I made it! I actually managed to get this typed up ready to post today! It was tough, but I managed it! YATTA! Birthday epilogue, ready and raring to go!

That said, it does feel extraordinarily strange to be posting this. I started this story two years, eight months ago (to the very day). I have a feeling it wouldn't have taken quite so long had I actually started with it more fully planned in my head. But then things may have turned out a lot differently, and we almost certainly wouldn't have seen some of the key characters who turned up, so I can't really bring myself to feel quite as apologetic about the huge gaps as I probably should... Shame on me.

As I've told some of you in my replies to your reviews, this is far from the end. I have a sequel planned, set approximately three months into the trial, but I can't be completely certain as to when it will get posted. Still, if you're interested, please keep as eye out- the title will be 'Despair.'

This series really has been an incredible journey for me, and I doubt I'll be done with it any time soon. As I've said before, I want to write more about some of my OCs. I also want to write a short piece which should answer a mini un-answered point from much earlier in this fic, wherein Arthur persuades an unwilling Merlin to let him meet Kilgarrah. Someone suggested once that I write a bit about Merlin's time in his cell. I don't know if that will ever be written, but I must say the idea intrigues me-if ever the right inspiration comes, then who knows? Then, of course, there is the sequel. And all sorts of fics outside of this series- not just the ones currently on hiatus, but several others- magic reveals, characters' pasts (Hunith? Uther?). I don't even know if I'll have enough time in my entire life to get down everything I want to , but I really want to thank you all for sticking with me in this one branch my (rather confusing) mind took me on. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Now, forgive me, but here comes another reply to Marc (I would put it at the end, out of the way, but I don't want to ruin the atmosphere at the bottom of the page, so I'm getting everything out of the way up here). Therefore, RAMBLE START:

Marc, I'm afraid I have to admit to being a little confused by your comment about this being AU. Surely that is the entire point of fanfiction? By deviating from canon, and putting the characters through an entirely different series of events, we get to imagine how they would change had circumstances been different to those on the show. And this series of mine has such extreme events that it was inevitable that the characters themselves would end up thinking differently to how they might in the show- as I said before, Merlin has had six whole months of solitude to ponder all sorts of things, which is why he is able to better understand what Uther's thought processes may have been.

You mentioned the 'apologising magic' incident. Forgive me if you think differently, but I see Merlin's magic as different to that of other magic-users. I see it as an extension of himself, which is why it reacts so well to his instinctive wants and needs, and why it tends to falter when he's overly distraught. As such, I think it would be fair to say that the magic carries a portion of his will. Now let me pose this question to you- if you were able to feel someone being tortured as painfully as Uther was- even if it was someone you held no real regard for- would you not feel apologetic that you could not do as much as possible to save them from said torture? I know I, for one, would absolutely hate to leave someone to face something like that. And that, my friend, is why I made that particular decision with regards to that scene.

I'm so glad you mentioned that scene with Nimueh! I absolutely LOVE that scene, along with the one where Uther tells Arthur that Nimueh is evil. When those two look at each other (before the anger kicks in), there's such a huge sadness and regret in their eyes. To me, how Uther sees Nimueh is somewhat similar to how Merlin views Morgana in the later series- an old friend, whose downfall he failed to prevent. He, through his misunderstanding of what happened, views her as the friend he let be corrupted, and she views him as the friend who turned on her. That's what I see in those scenes, anyway. You may disagree, but the parallels between Uther's and Merlin's situations are incredible. Believe me- you will never find me denying any aspect of their past friendship. But I do think it ended a lot more tragically, and with much more complexity, than you seem to believe.

