not broken the code now? Unless he is here as a spy, but somehow that didn't quite ring true. Jasper didn't sense a lie when Galahad spoke, and he couldn't exactly have been spying if he hadn't left Jasper's tent the entire time.

"I carried you away from Camelot and I had to carry it through to the end." Sir Galahad explained. "You don't just save someone and then leave them. I had to know you were safe first."

"Thank you." Jasper's voice was small, still unsure of the words, but they felt right coming off his lips.

"Jasper, no one else seems to know but do you know where Joone is?" Jasper froze as Magnus asked the dreaded question. "I know what happened to Aida. Joone never showed up to our rendezvous point and when I got back Holt said that she had gone to find Aida. Did Aida ever tell you what happened?"

"Magnus." Jasper began slowly, trying to keep back his own tears. "Aida told me that Joone found her in the attic of her house. But the knights were close behind. They found them and took Aida."

"And Joone?" Magnus didn't look so calm now. Jasper saw him fiddle with the piece of string he wore around his finger that Joone had tied there when he asked her to marry him.

"They burned down the house." Jasper paused, looking at Magnus. "Aida said that Joone didn't make it out."

There was silence amongst the three of them in that moment. Sir Galahad and Jasper watched Magnus, waiting. Magnus just stared blankly forward. Jasper could understand what was going on in his mind. He had lost Aida. Jasper wondered if it was more devastating to hear about it second hand. There must have been so many things left unsaid.

"No." That was all Magnus said before storming off into the forest with Jasper and Galahad following close behind.

"Magnus!" Jasper called after him. His legs were still weak and he wasn't able to catch up. Galahad could have easily but he didn't want to leave Jasper behind in his weak state.

"Magnus wait!" Jasper yelled. Finally Magnus stopped.

"I won't let her be gone." Magnus quaked, his back still turned to them. "This is my fault."

"Magnus, there is no way that this is your fault." Jasper tried to tell him. "You can't blame yourself for this."

"I was supposed to protect her!" Magnus yelled and Jasper could tell he was crying. "This stupid organization was my idea in the first place. I was the one who got her so involved. I brought Aida to her house and got myself seen so I couldn't stay to help her. I didn't get everyone out fast enough when I realized there was a mole, which I should've realized sooner. I didn't keep track of Aida or you when bounty hunters attacked us. I could keep going. The list is endless. It doesn't matter what way you look at it. This is my fault." Magnus turned to the side, almost facing them. "I shouldn't have let her follow me."

"Do you really think Joone would have let you push her away?" Jasper asked, angry. "If you really think that Joone was so weak that she needed you to keep saving her then you really didn't know her at all. You said once that they called her the Mother of Birds. She was the protector and she would never have let you go at this alone. That just wasn't who she was.

"Joone was the strong one!" Jasper shouted, startling some birds. "She had a dangerous past. Even without this she was still in danger. She would have always been in danger, but she pulled through it with a smile on her face and she was still willing to take on more. She saved us Magnus. We wouldn't be here without her."

"She was stronger then I will ever be." Magnus looked over at them, tears in his eyes. "How can I do this without her?"

"You will get through this for her." Jasper told him. "Use the strength of her memory and keep going. You think she'd want you to give up? Joone knew the risks. We all knew the risks. One loss doesn't always topple a kingdom. She told me that once."

"I told her that." Magnus' eyes became distant as he remembered. "Can't believe she would still remember that."

"This is Joone we're talking about." Jasper almost smiled, as if he could almost imagine Joone was still there with them. "Nothing was impossible with her."

"She was the impossible." Jasper could almost swear that he saw the ghost of a smile on his lips.

"I lost Aida, Magnus." Just saying her name made it feel like his heart was breaking all over again. "She was the love of my life but she wouldn't want me to lose myself too." No matter how much he just wanted to curl up into a ball and never get up again.

"I thought we would fall together." Magnus whispered. "I will never love again."

"I feel the same." Jasper admitted.

"I just need to be alone." Magnus turned away and walked slowly off into the forest. They didn't go after him this time, understanding why. He didn't want the organization, the people that looked up to him as a leader along side Holt, to see him this way. He didn't want them to see him as breakable. Jasper wondered if he would tell them that Redwing was dead or if he would keep her alive through stories. Jasper liked that idea.

