Author's Note: This has been an amazing journey, but now it comes to an end. I started Forbidden Magic, Unbidden Love while I was still in college. How I found time to write that and go to school, I'm not sure but maybe that's why it took me three years to write it. I always had a certain ending in mind. I was going to kill off my main character. Fortunately for her, I had a plan for a sequel and The Second Coming of Camelot was born. I just want to thank everyone who has read this story and the first. You guys are awesome, and it means so much to me that you've ready my story. I know I wasn't always the greatest at updating. Life always has a way of getting in the way. I want to especially thank AndreKl for reviewing nearly every chapter and pushing me to go further than the show in my first story. The ending wouldn't have turned out differently from the show without a push. Sometimes I get too stuck with trying to write cannon, but part of the fun of writing fanfictions is you don't have to. You can be creative and make the story your own.
Thank you again for every favorite, follow, and review. I've loved writing this story, and I hope you've loved reading it.
-Forty-
Homecoming
Lancelot wanted to say something – anything – to make Morgana feel less retched. He knew she blamed herself for Uther's death. The blame had fallen on her twice though she didn't deserve it the second time. He wished he could make her see that. She'd been through so much. She deserved her turn at happiness. He wished he could give that to her. Wished he could make her happy.
The drive to Camelot was surreal. They stopped in Ealdor and the people gathered together. It was decided that they should continue on horseback. Camelot wasn't a place for the modern world to intrude upon. Those who chose to leave the modern world for the shelter of Camelot left their cars and their phones and their smart watches behind. Some chose to stay. They liked this new world. Some people seemed oblivious to the Second Coming altogether. They thought some sort of Medieval Faire was going on and came outside to see the procession.
"That's King Arthur!" a little girl said excitedly to her mother as Arthur rode past on his horse. Arthur smiled at her and she waved. Ryll and Merlin rode behind him and then his knights. Morgana mounted a black mare and fell into place beside Lancelot at the very back of the procession. Roughly two hundred people were coming with them. All of Nimueh's former wards were with them. Nimueh had been banished. Arthur had decreed it after Lancelot had driven Morgana away from the scene. Morgause, Mordred, and Byron were seeing to it personally that she was delivered out of White Castle's borders. Lancelot hoped Arthur's mercy would change Nimueh's views on people without magic, but he doubted it. Hatred was a long and bitter thing.
It was a long ride and they camped for the night. Cars would have been much faster but it was fitting returning to Camelot on horseback. He was beginning to worry about Morgana though. She'd stayed silent for most of the ride, and her skin was paler than usual as if the magic was draining her of energy. He'd asked about it, but she'd shaken her head and told him she was just tired.
Finally on the second day of their journey, they came to a forest that looked familiar. Even though the forest had aged and new trees had grown, Lancelot would never forget the feeling of home. Even Morgana seemed to gain a little spark of energy. She sat up straighter in the saddle and looked keenly ahead.
"I know these woods," she said aloud. She pushed her horse faster and passed the long line of riders. Lancelot followed after her. Morgana pushed her horse until it was galloping, cutting through an overgrown pathway that broadened the closer they got to their destination. When Lancelot caught up to her, she had stopped her mare.
"We're here," she told him. "We're home."
Camelot rose up amongst the trees like a faded memory. Its glory was now diminished, stones shattered, walls dirty. But it still stood. Arthur, Merlin, and Ryll were the next to reach the clearing. Arthur stopped his horse and dismounted, walking forward to gaze at his kingdom.
"I never thought I'd see it again," he said. He went forward and pressed a hand to the stone. "It was so long ago."
"It's time," Morgana said. The people stopped at the edge of the clearing, lining up in a semi-circle as Morgana dismounted and stepped forward. Arthur, Merlin, and Ryll gave her space, but Lancelot came forward and touched her arm.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked.
Morgana met his eyes, and he saw more life in them than he had in days. "I'm sure," she told him. "This is where the magic wants to be. Once I release it, we can begin to rebuild."
"Just…be safe," he told her.
"I will."
He stepped back and watched with the others as Morgana began to release the magic. For a moment nothing happened. The woods were still and not even a bird sang. Then Morgana's back arched and she let out a silent scream. Something like light and dancing shadows leapt from her mouth, from her eyes and ears and fingers. It was as if she was the light. It glowed and pulsed and suddenly swept the clearing like a pulse, touching every crevice and corner of the castle and the woods surrounding it. Lancelot felt it like a sting of static electricity. Then it was over.
He saw Morgana falling and ran forward to catch her before she hit the ground. Her eyes were shut tight. He felt for a pulse. "Morgana…" Her pulse beat quickly, and she came to the next moment, opening her eyes. She stared up at Lancelot for a moment and then at the castle. He followed her gaze. The castle was still derelict, but the bricks were the same clean white they had once been. The trees now echoed with the sound of birdsong. The ground seemed more alive. More than that, Lancelot could feel the protective spell that encased Camelot.
"No harm can come to this kingdom as long as the magic holds," Morgana said.
