Author's Note: And finally! The last chapter. :3 It's been a long time coming. I hope all of you enjoy it.

mersan123: Thank you so much for both of your kind reviews the last two weeks. I appreciated your kind words. I also hope that you enjoy this last chapter.

saroura92: Hey there! I appreciate you reviewing the story, and believe me I understand the frustration with Merlin. I too found Merlin frustrating especially in the last year of the show. But I think that Merlin's reluctance to use his abilities was a big part of his character in season 5. By the end of the show, Merlin very rarely used his powers for himself and actually seemed to use less powerful magic. I wanted to explore that further by showing how much the years have worn Merlin down.

Disclaimer: For the last time, I do not own Merlin.

Chapter 10

"Young warlock." Kilgarrah greets as he lands in the familiar grassy field that he always meets Merlin in. The sky is dark and it's only thanks to Kilgarrah's superior eyesight that he can see Merlin so well on this dusky night.

"Old friend." Merlin greets, bowing his head slightly, "It is good to see you again."

Kilgarrah bows his head and blinks his large golden gaze curiously as he examines the young warlock. Merlin looks well, healthy and rosy cheeked with an excited gleam lighting up his impossibly blue eyes. It's been a long time since Kilgarrah has seen the young man looking so radiant. It is as if the weight of destiny has lifted from the young man's shoulders since the last time Kilgarrah saw him.

"I have noticed a shift in destiny, young warlock. Can I assume that is your doing?" Kilgarrah questions with an amused note in his voice, though there is also a heavy tint of curiosity as well. When last Kilgarrah saw his young kin, Merlin had been despairing and miserable with grief and sorrow.

Now Merlin beams at his kin, his smile more full of spark and life than any smile Merlin had ever flashed before. It's as if Merlin has been reborn, cast anew in a fresh skin. "It is, my old friend."

Kilgarrah hums faintly, a puff of smoke curling from his nostrils at the admission. Whatever has happened to change Merlin so, has also caused an unprecedented shift in fate and destiny far exceeding any other times in history where destiny took a new direction. "Is that so?" Kilgarrah muses, "And how exactly did you accomplish that, young warlock?"

Merlin laughs, light and airy under the moonlit sky, "Well, you see..."

/BREAK/BREAK/BREAK/

~~ The Day Before ~~

It's the trial for the ages, yet most of the castle remains innocently ignorant of the importance of the day. Few within the castle walls know that today Arthur will be rendering a verdict on his manservant, Arthur's best and perhaps first true friend, and the man's Druid lover.

The import of today's decision weighs heavily on Arthur's shoulders, both politically and emotionally. Whatever he decides will influence the future of his kingdom for years to come, not to mention how it will personally affect him. Merlin never did make things easy on him.

Arthur huffs at his own thought, the little laugh tinged with a touch of hysteria. So much of Arthur's world has been turned upside down over the last few days. Hell, Arthur could go so far as say this whole mess started the moment he met Merlin. As a young prince he had never had these kind of questions before, these doubts. Then he met Merlin and everything changed.

Perhaps some- mostly his council and other nobles- would argue that Arthur changed for the worse, but he'd deny that venomously. King Arthur has loyal and talented knights, a beloved Queen worth more than any treasure, and a best friend unafraid to challenge Arthur despite their differences in status. Though, I guess that there never really was a power imbalance between them. Arthur muses to himself. Merlin had his magic after all.

Merlin's magic changed everything, yet nothing at the same time. Despite himself, Arthur can't bring himself to believe that everything between them was a lie. There was too many years, too many selfless sacrifices on both of their parts for the friendship between them to be a lie. Yes, Arthur is angry and hurt by the lies. Yes, Arthur probably should hate Merlin for lying to him for ten years. But, Merlin is still the closest thing Arthur has to a brother and neither the magic nor the lies changes that.

With Arthur's decision made, he leaves his chambers to ask the nearest guard to find Gwaine and Leon. It's time for the trial of Arthur's lifetime to begin, and the weight of what this will mean for the future weighs heavy in the air.

/BREAK/BREAK/BREAK/

Merlin almost laughs as he and Mordred are led back into the throne room. Same room, same crowd, different day. Yet Merlin swallows back the hysterical urge and continues to put one foot in front of the other. Being brought in front of his best friend's throne, this time in chains and truly outed as a warlock to the court, Merlin feels the first flash of fear since the moment he revealed himself.

