Chapter Twenty-Six
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.
Arthur had seen the destruction of undead created by the Cup of Life once before. The former soldiers of Escetir had exploded into smoke and sparks the moment the blood in the Cup was spilled.
Likely because of who and what she was, it took longer for Nimueh to die.
Her screams rent the air, painfully loud and almost inhuman, nonstop for what felt like several minutes as she writhed in place, red-and-blue flames tearing her apart from within. Through her wailing, Merlin's voice echoed briefly, chanting words in an ancient, unfamiliar tongue.
Arthur didn't manage to get off of the ground, but he did crawl himself backwards to Lancelot, who was bleeding but breathing. When Arthur reached him, he took his eyes off the flaming sorceress to see that the noble knight appeared to be waking from unconsciousness. He's not bleeding out yet, he should be okay…
The king looked towards the screaming again as it rose in pitch, just in time to see the flames engulf Nimueh once and for all, then burn away to nothing.
He turned back to Lancelot when he heard the knight grown through the ringing in his ears. "Lancelot? You alright?"
"Ugh." Propping himself on his elbow, Lancelot glanced around dazedly. "I probably need a doctor sooner rather than later...Should someone tell Aithusa to stop setting those tents on fire?"
Looking up the hill towards the encampment, Arthur saw another row of tents go up in flames as the white dragon made what seemed to be not the first fiery pass at them. "I...Maybe, but I'm not doing it...Merlin…" Shit, where did Merlin go…Oh, no...
Staggering to his feet, Arthur caught sight of the warlock, who had apparently dropped the Cup of Life on the hillside and rushed to grab...what was left of Gwaine.
When Arthur stumbled over there himself, he could hear Merlin muttering as he held Gwaine in his arms. "Come on, idiot, it should've worked, it did before, and I made sure this time...I'm not ready to lose you just yet...I promised Caldwell...No, it has to work...please…" He sounded close to tears.
I've got to say something, do something… "Merlin," Arthur began, not sure where to go from there, not ready to deal with the questions he could hear Lancelot stammering out behind him. It's too late, at least we got her, Gwaine saved my life…again… His heart felt heavy in his chest. I doubt he even hesitated…
Because that was who Gwaine was and had always been.
Then, endless seconds later, Arthur's heart got a hard jolt when Gwaine abruptly shuddered, coughed, and opened his eyes. He blinked up at Merlin for a moment before blurting out, "Where's the witch?"
Merlin responded by hugging the formerly-dead man so tightly that he squawked.
Arthur didn't know where to start laughing or crying. He settled for, "Merlin, what the hell?"
Loosening his grip on Gwaine, the warlock looked up and said, a bit shakily, "To create a life...or save one...a life must be taken. Remember way back when the Questing Beast bit you? Had to use the Cup of Life then...there was a whole shuffling act going on to save you, honestly...In the end, I killed Nimueh to save Gaius. Luckily, I could do that again now."
"Oh. Okay." Arthur honestly didn't know what to say to that.
Gwaine didn't seem to be listening; he looked a bit confused still. "Hey, Lancelot looks like he could use some help, Merlin...Ow, Aithusa, stop poking around in my head, I think I'm fine…" He glared up at the circling dragon overhead, pushed himself to his feet, then looked at Arthur. "Did we win?"
As Merlin hurried to tend to Lancelot, Arthur said, "I...guess we did?"
"Huh, that was fast. I think."
"Yeah." Arthur gave Gwaine a firm hug...eliciting another surprised squawk...and said as stepped back, "Let's go check the damage for ourselves. If you feel up to that?"
"I feel fine, what…" Gwaine paused, then looked down at his chest. His clothing and armor where charred black where the fireball had hit him. His eyes widened. "Wait...Did I just die or something? How..."
"Um...Ask Merlin? When he's less busy."
"Less busy" didn't apply to anyone for a while.
In the aftermath of battle, the injured had to be attended to, of which there were many. Morgana was one of them; Alvarr had gotten in a few metaphorical blows before she finished him off. "I can't believe I had to do that again…I'm never telling Mordred about this…." But with Merlin and Aithusa's help she was on the mend very quickly, as was Lancelot and many others. None of the reincarnated from the old days had died...besides the obvious sort-of exception...but for several it had been very close.
Most of Nimueh's magic-wielding allies had been taken out during the battle, but a few had managed to flee. Any shades and dangerously bloodthirsty living had to be finished off; those mortal soldiers who had clearly just come out of being enchanted were taken prisoner, but Arthur planned on releasing them soon. It would be difficult to take them to Anglesey, but we'll give them a fighting chance to survive . This wasn't their fault.
Random magical artifacts besides the Cup kept turning up as well, especially after the fires Aithusa started went out. Guess we'll have to build another vault somewhere...
The dead also had to be counted. Statistically, their side had gotten lucky, with relatively few losses. But each was a person they had known, had trained with, had fought alongside. Arthur insisted on collecting the personal mementos to return to their families himself.
The next day at dawn, they lit the pyres on the hill where Camelot had once stood.
Every single one of them was as noble as one of my knights of old, if not more so.
As the gathered army split into groups to mourn in their own ways...some singing, some praying, some simply speaking together or standing in silence...Arthur caught sight of Gwaine comforting Ruby as she cried. One of her close friends from training was among the dead.
He looks fine...Sad and tired, as we all are, but fine…
He knew Merlin had come up beside him without even looking. "He died for me, Merlin," he said quietly.
