A/N - It's a pity the Merlin franchise didn't delve deeply into the darker alternatives that could have come; I always found one of the best alternatives could have come from when Uther died. What if it led to a series of consequences for Arthur and the Kingdom?

Please let me know what you think.

In a Mirror Darkly, Merlin.

Divergence.

No, it couldn't happen like this, Merlin thought in horror as he gazed at Uther's body while Arthur shook him desperately.

"FATHER!" Merlin had to the tears rising in his eyes when he heard the desperation in the voice of his friend even as his own words of Uther being dead were likely reverberating within Arthur's mind, his memory flashing back to the way he had felt when Nimueh had tricked him in exchange for Arthur's life, and his mother and Gaius had come dangerously close to paying the price.

What was happening?

As Merlin looked down at the body of Uther in panic after the King and Arthur shared one last moment together, the warlock was left struggling to comprehend what was happening. Uther's sudden relapse back into unconsciousness had taken the warlock by surprise.

As he had told Arthur when the prince of Camelot had asked him what was happening when Uther began coughing and spluttering before he fell unconscious, Merlin didn't know what was happening.

He had spent a lot of time putting in the effort to mastering the healing spells he was sure would heal Uther after the king had been stabbed during Arthur's birthday celebrations, and he had been so positive he had performed it perfectly. In fact, he had made sure he hadn't made one of those amateurish mistakes he sometimes made when he practiced his spells. So what was going wrong?

Unfortunately, the question was drowned out by the numb horror he was feeling. For a long moment, Merlin had been so sure this was the turning point for the kingdom; with Uther brought back from the brink of death, the kingdom would stop persecuting magic although what was going to happen with the threat of Morgana, he didn't know. Hopefully, with more sorcerers who could be willing to forgive Camelot for its mistakes and welcome the overturning of the senseless and bloodthirsty genocide which had turned the lands red with magic's blood, Merlin could finally go on the offensive where the witch was going, and when the people saw how good magic was then they could stop this senseless genocide.

So many ideas sprang to his mind when he had made up his mind to heal Uther...

Failure was not an option. And yet somehow he had failed. How? He did not understand why.

He had honestly thought the spell would hold.

He truly had believed that Uther would be healed by magic after long since banning it for the last 20 years after his wife's death, and he had longed and hoped for the chance for magic to be free.

With magic free in the kingdom, people could stop hiding from the relentless persecution of magic Camelot had placed on the art of the Old Religion; druids would be able to go about freely without being hunted down and massacred by Camelot's knights, sorcerers would hopefully realise Camelot was changing enough so they realised their attacks were pointless, although Merlin had grown older and cynical enough to realise some attacks were inevitable.

But there were other ways magic could help.

Merlin had always hoped the people of Camelot would welcome the Old Religion's help once more in providing fuller harvests, healing the sick. All he had ever wanted was for magic to be freed, and this was the perfect chance. Arthur had always given Merlin the impression he just was not sure about magic and how it should be viewed, sometimes he would agree with Uther's beliefs about magic although it had killed Merlin inside to have to play along with the charade of Uther going to Nimueh, there were moments in the past where Arthur was willing to see there was more to magic than the black and white view maintained by Uther.

Merlin had hoped, even with the new threat of Morgana, there was the chance if one Pendragon saw that magic was not evil, then there was the chance of a new age.

He had put so much work, so much faith in turning Arthur into the Once and Future King ever since the day he'd become the price's servant, he could not bear to see his efforts die like this; Merlin might hate Uther for the orchestration of the Great Purge, the massacring of the dragons and the Dragonlords until only Balinor, Merlin's own father, was left, the killing of hundreds of sorcerers and druids, some of whom had actually been innocent victims of people like Aredian, the destruction of the Isle of the Blessed which had been one of the worst blows to the Old Religion and was still felt even to this day, but Merlin hadn't wanted Uther to die, not like this.

"What have you done?"

Merlin slowly looked up into Arthur's eyes, his heart thudding harder in panic at the question and the tone behind it. He had heard this tone from Arthur many, many times before, and it usually ended up with the prince losing his temper and going on a rampage. The fact he was using this tone on him in these circumstances was disastrous, and Merlin knew this was not going to end well.

"This was not supposed to happen-," Merlin tried to say, throwing aside his Dragoon facade.

"You gave me your word," Arthur ground out furiously, "and you have killed him!"

Merlin would never know what happened for sure; his best guess later would be that his emotions burned through what was left of the potion used to help him appear as an elderly sorcerer. All he knew at that moment was Arthur's eyes widened in horror and a look of hollow shock replaced the fury that had been there before. The warlock was just too shaken and horrified to really notice that he felt strong and full of energy, as he had noticed and compared his disguise and his true form following that mess where Gwen was being accused of sorcery…

"Merlin?"

