The Thousandth Year || Merlin fanfic

Arthur- Oblivion

It is a peaceful thing, oblivion. There is no pain, no heartache, only an overwhelming sense of peace and lazy happiness. It is as if you are choosing to remain asleep, as if you are safe in the knowledge that you could get up at any time, but you willingly inhibit the land of dreams. And dream you do. You dream of a place called camelot, a place of prosperity and happiness, where you rule. You do not rule with fear, like your predecessor, but love. You care for each of your subjects, and they adore you in return.

There is a woman there- a beautiful olive skinned queen, with a golden crown haloing her auburn hair, and a small smile playing across her lips. Next to her there is a boy, with coal black hair in an unruly mop, high cheekbones creating dancing shadows across his cheeks, and startling blue eyes. Red sparks fly from his fingers in the shape of dragons, but you are not scared, despite the magic he weilds. You know, deep down, that he is there to protect you.

Behind those two, in the background, there are five men. They are dressed in chainmail, and red under clothes, although a heavyset man lacks any sleeves. Just being near these people gives you a sense of surety - they are your family.

You do not know how long you reside in this place- time is meaningless here.

Suddenly, a feeling of panic cuts through your dreamland, solidifying into an emotion that is alien in this mysterious wonderland. Fear. Something is coming. You console yourself, thinking yourself untouchable in this peaceful prison.

But, for the first time in over a thousand years, you feel yourself being drawn from your slumber, pulled reluctantly from your land of shadows. You fight to return to the group, and they are lunging for you, fingers clawing at your sleeves, trying to keep you with them. You reach for them, a scream of anger tearing from your lungs. All you know is that they are trying to take you from the people you love. But the power that grasps you cannot be denied by any man, even the once and future king.

You are taken, as helpless as a baby, and placed on the shore, next to a lake. Your eyes burn and sting as they encounter light for the first time in a millennium, and your ears are filled with white noise. Thunder rumbles across the sky, and a bolt of lightening strikes the ground with force, as Arthur, High King of Britain, the uniter of albion, the once and future king- returns to the land of men.