Out of Time

AvalonReeseFanFics

A/N: Alright my wonderful readers, here's the next update! Isn't wonderful only having to wait a week and not months at a time like before! I hope you guys enjoy this one as well, it's got a cute little ending! Also, in other news, I've officially written that terrible ending. And it's happening in 3 chapters. That's right, it's gonna happen Chapter 39. I fully expect anger but chapter 40 has spoilers at the end of it that will hopefully make things better! Just want you guys to be ready so it's not a full surprise! As always, don't forget to review as I'd love to hear what you guys are thinking, and if you'd like to see your name in the shoutouts, hit me with a review, a fav or a follow and I'll see you guys next week!

Shoutouts: ForeverTeamEdward13, bumblebeeash19, DaniDragonFire56 and Emily7296.

Chapter 36: Out of Selflessness

The morning after he failed his test, he was made aware that all the remaining grain they had in their stores had rotted. This was a grateful reprieve from the ache in his heart that had kept him up last night. Though Anhora had said that Addison's punishment was separate from his, he couldn't help but feel like the two were tied together. That if he had passed his test, Addison would be safely in the castle, still very mad at him, but at least she wouldn't have been abducted and submitted to whatever tortures Anhora had in store.

His imagination had been running wild all night with the thought of what he could possibly do to her.

After seeing the damage that was done, after figuring out that they only had a little bit of food left in the stores, his father called him into the throne room to discuss what the next steps would be. But somehow Arthur got there first, despite Uther summoning him.

When his father came in, he turned and immediately told him what he had found out. "There are some supplies left in the palace stores. We are distributing them to the people, but there is not enough to live on. They will not survive for long."

He wanted his father to tell him what to do, his father who knew everything and was supposed to be infinitely wise. He was not expecting his father to say: "Then you must stop distributing food to the people."

Arthur was silent after that demand. He just couldn't believe his father would say something like that. Maybe he just didn't get what Arthur was trying to say.

"They will starve," he repeated hoping that if he said it one more time, with a little more gusto, his father would see the necessity of helping his own people.

"We must conserve the food we have for our army."

The army? Why? Was he expecting to go into battle?

"We cannot let our people go without food."

"We must defend the kingdom at all costs."

Yes, but what point was there to defend a kingdom whose people had starved to death? Then they were just protecting land. Land that was barren and useless.

And he tried to tell him father that but he was cut off with a very angry: "What would you have me do?"

"Ask the neighbouring kingdoms for help," Arthur said, turning to watch his father storm towards his throne. His father scoffed at the mere idea. "They may be able to spare some food."

"Out of the question," Uther growled. "As soon as they realize how weak we are, our enemies will strike against us."

"You don't know that for certain!"

"Besides, I would rather starve than beg my enemies for help. What of our kingdom's reputation? Have you no pride?" He spat that last word out as if it were poison. As if Arthur's mere lapse in pride had disgusted him.

But that was the problem. Pride was what got them in this mess. Had he just not been proud, if he had just ignored the taunts and gone after Anhora, his people wouldn't be going hungry and Addison would be here with him.

"I cannot think of my pride when our people go hungry. They are all I can think of."

His father glared at him and carefully walked towards Arthur. "Give the order to stop distributing food to the people. Is that understood?"

It was. Perfectly. That the order would be coming from him and not his father, making him the bad one, once again.

"You'll have to give that order yourself," Arthur snapped back and then walked away.

Arthur got only five steps away from him when Uther called out: "And send Addison down here. It's time she stopped moping in her room."

Of course he would ask for Addison upon Arthur's disobedience. For the first time he counted himself lucky that Addison wasn't here.

"She's no longer in the castle. Had you paid attention you might have known that someone spirited her out of the castle last night. Not sure for what purpose but I have a small team looking for her."

