A/N: Well, uh, *cough* here we are again. Hope this chapter makes up for the break, it's 3,000 words. Woo! I will say that it's quite difficult to write fanfiction and novels at the same time. Especially when my computer doesn't have spell check. You're welcome.
10,000 words for Camp NaNo! Yay!
Good news! I now own Merlin. Well, I did, until my mom took it away from me and gave it back to BBC for not cleaning my room. Shucks.
There is a bubble of poison gas in this electronic device. In 37 minutes, it's going to explode in your face, thus killing you. Review if you want to live!
PLEASE READ: This takes place before Lancelot Du Lac and after Lamia. Thus, Arthur and Gwen are in love, but she is still a serving girl. He is ready to marry her, but is concerned about the kingdom.
"Ah, Gaius." Arthur opened up the door to the hallway and greeted the old physician on sight. "I knew you couldn't be Merlin. He never knocks." Arthur laughed, trying to lighten the mood, and Gaius took the cue and chuckled. They stood in the doorway for a moment before Arthur realised and invited him in.
"I'm actually quite glad you're here." the younger man started the conversation after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. Gaius nodded to show he was paying attention, and Arthur continued. "I wanted to speak with you. About, uh. About Merlin." Gaius was looking at him so fiercely Arthur had to force the words out of his throat. Something was stirring in his stomach that longed to leap out of his throat. Fear.
But why would he be afraid of Gaius?
"About Merlin, Sire?" the old physician repeated. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. Did he not show up for work this morning?"
"No, no. Well, yes actually." Arthur noticed, and shook his head to clear his thoughts. "He's been acting- off lately. And Percival thought you had hit Merlin." he put extra stress on the word thought. After all, he didn't want the physician to think this was an interrogation. It was simply an-inquiry. Gaius tilted his head to the side, as if thinking, and Arthur let the rest of his words out in a rush. "And Leon heard you talking to yourself, saying things, a while back, before the Lamia, and Merlin didn't want to take any medicine and was talking to you strangely and-"
Gaius interrupted him. "Sire, Merlin has been acting off ever since his accident. Yes, we were having an argument before I sent him back to work yesterday; he thought for some reason I was trying to poison him. I was simply trying to get him to take a potion for the pain when he attacked me, and I striked him in defense. I regret it to the depth of my heart. Oh, if only he hadn't fallen down those cursed stairs!"
Here, the old man's eyes turned rather red, and he sniffed, looking rather fragile. Arthur helped him into one of his chairs and fetched him a handkerchief, and Gaius blew his nose rather loudly.
"Merlin- attacked you." Arthur repeated, feeling rather numb. Why would Merlin ever want to attack Gaius? The boy had been knocked unconscious a fair few times, once so badly that he hadn't been coherent for weeks, and he had never attacked Gaius. When Merlin had been cursed by an old witch who had been aiming for Arthur (before he jumped in front of the spell, the idiot!) to see everyone as- something else. Merlin had never told him. But he had burst into tears a fair few times, and ran at Arthur to kick and punch and hurt until the other knights dragged him off, at which point he had began to kick and punch and hurt them. Gwaine had been shocked. They dragged him to Gaius, and even though Merlin had seen him as some horrifying monster or enemy, he had been able to contain himself. Not with anyone else. Occasionally Arthur. Everyone except Gaius was sporting several ugly bruises by the time the curse had worn off.
Merlin never hurt Gaius.
"I'm afraid so, Sire." Gaius shook his head regretfully.
"He- he couldn't have." Arthur stammered. "He just...couldn't have."
"He did."
The younger man took the news rather badly, pulling himself over to the other chair and collapsing in it. Gaius looked at him, concerned.
"Are you alright, Sire?" he asked.
"Fine." Arthur said, rather weakly. Why would Merlin attack Gaius? He had been concussed far worse, and had never taken a swing at the man who cared for him.
Gaius hovered over him in concern. "I'm not so sure, Sire. Let me get you some wine." He pushed his chair back and stood up, looking around quickly for the silver pitcher and a cup. Arthur pointed over to it, across the room, and Gaius made his way.
The younger man looked out the window from his chair, and distantly he could see Merlin, covered in mud and leaf matter, running across the stone walk way. Two passing servants said something to him, but he continued to run without so much as acknowledging them.
Merlin was as social as one could be. He made friends practically everywhere (except when he made enemies), and always stopped to speak with everyone in the castle. Always. But not this time.
Perhaps Gaius was right. Maybe this was the head wound that had finally done it, the head wound that had pushed Merlin over the edge.
Arthur could hear Gaius pouring the wine, his back turned. The old physician brought the goblet over to him and set it on the table before drawing a small vial out of his deep pocket and pouring it into the drink.
"What is that?" Arthur asked, more alert now. Gaius pushed the wine towards him.
"A draft for the nerves." the physician explained. "I know the whole ordeal with Merlin has made life rather difficult for us all. The draft will help you calm, Sire."
"If you say so." Arthur took the goblet with one hand and drained it in a big gulp. After all, he had no reason to distrust Gaius, did he?
