How Merlin Should Have Ended

The End

"How long ago did he leave?" Merlin asked, trying not to panic.

"I don't know," Percival shrugged. "Maybe ten minutes. He knew with you here, Arthur would be short a magic user so he went to provide backup. Why, what's wrong?"

"I don't have time to explain, so you are just going to have to trust me," Merlin said in a hurry. "We need to get to Arthur and fast!"

To Merlin's great surprise, the knights didn't question him. In fact, it seemed to Merlin like they were following him the way they'd follow Arthur. Merlin had not expected such a level of respect, though at the moment, he was grateful for it. Every moment he spent explaining himself was one moment longer until they got to Arthur.

Merlin ordered a small band of men to stay and protect the camp in case more Saxons showed up. He told them to blow a horn if they were attacked. Then he turned his attention back to the battle Arthur was fighting. Even if he didn't know why Mordred would change sides, the vision he'd seen of Mordred stabbing Arthur was fresh in his mind and all too real.

Moving forward into the battle was slow work, even with Merlin magically pushing their enemy back. He was starting to tire from using so much magic, though he knew he could still press on.

He did stop dead in his tracks, however, when he sensed the dragon overhead. He knew which one it was before he even looked up. Kilgharrah had no reason to be here which meant...

Aithusa flew overhead, threatening the knights of Camelot with fire raining down from above as she got ever closer.

"Keep looking for Arthur," Merlin instructed Percival and the other knights. "I can handle the dragon." The knights seemed more than happy to fight men instead of beasts and moved past Merlin to continue the search. Merlin just hoped they found Arthur. Even if he couldn't make it in time, Merlin knew Percival would put his sword between Mordred's blade and Arthur's body.

Taking a deep breath in, Merlin spoke loudly in the ancient dragonlord language, commanding Aithusa to move away and cease her attack. Clearly displeased by her lack of choice, the little white dragon flew away.

That was one problem dealt with, now to continue looking for Arthur. Merlin wondered if maybe it would be better if he found somewhere high up to search while the knights looked on the ground. Merlin had thought about using his looking ahead magic, but with so many bodies fighting in such close quarters, it was hard to make any use of it.

"Emrys!" The voice was loud and full of hatred, but still, Merlin recognized it as Morgana's. She sounded angry, more than angry. She was livid.

"How dare you command my dragon!" Morgana spat at him hatefully.

Merlin turned in the direction her voice was coming from. She was moving towards him quickly, her sword in hand.

"You will pay for this!" Morgana continued.

Merlin thought about picking up a fallen sword so he wouldn't be bladeless when she reached him, but decided it would be pointless. What did he know about sword play, really? He was better off sticking with just his staff.

"As the last Dragonlord I have every right to command Aithusa," Merlin stated simply. "I did, after all, hatch her."

Morgana was closer now, close enough to swing her sword. She was so emotional, however, that her swing was rather erratic, and Merlin dodged it easily.

"It is no use Morgana," Merlin said calmly. "It is not your destiny to defeat me."

"All that time I spent scared of Emrys, when he was really just useless Merlin all along," Morgana sneered. "If only I'd known sooner."