It was not true, of course. He didn't know how to tell his father that this was all the doing of the Keeper of the Unicorns, so he had kept that part quiet. So, when Addison was taken, he knew he couldn't say that this was also the work of the Keeper of the Unicorns, punishing her for the slaying of her unicorn. So, the lie would have to do.

"So, we have a food shortage and a kidnapping?" Uther snarled. "Why her?"

"Well we won't know until I find them," Arthur said primly and then walked away before his father could say anything else. And then even as his father shouted more words to hurt him, he still just kept walking. Like he should have done in the forest yesterday.

"Well if you hadn't failed in protecting her as you failed in catching the sorcerer then I wouldn't have to do this. One day you will understand what it takes to be king!"

Arthur didn't even bother to look back.

Merlin had gone to the forest to beg Anhora for another chance. And it was given to him.

He had rushed all the way back to Arthur to tell him the good news and then helped him prepare to go.

"Did you ask about Addison?" was one of the first question asked and poor Merlin didn't have an answer, because he hadn't asked.

And that would be about when Arthur decided that he wasn't going to bring Merlin with him, but he still made him help him with all of his armour first.

Merlin tried to pepper him with arguments as he went about it, but Arthur wasn't having any of it. So when he finished tying on the last of his armour he then chased after Arthur. "Let me come with you. You don't know what form the test will take. I might be able to help!"

"You're not coming," Arthur said again as he collected his sword from where Merlin had left it on the table. "I brought this curse upon Camelot. I'm gonna be the one to lift it or die trying."

Yes, but that was what Merlin was trying to avoid.

"How does your dying help anyone?"

And for a moment that seemed to stump Arthur. "I'll die knowing I did everything I can."

Yeah, like Merlin was going to let that happen.

"I'm coming with you."

"Merlin!" Arthur half groaned. "You're to stay here and help the people as best you can. Is that understood?"

Yes, it was understood, didn't mean that Merlin was going to listen to him. So instead he let Arthur walk away from him, he let Arthur saddle up his own horse and then ride out of the city. And once Merlin was certain that Arthur had enough of a head start, he stole his own horse and saddle and rode on after Arthur. He knew Arthur couldn't do this alone and he was going to help him. Whether he liked it or not.

It was a long night's ride to the Labyrinth of Gedref, but he managed to make it there midday of his second day of his quest. Arthur had gotten off his horse, left it at the front of the maze and then without a beat of hesitation walked right into the maze.

It wasn't until he was a good way through the maze, that he realized maybe he should have hesitated a bit, and thought of a plan before crashing on in through the hedges. He didn't want to admit it but he was utterly turned around in here. He didn't know which way he came from. He didn't know which way was the way out. He didn't even know where he was going.

And as he got more nervous and frantic, the faster he tried to run and the more lost he became until he passed a narrow opening in which he swore he could see sand and hear the surf.

They were by the coast?

Since when? How big was the god damn maze? Granted it had looked huge when he came upon it but he hadn't thought it was big enough to lead him to the coast.

Still it was the only exit point he had come across so hopefully this was the way he was supposed to go.

Imagine his surprise when he got out onto the beach and Anhora was not alone.

Addison, he might have expected, but Merlin was not supposed to be there. The idiot had not only followed him but he had gone and gotten himself captured.

"Merlin!" he groaned because it was hard enough worrying about Addison, now he had to worry about Merlin too. Merlin was just sitting on a lump of wood with a small wooden table before him. There was another lump of wood clearly meant for someone else to sit on, most likely him, and on the table were two goblets.

Yeah, a lot of good that would do him. He turned his eyes onto Anhora. "Let him go," he ordered. "I'll take the test, but not till he's released."

"That is not possible. Merlin is part of the test," Anhora told him and Arthur struggled to keep his eyes from rolling. Really? It had to be this way? "Please, sit."

Well he didn't have much choice now did he. However, he tarried too long and Anhora added: "If you refuse the test you will have failed and Camelot will be destroyed."

