Gaius was feeling extremely rebellious, excited, and guilty.
He knew the trip to Ealdor would take days, and he just didn't have that kind of time. So, feeling rebellious, he uttered the strongest magic he had attempted to use in over twenty years. A teleportation spell, long and complicated but he could remember it clearly. Along with a lot of other memories he tried to shove down. "Ewch fi at lle yr wyf mewn angen dybryd o fod, mor gyflym Blink neu feddwl. Ewch fi at Ealdor lle y gallaf lwyddo yn fy dyletswyddau i lles pob," he whispered rhythmically.
Then, came the excited part.
Gaius wasn't exactly one hundred percent confident that would actually work, as it hadn't last time. But, as he uttered the last syllable, a long since forgotten but all too welcome feeling crept into his belly. The light, excited fluttering he felt whenever he used magic, increased by the power of the spell. Around him, things slowed and then stilled. The image shimmered, like a mirage, before turning dark and clouding over. Just as soon as they had covered all of his vision, the clouds and darkness crept away, the mirage shimmered one last time, and with a pop of his ears, Gaius was standing breathless right in front of Hunith's door, with Merlin's travois right behind him. He grinned proudly at his sucess.
Last, guilty.
Gaius always alerted Hunith the moment anything happened, no matter how painful it would be to write. He mailed her constantly, giving her the much-needed tales of what her son had gotten himself into this time. Although recently, as events grew ever more dire, Gaius had forgotten (or put it off to a later date) to pick up his quill. Hunith had no idea anything was wrong, in fact, with the lack of letters she probably thought things were going extremely well and Merlin hadn't gotten into any particularly bad situations.
Gaius sighed. How wrong that statement was. He knocked slowly, three times, on the door. It was late, and she answered the door very quickly. The smell of a dinner flooded Gaius's nostrils as the door swung open. He realized with a start he hadn't eaten in a very long time.
Hunith recognized the look of longing on her friend's face. She knew he wouldn't come here for nothing. "Come inside," she said warmly, gesturing towards the table behind her, which was home to a big boul of soup. "There's enough for you."
Gaius thanked her and stepped in, ducking under the low threshhold and dragging the travois behind him.
Oh God, the travois!
Hunith noticed it as he passed by, and the smile on her face disappeared instantly. Although it took a lot of strength, Hunith let Gaius and his passenger pass by her into the house and close the door before she practically screamed, "WHAT IS THIS, GAIUS?"
Before he could console her or tell her the truth of the matter, the threw the cloth off of Merlin and buried her face in his scarf, uttering muffled sobs.
Gaius was astonished. Hunith was usually the epitome of self-control. But, he thought guiltily, the lack of letters must have had her extremely concerned.
"Hunith!" he snapped, a little too sharply, "He's not dead, gather yourself!"
Her head shot up, looking at Gaius with a mix of confusion, anger, and hope.
Before she could say anything, he ordered, "Sit."
She complied, face blank of emotion. She was waiting for an explanation, Merlin had done something silly again and she would laugh.
Gaius sighed, and sat opposite her, folding his hands on the wooden table. A short silence ensued, only broken by the random crackle of the fire in the hearth.
"We both know Merlin is extremely powerful, if he hasn't grasped his full potential yet," he began.
Hunith nodded, letting a tiny proud smile slip.
"We aren't the only ones who have taken notice of our boy, though, Hunith. Unfortunately some rather bad people know of Merlin's power, and have attempted to rid the source."
Hunith paled.
"The powerful priestess of the Old Religion, Morgana, attempt to kill him from afar with a powerful mind-spell. But, even though this particular threat didn't know of Merlin's magical capabilities, she knew he had played a big part in the downfall of Morgause, her half-sister. She assumed Merlin was an ordinary man, and put that much effort into the spell. Luckily, it wasn't enough to kill Merlin. Even if she tried harder, I don't think she ever could have managed that,"
Hunith smiled a little bigger. She was waiting for the explanation, but she knew Gaius had to give the full story first.
"Sadly, it was quite a bit of power. Merlin was cast out of his body, and is currently using the prince Arthur as a sort of tether to reality,"
Hunith gasped, and finally spoke. "How will we fix this?"
Gaius unfolded his hands and grasped Huniths comfortingly. "I've been doing a lot of reading, and I have a solution. Arthur's uncle Agravaine believed Merlin to be in a coma, so I had to fake his death. Which is why, Hunith, I need you to care for Merlin's body, feed him, keep him warm, but make sure absolutely no one here know of it."
Hunith nodded, grasping the severity of the situation. "Please, Gaius, write as often as possible and keep me updated," she begged. "I need to know how he's doing, Gaius,"
Gaius smiled at her, eyes crinkling. "I'm sorry for the lack of letters. They will resume their usual flow. Now, I'm sorry, Hunith, but I can't spend the night. Time is of the essense,"
She stood up alongside Gaius. "I understand, Gaius. Thank you,"
He pushed his chair in, and wrapped his cloak tight. He was slightly excited in a boyish way again, he would be using the same mode of transportation home.
He was walking out the door when Hunith quietly said, "And Gaius?"
He paused, looking back at her. There were tears in the corners of her eyes.
"Take care of him, please,"
He smiled, thinking fondly of Merlin.
"I will, Hunith,"
A/N: The spell Gaius uses translates as "Take me to where I am in dire need of being, as fast as a blink or a thought. Take me to Ealdor where I can suceed in my duties to well being of all." I know, I know. But I thought it sounded cool!