A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Hope you'll enjoy the chapter! Reviews are very much appreciated, so let me know what you think.

As usual, I don't own "Merlin".

When the last stone fell and there was no evidence that the repository ever existed, everything began to change. Warm wind started blowing, giving second life to everything, that seemed to have no hope, but miraculously was coming back to life with more strength and beauty than ever.

The banks of the river were slowly getting covered with emerald green grass and the trees were standing, proudly looking at the sky. Every leaf, every bush, every stone were slowly getting their colours, as if the painter finally decided to finish his long forgotten masterpiece. The water in the river was now fresh and clear and the light from the raising sun was enough to see stones and sand at the bottom.

The souls were no longer the lost spirits, stuck between two worlds, but normal people, who were now hugging each other and crying with joy. Laughter of children filled the whole place. And when you hear this sound, it means that hope is still alive. And where there is hope there is faith. Where there is faith, there are miracles...

Before anyone could register what was going on, there was the gentle splashing of the water, and soon a small boat appeared, carrying King Amyas and a strange woman. She had a young and beautiful face, but her hair was grey and her arms were covered with wrinkles, and the filthy green dress she was wearing seemed familiar. The moment the woman stepped on the ground, she started speaking.

'I thank you, noble knights, for saving us all. Now my soul is free from the sufferings it was doomed for.' said the woman, whose voice was soft and gentle as the rays of the early spring sun, which was getting higher above the horizon.

'I gave birth to a child, but the physician said that he wouldn't be able to survive longer than a couple of days. I was desperate and was willing to do anything to save my baby.' continued the woman. Her hair was getting longer with every second, and when it stopped growing, everyone saw the natural colour it had before the tragedy. This unfortunate young girl had straight brown hair and her eyes reminded grey pearls. The wrinkles on her body were completely gone by this time and the only thing which remained was the old green dress.

'The priestess of the Old Religion agreed to save my child, but warned me that life should be given for life... And I gave away my soul...' tears started running down the girl's cheeks, but she didn't stop and went on with her story.

'The heart of the ritual was my heart. By destroying it, you freed me from serving an eternity as a banshee.' Suddenly she got quiet and looked in front of her, as if there was something of a great importance. Her eyes spotted Merlin, who was standing quietly, looking at everything but seeing nothing. The girl went closer to him and gave him something covered in a ragged cloth.

'The Whetstone of Tudwal Tudelud will bring you one step closer to accomplishing the impossible, impossible for everyone else, but possible for the two great kings of Albion. Not everyone will live to see the beginning of a new era, Emrys. But it's their destiny, not yours.'

With the last words the girl took a few steps forward and vanished into the air.

During all this time, King Amyas was with his wife and daughter. After some time all the saved people went away, not without showing gratitude to their saviours.

Finally, King Amyas went to the noble warriors.

'I can't thank you enough for your deeds. You helped not only my family. But our whole Kingdom. I shall never forget your bravery and kindness. I would be honoured if you came to stay with us for some time.' said the King of Arroy.

Merlin took the liberty to answer.

'We would be glad to accept your offer, but there is something we should do first. Today our Kingdoms lost one of the most loyal knights and we would like to bid the final farewell.' The Prince of Airia was talking with dignity and in a calm and respectful tone.

This was probably for the first time when Arthur saw Merlin act like a royal. The King of Camelot knew Merlin to be a loyal friend and a wise advisor, despite his young age. Later Arthur learned that Merlin was a great warlock and one of the best swordsmen. He never doubted that the Prince of Airia had a noble heart. But nevertheless, Arthur was used to thinking about Merlin as a good-hearted servant and one of the best, if not the only, friends.

But now, beside Arthur was standing a young Prince. A Prince, who loved his Kingdom and appreciated every single person. A Prince, who was ready to fight for his people and friends. A Prince, who no matter what happened, would be able to find strength to move forward. Arthur glanced at his friend and saw the most important thing in Merlin's eyes: determination. He was ready to let the past go. Not to forget it, but to leave it where it should be. Behind. Now it was time to start building another world, where there was no room for weakness and regrets.

Arthur understood that he was standing with an equal by his side. A boy, no, a man, who will walk with him through his life...

Arthur was lost in his thoughts and didn't notice how King Amyas and his family left, agreeing to wait at the place, where they they first met. When the King of Camelot returned to the reality, everything was almost ready for the funeral. This is when Arthur understood that he should consider himself lucky. Many of his knights were injured, but none of them were dead. But Culhwch lost three knights that day and Merlin lost his friend and teacher. Arthur couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about Sir Muiris' death. He knew that people were ready to give their lives to save him and he was used to that, but now, looking at Merlin's sorrow, Arthur understood that he truly should appreciate those sacrifices more.