Well damn. He really didn't have a choice now. Arthur dropped his sword to the table and took his seat, being sure to pin a disappointed glare onto Merlin.

"I thought I told you to stay at home." He waited for Merlin to say something but the poor boy could only look at him crestfallen eyes and he got tired of staring at them after a while so he glanced back to Anhora. "Let's get on with it."

"There are two goblets before you. One of the goblets contains a deadly poison, the other goblet a harmless liquid. All the liquid from both goblets must be drunk, but each of you may only drink from a single goblet."

Arthur blinked his eyes. What the actually hell? "What kind of ridiculous test is that? What does that prove?"

"What it proves is for you to decide," Anhora said and Arthur huffed, well this was stupid. It would only prove who was the stupider of the two. "If you pass the test the curse will be lifted."

Yes, wonderful, but that wasn't all he wanted.

"What of Addison?" Arthur found himself asking.

"What of her?"

"Well, where is she? I'd like to see her, before the test."

Anhora calmly stared at him and for a moment Arthur was certain the request would be denied. But then the old man lifted his arm and from the ground rose a glass coffin. His heart dropped out of his chest, because there, inside it, was Addison. Arms crossed over her chest, eyes closed, dressed in one of her blue dresses, one he had commissioned himself on a bed of satin.

"You killed her!"

"The price she agreed to…"

"What? Her life for the Unicorn's? But… no! Why would she do that?"

"It has already been done."

Arthur thought a moment before turning back to Anhora. "Then let me take her punishment. If I fail this last test, you can have me instead of her. But if I pass she gets to go free. Fair?"

"Her punishment is hers alone to bear. No one else can shoulder it's weight."

"Please!" Arthur found himself crying. "She is kind, and wonderful… and she never would have let any harm come to that unicorn. She'd have taken that bolt herself if she knew it was coming. She does not deserve this!"

Anhora seemed to take this in before giving him a soft nod.

"If you pass your test, her punishment may be rescinded. It all depends on your heart, young Penndragon."

"So, you'll set her free?" Arthur asked but when he looked up again, both Anhora and the glass coffin with his Addison in it was gone. My god he was starting to hate this man.

He turned his eyes back to the goblets and after a moment, Merlin said: "Let's think about this." Wonderful, because Arthur's mind had disappeared when Addison did. "What if I drink from my goblet first?"

"If it's poisoned, you'll die," Arthur reminded him.

"And if it's not, you'll have to drink from yours and you'll die."

Yes, quite the conundrum. He had forgotten that Merlin was dumb. Addison would have come up with a plan by now.

"There must be a way around it."

There wasn't, of course, one of them was going to have to die. And of course, it would have to be Arthur. It was his test, his curse, he had to die. Simple. And as an added bonus he wouldn't have to live another day without his precious, perfect Addison.

"It's perfectly simple. One of us has to die. We have to find a way to determine which goblet has the poison. Then I'll drink it."

Merlin's eyes whipped up to him. "I will be the one to drink it."

Yeah, Arthur wasn't about to let a single other person suffer because of his own actions. "This is my doing. I'm drinking it."

"It's more important that you live. You're the future King. I'm just a servant."

That was true too. Camelot would be down a crown prince after this, but again, this was his doing and it was his responsibility to undo it. His test. His punishment. And he wasn't going to let Merlin take that from him, no matter how noble the young man thought himself to be.

"This is no time to be a hero, Merlin. It really doesn't suit you."

Merlin sighed and shook his head. "What if I drink from mine first and if that's not poisoned, I will then drink yours."

"He said each of us is only allowed to drink from a single goblet," he reminded Merlin and the boy's shoulders sagged. He looked so desperate that Arthur almost laughed. "I had no idea you were so keen to die for me."

Merlin clasped his hands together and then dropped his chin to them. "Trust me, I can hardly believe it myself," he mumbled and Arthur struggled to keep himself from grinning but a few chuckles did manage to escape him.

