The sun was just setting when Merlin started to stir. "Mmm…." The warlock moaned as he shifted a little. A headache throbbed in the middle of his forehead. He was cold and felt very tired. Every part of him hurt, especially his throat – it was as if he'd screamed for hours on end. Through half-slit eyes he peered down at himself. He was draped in Arthur's cloak. Reaching up he felt his head; his hair was still damp even though Merlin was near a small fire.
His face fell and his eyes widened as he remembered what had happened. "Oh no," Merlin whispered dropping his hand to his side. The spell hadn't lasted long enough and Arthur saw him transform. That was bad.
Memories flashed through his head. All what he had done Dolma. The spell and lake actually working - which meant bringing the old Guinevere back. Then, the Dolma spell wearing off in front of the King and the Queen. And, of course, passing out from exhaustion and falling into the river.
Merlin found that he was confused. Why had Arthur saved him? Easily, the King had left Merlin to drown. Maybe he wanted to try Merlin in Camelot and then burn him at the stake? The thought of that made him shiver. It made him want to run, but Merlin didn't. Besides being too tired to move, he didn't want to seem like a coward. He would face his fate with his head held high no matter what the outcome. It still made him feel twitchy and jumpy. In fact, it did make him jerk a little, which altered the Queen to his alertness.
"Arthur, he's awake," Gwen said to the right of him. She sounded worried and tired. There was also relief in her voice. Amazingly, and to Merlin's own relief, she didn't sound angry about his gifts.
The King was over by Merlin's side in an instant. Arthur's face hovered in front of Merlin. Through half-mast eyes, the warlock could see the heavy bags under Arthur's eyes. He noted the taught lines of Arthur's jowl and forehead. The King was worried. "How are you feeling?" Arthur croaked.
"Worried," was Merlin's answer.
"Worried? Why? Guinevere and I should be the ones wh are worried! You gave us a scare," exclaimed Arthur.
"You mean, you're not going to kill me? But…but, I am a sorcerer. I have magic," the warlock stammered.
"Apparently," grumbled Arthur. "But, no, Merlin, I'm not. I want to know why. Why you have it. Why you use it. Why you stayed in Camelot. There are a lot of other things I want to know to. You can't tell me any of that being dead, can you?"
Merlin shook his head. He opened his mouth to begin telling his story. However, Arthur held a hand up. This made him shut his mouth.
"Not now. You look like death warmed over and should rest. We can talk later when we are back in the comforts of Camelot," Arthur said. "Now, sleep."
The warlock nodded. "Yes, sire," he smurmured, relieved at how things were going. Everything was better than he had hoped. "What about magic and the laws? I can't really stay in Camelot now, can I?"
"Who says you can't? The laws on magic were my fathers, not mine," the King replied. "The wrongs will be righted and all will be fine. Don't worry and go to sleep. It's an order. I don't want my servant dropping dead on the journey home."
"Prat," whispered Merlin. He rolled over on his side and drew the red cape closer to his chin. Closing his eyes he fell asleep with a smile upon his face.
The end.
Author's Note: Thank you all fr reviewing and reading this story! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :D It was a lot of fun to write.