Some time had passed and Arthur had not let go of Merlin, however, Mordred was now sitting with his wrists bound together and the knights were glaring at him so that they could stop him from escaping.

"Arthur?" a small voice asked.

Arthur jolted back into reality and he looked down at the warlock who he was cradling in his arms "Merlin! Are you alright, my darling?"

"I am alright, nothing has really changed for me" Merlin answered honestly.

"Aaww how sweet, shame that it won' last. How are you feeling, Merlin?" Mordred laughed as he enjoyed the image of Merlin fading away "Love is ridiculous!*

"Have you ever not been able to wake the person you love up? Have you ever seen fear and pain in the eyes of your true love?" Arthur yelled.

Everyone went quiet and Arthur stroked the warlock's hair whilst glaring at Mordred.

"You are going back to Camelot empty-handed. I can take good care of Merlin whilst you complete your quest" Mordred hoped that Arthur would agree.

Merlin coughed and he snuggled up to Arthur. He rested his head on the king's chest and he sniffled as he held back tears.

Arthur placed his hand on the warlock's back "No, Merlin needs me and I will not leave him when I might never see him again. The quest is for nothing if Merlin dies. We are going back to Camelot empty-handed but I have the greatest treasure of all and that is mine and Merlin's true love".

Mordred looked at Merlin and he saw how weak the warlock was "I have the abilities to be able to heal Merlin".

"No, you don't, Mordred." Merlin winced "If I can't heal myself then you will not be able to". He then coughed again.

Arthur rubbed Merlin's back before he spoke: "I will not abandon him when he needs me".

Merlin winced as his wound started to burn "Arthur!"

Arthur looked at Merlin and he held the warlock's hand "I'm here. Just breath, Merlin."

Merlin tried to do a breathing exercise but the pain intensified and he screamed.

Arthur held the warlock close as he rocked him back and forth "Ssshhh it's alright. I've got you and you're going to be alright".

Merlin buried his face into Arthur's shoulder and he screamed "Aahh!"

Arthur started to stroke Merlin's hair to calm him "Ssshhh it's alright. I love you". He then slowly exhaled before he kissed Merlin's hand "Are you ready to continue moving?"

Merlin hesitated but he nodded.

Arthur looked up at the knights "Pack the camp up, we leave now".

The knights stood up and began to pack everything up, except for Gwaine who continued to glare at Mordred. Someone had to keep an eye on that Druid.

Arthur scooped Merlin up and he carried Merlin over to his horse "Slowly" he instructed as he helped his warlock climb onto the saddle.

Malease secured the food before she looked over at Gwaine "We cannot leave him here, he poses too much of a danger to Merlin if he escapes".

Arthur nodded and then looked at Gwaine "Put him on a horse, but keep a close eye on him. The lake of Avalon is just over a day's journey away" he started before he climbed up onto the saddle to sit behind Merlin.

Gwaine and Percival nodded before they hoisted Mordred up by his upper arms, dragging him over to a horse. They then pushed him up and tied his wrists to the saddle. Mordred glared at the knights as Percival tied the reins to his own Horse's saddle.

"Your efforts are worthless! Merlin will not survive!" Mordred snarled.

"You will not survive if you keep talking" Leon threatened.

The journey to the lake of Avalon was not comfortable not was it pleasant for Merlin, who was growing weaker and weaker by the second. Grasping at threads that were snapping. He was losing hope which he did not know that he had. However, Arthur refused to allow thoughts of hopelessness infect his mind.

The king heard Merlin whimper and hiss in pain and it shattered his heart "We are almost there, my darling! Just a few more miles. Hold on for just a few more miles" He then instructed his horse to gallop, he could sense that Merlin was slipping away and he could not lose his warlock. He was not going to lose his Merlin.

The knights ignored how tired they were becoming as the adrenaline pumped through them, Malease took it upon herself to gallop off ahead to look for the legendary lake. Her elf eyes scanned across the horizon until she saw what she was looking for.

"I can see it!" Malease yelled to the group.

"Almost there, my darling. It is going to be alright!" Arthur reassured the warlock.

However, Merlin's eyes were drifting closed as he fought to keep them open.

Everyone raced towards the magical lake and it was just within reach when they were thrown off of their horses my an invisible force, resulting in everyone but Mordred being flung in different directions as the Druid's hands were freed and he climbed down from the horse. Mordred smirked evilly as he cast a spell, causing the knights to become tired up and Malease was thrown at a tree, knocking her unconscious instantly.

"Malease!" Percival cried out to the elf.

"Did you all really think that you could trap me with some measly ropes?" Mordred tackles as he approached Arthur. "I had you right where I wanted you, because I was the one who sent those bandits to ambush you" he then pulled his dagger out of his belt "And it was this dagger that poisoned Merlin. Now it is time to finish the job" he snarled before he turned and began to stalk towards the warlock who was just barely breathing.

