Hello, everyone! I'm back with a new chapter! School is finally out for me, too! YAAAY! *throws confetti in the air* And for those of you who are still stuck in school, hang in there, break is almost here! :) *flashes a big thumbs up - Merlin style*
Thank you so much for the support! Though this isn't my best chapter, I still hope you guys enjoy it! :)
Plot: It was a bad idea for Arthur to bring Merlin on a hunting trip. When Merlin becomes ill, Arthur is the only one who can properly help him.
"A Satisfactory Answer"
The second Merlin lit the fire; Arthur had to catch him from face-planting on the ground. It was quick – the younger man fed the flames and a half-a-second later, he was tumbling down. Luckily, Arthur had seen him just in time.
"Merlin!" Arthur quickly grabbed the back of his friend's jacket and yanked him back. He backed Merlin away from the fire and set him down on a fallen log. Arthur knelt down before Merlin and looked at him worriedly. "What was that all about? Are you alright?" He asked, waving a hand in front of his manservant's face.
Merlin slowly lifted his face. Arthur's heart sank immediately – something was wrong. For one, Merlin's eyes kept sliding in and out of focus. His eyelids fluttered and a sheen of sweat hung over Merlin's face.
Arthur pushed his hand up to Merlin's forehead and sighed. The idiot had gotten himself sick again.
"How are you feeling, Merlin?" Arthur asked, taking off his gloves and easing Merlin back on the log.
"Tired. Thirsty. Hot." Merlin mumbled, snapping his eyes open. "Ar'tur, I don' think I like huntin' anymore…"
"I know." Arthur replied, bringing out a canteen of water. He slowly lowered it to Merlin's lips and tilted his friend's head up to the water. "So, for now, we aren't going to hunt. Your job is to just sleep."
Merlin swallowed down the water and closed his eyes. "M'kay…" He murmured sluggishly and within a few seconds, the younger man was fast asleep.
Arthur sighed and sat down next to Merlin, staring into the fire tiredly. This entire day had been tiring for him – he had been on a hunting trip with Merlin for nearly two days now and though everyone had warned him to stay inside the walls of the castle, Arthur was dying to go outside. So, one day, he simply told Merlin that they would go on a hunting trip.
Merlin didn't question it – he packed their things, readied the horses and the two were ready at sunrise. The king had a strong suspicion that Merlin almost pitied him, but that idea was ridiculous – Arthur just wanted some fresh air and this time, he was going to spend it with Merlin.
Because, though Arthur didn't like to admit it, Merlin was the only person he felt human with. Of course, Gwaine and Percival and Leon and Elyan were wonderful, brave, good knights and friends. However, there was something different about the way Arthur talked with Merlin – maybe it was because Arthur had known Merlin for more than four years now, or maybe it was because Merlin was a servant.
Either way, the king appreciated Merlin's company more than he could ever admit.
And he cared more for Merlin than he could ever admit.
So, naturally, he was feeling a bit worried about his friend's present state.
Arthur rubbed his brow and looked back down at Merlin, who hadn't moved a single inch since he had fallen asleep. The king looked around the woods and sighed. Night was quickly falling upon them.
Arthur slowly leaned back against the log and tossed another uneasy look at Merlin again before closing his eyes. He didn't even have any medicine to give Merlin. They didn't have any blankets or potions, which Arthur now wished he had.
The king let out a small sigh and willed himself to sleep – he would have to get up early and bring Merlin back to Camelot as soon as he possibly could.
xXx
Arthur quickly found out that sleeping next to an ill Merlin was not a wise move. Merlin moaned in his fevered sleep, kicking his legs and thrashing about. Arthur woke up with a start and sat up. He turned to look at his friend with widened eyes.
"No – no – get away from him – Ar'tur –"
Arthur's blood turned into ice at the sound of his name. His hand hovered above Merlin's arm and he slowly looked down. His friend looked truly distressed – tears were beginning to spill from Merlin's eyes. His breaths were coming out in rapid, uncontrollable gasps and his front was drenched in sweat.
"It's my fault – all my fault – don't hurt him – I won't let you –" Merlin cried out, trembling. His head jerked from side to side, his bottom lip shaking in the threat of more tears. Suddenly, a loud, anguished cry ripped from Merlin's mouth and that was enough for Arthur.
He grabbed Merlin's arm and shook it carefully, making sure that it wouldn't be so gentle that Merlin wouldn't notice, but at the same time, it wasn't so rough that Merlin would get hurt.
Thankfully, it did the trick. Merlin's glazed eyes snapped open and he looked around blindly until he caught sight of Arthur.
"Ar'tur…" Merlin swallowed, his voice not becoming any louder than a rasp. He turned his head slowly over to the king, tears streaming down his face. "Ar'tur…"
"I'm right here, Merlin." Arthur said quietly, slowly lying down next to him. "I'm right here…did you have a nightmare?"
Merlin gave a small nod, rubbing the tears out of his eyes. He shuddered and whispered, "It was…horrifying."
"I'll bet." Arthur replied quietly, gently placing a hand on Merlin's forehead. It was damp with sweat and radiating with heat. He bit down on his lip nervously – for all Arthur knew, Merlin might be dying from the fever.
Arthur sincerely hoped that Merlin wasn't dying.
Please.
Arthur let his head fall back to the log and he wrapped an arm around Merlin's shoulders. He couldn't help himself – he needed to comfort Merlin, somehow. Or, maybe Arthur was doing this to comfort himself – he wasn't sure. All he knew was that Merlin was sicker than Arthur had ever seen him (with the exception of seeing him poisoned all those years ago…) and he needed Merlin to be alright.
