Wrote a thing
Don't know why, don't ask why and please don't kill me
At the end of everything, one must expect the company of immortals
There was a strange stillness everywhere. No birds took flight, no woodland creatures nosed around the wilderness, not even a light breeze to bend the grass he was lying on.
Merlin looked up at the dark sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of a star. There were none. All the stars and the galaxies that they had once resided in, extinguished like the fire on a candle melted down to its end. He waved a hand in front of him causing tiny pinpricks of light to appear, a mockery of the stars he so wished to see. Little fleeting things. Just like everyone he had loved and lost and outlived.
His mind unwittingly conjured up an image of Arthur, like it always did when his defenses were down, his thoughts slipping into melancholy. The little sparks of light reoriented themselves to almost resemble the shape of his golden prince.
The prophecy had been true. After the first death at Camlann, after centuries of waiting on Merlin’s behalf, Arthur had come back when Albion needed him. He had come back many times since then, when destiny called for it and every time Merlin lost him - and he did, over and over again - the pain of it never diminished.
He let the sparks fly away from his hands and float above his head, before they too winked out of existence.
He heard light footsteps approaching, but didn’t get up or even turn his head. He didn’t need to. He felt more than saw Morgana sit down gingerly beside him.
There were few moments of comfortable silence before Morgana murmured softly as though afraid to disrupt the stillness. “It’s almost time.”
“I know,” Merlin replied, “Maybe I’ll finally get my rest.”
He felt Morgana struggling not to voice what she was thinking, an anomaly in and of itself. When he turned his head slightly and looked at her, she finally broke.
“It’s not fair!” She exclaimed, all the righteousness of the once beloved ward of a King long dead. “It’s not fair that you have to suffer like this. I did terrible things, I know. But I did my penance and the old religion accepted me back with open arms, so why did you have to suffer all this time?”
“Morgana,” Merlin said softly, propping himself on his elbow to look at her properly. “This is not a punishment and even if it was, I dese-,” he halted to a stop as a splash of water hit him square in the face. He turned, almost grinning at the sight of the furious indignation on Freya’s face as she marched up to them.
“Don’t you dare say that you deserved it. Don’t you dare Merlin. This is not the time to be a hero or a bloody martyr. Look around you. There is no one else to care. You don’t have to carry the burden of every single life anymore. And frankly, I am tired of seeing you wallow in self-pity all the time.” she said, coming to a halt near his head and looking down at him with disapproval and maybe a bit of exasperation.
He heard a tinkling laugh at his side and turned to scowl at Morgana. “Aren’t you two even going to let me die in peace?” he asked, a little petulantly.
The expressions on both the women’s faces softened at that. Freya sat down on his other side and reached out a hand to comb lightly through his hair.
“We are here because you have carried everyone’s burden for too long, Merlin,” Morgana said, “You don’t need to do that anymore.”
“You have been alone for far too long,” Freya continued, “We didn’t want you to be alone now. Not now.
Merlin could only smile at that, grateful and overwhelmed at the same time. Freya pulled his head onto her lap and as he settled down, Morgana took his hand between both of hers. He was still smiling as his eyes started to get heavy, but just before the dark swallowed him, he thought he heard Morgana mutter, “Besides, that annoying brother of mine would have torn apart the veil and charged in here himself if I even thought about not being here,” and he was still smiling as Avalon welcomed him onto herself.
At the end of everything, one must expect the company of immortals
There was a strange stillness everywhere. No birds took flight, no woodland creatures nosed around the wilderness, not even a light breeze to bend the grass he was lying on.
Merlin looked up at the dark sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of a star. There were none. All the stars and the galaxies that they had once resided in, extinguished like the fire on a candle melted down to its end. He waved a hand in front of him causing tiny pinpricks of light to appear, a mockery of the stars he so wished to see. Little fleeting things. Just like everyone he had loved and lost and outlived.
His mind unwittingly conjured up an image of Arthur, like it always did when his defenses were down, his thoughts slipping into melancholy. The little sparks of light reoriented themselves to almost resemble the shape of his golden prince.
The prophecy had been true. After the first death at Camlann, after centuries of waiting on Merlin’s behalf, Arthur had come back when Albion needed him. He had come back many times since then, when destiny called for it and every time Merlin lost him - and he did, over and over again - the pain of it never diminished.
He let the sparks fly away from his hands and float above his head, before they too winked out of existence.
He heard light footsteps approaching, but didn’t get up or even turn his head. He didn’t need to. He felt more than saw Morgana sit down gingerly beside him.
There were few moments of comfortable silence before Morgana murmured softly as though afraid to disrupt the stillness. “It’s almost time.”
“I know,” Merlin replied, “Maybe I’ll finally get my rest.”
He felt Morgana struggling not to voice what she was thinking, an anomaly in and of itself. When he turned his head slightly and looked at her, she finally broke.
“It’s not fair!” She exclaimed, all the righteousness of the once beloved ward of a King long dead. “It’s not fair that you have to suffer like this. I did terrible things, I know. But I did my penance and the old religion accepted me back with open arms, so why did you have to suffer all this time?”
“Morgana,” Merlin said softly, propping himself on his elbow to look at her properly. “This is not a punishment and even if it was, I dese-,” he halted to a stop as a splash of water hit him square in the face. He turned, almost grinning at the sight of the furious indignation on Freya’s face as she marched up to them.
“Don’t you dare say that you deserved it. Don’t you dare Merlin. This is not the time to be a hero or a bloody martyr. Look around you. There is no one else to care. You don’t have to carry the burden of every single life anymore. And frankly, I am tired of seeing you wallow in self-pity all the time.” she said, coming to a halt near his head and looking down at him with disapproval and maybe a bit of exasperation.
He heard a tinkling laugh at his side and turned to scowl at Morgana. “Aren’t you two even going to let me die in peace?” he asked, a little petulantly.
The expressions on both the women’s faces softened at that. Freya sat down on his other side and reached out a hand to comb lightly through his hair.
“We are here because you have carried everyone’s burden for too long, Merlin,” Morgana said, “You don’t need to do that anymore.”
“You have been alone for far too long,” Freya continued, “We didn’t want you to be alone now. Not now.
Merlin could only smile at that, grateful and overwhelmed at the same time. Freya pulled his head onto her lap and as he settled down, Morgana took his hand between both of hers. He was still smiling as his eyes started to get heavy, but just before the dark swallowed him, he thought he heard Morgana mutter, “Besides, that annoying brother of mine would have torn apart the veil and charged in here himself if I even thought about not being here,” and he was still smiling as Avalon welcomed him onto herself.