AN: Here it is, the last chapter of Telling Tales. I'd like to thank all of you for reading, commenting, reviewing, and adding this story to your favorites list. Thank you for being so kind and encouraging. Let me know what you think of chapter 17.

Major thanks to Lostinlaceandbrocade for the thumbs up :)

-17-

"Arthur!" Elyan yelled, calling out to the man who recently became his future brother-in-law. "What's taking you so long?"

"I have to say that I enjoy hearing Arthur being bossed around," Merlin said.

"Where the hell is it?" Arthur's voice yelled back.

"Corkscrew?" Tom asked his son, amused at the banter that seemed to have transformed the two men from grown-ups into kids.

"Yes," Elyan said.

"Top drawer, near the cutting board."

Elyan yelled this out to Arthur again and they soon heard a "found it!"

"About time," Elyan grumbled and led everyone from the living room to the large dining room that was the center of his and Guinevere's childhood home.

They were celebrating Arthur and Guinevere's engagement. Uther had thought to host a dinner at some Michelin-starred restaurant, but after hearing from Morgana that Tom and Elyan were superb cooks, accepted their offer of a home-cooked meal instead.

Tom, Elyan, Merlin, and Arthur were now putting the final touches on the dinner, and all of them agreed that it was something any top chef would envy. From the rack of lamb down to the dessert, everything was perfect. All that was left was to wait for Guinevere, Morgana, Ella, and Uther to arrive. The group trooped back to the living room and waited for the rest to make an appearance.

Ella was the first to come in and Elyan flew to his girlfriend's side, stealing a few moments with her away from the prying eyes of everyone else.

Uther came in next; carrying with him a magnum of champagne that he said would be perfect for the toast to the newly-engaged couple. No one disagreed with him, of course.

Guinevere arrived and once again, Arthur found his self-control tested as she kissed him hello. All he wanted was to whisk her away and be the recepient of her undivided attention. They hadn't spent much time together lately, with Guinevere finishing her thesis (which had gotten top marks, mind you) and Arthur finalizing the takeover of Hengist Enterprises. This dinner will be the most time they will spend with each other in weeks.

"Hello darling," Guinevere purred as she kissed her fiance. "I've missed you."

"Guinevere," Arthur said her name in the way that reduced her knees to jelly. "Let's finish this dinner and you can show me just how much, okay?"

Guinevere winked at Arthur. "Deal," she said.

Finally, Morgana arrived with her usual dramatic flair and automatically made a beeline for Tom. She had liked Guinevere's dad upon meeting him and was often with him during get-togethers like these. She flung her arms around the burly man and hugged him until he was laughing and begging to be let go.

When Merlin came up to his girlfriend for his turn at a hug and a kiss, Morgana surprised him with a glare and a curl of her lip.

"You," her voice was deathly calm. "How dare you?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing.

"This is going to be good," Uther said as he sat down to wait for the fireworks to begin.

"What did I do now?" Merlin may have looked confused but he knew exactly what Morgana was alluding to.

Morgana opened her purse and drew out a sheaf of papers.

"What the hell is this, Emrys?" She waved the papers in Merlin's face and willed herself to be calm.

"What's that?" Ella asked Elyan.

"I have no idea," Elyan was just as puzzled as his girlfriend. "But I think we're about to find out."

Morgana whirled around to look at Guinevere who was safely cocooned in Arthur's arms.

"Did you know about this?" She asked her future sister-in-law.

"Not a clue," Guinevere deadpanned. She knew everything, of course.

"I'm not even going to ask you," she said to Arthur. "Or you," this time at Elyan. "You'll both cover his ass."

"But we don't know..." Arthur and Elyan protested at the same time.

"Shut it," Morgana's voice dripped ice.

"Morgana, honey," Tom tried to placate the young woman who was practically apoplectic in anger. "Calm down."

"I will not," Morgana's voice was starting to rise, but a quelling look from Uther made her steady herself. This wasn't her house and she had no right to make a scene.

"You," she jabbed Merlin in the chest with the papers she held in her fist. "Have a lot of explaining to do."

"Morgana," Merlin began as he walked toward her with his hands held palms-up. "It's just a story. Come on, now."

Morgana's lip quivered and she actually sniffled.

"What the...," Arthur was surprised at sister. She wasn't usually this emotional.

