A year ago today, I posted the last chapter of my Arthur Returns fic, so I feel like celebrating by sharing it with you. Again...
"I’m tired,” Merlin said quietly as he stared into the flames. “I feel like an old man, even though I don’t look the part. I can’t even remember how long I’ve been wandering around. The lands around me are changing and I just... don’t.”
He knew Freya was looking at him, but couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes.
“I’ve lost my magic. I’ve lost - ”
“Arthur.”
Just hearing the name was enough to make his stomach clench. Freya threw another piece of driftwood onto the fire, allowing him some time to gather his thoughts.
“I’ve lost my purpose. Even if he ever returns, what use would I be? I couldn’t even protect him with my magic, how could I ever be enough without?”
-
After fifteen hundred years of waiting for Arthur's return, with little more than his own mind for company, Merlin's memories of his life in Camelot have faded almost entirely.
All this time, Arthur has been watching from behind the veil, desperate to find a way to help Merlin restore his magic. When Arthur finally makes his way back into a now unfamiliar world, he'll soon learn times have changed since he's last set foot in Albion. Retrieving what's been lost might not be as easy as he'd once thought...
