Hey guys!

And we are just moving right along here...

As always, enjoy!

~Ra1n

Previously...

"How far are you willing to go to save your servant?" Iseldir asked, and Arthur breathed in.

"As far as it takes."

"Are you quite sure?"

Arthur nodded. "Yes."

Iseldir smiled. "Then you better finish writing that decree," he said. "And welcome to the world of magic users."

"Sorry?" Arthur's eyes reminded Gwaine of a fish, bulging and confused.

Iseldir reached over and plucked the crown from Gwaine's fingers. "You did say you would do whatever it takes to help Emrys, did you not?"

"Yes, but I don't understand-"

"And as far as I can tell, you are also dealing with the problem of Morgana? There are much bigger things at stake than just Emrys's life or your destiny. Camelot is at stake as well. You need him as much as you want him to recover."

Arthur closed his mouth. It was true. He not only wanted Merlin to be alright; he needed him. Camelot needed him.

Iseldir continued, "the collar that you so carelessly bestowed upon Emrys is made of iron, making it impossible for me or any other magical creature to remove it."

A loud breath came out of the king's nose, and he looked at his feet. "Yes. Yes, I know." He ran his hand over his hair nervously. "But you said there's a way to fix that, right?"

"There is a way for you to fix that, yes."

"But what was it you said about magic users?"

Iseldir gave a little half smile. "I said welcome."

"Right, and what did you mean by that?"

Iseldir gave Arthur a long look. Arthur stared, uncomprehending. Then his eyes widened as realization dawned on him.

"Wait, now surely you don't mean-" he shot a glance at Gwen, then Gwaine. "-I'm n-not-"

"You said you would do whatever it takes," Gwaine said.

"Yes, but I didn't know that- I can't just drop everything and renounce my father's work! I couldn't!"

"You were already writing a decree to legalize magic, what is the difference?" Iseldir motioned towards the paper scattered around them. "Obviously you have already decided to renounce your father's work."

"The difference is me," Arthur muttered, glaring at the papers as if they were the enemy.

"No, the difference is your commitment."

Arthur moved his chin sharply up towards the Druid, his eyes unreadable. "I am fully committed to legalizing sorcery. I am fully committed to apologizing for the wrongs I have perpetrated against Merlin. Don't think for a minute that I am not."

Iseldir shrugged. "I believe your guilt is true, Pendragon. You believe that Emrys is not evil and that magic is not what corrupts. And yet you are still afraid of it, why?"

"I'm not afraid." The king's voice was low and careful.

"Then join me."

"No."

"Then condemn Merlin to his fate." Iseldir sounded only slightly angry. He had expected such a blatant refusal, of course. The king had been told since birth -brainwashed, really-that what he was being asked to do was the ultimate act of evil. But Arthur was smarter than that. He needed to be.

"Arthur, if you don't do this, Merlin will die."

Gwen's voice cut through the arguing. Every man in the room turned to look at her. Her eyes were dark and serious. Her mouth was set in a grim line. She was powerful and strong and so, so brave, and Arthur felt like the world was crumbling around him. She was right. She had always been right, ever since this whole thing had started. And she was speaking the truth now- Merlin would die. Not only that, but Gaius had said that without Merlin, Morgana was undefeatable. Merlin would die. Camelot would fall.

Iseldir rubbed his chin, watching Arthur. He nodded towards the paper on the table.

"Write the decree first. Legalize magic. Skip the advisors and finish the document."

"But the people…" Arthur trailed off. How would the people of Camelot react? "They have been told for over twenty years that magic is evil, magic is dangerous, magic is the source of all corruption. There will be riots. There will be protests. The knights are already preparing for war, we do not have the resources to stop an uprising as well."

"The people of Camelot have all lost loved ones to the purge. Acceptance will come slowly."

"But Morgana will attack. And if I have legalized magic just days before that, the repercussions will be unheard of."

"Yes, but with magic legalized you may help Merlin without the restraints of your own laws, and you might even gain some magical allies."

