The physicians chamber is stuffy and there is a slight mist in the air. Gaius hums to himself as he stands at his bench grinding herbs for the concoction that is boiling away on the fire. He reads from a large, dusty book as he grinds up a bunch of rosemary, adding ingredients absentmindedly to the concoction. He gives it a stir throwing up more steam to mist up the room.
So lost in he in his work, he jumps as the door to the chamber bursts open and Merlin barrels in looking red and sweaty. He holds the door wide open for Arthur, who follows him in, the young woman from the forest in his arms. Gaius frowns and looks from the Merlin to the girl and back again. Before he even asks a question Merlin talks.
"Gaius, she needs your help." he says gasping for breath. "I can see that."
Gaius replies snippily. He points Arthur the bed in the corner of the room. Arthur rushes forward and places her delicately on it, taking care not to pull at her hair as he slides his arms from underneath her. He steps back, his face pale and angry. His hunting jacket is covered her blood. He looks down at it and looks back at the girl, his expression softening. He stares frozen at her, Gaius practically has to push him out of the way to get to her.
Carefully Gaius checks her wounds, from the cuts on her arms to the bruises on her face. He ums and ahs over her until, finally, he pulls back, satisfied that he has thoroughly examined her.
"She will be fine, the wounds are superficial." he announces, "They should heal reasonably quickly if treated correctly."
He moves towards his shelves to find the correct ointment for the treatment of the cuts. Merlin and Arthur sigh in relief.
"What happened to her?" Gaius adds.
"She was attacked by wolves." Merlin replies quickly.
Gaius nods and puts down the ointment he picked up and choosing another.
"Hmm… strange though, some of the wounds look older, a few days I'd say, at least." he mutters under his breath.
Merlin frowns at this and looks at Arthur whose brow furrows. While they talk, behind them the woman stirs, her eyelids flickering and opening slowly to reveal a pair of stunningly green eyes. She groans in pain and lifts herself into a sitting position carefully. Merlin, Arthur and Gaius turn to her, looking at her cautiously. She licks her lips and finally finds her voice, it's hoarse and very weak.
"I must speak with King Uther, you must take me to Camelot." she mutters.
Gaius lays a calming hand on her shoulder and smiles down at her warmly.
"You're in Camelot. But you must rest before you seek council with Uther." he says.
"No, no, I must see him now." she protests weakly.
She manages to get to her feet, even take a few steps, but she soon trips over the hem of her tattered dress and falls right into Merlin's arms. He awkwardly helps her back to the bed and sits her down. His cheeks are tinged a slight pink in embarrassment. She shakes as he moves away from her, she grabs his hand and looks up at him her eyes filling with tears. Merlin smiles tenderly and sits next to her on the stool by the side of the bed. She lets go of his hand and nods her thanks to him. Arthur moves forward, his head held high, his arms crossed defensively.
"The King is my father, I could take a message to him for you." he offers.
The woman gives him a soft smile as she allows herself to be laid back onto the bed by Merlin. She takes the golden chain and pendant from around her neck and holds it out to Arthur, dropping it into his outstretched hand.
"He will know what it means, my lord." she says looking deeply into his eyes.
Arthur nods and places the necklace safely in his pocket.
"Who should I say it is from?" Arthur asks.
"He will not need to be told. But my name is Lady Luna of Hinsdale," she replies, a spasm of pain flitting across her face "Do not worry I am a friend of Camelot."
Arthur nods curtly and leaves the camber swiftly. Merlin watches him go and thinks for a second before running after him.
"Merlin?" Gaius calls.
"Not now." Merlin replies over his shoulder.
The door slams shut after him. Gaius shakes his head and begins to tend to Lunas wounds. Her eyes begin to slip out of focus and she smiles up at Gaius.
"Merlin… is an unusual name…" she mutters.
Her head falls back and she slips into sleep. Gaius dabs at the cut on her cheek.
"There are a lot of things about Merlin that is unusual…" he mumbles under his breath.
King Uther is sat at the end of the long council table alone reading through a large roll of parchment. His quill hovers inches from the paper ready to sign it. The double doors open and Arthur strides in. Merlin follows him, barely able to keep up with his pace. Uther looks up from the parchment and drops his quill on the table. He looks shocked as he takes in the image of his son covered in blood and frowns.
