Chapter 2
Merlin opened the door to Gaius' room. Looking around he saw that the physician wasn't there. He was probably on one of his rounds. The warlock was thankful in a way.
Making his way to his room, Merlin closed the door behind himself and stared around. The room was a mess, half a ton of his things strewn across the floor. Opening the cupboard door, he reached inside and took out the small model of a dragon that his father had made for him. He slumped onto his bed, lying back and stared at the dragon in his hand.
He ran his hands over the finely carved wood, trying to keep his mind blank but thoughts of his father and Freya kept cropping up.
He wanted to kick himself about everything that he had hoped would happen that had turned on him. He had wanted to be able to help Morgana but she had allied herself with Mordred and Alvarr and Morgause and he had had to destroy their friendship to save everyone. He had wanted to keep Freya safe and be happy with her but she hadn't wished to endanger him because of what she was and she had been killed, by Arthur it transpired, and he hadn't done anything to save her from death. He had wanted to get to know his father and learn from him and take him back to Ealdor to visit his mother but Balinor had been killed by Cenred's men, trying to protect Merlin when his son had almost been stabbed. There was also what had happened to Will, his only friend in Ealdor, and when Gaius and Gwen had been blamed for sorcery when it was he that was the sorcerer. There were also the number of occasions that Arthur had nearly died because either he had not been there when the prince had been injured or he only just managed to save the prince at the last minute.
Merlin suddenly felt so tired and he didn't want to fight it the promise of sleep. He let his eyes close and he was soon in a deep sleep where thoughts of what had happened couldn't reach him.
Gaius walked into his room. The first thing he noticed was that Merlin's door was wide open and he could see the boy lying on his bed, eyes closed. As he went into the boy's room, he noticed that Merlin's hand was clutching the wooden dragon.
The physician already knew about Merlin's behaviour when he had been with Arthur. After the meeting his father had called, the prince had caught up with Gaius and told him that Merlin had been acting oddly when Arthur had mentioned what had happened last month. He had seemed worried, which just proved to Gaius how much Arthur cared about Merlin just as Merlin cared about Arthur.
Looking at the warlock now, Gaius saw how pale the boy was, the circles around his eyes a deep purple. Sometimes his eyelids would flutter slightly open, showing the eyes rolling around in their sockets.
Gently prising the wooden model out of his hand, which twitched, Gaius placed it back in the cupboard. He then gathered a blanket off of the floor, noting how messy the room was. Gaius then draped the blanket over the sleeping form on the bed. Merlin stirred slightly, groaning in his slumber. After making sure that Merlin was completely covered, he exited and closed the door carefully behind him.
Arthur paced down the street, ignored by most, the occasional passer-by nodding at him. He didn't respond to any of the acknowledgements, intent on only one thing. When he reached the door, he knocked, possibly slightly harder than he meant to. Within seconds, Gwen answered.
"Arthur? Is something the matter?" she asked.
"Can I come in Gwen? It's about Merlin." Gwen motioned for him to enter. He did so and when he was halfway across the room he span around to face her as she closed the door behind him.
"Is Merlin alright?" Gwen said, becoming worried at the look at Arthur's face.
"I don't know, Gwen, I honestly don't know," Arthur murmured.
"Arthur, sit down," Gwen said, pulling out a chair. Arthur almost collapsed into it.
"He was so odd this morning. When I talked about what happened with the dragon he blanked out, sort of like he was listening to me but he was in a completely different place," Arthur explained. "He wouldn't look at me but just fiddled about with my armour and when I mentioned Balinor he looked like he was about to break down."
"Balinor? The Dragonlord that was killed by Cenred's men?" Gwen whispered.
"Yes, him," Arthur answered.
"Oh Arthur," she moaned softly.
"Gwen what is it?"
The maid looked at the prince with a mixture a shock and sadness in her eyes.
"I haven't told anyone about this because I knew that neither of them would want anybody to know."
"About what Gwen?" Arthur said, if slightly impatiently.
"Arthur you must promise not to tell another soul," Gwen begged. "If anyone found out about this and word reached your father, Merlin might be chased out of Camelot."
"OK, I promise but why on earth would Merlin be chased out of Camelot?"
