A/N I got bored so I started writing this xD
Prompt: Merlin gets a migraine and tries to play it off as he's fine since it's a busy day in Camelot.
Characters: Arthur, Gauis, and Merlin.
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.
"Merlin! You're going to be late!" Gauis's voice shouts as he bangs on his ward's door. The servant inside groans, closing his eyes tightly in a desperate attempt to block out the sunlight streaming through his window. Yawning, the servant winces as he slowly climbs out of bed. The warlock hadn't slept well, the evidence was clear on his face, and it was mostly fault to his pounding head. As he heads over to the wardrobe, a wave of dizziness slams into Merlin, sending him into the wall as he stumbles.
"Merlin!?" Gauis shouts worriedly, causing a wince from Merlin.
"I'm fine..." Merlin croaks out, his voice barely a whisper as he changes into his normal clothes. Gauis turns to look at him as he stumbles out of his room, closing his eyes briefly as the bright light assaults his eyes.
"Merlin, my boy, are you okay?" Gauis asks worriedly, taking in the disheveled form of his ward. The boy was nearly as pale as parchment and was stumbling slightly as he drops into the seat at the table.
"I'm fine." Merlin whispers, letting his head fall into his hands with a wince.
"Here, you should eat something." Gauis offers, pushing a plate of bread and cheese in front of the ward who pushes it away with a slightly disgusted look. His stomach was flipping uneasily and Merlin wanted nothing more than to climb back into his bed and sleep. With those thoughts, the servant slowly walks out of the chambers and heading to the kitchens. The pounding in his head ceased little as he continues on the way to serve the King, the weather and his head slowing his pace considerably. Arthur wasn't going to be happy, especially since he was later than normal but Merlin couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. As the servant walks in, he's not shocked to find the curtains already drawn and Arthur sitting at his desk, waiting.
"Ahh, finally! I was wondering if I'd have to skip breakfast this morning!" Arthur shouts and Merlin winces slightly from the bright light, which didn't go unnoticed by the King.
"Merlin, what's wrong with you today, by now you'd already have made a sarcastic remark and be jabbering on about something useless." Arthur asks, his tone light but worry hidden deep in it. Merlin looks up before turning his head back to the ground, dropping the plate onto the desk with a loud bang and a wince.
"Just a small headache Sire, nothing more." Merlin promises in a quiet voice before he goes about picking up small things around the royal chambers.
"Close the curtains if you want." Arthur offers, trying to sound uncaring but failing rather miserably. Merlin tossed him a grateful smile before moving to close the curtains, bathing the previously bright room in shadows. Arthur had a moment of shock as his eyes adjust but he wasn't about to complain, Merlin was obviously slightly more comfortable in the dark room.
"You think you'll make it through the day?" Arthur teases, his tone taking sarcastic note but the question as sincere as it would ever be.
"I'll live, besides, you have that treaty today." Merlin whispers, continuing to go about cleaning the King's chambers. Arthur sighs in relief, trying to cover up the fact he was relieved to have Merlin with him when he signs this treaty. The treaty that was being signed was one that had taken months to plan seeing as Camelot and this Kingdom haven't seen eye to eye on many issues. Arthur watches in worry as Merlin stumbles forward, groaning slightly and closing his eyes.
"Maybe you should take the day off, I can find another servant to tend to me." Arthur offers and can't help but hope that the servant agrees; Merlin was paler than Arthur had ever seen him and that was saying something.
"I'm fine. Does your armor need polishing?" Merlin asks quietly and grabs it at Arthur's slightly hesitant nod. Merlin couldn't help but notice that the King's armor was heavier than normal, not noticing that he was going to wrong way, heading away from the armory until he had arrived at the stairs leading to the dungeons. Staring at the stairs confused for a moment before turning back around and heading to the armory. As Merlin continues towards the armory, his vision begins to blur and he stumbles into a wall. Groaning, he quickly heads down to the armory, trying to ignore his pounding head and rebelling stomach. He slowly set to work in the armory, cleaning Arthur's armor as good as he can, the cleaning spray causing his stomach to uneasily as he continues to clean the armor. Merlin had never been more pleased to finish cleaning the armor, hurrying to leave the armory as soon as he can. Returning to Arthur's chambers was rather difficult, as Merlin's vision continued to swim while walking. Arthur watches him carefully as Merlin returns the armor shakily to it's rightful place.
"Merlin, you're as pale as parchment, shouldn't you take a break?" Arthur asks worriedly and Merlin shakes his head, wincing as he does so.
