Summary: During a routine outing, Merlin gets seriously injured. It's up to Arthur and his knights to care for the lad until help can arrive.
A/N: Once again, huge thanks to my beta, sarajm, for all her assistance with this story. Her comments and suggestions are the reason why this story is finally seeing the light of day!
As always, reviews and constructive criticism are most welcome.
All for One
It happened on their return trip to Camelot. On instructions from the King, Arthur and the knights were visiting several of the outlying villages to determine how the villagers had fared over the recent harsh winter.
Arthur and his retinue (which consisted of Leon, Lancelot, Percival, Gwaine, Elyan and, of course, Merlin) had been gone from Camelot three days and things were going well. So far it seemed that, apart from the usual births and deaths, nothing untoward had occurred over the winter and the Kingdom and its residents were looking forward to spring and the new planting season.
Their third night away from Camelot found the group setting up camp in a clearing in the woods. Fortunately for Merlin, not only was wood plentiful, but they were also close to a small stream. While the knights and Arthur were taking care of their horses, Merlin was off searching for firewood in order to start cooking their evening meal.
It didn't take long for the dark haired servant to get the camp fire started and while the men were seeing to their gear, he grabbed the water buckets and started towards the stream.
Arthur's voice calling, "Hurry up, Merlin. We're starving!" followed him as he headed away from the camp and into the woods.
"Of course you're starving. You're always starving!" the servant called back, with a grin on his face. The sound of laughter followed him into the woods.
As Merlin knelt on the bank of the stream, he heard a noise behind him, and turning to look over his shoulder was starting to say "What, you don't trust me to be quick with this?" when he saw it wasn't Arthur or one of the knights behind him. Rather a very large, very brutish-looking man was standing over him with a sword in one hand and a large tree branch in the other.
Merlin dropped the bucket and quickly stood, but he was too late. The bandit swung the branch, connecting hard with the boy's chest. Merlin gasped and clutched at the injury even as he fought to stay upright, because he could see the man readying for another swing. The young warlock stretched out his hand and was starting his incantation when the bandit swung at his head. With a loud crack, the branch connected with the back of Merlin's skull and he fell to the ground as if pole-axed. Then, with an evil leer, the bandit moved in until he was standing over Merlin with his sword in his hand. He was just about to run the poor lad through when he heard the sounds of the skirmish nearby. Knowing that his band of brothers would need his aid, rather than skewering Merlin he simply stomped forcefully on the boy's thigh. There was a dull creaking noise and Merlin moaned in pain, though he was still unconscious from the blow to his head.
The bandit smirked and ran off towards the battle taking place nearby.
While all this was going on, Arthur and his knights were fighting for their lives. With no warning, a group of about twelve ruffians had coming screaming out of the forest with weapons raised, and set at the knights. But, these were Camelot's finest and were no strangers to battle. They fought like the well-trained men they were and soon the ground was littered with bodies and those bandits who were still mobile were scampering away into the forest.
"Is everyone okay?" asked Arthur as he stood in the centre of their camp surveying the scene. "Any injuries?"
A chorus of "Fine, Arthur", "I'm okay" and "Well …. I've got a bit of a scratch and I don't think I'm supposed to have this ringing in my ears" (from Gwaine, of course) came from the knights, who were catching their breath and trying to figure out what had just happened.
"Good …. good", said Arthur. "If everyone's all right, let's get rid of this 'refuse' and get back to setting up camp for the night. We'll take watch in shifts. While I don't think we'll have any problems, I don't want to take any chances".
As the knights began cleaning their swords and clearing up the site, Arthur suddenly realized he hadn't seen Merlin since the whole debacle began.
"Have any of you seen Merlin?" asked Arthur.
The knights looked at each other and Leon said, with concern in his voice, "Not since he headed off towards the stream to get water."
"I'm sure he's fine, Leon. Knowing Merlin, he's either hiding behind a tree or has buried himself under a pile of leaves", joked Arthur. He called out: "Merlin, you can come out of hiding. The big, bad men are gone now!"
There was no response.
"Merlin! Answer me! Where are you?" cried Arthur.
But there was still no response.
By now, Arthur and the knights were growing concerned and Lancelot looked over to Arthur, saying "Merlin is not stupid; you know he'd answer if he could. Maybe we should go look for him?"
