Author's Note: I can't believe we're on chapter 100! Wow. I think that was where I had intended to stop originally, but it's not quite the end yet. I'm going to deviate a little from the season 5 plot and change some things up. I'm thinking we're probably ten chapters away from the end, but that's a wild estimate. We're close though. Very close. This has been a three year project, and it has been so much fun to write, but I'm also excited to move onto the sequel. The sequel is going to be a lot shorter, but it will sum up everything quite nicely, I promise! Thank you for reading! I appreciate it so much!

-100-

"You're going to visit her, aren't you?" Arthur asked as Merlin hurriedly made his bed.

"What makes you say that?" Merlin asked as he haphazardly tossed a pillow onto the bed.

"Well one, you're completely distracted and putting the pillows on the wrong end of the bed. Two, you're completely distracted and didn't hear a word of what I just said."

"I heard everything you said. You were rambling on about something to do with…Camelot and…umm…knights?"

Arthur sighed. "Just go," he said. "You're not going to be any use to me today."

Merlin put the pillows on the correct end of the bed. "Thank you."

Arthur held out a hand to pause Merlin. "Will you tell her about what the knights said?"

"If you want me to."

"I want her to know that they're still loyal to her," Arthur said. "And that I'm trying to accept the truth." He wouldn't look at Merlin, and he could hear the strain in Arthur's voice. He really was trying to accept that Ryll had magic, but Merlin knew how difficult it was for him. He nodded before leaving Arthur. He retrieved some food from the kitchen and went down to the stables where he saddled his horse and took off toward the druid's camp. It was a half a day's ride, and it seemed to take forever, but when he arrived, his heart was pulsing with excitement. The druids met him with friendly greetings. They called him Emrys as they always had, and Merlin felt a twinge of guilt that Ryll no longer knew who he really was. One of the druids went to find her, and Merlin waited feeling suddenly nervous. It had been a month since Ryll had left for the druid camp, a month where he'd never felt more alone. Gaius and Arthur had both noticed his distraction but it was people like Gwen and Gwaine who sympathized with him the most.

"He'll change his mind. He has to," Gwen had reassured Merlin, tugging on her bracelet that she always wore now. "Ryll is a good person and will always be counted as one of my closest friends magic or not." It gave Merlin hope to see that he wasn't the only one who believed magic could be a power for good. Arthur listened to Gwen, took her advice into serious consideration. It was only a matter of time until he asked Ryll to come back – at least Merlin hoped so.

He saw a head of golden hair and then Ryll threw her arms around his neck. He pulled her off the ground, spinning her around. The druids around them had suddenly disappeared leaving them alone at the head of the camp. Merlin set Ryll back on the ground, but kept his arms firmly around her waist. "I missed you," he told her.

"I missed you too." There was longing in her voice, and Merlin held her tighter. "How is Camelot?"

"Fine. It's doing really well actually. We've seen more peace in the last month than ever before now that Morgana is gone."

"Not gone though."

"No," Merlin agreed. "But not waging war against Camelot."

"Sometimes I wonder if she'd ever just give up. Make her peace and find a life far away from Camelot," Ryll said. "I think she'd be happier." She had gone too far for Arthur to ever pardon her. He might one day forgive her, but even if he accepted magic, Morgana had done too much wrong. She would never be welcomed in Camelot again.

"How are you liking the druid camp?" Merlin asked, pushing Morgana out of his thoughts.

"I love it here. I miss Camelot, of course, but it's so peaceful here. I feel like I'm really being given a chance to find myself for the first time in my life. I don't have to hide who I am nor fear my magic. Byron and the other druids have been a great help to me. I'm more in control of my magic than I've ever been before. They've taught me about my bloodlines, the Sidhe and the abilities I have because of that bloodline. They've taught me about dreams and destinies and fate." Here her eyes saddened for a moment. Was she thinking about her former nightmares of Arthur dying? "But I've seen things too. My mind is more open to fore-dreams, and I've started seeing the future again." She shook her head as if trying to shake those dreams free. "I've seen terrible things," she whispered. "This isn't the end, Merlin. It's the beginning of the end, but there are still parts to be played and wars to be won." She was speaking cryptically, but Merlin knew how confusing seeing the future through dreams could be.

"Whatever happens in the future, we'll handle it," he told her. "Together."

Ryll nodded, her eyes glassy as she stared up at him. On impulse he leaned down and kissed her, light and fleeting, but he wanted her to know that she would never be alone. "I'm sorry," she said when he pulled away. "I didn't mean to be all doom and gloom. I want to hear about how you've been." She pulled away from his grasp, but took his hand, leading him over to a log where they could sit together.

"I've been fine. Missing you. Just the same old life but without you it seems so dull."

"That's because trouble follows me. When I'm not in Camelot then it goes back to being a normal, functioning castle."

