The final chapter! Woohoo! I hope you guys enjoy it. I had a lot of fun writing it. Let me know what you think.
The gatori slowly slunk its way toward Arthur, reveling in its victory. Arthur tried to push away the branch but he just couldn't get enough leverage. Abandoning that idea, the prince vainly attempted to reach his wayward sword. It was completely futile seeing as the sword was a good ten feet away from him but it would never be said of any Pendragon that they would go down without a fight. This was it. The gatori bent low, ready to pounce. It wriggled its shoulders and then…
"Aaahhhhhh!" A shout came from behind the pair and both looked back at the unexpected sound. To Arthur's amazement he saw a man in mid leap bearing down on the overgrown, sorry excuse for a house cat with a sword, point down. For a brief moment of insanity, Arthur thought that his very thoughts had created a life of their own because the man had bounded from the very rock the prince had been trying to reach. Before the gatori could react the man plunged the sword into its back. The beast howled and hissed, then toppled to the ground, any movement ceasing.
Arthur stared at the creature. He wanted to be absolutely certain that the thing was dead before turning his attention to his rescuer. He then looked to the man wishing to express his gratitude but when he moved his head he could do no more than gaze open mouthed at what he saw. It was impossible. He saw familiar blue eyes and a tall lanky frame. What stood before him had to be a ghost for there was no other plausible explanation. The apparition stood up and made its way toward the prince.
"Hi Arthur" it said, an awkward smile appearing on its face. Well that's certainly the same, Arthur thought briefly.
Merlin, and Arthur still wasn't convinced it was Merlin, knelt down by the prince's trapped leg. "I'll just remove this, shall I," he said and then proceeded to press his whole body against the tree limb managing to roll it off to the side. For a moment the pair stared at each other in a tense silence. Everything was the same. The voice was the same, the shock of black hair, and even the tell-tale neckerchief were all the same. This had to be Merlin.
Arthur grabbed his manservant, startling the poor boy but when Merlin actually realized what was happening he was astounded. Arthur was hugging Merlin. "You stupid idiot!" cried Arthur, his voice raw with emotion. "Don't you ever do something that utterly foolish ever again." At this he pushed Merlin out to arms length but was reluctant to let go, "That's a command."
They continued to stare at one another but this time they were chuckling at each other. It was a euphoric laughter that accompanies the reunion of two good friends. All too soon the moment was broken by the crunching and crackling of brush under foot. "Sire! Sire!" came the concerned call of Sir Leon.
"Sire are you—" the mouth of the generally unflappable knight went dry. The trio looked at one another until the awkward silence began to irritate the prince.
"Sir Leon report!" Arthur snapped to which Sir Leon jolted and turned his bewildered gaze back toward Arthur.
"Are you alright sire?" he asked, his eyes uncontrollably drifting back in Merlin's direction.
"I'm fine," insisted Arthur, "Report."
"The gatori are dead, your highness." He began, "The men have a great deal of cuts and bruises and a couple of burns but nothing too serious. I am afraid to say your horse did not survive, sire."
"Horse!" Merlin abruptly shouted. "Arthur there is an injured horse just north of here. She is how I got here."
Arthur looked at Merlin and thought for a moment, "I have a feeling she is not the only way." He said then turned his attention back to Sir Leon, "Still we must show our gratitude to the fine animal. Send a knight on foot to fetch her, I'll take his horse." As he gave the order he stood, Merlin doing likewise. Arthur made to head toward his contingent but a shudder of pain ran through his body as he tried to put weight on his left foot. Sir Leon moved to aid his prince but before he could take a step Merlin was there draping Arthur's arm over his shoulder.
"Honestly, you can't even manage three days without me." joked Merlin
The prince huffed, "Says the man who can't go a single day without tripping over his own two feet." boy how he'd missed the easy banter. Had it really only been three days? Thinking of the agony that had previously consumed him, the prince sobered a bit. "Truly though, thank you Merlin. I owe you my life." Merlin smiled a smile that to Arthur was brighter than the sun.
"It was my pleasure, sire." The two men grinned fondly at one another; both glad to be alive, both thankful for life of the other.
They walked in companionable silence until Merlin stopped so suddenly that Arthur nearly tumbled. "What?" cried an irritated Arthur.
Merlin stared straight at him with a most serious look on his face, "Does this mean I'm walking all the way back to Camelot?"
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Morgana stood at her window gazing anxiously out into the courtyard. Another dream plagued her thoughts and yet again it showed Arthur in danger. There was nothing she could do, of course, the bitter memory of her failed attempt to warn the stubborn prince after the appearance of the questing beast still too fresh.
She was pulled from her troubled misgivings at the sound of Guinevere entering the room. "Is something troubling you, my lady?" she said, always mindful of others.