"Arthur?" A familiar voice came from the castle gates. Lancelot's eyes flashed to the figure who came out of the castle. She wore a tattered purple dress and her long, dark brown hair was falling loose from its braid.
"Gwen?" Arthur's voice was broken with emotion. "Is that you?"
"Oh, Arthur! I've been waiting for you for so long." Gwen's smile lit the entire clearing. She ran forward and met Arthur in a tight embrace. "All my friends." She looked at each of them in turn, eyes landing on Morgana last.
Morgana got to her feet with Lancelot's help. He kept a protective hand on her elbow. Morgana didn't speak. She stood as if awaiting her Gwen's judgment. Instead Gwen broke her hold on Arthur and came over to wrap her arms around Morgana.
"I missed you," she said, holding her tightly. A tear rolled down Morgana's cheek and then another until she was crying. Gwen held her the entire time. "I missed you so much," she told Morgana.
"I'm so sorry. For everything I did. I'm so sorry."
The people of Camelot were coming forward now, wandering into the castle gates. Some called for tents to be erected, fires built. They needed to hunt. They needed to gather wood. The knights helped organize parties. Finally Gwen and Morgana broke apart, Morgana wiping her tears away.
"Have you been here this whole time?" Ryll asked. "Merlin and I came here. We didn't see you."
"When I awoke, I found myself here, alone. I had no memories of how I'd gotten here. I just knew that if I waited, Arthur would find me. I didn't see you or Merlin, but I didn't always stay in the castle."
"We tried to find you using magic."
"Camelot was protected," Merlin said. "Some magic still kept it safe. Why else would it still stand? If anyone had been able to find it then it would have been looted or turned into some sort of historical site. I could find it out of memory, but it couldn't be found with magic. Nor could Gwen if she remained within its walls."
"I'll never understand the complexities of magic," Arthur said.
"I think this whole situation outdid itself on complexity," Ryll said, slumping against Merlin. "It's all been one long scavenger hunt for answers leading us right back to where we all came from."
"We're all here now," Arthur said. "We can start rebuilding." He took Gwen's hand and led her into the castle. Merlin and Ryll followed.
Soon Lancelot and Morgana stood alone before the castle gates. "Do you want to go in?" Lancelot asked Morgana. She hadn't made any move to go inside the castle.
"Why did you help me all along?" she asked, turning to face him.
"I've told you – I saw the good in you. I saw that you were really trying to atone for your past mistakes."
"My actions led to your death before. That's not something easy to forgive."
Lancelot shrugged. "It's not, but it's also something I can't hold against you forever. I have to move on or I haven't really stopped being dead. If we hold onto hate then we turn into something empty and desperate like Nimueh. She never let go of anything."
"And now?" Morgana asked. She was skirting around what she really wanted to ask. "Now what?"
"Now we find our place in Camelot again and start over."
"I don't know what my place is anymore," she said, eyes falling.
"Then you can find that out. It might take a little time, but there's nothing pulling our strings anymore. No one telling us what our purpose is or who we need to be. We can be whoever we want to be."
"I want to be someone that others can trust and rely on," Morgana told him.
"You already are that person."
"Then I want to be someone who never stops helping others. I want to do something good for everything bad I did before. I want to feel alive again. I'm tired of this empty hole inside of me. I want to feel whole again."
"Tell me what I can do." He reached forward and took her hand. "Can I do anything to help you feel less empty?"
Her breath stuttered for a moment. She gazed up at him with a curious look in her eyes. Then she tilted her head upward slightly. Lancelot leaned forward, slowly, giving her time to pull away. When she didn't, he leaned closer until only a breath lay between their lips. "I'm not sure I deserve you." She said it so softly that he barely caught her words.
Instead of refuting it, he brushed his lips against hers. She gripped the front of his shirt and let him kiss her.
"I can see it now," she said when he pulled away.
"See what?"
Her eyes were bright as she looked up at him. "How to feel whole."
He smiled down at her and she leaned up to kiss him again. It was a hesitant kiss as if she'd forgotten what it was to have someone care about her. He had never thought about kissing her before but this was a new life and right now she fit perfectly into his arms.
…
Ryll stood on the parapet where she used to stand when she needed to be alone. Merlin didn't want her to be alone though. He put a hand around her waist and pulled her back against his chest.
"It's not the same," she said.
"Camelot? Well, it is missing a few bricks." He grinned, resting his chin on her shoulder. It lit her heart on fire to hear him so happy again. It was as if centuries of pain and worry had dissipated. Perhaps the magic had healed more than just Camelot.
"It's not that. It's just…" She sighed as if she couldn't find the right words. "I'm not the same Amaryllis who lived here," she said. "I want more."
"Lands? Titles? I'm sure Arthur would make you a duchess if you asked nicely."
Ryll smiled. "Camelot used to be my whole world," she told him. "But now there's so much more out there I haven't seen. I spent a…a lifetime in Camelot already. I died here already."
"You don't want to stay."