"I think you're right", replied Arthur. "Leon, you stay here just in case he's gotten lost between the stream and the camp and eventually comes wandering back. The rest of you, split up and work your way towards the stream. Call out if you find anything".
With that, the men headed off on their search. Though he would never say so out loud, Arthur was quite concerned about Merlin. Despite all the jokes, Arthur cared deeply for his manservant and was worried that something terrible had occurred.
Not more than five minutes later, Percival could be heard calling out "To me! To me! I've found him".
As the men rushed towards Percival, each was thinking "Thank goodness he's been found". However, on arriving at the bank of the stream, they saw Merlin was lying on the ground unconscious. Percival was kneeing beside him with his hand on the young man's shoulder. At the sound of the men crashing through the underbrush, Percival looked up and seeing Arthur's worried face said "He's alive. But he's been badly beaten."
They could see a small pool of blood by Merlin's head and his leg was twisted at an unnatural angle. As well, his breathing was very rapid and shallow which led Arthur to conclude that on top of whatever else was wrong, Merlin must have some damage to his ribs.
"All right", said Arthur. "First of all, we need to determine the extent of his injuries. I'm pretty sure his leg is broken; you can see how twisted it is. If that proves to be the case, we'd better be ready to try to straighten it."
Arthur knelt at Merlin's side and looked up at the concerned faces surrounding him. "Gwaine and Percival, go and find some straight strong braches we can use to splint his leg. Elyan, you head back to the camp and see if you can find some lengths of fabric we can use as bindings.
As the three men hurried off to do Arthur's bidding, he turned to Lancelot and said, "Since you have the most knowledge about healing, I'm putting you in charge. Where should we start?"
It was the work of a couple of minutes for Lancelot and Arthur to determine that Merlin's thigh was fractured, or possibly even broken, that he had two possibly-cracked ribs and a very serious head wound. The head wound was no longer bleeding, but the boy was still unresponsive.
By the time they were finished their examination, Percival and Gwaine had come back with two branches to be used as splints for Merlin's leg and Elyan was just coming up to the group with his arms full of lengths of cloth.
"I've told Leon what happened", said Elyan, "and he's building up the fire and getting a bed of sorts ready. We can't leave Merlin here; he'll be safer back at camp. I've also brought along a couple of blankets that we can use to transport him."
Good thinking, Elyan", said Arthur.
"All right", said Lancelot. "First of all, we'll need to try to straighten out his leg. Hopefully he won't waken before we can get it wrapped."
Gwaine then spoke up: "I'll go find some sturdy branches that we can tie the blankets to, to make a sort of sling to get him back to camp", and was off on his scavenger hunt.
Lancelot looked at his young friend, his heart breaking at the extent of the damage inflicted to the boy. Looking up, he saw the same look on Arthur that was on all their faces: sorrow, anger, fear. They all cared for Merlin; he was a friend and didn't deserve what had just happened to him.
Shaking his head and taking a deep breath, Lancelot turned to Percival and said "I'll need you to hold Merlin's foot and gently pull it towards you. We need to realign the bones. Once his leg is straight, Arthur and Elyan, you'll need to hold a branch tight to each side of his leg and I'll wrap it. Everyone ready? On the count of three …."
Fortunately, it was over quickly but it still caused Merlin a great deal of pain. As Percival pulled, the young man's face went white and he moaned loudly, though he remained unconscious. Arthur looked over at his servant and said gently, "Hush Merlin. Everything is fine. We'll get this leg fixed up and then you'll feel better, I promise".
"That went very well", said Lancelot as he tied off the last piece of cloth. "The next thing to look at should be the head wound, but first I'd like to see if we can wake him".
Arthur leaned closer to Merlin's head and gently patted his cheek. "Merlin, Merlin. Come on, I know you can hear me. Open your eyes, Merlin", he said in a quiet voice. "I need you to open your eyes for a minute, Merlin, then you can rest again".
It took a couple of minutes' coaxing, but finally the injured warlock peered up through slitted lids and slurred "Ar'hur? Wha' hapn'ed?"
"It's okay, Merlin. You've been knocked about a bit, but you'll be fine. Try not to move, but can you tell me if you can see me clearly?"
"My head hurts something awful. And my leg feels like it's being stabbed over and over."
"I know, Merlin, I know. But can you see clearly?"
