AN.: Welcome to this little story of mine. This is my first Merlin fanfiction. I've read a lot of them recently and always wanted to write one myself. So when my brain first came up with a decent idea, I was itching to sit down and write it.

Concerning the story: This is Merlin-centric and Merlin + Arthur friendship. No slash but bromance if you squint hard enough. Set after season three, somewhat in season 4 but it doesn't depend much on the events in the show. I'm basically just taking the characters and locations for a ride. Please enjoy.

"Atishoo!" The sudden sound of Merlin's violent, aggressive sneeze cut through the peaceful morning silence with merciless roughness. Arthur, who was just about to shove a fork, balancing his breakfast, into his mouth flinched so bad, the fork clattered back onto his plate.

"Merlin!" Arthur said, annoyed and rolling with his eyes. "This is the third time already. Did you make it your personal vendetta to ruin my morning?" Merlin huffed at that in a pouty manner while wiping his runny nose with the sleeve of his brown jacket.

"Oh excuse me, Sire. I'm inconsolable that my misery is causing you discomfort. I'll try to suffer more quietly from now on, your Highness." Merlin went back to polish Arthur's armor, leaving Arthur to stare at him in disbelieve. Arthur set his fork aside to frown at his manservant for a drawn out second.

"You are bolder than usual today... And for you? That's quite an achievement." At that, Merlin simply sighed, continuing to polish Arthur's helmet. Arthur would never admit it, but he was a little disappointed that Merlin didn't return his attempt at lighthearted banter. Weird... Arthur took a moment to take in Merlin's appearance; His friend was pale, his shoulders sagged and his movements were slow and sluggish. Besides the white pallor of his skin, dark shadows beneath his eyes and a slightly red nose stood out and the usual glint in his blue eyes seemed to be missing as well. Merlin kept wrinkling his runny nose and when Arthur looked closely, he could see a tremor traveling up and down his thin body. It was quite obvious by now that Merlin was sick and a pang of guilt gnawed at Arthur's heart for being so mean to him earlier. Picking his fork back up and resuming his breakfast, Arthur tried to take on a nonchalant expression and a casual tone as he addressed Merlin.

"Did you let Gaius take a look at you?" Arthur asked, not looking at Merlin. Merlin paused his polishing to look at Arthur, masking his face with a mock-affectionate expression.

"Aw, I didn't know you cared, Arthur." A small smile appeared on Merlin's lips as he challenged his King.

"I-I don't! I just don't want you to bumble about, getting all of my knights sick as well." Arthur retorted.

"You are one to talk, Sir I-don't-need-bed rest." Merlin teased. Arthur moaned.

"Don't change the topic, Merlin. Did Gaius have a look at you?" Arthur asked, putting on a more serious expression. Merlin, not able to build up the energy to talk himself out of this one, deflated and answered his King in a small voice.

"No, he didn't... I couldn't sleep well last night and got up before he did." Merlin said as he turned away from Arthur, facing the armor plates sitting in his lap again.

"Alright, that's it." Arthur said as he suddenly got up from the table and went over to where Merlin was sitting on a bench. Grabbing his manservant by his thin wrist, Arthur gently tugged to make him rise to his feet. "We are going to see Gaius, right now." Arthur said, determination etched in the lines on his face.

"But Arthur..." Merlin whined, hesitantly trotting along.

"Merlin, this was not a request." Arthur said, his tone leaving no room for arguments.

Gaius was sitting at his table, his nose shoved into a thick book. He had a big selection of herbs and a mortar next to him. He looked up from the book to the door as Arthur entered the room with Merlin in tow.

"Sire, how can I help you?" He asked in surprise. His gaze snapped to Merlin and his face displayed worry for a brief moment. "Is everything alright?" Arthur pulled Merlin in front of him and placing a hand on each shoulder, spun him so he was facing the physician. Merlin stumbled slightly during the spinning motion but Arthur's grip held him upright.