The edges of his vision started to blacken and Arthur felt himself go limp. The old physician stood over him, a massive smirk on his face.
Did he?
"Gaius!" Gwaine exclaimed happily, and continued speaking without pausing for breath. "I was wondering if you'd seen Merlin. I haven't seen him all day, and you know, worrying. Does he seem okay to you? He seems not okay to me. Of course he seems not okay, he fell down a flight of stairs, but still, worrying."
He continued to ramble on, and Gaius sighed, watching as Gwaine's mouth moved up and down and not listening to him one bit. The guards patrolling the corridors walked past, and Gaius waited several minutes before interrupting the knight.
"You know what?" he injected when Gwaine paused to breathe. "I think I did see Merlin actually. He went this way."
"Oh? Thanks, Gaius." Gwaine trotted along behind him like a young pony. Gaius tried to keep his steps even, looking over his shoulder at the heavy golden chalice that was sitting on a stand as decoration.
As speedily as he could, Gaius reached for the ornate cup and slammed it at Gwaine's head. The wayward knight collapsed, hitting the stone floor with a rough BANG. A young boy walking past (probably a squire and not a servant, judging by his clothing) looked at him in alarm, eyes travelling back and forth from the chalice in the physician's hands to the unconscious knight on the floor.
Gaius sighed, setting the now dented object back on it's stand. "You never saw anything, hear me, boy?" he asked, his voice forceful. "You never saw anything, I'm the physician, I could just as easily tell them you're delusional and unfit for training."
The boy nodded quickly.
"Good." Gaius paused to think for a moment. "I've just discovered this man unconscious in the hallway, yoe found him first and called for a help. Now," his eyes narrowed. "Grab his arms."
Trembling, Ashton did as he was told.
Sir Percival was turning around the corner when he heard the sniffling. "Who's there?" he asked, moving slowly to be prepared if something jumped out at him. It was what the time in Camelot had done to him.
"I -I didn't-" One of the junior squires was lying one the floor of the corridor, weeping. Percival couldn't quite see his face, which was turned away from him at the wall, but the boy's entire body was trembling terribly.
"Are you alright?" the large knight as kindly, and put a light hand on the squire's shoulder.
The boy jumped, flinching away from him. He quickly sat up, leaning against the stone wall, and wiped at his face ashamedly, although he could not bring himself to stop crying.
"P -Perci -I didn't -it wasn't my-" the young squire could hardly get the words out he was stuttering so badly. Percival sat down next to him to try to calm the boy down, but for some reason this only made the tears faster.
"Sh, sh." the knight rubbed small circles on the boy's back, an attempt to relax him, at least enough to regulate his breathing. "It's okay. What's wrong? It's Ashton, isn't it? What's wrong, Ashton?"
Ashton nodded furiously at the mention of his name, but when asked what was wrong, he let out a cry of shock and turned his head away from the large knight in shame.
"Is it serious?"
Yes.
"Can you tell me?"
No.
"Why not?
Ashton gasped loudly, so Percival drew him into a warm hug. He could almost feel the boy relaxing. After a moment, the squire let out a moan, signalling he wanted to say something.
"What is it?" Percival asked softly, to keep him in this state of calaminity*.
"It's-" Ashton's throat wasn't cooperating, and he had to pause. "The court physician- I think- I saw him-" the boy stopped to gasp again. "I saw him kill a man. I saw him kill-"
Ashton jumped out of his arms, pleading for forgiveness, that he hadn't meant to. Percival just looked at him, wondering what had suddenly caused the boy to snap.
Gaius had killed a man. And Ashton had seen it.
Who? Percival found himself asking, and he suddenly realised that no one had seen Merlin since yesterday. What had Gaius done?
"It's alright." the big knight smiled, even though it most certainly wasn't alright. "It's going to be alright." Ashton pushed himself even farther away from the man, whimpering that he was sorry. "It's not your fault." Percival comforted. It was Gaius's fault.
Something heavy hit him in the back of the head, and Percival spun around in time to see Gaius standing behind him, a heavy goblet in one hand. Without meaning to, the large man fell, trapping Ashton under his wait.
"He killed Sir Gwaine." the boy had time to whisper before Percival fell into the creeping darkness. "I saw him kill Sir Gwaine."
Elyan and Leon were training in the field, practicing with their non dominant hands, something Arthur pushed them at. Both were sweating profusely, the hot sun beating down on them.
"Hello, Sir Knight." Gaius strolled past them, his brown robes trailing slightly behind him. He nodded to Sir Leon. "Sir Knight." Another nod, this time directed at Elyan. "May I see the both of you in the armory, when you're ready?"
Leon nodded, and turned back to Elyan. "What do you think he wants?" the senior knight asked, frowning. Elyan shrugged and they continued their fight, still talking.
"I'd like to share words with him about Merlin." Elyan shook his head and switched hands to shake out his wrist.
"You know Arthur said we shouldn't." Leon gave the other knight a moment to rest his arm. "You ready to go again?"