Merlin's eyes widened when he heard his name being uttered from Arthur's lips, and he looked down at his hands. His horror grew when he saw that the skin was healthy and smooth, and his hands were not gnarled with age and covered with liver spots. He quickly touched his face and hair, and he realised his long white beard and hair were gone. His face felt as smooth as it had done this morning.

The potion had worn out or it had been burnt down.

Arthur knew who he was.

"You're a sorcerer…," Arthur's voice had dropped to a horrified whisper. "You've been my servant, my friend for years, and all this time you were tricking me! You're just like Morgana!" The prince's voice rose to a primal scream of fear, pain and rage.

Merlin felt a terrifying coldness embrace his heart in a grip when he heard the accusation. He had always been worried about what would happen when Arthur finally discovered his magic and who he was truly, but Merlin had always hoped it would be on his own terms. Those terms would have been when Arthur acknowledged magic was neither good nor evil, but there had been so many fears in his mind about what the prince would do under the wrong circumstances. This had never factored in his mind, never.

But the comparison to Morgana hurt, mostly because it was his own fault Morgana had become such a monster in the first place. He had been so frightened by that stupid prophecy of how Morgana and Mordred would both become pure evil, and they would join together to kill Arthur and destroy everything, he had not bothered to really try anything to help Morgana when she was terrified of being revealed as a witch.

But it was worse than that. Merlin had listened more to the advice of Gaius and Kilgharrah rather than actually making the decision himself. If he had taken the reins and actually showed Morgana he knew what she was going through, and Good Lord, he did since he had lived with the same fear all of his life, she might not have turned out the way she had.

He should have obeyed his instincts and he knew his mother had been angry with him when he had let slip others had manipulated him into not doing anything to help Morgana.

Merlin closed his eyes and he had to stop himself from feeling the regrets. "Arthur, whatever you think I've done, I haven't done it," he said slowly hoping the Prince would just listen to him. He chose his words carefully, knowing that any of his slips would make things worse. "I truly wanted to help-."

"LIAR! That's all your kind do, lie!" Arthur spat at him, now truly deranged with rage. "My father was right the whole time. Magic is evil. Magic has corrupted hundreds of people, and you are just one of them. Were you planning on controlling me from behind the scenes when I became King, is that why you were with me the whole time?"

Arthur's hate-filled rant made Merlin step back. "No, Arthur," he tried to say, refusing to believe the work he had been doing all this time since the day Kilgharrah met him in the cave under the castle, "I haven't….."

"I don't believe you, sorcerer!" The hate in Arthur's eyes and the last word was making Merlin really lose his hope for the future.

"Arthur, we have been together for years. I came with you on numerous hunts, adventures, quests… Think, if I really wanted to harm you, manipulate you, then wouldn't I have found a better way of doing it than by coming out with you as a manservant? I've spent years with you, helping you and giving you advice. I warned you about the Troll stepmother, Cedric, and so many others. If I wanted to destroy this kingdom, wouldn't I have worked with them instead of against them? If I am this manipulative, evil sorcerer you think I am, then why would I try to save your father?" The moment the words were out of Merlin's mouth, he wished he could suck them back in.

"You killed my father for revenge. But how do I know you haven't been playing me for a fool, enchanting me with your magic?!" Arthur suddenly whipped out his sword, and lunged for Merlin, forcing the sorcerer back.

"No, Arthur. Don't do this! I wasn't trying to kill your father! I was going to help him, I wanted to help him!" Merlin backed away, wondering how long he had; by now Arthur was shouting louder and louder, and there was the chance a guard could run through the doors.

"You've just killed my father, you son of a bitch!" Arthur lifted his sword, and he tried to swing at the warlock. "What makes you think I will believe anything you've got to say?"

Merlin had to concede that it was a good question. "I wanted to help you, Arthur. I wanted you to see magic is not evil. Hear me out," he added when Arthur swung his sword again, "I've been a sorcerer my whole life, and I've been living in fear my whole life. I wanted you to see that magic can be used for good, not for evil. Magic has been outlawed for 20 years because of Nimueh's mistake; I lied when I said Morgause was lying to you-"

"You lied to me about Nimueh?" Merlin wondered what it was about Arthur that made him latch onto that without hearing what else he had to say, but the warlock did not have the time to argue anymore; Arthur lunged for him again and again.

Merlin backed away, wondering what else he could say without making this even worse than it already was. He just needed to escape, but he knew even the slightest spark of magic would make things worse. The only problem was he couldn't think of any other solution since Arthur was between himself and the door. He caught Arthur's eyes, and then he saw it for himself as he looked into Arthur's face and he saw his stance. Merlin had seen that look before, and for a long horrible moment the warlock saw not Arthur, the prince he had thought he could call a friend, the prince whom Gaius and Kilgharrah both believed would be the one to turn the whole kingdom into something new and usher in a new golden age.