"You might be onto something." Ryll smiled, pushing playfully against his shoulder with her own.

"And how is Arthur?" It was a weighted question, and Merlin could sense Ryll's anxiety.

"He's working on accepting," he said. "He wanted me to tell you that. He also wanted me to tell you how loyal all the knights still are to you."

"He told them?" she asked, eyes widening.

"Just Percival, Leon, Elyan, and Gwaine who seemed to already know."

"He found out. They really didn't turn against me?"

"Not at all. They defended you to Arthur. None of them care that you have magic because they've seen what a good person you are."

Ryll's eyes were filled with tears now, but Merlin could see how happy she was. "That's…I just didn't ever think they'd accept me after hearing the truth," she said. "I was so surprised when Gwaine did. And that was when I was under Morgana's enchantment. But he didn't care that I had magic."

"They know that your heart is true."

"I miss them. All of them. Even Gwaine." She smiled through her tears. "That's what I miss the most about Camelot is the people. I've grown very fond of the druids, and of course Byron is a good friend, but I miss my friends in Camelot. I miss my home."

"You'll always have a home there. Arthur is going to ask you to come back. Just give him time." Merlin hoped he was right. He didn't want to give Ryll false hopes, but he also knew that Arthur missed Ryll too. "I think you did the right thing telling him," he said after a moment. It had taken him a long time to come around to that way of thinking, but he realized that he was letting his feelings for Ryll get in the way of accepting what she had done. Yes it meant they couldn't be together at least for the time being, but he'd seen Arthur take magic into deep consideration in the last month. He'd been quieter, more thoughtful, and Merlin could see a new maturity in the king that could be the start of a very new Camelot. Ryll always had been a fire starter – never afraid to stand up for what she believed in even if it meant death or banishment. She held true to her beliefs and pushed others to do so too.

"You think so?" she asked. "I thought you were mad about it."

"I was at first maybe, but now I'm so proud of you," he told her. "You did what I've always been afraid to do."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I don't want to keep this from you any longer," Merlin said, forging ahead. "Just before Morgana enchanted you, you had a nightmare. You saw her getting the truth of who Emrys was out of you so you had that knowledge wiped from your memory so she couldn't steal it."

"I knew who Emrys was?" Ryll asked blankly.

"Yes. You did. It's me, Ryll. I'm Emrys." She just stared at him, and then understanding lit up her eyes.

"I remember," she said softly. "The dream and asking you to make me forget. I forgot that you had magic. But now I remember now." She reached out a hand to touch his cheek. "You're the one who brings us all hope, Merlin. One day Arthur will see that."

"I can't tell him yet."

Ryll shook her head. "No," she conceded. "It's not the right time. He's still reeling from my confession and he's closer to you."

"He'd see it as a deep betrayal of trust," Merlin agreed.

"Was he angry with you after I left?" Ryll asked.

"A little, but not as much as I expected."

"I spoke to him, asked him not to punish you. None of it was your fault."

"I think he's just struggling with the idea that what he was raised to believe might not be entirely true. That there are shades of grey with magic, that it's not all evil."

"I understand that completely. Uther was his father, his role model. Whatever we thought of him, Arthur loved him and I know Uther loved his son and his kingdom. He was just trying to do what he believed to be right, and so is Arthur. Only now what is right is beginning to change. It was just the opposite with Morgana – it took me a long time to realize and accept that she was past redemption, that she was never going to be good, never going to make the right decisions. And yet I still couldn't kill her when I had the chance."

"That's because a part of you is always going to care about her. You can't just forget the friendship you had no matter how hard you try."

"I wonder where she is."

"I don't know. Hopefully somewhere far away from here," Merlin replied.

…

Morgana was many miles away keeping house with Aithusa her white dragon. She hadn't been as happy as she was now in years. Aithusa was growing fairly large now, bigger than a dog, but still small enough to curl up by the fireplace. She grew more and more restless to fly though, and Morgana let her out sometimes during the day. She'd explored the area and found no signs of other people. As long as Aithusa did not fly too far, then she should be safe. It was in their second month of living there that Morgana saw the first signs of life. She'd let Aithusa out to hunt in the early hours of the morning and was out picking berries a mile away from the cabin when she saw movement. She looked up expecting to see a deer, but she saw instead a little girl holding a basket full of wildflowers. The girl started when she saw Morgana and then let her eyes drift to the sky. Morgana looked up as well and saw Aithusa gliding down toward them. The little girl gasped and then took off at a run, dropping her basket.

