Chapter 2- Coming Home?
Merlin looked at the shining blue waters of Lake Avalon before turning around. How could he bear to look at the final resting place of his best friend; his Once and Future King? Arthur had depended on him- Albion had depended on him. Merlin looked at the shimmering water with teary eyes, as his heart ripped apart, piece by piece. How could this happen? How could he fail in his destiny? How could his destiny fail in him?
So many people had died in the journey of giving the prophecy to Merlin, but Merlin felt that he blatantly disregarded it, had tried feverishly to deny it. Merlin's eyes flashed to the sword with a pang as he remembered the man who once wielded it. Merlin hesitated and then picked up the gold sword and did exactly what the sword instructed. He cast it away into the depths of Lake Avalon, not only casting away the sword, but also casting away the painful memories of the man who had wielded the sword. Merlin took one last look at the lake before turning away in a sharp fashion.
'Should I go back to Camelot?' Merlin thought as he made his way to the forest where Arthur had taken some of his final breaths. He knew that he would have to contemplate this question with the deepest thoughts, but for now, he would camp near the lake. Even if he did plan to go back to Camelot, he still had to pay his final tributes to his friend. Merlin would camp near Avalon for a few days and remember all the good times that Merlin had shared with his beloved friend. He would think about his destiny, and all that they had accomplished- and all they had not. 'I barely have anything to go back to in Camelot. My life used to be there. I have lost so many people; not even including Arthur. How could I go back to the place of my misery, the place of my despair?' Merlin ran this dark thought through his head while he picked up firewood that was suitable to use for a fire that could last throughout the night. Merlin sighed as his eyes glowed a golden ember and watched as the subtle colors of the fire transformed into a majestic dragon. 'How could I not go back to the place of my happiness, my friends, my life? Everything that I have ever loved is there; everything that transformed me into the man that I am now is in Camelot. I was born to go to Camelot- how can I just forget about all that I have there?' He couldn't. It was blunt, yet it was the truth. While he didn't have as much living there as he did before, Merlin still had much to go back to. His mentor, Gaius, stayed there, and he was probably sitting alone at the table with Merlin's favorite meal, with a bowl that could possibly stay there for the rest of eternity. Merlin's first friend lived there. For that was what she was- before she was the Queen of Camelot, she was Merlin's friend, and Merlin hoped that it would always stay that way. It was unthinkable to abandon her in her time of need, when she was as lost as him, with a terrible weight on her shoulders, a weight that equaled the burden of ruling a whole kingdom. And then there was Leon, a man who Merlin always respected, a man who always did the noble thing first and foremost. He had been in Camelot since the beginning of Merlin's journey, and so had Gwen. There was Percival, the newest addition to their group, and one of the last that was alive. And finally, there was Gwaine. Gwaine was Merlin's best friend; other than Arthur, and possibly Gwen. He protected Merlin through the thick and the thin and stuck by his side, even offering comic relief in the worst of moments. Merlin's eyes filled with tears at the thought of his strong friend, and he made his decision. He couldn't go back. He could never face his friends again.