So, I've decided to continue this :) Thanks to those of you who took the time to read and review the last chapter, this means a lot to me.
Gwen returned to the infirmary after helping Morgana prepare for bed. After hearing about the child the knights had found being injured and sick, the King's ward had instantly assured her maid that she would be just fine getting ready by herself in the morning.
"Gaius will be glad to have some assistance while tending to the girl", she smiled. "And I know Arthur wouldn't be pleased if Merlin was exhausted from spending all night watching over her."
Opening the door, the blacksmith's daughter entered Gaius' chambers, her gaze immediately wandering over to the small figure on the bed. Candles bathed the room in a warm glow, flickering shadows dancing across the walls. Their golden light did nothing to conceal the pallor on Finnja's young face and it sharply accentuated the pain and disquiet tinging her features.
Crossing the room, Gwen once more picked up a clean rag, dunked it in cool water and bathed the fevered skin. "How is she, Gaius?", she asked.
The physician turned to look at her from where he was standing at his work bench, poring over huge tomes and working on some sort of tincture. Casting a long glance at his little patient, he pressed his lips together and spoke: "Restless. The fever is disrupting her sleep with dark dreams."
As if to prove his point, a tiny whine broke the relative silence of the infirmary. Finnja's brows furrowed and her expression turned troubled as she shifted unter the blanket, her erratic breathing quickening. Gwen's heart went out to the little girl. "Shh", she crooned, brushing gentle fingers against a flushed cheek. "You're safe now. It's alright."
The child's tossing ebbed slightly even as another noise of distress, half-whimper, half-sob, fell from her lips. Sighing sympathetically, the maid sat down on the edge of the cot, running her hand through her unusually short, unkempt hair. A sad smile spread on her face as Finnja unconsciously leaned into the touch and she mused that the guesture must be familiar to her for it to have such a calming effect.
The door swung open and Merlin stumbled in, muttering under his breath about the prince - at least, that was what Gwen assumed. His mood switched when blue eyes fell on Finnja and he unwittingly echoed Gwen's earlier question. "How is she?"
Gaius finished filling the draught he had brewed into a vial before responding. "The fever is making her restless", he said. "It will be a long night."
...
It was indeed a long night. And a long day and another long night. For nearly three days, Finnja lay in fever, her soft mewls of pain and discomfort slicing into her carers' hearts like knives. Her fever often rose during the dark hours and then, only a dose of Gaius' potion would bring some measure of relief. She roused out of unconsciousness a few times, but her eyes had been glazed and vacant. Gaius reassured everyone's worries that it wasn't a cause for immediate concern. "Her mind is not quite ready to return", he explained.
Sir Leon was regularly found sitting by the cot, wiping Finnja's burning brow and soothing her when the fever conjured up another phantasm of terror. Part of him wondered if he was doing it simply because of his sense of responsibility and obligation.
It didn't take him long to realise that it was much more than that.
He, and by extension Gaius, Gwen and Merlin, discovered that the young brunette settled much quicker when he was the one soothing her. Whatever it was, something in his voice, his touch or simply his presence, seemed to have a calming effect on her. And the knight had to admit that it was an immensely gratifying feeling.
The two servants both worked tirelessly tending to her, in addition to their usual duties. Morgana had been most understanding and also stopped by the physician's chambers a few times to sit with the sick child.
Arthur, on the other hand, had first been incredibly annoyed when his servant had been even more clumsy and useless than usual.
Eventually though, after the raven-haired boy had practically snapped at him, curiosity had gripped the prince. Marching into the infirmary, he had asked to see the girl the patrol had found in the woods. Gaius had bestowed The Eyebrow on him, making him feel suitably chastened - for a moment. But already one glance at the tiny human being, who was shivering despite being swaddled in blankets and tossing her head as if ensnared in a nightmare, had been enough to give the young royal pause.
Needless to say, the relief had been palpable when the little girl finally woke on the afternoon of the third day, a pair of amber orbs blinking open to be met by the rays of sunlight streaming through the window.
Finnja let her gaze roam across the strange room, her thoughts still sluggish with the vestiges of sleep.
"Ah, welcome back", a voice spoke to her right, making her jump.
Turning her head, she studied the old man before her warily although a faint feeling of recognition tickled the back of her mind. She wanted to ask where she was, but all that came out of her mouth was a croaking whisper, followed by a cough.
He tsked. "Rest your voice, child", he advised, grabbing a cup from the table. "You were quite ill."
The small girl's eyebrows scrunched together and she rasped out: "Wha-?", falling silent when his disapproving stare pinned her.
"You are in Camelot", the wisened man told her as he came over to her cot. "I am Gaius, the Court Physician." Helping her sit up, he held the cup to her lips and when she simply looked at him in confusion, said: "Drink."
