Chapter 8 – Lessons for the Blind People (formerly: "Lessons for The Bored One")


Beta: BlackBandit111

Words: 2354

I don't own Merlin


There was one moment of blessed silence. Then the trance-like state was shattered like glass with a muffled thud. Sound returned along with chaos. People were running and stumbling over each other while they shouted and looked for more assassins that may jump out of the shadows.

Not one of them looked at the guard kneeling down to the body; they were too worried about their own lives. The guard patted the man down and at last pulled a sealed note from the assassin's left boot, transferred it to his own inner pocket, and disappeared back into the crowd.

The elderly physician pressed a wrinkled hand down on his assistant's shoulder. His hand didn't shake during the slow process of pulling the knife out, and he didn't stop once as he took the offered pieces of clothing from a wide-eyed maid and fastened the makeshift bandages. After he had guided two soldiers to lift the young to his quarters to lay him out on a bed then finally saw the puddle of blood where his assistant had fallen did he slack a little against Guinevere, who laid a comforting hand on the older man's back.

The crowd was slowly thinning as the lords and ladies hurried to the relative safety of their locked chambers. The knights, too, had mostly disappeared; off to organize a search for other intruders; only the royal family and a few knights on guard had stayed behind.

The King finished speaking with Arthur and Sir Leon about leading the search. They both bowed and disappeared out the door, though the Prince cast a fleeting glance at the maid and physician before rounding the corner; the King moved towards the pair promptly resulting in Guinevere releasing her firm grip on Gaius' arm. She curtsied and held her gaze at ground level as the King drew up beside Gaius. "Gaius." He nodded at the physician.

Gaius bowed and replied, "My lord." His voice was calm but for a nearly unnoticeable tremble.

The King's face was a calm mask of indifference even if his tone was a little softer while speaking to the older man, who was the closest thing to a friend a man like the King could ever have; a trusted confidant.

"I understand that the man who saved my son's life is your new assistant?" Gaius nodded in confirmation. "What he did was more than what is expected. Such acts must be rewarded. Tell him I will see him when he wakes."

Gaius looked slightly surprised but gave a small bow. "Of course, my lord. Now, excuse me; I have a patient to look after," he said, and walked out of the hall with Guinevere at his heels.


Merlin woke with a groan. His shoulder and head throbbed in pain while the rest of his body was one big ache. He groaned again and rubbed his temples. He felt like he had been run over by a horse. He tried to sit up, but gave up halfway and flopped back down on the mattress. Scratch that; he felt like he had been run over by a dozen horses.

"Here, let me help you." An arm grabbed his shoulder and guided him up into a sitting position. He blinked his eyes open just as another blanket was thrown around his shoulders before he even realized that he was trembling. He held the blanket close to him and followed Gaius' movements as he grabbed a bottle and came back to the bed. It was only then Merlin realized that he lay on the patients' bed in the main chamber and not in his own room. He rubbed his head again as the events came rushing back. No wonder his shoulder throbbed with every heartbeat.

"Here," Gaius said and handed him the potion, "for the pain."

Merlin nodded and was rewarded with another stab of pain before he gulped the vile, gruel-like substance down with a grimace.

"It will take a little while for it to work properly."

"Are you sure that it won't kill me instead?" Merlin asked in a half-hearted attempt at a joke. Gaius took the empty bottle with a small smile.

"Quite sure," he said and sat the bottle back on the table.

He returned with several salves and bandages. "Let's get yours changed. We will not want the wound to get infected now will we?" Merlin shook his head and removed his blanket so Gaius could discard the old bloodied bandages. He looked on as the old physician worked with careful, practiced hands and was reminded of his mother when she had sometimes treated the other villagers. "He wondered if all these small reprimands and the true care he could see in the older man's eyes was how it would feel to have a father, and was immediately saddened that it couldn't last. Wouldn't last. Just because some higher ups had chosen to place him in the middle of a struggle of power and he was now stuck with the job of helping them bringing down the kingdom.

He wondered if someone had chosen differently; if his father hadn't left them before he was born, if they had moved to another kingdom than Essetir; would anything have prevented all this from happening? As he thought this he realised something else, too; he would never have seen Camelot then, though dangerous for people like him still very beautiful. Neither would have met Gwen, who had truly become his friend, or Gaius, or even Miley. Merlin wasn't sure where exactly Miley stood in all this, but had a suspicion that he hated the war just as much as Merlin did.

Gaius finished and Merlin smiled in thanks, returning the blanket to its former place on his shoulders.

"Merlin," Gaius said; his voice had taken a more serious edge.

Merlin reached over grabbed a mug of water, downing it gratefully before replying, "Yes?"

"What you did back at the feast. You saved Prince Arthur's life."

Merlin nodded, a little unsure where Gaius was headed. Saving the Prince had been the whole idea after all and he had not thought further than that.

"The King told me to send word as soon as you woke. Do you know what that entails?"

Merlin's eyes went wide in shock; he had performed magic in the middle of the feast. What had he been thinking? Had the King seen? Maybe it would have been better that the knife had killed him if this just meant he would burn instead. How stupid could he be? His eyes flew to the window; too high up to be a safe way to escape.

Maybe he could still reach the gates if he snuck past the guards in the hallway- or would they already be on alert, and ring the warning bells any second?

