Fear not, Arwen fans! Several bits in this chapter! :) Review replies:
Lady Cougar-Trombone- Thanks! I'm a fan of snappy one-liners, LOL! And Arty remembering what his BFF can do in 3, 2, 1 . . .
MerlinMorgana1579- Ha, I have cute nicknames for everyone! And that's one of my fave scenes too. Makes ya think he's psychic!
sjritts- I like to think of what Uther did here as a tiny bit of redemption for him. And yeah, one of his few redeeming qualities is his love for his children. LOL, you keep cracking me up- all that stuff's at the end! ;)
Whovain101- Yeah, I don't know how Arthur could stand Aggy's slimy oiliness. And Morgause only puts up with him for the intel. I'm glad I can keep you on your toes. :)
CHARLES CHUKU- Aggy will get a more painful death than the original. I'm planning it now.
Patiku- I wonder if the writers gave him that name on purpose? And hehehe. Not answering your question yet. :D
Guest- I apologize! They will end up together, I promise! And no nasty shade!Lancelot will get in the way. :)
Mike3207- Ah, yes. There will be grief. And magical healing.
HoRnIe DeMoN- Don't forget Gaius, LOL! Oh, what fun I'll have messing with the original plot. I hope you'll like it!
yesthenLucky9- Thanks! Yeah, Arthur having a nice birthday where nothing goes wrong? His BFF's more likely to be a sorcerer, LOL! :)
After dinner, Merlin went with Arthur to check on his father. The Prince stood by the bed and just stared at Uther. Gwen came in and walked over to the bed to change the dressing on Uther's wound.
"I appreciate your kindness, everything you're doing for him," Arthur told her. Merlin walked to a window and pretended not to hear their conversation.
"I do it for you," she replied. That appeared to tip him over the edge. He looked away from her as tears trickled down his face. "Oh, Arthur."
"I can't watch him die . . . There's still so much I want to say to him . . . He cannot die."
She came around to him, wiped away his tears and held him in her arms for a while. "Have faith," she whispered. She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him tenderly. Before she left the room, she whispered a few more things into his ear that made him smile.
After a few moments, Arthur looked up at Merlin, noticing he was at the window. He walked over to him and looked out. Many townspeople stood in the courtyard, holding candles. He didn't understand what they were doing. "What's going on?"
"It's a vigil for your Father. The people wish to share their grief," Merlin explained.
Arthur frowned at this. It was . . . unsettling for some reason. "Why are they behaving like he's already dead when there's still life in his body?"
"They're preparing themselves for the worst."
"They can give up hope, but I won't."
"There really is nothing that Gaius can do."
Arthur went silent for a few moments. That usually wasn't a good thing. "There is a way to heal my father."
Merlin thought he knew where Arthur was going with this, but asked anyway. "How?"
The Prince hesitated, then stared meaningfully at his servant. "With magic."
"You realize you're asking me to save the life of a man that would have me executed?"
"I know what I'm asking of you, and you have no reason to help me. But . . . You're my father's only hope. Can you do it?"
Merlin was a little surprised, but he shouldn't be. "I'm not sure. We should go talk to Gaius. And probably Morgana."
"Well, let's go then. You can do your mind-talk thing with her on the way." And Arthur was out the door.
Gwen walked past them on her way back into the room. Arthur was too preoccupied to acknowledge her, but Merlin sent her a look that said we'll talk later. The he sent a mental message to Morgana. "Can you meet me in Gaius's chambers right now?"
"I guess so. What's going on?"
"Arthur wants me to use magic to heal Uther."
There was a stunned pause. "I'll be right there."
Morgana made it to Gaius's chambers seconds after Arthur and Merlin did. Arthur had already told Gaius the plan. He looked concerned and said to Arthur, "You're planning on using magic?"
"I'm desperate. It's my only hope of healing my father.
Gaius gave Merlin a look. "Merlin, please tell me you're not going to do this."
"I'd be lying if I said 'no.'"
"You can't risk exposing yourself like this. It's too dangerous."
"Not if we find a way to do it without anyone knowing," Morgana suggested.
"And if he succeeds and Uther wakes up and sees him?" Gaius asked.
Arthur looked ready to start crying. "There has to be a solution. I can't lose him."
"Maybe Merlin can disguise himself somehow? So no one will recognize him . . ." Morgana said.
Merlin pondered that a moment, then a smile spread over his face. "I think I have an idea!" He ran off to his room. The other three heard various scuffling sounds before he bounced back into the main chamber with something in his hands. He waved a book in the air; its cover screamed magic.
