A/N: Hey guys! Look at that review number! You know what that means. Yup. Enough reviews will give you a 2,000 word chapter next. And . . . that chapter will probably be the last one, which a possible epilogue. We'll see how it ends.

ANyways . . . this chapter is dedicated to MerlinMorgana1579 , thanks for the congratulations! And the review!

Read and Review (R&R) Rest and Relax. Have a good weekend. And whatnot.

Arthur POV

The shoulder of Arthur's tunic was damp, but he really couldn't care less. Merlin was shaking under his hands, and when the young man pulled back, his smile caused a smile to bloom across his own face.

"I'm a mess," Merlin croaked, dragging the back of one hand across his eyes. His sleeve wasn't quite long enough to hide the scars, and Arthur had to make sure not to flinch at the red lines that stood out so starkly against marble-white skin.

"You're alive," Arthur said fervently. "I don't care much about anything else." Merlin bit his lower lip, looking suddenly uncertain.

"I'm sorry, Arthur. I didn't mean to let it get so out of hand, it just kind of . . . I couldn't stop." Tears welled in Merlin's eyes again, but these were not brought on by joy or surprise.

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Arthur murmured, gently pulling Merlin back to him so that his face was against Arthur's chest. He ran his fingers through Merlin's hair. Gwen had washed the flecks of blood out of it, and the strands were still slightly damp. "It's alright." One of Merlin's hands fisted in Arthur's tunic as he tried to get himself under control.

Arthur simply sat there, stroking Merlin's hair, trying to show Merlin that he was there for him. He was vaguely aware of Gwen behind him, a hand on his shoulder, and Gwaine and Yara standing somewhere to his right. Yara was tucked under the knight's arm, close to his side with a small smile on her thin face. Arthur was glad, for some reason, that the girl was staying. Gwaine would make a good father, he supposed. Or . . . Yara would make a good daughter. He felt a smile slip back onto his face.

"'m tired," Merlin said against Arthur's chest.

"Then go to sleep," Arthur said quietly, smoothing the dark hair from Merlin's forehead as he leaned forward to lay the younger man back down. Merlin smiled sleepily back up at Arthur.

"Thank you, Arthur," he said as his eyes slipped closed.

"Thank you, Merlin." Arthur got up from the thin mattress as the raven-haired man's breathing evened out.

Gwen hugged him from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder to say "I'm so proud of you, darling."

He turned in her arms so that he could touch her little nose softly with his own. "I'm guessing you already knew?" He endeavored to make sure his voice was level, and quiet, enough that she didn't think he would harbor any anger towards her.

"How could I not? I was his first friend," Gwen said with a small smile. Arthur kissed her gently before turning towards Gwaine and Yara.

"Yara should probably stay here until the law's been taken care of," he said apologetically. "Stuff like this can't happen right away, there's a bunch of things that need to be changed."

"The council?"

Arthur scowled. Those old men in their fancy coats and all their old-fashioned ways of thinking were what had caused . . . pain. "Is being replaced with the round table." Gwaine grinned. "That shouldn't take too long," Arthur continued. "All the knights are technically nobles; yes, Gwaine, even you, so it's really just getting rid of the current council."

"Just tell them that they're being retired to spend more time with their families," Yara said with a small smile that spoke of some kind of joke that went somewhere to Arthur's left.

"I can just tell them that their services are no longer required," Arthur said. Gwen's arm snaked around his waist, tugging him with her as she took a few steps toward the door.

"You need sleep before you face them," she murmured.

"This can't wait," he argued. It had been going on so long, this apparently unjust persecution of a large group of innocent people.

"It will wait longer if you are not rested well enough," Gaius said from where he still sat on the bench. "As your physician, I am ordering you to get some bedrest. You will need it to face the council tomorrow, and go through all of those laws."

"There's the backlash of the thing as well," Lancelot said from where he was leaned against the wall. "Not all of the people will accept this without a fight. It's hard to accept the thought that you have been party to the killing of innocents. Much easier to pretend nothing has changed."

"You all need to get some sleep, you too Lancelot and Gwaine. Yara can stay here for the time being, Sir Gwaine. Talk to Geoffery about adopting her. I'm sure he knows how it can be done properly-" The rest of Gaius' instructions were cut off as the door closed behind he and Gwen.

The young woman immediately began peppering his face with feather-light kisses; on his cheeks, his forehead, his nose, his mouth, his neck.

"Guinevere . . ." he moaned.

"I'm so proud of you," she said, beaming up at him with her doe eyes. "So very, very proud of you. I know what rescinding these laws means to you."

"Small words my love," Arthur muttered, closing his eyes for a second. "I'm terribly tired."

She giggled. "Thank you," she said quietly, embracing him. Then she was tugging him down the corridor again. "You need sleep. Physician's orders." It was all Arthur could do not to fall on his face as they made their way to his chambers.

Arthur changed behind the screen, and was surprised to find Gwen turning down his covers when he finished. Pleasantly surprised. He clambered in a very non-king-like way onto the mattress. He watched Gwen as much as he could as she tucked him in, then turned to go. Oh, that would not do at all. His hand shot out to catch her wrist. She looked surprised, but came back over to the bed.

"Stay with me?" he asked. "I don't want to wake up and be afraid that this is all a dream."

A delicate pink bloomed on Gwen's dark cheeks. "Arthur . . . we're not married."

He grunted in annoyance. "I'll have to remedy that soon." Gwen's mouth dropped open in shock. "Oh, don't tell me you weren't expecting it," he muttered sleepily. Oh gods, he was exhausted. "Just . . . please?" He held the covers off the mattress with his left hand, and she hesitated for a moment before accepting the invitation. He pulled her close to him, and was surprised by her warmth. It was better than being in a warm bath. Then he was asleep.

A/N: Remember, enough reviews = 2,000+ words! I love you all, you're all so great at reviewing!