A/N Yeah...got nothing to say xD Waiiiiiittttt, please send in more prompts! I'm always taking them.
Prompt: During a skirmish with some bandits, Merlin losses his water skin and doesn't tell anyone until he's dizzy with dehydration by Aaronna. (Someone who has been with this story since Chapter 1, thanks for that)
Characters: Arthur, Gwaine, Percival, Leon, Elyan, and Merlin
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.
Why, why was it always bandits? Why could they just have a peaceful, calm, nothing goes wrong hunting trip where Arthur catches something and then they're on their way home? Why couldn't that happen, just once? But nope, bandits just loved to attack them. As soon as the first bolts fly past them, the entire party is on the ground with their swords ready and Merlin is pushed, quite harshly, behind a tree by Gwaine. Another bolt, one that was meant for Leon, flies straight past the knight's head and into Merlin's water skin, draining all the water from it. Of course, just brilliant! Merlin thinks before turning back to surveying the battle field, seeing if any of the knights were outnumbered. Merlin doesn't even remember half the incantations to the simple spells he uses on the bandits but then again, he rarely needs incantations anyway. It took the knights barely anytime to chase the bandits away, and in that time, Merlin had dropped one tree branch and tripped multiple bandits.
"Hiding away like always Merlin? I didn't think it were possible for you to be anymore of a girl!" Arthur teases his servant as the warlock walks out from behind the tree. Gwaine winces in apology but stops when he sees the smile that covers Merlin's face. I should mention it, Merlin thinks as he climbs back onto his horse, looking down at the ruined water skin as he unfastens it from his horse, but Arthur will most likely call me a girl and to hurry up, not believing me. Besides, there aren't any extra skins on the journey and he wasn't going to deprive one of them from their own water. Merlin sighs, of course the prat decides to continue on with the hunt because no one was injured. None of the knights noticed the problem that Merlin had as they were all too busy heading back into the hunt that they had previously been on. Merlin had no water left and of course, had barely any in his system. The servant hadn't drank any before it was all drained and he didn't get the chance to before the hunt began because Arthur had him running ragged to prepare but of course, no one notices. It wasn't until later that night, when the party had stopped, the sun setting on the horizon, does Merlin start to feel the first effects of dehydration. His throat was unbearably dry and his head was beginning to pound violently against his own skull. The symptoms didn't worsen much as the servant cooks dinner that night but the headache didn't let the servant get the sleep he so desperately wanted. Over the course of the next day, in which they caught nothing so of course they were still out there, and Merlin's symptoms worsened quickly. His headache slowly turned into something that could be considered a migraine but without most of the migraine symptoms. The servant got progressively more dizzy as the day wore on but the servant fought desperately to ignore it and it seemed to disappear eventually.
"Merlin hurry up, some of us would like to have food for dinner, which normally comes before the sun sets entirely!" Arthur jeers while adopting the voice of "I am the King and you better obey me!". Merlin sighs, momentarily closing his eyes tightly to try and rid himself of the pounding in his skull before kneeling down to strike a fire. As the fire begins to roar, the servant turns to grab a leather bag that held all the ingredients for cooking as well as another bag holding all the utensils. Merlin's horse, which always had to carrying all the supplies, seemed to physically sink in relief as most of the heavy bags were taken off the poor horse. Merlin gently, as well as quietly as possible, takes all the needed stuff out of his bags. Gwaine raises an eyebrow, it was unusual that Merlin not make much noise when taking stuff out, he always tried to make as much noise as possible in order to one, annoy Arthur, an two, scare away any unfortunate animals that may be near their camp. Merlin could feels his throat dry to a point where he was breathing rapidly and his vision swam a bit, possibly a side effect of dizziness and it forces the servant to close his eyes before trying to focus back on the task at hand. The servant wasn't expecting anyone to notice as he stumbles back, the dizziness returning, into a sitting position in front of the fire but Percival did, and when he catches Gwaine's eyes, he realizes the drunken knight saw the same thing.
"What's wrong with Merlin?" Gwaine asks when Percival comes over to his brother-in-arms. Percival shrugs, as normal, not one of much words, before asking "When did Merlin last have anything to drink?". The question stopped Gwaine, for the life of him, the knight couldn't remember the last time he saw the servant take a drink from his water skin.
