"I think we need to talk" Gaius said. Arthur looked up at him, beside Gaius, Gwen was looking at him sadly.
"Arthur what's got into you?" She asked, Arthur looked confused, then angry.
"Just tell me where Morgana is" he snarled.
"Why is it so important you find her?" Gwen asked, and Arthur looked at her.
"Because, as it seems people have forgotten, she does happen to be my wife!" he yelled. Gaius blinked and Gwen just looked shocked. "And if either of you were paying attention then you'd realise that whatever is happening here then the man you just let go is the one behind this!" he yelled.
"Arthur! Stop this madness!" Gaius said, glaring at him. Slowly he turned to Gwen. "It would appear something did happen to the King while he was unconscious" Gaius said.
"Morgana's doing?" asked Gwen, composing herself. Gaius considered.
"It's possible-"
"What do you mean Morgana's doing?" demanded Arthur. Gaius looked at him.
"I mean that that Morgana may have done something to alter your mind, turn you against…" his voice trailed off slowly.
"Merlin" Gwen finished. Arthur growled.
"You two are insane, there is nothing wrong with me, or Morgana apart from the fact that you two seem intent on blaming her for what's happening here!" he yelled.
"But why would Morgana turn them against each other?" asked Gwen.
"Morgana didn't!" Arthur yelled. Gaius sighed and looked at Gwen.
"My lady, if you could possibly find Merlin, see if he has any idea what happened in that cave" he said.
"Of course" she replied. Walking out, Arthur watching her go, slowly he looked at Gaius.
"I promise you Gaius, I will find out what sort of enchantment he's used on you and the others" Arthur vowed.
"Then I can save you the trouble, Merlin has used none on us" Gaius said.
Merlin was exactly where Gwen had expected to find him, in the armoury, polishing Arthur's breastplate, vigorously moving the cloth over its surface, wiping away the wet spots that kept dropping down onto it. Slowly she moved over to him, sitting down next to him. Normally he would have said something, but not today.
"Are you okay?" Gwen asked gently. Merlin nodded.
"Fine" he muttered, wiping his eyes. Gwen put a hand out to him, then pulled back when he flinched slightly. Never had he done that in the past.
"Merlin, there's something wrong with him" Gwen said gently. Merlin looked up at her and she could see the red marks where Arthur had grabbed him and pinned him to the wall, no doubt there would be bruises later.
"you think I don't know that?" he snapped, then blinked. "Sorry"
"It's okay" she replied gently. "Merlin I need to ask you something" she said. Merlin nodded. "In the cave, did you see what happened?" she asked. Merlin shook his head.
"No, Morgana blasted me unconscious, when I came around outside, Arthur was still out cold" he admitted. "Why?"
"I don't know, but its obvious something happened between you being knocked out and Arthur waking up here" she said. Merlin nodded and sighed. Gwen now daring to touch his arm.
"This has really shaken you hasn't it?" she asked.
"I just… I wasn't expecting that. In all the years I've known him he's never looked at me like that" Merlin said. "It wasn't just hatred Gwen. He truly wanted to kill me" Merlin said. Gwen hugged her friend to her, and took a deep breath.
"Don't worry, we'll find out why he's doing this" she said. Merlin nodded, and pulled away.
"Sire!" Gaius's voice shouted from the stairwell. Gwen and Merlin both stood as Arthur came barrelling in.
"Conspiring then?" he demanded.
"You know very well I asked Gwen to find him" Gaius said, from behind him. Arthur turned on him.
"When I find Morgana, I might be inclined to trust a little more" he snarled.
"Arthur, please-" Merlin began.
"Do not speak to me, especially in the familiar, I don't care what these people think, I know exactly what you are, Warlock, murderer of my Father, named enemy of my kingdom!" Arthur roared, the he leant forwards. "Boy from a burnt village" he snarled.
"Arthur think, this isn't you" said Merlin, backing away as Arthur approached. "I stayed outside, in the hall the night your father was laid in state. And there is no burnt village, my home is fine " Merlin said.
"LIAR!" Arthur roared, then whipped his sword around, Merlin moved back, but still got a slice in the arm.
"SIRE!" Arthur turned to see Leon and Elyan running into the room, both looking shocked.
"These two were there, they'll know what he did" Arthur said. The two knights looked at each other.
"My lord?" asked Elyan.
"Tell them! Tell them what this thing did!" he shouted, pointing at Merlin who was holding his bleeding arm, Gaius standing next to him.
