His Servant's Master
Epilogue
The frantic banging on his chamber door drags Gaius from a deep sleep. "Whatsis?" He calls out as he sits up in bed, half-asleep. At the continued knocking, he stumbles across the room to unlock the door.
The door crashes open and a young teenaged boy rushes in.
"Da sent me to get you. It's ma, her time's come," the boy gasps, out of breath.
Gaius rubs his face with both hands in confusion and sleepiness. "What about the midwife?"
"Dunno. Da said to bring you. Yer the physician, ain't you?"
"Is your ma okay?"
"Dunno. She's screaming." The boy steps forward to take hold of Gaius's arm and yanks. "Please hurry!"
"Right. I'm up. Where's your ma?"
"At the house, next to the tannery."
"Go home, we'll follow," Gaius promises. The boy nods gratefully, and runs from the room. "Merlin!" Gaius shouts. "Wake up!"
"Tell Arthur I've died. And go away."
"No, Merlin. We're needed to help a woman in labor." Gaius waits a moment, putting on his robes. "Now, Merlin!"
"I'm up. I'm up." Merlin appears at the top of the stairs, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He comes down the few steps and sits on the bottom one to buckle on his boots, watching as Gaius gathers some supplies for his medicine bag.
The two walk without speaking through the silent courtyard to the lower gate of the citadel. As much as he usually enjoys Merlin's constant chatter, Gaius is glad for the quiet in the early morning hour shortly before dawn. Merlin's come a long way, he reflects, in learning his trade and becoming a skilled physician himself. He's proud that the boy is following in his footsteps.
Despite Merlin's own misgivings just a few months ago, Gaius had felt comfortable in sending him off with Gwen to the village of Longstreth to investigate a mysterious ailment, when Gaius himself was too busy dealing with the sweating sickness here in Camelot. Merlin had done well in identifying the illness as the result of sorcery, although he hadn't the experience to cure it. But he was learning.
Arthur's recent proclamation with respect to the crown's treatment of the Druids after that incident with Elyan and the spirit of the Druid boy has given Gaius and Merlin hope that one day he will be able to accept magic. Gaius has long marveled at the changes he's observed in Arthur over the years. He has matured into a good king, one who truly cares for his people, demonstrating a greater openness to change than his father allowed.
But Gaius still fears for Merlin, who is always much too reckless in using his magic when he needs to. Gaius doesn't know what Arthur would do if he were to discover Merlin's secret, but like Merlin, he doesn't want to put it to the test. He also doesn't want to put Arthur into an impossible position if he's not ready to learn Merlin's secret. They take each day as it comes, meeting each challenge as best they can. All he knows is that he is confident that Merlin will do what is right when the time is right.
Merlin stumbles on the uneven cobblestones as they pass through the gate onto the bridge over the moat. Gaius sighs and shakes his head, and looks over at the yawning young man beside him.
"Come along, Merlin," Gaius says. "Wake up."
A/N: This adventure continues in "Children of the Druids," by Nantasyland