Meeting his match: Chapter 4- Running out of Time

Chapter 4 – Running out of Time

Warning/s: None

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin

A/N: Hi guys. Thank you so much to those who reviewed, favorited and followed this story, it really makes my day to read what you have to say! A heads up to all the Freylin fans out there because this chapter contains a sweet little scene between them well… I say sweet. What I really mean is some good old hurt/comfort.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to Cordelia Rose who betaed this!


Arthur felt the beginnings of a headache begin to develop in his temples, the slight pulsing throb and prickle of invisible needles starting up in his skull. He raised a hand and rubbed at them as if to banish the ache before it began to take full effect but the movement did nothing to ease his discomfort. Arthur tried to regain his focus on what King Merlin was saying; something about the taxes on traders when they crossed the border. It was the last point on the agenda for the meeting and Arthur couldn't wait to retire to the guest chambers and just sleep. He almost jumped when a hand was placed on his shoulder; blearily he stared up into the azure eyes of the foreign king.

"… King Arthur? Are you alright? Do you require a physician?" Merlin inquired, removing his hand when Arthur appeared to take in his words. Arthur mentally shook himself and sat up straighter, trying to hide the wince threatening to grace his features as his head gave a particularly sharp throb.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you for asking," he replied, clearing his throat, embarrassed at his display of weakness. Merlin hummed in disagreement but returned to speaking about the taxes, although this time he watched Arthur more closely, observing the lines of pain on his forehead and the slight winces the man tried to hide. Deciding that the other king's discomfort was probably a side effect of the transportation spell and general exhaustion, Merlin sent a wave of magic towards Arthur and was pleased to note that he relaxed. Arthur, who was beginning to slide towards his previous semi-conscious state, suddenly felt a warm, comforting breeze wrap around him and clear his headache away. He looked up sharply at Merlin, who was gazing at him with a pleased expression on his youthful face. He nodded his thanks and began to partake more in the discussions much to the relief of Percival, who, although better than others, was not much of a diplomat and preferred swinging swords to taxes and border control any day.

The two kingdoms cleared up the taxes pretty quickly afterwards and the discussion moved towards the use of the bow as a weapon, which Arthur was quite happy to allow Sir Galahad to lead. He relaxed slightly in his chair and stretched out his legs to ease the stiffness in them, only partially listening to the conversation. The reprieve allowed him to time to observe the foreign council members and the king himself. Sir William, a cropped brown-haired man, who was currently discussing the merits of a bow with Sir Galahad, had a stiffness about him that made Arthur think that he didn't trust easily - he kept his words formal and didn't seem to display any emotion. He was clad in a simple green tunic with chainmail over the top, which was exquisitely made with the loops so small that it gave the armour a scale-like appearance. Over the top of one shoulder Arthur could make out the tip of a bow, which must have been strapped to his back and there was no doubt a sheath attached to his belt. And judging from his display earlier he had some ability to do magic.

Sitting on the right-hand side of King Merlin was Lady Cassi. The lady had a stormy air to her as if she was going to suddenly explode; her cheekbones cut angles in her face, adding a hint of mystery to her being. Her body was willowy and Arthur didn't doubt her capability with a sword after the near miss earlier. she obviously had toned muscles hiding underneath her fitted blue tunic and breeches. A simple braided plait kept the hair out of her face. It was her eyes, like Merlin's, that he found most unnerving; they seemed to follow you about the room and assess your every move. She was like a hawk watching its prey.

Finally, he settled his gaze on Sir Lancelot, the man whom Arthur found himself most at ease with. The man had a rugged quality about him, reflected in his ruffled brown hair and slight stubble. Unlike Sir William, he was in a less formal white tunic with brown breeches and no armour but he wasn't weaponless. An engraved dagger hung from his belt that Arthur had noticed earlier and he hadn't missed the minor bulges in each boot that pointed to more concealed knives. His eyes held a more jovial spark than the others too, as if not hardened by life's hardships and he was by far the most informal of the council, laughing at the argument taking place over which wood was the best for a bow.

Arthur was about to break up the argument and request the meeting be adjourned when he felt his gaze drawn by the King of Aelia. Merlin's face was almost imperceptibly tensed like he was fighting to hide a grimace of pain. There were lines too, which Arthur was sure weren't there when they had first been introduced. The man was hiding something and from the looks Freya was giving him, he wasn't the only one to spot it.