"Gaius, Merlin seems to be sick. I'd like for you to have a proper look at him." Gaius' eyes snapped back and forth between the king and his ward before he moved up to Merlin and put a cool hand underneath Merlin's black bangs to feel his temperature. Gaius sucked in a sharp breath with a disbelieving look on his face.

"Merlin!" The physician was shaking his head. "You have a high fever."

"I'm fine." Merlin tried to convince them but he might as well try talking to a wall.

"You idiot." Arthur mumbled and let a breath slowly out of his nose. "You stay here and get better first before you try to come back to me." Arthur said while carefully shoving Merlin towards Gaius who immediately took over in steadying his ward.

"Don't worry, Sire." Gaius said while looking at the King with honesty glinting in his eyes. He turned to look sharply at Merlin. "I'll make sure he'll follow your orders." Without missing another heartbeat, Gaius guided Merlin towards his room. Merlin tried to turn to Arthur and talk him out of it.

"Arthur! There are important festivities with parties from other kingdoms attending tomorrow evening. You need me now more than ever!" Merlin tried to argue but Arthur was having none of it.

"Don't be ridiculous, Merlin. I'll simply employ George as my manservant until you are feeling well enough again." Arthur said, while sporting a teasing smile. "He does a way better job than you anyway." Without waiting for Merlin's reaction, Arthur turned and was out of Gaius chambers the next second.

"Gaius, I can't take on a sick leave!" Merlin whined as soon as Arthur was out of the room. "What if someone attending the fest tries to make an attempt on Arthur's life? There are still many enemies which he can't face alone. I need to be by his side during the event tomorrow."

"Well apparently, your body didn't get that message. You won't be of help to him in your current state." Gaius put a reassuring hand onto his shoulder. "Recover first before you end up dead." Gaius ushered Merlin into his room and tugged him into his bed as soon as Merlin took of his boots. "'ll make you a herbal tea and a poultice. Sleep a bit, Merlin. I'll wake you if anything of importance occurs." Gaius left Merlin's room. Alone, lying in his bed, Merlin's head was spinning. He felt the heat radiating off of his own skin, yet his body was wrecked with chills. Merlin knew from experience that Gaius managed to cure someone with the same symptoms he was currently experiencing within two weeks. Which meant it would take at least a week for Merlin to be fit enough to take on his tasks as manservant again. That is too long. Normally, he'd embrace the idea of some free time but not now. Everyone in Camelot has been preparing for the fest tomorrow evening. They where eagerly awaiting all the guests who were send by their respected kingdoms on a mission to keep the peace intact. There were going to be negotiations, ideas for new treaties, announcement of new regulations and hopefully, no problems. Here is the thing: Arthur wasn't exactly the 'no problem' kind of person, much to Merlin's annoyance. Arthur just couldn't seem to stay out of trouble.

That's why Merlin needed to be by his side during the feast. He cursed his sick body under his breath and closed his eyes as he felt a headache pulsating in the back of his head. His aching body forced him to relax and not being able to resist the sweet temptation of sleep any longer, Merlin drifted to a restless sleep.

…

"Merlin."

Merlin felt the heavy weight of more than his usual blanket on top of him. There was also something cool pressing down on his forehead. The coldness made him shiver and he frowned in annoyance.

"Merlin, can you hear me?" That was Gaius. The coldness left his forehead and he realized it had been Gaius' hand resting there.

"Go away..." Merlin slurred with still closed eyes.

"Merlin, you need to eat something. I made some porridge for you earlier but you were fast asleep. I reheated it for you."

Merlin's ears perked up at that. "Earlier? How long was I asleep for?" He asked tentatively.

"About six hours. I also got you the herbal tea and I applied the poultice while you were asleep. You were shivering pretty bad, so I got you my blanket. How do you feel?" The old physician asked, concern overshadowing his features.

