Hi guys. Um, I know I said that this was the last chapter but it would have been pretty damn long so I figured I'd split it up a bit. Well, here it is…

Merlin's heart sank right down to his boots as he saw Arthur emerge from the trees, crouched with his sword at the ready. Merlin had been hoping against hope that Arthur wouldn't fall for Nim's tricks, that he would have had enough sense to leave him. Yet part of him was insanely, ridiculously happy. Arthur was here. And everything was alright again. Merlin's happy thoughts withered and died as Arthur began to flicker, outlined against the trees with a corona of golden light. And then gently, gently, he rose into the air. His sword fell to the ground and Merlin could see the cords standing out in his neck as his eyes glazed with pain. Nim's brow was furrowed in concentration and the gold spheres of light hovering around her head pulsed and glowed in strange, unfathomable rhythms. Merlin could sense it in the air, the silent battle between the two. By the looks of things, Nim had expected Arthur to subdue to her mental power quickly and was thrown off guard by the scale of his resistance. All of a sudden, she laughed again, that tiny little giggle that Merlin was coming to associate with big, big trouble.

She flicked her hand and Arthur was thrown through the air, until his flight was brought to an abrupt halt by a large, ancient oak tree. Even from his place across the clearing, Merlin winced as he heard the bone in Arthur's arm snap like a dry twig. Arthur fell to the floor and lay still, and for one, heart-stoppingly terrifying moment, Merlin thought he was dead. It was all he could do not to leap up and throttle Nim, regardless of the child's face she wore.

But then Arthur stirred, moaning in pain and Merlin could see blood spreading slowly across his arm, where the shards of bone had poked through the skin.

"You're just in time to join the party" Nim laughed, and Merlin could hear the faintest touches of hysteria in her voice. She was losing her sanity; her mind was coming apart at the seams. He supposed it was his fault, for killing Nimueh, for killing her sister, but any remorse or pity he felt had vanished completely. She had hurt Arthur, and she would pay, with blood, and terror. At least, that was the plan. He hadn't quite worked out all the finer details yet. Scratch that. He hadn't the faintest clue how he was going to rid the world of this fiend, but of one thing he was certain. It would be a better world when she was gone.

"Anyway, back to the story" Nim continued. "My sister and I travelled the land, seeking out those who had stolen our magic, hunting them down and reclaiming our lost power. And this was our life. Eventually we accumulated enough of our magic to be the two, most powerful sorceresses your world had ever known"

At her words, Merlin felt a stirring inside him, a yearning to be free, to accept what he was. In his mind, he could see himself, a great warlock, soaring through the heavens like an arrow, creating and destroying as he chose. And no-one could stand against him, for he was power, and he was might, and the lives of humans were nothing to him. They went through their short lives almost blind and almost deaf, unaware of the beauty of the world around them, but he understood, for the magic guided him, opened his eyes, showed him the way, showed him the path to glory, and greatness.

Merlin cried out in anguish as the vision, the dream vanished and he was back in the forest.

"All that could be yours, Merlin" Nim whispered to him. "They were the Golden Days, before Uther, before Camelot, before our kind were persecuted for what we are. We are kin, Merlin. You alone out of all humans were born with magic of your own, I sensed that when I took it from you, and now we have no-one but each other. We can be great, together. You just have to do one thing for me, Merlin".

Merlin knew he would have agreed to anything, so enraptured was he by the call of power.

"You must kill Arthur Pendragon for me, Merlin. Camelot cannot be allowed to exist any longer. I did my bit. I killed Uther Pendragon. And now you must kill his son. Can you do that Merlin?"

Merlin nodded and rose gracefully to his feet. The gaping hole left by the absence of his magic vanished, and he felt whole again. Nim handed him an ornate dagger, the hilt encrusted with jewels and he walked over to where Arthur lay, sprawled on the ground.

"Goodbye" he said, and his voice and face were emotionless, blank as he looked down at the one he loved.

Oh, the suspense is killing me. Review it please :P