Finally, I said before- I do fully acknowledge that what happened with Ygraine was the final trigger- was, in fact, a huge contributing factor to Uther's decision to start the purge. But I also said before that there is plenty of evidence to suggest that it was far from the only factor. I will not completely disclaim your opinion on what happened- as none of us can know for sure- as long as you have logical reasons, preferably backed up by evidence from the show itself, as to why you think that way. I truly do love hearing other peoples' opinions on such matters. But I'm afraid that I can cannot believe that, as you so eloquently put it "that's how the situation happened." To a degree, I believe that an element of what you said was involved, such as the eventual revenge factor (let's face it- that one's obvious). But do you really think that, no matter how close they may have been in the past, Gaius would have not only stuck around, but also retained so large a respect for Uther had his friend just up and started slaughtering people just because he was upset over his wife? Or that the purge would have been as effective as it was, as fast as it was (because, if you think about the timelines, the Dragons appear to have been wiped out- barring Kilgarrah- a mere year after Arthur's birth) if he hadn't had honest support from a large portion of non-magic-users? I can't help but believe that the circumstances back then were incredibly complex. If you have an actual account, please feel free to contact me on it- as long as you have valid, logical arguments behind your opinions, I really would love to hear them all.

RAMBLE OVER

Ack- yet another extraordinarily long Author's Note. Once again, though, thank you all so much for reading/reviewing/anything-ing this story. I hope to see you again sometime soon. ^_^ (ps. Please let me know if there's anything I haven't answered which you wanted to know)

And now, one last disclaimer: I don't own Merlin (hands up if you think I should!)

Epilogue

After hours of lying in bed, his mind whirring with hundreds of strategic details, Arthur eventually decided that he had had more than enough of staring up at the ceiling of his bed's canopy. Tossing off his covers, the Prince shrugged on some warmer clothes, tugged a pair of boots on over his bare feet, and trudged through the near-silent halls of the castle, nodding distractedly towards the guards he passed on his way towards the gardens.

Even without the constant thrum of Merlin's emotions guiding his steps, Arthur would have known where to find his friend. The Warlock- much to the frustration of his constant stream of guards- had spent most of his time over the course of the past three days outside, unwilling to trade a wide-open view of the sky for more of the constricting walls which had been his prison for the past six months. Nobody really spoke about it- apart from Gaius' exclamation that spending so much his time in the fresh air to visit his ward was probably doing his old bones a world of good- but it was becoming clear as time went on that Merlin had been more deeply affected by his confinement than any of them had guessed at first. Arthur was the most keenly aware of said changes, sensing as he now could the heavy melancholy which settled over the Warlock's mind when none of his friends were around to see. He never mentioned it, but instead took comfort in the fact that their linked minds meant that he was never more than a thought away should the younger man ever want to talk.

Finally reaching the gardens' entrance, the Prince slipped through the gateway and made his way along the paths, only pausing to briefly acknowledge the Warlock's current contingent of guards.

"How's he doing?"

"Same as ever, sire," a dark-skinned fellow spoke up. "Seems to be thinking fairly hard about something."

Well that was hardly surprising. After days of out-arguing noblemen and sending emissaries to their various allied Kingdoms to explain the situation, Uther had finally agreed that Merlin would join the proceedings from the following day onwards, as representative of the magic-users from all five Kingdoms. Such a prospect was bound to weigh on anyone's nerves.

Without another word, Arthur walked over and sat himself down on the bench upon which Merlin sat, and joined the Warlock in watching the hundreds of minuscule conjured specks of light dancing slowly to the silent music of Merlin's mind.

"Couldn't sleep then?" The younger man finally observed.

"Did you really think I would be able to?"

"Not really, but I originally expected that you'd be too stubborn to come see me for another hour at least."

"I guess some of your impatience has finally rubbed off on me."

Merlin offered up a semi-cheeky smile at that. "About time, too. Maybe this means you'll finally start reacting fast enough that you won't get knocked out left, right and centre for a change."

"I'll have you know, my reactions are some of the fastest in the land!" Arthur retorted mock-indignantly.

"In that case, I sincerely fear for the land."

"Oi! If I really was knocked out as often as you claim, then it was only because I was too busy protecting you from doing something ridiculous!"

"Says the man who got saved each time by my 'ridiculousness.'"

