Kiss Me To Life completed on April 19th, 2013 by Sara Felton
" Gwen, please call Gaius. There's something wrong with Arthur. ' '
Merlin said to Gwen, who nodded and hurried away.
A feast was held in the castle last night, and Arthur drank such a great deal of wine that he had to lean on Merlin's shoulder to make it back to his chamber. Therefore, Merlin decided not to wake him this morning and went to do the laundry and polished the armours. When he finally finished all the works at noon, he came back to check is Arthur yelling at everyone for not sending him breakfast.
Instead, he found Arthur still sleeping soundly in the four-poster bed, and he hadn't moved a bit.
"Rise and shine! You've missed two meals, Arthur!' 'Merlin shook Arthur's head playfully, and suddenly noticed that his skin was so cold and pale.
His anxious pacing was interrupted by a knock on the door. Gaius stepped in and Merlin grabbed his arm, " Gaius, you gotta help! I don't know what's going on, but Arthur is…he's…' '
" Wait! Merlin! You're tearing off my robe! Please tell me what happened first.' '
So Merlin explained it to him: how stoned Arthur was after drinking, and how he didn't move an eye lash when Merlin shook his head. Then Gaius checked Arthur thoroughly, examining his breathing and body temperature. Arthur's body was limb and boneless, spreading out on the large bed.
" Goodness, his body is cold. And his heart's beating quite slowly.' ' Gaius frowned, " It doesn't seem like a normal coma to me.' '
" You mean… you mean it's a spell? ' '
" Might be. Who were sitting next to Arthur last night? ' '
" Some ladies. I'm not sure who they are. And they've all left Camelot in the early morning. ' ' Merlin felt a rush of anger writhing in him, and he had to use magic to stop himself from breaking any vase or glass in the room. " How do we cure this kind of spell?' '
". I'll have to make sure what exactly the spell is. ' ' Gaius took out a tiny glass bottle filled with some transparent liquid. He unplugged the bottle and placed it close to Arthur's nostrils, and to Merlin's shock the liquid turned blackish green all in a sudden as Arthur exhaled.
Gaius scowled, " Look at this, Merlin. This is a kind of old magic that gains strength from the sorcerer's hatred. The hatred goes deep into the victim's veins, even their breaths. It weakens them, put them into a coma, and eventually…I mean, many of them, will die.' '
" Do you have any remedy for it?' '
" Well, there's no magic more powerful than hatred. If there's anything that might be able to heal Arthur, it has to be love.' '
" Love? ' ' Merlin looked at Gaius quizzically. This isn't really the right time for joking.
" Yes. To heal the patient, you'll need to make him feel how much you care and love him, and it'll work better if you're the one closest to him.' '
" That's all? No medicine? No spells? ' '
" It's not as easy as you thought, Merlin. Sorcerer's hatred are very stubborn and determined. Any kind of magic might make Arthur's sickness more serious if you're not careful enough.' '
Merlin winced at Gaius's solemn gaze and what he was implying.
" Are you saying you want me to cure him, without using any magic? ' '
" You're the one closet to Arthur. You're the one he trusts. And love itself is a kind of magic. You have it somewhere inside you.' ' Gaius patted his shoulders, and Merlin really thought that he would have to cure Gaius before curing Arthur.
Merlin wouldn't leave Arthur, so Gaius had someone send him dinner. But he could hardly eat anything. He sat on a chair next to Arthur's bed, ignoring the breads and mutton soup.
" Gaius must be out of his mind.'' He murmured to himself. " What does love have to do with waking someone from a coma? ' '
He stood up and walked closer to the bed, staring at Arthur. Blond hair laid submissively on his round scowl. He looked beautiful lying like this, innocent and vulnerable.
Merlin was frozen as he touched Arthur's frosty cheeks. He felt like a piece of ice, not the warm, firm body Merlin used to know. In other words, the person lying right here doesn't feel like Arthur at all, and it was freaking him out.
" It's me, Arthur. Please wake up. ' 'He ducked in to whisper in his ear. Arthur didn't react, but he's not giving up yet. " I don't wanna see you like this. I wanna see you full of energy again. ' '
Some vague memories were flashing through Merlin's mind. He could see a figure pulling out his sword, standing in front of his knights to protect them from the enemies. And he remembered the awkward moment when Arthur was telling the king and everyone that Merlin was " in love ' ', he could hear the concern hidden behind Arthur's teasing tone.
He stroke Arthur's hair several times, following with whatever the words that were on his mind. " I love serving you, Arthur. Cause you're not just a master to me. You're my friend. You're…someone important to me. ' ' He kept his eyes fixed on Arthur's face, his mouth puffing out warm breaths, desperate to warm him up.
Merlin took his hand carefully, as if it was a new born snake that looked harmless but might attack at any moment. He studied Arthur's ring for a while as it shined in the damp darkness. Somewhere in the castle, the bell was wrapping everything in its echoes.