"You turned me into a witch!" Morgana all but yelled at Merlin. "You made me evil!"

Merlin enveloped Morgana in an embrace and let her anger ride out.

Everyone could see the rage in Morgana's green eyes as she peered over Merlin's shoulder at the collection of family and friends who were openly staring at her uncharacteristic display of emotions. After a few moments, she made a halfhearted attempt to push her boyfriend away.

"Love," Merlin said in a soothing voice. "You ended up being the hero of the story." He refused to let her out of his embrace.

"Yes, but not before everyone wanted to kill me!"

"What?" It was Uther's turn to sound confused.

"Here," Morgana thrust the papers into her father's hand. "It's the story Merlin wrote about me."

Uther started to read and soon his chuckles were heard by everyone in the room. After he finished with a page, he handed it to Tom who soon joined in the chortling.

"You turned me into a warlock, Morgana," Merlin reminded her.

"But you were good," she said. She was still sniffling.

"So good that you wanted to kill me in every chapter?"

"Well.."

"And what's with Arthur constantly calling me useless?"

"I guess I did go overboard with that one," Morgana sounded contrite.

"And the kiss with Guinevere?" Merlin raised an eyebrow as Morgana turned pink.

"What kiss?" Arthur yelled at Merlin.

"Ssshh," Guinevere shushed him.

"What kiss?" Arthur asked again. He stopped talking when Guinevere moved her head to kiss his jaw, her tongue just barely flicking his skin.

"You'll tell me about this kiss later, right?" Arthur whispered to Guinevere.

"I'll make you forget all about it," Guinevere replied, giving her fiancé a saucy wink.

Arthur got the message and kept his mouth shut.

"That's enough drama," Elyan's voice called their attention. "I'm starving and I worked too hard to let all this food go cold."

This was answered by a grumble that came from Guinevere's stomach.

Arthur stared at her and smiled. She was such a surprise.

Soon, everyone was in the dining room, taking their place at the large round table that had been in Guinevere's family for generations. Food was being passed around and everyone praised Elyan and Tom for their efforts.

"Much better than any restaurant," Uther raised his glass in salute to father and son. "To you, Tom and Elyan."

"Thank you," Tom raised his glass in acknowledgement. He and Uther had become friends and often spent weekends watching (and berating) their respective football teams as they watched the matches on the telly.

Elyan was rewarded with a "fantastic job" and a kiss from Ella.

Arthur looked at Guinevere who was positively glowing with happiness. He couldn't believe his good fortune: engaged to a woman who loved him as much as he adored her, welcomed into a family who treated him like their own, and finally at peace with his father. There was still Morgana to deal with, of course, but he had Merlin to take care of that.

"What?" Guinevere asked, a little unnerved by how intensely Arthur was looking at her. "Arthur, is anything wrong?

"No," he smiled at her. "Everything's perfect."

He laced her fingers with his and brought her hand to his lips. He caught a glimpse of the ring which now made its home on her hand. It looked wonderful on her; a promise of infinite tomorrows that will be just as happy as today.

"I love you, my lady," he whispered. He had gone to calling her that, a reminder of how they "met."

"And I love you, my prince," Guinevere put her other hand on Arthur's cheek, blushing when he turned his head to kiss her palm.

"Get a room!" Morgana's voice cut into their moment.

Arthur and Guinevere both turned to the woman who was instrumental in bringing them together.

"Later," Guinevere winked at her friend who groaned in response.

"Happy, love?" Merlin whispered the question in Morgana's ear. He noticed how her eyes had softened as she watched how her brother and Guinevere glowed in each other's presence.

"Phenomenally," she said, looking into his blue eyes.

She and Merlin then looked at the people around them. Arthur and Guinevere who were now just sickeningly adorable, Elyan and Ella who were a much calmer pair, and Tom and Uther who turned out to be fiercely protective of everyone at the table.

"This is all because of you, you know," Merlin told Morgana, his lips at her temple.

"And you," she said, remembering how Merlin was the first person to meet Guinevere.

Merlin wrapped an arm around Morgana who snuggled into his side.

"Ah, love," he muttered. "It's just like magic."

Morgana laughed and said, "There's a story in this, you know."

Merlin winked at her. "Of course, love. And I'm sure that you're the right person to tell us all."

-The end-