AN: This is a long freaking chapter, full of unapologetic fluff. It's sweet enough you'll want to brush your teeth after reading it, but I'm not sorry. I'm just sad that there will only be one chapter after this. *sniff, sniff*

Please enjoy!

CHAPTER 21: The Web of Our Life

One month later

"So, Geoffrey and Gaius are doing all the research they can, but we really need some more expertise to better understand the visions. We're having trouble convincing those who have magic that we truly can be trusted not to execute them. I don't really blame them. Hopefully, Iseldir can help us locate some help." Arthur scrubbed his hands through his hair. He was in his off mode,wearing a pair of leather pants and a simple linen shirt open at the neck. He leaned forward in his chair, resting his forearms on his knees. "I should just sic Enid on them." He chuckled a little bit. "Did I tell you that your friend Gilly came to Camelot and is working with Gaius too?" Arthur spoke as if Merlin would answer, as if he were making snarky comments instead of wasting away on the bed, a little thinner and paler every day. Arthur had gotten into the habit of stopping in late in the evening and just talking to his friend.

Though a month had passed since the battle in the Valley of the Dragon, Merlin had yet to open his eyes. As time went on, Gaius was seeming to somehow...diminish. But mentoring the bickering new apprentices seemed to bring him some joy. Enid seemed to take her greatest joy in haranguing Gilly. She lived in quarters next to Gaius' with Hunith, because she couldn't stay with the men. Gilly lived with Gaius in Merlin's old room, and a second room had been added for Merlin's sick room. Gwen visited almost as often as Arthur, and the knights were often there too, especially Gwaine. Galahad remained faithful in watching over the sorcerer, and their hope kept Arthur's own going, though he knew that each day that passed made it less likely that Merlin would ever wake up.

Pushing the thought aside, Arthur rose and built up the fire. He visited so often that he knew what needed to be done to keep Merlin the most comfortable. "I made poor Lionel Gwaine's squire. Kilgarrah told Gwaine that your big magic emission at the Lake of Avalon somehow brought many more dragon eggs to the surface." Arthur grinned. "He gave Gwaine the task of finding them all. Lionel makes sure he never goes alone." Arthur sprawled back in the chair and yawned. He should head to bed soon. "Galahad is doing well too. We're forcing him to do some knight training even though I said only you could release him to do that. I know you're soft. You would have forgiven him by now." That sounded too much like Merlin was...gone...so Arthur changed the subject. "There's one thing that's annoying, though. Every time he walks through the courtyard all the maids seem to stop what they're doing to watch him walk by." The boy had broad shoulders and blonde curls and an endearing innocence. "Even Gwen told me he's pretty to look at."

"Jealous?"

"What? Kings don't get jealous. Besides – " Arthur jumped to his feet. Merlin had answered him, he was sure of it. "Merlin? Did you just say something?"

"You heard me," muttered Merlin, still not opening his eyes.

After that, Arthur forgot all about how late it was. He woke up Gaius, and Gwen, and pretty soon all of Merlin's closest friends were crowded into the sickroom. They didn't leave until well after Merlin fell back to sleep, and even Gaius didn't try to make them go.

Merlin was too weak to even sit up on his own. For a while, he only woke to eat a little soup, drink some water, and take care of the most basic of necessities before falling back to sleep, but that didn't stop his friends' joy. More than once, Arthur had been tempted to wake him up again, just to make sure that he would wake up.

Eight weeks later

Gwen was propped up in bed. She still hadn't shaken the habit of waking before dawn, so she'd established a morning routine. She would sneak out of bed, wash up, put her hair up, and, since her pregnancy, nibble on something her maid had left in the room. Then she would climb back into the warm bed and read reports or a list of what she had to do that day until Arthur woke up. Then they would eat breakfast together in their room. Right now, she was looking over the proposed menu for an upcoming formal dinner. Arthur hadn't really stirred yet, but he'd rolled over when she came back to bed and laid a protective hand on her curving belly. Gwen smiled down at her husband, looking young and carefree in his sleep.

There was a light tap on the door, and Gwen frowned a little. Typically, no one disturbed them until they rang. Further surprising her, the door opened and a head popped around the door. There was only one person who would dare – her mouth fell into a little 'o'. Merlin's face lit into a grin. He held a finger to his lips and she smiled and nodded. Merlin was still far too thin, not that he'd ever carried any weight, but he was finally starting to lose the skeletal look he'd worn. He didn't move as well as he had, but still, he was up and around. Gwen knew his vision had been affected, and that that would take some adjustment. Yet he was here, and that made her smile.

