A/N- Oh my gosh! It's been long! Too long! Stupid school, lots of disappointments, and learning how to do my new hairstyle all adds up. Heh. Who knew, right? :D

Please please please PLEASE read the a/n at the bottom! It has very important information!

But for now-

Benugan!

"Merlin?"

"Yes, Arthur, it's me. I came to speak with you."

The prince stood there, frozen. "But you're just a dream.

Merlin sighed and stepped forward. "No. Well, yes, technically this is a dream, but it's really me. I was granted the wish to speak with you." This was going to be more difficult than he thought.

"So you're real? And not just a figment of my imagination?"

Merlin sighed again. "Arthur. Listen to me. I am real. I am here. I am actually talking to you from where I am."

The prince smiled and laughed, the years that had crawled their way on to his face disappearing. He put his right hand on Merlin's left shoulder. "It's you. It's really you."

The warlock grinned before it slipped off his face. "Look," he said, growing serious, "I need to talk to you."

He looked at the younger boy curiously. "Of course."

Merlin pulled away from the blonde's grasp, the older boy's hand falling back to his side.

"Arthur, I came to tell you to stop. Move on. You don't need me."

Arthur's expression turned shocked. "But Merlin-"

"No," he interrupted. "I'm gone. I may come back, but not for a while. Arthur, let go. Move on. You won't find me, so don't bother sending out a search party. It would do you no good."

The prince desperately shook his head. "No. Merlin, I'm sorry for everything I did, everything I said, to make you leave. We're best friends, Merlin. I won't stop until you're back; whether by choice or by force, it doesn't matter."

"Will you listen to me! I left because I made a choice. It was something I already knew I had to do; what you said just made me realize it. Please, if you think me as a friend, respect my wish. Let me be."

"Merlin, no!"

The warlock began to fade. "And to make sure you know this meeting was real, wrapped in my neckerchief that you have will be a silver ring with two jewels on it."

"But I never took it off!

The younger boy smiled and nodded. "Exactly. Good luck. Until we meet again, Arthur Pendragon." The last part of him melted away, leaving the prince alone in the field.

"Merlin!"

PRATTARP

Arthur shot straight up in his bed, cold sweat beginning to cover his body. He jumped out of bed and frantically lit all the candles, trying hard not to look and see if his makeshift bracelet was gone. Once the room was bright, the young man sat on his bed and slowly, almost painfully looked at his wrist.

The fabric was still there.

Arthur sighed, relieved. But as he moved his hand to itch his arm, the prince felt something hard, slightly warm, and unmistakably metal in its folds.

With shaking hands Arthur untied the knot. It unwound gently, revealing a ring.

The prince's breath hitched as he turned it over. On the top, side by side, were two gems. One was a sapphire the same color as Merlin's eyes, and the other a Pendragon red ruby.

It had really been him.

Arthur's eyes burned and a lump formed in his throat, but he caught himself before any tears fell. He would be strong and carry on, doing what Merlin had asked of him. He would still wear the neckerchief and now the ring, but he would go on with his life.

As he gazed at the ring, Arthur couldn't help but feel there was some significance in the colors and placement of the jewels. He slid it on his right ring finger, the blue closest to him. He would stay strong, though never truly moving on. The warlock's words echoed in his mind, a spark of hope igniting in his chest.

I may come back.

He would do this.

Until we meet again.

For Merlin.

IDDDDIOTTOIDI

Merlin sighed and leaned back, wore out. The spell had taken a lot out of him. Especially when he decided to send that ring. He just hoped it would work. There was no guarantee, but he could maybe think, maybe believe…

No, he would just wait and see. But that could be tomorrow.

Right now he needed a nap.

PRATTARP

A week later saw Arthur cleaned up and presentable, eating healthily. His skin was no longer pale and ashen, his eyes showed signs of good nights' sleep, and he performed better at training. Uther, of course, thought this was because of his talk with his son. No one but Arthur knew the truth.

Speaking of the young man, he was currently getting dressed to go meet with his father. Leon had come to inform him, not long after his manservant had been dismissed. Lewis, was it? Oh well.

The prince shrugged on his jacket and headed out of his room, shutting it firmly behind him.

PRATTARP

"You wanted me, Father?" Arthur asked when he entered the throne room.

Uther nodded from his place in his royal seat. "I did. This man," he gestured to a brunette on the floor, "said he witnessed you killing your manservant. He said that is why you have been acting strange, because the guilt has been chewing at you. I want to know if these accusations are true."

Arthur stared aghast at his father. "Of course not! How could you think that?"

The king merely looked at him. "You're the one who always complained about him. Anyways, I trust you." He turned back to the peasant. "Why do you say these false things about my son?"

The man suddenly growled and stood. "Because they are not false. Granted they are not of his former servant, but he has and will kill if he is not stopped."

"He kills in the name of justice!"

"He kills in the name of guilt! You are so blinded by your rage against magic that you have corrupted your son to kill innocents if they so much as seem a sorcerer or sorceress! You have slaughtered my kind for far too long, Uther Pendragon, and you will pay!"

The king had gone red in the face as the man continued. He stood up in rage. "Enough! Guards!"

Guards came from either side, but did not make it very far when the man's eyes flashed gold, his tongue repeating a foreign language. They were thrown back, crashing into the walls.

Arthur looked at the brunette. "Who are you?" he asked, realizing the threat and accessing the enemy.

The man smiled a cruel smile, one that made his brown eyes glitter in malice. "My name is Hansen. And I will bring Camelot to its knees." He drew a dagger from inside his sleeve and threw it.

It whizzed through the air, heading straight for the king's chest. Arthur knew he could do nothing to stop it.

It reached Uther, going to the space between his ribs to puncture his heart.

And stopped.

The prince stared at it in awe. The blade was not but one centimeter from killing his father, and it just hung there, suspended in thin air.

Hansen smirked and turned slowly as the dagger fell to the floor with a loud clatter. Arthur followed his gaze.

At the back of the room, standing tall and proud, hand outstretched, eyes returning from the molten gold back to cerulean blue, was Merlin.

Wait.

Merlin.

That was Merlin.

Arthur's jaw dropped, his eyes wide.

"Sorry, Hansen," Merlin said in a deadly cold tone. "You're not killing the king. Not on my watch."

A/N- Look, I know, you're not happy. It's a cliffie. But please don't criticize! In my other fic, I got a review telling me that maybe I was taking my OWCD (Obsession With Cliffies Disorder) too seriously, and even though it was joking, it still hurt. Seriously, it made me feel like an inadequate writer. It hurt me.

Anyways, in happier news, I got a facebook! I made a special one for my stories, so those that have a facebook account can become my friend and get updated as to how my stories are coming and when I will be updating my fics. My name on there is Luna ShadowWolf. You'll know it's me because it has the same picture as my profile on here. You know, the one with Arthur rescuing Merlin from the pyre? Yeah, that one.

Also, I need you guys' opinions. Should I get a Twitter account so it's even easier? Please tell me!

Please review, even with this long A/N!

~L~

P.S.- Remember, no hurtful comments. That one really stalled my writing. I seriously couldn't write ANYTHING for at least two weeks.