She pulled away and turned so she could look at him. "I know we just got here but…"
"Ryll. Do you know how many years I spent wandering the world and wishing you were with me?" Merlin asked her, taking her hands. "I don't care where I live as long as I'm with you. We could move to Antarctica or Timbuktu. I just want to be with you. Camelot will be here. It always has been."
"Really? You mean that?" She was grinning now.
"Of course I do. There's just one thing we need to do first."
"What's that?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Marry me."
…
They held the wedding at sunrise the next morning. Some miracle had found Ryll a gown that didn't reek of mothballs. It was a filmy gold with a beaded bodice and she felt like her old self again in it although she couldn't go back after discovering the merits of jeans and trainers. They held the ceremony in the courtyard, now decorated with forest flowers. Arthur officiated it and neither Merlin nor Ryll cared that he had no idea what to say. He stumbled over the words Lancelot whispered to him out of the corner of his mouth.
"You can, er, now kiss... Oh just kiss."
Ryll and Merlin grinned as Arthur spoke the final words of the ceremony. Ryll threw herself at Merlin, kissing him like she'd never get the chance again. Fortunately for them, they had many more years for that sort of thing.
Instead of going off immediately, Ryll and Merlin both agreed to stay and oversee the castle reconstruction for a few days. In truth they were waiting for the right moment to tell the others they weren't staying.
"We can always come and visit whenever we want," Ryll said told Merlin that evening after the festivities were coming to a close.
"Morgana will miss you."
"I think Morgana has found someone else to make her happy," Ryll said, smiling as she watched Morgana and Lancelot walk past where she and Merlin were standing. They were holding hands, and Morgana looked happier than Ryll had seen her…perhaps ever.
"Well that I did not see coming," Merlin said, squinting at the two as if he was miss-seeing it.
"I had a feeling there was something going on there," Ryll said with a sly smile.
"I will never try to understand that innate super sense you girls have," Merlin replied.
"Nope. Don't even bother."
"This is just like how it used to be between us," Merlin said. "I missed that."
"I did too. I'm sorry I didn't remember you at first. How could I forget the best thing about my life?"
"Magic's complexities. We don't even try to question it. Speaking of which, did you feel anything when Morgana released the magic? A spark of your own magic?"
"Nothing so far," Ryll said. "I think it might be gone for good."
"Maybe not. Maybe it just hasn't been reborn yet."
"I'm okay without it," Ryll told him. "I'm happy."
"I feel stronger now," Merlin admitted. "My magic isn't weakening anymore. I can feel it in the air. It's whole again."
"It's safe here. Safe from the outside world. Safe from people who wouldn't understand. We'll always be able to come back though. This is where everything started and where everything ended. And now we begin again somewhere new but we can always come home."
Merlin twined his fingers with Ryll's and the golden ring glinted on her finger. "I'm already home."
…
"You're leaving. But you'll be back." Arthur stood in the throne room before Merlin and Ryll. Morgana, Lancelot, Gwen, and the knights were gathered too. Byron, Mordred, and Morgause had returned the night before. Morgause had made herself scarce, and Morgana had told them her sister would not live in the city though she no longer counted herself an enemy of Arthur.
"To visit, yes," Merlin said.
"We're not going to live here," Ryll cut to the point. "I love Camelot and being reunited with my friends is a gift I never imagined I'd receive. The world is calling me though. I already lived my lifetime in Camelot. I need to explore more of the world than this small corner." She looked at Morgana, feeling a prickle of guilt.
"You deserve to be free," Morgana told her. "Go live your life. You've earned it." She came forward and pressed something into Ryll's hand. It was her crystal pennant. "This is the last of the Crystal Caves," she told her. "Keep it to remind you of where this all began."
Ryll clasped it around her neck. "You know I'll miss you. All of you." She looked around the room. "I died too soon before. There were so many years left that I could have spent with the most incredible people it has been my honor to know. Some of you were taken too soon." She looked at Lancelot. "But nothing makes me happier than to know you all get to live another life. We came to Albion's aid in its time of need like the legends foretold. We found a new hero for this new chapter in our story." She smiled at Morgana. "I'm ready for my next adventure. The time for preordained lives is over. We forge our own paths now."
"If you're really set on leaving then will you do me a favor?" Arthur asked.
"Anything."
"Be my ambassadors for the outside world? Even if it doesn't know we exist, there might still be people out there looking for sanctuary. I've asked Morgause to meet me here tomorrow. I'm going to ask her if she'll continue her work with young people with magic. She can shelter then and bring them to safety. Our work is not limited to Camelot."
"Thank you, Arthur. It would be our honor."
Goodbyes were never easy. Ryll had said her fair share of them but this time she had hope that it would not be her last goodbye. As she took Merlin's hand and crossed over the barrier of magic into the real world, she looked back and found she was ready to move forward. There was a whole world out there waiting, and she wasn't going to waste a second of it.
"Ready?" Merlin asked her.
She tightened her grip on his hand. "Always."