Merlin ambled over to the large windows and pulled back the curtains all at once so light flooded in. "Going for a lie-in, Arthur?" he called with cheerful insolence. "That's not very kingly of you!"

With the reflexes that had helped him become the youngest ever to be named First Knight, Arthur rolled to his feet and squinted into the light. "Merlin?" he asked a bit sleepily.

"No, actually it's Bayard. Got tired of all that ruling and decided to become your servant." Mischief danced in Merlin's eyes, but he made a startled "eep" when Arthur grabbed him in a hug – which turned into a headlock. Arthur let go after a second and grabbed Merlin by the shoulders, looking him over. "What are you doing here?"

"Relax. Gaius gave me the okay. I've been up and around more every day, helping gathering pots and going to the market. I'm not here to work, just visit."

Arthur laughed and took a step back. "You, not working? How is that dif-"

The door crashed open and Percival literally slid into the room. "Arthur, Merlin is miss – " The large knight saw his friend, standing unharmed. "Oh. Hi, Merlin. Um...I'm sorry."

Arthur shrugged into the shirt Merlin held out. "Percival, you may want to reconsider barging into the chambers of your king, and queen," Arthur began, but the door crashed into the wall again. Gwaine burst in, his shadow Lionel behind him, of course. Lionel didn't have shoes on, and only one sock. He looked like he'd put on his shirt on the run, which mean he matched Gwaine's unkempt appearance perfectly.

"Arthur, Merlin is --"

"Missing?" Arthur gave the knight a scathing look.

"Merlin!" called Gwaine happily, immune to the glare.

Gwen climbed out of bed and closed the door, always aware of how many servants and guards roamed the halls, and she was in her night dress and housecoat, after all. "Arthur, they – "

The door flew open yet once more, causing Gwen to yelp and Arthur to grab her out of the way of the door. "Arthur, Merlin is – "

"Leon," growled Arthur. "Merlin is fine. But you almost smashed your pregnant queen."

"Don't kill Leon," argued Gwaine. "He got Gwen into your arms!"

"I don't need help with that," snapped the king. He took a long breath. "There are four extra people in our bed chamber!" He would have continued, but a polite knock sounded on the door, which had banged shut again.

"Um, your majesties?" came Galahad's polite voice. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but Merlin is, um, missing."

Merlin's laugh suddenly filled the room. He laughed so hard he had to lean against the wall. Gwen's sweet laugh joined his as Arthur set her back on her feet. Arthur's face softened, but only for a second. "Merlin is here, he is fine, Gaius gave him the okay. Now everyone out." He opened the door himself, startling Gwen's maid who was standing outside with her hand upraised to knock. "Breakfast for three, please, Tani. Everyone except Merlin is leaving right now."

The knights shuffled out, Gwaine ruffling Merlin's hair and throwing a cheeky grin toward Gwen. Lionel stared at the floor, blushing furiously, and Leon and Percival mumbled apologizes as they followed the others. Merlin tried valiantly to keep a straight face, but started laughing again as the door closed.

"Sit down before you fall down, Merlin," said Gwen kindly. "We are very glad to see you, but you are still recovering." Merlin tilted his head to the right, an affectation he'd started to compensate for the poor vision in his left eye. Gaius, confused, had admitted that the eye was clouded with cataracts as if Merlin were extremely elderly. He had no cure.

"I can go get your breakfast," he offered.

"Sorry, Merlin. I don't think you'll be able to be my servant any more," disagreed Arthur, sitting at the table. Merlin's face dropped. "You'll probably be too busy with your duties as the Court Sorcerer and member of the council. At least, if you accept the position. The druids feel that having you on the council will make more people with magical gifts willing to come forward, and help us develop some strategies for protecting outlying villages from some of the new creatures that have been appearing." He lounged back in the chair, throwing a leg over one arm of the chair.

Merlin fell into another chair, mouth falling open.

"Arthur, you weren't supposed to ask him like that," chided Gwen. Arthur sat up normally, snagged her waist and pulled her onto his lap.

"You may be right. I think I broke him."

