Hello, viewers! So I watch Merlin Episode 8 a couple weeks ago and Merlin isn't coming back until May where I live (sigh) and so I was inspired by this. I haven't seen the series ending, so no spoilers in comments please. I hope you enjoy this piece and please remember to leave a comment with your thoughts!
You bound up the stairs in a flurry of panic, trying to be the first of your group to get to the top first and capture the assassin before he escapes. You jump one last step before landing with one foot, and placing both feet to steady your shaky balance, you have your sword at the ready to charge towards the culprit who tried to kill your king.
Instead you stumble across what astonishes you, and a tear stained, blood streaked face is turned towards you then bowed, and a dirty hand swipes at moist eyes to erase any evidence of salty water. You have never seen him cry, only his eyes swell- to see the little tracks leaving trails on his face is surprising. You know Merlin is softer and more sensitive than most other young men, yet it has not come to a point where you have seen him cry.
Your eyes wander to the boy lying motionless on the ground, and then you catch sight of the small dagger imbedded in the child's torso. You almost turn to call Gaius, but stop yourself as you notice the young man's eyes staring unseeingly up at the ceiling, and that he appears to not be breathing. And then it clicks into place.
You don't know who this boy was to Merlin or how long he had known him, but your mind suddenly snaps back to the present problem and you look around, once again alert, to find the murderer- but you settle. Two other knights are supporting him, but you can clearly see the spear deeply impaling the already dead man- so far you see the tip poking from his back. It is straight through his chest; you suspect it has grazed his heart. No matter. It is for the better.
The raven black head is bowed, and you note the dead brunette's eyes are closed now. He looks peaceful, as though he is sleeping. The bony shoulders of Arthur's manservant shake as you realize that he is sobbing quietly, trying not to be noticed nor heeded amongst this unwanted crowd. He tries to compose himself and straightens, though does not look anyone in their eyes as he mutters a quick sentence more to himself than others around him, "see if Arthur is okay."
He slowly and carefully shifts his body around you so he does not graze your arm; your shoulder pad and armor guard are wide. You do not let him pass, though, grabbing the skinny arm and gently squeezing. He stops, and you hear his carefully controlled breathing. You notice his eyes are shut, and still, some persistent tears still fall. He wipes at them somewhat angrily before glaring at you.
You have never seen him glare like this before. It is with not a jesting tease, but with clear annoyance and weariness. You query, "Merlin?" Quickly, softly, in hopes your fellow knights do not hear, but he shakes his head.
"Arthur." He says simply, glancing at your hand, still clutching his arm. You understand, and let go. There is blood matting his hair and all down his temple, and is that a limp? Yes, he's walking away from you with a limp. Blood soaks through a makeshift bandage that you do not recognize the material as his, but you don't care. You admire the fact that Merlin is putting his master first before himself, even in this injured, battered and bruised state.
You shake your head and watch as the two knights carry out the assassin with the crest of the Sarrum on his shoulder, and sigh. This has muddled things up quite a bit, you admit, and you still have to patrol the corridors and halls, as well as sound the warning bell to see if he had accomplices that had managed to escape.
As he is carried past you, you wonder who could've killed the man. Of course, Merlin is the only one up here alive when you arrived, yet that did not mean he killed him. Merlin was...well, Merlin was Merlin. He was a scrawny fellow, to be honest, and you had not considered him capable of throwing that far. In your defense, the boy can barely hold his own with a practice shield against Arthur, much less kill an assassin. It is a more likely conclusion that the assassin had a friend who turned on him and thought to kill him in order for him not to say anything. That did not explain the reason the crossbow was by the corpse, however. Maybe the accomplice left it there to throw you off?
You don't know, but intend to find out and decide the best course of action is to send out patrols and ask Merlin yourself. He is honest to a fault and it would not be considered a crime because he was, after all, merely protecting his king from an untimely murder.
You rub your face with your hand and descend the steps, entering the main hall. Your king is staring at Merlin who is still making his way towards him with that limp and blood stained hair and bruises. The manservant holds his arm close to his body, yet he is smiling in relief. You want to go over and question Merlin, make him sit down and then storm and ask what the bloody happened when he was gone.
Arthur has a look that is something akin to horror as Merlin treads towards him, saying just loud enough for you to hear, "Gods Merlin, what's happened?" And you watch as he only smiles weakly. Arthur's voice has none of the usual bravado in it, and he doesn't sound sarcastic or teasing. He sounds truly worried and even slightly shaken.
He strides forward and takes his manservant's uninjured arm, looping it up over his broad shoulders and at the back of his neck to take away some of the nonexistent weight from the hurt leg. King Arthur sits Merlin down and crouches to study the wound as Gaius orders a young servant girl to go to his chambers and fetch his medical pack as he gently yet firmly nudges Arthur, making him move to the right to make room. You watch with glazed over eyes, wondering why you're just standing there and not helping.