"Sire, Merlin did nothing except follow you to the crystal so you had some protection" Leon said.
"More lies" Arthur hissed.
"Sire…" Merlin slowly stepped forwards, Gaius standing beside him protectively. "Arthur, I don't know what happened in that cave, but I am your friend, you must know that, somewhere" Merlin said. Arthur turned his gaze onto him.
"Fine, then if you're truly no threat then you won't mind when I put you in the dungeon's to rot" he said.
"Sire surely there is nothing Merlin has done to warrant-" Leon began.
"I will NOT be questioned" Arthur snarled.
"At least let me see to his injury first" Gaius said. Arthur shook his head.
"no, because if he is as I believe a Warlock, then he will not let it become infected. Nor do I believe any of these other lies" Arthur said. "Take him" he ordered. Still both knights hesitated. "I said take him" Arthur growled. Slowly Merlin moved past him, towards the door.
"I'll go, if it takes me becoming sick or worse to prove I'm no threat to you. I'll go" Merlin said softly. The knights both looked unhappy, but it seemed, for the time being, Merlin had made his mind up for them. Slowly they bowed to Arthur, the followed Merlin out. Arthur turned to look at Gwen who was crying gently.
"Tears for an enemy?" he spat.
"No" she replied coldly. "Tears for my husband who will realise his actions when he comes to his senses" she replied then left the room.
"I'll see to it you get out of here as soon as possible" Leon said as he closed the cell door, Merlin moving over and sitting on the bed, looked up at Leon.
"Thank you" he replied softly.
"Merlin, we will find out what Morgana's done" added Elyan. Merlin smiled.
"Just don't get into trouble" Merlin said, forcing what he hoped was a convincing smile. The knights returned it, then both nodding their heads moved away. Merlin leant back against the wall, still holding his arm, he was tempted to use just a little magic to stop the small bleed, but then of course, Arthur would have all the proof he needed, so instead he briefly entertained the idea of escaping, but again, that would simply prove Arthur's point, so instead, he carefully removed his neckerchief and tied it around the wound, so at least it was covered, before lying down on the hard, makeshift bed ad staring up at the widow.
"He did what?" Gwaine, was of course furious, as Leon explained what had happened. Leon nodded as did Elyan.
"I know he might have hit his head, and he was out of it all the way to Camelot, but this…" Percival stated.
"So we need to break him out" Elyan stated.
"Merlin won't do that" Gwaine replied after a beat. "You know how loyal he is to Arthur, even to the point of nearly dying for him" he said.
"So we stay here and do nothing?" demanded Percival.
"No, we find out what's happened" Gwaine said. "Merlin's one of us, no he doesn't have the title, or the lands, or whatever else we have, but the fact is the one thing we all have in common is Merlin"
"Except Leon" said Percival.
"No, in this I'm with you" Leon said. "because you're right, all of you. Merlin is one of us, and I'll be damned if we don't find out what Morgana's done to our King"
"Arthur be damned" muttered Gwaine.
"Gwaine!" Leon snapped. "In case you hadn't noticed, its because of how Arthur is now that Merlin is I this predicament, if we want to save Merlin, then we need to save Arthur"
Night had fallen across the kingdom, and a cold wind whipped across Camelot. I his cell, Merlin picked at the small piece of bread and sipped at the half filled goblet of water, the only food Arthur had allowed him to have.
"Comfortable?" Arthur asked from behind the bars. Merlin looked up at him.
"Does it matter?" he asked, just a hint of anger in his voice.
"See, there's the Merlin I know" Arthur replied. Merlin sighed and picked up the goblet, before putting it down shakily, without drinking.
"What's that on your arm? I thought I gave instructions you weren't to be treated" Arthur said.
"I wasn't. It's my Neckerchief" Merlin replied. Arthur glared at him.
"I don't know what you're playing at, hiding here like a timid little mouse, but I do know that sooner or later you'll make a grave mistake" Arthur said. Merlin looked up at him again, then with a snarl stood, knocking the table over, holding his arm wide, the injured one just a few feet from in the air.
"Then get it over with, because I'm not going anywhere. If you think I'm that much of a threat then do it! Go on kill me! Because believe it or not, this is all there is! This is all I am!" Merlin shouted.
