And here we are, the last chapter! :`( I want to thank all those who've followed, favorite-d and reviewed. A special shout out to sjritts, Patiku, Meri Ley, HoRnIe DeMoN, Tie-Dyed Broadway, Nimbus Night, Howarand, and guest(s) who reviewed. You guys helped me realize I had something special here! And to Patiku- of course you're right! :D

Morgana was woken at sunrise by Gwen. She felt sluggish and headachy from falling asleep crying again. She dragged herself out of bed and asked Gwen, "Who decided to hold a wedding this early anyway?"

"That would be King Odin," Gwen reminded her.

"I hate that man."

"Morgana!"

"Gwen, he's forcing me into this marriage, to a man who I don't love and who doesn't love me. And this is while my true love is being held and tortured by this hateful man."

"You have a good point there."

"I know."

"But until he's found you have to go through with it. He'll kill him."

"You heard that?"

"Unfortunately." She paused in her work. "Come, you must eat your breakfast quickly."

Morgana sat and picked at her breakfast for a while. Gwen sighed and suggested that she get her mistress dressed and ready for the wedding. When Odin had caught her listening last night, he threatened to hurt Morgana if Gwen didn't have her ready on time. Hateful man indeed.

The Princess slipped behind her dressing screen and Gwen came over to her with her wedding dress. It was a lovely dress, but not really what she wanted to wear at her wedding. After that was on, Gwen worked on her hair and made up her face. Morgana looked at herself in the mirror and thought; I look like the perfect doll, don't I? Perfect for Odin to dress up and toy with at his will. She was about to scream in frustration but there was a knock at the door.

Gwen opened it to the man they'd just been vilifying. He walked into the room, smirked at her and said, "You don't seem excited. I'm told brides often are."

"I don't marry today. My Merlin will save me."

"You silly girl."

"Yes, I am a silly girl for not seeing before that you're nothing but a coward with a heart full of fear."

Odin's face filled with fury. "I would not say such things if I were you!"

"Why not? You can't hurt me—he and I are joined by the bonds of love. You can't track it or break it by force. He will come save me and there's not a thing you can do about that!"

"I would not say such things if I were you!" Odin seized Morgana's wrist and yanked her across the room and into the corridor. She shrieked in pain but he just continued pulling her until they got to more populated corridors.

As they neared the great hall, Morgana saw Uther waiting there with a puzzled look on his face. Eldin stood with him, but they weren't speaking to each other. When she got close enough, Uther asked her if she'd seen Arthur. To her surprise, she realized she hadn't and indicated he might be running late. Odin put a smile on his face and agreed, saying they could wait a few more minutes for him. But only a few—his kingdom's customs dictated that once the officiator decided to start, the doors to the room must be closed, locked and guarded. Morgana and Uther thought that kind of ridiculous and even Eldin looked a little surprised.

The few minutes Odin had allotted passed and Arthur hadn't appeared. He looked a bit on edge for some reason, but the other two men put it down to usual wedding emotions. Finally Odin said it was time and everyone stepped inside where the Court was waiting. Odin and Eldin walked to the front of the hall where a man in fancy robes awaited.

At Odin's signal, trumpets blew a processional. Uther took his daughter's arm in his and began walking her down the aisle. Morgana looked around for Merlin or Arthur as she walked, but neither was there. She was sure they'd show up though, so she wasn't worried.

At last they reached the end and Uther handed her off to Eldin, who gave her a tentative smile. It said I know neither of us want to be here, but it's really for the best. She didn't agree but smiled back. He was being used as a pawn just like she was and making the best of a bad situation; she couldn't blame him for that.

The officiate had begun speaking; pontificating upon the notions of love and marriage, when there was a noise outside the hall. It sounded suspiciously like swords clanging and men yelling. Morgana smiled; surely that was Merlin and Arthur trying to get into the hall. Someone out there yelled, "Stand your ground men."

Odin grimaced and everyone else but Morgana looked confused. They had no idea of all the politics and manipulations that had gone on behind the scenes. Morgana wanted to laugh, but settled for smiling broadly. Merlin was coming! Odin looked at his captain of the guard and snapped his fingers. The captain nodded to three men around him and they followed him out another entrance. The king turned to the priest and said, "Skip to the end."

The officiate looked taken aback for a moment and said, "Have you the rings?" Odin held one out to Eldin and Uther gave Morgana the other. Eldin slid Morgana's on her left hand, but Morgana hesitated.

"Do it or he dies," Odin threatened quietly. Morgana glared and slid the ring onto Eldin's left hand. Outside the room there was more shouting.

Morgana looked into Odin's eyes—he was scared, or at least threatened. "Then why is there fear behind your eyes?" she asked him.

His face grew red with anger as more shouting and sword-clanging sounded in the background. He turned his glare on the officiate. "Man and wife! Say 'man and wife'!"