"In less than a fortnight? Impossible."

"Then write the document and announce it at a later date."

Arthur opened his mouth, but could find nothing to say.

"As for your job," Iseldir continued once he knew he had won, "you may come with me. We have much to discuss and even more to learn."

The king took an involuntary step backwards. "Where are we going?"

Gwaine and Gwen were already moving towards the door. Iseldir smiled thinly. "To Gaius," he said. "You need as much help as you can receive, and I have a team of Druids, an experienced physician, and the world's greatest sorcerer in that room."

Arthur's entrance when he arrived at Gaius's chambers was less than stellar.

Gwen and Gwaine came in first, and the Druids all surged forward, their eyes full of questions.

"Did the king say yes?"

"Where is Iseldir?"

"Will Emrys survive?"

Gwen and Gwaine didn't have time to answer any of them before Iseldir entered, looking serious but not unpleased. Looking back at Gwen and Gwaine, the Druids noted that neither of them had looked particularly unhappy either-and was that a hint of a smile on Gwen's lips?

Gaius was doing his best to remain calm, but even he was anxious to hear the news.

Iseldir lifted a hand for silence in the small room. It was unneeded, however, because it was only a moment later that Arthur walked in, and whoever had been talking abruptly stopped.

All eyes turned to the king.

Arthur kept his head bowed as he walked in. He had been trying to avoid Gaius's chambers for a number of reasons, and now all of his fears were coming true.

Gaius was standing beside Merlin's cot, as was Percival. A group of druids-at least ten, maybe twelve, was huddled in the corner. And if that wasn't disconcerting enough, half of them had glowing golden eyes.

And they were all looking directly at him. Arthur froze just inside of the doorway.

"Uh-" he started. What was he supposed to say? Thank you for coming? I'm sorry? Welcome? Was he supposed to even say anything at all?

"The king has agreed to our request," Iseldir announced, and Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he could get out of the room without saying a word.

The room's reaction was one of stunted joy. Gaius let out a breath and pressed his hand to his forehead. Percival gave a curt nod. The druids broke into smiles and a few gave Arthur looks of encouragement. Arthur felt distinctly uncomfortable, and tried to look at anything in the room aside from a person.

Instead, Arthur felt a hand on his shoulder, gently leading him further into the room.

"We need to begin immediately if we want to get the collar off of Emrys in time," Iseldir was saying, directing Arthur to the back room where Merlin used to sleep, "Please do not disturb us." Arthur kept his eyes forward as the two of them moved, avoiding eye contact.

When they passed Merlin, however, he couldn't help himself from looking.

He looked...horrible wasn't even the right word. Like a corpse, perhaps, or like he was on his deathbed. Arthur couldn't bring himself to observe the details. He was still sick and still hurt, and that was really all Arthur needed to know.

Iseldir pushed the door to Merlin's old chambers open, and Arthur was struck with a combination of nostalgia and guilt. The room looked as if it had been untouched since the day Merlin had been arrested. The bed was still unmade. A goblet, half-filled with musty water, laid untouched on a small table, an open book next to it. A dirty blue shirt was crumpled on the floor beside a used red neck scarf.

Arthur briefly wondered what the guards had done with the red shirt and blue neck scarf that Merlin had been brought into the dungeons with, but quickly abandoned the thought; they had been discarded, no doubt.

Iseldir took a seat on the wooden planks that made up Merlin's floor and motioned for Arthur to do the same. He did so, but only after half of the Druid group came filing in behind him.

With eight people and the door closed, Merlin's room felt uncomfortably small.

"Why-" Arthur began, but stopped himself.

Iseldir rose his eyebrows. "Yes?"

"Why did half of them stay outside?"

Iseldir smiled. "Rain, Pendragon, is a rather magical thing. Now, shall we begin?"

The Druids sat down silently, pulling Arthur back so that they were all seated in a tight circle.

"What happens now?" Arthur asked as Iseldir lit a candle and placed it on the floor.

"Now, young king, we must find your magic."