Gaius felt as if he had lost his mind. As he and Merlin were planning their trap, they hadn't seriously considered the short passage in the book that mentioned that a goblin could possess a host. That was a definite oversight on their part. When the goblin eluded them and rushed into Gaius, he felt a moment's disorientation before his whole being went off-kilter. It was as if he and the goblin played a brief game of tug-of-war and Gaius lost. His sense of self faltered. His body felt like it was suspended over a chasm, with no way to reach for a toehold and reclaim control. He was stuck behind an invisible wall and could only pound on it and scream futilely as the goblin made his body do things he never would have done.
※※※
The old man's body was proving useful. While he would certainly not be considered attractive to the ladies, especially at his advanced age, at least the healer possessed a decent amount of mostly untapped magic that the goblin was able to call upon to facilitate his own powers. It was always so inconvenient to be stuck in the body of someone who had no magic. Jameak had to work harder to perform the simplest magical tasks. The only bad thing about that bit of magic was that it made possessing his host just a bit more difficult. Oh, there was no chance the old healer would be able to break free, but the slight headache that came from the effort of keeping control was something Jameak wanted to forget. He had more pressing concerns at the moment. He had to figure out how to get more of his lovely gold. He also hadn't had anything to eat or drink in over fifty years thanks to that sniveling court sorcerer of King Boring-as-fuck. He wanted a drink.
No. He wanted an entire tavern's worth of drinks.
The next morning, Jameak was fairly certain the old man was enjoying his misery. He knew he would be if the situations were reversed. Sending that idiot who had released him away to get his breakfast at least gained him a few moments of peace. This was one thing about drinking that Jameak didn't miss. He must have overestimated the old man's tolerance level because he hadn't felt like this in literal decades. Being shut up in that box had been bad, but this headache was almost bad enough to make him want to leave the body he was possessing. Almost.
The door opening to admit the witch he'd stolen the pretty golden bracelet from before he'd possessed the old physician made the goblin want to cry just a little bit. All he wanted right now was a little peace and quiet so he could sleep off his headache. Making a sleeping potion for the witch was absolutely not on his to-do list. Well, if he was going to be miserable, then he was at least going to make someone else just as miserable.
It was fun to look through the witch and watch her eyes get darker as she realized someone knew how bleak her soul was becoming. This was someone he could empathize with. Maybe if he stayed here longer than it took to restore his cache of gold the two of them could work together to cause more mayhem. That could be fun. Or not, depending on how empty she truly was. Sometimes the angry witches and wizards were more dangerous than the non-magical people with their weapons and damned lead-lined boxes just because they no longer cared whether or not they got others caught with their schemes. Jameak was finally free of that box. He intended to stay free of it, so conjuring up the sleeping potion to get rid of her and her suspicions was absolutely worth the additional pain in his head.
※※※
As the goblin extorted money and services from the people he had sworn to take care of so many years ago, Gaius alternately wanted to sit down somewhere and hang his head in shame, or take the creature by the throat and violate all of his oaths by throttling it. Uther's Royal Patronage had always afforded Gaius enough money and food to live on. He would never be rich, but that was only because Gaius enjoyed taking care of all the people of Camelot, not just the nobility. The money the richer citizens paid him for services went straight to making sure the poorer people had access to care without having to beggar themselves. The arrangement worked well because the nobility were quite aware that if their servants and the other commoners became ill, they'd pass it right on to them.
Gaius festered behind his wall while the goblin "cured" the baldness that had suddenly afflicted the king. For a brief moment, well, maybe for a few minutes, if he was being honest, he actually enjoyed the actions of the wretched creature that had inhabited his body. There had been so many times he had simply wanted to smack the pompous king upside the head, and here was his body doing precisely that. However brief, Gaius let himself take the tiniest bit of pleasure in the fact that someone, finally, was giving Uther a small comeuppance, even as he knew it was completely wrong to take any pleasure in Uther's suffering.
He watched the goblin tap Uther's head, then give it a good whack, sending Uther's head bobbing forward with the force of it. He listened to the goblin lie about the importance of getting the blood circulating healthily to the scalp again. As he did, he remembered some of the people he'd tried to help get away from Camelot when Uther had started his Purge. He remembered the faces and names of those he wasn't able to save and those he hadn't tried to save. As terrible as it was to be possessed, he knew he'd never have the courage to do something like this to Uther so for a short time, he was actually glad he'd been possessed by that damned goblin.
※※※
Oh, that boy was going to have to go. At first, when he had figured it out and stood there with the disapproving scowl on his face, Jameak had been amused. It had been so like the look an old human friend of his had loved giving him, he'd actually felt nostalgic, but the boy having magic changed everything. This was not acceptable. There was still gold to hustle and fun to be had, and Jameak knew exactly how he'd take care of things. A few words in the right ear, a tiny bit of made-up evidence, and that idiot of a king would take care of the rest. It was so simple, really.
