Hellooo :) So had a week back at college and erghh I've been so tired! Hate early mornings! Hope you all are fine back at school and lucky for people who aren't back yet XD Sorry if you think Gaius would be more technique when talking about Merlin's injuries but I'm not a physician and I've never been hurt like this before so I have no idea :P Anywayy hope you enjoy the chapter and sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes.
Disclaimer: Damn, I still don't own Merlin! If I did, I'd probably be nearly ready for season 6 :(
*Previously*
Arthur mounted his horse and Percival lifted Merlin into it in front of Arthur so Merlin's head was rested on Arthur's chest. The rest of the knights mounted their horses and they began to ride towards Camelot.
It was the next day when the knights arrived back in Camelot. It was midday when everyone was out in lower town buying necessities. Horses' hooves could be heard from a distance and as they got closer, you could feel the distress of the horses and riders. The townspeople moved out of the way quickly to leave a path for their King and his knights. They quickly cantered through the lower town, while being cautious of the people around them. They could feel the stares which followed them and hear people talking about the ghostly pale servant on Arthur's horse. But Arthur wasn't paying attention; he knew that all his attention needed to be focused.
When they entered the courtyard, they quickly brought their horses to a halt and the knights quickly dismounted from their horses. Servants and stable hands quickly took hold of the tired animals while Percival and Gwaine helped lower Merlin off Arthur's horse before he quickly dismounted and took Merlin back into his arms. Gwaine marched ahead, leading the way to Gaius's chambers. While all the knights followed Arthur and Gwaine, Elyan moved in the opposite direction to information his sister of their arrival.
Gaius was quietly working on a potion when the door slammed open. He turned around, about to shout at the noisy person however he saw Gwaine stood in the open door, he quickly forgot what he was about to say. A few moments later, Arthur hurried into the chambers carrying Merlin. Gaius felt his breath get stuck in his throat. He heard Arthur ask where to place him but Gaius could only answer by pointing his finger to the bed in the corner.
Arthur placed Merlin gently onto the bed and he stayed there to watch Merlin. Gaius was stood in shock looking at the state of his ward as well as the emotion Arthur was showing. Quickly he shook his head and remembered that Merlin needs his help as a physician.
"Everyone out," Gaius said sternly.
Percival and Leon went to move out the room but noticed that neither Gwaine nor Arthur was moving. They moved over to them and gently attempted to coax them towards the door.
"No. I'm not leaving," said Arthur.
"Me neither," agreed Gwaine.
"I know you are worried. But I need room to work and I can't deal with any distractions," said Gaius still sternly.
Gaius looked around and noticed that they still weren't moving. Gaius sighed.
"Please can you leave? I'm trying to save Merlin. You waited here isn't going to help him," Gaius said softly, "Look if you want to help, you can go fetch me some water."
Gwaine looked at Merlin before nodding to Gaius and went to go fetch some water. However Arthur still was reluctant to move.
"Sire please, wait outside."
Percival touched Arthur's shoulder and gently turned him. Arthur then moved outside of the door and sat on the stairs. He put his head in his hands and waited for news.
Gaius was busy moving around the chambers picking up certain herbs and potions to help Merlin. Gwaine entered the room carrying a bucket of water and placed it on the table next to Merlin. Gwaine stood there for a minute before being shooed out the door by Gaius. He went and sat next to Arthur.
An hour after they arrived and they were still outside the chamber. They could hear Gaius moving around and Merlin's pained whimpers and screams, which were usually followed by Gaius making sympathetic noises towards Merlin. Arthur was sat on the stairs staring into his hands. Gwaine was pacing along the bottom of the stairs (which was a very narrow corridor with not much space to move). Leon was stood leaning against the wall facing Gaius's door. Percival was sat next to Arthur with his leg shaking up and down. The tensions were high.
This was the scene which Gwen entered with Elyan beside her. She walked up to Arthur and placed her hand on his shoulder, squeezing it slightly. This brought his head out of his hands. He stood up and pulled Gwen into a hug which Gwen returned. She knew that he wouldn't let all his emotions out while he was with his knights so Gwen knew that he needed his hug.
A few minutes later, Arthur pulled away from the hug and sat back down on the stairs. Gwen looked around at all the knights and noticed how exhausted they were.
Gwen sighed and softly said, "Why don't you all go get some rest? You all look like you could sleep for a few days."
"I'm not going anywhere until I know Merlin's alright."