"Yes, well," Arthur sputtered, "at least I can look heroic even while unconscious. With ears like yours, it's not surprising in the least that villains always find it so hard to believe the same of you. You look like a bean-sprout with dinner plates glued to the tip."

"Resorting to insults about my looks now, are we?" Merlin questioned, one eyebrow raised in bemused jest. "In that case, can we please, just this once, talk about your waistline?"

"I am NOT fat!"

"No, indeed you're not. Quite the reverse- you appear to have lost a rather annoying amount of weight over the past months. Tell me- how am I supposed to persuade everyone that I've had a positive effect on you if you insist upon walking around looking like a half-starved puppy?"

Arthur was about to retort that Merlin wasn't exactly the perfect picture of healthy eating himself, when a certain word from the Warlock's speech caused his brow to arch quizzically. "A puppy?"

"Have you seen your smile? There's no other animal capable of looking quite so goofy."

"Wait- you're calling me goofy-looking? You are calling me goofy-looking?"

"Sure I am," Merlin grinned. "Takes one to know one, after all."

"Does that make you a supposed prat then?"

"Hardly. But it does make you an idiot."

The Prince let out a silent snort of amusement- mirrored almost immediately by Merlin- and the two fell into a companionable silence once more. Eventually, though, the conversation would have to take a darker turn, and Arthur somehow knew that he would have to be the one to lead them into it. Still, it was almost five full minutes before he finally spoke again, his tone now far more subdued.

"My father finally met Michael today."

"So I've heard. I've also heard that things didn't exactly go swimmingly."

Now there was an understatement, if ever Arthur had heard one. Uther had acted like he had seen a ghost, and had only started co-operating at all when the sorcerer had offered up information about the recent unrest at the borders- apparently, the skirmishes were the result of spells Morgause had created in the sisters' plans to spread out their dominion from Camelot. Spells which would eventually have later been reinforced with the sending of further human vessels- which Michael, with his skills at detecting magic, was supposed to have been searching for. Fortunately, the spells had only had jewellery (sent as anonymous gifts, and bewitched so that the Kings would choose to wear them continuously) as their vessels, and so the enchantments would have broken with Morgause's death.

"He didn't threaten him with execution right then and there." Always a positive sign. "Which is definitely an improvement in my opinion. Apparently, Michael was there when he was brought out of the enchantment. Not altogether surprising, I know, considering his role, but it didn't exactly help things along. There'll be an official trial once everything else has been settled, and the final terms are decided upon. With the rules in place, hopefully it will be a fair one."

Merlin's eyes darkened. "I only hope Michael doesn't do something to jeopardise his chances on purpose."

Arthur drew back in surprise. "What makes you think he would?"

"That spell I stopped him from casting after Aveline... you know." The younger man's expression turned even more grave. "He was trying to link himself and Morgause together- to kill himself in order to take her down. I couldn't let him."

Merlin's voice faded away, and he turned a fiercely intense gaze on the Prince. "Whatever happens, Arthur, we can't let him give up like that. I can't pretend to know exactly how he's feeling- I've lost several people after all, but never a child- but I don't want to see him throw away the life which Aveline would have wanted for him."

Arthur paused a moment before offering his reply.

"And I'm sure he won't."

"How can you know?"

"I don't. Not for certain. But he's had time to calm down now. And I saw his face at Aveline's funeral. I don't think he'll disrespect her like that. Not any more."

The shift in Merlin's emotions suggested that he was allowing this new information to sink in, and he smiled softly.

"I'm glad."

"What about Kennard?" Arthur asked a short while later. "Mordon told me that that Cedany girl has taken over his care. And, if today's training session was anything to go by, he's not exactly happy about it." The older knight, in a rare fit of temper, had practically decimated one of the training dummies, and a second had fared little better.

Merlin let out a huff of laughter. "From what Gaius tells me, neither is Cedany. Even after it was she who insisted upon it. From what I gather, she seems to view it as recompense for her involvement in his injury- however much she hates Knights. She's apparently a fantastic healer, though. Gaius says that, with her help, Kennard may eventually be able to fight again after all. Although it's still only about a sixty: forty chance.

