Le Morte D'Arthur

The silent battlefield, the once green grass soaked in the scarlet blood of hundreds. Bodies of the dying and dead piled up between the flags, the weapons of each army now dulled in the mud.

The only living soul in that bloody sea of death was a dark haired boy- kneeling beside his King, tears streaming down his face.

“Hold on,” he sobbed. “I could save you- get you back to Camelot.”

“No,” the King said. “I haven’t long left in this world Merlin- there will be no time to get me home.”

“Arthur, please!”

“Stop crying like a big girl’s petticoat,” his meagre attempt to lighten the mood.

“You can’t die, I can’t cope without you!”

“You will, you have your friends, Gaius.”

“They’re not the same!”            

“Merlin please…” Arthur lifted his weak hand and held it against the pale skin of his servant’s. “You must cope. I like to think that I will be missed by others and you will need to comfort them.”

“This is my fault,” Merlin sobbed. “I was supposed to protect you.”

“You’ve done your fair share of protecting over the years, Merlin. Nothing in your power could have prevented this, believe me.”

“Arthur, I, I…” he choked on his words. “I love you.”

The King laughed despite his lack of strength, “You idiot,” he scolded lightly. “It’s taken you all these years to say it?”

“You knew?”

“Not exactly. But, by the gods, I love you too you clotpole. I have been just as much of a fool for denying it. But I love you.”

“How am I meant to go on without you?”

“You’ll manage. You’re the bravest man I’ve had the pleasure to know Merlin. If anyone can get by, it’ll be you.”

The sorcerer ran a hand gently down the King’s cheek, brushed back the golden hair now matted with blood and sweat; he paused, then bent down and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

“Goodbye Arthur.”

Arthur closed his eyes for a second, the sweetness of the kiss giving him a longing for just one more moment.

“I’m scared Merlin,” he whispered, uttering the words for the first time in his life.

“I know.”

Arthur choked a little and felt the darkness wash over him, “Goodbye Merlin,” he murmured, feeling the pain numb and the field fade away until it was just the two of them- clinging onto the edge. “We will meet again one day, I know it.”

“I shall count the days until then,” Merlin replied as the last breath slowly left the king, his king’s body and he was left alone in the battleground of Camlann- the tears pouring down his face. And he felt so empty that he knew he would never be whole again. Not in this life anyway.

The End.