A Land of Myth and Magic

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters featured in this story.

AU where Gwen died during "With All My Heart". Contains Merlin/Arthur, Gwaine/Percival and Mordred/OC. A one-shot written as a Christmas present.

Merry Christmas Amber

***Camelot, a week after With All My Heart***

The silence in the castle was overwhelming, as it had been for the past 6 days. 6 days since the nation's mourning had begun. 6 days since Camelot had lost its queen.

Merlin lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to forget the crushing guilt he felt at the loss of Guinevere. As Gaius had so frequently reminded him, it wasn't his fault, but Merlin still blamed himself. He was a sorcerer, he should have been able to save Gwen.

She hadn't been Gwen for a long time though. Not since Morgana had imprisoned her in the Dark Tower and filled her head with dark thoughts. The same dark thoughts that had made "Gwen" feel tricked into walking into the lake and caused her to fall into the abyss...

Eventually Merlin could stand it no longer. He needed to talk to Arthur. Maybe if he knew that Arthur didn't blame him, he'd be able to get some rest.

With a sigh, Merlin crept into the unlit corridor. He followed the twisting route to Arthur's chambers, trying his best to ignore the cold flagstones under his bare feet. He was no stranger to walking the castle after dusk but the wintry midnight air drained him and he arrived at Arthur's door wanting nothing more than to climb into a warm bed.

He paused, hand on the door knob, wondering if disturbing the king was really such a good idea. After all, he might not want company so close to the loss of his wife.

After an internal struggle that seemed a lifetime, Merlin drew a deep breath to strengthen his resolve and stepped into Arthur Pendragon's bedroom.