"I'm alright. The sleep worked wonders. Do you think I'm fit to take on my duty as mans-" He was interrupted by a coughing fit. Gaius helped him sit up and stroked his back gently. As soon as Merlin's lungs had calmed down, Gaius held out a cup of hot, steaming tea to Merlin's lips. The ward gratefully took hold of the cup with slightly shaking hands and sipped slowly, letting the liquid warm him from the inside.

"Does that answer you question?" Gaius asked, raising one eyebrow at the warlock.

"Not really...?" He tried, but seeing Gaius simply shaking his head and turning to leave the room, Merlin knew that Gaius was not letting him go that easily. He put the cup aside and eyed the bowl of porridge warily, not feeling like eating at the moment. Nevertheless, he took the bowl and a spoon and forced a few spoonfuls down. He should not get on Gaius' bad side if he wanted to leave this room anytime near in the future. With waking up from the sleep, Merlin took a moment to assess his condition. The headache was gone now but his eyes and throat were burning slightly. Instead of running, his nose seemed to like the idea of being stuffy better, forcing him to breathe through his mouth. His muscles were aching pretty bad; It felt like he'd been running after Arthur through the forest for at least a week. Without thinking about it, he reached out for his magic to light a candle next to his bed. His eyes grew wide. His magic was still there, he could feel it clearly, but something seemed to be different. The process of accessing his magic seemed to stutter, the action wasn't as smooth as it should be. As if someone or something had placed an obstacle on the path from his outstretched hand to the inner core of his magic. He tried to put more focus into it and finally, with a spark of gold overshadowing the blue of his eyes, the candle came to life as a flame started flickering, making the shadows on the wall dance across the room. Merlin stared at the candle, a frown on his face while deep in thought when Gaius entered his room again, probably to check if Merlin had eaten the porridge. Gaius froze mid-motion of advancing through the room when he saw the look on Merlin's face.

"Are you alright?" Gaius asked hesitantly. Merlin snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Gaius questioningly.

"Gaius, does an illness -like this flu- affect magic users in a different way? With possible other symptoms?" Merlin wasn't able to suppress the worry lacing over his words. Gaius was alarmed right now.

"Why? Are you experiencing unusual symptoms?" He pushed Merlin's blankets away to take a look at his legs. "Did you grow extra limbs or anything?" Gaius actually asked that in a serious manner, but it didn't surprise Merlin in the least. It wouldn't be the first time for them to encounter something they would've never believed in their wildest dreams before.

"No, it's not like that... It just feels like something is wrong- no, not quite wrong... Something is affecting my magic. It feels like I have to fight through several layers of cotton to be able to reach for my magic. I was always able to do it effortlessly, but I had to focus really hard just now to be able to light this candle." Merlin finished, underlining his words with a flick of his wrist in the candle's direction. Gaius nodded slowly as he sat next to Merlin on a chair.

"Well, it might be possible. Concerning magic, you are always an exception, a special case. Instead of having learned magic like I did, magic was always a part of you. You are magic, Merlin. Magic was never a choice for you like it is for all the sorcerers out there. So, if you are sick, then maybe your magic -which is part of your being- falls ill as well." Gaius puts a reassuring hand on Merlin's arm, looking deep into his eyes. "Don't worry Merlin. Your magic will always be there. It might be subdued at the moment due to your flu, but it is there." Merlin visibly relaxed after considering his mentor's words. Gaius, satisfied with Merlin's attempt at eating the porridge, took the empty mug and the still half-full bowl and stood up to leave the room. Before he left, he turned to Merlin again.

"Merlin, I strongly advise you to reduce your use of magic until you have fully recovered." Merlin opened his mouth to protest, but Gaius raised his hand to stop him. "If your magic is sick as well, it will need as much rest as you do to recover from the flu. Give it the time it needs to recover." Merlin snapped his still opened mouth shut. He couldn't quite argue with that. Also, he didn't say it out loud, but the initial feeling of his magic being subdued, had scared him slightly. Maybe Gaius is right... I should take it easy.