"Gods above Merlin, how long does it take you to finish making a broth?" Arthur demands in annoyance as he advances on his servant but stops when he notices the dazed look in the servant's eyes, "Merlin?"
Arthur kneels down in front of the servant, who's eyes were drooping and when the servant tried to stand, he stumbles only to be steadied by Elyan. Elyan gently lowers the servant to the ground while the rest of the party hurries over, worry thick in the air.
"What's wrong Merlin?" Leon asks and Merlin tries to focus in on that but it didn't work and once again, the servant's vision is going all over the place.
"Water...need water." Merlin chokes out, trying to swallow while closing his eyes tighter and setting his head in his hands. Gwaine nods, moving over to the servant's horse in search for his water skin but comes up empty handed.
"Where's your water skin Merlin?" Gwaine calls over his shoulder, looking through the stuff that was on his horse.
"Gone, bandits drained it." Merlin whispers with a yawn, not noticing when the entire party rounds on the servant, giving him mostly looks of slight anger and worry.
"And you didn't happen to, oh I don't know, mention is to someone?!" Arthur demands, his voice mainly laced with worry more than anger. Merlin shrugs, leaning his head back against the tree he was propped up against, his eyes still closed tightly as his head starts to pound even more. Gwaine shakes his head, moving to his horse and grabs his water skin before heading back to Merlin. The knight grabs the servant's hand and shoves the water skin into it with the order to drink it. The servant complies without argument and the rest of the party seems to momentarily relax. Even after he finished the water, the servant didn't look all that better, his eyes were still dazed and drooping as if he was going to pass out any second.
"I'll finish dinner now, sorry Arthur. It'll be-" Merlin promises as he tries to stand, only to be pushed back into a sitting position by the King.
"No, you'll sit here, rest and get more water into you! What were you thinking, not drinking for nearly two entire days!" Arthur scolds as he replaces his worry with anger at his friend putting his own life in danger.
"I'll finish dinner sire. Oh, and here." Percival whispers while handing the servant another water skin, "Careful, drinking it too fast might cause sickness. It's the same concept as going hungry for a while then eating something too quickly."
Merlin nods weakly, sipping slowly at the water. Arthur sighs, sitting down in front of his servant.
"I didn't...I didn't want to deprive you of your own water...besides, I'm a mere servant." Merlin coughs out as he tries desperately to not fall asleep at the moment.
"Merlin, never think you're not worth it. Your health is just as important as ours and you are in no way below us." Gwaine sighs, his friend was definitely too selfless for his own good. Merlin looks down, a slight flush covering his cheeks as he takes another sip of the water. Leon and Elyan both had joined Percival around the fire, leaving the servant with Gwaine and Arthur; both of who were not happy with what the servant did.
"He's right Merlin, next time tell us. Is that understood?" Arthur asks, the worry seeping into his voice and Merlin nods with a small, weak smile.
"Of course sire. You were worried weren't you?" Merlin whispers, and Arthur shakes his head in denial causing Merlin to raise an eyebrow, "Keep telling yourself that." His tone adopted a slightly sarcastic note, signalling the fall back into the normal banter that was all to common between the pair.
"Oh shut up idiot." Arthur huffs, his tone light and friendly while the servant takes another sip of the water, "Sleep now Merlin, you look as if you need it and if I'm right, I'll guess you didn't sleep last night at all. I'll wake you when dinner is done."
Merlin nods, finally letting his eyes close completely and Arthur slips his cloak off, bundling it up before putting it under the servants head as a makeshift pillow. Gwaine, who was still sitting next to Merlin shakes his head at the pair.
"You know princess, it's not so hard to admit you care. I mean, we all know it so why don't you just admit it?" Gwaine teases and Arthur huffs in annoyance, throwing a fake glare over his shoulder at the knight. The rest of the knights laugh, shaking their heads as they turn back to finish what Merlin had began before this whole ordeal had began. They all knew Arthur cared, as did Merlin, even if he himself would never admit it.
A/N Done! Two...wait, three? Is it the second or third chapter today? xD oh well, whatever! I might start a new story of the possible hidden talents that Merlin may have had, I don't know how better to explain it, I might not though, depending on if I get inspired. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed!