Well, here it is. The final chapter, as promised.

Arthur watched his death approaching, walking slowly towards him. And he was afraid. He had never given much thought to how he would die, but he imagined that he would go down fighting, not helpless and defenceless. Not like this. And not by the hand of the one he loved. That was his greatest regret. That, maybe, if he had been strong enough, he could have told Merlin how he felt before he died. But it was too late now.

Merlin looked down at Arthur as he weighed the dagger in his hand, and Arthur looked up at Merlin as he waited to die. But then their eyes met, and the world didn't matter any more. The truth, and the intensity of what they felt burned all around them and the love they felt for each other became everything.

Merlin spun on his heel and, shouting the spell that would vanquish all beings of magic, plunged the dagger into Nim's heart. Or, at least, tried to. The dagger was ripped from his hand, spinning point over hilt until coming to rest deep in the trunk of a tree, mere inches from where Arthur lay.

Merlin sank to his knees, gasping as his magic, so recently reclaimed, was torn from him once more. The strength vanished from his limbs and he couldn't stand, couldn't do anything but crawl laboriously to where his love lay. If they were to die, they would die together.

"You just don't understand, do you?" Nim looked at him with an almost pitying expression. "Still, I suppose you're only human. I cannot be killed, Merlin. I am power incarnate. I could wage war on Camelot, on my own, and destroy it completely, extinguishing the sparks of life trapped inside those pitiful mortals with a single thought. But where would be the fun in that?" She frowned at him. "Only now, you've gone and ruined it. Still, never mind. Arthur Pendragon will still die. But you have denied him a quick, painless death. By the end, he will beg to die, cursing your name as he screams. And you will die with him, for attempting to lay waste to my plans".

Merlin felt a bizarre urge to laugh out loud as he was reminded of when he was a small boy, and his mother was reproaching him for not doing as he was told. Nostalgia was washed away and replaced with torment as Arthur cried out beside him. Merlin could feel his magic ebbing and flowing out of him and into Nim. He could feel what she felt as she twisted and manipulated his power to torture Arthur. Arthur's scream was matched a second later by Merlin's answering scream as Merlin's magic caused a fresh wave of agony to flow through the Prince. Their screams echoed around the forest as Nim stood over them, a sardonic smile on her pale face.

"This is the best bit" she whispered to Merlin, like she was sharing a secret with a trusted friend.

Arthur shook and shuddered, convulsing in fits of agony on the floor as he burned, pain blazing through him. He could feel things ripping, breaking inside him, could feel blood running from his mouth. His screams grew louder as there were a series of sharp cracks and more agony and he felt his ribs crack, one by one. His shrieks of agony were choked off as he spluttered and struggled for breath through the blood filling his lungs, flowing from his mouth, running down his chin. Black spots appeared in his vision and he felt light-headed as his brain was starved of oxygen.

Beside him, Merlin was curled in a ball on the floor, rocking back and forth on his heels, his head cradled in his hands. It was him killing Arthur, as surely as if he had stabbed him, or poisoned him. But slowly, slowly he forced himself to block out the screams, to block out the noise, to think. Nim couldn't be killed by ordinary means, that much was clear. And then he realised her mistake. She had told him, had boasted that she had more power than anyone else on the planet. But, if that was true, then why was she stealing his magic and twisting it to suit her own ends? She has no power of her own, he thought. She is an accomplished thief, but she isn't a creature of magic. She had been lying to him all along, and he felt stupid to think that she might have been telling the truth. With this recognition came the knowledge he needed. He knew how to stop her.

He opened his eyes; let the present return to him. Arthur was barely conscious and his breathing was so faint that Merlin thought he was dead. Nim was gazing hungrily at the Prince, her eyes focused on the face of the dying man as she watched the completion of her dream. Unnoticed, Merlin reached up with one trembling hand and yanked the dagger from the tree trunk. Gathering the last dregs of his strength, he stole one last glance at his love and plunged the dagger deep into his chest.

Nim shrieked in outrage and fear as the golden corona surrounding her dimmed, flickered and then vanished as the source of her power – Merlin - died. Arthur's eyes flew open and he drew in a deep, shuddering breath, like a drowning man that broke through the water to the surface. The agony inflicted on him by Nim had gone. Then Arthur caught sight of Merlin and nothing else mattered. He propped himself up on his good arm, gritting his teeth against the pain of his shattered ribs. Tears welled up in his eyes and streamed freely down his face as he cradled Merlin's body in his arms, ignoring the blood soaking into his clothes from the fatal wound Merlin had inflicted upon himself.

"Merlin, please" he whispered, fighting his tears to speak. "Don't leave me Merlin; don't leave me on my own. I need you here Merlin, with me. Please. I…I love you"

Merlin was cold, so cold. And he was scared. He was all alone, all alone with the darkness, with no-one to help him, to hear his pleas for help, for comfort. And then there was a voice, a familiar voice calling his name over and over. He tried to answer, tried to move, tried to speak but the darkness wouldn't let him. And then he was falling, falling into the abyss, into the maw of Death, and his final words were trapped on his tongue, and lost to the darkness.

Arthur

Arthur, I love you

So what did you think?