AN: Hello... Sorry this took so long. I've been super busy and my beta has been having trouble with snow storms and giant perogies, so exciting times for all. Well, for her. I've just been taking tests and writing papers and meeting parents and

WATCHING SEASON FIVE OF MERLIN! so, I won't say anything spoiler-y but OH MY GOD! I'm so happy with the new season. So much shirtless Gwaine...

But serious business time. I have a question for all of you. I'm going to put a poll on my profile page (if I can figure out how...) and would love to hear from people in reviews or messages if you don't feel comfortable reviewing for whatever reason (but also, only four more reviews before this story gets 100 reviews! come on guys, you can do it!) I'm going to ask the question in a note at the end of this chapter, so don't skip it, please!

And thanks once more to stardrinker13 for being amazing and helping me write this. She is seriously wonderful. And she is actually good at grammar and stuff, which I am not. If that sentence didn't prove that, here's another bad grammar sentence! Yay!

And I don't own Merlin. I'm happy just with the fics. Not sure I could deal with all the crazy fans like me...

Chapter Seventeen: Fighting for Destiny

Arthur's heart stopped momentarily when he reached the top of the stairs, entered the eerily quiet dungeon and saw light streaming in through one of the windows in a cell near the door. It was dawn, that stupid Dragon had taken too much time. What if he was too late? What if Merlin was-

No. He couldn't let himself think like that. There was still time. There had to be. So Arthur ran, ran as fast as he could, up the steps and out into the bright light of the courtyard. His father was saying something from his position on the balcony overlooking the crowd, but Arthur couldn't hear him and didn't really care. All that mattered was that Merlin was right in front of him, there were only a few guards between him and the pyre Merlin had been tied to. Of course, in between him and Merlin there was also a torch, a torch that was dangerously close to igniting the piles of kindling that had been built up all around his love. Arthur froze for a second before running forward, the sword Gwen had given him still unsheathed in his hands, pushing aside guards, knights and citizens to get to Merlin, and make sure that the torch didn't get any closer to the wood at his feet.

It took a while for him to register the chaos he was causing as he crashed through the people on his way to Merlin. Still, it didn't matter as long as he stopped the fire from igniting the brush and burning Merlin. He vaguely registered that some of the townspeople joined in trying to clear his path and keep the executioner from lowering the burning torch to the pyre. Arthur caught Merlin's eyes for a second, but he looked completely out of it, like he could barely tell what was going on around him. He was paler than usual, and there was blood and bruises covering all his exposed skin. Arthur was definitely glad he had forced himself to train day and night for the past ten years, even if it had been very painful at times. He was much better than the startled guards and knights who seemed hesitant to attack the prince, letting him make it up to the pyre and next to Merlin. He couldn't turn the sword away from his attackers though, as the king shouted orders for him to be removed and restrained. The guards were circling him ominously, not giving him an opportunity to free Merlin's powers. He was panting slightly, blood pounding in his ears and almost blocking out the weak voice behind him that asked, "Ar'tur?"

"Yes Merlin," Arthur replied. "It's me. I'm going to get you out of here."

Merlin smiled slightly, exposing his bloody teeth momentarily before he sagged once again against his bonds, apparently trusting Arthur to fix things on his own.

"Arthur…" Uther growled from his position on the balcony, "step away from the prisoner. You're under a spell, you will see once he's gone. He is everything that is wrong in this kingdom!"

"No!" Arthur shouted back to his father. "This is wrong!" His shout was met with loud cheers from the people watching as they voiced their support for Emrys. "As king you should have protected the people, you should have taken care of them, but you didn't. You sat by and watched as people starved. You didn't help at all when disease struck, or when famine hit, instead you kill innocent people to destroy those you labeled as evil. I stood by you, hell, I helped you, but no longer! These are our people, and I will not watch as they die for your greed and ignorance! Emrys gave them hope; he gave them a future; he saved their lives. Killing him will destroy this kingdom, so I won't let him die. Nothing could be more wrong than murdering him now, in front of all those who love him, who trust in him, who believe he will protect them from the very man who vowed to keep them safe!"