Arthur's eyes widened and he drew his sword "NO!" he roared as he jumped to his feet and ran at Mordred. However, Mordred spun around and put his dagger up to block Arthur's attack.

Merlin, on the other hand, pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, before he looked up at what was going on "Arthur!"

"Merlin, move! Get to the lake!" The king yelled to his warlock.

Merlin mustered up the last of his strength and he began to drag himself towards the lake, all the while the pain of his wound fought to hold him back and overcome him "Argh!"

Arthur was thrown back and he hit his head on a rock, providing Mordred with a chance to chase after Merlin. Mordred ran over and he grabbed Merlin's ankle, he pulled the warlock back and then he pinned Merlin down "You cannot escape from me. You have something that I need".

Merlin grabbed Mordred's arm and he battled to push the dagger away from him "Aaahhhh!"

"It's all over, Emrys" Mordred snarled

At the mention of his name, Merlin's magic built up inside of him and set ablaze as his eyes flashed gold and Mordred was thrown back. Merlin winced as he pushed himself up and he stood up "Give it your best shot."

It was only at that moment that Mordred realised something... Merlin was standing in the lake of Avalon and he had pulled the warlock straight into it.

The knights grinned and cheered when they realised that Merlin was being healed whilst standing in the lake, his magic and strength returning to him and that Mordred stood no chance at defeating his enemy.

Mordred used magic to throw a fireball at Merlin but the warlock caught it with ease and there it straight back at him, but he dived out of the way "Why won't you just die?!" he shouted as he threw another fireball at Merlin.

Merlin dodged the attack before he ran over to Arthur and he started to shake the king "Arthur, wake up. Arthur, please wake up!"

Arthur groaned as he came to and he looked at Merlin "Merlin?" He sat up and he cupped Merlin's cheek in his hand.

"You know what to do" Merlin stated before he kissed Arthur "I love you".

"I love you too" Arthur returned his affection before Merlin helped him to his feet and they both spun around to face Mordred, "I told you what I would do if you hurt my Merlin" the king stated before he spun his sword around.

Merlin's eyes turned completely gold and he used magic to untie the knights, Percival immediately ran over to Malease and he helped her to her feet whilst Mordred used magic to create a circle of fire around himself, Merlin and Arthur, forcing the knights and Malease to back away.

Arthur charged at Mordred and he fought the warlock, Excalibur against magic and pushing Mordred back towards the fire.

Merlin looked over at Maleaae and the knight's, he then nodded at them before he connected their minds together 'There is something in the lake that has been kept there for me, I need you to get it.'

'What is it?' Malease thought.

'I do not know, but I'll of you will when you find it' Merlin stated through thought before he disconnected his mind from theirs.

"Come on!" Lancelot yelled.

All of the knights sprinted into the lake and they dived under the water as they searched for whatever Merlin needed. Malease dived into the water and she swam to the floor of the lake, panic taking over when all she could see was rocks, pebbles and pondweed. The elf was about to lose all hope but then she saw a beautiful woman swimming towards her whilst holding a staff with a clear crystal on top of it.

"Merlin is ready to have this" the woman spoke as her raven hair flowed in the water and her red dress.

Malease realised who the woman was and she took the staff before swimming up to the surface of the water, just as Arthur was thrown back by Mordred "Merlin!"

Merlin had also been thrown to the ground and he hissed in pain as he stood up, bruises covering his body but he looked at Malease.

Malease threw the staff towards Merlin and the staff flew towards its owner.

Dark clouds soon appeared and Mordred saw that Merlin was gripping a staff "Impossible!"

Merlin stood up as waves appeared in the lake, thrashing around and thunder boomed above everyone as they all watched Merlin "There is one thing that you should know about me, Mordred. I make anything possible" he spoke in a low voice as his eyes glowed gold.

Mordred watched on in anger as Merlin lifted the staff up and a bolt of lightning shot down from the heavens. Merlin directed the lightning at Mordred and the enemy warlock screamed in pain as he was electrocuted before he disintegrated into thin air.

The sky slowly changed back to normal as the dark clouds and waves disappeared, Merlin's eyes returned to their normal colour and he turned around as Arthur ran towards him, pulling him into an embrace, before smashing their lips together.

"I thought that I was going to lose you!" Arthur breathed into the kiss as tears flooded his eyes.

"You are never going to think that again. I am not going anywhere" Merlin whispered as he let his own tears fall.

Arthur sniffled and he smiled as he beamed with relief, he pulled Merlin back into a hug "From now on, you wear armour and a shield".

Merlin chuckled as be cupped the back of Arthur's head in his hand.