Author's note: Here's chapter 2. I'll try to update as soon as possible, hopefully only with a day or two in-between.
I think I must have watched some scenes from "The Lady of the Lake" at least ten times,trying to write this and I still don't think I've done Merlin's characterization justice. * sigh *
I'd like to add that all the spells that will occur in this story are all made up and are usually just a jumble of letters that look good thrown together. Bear with me for that.
Also, please review. I will cherish every single feedback, even if you only write one word.
If Gaius is surprised when Merlin is late for breakfast, he doesn't let it show. It's not like the young man hasn't overslept before, in fact, if prince Arthur's annoyance is any indication, it happens every other day. The court physician understands the burden resting on his charge's shoulders is a heavy one and sometimes more than a night's sleep is needed to relieve the stress. Besides, the prince is away for the time being, therefore Merlin has been temporarily relieved of his duties. So when no sound can be heard from the young warlock's room, the old man shrugs it off and calmly takes a sip of his tea.
Half an hour later he starts to wonder if everything is all right. It is unusually late, never mind the noise coming from the streets is loud enough to wake the dead. Still, Gaius doesn't start jumping to conclusions until Merlin doesn't answer his calls.
He is about to go check on him, although he has a feeling he will find the boy's room empty. The persistent little thought sticks out in Gaius' mind like a sore thumb and refuses to leave him alone until he starts to ascend the stairs.
His foot hardly brushes against the first step, when the massive wooden door suddenly bursts open to reveal the warlock in question. The old healer is seldom to lose his composure, but as he takes in Merlin's appearance, his peaceful mask cracks.
Merlin's clothes are drenched in dirt and blood, with hair sticking to his sweaty face, but what really catches Gaius' attention is the person he is carrying on his back.
"Merlin!" the physician fixes him with a piercing stare. "What is going on?"
"You've got to help him, Gaius!"
Apart from his outburst, Merlin offers no further explanation, but Gaius doesn't ask him to elaborate. He is too busy clearing the table of all unnecessary equipment before wiping it off with a cloth soaked in disinfectant.
Merlin manoeuvres the injured stranger onto the table and sighs in relief as the added weight leaves his stiff shoulders. He stretches to roll the soreness out of his muscles, while Gaius inspects his new patient. The boy's face and hair are covered with dirt and dried blotches of blood and so are his clothes. It seems as though there is not a single clean patch of skin peeking out of the worn out, nearly shredded garments. He also notices the small circle-shaped hole ripped out of the left side of the shirt, covering the junction of the collarbone and shoulder – the kind usually left behind by an arrow.
Gaius' eyes narrow suspiciously as he leans closer. There is something odd about this wounded stranger. He lies motionless against the wooden table top and it seems as though he were asleep, instead of unconscious, as someone who has lost a significant amount of blood rightfully should have been. His breathing, too, seems far too relaxed for someone who is supposed to be in a lot of pain, and although Gaius cannot see the skin on his patient's cheeks, he is sure they bear no sign of fever.
"What is the meaning of this, Merlin?" he demands at last, startling the young warlock, who has spent this entire time pacing back and forth worriedly.
"What do you mean? Can't you see the arrow? It's right..." Pivoting around on his heel, Merlin gestures broadly towards the boy's chest, "...there!"
Except, it isn't and Merlin gapes, incredulous. Not only is there no arrow, there is not even the slightest trace of any kind of weapon left in the boy's torso. By the looks of it, there isn't even a splinter.
"This~" he tries, but words momentarily fail him. "This is impossible."
"Did you remove the arrow?" Gaius asks, his expression grave. In their shock and confusion neither of them notice the mysterious patient start to stir.
"No! I didn't, I swear. I even used my jacket to brace it, so it wouldn't move while I carried him here." Merlin exclaims. "Take his shirt off and look at his left shoulder. He should have a hole deep enough to see through him there. I can't have imagined it. An hour ago, he was still bleeding!"
To prove his point, he tugs at the collar of his shirt, stiff from all the blood clinging to it.
"All right then, I believe you. But we must be careful, Merlin. There is something very strange about this patient. We'd best be on our guard."
With a nod, more to himself than to his young friend, Gaius turns back towards his table. Then, just as he is about to tear the front of his patient's shirt apart, the boy bolts upright and franticly struggles to push the physician's hands away.
Having been prepared for anything, the old man doesn't weaver, but grasps the trashing boy's hands with surprising strength. A moment later, Merlin is at his side, helping him restrain the patient, while trying to reassure him at the same time.
"It's okay! We're only trying to-" he ducks his head so it doesn't collide with the writhing boy's, "-help you."
"No, no, no! Let me go!" the words are muffled and hardly audible, but even without them, the stranger's intentions would have been clear. He somehow manages to sink his teeth into Gaius' palm, and the old man yelps in surprise. Gaining momentum, the boy tries to kick his way free, but although he is as agile as he is quick, the slight advantage does not grant him freedom.
"Merlin, pass me the sleeping potion, quickly!" Gaius commands, his voice strained from the effort needed to hold their reluctant guest in place.
"Please, no... don't!" the previously quiet and raspy protests are now desperate cries, and as Merlin pushes the tiny vial of blueish liquid to the boy's lips, their eyes meet for the shortest of moments. It is then that Merlin notices the blind, blood curling horror and panic in the stranger's eyes. It is the look of someone fearing for their life, someone prepared to do anything to get free.