Well that was the idea at first.

…

The next morning came. Merlin woke up with a hurting throat and a deep, wet cough. His nose was now simultaneously stuffy and running and moving slightly revealed a muscle ache Merlin hadn't felt in a long, long time. Merlin didn't even know some of these muscles existed in the first place. With his condition like this, there was no way for Gaius to let him attend the fest today. And Arthur would probably send him back to his chambers as soon as he'd lay eyes upon his shaking frame and snow white pallor. Merlin let out a sigh.

Even though his mind screamed at him to be by Arthur's side on an important day like this, he couldn't help the tiny voice in the back of his mind that was enjoying a peaceful quiet morning. No breakfast to fetch, no laundry to gather -and especially- no things being thrown at his face. As soon as this peaceful thought crossed his mind, Merlin felt guilty. It is my destiny to protect him, not lazing around. The silence was also an indication, that Gaius was currently out, making his rounds, leaving Merlin alone. An idea slowly started blooming in the back of his head. A tiny flower growing bigger and bigger. Merlin's eyes snapped to the place on the floor, where underneath loose wooden planks, his most valuable treasure was hidden. Looking at the wooden door to his room and listening for a few breaths, Merlin swung his legs over the edge of his bed and set them down onto the floor gingerly. With slow, careful movements, he bend down and lifted the loose planks. The task, even as minor as it was, was exhausting and left Merlin breathing heavily when he finally was able to sit back down on his bed, the old book in hands. He took a few lungfuls of breath and waited for a coughing fit to subside until he was able to open the mighty collection of spells. With professional routine, Merlin skipped through the pages until he had found what he was looking for: Healing spells. There were multiple spells, most of them only for high level sorcerers.

Healing flesh wounds of others, healing your own flesh wounds, enchanting a healing potion to intensify its effect... Merlin skipped a page. Healing illness of others, healing your own illness aha! The spell was quite complex and would need all of his concentration, especially considering his magic was a bit weakened as well. But if everything went right, Merlin would be able to attend the festivities this evening and -most importantly- he'd be able to save Arthur's arse from any potential threat. Merlin made his choice; He straightened his back and took a moment to brace himself for the impact on his magic the spell was probably going to have. Breathe in, breathe out. In, out... He studied the words written in the language of the old religion before him until he knew every word by heart. Then he started speaking with his voice. Not the usual one everyone was able to hear, no. This was his true voice: dripping with power, inflicting wonder and astonishment and in some cases, fear.

"Allinan Orpha Pufonimst adl fram mich Ik pekprohale ac pinu lixar mich." As soon as the spell had spilled over Merlin's lips, he felt his magic pooling from his inner core into the tip of his finger. The surge of energy was crawling under his skin and just when the spell was about to be cast, the surge of energy retreated back to its core again, only leaving a tingle behind. Nothing had happened.

Merlin tried again. Nothing again. He was moaning in frustration.

"Come on! I really need to be at the fest today! Have mercy on me..." He closed his eyes for a second and calmed his beating heart down a bit before he opened them again and let the words from the spell bubble up from his insides one last time:

"Allinan Orpha Pufonimst adl fram mich Ik pekprohale ac pinu lixar mich." The energy, the magic was back again, but this time with more force and focus and then, Merlin felt the familiar warmth of successful performed magic. He felt better immediately. The cough was gone, the ache had died down and his nose wasn't that stuffy anymore. To Merlin's surprise though, his flu wasn't completely healed as it should've been. Weird. This spell was designed to cure every illness completely... Maybe it's because of his subdued and ill magic that the spell only managed to cure him halfway.

Well, he still felt a little drained and his throat was scratchy but at least he was healthy enough to go back to work. Now all he had to do was deal with Gaius' lecture and convince Arthur to let him work again. Child's play.

AN.: Well, let me know what you think about this chapter. Thanks for reading. Every review is highly appreciated.