A/N: So I, along with many, many other people, was absolutely heartbroken at the end of the Merlin finale. So I decided to write my own version of 'what happens after', one in which Arthur survives because Gwaine puts up with Morgana's torture just long enough before he cracks. Yeah, I know this has been done before, but I thought I'd have a shot! :)

This is a multi-chapter work and will contain all canon pairings and characters in Merlin, and follows Merlin canon up until the ending of 'Diamond of the Day, Part 2', so it will therefore contain spoilers for the entire show. Hope you enjoy, and any and all reviews you would like to make on this work are most welcome! Also, this hasn't been betaed, so if I've made any errors, please let me know! :)

Note: this fic has also been published on my AO3 Account (BeneaththeHalo) so if you see it there too, it's still me- the fic hasn't been stolen :P

Born to Serve You

Chapter One: Race Against Time

"Come on Arthur," Merlin whispered, pleaded, as he tried to revive the king, despair and dread filling his heart, threatening to overwhelm him. Arthur couldn't be dead, he just couldn't be… "We're nearly there, we've nearly reached Avalon, please, please don't die on me!"

But as the despair clutched at him, Merlin knew they would never reach their destination in time. They may have had the horses, but Arthur was no longer conscious, and there was no way Merlin would be able to get him to Avalon by himself…

Of course! Merlin could've almost hit himself when he thought of it- how had he not thought of it before? They didn't need the horses; Merlin didn't need to carry Arthur all the way to the lake! There… there was somebody else who could do it!

"We'll be there before you know it, Arthur," Morgan whispered. "Please hold on! Help is on the way, they'll get us to the lake and you can be healed…"

Merlin looked up to the sky (which seemed impossibly vast right now) and began crying out in the language that would call the Great Dragon to him. An eternity seemed to pass while Merlin was waiting; an eternity in which Arthur grew ever closer to death and Merlin was increasingly filled with hopelessness. But finally Merlin could hear the thumping of wings, and an almighty roar, and finally Kilgharrah appeared against the blue of the sky.

"Please, you have to help me," Merlin begged, when the dragon landed in front of him. "He hasn't got much time left. Please…"

"You know Arthur's destiny was to die at Mordred's hand, young warlock," Kilgharrah reminded him. "That is what was foretold, and that is it what will, very soon, come to pass."

"The future can change," Merlin said. "Please, I can feel him slipping away… I can't lose him, please…"

Kilgharrah studied Merlin curiously. "You've grown to become very fond of Arthur, haven't you?" he said. "A far cry from when you first met him."

Merlin nodded. "It's true," he said. "When I first met Arthur, I couldn't stand the sight of him. I thought he was arrogant, and rude, and just a typical noble. But now… now I know how good a person he truly is. He's my best friend. I can't… I can't lose him." Merlin's voice caught in his throat as he spoke his last sentence.

"He means a great deal to you," said Kilgharrah. "I do not know if we will be able to reach Avalon in time to save him, young warlock. But… I feel as if I owe you this. I will try."

"Thank you," Merlin whispered. The Great Dragon lowered himself to the ground, allowing Merlin to lift the dying king onto its back. He then climbed on behind Arthur, carefully holding him in place, and Kilgharrah took off. He clutched tightly to his king and to Kilgharrah, silently imploring the dragon to fly as fast as he possibly could. An eternity seemed to pass while they were in the air and then, finally, they were landing on the shores of the Lake of Avalon.

"Thank you," Merlin whispered to the dragon.

"If it means saving Arthur, then I am glad to help, young warlock," Kilgharrah replied. "Now hurry. I fear the king only has a few breaths left in him."

Merlin immediately leapt off of the Great Dragon, getting Arthur down as gently as he dared without going too slowly. "Come on, come on, Arthur," Merlin muttered, even though the King was unconscious and couldn't hear him- especially over the sound of Kilgharrah flying away. Merlin was almost angry that the dragon was leaving instead of helping them, but he knew that Kilgharrah would've stayed if he could be of use. And besides, Merlin's priority was saving his king. He could still feel Arthur's chest rising and falling though (albeit slowly and with difficulty), and knew he was still alive.