"You have a magic book," Arthur said dubiously.
"Of course I do." Merlin plunked the book onto the table and turned the pages with magic. Arthur and Morgana looked on in awe. "Here!" He slammed his palm down on the page.
Gaius looked down at the page. "An aging spell? Merlin, aging spells are notoriously difficult and unpredictable. If the spell doesn't hold, you'll be exposed."
"It's brilliant!" Morgana cried. "This could really work. If necessary, we could pretend you're an uncle of my mother's or something."
"Do you think Uther is going to thank you for healing him with magic? He's more likely to have you hanged," Gaius said.
"Uther will never change his attitude towards magic. I know that." Merlin looked at Arthur, who sat silently on the bench. "It's worth the risk."
"You of all people should know that the use of powerful magic is fraught with danger."
"If anyone can do it, Merlin can," Morgana stated firmly. She walked over to him and took his hand.
Arthur looked up at Gaius. "If you were me, if it was your father or Merlin, would you use magic to save his life?"
Gaius looked at Merlin and thought for a moment. "Yes, I would. I would do whatever it took." He sighed. "When are you going to do this?"
Arthur looked at Merlin. "Tomorrow morning? Will he still be alive then, Gaius?"
"Yes."
The Prince clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "All right! Now I'll go tell my uncle. He should know about this."
Merlin, Morgana and Gaius looked at each other uneasily. Merlin spoke. "Arthur, are you sure that's a good idea? We should probably keep this between the four of us and Gwen."
"No, I'm going to tell him; he's family. I trust him to keep this to himself." He nearly skipped to the door. "I'll expect you as normal in the morning, Merlin." And with that, he left the room and the other three occupants staring at each other.
Morgana snapped out of it first. "Can I help with anything?"
"As much as I'd love to have you around, you need your rest. We're sort of used to all-hours researching," Merlin told her. He brought her into a hug and she kissed his cheek when she moved away.
"Goodnight then, Merlin and Gaius."
"Goodnight," the men said together. "Love you," Merlin said in her head.
Merlin ran to the upstairs shelves and started searching them. He took various books down, stacked them into his arms and headed down to a mostly cleared table. Gaius looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then walked over to search through another bookcase.
Merlin looked through several books at once, for a while, but failed to find what he was looking for. He ran his hands through his hair and growled in frustration. Gaius looked up at him. "I promised Arthur I could heal Uther and I can't even find the right spell," the warlock said.
"That's because you're reading the wrong books. Here . . ." Gaius held out a small leather book to him and Merlin took it. "Gwillem of Cambria was as mad as a coot, but there has never been a better healer."
Merlin smiled up at him. "Gaius. Thank you." He read over the potion-and-spell combination. "I'm glad you found this. The potion needs several hours to steep. We'll have just enough time."
"Then we'd better get started."
xxxXxxx
Arthur strode to Agravaine's chambers. He found his uncle reading, but when Arthur came in, he looked up and asked after Uther's health. The Prince told him there was no improvement, then hesitated. Maybe I shouldn't tell him . . . but he is family . . . he finally made a compromise with himself. He'd tell Agravaine, but wouldn't tell him when they were doing it.
Finally Arthur spoke, telling his uncle he'd be using magic to heal his father. Agravaine was shocked, of course, and immediately tried to talk Arthur out of it. Arthur was firm, so Agravaine resorted to using Igraine as a reminder. That made Arthur hesitate for a moment, but only a moment. He asked his uncle if he wanted Uther to die, and Agravaine had to backpedal a bit. That seemed to strengthen Arthur's resolve. He left, declaring, "My mind's made up."
Agravaine gave Arthur a few minutes to get back to his chambers. As soon as he felt it was safe, he donned his cloak and snuck out to the stables. This was news Morgause would want to hear.
He knocked on the door this time, not wanting to risk death again. Once inside, he blurted out the news—that Arthur had consulted with a sorcerer and intended to use magic to heal his father. That actually made Morgause smile determinedly. Of course she'd ensure he'd fail. She found a small silver charm and tossed it into her open fire.
Agravaine watched the fire flare up as she incanted a spell. When it died back down, she reached in with a pair of tongs and pulled out the charm. She turned to Agravaine and dropped it into his hand. He instinctively reached out and caught it, before realizing he should have been burned, but wasn't. In fact, the charm was cold. She explained how he would have to put it around Uther's neck. Any healing magic cast on the King would be reversed and magnified tenfold. Uther would certainly die and a grieving Arthur would blame himself, leaving Camelot vulnerable.