She tried to sit up, her mind still clinging to the name he had given her. "Gaius?", she repeated in an exhale.
He sighed and used her distraction to get her to drink some water. "You remind me of somebody else I know", he commented. "He's just as bad at following instructions."
The cool liquid trickled down her dry throat, pushing away some of the cobwebs clouding her brain. Unfortunately, that meant that her injuries started registering. A dull ache radiated down her right arm, her wrist felt stiff and she couldn't pinpoint one part of her body that wasn't sore.
...
Gaius took the cup away only after she had drained it. Finnja kept following his every move with her eyes, not distrustful but merely curious. Leaning against the pillow tucked behind her back, she voiced the question that had been burning on her tongue. "What happened?"
"What do you remember?", he asked back, glancing up from her wrist which she only now realised was wrapped in clean bandages.
The young girl shook her head. "I...I'm not sure. It's all very blurry."
The physician gave her a smile as he finished his examination of the joint. "It will come to you", he offered with a gentle confidence born from experience.
She didn't press the issue any further, mainly because the short conversation had already sapped what energy she'd had. Yawning slightly, the small brunette sunk deeper into the pillows, half-heartedly tugging the blanket a little further up. "Why am I so tired?", she wondered, turning onto her unharmed side to peer up at Gaius, her expression open and unguarded.
"Because your body needs strength to heal", he responded. "And you need rest to recover that strength."
Finnja let out a low hum, lids already sliding over her eyes again.
...
The next time Finnja woke for more than a few minutes, during which Gaius always forced some water and food on her, it was already midday. Voices reached her ears as she slowly drifted towards wakefulness. One of them belonged to the Court Physician. The other was unfamiliar, but definitely a boy or a young man's voice. Curiosity getting the better of her, she opened her eyes.
The owner of the new voice was indeed a boy. He had black hair and big ears and he was complaining about somebody called Arthur.
"It is your destiny, Merlin", Gaius reminded him.
Merlin sighed heavily and plonked himself down onto the bench, grumbling: "I know, I know. He's still a prat."
"What is a 'dest-iny'?", she asked, startling both of them. "And who is Arthur?"
While Gaius immediately set about checking her temperature and putting a cup of water in her hands, Merlin grinned widely and came over. "I'm Merlin", he introduced herself. "And destiny is something that you can't change or avoid."
Finnja frowned at that. Trying to connect that piece of information to what she had inadvertently overheard, it still made no sense. "So...you can't change Arthur?", she wondered.
He snorted. "Change him? He's as stubborn as a mule", he muttered, half to himself.
"He is also the future King of Camelot", Gaius reminded him firmly, making the little girl gape at him.
"You know the Prince? Are you his friend?"
Merlin grimaced and began to explain. Finnja listened with rapt attention, amber orbs wide with wonder as he talked. Neither of them paid Gaius any mind when he left for the council meeting that would commence soon, both too wrapped up in the manservant's story.
Finnja was summoned to appear in front of the King the same afternoon. While the knights had already given their report and Gaius had told the council what he knew, Uther needed to have the account of the witness, young though she may be.
Fiddling with the bandage around her wrist, the small girl thus stood in the large throne room, answering the questions of the King and the councilmen.
"Have you seen the men that attacked your home before?", Uther demanded.
She shook her head, eyes fixed on the floor.
"Raise your head and speak up, child." He could feel Morgana's disapproving glare boring into him when the young peasant girl jumped.
To the side, Merlin fidgeted uneasily. Gwen gave him a sympathetic smile. They had both taken a liking to Finnja, despite the relatively short time she had been awake and lucid. The maid had been equal parts flattered and flustered when the little brunette had looked at her and blurted out: "You're very pretty!" upon first meeting her. The prince's manservant hadn't helped matters by simply grinning.
Finnja nodded hurriedly, brown hair bobbing. "No, y-your Majesty. But...their leader is called Gordian."
Multiple pairs of eyes narrowed and the King questioned: "How do you know this?"
"Isa called him that", was the reply, accompanied by a simple shrug.
"Who is this 'Isa' you speak of?"
"My big sister", she stated proudly, beaming widely at the King, fear suddenly forgotten. Then, she looked around, wondering: "Where is she? She can tell you all you need to know, your Majesty. Isa is very smart."
An awkward silence settled over the room. Sir Leon swallowed a sad sigh, his heart heavy.
...
Eventually, Uther resumed his questioning, drawing the room's attention back to him. Scrutinising the child before him, taking in the bandages peeking out from underneath a too wide sleeve, he asked her to give an account of the events that had led to her being brought to Camelot by the patrol.
In the audience, several people shifted. Some leant forward in anticipation. Those who had witnessed the aftermath of the raid or seen the distress it had caused Finnja when she had lain in fever, tensed.
