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Merlin raced up the stairs as soon as Arthur stormed out of Camelot. He had come so dangerously close to becoming violent that Merlin actually had to use a whispered spell to force him to calm down.

Arthur's temper, while mercurial, was unleashed only by two things: a challenge to his rule, and the threat of violence against Guinevere. At that moment, Merlin wasn't sure that his regent could tell the difference.

He had been unable to provide an answer when Arthur asked him what he should do to get Guinevere back. Merlin saw the beginnings of a tirade from the king, but instead of lashing out at the warlock, he turned on his heel and left Camelot. Merlin had heard the crunch of gravel as Arthur's powerful car sped down the driveway.

He knew that the king would go in search for his Queen.

Merlin had sagged against a stone wall, relief, shame, and helplessness rendering him unable to move for a few moments. Collecting himself, the warlock made his way to Morgana's room, hoping that his friend would be able to help him figure out what to do.

"Mor..." Merlin's voice faded as soon as he saw that her bed was empty. A shouted curse later and he was soon he was the one peeling out of the driveway to search for the witch.

He knew of only two places where she would go: the Pendragon offices, where, because of her status in the corporate hierarchy, her presence would not be questioned, or Elyan's house. Morgana had taken great care to not be found out, but it would have been careless of Merlin not to keep track of Morgana's just as he knew that she kept a very close eye on him.

As it was a Sunday, there was very little vehicular traffic and Merlin soon found himself driving down the road that would take him to the steel and glass building that housed Pendragon Industries. It took little time for him to park his car and soon he was in an elevator that was speeding up the floors, taking him to the one where his and Morgana's offices were located.

Thick carpeting muffled his footsteps, but even if he had stomped down the hall, Merlin doubted if he would have caused much disturbance. The floor was empty, save for the weekend cleaning service that must be somewhere down the other end of the office.

He walked quickly to Morgana's office and frowned when he noticed that the door was partly ajar. It wasn't like Morgana to be careless with her privacy. Merlin gathered a spell in his head, ready to go on the defensive against whatever it was that was inside.

"Don't bother, young warlock," a deep voice called from within Morgana's office. "There is no one here who wishes you any harm."

Merlin closed his eyes for the briefest of moments and opened the door. Sitting behind Morgana's desk, his long fingers steepled in front of him, was a being Merlin thought he would never see again.

"Kilgarrah," the wizard said. The word a greeting as much as an acknowledgement of the dragon's presence.

"It has been a while, Merlin."

Kilgarrah stood up and Merlin saw that the Great Dragon was wearing a suit of some gray-green material that mimicked reptilian skin. Merlin grinned at this.

"Nice suit."

"Thank you, Merlin," Kilgarrah returned the smile. "I am rather fond of it."

Kilgarrah walked around the desk and stood in front of the wizard. He put his hands behind his back and rocked back and forth on his heels a few times.

"Speak, young wizard."

"I'm hardly a child, Kilgarrah."

"Ah, but I am still older than you, Merlin."

Kilgarrah sat down in one of the chairs fronting the desk and gestured that the other man do the same. Merlin sat and the two regarded each other for a long moment. It unnerved Merlin that the dragon was here, it meant that a painful lesson was about to be learned.

"How are you Merlin?" Kilgarrah's tone was soft, almost paternal, and Merlin felt his shoulders droop. It had been ages since he could confide in someone this way.

"I've failed," Merlin's tone was that of a man defeated. "There is no other way to say it, Kilgarrah. I have failed the Queen."

The dragon took a while to answer. The look he gave the man before him was one of great sorrow, but now was not the time to acquiesce to defeat.

"The fate you dealt the Queen is irreperable, wizard," Kilgarrah said. "There is no turning back from this..."

Anger began to bubble in Merlin.

"Don't you think I know..."

Kilgarrah put a hand up, effectively halting the beginnings of a tirade.

"But that is not to say that she will not be able to move forward."

Merlin was stunned. Surely Kilgarrah didn't mean...

"But...," Merlin said. "This is the end of our days."

"Only if the Queen decrees it, young wizard. But if she relents, if she forgives, then your souls are saved."

Merlin remembered Guinevere's anger that morning and looked at Kilgarrah.

"What of her reward?"

Kilgarrah smiles at Merlin's question.

"I see she has spoken to you."

Merlin nodded and the dragon sat back in his chair, an amused expression his face but it is hard to mistake the intensity in his eyes.

"The Queen's fate was altered the moment your hand played in her execution and you sent her to the pyre. You should have saved her, Merlin, and when you failed to do that, you didn't just damn her for eternity, you damned yourself as well."

Merlin's head bowed and he could not prevent the ragged breath that escaped her lips.

"Now is not the time to feel sorry for yourself, Merlin!"

Kilgarrah's angry voice made him raise his head.

"You have failed to listen to me time and time again, when one simple action from you could have prevented all of this!"

"You would have me kill Morgana?"

"Some kinds of magic deserve to die, wizard," the dragon's tone was unforgiving. "How many have died by your decree? By your good king's edict?"

Merlin was silent.

Kilgarrah's eyes softened at Merlin's despair but he had to let him see the gravity of his past actions.

"I have come here, now, to let you know that it is the Queen whom you should have guarded. It is her whom you should have protected, wizard. As Arthur's fate was intertwined was yours, she played an equal hand in his legacy."

The wizard's eyes widened at this revelation.

"And it was my mistake to think that you would see the connection," the dragon expelled a great breath. "You have always been blinded by Arthur. So involved in his destiny that you failed to see what else was going on around you."

"And you are here to correct that?" Merlin asked.

Kilgarrah nodded. "Because you were incapable of doing it yourself."

