Merlyn's Final Truth

The Darkest Hour P6

Merlyn wished that she'd asked Kilgharrah for a ride, knowing that she would find Arthur far faster from the night sky. As much as she loved the forest, the greenery was dulling her senses, Lancelot's cloak standing out against the leaves. In the early morning, mist rose from the ground, eerily obscuring the path ahead. Still, it was a pale change from the green and brown of the last few days.

"When we get to the Isle of the Blessed, do you really intend to sacrifice yourself?" Lancelot asked, his mind clearly not on the scenery. Merlyn nudged her horse a little faster so that she rode beside him, not quite sure how to answer his question.

"What do you want me to say?" she sighed, knowing that her friend wasn't going to like her answer.

She dared to glance towards him, worried by the spark of admiration twinkling in his eyes. Merlyn was a lot of things, but she certainly wasn't someone to be admired.

"I look at you, and I wonder about myself. Could I knowingly give up my life for anything?"

Merlyn shrugged. "You have to have a reason. Something you care about, that is more important than anything. Wouldn't you do it for Gwen?"

"In a heartbeat." Lancelot replied instinctively. He looked almost surprised at his own answer, sudden realisation flitting through his eyes.

Merlyn smiled sadly. "Then you know how I feel."

She kicked her horse forward, racing away from Lancelot, the cool wind whipping her hair behind her. She would give up her life a thousand times to save Arthur. He was worth so much more than her pitiful existence.

~

Lancelot looked ahead to the ruined castle in the distance, smoke floating into the sky from its broken walls. He and Merlyn had been riding hard all day; he'd hoped to seek refuge within the fortress. Apparently, it wasn't to be.

"Looks like someone beat us to it." he said despondently.

"Bandits?" Merlyn guessed, but Lancelot wasn't paying attention. They were still a long way off; the sky was darkening with every moment that they watched the wisps of smoke escape into the air.

"Do you think we'll make it by nightfall?" he asked, giving Merlyn a worried look. She'd been acting strangely, her determination unshakable. She had never meant to return to Camelot, he realised. She had always known that this was the price.

"There's only one way to find out." she grinned, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Charging forward, she galloped off without him, leaving the brave knight to wonder how exactly he could protect someone who had no interest in being saved.

~

Arthur watched Gwaine remove his socks in morbid fascination, wrinkling his nose as the smell of the knight's feet wafted over the fire. He watched his fellow men contorting their faces in disgust, Leon groaning in horror.

"Has something died?" Elyan moaned, edging further away from smelly knight.

Gwaine gave him a withering look. "Why am I always the butt?"

"Can't think." Leon said with increasingly characteristic sarcasm. Arthur made a mental note to keep him away from Merlyn in the future, not that it would matter much to him anymore. He smirked as Leon and Elyan, who had previously been sitting next to Gwaine, came to sit on his side of the fire, leaving the poor drunk alone with his socks.

"Pick on Percival." Gwaine complained half-heartedly, gesturing towards the giant with his horrible socks.

Percival raised a large eyebrow. "Why me?"