Elyan nodded, and they started up their training again. After a couple more minutes, when both were tiring significantly, they decided to be done for the day. Two squires ran up to help them get out of their armor, but the knights brushed them off. After all, if Gaius was waiting for them in the armory, they could just take their own armor in for storage and see what the old man wanted as they did so.
They didn't get the chance.
"Gwen?" Gaius whispered. It was dark in Gwen's house; all the lights had been extinguished and the curtains drawn tightly, with layers of left over cloth the physician assumed was from Gwen's seamstress work. He could just barely see the floor in front of him, and couldn't tell if Gwen was home or not.
"Over here." a voice croaked from the corner. Gaius quickly tracked the noise to the bed, walking slowly as to not trip over something Gwen had left on the floor in her incapacitated state.
"Are you alright?" the physician asked. He could see her faint outline on the bed that had once belonged to Tom the blacksmith. Before responding, Gwen leaned over the side of her bed and threw up in a specifically placed bucket Gaius had not previously seen. "I guess that answers my question." he said in a dry tone.
"I've been sick since last night." Gwen whispered, her voice musky. "Have you come to give me something, Gaius?"
"Yes," the old man improvised. "Yes, I've come to give you something. Medicine." he corrected. "I heard you weren't feeling well from one of the other servants. What are your symptoms?"
"I've been throwing up since last night." the serving girl began. "It started with nausea, so I laid down, and withing the hour I was vomiting. I woke up this morning with a sore throat, and the vomiting hasn't really stopped."
Gaius looked at her sympathetically, although he doubted that it really mattered what with it being so dark in the house. Looking down into his satchel, the physician shoved around the items in his bag, pushing aside several suspicious looking vials, one of them a deep purple sludge, a sheathed dagger, a small cannon ball, and a chemical soaked cloth until he found a small bag of dried leaves and two shards of flint. "This will help clear up your symptoms, my dear." he said, and quickly lit the easily flammable herbs. "Breathe in." the physician instructed. Gwen did as she was told, having no reason not to, and her eyelids immediately began to droop as her other facial features relaxed.
"Mm' feelun' dibur alrid," she slurred, and slumped into Gaius's waiting arms.
"I'm sorry, my dear." he apologised to her unconscious form. "But you're in love with Arthur, and now you have a part in this as well. If only you had stayed hidden."
The old physician shook his head and looked down at her sadly. A piercing light from the window drew his attention, and Merlin's eyes widened.
The boy was a fast runner, Gaius realised. No matter. He knew exactly where his ward would go.
"Merlin." the calm, familiar voice drew Merlin out of his thoughts.
"Gaius." He looked up to see the old physician standing in the door way, looking at him with a slight smile on his face. It hurt.
"Are you going somewhere?" the old man asked kindly. Merlin had to close his eyes and take a deep breath to stop himself from breaking down right then and there. There was too much at stake to lose it now.
"No." Merlin lied, and then looked down at the bag in his hand that he was stuffing his spare shirt into. Gaius raised one eyebrow, and expression that had always meant, "I know you're lying Merlin. Now tell me the truth." And with that, Merlin couldn't help himself. It was Gaius.
"Yes." he said truthfully. "Far, far away, until I can figure out away to fight back against you and Morgana." Merlin just left out his plans to detour to find Arthur and bring him with.
Gaius looked at him proudly. So the boy knew about his plans with Morgana. He was more clever than he looked, the old man always forgot about that.
"You filthy little coward." Gaius smiled at him, his eyes dead. "You were going to run away from Camelot when your friends need you most. You're pathetic."
Merlin flinched visibly, and finished stuffing his shirt into the bag. "You and I both know that there is nothing I can do here now. I'll be back when I'm ready."
"Pathetic." the man spat again, making no move to leave the doorway.
"I am not!" Merlin tried to keep his voice firm, but he couldn't help it, the words came out like a wail. "Leave me alone." he decided on, and this time his tone stayed flat.
Gaius moved out of the doorway, and keeping his head high in the air, Merlin started to leave, paying no attention to the tears that were threatening to run down his cheeks. It wasn't his fault. He would come back, there was nothing he could do here, he needed to get Arthur and leave. He wasn't pathetic, he wasn't a coward, he wasn't, he wasn't.
The sharp pain in his back registered before the fall. Gaius was standing over him, looking smug.
"I can't actually let you go, Merlin." he said sounding somewhat regretful. "Although we both know how much more fun that would be."
And then Gaius was on top of him, one knee in Merlin's chest to stop him from getting up, although that wouldn't be a problem, he was already hurt from his fall down the stairs, and this was bad, so bad, and Gaius's hands were wrapping around his throat, choking off his air. Choking off his air, suffocating him, and he couldn't breathe, couldn't breathe. Gaius was going to kill him, he couldn't breathe and Gaius was going to kill him, Gaius was going to stop him from breathing, and oh, he was going to die.
But at least it wouldn't be by fire.
A/N: Like it? Hate it? Review!
*calaminity: the state of being calm
