Everyone seemed to expect Merlin to love the snow like a child his first winter in Camelot. They made jokes about the reason he was late was because he was playing in it. What they missed was the fear in his eyes and the constant tremor he seemed to have. Something about that cold whiteness terrified him, but no one even noticed.
No one saw him avoid the snow when at all possible or flinch when he was forced to walk through it. He knew what happened in Ealdor was unlikely to happen here, but after fourteen years of it, it was hard not to be scared. It only got worse when Arthur called for a training session in the mess of white.
Arthur was too happy about finally being outside that he completely missed Merlin's darting eyes and subconscious flinches. It fact, Merlin's heart was racing in his chest and it was all he could do not to breath rapidly in his panic. He kept saying the same thing, "This isn't home, this isn't Ealdor" over and over again in his mind.
He managed calm himself as the knights trained. Then it happened. Training was over and a snowball fight started. As one of the cumps hit Merlin in the side of the head, he crumpled to the ground unconscious.
As it turned out, one of the knights had been throwing snow covered stones, and one of those had been what impacted the servant's skull. A few people had laughed when the boy fell, but when he didn't get back up or even move, they started to worry.
At the sight of blood pooling under his head, one of the knights ran off stating he was going to get Gaius. Arthur walked over to see why all of his knights had gathered only to his servant with blood coming from the side of his head. As he reached to move the boy, a hand pulled him back.
It was one of his father's oldest knights, Sir Henry. "If possible, Gaius always asks that no one more a person with a head injury. And by the looks of it, this lad has a bad one."
Arthur nods, clearing his head. "What happened? This clearly happened after training."
The prince's heart fell when one of the knights picked up an ice-covered stone with a small amount of blood on it.
"Who was throwing rock filled snowball?!" Fury was clear on his face. "What kind of knight would be so dishonorable enough to throw something like that at a child?"
One of the knights spoke up. "He is hardly a child, Sire."
Arthur turned to face the speaker. "Is fourteen years of age no longer considered part of childhood? My servant is barely old enough to serve in the royal household. The boy acts like a child because he still is one."
Arthur was about to give a speech about the knight's code when Merlin began to whimper and squirm. Sir Henry,bent down and encouraged the boy to calm down. The knight continued to speak softly to the boy until Gaius arrived.
Gaius asked a lot of questions about what had caused the injury, how long the boy had been out, if anyone had seen what happened, and how Merlin had reacted upon waking. Luckily, Henry seemed to have all the answers needed as the physician examined the boy. As soon as Gaius finished, he had the older knight carry Merlin back to his chambers.
Arthur knew better than to follow the men, so he set his mind to catching and punishing the knight responsible for the incident. It took most of the day, but in the end it turned out to be one of the knights he had been with the first time he met Merlin. The man was taken before Uther for throwing a rock at a child and violating the knight's code.
Uther did not find out who the child was until after he stripped the man of his rank and title. Uther's reaction to finding out Merlin's age was interesting to say the least. He seemed angry that a knight would do such a thing to a member of his household, and understanding of the boys actions for the past few months.
It was after the ex-knight was seen out of the city that the prince checked in on his servant. He knocked softly on the physician's door and was ushered in by Henry with a finger to his lips. Gaius came down from the upper room where Merlin slept and motioned him to sit at the work table.
"How is he?" The prince's voice was little more than a whisper.
The men's faces were bleak. "The stone cracked his skull cause a great deal of other damage as well. He seemed to be doing better when we first got him back here. He had finally opened his eyes and was only talking with a slight slur. But after I had stemmed the bleeding, he began vomiting and his ear began to drip. I was forced to make a hole in his skull to allow the the gathering blood to come out. hopefully it will do more good than harm."
Arthur fought to rage that was filling him. "Will he survive?"
Gaius sighed. "If he makes it through the night without developing a fever, he stands a good chance. But Arthur, he might not return to the way we knew him. He might have lost all hearing in the oozing ear. The blow might also have impaired his speech, hearing, sight, or even his ability to walk."
Arthur just sat there, not really seeing anything. He likely would have remained like that, but the old knight asked a question that pulled the prince out of his wildly conflicted thoughts. "Who would throw a rock at the boy? And why?"
"It was Sir Oswin. My father took away his knighthood and sent him home. He never said why he did it." Arthur's voice sounded tired and pained.
Henry nearly growled. "I should have known. He hates Merlin. He blames his lose of your favor on the boy."
The prince felt like he had been punched in the gut. This was his fault? He was the reason Merlin might never be himself again? Arthur dropped his face into his hands.
'~;~'
Arthur didn't remember falling asleep. He recalled the talk with Henry and Gaius and then waking up in his bed. He felt like he had a hole in his life as he went about his duties. He checked in on Merlin, twice, but there was no change. The older knights had been informed about what happened, as most of them had left as soon as training had commenced, and they helped the prince exercise his frustration without hurting anyone out on the training field.
That became his pattern. He never even saw whoever it was who had replaced Merlin. But then again, he didn't even want to see them, that would be like giving up on Merlin. And that was something he couldn't do, not after he had been the one to cause this. Even after a week, Merlin had only had a few moments of consciousness.
What Arthur truly wanted to do was hunt down Oswin and beat him until he passed out. Then he wanted to spend every waking moment with Merlin until the boy was better. But he was the crown prince and he didn't have the luxury to do any of that. So he did what he had to and slowly died on the inside.
'~;~'
One morning, during the second week, Arthur woke to a stumbling disoriented Merlin attempting to set out Arthur's clothes. The poor fellow was attempting to steady himself with the changing screen while placing the shirt and trowsers over the top of it. Once that was accomplished, the boy tried to walk over to the window, but he only had it halfway before he held his bandage wrapped head and whimpered in pain.
Arthur quietly got up and walked over to Merlin. At the slightest of touches to the boy's shoulder, the servant wrapped his arms around the prince and started crying. The royal gently led the boy to the bed and the pair sat down. Merlin began talking in the midst of his sobs.
He recounted all of the winters he had been left beaten and bloodied in the snow. He cried about how it was the curse snow that always brought pain and misery. Then he pleaded for Camelot to be different.
Arthur's heart went out to the boy. After a few more minutes, Merlin fell asleep in his master's arms. The prince managed to get the boy under the covers without waking the him. He then sent word to Gaius letting the old man know where his patient had gotten to.
'~;~'
As if by a miracle, Merlin healed with very few after effects. Gaius warned that that could change at any time, but Arthur took this as a win. He had his little buddy back and he felt whole again.
Every time it snowed after that, the prince made sure that Merlin was indoors as much as possible and saw to it that he always had someone with him if he needed to venture out into the white. Years passed and Merlin stopped pairing snow and pain together. He began to enjoy the fluffy cold mess.
'~;~'
Ismere was the first time in nine years that Merlin feared snow. He was twenty-three years old! He shouldn't fear something like this. Sure the cold hurt and the snow made it worse. But it wasn't the pain he feared, it was the bloody snow!
'~;~'
AN: I was at a loss for an ending, so I left it where I lost inspiration. If you guys have suggestions, I can always update this. So let me know what you think!