A baby at Camelot
(Previously on "A baby at Camelot": Merlin turned Arthur into a baby by accident, and neither the Dragon nor his magic book seem to be able to help him. He's stuck with a very angry Arthur until a thirty-year-old druid called Elsie catches him and offer help against protection for her and her family. Despite Uther's soldiers looking everywhere, they manage to run away from Camelot at nightfall to go to Elsie's village and take other magic books there. They separate after Merlin made a magic oath to Elsie and he comes back to Camelot alone with a potion formula which will hopefully turn Arthur back to himself.)
#07 – And don't talk to strangers.
When Gwen invited Merlin to join Morgana and herself in the evening, Merlin already knew that Morgana would ask questions and give him looks to convince him to confess whatever she wanted him to. That was one of her royal powers.
Merlin suspected that every royal head had a sort of royal superpower. Nothing like magic, of course, but a sort of ability that only they knew and which was especially used to impress people. For example, Uther was able to make anybody feel guilty with just one look, no matter if someone had done something or not; Arthur was able to make you want to give him the best of yourself, and Morgana... Well. Morgana was able to make you do exactly what she wanted you to do, to make you confess anything without you even noticing.
If he wanted to avoid trouble, he'd better think about what he would tell her before going. He had thought about it while preparing the potion for Arthur but hadn't really been able to find out something that could work. The fact that he had to stop Arthur every two minutes from touching every single bottle or jar didn't help neither. The blonde baby was nicely seated on the floor upon a blanket and smiling at him. When Merlin looked down at what he was doing, Arthur was silently sneaking elsewhere to do whatever stupid things he hadn't done yet.
It was nightfall by the time Merlin was done and he left Arthur in Gaius' hands before going to Morgana's chambers.
Gwen answered him and Merlin hadn't the chance to say anything when Morgana grabbed his arm and made him come inside. Gwen quickly shut the door. This can't be good, Merlin thought.
"Where were you?" Morgana asked immediately in a tone of authority, and Merlin felt his hopes to subtly avoid the subject evaporate.
"I had something to do," he answered, "I'm sorry I worried you Milady."
"Don't play that game with me Merlin. I know you, you're Arthur's friend and we are as well. So don't pretend to me."
"Morgana..."
He looked at Gwen standing behind her but didn't find any help. The maid's face was calm even if he could see her shoulders were tense, and she too was keeping her gaze fixed on him.
He felt his jaw twitching involuntarily and looked back at Morgana.
What should he say? Despite himself, his own worries came back to him. The chance that Arthur might forget after he fixed him was quite doubtful, and whatever his reaction would be, it would change everything. Arthur was often oblivious, and other times a bit stupid, yes, but Merlin knew it wouldn't be that simple this time. He didn't know where he was going, but facing Morgana and Gwen right now was absolutely nothing compared to the thought of facing Arthur soon.
Everything would be different, and that thought was scary. Merlin had often wondered what would be Arthur's reaction if he knew, but now he knew that this conversation was coming, he just wanted to find a hole somewhere and hide in it for at least one year or two.
"You were gone to find Arthur, weren't you?" Morgana asked again after a long time of silence.
"As I told you, Milady," he repeated with a calm he didn't know he had, "I had something to do."
"We don't want you to do anything stupid, Merlin, we are serious. We know you're Arthur's most loyal servant, and whatever this idiot says, we know you are his dearest friend." Merlin smiled at Morgana's words, but said nothing. "Nevertheless, there is nothing you can do, this time it is a sorcerer doing it. A sorcerer, Merlin, and no matter how brave and loyal you might be, you're just a servant. Only the knights can find a way to sort it out, so I'm asking you to stay out of it, as your friend."
Merlin looked down and nodded without answering. There were no point arguing. Morgana's hand came to rest on his arm and he looked back at her to face and into her worried eyes.
"Arthur will come back, I know he will," she muttered. "But if there's a day he learns that something happened to you while trying to help him, he won't forgive himself for it. He won't, Merlin."
