You Complete Me Chapter 1
Arthur came into his chambers to find his manservant hard at work, but something seem wrong with his manservant just like yesterday but worse, he looked exhorted and pale…well, paler than usual anyway.
"Merlin, are you all right?" Arthur asked with curiosity and slight concern.
"Yes Arthur." Merlin replies, panting a bit.
"No you're not, look at me Merlin." Arthur said sternly worried for his best friend, Merlin froze but did nothing more. He did not turn to look at his best friend, nor did he chose to ignore him entirely and keep on working, Arthur sighs and softens his attitude, frame and voice. "Please Merlin? You are my closest and dearest friend, and you seem ill…please Merlin…trust me." Arthur's tone of voice was calm and soft, one that Arthur only used around Merlin or towards Merlin, in a time when he was truly worried, just like now. Merlin turns around and looks at Arthur, a gasp escapes Arthur's mouth. Merlin's skin is a ghostly pale colour, he has dark rims under his eyes, and his breathing is slow, unsteady and weak. Merlin felt a wave of heat run up his body, his vision was getting blurry, and he started to feel light headed and dizzy, before he knew it he was falling to the floor, luckily Arthur noticed Merlin's body language and his skin going four times paler than it already was and caught Merlin before he hit the ground.
"GARDS!" Arthur yelled turning Merlin around and holds him close when he feels how cold he is, in an attempt to worm him up. Within seconds of Arthur's yell, Gawain, Percival and Lancelot run into the room and are shocked as to what they see. "Gawain, Percival go get Gaius and tell him it's an emergency, Merlin if servery ill. GO!" Arthur ordered and they left the room to get Gaius. "Lancelot, help me get Merlin onto my bed and under the sheets." Arthur said fear in his eyes, Lancelot did so and they gently placed Merlin on the bed, but after feeling how light Merlin, Arthur would probably have been able to lift him with one hand, but this wasn't about strength, this was about being careful and gentle, and that's a lot easier to do with more than one person.
"My lord, if you don't mind my asking, what happened?" Lancelot asked with concern for his close friend now lying in Arthur bed looking as skinny as a pencil.
"I don't know." Arthur was about to continue but Gawain and Percival came in with Gaius. "Gawain, Percival guard the door and make sure no one enters until Gaius has figured out what has happened to Merlin, if this illness can be spread I want to limit who may catch it." Arthur orders, they nod their heads and go outside to guard the doors to Arthur's chambers.
"Sire, you must tell me exactly what happened to Merlin." Gaius told the young prince, Arthur told Gaius what happened and Gaius seemed to instantly worry.
"What's wrong Gaius?" Lancelot asked with concern.
"By what Arthur has told me and by examining Merlin as Arthur did so. This is no ordinary illness, this is one formed by a powerful magic and I'm afraid that the illness is well known but the only cure is lost to all human history." Gaius explained.
"So that's it? Gaius I'm not letting Merlin die, there must be something I can do." Arthur proclaimed getting a bit frustrated and angry.
"There is, but the gurneys is far, unknown, treacherous, and not many have come back alive." Gaius stated with a weary look in his eye.
"I don't care! Merlin has risked his life for me many time, I will not let him die! Gaius please…tell me what must be done." Arthur begged not wanting to watch his closest and dearest friend die, or the man he was secretly head over heels in love with suffer through a painful death.
"There are only legends Sire." Gaius told the two men.
"I'd say, based on all the legends that have become reality, what's to stop this one from being a reality too? So Gaius, what do we need to do?" Lancelot asked and looked at Arthur, Arthur smiled a friendly smile as a thank you, and Lancelot nods his head in a "Your welcome". Merlin and Arthur was Lancelot's closest friends, and he wasn't going to let Merlin suffer, or let Arthur do this alone.
"Very well." Gaius confirmed. "The legends say that if you travel through the valley of Fallen Kings, cross the misty morgues of Shadow Lake, beyond The Land of Life. You will come across the Forest of Legend, once there you need to look for The Cave of Myth, there you must seek out one who is known as Kaleavo, tell him way you are there and what you seek, he will test you to see if you are worthy, if so then he will take you to the cure and bring you back. You must go on foot, for the horses will not go into Shadow Lake." Gaius explained reading from the book of legend, making sure that they were taking in every word.
"Wait! You said that the cure was lost to all human history?" Arthur asked raising an eye ridge.
"I did." Gaius stated simply.
"Then how does this Kaleavo guy know about it?" Lancelot asked inquisitively.
"Because Kaleavo is not a man, he is a creature older than even the very first dragons, Kaleavo is the last remaining Pegasus's of our world. The Pegasus is a creature of light and love, a very gentile and kind creature with the purest of hearts, the very first living thing of magic, a creature…older than legend itself." Gaius explained seriously, hoping for Merlin's, Arthur's and everyone in Camelot's sake that the Pegasus of myth and legend wasn't dead.
"How long will it take to get there?" Arthur asked.
"If you hurry, three days without rest, but I will not allow you to do that, so…about five and a half to six days." Gaius replys.
"How long does Merlin have?" Lancelot questioned.
Gaius hesitated for a second "At best twelve days." Gaius replied with a frown.
"How fast can a Pegasus run and what does a Pegasus look like?" Arthur inquired fear in his eyes.
"No one knows how fast a Pegasus is, and a Pegasus is a horse with eagle wings." Gaius told the two worried men.
"Right, lets not waste any more time. Lancelot go pack our thing and I will tell my father that we are leaving." Arthur said firmly.
"Wait Arthur, I must ask. Did you notice anything off about Merlin before today?" Gaius asked with a serious town.
Arthur wasn't going to lay, even if he wanted to he just couldn't when it came to Merlin. "He did seem a bit off yesterday, a bit slower than normal and strongly obedient, but I didn't know he was sick." Arthur spoke spilling the words out like it was all his fault.
"I did not expect you to, this is not your fault Sire. This just means that if we don't include today, Merlin only has ten days left." Gaius tells the young prince and wary knight.
"Lancelot, we're going now, I'll have to explain everything to my father when we get back." Arthur orders, Lancelot nods his head and with that they packed their things and left Camelot, and set coerce for The Cave of Myth.
To be Continued