"Man and wife," the officiate said, totally confused. He wasn't alone—everyone else in the room was completely puzzled at the abbreviated ceremony.

Odin shoved Morgana at Eldin and said, "Escort the bride to the honeymoon suite." Morgana glared hard at the angry King, but he took no notice. He rallied the rest of his knights and soldiers in the room and led them out.

"Come on, Morgana, we'd better go," Eldin whispered. He took her hand and tucked it into his arm then led them to another exit.

They walked a circuitous route toward the chambers she and Eldin would supposedly be sharing. "I don't get it. He said he would come for me!"

"Morgana, don't give up hope. I'm willing to bet all that commotion is him trying to come for you."

"But Eldin, we got married!"

"Did either of us say 'I do'?"

"Well, no."

"If we didn't say it, we didn't do it."

"We're not married?"

"No, thank goodness. No offense."

"None taken." She looked around at where they were going. "This isn't the way to the honeymoon suite."

"No, it's not. I have a feeling Merlin will look for you in your chambers, so you must be ready to go."

She kissed Eldin on the cheek. "Thank you so much. I hope you find happiness with your love."

"I intend to. I also intend to investigate my father's activities. I have a sick feeling killing Arthur and starting a war between Camelot and Nemeth weren't his only plans."

"Wait, he what?"

"You probably guessed that was why he had you kidnapped. But he orchestrated the whole treaty thing in order to get Arthur here so he could kill him himself."

"That slimy weakling . . . no offense, Eldin."

"None taken. Right now I'm wishing I was adopted." They'd gotten to her door. "I hope to see you again after all this has blown over."

"That would be nice. Good luck Eldin."

"Thanks." Eldin turned and walked back toward the commotion they'd left behind.

xxxXxxx

Arthur, Merlin, Gwaine, and Percival were having a rough day. It seemed like they'd been fighting for hours, but it had been mere minutes. But they were making headway—the two strange men were excellent sword fighters, but Arthur was absolutely floored at Merlin's skill.

The warlock had indeed picked up Lancelot's training well. That described Merlin's style, although every now and then Arthur saw him do something that he'd tried to teach Merlin. He thought he'd been unsuccessful, but clearly that wasn't the case. Merlin had just needed the right teacher and a bit of magic.

Speaking of the magic, Merlin used that too. What Arthur saw him do was awe-inspiring—he threw men, he heated their swords, he dropped things on them . . . is this what he'd been doing all along? Arthur had realized just how oblivious he'd been and how much he really owed his friend. For that was what he was—a friend. He wasn't sure he could let Merlin go back to being a manservant now.

Arthur saw Odin on the other side of the fray, directing his men. A wave of anger washed over him and he redoubled his efforts just so he could get over there to ask why.

He'd almost made it when he heard a familiar voice say behind him, "Arthur?" Father? He didn't stop to look, even after Uther started shouting at Odin to "stop attacking my son."

Finally Uther walked out into the middle of the fight and ordered everyone to stop in his King voice. Merlin, breathing heavily, glanced at Arthur. His expression said, Morgana, so Arthur nodded. Merlin sheathed his sword and took off, leaving Arthur and Uther to sort out the mess.

xxxXxxx

Morgana went inside her chamber and closed the door behind her. She went right to the room's wardrobe and took out a large satchel. She began loading it with clothes and other essentials for an escape back to Camelot.

A few minutes later, the door opened and closed again. It was Gwen. "Let me give you a hand with that," she said and started gathering things scattered around the room. When they'd finished that, she helped Morgana change into her tunic and trousers.

"Did you see them?" Morgana asked while she changed.

"Oh yeah. Merlin, Arthur and two other men were holding their own against about ten of Odin's men. I think your father was thinking about joining them. At the very least, he's seen enough to call off the treaty. He was yelling for Odin when I left."

Morgana laughed. She laughed and laughed. Just when Gwen thought Morgana might finally be losing it, her laughter tapered off. "Good."

A desperate knock sounded at the door. Before Gwen could open it, Merlin burst inside. He saw Morgana and sped over to her. He threw his arms around her and clung to her. She embraced him back, holding his head to her shoulder and running a hand through his hair. He was shaking, but it was with relief, not sadness. It took Gwen only a moment to quietly excuse herself to wait in the antechamber.

"I'm so glad you're all right—did he hurt you at all?" he asked her. He lifted his head to look into her eyes and put his hands on either side of her face.

"I'm fine. We didn't even get through the whole wedding ceremony, so it's not binding." She looked him over carefully. "Oh my love, what did they do to you?"

"That's not important. You are important."

"Oh Merlin, hold me."

He threw his arms around her again and just held her. She looked up at him with absolute love in her eyes and he couldn't resist tipping his mouth down to hers. It was a simple kiss at first, but built in intensity as memories of their separation built. She teased his lips with her tongue and he opened his mouth to her. She took his mouth with abandon; he pressed her closer to him.

