Fischersfritzefischt: Hahaha, I know I left the battle so unattended, but I needed to center my attention at Merlin/Arthur/Morgana and I didn't feel I would be able to write a real battle! Thank you so much for your nice comment once again! ;)

Bubzchoc: Thank you so much!

Vldboeser: Oh my God, thank you. Your comment really did me so good! I've been having some difficult times and I didn't feel the strenght to write. Your review really inspired me and encouraged me to give my story an ending, so it's really thanks to you I finished it. Thank you again for your comment, it meant a lot to me :)

A/N: I know, at last! I'm sorry it took me so long to post the last chapter but well... it hasn't been easy for me to write these past few weeks/months and I wasn't able to finish it sooner. I hope you haven't lost the interest in it and still want to read it!

I wanted to thank everyone who read this story, especially those ones who took the time to review (some of you one time after the other, you're amazing!). It's been a wonderful journey for me and I'll be very sad to say goodbye to these characters! So really, thank you.

And now, please, enjoy! ;)

CHAPTER 22

Merlin felt like he had been round the whole castle at least three times that day, just making sure everything was getting ready as it should for the big event that was going to take place next day. He couldn't stop a little smile breaking into his lips at the thought that, same time tomorrow, he wouldn't be Arthur's betrothed anymore but his husband. An adoring and caring husband whose whole purpose in life would be to make Arthur happy, especially after all he had been through in the last few weeks and that had had a deep effect in the once carefree and happy young man.

And thinking about the man he wanted to make happy more than anything in the world, Merlin suddenly realised he hadn't seen him since that morning when they had separated and he didn't have any idea where he was. He knew the knight training had been put off until after the wedding (especially now Camelot wasn't in danger anymore). He also knew it had been Merlin himself who had insisted for Arthur not to take any part in the preparations, wanting for everything to be a surprise on their special day, and also wanting Arthur to have a quiet day for himself before all the excitement that was about to come in the next days.

But Merlin still didn't like not knowing where Arthur was. Or how he was. Merlin knew Arthur was very excited about them being really and officially together, and was looking forward to their wedding as much as he was, but he was still having some difficulty in coming to terms with everything that had happened lately. His eyes were filled with a nostalgic sadness every now and then, when he thought Merlin couldn't see him. He had not recovered from his father's death yet when he had also had to bury his sister, however necessary her death might have been for the Kingdom's peace and how she had changed from the sister he had once known and loved. And... Merlin knew Arthur was completely alright with his magic now, he was even proud of it. Hey, he had even made it public to the whole kingdom, his voice full of pride and defiance in case anyone dared to make even the slightest comment against Merlin, and had immediately lifted the ban against magic, as long as it was used for good purposes. But still the discovery Merlin was a wizard and the disappointment at not feeling trusted by him had been a deep blow to his already wounded heart, even if they had already put that behind them and all was better than ever between them.

Suddenly having a strong urge to see his lover, Merlin closed his eyes and tried to establish a mental connection with him to see where he was. Their love was so strong it was not difficult for him to see Arthur was not in his room, as he might have presumed, but in the chamber where Uther's body had been laid to rest. And that probably meant he needed him.

Arthur was standing in front of his father's tomb, paying his respects as he used to do whenever he missed him so much it felt too overwhelming. He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he jumped at the unexpected intrusion of a soft knocking in the chamber's door.

"Arthur?" Merlin's voice came from behind the door, eliciting a tiny smile in Arthur's lips. He should have known Merlin would come sooner or later, worrying about him. He always did.

"Enter" Arthur answered, giving his permission for Merlin to open the door, though he still wasn't ready to turn his eyes away from his father's tomb.

"Are you alright, Arthur?" Merlin asked, his head poking around the door. "I didn't want to interrupt you, but I hadn't heard from you for a long while and I was getting worried"

"I'm alright" Arthur answered, twisting his neck just a little to be able to look and smile at his lover.

"I'll leave you alone then" Merlin smiled back and turned to go, with the intention of closing the door behind him, but Arthur stopped him first.

"No" he said, stretching his arm towards him as an invitation to enter, to which Merlin couldn't refuse.

The young warlock felt strange going into the chamber where Uther's body laid to rest. He had never been there before, not even when Uther died and he had spent the night just outside the door to give Arthur some much needed space without leaving him alone. It felt like such an intimate place, the only way Arthur had to feel a little closer to his father, that he would have felt like an intruder. But now it was Arthur asking him to share it with him, and Merlin felt both honoured and wanting to be there for him. So he walked all the way across the big chamber to where Arthur was standing and put his arms around him from behind, his lips placing a gentle kiss on the back of Arthur's neck before his own chin came to rest on Arthur's shoulders.

"Are you alright?" Merlin repeated. "Is everything well?"

"I just... came here to make peace with my father's memory" Arthur answered, his voice so soft it felt like a whisper.

"What do you mean?"

"It's... a little bit complicated" Arthur answered, obviously feeling troubled.

"I'll do my best to understand, if you wish to share it to me" Merlin kindly offered, one of his hands moving to the side of Arthur's head to move the hair out of his face in a tender gesture.

"I've never told you this, but..." Arthur started, but he seemed to be having some trouble to put his thoughts into words. "Since my father died sometimes I've felt kind of..."

"What?" Merlin encouraged him, squeezing Arthur's middle more strongly.

"Guilty" Arthur confessed in a whisper, eliciting a sympathetic sigh from his lover.

"Arthur, we've been through this already. It's not your fault, it was your father's decision to give his life to save yours. And you had been drugged in order for you to be incapable of fighting back, so there was little you could do"

"I know that, or at least I do most of the time. It's not that I've felt guilty about"

"Then what is it?"

