How Merlin Should Have Ended

The Waiting

"Kara isn't going to be executed," Merlin summed up.

"And what did you have to do to achieve that?"

"I'm not proud of it, Gaius," Merlin shot back. "But if it saves his life, then it will all be worth it."

"Arthur doesn't put as much faith in prophecy as you do," Gaius continued. "He believes in action and what he can see with his own eyes. I didn't think merely telling him about the prophecy would have been enough."

"Well, you were right," Merlin said. "But either way, it had to be done. Now all we can do is wait and see what Morgana does next."

A day went by, and then another. Merlin was getting regular updates from Finna on how Kara was doing. She confirmed that Mordred was going down into the dungeon to see her near twice every day. This just confirmed with Merlin that if she'd been executed, Mordred would have become their enemy. He was clearly blinded by love when it came to seeing Kara's irrational hatred.

Merlin found he was always on edge, even when Arthur allowed him to come back to work. Merlin had expected a bit of coldness from his friend after the way he'd strong-armed the king into sparing Kara, but to his surprise Arthur treated him like normal. It wasn't until Merlin got a chance to talk to the queen on her own that he found out why. Gwen was such a calming influence on Arthur.

"I know you could never mean Arthur harm," Gwen explained when she finished explaining her point of view of the whole thing. "Sometimes tough love is needed, even with a king."

"Thank you," Merlin said with genuine gratitude.

"Just remember you only get so many of those for free," she said smiling. "Use them wisely."

"I'll keep that in mind," Merlin chuckled, smiling back. It was the first time he'd laughed since telling Arthur about the prophecy. The laughter helped ease the tension in his shoulders, but it couldn't stop him from being on edge. Any second something could change, and Morgana would be attacking. Merlin had to stay alert.

"You look tired," Gwen told him. Merlin just waved a hand to dismiss her concern. "Have you been sleeping well?"

Merlin didn't want to admit he had barely been sleeping at all these last few days. Being so on edge for an attack had been keeping him awake. He just kept thinking: what if he slept right through and missed something? What if he wasn't there when he was needed?

"I know you put the weight of the world on your shoulders," Gwen told him. "But you are still just one man, and you need sleep."

"I'm fine," Merlin said again, but his words were rather less impactful when he started yawning.

"Consider this an order from your queen," Gwen said. "To go get some sleep. If the world ends, we will wake you."

"Don't even joke!" Merlin said, but Gwen didn't budge an inch. As stubborn as her husband, she just kept staring him down until he agreed to get some sleep.

Surrendering, Merlin made his way to his bed. Once he'd collapsed on it, sleep came instantly. Merlin woke to the sounds of voices. Opening his eyes, he got up and made his way out his room. The voices that had woken him were that of injured men being tended to by Gaius.

"How long was I asleep!?" Merlin exclaimed.

"Maybe twelve hours?" Gaius called from where he stood as his work bench. "I was about to come wake you to assist me. We have wounded coming in."

"What happened?" Merlin asked as he quickly moved closer to assist.

"The garrison at Stawell was attacked," Gaius replied. "The wounded are flooding in through the gates."