Instead, he saw Uther, only younger and more hateful. The kind of King who would cause nothing but pain and misery while he ruled a brutal regime, and Merlin was chilled as he realised that by failing to save Uther, his younger successor would not want to help magic but he would destroy it. With that in mind, Merlin decided to just get on with it.

Merlin's eyes flashed with magic, freezing Arthur in place.

X

Gaius was working busily in his workroom while he waited for Merlin to return. Thanks to his duties which he took incredibly seriously, the physician usually studied or worked late at night anyway despite his innermost feelings, totting up his supplies while making plans for his rounds the next day, and furthering his knowledge of medicine.

But many a time Gaius found a situation outside of his own control and ability that made it impossible for him to get any sleep. Deep down the old Court Physician was nervous and worried about the whole idea of helping heal Uther in the first place. He had examined Uther personally since he had been stabbed, and he knew the chances of him surviving long were insurmountable. Gaius had once been a sorcerer, not a truly powerful one when compared to sorcerers like Cornelius Sigan, Merlin, Nimueh and Morgana, but he had been more interested in the healing arts than anything else.

But Gaius hoped Merlin would succeed even with his misgivings. Uther had been in a terrible state even before he was stabbed when he had saved Arthur's life from that assassination attempt on his life; while he was doubtful magic would be enough to help Uther following the horrifying surprise of Morgana's betrayal although he and Merlin had known about it beforehand, Gaius had still hoped. He was an old man and while facts were good there were moments where he still harboured hope.

The door opened and Gaius turned. Immediately he was worried by the look on Merlin's face, and he realised what had happened.

Uther was dead.

"Uther's dead and Arthur knows about me," Merlin's voice was so hollow Gaius could not believe it.

"What?" Gaius was so rocked by the news he couldn't understand what Merlin had said.

"The healing spell failed, although I was certain it was working and it failed," Merlin was shaking his head at the sheer numbness of it all, "but that's not the worst of it."

"What do you mean?" Gaius whispered, waiting for the worst.

Merlin took a deep breath, worrying Gaius more than before but then he remembered what his young charge had said before. "Wait, you said Arthur knows. You don't mean…?" Gaius' voice was a whisper while he tried to mask his fear, but he knew he was failing miserably.

"If you mean he knows about my magic, then you are right. Arthur knows about my magic; somehow the potion failed," Merlin shook his head and ran his hands through his hair in that frustrated manner Gaius knew so well, "I think my fear caused my magic to burn through it, or something like that. All I know is the ageing spell wore off and then Arthur saw who I was."

"Oh Merlin, no!" Gaius whispered as he realised the repercussions, but at the same time, he wondered how Merlin could be so reckless..

"I tried to reason with him, Gaius, you have to believe me on that," Merlin looked pleadingly at his old mentor and uncle.

"I believe you, Merlin, I really do. But I was always worried about Uther being able to recover with the spell anyway; he was in a terrible state after Morgana's betrayal anyway. He was in poor shape after Camelot was taken over by Morgana and Morgause, and he was wasting away afterwards before he was stabbed," Gaius sighed as he thought of what else Merlin had just said to him; if what Merlin had implied was correct, then he was not safe here. "What about Arthur?"

Merlin sighed while his mind raced, knowing that thanks to this mess, Arthur was going to reenact the Great Purge, and other people were going to suffer. "There's nothing I can do about him. He thinks I'm an evil, lying, manipulative sorcerer, Gaius. He won't listen to me, and when Morgana learns of what I am from Agravaine since Arthur will blab to the entire kingdom, she'll know the worst of it. I'll have two angry Pendragons after me."

"Merlin, you can't think that way," Gaius argued, "Arthur might be angry now, but he will calm down."

"You didn't see his face, Gaius. He reminded me vividly of Uther. The moment I saw his expression I knew magic had no hope of being allowed in this part of the kingdoms, and I also realised all my hard work has gone up in flames."

"You can't believe that-," Gaius tried to protest, but Merlin waved his hand.

"No, it's best if I go, and if I were you, I'd leave as well since he knows we're both close," Merlin retorted.

Gaius felt his heart be seized by a cold hand made from ice as the true danger settled in. "Do you think he'll go that far?"

"I don't know. In the meantime, I need to get out of the city. I froze Arthur when I had no other choice, and I came here to pick up my things. I'll release the spell when I leave the castle," Merlin headed for his bedroom and he started collecting his things.

After a moment Gaius followed him, his fears rising in his chest. "Do you think he'll restart the Purge?" He asked although he knew an angry Pendragon was a vengeful Pendragon, and there was every chance Arthur would lash out at anything magical, be it a group, a person, or even a book.

Visibly Merlin shuddered at the thought of him being responsible for the restarting of the Great Purge. "I hope not, but this time I hope to ensure it doesn't become as bad as the last one; I will not be responsible for the destruction of magic when I'm supposed to be restoring it."

Until the next time...