In that moment, Merlin hesitates.
Then, several things happen simultaneously. With a jerk of the boy's chin, the vial slips from Merlin's fingers and with a crash, shatters on the stone floor, the boy screams one last time and Gaius successfully rips his shirt apart.
For a second or two even the molecules in the air around them seem frozen in time. Nobody as much as bats an eyelash and the only sound in the room is the boy's rapid heartbeat.
Except... except, as Merlin is horrified to discover, the person on the table is, in fact, no boy. With the dirty shirt split in half, there is nothing left to cover the stranger's front, and he suddenly understands their guest's panic when they attempted to remove it. Because underneath, now bare for both men's shocked eyes to see, is a pair of – albeit not very obvious, but still very feminine – breasts.
A breathless 'oh my' escapes Gaius' lips, while Merlin's head spins and he quickly looks away, his face red all the way to the tips of his ears. How could he have failed to notice the panic stricken stranger's gender? No wonder he – er, well – she seemed so small and light. It takes a few seconds until Merlin's mind truly catches up with all the current events and then a horrible thought dawns on him: they have basically just harassed an innocent, frightened girl.
A girl who is now sobbing quietly, her chest hidden behind her knees, as she curls together on the edge of Gaius' table. She rocks gently back and forth, while her shoulders shake violently every time her breath hitches. Gaius has taken several steps back to avoid frightening her further, the colour of his face matching that of his hair. None of his movements indicate he is about to tend to her injuries and as he takes another look at the crying girl, Merlin realises why.
There is no injury to heal.
There is dried blood – and a vast amount at that – and also some dirt, but otherwise the skin is unmarked. Not only is there no sign of the shot wound but there are also no gashes or scratches. It seems incomprehensible, but Merlin knows, better than anyone, there is but one explanation for the seemingly impossible – magic.
"Who... who are you?"
The question flies out of Merlin's mouth before he can stop himself and the silence that follows seems endless. In fact it feels like hours passed since they discovered their guest's actual gender, when it can't have been more than a minute or two. He doesn't expect her to answer, so the shock is much greater when she does.
"Why would you ask the name of someone you are going to kill?"
Her answer is not what Merlin expected, but the words sting – painfully so – yet he can imagine where she's coming from. With what she's been through in just the past few hours, her actions need not be justified.
She has obviously given up on escaping and with her surrender comes a defiance of someone who has nothing left to lose. In a quieter whisper she adds. "Don't tell me you keep a record."
Merlin is about to say something, when Gaius finally breaks out of his stupor. "That is enough." His voice is calm and gentle yet leaves little room for argument. "Calm down, child. Had we wanted to kill you, why would we be so insistent on healing you first."
She shrugs and looks up to meet his eyes and even though she is covered in all sort of filth, scantly clad and face wet with tears, she squares her shoulders like a queen. "Because Uther Pendragon wants the likes of me alive and kicking while we burn."
As neither of the men try to prove her wrong, she nods to herself and looks away. It pains Merlin to watch as she bites her lip and hugs herself around the shoulders and when she averts her gaze, there are fresh tears in her eyes. Something stirs inside him as he realises what she is trying to tell them, the unmistakable meaning behind her choice of words. She doesn't know it, but with saying 'The likes of me' what she is saying to him is 'The likes of us'. And in that moment he's decided. He would protect her, no matter what.
"Nobody is going to hurt you!"
Surprisingly, the girl only mildly flinches as he approaches her. She cannot explain it, but, regardless to all that has happened, she trusts this unknown black haired boy with the kindest blue eyes she has ever seen. She hears the unwavering conviction behind his words, and a small part of her yearns to bury her head into his chest and just cry.
She doesn't of course, she doesn't even have the courage to look at him, even as he reaches for his leather jacket, which lies discarded next to her, and drapes it carefully over her shoulders. Only after the garment's warmth has already engulfed her. does she realise how cold she's actually been.
"Thank you... " she mumbles gratefully, trailing off at the end for she doesn't know his name.
A hopeful smile tugs at Merlin's lips and try as he might, he can't stop it. They still have quite a predicament on their hands, but he is starting to see the first rays of hope shining through.
"I'm Merlin." he says and is about to hold out his hand for her to take, when the girl shifts closer and looks up at him from under her eyelashes. To Merlin's surprise her eyes are such a vivid hue of blue, they seem violet if one were to look at them for a longer time.
But nothing surprises him more than her sudden hesitant smile. It is such a dazzling change, he nearly has to pinch himself to prove he is not day dreaming.
"Thank you, Merlin," she repeats and straightens up so that she is no longer slouching.
All the while, Gaius is quietly observing the exchange. Neither Merlin nor the girl seem to momentarily acknowledge his presence, but he doesn't mind it so much. He understands she must feel more at ease with the young warlock, because he is the one who has saved her life, but there is something else forging between them. Something the old man cannot quite put his finger on. That is, until she smiles. And as she opens her mouth so finally introduce herself, Gaius finds the word he has been searching for.
"My name is Elaine."
Kinship.
Once again, thank you for reading. I hope you liked the second chapter and in case you missed my author's note: Please review.
Fate-x