"I can see you …. but why are there two of you?". The boy closed one eye and peered at Arthur in a vain attempt to stop the world from spinning around him. "Everything's spinning. I'm so tired …. I just want ….", and with that Merlin lost consciousness again.
Arthur was starting to panic, but Lancelot took a look at Merlin and said "No need to worry, Arthur. He's sleeping at the moment. Now would be a good time to get him back to camp".
With that the knights gently manoeuvred Merlin's limp body onto the blanket bed that Gwaine had made. With a knight at each corner and Arthur in the lead, they group made their way back to Leon and the camp.
On arriving at the camp, it was obvious Leon had been busy: The fire was roaring and a small pot of water was sitting next to the flames, heating. Leon had also ripped some of their shirts into lengths of bandaging and had covered a large pile of leaves with a couple of blankets.
They placed Merlin on the improvised bed and while Lancelot began wetting some cloths to clean his head wound, Arthur turned to his knights. "Considering how much damage Merlin has suffered, it's not safe at the moment to move him too much. But I'd feel much better if we had someone who could give him some proper aid. Leon, I want you and Elyan to head back to Camelot, find Gaius and tell him exactly what has happened. Then I want you to bring him back here as quickly as possible. You should also bring along a cart or something we can use to transport him."
"Yes Sire, right away", and with one last glance over to where Merlin lay on the bed of leaves, the two knights quickly gathered some provisions and headed off to saddle their horses. As they were getting ready to leave, Arthur came up to them and said "I need you to make haste; he needs medical aid, and soon!"
"Don't worry, Arthur", said Elyan. "We'll be back soon with Gaius, a cart and medicine."
"Take care of him", added Leon, "and we'll see you tomorrow."
And with that, the two men thundered off towards Camelot.
Turning back to camp, Arthur saw that Lancelot was still seated beside Merlin, and Gwaine and Percival were looking on.
"What do you need us to do now, Lancelot?" asked Arthur has he neared the trio.
Lancelot pointed at Merlin's chest and said, "Well, I've taken a quick look at his ribs and it looks to me like two are definitely cracked and he is very bruised on his right side. But a simple strapping should help keep the rib ends from moving around too much and will also help his breathing.
"The worst damage is the head wound and while serious, it has stopped bleeding, which is good news. I'll pack it with some yarrow paste and then cover it with a bandage. But, we'll have to keep a close watch on him through the night and wake him up every couple of hours. Head wounds, as you know, are tricky things and it's the injury that worries me the most.
"Arthur, if you would keep an eye on him for now, I'll start gathering yarrow leaves. I'm pretty sure I saw some on our way in here. Gwaine, I need you to make sure the water in the pot comes to a boil, it will need to boil for about five minutes, and then it can be taken off the fire and left to cool so I can use it to make the paste."
Percival looked over at Lancelot and said "If you wish, while you're gathering the herbs, Arthur and I can strap Merlin's ribs. I've done it many times."
"Excellent, Percival. That would be a great help."
As Lancelot headed off into the woods, Gwaine was staring at the pot and muttering under his breath "Boil, boil you stupid water. Boil!" At the same time, Arthur was gently supporting Merlin's head and shoulders while Percival was wrapping lengths of cloth around his ribs.
Fortunately, Lancelot was right – he had seen a couple of yarrow bushes and he was quickly able to gather what he needed and be back at the camp in no time. Merlin was lying back on the makeshift bed, now with his shirt off and his ribs tightly bound. Arthur was sitting at the boy's head and speaking to him in a soft undertone.
Lancelot simply raised his eyebrow at Percival and gestured with his head towards Arthur and Merlin as if to say "what's happening?" Percival smiled and said to Lancelot, "He might not always show it, but it's obvious Arthur really cares about Merlin. He's just promised to give him a week off his chores if he'd just open his eyes!"
Percival paused for a moment and then said, "Lancelot, if you don't need anything else from me right now, I'm going to see what I can do about dinner … I know no one really feels like eating at the moment, but we should at least make the attempt."
As Percival then began searching through their provisions to put together some sort of cold meal for the four of them, Lancelot grabbed one of the dinner bowls and a smooth rock he found nearby and began bruising the yarrow leaves and turning them into a thick green paste.
Meanwhile, the water had boiled and cooled and Gwaine brought the pot over to the dark haired knight.
"Here Lancelot, boiled five minutes like you asked and I think it's cool enough now for you to use".