Merlin nodded again. He couldn't tell if he felt glad or saddened by Morgana's certitude.
oOoOo
The way back to his chambers was too quick. Merlin didn't really hurry, though, he spent the most time he could to return, but soon there was no one to talk on his way and he found himself in front of Gaius' door.
Now was the moment. Soon he would be facing Arthur and the consequences of two years' of lying; soon he would know which was the strongest in Arthur's heart between their relationship and the King's law. He didn't want to know, he absolutely didn't want to know that question's answer.
He felt nearly sick with anguish and exhaustion and forced himself to open the door. Gaius was sitting on a chair with Arthur on his arms, facing the door. Arthur was asleep. Merlin's eyes met Gaius' and he silently nodded, unable to say anything.
He went to the table and took the potion he had done before leaving. The colour had changed and was now a dark purple, but it was normal according to the book. Merlin did the potion right. He closed his eyes and whispered the final spell, ignoring his fear, and opened them again to see the potion slightly boiling.
It was ready.
Taking a deep breath, he took a chair and sat in front of Gaius.
"You can wake him up now," he muttered.
Gaius looked at him, slightly smiling in what Merlin was sure was an attempt to comfort him.
"Don't worry," he said, "everything will be fine."
It sounded genuine enough to allow Merlin to think it was true. Gaius lowered his eyes to Arthur and gently nudged his shoulder. The baby groaned and cried a bit as he slowly woke up, but stopped quite quickly. He looked at Merlin and then at Gaius, not understanding what was going on but obviously understanding that it was serious.
Merlin hesitated, trying to smile at him and then kissed him on the head. It would be the very last time he would be allowed to show such a sign of affection to Arthur, never mind if it ended good or bad.
"Here, drink this," he said to him, giving him the potion.
Arthur grimaced but drank a gulp of the potion Merlin was presenting to him. The taste might've been awful, Merlin guessed as he didn't want to drink more when he started whining, and he had to comfort him with gentle words and smiles. Arthur didn't look happy at all but eventually drank the entire potion.
Nothing happened.
Gaius and Merlin shared a look. Arthur moaned and cried a bit, obviously upset, before burying his face back against Gaius belly and trying to go back to sleep. They waited ten long minutes, but nothing happened at all except for Arthur's soft snores.
"I don't understand," Merlin eventually confessed, lifting to check the potion's formula in the book, "I'm sure I did everything as it was told! I'm sure!"
He checked anyway but didn't find any error. He had done everything religiously!
"Maybe I confused two plants?" he suggested, trying to find out an explanation.
"No, I checked, every plant you used were the ones needed in the formula," Gaius answered.
"Why isn't it working then?!!" Merlin almost shouted.
All of it was getting on his nerves. He regretted his urge to shout the moment it came out of his mouth, but he couldn't avoid it. It was just unfair! He needed it to end! All of this, Arthur being a baby, this life of lies, he thought it was over but it wasn't, because the bloody potion just didn't work!
"Merlin," Gaius said, "It's late now, and you haven't sleep for two days. So take Arthur with you and go to bed. We will think about it tomorrow and find another solution. Don't worry."
Merlin nodded and took Arthur without waking him up. That bloody druid, she had fooled into signing a magic pact! And now he was stuck with his oath with nothing in return; he had to watch after two more people. Merlin wasn't the kind to get angry easily, but right now he felt furious.
"Good night Gaius," he said before going to his chamber.
"Good night Merlin."
Merlin gently put Arthur down on his bed. He took off his boots, removed his jacket and his neckerchief and changed his clothes into his nightclothes before going to bed, carefully putting Arthur on his chest. The baby was breathing peacefully and Merlin caressed his hair. He placed his hand on Arthur's back and forced himself to calm down. The tiredness quickly won over the anger and eventually he fell asleep.
oOoOo
It was only a few hours later when a slight cry woke him up. Still half-dreaming, Merlin gently caressed Arthur's back to try to calm him, hoping for a little more rest. He regretfully opened his eyes when the crying didn't stop and put his hand on Arthur's bottom to check if his nappy needed to be changed again. It didn't.