The burial fire has been built and the bodies of the fallen knights were laid. Everyone stood around the fire in order to pay their last respects to the men, who laid their heads for the noble purpose.

Merlin was standing and looking at the fire. This was not the first time something like that happened but every time the death of a dear friend left an unhealable wound. In this case, time was the best physician, even though it wouldn't be able to fill the emptiness inside the heart.

When the fire almost faded away, Merlin felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn't need to turn around to know that it was Arthur. Yes, maybe time wouldn't be able to to fill the emptiness, but there were people who would be capable of completing such task. And you can't let them down, because they believe that you will be able to rise from the ashes and be as strong as ever. They believe in you and that is the reason enough to move on.

When the travellers reached the castle of Arroy, it was already midday. After his guests were rested and fed, King Amyas invited Arthur and Merlin to the throne room. Amyas didn't like long speeches and unnecessary formalities, so he began speaking without any greetings or introductions.

'For many centuries the members of my family were the keepers of one of the treasures, but I never thought that I would be the one to have the honour of giving it to the great Kings of Albion.' said Amyas going to the back of the room and motioning for his guests to follow.

'The legend says, that there are thirteen treasures of Albion. Every piece has a significant power, but nothing could be compared to the power they hold when they are all together. Emrys and the One and Future King are to have that power, but to do that they need to collect all thirteen treasures.' continued the King of Arroy. He stopped, took out a key and opened a small door, which was hidden at the back of the throne. Amyas took out the item and turned around.

'I heard banshee calling you Emrys and that second all the uncertainties were gone. Although there weren't too many of them in the first place, since you defeated Gryrefáh. The Whetstone she have you is one of the treasures. It will only sharpen the blade of a brave warrior. If a coward sharpens his sword on its magical edge, it will blunt his weapon, rendering it useless in the battle.' said Amyas and then gave Arthur the item he was holding.

'This is the Tunic of Padarn Beisrudd, another known as the Tunic of holiness. It was made to fit a kind and noble-hearted warrior. In the hands of a wicked person it will shrink in size, prohibiting the unworthy from its magical benefits. Don't let the treasures fall into the wrong hands. Collect them all and you will have a chance to fulfil the prophecy.'

The knights didn't stay for long at the castle of Arroy and soon they were on their way to the Distant Isles.

They were riding through the forest, following the path but soon they came to a swamp.

'There is no way here.' said Merlin, sighing. 'We either need to go around or risk a chance of getting stuck in the swamp and losing more men.'

'If we choose to go around how much time will it take?' asked Culhwch.

'About three days more than we planned' replied the Prince of Airia. 'But we can't afford the risk drowning. And although those woods have a bad reputation, I suggest we take a long path. The solid ground under the feet is always the best choice.'

Nobody argued and so, as the sun started slowly setting, the knights continued their way. Suddenly they heard the sound of hooves, coming in their direction. Soon the neighing of horses could be heard and the sounds grew louder with every passing second until a herd of centaurs appeared.

'Is it just me, or those centaurs don't look so friendly?' asked Lancelot.

'Why can't we just finish our journey in peace?!' exclaimed Bran, taking out his sword and preparing for the battle.

The knights of three kingdoms weren't quite ready for the battle against half-horses, half-men. Their strength wasn't completely restored after the fight with Gryrefáh and their opponents were almost impossible to have a fair battle with, even being in perfect health. But as the centaurs came closer, there was no other option.

The mixed sounds of clanging swords, neighing and people's shout filled the air. The fight was going on for what it seemed a few hours, but in fact was more like forty minutes.

Merlin was using his magic as well as his sword, but none was helping. He needed some time to create a powerful spell, but centaurs were furious warriors and Merlin had scarcely enough time to breath.

Centaurs outnumbered the knights by a few hundreds, that is why most of the warriors found themselves fighting a few centaurs at the same time.

At first Arthur tried attacking his enemies but soon decided that it would be wiser to use the defensive technique. The King of Camelot took a few steps back, not stopping and laying a blow after blow. The centaurs were trapping him and when Arthur took a second and looked around he understood that he separated from the rest of the group. He continued striking his opponents and thinking how to get out of the sticky situation alive. There was not a chance to run away as he wasn't half as fast as the centaurs and he had to dismount his horse at the beginning of the battle. And even if Arthur had his horse with him, running away still wouldn't be an option. He was a King and a knight. And a self-respecting warrior doesn't even consider such humiliating option. But there were too many centaurs and Arthur had no idea what to do. At the most inconvenient moment Arthur's leg got stuck in the hole.