※※※
When Merlin discovered the truth and threatened that he'd find a way to stop the goblin, Gaius felt a brief, shining moment of hope. He wanted to cheer from the highest tower of the citadel. He had faith in his foster son. Merlin may not have always gone about things in the most careful or well-planned manner, but he knew that the boy would try his damnedest to fix things. He held onto that hope tightly even through the juvenile prank the goblin pulled in the throne room. Gaius had been on campaigns with Uther and had seen and smelled much worse coming from him than a raging case of flatulence, so that didn't bother him in the least, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for poor Gwen and Morgana. The two women were mortified beyond belief.
His hope was slightly dimmed when the goblin entered the secret room in the library that even Gaius hadn't entered very often in almost twenty years. He knew what was in there. Most of the books were harmless explorations of magic, but some of them were dangerous; too dangerous to let Uther know about during the Purge. Many still held knowledge that could help prevent disasters if the kingdom was ever attacked so they had been kept hidden and protected, Geoffrey guarding their location as well as he usually guarded the library itself.
How Merlin had found the room, Gaius didn't want to know. It had led to their current predicament, after all.
The painful exchange in the throne room made Gaius want to weep. He had done everything in his power to keep Merlin safe for years and here the goblin was handing him over to Uther to be sent to the chopping block. If Gaius could, he would have shattered the wall between him and the control of his body with the pure force of his fury at the goblin. As it was, he could only linger helplessly as Merlin tried futilely to convince Uther of something contrary to what the king wanted to believe. Uther would never take the word of the stripling boy he considered incompetent over that of the loyal physician who had stood by him for decades. As Merlin was dragged away, Gaius knew he'd at least find a way to escape the jail, but he had no idea how Merlin would get them both out of this mess if he wasn't able to move about freely.
Merlin had been dragged away by Camelot's guards before, even after being accused of using magic, but never had Gaius felt he wouldn't be able to help Merlin in some small way, even if it was nothing more than leaving a word of support for him in Uther's ears. This time it was Gaius betraying him. No matter that it was the goblin performing the actions, it was still Gaius' body presenting the king with supposed evidence that condemned Merlin, and Gaius' own mouth and voice damning him.
※※※
Ah, the woeful tragedy of a mentor betrayed by his young apprentice. It was terrible. It was heart-rending. It was all Jameak could do not to laugh when the boy desperately told the people in the throne room about him possessing the old man. He was telling the truth and the idiot king thought he was lying. This was even better than when King Windbag had let Jameak slap him silly the week before out of sheer vanity. This was a farce. It was more interesting than any drama he had ever seen when he traveled the world in is youth. Staying in Camelot for a while was really starting to look like a good idea. He had ready access to gold thanks to the simpletons who listened to everything the old man said, he had the ear of a king, and if it all went south he could just leave the old man to die while he left with his gold.
Besides, Uther had made magic illegal and killed humans and magical creatures without a shred of remorse. He deserved some humiliation for his crimes against the magical world, right? Certainly, some of the creatures he and his knights had killed would have happily turned on Jameak, so it was a good thing they were gone, but wasn't it partly the principle of the matter to get a teensy bit of revenge for his fellow magic-users?
Nah, Jameak made the idiot bald and gave him and the girls gas because it was fun.
A giggle nearly erupted from his throat before he quashed it. He was still having too much fun and getting too much gold to let this body go quite yet. In the meanwhile, it was time to celebrate the brat's comeuppance with another trip to the pub and beer. He had missed that sweet nectar of the gods.
※※※
Gaius was happy the goblin couldn't hear his thoughts. If he could, he'd know he was being led into a trap. He watched in glee as Arthur offered a goblet to the goblin. Oh, Arthur's words were charming enough, the prince asking the goblin how he was, sounding so sympathetic, but Gaius knew that hunter's look in Arthur's eyes. He had picked up the scent of something wrong during court the previous morning and was determined to get to the bottom of it.
The goblin was so smug, convinced he had painlessly gotten rid of his only stumbling block to the permanent possession of Gaius. This must be a relatively cushy life in his eyes. A bit of magic here and there and he had gold handed to him. He'd even gotten away with challenging the second best knight in the Camelot the night before. What was the creature thinking, insulting Sir Leon to the point that he'd draw steel on the Court Physician, an old man with absolutely no sword-fighting ability whatsoever? The damned goblin was going to get Gaius killed if he wasn't more careful. Gaius would really prefer not to have any extra holes to patch up on himself when Merlin finally figured out a way to expel the goblin.
