Here is the last chapter of my very long story. If you have stayed with me this far I commend you. All that is left after this will be the teaser for my upcoming story The Old Mother.
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my OCs and this storyline (which I will miss).
Hope you enjoy.
Would you remember if I asked?
Arthur, now king, was coming back from a meeting to sign a treaty with princess Mithian's kingdom after the ordeal with Morgana. They passed through a town of which Arthur could not remember the name. It was quite empty and many of the buildings had been abandoned. He remembered his father telling him that this was a side effect of the purge. Many towns were completely destroyed by magic.
Something about this town seemed different though for some reason. A shiver ran up Arthur's spine as they passed by an empty space between two buildings where a house had obviously stood but all that was left now was an old pile of ash. The locals didn't dare go near it or build another house in its place. Arthur did ask one man about it and he said that it was believed to be a cursed place. The house had once belonged to those with magic and that Uther had had it burned. There were rumors that it hadn't been empty when they had set it on fire.
The air seemed to drop a few degrees. Arthur had heard many a story similar to this one, so why did this one bother him so much. He could almost imagine the house that had stood where the ashes now lay. It had been split into two so two families could live there. How had he known that?
Mixed in with the ashes were broken pieces of pots and it broke Arthur's heart to see them. Merlin had gone quiet as well. They both just stared not knowing why. It was as if they had been there before, but how? Arthur searched through his memories for any clue of this place.
Merlin reached down and stroked one of the broken pots. He gasped as images flashed through his mind. The memories were left here like residue. He heard violin music and there were smiles.
"Snow." He whispered.
"What was that?" Arthur asked behind him.
"Nothing, sire." Merlin stood, quickly taking his hand away from the pot. "We should move on."
Merlin and Arthur left shortly after as they needed to get back to Camelot where Gwen was waiting. They rode most of the way in silence. Their thoughts were cut off when a hooded woman holding a walking stick walked out into the road right in front of them. Arthur pulled on the reigns of his horse to stop before running into the woman. A younger man came running out after her, pulling her out of the way.
"I'm so sorry your majesty." The man apologized to Arthur, bowing slightly. He recognized the young king right away. "My friend here is blind so she did not see you coming."
"No need to apologize." Arthur said as he dismounted to see if the woman was all right. Merlin followed.
"I'm fine." She told them, her grey eyes staring blankly forward. "No need to fuss. I just sometimes forget that I can't see."
"You should have waited for me." Her friend said beside her.
"You have to stop worrying about me." She patted the side of the man's face. "You're always saving me Teddy."
"If you don't want me to worry then stop going off on your own." He fidgeted but smiled. "You nearly got run over by the king's own horse."
"The king?" Her blind eyes widened and she reached out her hands, handing her walking stick to her friend.
"I should have seen you coming." Arthur said as he took her hands. He inwardly winced as he saw the scars on her hands that must have been from some old burns. The woman didn't say anything as she dropped one of Arthur's hands and took the other one in both of hers. In silence she felt them and traced the lines with her finger.
"Arthur." She seemed to get a far off look in her eyes. "You've grown."
Arthur was confused at her gentle smile and the way she said his name. He could almost swear that there was a tear in her eye. The man, the one she had called Teddy, seemed nervous at the interaction.
"Teddy I can hear you fidgeting." She smirked. "There is no need to be nervous. It's only Arthur."
"I'm sorry miss, but have we met?" Her touch seemed strangely familiar. It was warm and comforting.
"Oh." Her eyes immediately became sad. "Back when I could see I…But you wouldn't remember. You were far too young. You've grown so much since then and I hear that you're the king now."
"Yes, I have been for a while now." Arthur didn't pull away from the woman who seemed to know him. Something in the back of his mind made him trust her. He'd even trust her with his life, but he couldn't remember her. Why?
"A good king too." Merlin added.
"Oh, there's someone else here." She looked in the general direction that Merlin's voice came from.
"I'm Merlin." He said. She suddenly reached out and grabbed his hand as if she could still see. After she had lost her sight her hearing had sharpened.
"Merlin." She smiled as she spoke his name. "You've grown into quite the young man. I can tell."
"You can tell just by the touch of our hands?" Arthur was intrigued.
"Back when I could see I used to read palms." She grinned. "I haven't lost that with my sight."