"My son, what happened?" he asks worriedly, getting to his feet.
"We were hunting in the forest when we heard screams. There was a woman in the clearing, she'd been attacked by wolves. Gaius is caring for her now. She was making for Camelot to see you. She said for me to show you this," Arthur holds the pendant up, "She said that you would know what it meant, sire."
Uther's eyes darken as he takes the pendant from his son. He lets it hang from his hand and it sways in the breeze from the open door. He is quiet for a long time, his eyes following the sway of the pendant as if being hypnotized by it. Merlin and Arthur give each other a sidelong look.
"Father?" Arthur ventures.
Uther slowly takes his seat again, his eyes never leaving the pendant.
"See to it that she is placed in a comfortable room. Give this back to her and tell her I will visit her when she is settled in." he says quietly.
He holds the pendent out to Arthur and hesitates, flinching away as his son takes it from him as if he isn't going to let it go. Uther closes his eyes and sighs, opening them slowly. Arthur turns to Merlin and gives him a perturbed look. Merlin raises his eyebrows, takes an intake of breath and shrugs.
"Merlin, you will see to it she is made comfortable. You and Gwen will offer your services to her and to Gaius to speed her recovery." Arthur says, their moment of silent communication broken.
Merlin nods and gives Uther a bow. They both leave the room quietly. Uther, still deep in thought, doesn't even look up as the door snaps shut, leaving him alone in the council chambers once more. He sits in silence for a while before picking up his quill once more.
Merlin and Arthur wait until they have put enough distance between the Uther and themselves before they stop to talk.
"I want to make sure she is well looked after. Also I want you to find out what that pendant is all about, it seems to have some sort of meaning to my father. See If you can find out why. There is something funny going on and I want to know what it is," Arthur pauses and frowns, "And make sure that she doesn't go wandering off around the castle. I want someone with her at all times. Ask Morgana to-"
"Ask me to what?" calls a subtle female voice from behind Arthur's back.
He turns to see Morgana and her maid servant Gwen. Arthur's eyes linger on Gwen's face, a glint in his eye that says more than words ever could. Gwen smiles and looks down at the floor. Arthur looks back at Morgana, thinking quickly, he replies.
"I was going to ask you to visit the Lady Luna. She has had quite a journey and I'm sure she would like to spend time in the company of women." he says quickly, finishing the sentence with a winning smile.
He elbows Merlin hard in the side who wheezes in pain. Arthur gives him a sideways look and the penny drops. Merlin turns to Morgana and gives her a wide smile. Morgana's eyes narrow slightly and she looks up at Arthur suspiciously.
"You're up to something Arthur Pendragon." she says coldly.
"I-am-not." Arthur protests loudly.
"Fine don't tell me. I'll find out myself," Morgana replies, snappily, "Gwen we had better leave, we have obviously got in the boys way."
They move around Arthur and Merlin and begin to leave when Arthur catches Gwen's hand. He awkwardly drops it and clears his throat in embarrassment. Morgana turns and to distract her, Merlin launches into an explanation.
"What Arthur was trying to say was that we would like someone to keep an eye on her. Gaius and I cannot be around all the time and we need someone to be there if she falls seriously ill." Merlin says brightly.
Morgana smiles at him and glances at Arthur, who quickly rearranges his shocked expression to a look of agreement.
"Of course Merlin, now was that so hard to say, Arthur? We'll see her to her room when everything is prepared. I'm sure she will want womanly company." Morgana smiles.
The two women turn to leave rounding the corner quickly. Gwen gives Arthur a small smile and hurries then after her mistress. Arthur watches her go with a bemused sort of smile on his face. After a minute he sighs and lets his head drop.
"That's perhaps the quickest you have ever thought of a cover story in all your life." Arthur says looking back up at Merlin, who is grinning still.
"I think that was a complement, I am not quite sure." he replies.
Arthur takes the pendant out of his pocket and places into Merlin's hand, turning to leave.
"Return that to Luna." he says quietly.
"Where are you going?" Merlin asks.
"To have a bath and go to bed." Arthur calls over his shoulder.
Merlin stares blankly after him, his eyes narrow.
"It's alright for some." he mumbles dragging his feet back towards Gaius' chambers.