"I suppose that girl and you had a rough time after all," Arthur tries to joke lightly, but you can still hear the small tremor in his voice, "what, did she run away screaming?" This is the first time you've heard of Merlin having any sort of relationship with a girl, and you are surprised you had not known when or how he had gotten a girlfriend. You make a mental note to ask him, but notice he looks greatly startled.
"Girl?" He asks, brows beginning to scrunch together in his confusion, "what girl?" It is Arthur's turn to look startled, and a small, uneasy feeling bubbles in the pit of your stomach.
"You know, the one you've been visiting. Guinevere's told me about how you told her." Arthur also looks unsettled, but hopes that this will clear everything up. Merlin shakes his head, and your heart drops out of your chest to the floor once the bandage is undone. You had been studying the way Gaius was carefully undoing to precise knot on Merlin's leg, and it is nearly down to bone and still bleeding as if it never wants to stop.
"I hadn't gone to see a girl, Arthur." The response catches you out of your staring at the gash and you turn back to the conversation.
"Then where did you go?"
Merlin suddenly looks extremely nervous and like he is wracking his brain for an explanation. "I- I was attacked. In the forest." You note how Merlin skirts around the actual question, but it seems to have escaped Arthur's comprehension.
"By who?" Your king's voice is very sinister and dark now, and makes you want to shudder.
"By-" Merlin seems to struggle internally with himself before finally giving the truth, "by Morgana."
Arthur does not react much to this statement, but you can feel the aura of anger radiating off of him like a heatwave. You attempt to tone his emotions out as his expression stays deadly calm, his tone dangerously serious. "When?"
"A few days ago."
"How?"
"Magic."
"What happened?"
"A boy. He saved me." Arthur is silent for a moment, processing the little information he had just gathered. You think, God, what happened to you, Merlin? What were you and that boy doing out in the first place? How hurt are you?
"How?" Arthur finally breaks the silence and Merlin hisses as Gaius cleans his leg. Merlin grits his teeth, closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and begins to explain.
"I told him through the pain-" he pauses to shut his eyes and bite his lips together as Gaius presses a rag to the slash, "which herbs to gather. He helped me back to Camelot when I noticed that a door should be locked- I had grabbed a-" He stops short and bends forward, and is sick. Arthur jumps a little but places a hand on Merlin's shoulder as the heaving subsides, leaving Merlin panting. Arthur takes the rag Gaius was previously using and wipes his mouth of the bile, then pats him awkwardly and leans back again.
This is an unusual amount of kindness shown on your king's part. It is not that he isn't a pleasant and just man, only he has much difficulty showing it. This is one of those rare times when he cares not what other people see.
Merlin takes yet another deep breath, and continues. "I had grabbed a spear to lean on, saw him with the crossbow and I-I-" Merlin gulps, and tears once again shine in his eyes. "I killed him, Arthur." But then Merlin is spent and leans back in his chair, closing his eyes once again. "Deagal is dead," he continues, his face turned to the ceiling, "I tried, I promise. He's- he's gone." You assume that this Deagal was the boy who you found upstairs, and wonder where Merlin had met him.
Arthur stirs himself finally and grips Merlin's upper arm. "It's all right, Merlin," he assures as gently as he can, and you can hear the effort he has put into making it sound softer than usual. "Come on. You need a bed, and rest. Where does it hurt?"'
"My head. My arm. My leg. Fell." He supplies in a murmur, and you can tell he is close to sleep.
"Merlin!" Arthur shakes him, and the bleary eyes open. "Stand up. Come on, we'll get you to your room."
Merlin sighs and looks down, pursing his lips, and you imagine him thinking, Ah damn, I'm really tired. But he gets up all the same with help, even though he protests and wants to support himself on his own, Arthur insists on assisting him, Merlin grumbling all the while about cheeky prats not doing what their told. You follow silently, no longer concerned about matters of the state.
They reach the physicians chambers in a short amount of time, you of course still in tow and Gaius informs you both that he is merely tired, and will make a full recovery. There is no infection in his wounds, his arm is only bruised from his fall at the elbow, and he does not have a concussion. You can sense that Arthur wants answers, as do you; but you let it rest for now, as your king does. Merlin attempts to shake off Gaius's stern glare as he is commanded to go to his room and rest for sleep, and his protests die on his lips as Gaius raises his infamous eyebrow, causing Merlin to do as he's told.
"Look after him," Arthur commands quietly, following the skinny form of his battered manservant up the stairs. You hadn't considered doing anything but.
"Of course."
Well, that's that. Now the question is: Which knight were you? It's honestly up to you, readers, because that's the way I intended it to go, and you can imagine whichever knight you want. Okay, so for those who celebrated, I hope you had a great Easter or on Friday a wonderful Sabbath!