hiatus , merlsemrys: lesbopearlarchive-deactivated20: In...

merlsemrys:
“ lesbopearlarchive-deactivated20:
“ In which there existed one small error in all the legends, the stories, the destinies: it was never Arthur who led Camelot into its time of legend nor Arthur who returned magic to the kingdom. He was a...

lesbopearlarchive-deactivated20:
In which there existed one small error in all the legends, the stories, the destinies: it was never Arthur who led Camelot into its time of legend nor Arthur who returned magic to the kingdom. He was a beloved detail in the cogwork of her destiny but it was Queen Guinevere who brought Camelot into its Golden Age, and once Merlin realized the truth of his destiny, he returned to advise her and offer her his friendship to the end of his days.
I imagine perhaps that some time after Camlann, Merlin hears that Queen Guinevere has lifted the ban on magic in Camelot. She hasn’t written to him or sent for him in the weeks after the battle, but upon hearing this news, he feels guilty because he knows that she has forgiven him for everything. Mostly he feels undeserving of forgiveness. Mostly he feels Arthur’s ghost everywhere and is terrified to return to Camelot.
He had spent days and days completely inconsolable at his mother’s shoulder and the time since feeling empty and without purpose. He feels guilty again because he knows that Hunith’s heart breaks for him daily, but there’s little she can do. So he returns to Camelot. Gwen meets him at the citadel’s gates and hugs him so tight he begins to feel his misery being squeezed out of his bones. He imagines it seeps down into the flagstones and into the air, but he feels clear, lighter than he has in a long time. He hugs her back, and hears her as she says into his shoulder over and over again, “thank you.”
He is surprised to find that Arthur’s last words don’t haunt him anymore. Now, they ring of things to come.
Camelot’s Queen and Court Sorcerer enter the castle together, and ahead of them lies the True Golden Age of Camelot.