"About... about everything I've done that goes against my father's beliefs" Arthur explained. "I let men who were not from noble families become my closest knights and friends, I let people with magic get away with it and then there's..."

"Us" Merlin interrupted, suddenly understanding.

"Yes" Arthur confirmed.

"Are you having second thoughts about tomorrow?" Merlin genuinely asked, with no trace of regret in his voice.

"No!" Arthur was quick to deny, almost offended at the thought of rejecting Merlin.

"Because we don't have to do it if you're not sure" Merlin offered.

"Merlin, no" Arthur insisted, turning around in Merlin's embrace to face him and put his own arms around him. "I've never regretted anything about us"

"But you said you felt guilty"

"Yes, I felt guilty. I don't do anymore, though. How could I, when you're the best thing that has ever happened to me? When I know for sure it's impossible something that makes us this happy can be anything but good?" Arthur explained, not able to stop the beautiful smile that was breaking in his lips, to which Merlin responded with one of his own.

"Do you really mean it?" Merlin asked, already knowing the answer.

"Of course. I felt guilty because I knew my father wouldn't approve, not because I had any doubts myself. I've never been surer about anything in my life"

"I'm glad to hear that" Merlin confessed, bringing Arthur to him in a loving embrace, his hand caressing the hair falling on the back of the blond's head.

"I'm sorry if I troubled you with my worries" Arthur apologized in the comfort of Merlin's embrace.

"It's alright" Merlin immediately refused his apologies. "If there is something going on in your head I want to know, however bad you might think it is"

Arthur smiled gratefully at his lover and rested his head on the sorcerer's shoulder, letting Merlin's arms hold him more closely in a protective embrace that never failed to make him feel so loved and secure.

They remained like that, in silence, their bodies lightly rocking together, for a couple of minutes, until Arthur broke it, still needing to voice all of what was inside his head, wanting to keep his promise about not letting any secrets come between them again.

"You know what the funniest thing is?" he asked, though Merlin could see from the tone of his voice that Arthur didn't find what was about to say funny at all.

"What is it, love?" Merlin asked, forcing Arthur to lift his head with a finger under his chin so he could look at him.

"I... I don't know why but I can't stop thinking how, to the eyes of my father, you're probably the worst choice I could have picked as my consort"

"Why?" Merlin asked, trying not to feel offended or affected by it, knowing Arthur didn't share Uther's views about most things.

"Well, you're a man, for starters. And you were a servant, so no allegiances could come from our marriage. And then..."

"I have magic" Merlin finished for him, understanding.

"A triple treat" Arthur continued with a humourless smile. "He would have killed me had he known"

"I wouldn't have let him" Merlin answered, only half joking.

"I believe you" Arthur answered, with a honest chuckle this time. "We would have had to run away. I surely would have renounced to the throne before renouncing to you. You know that, don't you?"

"Of course I do" Merlin assured him, his hands cupping Arthur's cheeks to reinforce his words. "I saw you defy your whole court just for me"

"And I would have done the same if my father had still been alive" Arthur confidently answered.

"And that's why you feel guilty" Merlin said, comprehensively.

"I guess. I disagree with most of what my father did and believed, but I still love him. And I still wanted him to be proud of me"

"I know that. I understand" Merlin reassured him.

"And that's why I wanted to make peace with him. Or with myself, really. I don't want to feel guilty anymore. I don't think there is any reason for me to feel like that"

"There really isn't. You deserve to be happy"

"My father had his beliefs, but I have mine" Arthur went on, wanting to make sure Merlin understood the difference between him and his father. "And that is the way I've decided to live my life and rule my kingdom. I will always love him and respect him, but it's up to me now to make my own decisions"

"It is" Merlin answered, feeling absurdly proud of his loved one.

"And my decision will always be you" Arthur confessed with a tender smile, now he being the one to cup Merlin's cheek tenderly, "as I'll show you tomorrow"

"I already know that, you don't have to show me" Merlin answered with a smile of his own, moving Arthur's hand to his lips to kiss its palm.

"I hope that, if there is any way he can see me, he will be able to be happy for me" Arthur wished aloud, although he was mostly speaking to himself.

"I know he will. And I know he'd be so proud of you if he could see the King you've become..."

"You think?" Arthur's smile was so genuine and innocent that for a second he looked like a hopeful little kid, and Merlin had to hug him once again, feeling the need to protect him against all the bad in the world.

"I'm absolutely positive" Merlin assured him, even if he had his own doubts about it. He had known Uther, and had had the chance to see how demanding and strict he was with his son most of the time. But he had also seen a few occasions in which Uther had been unable to deny how much he loved Arthur, how proud he was of having him as a son. And hadn't he given his life for his son's in the end? Maybe it wasn't such a crazy idea to think he could have eventually accepted Arthur for whom he was and for whom he had chosen to love. At least he would make sure Arthur would believe it. "He loved you almost as much as I do, I know that"

"Thank you, Merlin" Arthur reinforced his gratefulness with a strong kiss to Merlin's lips. "I would have never been able to get over... everything without you"

"And you'll never be without me anymore" Merlin confidently promised. "From tomorrow, our lives start anew, alright?"

"Alright" Arthur smiled, almost shyly.

Merlin gave Arthur a heartfelt smile to match the one on his lover and then he put his arm around Arthur's shoulders, gently pushing him to the door and away from any ghosts of the past. Maybe Uther or Morgana weren't there anymore to share their happiness, but they were surrounded by friends who loved them and he would personally make sure Arthur would never feel alone again. Certainly, a new life for them was starting. And Merlin doubted it could get any better.

A/N: So... that's it!

I really hope you weren't disappointed about not seeing the wedding, but I really felt nothing I could write would really do justice to such an important moment, so I decided to leave it like that.

Again, thank you for reading and for being there! You guys are the best!