"Arthur what's going on...? Are you hungry? Want something?"
The cries didn't calm at all and soon Arthur was screaming with pain. Merlin felt completely awake by now and was about to sit up, but stopped, frozen. Arthur was growing. His limbs were slowly becoming bigger and the clothes he had been wearing were tearing up as they become too small for his body. His fists were clenched and he sounded in such an awful pain that it made Merlin nearly panic. He sat up, Arthur resting on his legs, draping his arms around him, looking around as if he would suddenly find something to relieve the pain.
"It's okay, it's gonna be okay, it's nearly done.. Hold on Arthur, it's okay..." he whispered.
"Merlin?" Gaius' voice interrupted. ""What's happening? Why is he screaming? Merlin?!"
The old man pushed the door open, looking terrified, and froze on the spot. Arthur was totally naked by now and had reached the size of a child. He had grabbed Merlin shirt and buried his face against his shoulder, screaming without control.
"The potion worked," Gaius whispered.
Merlin didn't pay him attention. He felt almost sick by the blond boy's cries and just wished it would stop, because hearing Arthur in such a pain was unbearable and he couldn't think of anything to help. Arthur was becoming heavy by now and his body had just passed from one of a ten-year-old child to one of a teenager's. He hadn't moved from Merlin's grip and Merlin hadn't release him neither, they were both holding on for dear life and nothing in the world could have convinced Merlin to let him go at this moment. Gaius had left at some point and Merlin prayed that he would be back with something which would help.
The whole transformation took no longer than one minute, even though it felt like an eternity.
Eventually Arthur stopped screaming, his forehead resting on Merlin's shoulder and his body motionless, as if empty of any strength. Breathing heavily, Merlin kept one of his arms around Arthur's shoulders and a hand in his hair, encouraging him to stay against him. Arthur was totally naked and fully pressed against him, and no matter how wrong it was, Merlin just refused to let him go. He couldn't see Arthur's face right now but didn't want to, he just wanted to keep him between his arms like this. It felt good, it felt more right than anything, and right now Merlin was shivering while rubbing the Prince's back. He wanted to kiss his head, his jaw, his bare shoulder; he wanted to lie down on the bed and pull Arthur on him, to spend the rest of the night holding him like this. He didn't want to hear Arthur's voice, he didn't want the Prince to escape their hold.
Arthur moved a little, as if slowly recovering his mind and strength, and Merlin tightened his grip.
He kissed him on the head, unable to stop himself, whispering, "It's over, you're safe now. It's all okay."
Arthur relaxed, giving up moving right now, and Merlin closed his eyes. He slowly lied back on the mattress without removing his arms and felt the weight of Arthur's chest against him, of his pelvis on him. It shouldn't have felt this way. Merlin shouldn't be aware of every inch of Arthur's skin touching him, the anguish in his belly shouldn't be mixed with... with... whatever it was.
Arthur moved again and Merlin took the blanket to recover him, to warm him up. Arthur had to stay here, against him. Merlin knew the prince wasn't asleep, but he hoped he would, he desperately wanted to stay this way for the night.
Gaius returned, obviously coming back from a run, with a bottle in his hand. He stopped at the door and Merlin just nodded. It was okay. Gaius looked puzzled but nodded back and closed the door.
Merlin turned his eyes to Arthur. His body was motionless again and Merlin guessed he had fallen asleep. Merlin kissed his head and shoulder. He let his hand caress the prince's back and breathed in his hair, eyes closed.
He didn't think at all about how wrong it was, he just believed he would never be allowed to do that again. With Arthur's weight on him, he didn't think that maybe tomorrow the prince would sentence him to death; he just thought his life was Arthur's anyway.
The prince was breathing slowly now and Merlin felt his heart beating madly. Arthur was back. He could smell the perfume of his hair, the strength of his muscles under his fingers, the warmth of his naked skin. It felt like the most wrong and the most right thing in the world at the same time.
