Arthur slept. It was the deepest, longest sleep he had ever had. Mercifully dreamless, although he had vague memory of the scent of roses...

When he finally woke, it was already twilight again. Shadows danced, springing out from the fire lit in the grate. In front of it sat Gwen, book in hand, reading.

As the lateness of the hour dawned on him, he sat up abruptly, scrambling out of bed. Gwen, startled, set aside her book and stood up as well. "Is everything all right?" She asked anxiously.

"I should be at the talks. I shouldn't have been allowed to sleep so long-"

She raised a hand, ticking names off on her fingers: "Uther, Merlin, Morgana, Gaius, and myself, all insisted that no one wake you. We were all very decided on the subject. You would have been too if you'd seen yourself before falling into bed."

"But the peace talks-"

"A tentative treaty was signed this afternoon."

He blinked. "So fast?"

"There's still a great deal of work to be done. With all the goodwill in the world you can't wipe away decades of distrust in one day, no matter how rousing a speech a prince gives," she teased, her eyes twinkling in fondness. "But it's a first, real, concrete step forward. And your father made most of the concessions."

"He did?"

She nodded. "He was listening to you Arthur. We all were." She looked troubled for a moment. "He was...I don't know how to describe it exactly. He's changed. Aged. Hearing what you said, about all the things that happened, I think it was even harder for him than losing the memory of you."

"I should talk to him."

"You looked…different as well. I can't imagine what you've endured. For weeks...not knowing that you'd ever return, having lost everything...finding me married to someone else." She looked doubtful and he realized she'd been worrying about this while he slept. He just wanted to see her smile.

Arthur pretended to look very serious. "After great consideration I've decided not to have Lancelot executed but only if I never catch him so much as looking at you." She laughed, but there was still a flicker of uncertainty there. So he wrapped his arm around her and said: "Don't worry. I mean to devote myself to making sure you never want to look elsewhere for a husband."

She placed wrapped her own hands around his neck and smiled up at him, content. "That sounds like an excellent plan."

He kissed her. "Get some rest yourself. I may be late tonight. I have to see Merlin as well."

Arthur walked down the castle hallways, turning over in his mind a thought that was troubling him. Uther, the druids, and magic, that was a thorny problem that was being tackled. Progress had been made. There was still a lot to do. It wasn't going to be easy, and it would be a concern for some time to come. But the way ahead was at least clear.

Then there was Morgana. There was hurt there, splinters of pain. What she could have done, what she was capable of, that didn't simply spring from nowhere, nor did it simply go away because that future was averted. He needed...he needed to be there for her. It was as simple and as hard as that. He didn't know exactly what she needed, so he'd just have to let her tell him. Another problem that was a concern, but the way was clear.

But there was one question where the path was not clear. Where uncertainty lurked. He knew what he was considering, but it was a risk, a very grave risk, and yet he wasn't sure he could afford to not take it.

"Arthur! You're awake."

He started: he'd been so engrossed in his thoughts he hadn't heard the footsteps coming down the hall towards him. "Merlin. I'm glad I've run into you. I'm going to need your help."

Merlin sighed dramatically. "You do remember you have another servant now, don't you?"

"Yes, but Robert doesn't have your skills. At least I certainly hope he doesn't. If he turns out to be a secret mage too, I'm going to have some serious concerns about my hiring process."

"Hmm, I haven't seen Robert do anything shifty yet. But I'll let you know."

"What are you doing in this part of the castle anyways? I'd have thought you'd have called it a night. You all sounded quite busy while I was asleep."

Merlin's smile dropped. "I was trying to see Lancelot. But he wouldn't speak to me."

It seemed a detour was necessary. "Where is he?"

"He's in Elaine's room. He's just...sitting there."

"I'll go to talk to him. And then I have to see my father, but after that, I want to speak to you."

"Fine. But I'm hungry so you'll have to find me in the kitchens."

Elaine's room was dark, except for the shadows cast by the moon through the window. Lancelot sat in the chair by the desk, his face buried in his hands. He didn't look up at the sound of the door opening or Arthur coming towards him, but he did at the sound of Arthur's voice. He looked as stricken as he had last night.

"Lancelot? What are you doing in here?"

"I'm trying to understand."

"Understand what exactly?"

"I don't know. I suppose how she could have done it...and how I could have loved her." Lancelot shook his head. "She used magic on me and forced me to kill a man. I could have killed you in the hallway. And yet for all that I loved her."

"For what it's worth: she loved you as well. It was the sight of you dead that finally convinced her to help send me back in time."

"But she still bewitched me."

"We all hurt the people we love at some point," said Arthur, coming over to the desk, and perching himself on the edge of it. "The love was still real...and you are no less a man of honor for having loved her, or for having killed while under her control. I asked you to be a knight of Camelot once before and you declined. I ask you again. Camelot will a safer place with you defending it."

Lancelot looked up at him and studied his face. "You actually want me here? After what you saw in the future? You could have me live alongside you here, in this castle, knowing there was a time where I married the Lady Guinevere?"

Arthur opened his mouth to assure him immediately but then hesitated, tilting his head to one side. Lancelot deserved that he consider that point. If he said yes, he had to truly mean it. There could be no lurking shadows of jealousy or resentment.