"You have strong words." Galahad commented beside him. "He needed to hear them."

"Only my words are strong." Jasper told him. "I didn't tell him that it feels like my heart is being ripped out every time I think of her. I didn't say that I keep reliving the moment when I woke and found her so still. She was so still."

"I wish I could have known her." Galahad placed his gloved hand on Jasper's shoulder. "I was privileged enough to meet Joone though. I believe it is the same women. She seemed the way you described her."

"When?" Jasper looked up at the knight, surprised.

"We were sent to silence a rebellious town." Galahad explained. "They burnt it to the ground. We were told to take no prisoners. I came across her as it burned. I had my orders but I could not kill her or the boy she was protecting. Tell me, what happened to her son? And what is Magnus' relation to her?"

"Magnus and Joone were married, but only for a few days." Jasper told him. "The boy you saw, the one that Joone claimed to be her son, wasn't. His real name was Arthur Pendragon."

"He was the prince?" It was Galahad's turn to be surprised. "He had been missing during that time."

"Yes, he was staying with us. He was ill and we decided it was unsafe to send him back to Camelot as it was warring." Jasper explained. "She was protecting him."

"That sounds like her." Galahad's smile was weak. "She proved to me what it was to be a true knight. She called me gallant. A remarkable woman."

"She'd be happy to know you remembered her." Jasper nodded as he finally remembered where he had heard the knight's name before. "Joone told us about you. She said…" But then something caught his eye, something past Galahad up in one of the trees. It glinted in the sunlight.

"Galahad!" He yelled, realizing what it was. He grabbed the knight by the arm and shoved him back.

Galahad didn't have enough time to react or understand why Jasper was pushing him back. It was the whoosh as the arrow cut through the air so quickly that put everything together. The knight's heart stopped as he turned back. Time seemed to slow as the arrow found a target. The boy fell so slowly, clutching his chest.

"No!" Galahad screamed, taking a knife from his belt and throwing it into the trees. It sunk into the spy that had perched himself there and he fell from his branch, dead, the emblem of Camelot sewn into his clothing. The arrow had been intended for Sir Galahad, the traitor.

"Jasper?" The knight dropped to the boy's side as soon as he saw the spy fall. Jasper gasped and sputtered, his face contorted in pain. "Magnus! We need help!" He called out for the man, hoping he was still close enough to hear. Tears blurred Galahad's vision but he saw the dark form of the Blackbird come rushing back towards him. The man he used to call his king had once told him that no man was worth his tears. Galahad couldn't believe that. Jasper was worth every single tear. He was too young.

"Jasper!" Magnus held the young man's head as he gasped for air. "You have to stay with us. Keep your eyes open. We're going to get you help and everything will be alright."

"No." Jasper spluttered. "There is nothing that can be done."

"You can't believe that." Galahad held the young man's hand as if that could keep him there with them.

"There's no need to be afraid." Jasper smiled as blood trickled from the side of his mouth.

"You can't leave us." Magnus pleaded. "We've already lost too many."

"I'm no afraid anymore." Jasper felt peace. "I'll be with my Aida."

"This is my fault." Galahad cried. "The arrow was meant for me."

"You saved me once." Jasper coughed. "You saved Joone and Arthur too. It is my turn to return the favor. My Aida is waiting for me."

"You can't go." Magnus began to cry.

Then Jasper began to convulse. Magnus and Galahad tried to hold him still or he would make his wound even worse. Jasper's eyes flickered and he felt a warm presence next to him.

"It's alright, Jasper." A gentle voice whispered in his ear as the world faded away from him. "You're safe now." He could recognize her voice anywhere even as he was slipping away. He would not be able to open his eyes again. This was the end of his journey and he accepted it. Everything must come to an end. This had always been a possible end to his story and he wouldn't give up this story for the world.

The warm presence was here to take him. It stroked the side of his face and whispered one last time.

"You can wake up now."

Thanks for reading and please REVIEW!

Hoping to get this story complete before Christmas so that I can start on The Old Mother which is connected in some ways with this one. So there is one more chapter left which is sort of like an epilogue which takes place years in the future when Arthur is king. Looking forward to that. And after that all that is left is the teaser for The Old Mother.

Your reviews are fabulous.

Hope you keep following because the story is about to come to its end.

See you all next time.