SCOP'S NOTES:
Here's my first proper story. It's also my first fan fiction, so I'd appreciate any constructive reviews.
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The story takes place just after the end of S4 but before Arthur and Gwen get married, during the cleanup phase in Camelot as Arthur and Merlin must deal with the mess Morgana left behind. Each chapter is going to be a mini-story about something that happens in that time frame, but they're all tied together and build off each other. Just don't expect any cliff hangers. This is going to be a Reveal fic, eventually, but there's other mini stories which will happen before that, so be patient.

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.

-mAmAmAm-

The Consequences of a Bright Night: Chapter 1 - A Little Night Magic

It had been a long day. At the end of which, Morgana no longer sat on the throne of Camelot. Where she had gotten to was still a mystery, but some things could be worried over later. There was much to do to clean up the mess she had left behind in her short rule. Order had te be reclaimed quickly, least Camelot's other, more traditional enemies begin picking at her boarders.

Technically, it had been two days since Merlin had last rested, but at least, soon he'd be in his own bed instead of lying on a pile of leaves in the Forest of Acetier. Arthur could wait if he wanted him to do anything else before he and his mattress were reacquainted and had spent several glorious hours reminiscing.

Merlin had spent most of the time after the battle in the infirmary. He'd gone there to check Gaius. His guardian wasn't doing well after his stay in the dungeons and Merlin wanted to be sure he got plenty of rest and water, and had something to eat that wouldn't be to stressful on his system.

Without Gaius to guide them, the volunteers tending the wounded began deferring to Merlin on the more difficult cases. Word had gotten around that Arthur had appointed him acting physician on a case in one of the villages when Gaius was too busy with an illness in Camelot to make the trip himself. It was odd at first, being the one everyone was listening to for a change, but Merlin figured they just needed the stability after all that had happened. After the time they'd already put in, they were all fairly knowledgeable on what needed to be done anyway. He soon became familiar with whom was better at what and as more injured arrived, assigned caretaker to wounded accordingly. Gaius would have handled things better, he was sure, but everyone got the treatment they needed.

The hardest part was watching those who were beyond help die. There were too many people in the infirmary for Merlin to risk using magic, and, truth be told, his ability to heal large battle wounds wasn't much better than what could be done in the infirmary. Every time someone died, it stoked a simmering frustration inside him. If magic had been legal, he'd had the time to learn the kind of intricate healing magic his father and Talieson had used on Arthur. It was like watching Isolde die all over again.

Eventually, the wounded began leaving to see to the state of their own households and finally Merlin was free to check on the state of his. He sent for a litter for Gaius and Leon and Percival volunteered to ferret him over to his chambers while Merlin went on ahead to straighten things up.

-mAmAmAm-

Merlin had seen worse. Arthur and Leon had both done better jobs trashing Gaius' chambers in the past searching for magical portants and signs of sorcery during one of Uthur's witch hunts. The thought didn't make him feel any better. Philes of potions and powders had been broken, their contents struen about, a few chairs over turned, and papers lay scattered about. The bed had been slept in and some of the medical supplies had been disturbed, suggesting the Southrons had actually used the medical supplies appropriately. But what caught his attention were the anthologies piled on the main table and scattered about. They were all opened to the "Em-" section. Merlin smiled with a small scene of sanctification knowing that the searcher had been frustrated. If Morgana was looking for Emrys, she was looking in the wrong books.

He approached the stairs of his own room with a bit more intrepidation. Merlin wasn't sure exactly how much root magic Morgana possessed underneath the powers she had gained through study. If she had searched the chambers herself and not just left the job to some lackey, she may have been able to sense the traces of power emanating from behind his door.

The room didn't look too bad, but he was going to have to replace the herb rack, and his bed had been slept in as well. He immediately moved it aside with a thought. The floorboards were intact. He uttered a slight spell to loosen them and checked the contents underneath. Magic books, his brass burnishing bowl, Fairy staff, Philosopher's Stone, Cup of Life. All still there, safe and sound. "Safer than the vaults of Camelot," Merlin mused. He grabbed the magical healing book by Gwillem of Cambria and sealed the rest back under the floor again.

He was far too tired to give the room a proper cleaning and he still had a lot to do before he'd have a chance for sleep tonight. Surely Gaius would forgive him this indulgence if he found out. He raised his hand and uttered "áfeorme" as his eyes glowed gold. He left while the room busied cleaning itself.

He cast the same spell on Gaius's bed as he passed it, but didn't do much with the rest of the chamber least the place appear untouched during Morgana's brief control when the rest of the castle had sustained so much damage. It could cause too many questions that Merlin was in no mood to invent explanations for. Besides, there were other things that needed doing at the moment and not much time to do them in. He lightened the spell to push aside most of the broken glass to make it looked like he slept and sent most of the books back to their shelves, flipping the pages of the books that remained to appear more random.

He set Gwillem's book down on a recently cleared area of the table and quickly scanned through for what he was looking for, a healing poultice that would help to gently restore Gaius's health. Gaius might not approve of this either, but after the time he'd spent in the infirmary, frankly, he didn't care anymore. Gaius was someone he could save. He routed around the scattered supplies and managed to find all the listed ingredients, a motor and pestle, and a small bag, then continued reading.

"Mix ye these well as ye focus on a time when thy tended was a great vigor-" Merlin remembered the time when Gaius's old girlfriend, Alice, had first come for a visit-before they realized she was being controlled by the Manticor and was preparing to do evil. He kept the image in mind while he ground down the ingredients in the pestle.

"- then cast ye these words 'Gebreade! Auxilium remedium emendatio sanatio!'"