And ripe for the picking.
xxxXxxx
At the same time Merlin was attending Arthur in the morning, Agravaine visited Uther's chambers. Gwen was already there and was surprised to suddenly see Agravaine behind her. He said, "It is cold today. Perhaps it's a good idea to start a fire."
"Of course," Gwen replied. She left to find someone to bring wood.
Agravaine waited until she was gone. He took the charm out of his pocket, then quickly and carefully placed it around Uther's neck. He ensured it was carefully tucked out of sight in Uther's robes. He whispered, "Finally, you will get all that you deserve, old friend." He looked down at Uther for a moment then left the room.
In another corridor, Morgana had stationed herself to run into Gwen. There was no one else there, but she pulled her former servant into an alcove to whisper to her. She explained how Arthur and Merlin were planning to heal Uther with magic. Gwen could help by keeping others away from Uther's chambers; Morgana would help her. Gwen quickly agreed to help and was on her way. Morgana grinned and hurried to Gaius's chambers.
She found Merlin and Gaius bent over the table. Gaius was reading a small book. "Gwen will help," she told them.
Merlin looked up at her and smiled. "Thank you Morgana. I'm glad you thought to talk to her. I forgot."
"Merlin," Gaius said, calling his attention back. "You must administer only four drops. Any more could be dangerous."
"Let's hope I can remember the spell."
"You must trust your abilities, Merlin."
They exchanged a worried look then Merlin nodded. "I guess I'd better get my disguise 'on' now." He chuckled and went to his room, closing the door behind him.
Morgana gave Gaius a look and they both ran over to the door to peek. They saw Merlin pour dust into a bowl and utter an incantation, "Miht dagan, beþecce me. Adeadaþ þisne gast min freondum ond min feondum." The dust was set on fire and a great cloud of smoke rose up, obscuring their view. Stymied, they went and sat side by side at the table.
A few minutes passed and Merlin's door creaked open. Gaius and Morgana looked up and found their jaws dropping at the sight of a much older Merlin exiting his chamber. They both stood up to get a better look at him. Merlin grunted a bit and said, "You know me better than anyone, Gaius. Do you recognize me?"
"There's something of you in the eyes. But perhaps that's just because I know it's you," the physician replied.
Morgana giggled. "Aw, you look so sweet!"
Merlin glared, but it held no heat. "I can't believe that one day I will actually look like this. Ah! I ache all over."
"Ah. Well, now you know how I feel," Gaius said. He was sure there'd be no more age jokes from Merlin.
Morgana reached up and planted a kiss on Merlin's wrinkly cheek. "Let's go, 'Uncle.'"
Gaius put a hand on his arm and handed him the supplies. "Good luck, Merlin."
Merlin nodded as Morgana took his arm. They walked slowly across the chamber and were soon gone.
xxxXxxx
At the designated time, Arthur walked down the corridor to his father's chambers. He had to dismiss the guards stationed there. If they heard the wrong thing . . . well, let's not think about that. The guards hesitated, not expecting that order. He had to fix them with his "ultimate authority" look before they finally departed.
Arthur stood in front of the doors, waiting impatiently. A short time later, Gwen sidled up to him. "Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing here?" he asked.
"Well, you're right. I should be inside. But I'm to be your lookout while, um, you know," she said.
"Ah, he told you."
"Morgana did, actually. She's coming too." She broke off for a moment, then started giggling. "Just wait until you see Merlin!"
Arthur quirked an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"
"You'll see." She giggled again and pecked him on the cheek. "I'd better go check on your father. See you in a minute!" And with that, she went inside the room and closed the door behind her.
"Guinevere!" he yelled at the door. But she wasn't going to tell him. He turned around as he heard slow footsteps coming down the hall. Well, footsteps accompanied by a kind of shuffling sound. Around the corner came Morgana on the arm of the oldest man he'd ever seen. When they got closer, he stared into the face of the man. Something about the eyes . . . "Merlin, is that you?"
"Well of course it's me. Do you know anyone else who'd age themselves over fifty years for you?" Merlin replied.
"I see your sense of humor, or lack thereof, didn't change as much as your appearance." Merlin just glared viciously.
"Gentlemen," Morgana said, "I believe you have things to do."
"So we do," Arthur agreed. He opened the door and ushered Merlin in.
Gwen came over and embraced Arthur, planting a kiss on his cheek. She kissed Merlin's cheek too and said, "Good luck," before giggling all the way out of the room.
I apologize for cutting the scene there; it's awkward but the best option available, believe me. Thanks for reading! :) Next up: sturm und drang, aka angst. Yes, I know I technically misused the term. I have a BA in humanities. :)