A/N: Pressure's on; just a few more days and I will have caught up to my pre-written chapters *nervous chuckling*. Though I have written a fair bit since I started posting, so hopefully I'll be able to keep up the chapter a day posting pace.
My apologies if you got multiple alerts for this chapter- it kept posting chapter 4 instead of 8 even though I checked to make sure everything was named and assigned correctly. Mystifying. I tried replacing the chapter before deleting it but that didn't work (yes, I may simply not have waited long enough, I admit that). *shrugs*
Nance: Confession time. So, I'm writing this for a challenge on HoC which involved expanding on a drabble. I signed up for it and picked my drabble thinking 'perfect, this one is literally made to be expanded on'. I quickly discovered that this challenge is bad news since I consider my drabbles as complete works, self-contained for the most part. That being the case it was so hard for me to write this, the only way I could get past the beginning was to borrow from the episodes when my original intention for the storyline was to diverge completely. So here I am, using canon dialogue and killing off Alator. I did eventually get a new vision for the story- right about the time I was writing this chapter, in fact. That said, the situation with Alator was more of an 'it was all happening so fast and he was about to rush in, but Finna's interjection was just enough of a distraction to prevent his foolhardy rescue from taking place' sort of deal. Anyway, hope it starts coming together for you ;)
Finna held him as he slowly moved to touch the projectile lodged in his abdomen. "Lie back," she instructed, rather unnecessarily. She gave no warning before pulling the bolt out in one swift motion.
"Can you walk?" She asked, senses on alert for signs of pursuit.
"Yeah," he gasped. "Yeah, I think so."
Finna helped him to his feet, handing him a small branch to use as support while she steadied him on the opposite side.
"Where will we go?" Merlin asked, concentration greatly impaired by the pain and blood loss. He pressed a hand to the wound, grimacing at the contact.
"There is a watch tower on the other side of the valley. It's not very near, but it's safe."
"No," the warlock shook his head. "Camelot is closer. They don't know about any of this- it'll be safe for you there."
She wanted to object, but the sight of Emrys straining to hold himself upright and conscious swayed her.
"Very well."
The pair struggled onward, Merlin's strength continuing to wane until Finna was practically dragging him through the wood. She breathed a sigh of relief when the white walls of Camelot came into view.
"We are here, My Lord," she proclaimed. He didn't answer. "Emrys?"
Suddenly his full weight dragged her down, both of them sinking to the forest floor.
"Master!"
She gently slapped his cheeks but could raise no response from him. Frowning, she looked between the injured man and the gates. She would not be able to carry his full weight.
Hardening her resolve, she propped him up against a tree and made her way to the city gates.
Guinevere was in the physician's quarters, staying out of sight until Merlin returned, when a commotion erupted in the corridor and the door flew open.
"What's- Merlin!"
A pair of guards were carrying the slack body of her friend into the room, blood dripping from him to the floor as they made their way to the patient bed.
Gaius was right behind them, sending the two out as soon as they had delivered his patient.
"What happened?" The queen asked, grabbing a bucket of water and pouring the contents into a pot to boil.
"I don't know. The guards say a woman found him in the woods like this. He seems to have been shot with a crossbow."
She gasped as Gaius pulled back Merlin's shirt to reveal the ugly wound from which his lifeblood flowed.
"Gaius!"
The two turned to see Arthur in the doorway, eyes wild and chest heaving. Upon spotting his wife he swept her up in a tight embrace, releasing her quickly when he caught sight of his servant on the cot.
"What happened? The messenger only said that Merlin had been found, injured, in the forest," his gaze darted to his wife. "I thought perhaps you'd been taken again."
Guinevere pulled him back to her, drawing strength from his presence.
"This is my fault," she gasped.
"What?" He asked, just as Gaius began explaining.
"A woman found him in the wood, Sire. He appears to have been shot with a crossbow." His voice was blunt and detached, the bulk of his attention on treating his ward. As the physician pressed a noxious-smelling cloth to the wound, Merlin's eyes opened and he grunted in pain.
"Merlin?" The king called, moving closer.
Spotting him, the servant made a weak grab for Arthur's arm. His fingers curled loosely around his master's sleeve as he wheezed out "Morgana". He had meant to say more, but his weakened state and Arthur's violent reaction to hearing his erstwhile sister's name cut the warning short.
"Morgana- she did this?" The warrior's fist impacted the bed frame, drawing a whimper and gasp from the patient. Arthur moved away to pace, calling in a guard and instructing him to inform Sir Leon of the situation and tell him to send men to investigate. He avoided looking at the bed where his friend was trying to curl in on himself but was no longer able to do so- though that didn't stop Gaius from reprimanding him.
