Author's Note: Here were are at the very last chapter. THANK YOU so much for reading. Wow, what a journey. I had no idea this would turn out so long. I've thought this ending out for ages. I knew it was going to end this way for a long time, I just didn't know how to get there. I edited and rewrote this several times over the last few days, but I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Again a reminder that this goes straight into the sequel give or take 900 years on their end. I'll be posting the epilogue and then creating a new story for the sequel. I might even give you two chapters instead of just the first one. Thank you again!
-112-
Ryll couldn't sleep that night. She'd stopped crying, but she couldn't bring herself to do anything or speak to anyone. Merlin had told Arthur what they had seen while Ryll receded into her room. It hadn't sunk in yet. Byron had been a part of her life for such a long time. A best friend when she needed one, a counselor when she was lost. He'd done so much for her when he hadn't needed to. She'd dragged him into her mess, and he'd paid the ultimate price.
"If I'd just done something different. Moved faster…" Ryll told Merlin when he came up to see how she was.
"Byron went in there fully expecting to die, Ryll," Merlin said. "He did it so that you could live."
"What about tomorrow? I live so someone else can die for me? No one else is dying for me. No one else is dying save Sarrum and whichever of his men get in the way."
"I know nothing I say will change your mind, but don't lose sight of yourself tomorrow. You're not a killer. I know you're angry and in mourning and that Sarrum deserves to die for what he did, but don't let him destroy you."
Ryll turned away from him. "He already did."
…
Ryll was ready at dawn with the rest of the knights. She wore no armor just her red cloak. Her sword was at her side though she had no need of it. Her magic was all she would need today. Arthur didn't try to tell her not to use it. He must have known what she was planning to do, but he didn't say anything about that. Instead he placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "I'm so sorry for your loss. He was a noble and brave man. Today we will avenge his death and make sure no one else gets hurt."
Ryll nodded. She was going to make sure no one else got hurt. She was tired of her friends getting hurt. If this was peace then it was rotten at the core. Now this was war. She watched as Gwen said goodbye to Arthur, her face wrought with worry. Ryll felt a twinge of guilt. Sarrum was coming because of her even though he did not yet know who she was. She was not going to let Arthur get hurt because of her.
Merlin stood by her side as they marched out of Camelot's gates. Arthur was at the head with his knights while the rest of his army marched behind them. It was a somber procession, and Ryll was hardly aware of the walk. It was only a mile to the field and when they arrived, Sarrum was not yet there. They stood waiting, Ryll glaring into the distance where she knew he would appear.
"Morgana?" Ryll tore her eyes away at the sound of Arthur's voice. She turned her head and there, standing at the edge of the woods, stood Morgana and Mordred. Just like in her vision. Morgana walked forward with Mordred, and Arthur came to greet them. "What are you doing here?" he asked. Ryll could see the tense set in his shoulders as he prepared himself for a fight.
"I didn't come here to fight you," Morgana said. "I came here to protect Ryll. She's in danger and right now she needs all the help she can get."
Arthur stared at her for a minute without saying anything. There was no resentment or anger in either of their eyes, just caution. Finally Arthur spoke. "Then we'd be glad of your help," he said. "I'm tired of fighting you, Morgana. Neither of us is a saint. We've both taken lives and made mistakes. How can I judge you for the lives of my people you've taken when I've taken the lives of your kind too? I want to end this."
"Me too." Morgana's voice wavered. "I've been searching for acceptance all these years, but I lost sight of who I was, who I wanted to be. Ryll reminded me." She smiled at Ryll. "She reminded me that I already had a home and I already had a family. She taught me to forgive."
Ryll walked forward and pulled Morgana into a hug and Morgana returned it. "Byron's dead," she said softly. "Sarrum killed him last night." Morgana stiffened.
"Then we will make him pay," she said. "For all of his crimes." Ryll pulled away, and watched as Arthur reached out a hand. Morgana took it, and they stood like that for a moment.
"It's good to have you back, Morgana," Arthur said.
"It's good to be home," Morgana replied, emotion swelling in her voice.
Their reunion was disrupted as a murder of crows took off suddenly across the field. The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard. Morgana and Arthur stepped in front of Ryll in unison. Merlin squeezed her hand. Sarrum appeared there lacking his sorcerers. His men looked grim, and some of them were looking worse for wear. Their numbers had significantly slimmed.
"I have something of yours," Sarrum called out. He motioned into his ranks and two men appeared carrying a body. They threw it on the ground between the two armies. Ryll gasped. It was Byron. The arrow still protruded from his chest, and his face was pale in death. Merlin's hand tightened on hers.
"Together," he said. Ryll nodded mutely.
Arthur motioned to two of his men and they went forward to retrieve the body and bring it back. Ryll forced her emotions back. Now was the time to be strong. She had to be strong for Byron. For all her friends.