Merlin's mouth moved without sound. Then, almost petulantly, he asked, "Are you serious, Arthur? I knew you lifted the ban on magic, and sent resources to help the druids build their town, but...but..."

"I didn't hear a yes."

Gwen gently slapped Arthur's arm, though she made no move to get up. "Give him a moment, Arthur." She turned her smile to Merlin. "Let's eat breakfast together and you can think about – "

"Yes," Merlin interrupted. "Yes, to all of it. I've only ever wanted to use magic for you, and for Camelot. To show everyone it can be used for good."

"I know. You've more than proved it," commented Arthur. He nodded at Tani, who came in and began to lay out food. She was not fazed by Gwen's position on Arthur's laugh, which Merlin thought was telling. "Now, there are some big, ugly creatures that Gaius believes are something called ispolini stealing livestock near some villages in the south, and we need to find a better way to keep people away from the Lake of Avalon..."

Six months later

"Go faster!" grumbled Gwaine, leaning over his horse's neck. "We are dead if we miss the prince's official introduction!"

"Arthur will forgive you," responded Lionel confidently, knowing that everyone knew Gwaine too well to think the delay was Lionel's fault.

"It's not Arthur I'm worried about," admitted Gwaine wiping a drop off blood off of his cheek. "Gwen is all sweetness and light until that maternal instinct kicks in." In all honesty, he could have outpaced his squire, but it was kind of his fault the man had a dislocated shoulder slowing him down. Gwaine himself sported a blackened eye

"She did tell you not to go on this trip until after the dedication," Lionel reminded him.

"Nobody likes hearing I told you so, Lionel." Gwaine double checked the precious package in his saddle bag. They'd have to bring the dragon egg to the hidden sanctuary under the village at the Valley of the Dragon later. It was true they should have waited, but Gwaine hadn't expected the trip to go quite so wrong. He wiped the blood from his hand onto his already stained pants. They'd have to go straight to the ceremony as they were. He mentally shrugged. At least he'd be there. The last time he'd made Gwen upset (which had been surprisingly easy to do during the pregnancy), Arthur had threatened to take his head off, and he'd seemed awfully serious about it.

They rode up to the very steps of the Citadel. The guards were well used to Gwaine's antics and were not surprised when the two jumped from their horses and threw the reins. Gwaine took half a second to grab the saddle bag and hook it over his shoulder before they ran directly inside to the main throne room, where all formal court business took place. The only difference from normal was that the round table stood in the center of the crowd, the symbol off the new Camelot that Arthur and Gwen were building. The rest of the knights were all in place, dressed in their full armor and capes. Gwaine slid into his normal spot, Lionel behind him with the rest of the squires. Leon's face was set in disapproving lines, but to Gwaine's relief, the royal family wasn't yet on the dais. Merlin was there, and though he had his court sorcerer mien firmly in place, a grin ticked at the corners of his mouth. His outfit for court business was mostly just a better fitting, cleaner, and higher quality version of what he'd worn as a servant, but today he had on full ceremonial robes. He carried, as usual, the stick Percival had made for him, but it too was improved. It was polished and stained, and boasted a solid gold handle shaped like a dragon's head, a gift from the king and queen when he'd accepted the role of sorcerer of the court. The top few inches were also carved with arcane symbols. The stick helped both direct Merlin's powers and add to his general mystique, but only very close friends knew he also carried it to hide the intermittent tremors that shook his left hand and help steady him during moments of weakness. (Though the latter were becoming rarer as time passed.) But the cheesy grin he was barely hiding at the sight of Gwaine's rapid entrance and filthy appearance? That was vintage Merlin.

Gwaine took a second to smooth his hair, which he could feel was floating wildly around his head. He quickly dropped his hand to stand at attention when Gwen and Arthur walked onto stage, the former holding a bundle wrapped in white cloth. They were resplendent in their Pendragon reds and larger crowns, and their transparent happiness seemed to bring the gathering a collective sigh. Gwen's eyes skipped across the crowd. They paused on Gwaine, and she raised one eyebrow just slightly as she took in his appearance, but her mouth softened and he knew he wasn't in too much trouble.