Laying Arthur down beside the Lake of Avalon, Merlin could see the sweat gleaming on the man's face. He wasn't going to hold on much longer, this Merlin knew. If he was going to save Arthur, it was now or never.

Standing up and focusing his gaze on the lake, Merlin began chanting, his eyes flashing gold as he did so. And Merlin could feel time slowing down around him, and the little blue lights flying over the lake became actual shapes. He could make out the features of the Sidhe.

"Why have you come here, Emrys?" one of them asked.

"Arthur is dying, please! You have to help me!" Merlin begged. "I know your people are the only ones who have the power to save him- please, please heal him."

"And why should we help him, Emrys?" said the Sidhe. "Arthur has been no friend to our kind- to anyone with magic. And you have been our enemy in the past."

"Only when you threatened Arthur and the future of Albion," Merlin reminded him. "And King Arthur will no longer be an enemy of the magical community. I know it."

"You cannot speak for the king," said the Sidhe. "Even you cannot know his mind."

"I can this time," said Merlin. "I saw it on his face, right before he passed out. I told him of my magic, and he accepts me. Accepts it. And he will bring magic back to this land."

The Sidhe was silent for the longest time; so long that Merlin was sure he would refuse. But suddenly, a strange sort of smile crossed his face and he said, "Very well. But we will need your help, Emrys."

Merlin was confused at this; surely, in this case, even he wouldn't be able to help. But he didn't want to question the Sidhe now- not when they'd agreed to help Arthur, and the king had so little time left. He nodded. "What do you need me to do?"

"Use your magic, Emrys. Let it flow out of you, until it touches the king. It will know what to do."

Merlin was still thoroughly confused and more than a little wary, but because he knew it was the only way to save Arthur, he did as the Sidhe asked. Kneeling down beside Arthur, he reached for his magic, letting it fill him, warming his body, his mind… his heart. Arthur would be okay; he could feel it.

Merlin's magic began flowing out of him, filling the forest around him and reaching out for Arthur. He felt it connecting to the Sidhe's magic and beginning to work. The Sidhe's magic felt strange to Merlin as it melded with his own; almost cold and empty, not at all like the warmth that always filled Merlin when he performed his magic. He supposed it made sense, though. The Sidhe did live an immortal life- basically frozen in time, flying over the cold waters of the Lake of Avalon. And the Sidhe had none of the warmth and joy in their heart that humans did; they cared very little for anyone other than themselves.

Merlin could also feel something else building within him- something he'd felt once before, although he couldn't quite put his finger on where or when it was. He remembered the feeling, though, and he felt powerful- like at that moment, there was nothing he couldn't do. Arthur would be saved. He would live. Merlin knew it.

Merlin felt his gaze being drawn to Arthur. He felt as if Arthur was beginning to stir, yet there was no sign of movement from the king. Then he realised. Something was happening to Arthur's wound. He not only saw, but felt, the fragment of Mordred's blade being pulled from Arthur's body. The fragment quivered, fighting against the combined magic of Merlin and the Sidhe. Its job was to kill Arthur, and being removed from his body meant that it could not fulfil that duty. Eventually, though the magic was stronger than the fragment, and it was pulled out of Arthur's body, clattering onto the ground beside him. Merlin and the Sidhe's magic washed over Arthur, wiping the blade's poison from his body. But their job wasn't done yet.

The fragment of blade may have been removed from Arthur's body, but he had still lost a lot of blood from the wound the sword had created. The wound was huge and red and raw, and still covered in blood. Merlin didn't have any medical supplies with him, and the wound could become infected before Merlin could get Arthur back to Gaius. Merlin reached out with his magic for Arthur's wound- and he felt the Sidhe's magic pulling away.

While not ending it completely, Merlin instantly withdrew his magic from Arthur. Healing magic had never been his strong point (in fact, he was rather poor at it), and he was afraid that casting a healing spell of this magnitude would wind up killing Arthur rather than saving him.