"I see you've joined ranks with the witch," Sarrum said with a frown.
"You're not welcome on this land, Sarrum," Arthur called back. "If you and your men leave now then we might spare your lives. If you stay then we will have no choice but to defend our land. You've taken one of ours, and someone will pay the price."
"You're taking the side of the druid boy?" Sarrum asked. "My how far the mighty have fallen. Your father would be so disappointed in his son."
"I am not my father, and this is my kingdom now," Arthur said. "I make my own choices. I choose to trust my friends no matter how they were born. Magic or not, it doesn't matter." Ryll's heart swelled with pride at his words. Arthur seemed to stand taller, and somehow he looked stronger with Morgana by his side.
"Hand over the key, and we'll leave," Sarrum said.
"What key? There is no key to the future. You're chasing fairy tales," Arthur said.
"Before their untimely death, my sorcerers told me of a powerful object that could change the course of the future."
"You're consorting with sorcerers though you say you magic is evil and must be eradicated? You seem to be breaking your own laws, Sarrum."
"I know it's here. Everything has led me to Camelot. I thought the witch would know, but now I'm not so sure. Then I thought to myself, what if the object isn't an object? What if the object is a person instead? Someone who has the power to manipulate the future. One person shouldn't hoard all that power."
"If you want her, you'll have to fight my army to get to her," Arthur said, moving in front of Morgana protectively. "I protect my family at any costs."
"You're siding with her after all she's done?" Sarrum asked. "I thought you'd thank me for keeping her a prisoner."
"What you did was cruel. She's not ever going back there."
"Then I guess it's to be a battle after all because I'm not leaving without her."
"It's not-" Ryll started, but Merlin put a hand over her mouth shaking his head. She glared at him, but he wouldn't let go.
Arthur drew his sword and his knights followed suit. "Today we fight for freedom and for peace and for family!" Arthur shouted to his knights. "Today magic and sword will fight together as equals!" The knights cheered. "For Camelot!" Arthur charged, Morgana at his side. As he raised his sword, ready to strike down the enemy, Morgana let out a surge of magic that bowled over the enemy lines. Ryll ran beside Merlin and Mordred. Merlin had a sword, but Ryll saw him using magic when Arthur and the knights weren't looking. When they hit the enemy lines it was like sunset meeting night as red blended with black. Ryll unleashed her powers like she never had before, unafraid to use them in front of Arthur. Enemies fell wherever she struck. Morgana came to fight by her side. Ryll felt a surge of hope. They could do this together. They were much stronger as a family.
The battle seemed to be going in Camelot's favor. Ryll had lost track of Sarrum, but now she went in search of him. When she caught sight of him, he was striding toward Arthur, taking down knights as he went. His eyes were set on the king, and his sword was running red with blood. Ryll threw a surge of magic at the enemy soldiers in her way and started for Sarrum. He was fighting Arthur now, swords flashing in the sunlight. Sarrum was a fierce fighter, but Arthur was better. He disarmed the king, and Ryll sent him to the ground with a push of magic.
"Pick up your sword," Arthur said, standing over the king. "I will not fight you unarmed."
"He's mine," Ryll growled. "He killed Byron and now I'll kill him."
Sarrum looked up at her, recognition dawning on his face. "Ah, so you're the one who was shouting last night at my camp. Byron! Byron!" he mocked her frantic tones. Ryll clenched her teeth.
"You have no idea what you've done," she said.
"And I have no time for little girls who play at being sorceresses. Step aside so I can fight your king." He reached for his sword.
"Let me fight him, Ryll," Arthur said. "Ryll?"
Ryll stood seething as Sarrum got to his feet. "He doesn't deserve a noble death after what he did," she said.
"But we're not like him," Arthur reminded her softly. "We're better than that."
Somehow his words calmed her, and she stepped back. "Then finish him your way," she said.
Sarrum lunged at Arthur and the king brought his sword up to block the blow. Ryll returned to the battle, keeping the enemy soldiers away from the two kings as they fought.
…
Merlin fought alongside Morgana – something he thought he'd never do. He used his sword, not quite ready to reveal his magic to her. Morgana was fierce as she took down enemy soldier after enemy soldier.
"Sarrum is going to try to kill me," Morgana said. "You need to make sure Ryll stays away. She'll try to save me."
"Byron killed the two sorcerer's Ryll saw in her vision," Merlin assured her. "He can't kill you now. I doubt they were powerful enough to kill you in the first place."
"Sorcerers?" Morgana looked confused. "There were no sorcerers in my vision. It was an arrow." Merlin remembered the thick black bolt sticking out of Byron's chest. "He's enchanted it somehow," Morgana continued. "It can kill me."