Gwen gave him a meaningful look before saying anything.
"Two weeks ago I had to go and see Gaius about some herbs that I wanted to use for dinner because I didn't know if they were poisonous or not. When I was outside the door I heard Gaius and Merlin talking. I couldn't hear most of it but from what I did... Arthur, I think that that Balinor knew Merlin's father."
Arthur sat there for a few moments, processing what she had just told him.
"What?"
"That's what I got from what they said. It's as if Balinor was the only person who could have told Merlin about what his father had been like, though why he couldn't ask Hunith I have no idea."
"Hunith never talked to him about it, even if Merlin asked," Arthur suddenly remembered.
"How do you know that?"
"When I was challenged by Morgause, we were in the forest in Odin's territory and he told me that he had never known his father and that his mother never wanted to talk about him. But why would Merlin be chased out of the kingdom because of that?"
Gwen ran a hand irritably through her hair.
"I thought that if the Dragonlord knew Merlin's father and Uther somehow found out about it, he and others may think that Merlin's father had been a sorcerer."
"How the hell would they deduce that?"
"Think about it, Balinor was a Dragonlord and it's more than likely that he used magic, so you would think that he knew a lot of sorcerers. Your father may think that it was likely that he knew Merlin's father when he was practicing magic before it was banned and he may think that Merlin could have learnt magic."
"But I said it already; Merlin never knew his father and his mother never talked about him at all, name, job, nothing by the sound of it".
"Arthur, your father won't know that and he wouldn't believe it. I hate to say it but he sometimes convicts innocent people for using sorcery and he doesn't always listen to reason."
Arthur held his hands up.
"We don't know anything for certain. We'd be better off by going to see Gaius and Merlin and talk to them about this." Gwen nodded. As Arthur stood, she wrapped her arms around him. He was taken aback by her sudden movement but he responded in kind, rubbing her back soothingly with his hands, kissing her head.
"By the way, what did you do with those herbs?"
"I didn't use them. I hadn't had the chance to ask Gaius so I threw them out."
Arthur chuckled.
They walked to up to the door. To their surprise it flew open, before either of them could knock, to reveal Gaius was standing there.
"I heard you coming," he explained.
"Where's Merlin?" Arthur asked, peering through the doorway. The warlock was not there.
"He's in bed. He was asleep when I got back from the meeting."
"If he's tired he shouldn't spend half the night reading," Arthur mumbled. "Excuse me Gaius." After Gaius moved out of the doorway, Arthur strode over to the door that led to Merlin's room. Opening the door, he looked at the bed were Merlin was lying. He felt a ripple of shock flow through him.
Merlin was huddled into a ball under a single blanket and he was literally on the edge of the bed. But that wasn't what caused Arthur's worry. The boy was incredibly pale and the shadows under his eyes had deepened in colour, almost black. Arthur noticed that Merlin was shaking and his breathing was very shallow. One of his arms was hanging off the edge of the bed.
Behind him he heard a gasp, telling him that Gwen had followed him and was now staring at the same sight.
"This can't be due to lack of sleep for one night. He's been becoming ill for a while if he's in a condition as poor as this," Arthur thought.
"How long has he been like this?" Gwen asked Gaius. The physician was standing behind the pair, looking like what Arthur felt.
"I only returned about a quarter of an hour ago and he was fine, if looking really tired. I had no idea he'd become this ill in that short space of time."
Arthur had ignored them both and walked up to the bed and knelt next to Merlin. Close up, he looked even worse and Arthur could see his eyelids fluttering slightly, as if he was trapped in some sort of nightmare. Merlin then started to cough in his sleep and he began to heave, his breathing coming out in short and painful gasps. Arthur automatically reached out and held the boy's shoulders and tried to hush him. Merlin almost immediately calmed down and his breathing evened out again. Arthur noticed that a small hint of colour appeared to return to his cheeks.
Arthur realised he had never payed attention to when Merlin was asleep. He had only ever truly taken notice when Merlin had been unconscious and dying, otherwise to wrapped up in his own thoughts to notice, or asleep himself before Merlin. Though the boy had the complexion of a sheet, he looked peaceful now. Arthur found it oddly relaxing, watching Merlin sleep.