But all he could see in his mind's eye was Gwen, in his arms back in the throne room, restored to him after he thought he'd lost her forever, the feeling of the baby inside her...and a memory of the words she would now never need to speak to him playing through his head: "Arthur, I love you. I will always love you. You are my heart and my breath. You have kept me alive for all these years. You have guided me in my memories and in my soul. If I never see you again Arthur, I need you to know that. What Lancelot is to me…it's important and good and light…but it was never what you were, what we were."

"Yes," he said simply. "I trust Guinevere. I trust what we have. And I trust you."

Lancelot nodded. "Thank you." He stood. Somehow Arthur's words seemed to have given him strength. Not a lot. But enough. "I think my answer still has to be no, however. No for now at least. It's too soon. And...there's something I have to do."

"What?"

He spoke slowly, thoughtfully: "Elaine's people depended on her. She was the ruler of Shalott. Before she died, before she cast her spell on me, she asked me to come back to Shalott with her after the peace talks. I agreed. I still mean to follow through with that plan. She cared deeply about her people and her home. And I need to do what I can to help them as they find a way forward without her."

Arthur nodded. "Very well. But know there is always a place in Camelot for you. It will be waiting for when you're ready."

"Thank you Arthur."

Uther was on the battlements, staring out across Camelot. A few stars dotted the sky, and the moon cast long shadows. He was tired. Tired of continuing on. First it was the spell that had taken Arthur from him, and the horrible realization that not only had he forgotten his own son but that he had almost had him executed. Then had come the realization that that spell had created a gap between him and Arthur, one that he did not know how to, or if he could, close.

And now...now there was the knowledge of how close he had come to losing Arthur again. And surely the damage was now irreversible. Arthur would walk the castle halls. They would have dinners together. They would discuss matters of kingdom together. Uther might even hold his granddaughter in his arms...but never would Arthur be able to forgive him. Of that Uther was sure, because for the first time, in a long time, he was looking at himself and did not like what he saw.

Of course he could blame magic: Elaine, morgana, even Merlin. They'd all played parts in that story of Arthur's, in that dreadful future that came so close to being real.

But for once, for once he didn't stop tracing the events once they reached the signs of magic and its wielders...he kept tracing back, and he didn't have much farther to go. As if magic was just a thin veil, and all he ever had had to do was push it aside to exposure himself beyond, and that not until he had listened to his own son, looking exhausted and, and haunted, describing the moment he'd been stabbed to death, had Uther done so.

There was the sound of footsteps behind him and then he heard Arthur's voice: "Father?"

Uther started and turned around, trying to smile at his son. "You're awake. You look refreshed. You should have supper. Something heartening to eat. You've been through a great trial."

Arthur was looking at him a little uncertainly. "Are you all right, father?" Uther wondered what Arthur saw on his face.

"Oh yes. I'll be fine. It's just been a long day."

Arthur came up beside him and looked out over the city. Uther followed his gaze. "It's been a long few months."

"That is has."

Arthur seemed to be considering something, vacillating, and then he said: "There was one part of the story I left out last night. Just one. I think you should hear it."

Uther cringed slightly, wincing in internal pain. No more, he wanted to say. He wasn't sure he could bear more. What deeds were left, that were so dark Arthur had left out to spare him before the others?

"It was after I died," said Arthur carefully. "I didn't just wake up back here. I was in a garden. And I saw...I saw my mother."

Uther started and stared at him. "Ygraine?"

"She's beautiful."

"...yes. She was…" Uther found his voice thick and unsteady.

"Is. And she loves you. She said something about...waiting for you? I don't know if time works there the same as it does here. I know in that future you were dead, but you were not there in the garden. Maybe because I was still coming back? Or maybe... not. She said that you were ashamed to meet her? I know things have been difficult between us: but losing you, believing I would never see you again, that I would never...that we would never...be the same again, all I felt was how much I missed you."

Uther clasped his shoulder. "I..." He couldn't speak. There were no words for all his feelings. But Arthur pulled him into a hug.

"Everything that happened, with my mother, with my birth...she still loves you. I still love you. And tomorrow is a new day."

Uther nodded. He wasn't quite sure he could bring himself to believe it. But maybe…maybe that was right. Maybe doubt would keep this moment in his head. Maybe doubt was what he needed to keep Arthur at his side. At least for now.

Ygraine…would he truly see her again one day?

That was a future worth hoping for. And hope was only a step past doubt…

They both turned to look out over Camelot once more, and stayed standing side by side, in companiable silence for some time. For now, words could wait. In this moment they didn't need them.

Arthur considered going back to Gwen and to sleep, as he descended the castle towards the kitchen. He'd not been awake that long, but he still felt drained, and right now the peace of his bedroom, where he could shut out the rest of the world for a little while, just him and Gwen, felt tantalizing tempting.

But there was something he had to do. Something he was afraid to do. It was probably a horrible, horrible idea. But he also didn't have another one. He could always ignore it, but something told him if he ignored it now...it would only come back to haunt them all later.

He found Merlin sitting at a table in the kitchen, the remains of supper before him, and only a few members of staff nearby.

"Merlin?"

Merlin leapt to his read and followed him out and back into the hallway. "Right, what's up?"

He was so ready, so willing to help. Arthur felt a warmth of friendship and appreciation. Merlin had heard just last night how easily Camelot could turn on him, how cruelly. And there was not one sliver of reluctance to help in whatever way was needed.

Well, that might be about to change when he heard what Arthur wanted, Arthur thought ruefully.

He took a deep breath. "I need you to introduce me to a dragon."