A/N: Thank you for the reviews and reads! I own nothing.
Previously: As Merlin and Gwaine set off in the castle for the knight's chambers, Gaius checked Percival once more, then settled in to his reading desk with a thick dust-laden book. It was finally time to check that dark grey smoke that came from Percival's ear, and to assess what threat it could pose to Camelot.
It was an unusually silent walk to Gwaine's chambers across the castle. His small, plain white room was kept with the rest of the knights, close to the main hall and a small exit door for emergencies. Merlin knew his friend was still worried about Percival, as the two knights – friends – had grown increasingly close in a short amount of time, especially since they were knighted at the same time, after Arthur took back his throne from another of Morgana's failed usurps.
"Listen, Gwaine, Percival will be OK, he really will", Merlin tried to sound soothing and confident; how did Gaius make it sound so easy?
Gwaine just took one look at Merlin and immediately sagged his shoulders. "I know, mate, it's just so hard, I didn't even see him wake up" he confessed.
Merlin stopped walking and looked Gwaine square in the eye, his jaw set. "Look, we'll take care of him, OK? It's not your fault. It's not your fault." And with those four words, Gwaine started tearing up – another sign of proof of how fond he was of the large knight. Merlin immediately went in for a quick, brotherly hug, and immediately felt Gwaine sag against him. "Gwaine, OK, let's go, get off me" he murmured – but no response from the knight.
Alarmed, Merlin set Gwaine up in a semi-sitting position against the wall. Lightly slapping his cheek, he looked for any wounds, and couldn't find any. His magic, pent up after a few hours of unuse, started to flow toward the unconscious young man, searching for a cause. At this point, Merlin had been up for most of the day and night, and he let his magic roam around his still friend, figuring the magic would solve this quicker than his healing skills ever could.
His magic must have found a solution, because at that point, Gwaine groaned and fluttered his eyelashes. Merlin was too focused on his friend coming back from unconsciousness to notice the light gray mist that seemed to flow along the wall behind Gwaine.
"Gwaine? Do you hear me?"
The brief episode – it had only been a few minutes, yet felt like a few hours – had taken all the lightness out of the knight. His face looked paler, and Merlin felt his knees start to shake under his palm. A soft question in that familiar lilt came as Merlin continued to check his friend for any wounds, seen or unseen: "Wha' happened?".
Softly smiling, Merlin stood up, frustrated with his lack of findings, and helped Gwaine up while simultaneously answering "You passed out again. You must be exhausted".
"Mmm. Bed sound good" came the only grunted answer from the pale, young knight. Merlin checked up the hallway – they weren't far now, just a few more hallways, and he could deposit Gwaine in bed before running back to Gaius so they could find a cure.
The hallway was quiet at this hour of the night, save for a few servant girls. Used to Gwaine's ways with the tavern and the ladies, they passed over Merlin supporting his friend with no strange looks, just a few snickers of "Ah, that lad don' know when to quit".
Merlin helped the knight find his door, then take off his boots and armor – still on from training – and fall not-so-gracefully into bed. By this point, Gwaine's face was sweating and pale – sure signs of a fever. Merlin looked around for a water pail, and finding one by the door, he quickly sponged off Gwaine's face and neck, with his friend lightly shivering at the touch of the cool water.
Merlin knew this situation could get really ugly really quickly, so he took no time to pull up the covers, put an extra pail by Gwaine's bed – just in case he had an emergency – and bolted out into the hallway. He wasn't too far from Arthur's chambers, so he decided to take a quick detour – with two of his Knights of the Round Table sick, Arthur would want to know straightaway. The extra knowledge that Arthur would post a guard and also someone to check in on Gwaine more than Merlin or Gaius could was even better.
A quick hallway, then two lefts and three rights, and he found himself by the large oak door that was the King's chambers. Knocking quickly and quietly, he entered, fully expecting the King to be fast asleep, snoring as usual. Instead, he came to something he knew all too well – Arthur, fully clothed, staring out of his window at the courtyard and surrounding countryside further away from the castle. This could only mean one thing – Arthur was pondering something.