"Don't tempt me Warlock" Arthur said. Merlin sighed, then knelt down, picking up the table, wincing as the cut on his arm opened again. When he looked up at the bars however, Arthur was gone. Sighing, and angry at his outburst he moved back to the bed, and slowly unwrapped the neckerchief. If anything, the wound was slightly longer where he'd pulled it open again, and he also noticed specks of dirt around it, probably what had been on his neckerchief already, he remembered he hadn't had a chance to wash it out properly, before he shivered as a cold wind blew into the small cell.
Gwen was beside herself with worry, both for her husband and the man, who, until this morning had been both hers and Arthur's closest friend, but she tried to put that to the side as she and Gaius listened as the knights all explained what had transpired in the cave. Gaius had called them all to the Pharmacy so he might better get an idea of what was happening exactly. As Elyan finished his recounting of the story, Gaius slowly sat down, frowning.
"Strange. Aside from the fact the crystal seemed to be broken, possibly by Morgana's attack on Merlin, there's nothing to account for what she could have done to Arthur" he mused.
"I knew someone should have gone with them" Gwaine chided himself.
"Blaming yourself for matters in the past will not help" Gaius snapped, Gwaine looked at him, and Gaius held up his hand.
"I apologise, that was uncalled for" he said at last. Gwaine offered a tight nod, but remained silent.
"Could it possibly have been the Crystal that did this? When it was destroyed?" asked Gwen. Gaius sighed.
"Where magic is concerned, anything is possible, but truthfully, the crystal's main ability was to augment the magic applied through it" Gaius said.
"It what?" asked Gwaine.
"It makes a little bang into a big bang" said Percival. Gwaine looked at him.
"I knew that" he said.
"Wait" said Elyan suddenly. They all looked at him.
"Elyan?" asked Gaius.
"Well if the whole crystal could do that, then… when it was shattered, would it have lost its power or would all the fragments have had that ability?" he asked. Everyone looked back at Gaius.
"I have no idea" he admitted. Finally he sighed and stood. "I'm afraid I'll have to consult my books" he told them. "But I would ask if at least one of you would stay down there with Merlin" he added softly.
"I'll go" Gwaine said before anyone could reply.
"We'll go in shifts" Leon countered. "We all need some rest at one point" he replied.
"Won't the guards become a little suspicious?" asked Elyan.
"Not if it's a order from the queen" Gwen replied.
"thank you, all of you" Gaius said. "now, If you don't mind, I'd like to go down and say goodnight to Merlin while its quiet, Gwaine I'll call you when I'm on my way back" he said. Gwaine nodded.
"I'll help with the research" said Gwen. Gaius blinked, then nodded, before handing her several books.
"I would suggest you examine these in your chambers, it won't do for word to get around you were in here researching all night" Gaius said. Gwen smiled as she took them.
"We'll sort this out, for both of them" she said. Gaius nodded and watched as the knights and the Queen left his chambers, before he himself walked out.
"Merlin?" Merlin blinked awake, shivering, before he looked over at the bars, smiling as he saw Gaius standing there.
"Are you okay?" asked Merlin, standing and moving over to him. Gaius cast a critical gaze over his ward.
"Much better for seeing you" he said at last, but his gaze lingered to the cut on his arm, which was beginning to swell. Merlin covered it with his hand.
"I managed to split it open" Merlin said sheepishly. Gaius nodded.
"I see" he said softly, wishing there was something he could do, knowing it was well within Merlin's power to heal the wound. That he had chosen not to was an explanation in itself.
"It's infected" Merlin admitted. "I used my neckerchief to cover it, but it still got dirty" he explained.
"Does it hurt?" asked Gaius, kindly.
"Just, a throbbing pain, sometimes a little sharp jolt" Merlin replied. Gaius nodded again, then looked over at the guards who weren't paying any attention to them, before he leaned in.
"I need you to do something" he said. Merlin smiled and looked around. "If it involves picking herbs I can't quite do that at the moment" he replied.
"Merlin, please, this is serious"
"Sorry"
"I need you to call Kilgharrah" Gaius said.
"What good would that do?" asked Merlin.
"Just do it, tell him to go where you usually meet with him, I need to speak to him"
"But I can't, if I start calling a Dragon while I'm in here then I'll be on the chopping block by sun up" Merlin said.
"you once told me Kilgharrah talked in your mind, try that" Gaius said. Merlin frowned. "Please Merlin, it's the only way to find out what's wrong with Arthur" he whispered. Merlin took a deep breath and nodded, before he closed his eyes. reaching out with his mind. He stood that way for several moments, before slowly he opened his eyes.
