Some angst, because Merlin's loyalty to Arthur knows no bounds. Still me. Reviewers will be loved forever.
Arthur was dying, again. And again, the Old Religion would not accept Merlin's life in exchange. He was too important.
Any of the knights would volunteer in a second, but he couldn't bear to ask them. Couldn't bear to lose them. So Merlin did something that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
The man was a stranger to Merlin: old and lonely and sleeping peacefully. But still; he was innocent.
Arthur had recovered, and had been the golden king once more. Another secret weighed on Merlin's mind, kept so that Arthur could be blissfully ignorant, as ever.