He didn't allow himself to think too much. He kept his eyes shut and let Arthur's presence surround him.
oOoOo
When he woke up at morning, Arthur was gone. The blanket had been carefully put back on him and the room was empty. Merlin blinked slowly, trying to remember which day it was and to guess the hour, before the memories of the night hit him. He got up more quickly than he ever had and ran towards the door and opening it.
"Gaius! Where's Arthur?!"
Gaius was sitting in a chair, his back turned on him. He twisted his head to look at him and Merlin saw the little boy standing in front of Gaius. He looked about five-years-old, with light blond hair and bright blue eyes. His top lip was a bit forward and his nose was straight already. He was wearing one of Merlin's shirts which was big enough to cover him from the shoulders to his knees, and there were two pairs of socks on his feet to protect him from the cold ground.
Merlin didn't need to be a genius to understand.
"No," he said.
No, no, no. No way. All of this was supposed to be over, he had Arthur in his arms last night! The adult Arthur! He had his weight on him! So that just couldn't be right, thank you very much! Joke over.
"You better take a seat Merlin," Gaius sighed.
Merlin did that. It sounded like a brilliant idea, indeed.
"What happened?" he asked.
The little boy was silent and staring at them both, and Merlin wondered if it was normal for a child this age to act like this.
"I went to your room again this morning," Gaius explained. "He was still an adult. I came to wake him so we could talk and he followed me here, he looked groggy and... Well. He turn back into a child a few minutes after. And now he just refuses to say a word."
Merlin eyes met Arthur's. The boy was standing as straight as he was able too, but something about him was uneasy, as if he wasn't exactly sure of what he was supposed to do.
Merlin took his hands and smiled at him, trying to be comforting.
"Hi. Don't be afraid, that's okay..."
"I'm not afraid," Arthur replied immediately. His voice was a bit keen, as every boy his age, but he indeed didn't look afraid.
Merlin nodded. He looked at Gaius a bit before returning to Arthur. Okay, whatever the mess was with the potion, there were few things they needed to know.
"What do you remember?"
Arthur opened his mouth. He looked at them both and chewed his lips for a whole minute before finally asking : "What?"
Merlin kept his eyes on him. It was very important that they knew and he didn't want to scare Arthur.
"What do you remember? Do you remember me?"
"... No," Arthur said after a bit, looking more and more hesitant. "Sorry," he added.
"Do you remember your name?" Merlin asked.
Arthur opened his mouth again, but closed it quickly, then opened it again. "I'm not sure..."
Okay. So Arthur remembered nothing and Merlin had been nearly becoming crazy about the whole thing for no reason. Fine. Perfect. All of this was really perfect! How much he hated his life sometimes!
oOoOo
"What are we supposed to do now?" Merlin asked in a whisper, looking at Arthur eating his breakfast a few feet from them.
"I don't know," Gaius confessed, "Throw out the nappies and find some new clothes for him, I guess. God, we're lucky I saved enough money."
"We also should find him a name."
"He already has a name, Merlin, what are you talking about?"
"Yes, but... he can't stay in this room forever, right? He's a little boy now, not a baby! He will go outside at some point. And isn't it a little too rash to call him Arthur? He already looks like him Gaius, look at his mouth, the shape of his face! People would guess."
"So what do you suggest?"
Merlin remained silent for a long time looking at the boy, before whispering again, "We need to find him a name, at least for now."
Gaius didn't look pleased with the idea but had to agree anyway. If they were honest, there weren't many other options.
"William." Merlin whispered again "That's a good name, don't you think? Will, William... Yes, definitely. William."
Gaius turned his head back to the boy. Arthur lifted his eyes and smiled shyly at them, his mouth full of cereal.
Preview - #08
"Yes, I was right and you were wrong, we know that," the Dragon sighed before looking Merlin with intrigue, "Now go back to that part when Arthur is naked and with you in your bed and you're feeling so weird and aroused. What happened next? Please tell me you didn't just fall asleep."
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