Yeah, I was just thinking about that - just as the scene between Merlin and Gwaine felt very much like a goodbye (and it turned out to be), so did the scene between Gaius and Merlin, to me. Gaius may have said he'd have a meal waiting for Merlin, it seemed more like a comforting, hopeful thought to temper the fact that he doesn't really expect Merlin to come back. I imagine they might see each other again someday, but not immediately.

There's a lot of ways it could go, but I could see him roaming around for a bit, trying to learn what he can about magic now he has the freedom to, maybe even hoping he'll find a way to bring Arthur back or to find out more about the prophecy linked to him, and about his father and the dragonlords, too. Maybe he'll seek out Kilgharrah and spend some time with him, before he dies, too. And when he's ready, he'll probably go home to his mum for a bit. And maybe after, he'll visit Camelot. But yeah, I don't think Camelot will ever be the same to him - he spent so much of his time there at Arthur's side, that seeing it without Arthur would probably feel wrong to him, on a personal level, and not a place he can stay at for very long. I think he might be torn, at first, between staying close to the lake and Arthur, and wanting to get away from it to let his grief heal, but in the end he'll always end up right back there, and over time his grief will become laced with some kind of peace over what they've achieved and hope for the future, and it'll become a source of consolation for him, hopefully, and another destiny he can hope for - because Merlin seemed quite lost as to who he was and why he was like that before he learned of his destiny, and then he threw himself at it with unwavering devotion, and I think he needs that, on some level, and needs to know that Arthur might need him again some day, and that Merlin will be there when the time comes.