"So? He's not dead now." Merlin let out a dry chuckle. "Courage, Strength, and Magic live to fight another day, right?"
"Yeah." Arthur eyed him. "Did you...did you know that was going to happen somehow, or…"
"I was just too slow in getting rid of the other sorcerers and finding the cup. Or so I thought…" Merlin gazed off into the misty distance, eyes too shiny, most likely seeing memories of things Arthur couldn't even comprehend. "I wasn't ready to lose him, Arthur. If it had been you, or Lancelot, or...or pretty much anyone, really, in that scenario...there wasn't a question. I've lost you everyone once already...I'm not doing it again. I can't. Not yet."
Throat tight, Arthur reached out and grasped his best friend's shoulder. "Hey, don't start talking like that. I want to die an old man this time."
"...I'm holding you to that, dollop-head."
Upon the army's return to Anglesey, time went by in a blur for a while. Some moments stood out to Arthur...things like the embrace Guinevere pulled him into as soon as he set foot on Anglesey's shore, Mordred giving him a short, tight hug before running back to Morgana's arms, bits of the final community memorial held for the fallen, hearing from Hayden how Elen had screamed at her brother for a half an hour for literally getting killed, congratulating Haralda and Percival on their sudden engagement.
Apparently the proposal had come from Haralda, and actually in the midst of the battle. This was somehow one of the least surprising things Arthur had heard since the apocalypse began.
Then, at some point, everything slowed down as everyone hunkered down for the remainder of winter. Without the looming threat of attack, there was not much else to do except wait out the cold weather and plan ahead for the spring.
Quite a few people chose to ignore what used to be Christmas altogether, as many had done the previous year when everything was about pure survival. Arthur, Gwen, and the other returnees from the past settled on a quiet solstice celebration of sorts. They spent a lovely afternoon and evening eating, drinking, and talking, all crowded into Arthur and Gwen's cottage, with Aithusa just outside. She mostly napped, unbothered by the light snow and cold wind, but every so often would contribute to the conversations inside through the window Merlin had magicked to not let any weather in despite being wide open.
Late in the gathering, Arthur looked around and realized that it was quite unlike any other event he'd ever held, yet it held strange touches of familiarity. Morgana ended up getting tipsy and reminiscing about old days with Leon; Elyan started playing drinking games with Elwin and Haralda while Percival looked on with amusement; Merlin and Mordred ended up in a corner seeing how many butterflies and bubbles they could conjure up with magic as Hertha egged them on; Gaius and Everard sat together, conversing about philosophy or something equally boring; Elen and Gwen chatted excitedly about plans for the spring and passed baby Branwen back in forth. Hayden, Lancelot, and Gwaine situated themselves nearest to Aithusa's window, not speaking much but seeming content to soak in the peaceful atmosphere.
As Lancelot instigated a thorough conversation with Hayden about the latter man's still-growing herd of wyverns, Arthur approached Gwaine. "How are you?"
"I'm almost at a five today, actually," Gwaine said quickly, then snorted. "Sorry, you have no idea what I'm talking about. I'm good, Arthur, really. Please don't thank me over the self-sacrifice thing again, please. You'd have done the same for me."
"I suppose. I'll refrain from any more gratitude in the future." Arthur grinned and sat down on the empty stool by his former knight. "How's your favorite trainee doing?"
"Ruby's with Amelie...her girlfriend...they're having a quiet night in, is what she told me. She'll be okay. She's strong, has a good head on her shoulders, is becoming damn good with a sword."
"She has a good teacher."
"Thanks, Princess."
"Don't make me regret that compliment."
"Too late!" Gwaine looked ten years younger as he laughed.
The party wrapped up shortly afterward, with the humans dispersing to their homes and Aithusa to...wherever it was that she went when not busy. Percival and Haralda had moved out of Arthur and Gwen's place a while back, and Elyan had recently decided to become Lancelot's flatmate. As comforting as it had been to have family and friends so close at all times, sometimes privacy was very nice indeed.
"I like having the place to ourselves," Arthur told Gwen as they cuddled together on the couch after everyone had left. He was finishing off a final glass of precious wine; she was not, and didn't seem interested in stealing sips out of his as she usually would be. Did she drink anything alcoholic today? I didn't see...
"The peace and quiet is nice." His wife leaned her head against his shoulder, interrupting his thoughts. "Don't get too used it, though."
He moved his head so he could look down at her. "What's that supposed to mean? The 'let's get engaged on a battlefield' couple isn't moving back in, are they? And I'm not living with Merlin. He may be my best friend, but I would murder him in short order."
"Oh, hush, you would not." She toyed with the end of his shirt, not looking at him. "But no, none of them are moving in. But there is going to be a new resident." Finally looked up, Gwen smiled brightly. "The room Elyan was in before should make a good nursery, don't you think?"
It took a few seconds for it to sink in, and when it did, Arthur felt like his mouth was malfunctioning. "I...what...wait, is...are you…"
She nodded, still beaming, and Arthur all but tossed the wine glass aside so he could hug her. "I can't believe...I mean, that was easy…we weren't even trying..."
Her eyes shone as she pulled away just enough to meet his gaze. "I must've slipped up, assumed that since it was so hard in our past life...But yes, we're going to be parents again. I've suspected for a while, but with Nimueh and everything…"
Arthur cut her off with a kiss. "I love you so much, Gwen."
"I love you, too. With all my heart."
Months of icy winter still lay ahead, but to the Once and Future King, it already felt like spring had come again.