A/N: One more chapter to go! Whoooo!

I can't believe that after 8 (ish) years, I'm finally at the end... This is so surreal... I think this might actually be the first multi-chaptered series I've finished. Ever. Guy, I think I'm in shock... Anyway, I'll keep the cheesy thanks for the last chapter, so just go ahead and enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 25: The Reckoning - part 2

I stood my ground as Alvarr smirked at me. His men were out cold and Arthur and his knights would take the city back soon. So why was Alvarr so smug?

"I am not going to let you destroy Camelot," I said lowly, my magic prickling just below my skin.

Alvarr's smirk grew. "I'm not here to destroy it," he said casually. Then, his smirk vanished, replaced by a cruel sneer. "I'm here to rule it." The moment he finished speaking, he threw a spell at me. It was low-powered, designed more to throw me off balance more than anything else.

I batted it aside without even bothering to pronounce the counter spell. If he thought this was enough to rattle me, he was wrong. "Camelot does not belong to you. Arthur's its rightful King, and I'll see him on that throne if it kills me," I said, getting ready.

Alvarr did not disappoint. Barely waiting for me to finish speaking, he sent a barrage of spells my way. I was vaguely aware of Mordred erecting a shield so he and Morgana would be safe from any stray magic, before I focussed on the battle in earnest. I ducked, dodged and sent spell after spell after Alvarr, but to no avail. I'd never been in a magical duel before, but Alvarr obviously had some experience. He knew which of my spells to evade and which ones to send back my way.

Suddenly, Alvarr threw up a powerful shield and started an incantation. My spells bounced harmlessly off of it.

"Alvarr, you coward!" I shouted, hoping to goad him into a mistake.

But he wasn't going to be fooled so easily. Alvarr finished his incantation, holding his hands in front of him, palms facing one another. A red light was slowly growing between his outstretched hands, and I didn't like it one bit. "Oh, I think we both know that of the two of us, I'm not the coward," he said smugly.

"I wasn't the one hiding in the forest," I hissed, sending another spell at his shield, prodding and poking it to find a weakness.

"No, you were here, in this comfortable castle, watching while dozens of our kind were murdered!" he shouted. "How many of them did you kill yourself?"

I had to stop myself from flinching. This wasn't a topic I had any interest in exploring. "Only those I needed to," I replied softly, stopping my spells for now. Instead, I started to build up my magic, like Alvarr seemed to be doing. It curled and slithered underneath my skin, aching to burst out, but I kept it reigned in. I'd need it soon enough.

/*/

Arthur ran.

Leon was leading an assault on the men Alvarr had stationed at the gates, while Arthur led a small team of men towards the throne room. The best way to destabilize a kingdom was to go after its King, after all.

By the time he got there, the doors were blasted open, and he knew he was too late.

Warily, he glanced around the destroyed door frame, preparing himself for the worst. What he saw was… not what he'd been expecting. The first thing he noticed were Alvarr's men, unconscious on the floor. The next were about half of his father's councilmen, laying dead on the ground. The King himself lay on the far side of the hall, his head resting on Morgana's lap and blood soaking his tunic. A young boy - Mordred, he realized - crouched by them, his hands up as a yellowish magical bubble surrounded them.

"Alvarr, you coward!"

Arthur's head whipped around to the left side of the hall, where Alvarr was stood behind a magical shield of his own - this one with a green tinge - facing off against Merlynn. She almost looked like she was glowing as she glared at the wizard in front of her.

Alvarr looked up as he finished muttering something and glanced briefly in Arthur's direction, before focussing his attention on Merlynn again. "Oh, I think we both know that of the two of us, I'm not the coward," he said smugly.

Arthur motioned for his men to take cover, before ducking behind a pillar inside the room himself. This didn't look like it would end well.

"I wasn't the one hiding in the forest," Merlynn hissed, before her hands glowed and she sent the energy crashing into Alvarr's shield. Arthur looked around, trying to find something he could use, but there was nothing. What could stand against magic like this?

"No, you were here, in this comfortable castle, watching while dozens of our kind were murdered!" he shouted. "How many of them did you kill yourself?"

That got Arthur's attention. Merlynn had killed? He couldn't remember any instance that would have given her an opportunity to do so, except maybe in Ealdor. But Merlynn was always so gentle, she even protested his hunting!

Despite his mixed feelings toward her now, he expected her to argue, to dispute it, but instead, she lowered her hands and let her shoulder sag a little. "Only those I needed to," she said quietly.

Alvarr scowled, even as the red light between his hands kept growing. "Tell me," he said. It sounded more like an order than a request.

Merlynn shook her head. "No. I did what I had to in order to protect Arthur and this city. I did what was necessary."

"Protect the city," Alvarr scoffed. "I've heard tales over the years, of threats against Camelot that could never have been stopped by these pathetic men. No… Tell me what you've done, Emrys."

Arthur didn't know what to think. Merlynn claimed to have protected the city, and him, but how could he believe that? Why would she, when his father had killed so many of her kind?

