A/n: Thank you to a lot of people who still read this fanfiction! I hope you like my fanfiction! If you like this chapter, don't forget to leave a comment and a vote.💕💕💕
The battlefield will always be a harsh field for all warriors. No matter what kind of warrior you are, and no matter what weapon you hold to go against those who tried to destroy peace, sacrifices always have to be made. The last thing that James witnessed before he lost consciousness was a huge white explosion while Lady Diana held out her hand to protect him. He didn't know what happened next after that but he knew that they were able to reach the Cave of Truth and rescue Emrys before Earendill assassinate him. He didn't know whether Lady Diana survived the unexpected attack and he wished that she was still alive since before he collapsed in Emrys's arms was her smile.
Moments later, he woke up while he was lying on the scaled skin of Alba the White Dragon, and as his consciousness returned to him, he looked in front of him and saw a white-haired old man wearing a red robe with embroidered gold threads at the robe's edges. He tried to find Lady Diana while they were still midair but she was nowhere to be seen.
"You're awake," spoke Emrys. "I have to transform as an old man while midair to keep the two of us safe from Melven City."
"Where's Lady Diana, Emrys?" James asked him. "What happened to her?"
Emrys clutched hard on Alba's collar while a tear began to fall down his eyes. "You have to accept what happened to her to save us. She used a lot of her magic to create a huge barrier to protect the Cave of Truth and rescue us."
James began to sob silently as well and a sharp pain began to build in his heart. "I don't remember much about what happened before we reached the cave, sir. Why have I collapsed?"
"You were hit by a strong, elvish spell while trying to go to my cave," he answered her. "Don't worry about the spell as I have given you a cure."
"Is... Is she truly dead?" James could not accept that the woman who became one of his closest friends gave her life because of a war. "How did she die?"
"The barrier she made was beyond her power but she still did it," Emrys sighed. "As her master, I told her that I can do it to stop Eareandill from going against the gods and goddesses of Feth Fiada but she told me to save you instead as you were dying when you arrived in the cave. She lost her physical body and now, she'd forever be a soul residing in that cave as its barrier."
His words made James clutch his chest tighter as the pain grew in his heart. "If only I was stronger, I could have protected her! If I was just stronger, I may have defeated the Dark Lord! The war could have ended if only I was stronger!"
"Blaming yourself won't change anything," Emrys told him. "Lady Diana's happy to save you and she wanted you to go back safe and sound to your family. I will train your children as payment for what my apprentice had done."
James relaxed his hand even while he was still sobbing. "We have to keep moving and we can't just stop. I don't know Earendill's true reason why he became a Death Eater but my goal is to protect my children and they live somewhere safe and sound."
"How old are your children?" Emrys asked him. "If they are eleven years old, I could take them to Diamond City."
"Diamond City?" James dried his tears. "Why would you want to take them there?"
"Have you forgotten that the queen wanted them to be trained in the Diamond School of Magic and Philosophy?" Emrys reminded him. "Your children are destined to do something big, James. The queen of the elves is sure that they were sent here for a reason."
"A huge war is brewing in Melven City—" James paused and changed his sentence. "Shouldn't I—"
"The queen would lose that war but Elearador Wing won't be able to expand his powers further," Emrys answered him. "Take care of your children and focus on the small fry for a while, do you understand? Your magic has depleted too much because of the spell that Elearador placed on you."
James's hands trembled when he remembered the striking red eyes and horns of the elf. He didn't look like an elf anymore but a demon already. "I've seen him already, then. Could he be defeated?"
"Elearador knows the prophecy very well, James," Emrys replied after the dragon began to descend as they had reached the Andenor City. "Someone will rise and be more powerful than him."
...
It was midnight and the full moon could easily be seen in the sky when the two mages reached James's cottage in Andenor City. The two of them saw that the torches were still lit up and Lily was waiting all night that day on the staircase at the porch.
Alba The White Dragon's loud landing in the backyard of the house woke her up. Soon enough, after her eyes were fully open, she was very much delighted when she saw that James had returned alive, even so, she became aware that the white dragon behind him was also in mourning at that time. He was also accompanied by an old man holding a white staff.
Lily tried to look for Lady Diana at the top of the dragon but she didn't find her making her gasp in shock. "Is there something that happened to her? Where is she?"
"I wasn't strong enough for our opponent." James took her in and hugged her tightly while he sobbed in pain. "She sacrificed her life for us."
Lily was in entire disbelief at that time and even if she wasn't close to her, she knew that his husband had treated her as a very good friend ever since they arrived in Feth Fiada. Her tears began to fall slowly and she also began to feel that her chest became so heavy after she heard the news of her death. She was mostly worried about her husband and he would take it since he saw someone sacrifice their life for him. "Are you alright, James?"
"I'm fine, Lily." James dried her tears and smiled at her. "Master Emrys will be staying here until our children become eleven years old. He saved my life, too."
Lily bowed before him and thanked the master magician. "Thank you for bringing my husband back home, sir. I don't know what I could have done if I have lost my husband."
"The only thing I did was do my duty as a High Priest," he replied to him. "I will be residing here for a while here until I could train your children myself."
Lily looked closer at his grey eyes and white staff. Moments after that, she remembered the pictures of Merlin that she had read in the History of Magic. As far as he remembered, Merlin studied in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was sorted into Slytherin. She didn't even know why the old man resembled him very much. "Who are you? I think I've seen you in our History of Magic books in Scotland. Are you the legendary Merlin?"
Emrys mounted off the dragon and smiled at her while he hold his staff tightly. "You are a seer. It looked like you could see who I truly am even if I place a mask on my face. I am Merlin The Wizard, the wizard who gave King Arthur Pendragon his sword."
A/n: New book cover, new book chapter! Thank you to @laylagriffin_and @LHT1995 for supporting this fanfiction! I appreciate you very much!!! :)
Cast: Colin Morgan as Merlin :)