"Still," Arthur pointed out, "it's a hell of a lot better than him being dead."

"I think we're all in agreement on that one."

"Indeed."

The conversation lulled once again as the Warlock's mind turned to darker things, and Arthur sat in patient silence, quite willing to wait until the younger man felt ready to discuss what was truly plaguing his mind. After all their time apart, even just knowing that Merlin was in his proper place by his side was enough that conversation often wasn't even necessary any more. In the meantime, he contented himself with once more watching the flow of the dancing lights- which, he now realised, also appeared to serve the purpose of heating the air around them, keeping the pair of them (as well as the guards in the distance) warm despite the chill the season otherwise had to offer.

The clouds had long moved beyond the castle's peak before Merlin spoke again, his voice so quiet that Arthur almost missed it against the dim noise of the guards' own chatter.

"Am I doing the right thing, Arthur?"

Arthur didn't answer, but instead merely turned his gaze on his friend, waiting for the continuation he was sure would follow. Sure enough, the younger man didn't disappoint.

"I've been wondering all this time. I mean, sure, it seemed like a good idea at the time, and I know it's got a lot of people starting to think about magic for themselves, but it's such a huge risk. So much could go wrong, and then where would we be? Not to mention the fact that the odds are hardly in our favour in the first place. What if all I've done is to give magic-users a tiny spark of hope, only to condemn them to another who-knows-how-many years of persecution?"

"Merlin, whatever happens, I can promise you that that will never be the case."

"But-" the Warlock turned a hopeless expression his way- "the blood oath. You can't-"

"I may have to swear upon that stupid oath," Arthur interrupted, straightening up but keeping his eyes fixed on Merlin's, "but that doesn't mean that my opinion regarding magic will ever change. The oath only has me agreeing not to support magic." He allowed a conspiratorial grin to spread across his features. "But that doesn't prevent me from acting as a neutral party- turning a blind eye when the need arises.

Merlin's lips twitched upwards in a lopsided grin of their own. "Arthur-"

"That doesn't mean I forgive you, though," the Prince continued, this time with a hint of seriousness clouding his features. "It would've been so much easier to create the perfect Kingdom if I didn't have this holding me back." He paused. "I suppose we'll just have to work extra hard to make sure that it doesn't come to that."

There were a few moments of silence before Merlin smiled again.

"Well would you look at that- the prat may have a bit of wisdom in him after all." And if Arthur had ever- even for an instant- doubted Merlin's loyalty towards him in the past, such a thing was impossible now. The sheer amount of raw pride which suddenly washed over into his mind was completely staggering. He was fairly certain he saw Merlin snort slightly in response to his initial reaction of humbling awe. Huffing at the idea, Arthur looked away for a moment.

"What else did you expect- I am the Once and Future King after all."

He hadn't expected the melancholy to return at his words. Turning back in surprise, he found Merlin staring almost bitterly at his own clasped hands.

"And I'm supposed to be Emrys. Destined to protect you. What if I've just jeopardised that? If this fails, and I'm not around any more, who's going to be there to help you then?"

Unexpectedly, Arthur felt a stab of anger run through him at the Warlock's words.

"Merlin, do you believe that magic is evil?"

Merlin snapped upright. "Of course I don't!"

"Then you need to stop thinking so pessimistically. You've done what everyone else thought impossible, Merlin. You've persuaded my father to give magic a chance. That's something that even I would never have been able to do. But if you try to back out now- if you show doubt in front of him, even for an instant, that this trial will not succeed, then he will take it as a sign that even you don't believe your own words. And then nobody would be able to persuade him that magic could ever mean anything other than dark times and chaos for this Kingdom. You have to believe that we are going to succeed. Or else we never will."

The younger man merely stared at him in shock, before shaking his head in bemused disbelief.

"What?"