"I am afraid that bows are neither mine nor Percival's greatest interest, as enthusiastic as you all seem to be, and I would much appreciate some rest." Arthur broke in, drawing a relieved sigh from Percival who was indeed on the verge of resting his head on the table.

"I agree, King Arthur. I believe we can settle any other matters tomorrow afternoon as I have important issues to attend to in the morning, but you may, if you so desire, watch my knights train," Merlin offered, standing up and walking over to clasp wrists with Arthur.

"That sounds most agreeable, and I think we are past the title base by now - call me Arthur," Arthur stated with a pleasant smile, he couldn't wait to watch his men thrash Merlin's when they visited the training session. The foreign king's reaction was unexpected to say the least; the man's face lit up.

"Thank the gods! I hate using titles but some royals and nobles dislike me not using them so… I thought I had better wait it out," Merlin grinned, his court all rolling their eyes at his sudden mood change. "You may call me Merlin, by the way."

"Right…"

"Freya, could you show them to their rooms please?" Merlin asked with another smile, this time aimed at the lady.

"Certainly, my lord. If you will follow me please," Freya said, deliberately exaggerating the 'My Lord', clearly to wind Merlin up. Arthur was once again taken aback by the informality with which the pair conducted themselves; he thought that he and his men were the only ones. He didn't notice the worry and slight frustration that laced her voice. Merlin rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded like 'mutiny' under his breath. Arthur nodded again to Merlin and followed Freya out of the throne room. As soon as the visiting party had left the room, Merlin sank slowly into his chair and closed his eyes.

"Freya is going to murder you when she gets back," Lady Cassi remarked, moving to stand by the window.

Sir Lancelot laughed a deep rumbling chuckle. "That she is. You had better prepare yourself for the tongue lashing you are about to receive."

Merlin just groaned and rubbed his temples; unlike the headache he had cured Arthur of, he knew his would take more than a simple spell to heal. It was a raging pulse that crashed inside his skull, like a restless ocean during a storm.

"They came too close this time to breaking through, another hit like that and…" Merlin didn't finish; he didn't have too. They all knew what would happen if he wasn't able to maintain the shield, what it would do to him and what the consequences would be to the people below. Sir William placed a hand on his king's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

"You know you could let me take some of the strain of the spell," he suggested, already knowing the answer.

"Will… the strain would be too much for you. Even for me it is taxing and I won't have to keep it up for much longer anyway," Merlin replied, his voice laced with exhaustion. "The support stones are almost ready, according to Julian." Will just harrumphed at his friend, clearly unimpressed by the ability of the stones.

Gathering his waning strength together, Merlin shakily stood and blinked rapidly to clear his vision.

"Right, I have to check in with Julian about the injured knight, speak to the scouting party and try to avoid Freya for the next few hours," he said, setting his shoulders and beginning to move towards the doors. "Try not to cause any trouble while I'm busy," he called over his shoulder, a small cheeky smile on his face, chasing the worry lines away. His comment was met with a series of sighs and eye rolls from his court as they tried not to smile at their king.

"If it's anyone who should be keeping out of trouble then it's him," Lancelot mumbled, stamping his foot on the floor, causing the 3D map to spring up.


Freya quickly led them to a corridor, which looked remarkably similar to the corridors in Camelot; it had the same stone walls and floor, the same torches and tapestries too.

"Am I right in thinking that you have tried to replicate my castle here?" Arthur asked.

"You are correct, sire. My king thought that you would be more comfortable in a familiar environment," Freya answered, gesturing to the doors that lined the corridor. "The rooms are also in the style of your home and I hope they are to your satisfaction." Arthur nodded his thanks and carefully opened the door to the nearest room; it was in fact unnervingly similar to his rooms at home. Freya waited to see if he would go inside but instead he closed the door after a few seconds of examination.

"If it is no trouble, I would like to see my injured knight," he stated, gesturing for his knights to go into the rooms prepared for them. Percival looked hesitant to leave his king but decided against openly saying so.

"Certainly, I will be happy to show you to the physician's chambers," Freya said, recognising the look on Percival's face as one Sir William would often give Merlin when he requested possibly dangerous solo errands. She sent him a calming smile and was pleased to note that he returned it before entering his rooms. She began to retrace her steps down the corridor with Arthur by her side; they passed various corridors, stairwells and entrances before they came to an ancient wooden door. Freya knocked once and was pleased to hear Julian's friendly voice call for them to enter.

