Author's Note: I feel like most of my author notes are apologizing for taking forever to write the next chapter. So here we are again. I'm sorry. I'm a horrible person. No, actually we can firmly blame work. But I'm really determined to finish this story soon. Like in a week. Maybe less. I make no promises, but I'm getting psyched for the ending. I'm thinking like four more chapters and an epilogue. That sounds about right. We'll see. Thank you for reading!

-Thirty-Seven -

Call to Arms

"It's all coming together," Ryll told Merlin and Byron as they sped down the road back toward White Castle. "Why we were brought back."

"To stop Nimueh? Then why was she brought back?" Byron asked.

"Magic was dying. We're here to save it. But without Nimueh trying to steal the remaining power, we'd never have found it. I think the magic is what brought us back. It's not just a power; it's a sentient being. It controls all of our magic and sets our destinies. It makes sense."

"Do you have your magic back?" Byron asked her.

Ryll shook her head. "I think it's gone for good. It's too bad because it might have been useful with what's to come."

"As I recall, you were perfectly capable of taking care of yourself with a sword and a bow," Byron told her.

Merlin was quiet in the driver's seat. His brows were furrowed, and his eyes were dark with worry. "Are you okay?" Ryll asked him.

"What?" He jumped a little as she spoke. He'd been far away or perhaps just concentrating on the road. "Oh, yeah, fine. Just worried, I suppose."

"It will be all right," Ryll said even though she didn't know that. "We'll find a way to stop Nimueh. I feel like this is the beginning of the end – what we've been headed for all this time, but I'm more afraid of what comes after. What if this is why we were brought back but then we all go back to the way we were before this?"

"Dead, you mean?" Byron elaborated.

Merlin's hand tightened on the wheel. "I'm not going to let that happen," was all he said.

If there was one thing Ryll had learned in this life and the last it was that there was always some greater force at work. Right now it was using Morgana as a vessel in the other car. What had it been in Merlin's eyes that she had seen when he'd realized Morgana had been chosen and not him? Maybe it was just that he was used to being the one to protect everyone and make the sacrifices. But maybe she'd also seen disappointment, jealousy even. Merlin had told her that his magic was diminishing. It was such a big part of who he was. Maybe he thought he'd lost his only chance to regain his magic. At least he still had some.

She'd been more than a little disappointed that she'd come out of the caves still without her magic. If they were to stand up against Nimueh and her forces then magic would be helpful. If Nimueh did really plan on using the people she'd taken in as her army then Ryll didn't want to hurt them. She knew how easy it was to be manipulated when you were scared and alone. Nimueh had offered them sanctuary so then they would trust her. It was clever really. Amass an army without ever using the words "battle" or "soldier."

She only hoped the Knights of the Round Table could help. Mordred had his magic. She hadn't known him well in her past life – hadn't had the chance. But Morgana trusted him so she did too. He had fought in the last battle – Ryll's last battle. Ryll shut her eyes against the memories that filled her mind. She couldn't think of that now. If there was to be a battle then it wouldn't end as it had last time. No one was going to die this time. Even Nimueh if they could help it. They were all trying to survive. And I want to survive, Ryll thought. I want the life I was cheated out of.

But life wasn't fair and she was far from a happy ending.

…

Morgana could hardly sit still in the passenger seat of the car Lancelot drove. Her veins were fairly singing with the magic now sharing her body. It was power like she'd never felt before but she trusted herself with it. She'd passed the test and it had chosen her. She would be lying if she said that didn't surprise her. What she could have done with this kind of power in her past life… But now she had no intention of using it for evil. She wasn't even sure she could wield it. Maybe it would wield her, act of its own accord.

"Are you all right?" Lancelot asked softly.

Morgana looked over at him. His brown eyes met hers for a moment before returning to the road. "I'm fine," she told him. "Just worried. We've come so far. I don't want to repeat history." Before it was someone trying to ensure that magic did die and that the second coming never happened. Now it was Nimueh trying to destroy everyone who might fear magic. For as long as Morgana could remember, it had been those with magic and those without and the fear that came with being different and not understanding that difference. Nothing had changed so maybe the time had come and gone for unity between their people but this wasn't Camelot. This wasn't a time where warlocks and druids and dragons roamed the earth and the skies. This was a world of practicality. They didn't belong out there, but that didn't mean they didn't belong somewhere. It didn't mean they couldn't still achieve peace. Ealdor and White Castle existed in the same capacity that they did. Perhaps there were other communities around the world where people with magic could live in peace. It couldn't just be them. Camelot had been such a small corner of the world even if it had been their whole world.

