WARNINGS: DEUS EX MACHINA to pull a happy ending. Kinda SLASHY if you think about it but it is mainly FRIENDSHIP.

A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews, follows and favorites! LAST CHAPTER! Do you know the feeling of finally being able to finish a story? It's great! Now if only I have the muse to finish my other stories . . .

DISCLAIMER: Characters are from BBC Merlin. Plot is from a manga. I don't own either of them.

Enjoy~

CHAPTER THREE

❤•°o.O`•.¸¸.•´´¯`••.¸¸.•´´¯`•´ ◇ⓛⓞⓥⓔ◇ `•.¸¸.•´´¯`••.¸¸.•´´¯`•´O.o°•❤

You do not know how long you knelt there, clutching the body of your friend. Your arms are cramping and your legs are numb. When you open your eyes, they throb and sting. Wretchedness and exhaustion settles deeply in your very bones.

You hear the clicks of the wood on the dying bonfire. From the corner of your eyes, you see red embers flying into the wind. You take no notice of these things, all attention on the corpse lying between your arms.

Fingertips touch the pale cheek; you hope for a miracle that you know would never happen. You squeeze your eyes briefly, wondering why any one would want to be human when they can feel such loss and grief so keenly.

When you open your eyes, you catch a small glitter on the ground. You look around the cave. All the other ice that has entrapped you has long melted, leaving wet patches on the ground. What has made this shard different? Smooth cold stone meets your skin as you reach out to grab ahold of it.

It is a gem, not ice like you first thought; it is no bigger than you thumbnail and as thick as your littlest finger. When it catches the firelight, it gives off a surreal white light. It has no facets, smooth to the touch and almost transparent in the eyes.

You stare and stare in wary hope at the miracle you have desperately wished for.

❤•°o.O`•.¸¸.•´´¯`••.¸¸.•´´¯`•´ ◇ⓛⓞⓥⓔ◇ `•.¸¸.•´´¯`••.¸¸.•´´¯`•´O.o°•❤

The ice-cold demon had always searched for the Jewel Tear that can grant any wish; it was a pure tear that could free him from his long imprisonment.

The demon—once without blood, without remorse and without tears—had experienced sorrow as he watched his friend die. So great was his grief that he had cried for the first time in centuries. So great was his grief that the first tear of the once ice-cold creature crystallized into the most precious and purest of gems.

❤•°o.O`•.¸¸.•´´¯`••.¸¸.•´´¯`•´ ◇ⓛⓞⓥⓔ◇ `•.¸¸.•´´¯`••.¸¸.•´´¯`•´O.o°•❤

"Grandma?" Merlin calls out, little feet padding into his grandma's room. He rubs his eyes with one hand while the other grips a small blue blanket.

The old woman pauses in her writing, her wrinkled face turning to him. Her dark hair is mostly gray now, always kept in a loose bun to hide its thinness. The candle light casts her face in an eerie glow.

She asks patiently, vibrant green eyes curious, "Nightmares, my dear?"

Merlin shrugs. "I don't know. Where's Mum?"

"She's staying over at your Uncle Gaius', remember?" she answers, a small smile on her lips. "What is it, dear?"

Merlin frowns, thinking. Then, he raises his eyes to look pleadingly at the old woman. "She usually tells me stories. I can't fall asleep without a story, Grandma!"

She chuckles softly, the sound croaky but no less charming. With a whisper and a flash of gold in her eyes, the parchment on the table rolls itself up, the quill places itself on the holder, and the ink bottle closes its lid. She beckons Merlin and without further ado, he clambers up onto his grandma's lap. Merlin claps excitedly, as he always does whenever his grandma performs magic.

"Calm down, Merlin," she admonishes, a gnarly hand coming to massage the boy's chest. Merlin doesn't even realize the ache in his heart until it's suddenly gone. "You know you need to tone down your excitement."

"Yes, Grandma," Merlin says obediently, breathing deeply and trying to normalize his heartbeat.

"Did I tell you about the demon king that's trap in ice?"

"Mum told me about it," Merlin says and recites proudly. "It's about a king who got so greedy, he started hurting people. He made a deal with the devil and became a demon himself! Then, a shaman locked him up in a cave so he couldn't hurt anyone any more."

She gives Merlin an amused glance. "It seems your mother's got her own unique version of it."

Curious, Merlin asks, "What do you mean?"

