A Different Ending

A dead dragon and a friend

Arthur woke up feeling sore and confused. The last thing he remembered was talking to Merlin.

"Shouldn't I be dead?" thought Merlin. He then opened his eyes and realized that he was in his bed back at the palace. Guais and Guinevere (Gwen) were talking in hushed whispers next to his bed. Across the room at his desk sat Gwaine with his head in his hand and Lancelot was leaning against the desk, both of whom were seemingly crying. Percival, Elyan, and Leon stood around them with their heads hung low. Arthur tried to sit but was pushed back down by Guais and Gwen. Noticing the movement the knights rushed to the king's bed.

"How are you feeling my lord? Tell me if anything hurts." Guais said soothingly with practiced professionalism in his voice.

"I'm fine, just tired" the king groaned, "How did I get here? What happened? Where's Merlin?"

For a moment everyone in the room looked at each other, then Gwen spoke, "My king you were flown here by a dragon by the name of ​​Kilgharrah. He said that Mer-oh uh never mind we got you to the care of Guais who seems to say you will be alright"

Gwen was probably one of the kindest and most giving people Arthur had ever met (besides Merlin of course). She was the Queen of Camelot, his Queen and his bride. However, neither he nor she was in love with the other. Gwen was in love with Lancelot, but stayed married to Arthur to hide the fact that Merlin and him had started to date. Speaking of Merlin Arthur asked, "And what about Merlin where did you guys send him off to I need to speak with him urgently, tell him to come up here"

The mode of the room swiftly changed from relief that the king was okay, back to sober and despair.

Gwaine tried muffling a sob with his hand before speaking, "Sire, I think that Merlin can wait until tomorrow" As he finished speaking he winced in pain that Arther finally remembered that he had been tortured by Morgana for his location, Percival must have gotten to him before Morgana killed, him Arthur thought to himself.

Lancelot straightened and then turned to his fellow knights, his Queen, and the physician and politely ordered them to leave the room so that he and Arthur could talk in private.

"Before you say anything I need to set some things straight. When the dragon dropped you off I was the one who greeted him. He told me that you know about Merlin's powers and the full extent of them... Yes, I knew Merlin had powers. I saw him doing magic the first week I was in Camelot, and I promised him I would not divulge his secret" Lancelot explained to a very confused looking king, and after a long sigh he continued, "Sire, the dragon explained to me that you were killed from a stab wound given to you by that traitor Mordred. Yes, your majesty you died. However Merlin..." Lancelot let out a sob, then continued trying to push back his tears, "Merlin did a spell, the most powerful spell in the world-that had never be before, and gave his life force to you"

"What are you saying Lance! What does that mean, where is Merlin!" Arthur practically yelled at Lancelot, he was shaking with anger and fear of what Lancelot would tell him.

"Merlin is dead"

It took a whole hour to calm Arthur down. He had ripped all of his painting in his room off the wall, and knocked everything off his desk. Lancelot finally got him to sit down and stop throwing things. He explained to the king that the only people who knew about Merlin's magic were them and Guais. That nobody knew Merlin had sacrificed himself and healed Arthur; they all just think Merlin died in battle protecting him. Lancelot also suggested that Arthur keep Merlin's magic a secret as well out of respect for Merlin. Arthur agreed only half listening to Lancelot. Arthur just kept saying to himself "Merlin can't be dead, it was Merlin! The lovable jerk who was always there"

(A Week Later)

Arthur had declared to the kingdom that Merlin died a war hero and awarded him every medal and award possible, and he officially stopped the ban on magic in Camelot. The king kept his promise and didn't tell anyone about Merlin's magic. Even so Arthur was depressed, and was rarely seen outside his room.

Locked inside his room Arthur would focus on the memories Merlin had given him. All the times Merlin had risked his life for Camelot. It made Arthur furious that Merlin would go out and do all these dangerous things without him. He quite literally would not have made it a day without Merlin. This thought always made Arthur even more mad due to the fact that Merlin used to tell him that all the time and he would just laugh him off. However, what made Arthur feel the worst was the fact that he was the reason Merlin died. Arthur blamed himself for Merlin's death, and he was ashamed of the way he acted when Merlin first told him about his magic. Arthur just wished he could have been more understanding and open. He also wished he had told Merlin how he felt about him.

Merlin and Arthur had only been dating for a few weeks when he died. It was obvious that they liked each other but Arthur was adamant about keeping their relationship a secret. Arthur was worried that members of his court would turn on him, especially since same sex couples was very taboo in Camelot. This is when Gwen and Lancelot offered to cover for them with a public marriage to Gwen. Lancelot and Gwen were the only other people to know about his and Merlin's relationship, though Arthur thought Gwaine might suspect. Merlin always told Arthur that he was the king and he could change that perspective, that the people would still love and accept him as king. However, Arthur still worried. Now he was just heartbroken at the thought that Merlin died thinking he was ashamed of their relationship.

All the roundtable knights worried about Arthur, as well as Gwaine. Their happy go lucky friend whose face was always plastered with a grin, had been replaced by constant tears and a permanent frown. Due to all of this gloom, Elyan, Percival, and Leon suggested that the knights and Arthur go on a hunting trip to help lighten the mood and get everyone out of the castle.

They traveled in silence the whole way because Merlin and Gwaine were usually the ones telling jokes and making everyone laugh. After about only a half day's ride Arthur suddenly stopped and motioned for his knights to listen and be on guard. The highly trained knights of Camelot pushed their sadness aside to focus on the task at hand, and on protecting their king if need be. Suddenly rushing down the hillside next to the knights and their horses there were six bandits with their swords drawn–six one for each of them. Metal clashed! The knights were much more skilled than the bandits and easily disarmed the men. Arthur had the tip of his sword pointed at his assailant's throat when he noticed an odd symbol on the man's arm. It was a dead dragon with a sword going through its center.

"Bandit, what symbol is that? I am not familiar with it?"asked Arthur.

"Hahaha! Oh that little thing, it means that I am a part of a group of people who have been wronged by a Pendragon. A group who are dedicated to getting our revenge. NOW!" yelled the bandit. Arthur spun around just in time to see a man jump in front of an arrow that had been aimed at his heart. Leon shot the shooter down with his crossbow, who had been hiding behind a tree on the other side of the road the bandits had attacked from–this attack had been planned.

"I've been gone barely a week and what do I find!? This prat about to be killed by an arrow! Honestly, you guys really need to learn how to take care of yourselves without me around, it's ridiculous!!" said Merlin as he got up from the ground after throwing himself in between an arrow and Arthur. He was smiling ear to ear with the biggest grin imaginable, as he faced his friends.

In sync all the knights dropped their weapons and tackled Merlin with the biggest hug imaginable.