When they finally broke apart, both were panting. "Let's sit," he suggested. They went to sit on her bed and held hands. He didn't particularly want to talk about his time as the Count's prisoner, but he'd promised not to lie to her anymore. Whatever question she asked, he answered. She took the details fairly well, considering. She shared how Odin had treated her and everything up to and including the sham wedding. Eventually they reached a point where they were laughing.

That's how Arthur found them later—sitting on the bed, holding hands and laughing. "Oh my goodness, it's true," he said from the doorway.

They looked up at him, startled. "Arthur!" Morgana exclaimed. She jumped up and ran to embrace her brother.

Merlin stood too. "How goes it?" he asked cautiously.

Arthur broke away from Morgana, who went to stand next to Merlin. "Well, the treaty's off, that's certain. And that wedding . . ."

"Wasn't binding. I know," Morgana replied.

"I know you're heartbroken about it," Arthur said dryly. "Long story short, Eldin's kind of taken over negotiations. Father may even listen to him. We'll leave after they chat for a day or two." He examined the couple in front of him closely. "He doesn't know about you two and he can't. But I don't have a problem with you seeing each other. You two deserve it after all the rubbish you've had to go through."

Merlin and Morgana smiled at each other excitedly. "Thank you Arthur," he said. He took Morgana's hand.

The Prince put a hand on each of their shoulders. Don't worry about a thing—everything will work out. When I'm King I plan on changing a few laws about magic and courting."

"Is that for our benefit or yours and Gwen's?" Morgana asked slyly.

Arthur flushed a little as he answered. "It's to benefit any who fall in love outside their station. And please don't tell father about Guinevere."

"We won't," Merlin answered. He smiled at Morgana who smiled back.

"Argh, I think I'd prefer boring negotiations to watching you two be sickeningly sweet. See you later."

"Bye Arthur!" The couple said, waving at the Prince as he left.

xxxXxxx

King Odin found himself confined to his chambers under guard. Later that same day, Merlin, Arthur, Gwaine, and Percival were called in front of Prince Eldin. They testified to Count Drummond's deeds and the King's approval of them. None of them were censured for the fight, since they didn't start it and no one was killed.

The Prince also heard the Count's and his father's defense. Odin protested his treatment in all this, but the law was on Eldin's side. The Prince chose to suspend his father's authority, at least temporarily. He decided that that and house arrest were sufficient punishment. The Count would be more severely punished, but Eldin deferred his decision on that until the treaty negotiations were concluded. For now, Drummond spent his days in one of the dungeon's more uncomfortable cells.

King Uther, for his part, was massively confused. He'd thought everything had been settled before the wedding. He wasn't wrong, but no one had counted on Odin's lust for Arthur's blood. The fact that Odin had orchestrated the treaty and wedding based on that counted against him, but not against Eldin. He was impressed with Eldin's handling of his father's crimes and so was willing to negotiate with him.

After two days, Eldin and Uther had signed an agreement that included peace and trade routes between their kingdoms. No tie by marriage was ever mentioned, and both were relieved at that.

Eldin had wrested his sweetheart's location from his father and freed her from the hidden dungeon cell she'd been in. They immediately became engaged, and everyone from Camelot was invited back to the kingdom for the wedding. Arthur privately thought that Eldin and his fiancée were almost as sickly sweet as his sister and Merlin, but no one could top Guinevere's beauty.

Uther was nonplussed by Merlin's reappearance, especially after everything that had happened. He merely shrugged and asked Arthur if he wanted to retain Merlin as his manservant. Arthur responded in the affirmative and it was settled.

The day after negotiations were finished, everyone from Camelot mounted their horses or got into the carriage and left, happy to be done with this particular unexpected adventure.

xxxXxxx

The group stopped to camp just over the border into Camelot. As it neared sunrise the next morning, Merlin woke and took a short hike into the woods. He came back and once he'd finished his usual tasks- cheating with magic -he quietly sought Morgana. From across the camp he spoke into her mind. "About fifty yards to the east is an overlook. I'll meet you there."

"See you there," Morgana thought back. She watched the direction he took then chose a different one, but shortly they ended up in the same place, out of view of prying eyes. "Good morning," she said aloud.

"Good morning," he replied, taking her hand.

She leaned against him as they watched the sun rise. "It's beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you."

She looked up. He was looking at the view now, but his eyes darted toward her then back. A content smile spread across his face. "You're such a charmer."

"I guess that's what true love does to you." He turned his body to look at her. His right hand came up to brush an errant lock of hair behind her ear. It then drifted down to take hold of the back of her head and pulled it up toward his. A wave of love spread over her and she moved the rest of the way to his lips herself.

There have been many beautiful kisses throughout history, but this one was the most passionate, the most pure. It blew all others away.

The End

Never fear, readers! I'll continue posting on Unwinding, and I've got a couple winter projects in the works as well as the last one in my Changes trilogy coming up. Thanks again for reading! :)