"The king did hurt people but it's not because of his greediness," she starts, tapping his nose. "but because of his prejudice. He ordered executions of innocent people just because they have magic."

Merlin gasps, horrified. "He killed people like us?"

His grandma's smile twist into something dark. "Yes," But it returns to its kind one after a moment. "But the blame does not fully lie on him. His father, the king before him, had raised him to fear those that does magic."

Merlin listens eagerly to the legendary story of pain and heartbreak; his grandma's tale is riveting, the way she describes the secret magical training the king's sister underwent to overthrow her tyrant of a brother. Her voice is low as she narrates how the sister used her powerful magic to entrap the king in a cave far out of the kingdom.

"Only the purest of tears born from extreme sincerity and sorrow can free the king. It's called a Jewel Tear," she says. "It is said to grant anything you wish for. So should the king manage to get one, he can wish himself free from his prison."

"Anything?" Merlin murmurs from his comfortable perch in his grandma's arms. His hand unconsciously goes on top of his chest. Merlin shuffles in his seat to face his grandma. "Even cure a sickness that couldn't be cured?" he inquires with big hopeful eyes.

"Oh, Merlin. I'm sorry," Her hand runs through his hair, a dismayed expression on her face. "I'm afraid Jewel Tears are rare. I've only ever seen one in my lifetime."

"Oh." Merlin couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice. His grandma have lived for a very long time. If she had only seen one . . . "It's alright. I just . . ."

His grandma draws him closer and tighter, rubbing his back tenderly. Merlin closes his eyes, enjoying the warmth of her embrace and inhaling the smell of herbs from her clothes. Merlin feels melancholic for a moment, his hopes raised in one second and dashed in another. But, as his mother keeps on telling him, he must always have hope because the gods may not always be merciful but they are never outright cruel. He's saddened but he doesn't regret being hopeful all the same.

Shaking off his sadness, he asks instead, "Isn't it cruel, Grandma? That the only thing that can break the spell is something almost impossible?"

His grandma stills, body going stiff for a brief second before she relaxes again.

"The pure tear can break any enchantment because of its wish-granting powers. But, you see, Merlin, every spell has a unique something that can always unmake it," she replies, voice flat. Then, she continues in a much lighter tone, "Most spells can be broken by the most powerful thing on this earth. Do you know what that is?"

Merlin contemplates the question for a moment. Then, his eyes brightens as he answers, "Mum's love!"

She releases a short and fond chuckle. "Close. True love, Merlin, is the most powerful magic in the world."

"And that can break the king's curse?"

The old woman shakes her head. "No. The particular spell the sister casted is an ancient one performed by high priestesses on unremorseful murderers. It's an enchantment that enacts justice. And justice is only served when it has two things. Can you guess what that is?" she challenges.

Merlin shakes his head. He doesn't even know what the word 'justice' means! He hears all the time but Mum said that he'll know about it when he's older.

When his grandma answers, her smile is brittle and her emerald eyes shimmer in the candlelight. "The remorse of the accused and the forgiveness of the victim."

Merlin frowns, not understanding half of the words in the sentence. Merlin says as much and his grandma chuckles again.

"The king should be really sorry for what he'd done and his sister should find it in her heart to forgive him," she reiterates.

Merlin's eyes widened in disbelief. "It's that easy? The king should just say sorry?"

"It's not as easy as it sounds, Merlin, especially since the king regretted nothing," she replies, slightly patronizing. Her lips purses into a thin line. "And the sister's heart had turned hard and bitter by then." At his nonplus expression, she says, "You'll understand when you're older."

With that, Merlin dismisses the whole issue as an unexplainable grown-up thing. "So what happened then?"

Merlin dozes off after a while but never truly fall into slumber. He is alert at certain parts; the sister ruled the kingdom in place of the tyrant king. But her reign was as terrifying as her brother's for she had also been as prejudiced as him. However, unlike the king, she was lenient towards magic-users and cruel to ungifted people. And, being a creature of magic, she barely aged and her reign lasted over a hundred years. Over the years, she became bitter, filled with utter contempt for the brother she knew she would never forgive. But the longer she held onto her hatred, the heavier her heart was and the weaker her magic became.

"Magic is a pure thing, you see," his grandma says in a matter-of-fact tone. With a flat tone, she continues. "It doesn't thrive in things that are negative or evil. And there is no greater evil in this world than complete hatred."