'Oh! Just great!' muttered Arthur through gritted teeth. He tried pulling his leg out but it was stuck very deep. A few centaurs surrounded the King of Camelot and when it seemed that the hope was lost, Arthur managed to pull his leg free.

The most surprising thing happened at that moment. All the centaurs suddenly stopped the fight and fell on their knees in front of Arthur. The knights froze in amazement and shock. The King of Camelot himself didn't understand what was going on. He looked down at his feet and saw something that looked like a mantle, made from light material. Ancient symbols were covering it. Arthur bent over and took the Mantle. Without much thinking he put it around his shoulders. Immediately the mantle blended in with its surroundings, concealing Arthur from the world.

After seeing this, centaurs started shouting and cheering, still not rising from the knees.

'The Once and Future King! Long live the King!'

When Arthur took off the mantle and asked the centaurs to stand up, one of them, who seemed to be the chief, went up to the King of Camelot and bowed.

'We are sorry for the troubles we caused you. But we don't allow anyone to pass through our forest. We didn't know that the time has finally come and the Once and Future King arrived to take what is rightfully his.' said the centaur and seeing the puzzled expression on Arthur's face continued.

'The Mantle of the Once and Future King was given to us by the druids. To keep it safe, the special spell was cast. No one, except for the Greatest King of Humans, wouldn't be able to find it. And this moment finally came.' finished the centaur and bowed again.

Then the chief of the magical creatures turned to Merlin and looked at him. Merlin was looking the centaur right in the eyes and when he came even closer didn't stop looking. They kept looking at each other for a few minutes.

'No one is able to look me in the eyes for so long.' said the centaur. 'There is only one man, who is said to have such power.'

'Emrys.' said the Prince of Airia, continuing to look at creature. The centaurs once again dropped on their knees.

'I didn't feel your magic.' said the chief. 'What happened that made you so weak?'

'The fight with Gryrefáh was quite exhausting.' simply said Merlin.

The centaur nodded and led his herd away, promising to meet them again in the morning.

There was no point to continue the journey as darkness began surrounding the forest. The evening was pleasant and after having supper the knights retired for the day. The only ones who remained sitting near the fire were Merlin and Arthur.

'You know, Merlin... Everybody keeps calling me the Once and Future King. But I still haven't done anything. I see why you are the greatest warlock of all times...' started Arthur.

'Stop it, Arthur. The only good deed I've done so far was stopping you from becoming a complete prat.' interrupted Merlin.

Arthur made an attempt to slap Merlin, but the Prince was faster. After that they sat in silence, until the King of Camelot started talking again.

'Those treasures and power... It's good, but it's not enough. Don't you think so, Merlin? Even when everything is fine in our kingdoms, something happens in others. I never gave it much thought but everything that happened I see everything in different light. Neighbouring kingdoms keep fighting with each other, even though most of them don't even remember what caused the war in the first place. People kill each other without reason. And the constant battle between magical creatures and humans. I'm just... Wouldn't it be nice for everyone to live in peace? But to gain peace, everybody needs to understand that we are equals. All of us. The kingdoms might have different names and different rulers but we must have the united spirit...'

Arthur stopped talking and looked around. Merlin was already half-sleeping and didn't respond.

If it wasn't for the light from the fire, there would be complete darkness. But this darkness wasn't frightening you with its monsters and dark secrets. It was greeting and inviting you to fall into its hospitable hug and later to get a treat in a form of a healthy placid sleep.

A couple of hours later everyone was sleeping, at least it seemed so. One man quietly left the camp and headed into the depth of the forest. Soon he stopped. Seconds later another person appeared.

'My lady.' greeted the hooded man, kissing Morgana's hand.

'Well?' asked Morgana impatiently.

'As you said, they didn't risk crossing the swamp. We took the long path and soon centaurs appeared. But, my lady, Arthur found the Mantle and centaurs stopped the attack. I wasn't able to do anything...'

'Anything else?' asked the witch, smiling.

'Merlin is very weak. Even centaurs didn't feel his magic.' replied the man. 'What should we do now?'

'Return to the camp. If anything happens, you know how to find me.' replied Morgana and went away.

Her plan was working perfectly.