"It's silly." said Morgana. In a huff she strode to her vanity and began furiously brushing her hair. "It's just…"
"You're worried for Prince Arthur." finished Guinevere.
Morgana turned frightened eyes to her maid, "Yes." she replied.
Gwen hesitated for a moment, then made to busy herself with chores, "I'm sure he'll be just fine." She attempted for a casual reassuring tone but knew it sounded strained. "He's quite resilient, our prince," she said as she started folding a sheet by the window.
A moment later she gave a high pitched yelp that startled Morgana right out of her chair. "What is wrong Guinevere?"
"It's Arthur," shouted the jubilant maid, "… and Merlin!"
Morgana sprinted to the window. True to Gwen's word she saw Arthur and his knights hooting and hollering while pumping their fists in the air as they rode triumphantly into the courtyard. It was a grand sight to be sure, but the thing that truly brought joy to her heart was the sight of Merlin, definitely alive, cheering along with the others as he sat behind Arthur on his horse.
The ladies ran faster than their legs could carry them, nearly tripping on their garments in their haste. They reached the courtyard to find a throng of townspeople surrounding and congratulating the prince. Undeterred they pushed to the front, just as Merlin was hopping down off the horse. They kissed him on either cheek and hugged him until he felt he might burst.
"Come now ladies, your excessive fawning is embarrassing poor Merlin." Athur chided with a grin as he dismounted. He then grimaced as he put weight on his injured foot.
"Arthur, you're hurt!" cried Morgana.
"It's just a sore ankle," he replied.
Morgana smiled playfully at him as she placed her hands on his shoulder. "Would you like me to kiss it and make it all better?" she teased.
"Absolutely not!" protested Arthur. The four of them fell into a fit of laughter that could have continued forever, but was suddenly interrupted when a desperate plea was heard overtop the rambunctious crowd.
"My boy!" cried Gaius
Merlin looked up to see his beloved mentor staring at him with tears streaming down his face. "Gaius!" shouted the boy as he raced to the old physician enveloping him in a deep embrace. The pair stood like that for some time until reluctantly they released one another.
"Merlin, you must be the luckiest man alive," gushed Gaius. "Imagine what your mother will say when you walk into our home."
Merlin fixed him with a look of gleeful surprise, "My mother is here?" he exclaimed.
"Of course," replied Gaius. "She wanted to be here for your funeral."
"I had a funeral!"
"Alright, alright," Arthur cut in, "Let's not cause his little mind to explode." Arthur hobbled up behind Merlin causing Gaius to eye the troublesome left foot.
"Sire you've been injured." He said.
"It's nothing, Gaius." whined the prince.
"Nonetheless, I will have a look at it."
Arthur rolled his eyes but decided to let the matter drop. Merlin, ever faithful, was beside him already draping the prince's arm across his shoulders. They headed toward the humble dwellings of the Merlin and his guardian. As the pair began to lag behind the rest of the group Arthur turned his head to study his manservant. It still seemed like no more than a dream that would taunt and tease his thoughts after he woke. Beside him was a man who until a few hours ago was presumed dead. Yet here he was, not a single scratch on him. In fact, the only indications of the trauma he must have been through were the dark, bruise-like circles that hung low beneath his brilliant blue eyes. Aware of his master's gaze Merlin addressed Arthur, "Is there something you need, sire?"
"I'm sorry." Arthur blurted out but his features remained firm and his voice lacked any hint of sarcasm or humor.
Merlin's expression turned to one of confusion, "What for?" he asked.
"It was my fault." Arthur stated, "I should have gone into the ocean, not you."
Terror stricken, Merlin loudly protested, "NO!"
"But I was the one—"
Merlin cut him off. "I chose to stand in front of that wave and I'm glad I did. Arthur," Merlin's voice took on a quiet, soothing tone, "know that whatever happens I choose to be at your side. Nothing that came to pass was your fault, do you understand?"
For some moments Arthur couldn't answer. He was torn. Prince or no, he always had a problem believing his life was more important than someone else's. Still, the fact that Merlin chose to be with him despite the danger warmed his heart. "Alright," he answered at last, "we'll speak no more of it." Then a coy smile played at his lips. "Instead we should talk about your leaping skills."
"My leaping skills?" questioned Merlin, looking at Arthur as if he had suddenly gone mad.
"Absolutely," replied Arthur, "what you did in the woods could hardly be called a leap."
Merlin feigned offense, "That leap saved your life, I'll have you know. And it was a perfectly fine leap."
"Are you mental?" cried Arthur, "You looked like a fledgling duck that was learning how to fly for the first time."
They continued like that all the way to Gaius' and certainly didn't stop there. They were happy and once again they were whole.
The End
P.S. Anyone who is waiting on my Sherlock Holmes story, I'll be working on that next.