His grandma narrates how the sister woke up one morning with the barest of magical ability. She tells Merlin how she promptly relinquished the throne to a cousin. Merlin falls asleep as his grandma is telling him how the sister travelled into unknown lands in search for something to bring her magic back. The old woman tells the sleeping child how unsuccessful the sister's journey was. But in her quest, she met a wonderful man with whom she fell in love and settled down with. She narrates how the man and their daughter greatly lessened the bitterness in her heart. And the sister might be starting to forgive and forget all the evil deeds her brother had done.

The old woman kisses the top of Merlin's head, vibrant green eyes shining with tears, and whispers how the gods are just but merciless in punishing her for her sins; how the sister sorely wished she had the magic to cure her beloved grandson.

That night, Merlin's sleep is peaceful as he dreams of finding the Jewel Tear and running wild in a field of flowers, heart beating fast but never paining him.

❤•°o.O`•.¸¸.•´´¯`••.¸¸.•´´¯`•´ ◇ⓛⓞⓥⓔ◇ `•.¸¸.•´´¯`••.¸¸.•´´¯`•´O.o°•❤

Merlin blinks awake to a bright light and promptly squeezed his eyes shut. Slowly, he opens them again and lets them adjust. When he becomes accustom to the lighting, he realizes that the bright light is actually the sun. He sees an expanse of very blue sky, interfered only by fluffy white clouds. The sunlight feels good against his skin and the cool breeze prevents him from getting uncomfortably hot. The soft grass underneath his fingertips are dewy but he's too contented to do anything about it.

So this is the afterlife, he thinks. He could get used to this. For a moment, he just lays there, enjoying the moment.

Then, a shadow abruptly blocks the sun from Merlin's view. The shadow has a face set in a concerned expression.

"Gah!" Merlin cries out, almost jumping out of his skin in surprise. He sits upright, eyes never leaving the figure in front of him.

The man's expression turns into one of amusement, watching Merlin's clumsy flailing. Merlin knows that expression. His eyes track down to the short flaxen hair, bright blue eyes, sharp cheekbones, quirked lips, and the smooth strong jaw.

"Arthur?" Merlin gapes, recognizing the features. The man before him raises an unimpressed brow. "You cut your hair!" is the first thing Merlin notices.

Arthur runs a hand through his blonde locks, now barely reaching his ears. "It kept getting in my eyes. It was annoying," he answers, flopping down beside Merlin.

Merlin considers the answer very reasonable. Then, "Wait, you-you're free!" is the second thing he notices. "And you're wearing my spare clothes!"

"An astute observation, Merlin," Arthur replies, sarcasm dripping from his tone. Merlin's tunic is a bit tight around the former king's shoulders and middle, and the trousers are too short to reach his ankles. But Arthur seems comfortable enough. "What other things have you come to deduce? That the sky is blue, perhaps?"

Merlin opens and closes his mouth a few time, imitating a fish out of water. "But how—You were—" He splutters, trying to find the words. "This is the afterlife!" As he says it, realization hits him like a ton of rocks. Merlin stares at Arthur, devastated. "You're dead too? H-How did it happen?" Someone must have killed Arthur while he was entrapped in the cave. The notion makes Merlin sick. But, the selfish part of himself is glad that Arthur's here with Merlin. He never did learn how to let go of his friends.

But Arthur rolls his eyes, looking at Merlin as if he's being purposely obtuse to annoy Arthur. The former king points a thumb at a familiar rock formation behind him. "Do you really think the afterlife would have that cursed cave?"

Merlin glances and sees the entrance of the cave that housed the demon king. Well, once housed the demon king, it seems. He blinks, trying to process the implication of that.

"How did you break the spell?" Merlin asks with wide fascinated eyes, extremely curious. After all, it's not everyday he gets to see an ancient enchantment being lifted.

Arthur frowns in thought, bewilderment evident on his face. "I don't know. The ice—It just shattered and melted. Next thing I know, my hands and legs are free." His eyes are averted and his hands clenches into a fist as he adds, "And you, a dead weight in my arms." Merlin is simultaneously heartened and guilty at the obvious pain he hears in Arthur's voice.

The last statement brings Merlin back to the last thing he remembers. "Oh gods, I was dying. I'm dead. I'm supposed to be dead!"

Merlin amazedly stares down on his hands, spreading his fingers apart and turning them in various directions. He gives himself a proper look to see if he is somehow a ghost now. He's still wearing the same clothes and boots. He's not really semi-transparent and he still has his feet so Merlin takes those as good signs.