Slowly, haltingly, the young girl told them how the raiders had attacked, pillaging and slaughtering. She talked about a stable hand named George who had killed the raider that had tried to hurt Isa. Several grim glances were exchanged across the room at that part.
"We ran as fast as we could, but they had the horses." Her voice was quiet, but it easily carried over the hush that had settled over the council. "They even took Saban."
"Isa told me to run and get help, because I am the fastest. But" - Her head dropped and she seemed to curl in on herself - "the horses are a lot faster. They laughed at me and said some very bad things. I told them to give the horses back, but they didn't want to. One of them held me and it hurt, so I kicked him and he let go. But I wasn't fast enough and the other man cut me."
She trailed off, apprehensive gaze travelling up to the King, who was regarding her with a grim, pensive expression. "Gaius tells me that your mother was a dear friend of his", he spoke after a moment.
Finnja nodded, a smile lighting up her delicate features. "That's right. Isa said Mama wanted me to be his apprentice, but then I didn't because the horses liked me more."
An hour later, the King - and the councilmen - finally finished questioning her and ended the meeting.
...
In the evening, the small girl sat beside Merlin and helped him clean Prince Arthur's armour. The manservant noticed the sadness emanating from her and asked: "What is it?"
Finnja looked up from the vambrace she was polishing, her eyes big and dark in the sparse light of the armoury. "Isa is dead, isn't she?", she spoke, her words more a statement than a question.
Merlin sighed, halting his motions. After a brief pause, he nodded. "Sir Leon said that he was with her when..." He trailed off, not knowing how to put it.
Apparently, the confirmation was all she had needed because tears began to roll down her cheeks.
Setting the breastplate aside, the young warlock carefully drew her into a hug, only mildly surprised when she practically melted into his touch, burying her face in his shoulder as she sobbed.
As Sir Leon entered the armoury a while later and found the Prince's servant comforting a devastated Finnja, he was torn between the instinct to give them some privacy and the urge to console the crying child. It didn't take a genius to guess the reason for her tears and his hesitation lasted only a few seconds, before the knight stepped forward, announcing his presence.
The tiny brunette studied him for a moment, her hitched breaths reminding him of the nightmares that had plagued her in her fever. "I know you", she then said softly, her voice raw with emotion.
He offered her a small smile and introduced himself: "I'm Leon. You saved me from being struck down by a raider."
Upon hearing his name, she glanced up at Merlin, then back at him. "Merlin says you...you were with Isa when, when she...died?"
Leon nodded. "Yes." He sat down next to them, eyes briefly flickering from the pile of armour to Merlin before returning to the little girl.
Finnja sniffled and asked shakily: "Did...was she in pain?"
"No", he replied. He didn't see any merit in burdening the child with the details of her sister's passing. It would only cause her more pain. "Her last thoughts were of you."
She burst into tears once more and when she reached out to him, Merlin simply transfered her into the arms of the rather taken-aback knight. Leon blinked at him in surprise, but instinctively adjusted his hold on Finnja, rubbing her back.
...
At some point, there were no more tears, only dry sobs and quaking shoulders. The grief wore her out and Finnja ended up crying herself to sleep.
"I'll take her back to Gaius", Merlin offered, setting down the pauldron he had been working on.
Leon shook his head, holding up a hand to stop him. "It's no trouble", he assured the servant. "After all, the prince won't be happy if his armour isn't polished."
The raven-haired boy snorted and retorted something that the knight pretended not to have heard - or laughed at. He got up, careful not to jostle the sleeping girl in his arms and after returning the sincere "Good night" he got from Merlin, Leon left the armoury.
On his way to the physician's chambers, he received many odd looks. The servants smiled at him, surprise, respect and sometimes a trace of rapture on their faces. Many of the nobles scoffed, shook their heads or scowled, only a handful gave him a friendly nod or a smile. Whispers followed his path and disgruntled mutterings. But nobody dared express their disapproval to him directly.
Not even Prince Arthur, who he happened across in the hallway, made a joke or mocking comment.
Quite the opposite in fact.
The blond royal's frowned as he recognised the small figure snuggled against Leon's chest, his mien softening into understanding sympathy. "Lady Morgana has been petitioning the King to allow the girl to stay, make her a servant in the royal household", he said, his voice for once quiet and lacking its usual boisterousness. "And Gaius has offered to take her as his ward, should she wish it."
Leon felt the corners of his mouth curl upwards and he responded: "It would be heartless to send her away. From what I gathered, her older sister was the only family Finnja had left."
Arthur nodded in agreement, a spark of determination igniting his gaze that the knight knew from training, tournaments, hunts and battles. With another nod, the prince strode away.
If there was an amused smirk on Leon's face as he continued towards Gaius' chambers, no one bothered to mentioned it.