The blood flow was finally slowing, but entirely too much had been lost if his ward's crimson-soaked shirt and trousers were any judge. Worry made him waspish and he snapped, "Lie still, Merlin!"
The young man did so, in an alarmingly swift and thorough manner.
"Gaius?" Gwen's tremulous voice inquired.
"He is only unconscious," the elder assured.
"He'll be alright?" Arthur stared at his friend's pale face. It didn't look like he'd be alright.
"I'm not entirely sure," the physician answered, rising to retrieve some herbs with worry plain on his wrinkled face.
The king felt lost. Merlin couldn't die. The mere thought was beyond his ability to accept. Guinevere sobbed into his chest, wetting his tunic.
"Sire, he will likely not wake for quite some time. Perhaps it would be best if you returned to your chambers for the night," the elder cast a significant glance at the distraught queen.
Arthur looked to his wife. It was dark now; they could have dinner and take an early night- not that either of them would be likely to sleep properly. Or he could personally hunt down Morgana by torchlight...
"You'll send word immediately if there's any change?"
"Of course, Sire," Gaius gave a slight bow, turning right back to his charge afterward.
The king nodded. "Extra guards will be posted outside your door. If you need anything..." The physician waved his understanding.
"Come, Guinevere," he steered his wife out the door, shielding her from prying eyes with his body.
They laid in bed together until Guinevere began to gather herself.
"What happened?" Arthur's soft question made her tense slightly, but still she answered.
"We didn't go to the market together," the queen took a deep breath before delivering the story Merlin and she had made up in case their lie was discovered. "He- he wanted to go to the forest to relax. You know how he is."
The king nodded. His servant was constantly finding excuses to disappear into the wood- that or the tavern.
"I offered to go with him but I... I was afraid, and he noticed." Confessing this hadn't been part of the plan, but it was true. Strong arms tightened around her.
"Did you see anyone approach him?" Maybe someone had been sent to lure him out as before- Merlin would be the sort of idiot to learn nothing from his poisoning.
"No," she buried her face in his chest. "I shouldn't have let him go alone."
"Shhh," he rubbed her back soothingly. "You couldn't have known. The forest should have been safe so close to the city- and Merlin should not have insisted on going out, no matter how restless he was."
Gwen's heaving breaths stilled, one final sigh escaping her.
"How did we come to this?" She asked, yearning for the days when Morgana had been the best of friends to them all.
"Fear changes people," Arthur said, kissing his wife's hair, "-and ambition."
Whatever answer the queen may have had for that would have to wait as she had successfully cried herself to sleep.
The monarch kissed her again, wondering when they would finally escape his sister's shadow.
Gaius worked tirelessly through the night; stitching the flesh together, propping Merlin up to ease his troubled breathing, keeping him warm, and checking the wound regularly. He swore upon noticing that the bruising around the site continued to grow. Merlin was bleeding internally.
He would have to risk it.
"Ic hæle þina þrowunga," he intoned, voice gaining depth and strength with the magic infusing it.
His patient twinged and whimpered as two guards burst into the room, weapons drawn.
"Gaius! Is everything alright?" The taller of the pair inquired, both men looking about the chambers with suspicion.
The physician was clutching his chest, heart throbbing with surprise. Foolish of him to forget the guards on the door.
"Everything's fine," he replied, voice rather fainter than usual in his continued shock.
"Are you certain? It sounded like someone was casting spells in here," the shorter man said, eying the window as his compatriot checked the back room.
"Ah, that was-" he cast about for an excuse, spotting a medical tome nearby, "Latin!"
"Latin?"
"Yes, Latin," he opened the book to display the illuminated pages. "Language of the Romans. I was merely reading some passages from it to... calm my patient."
The guards exchanged a skeptical look, but nodded. Who were they to question the court physician's methods?
"Very well. We'll be just outside if you need us." They gave brief bows and returned to their posts.
Gaius let his breath out in one big gust, clutching the book to his chest and taking a moment to control his own breathing and heartbeat before checking his ward once more.
He wasn't certain with the stitches preventing a clear view, but it seemed the edges of the wound had joined together slightly. The bruising, however, had spread noticeably in the short time that exchange had taken. Had he somehow made the injury worse?
He stared at the door for only a moment before deciding he would just have to hazard another attempt.
Taking a deep breath, he gathered his strength and funneled it into the spell, focusing on keeping his voice low.
"Ic hæle þina þrowunga!"
The magic rushed out from him and into Merlin like a dam releasing water to be soaked up by parched earth.
The warlock shuddered as Gaius' strength failed and the physician fell into blackness.