"Thank you, Gwaine", answered Lancelot as he added a small amount of water to the now-crushed yarrow leaves.
Once the paste was ready, he quickly made his way back to Merlin and Arthur. "Arthur, I'm going to need your help with this", he said as he knelt at Merlin's side.
Arthur ceased his whispered conversation with the still-unconscious warlock and looked over at Lancelot. "Of course; whatever you need."
"We will need to raise Merlin up so I can access the wound. I think the best thing would be for us to change places. That way, we can lean him forward and you can support him by his shoulders, I can clean and pack the wound without disturbing him too much and hopefully not put too much strain in his damaged ribs."
Arthur and Lancelot gently lifted Merlin's shoulders off the pile of leaves and blankets and Arthur slid his arm behind his friend to hold him up.
"Do you have enough room, Lancelot? I'd rather not raise him any higher if necessary, because of his ribs", said Arthur.
"This is fine, Arthur. It won't take but a moment to get him cleaned up and bandaged."
As he was being raised up, Merlin started to wake. "Wha's goin' on? Arthur? Wha's happening?" he muttered. The boy's voice was weak and his breathing was strained and hitching. He was starting to hyperventilate.
"Merlin, try not to move too much. Take slow, deep breaths. Breathe with me. In … out …. in …. out", said Arthur as he tried to get the lad to calm down. Once Merlin's breathing had evened out, Arthur told him "Merlin, you were badly beaten in the skirmish. You've got a broken leg and we've put it in a splint. You've also got a couple of cracked ribs, so you need to stay calm and breathe slowly so you don't do any more damage."
Though he was still feeling quite groggy, Merlin was alert enough to realize that wasn't the entire story. "There's something else, isn't there? My head hurts so much …. I can't think …. What aren't you telling me?" he whispered, closing his eyes and trying to raise his hand to his head.
Arthur grabbed his servant's hand and lowered it back to his lap. "You're right Merlin. You've also got a head wound … it's stopped bleeding and, if you can stay still for a couple of moments, Lancelot will clean and bandage it and then you can lay back down. Can you stay still for me?"
A tiny nod of affirmation was all it took for Lancelot to get to work. As he was cleaning the wound, the knight grew more and more concerned. While true it had stopped bleeding, there was a gash about three inches long right across the back of Merlin's skull. It was raw and ugly, but hopefully it would not cause any complications. Once he was finished Lancelot caught Arthur's eye and nodded his head towards the other side of the camp.
Understanding Lancelot's silent communication, Arthur gently laid Merlin back down and said "We're done; you rest now. Leon and Elyan will be back soon with some help and we'll get you back to Camelot as soon as possible." He gave the lad a gentle pat on the shoulder, then stood and headed over to the other side of the fire with Lancelot.
Gwaine heard the two men approaching and with his eyes still on the dinner he and Percival had put together, the roguish knight starting speaking: "Gentlemen, our apologies for the fare not being up to our usual standards, but as our regular manservant is a little under the weather at the moment …."
Getting no reaction of any type, Gwaine looked up and seeing concern on Lancelot's face, and outright fear on Arthur's, he leapt to his feet saying, "What's wrong? What's happened?"
Lancelot gave a sigh and said "Merlin's leg and ribs have been dealt with the best we can, but I'm more concerned about his head wound. I'm afraid it will need to be stitched, but I'm not capable of doing it myself; that will have to wait for Gaius.
"But I think we need to be prepared just in case he develops a fever. We'll need clean water, some more lengths of cloth we can use to cool him down, and I'll go see if I can find some hollyhock or some St. John's Wort."
As Gwaine headed back towards the stream to get some fresh water, and the others began rummaging through their bags to find anything that could be ripped into squares, Lancelot grabbed a bowl and headed back into the woods to forage for the herbs he hoped they wouldn't need.
On Lancelot's return, his bowl filled with hollyhock leaves, he saw a small pile of fabric together with a pot of water sitting over near where Merlin was resting, and he placed the herbs there as well.
As he approached the men sitting by the fire, Lancelot said, "While there's no use worrying about something that might not happen, at least we're as ready as we can be, just in case. However, we're going to have to stay up in shifts so there is always someone to keep a close watch on him."
The four of them just sat there in silence, until Percival said "Well, if we're going to be keeping Merlin company throughout the night, we'd better eat something", and proceeded to put some bread and cheese in his bowl.
