3

Merlin paced in front of Gaius, biting his nails anxiously. His footsteps echoed as they hit the stone floor.

"I'm sure he's fine, Merlin."

"He's been out for two days."

"That doesn't have to mean anything."

"TWO DAYS, GAIUS. BECAUSE OF A RASH. It means something."

"It's a magical rash."

"THAT'S WHY I'M WORRIED."

Gaius sighed, rubbing his temple. He felt as if they had this conversation before. "My dear boy, he will be up and complaining before the day has ended."

Right on cue, a voice yelled, followed by a painful thud. Merlin glanced at the old physician and rushed out of the room. Opening the door to his room, he caught sight of the King next to the bed. The bedding was crumpled and creased, a stray pillow resting on his lap. Arthur wore a confused expression, blinking heavily and frowning at Merlin. Apparently, the barely conscious man had fallen out and hit his head. Hand still clutching the side of his head, the King looked up at his servant. "Tell me, Merlin, how do you sleep in this thing? It's incredibly small."

The warlock frowned at the shattered potion bottle Arthur had taken down with him in his journey to the floor before meeting his master's eyes. "Are you alright?"

Arthur groaned. "I guess. I had the weirdest dream." He struggled to get back on his feet, Merlin reaching to help him. "Really Arthur, what did you eat?" The younger man groaned, trying to support the blonde's weight with his thin frame.

"I am not fat!"

"You sure about that?" Merlin complained, releasing the King as soon as they got to a bench. He rubbed his shoulder. Mumbling about 'stupid prat' and 'diet', he earned a raised eyebrow from the physician, effectively shutting him up. Gaius turned to Arthur. "Sire, may I check your, ah, wound? You may have bruised it when you fell from the bed."

Merlin chuckled. Glaring at him moodily, the nobleman muttered a curt "Alright."

While the old man undid the bandages on the King's lower back, Merlin moved closer. "You mentioned you had a dream, sire."

Arthur scowled, recalling the eerie symbol and intimidating woman. "Yes, it was very strange. You see, where I was, it was all silver. I couldn't see a thing."

Both Gaius and Merlin froze in their tracks, exchanging a look Arthur could not read. He felt the physician stop unwrapping the fabric. "Go on."

Arthur told them about how his senses had been messed up, seeing in his mind's eye, and the symbol, but before he got to the part about the curse and Emrys he slowly came to a stop, noticing their expressions. They were of astonishment. The noble narrowed his eyes. "You don't believe me, do you?"

Merlin was the first to break out of his daze. "No! No, we believe you, just... Could you repeat the name?"

"Well, the woman with the armor was Lanae, and she mentioned another name. I can't seem to remember-"

Gaius interrupted, his voice emotionless. "Kaena."

Arthur blinked, noticing the older man's grave expression for the first time. "Yes, that's it. How did you know?"

"Kaena and Lanae were legendary witches. Kaena was not only feared for her destructive power, but also for her knowledge. It was said she knew all curses and spells in ever created."

Arthur's eyes widened. "What about Lanae?"

"Lanae was her counterpart. She would mend the destruction Kaena would cause. But centuries ago, both disappeared. They were pronounced dead."

Merlin frowned, staring at Gaius. At first the King could not figure out why, but trained as he was for noticing small things, he saw the old man's eyebrow twitch almost imperceptibly. "Gaius, you are hiding something. Spit it out."

The physician hesitated, then sighed. "People say that, right before Kaena disappeared, she created a curse."

Merlin interrupted. "Well, that's not so strange. Witches and sorcerers do it all the time."

"And how would you know, Merlin?"

The young man avoided his gaze. Gaius looked almost sad. "Merlin does have a point. Creating a curse or spell is not uncommon. But what Kaena did was exceptional. Her curse could only be used on one person at a time, and crossed all physical and magical boundaries. The victim would turn into a mythical beast."

A shudder ran up Arthur's spine. His father had taught him enough about magic for him to know that transforming into any legendary, magical and mythical beast was something that no one would even think of. All people with magic respected such creatures and wouldn't dare to do such a thing.

