How Merlin Should Have Ended

The Prophecy

Arthur was still disheartened by having to execute the druid girl. Mordred's pleas for her life had only made him feel worse about it. He kept going round and round the trial in his head. The more Kara had spoken at her trial, the more Arthur's hope for her redemption had vanished. It was such a shame to see so young a person so blinded by hatred. She was a danger to Camelot, and Arthur had no other choice. Besides, none of her crimes had involved druid magic, or magic of any kind for that matter. Any ordinary person in her situation would have received the same punishment. Even if Camelot hadn't changed its laws on magic, Arthur doubted that would have changed anything, since Arthur had made peace with the druids before the law had changed.

Kara didn't care about any of that. She was blinded by her own hate. Arthur was trying to make a better future, but all she could see was the horrible past.

No matter how Arthur looked at it, his sentence was fair. Mordred would understand that in time.

The sudden sound of his office door bursting open, made Arthur look up. There stood Merlin with their new Catha guest at his side. Between the intense look on his friend's face, and the way they'd entered the room, Arthur knew it was bad news. He waited for Merlin to speak first.

"If you execute the druid girl in your dungeon, you will die!" Merlin exclaimed with great energy.

Arthur let out the breath he'd been holding. "You had me worried there, Merlin," he said, relieved. "I thought Morgana was at the gate."

"I'm serious, Arthur," Merlin said in that same intense voice. Over the years, Arthur had so rarely heard his friend use this voice that he couldn't help but remain cautious, despite the bad news being much less real than he'd expected.

"No one can know what might happen based on something that's about to happen," Arthur reasoned. "We all just do the best we can at the time."

"I have seen it with my own eyes," Merlin continued with great determination. "Just as I was destined to serve you, it is Mordred who is destined to kill you. There is a prophecy."

"A prophecy?" Arthur inquired. He knew Merlin would never joke about such a thing, but it seemed ridiculous to him. He turned to Finna to see if she would back up Merlin's claim.

"It is true," Finna confirmed. "My people have known about it for some time. We have been warned what will happen if you trust the druid boy."

"Nine years ago, when we first met Mordred, I found out about the prophecy," Merlin said. "He is destined to kill you. You meet on the battlefield, swords clash, before you see who is standing before you. And in your moment of hesitation, Mordred's sword cuts you down."

"That doesn't make any sense," Arthur said with a shake of his head. "Mordred has always been loyal. He has no reason to kill me."

"Right now, he doesn't," Merlin reminded him. "But if you kill the woman he loves, what motivation will he have then?"

"I doubt he loves that girl," Arthur continued.

"I saw it in his eyes when he came to beg for my help," Merlin said. "They were childhood sweethearts."

Arthur just stared at them. Looking back and forth from Finna to Merlin. She was standing at his side, as if to support every one of Merlin's words.

"Imagine how you would have felt if your father had executed Gwen all those years ago," Merlin continued. "Someone who you respected and had been loyal to, killing the woman you loved. How would that have affected you?"

Arthur didn't want to say it out loud, but he knew exactly how to answer the question. Arthur would never have forgiven his father for ending Guinevere's life. He couldn't even imagine a world in which Merlin hadn't saved her. The thought was too painful.