Hurt and Comfort in Camelot

PenPatronus

Story 21

How to Torture a King

Part 1

In Ealdor, Merlin wasn't a servant, target practice or a physician's assistant. He wasn't a dragonlord. He wasn't a secret sorcerer charged with the destiny of an entire kingdom. He was just his mother's son.

A week with Hunith was just what he needed. Merlin worked in her garden, helped her build a fence, enjoyed her food and reminisced about his childhood. In the evenings she sang old lullabies and he used his magic to entertain her with dancing creatures out of the fire. Merlin barely gave Camelot a second thought. Arthur would be fine without him for a week.

Or so he thought.

Merlin knew something was wrong the moment he entered the castle. Twice as many knights guarded the halls. Servants spoke only in hushed voices. Camelot-red curtains covered every window and no one smiled. He was halfway to Gaius' chambers when a scream echoed through the castle. A scream that he recognized. "Arthur!" Merlin dropped his rucksack and sprinted upstairs. Gwaine and Leon intercepted him right before he reached Arthur's chambers. "What are you doing?" Merlin bellowed. He tried to fight them off but stood no chance against their strength. "Let me go! Arthur's in trouble!" Arthur shrieked again with such intensity that Merlin thought he saw the doorknobs vibrate.

"Merlin, calm down!" Gwaine ordered.

Leon pinned his arms behind his back. "There's nothing you can do!"

"Arthur!" Merlin cried.

The third yell was an arrow through his heart because it wasn't an incoherent scream, but a name: "Merlin!"

The doors opened and Gaius and Guinevere emerged, disheveled and out of breath. The physician looked five years older and the queen looked ten. The half-moons beneath Gwen's eyes matched the color of her dark hair. She jumped into Merlin's arms and nearly choked him with a hug. "Oh, Merlin, thank goodness you're home. Arthur keeps asking for you."

"What's going on?" Merlin demanded of Gaius. "What's wrong with Arthur?"

"He's gone mad, Merlin." Gwen stepped back and gripped his shoulders. "Completely insane. He thinks that everyone is a sorcerer out to kill him. He won't eat, he won't sleep, he won't leave his room, and he's talking to his dead parents…" Gwen swayed slightly and Merlin put his hands on her waist.

"Gwaine, Leon, please escort the queen downstairs," said Gaius. He took Gwen by the elbow and led her away from Merlin. "See that she eats something and gets some rest."

"Of course." Leon put his hand behind her shoulders to steady her. "Come, my Lady." Gwen didn't put up a fight.

As soon as they were out of sight, Merlin exclaimed, "I've been gone a week – no – six and a half days, Gaius, and I come back to find Arthur's a lunatic?"

The physician wringed his hands. "It's a mandrake root, Merlin. It has to be."

"So find it and burn it! You checked under his bed?"

"Of course! I've been over every speck of dust in his chambers, twice. I even ripped up his pillows and sawed through his bedposts. I can't find it anywhere!"

"Then it must be somewhere else he frequents. The throne room? The Round Table?"

"I've had the knights look for anything suspicious, twice."

"The stables – the armory!"

"No and no."

Merlin ran his fingers through his hair so hard and fast that he accidentally clapped his hands at the crown of his head. "I shouldn't have left him."

"Don't blame yourself. Besides, he gets in as much trouble around you. Perhaps more."

Merlin resisted the temptation to kick his mentor. "So what do we do?"

Gaius gestured to the door. "You're going to speak to him. Find out if he's seen or touched anything resembling a mandrake. We have to find it before he loses his mind permanently."

"Why me? Gwen—"

"You're the only one he's asked for." Gaius cupped Merlin's sharp cheekbone in his calloused hand. "Anyone else who gets near him gets screamed at and smacked by a boot."

Merlin felt like he was struggling to stay on a bucking horse. "What… Why me?"

Gaius raised his other hand to join the first. "You know why." He smiled sadly. "There are some bonds even dark magic can't break. Now go. Find out where the mandrake is, Merlin."

Merlin stepped warily towards the door and peeked inside. A single lit candle revealed the disaster. Arthur upended the table and tried to barricade the door with chairs. Broken vases replaced the wood in the fireplace. Books and plucked quills lay scattered amongst broken ink vials, bent silverware, shredded blankets and neglected meals. Merlin spotted a clump of blond hair in the corner beyond their bed. Arthur had built himself a nest in his bathtub.

"Arthur?"

Arthur popped up and heaved a cup and a dirty sock at him. "Leave me alone!" he yelled. He retreated into the bathtub immediately.

Merlin raised his hands in an "I Surrender" gesture. "Arthur, it's me."

An apple core catapulted across the room. "Sorcerers! Traitors!" He gasped and his voice became fragile. "Don't hurt me – Don't kill me, please…"

"Arthur, it's me, Merlin!"

Silence, then, "Prove it!"

"It's me, dollop-head!"

Silence, then Arthur jumped to his feet. "Get in here, quick, before they kill you!" Merlin hurried over. The moment he was within range Arthur grabbed his wrist and yanked him into the bathtub. The two boys folded their legs beneath them and sat across from each other, knee-to-knee. Arthur sobbed. He wrapped his arms around Merlin's waist and buried his face in his lap. Not knowing what to say, Merlin just stayed still and gently combed the king's hair with his fingers.

And then, out of the blue, Arthur reared up and punched Merlin right in the jaw. "Don't you ever abandon me again!"

Merlin yelped and massaged his mouth. Before he could respond, Arthur took out a dagger.

To Be Continued