A few things…

1) Sorry it's been so long but here's the next bit :)

2) Word of warning: LAST EPISODE SPOILERS. I was like, OMG when I saw the last episode because it fit in so well with what I planned and I would have had to kill off a certain person otherwise (but enough about that)

3) Another word of warning: there's a tiny little bit of Merlin/Arthur coming up, in this chapter (and the next one) and I didn't plan it like that but what can I say? This thing writes itself.

4) This is a considerable chunk longer than the last three chapters

Enjoy

Arthur strode from the room, Gaius trying to keep up.

"Sire, this is ridiculous" he gasped. "With your father dead, you are the King; you cannot simply go rushing off to confront this sorceress when she has made it her mission to kill you!"

Arthur turned suddenly and Gaius faltered, stopped in his tracks by the look smouldering in Arthur's eyes.

"And a poor king I would make if I am not willing to risk my life to save Merlin's!" Arthur was shouting now, his voice echoing through the corridors. "I cannot stand by and let him die"

Arthur swung himself up onto his horse. He had only paused to grab his sword and dagger, not bothering with armour. Armour wouldn't help where he was going.

"Arthur please, I'm begging you, don't do this". He stopped as Morgana gazed up at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "You will die if you go and…I couldn't bear that"

"Merlin will die if I do not" he said softly. Then, without another word, he was gone.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Merlin collapsed on the floor. He couldn't remember what had happened, couldn't understand why he was lying on the cold, frozen ground. And he could see a girl, a small child, with long fair hair like spun gold, eyes as blue as summer sky. And there were lights, golden spheres floating around her.

Merlin lay there, unmoving, crushed under the weight of the guilt, revulsion and horror pressing down on him as his memory slowly returned. He felt darkness, evil inside of him as he looked at the hands – his hands – that had killed so many, in cold blood. Tears flowed from his eyes as he died inside. He was no longer innocent; he was a murderer.

He gasped as pain twisted inside him, like a red-hot knife wrenching at his insides. Something wasn't right, there was something missing, like a part of him had died. He reached for his magic to defend himself against the sensation and felt the devastating burden of loss. His magic was gone.

He looked down at his hands again, looked closer and saw faint golden streams of light flickering weakly around his fingers. A thick gold ribbon of light was cast into the air above his heart and he followed it with his eyes until he saw the girl. With a jolt of horror he realised. She was stealing his magic, was draining him of his life.

"Nim" he said, his voice shaking. A small part of him was ridiculously happy despite the situation; he had his voice back and he propped himself up on his arms, to better see his enemy.

She smiled happily, clapping her hands together with joy.

"Aw, you remember me!" she giggled and for a second, Merlin felt he was swimming in unknown waters – for once, it wasn't him with the mental affliction. The image of the little blonde child that looked so innocent contrasted sharply with Merlin's memories, of the crimes she had committed, of the lives she had taken - with his very hands. And now she was killing him as well.

"But you don't know me". Her voice had lost the girlish timbre, had lost its sugar coating. "The only one who knew me, who loved me, who I loved, was my sister. And you killed her!" She shrieked out that last comment and sounded for a second like she would burst into tears. She took a few deep breaths and carried on. "That is why you are here. You murdered my sister, murdered her in cold blood".

"That's not true" Merlin interrupted Nim before she could accuse him of any more. "Nimueh is the murderer; she almost killed my mother and my friend. I had to stop her"

Nim glared at him and he screamed as pain lanced through him, searing every inch of him. It was gone in a second but the memory of the pain remained.

"Quiet" she commanded. "Or I will cut out your tongue". Merlin had no doubts that she would follow through with her threat.

"Before your world was formed, we were ancient beyond measure. We were born in the hearts of stars and such was our power – even at birth – that we were untouched by the flame. We travelled the galaxies for aeons of time and there were so many of us at first. But then we found your world and it was the sweetest curse, was the most evil of blessings. We became human, just to see the beauty of your planet through eyes like yours, to experience real life for the first time. And that was what defeated us, in the end. Our magic, our power, deserted us. It spread across your planet like wildfire. And you stole it! You thieving humans ripped away a part of us! Your race was never magical, was never born with magic and yet you tortured it, used it for your own ends. It drove my people insane. Without our magic, we were trapped here, trapped like rats. And we felt fear, for the first time ever. Many of my race died then, mostly killing themselves for they couldn't bear to stay in a life without magic. But there were two of us that were strong"

Merlin guessed the name of the second of the two but kept silent. He much preferred his tongue inside his head.

"Nimueh and I were the most powerful of all of us and we kept hold of an infinitesimal sliver of our magic, barely enough to perform even the simplest spells. But we waited, for long years, hunting down those that had stolen our magic and we reclaimed it, bit by bit". Nim paused and looked at Merlin. "People like you".

Merlin was shocked to find tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. He couldn't imagine what it would be like, to lose someone that had been so close to you for millions of years. But her knew, had he been able to undo what he had done, he would still have destroyed Nimueh. Because he loved his mother, and loved Gaius as a father. And…he had to admit it to himself, had to acknowledge the truth – he loved Arthur.

"Nim, I'm so sorry-" he began but she held up a hand to silence him and he tensed, expecting to feel more pain blazing through him. Nim, however, seemed preoccupied with something hidden amongst the trees.

All of a sudden, her girlish smile appeared back on her face like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. Without warning, she raised her hands, golden fire shooting from her fingers again and she laughed with delight.

Oo, the suspense. Review it and you might find out what happens next, especially as the next chapter is THE LAST CHAPTER! *gasp*