Arthur's mind is racing as he stumbles out the door into the cold night air.
"Arthur, wait! Come back!" Merlin shouts behind him from inside, but Arthur barely registers his words as he starts to run.
This can't be true..
He's been gone for centuries??
No...no, what's become of Camelot? Of Sir Leon or Gwaine?
Of...of Guinevere?
Suddenly, his mind is filled with thoughts of her - how she must've felt when he didn't come home, how scared she must have been when she realized she had to rule alone, how she died without him by her side.
It's almost enough to make him fall to his knees, but if he stopped now he'd go insane.
So Arthur keeps running. He keeps running until he's too exhausted to think about anything - about everything.
He keeps running until his lungs feel like they're on fire, and his legs feel like weights.
He runs until he comes to a clearing in the forest.
And that's when he can't run anymore.
Arthur falls to his knees in the grass. His breathing is shallow and sparse, but it's not just from the running.
It's from the weight of it all - from the realization that everything he knew, that everyone he knew is gone.
How can he go on? How is he supposed to fulfill this great destiny in this new world all alone? Why must this burden rest on his shoulders, not only in life, but in death? Why? Why?
Why must this be his fate? To bear the weight of this destiny all alone?
That's when Arthur feels a hand on his shoulder.
He looks up into familiar blue eyes, and he realizes he's not alone. Things may be different, and centuries may have passed, but he still has his friend. He still has Merlin.
Merlin bends down so he's at eye level with Arthur, and begins to speak.
"Arthur.." Merlin starts gently. "I know that you're scared. I know that your mind is drowning with thoughts of everything you've lost. I know because I've lost them all too. But Arthur, I'm still here. And if you are too, then it's for a reason. You're here because people need you. Albion needs you. And believe me, I know how heavy that burden is. But we'll carry it. Together."
Merlin stands and reaches his hand out.
Arthur gives himself a moment to steady himself and takes a breath, then he takes Merlin's hand and stands up.
YOU ARE READING
Once and Future
Fanfiction"Take heart, for when Albion's need is greatest, Arthur will rise again..." But what happens when he does? Arthur wakes up one day alone and confused on the shore of a lake. Where's Merlin? Where's Guinevere? And where the hell is Camelot? As he lea...