"I've called, but I don't know if it worked" he whispered. Gaius nodded.
"Just try to keep warm my boy, we're all doing what we can" Gaius said. Merlin smiled.
"there's a clearing, just outside the city, in the forest, I usually meet him there" Merlin told him. Gaius nodded, then reached in and took Merlin's hand briefly, then letting go, he left the dungeons, stopping only once on his way out to collect Gwaine and Gwen, who made their own way to the dungeons.
Gaius left the castle under the pretence of having a medical emergency in lower town, but as soon as he got there, he made his way as quickly as he could to the clearing, silently chiding Merlin for using a space so close to Camelot. Still, it was lucky it wasn't further away, Gaius wasn't a young man anymore, so when he finally got to the clearing he was glad to see the Dragon, waiting for him. Kilgharrah narrowed his eyes and leant forwards.
"And to think I've been summoned to speak to the likes of you" Kilgharrah said.
"Believe me, if there was another way I would have used it" Gaius replied.
"What do you want old man?" Kilgharrah asked.
"You know very well why I'm here" Gaius told it. Kilgharrah laughed and pulled back.
"Indeed, something has gone wrong with the Once and Future King, and now you want my advice. Picture this then, if its possible for your feeble mind to do so:- there are dimensions all around us, some far away, and others so near that we can touch them"
"Get to the point!" Snapped Gaius.
"I am, this is very much part of 'the point' as you put it. Now these dimensions, they exist next to each other, all of them an infinite possibility of what can happen in another. But in this case, something has caused a bleed through from one dimension into ours. You are looking for a problem with Arthur, when in fact, he is exactly as he should be. With the sole exception: he is not our Arthur"
"Impossible" said Gaius.
"Did you not say recently anything is possible with magic?" asked Kilgharrah. Gaius grumbled. "The pivotal moment was in that cave. While Arthur and Merlin went for the crystal in our dimension, the exact same thing was happening in that dimension. Also at the same time, in both dimensions, magic was used as Arthur grabbed the crystal. It of course shattered, but the magic unleashed resonated not just within the cavern, but across into the other dimension. The result: The Arthur you have here, is from there, and there is a strong possibility that the Arthur they have there is from here" Kilgharrah said.
"And this other universe? Merlin is…. Evil there?" asked Gaius.
"Gaius, in all the possible universes there will be those where everyone you know is evil to some extent, do not be surprised, but think on this, Our Merlin, is kind and just, only because of the way he was raised by his mother, and to a later extent, you. Not every Merlin in every dimension would have had that guidance" Kilgharrah said. It was the probably the kindest thing the Dragon had ever said to Gaius, but the physician put it out of his mind.
"But.. Arthur, Our Arthur trusts Merlin explicitly, he'll be killed" Gaius said.
"Just as it will be our task to educate Their Arthur, so it must fall to the residents of their dimension to educate him" Kilgharrah said.
"So what do we do? How do we sort this out?" Gaius asked. Kilgharrah sighed.
"You know the exact circumstances required in order to bleed our dimensions together, there is no way to know even if such a feat could be replicated, and even then, no guarantee of success. But I know this. Eventually whatever binds these dimensions together will realise its mistake, and attempt to rectify it" Kilgharrah said.
"And what does that mean?" asked Gaius.
"It means that eventually both dimensions will bleed into each other so completely that they will in effect become one, and no dimension can occupy the same as another, not without destroying each other, but that would be far in the future" Kilgharrah said.
"If its not so important now, why mention it?" snapped Gaius.
"Because that is the most likely outcome in the future, but for the present, you can be sure that if I know what happened, so does our Morgana and their Merlin" Kilgharrah said.
"But that would mean-"
"Arthur, ours and theirs will be the least of our worries, for when Merlin and Morgana unite there will be no stopping them"
"But how can they cross dimensions?" demanded Gaius.
"Because, Gaius. They already have, did it not cross your mind to wonder why Morgana has not attacked us here?" he said taking flight. Gaius's face went white.
"Because she's not here" he said.
"I have told you all I can, but it will be up to Merlin to stop them, if he can find a way to harness into the magic they're using then you yet stand a chance" Kilgharrah said, flying off.
"But is he powerful enough!" yelled Gaius.
"Not alone! He will need their Morgana!" Kilgharrah called back before he vanished out of sight. Gaius stood there for a few more minuets, then turned and hurried back towards the castle.