Well if he was going to die, he might as well say some nice things to the boy, since he was clearly going to be broken hearted once Arthur passed on.

"I'm glad you're here, Merlin," he admitted being sure not to look at him while he said so. He didn't want to seem any more pathetic than he already did.

And apparently kindness was all that was needed to jog Merlin's brain. "I've got it," he said quickly. "Right, we pour all the liquid into one goblet and then we can be sure it's poisoned. Then all the liquid can be drunk and it will be from a single goblet."

That was… actually a really good idea. "You never cease to surprise me," Arthur told him honestly. "You're a lot smarter than you look." Now if only he acted like it.

Merlin reeled back, a smile touching his lips for the first time since he came across him at this table. "Is that actually a compliment?"

Arthur smiled, oh Merlin wasn't going to like this part. He pointed out at the surf and said: "Look out," and Merlin, poor, gullible Merlin, turned his head. Once he was looking away, Arthur grabbed the goblets, poured all the contents from one into the other before Merlin could notice.

But Merlin turned a lot quicker than Arthur thought he would. "No! I will drink it!" Merlin cried, trying to reach for it, but Arthur was quicker.

"As if I'd let you," he snapped back.

"You can't die. This isn't your destiny," Merlin cried and Arthur almost stopped. Addison believed in destiny too. Merlin really would be perfect for her.

"It seems you're wrong again," Arthur said, his eyes never leaving the goblet. He always imagined he died in combat. This wasn't as glorious but at least it was still for his people.

"Listen to me…"

"You know me, Merlin. I never listen to you," Arthur reminded him. "And while you're at it, do me a favour and look after Addison for me…"

And then he put the goblet to his lips and drank and drank and drank until it was all gone and then he swallowed and looked Merlin right in the eye.

Oh, the poor boy looked like a startled stoat. "No! Arthur! What have you done?"

He merely smiled at Merlin. He had saved his people. He had saved Addison. As the world went dark and he fell right out of his seat, Arthur reflected that at least his death wouldn't have been in vain.

As soon as Arthur hit the ground, Merlin was out of his chair and half onto Arthur, calling his name and trying to wake him up. But it was to no avail, Arthur was simply gone.

Merlin felt a sort of shift in his senses and when he looked up Anhora was back. "Please," he said to him. "Please. Just let me take his place."

"This was Arthur's test, not yours," Anhora reminded him. And while that was true, it still wasn't fair. Arthur needed to be alive, he was the one with the grand destiny, not Merlin. Merlin was just supposed to make sure he got there and now he had failed.

"You've killed him!" Merlin shouted. "I was meant to protect him."

Anhora took that in with unfeeling eyes and then simply said: "He's not dead."

Merlin paused and then looked back down to Arthur. Wait… he wasn't?

"He's merely consumed a sleeping draft. He will come around shortly."

Merlin blinked his eyes. "What?"

"A unicorn is pure of heart. If you kill one, you must make amends by proving that you also are pure of heart. Arthur was willing to sacrifice his life to save yours. He has proven what is truly in his heart. The curse will be lifted."

Oh that was wonderful! That was great!

"Okay and what about Addison?" Merlin asked.

"Her punishment is not Arthur's," Anhora said.

"No, but you said that you'd set her free if Arthur passed the test."

Anhora said nothing "There is nothing left to be done for her." And then once again he disappeared leaving Merlin and the sleeping Arthur alone on the coast.

When Arthur came to, Merlin could tell him the good news and when he asked about Addison, not only could Merlin tell him that he remembered to ask about her, but that he had an answer for him too. It was just too bad that Arthur didn't like the answer that Merlin had to offer him.

They had gotten back to Camelot to find that he crops had regrown, the water was flowing and all was in good spirits. But not Arthur.

Yes, he had managed to lift the curse and save his people, but he hadn't managed to save Addison. Addison was still with the Keeper of the Unicorns being punished and he felt so helpless about it. He could think of nothing else to make amends, nothing he could think of to make up for what he had done and free her. Except well… for one thing.