The people seemed to take this as a call to action, all of them rushing forward, ignoring the king's angry shouts and the confused cries of the guards. The chaos in the crowds allowed for three more men to climb up onto the pyre, all wearing dark cloaks and taking defensive positions around Arthur and Merlin. Merlin seemed to have noticed as he mumbled, "'bou' time you go' here."

Arthur took this as his chance to act, moving quickly to Merlin's side, saying, "I spoke with the Dragon. Bloody annoying beast, but he helped me make a sword. It should be able to break the collar, setting your powers free. Are you ready?"

Merlin nodded slowly before tilting his head to expose the side of the collar that held the padlock keeping it locked tight around Merlin's neck. Arthur raised the sword, slicing cleanly through the lock, allowing the collar to fall apart and freeing Merlin's magic. For a moment nothing happened, and Arthur was afraid that Merlin would be too weak to fight. Then, a wide grin spread across Merlin's face as he cried joyfully to the heavens and his imprisoned powers exploded outwards in a cloud of golden mist. It seemed as if time stopped for a moment, as all the peasants and guards froze, watching awestruck as the golden light emanating from Merlin was slowly drawn back into his body. Some concentrated on areas that had smaller cuts, knitting the skin back together seamlessly, while the rest seemed to gather at his bound wrists, slicing the ropes from him and remaining as two shining orbs as he brought his hands back around in front of him.

The only person who didn't seem affected by Merlin's awesome display of power was Uther. While everyone else looked on in awe, his face had turned a terrible shade of puce, the veins on his temple looking like they were about ready to burst as he yelled down instructions to his men, trying to get someone to stop Merlin from escaping. Merlin eventually noticed, as his head turned slowly, laughing at Uther's fury.

"You didn't think you could actually stop me, did you Uther Pendragon?" Merlin said, grinning wildly, exposing his bloody teeth. His magic was healing him slowly and seemed to have given him a small burst of energy, but he was by no means well. Arthur really wanted to grab him and pull him as far away from his father as he could, but Merlin seemed to have plans of his own. The guards had finally broken free of their awed stupor and were moving toward the pyre, swords and spears pointed towards the four men surrounding Merlin, although they seemed a bit hesitant to attack Arthur. Merlin just smiled before flicking his wrists, and the glowing gold light exploded over the crowd. At first it seemed like nothing had happened, but then Arthur realized that the guards had frozen, all still aware of what was happening but unable to act. Uther seemed to be in a similar state, as he remained silent although his eyes appeared to be about ready to bulge out of his head.

"You can't stop magic, Uther, and you can't fight fate. Maybe someday that will make it through your thick skull." Merlin looked like he wanted to keep talking, but Arthur decided that this maybe wasn't the best of times, moving to Merlin's side and saying, "I think it might be time to go. Your magic may be back, but you're still injured."

Percival nodded in agreement as Merlin pouted slightly, but eventually agreed. "Alright. I may need some help though."

As soon as the words left his mouth Percival was at his side, supporting him as he moved away from the pyre. Arthur took the other side while Lancelot moved to the rear and Gwaine led the way. They were just about to step off the platform when another voice rang through the courtyard.

"You're not going anywhere."

Arthur felt Merlin tense as he recognized the new voice. "And what are you going to do to stop me?" Merlin shouted back, taking some of his weight off Arthur as he tried to stand tall.

"If you take another step, I'll kill her." Aredian said, as the crowd parted around him. For some reason Merlin's spell must not have worked on him as it had on the knights and guards. He was about twenty feet in front of them, and he wasn't alone. He had a hold of a young girl, a knife pressed against her throat. The little girl was crying and looked terrified as Aredian yanked her blonde hair, forcing her to bend her head back and expose her neck, and extracting a small yelp. A woman from the crowd, probably the girl's mother cried out, "Emily! No!" and tried to push her way through the crowd to Aredian, but was stopped by a couple of large men who had gathered around Aredian. Aredian smirked at Merlin's horrorstruck expression and said, "I figured there would be some ill-conceived escape plot, so I thought I would get myself some insurance. Even with your magic, you can't save her. You see, that lovely little collar wasn't the only magical artifact I brought with me. None of your spells will have any effect on me, you have no power over me. One wrong move and I'll slit her throat."