But he couldn't be mistaken. He had felt the tell-tale start of an attack, one that would make his heart palpitate painfully for several agonizing seconds and make him incredibly exhausted afterwards. Merlin knew in that moment that it was the last and final one; the attack had preceded his death. He didn't how he knew, just that he did. Dread and dismay warred inside him before he just felt a weary acceptance of his fate.

"So, how am I still alive?" he inquires, incredulity and hope in his tone. He meets Arthur's gaze, sure that the former king had something to do with it.

Arthur couldn't seem to meet his eyes, blue orbs looking somewhere over Merlin's shoulder. He shrugs, trying to be nonchalant. "I don't know either." The whole charade would have worked if Arthur's cheeks didn't suddenly turn an embarrassed red.

"You're blushing!" It ends with an amazed laugh because Merlin couldn't believe what he's seeing. He knows Arthur already has a heartbeat but he only now realizes that it must mean his blood circulation is back.

"No, I'm not," Arthur replies hotly, quickly getting to his feet. He is a few feet away before Merlin decides to get up as well.

He becomes lightheaded, vision blackening for a long moment. In that time, he does not know which way is up or down. His heart (!) races for some unknown reason. When he comes to, he feels a hand on the small of his back, supporting him.

"Perhaps it's too soon to stand up," Arthur say, frowning in concern. "You just died a few hours after all."

The warmth of Arthur's hand seeps through his clothing, a sharp contrast to the ice-cold skin Merlin had touched in the cave.

"I'm alright," Merlin waves a flippant. The dizziness is already starting to fade so there is no need to worry. He gives Arthur an overly curious look. "So? What really happened? I can't just suddenly come back to life like that!"

The former king's lips purses into a thin line. He opens his mouth and after a few moments of just gaping, he closes them again. He does it a few more times, each time leaving Merlin more amused and confused than before. But Merlin is patient so he waits for Arthur to gather his thoughts.

"There was a Jewel Tear," he finally says. "I wished you back to life."

Merlin takes a few moments to process this information, blinking stupidly for a few seconds. When he does, his jaw slackens with shock and his eyes widen. "A . . . You found a Jewel Tear?" He couldn't believe he was dead for this. He wants to see a Jewel Tear so badly! "What did it look like? Did you feel it's magic? Where is it now?"

Arthur merely cocks a brow at the barrage of questions. "It looked like a normal gemstone. I felt nothing. It disappeared as soon as I wished on it," he answers.

Merlin sighs in disappointment. Maybe he'll see a Jewel Tear someday. He perks up after a while, looking at his hands. "I can't believe the Jewel Tear can bring people back from the dead."

Arthur is silent for a moment before he replies casually, "It has its price."

Merlin snaps his head towards his friend so fast, his neck gives a twinge. "And what was the price, Arthur?" he demands, horrified at the implication. He was prepared to die! He doesn't want Arthur or anyone else to sacrifice anything just so he could live. "What did you have to give up?"

"It was nothing important," Arthur shrugs before striding away towards . . . Merlin's satchel? Merlin honestly forgot about that thing.

But before Arthur could go more than a few steps, Merlin places a hand on his shoulder. Arthur stills, getting the message. The former king turns, giving Merlin an undecipherable look.

"What did you give?"

Arthur lets out a resigned sigh. He encircles hand around Merlin's wrist. He guides Merlin's palm to rest on his chest. Merlin is befuddled for a few seconds before he realizes something amiss.

"You have no heartbeat," he breathes out. He meets Arthur's blank gaze. "But you had one! Back in the cave, you showed me—" Merlin is certain he felt the thump-thump on the man's chest before. However, now, he feels nothing but deafening silence.

"You needed a new heart." Again, Arthur shrugs as if it is nothing. But his eyes are on Merlin, seemingly gauging his reaction to the news.

Unconsciously, Merlin's other hand goes towards his own chest. He feels the healthy beating inside of his ribcage. He hears the pumping of his blood in his ears.

Then, the implication of his friend's statement sinks in. "You gave me your heart?" Merlin blinks, repeats the statement to himself, and he couldn't help it, alright. He grins. "Oh, Arthur," he says in a high-pitched voice, giving a small swoon. "I didn't know you could be so rom—"

"Finish that sentence and I will end you." Arthur threatens with no real heat, a red blush dusting his cheeks once more.