He then took hold of Merlin's arm that was hanging off the bed and laid it on the bed under the blanket. With his other hand he felt Merlin's forehead. It was freezing cold.
"Gaius he needs something else to cover him."
"I'll get him another blanket," Gwen said, leaving the room. Arthur heard her move about in the physician's room. Gaius had come over to the bed and was standing over Merlin as if he had no idea what to do.
"Do you know what's wrong with him?" Arthur asked.
"I honestly don't," Gaius replied, as Gwen re-entered, carrying the blanket from Gaius' bed. She unfolded it and spread it over the warlock, tucking it around him.
"I think we should leave him for a bit," Gaius said, peering down at his ward sadly. They all exited the room, Gaius closing the door softly behind him. He faced the other two.
"Something tells me that you both didn't just come here to see what wrong with Merlin," he said. Arthur looked at Gwen and Gwen looked at Arthur.
"No," Gwen answered. "We came to ask you something. Merlin to for that matter."
"What about?"
Arthur looked briefly at the floor then from Gwen to Gaius.
"About two weeks ago, Gwen came to see you about some herbs and she heard you and Merlin talking about Balinor," he explained to the old man.
Gaius looked horrified. Had Gwen heard everything about the fact that Merlin's father was Balinor?
"I'm sorry I listened in," Gwen apologized. "Is it true though? Is it true that Balinor knew Merlin's father?"
The physician had not been expecting this. He was relieved that neither of them knew the whole truth about Merlin's relationship with Balinor but that made fabricating a story that bit harder.
"Yes it is true," Gaius told them.
"We were wondering..." Arthur said. "...if Merlin's father knew Balinor because they both practiced magic." At this, Gaius forced himself to laugh.
"Good grief no," Gaius chuckled. "Merlin's father didn't use magic. He'd grown up in one of the small outlying villages in Northumbria and the village elders apparently didn't approve of magic. He moved to the Northern Plains when he was about eighteen years old and back then Hunith lived in Camelot."
"Hunith lived in Camelot?" Arthur asked in surprise.
"What do you think I'd do, let my seventeen-year-old sister fend for herself without a home?"
"What! Merlin's mother is your sister?" Arthur stood there, dumbfounded.
"Did Merlin never tell you Arthur?" Gwen said.
"No but I take it he did tell you."
"He told me after that business with the Afanc and the water." Gwen sighed, turning back to Gaius. "How did Merlin's father meet Balinor?"
"Balinor first met Merlin's father near his home in the Northern Plains when he saved Balinor's life from a large number of bandits who thought that by killing him they could access his powers. They were best friends from that day forward. They travelled together a lot and, from what I was told, they saved each other's necks more than a few times. But a few years later they fell out with each other because they had fallen in love with the same woman," Gaius said, coming up with a story on the spot.
"No, not..." Arthur exclaimed.
"Yes they both fell in love with Hunith and they both fought very hard for her love. I once saw Merlin's father and Balinor in the stocks for fighting in the market. But from the beginning, Hunith felt more strongly towards Merlin's father and quite soon she was deeply in love with him."
"Oh how romantic," Gwen whispered.
"It sounds like a typical love story from a poem you'd find in the library if you ask me," Arthur muttered. "I don't suppose Balinor and Merlin's father made up?"
"Actually they did. Balinor submitted his defeat quite graciously when he found out that Hunith was in love with his friend. A few years later after this Merlin's parents moved to Ealdor."
"Did they ever marry?" Gwen queried.
"No they didn't. The stress from the Great Purge made them completely forget about marriage and Balinor had by then gone on the run. As far as I'm aware they never actually considered getting married. About a month after Merlin was conceived, his father died saving one of the village boys from being crushed by a tree in the middle of a storm. Coincidentally, the boy was Will. Hunith was heart-broken," Gaius concluded.
Silence followed what he had said for a few moments.
"God above," Arthur muttered. "What was his name?"
"Robin," Gaius said, shortly.
"Oh great, another bird," Arthur joked. Gwen couldn't help laughing, despite the tragic story Gaius had just told them. That was when they heard the moaning coming from Merlin's room.