Inside Leon looked up in surprise as Arthur entered the room, making a beeline for Mordred and him. They were seated in almost the same spots as the night before except that Leon was sat in a chair and Gaius was checking on Mordred's wound. The young knight was conscious and grimacing slightly as the physician prodded his injury.

"Gaius, how is he doing?" Arthur asked, concerned by Mordred's pallid complexion and pained grimace. Gaius looked up,

"He is out of danger but will have to have his arm in a sling for a week or so until the wound heals," Gaius replied, replacing the bandage. Arthur nodded in relief and checked Leon over. His second-in-command was unharmed if a little rumpled, probably from sleeping in a chair.

"Are the others okay?" Leon questioned, having not had any news since he had been separated from the group.

"Yes, everyone is fine and settling into the guest chambers. I have spoken to the king and sorted a few of the treaty points already," Arthur informed him with a fond smile at Leon's worry. "You look like you could do with a kip in a real bed though." Leon ran a hand through his messy ginger locks in embarrassment before sheepishly nodding. His muscles ached from the previous days of hard riding and a night in a chair hadn't helped them.

"I would be happy to take you to your rooms, Leon," Freya offered, itching to track down Merlin and, after checking on his health, give him a piece of her mind.

"Thank you, Freya, that would be most agreeable," Leon murmured, trying to stifle a yawn he could feel threatening to escape. So with a nod to his king and a whispered thanks to Julian, the pair exited the chambers. Arthur took up Leon's abandoned chair and scanned Mordred's face for any signs of pain or discomfort. The young man looked depressed rather than in pain.

"What is the matter, Mordred?" Arthur asked quietly. Mordred sighed and paused before answering.

"I failed my first mission. I endangered the whole party by getting injured and it wasn't even a proper skirmish," the knight mumbled, a blush covering his pallid cheeks.

"You didn't fail. I'm alive, the others are alive and the treaty is in progress. What else could have gone right?" Arthur said, trying to imbue the pride he felt for the boy into his voice.

"I still got shot," Mordred muttered but this time his voice wasn't so certain. Sighing, Arthur placed a hand on his knight's uninjured shoulder and squeezed.

"You did fine; getting injured isn't a sign of weakness unless you act without thinking and do something stupid. Your injury wasn't your fault; you had no idea that that arrow was going to hit you so stop blaming yourself," Arthur said, giving Mordred's shoulder another squeeze. This time Mordred smiled, even if it was a small one. Arthur returned it gladly and stood up, moving to speak to Gaius. The physician was conversing with another man of a similar age. Gaius nodded at the man before moving to stand with Arthur out of earshot.

"Gaius, I hope to clear up all the treaty points tomorrow afternoon so I would like you with me. After that I would like to experience the kingdom and get to know the king better... but I can't help feeling like there is something he is hiding from me," Arthur explained, his spine prickling as if insects were running up and down it.

"What do you think of the king?" Gaius asked.

"He is… unusual. I mistook him for a lord when we first met but there is something about him, something… ancient," Arthur said, causing Gaius to raise his eyebrows.

"I believe that may have something to do with the king's abilities. He is rumoured to be the most powerful warlock ever to have lived," Gaius replied, earning a disbelieving look from Arthur. "I have been speaking with Julian, the court physician, who confirmed the rumours." Arthur still didn't look convinced but vowed to study Merlin more carefully.

As if on cue, Merlin strode into the room, a look of intense concentration on his face, but as soon as he realised he wasn't alone, he stopped.

"Sorry, am I interrupting something? I was just coming to check on one of my projects," Merlin said, a light flush peeking out of the top of a blue neckerchief that Arthur had previously ignored. It now seemed unusual that Merlin would wear something that was a big trend among servants.

"No, I was just checking on Sir Mordred and Gaius," Arthur answered, still staring at the neckerchief. Merlin looked over at the Camelot knight lying in the bed; a look of bone weariness and slight pain flashed across his face before concern replaced it.

"Ah, right… well Julian could I speak to you upstairs please," Merlin stated distractedly, rubbing at his forehead and moving to ascend a narrow flight of stairs into the room above. Julian quickly followed him, leaving Arthur and Gaius to share a look of confusion.

In the small upper room, Merlin sank into a crooked chair, head buried in his hands. Julian worriedly started to place a hand on his king's forehead to check for a fever but Merlin stopped him.

"Don't," he panted, "I have very little control right now and if you touch me I might offload the shield spell onto you." Julian nodded, retracting his hand and settling on a stool directly in front of Merlin.