He poured the contents into a small poultice bag and pulled the strings tight. The last instructions said to seal the bag with "the bond between ye and thy tended"

"Se fréond" Merlin said, and the poultice glowed, betraying it's magical potency. Gaius was much more than a friend to him, but the word would suffice. It was the feelings that were important. He quickly checked the bed for any poppets or other magical traps Morgana may have left. Finding none, he placed the poultice under Gaius's mattress. What Gaius didn't know wouldn't hurt him, and Merlin was in no mood to hear the old man insist that Merlin not help him and just let him die. Gaius could complain all he wanted to in the morning once the deed was done. He'd have to remember to retrieve the poultice in the morning. The incident with Gwen's father had taught him not to leave such things lying around. That reminded him he still had to retrieve the poppet he'd placed under Morgana's bed to bind her powers, somehow. If anyone had found it, the questions wouldn't have lead back to him, but still, there would be questions. Hopefully tomorrow would give him a legitimate excuse to enter her chambers in case anyone saw him go in.

The chamber door opened and Percival and Leon carried Gaius in on the litter.

"Really Merlin, I could have walked." Gaius complained. That was a lie. Merlin knew the journey up the stairs to the turret room would have exhausted him in his present state.

"Maybe in the morning." Merlin said. "Right now you need your rest." He grabbed the magic book as he passed it on the way to the door. He stuffed it behind his back in his trousers and covered it with his shirt while the two knights worked at getting the litter round the corner. "He give you any trouble?" he asked Leon.

"Nothing we couldn't handle. Least he's the energy to complain." Leon said.

Merlin smiled. "Chicken soup and rice gruel. My mother always said that worked wonders." He showed the two knights where Gaius's bed was and helped them move him on to it.

He had seen to it that Gaius had had a bath and a change of clothes in the infirmary. Partly because after two weeks in the dungeons he stank a bit, but mainly because he wanted to be sure Morgana haddn't slipped any articles of enchantment on him. He didn't want a repeat of what happened with Uther.

Just then a young serving girl of about 14 years of age ran in through the door, carrying a small cauldron in front of her. She was the head cooks daughter, Beth.

"Another batch, Merlin." she said as she toted her burden to the hearth hook. "Mother said she'd be happy to make more as long as it's for Gauis and not one of those thieving kni-" Beth turned around and saw Percival and Leon stairing at her. Embarrased, she did a slight curtzy "Excuse me, sirs" and ran out the door... right into Arthur as he was entering. The King let out an "Umph!"

"I-I" the girl stammered, eyes wide with fright. "Forgive me, Sire" she managed as she ran down the stairs.

The boys shared a laugh. Gauis started to, but it turned into a cough that caught everyone's attention.

"How are you feeling Gaius." Arthur asked.

"Better Sire," Gaius managed to say as he cleared his throat, though Merlin could still hear a hint of doubt in his voice.

"Don't worry about it, Gaius. I'm sure you'll be up and around by morning. The whole castle's pulling for you." Merlin assured his guardian.

"Got a good feeling about that, then?" Percival asked.

"Something like that." Merlin said, "But right now, he needs his rest, and so do I, so if you don't mind, go find your own beds."

The knights took the hint, but Arthur hung back in the doorway. He cast a glance over at Gaius. "Are you going to be able to get back to work tomorrow or do I need to find George for a day or two?"

Merlin shook his head. "Best thing Gaius needs right now is rest. Better I'm doing something useful than puttering around here and waking him up. I can check on him during meal times."

"Good, because my chambers are going to need a muck out. Looks like Morgana threw a tantrum in there. There's some halfway decent chambers in the ninth floor guest wing, you can find me up there somewhere. Apparently the Southron didn't like climbing stairs. I'm planing on sleeping in, so... make sure you get enough sleep yourself."

"Seriously?" Merlin asked. "I'm not sure if I heard you correctly but it sounded like you said I could sleep in."

"Why not," Arthur said. "You're going to need your sleep. Nine flights is a lot of stairs to climb and I'm going to need a bath once I'm up."

"Great," Merlin sighed. "Is it too late to find George?"

"Yes," Arthur said, slipping back into Prat Mode for the first time since they regained the castle. "Besides, there's something else I want to talk to you about, but it will wait till morning."

"What?" Merlin asked.

"No, it will wait." Arthur said in a way that made Merlin leary of what Arthur wanted to tell him. He'd used that tone of voice that said he was planning something, and that was never good. "You just get some rest. Nine flights. Bath."

"Right."

Arthur cast another glance at Gaius and caught the old man staring back at him, smiling. "Are you sure he's going to be okay?"

"Yes." Merlin said. There had been a genuine tone of worry in Arthur's voice, though he'd tried to hide it, and it suddenly occurred to Merlin that Gaius was the last person Arthur had left from his childhood who had cared for him. "He'll be fine."

Arthur nodded. "All right, as long as you have a good feeling about that."

"Shoo, Sire." Merlin put his hand on Arthur's chest and gently pushed him out the door, or rather, Arthur let him push him. He grabbed the door in readiness to close it once Arthur left. After all he had done for Arthur over the last couple of weeks, he still felt closing a door in his face would have been pushing it.

"Good night, Gaius." Arthur waved then headed for the stairs.

"Good Night Arthur," Gaius called back cheerfully. It was nice to hear things were getting back to normal in the palace.

Under Gaius's bed and safely out of view, the poultice glowed silently, doing it's work.

-mAmAmAm-

So that's the first chapter. Merlin's getting a little fed up with not being able to use his magic after cutting loose while he was out saving Arthur's life and getting his throne back. But where does that leave Merlin?

SCOP OUT