There was a tingling in his fingers, and Arthur was momentarily distracted. No, it wasn't a tingle. It was the stone of the pillar his hands had been resting against. It was shaking ever so slightly. As he looked up, he finally noticed that Merlynn really was glowing. Patterns were shifting and roiling under her skin, almost as if her magic was physically manifesting.

"You want to know what I've done?" she asked in a dangerously low voice. Somehow, it carried all through the hall, and Arthur had to suppress a shiver at the power even he could feel now. "You have no idea the things I've had to do for this kingdom, the sacrifices I've made. The ones I was willing to make," she said, her voice rising. "I stopped Valiant from killing Arthur, I got ill stopping the afank from spreading disease throughout the city. I drank poison, and I killed the griffin!" she said, her voice growing progressively louder. The patterns under her skin glowed brighter, until even Alvarr was eying them warily.

"I murdered Edwin Muirden to protect my uncle and the king. I killed Sidhe when they threatened to sacrifice Arthur," she said. Then she sighed, her voice returning to its normal volume, even as her magic continued to shine below the surface.

Arthur was still processing what she'd said; the things she'd done. All those incidents, threats to Camelot. He'd always thought they'd faced them and defeated them on their own, but… seeing the sheer power magic could present, he had no doubt that they'd had help. How could normal people like him even stand a chance against people who could throw you ten feet in the air with a mere glance? And Merlynn had withstood it all. Arthur couldn't imagine doing all that from the shadows, constantly letting other people take the credit. He'd barely been able to do it back when he'd let 'sir William' win the tournament, even though he'd been the one to actually joust in it.

If this was her secret, he thought he could understand why Merlynn had kept it so well hidden.

"You've suffered enough, my lady," Alvarr said, his voice smooth as silk. "Join me and you could be Queen. You'd rule all this, and shape it to your specifications. You could protect all those who are too weak to do so themselves," he said, taking a step closer. His shield seemed a little paler to Arthur's eyes, but he couldn't be sure what that meant.

Arthur could only see Merlynn's back, but at Alvarr's last words, her back straightened, and she held her head high. "Someone else offered me that once. Cornelius Sigan thought it would tempt me, too. You may have noticed that I'm still a servant, and he's no longer around," she said, sounding more like a Lady than the servant she described herself as.

Alvarr's smirk melted away. "Sigan…" he whispered. "You faced him?" he asked, looking a little uncertain now.

Merlynn's hands came up once again. "And defeated him. As well as the high priestess Nimueh. She should have known better than to mess with the power to mirror life and death," she said, holding her hands out in a similar manner as Alvarr. "Death is my gift. I can feel it all around me, coming and going, flowing through everyone in this room. I can sense it as it leaves, can even see life's last moments," she said, sounding more commanding and in control than Alvarr ever could.

The wizard in question blanched, and the red orb between his hands flickered for a moment.

"I am Emrys, the most powerful sorceress that will ever live, and this city and its inhabitants are under my protection," Merlynn said in a commanding tone. Between her hands, a similar orb of pure golden light appeared, seemingly draining out of Merlynn's skin. "And I think it is time for you to go."

Merlynn and Alvarr released their magic at the same time, shattering the remains of the man's shield. Arthur watched in awe as the red and gold magic met in the middle, merging yet still fighting for dominance.

Stealthily moving towards a pillar more evenly situated between the two magical duelists, Arthur kept an eye on Merlynn. From his new vantage point, he could finally see her face, and she looked fierce, despite the sweat on her brow. The duel was obviously taking a toll on her. She was using all her strength to push back against the menacing red light from Alvarr's spell, and she was winning. Slowly, but surely, the golden light began to envellop the red beam, climbing steadily towards Alvarr. The wizard looked almost panicked now, and glanced around, his eyes falling on Arthur.

The Prince had barely a second to recover, before suddenly, Alvarr pulled back one of his hands from the red beam, and shot part of it his way. He tried to duck, but it was no use. It struck him in the chest, searing pain all throughout his body.

He was vaguely aware of a scream, and of the light dimming in the room. Merlynn must have released her spell when he was hit. Why would she do that? She'd been winning.

As her face appeared in his line of vision, he realized that she must have scrambled to him the moment he'd been hit. "Alvarr..." he said, surprised at how weak his voice sounded. The pain was spreading, which was odd, because he'd already been convinced he'd been hurting all over. The growing intensity of the pain also didn't help.

"It's alright, he'll need to recover," Merlynn said, her voice grim as concern swam in her eyes. She lowered her gaze, most likely to his chest, and winced. Arthur already knew he was dying. He managed a look at his father, who seemed to be trying to get up. Morgana was holding him down, tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked up at him, and Arthur felt a rush of affection for her. She was his sister in all but blood, and he could tell that she was torn between staying with his father and coming to him. He tried to tell her silently that it was alright, that he wanted her to stay where she was. He wasn't sure he had succeeded over the grimas of pain he was likely sporting.

