Oops. It's been a few days hasn't it? :/ sorry about that. Anyway- Chapter!
Leon gripped his sword and swung half-heartedly at the training dummy before him. The knight was having a difficult time paying attention today; his thoughts were in other places- specifically Gaius's chambers.
Being a knight, Leon was normally able to distance himself from such situations. He had to. He'd sat by other knights when they were on their deathbeds- whether it was from a wound or illness, but he could never let it get to him. Yet, for some reason, he couldn't help but wonder about the condition of the younger boy, the one called Merlin.
Deciding that training was a lost cause, the preoccupied knight slipped away from his brother's in arms without a word and set off for the physician's chambers. Leon didn't really know why he was going to see the boy, after all, he hadn't even spoken to the youth and considering that Merlin had referred to Leon as "Mr. Curly Hair" at one point it was clear the boy didn't even know the knight's name.
But there he was, outside the old wooden door that led to Gaius's chambers. Leon paused before knocking, his knuckles poised over the rough wood. Really, he didn't need to check on the boy. He had been there earlier that very same day and the knight seriously doubted that his condition had improved or changed over the past few hours. Yet, he knocked regardless, albeit lightly.
There was no reply from inside and Leon remembered that Gaius would probably be doing his evening rounds at the moment. He hesitated, then slowly opened the door and entered the chambers as quietly as possible.
Much to Leon's surprise, he found himself caught in the wide-eyed, sky blue gaze of the now conscious Merlin. The boy suddenly put a finger to his mouth in a "shhh" fashion and then pointed to the other bed, which was currently occupied by Arthur.
Leon smiled slightly at the sight of the blond. Over the past few days Arthur had become somewhat of a friend to the normally aloof knight and it relieved him greatly that the boy was finally getting some much-needed sleep.
A light scratching noise made Leon look back to Merlin, who was now holding up a piece of parchment.
Why can't I talk
No thanks
Merlin, nice to meet you Gaius
Arthur what happened
Why
No
Mother and father
Oh
No I'm okay
Tired
Okay
Thanks
Sorry he just fell asleep and I didn't want to wake him
Merlin held the parchment up for a moment before setting it back on the heavy book rested on his lap and scribbling something else.
Hello, my name is Merlin
Leon glanced over at the sleeping boy at the other end of the room.
"I am Sir Leon. It's nice to finally meet you Merlin." The knight whispered as he silently sat himself down on the stool next to Merlin's bed.
The raven-haired boy smiled and held out his pale hand, which trembled slightly at the exertion. Leon took it regardless, noticing the slight warmth to the boy's skin.
"Are you feeling better then? You looked like death you first arrived."
Merlin hastily scribbled a response.
Yes, thank you. Sorry I can't talk- throat is sore from coughing.
Leon nodded sympathetically and there was more scratching of the quill on the parchment.
Thank you for all your help Sir Leon. Gaius told me that you were the one to bring me up when we arrived.
The knight chuckled quietly. "You're very welcome, Merlin. Do you remember anything?" He added thoughtfully. Leon had gotten a little bit of the story from Arthur and Gaius but there were still huge gaps that needed to be filled.
Merlin looked slightly sad for a moment and his blue eyes flashed with a mixture of emotions- sorrow, regret, guilt- making him look suddenly a lot older than he was. No one that young should ever have eyes like that.
Not much. Mostly just what Arthur has told me
The raven-haired boy frowned deeply and stared down into his book.
"What book is that?" Leon asked lightly, eager to change the subject to not upset the boy any more than he already had.
Merlin looked up excitedly before scribbling another hasty response.
Magic! Gaius lent it to me- it's great even though I can't try anything while my voice is gone
At the mention of magic Leon raised his eyebrows in surprise. If there was one thing that he hadn't expected of the skinny, pale-skinned boy before him, it was for him to be a sorcerer. The look didn't go unnoticed, apparently, because the next second Merlin's blue eyes erupted into molten gold and a strange blue and gold sphere blinked into existence over the open spell book.
"What!" Leon exclaimed loudly. He glanced over at Arthur who was thankfully undisturbed and continued quietly. "How did you do that without casting a spell?"
Merlin's eyes faded back to blue and the orb wavered, then dissipated with the gentle scratch of the quill.
I don't need a spell for some things. Father says that I'm different than most magic users
To say that Leon was intrigued would be an understatement. More like utterly fascinated. The knight was no stranger to magic, despite the king's distrust of it, but he'd never met anyone who was able to use it without a spell.
"You should be careful, Merlin." Leon warned suddenly. The young warlock's face fell slightly.
Why?
Leon ran a hand through his mess of blond curls (Mr. Curly Hair was fitting title, he supposed). "Though magic is not illegal, it is unwise to use it here in the castle."
Merlin still looked confused.
The knight sighed. "The king is not a... fan of magic users. He allows it, but doesn't necessarily like it or trust those who wield it." Leon stopped himself from saying more. He was a knight of Camelot and therefor couldn't speak out against his king- even if he didn't agree with Uther's views.
Oh
The raven-haired wrote slowly, dejection slowly overtaking his previous happiness. Leon silently cursed himself. For some reason all of his efforts to cheer the boy up only seemed to make things worse. Fortunately, Merlin chose that moment to stifle a cough, rubbing his sore neck as he did so.