The others followed suit, but no one really felt like eating or even speaking. It was a solemn group, until finally Arthur couldn't stand it any longer. "Right, well, you three get some rest. I'll sit with Merlin for a while", said Arthur and he headed back to Merlin's side.
The lad was quiet for the moment and as Arthur hunkered down beside him, he thought to himself "Oh, Merlin, I'm so sorry about all this." Aloud he tried to joke a bit, saying, "Really, Merlin, was all this necessary? Just to get a bit of time off?" But no cheeky comment came back to him, and Arthur was discovering that he missed the sass that his manservant was not hesitant to throw back at him if the situation warranted.
Arthur settled down with his back against a tree and prepared himself for a long night. There was no way he was going to relinquish his watch to anyone else tonight. Merlin was his servant, his responsibility … his friend and he would take whatever steps necessary to ensure that Merlin came through this whole ordeal fine in the end. And if that meant an uncomfortable night … well, so be it.
Things were quiet around the camp. Lancelot, Gwaine and Percival had all bedded down on the other side of the fire and Arthur was dozing lightly leaning against the tree. He'd put his hand on Merlin's arm, all the better to feel if Merlin became restless at some point.
It was past midnight when something woke Arthur. His eyes flew open and he reached for his sword. But all was quiet and nothing was moving. But there was a noise …. was that possibly a very faint moan? Looking down, Arthur realized the worst had happened. Merlin was very obviously running a fever and was starting to thrash his head from side to side. Arthur put his hand down on Merlin's forehead and he snatched it back quickly. He was burning up!
"Lancelot!" shouted Arthur across the camp. "I need your help with Merlin right away."
There was a flurry of blankets and suddenly the three knights were at Arthur's side. Lancelot knelt down to take a closer look at the poor boy. It was not good: his face was shiny with sweat and he was running a fever.
Lancelot took Merlin's head in his hands and whispering "hush, you're all right" turned his head to take a look at the bandage. There was fresh blood on the wrappings, not a lot, but still ….
"I'll need to put some more yarrow paste on his head wound", said the knight, "but more importantly, we need to get his fever down. I'm afraid that he's going to do more damage to himself with this thrashing about so we need to act fast".
While Lancelot grabbed the yarrow paste and some new bandaging, Percival began soaking some of the cloths they had prepared earlier in the cool water.
"I'll need one of you to hold him up while I replace the bandaging on his head", said Lancelot. "But he can't be raised too high because I don't want to put any additional strain on his ribs".
As Arthur removed Merlin's blanket, Gwaine knelt at his side and, supporting the lad's back, slowly raised him off his bed of leaves taking great care not to jostle his leg or his ribs. He spoke all the while, saying "It's okay, Merlin. It's me, Gwaine. Let us help you, and I promise you'll feel better soon".
As he was being gently manhandled about, Merlin stopped his moaning and began speaking in a low voice, "I'm sorry Mother. Will and I didn't mean to let the cow loose … it was …. I promise …. won't happen …".
"Damn. He's delirious." said Arthur. "Lancelot, should we try to get some of that hollyhock into him now?"
"Yes, good idea", responded Lancelot. "We'll need to brew a tea, so if you would take a handful of the leaves and add them to the pot of water that's warming by the fire, by the time the tea is ready I'll be finished dealing with Merlin's head wound.
"Gwaine, I need you to keep him as still as possible while I deal with his head. Percival, you can start placing the cool cloths on his chest. And would you hand me one of those wet cloths … I need to clean the wound before I re-wrap it." While he was speaking, Lancelot was carefully unwrapping the bandages from around Merlin's head.
Merlin, meanwhile, was mumbling under his breath, but he seemed to realize that the knights were trying to help because he had stopped his thrashing about, though he was now beginning to shiver because of the cold cloths Percival was laying on his chest.
Once the bandages were off, Lancelot took a good look at Merlin's head and, while some bleeding had occurred over the past few hours, it appeared to be only a small amount. Lancelot was very pleased with how things looked. There was only a slight bit of redness at the edges of the wound. Obviously the yarrow had worked its magic.
Lancelot cleaned up Merlin's head, applied some more yarrow and was just tying off the new bandaging when Arthur came over with a cup filled with the hollyhock tea.
"How is he?" asked Arthur worriedly, as he handed the cup to Lancelot.