"What are you doing?" Merlin demanded. "We still have to heal his wound!"

"Our job was to save the king from death," said the Sidhe Merlin had spoken to before. "We have done that."

"But his wound could still get infected before I get him back to Camelot!" Merlin protested. "We have to heal it!"

"We don't," said the Sidhe. "You, however, do."

"What? Me?" Merlin gasped. "I can't perform healing magic. I'm not strong enough."

"Maybe before you went into the Crystal Cave, you weren't," said the Sidhe. "But now, even this should be possible for you."

"You know about the Crystal Cave?"

"We know a lot, Emrys. Now, heal your king's wound."

Merlin bowed his head once more, looking down at Arthur. For the first time since the Sidhe had agreed to help him, panic was setting in. He had no idea how to do this. He had tried to use healing magic on Arthur before, but it hadn't worked. And this was an even greater wound, caused by a far more powerful weapon. The wound Merlin had tried to heal before had been caused by an arrow shot by a bandit. This wound had been caused by a sword forged in a dragon's breath wielded by Mordred. If Merlin hadn't been able to heal that wound, what hope did he have to heal this one?

Then Merlin remembered the spell that Kilgharrah had given to him not long after, that had allowed him to heal Morgana and save her life. Merlin knew that the same spell wouldn't work on Arthur- it was a completely different wound- but that memory had reminded him of something else. Because of the magic imparted on him by Kilgharrah, he had been able to heal Morgana. Maybe, just maybe, his experiences in the Crystal Cave meant that he'd be able to heal Arthur, and not have to worry about his wound getting infected before they got back to Camelot.

Merlin took a deep breath to steel himself. He was going to do this. He could do this. He reached down, his hand hovering over Arthur's wound. For a moment, he panicked; how would he know which spell to use? How would he know which spell would work? While once again reaching for Arthur with his magic, though, a sense of calm came over Merlin. As he began to work on Arthur's wound, he found the words of the spell effortlessly falling from his lips, as though he'd used the spell a thousand times before. And as Merlin recited the spell, he could see Arthur's wound shifting, stitching itself up, becoming smaller… until only a patch of red skin remained where it used to be. Merlin released his magic, relief and pure joy flooded through him.

"I did it," Merlin breathed. For he had done it. He had healed Arthur. He had saved him from death. Arthur would be able to return to Camelot, and continue to rule over his kingdom. "You're going to live, Arthur," Merlin whispered, even though Arthur was still unconscious and therefore couldn't hear him.

Merlin looked up from Arthur, across the lake of Avalon, only to see the Sidhe retreating, heading across the lake to the island in the middle.

"Where are you going?" Merlin asked, confused.

"Back to Avalon," the Sidhe replied. "We have done our part. We have saved your king. We are no longer needed here."

"Wait," said Merlin. "One thing. I need you to promise me something."

"Promise?" The Sidhe repeated. "We don't need to promise you anything. We have already helped you save your king."

"You may have, but that doesn't mean you won't try to hurt him in the future," Merlin pointed out. "Your people have already tried to kill him and take over his kingdom. How do I know you won't try again in the future?"

"Because you are by his side, Emrys," said the Sidhe. "We know how powerful you are. And we know you could destroy us all if we went against you again." Merlin remained silent, still feeling sceptical about the Sidhe's words. "Very well. Emrys, on behalf of my people I promise you that we will never again try to hurt or kill your king or harm his kingdom again. We know what the consequences would be if we went against this."

Merlin nodded his head in acceptance of the Sidhe's words. "You have done me a great service today. I will leave you in peace."

And with that the Sidhe retreated away across the lake, until Merlin and Arthur were alone once more. Merlin looked down at Arthur again. The king looked peaceful and relaxed now; Merlin knew that he was just sleeping. It wouldn't be long until he woke up now. All Merlin had to do was wait.

E/N: So that's the first chapter! It hasn't diverted much from canon yet, but that should change very soon! Once again, I hope you enjoyed reading so far, and please feel free to leave a review!