"Shhh," Teddy put his hand on her shoulder. "We shouldn't linger here. Magnus will be waiting."
"Oh, yes of course." She looked a little disappointed. "It was a shame he couldn't come. He would have liked to see the lake."
"What, did I not describe it well enough for you?" Teddy joked.
"Of course you did. He would have liked to see them though." Her voice was sad. "They set them afloat together. Holt said he thought Jasper and Aida would have liked it that way. I wish I could have been there."
"I'm sorry we didn't find them in time." Teddy put an arm around the woman's shoulders.
"Oh its not your fault." She assured him. "You saved my life. I should have saved theirs."
"You can't keep blaming yourself for what happened years ago. You protected them as well as you could."
"Not well enough." There was pain in her voice and sad memories. She let Merlin's hand drop from hers. "I'm sorry to have delayed your journey."
"We were moving slowly anyway." Arthur tried to reassure her. "I'm sorry to hear you lost some people close to you."
"Thank you." Teddy said. "We should really be on our way. Fionn's baby will be coming soon. Holt wanted us to be there."
"That's their third one." The woman laughed.
"But Olwen said that they think it will be a boy this time. Everyone is going to be there."
"Never doubt a mother's instincts." She smiled. "I guess we'd better get going or my husband will be out looking for us. He worries even more then you do. It was nice to meet you boys again."
"Maybe we will meet again." Arthur said hopefully. He didn't know why but he didn't want this woman to leave. The man with her somehow seemed familiar as well and he desperately wanted to know why. "Maybe you can tell us about the first time we met."
"Maybe." The woman said mysteriously reaching for Arthur's hand once more. "If destiny allows it."
She reached back for Teddy's hand and he led her down the road. Arthur watched them. He didn't even know the woman's name. His attention was drawn away as he felt something in his hand. He looked down to see a small crumpled piece of paper in his hand. The woman must have slipped it to him the last time she took his hand.
"What's that?" Merlin asked, looking over.
Arthur unwrapped the piece of paper and read the words scribbled onto it. The words were messy but he finally managed to make out what the note said.
Thank you for keeping our secret.
Joone.
Arthur gasped and tears came to his eyes. He immediately looked down the road but she was already gone. He had been four years old when he had first met her. The memories of that time were vague but he still remembered.
"Is this what it is?" He had asked her.
"What, what is?" They were in an attic and she had her arms around him.
"What it is to have a mother." He explained. "I feel safe here and I feel happy. Is that what it's supposed to feel like?"
"Do you feel loved?" She had asked him.
"Yes."
"Joone." Arthur remembered her.
"Joone?" Merlin took the note from his hand. "My mother told me stories about a Joone. She said that I had met her when I was very young but that she died in a fire. There was no body to bury."
"She didn't feel like a ghost." Arthur said, looking back down the road. "She saved me once."
Joone listened from behind a tree just off of the road. She waited until she heard the hooves of their horses as they road away. There were tears in her eyes. She wished more then anything that she could see their faces.
But I couldn't. I'd never see their faces again. I could still remember how they looked when I had first met them, but that had been so long ago. So much had happened since then. We had lost so much.
I lost my sight in that fire and I knew that I would never see again. I would never see any of their faces again. Part of me wanted to forget what we had gone through all those years ago but the other part of me cannot bear to let those memories go. I don't ever want to forget Aida or Jasper. I was supposed to protect them and I failed. I failed as their protector.
"I should have saved you." I whispered to myself and I felt Teddy place his hand on my shoulder. He had helped me find everyone again. I let him lead me away.
As I walk away from the lake where Jasper and Aida were buried I would always wonder the same thing.
Did the right ones live?
Thanks for reading and please REVIEW!
So, what did you think. That is the longest story I have ever written and I hope my next ones will be a little shorter, for the sake of my readers. Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and especially reviewed.
Thank you MagicGirl41, readernurse, Unformal Sorelle, Iggyandwolf11, Ravyn Song, LightningBolt21, and all the anonymous reviewers. Sorry if I missed any of you. You guys gave me the push to keep going and finish this story. Thank you so much.
Fun fact: On a word document this story had 85695 words which doesn't include the author notes and took up 201 pages. Thanks for reading such a long story.
Hope you stick around for the teaser and read The Old Mother when it comes out.
Merry Christmas by the way.
See you next time.