Merlin knew he wouldn't have any other chance to hold Arthur's hand like this, so he added more force on it, feeling the big palm he'd always wanted to touch. He just stood their holding Arthur's hand.
He stood their for a long, long time, until the midnight air was chilling his bones and he was starving and exhausted. He finished the food, then lied down on the floor with a blanket.
The floor was unbearably hard. Merlin kept turning from one side to another, but he just couldn't fall asleep.
" Damn! Why didn't I sleep in THAT bed?' ' He muttered as his back ached.
So he ended up curling in bed with the prince. With his head on Arthur's shoulder and those smooth duvet cuddling him, Merlin drifted off to sleep in no time.
Merlin woke up at the first streak of daylight. His eyes widened as he saw a blond sleeping next to him, then he remembered it. He remembered what caused all the nightmares. He knew the shadow was still hanging over him.
The pillow was soaking wet underneath him. Merlin thought he either cried in sleep or was sweating a lot, but soon realized his cheeks were dry when he tried to wipe them.
It was Arthur.
Arthur was sweating so hard that his skin glowed and his night-robe drenched as if he had just returned from a swim. Merlin reached out a hand to touch his forehead.
'' Ouch!'' He yelled at the pippin heat of Arthur's body. It seemed like the spell has brought Arthur into a worse situation and an extraordinary fever was running all
over him.
'' There is no time to waste.'' Merlin thought to himself. He closed his eyes, searching for the most appropriate spell, the one he often use to cool down Arthur's bath water after boiling it. He held up both hands in front of Arthur, and let the words slip out. Within a minute, Arthur's temperature dropped to the point that Merlin was able to touch. Just in case this is not enough, he took off the night-robe for Arthur, so that he could cool down and breathe better. Merlin moved a hand on Arthur's bare chest.
'' Arthur. Are you feeling better now? Can you hear me?''
No response.
Arthur's chest laid still under his palm. He couldn't feel his pulse. No heart beats. Not a sound of inhaling or exhaling
'' Wake up, Arthur! Please! You know I'd do anything to make sure you're alright!'' His voice is rising to a pitch three times higher than usual, and the fear had begun to interfere his thoughts.
"Any kind of magic might make Arthur's sickness more serious if you're not careful enough….' ' Did Gaius said so? What if he was right?
A rush of terror swept Merlin away and left tears on his face. Although he has saved Arthur with magic so many times, this time, ironically, it would only bring himself shame and regret.
" No. No. Arthur. ' ' Merlin cried in despair, leaning in to hold Arthur with whole strength. " You must wake up ! Oh, I'm so sorry, Arthur. I shouldn't have used magic. I was just trying to save your life. ...I only used it for you. Please...my magic will be meaningless without you !' '
He didn't know what he was talking about, neither was he when he pressed his lips on Arthur's. First he tasted the dry, swelling bottom-lips, then he pulled Arthur even tighter to fit their mouth together. As he bit the lips gently he realized they are his biggest weakness. Everything just faded away, as well as his last attemp of staying conscious.
Tears kept running down his neck and onto Arthur's rosy flesh, making the moment somewhat more intimate. He tasted spit and tears, joy and sorrow, eagerness and relief. He was kissing Arthur so fiercely, as if he could kiss away the spell and the terrible mistake he had made. Or perhaps it was an alternative way of saying all the things he couldn't say. All that he'd been looking for a chance to say. All that he wouldn't dare to say.
Suddenly he felt Arthur kissing back in a motion that was anything but tender, dragging a whimper from Merlin with his tongue sticking into Merlin's mouth. Merlin tightened his grip on Arthur's forearm in dread, yet he let him. He even parted his lips a bit more to feel Arthur in him, to feel him alive again.
Arthur worked his tongue all the way in, big palms caressing Merlin's face. They were fire in his eyes, burning brighter than ever before.
Just as Merlin thought he was going to die from losing his breath, Arthur's mouth moved away. His head was still spinning, lost in Arthur's stare. Arthur was also breathing hard, but a wide smile was plastered all over his face. And Merlin felt okay.
" I could hear everything you said when I was asleep.' ' That was the first thing Arthur said after he started to breath normally. Merlin felt his face reddened, which made Arthur chuckle. If so, does he know that…Merlin was getting nervous again.
" Did you also hear it when I said…? ' '
" That you only used magic for me?' ' Arthur scooped his arms around Merlin and laughed. " Yeah. Wasn't that sweet? ' '
" Uh, I mean, aren't you angry?' ' Or scared?
" Get angry at someone who loves you and have saved your life? Come on, I'm not a prat.' ' When he felt Merlin's muscles eased in his arms, he added,
" Now go fetch me some breakfast. I'm starving.' '
He kissed Merlin once more to prove his hunger.