He's still falling
And futhermore
He's now aware
"Come spread your wings
Awake now"

A Voice in the Dark - Blind Guardian

The sky was painted orange and red when the Great King opened his eyes, pain running through his body as if it was his own blood. His mind was numb, memories too twisted, too foggy for him to really remember what had happened. He tried to move but found no strength in his tired muscles, and oh how the darkness seemed so sweet, so welcomed in that moment. If he gave up, the pain would cease and the heaviness on his body would disappear. The darkness meant a peace he hadn't felt in a long time, and his eyelids seemed to agree with his dizzy mind, but deep inside he knew he should fight.

But it was so easy to slip into unconsciousness, to ignore the fragile will of keep fighting trying to lit a flame on his chest. Perhaps his time was finally over and he should step aside, let Arthur take his place and be the King he knew his son would be. A wave of pain hit him hard enough and Uther felt a groan escaping out of his chapped lips. Grey, exhausted eyes glanced around - it was a beautiful place, good enough to have his final moments. It was difficult to breath properly now, and his eyelids were too heavy...

Don't give up.

Uther gasped loudly, eyes wide open now. The voice echoed too close, too gentle… and even if he didn't recognize it, something on his chest stirred almost painfully, longing to hear more, and he decided to grab on that little hope just for a little longer. Somehow the voice had cleared his senses, forced his willpower back to him, reminded him of who he was. He was a King, for God's sake! He shouldn't give up so easily, so cowardly. He should stand and fight as the Great King he was.

And then, just as suddenly as the voice, a pair of blue eyes floated over his face, leaving him speechless. Those eyes were so filled with compassion, so full of worry and also something even deeper, a kind of emotion Uther dared not to name in that moment. Warm hands touched his face, then lifted his head carefully. The King noticed the vial near his lips and even if every inch of his body screamed 'sorcery', he had no strength to try to move away or avoid the cool liquid being forced down his lips.

For a long second nothing happened, and he wondered what kind of poison he had just swallowed but the thought sounded just so ridiculous on his mind. Whispered words reached his ears but Uther didn't try to understand them, simply stood still, waiting patiently for death he was trying to avoid only a few moments ago. Instead, he only felt the pain faltering and then fading gently, slowly, leaving a burning trace on its way. Once more his eyelids were too heavy but this time, somehow he knew it was safe to slip into a dreamless slumber.

I don't own Merlin, unfortunately. This is my first Merlin fanfiction and it's been a while since I wrote something, so please forgive me. I just had this idea peeking on my mind for some time and I wanted to share. Thank you for reading!