He gasped for breath and was just about to jump out of his bed, injuries forgotten, when a firm hand held him down by the shoulder and forced him to focus on the white framed face of the elderly physician. Gaius' mouth was moving, but he could not hear anything; it felt like he was underwater and he could not get enough air into his lungs. Gaius shook his shoulder lightly and was still speaking, stroking Merlin's back in calming circles. There was only patient warmth in his gaze, no anger or fear, and Merlin slowly calmed down when it seemed no one was going to come crashing through the door quite yet.

"Merlin? Merlin, calm down."

He tried to take a deeper breath but ended up nearly choking and coughed. Gaius patted his back until he finished. The physician gave him a worried look and Merlin supposed it was understandable- having a panic attack because the King was coming was on the rather extreme side of normal behaviour. Well, 'normal people' didn't have to worry about getting burned for breathing. Or treason.

Gaius patted his back a last time, and continued with relying the King's message when he saw that Merlin had calmed down. "The King will just like to thank you for saving his son's life," he said with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Oh," said Merlin, now sheepish over his behaviour. This city truly made him more paranoid than was healthy.

"Yes, and he can be here any minute so I would advise you to compose yourself and act respectful; no reason to act foolish just because you're in the King's good graces for the moment." The last part was said in a tone that indicated that the physician had not meant it as a joke, and Merlin sent him a tired glare just as the door was opened, the King walking in.

"Gaius." Uther greeted the physician with a nod.

"My lord," Gaius nodded to the King as he walked past him. He gave Merlin one last look before he closed the door, leaving Merlin alone with the King of Camelot.

Merlin swallowed and looked down at his lap. He could hear the King move around before sitting down on a stool nearby. For a short while this was the only sound, as Merlin was frozen to the spot, clutching his blanket. He was afraid that if he somehow moved the wrong way the King would see right through him and call the guards. Like he could sniff out magic-users like a bloodhound hunting deer. That was actually one of the rumours he had heard as a child in Ealdor, and even if he didn't believe them anymore, you could never be too careful, in his opinion.

"Merlin, was it?" the King asked. Merlin startled and dropped the edge of the blanket. The warlock lifted his eyes to meet those of the King. "Yes, sire," he answered in a near whisper. He cleared his throat in embarrassment and his cheeks burned. Uther Pendragon was here to thank him, not execute him, and now he was behaving like the fool Gaius accused him of being.

The King's eyes were dark and cut right through him, sizing him up.

"You saved my boy's life, Merlin. You went beyond the duty of a citizen and such a deed deserves a reward," Uther said. He was calm and composed, his carefully indifferent face containing just the right amount of boredom, though gratitude and authority were also present. It all went along well with his straight stance. It was all very impressive and Merlin quickly gazed slightly to the side, still not truly convinced the King couldn't read his thoughts.

"It's really not necessary …"

"Nonsense. Had you been of noble birth, this would have earned you knighthood," Uther said making it clear that it wasn't up for discussion. "The least I could give you is a job in the royal household, but as you already possess such station, a must give you something of equal worth." The King paused. "A horse from the royal stables will do. You will find no better breed in the kingdom. Sir Leon will show you your mount when you're healed enough to walk."

With that matter settled, the King rose to his feet once more and walked to the door. Uther caught his gaze when Merlin looked up. "Camelot needs loyal subjects. Without, the kingdom will crumble, the walls will fall and the people will be a feast for the crows."

With those words, Uther Pendragon strode from the chambers, and Merlin was once again left with a lump in his throat and a slight tremble that had nothing to do with his injury


Arthur Pendragon let his shoulder droop a little when he closed the door behind him. The search for other intruders had been uneventful and he had sent Sir Leon home when he had made sure that the guard was doubled for the night.

He ran a hand through his hair and slumped down onto his goose feathered bed. It had been too eventful a night for his taste. It was not unusual for an assassin to attack the royal families, and by far it wasn't the first time he had been the target, but something didn't sit right with him. The last few months had been more or less quiet, apart from a few bandits and druids roaming the forest, but even they had kept to the borders.

Camelot was a strong and resourceful kingdom and not many kings would dare to declare war against their knights, but usually there would be some border fights or disagreement about trade routes. These last months had been too quiet and now this. It felt wrong; too easy. The assassin had roamed the kingdom for days before he had targeted them. He had killed several guards and then made this nearly unprofessional attempt on killing him, when he had showed he was quite capable of just sneaking in and shooting an arrow into their chests while they slept.

He looked to his desk. His newest servant, George, had arranged the documents in fine piles, his inkbottle placed nicely on the side next to the eagle feather. He would have to look them over them tomorrow, he supposed; right now his whole body felt too heavy and his mind a little clouded. He probably shouldn't have had that much wine to drink before spending the rest of the night running around after imaginary enemies- not that he could have foreseen that.

His thoughts wandered back to the boy who saved his life as he slipped out of his clothes. He had no idea about his motivation for leaping in front of the knife. He was either extremely brave or extremely stupid, but Arthur couldn't be anything than grateful. It probably wouldn't hurt anyone to see if he would be okay; just to make sure that Gaius didn't have to look for a new assistant so soon, of course.

He groaned a little as the head ache took pain to a new level until he felt nauseous. He really needed some good sleep after today. His last thoughts were a prayer that George would let him sleep in before he collapsed.


Two chapters left of the first part of this story …