A/N: I feel so much better now, though I suddenly have a desire to re-watch "Full Moon..."
Maybe I will... just the happy half...
A dagger of ice embedded itself in his heart, tearing him from his daze.
Is this it, then?
He looked out from his single clear eye and caught sight of a familiar figure above him.
The king appeared to be yelling but Merlin couldn't hear a sound.
His whole body had developed a very heavy feeling and his ears seemed to be stuffed with wool.
He wasn't sure if the cold had receded or if he had simply lost all his senses- it certainly seemed as if his brain had detached itself from the rest of him.
Arthur's here... I can rest now...
A ghostly shriek rent the air as Livenn fell still, a cry that chilled the king to the bone.
No... there can't be any of them left...
Pale mist drifted up from where the dead man lay and the hideous visage of the dorocha began to form.
Just as he was about to scramble for the candle the mist dissipated, leaving nothing but the echo of a death wail behind.
Setting that occurrence aside for the moment, Arthur dove forward, Merlin's abused form coming into focus as he got nearer.
"Merlin..." he choked out, devastated by the scene.
What he had assumed to be the red of the servant's shirt turned out to be an almost unbroken coating of blood, the substance still leaking from the cuts littering pale flesh.
Arthur stared. There was so much blood!
He felt his stomach rebel a bit and tore his gaze away, instead looking into his servant's face.
No. Not again... not this...
One of Merlin's eyes was open wide, radiating pain and fear, that half of his face coated with a thin layer of ice while frost had formed in his hair and made a trail down his slightly blue neck. Arthur saw the bruises forming there and restrained himself from kicking the corpse 'til it broke.
There were more important things right now.
"Hold on, Merlin, you hear me?"
He called, removing the younger man's bonds.
The other eye, barely open, drifted toward his face and Arthur was glad to see a spark of recognition there; but then the light in it seemed to fade.
"Merlin? Merlin!"
A sigh escaped blue lips as the eyelid slipped closed and Arthur could see no sign of breath being drawn in to replace the air lost.
"No, you can't do this to me- I forbid it!"
The king reached out and grabbed his servant's shoulders, cursing at the cold he felt there.
He stripped the bed of its blankets and bundled Merlin as gently as he could; noting as he did so that Merlin's legs, and probably his torso beneath the blood, were also literally frozen rigid. It would be impossible to carry him alone like this.
"Guards!"
Four Camelot guards (two had passed by on their rounds and joined the original pair) entered the chambers as well as Livenn's, the latter looking contrite.
"You, run to Gaius and tell him to prepare for a patient. He'll need hot water, bandages, and lots of blankets."
The designated guard raced off, not even pausing to bow.
"You two take Livenn's men to the dungeon for now. Then come back here and make sure this room remains undisturbed."
The pair nodded, the lord's guards going along without struggle.
"You, help me carry him to Gaius." The last guard nodded, moving 'round the table to grasp under the servant's cocooned knees.
Arthur grabbed the blankets wrapped around Merlin's shoulders and began the desperate trek to the physician's quarters, mumbling under his breath:
"If you die, I swear I will personally call you back with that cursed horn and make you muck out my stables for all eternity."