Lancelot looked up at Arthur and said, with a very slight smile, "I'm very pleased with how the wound is healing, but he will definitely need stitches. We just need to get his fever down. But don't worry, Arthur. I think he'll be just fine."
Arthur smiled and let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "That's excellent news, Lancelot. What do you need me to do now?"
"Well, I've got to get some of this tea into Merlin ….. Gwaine, I'll need your help with that. In the meantime, Arthur, you and Percival can continue placing the cool cloths on him."
Gwaine slid in behind Merlin and gently pulled the boy back so he was lying against his chest, with his head lolling slighting on Gwaine's shoulder. Lancelot leaned over and lightly tapping on Merlin's cheek said "Merlin, I need you to swallow this. Come on, open your mouth. This will help get your fever down. Please, Merlin, you've got to help us help you."
But the poor lad was still confused and suffering the effects of the fever and he wasn't even aware of what was going on around him. He kept mumbling in a low voice "Cold … so cold …. stop … please don't …..".
Lancelot look up at Gwaine and said "I didn't want to have to do it this way, but I've no choice. Hold his head still; I'm going to get this tea down him in any manner I can", and with that he pinched Merlin's nose closed and put the cup to his lips. As Merlin gasped to try to get some air into his lungs, Lancelot quickly tipped some of the hollyhock tea into his mouth and then placed his hand under the lad's jaw to stop him from spitting it out.
"Swallow, Merlin", said Lancelot as he kept the boy's mouth closed.
Not having much choice in the matter, Merlin swallowed and coughed, but managed to get most of the tea down. But the coughing and spluttering he was doing was enough to awaken his senses a bit and he finally opened his eyes. Looking up at Lancelot, all he said was "My head! Ugh … what is … horrible …? Cold!"
Lancelot and others all smiled down at the lad and Lancelot said "It's hollyhock tea, Merlin. You've got quite a fever, but the tea and the cool cloths will help bring it down. Can you take a bit more?"
Merlin reached up a shaking hand towards the cup in Lancelot's hand, but Lancelot just shook he head and tilted the cup to his lips. "Drink a bit more, then you can rest".
A couple of small sips later, Merlin's strength was beginning to wane, so Gwaine gently lowered him to the ground and Percival placed a cool cloth on his forehead, saying "Get some sleep." But Merlin was asleep already, so Percival simply pulled the discarded blankets up and tucked them under the young warlock's chin. He then gave him a light pat on the shoulder, stood and joined the others by the fire.
It seemed like they had been working hours on getting Merlin's fever down, but dawn was still a long way off. Arthur and his knights were exhausted, but someone still needed to sit up with Merlin. While his fever was abating, the cloths would still need to be changed, and he would need to be dosed with the tea at least twice more before the morning.
Arthur looked at the three men standing with him and said, "We'll have to stay awake with Merlin until Gaius arrives."
Before he could get any further, Lancelot said, "I'll take first watch".
"No Lancelot, I'll stay with him", protested Arthur.
"Arthur, you've been sitting up with Merlin long enough. You get some rest and let me take a turn. I promise that I'll wake you in a couple of hours", responded Lancelot.
"But it's my fault", said Arthur. "I fell asleep and wasn't watching him like I should have been. If I'd been awake, we would have caught his fever earlier and it would have been less of an ordeal for him. He's my responsibility and I failed him. HE wouldn't have fallen asleep!"
Percival then came over to the obviously distraught Prince, slung his arm over Arthur's shoulder and led him away. "Merlin is strong", said Percival to Arthur, "and he's already looking better now than a little while ago. He's going to be fine. Lancelot's with him, and right now he's the best man for the job. Get some rest, Arthur, and stop worrying".
Arthur looked across the fire to see Lancelot gently replace the cloth on Merlin's forehead and settle himself down at the lad's side. "You're right, Percival", said Arthur as he lay down and rolled himself in his blanket, "but be sure to wake me if anything, and I mean anything, happens".
"Of course, Sire", responded Percival has he returned to his own blankets.
Dawn had already broken when Gwaine woke Arthur. The roguish knight had apparently taken over from Lancelot earlier, and the two had decided to let Arthur sleep since Merlin was in no danger.
Of course Arthur had to see for himself though, so he made his way over to where his servant was still asleep. He was happy to see no sign of the fever and delirium from the night before, though the boy's face was still pale and drawn in pain.