To Arthur's surprise, Merlin didn't fight back. If anything, Merlin seemed to welcome this gesture. Almost as though on instinct, Merlin curled up right beside Arthur.
The king slowly looked down at his manservant. Merlin's head was perched on Arthur's shoulder, his arms tucked neatly on his own stomach. Merlin's legs were still trembling, but not quite as violently as they had been just a few minutes ago.
Arthur sighed and ran a hand through Merlin's sweaty hair. He looked around – there weren't any witnesses of this particular action except for the horses. "No one is to know of this," he whispered into his manservant's ear with a small smile.
xXx
Arthur woke up when the light from the morning sun filtered through the leaves of the trees around him. He blinked his eyes open and turned his head a fraction of an inch to look at Merlin, who was, bless him, still sleeping away on Arthur's shoulder. Careful not to wake Merlin, Arthur sat up slowly.
He tucked his arms underneath Merlin's legs and carefully, gingerly, stood up. The manservant didn't make so much as a single sound, which, under different circumstances, Arthur would've been grateful for.
This was not one of those 'different circumstances'.
Arthur gently lowered Merlin over a horse and tethered a length of rope from Merlin's horse to Arthur's horse. Hopefully, the rope would be strong enough to keep the horses together.
Satisfied with his handiwork, Arthur swung himself on top of his horse and encouraged the animals to move. Although the trip back to Camelot didn't take too long, Arthur had still turned back to watch Merlin every few minutes or so.
The second Arthur was inside the castle's walls, he dismounted his horse and carried Merlin down.
"Your Majesty," servants and advisors started to interrupt but Arthur didn't pay any attention. He hurried into the castle, still clinging onto Merlin.
"Arthur?" He heard Guinevere call out to him, but he didn't even stop for her. Of course, he felt awful about it, but Arthur just couldn't stop – at least, not until Merlin got proper help.
"Gaius!" Arthur shouted, barreling into the physician's chambers. Gaius looked up from his workbench, his face immediately falling at the sight of Merlin still being carried in Arthur's arms.
"What happened?" The physician asked, hurrying towards the king.
"He's ill, Gaius," Arthur replied breathlessly, putting Merlin down on a small bed. "I couldn't help him and we didn't pack any medical supplies."
Gaius placed a hand over Merlin's forehead. "He's burning up," he stated. "How long has he been like this?"
"A day, I think," Arthur replied, running a hand through his hair. "But I can't be sure – he never tells me whether he's sick or not."
"Without any assistance – Arthur, thank you for bringing Merlin to me." Gaius said slowly. "But I'll have to ask you to leave now."
Before the physician could shoo the king out of the room, Arthur asked pleadingly, "You will call me if something happens to Merlin, will you? Please, Gaius?"
"Of course, Your Majesty." The physician nodded.
Arthur let out a small breath of relief and he allowed himself to be pushed out of the room so Gaius could help his friend.
xXx
It wasn't until the next day when Arthur was allowed to see Merlin. It turned out that Merlin really was rather ill – thankfully, the king had brought Merlin help before his health could be any more severe. Now, Arthur was sitting by Merlin's bed, listening to his friend ramble on about anything and everything – of course, Arthur had a hunch that Merlin was only talking to keep his mind away from things, but Arthur didn't really mind. He was simply relieved to see that his friend was awake and talking.
"It's really funny, I suppose," Merlin was saying with a frown. "D'you think if you die in your dream, you're dead in real life?"
Arthur shrugged. "I have no idea," he replied, keeping his tone light. "But either way, I would prefer to not see myself die in my dreams."
"Yeah, but it's also frustrating." Merlin said, bringing his knees to his chest. "You know, just waiting to see if you're really going to die and then…you wake up. Ugh."
Arthur managed a smile and chuckled, shaking his head.
"What? Did I say something?" Merlin asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No – you just look like…a child when you say these sorts of things." Arthur replied and quickly added, "It's a good thing, Merlin! It's a very good thing!"
"Looking like a child is a good thing? I'm a man, Arthur." Merlin pointed out, though he, too, was grinning.
"Could've fooled me." Arthur shot back teasingly.
"Said the man who decided to hug me in my sleep." Merlin replied lightly, bringing his blankets closer to himself. Arthur froze and stared at the younger man. "How…you remembered that?"
Merlin gave him a small smile. "'Course," he said, "I can still remember it – memory's a bit fuzzy, but…I think you dragged me closer to you or something like that."
"Oh." Arthur replied simply. "Er…do you remember anything else?"
"No, not really." Merlin said. "But…you were worried about me."
"Of course I'd be worried about you – you're my friend."
Merlin seemed to be just fine with that answer.
A/N: In case you guys couldn't tell already, I struggled with this chapter. :/ Then again, I've got the feeling that I've said that many, many, many times in the notes of this story. *winces* Sorry...? I'm just a naturally shy person, I suppose. (Believe it or not, haha. Nope, I'm actually very socially awkward. *hides behind a book*)
Anyways, please review! I would love to hear what you guys are thinking of this story! And doods, let's just take a quick walk down the guilt lane, shall we? I'm pretty sure that if a lot of you guys can bother to fave/follow this story (which I'm very grateful for, by the way,) you can take a few more seconds to review and tell me what you thought whilst reading this chapter. I know that some of you guys are busy, but even a one-worded review could make me smile - that goes out for all of the other writers, too! I hate seeing stories that have like, 123 followers and 98 favorites but only ten reviews.
Seriously - I'm not exactly an expert in math, but I'm pretty sure that the ratio isn't very...accurate or whatever. (I don't know how to describe it, lol.)
So please review! Give constructive criticism if you have any, but no flames, please!