"Wait!" Morgana shouted after her. She stared to run after her, but the girl was fast, and Morgana couldn't run quickly in her dress. She watched in fear as the girl sped off toward whatever village lay out there beyond Morgana's scope of exploration. She cursed herself for not having looked further. Without a horse she could only go so far on foot, and she hadn't seen another person in two months. She called Aithusa down from the sky and hurried her back to the house. "We need to go," she told the dragon. "We've been seen, and it's only a matter of time before she tells someone." Aithusa watched Morgana pack her belongings with a confused tilt of her head. Aithusa wouldn't understand human cruelty, the cruelty and persecution that Morgana had learned to fear. Morgana vowed that Aithusa would never have to face that. Morgana would keep her safe.

They travelled north away from the house that Morgana had worked so hard to make livable again and further into the wild. She wasn't familiar with this land. It was too far away from the castle, and she'd never travelled this far west before. They camped out in the wilderness finding no shelter before nightfall when they were both too tired to keep walking. Aithusa curled up next to Morgana and spread her wing protectively over her blocking out the cold and the wind. It was halfway through the night when Morgana heard hoof beats. Aithusa was looking south, but Morgana realized she'd probably never seen a horse before. She would not understand that horses brought men with spears and bows.

"We have to go!" Morgana said, getting to her feet. She wished Aithusa was big enough to carry her, then they could fly away into the night, but the dragon was still too small. So they ran. The dragon kept up with Morgana with a lumbering gait while Morgana tried to ignore her aching sides. She knew they couldn't outrun the horses, but perhaps they could find some shelter somewhere ahead. The plains kept going though, and she could see the swaying light of a dozen torches behind her. She heard the shouts of men and knew they had no hope of outrunning them. "We're going to have to fight," she said, realizing that there was no other way to escape. She stopped running and Aithusa stopped behind her. Morgana could feel the dragon's hot breath on the back of her leg. She turned to face her.

"These men want to hurt us, Aithusa," she said. "We are going to have to fight them. You have claws and teeth and fire. I have magic. We can do this." She didn't know if Aithusa understood. She'd never fought anything before. But she'd hunted prey, and Morgana knew the dragon would do anything to protect her.

It didn't take long for the riders to catch up to them. Morgana reached out with her powers and set the grasslands ablaze in front of them. The horses reared up, stopping short, and the men shouted. Aithusa growled deep in her throat. It didn't take the men long to recover as if they'd expected to meet with magic. They raised crossbows and fired. Aithusa cried out in pain as a thicket of arrows caught in her thick skin. A few of the arrows bounced off, but her skin was not yet as thick as a full-grown dragon's. Morgana's vision went red. No one hurt her dragon. She sent out a surge of power and the bowmen flew off their horses, landing hard. Some of them didn't get up again. A few of the riders came around the side of the flames and charged Morgana and Aithusa with spears. Aithusa reached out and snagged one of the spears, pulling the rider straight off of the horse and tossing him aside. The spear snapped in two under her powerful jaw. Morgana threw magic at the second man, and he went down, rolling close to the fire. The horses took off, terrified at the sight of the dragon.

The two men got to their feet, pulling out their swords and approaching on foot. Morgana lashed out, and the man's sword grew hot, burning his hands until he dropped it. "Take them captive, don't kill them!" a man shouted from behind the flames. Morgana's eyes flitted to him. He had a hard, cruel face with grey hair. His horse was regally dressed, and she wondered who he was. She had no intention of being captured though. She used her magic to fend off the men who came at her while Aithusa fought her own battle, growling and setting off a spout of fire at whoever tried to approach her. Finally there were only five men left including the one who had ordered their capture. He shouted something and suddenly Aithusa was down, writhing on the ground. She'd been caught it nets and arrows protruded from her flesh. One had snagged her wing.

"Don't hurt her!" Morgana cried out. The man in charge dismounted and approached the dragon who growled through her pain. He pulled out his sword and positioned it over the dragon's head.

"I won't if you stand down," he said, his eyes glinting in the now dying fire.

Morgana stood still. Three men held Aithusa down, and the sword was digging into her skin now. "Stop!" she shouted. "Stop!" She didn't fight it a man grabbed her arms, tying them up behind her back. Something hard hit her over the head, and she fell to the ground next to her injured dragon. The last thing she thought was that she'd failed. Now Aithusa knew of the cruelties of the world too.

…

They locked them in a pit. Morgana didn't know why. They were alone in the dark for long hours, Aithusa licking her wounds, Morgana without her magic. There was something around this place that subdued it until she felt weak and nauseous. Finally someone appeared overhead, peering down at them. "The powerful Morgana. Not so powerful now," the man said.

"Why are you doing this?" Morgana asked.

"Like your father I believe that magic is an evil that must be burned from this land," the man said. "This is your grave where you will die. You will be an example, and the land will be rid of your evil."

Morgana tried to shout, but her throat was dry. The man disappeared from her sight, and she crumpled to the ground. Aithusa hobbled over to her in the cramped space and curled up next to her. She unfolded her uninjured wing and draped it over Morgana and, for the first time in a very long time, Morgana let herself cry.