"Are you alright?" Leon whispered intently. Though he felt bad that Merlin was in pain, Leon was silently grateful for the change in their conversation.
"Wa-er." Merlin croaked. His voice was harsh and low- just barely there. Leon flinched at the pained noises that followed his attempts to speak. The knight searched around desperately for the water bucket and let out an audible sigh of relief when he spotted it sitting on the table near them.
Once Merlin had taken a few painful swallows of the liquid that Leon brought him he calmed down once more but still massaged his neck in an effort to alleviate his sore throat. That's when for the first time, the knight noticed the bright red neckerchief that the boy was wearing. He vaguely recalled Arthur wearing a matching blue piece.
"I admire your choice in neckwear." The knight nodded and pulled his red cape forward to show that the two colors matched almost perfectly. Merlin gave a small smile but it looked sad and forced.
Thank you. My mother made it for me.
There was a pause in their conversation. Leon was beginning to feel slightly awkward. He was just about to excuse himself when the door opened and Gaius entered the room, looking weary.
The old physician opened his mouth to greet the two but stopped when both the knight and Merlin put their fingers to their mouths as a sign to be quiet. Gaius glanced over at Arthur's sleeping form and nodded knowingly.
"Sire." He whispered to Sir Leon, who nodded back politely. Though Gaius was not a knight or a lord and was technically ranked below Leon, the knight always treated the physician with a mutual respect.
"Merlin- you're not talking, are you?" Gaius's uneven eyes narrowed, coupling with his permanently raised eyebrow to form a very critical look.
No, I swear
Gaius eyed the raven-haired boy suspiciously but seemed to relax slightly when he saw the long line of crossed out writings from Merlin's "conversation" with Leon. The knight shifted uncomfortably.
"I need to be off. Get well soon, Merlin." He nodded to the boy who scribbled something down quickly in response.
Thank you
Leon smiled at the simple statement and excused himself from the room, patting Gaius's worn shoulder as he left. The knight cast one last look over the raven-haired boy who was still watching him quietly before he left. Merlin, it seemed, was full of surprises.
Merlin had enjoyed his visit from the knight but it left him feeling completely drained. The sleepy youth hoped that he could escape drinking another one of Gaius's horrible potions by falling asleep quickly but he was no match for the old physician.
By the time that the young warlock was permitted to sleep, he had a horrible taste in his mouth and his throat burned horribly from the awful substance that he had just been forced to drink. But, despite everything, Merlin was out as soon as his head hit the pillow- pulled into a deep, dreamless sleep with the aide of Gaius's potion.
Merlin…
The strange voice echoed in Merlin's mind once more, bringing him up from the depths of unconsciousness.
Who are you? He thought desperately.
Merlin…
What do you want? The boy pleaded silently.
Young warlock.
Merlin awoke with a strangled gasp as the sudden intake of air made his throat burn. He blinked blearily and listened for the voice, but it was gone.
"Merlin?" Arthur's face came into his line of sight and the raven-haired boy couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Before he had finally gotten some sleep, the blond had looked absolutely terrible and Merlin had been worried that his brother would collapse from exhaustion or something. But now he looked almost normal- his sapphire eyes were still haunted and sad but the unnatural pallor had gone from his tanned skin and the bark bruised that had formed under his eyes were all but gone.
"Here sit up." The older boy said in a commanding voice as he helped Merlin up into a sitting position. "Gaius told me to make you drink this when you woke up. He said that it'd help your throat."
Arthur held up a small vial of a dark green liquid for his brother to see and Merlin could help but let out a displeased hum. The blond rolled his eyes unsympathetically.
"Oh don't be such a girl Merlin. Just drink it." Merlin shot the older boy an annoyed glare before taking the vial and knocking back the liquid in one go.
After the gagging stopped the raven-haired youth looked around for his parchment frantically and felt his heart fall when he spotted it on the table and decisively out of his reach.
'Water' he mouthed silently, stormy blue eyes pleading with his brother to understand. Arthur's brow furrowed in confusion, prompting an eye roll from Merlin.
It was that precise moment that Merlin remembered that he had legs and was not an invalid. He nearly smacked himself in the head for basically forgetting the fact that he could move on his own, despite the fact that he was painfully slow and ached all over.
"What do you think you are doing you idiot?" Arthur bellowed when he saw that his brother was trying to get out of bed.
Merlin just rolled his eyes again and pushed himself slowly up into a standing position. After spending the last few days in bed his muscles felt weak and stiff but he managed to clamor over to the table without falling only to find that the water bucket was disappointingly empty. The raven-haired boy let out a low hum of annoyance.
Merlin clicked his tongue and moved to grab the bucket but Arthur took it before he could.
"I'll get the water. After all, we wouldn't want you fainting all over the castle like a girl, would we?" The blond sighed with fake exasperation. Merlin just stuck out his tongue silently and grabbed his book, parchment and paper from the table before returning to his bed.
Thank you
Okay next chapter the royals make their entrance so stay tuned! By the way- I seriously love Leon and I love his relationship to Merlin and I will never give that up so he'll probably be a main character in this story :)