A moment of silence stretched between them as the truth of Kilgarrah's words burned into Merlin's conscience until he wanted to rip at his skin if only to rid himself of the pain.

"I am here for the Queen," the older man said simply. "It is her salvation that matters to me. She cannot live out the rest of time being vilified this way. She does not deserve this eternal punishment."

"The rest of time?" Merlin was shocked. "But...how? Will she not perish with us?"

"I cannot change the past, young wizard," Kilgarrah's tone became guarded again. "I cannot change what has already been set. But you and I both know that death, to us, is relative."

KIilgarrah allowed himself a small smile.

"Look at us, now," he gestured to both of them. "How many lifetimes have we lived?"

"If you cannot change the past," Merlin was confused now. "Then how will we...not die?"

"There are spells that erase memories of the past, wizard. Spells that are put in motion by deeds."

"You will make Guinevere forget?"

"How else do I free her from the chains of her past?" Kilgarrah raised an eyebrow. "What you, Arthur, and the witch have done—there is no forgiving that. The remembrance of that will punish the Queen forever."

The dragon's eyes drilled into Merlin.

"The spell will free her from her past—the one thing she has always wanted."

"Freedom from Arthur, from Morgana, and myself."

The dragon tapped the side of his nose, indicating that Merlin was correct.

"How...far will your spell reach?"

"Ah!" Kilgarrah's tone was pleased. "I was wondering when you would ask that."

He rubbed his hands together and the smell of smoke filled the air.

"I appologize, wizard," his tone was sheepish. "This body may make me look human, but deep inside, I am still the fire-breathing being I always have been."

Kilgarrah then blew a smoke circle in the air.

"See?"

Merlin was unable to stop from chuckling.

"Yes, I see."

Kilgarrah cleared his throat and turned serious once more.

"There are...repercussions to this, of course," the dragon said, looking intently at Merlin once again. "The use of magic is never without consequences."

Merlin nodded.

"And what payment do we make?" He asked Kilgarrah.

"The moment the spell is set, Arthur will remember none of this as well."

"None of it?"

Kilgarrah shook his head.

"Remembrance will make him afraid; too cautious around the Queen. He will handle her with kid gloves, worried about the false move that will break her. His fear will drive his queen away."

"So we will let him make mistakes once again?"

"Yes, in a way. But whatever transgressions he will make will be his alone, not influenced by his past.'

Merlin's mind focused on something the dragon said.

"Kilgarrah, you said that Arthur's fear will drive the queen away..."

The dragon's smile was kind.

"They are two halves, wizard. More than their hearts, their souls are intertwined. Punish one and you hurt the other. "

Merlin remembered Arthur's despair at Guinevere's death; how he had seen the king point the tip of Excalibur to his own throat the evening before the execution...and several times after that.

"So, they will be together? In this lifetime?"

"Only the Queen can decide that. If she forgives, then yes."

"But if she doesn't?"

Kilgarrah gave the wizard a sad smile.

"They will remember each other a little less every day," the dragon explained. "The hole in their hearts will grow larger as the days pass and it will never be filled. They will suffer and never know how they can solve it."

"I cannot allow that to happen!" Merlin exclaimed. "I will no longer stand idly by and watch Guinevere suffer!"

"After all I've told you, wizard, do you think I will not make sure that they will not be apart?"

Merlin nodded, the knot in his chest loosening for the first time in what felt like forever. But there were still questions to be asked.

"What of Morgana?"

"The witch," Kilgarrah's tone turned rough once more, losing the kindness that was present when he spoke to Merlin.

"Why you choose to ally with her, Emrys, is beyond understanding."

"She has made amends..."

"Not enough!"

A pause, and then Merlin spoke again.

"What of Morgana?"

"She will be without power and she will forget as well."

Merlin was stunned. A powerless Morgana was incomprehensible.

"Absolutely without power?"

Kilgarrah nodded.

"I do not see her completely turning away from darkness, wizard," he said. "In this lifetime, at least, I have the chance to offer her some peace."

Merlin nodded. As good as his relationship with Morgana was, he had always had the same fear. That kind of anger cannot be kept hidden forever.

"Will you not ask of your fate, Emrys?"

"Can I prevent you from telling me?"

Kilgarrah chuckled.

"I suppose not," his amused eyes turned serious as they met Merlin's. "Your punishment is remembrance, Emrys."

"How much of it?"

"All of it," the dragon's eyes were sad now. "I cannot absolve you of these memories, the role you played...the scars run too deep."

Merlin noded. It was a huge price to pay, but as it would give the people he cared for the most the peace they deserved, he supposed to forfeit ignorance was worth it.

He looked at Kilgarrah again.

"How does the spell work?"

"The Queen must forgive," the dragon said simply. "Her heart must wish for nothing but peace."

"That may not happen," Merlin said. "She loathes us."

"I do not blame her, but there is always hope," Kilgarrah said softly. "And despite everything Merlin, we have to hold on to that."

The dragon met the wizard's eyes.

"It is not in the Queen's nature to be cruel, but you must not influence her decision. It is her favor to give and you must accept what favor she bestows."

"But you just said that they will be together," Merlin was getting desperate again. "That they will find each other."

"Forgiveness is not an easy thing, wizard, especially when you are the victim of another person's game."

Kilgarrah's eyes bored into Merlin, yellow meeting blue.

"One other person will help her see what her heart already knows."

The door to Morgana's office opened and in walked a young man—dark hair, bright green eyes, and with a confident stride.

Galahad.

Behind him was a man who, but moments ago, looked like he was ready to battle the hounds of hell.

"King Pendragon," Kilgarrah drawled. "Won't you please join us?"