Arthur could feel Merlin tense as Aredian spoke, almost drooping a little as the witchfinder finished. He stayed completely still though, obviously worried about the child, as he said, "Let her go, Aredian. She has nothing to do with this."

"I know and I will, as soon as you release the guards and get back on that pyre. Now, hurry up Emrys! Little Emily won't have much of a future if you don't!"

Merlin looked completely lost, all the happiness that had returned with his powers was gone as he glanced sadly up at Arthur and Percival before nodding in resignation. Aredian just laughed, all his attention focused on Merlin, missing Arthur's hand creeping down towards the knife stored in his belt. With a flick of Merlin's fingers, the guards were freed, many almost falling with their new freedom before moving to restrain Arthur and Merlin's friends, as per Uther's angry shouts. None of them struggled, knowing that one wrong move would end an innocent little girl's life, and Merlin would never thank them for that. Two of the guards had gone to make sure Merlin made it back to the pyre, one on each side as he tromped back towards his death. Just as he reached the pile of wood and kindling, Arthur's gaze flicked to Percival's as he gripped the handle of the blade, glancing briefly at Aredian before looking back at Percival. Percival nodded just as the guards started to rebind Merlin to the post in the middle of the square. Arthur heard him gasp softly as the many wounds his magic hadn't had time to heal were stretched by the unkind treatment of the soldiers holding him. That was the last straw for Arthur, who quickly ducked out of the hold of the guards who had 'restrained' him on the King's orders. Apparently gently holding his arms counted as 'restrained' which was rather nice for the prince as he wasn't giving up. Not by a long shot.

Aredian had been too focused on stopping Merlin, not on the other four men who had come to defend him. He may have had protection against Merlin's magic, but not against the very non-magical weaponry Arthur had been training with since he was a child. And Emily was small and low to the ground, leaving Aredian's vitals open. Arthur knew he would only have a fraction of a second to act, so he had waited, right until it was almost too late, before dropping from the grip of his guards, and tossing the knife.

As the knife left Arthur's hand, Percival moved as well. His guards had been no match for his superior strength as he yanked free, rushing over to Aredian to make sure that as the witchfinder fell he wouldn't harm the little girl still crying in his arms. And fall Aredian did, Arthur's knife lodged neatly in his throat. He was still smirking, not even realizing his own doom was upon him until it was much too late. Percival brought Emily back to her mother, knocking out anyone who tried to stop him with quick swings of his huge fists. Gwaine and Lancelot had sprung into action as well, fighting their way towards the pyre as the guards gathered around Merlin, trying to hold the two men back and protect the executioner who had returned with another lit torch as he moved closer to the pyre.

Merlin took the longest to notice what was going on, which was understandable in his condition but still rather unfortunate as he was currently in the direst situation. Uther was trying to take advantage of Merlin's ignorance, yelling down to the guards to kill Emrys before Gwaine or Lancelot could break through to him. The guards had had some trouble getting the message over the chaos of the courtyard, but eventually one of them did, stepping up beside Merlin, unsheathed sword only inches from Merlin's heart. Arthur turned from the guard he was currently fighting to shout, "MERLIN!"

His shout seemed to have woken Merlin from the slump he had sunk into, as he realized the change in situation and his eyes flashed gold once again. The guard who had been about to stab Merlin was thrown back off the pyre as if by a huge gust of wind. The winds didn't die down though, swirling around Merlin and scattering the guards, creating a huge funnel of dust and debris around Merlin, obscuring him from both Arthur and his father's view. When they finally died down, the middle of the courtyard was a complete mess. Uther's men had all been knocked unconscious by pieces of the now destroyed pyre. Merlin stood at the very center, the ropes that had held him to the post nowhere to be seen. His eyes landed on Aredian's still body, and Arthur couldn't help but feel guilty as he saw the sorrow that Merlin felt when he realized that a man had been killed to save him. It was gone quickly though, as Merlin strode out of the destruction. The only change in his expression came when Uther attempted once more to order whoever would still listen to stop Merlin from escaping. Anger filled his face as his eyes flashed gold once more and Uther fell silent even as he continued to open and close his mouth. As Merlin continued forward Arthur noticed that there were new tear tracks over the grime of the dungeons and the dust that had settled on him as he had destroyed the pyre. He looked terrifying, power seemed to be emanating from him, even though he looked like a light shove would knock him over. He stopped briefly as he passed Arthur, cupping his cheek gently and whispering, "thank you."