Arthur welcomed everyone, his eyes not on the crowd, but on his wife and son. He tried and failed to keep a serious, kingly expression on his face as he took their son from Gwen. "It is with utmost pride and joy that Queen Guinevere and I officially present our son." He had to pause a moment, and more than one woman in the crowd wiped away a tear as the king looked down at his heir, who broke the moment by sticking a tiny fist in the air and hiccoughing. "Our son," continued Arthur, "Prince Thomas Constantine Pendragon of Camelot." He held the baby up and they cheered and clapped, Percival starting a chant of "long live the prince." They kept on cheering until little Thomas signaled his disapproval of the noise by crying. When they had quieted, Arthur gently calmed the boy, then handed him to Lord Geoffrey, who declared that the prince was recorded in the annals of Camelot. He passed the baby on to Gaius, who declared the child was without defect. The most serious part of the day done, servants began to bring in tables and food to celebrate the occasion, and several gathered around the round table to carry it to the side to make more room. As they did so, each councilor was to hold the child for a few seconds to indicated their acceptance of Camelot's future heir. Nobody really paid attention to this part normally, but when Gaius placed Thomas into Merlin's arms, the latter dropped his stick with a clatter that stopped all other noise. His eyes glowed burnished gold and a gasp rang out, as most in attendance had never seen him actually perform magic.

He spoke in what Arthur now thought of as his "vision voice," a voice that was ageless and ancient and heavy with wisdom. "The child shall be called the merciful. His birth unites the seven and it his destiny to council his father for many long years. The seven are united. COURAGE." Golden light leaped from Merlin to the round table, causing the men standing around it to jump back in fear. "STRENGTH." The light jumped again. "MAGIC. COMPASSION. MIGHT. LOYALTY. And MERCY." With each word, more light leaped to the table, and the smell of burnt wood filled the air. "Though two were lost, one day, there may be ten. A new dragon age. And Albion shall last for millennia." Merlin took a deep breath, and his eyes turned back to blue. He staggered slightly, and quickly handed the baby to Gwen. Arthur himself steadied Merlin and handed him back his stick.

The silent shock was broken, when Gwaine said, "The merciful, eh? Good job they didn't name him Percival, because Percival the Merciful would be a bit much." Sound started again; Percival punched Gwaine's arm and Gaius called to the court scribe to make sure he had recorded every word of the prophesy. Everyone else talked excitedly about what they'd seen, then one of the men who'd been about to move the round table called out above the cacaphony, "look at the table!"

The royal family worked their way to the table to see that words had been carved on it as if by fire, in beautiful calligraphy. Before Arthur's seat, it now said courage, to his right it said compassion for Gwen, and to his left, magic at Merlin's place. Gwaine's said strength, Percival's might, Leon's loyalty, and in front of an empty place, directly across from the king, it said mercy." Arthur stared in awe, but Merlin wasn't finished.

"Wait," he called from where he still stood on the dais. "There is one more thing." He pointed at the long wall which held the standards of the previous kings of Camelot, and the banners slid up higher on the wall, making space. In the center a new tapestry appeared out of thin air and unrolled itself. Words scrolled across the top as if written by an invisible hand, in a script matching the words on the table. It said simply, "The Fallen." Pictures began to form, rich with color and life. First, there was Lancelot. He was laughing at something in front of him, weight coming forward as if he would step off the canvas. His hands were slightly out to his sides, sword not drawn, as if embracing the next life. Beneath him appeared his name, and under that, the word Honor. Then Elyan swirled into view. His hood was up, but the planes of his face and the light in his eyes were easily visible. His sword was drawn, his left hand behind him in a manner that made it clear that he was shielding or protecting someone. His face was calm, with even a hint of a smile and he took his fate as his due. Beneath him appeared his name and the word Redemption.

"Thank you, Merlin." Gwen's quiet voice somehow cut through the noise. Tears streamed down her face as Arthur put an arm around her, but she was smiling.

"Now you lot be careful, because it's a lot of work to add more," said the sorcerer, causing Gwen and Arthur to laugh, as he'd hoped.

After that, the mood was giddy, the food excellent, and the wine plentiful. The legend of Camelot was growing. Gwen fell asleep with Thomas in her arms, and Arthur stole the baby and kissed him on the nose, causing much sighing among the ladies of the court. Gwaine fell asleep cuddling the dragon egg, and a servant boy within hearing learned several new curse words when Lionel woke him up to make him go to his chambers. And even Galahad got a little drunk.