Arthur grinned at his servant boy. They had done it! Merlin would live. Now they could live to fulfill his journal's promises. They would...be together.
Merlin caught the prince staring at him. There was just something about this version of his Arthur that drew him in. Was it wrong to prefer this more mature Arthur? His prince, even though they were friends, didn't show any romantic interest. And he wanted more. This Arthur could give him that.
He stepped closer to the dirty blond. "Hey, Arthur," he started, "now that we...um, adverted this crisis, what are you going to do?"
Arthur caught the boy's hand and pulled him closer. "I do not know for certain, but right now... I am going to kiss you."
Merlin's heart skipped a beat and his breath caught. His prince leaned in close, and their lips met. The kiss was soft and gentle.
That's when the doctor popped up, quite inconveniently, "You! Stop that now!" he yelled, pushing them apart, "wha- what do you think you're doing exactly?"
The Ponds followed behind, interested in the noisy scene. "We- we were just-"
"What's the problem?!" Arthur declared, quite bothered.
"The problem, Arthur, is that you've just messed with the timelines! You and Merlin can NOT be together!"
Everyone was silent for a few moments, just staring at each other, Arthur's face rapidly filling with anger. "What do you mean we can't be together?!" he demanded, "The reason we're here is so save him so that I-"
Arthur stopped himself. He was never meant to go back was he? His Merlin wasn't who he saved, he saved the past Arthur's Merlin. His head pounded, his heart raced. His stomach hurt. "You-"
"Arthur just calm down."
"Why don't I get a happy ending Doctor!? Why did I come back to save Merlin if-"
"Arthur..." the Doctor attempted to soothe, "Arthur you have to understand, crossing the timelines like that... it could potentially have a huge impact on anything that was supposed to come from it in the future. I'm sorry, but you have to just accept it."
Arthur felt betrayed, hurt, and angry. He clenched at his sword, "I want to go home."
Merlin didn't say much, but watched Arthur sadly. He trusted his prince more than anyone, even if this 'Doctor' knew he was Emrys... It wasn't enough to make his betray Arthur. "I-" he started, "I may just be causing trouble, but I wish to follow Arthur."
"No, no, no, no!" the Doctor frowned, waving his hands in the air in frustration. "You two can't fall in love! Arthur and Merlin are the two that must be together-you can't cross timelines like that. What would you say to the real Arthur?"
"I AM the real Arthur!" the prince replied, irritated, "and in case you haven't noticed, we ARE Arthur and Merlin we're in love. So-"
"You! You, you're brilliant!" The Doctor interrupted, grabbing his face and forcing a kiss onto his forehead.
Arthur wiped the saliva from his head, a disgusted expression on his face. "What?"
"I mean, it's crazy... but it just might work."
Amelia stepped up, smiling to the Doctor, "What might work?"
"These two! I mean, after Arthur died, he became a wiser man you could say, somewhat more mature." he smiled to the prince, "No offence."
"Doctor what could work?" the Pond repeated.
"We need to get to the past Arthur. This needs to be sorted. Merlin, you come with me! Amy, Rory, watch Arthur and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid!" he yelled, halfway out the door, dragging Merlin along behind him.
The Doctor pulled Merlin along through the forest, "Doctor, what are we doing!?"
"The Arthur back in Camelot, does he love you?" the Doctor asked.
"Well..."
"Merlin!"
"No. No he doesn't." he replied, somewhat saddened.
The doctor stopped momentarily to turn to him, "If I'm right, and I'm always right, then the Arthur in legend, the one that is supposed to love you and potentially change the world is the one sitting in my TARDIS. This Arthur is a fraud. It's what set all the wheels off motion!"
"What do you mean, he's a fraud?"
"A fake. A faux prince. Here, read this bit here." The Doctor shoved a leather-bound book at him while pulling another from his pocket.
"This?" Merlin questioned. "This is-" He blushed a bit, adverting his eyes from the pages. "This is Arthur's private journal. His personal thoughts."
"I know, and I'm pretty sure he'll forgive you...If you fail to mention it. But that page describes him watching as you are beheaded. Were beheaded. And this book-" he shoved the book into Merlin's face- "is the witch finder's documentary of that moment. He specifically mentioned seeing the prince watch as it happened. From the courtyard."
"But-"
The Doctor shoved that book into his pocket and pulled out a new one. How big were his pockets? "And this book talks about Arthur's reign. He is worse then his father-he eradicates all magic, and brings about the fall of Camelot. But that journal-his personal journal-talks about how he ruled after your death. It was different. So, how do you have two conflicting histories?"
Merlin thought for a moment, then guessed, "One of them is a lie?"
"No. Possibly. But not in this case." He took the journal from Merlin's hands and pointed to a rune imprinted on the inside cover. "What is this?"
"A spell," Merlin breathed, running his fingers over the symbol. His eyes flashed gold for a second. "What does it do?"
"I'm not entirely certain, but I think that a wizard from this timeline sent it to the library for us to find. That means that the real Arthur has been...killed, and replaced with a fake. Maybe a skin-changer or an alien in a flesh suit. That means we have to lure the fake out of the castle, away from the guards, so we can change him out for the real Arthur."
"And how are we going to do that?" Merlin demanded as they strode to the city walls.
"You and I are going to use magic in front of him and taunt him into giving chase. We'll lead him back to the TARDIS."
"You can do magic?" Merlin asked, surprised.
The Doctor pulled a stick out of his pocket (seriously, how much could one guy fit in his pockets?) and flipped the top open so it glowed green. "How about a magic wand?" he grinned mischievously. Merlin laughed with him, and they stepped into Camelot together.