Freed

Rescue

When he fell many things happened at once. Lightning struck where he was just standing, probably right in front of Edith. The swirl of clouds descended on him like a tornado, but he was the only one caught in the winds. Time slowed down as he was being carried by a mix of wind and magic. In a moment things clicked. His magic and new senses reached far and wide. He could feel Morgana's magic up against Morgouse's. He could sense every single person on that battlefield, and there were thousands. Among them were the knights of Camelot, his friends. He could feel Arthur and Lancelot watching from below. He even heard Arthur shout his name above all the noise. These were his friends, his family even. They were worth fighting for, even if he would surely outlive them by thousands of years.

Through her anger Morgana almost missed the pang in her heart. She was surrounded by fires caused by her and Morgouse. They had most used multiple spells but fireballs were certainly the favorite for this situation. Morgouse had just left Morgana's sight when the feeling came. It was so strong she had to take a step back. Merlin. Oh dear goodness he's in trouble and Morgana was too busy trying to kill her sister. Morgana's eyes flashed gold and the fires began to diminish- perks to being given more power. Then she teleported to where she knew Merlin last was.

She came to at the edge of the cliff. Edith was on the ground a few feet away; the scorch mark might have had something to do with that. Morgana looked over the edge of the cliff and found Merlin, but he wasn't falling. Rather he seemed to be floating on air. She averted her attention back to land just as Morgouse appeared in front of her. Before Morgana could react, Morgouse's magic had her in a chokehold right on the edge of a cliff.

"You stupid, stupid girl! You could've had the world! Now you can die, right next to your puny boyfriend who calls himself a sorcerer."

Morgana found it getting harder and harder to breathe. Black dots were spotting her vision so she barely saw Edith begin to back away. Just before Morgana surely would've lost consciousness, Morgouse was thrown back with more force than a Morgana had ever seen before. Then Morgana was caught by a pair of arms surrounding her, not letting her fall off the cliff. She took a few deep breaths before looking up at her rescuer. Merlin was grinning down at her.

"Close call for both of us then," Morgana coughed. "You alright?"

"I've been better. You?"

"I'm alive. Irritated, but alive."

"The forest was on fire."

"Like I said, irritated."

They looked up to see Morgouse slowly rising from the ground, and Edith was no where in sight. Before Merlin could even make a move, Morgana was already advancing in her sister. She had her hand out clearly choking her and holding her in place with her magic.

"You," Morgana spit with venom, "you destroyed my life, tried to kill me, and took advantage of me when I was lost and alone. You led me to believe that I could never have a place in this world. In your last moments I want you to see that you were wrong. I have a place and I will always have a place."

"Not with him," Morgouse barely choked out.
"You will die, and he will leave you behind."

"See that's where you're wrong. I'm not going anywhere."
Merlin stepped closer, listening with interest.
"All that stupid striving for power and in the end it gave you nothing. You'll die like any mortal and everyone will forget about you."
Morgana leaned in close to her sister, making sure she could hear these last words.
"Unlike me, sister."

Morgana stepped back and allowed Morgouse to fall to the ground, lifeless. All Merlin could do was stand there in shock. He hadn't seen that side of Morgana in nearly a year. She was still the darkness to his light, just not in the way that he originally thought. She stepped back and turned toward Merlin. Merlin could see the tear in her eye and all was forgotten. He pulled her into an embrace as she began to mutter apologies.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know where that came from. You shouldn't have had to see that."

He shushed her telling her that it was okay as he held her. He waited for her breathing to calm as she processed what she had just done. As she began to calm what she had said clicked. She wasn't going anywhere. He wouldn't leave her behind.

"You're immortal?" he whispered.

She nodded her head, pulling back.

"I wanted to tell you, it just didn't quite seem like the right time."

"I won't be alone."

Morgana smiled as peace filled his features. Then she looked around, remembering what brought her here.

"Where's Edith?"

Merlin joy quickly turned to concern then anger. Whatever happened, Morgana certainly didn't want to know.

"She disappeared, probably went down to the battlefield. We have to find Arthur. She can't get to him first."

Morgana took his hand and smiled, determined.
"Then let's finish this."