At the core of everything was the fact that they had been given a second chance at life. That was no small matter. She didn't have time to waste finding vengeance and letting hatred and prejudice consume her like Nimueh.

Morgana glanced back to where Uther sat lumped in the backseat. "Is he okay?" she asked Arthur and she found she really did care. Uther had been manipulated by Nimueh like the rest of them. She was only reinforcing the fear Uther felt toward magic.

"I don't know," Arthur replied to her question. "I don't know what Nimueh did to him."

Morgana reached out with her magic, trying to feel for Nimueh's own magic. There was nothing there. She didn't know if that was good or bad. If Nimueh was still influencing her father then she could release him, but she feared whatever was consuming him was something deeper. "I don't think it's something I can fix," she told Arthur. "It's not magic that's affecting him. It's not something magic can fix either."

"I'm going to get him somewhere safe," Arthur told her, "until this is over."

Morgana nearly asked if there was anywhere safe, but she stopped herself. Arthur needed to be focused. He couldn't be worried about his father's safety. "Yeah," she told him instead. "We'll find somewhere safe for him." She turned her eyes ahead to the road both dreading and anticipating the passing miles.

…

The knights were waiting for them at the city limits of White Castle and it was like the legends of old were crashing into the modern world. They were astride horses, and six extra horses awaited them. Merlin pulled the car over to the side of the road, Lancelot doing the same behind him. Ryll felt a trill of excitement run through under her skin. It was like the days before when she had ridden as a knight of Camelot. She'd never thought she'd see them again let alone ride with them. Gwaine dismounted the moment she stepped out of the car, and she ran forward to embrace him. He pulled her off the ground, twirling her in a circle before setting her down again.

"I missed you," he told her, his usual cocky grin in place. "And I'll bet you missed me too."

"And that arrogance." She turned to the others. "It's good to see all of you." They smiled back at her. Mordred hung back. Ryll had never gotten the chance to know him, but now she greeted him like a brother in arms. "I never got the chance to thank you for fighting in that last battle," she told him. He bowed his head in acknowledgement. His eyes lit up when Morgana stepped from the car.

"Mordred!" Morgana rushed forward, and Mordred dismounted to meet her. Morgana flung her arms around the druid boy. He stood taller than her and bent down to press his chin to her shoulder. Their bond had never died. Morgana had inspired more followers than she imagined though the knights were all looking warily at her as if they hadn't let go of what she had done in her past life. Lancelot came forward and, as Morgana stepped back from Mordred, entwined his fingers with hers. Everyone stared for a moment before Arthur came forward to greet his knights.

"They don't trust me even still," Morgana said quietly to Lancelot, leaning close to him to speak.

"They will." Lancelot squeezed her hand, and Ryll wondered what exactly she'd missed. Clearly something had happened between the two of them or would very soon if they let it.

"Nimueh has gathered her forces and overtaken the castle. Not that it was much effort since everyone was away," Leon told them. He nodded to where Uther sat slumped in the backseat of the car. "Is Uther on our side?"

"He was used by Nimueh as was I," Lancelot spoke up. "He needs to be taken somewhere safe until this is over."

"What is the plan?" Gwaine asked.

"How many does Nimueh have?" Byron asked at the same time as Morgana asked, "Is Morgause with her?"

"Morgause is unaccounted for. Nimueh has at least a dozen with magic on her side. We did manage to find several of her wards that were against her plan. They joined us. They're waiting back at our camp."

"We'll give Nimueh the chance to surrender," Arthur said. "We don't want to hurt anyone nor do we want anyone to get hurt. This goes no further than the city."

"She's going to try to take the magic from me," Morgana said.

"Maybe you should stay back, away from the fighting," Lancelot said, but Morgana was already shaking her head.

"No. I need to fight. We need every chance we've got."

"Is there any way she could take the magic from you?" Arthur asked her.

"I don't know," Morgana told him. "I honestly don't understand how it works." Her eyes flitted to Merlin. "But I guess we'll find out," she said, turning back to Arthur.

"So we ride in like the days of old," Gwaine said. "Great! I'm looking forward to it!" He mounted his horse.

"We give them a chance to surrender, try to reason with Nimueh's wards. If that doesn't work then we try to take the castle, capture Nimueh, put a stop to her scheming." Arthur looked around at his knights.

"You make it sound so easy," Gwaine said.

"It won't be," Merlin said darkly. "I killed Nimueh before. I can do it again if it comes to that." Ryll didn't like how easily he spoke of taking a life.

