A/N: And here it is, folks! The last chapter. It's not as long as I had hoped, but I'm quite happy with it. My amazing beta pointed out that i needed to go a bit further in some of the scenes...I may have gone too far XD The title for this chapter is based off of the song by Shawn Mullins, as I just went through my iTunes library looking for a title that I could use. Look, it's 3:30 am, don't judge me. Anyways, do enjoy! :3

Merlin was soaked to the skin, water dripping from his hair, clouding his vision. His clothes were weighing him down even more - if that was possible - as he dodged trees and ducked under branches hanging hazardously in his path.

"I'm sorry, Merlin, I could not warn you about this!" Freya's voice was just audible over the noise closing in from all sides, making the warlock strain his ears to hear her.

"It's fine, I understand!" he shouted to the empty space in front of him, hoping she'd be able to hear what he was saying. He continued to run through the never ending forest, fearing that he had gone in circles. A tiny dot of light ahead renewed his hope and strength, giving him the burst of energy he needed to increase his speed. The light began to grow until it almost consumed him. A gleeful smile spread across his face, "Thank you, Freya!"

"Anytime, Merlin." He could see her in his mind, shaking her head and smiling fondly. "I will see you soon."

"I love you." His whisper was carried away in the harsh wind as the light surrounded him, swallowing him into nothingness.

Seconds later, the peaceful abyss turned to excruciating pain. He wanted to cry out, scream at the top of his lungs, to beg for mercy, for freedom from this hell. His throat constricted, allowing only a quiet moan to pass his lips. Merlin felt the bile rise in his throat, but the pain began to dull, a harsh orange light filling his vision, and the feeling retreated. He blinked a few times, staring at the cream colored ceiling above him, trying to recall anything, even if it was just the basic task of moving, but he got more than he bargained for. All it once his memories returned, suffocating him with emotions he couldn't handle. Merlin's breath caught in his throat as he choked back a sob. He had left her. Again. His beautiful, amazing Freya. She had saved his life and he just abandoned her. He rolled quickly onto his side, propping himself up with a shaky arm and vomited the non-existent contents of his stomach onto the floor, shuddering and retching, even when his body declared defeat offering nothing else for him to exert.

"Merlin?" a frantic voice called his name repeatedly, a hand resting firmly on his shoulder while the other rubbed calming circles on his back. He was starting to relax, gasping and shuddering as exhaustion took over his body, allowing himself to collapse sideways on what he determined to be a wooden floor. The hands shifted, moving him into a more comfortable position on his back. Merlin blinked a few times, taking a second to recognize the worried face above him.

"Merlin, you're okay, calm down." Arthur stared down at his gasping servant, sprawled on the floor in the middle of Gaius' chambers. "That's it, you're okay."

The older man hadn't allowed the king to do anything about the way the boy was positioned, claiming that they didn't know what had happened and what was going through his mind, making him potentially dangerous. Arthur hadn't liked it, but under the withering stare of the old physician, he had accepted.

"Are you alright?" the blond asked stupidly, crouching beside Merlin.

"Peachy." The warlock breathed, closing his eyes and sighing.

"What happened?" it was later in the evening when Merlin asked. He had been moved to his own bed and tucked in carefully after Gaius poked, prodded and wrapped various parts of his body. The verdict: he had a broken leg, minor blood loss and a nasty concussion in addition to the multiple lacerations covering his body. This led him to the conclusion that any injuries he may have suffered in the forest had not ailed his physical body.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," Arthur responded, handing Merlin a glass of water. He pulled a stool over from the corner of the room and set it beside his bed. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Running through the forest…"

"Running through the forest?" the king repeated in disbelief, staring at his servant with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. But s'pose you meant before all of that. I remember you carrying me back here." Merlin mumbled, looking as confused as Arthur felt, if not more.

"What do you mean by 'running through the forest?' You haven't left Gaius' chambers since I brought you back."

After a few minutes of contemplation, the servant launched into a lengthy explanation of the events that had occurred over the past few hours, carefully omitting anything involving magic. Arthur knew he would regret asking - steeling himself for the confusion that was sure to follow - but found that he was only just able to keep up with Merlin's garbled version of the events. The gaps in the story were obvious, especially considering what had happened in reality, but the king was having enough trouble processing the new information, so he decided not to push it.

"And that's what I mean." Merlin finished with a sigh, looking a bit paler and, if possible, more exhausted than before.

"So…all of that just happened? In the past two hours?" Arthur stared at him, not even trying to hide his confusion.

"Yes."

The blond studied Merlin for a moment before leaning back and crossing his arms. "Then tell me, Merlin; did you also learn magic in the past two hours?"

He stared at Arthur, frantically trying to conceal any fear that was at risk of covering his features. He felt a pit growing in his stomach, panic twisting his heart and stealing his breath.

"What?"

"When you were downstairs you started blowing the place up. With magic."

"I-I did?"

"Yes. So tell me, Merlin: when did you learn these spells?"

"I didn't. Magic is outlawed in Camelot, I would never dare practice such- such evil! It must have been a side effect of the forest; I don't think I was in my right mind." Merlin stared, wide-eyed at the man beside him, praying that he would accept his excuse. "I did say Molly was there, right? Maybe she thought that if she manipulated my physical body, made it appear that I know magic, then maybe you would have me executed. Then she wouldn't have my blood on her hands."

Arthur simply stared at him, processing this new theory. It made sense, didn't it? This girl blamed Merlin for her death, if her initial plan to kill him wasn't working, she would need a backup. She also appeared to sense how close the king is to his servant and thought she could use that to her advantage, making it even more painful for the both of them. Or…could he really kill his best friend? He shook his head, pushing the thought away as soon as it came to mind, his attention shifting to Merlin who had started talking again.

"I mean, she did try to kill me with various magical creatures. She had the power to use my body if she desired. She made me say things that I would never say, cast spells that I would never learn, let alone use." Merlin pressed, trying to get through to Arthur.

The older man nodded slowly, agreeing with his friend. How could he have even considered that Merlin, his clumsy, idiot of a servant was a sorcerer? Ha! If everything Merlin had told him about what had happened was true, then clearly Molly would have had enough power to do this as well. It made sense.

"You're right, Merlin, that's probably what happened." Arthur stood up, punching the boy's leg lightly as he did so.

"And hitting my leg, is that supposed to be a sign of agreement?" Merlin asked with a wince. "Like punching someone in the arm is supposed to be a way of cheering them up?"

"Merlin," Arthur said, walking over to the door, glancing over his shoulder before he left.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Yeah…"

Arthur turned on his heel and left after giving Merlin a small smile, a look that spoke volumes. A look that said 'I'm glad you're alright."

It was several weeks before Merlin was fully recovered and back at work, the incident with Molly and the forest nothing but a bad memory. The king knew that his servant would want to put the whole experience behind him, knowing it would be best if the only reminder of the situation was the small scar on the boy's neck. They would not speak of it for years to come, until the day before magic was made legal in Camelot.

A/N: It wasn't the best ending, but alas...! This has been wonderful, torturous, frustrating and brilliant, you guys. Thank you for the support and for those of you who stuck with me through it all, you guys are amazing. I am so sorry for the constant confusion!

Well, I'm hoping to get another one finished soon, one that I will not be posting before I finish writing it. In the meantime, you should check out Pieces of My Heart, the only other story in my profile. It actually gets updates.

I love you all so much!

Goodnight, readers. Goodnight.

xxXTheReinbachDragonlordXxx