The impact of this moment is finally sinking in and every instinct in Merlin is telling him to run. To take Mordred and never look back, because even though earlier he had been resigned to death- quite honestly he'd probably not stick around to actually be executed. If it was just Merlin, maybe he would. If Arthur ordered his execution and it was just Merlin, Merlin's heart would be broken enough that he wouldn't care if he died.

But with Mordred here it's different. Merlin has the power, he could escape with Mordred easily and without harming anyone. But, even with that knowledge burning at the forefront of his brain, his feet are rooted in place and Mordred's hand in his keeps him from going through with the instinctive urge.

Arthur's expression is unreadable even to Merlin who's made it his life mission to learn every facial twitch for his own good. "You two are charged with the crime of sorcery. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

Merlin swallows tightly and glances over to Mordred for a second before turning his gaze back to Arthur, "No. We don't." Merlin sighs faintly when the words cause no reaction at all in the King's blank gaze, "Ar-," he clears his throat lightly as he quickly corrects before he can upset Arthur by speaking informally, "Sire, I couldn't keep denying who I am." Taking a deep breath, Merlin plunges forward quickly as the need to try and explain rushes to the surface, "I know you at times wished you could be anything other than King, but you couldn't deny your heritage any more than I could deny who I am." A tired, sad little smile tugs on Merlin's lips, "I am magic, and I have been since the day I was born. I can't hide that anymore."

Silence descends in the room at the end of Merlin's speech. All of Arthur's favored knights, Merlin's closest friends, stand completely silent in the audience. All eyes are on Arthur, clearly waiting for Arthur's decision.

The King quietly sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose as he shakes his head lightly, "Damn it, Merlin. You really don't make these things easy on me."

Merlin's not sure how to take that. Arthur strangely doesn't sound angry. In fact, the King sounds a touch amused. Merlin sure as hell doesn't know what Arthur could find amusing about this situation, since Merlin doesn't find possible execution to be a laughing matter. "Sorry, sire," Merlin drawls dryly, "Wasn't exactly thinking about how to make this easier on you."

Arthur laughs at that and quirks a faint smile, "Obviously." The amusement fades in Arthur's eyes and he focuses a more serious gaze on Merlin and Mordred, "Merlin, Mordred. Seeing as I can't put the two most loyal men I've ever known to death, it seems that I only have one choice here."

Merlin's breathe catches, throat closing harshly on the tight well of hope in his chest. Thank the gods, they won't be dying today. Merlin had genuinely been worried about Arthur's temper getting the better of him, but strangely it seems like Arthur is taking Merlin's whole revelation terrifying well. Still, even if Arthur is feeling sentimental, that doesn't mean he won't banish them.

"For the safety of all people, magic will be legalized in Camelot." Arthur declares in the voice Merlin usually personally describes as Arthur's kingly voice, "Obviously, it will not happen immediately, but the council will begin working on legislation for its legalization."

Shock gut punches Merlin, knocking a sharp gasp from him and his legs nearly give out from under him from the intense reaction. Only Mordred's presence beside him keeps Merlin standing and all sound seems to fade into a dull hum for Merlin. His mind is too overwhelmed to notice how the knights begin clapping and whooping with delight, or how Gwen comes down to unlock the chains and give both Mordred and Merlin tight hugs. It's only when Arthur comes down to stand in front of Merlin, reaching out to grip Merlin's upper arm that Merlin's attention finally focuses.

"And Merlin?" Arthur starts casually, causing Merlin's eyes to widen with slight panic, "You're going to tell me everything."

And as Arthur smile widens, Merlin knows in that moment that everything will be okay. Arthur may yell and become enraged as Merlin tells him everything that happened during the last ten years. There will certainly be tears and apologies on both sides. But no matter what, Arthur and Merlin were going to be okay. In time.

/BREAK/BREAK/BREAK/

~ Back in the Present ~

By the time that Merlin finishes his story, night has passed and it's close to early morning now. The sun should be making its appearance soon, and Merlin can feel Kilgarrah's piercing eyes on him. The dragon's golden gaze is heavy and thoughtful as he mulls over the tale that Merlin just told him. "That indeed explains why destiny has shifted so. You have accomplished what I believed to be impossible and have voided Mordred's fate with your actions."