"Hopefully it won't come to that," she said, catching his gaze. She turned to the knights. "We don't take lives unnecessarily. This isn't Camelot and this isn't the Dark Ages anymore. We fight for the safety of the people Nimueh proposes to hurt. We fight for our future in this new life and we fight for each other. We might not all have magic, but we're knights of Camelot and that counts for something." She strode forward and mounted one of the spare horses. "Who's with me?"

The knights let out a cheer, and the others mounted the horses. Arthur paused. "I need to get my father."

"He'll be safe at the camp," Percival told him.

Arthur didn't reply. He was staring at the car where his father had once sat. "He's gone."

"What?" Ryll reined her horse around. Sure enough, the car was empty. "He can't have gone far."

"Father!" Arthur shouted. "Father!"

"We need to get going," Merlin said. Ryll looked over at him, but his face was hard. "We don't have time to go after him."

Arthur looked torn. "We'll send someone to find him," Leon assured him. "If we don't move now, we're going to miss our chance."

Arthur finally nodded, mounting his own horse. Excalibur gleamed at his belt. "Can you sense him, Morgana?" he asked his sister.

She shook her head. "The magic is pulling me toward White Castle. I can't sense anything else. I'm sorry."

"He'll be okay," Lancelot told the king. "We'll keep Nimueh away from him."

Arthur nodded and kicked his horse into a canter. The others followed, falling into line. Ryll rode beside Merlin but they did not speak. Ever since they had left the caves, Merlin had been different. Quiet, serious, tired – more so than usual. She felt tired too. This battle was a race to the finish line in a sense. All she wanted was to be on the other side. Hadn't they fought and suffered enough?

It felt good to be in the saddle again despite it all. When they approached the camp within the city, set up in a grassy park, Ryll realized the city was too quiet. "Where are all the people?" she asked Gwaine.

"We evacuated the city as best we could," he told her.

"Do they remember who they are?"

"Some of them do, but most just think there was some sort of gas leak in a factory. They're in Ealdor now. Some stayed to fight."

Colorful tents decorated the park now giving the appearance of a Renaissance faire. There were men and women sharpening swords, dressed in armor. "We have armor for all of you," Leon told them. They dismounted and he led them to two tents. Morgana and Ryll entered one while Arthur, Byron, Lancelot, and Merlin entered the other.

Two sets of lightweight armor stood on stands in the center of the tent. Ryll's was just like the one she'd had in Camelot and she ran her fingers over the lightweight chainmail, memories rushing through her head. She looked over at Morgana. "I'm glad you're here," she told her friend.

"Me too. Help me into this?"

Ryll helped Morgana into her armor and then Morgana did the same for her. They strapped on swords and knives though Ryll hoped there'd be no reason to use them. "The final battle," she said. "I thought I'd already fought my last."

"We will all come out of this one," Morgana told her, taking her arms, bracing them like they were making a vow. "I will keep all of you safe."

"I know."

They pushed aside the flap of the tent and joined the others. Even Merlin had put on a little bit of armor. He turned to look at Ryll as she joined them. "Mount up," Arthur said. Everyone moved toward their horses, but Merlin moved toward her.

Ryll watched him carefully as he approached her. He said nothing, but put his hands on her waist and kissed her. There was passion and longing in the kiss and it felt like time was slipping away from them. When he pulled away, Ryll brushed a hand over his cheek.

"Is now a good time to ask for that ring back?" she asked him.

"I thought you wanted to wait."

"I need something to look forward to on the other side of this," Ryll told him.

Merlin drew the ring from around his neck where he'd been keeping it. "We haven't got all day!" Arthur shouted at them. Merlin grinned, and it warmed his face and his eyes. He took the ring off of the chain and knelt.

"Amaryllis, will you marry me?" he asked.

"I've been waiting a few hundred years, so yes," she said, holding out her hand. He slipped the ring on. The knights clapped and hollered. Even Arthur was grinning.

"We're going to have a celebration when we get back!" Gwaine cried out. "Drinks all around!"

Merlin rolled his eyes, getting to his feet. "We're not quite there yet," he told Gwaine. "Ready?" he asked Ryll.

"If I'm with you, then always."

They moved as one, the knights on their horses, Arthur leading the way. The magical refugees and people from the city who remembered their past walked behind them. They formed an odd sort of parade as they went down Main Street, heading toward the White Castle that overlooked the city. Ryll hadn't felt so alive in a long time. It didn't matter that they were riding toward a battle they might lose. It didn't matter that she didn't have her magic back. They were together, and she was going to fight harder than ever because she had something wonderful to fight for.