When he got a chance, he took Merlin out to the forest where he first spotted that unicorn and together, they went about making a stone burial for the horn. Arthur laid the horn to rest in a bolt of red silk before putting the last the rocks on top of it.

"I should have never ended your life," Arthur said to the little burial hold. "I'm sorry."

Once they were done, Merlin knocked his elbow into Arthur with a soft whisper of his name. Arthur, too, looked up and there was the unicorn, looking the same as the day Arthur had put a bolt into it's heart. It's white mane braided with flowers, it's soft gaze pointed in his direction. Merlin and Arthur watched as the unicorn bowed it's head to them and then turned away to disappear into the forest.

Arthur was glad that the unicorn returned, glad that his wrong had been undone, but what did that mean for Addison? Was he to follow the unicorn? Follow it to Anhora and ask once again for Addison's return? It was only fair, Addison was taken because the Unicorn had been taken, now Arthur had given it back.

For a moment they both waited, to see if Anhora would return, or Addison would appear to them. But neither came.

As the walked back to the castle, Merlin spouted his own ideas. About how the Unicorn coming back meant that, surely, Addison would return too. In fact, he bet that Addison was back in Camelot waiting for them. But if she wasn't, they knew where in the forest to go looking for Anhora and surely Arthur could convince him to go for another round of tests, or to at least give Addison one.

They were wading through the tallgrass, this particular area having sprouted up quicker than weeds since he had lifted the curse, and Arthur was just listening, too crestfallen to really participate in the conversation. So, it was a complete surprise when he suddenly tripped over something and fell flat on his face.

"Oh gosh, Arthur, are you okay?"

Arthur was fine, his pride however was completely shattered at this point. To the point where he wasn't certain he'd ever recover it. But when he turned to see what had tripped him up, he found that maybe he didn't care so much about pride. All he could see through the grass was a bolt of blue. Had he tripped over a person?

Both he and Merlin pushed the grass aside and revealed not just a person, but his Addison.

"Addison!" he near shrieked grabbing her and pulling her to his chest. She was breathing but she hadn't woken up. He shook her a little more before turning his eyes up to Merlin. "What's wrong with her?"

Merlin looked surprised that this question was directed at him. "Well Anhora put a sleeping potion in your drink, so maybe she's asleep."

Well, obviously, but how did he wake her up?

"You wait here, I'll go get Gaius… or you can bring her to Gaius… I'll just have him whip something up, you follow after!" Merlin cried before rushing off like a bounding puppy.

For a moment Arthur just sat there with Addison in his lap. Once he was certain Merlin was gone he focused his full attention onto the girl in his arms. A hand went to cup her cheek but there wasn't a single bit of motion from her. Not a bat of an eyelash, not a crease of a brow, nothing.

Addison had always spoke of true love being the strongest power, that it could break any spell. And he knew, he knew he truly loved her. So maybe, maybe he could break the spell.

And then he kissed her.

When he pulled back, he waited, looking for any sign that it worked and he was rewarded with a crease in her brow and fluttering of her eyelashes. She squirmed in his grasp and then her eyes opened, just slits of light blue staring up at him.

"Arthur?"

"Yeah."

"Did you… you gave up the unicorn horn?"

He nodded. "I did."

"Did you see her? Amalthea I mean, did you see her?" he nodded once more and she relaxed in his arms. "Oh good, I'm glad she's okay."

Arthur held her a little more tightly. "I'm so sorry, Addison, I never should have killed the unicorn. I just… it was a bad thing for me to have done and I have paid for it, believe me."

Addison's hand came up to cup his cheek. "I do believe you," she whispered before pulling his head down to her so he could kiss her again. He should have stopped, he should have let her go, but he couldn't. All his curses had been lifted, he had saved his people and his Addison. He could finally truly be happy now that he had Addison back.