Merlin: The Return Of The Once And Future King. (BBC MERLIN)

-6-

*Before we get into the story, I thought I'd make a suggestion. Usually listening to music helps with my imagination, and I think doing this really helps and aids this scene. I've included a few links below from YouTube as a suggestion.
(I do not own these videos. It belongs respectively to their owners.)
**Please be aware that the following scene includes a lot of violence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRuggMzH3Gw

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Once Arthur had came to a clearance of the woods, Merlin could get a much better view of him. His clothes were ripped and torn where the branches had pulled, hit and scraped at him. He had a sword fastened around his belt, but his chainmail was no where to be seen.
He looked just the same as Merlin remembered, although he was a bit scruffy looking and had scrapes on his face. (Possibly due to all the wondering he had been doing throughout the forest.)

Merlin walked closer, in a careful and reluctant pace. His mouth felt dry with apprehension. This was the moment he'd been waiting centuries for. Finally, the reuniting of Merlin and Arthur Pendragon.
What Merlin didn't prepare for was the dread he would feel in this moment.
Thankfully, Arthur looked unharmed. Sure his clothes were torn but they weren't bloody indicating any injury. In fact, Arthur looked like he was almost glowing; Was this an affect of him seemingly returning from the dead?
His face on the other hand indicated something different. Arthur looked so baffled and devastated. Merlin's stomach turned with genuine and sincere concern.  He honestly had no idea where he was and what was going on.
Then, Merlin wasn't prepared for what happend next
Arthur screamed out in a broken, helpless voice, "MERLIN!?"
He fell, tripping on a branch and scraped his leg.
"Bloody hell, Arthur" he scowled to himself as he hauled himself up to his feet, determined to find someone, anyone.

Seeing Arthur felt somewhat relieving but it also felt wrong. Since when did someone just get up and walk out of a cemetery? The thought haunted him. The only logical explanation was necromancy but that required intense magical skills and it never worked correctly. Once someone died, they were supposed to stay dead. So how was any of this possible?

Merlin couldn't stand it anymore. He picked up his speed and yelled back, "Arthur!"
Arthur's head snapped his direction, desperate to hear whom the voice belonged to. Then, he found Merlin and their eyes locked.
Time seemed to slow down around them. All they were focused on in that moment was eachother.
Arthur dropped his jaw, relief across his face. He began to run towards Merlin, needing to reach out to him. Then he stopped in his tracks suddenly, his expression changed.
He stared at Merlin, really stared.
A look of disapproval spread across his face.
"You're not Merlin... What have you done with Merlin?" Arthur whispered, trailing off into thought. Merlin's heart weighed heavily with sorrow. No, it was still him. It was still Merlin.
Merlin screamed back, his desperate feeling creaking into his voice,
"It's me Arthur! It's Merlin!"
Arthur violently shook his head in disagreement. Why was he so reluctant to believe that this was in fact Merlin? This couldn't be happening; It's what Merlin had feared the most.