"But she didn't stop at that. Whoever unfortunate enough to receive such a curse would also become possessed, although it takes time. The first one only had four days before his soul disappeared. The second was lucky enough to have weeks."

Arthur tried to imagine his friends like that, but imagining Leon as a wolf with red eyes creeping up behind him was too much for his mind to bear. "Did someone have to cast the spell every time?"

"No. Only Kaena knew how to cast the curse. The cursed one would have one name on it's mind, and would destroy everything in it's wake until it finds the person the name belongs to. Then it will transfer the curse to that person and die. When that happens, the cycle begins anew."

"How come we haven't heard about it before?"

"After the sixth curse, a brave man named Suwyl stopped it. No one knows how, but since then no one has suffered because of it."

Arthur's muscles tensed. What if... "Did this curse have a name?"

Gaius scowled. "Yes, it is known as the Araendye curse."

The Araendye curse. The name echoed in his mind. Arthur fell off the bench, his breath turning shallow. Until now, he had entirely forgotten about his curse. Was that really what was going to happen to him? Was he going to turn into some horrid monster and attack his friends? Lanae had said something very unnerving about that curse... The Araendye curse is very unpredictable. What did she mean with that? A voice jolted him out of his daze.

"Sire? Sire! Are you alright?"

Merlin and Gaius looked down at him, concerned. Should he tell them? No. If Camelot discovered that their King was cursed, there would be chaos.

"Y... Yes."

Merlin knelt down beside him. "Arthur, you are not alright. Something happened in your dream, other than what you have told us."

The King hesitated, but then nodded. He needed help, he didn't even know where to find this Emrys. Surely, Gaius could help. "After that woman appeared, she told me I was cursed. She told me that it was the..." he struggled to pronounce the name. "That curse you were talking about. When I asked her if she could lift it, she just smiled and said that only Emrys could."

Merlin stood up again, an unreadable look in his eyes. Glancing at Gaius, the servant left the room without another word. Surprised, the King's eyes followed him out the door. "What's with him?" He asked Gaius.

"I think he's just upset that you're cursed. Not to worry, I'm sure he'll be back."

"Gaius, where would I find Emrys? I don't want to become possessed."

"No one knows who exactly he is except the druids, but word has gotten out that he lives in a old hunting cabin at the edge of the forest of Essetir. Best to look there first. If he's not there, keep traveling to the druids. They will know."

He hadn't noticed it before, but he was shaking. His hands were trembling, his body quaking violently. Yes, he had been poisoned, enchanted, threatened and more, but none of them had actually harmed the ones he loved (or at least, none he knew of). It was too much, too cruel. He the king, the protector of his people, would not see them slaughtered by himself, even if it meant he would have to die. The idea of him as a huge, muscled griffin looming over a terrified Guinevere crept to the front of his mind. That would not happen.

He would make sure of that. "That sounds reasonable. I'll go find Merlin."

Gaius cleared his throat. "Well, could I perhaps check your wound before you go, sire? I never had the chance."

Arthur waved his hand dismissively. "Be my guest."

Gaius carefully unwrapped the bandage, staring at the spot for a while before replacing the covering. Arthur craned his neck to look, but the older man had already hidden the 'injury' from sight.

"Nothing wrong, I'm guessing?"

"Nothing, sire."

"Good. I'll go find Merlin."

Gaius stared after the King as he exited the chambers. The man obviously had no idea how big the problem was. It was worse than Arthur could ever imagine. The risk of the curse, the danger, was enormous. The physician felt sorry for Merlin. The young man was powerful enough to save himself, but this concerned the entire kingdom. If he failed, Camelot would be thrown into chaos at the mere idea of their King slaughtering his own people. It actually happening meant the downfall of the kingdom. But the old man knew not only Camelot was at risk. So was Merlin's heart. Seeing his best friend transform into a bloodthirsty, murderous creature would shatter it into a million pieces, never to be repaired.

Gaius looked at the old bandage he had taken from the King. Yes, knowing it was happening was bad, terrifying and heartbreaking at the same time. But seeing it happening was even more so.

He shuddered at the memory of the pair of golden, overlapping scales growing from the the King's skin.