"But you aren't the key to the future." They looked at each other in horror. "Ryll is."
"Sarrum doesn't know that though."
"Not unless she tells him." A sinking feeling filled Merlin's guts.
"We need to find her," Morgana said, urgency coating her words. They threw themselves back into the fray, looking for Ryll. The enemies seemed to part before them and they saw Sarrum fighting Arthur. Ryll was nearby, unharmed. The young king had the upper hand and as they watched, Arthur's sword sunk into the older man's chest. Sarrum gasped, his own sword falling to the ground. He fell to his knees and then backwards. Arthur stared down at him.
"That was for Byron and for Morgana," he said.
"This isn't how I saw it," Morgana said to Merlin, looking around with wide eyes. "It can't be this easy."
Merlin looked around as well and his eyes snagged on a figure that rode through the carnage of the battle. "It's not," he said. "That wasn't Sarrum."
…
Ryll watched in horror as the body on the ground transformed. She was no longer looking at King Sarrum but another sorcerer who had disguised himself to take the king's form. The real Sarrum chuckled, riding toward them on his warhorse. He held a crossbow in his hand with the familiar black bolts. Now she saw her vision take hold. She somehow knew that even without his sorcerers, Sarrum was deadly. This wasn't over yet. Sarrum stopped his horse. "Amazing what my followers will do to atone their impurities," he said, looking down at the body in distaste. Now it's time to purge magic from this world once and for all. Hand over the key." His eyes snagged on Morgana. Arthur stepped in front of his sister.
"I won't let you take her," he said.
"I'm not leaving here without her!" Sarrum shouted. "How many more of your men will die before you hand her over?"
Ryll opened her mouth to tell Sarrum it was her, not Morgana he wanted, but suddenly Merlin was shouting, "I'm the one you want!" Both kings looked at him in surprise. "Morgana has nothing to do with this." Arthur looked confused and shocked while Sarrum narrowed his eyes in understanding.
"Merlin, no!" Ryll shouted, staring at him wide-eyed. Sarrum looked between the two of them. "It's not-"
"She's just trying to protect me. My name is Emrys, and I'm the one you want." He stepped in front of Ryll, setting his eyes on Sarrum in a challenge.
"You hold the power to change the future?" he asked. Merlin nodded. Ryll tried to protest, but Merlin wouldn't let her. "I do, and in my future magic is strong." He stepped away from Ryll, closer to Sarrum, distancing the king's gaze from her.
"Thank you for revealing who you really are," Sarrum said. "That makes this so much easier." He raised his crossbow and fired. Ryll watched in slow motion as the bolt sliced straight toward Merlin. Time seemed to slow, and she saw Byron dying over and over. This couldn't happen again. Not to Merlin. Anyone but Merlin.
Her feet were running though she hadn't been aware of moving. She watched the progression of the black arrow. She saw Merlin's eyes glow amber as he tried to stop its progression.
It all happened in a matter of seconds. She heard Arthur shout her name and then splitting pain filled her body, and she was falling, falling, falling. When she finally stopped falling she was not on the battlefield anymore. The pain was gone and she was lying before the waters of Lake Avalon. Both her parents stood in the shallows of the water along with-
"Lancelot!" Ryll got to her feet as her late friend smiled at her.
"Hello, Ryll," he said softly.
"I said it wouldn't be our last goodbye," her mother said. There was sadness in her voice though.
"Where are we?" Ryll asked. It was reminiscent of the world she'd entered twice before – once after the Shadow Wraith had nearly killed her and then more recently when she'd spoken to her mother.
"You are in the world between once more," her mother answered.
"Is Byron here?" She looked around for him, but he wasn't there.
"He has not passed into the beyond yet," her mother told her. "But he will be safe with us when he comes."
"Why do you look so sad?" Ryll asked her mother.
"Darling, do you remember what happened before you came to be here?" she asked.
Ryll frowned, trying to remember. Everything was hazy like waking from a dream. "I was with Arthur and Merlin and Morgana," she remembered. "And there was a battle. I was fighting with my magic." She tried to pull more details into her memory. "There was a king there – Sarrum – he wanted something. Me, I think. But that doesn't make sense because I think he…I think he tried to kill Merlin. Merlin said he was the one Sarrum wanted. He tried to save me."
"Sarrum didn't want the key to the future for himself – he knew he could never use it – he wanted it gone or rather dead so that Albion would never truly be united. The key to the future is unique in that it's a person. When you were born, Ryll, you were gifted with something powerful. You were gifted with the ability to change the future."
"Then why have I struggled so much to change it when I've tried?" Ryll asked.
"You have changed it. None of this would have happened without you."
"But I don't understand. Why am I here then? This isn't what I saw."