"He was awake for a bit", said Gwaine as he came up behind Arthur. "He even managed to drink the tea on his own. His fever's almost gone as well".
"That's great news", said Arthur, with a smile on his face, as he looked down at his sleeping manservant.
Hearing voices, Percival got up and came over to see what was happening. On hearing that Merlin was doing so well, he clapped Arthur on the shoulder and said "Well then, I'll get breakfast organized, shall I?"
"Please", said Gwaine. "I'm starving!"
"You're always starving", came the small, quiet response from the direction of their feet.
"Merlin! You're awake!" cried Arthur. He crouched down beside the boy and said "How are you feeling? Are you hungry? Are you in any pain? Do you need some more hollyhock tea?"
"Arthur, let me catch my breath" said Merlin with a small grin. "I'm very sore, my leg really hurts and I've got a terrible headache, but all in all I'm fine. But I don't really think I want anything to eat just now". But Merlin's stomach protested at that and gave a loud grumble.
"Hmmm, I don't think your stomach agrees with you" said Gwaine with a smile. "How about I get you some bread?"
Merlin smiled up at Gwaine and said, "Sure, thank you Gwaine".
As Gwaine and Percival crossed the camp to get some sort of breakfast together, Arthur settled down beside Merlin and looked at him with a very serious expression. "You had us really worried, Merlin. But Gaius should be here soon …. I sent Leon and Elyan back to Camelot last night to fetch him, along with a cart to get you home."
"Gaius?! You really must have been worried to send for him. I'm sorry, Arthur, to have scared you. I tried to fight back, but the bandit was too big and he surprised me". And with that, Merlin let out a jaw-cracking yawn.
"Merlin, you've nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one who should be apologizing. We should have been more aware of our surroundings ….. and I should have been careful last night watching you didn't get a fever ….
"But, we can talk about it later. You're obviously still exhausted. You get some rest and once breakfast is ready, I'll be sure to wake you." He gave Merlin a pat on the shoulder, fixed his blanket and then stood and walked over to join Lancelot by the fire.
"How's he doing?" asked Lancelot.
"Well, it's really good to see him back to his senses", answered Arthur. "But I think it's going to take a while for him to be back in shape. I hope Gaius is on his way; I wouldn't want to spend another night out here like last night!"
Looking around, Arthur realized that Gwaine and Percival were missing. "They've gone to see if they can snare a couple of rabbits", said Lancelot, noticing his Prince's eyes sweeping the camp looking for his missing knights.
After a hearty breakfast of roasted rabbit, with bread and cheese, the knights began cleaning up and packing away their foodstuffs, while Arthur sat with Merlin keeping a close eye on him. While the fever had finally abated, the young warlock was unable to move too much because of his ribs and his leg and he was feeling most uncomfortable. Arthur took it upon himself to keep his friend entertained and his mind off his injuries while they waited for Gaius to arrive.
It was close to noon when the sound of approaching hooves could be heard. The three knights quickly jumped to their feet, swords at the ready. Arthur was standing over Merlin, ready to protect him, when Sir Leon came galloping into the camp.
The men all relaxed as Leon jumped off his horse and hurried over to Arthur's side. Looking down and seeing Merlin awake, Leon's face split with a huge smile and he grasped Merlin's hand in his. "It's good to see you awake, Merlin. You're looking much better than the last time I saw you!"
Turning to Arthur, he said "Gaius and Elyan are only about ten minutes behind me. We've got a cart filled with some hay to use to transport Merlin and Gaius wants to see if we can figure out some way to suspend Merlin's leg so it won't be banged about on the trip back to Camelot. I can't say I completely understood what he was talking about, but he seemed pretty confident he could work something out."
Sure enough, about ten minutes later the cart carrying Elyan and Gaius pulled into the camp. Percival held the horse's head while Arthur hurried over to help Gaius out of the cart.
Watching as Gaius bustled over to Merlin, tossing out instructions to all sides, Arthur gave a sigh of relief. This whole incident had made him realize that, servant or not, Merlin was his friend, though it took almost losing the lad to make Arthur recognize how much his manservant meant to him.
"Arthur, come here. I need your help", called Gaius from where he was kneeling beside Merlin. "And bring some hot water."
"Coming Gaius", responded the Prince with a smile, as he bent to pick up the pot sitting by the fire.