Actually, the goblin didn't seem to be thinking about the fact that Uther would eventually realize Gaius was using magic, violating his personal oath to the king. Uther would have Gaius executed with only a smidgen of regret, more likely to act swiftly out of a sense of betrayal and paranoia. Of course, that really meant nothing to the goblin, so maybe he had thought of it, but just didn't care. He would just find another body to possess, leaving Gaius to face the consequences of the goblin's actions.
When the goblin answered Arthur's loaded question about Merlin's execution the wrong way, leading Arthur to draw his sword on him, Gaius wanted to cheer. He always knew Arthur had more faith in Merlin than he let it seem. Merlin may seem to think Arthur never listened to him, but Gaius had seen the two of them with each other. Arthur did trust the young warlock.
Just as Gaius' glee at seeing Arthur defend Gaius and Merlin rose inside him, it was dashed. The goblin had much better aim throwing things magically than Merlin had managed to learn thus far and Gaius watched in defeat as Arthur fell to the ground.
※※※
Jameak could only laugh as he tossed the coin he'd received from Sir Leon and the other tavern-goers for treating the supposed incurable, lethal illness he'd given them the night before when he'd enchanted their ale as a petty revenge. Camelot was fun. It was a pity it would have to end soon if he couldn't come up with a better plan to silence the prince. The donkey ears and bray were just a temporary measure until Jameak could think of a way to silence him for good about his occupation of the physician's body. At least the spell wouldn't let him reveal who had done this to him, even by writing. The gold joined the rest in the chest he'd hidden. Jameak couldn't resist licking his wonderful hoard. He'd barely even noticed the slightly bitter taste before he felt himself listing to the side.
The sight of the boy with that damned box told Jameak everything he needed to know. Poison. The boy was either wiser or more ruthless than the goblin had ever imagined. It was time to leave the old man's body before he died with it. Leave the body and let the boy figure out what to do with a dead mentor lying on the ground in front of him and a death sentence already hanging over his head.
When the boy tried to get him in the box by chasing him around the physician's chambers, Jameak decided that maybe it would be better to just find a nice, fresh, new host. A host with magic. A young host with decent looks so he'd actually be able to have sex this time instead of an old, dried out husk of a man who didn't attract any of the pretty barmaids. Granted, he'd have to make a run for it because the boy was wanted for sorcery, but he had a chest full of gold that would facilitate a new life somewhere. Maybe it was time to visit Hibernia again. Or Arabia. He hadn't been there in over a hundred years.
Jameak flew into the boy's mouth and expected to be able to possess him easily. For some reason, he was stopped. It took a moment to figure it out. The boy's magic was protecting him. His magic was powerful, much more powerful than Jameak had anticipated. It was keeping him from taking the boy, nay, the warlock, over and keeping him imprisoned at the same time.
Being spat into the box was one of the most humiliating moments he'd ever experienced in his centuries alive. He was back in his prison. Jameak could only rattle the box angrily when he realized it would probably be another fifty years or more before someone else was foolish enough to let him out again.
※※※
Just one more day, hmm? Gaius usually tried to keep Merlin from causing mayhem with his abilities, but in this, he was going to let the boy have some fun for once. He was right, after all, the braying was just too good. Maybe a little of the goblin's love of mischief the goblin had rubbed off on the old physician, or maybe it was just that he liked seeing the smile on the boy's face after having watched him devastated by Gaius' betrayal and the need to kill him just to save him.
Gaius had actually felt the dizziness pass through his body like the lurch of a boat being tossed on the waves shortly after the goblin had licked the gold in his chest. He'd watched as Merlin and Gwen ran down from Merlin's room, the box that now imprisoned the goblin once more in Merlin's hands. Gaius remembered clearly thinking that he was going to have to talk to the boy about coming up with less lethal plans to save people than poisoning them.
The ground had rushed up to meet him as the goblin decided to abandon his body. Gaius had tried to move, control of his body finally his again, but all he could do was peer helplessly through the fading light as he watched Gwen and Merlin try to save him. He was free of the goblin. He had been free to just lie there while his apprentice tried to hold back his tears as Gaius died.
Finally, the antidote worked and he'd smiled just a little when he heard Merlin call him a stubborn, old goat.
Yes, even though Merlin had released the goblin in the first place, he deserved this little bit of fun. Gaius would just make it up to Arthur later, somehow. That, and gleefully wait for the day that Arthur knew of Merlin's magic and realized he could have ended the goblin's spell much earlier, but chose to let his master and friend suffer just one more day.
This is my entry for Merlin CanonFest, based on the episode Goblin's Gold, S3E3.
Merlin belongs to Shine and BBC.