"I can't heal this," Merlynn muttered, her voice wavering. "I'm not… I don't know that many healing spells, and even if I did, I'm not sure which spell-" her voice broke. Tears had gathered in her eyes and were now making their way down her cheeks. Arthur was momentarily distracted as he watched them fall, remembering every time he'd kissed her there, every time he'd cupped her cheek before leaning in to capture her lips.

There was no doubt in his mind now. He loved her. "I love you," he whispered, raising a hand - painfully - to wipe away the moisture on her face. "I love you."

A single sob broke free as she looked at him. "I…" once again her voice broke, and Arthur found it strangely endearing that she could barely speak. "I love you, too. I love you, I love you," she murmured, leaning forwards and touching her forehead to his. "I can't let you die," she whispered, almost too quietly for him to hear.

A moment later, she pulled back, and Arthur wished he could follow her, but darkness was already creeping in from the edges of his vision. He didn't have long. At least the pain was waning, too.

He must have blacked out for a moment, because the next thing he knew, Merlynn was standing up beside him, glaring more fiercely than ever at Alvarr. "I will not let him die!" she said, too loudly.

All Arthur wanted was for her to hold him before he died. He wanted to apologise for hurting her, for saying the things he had back in the forest. Just telling her he loved her wasn't enough. He needed her.

"What… are you going to do, Emrys?" Alvarr smirked, sounding out of breath. Arthur couldn't see the wizard, but he could imagine the other man on his knees, panting from exhaustion.

Merlynn didn't reply. Instead, she raised her hand, and suddenly, she was holding a golden cup.

"No," Alvarr choked. Arthur was having trouble concentrating, and so had no idea what was going on.

"I'm sorry, Morgana, but I can only save one," Merlynn said, sounding torn. "And I choose Arthur. I'll always choose Arthur."

A wheezing reached Arthur's ears, and he turned his head to face his father again. The King was still glaring. "Wh… witch…" he rasped.

Merlynn turned to face Arthur's father. "Would you rather I save you, but let him die?" she asked. One outstretched hand still held the cup, while the other was now held out towards one of the high windows. The one the Black Knight had once crashed through. Had Merlynn saved them all from that menace as well? Arthur wasn't sure if that was what he should be focussing on right now.

"S… save… him," the King managed to say, even as he kept up the glare he sent Merlynn's way.

Merlynn nodded grimly. And then lightning crashed through the window and struck her free hand. Arthur hissed, expecting her to curl up in pain, to die on the spot, but… she kept standing, the lightning dancing between her fingers. It was sort of pretty. The lights reflected in Merlynn's eyes nicely. She was pretty, too. What was he focussing on again? Right, the battle. Now if only he could stop his bloody eyes from falling closed so often.

He blinked and suddenly, a burning stench pervaded the room that oddly reminded him of Ellie, the baby they'd rescued from… oh, that's why it reminded him. Merlynn was crouching over him again, one hand supporting his head as the other held the golden cup. She was trying to make him drink it, but he wasn't thirsty. Or hungry. Just really, really tired. Maybe he should take a nap? He was comfortable here, especially with Merlynn's hand on his neck.

"Don't close your eyes, just drink," she said, and Arthur opened his eyes. Huh, when had he closed them?

"Not thirsty," he managed to say. Gods, he was so sleepy. Maybe he could just close his eyes for a moment?

"Please, Arthur, for me," she pleaded, and her voice brought him back. She looked so sad, so worried. He supposed a few sips couldn't hurt. He parted his lips, but couldn't seem to do much else. That was bad, wasn't it? Why was it so dark, here? He could barely see Merlynn's beautiful eyes.

She seemed to understand his struggle, though, because a moment later, he felt cool liquid trickle into his mouth. It took him a few tried, but he managed to swallow. Perhaps now he could…

A warmth spread through him, followed by a tingling, almost like his limbs had fallen asleep and were just now waking up. Speaking of which, he felt much more alert now. Enough to realize what was going on.

"She should have known better than to mess with the power to mirror life and death," Merlynn had said. Life and death.

He lifted his head to glance at Alvarr, and then wished he hadn't. The man's body was nothing more than a smouldering wreck, burned and black. That explained the stench. Looking down at his own chest, he saw no sign of his injury. Mirroring life and death. One had to die to save another.

Merlynn helped him sit up. They looked at each other for a moment, before Arthur pulled her into his arms. "I love you," he repeated in a whisper.

She let out a watery laugh. "I love you, too, you prat," she said, holding on to him tightly.

Arthur could have stayed there forever, just holding onto Merlynn. So, of course, it couldn't last.

"Arthur!" Morgana called out.

A/N: So, this chapter is about 50% longer than my usual chapters, so I hope you enjoyed it. Second, I'm sorry for the cliffhanger, but at least you know all our favourites are safe!

Also, I really hope the chapter turned our okay. I'm not great at action scenes, and I feel like the magical show-down wasn't as good as it could have been. Let me know what you thought?

So, we got some action, some fluff, some vindication (yes!) and next chapter I'll tie up all the story-lines. It's going to be weird not having this on my WIP list... Anyway, please, please review and let me know what you thought!