"You thought it was Morgana whom the arrow was meant for and it was when Sarrum thought she was the key. But Merlin tried to sacrifice himself so you would not have to die."
"But I jumped in front of the arrow." Ryll began to remember. She looked down to see blood on her side, blossoming out though she could feel no pain.
"You sacrificed himself so that he could live," her mother said. "You see, your gift is not just about changing the near future; it's about shaping the world ahead. Albion would fail in the future, magic would die, but now it will endure. Your sacrifice means that everyone will be given a second chance."
"A second chance?"
"This world is wrought with death and pain. There will come a time in the future when you will be needed to unite them all again."
"But why can't I do that in this life. I thought I had done that."
"You have. You've brought them back together. But this will be a second chance for you too. When the time is right, you will awaken again. Everyone will awaken again and you will be charged once more with bringing them together."
"Then I don't get a future here? I don't get a life with Merlin now?" Ryll was starting to see where this was going. She took a step back. Everyone was looking at her with sorrow in their eyes. "The arrow killed me didn't it? Sarrum killed me."
"Not yet. You're still clinging onto life."
"I want to go back," Ryll said. "I want to go back and live. I'm getting married tomorrow. I have a life there. I can't die!" Her vision had gone blurry, and she felt panic creeping in on her.
"You can go back, but you will be returning here. Make sure they return your body to Avalon so that you can be safe until your second coming."
"I don't want to come back here. Why is this happening?"
"You chose to put your friends above all else. You showed them more love and compassion than anyone could have done. You could have let Sarrum go on thinking Morgana was the one he needed to kill. You could have let him kill Arthur. You could have let that arrow hit Merlin. But you didn't. It was never going to turn out any differently, Ryll. You have too big of a heart. You couldn't live with yourself if one of them died. You'll see them again. You'll see them all again."
Ryll's face was shining with tears now. "It's time to go back," Lancelot told her gently. "It's time to let go."
Ryll closed her eyes and when she opened them again she was lying on the battlefield and the pain was wrenching at her gut. "Ryll! Ryll!" Someone was shouting her name. She looked up to see Merlin holding her. Arthur was standing over her, mouth agape. Morgana was kneeling by her, tears filling her eyes.
Merlin was sobbing now, but he pulled himself together and looked up at Sarrum. "You monster!" he shouted. He held his hand out and magic surged from him like a tidal wave. Sarrum's eyes widened before the magic struck him. He was knocked straight off his horse, dead before he hit the ground. Half of Sarrum's men fell too leaving the battlefield in shocked silence. Arthur was staring at Merlin now.
"You…you have magic?" the words came out as hurt, but Merlin had already turned his attention back to Ryll.
"You weren't supposed to get hurt," he said. "I'll heal you. I'll make this right."
"I don't think you can," Morgana said softly from his side. "That arrow was enchanted. It was forged in dragon's fire. It's fatal. There's nothing we can do."
"That's not true! I can heal her!"
Ryll felt magic warming her side, but Morgana was right. The arrow was already poisoning her, and she could feel herself starting to drift away. She forced herself back. "This isn't the end," she said, forcing the words out. "It's only the beginning."
"What do you mean?" Merlin asked.
"I die so that everyone can have a second chance. I die so that I can see you again."
"No, no! I'm not losing you! You're not going anywhere!" Merlin held her close to him.
"I'm going to make a future where no one is afraid. Where everyone has a place. Then we'll be together. We'll have our life." She felt her eyelids closing and forced them open.
"Arthur, it's been an honor serving you. All I ever wanted when I was younger was to become a knight, and you made that come true. You are a strong king, and you will unite Albion." Arthur knelt beside her and took her hand.
"Morgana," Ryll said, turning to her friend. "You have a place here. You have a second chance right now. Take it." Morgana nodded, tears streaming down her face.
"Merlin." She turned to Merlin. This would be the saddest goodbye. "We will see each other again. I was brought here for a reason. For this."
"No. This isn't right. Why can't we have our second chance right now?" he asked. "Why do you have to leave me?"
"Because we're both going to be needed in the future. If I stay now then Albion will fall apart later."
"I don't care about later! I care about now!"
"You're immortal, Merlin. You'll be there to see Albion fall apart."
"Then we'll save it together."
"Will you wait for me?" she asked softly, her voice failing her.
"I'll wait for you," he'd told her. "Always."
"Good," she'd said. "Because I'm coming back for you." She felt herself slipping again, and this time she could not fight it. "Take my body to Avalon," she whispered. "I'll be safe there until it's time for me to return again." She felt Arthur pressing something into her hand. It was her sword. She smiled and looked at Merlin one more time. Then she saw the light up above her; the same light that had lit Byron's eyes even in death. The world fell away, and she was drifting away into the light with the hope of a different future ahead of her. The hope for a second chance.