Merlin's legs nearly give out from under him in sheer relief, the rush of sheer delight bubbling through his veins as alive and as electric as his magic that Merlin feels overwhelmed. Sure Merlin had hoped Mordred's fate had been avoided, but it wasn't until this moment with the confirmation from Kilgarrah that Merlin allowed himself to truly believe it.

A low chuckle emanates from not too far away. "I told you so."

Merlin turns to glare at the approaching male, only mildly annoyed that the other man followed him. He's too happy to be that mad at his lover's unexpected presence though. "Mordred, I thought I told you to stay at the castle."

A wider grin curls Mordred's lips as he finally comes to stop by Merlin's side. "And you thought I would?"

Mordred teases as he takes Merlin's hand and shifts to lean against Merlin in a comforting gesture. The two of them really haven't been able to keep their hands to themselves since the trial where Merlin revealed his magic. The fear of possible death had dropped all the barriers between the two of them, and even with Arthur's pardon there is still a shared sense of exhilaration between the two warlocks that only surviving the impossible could bring.

"I wasn't sure we were going to make it to today." Merlin admits a little reluctantly. "I still had half a thought he'd execute us."

Mordred's eyes soften, "I told you, Emrys. You need to have more faith." A sly, wicked grin curls his lover's lips, "And besides. If it all went south, I had a plan for our escape."

Merlin blinks at that, and then smiles faintly in amusement. Of course Mordred had a plan. Truthfully, Merlin should have had his own plan of escape too. He shouldn't have been so resigned to their coming deaths, especially considering Merlin is the most powerful warlock to walk the Earth. But ten years of suppressing his instincts and hiding his magic has made Merlin weary. Part of him accepted death, and the other part just had no instinct to reach for his magic anymore. Merlin has been trained so perfectly into ignoring his instincts that now he doesn't reflexively reach for his magic anymore. Sometimes, he barely remembers that he is in fact magical.

Now Merlin never stops to think for even a moment about using magic to save his own hide. His instinct to hide is stronger than his instinct to survive. A part of him should be bitter at his mother and Gaius for drilling secrecy into him until nothing else mattered, but he can't blame them. Both his mother and Gaius were scared. They were just protecting him. They didn't want Merlin to give himself away and the best way to make sure Merlin's secret stayed secret was to warn him over and over again of the dangers of ever revealing himself.

So Merlin understood, even if he wished that he hadn't grown up so afraid of his own magic. That fear is exactly why Merlin didn't actually think about using his magic to escape Arthur's possible verdict, until he thought about using it for Mordred's benefit. Merlin never thought to escape for himself. A part of him would have been okay with dying if it was just him on the line.

Possibly reading the dark path his thoughts had been taking, Mordred bumps his shoulder lightly into Merlin's, "Come now, I told you before. Arthur couldn't kill me unless I let him," the younger Druid quirks a playful smile and squeezes Merlin's hand lightly, "And we both can't die yet. We still have too much to offer for the world."

And maybe Mordred is right about that. Merlin has too much left to do. He's not just a sacrificial pawn to be tossed aside for destiny's sake. Merlin is as much a part of making destiny happen as Arthur is. He had just forgotten that over the years.

"Young warlock," the dragon pipes in, interrupting the two lovers and drawing the warlocks' gazes back to the Great Dragon, "What you have done may be an important first step in ensuring your destiny, but there is still many dangers out there. Destiny is not yet set in stone."

Merlin's eyes grow serious at Kilgarrah's warning. "I know. Morgana is still out there. And I doubt she will just leave Camelot alone even after magic legalized."

At Merlin's side, Mordred squeezes Merlin's hand lightly and draws the older man's attention. "Yes, Morgana will be a problem. But she's a problem for another day. Today, we're alive. And magic is going to be legalized. Let's just enjoy the moment, okay?"

At Mordred's cheery proclamation, Merlin can't help but smile. And as the sun begins to make it's ascent into the sky, Merlin leans in for a kiss at the start of the dawn of a new era.

Maybe the future isn't written in stone, and yes, there is still danger on the horizon waiting to strike. But, in this moment, Merlin can't imagine anything but a bright future ahead of him- With Mordred by his side.