All the knights nodded their heads in agreement. Gwen sighed again. She slowly climbed the stairs and knocked on Gaius's chamber door.
"Who is it?" called Gaius.
"It's Gwen."
"Come in."
Gwen gently opened the door and closed it behind her. Her eyes went straight to Merlin laid on the bed with Gaius next to him stitching up some wounds. She felt tears welling up in her eyes but she wouldn't let them fall.
"Would you like some help?"
Gaius took a shaky breath, "Yes. Yes that would be good."
Gwen tied her hair up and moved over to Gaius.
"Could... could you use that w-water and..." said Gaius in a shaky voice before Gwen interrupted him by pulling him into her arms and gave him a hug to try and calm him.
"He will be fine Gaius. You can help him."
Gaius took a deep breath before pulling away from Gwen.
Gaius coughed, "Right sorry. Could you use that water with a cloth and try to keep him cool?"
Gwen nodded before picking up the cloth. She dunked it into the water and placed it onto Merlin's forehead. She watched his expression as he began to feel the cool water on his face. This was quickly replaced with a pained expression as Gaius began to stitch up some more wounds.
"I'm sorry my boy," said Gaius sympathetically.
After another hour, Gaius had finally finished stitching, applying salve and bandaging up Merlin's wounds. He lost count of all the stitches he'd done and the bandages he'd used. Gaius sat back in his chair and looked at his work before moving his eyes to Merlin's face which was finally relaxed after all the pain he had caused him. Gwen was still soaking the cloth and placing it on his forehead. Gwen looked at Gaius, unsure whether she should ask him about Merlin's injuries.
"You can ask your question your majesty."
"Now Gaius, how many times to I have to tell you? You can call me Gwen. But I was going to ask you... about Merlin's injuries..."
"I suppose you want to know but I think we should get Arthur and the knights back in."
Gwen nodded in agreement as Gaius got up from his chair and crossed the room to open the door. He saw all of them either sat or stood on the stairs waiting for news.
"You can see him, but you need to be quiet."
Gaius turned back and sat back in the seat next to Merlin. He didn't need to turn around to know that they were following him. All the knights stood around Merlin, looking at his now bandaged chest and back.
"How is he Gaius?" asked Arthur.
"He is doing well considering..."
"What... what did she... do to him?" asked Gwaine nervously.
"He has cuts all over his body, some healed others haven't. He has deeper ones on his chest where she has used the knife in the same place more than once. He has severe burns on his face and arms. I'm afraid that these will most likely scar but hopefully the salve will help heal as many as it can. He had a dislocated shoulder I managed to put back into place. As it has been like that for a few days he will have to regain the mobility of the arm as it will be weak. This will cause him pain over the next few weeks. I have bandaged his wrists which looked full of infection, like some of his cuts which have caused him to have a fever. Hopefully it won't rise higher than it is already. On his backs, there were several long wounds which look like the results of being whipped. I have stitched them all but I'm not sure if I was too late for the infection to appear. I will have to look tomorrow. I have given him something for the pain and it will hopefully help him sleep through the night. I don't think it would be nice for him to wake up when he will be in pain for the next few days..."
It was a lot of information for the men and Gwen to take in. There was silence in the room for a few minutes before Gaius decided to speak again.
"As I am the physician too all of you, not just Merlin, I need to order you all to go rest. No exceptions. You will all go to your rooms and rest and I refuse to let you come see Merlin until you all get at least 12 hours sleep," said Gaius with an expression which says 'do not test me'.
All the men reluctantly started to walk back to their rooms, not before looking at Merlin for the last time. Arthur went over and squeezed Merlin's hand and whispered, "You're safe now Merlin. Rest now but please... please come back to us."
After that, Arthur turned away and slowly walked out of the room. Gwen looked to Gaius.
"Go with him Gwen. I'll be fine here with Merlin. He will probably sleep through the night anyway."
Gwen smiled and kissed Merlin on his forehead. She stood up and squeezed Gaius's shoulder before following Arthur out the door.
Gaius continued to watch Merlin, "You've got to be alright Merlin. I don't think any of us could live without you."
Hope you liked it? Still can't get over the number of followers/favourites/reviews this story has gotten! Glad to know you are enjoying the story, no matter how badly written it is... Anywayyy not looking for sympathy XD I also found teen wolf yesterday evening! finished the first series, can't believe there are only 12 episodes in season 1 and 2! Anyway this is Merlin not teen wolf ;) Not sure when next chapter will be but it should be in this week or so :) Until then, byeeee (: