Author's Note: I decided to go with some longer chapters. I hope you guys keep the reviews coming! I love hearing what everyone thinks. Any favorite moments/quotes? I'll try and keep the updates coming as quick as I can. Thanks!
"Who is he linked to?" Guinevere finally asked. Her hand was clamped firmly onto Merlin's arm. The unconscious young man moaned lowly, twisting slightly on the cot. Arthur's lips pursed, and he walked to the other side of the cot, sitting in a vacant chair. The soon-to-be-married couple turned in anxious unity to Gaius, who was still fiddling with various bottles of potions.
"Well?" Arthur said when Gaius made no move to respond to Gwen's question.
"I cannot be certain, but it seems that the curse will jump to the person closest to Merlin."
Gwen's hand jumped from Merlin's arm, and she caught Arthur's gaze in alarm, but before either of them could speak, Gaius interjected.
"No. Not closest in this moment. Just… in general. The person he's closest to. The person he cares for above others."
There was silence for a moment. Arthur's face had drained of all color. Names were flashing through his mind.
"You, Gaius? Or maybe Gwaine. This is awful. Why would…"
"Arthur…" Gwen's voice was soft and comforting, while still holding a hint of fear. The King glanced from Gwen to Gaius and back again. They were both staring at him, faces serious.
"It's not me," Arthur said. "I wish – I mean, I wish that I could take this illness away from someone else. But it's not me."
"Of course it is," Gwen said, her voice suddenly shaking. "Gaius, you have to do something."
"But – no," Arthur interjected. "Gaius, it could be you. You need to tell us what to do when you fall ill, because – "
"It's you, Arthur." The room froze. The king, his love, and the physician turned in unison to the voice that had spoken. Merlin was awake.
"I'm so sorry. This is my fault," he said, voice shaking. "Linking curse, right?" He turned his head weakly towards Gaius, who was rushing forward, face drawn in concern.
"Yes. And it's not your fault." He tilted a cup of water to Merlin, who took a drink, grimacing from the effort.
"Me." Arthur's voice was flat.
"The person I've sworn to protect with my life. My loyalty is – " He broke off, falling into a jarring fit of coughs. Arthur, startled, placed a hand on Merlin's shoulder, pressing down as if that would alleviate the pain.
"For God's sake, Merlin," Arthur said, as the coughing died down. "Stop all that racket." He attempted to infuse his voice with his normal disparaging tone, but his skin was drawn tight and pale over the bones of his face. Merlin smiled weakly for a moment.
"Yes, sire." He turned to Gaius, face serious. "Can you stop this?"
Gaius looked stricken. "I'm afraid I don't know how to cure you."
Merlin waved a weak hand through the air. "No, that's – well, that's unfortunate. But can you stop it? Isolate it?"
"What do you mean?" Gaius asked. Gwen hadn't said a word since Merlin woke, and Arthur caught her eye, trying to smile reassuringly.
"Can you stop it from spreading to Arthur?" There was silence for a moment. "Anything? Maybe we could turn that half of the curse back to me?"
Several voices spoke at once.
"Merlin!" Gwen.
"What?" Gaius.
"Absolutely not." Arthur.
Merlin waited for the appalled voices to die down. "Can you?" he demanded of Gaius.
The physician shook his head. "I cannot. And even if I could, I would not." Gaius turned to Arthur with an apologetic expression, but the young king waved his hand in dismissal.
"Of course not," he said to Gaius. Then, he turned to Merlin. "Of course not," he repeated, glaring at the young man. "We're not going to let you die for me."
"Yes, you've certainly attempted that enough for a lifetime," Gaius said. Before Arthur could ask what he meant by that, Merlin spoke again, trying to force authority into his voice. Despite his weakened state, he pulled it off to some extent.
"Is there anything I can do?" Merlin asked, eyes fixed on Gaius. "Anything I can do, that you couldn't?" The physician and his young charge shared a long, meaningful look.
Finally, Gaius looked away. "I'll keep looking." He turned without another word and turned the corner, in search of books with which to do more research.
"What was that all about?" Arthur demanded. "Merlin?"
"You should keep away from me," Merlin said weakly. "Buy you some time."
"I'm not – leaving you like this," Arthur said, horrified.
"I'll stay with him," Gwen broke in. "You have duties to your people. And you could use some rest."
Arthur looked ready to protest, but the dual looks from Gwen and Merlin silenced him.
"I'll be back. Soon. Don't… die." Then, he was gone.
He couldn't get Merlin's word out of his head. The idiot had seemed more than willing to die to spare Arthur his fate. "Not going to happen," Arthur growled. "Not if I have anything to say about it."
Author's Note: Some bromance, there... :) Thanks!