"Merlin, you don't have to thank me." Arthur replied, meeting Merlin's exhausted eyes. Merlin laughed quietly in response, not quite smiling. "What are you going to do, Arthur?"

Arthur hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'm coming with you." Merlin nodded, really smiling now even though it still looked like he wanted to do nothing more than sleep.

"You know what that means, right? You won't be able to turn back, Arthur. Are you sure?"

"Yes Merlin. I love you. I can't stay here any longer. After this I don't think I ever want to let you out of my sight for a minute."

Merlin nodded, hugging Arthur and saying, "I know it was selfish but I hoped you would come home with us. We may not have much, but we will always have each other."

Merlin turned away from Arthur and continued walking towards Percival, who was the furthest from where the pyre had stood. Arthur turned to follow behind him, joining Gwaine and Lancelot both of whom had been covered by a small layer of bark dust but where unharmed. When Merlin reached Percival, he tilted his head back until their eyes met and said, "Let's go home."

When Percival nodded, Merlin fell forwards against the larger man. The sorcerer who had looked so incredibly powerful now looked so small, so broken as Percival lifted him gently, cradling him against his chest. It seemed Merlin falling unconscious had freed Uther's voice, letting him yell and scream again, but no one listened. All his men were either unconscious, too nervous to act, or moving to help the group of thieves and the prince make their way out of the city. No one questioned Arthur as he followed Percival instead of turning back towards the castle. He had found his place, and it was beside Merlin, no matter what that meant. He knew that leaving now would cost him his title, his power, his money, his comfort, but he would get to be with Merlin, and for that any price was worth it. He caught Leon's eyes briefly as he left the city, smiling briefly before turning away from one of his only friends. Leon seemed to understand though, offering Arthur a brief bow before Arthur had turned away. With that, Arthur realized that there were still be people in this city loyal to him, even though he was running away. Or, maybe not running away, but finding a better way to do what he had sworn to do. Protecting the people was his duty, and now that he had the freedom to do so he would make sure that he neglected that duty no longer. Merlin had almost sacrificed his life for them, it was high time Arthur proved he was willing to lay just as much on the line.

If anyone had been on their way to the city as the group exited, they probably would have been quite confused by the procession that was leaving the city. A huge man carrying what appeared to be a breathing corpse, closely followed by the prince himself, with two gorgeous, dust covered men taking up the rear. All of them looked incredibly somber as they made their way into the trees, not stopping to look back as they fled the city that had been home to one of them and almost the grave of the others.

AN: Ok, question time! I have two ways this fic can go from here, and I want to know what you guys think about them

1. I can make six-ten more chapters before I write the ending story with some Arthur as a thief, possibly involving Freya and segments inspired by BBC's Robin Hood (or other things like that I find, that's just one I like the best and already have some ideas for). I am totally up for this, I love this fic and if people would like this much of it I would be super-excited to write more. There would have to be a short-ish break as I figure out exactly what I want to do and how I want to do it, but I do already have some ideas, so hopefully not too much longer than normal (which is getting kind of long. I'm sorry. I have really hard classes this semester and having a beta I am only now getting to know is a new experience for me). So that's option one.

2. I can just move on to the ending. I have a pretty good idea about how I want to end this, and it would work now just as well as it would after a couple of chapters of Arthur being a member of Merlin's gang. If you are starting to feel this fic is getting too long and want me to end it, I understand and will work with that.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW! I will put a poll, although I will count any reviews/ messages with opinions as three points to whichever side they are for. I already have one vote for option one (my beta, not me. I'm staying slightly impartial...) so if you want option two definitely let me know. Also, if you want option one and there's anything you want to see, let me know! It defintely opens up some possibilities. Nothing will be as plotty/ long story arc as chapters 12-17/ Aredian stuff, but I think I could get a couple bits with two-three chapters for one story. But please let me know. I really do value your opinion. And if you have questions about this, feel free to ask! I will answer them all as quickly as I can ;) Thanks!

much love to all who share their opinions,

j3swimmer