Merlin sat there by the fire, reading a book. It had been a while since they had a break. And Arthur relished it. He had taken the knights and Merlin for a hunt. Despite Merlin's repeated statements of his displeasure, he still chose to come.
It had been a tough few years for all of them. Overturning the laws had been hard work, but they had finally accomplished it.
Magic had been freed in Camelot. Sorcerers and non-sorcerers lived side by side in a fashion not seen since before the purge and not even in a peaceful manner since the reign of Bruta.
And as the years went by, the peace grew, and more and more sorcerers decided to move to Camelot.
And yet, Arthur noted... Merlin didn't change. His nature did not change. Which Arthur would have been happy to see, had he not known better.
Having peeked behind the mask to see the real Merlin. All Arthur saw was an incomplete man. His eyes still held unkempt sorrow behind them and words that were forever unsaid.
And even now, Merlin, no matter how many years had passed, still carried the same agitation he saw back when Merlin told him. "Are you alright, Merlin?" He couldn't stop his mouth from moving to ask that question.
Merlin looked up from his book with a raised eyebrow and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
Arthur hesitated for a second before deciding that since everyone was asleep, he might as well tell him, "You haven't changed. I just... I thought if we freed magic. You might be able to find a way back to being complete again." Merlin didn't answer for a moment. He just looked down at his book.
"It seems freedom wasn't all what it was cracked up to be." Merlin said, slowly looking up with a melancholic smile, "Unfortunately, there's no way back for me, Arthur. Just... uh lost a few pieces along the way. Freedom and happiness are only things you can enjoy when you are with the people you love." Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but Merlin beat him to it. "And I love all of you, but... sometimes I wonder if all of this was worth it. I'm not any happier. I'm not any better of a person... in fact, I've become worse since I started following destiny. But maybe that was my destiny—to give people the freedom I wished I had."
And Arthur couldn't say anything to that. He just felt even worse for bringing this up before Merlin spoke once more: "I wouldn't feel guilty if I were you. I made my choices. Maybe I would have chosen differently, knowing what I know now. But I have to live and accept them for what they are worth." Arthur looked up to see, surprisingly enough, a smiling Merlin. "But I'm glad to see you've become slightly more sensitive to your surroundings. God knows why it took you 28 years to finally become empathic.
And yet, despite the melancholy and the tense environment, they both laughed for a minute. Forgetting who they are and where they were.
And it wasn't long then the conversation was behind them: Arthur returned to prodding the fire, and Merlin returned to his book. While Merlin may have made his peace with how he was, Arthur didn't. He was going to do everything at all possible to get Merlin to retrace the steps and find a way to be happy. He swore to himself that he would do it regardless of the price.