"Am I correct in assuming that the bang I heard was a hit to the shield?" Julian asked, noting Merlin's harsh breathing and shaky hands. The king nodded.

"I almost lost control, it almost broke through. I can't support the spell for much longer and if another shot is fired I won't be able to repair it," Merlin said, a hint of desperation entering his tired voice. "I need those support stones."

"They are at this minute being integrated within the walls but it could take another hour or so before you are able to release control over the spell," Julian clarified, having received a report from the sorcerers in charge of the stones a few minutes before Arthur arrived. "I will also need you to summon Kilgarrah - Aithusa is currently monitoring their movements - and dragon fire is the only thing that will imbue the stones with enough power," Julian said quietly, worry lines mingling with his wrinkles. Merlin's head shot up.

"You know that I won't let that cowardly beast anywhere near this kingdom, not after what he did!" Merlin spat, anger distorting his usually pleasant features.

"Without him the spells won't work, you know that. I will see you in under an hour by the walls," Julian replied, unperturbed by his king's anger and in a tone that brokered no argument.

"The sooner the better, the sooner the better," Merlin muttered, lifting his head to smile shakily at Julian, realising that he had no other choice but to summon the elder dragon. The physician could see his king digging deep into his magical reserves, attempting to draw enough power to keep the shield functioning for the time required.

"I will send them some extra sorcerers to see if the time can be reduced," Julian stated, already scribbling out a note with the information on. He sealed it, sprinkled some blue powder over it and set fire to it. The letter dissolved in flames and reappeared in the sorcerer in charge's hand.

"Thank you, Julian. I will see you in an hour then," Merlin said, standing and placing a hand on the wall to steady himself. "I have to return to the throne room to plan, and hopefully avoid running into Freya for the next hour," he muttered, moving out of the room and descending the stairs. Arthur looked up sharply as Merlin reached the bottom and nodded at him before leaving the chambers. He noted the slight tremors in the man's hands and the stiffness with which he held himself and looked to see Gaius doing the same.

"I suggest that you do some enquiring of your own, sire. That young man is not well and if I had to diagnose him, I would say that he is suffering from exhaustion, but I highly doubt that it would be the usual kind," Gaius assessed with a look of sympathy on his face. Arthur watched Gaius shuffle over to Mordred's side and settle into the chair with a few cracks as his bones adjusted.

"I will check in on Mordred's condition tomorrow," Arthur said, moving to return to his quarters.


Merlin made it halfway down to his destination before he was ambushed by Freya. He really should have expected it; he knew that his incident in the throne room had worried her and when she worried… well… there was usually hell to pay later. Freya dragged Merlin into a nearby empty chamber and slammed the door shut, her expression livid.

"You better explain right now why you almost collapsed and why you sent me away with Arthur afterwards!" she raged on the verge of tears, her cheeks turning bright red and her hands clutching her tunic so tightly that the knuckles were white. Merlin sighed and leant against the wall behind him. He closed his eyes as if drawing the strength to answer.

"I almost collapsed because I have been maintaining the shield alone since you were gone," Merlin said, his voice barely above a whisper. Freya pressed a hand to her mouth as tears spilled out of her eyes.

"Gods, why would you? You know what using that amount of magic will do to you," Freya accused. Merlin sighed again, rubbing at his face with his hands.

"What would you have had me do?! Gili was already exhausted from supporting it for a few hours so I couldn't ask him to and when he recovered you needed him. Will's magic isn't strong enough either. No one else has the magical ability to hold the shield except me," Merlin shot back, his frustration sharpening his words. Freya gently laid a hand on his cheek, drawing his eyes away from the floor and onto hers.

"I know, I know… I just don't want to lose you," Freya whispered, tenderly resting her forehead against his, she felt him stiffen and start to quiver. Merlin could feel his magic threatening to leech into her, his control was slipping and he knew that he couldn't stop the spell transferring to her if he didn't move away.

"It's the spell, Freya. I can't be near your aura or it'll transfer to you," Merlin panted, regaining some of his control as she moved away. Freya's slightly hurt look vanished at his explanation.

"Breathe, Merlin, just concentrate on breathing. I'm out of range," Freya comforted, watching on as his breathing calmed slightly at her words. "How long until the support stones are ready?"

"Fifty minutes or less," Merlin answered, momentarily taking his mind off the inner turmoil.

"Good. All you have to do is hold on, my dear," Freya said. "You just have to hold on."