Thanks to any and all reviews received after last chapter- I still haven't fully decided, but the opportunity for a sequel is still there (more opinions are always welcome). Well, here's chapter 10 for you.
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.
Chapter 10
When Arthur awoke the next morning, it was to the sight of sunlight streaming in through the window and the sound of Merlin's not quite as cheery as usual voice.
"Rise and shine sleepyhead."
Arthur propped himself up by his elbows, squinting in the light. "Merlin?"
"The one and only."
"What are you doing here? I'd have thought Gaius would be forcing you to rest." He got a shrug in reply.
"He tried, but there's no point in me hanging around trying to go back to sleep when I really can't. Besides- he said you were going to come over anyway. I figured I'd save you the trouble. Now come on, breakfast is served."
Sighing, Arthur swung himself out of bed and walked over to the table. He hadn't realised until this moment how hungry he was- with all the worry last night he had completely forgotten about supper. As he ate, Merlin readied his clothes for the day, then waited for him to finish. It couldn't really be said that he waited patiently, as he spent the entire time fidgeting. As soon as the last bite had passed the Prince's lips, he spoke.
"So what did you want to talk about?"
Arthur quickly studied his friend's face. He was still quite a bit more pale than he usually was, although it must be said that he didn't look anywhere near as bad as he had the day before.
"Why don't you just sit down Merlin? You look like death."
Merlin flashed him an annoying grin.
"Could it be that you're worried about me? I'm flattered."
"Of course not. I just don't really fancy having to deal with all the fuss if you collapsed on my floor." It wouldn't be good for Merlin to know how bothered he was over his condition. Pretending didn't help though, as Merlin just gave a knowing smile.
"Of course not sire. But thanks, I think I'll take you up on your offer." With that said, he promptly sat down opposite the Prince, not quite managing to hide the relief it gave to his strained body. "Now come on- tell me. What did you want to talk about?"
"Very well. It's about these dreams you've been having."
Merlin tensed slightly, a minute frown developing on his face. "What about them?"
"Well, for starters, have you ever dreamt of the likes before they started?"
"No. I mean, I've had bad dreams before- everyone has. But this is the first time I've ever had them continuously."
"Even though, from what you told me the other day, you've evidently seen enough to give even hardened warriors the odd nightmare here and there?" The frown grew larger. Evidently, Merlin didn't like being reminded of everything that had happened in his waking hours as well as during the night.
"Is there a point to this?"
"Merlin. Just answer the question."
"Fine. That's right. Like I said- nothing like it before."
"Then it's entirely unprecedented…" This was said so quietly that Merlin had to strain to catch it.
"What was that?"
"Nothing- I just wanted to confirm something. Now, how deep would you say your knowledge of sorcery is?"
"I know enough. I wouldn't say that I know as much as I need yet- normally I have to spend ages looking up a particular spell if it's something really important. Why? What's this got to do… with…" Arthur just gave him a pointed look as an expression of realisation slowly dawned on the young man's face. "You think this could be magical."
"Yes."
"But who'd want to do something like this- no one in Camelot apart from you and Gaius know that I have magic, and why bother making a normal servant lose sleep? There doesn't seem to be any point in it."
"That's what I've been thinking about for a few days now. If it's not because they know your secret, and it's not because of your position- which, lets face it, is pretty much non-existent in the grand scheme of things…"
"Hey!"
"Then it must be because of something you've done. Basically- revenge."
Merlin shook his head in confusion. "But who would want revenge against…" He took a sharp breath, as what Arthur had said clicked in his mind. "Morgause."
"Precisely- you did poison her sister after all. No matter what the circumstances, even the average person would find that hard to forgive. Not to mention that in the process you prevented her from murdering my father."
Merlin put his head in his hands, leaning forward against the table. How could he have been so stupid? He should have thought of this. Truth-be-told though, he'd been so tired lately he'd hardly been able to think straight at all- let alone consider that there might be an external factor to his condition. But it all made sense- if you considered that the nightmares had started such a short while after the incident with Morgause and the Knights of Medhir. He looked up at Arthur.
"But it's useless. Without knowing how the spell was caused, I won't know how to counter it."
Arthur stayed impassive, completely unfazed by this. After all, at least they had a lead. "Doesn't matter. We can research. What matters is that we've got an idea of what to look for. As long as you can keep your magic under control until we find the answer it'll all work out fine." The Prince stood up, heading towards the door. "Now lets go- the sooner we get started the better."
"Um…Arthur?"
"What?"
"You're not dressed." He looked down at himself. Yes, he was still just in the loose trousers we wore to bed.
"Ah." He looked over at the smug expression on his manservant's face. "Shut up."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were going to."
Merlin opened his mouth as if to rebut this statement but quickly decided against it. It was true after all. Instead, he waited until the young Prince was behind the screen before offering a suggestion.
"Why don't we start of with the books in Gaius' chambers- there's a lot of information and it may save us from having to visit that dusty old Library."
"You know, for once you may just have had a half-decent idea." Arthur stuck his head over the top of the screen. "Speaking of Gaius- have you told him yet that I know?"
"Not yet. I thought it might be better if we were together when he found out- if it's just me who knows how long he'll have me on leech-tank duty."
"Have you decided how to tell him?"
A mischievous grin spread across the young servant's face as he tilted his head jauntily to one side.
"About that- I was considering getting a little bit of payback for him making me drink that foul-tasting concoction yesterday." Arthur came into view, now fully clothed, and gave a dubious nod. "So, I was thinking it might be fun if we put on a bit of a play for him…"
He he. I can't wait to get started on the next chapter. I'll try and get it done for tonight, but it may end up being slightly later than the updates so far- I have a whole bunch of work to do for Uni (Note to self: this is what happens when you leave work until the last minute- you have to do it all at the last minute. It's common sense really. Tut tut tut.)