"See! You're blushing! How can that be when you don't have any heart anymore?" Merlin asks, sobering up. "You're warm and alive!"

Arthur's brows furrows in confusion. "I don't even begin to comprehend how magic works. But for some reason, the heart beats for both of us."

"Both of us?" Merlin frowns in thought, dropping his hands from both their chests. "What does that imply?"

Merlin's new heart suddenly starts beating fast for no apparent reason. A small amount of dread slithers in him, wondering if this new one will be as diseased as the old one just because it's inside Merlin.

"Do you feel that?" Arthur's voice snaps him out of his morbid thoughts. "It's beating fast?"

Merlin nods, looking at the former king for answers. But then, epiphany hits him like a ton of bricks. "I can feel what you're feeling?" His voice raises in incredulity.

"More or less, I think," Arthur answers, averting his eyes in what seems to be embarrassment.

Merlin opens and closes his mouth a few times, unable to think of anything to say to that. Arthur waits, staring at him for a few seconds. When Merlin doesn't say anything, the former king sighs in exasperation and turns on his heel.

"We better get going," he says, picking up Merlin's satchel with one hand. He casts a slightly contemptuous glance at the entrance of his once prison. "I have no wish to stay here any longer than possible."

Merlin catches the satchel that Arthur dumps at him with a surprise "Ompf". "There's a village a few clicks away on the north." Merlin informs him, fishing a crumpled map in his back.

He smiles slightly as he remembers his reason for buying the map; he wants to travel all the lands and seas he could reach before death takes him. Unfortunately, he was too tired to continue and just decided to rest in the demon king's cave.

He can't believe how wonderful things turned out; a new friend and a new heart. Who would have thought.

"We can go there to replenish supplies," Arthur replies. Then, he glances at Merlin from the corner of his eye, obviously trying to be nonchalant. "You can go wherever you wish after that." Though he tried to hide it, Merlin could hear the uncertainty and wary hope in Arthur's voice.

Merlin grins. "And leave you to wander about and to get killed by bandits? A lot has changed since your imprisonment and you probably know nothing of the world, Your Highness," Merlin mutters the last words with as much sarcasm as possible. Arthur rolls his eyes and Merlin counts that as a win. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me now." He claps a hand at the back of Arthur's shoulder. "Besides, I'm the one with all the money."

"Pity. I thought I could finally get rid of you." Arthur replies, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile. "And," the former king lifts a hand holding a small pouch. "I believe I'm the one holding the money."

Merlin squawks indignantly and tries to grab for it. "You thief! That's mine!"

Arthur races ahead of him, laughing and teasing. Merlin feels his heart beating quickly again and wonders whether it's because of his or his friend's exhilaration. Does it really matter?

With a wide smile, Merlin chases after Arthur.

❤•°o.O`•.¸¸.•´´¯`••.¸¸.•´´¯`•´ ◇ⓛⓞⓥⓔ◇ `•.¸¸.•´´¯`••.¸¸.•´´¯`•´O.o°•❤

The tale of the ice-cold demon and the young man ends here.

And their second story begins . . .

❤•°o.O`•.¸¸.•´´¯`••.¸¸.•´´¯`•´ ◇ⓛⓞⓥⓔ◇ `•.¸¸.•´´¯`••.¸¸.•´´¯`•´O.o°•❤

.

.

.

.

"Do you think my warm hug actually melted the ice?" Merlin says with a note of amused disbelief.

Arthur rolls his eyes so hard, Merlin wonders why they didn't fall out of their socket.

"Shut up, Merlin."

❤•°o.O`•.¸¸.•´´¯`••.¸¸.•´´¯`•´ ◇ⓛⓞⓥⓔ◇ `•.¸¸.•´´¯`••.¸¸.•´´¯`•´O.o°•❤

A/N: Unbeta'ed so all errors you see are mine.

FINALLY DONE! 13 000 words of atrocious grammar and it's done.

The plot is based on the manga Koori no Mamono no Monogatari, which in English, The Ice-Cold Demon's Tale. The translation to English has atrocious grammar but if you want, you can read it in mangafox or mangapark.

As I said in the summary this is a FAIRY TALE AU. Happy endings are practically required in fairy tales (actually, I just wanted one).

Kindly point out any glaring errors you see. Constructive criticisms are very much welcomed!

Have an incredibly awesome day, everyone!

~ Vividpast