Tho' much is taken, much abides
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Summary
“Go on, then,” she says, and even now, she sounds self-possessed and regal as a queen.
He’s gathering his power, preparing himself to do what needs to be done (and to live with the guilt that will inevitably follow), when an agonizing pain erupts and spreads through the core of him. Looking down through eyes that have suddenly gone hazy, he sees the blade of Excalibur–he’d recognize it anywhere–sticking out of his abdomen.
Oh.
He’s been focusing on the wrong person.
And there is something that can kill him, after all.
—
Or: Camlann, but with less tragedy.
Series
- Part 1 of Tho' much is taken, much abides
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Arthur’s voice is soft when he breaks one of the silences, which has gone on longer than the previous ones. “Tell me something I don’t know about you.”
Merlin has to think about that for a moment. There’s a lot that Arthur doesn’t know about him; he’s held back most of the details about his exploits prior to Arthur’s discovery of his magic, because most of them are no longer relevant and would only cause them both pain. Arthur seems to sense his reasoning and never pushes for more information than Merlin is ready to give, but sometimes his desire to take some of Merlin’s burden onto his own shoulders is a palpable presence between them.
In the end, Merlin settles, not on an experience, but on a truth. “I remember everyone I’ve ever killed.”
There’s a pause. It’s not uncomfortable, but Merlin is immediately ready for it to end all the same.
“Because you can’t forget, or because you’re determined not to?”
Merlin shrugs, even though Arthur can’t see him. “A bit of both, I guess, but mostly the second one.”
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Alternatively: After Camlann, Merlin and Arthur talk about some things.
Series
- Part 2 of Tho' much is taken, much abides