"Nothing," Merlin half-laughed. "It just feels a bit strange is all- you being the one giving me wise advice." He smiled. "But thank you. You're right."

The two grinned at each other, but Arthur could tell that there was still something else weighing on the other man's mind. Shooting the Warlock a suspicious sidelong glance, he sighed when Merlin refused to meet his eyes.

"What is it?"

"What's what?"

"You know what I mean."

After several moments of his best I'm-the-prince-and-you-best-do-what-I-say glare, Merlin finally relented, that annoying self-doubting guilt once more clouding his eyes and mind.

"It's just- I've been wondering... why did I even come up with this in the first place, Arthur?"

"What do you mean?"

The younger man's hands clasped together once again. "It was all such a rush- coming up with the idea, and then arguing my point. I didn't even consult you, and we're supposed to be a team."

"Well, that's true, I suppose," Arthur replied once the ensuing silence grew too much. "But the situation wasn't exactly the best in which to sit down and have a detailed strategy meeting. And it worked, anyway. Besides, I know you always have the best wishes for Camelot at heart."

"But that's just it, Arthur. What if I don't?"

Now that got him to pause. "What?"

Merlin was practically wringing his hands together by this point. "What if I didn't do it for Camelot, Arthur? If none of what I said was really for Albion after all? I mean, I thought it was- of course I did- but what if that wasn't the case?"

"Merlin, you're not making any sense."

Merlin finally lifted his gaze from where it had fallen, his eyes an equal measure of guilt and pleading.

"What if it was all for me? If all I really wanted was for magic to return, I could have just waited. Gone back to that- that room, and waited until you became King. If- and I'm not saying it will- but if this fails, and magic can never truly be freed, or if you die because I was stupid enough to bargain my life, then it'll all be my fault. And what if the only reason I even did it in the first place wast just because I was too much of a coward to face being alone?!"

Silence. The guards' chatter had ceased long ago. The lights had come to a grinding halt. And even the leaves and insects themselves had halted in their movements. It seemed as though, for a few brief moments, the entire world stood still.

"So what?"

If it weren't for the seriousness of the current topic, Arthur was certain he would have laughed himself silly at Merlin's gob-smacked expression. The Warlock was practically gaping like a stranded fish, mouth opening and closing in quick succession as he struggled to find the words to respond. Eventually, though, the Prince had to take pity on him. Before the fool passed out from thinking too hard or something.

"Merlin, you are, quite possibly, the least selfish person I have ever had the misfortune to meet. But if you can't allow yourself to be selfish in this, your own destiny, then how could you ever hope to proceed with it?"

Merlin merely looked confused now. "But Gaius always said-"

"-To be patient. I know. And it ended up being two years before I found out about you- and even that was an accident! Sometimes, in order for things to move on, you need to be willing to take risks. To give in to that little spark of selfishness which makes you human. If you suppress it for too long, it'll just eat away at you.

"Besides," he added, his tone brightening, even as he forced himself to ignore the slight sheen in Merlin's eyes, "you're just being pessimistic again. Think of it this way- if this succeeds- if magic is returned to the Kingdom even while my father is still King- then it will all be your fault. All because you were a brave enough man to admit that you didn't want to be alone."

A few seconds passed before Merlin smiled, a hint of his usual mischievousness in the set of his mouth.

"You really should stop acting so wise, you know. Otherwise nothing will ever convince your father that I haven't enchanted you after all.

"Although..." the Warlock continued a few moments later. "You did get one thing wrong."

"Oh?" Arthur hummed. "What was that then?"

"It wouldn't be my fault," Merlin grinned. "It'd be ours."

And, as they sat there- the Once and Future King and Emrys- sharing one of their rare moments where they allowed themselves to truly acknowledge the depth of the bond they had- not through destiny, but through pure, simple friendship- Arthur knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the two of them would somehow make this work. Together.

"Right," he agreed, as they settled down to watch the now multi-coloured lights in their ecstatic dance. "Ours."