"I'll go get you some lunch." Merlin mutters, his stomach rebelling at the thought of food causing the servant to feel even worse than he did previously. Arthur nods absentmindedly, knowing there was no way he would get Merlin to rest. Taking the time Merlin was away, the King goes over the treaty and continues to dread the moment he had to go and sign it. The visiting King had continued to go on and on about how servants were just dirt and deserved to be treated as such. That was one of the many issues that Arthur and the visiting King did not see eye to eye on. While normally treaties wouldn't be made if they disagree too often, Camelot needed the visiting Kingdom's help in the battle against Morgana and they had one of the best armies in all of the five kingdoms. By the time Merlin had returned, he was feeling ready to collapse but knew that he should be with Arthur during this treaty. When Arthur had mentioned he was making a treaty with King Montgomery, Merlin was shocked as he knew all the problems they disagreed on but after hearing Arthur out, he agreed that it was the best course of action. So, with his head pounding and stomach rebelling, Merlin found himself standing behind Arthur's chair as the treaty was discussed and signed. He leans back against the wall, closing his eyes to try and stop the spinning room. As a result of this, King Montgomery kept calling on him to fetch something or other and the visiting King found himself on the reviving end of an angry glare from King Arthur.
"You have your own manservant Montgomery, please use your own as I may have need of mine." Arthur orders about halfway through the meeting and pretends not to see the relieved, grateful look Merlin gives him. Arthur can't help but toss worried looks over his shoulder every now and then, watching his servant grimace in pain as the visiting Knights start to shout. Just as Arthur begins to wonder if he should dismiss the servant when said servant comes up to him.
"May I go? Please Arthur?" Merlin whispers, his voice begging and Arthur nods, waving his hand towards the servants door in a gesture to shoo him away.
"Think you'll be up to serving me tonight?" The King replies in a quiet voice.
"Of course sire." Merlin mutters before turning and leaving the hall. Arthur chuckles softly before turning back to the treaty signing. If Merlin was well enough to be so disrespectful, then he'd be fine. Out in the hall, Merlin stumbles towards his chambers, his stomach turning at a nauseating pace. Wavering dangerously as he climbs the stairs to his room, the servant leans heavily against the wall as he hurries inside. The servant groans as bile rises into his throat and he grabs a bucket before he's sick. His head starts to pound even more as he's sick and it doesn't die down once he's done. Cleaning his mess, Merlin collapses into a chair in the main chambers and lets his head fall into his hands. Yawning loudly, the servant closes his eyes and tries to sleep, even though he knew it'd be nearly impossible while sitting in the chair but he didn't have the energy to move. The servant drifted in and out of sleep as the meeting continued but he knew that he would have to leave soon enough. As the meeting ceases, the ill servant gets to his feet and slowly stumbles towards the kitchen. Gathering the King's meal, Merlin notices that his vision wasn't blurring as bad as before and he guessed it was from him resting. His stomach was still tossing uneasily but not as bad as before and Merlin knew that he needed to sleep but he had also promised to serve Arthur that night so off he went with the dinner in one hand to the King's chambers. Not bothering to knock, the servant opens the door quietly and gently sets the dinner down, trying not to make any loud noises.
"You feeling any better?" Arthur asks quietly and receives a small nod from Merlin, who may have looked a bit better but it was barely noticeable. Merlin went about preparing the room for the night while Arthur ate in silence and Arthur couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed, he was so use to Merlin's idiotic chatter. When Merlin stumbles a bit, Arthur's vision is instantly on his manservant. Merlin leans against the wall, yawning loudly before returning to his work.
"Merlin, stop." Arthur orders and the servant turns to look at him, confusion showing in his eyes.
"Sire?" Merlin asks, giving the King a confused look.
"Just stop, you're obviously exhausted and ill." Arthur begins, leading the servant over to his bed and forcing him into a laying position, "You need rest and I intend on making sure you get it. Now sleep." Merlin looks at him in shock, shaking his pounding head as he tries to stand back up.
"Arthur, I can't do this! It's your bed and you're the King! I'm a servant!" Merlin resists, trying to push Arthur away. After a few minutes of Merlin struggling, he finally collapses back with his head pounding even more.
"Rest." Arthur orders before finally releasing Merlin from his tight grip and the servant sighs before nodding, closing his eyes while rolling over. Arthur smiles as he watches his servant, who might as well be a brother to the young King. Soon enough, Merlin's light snores filled the room and Arthur lets his smile grow larger as he goes back to his desk to finish eating. After he finishes, Arthur orders for another servant to come and take his empty plate away and prepare him for sleep. George very obviously thought something was wrong with the fact that a servant was asleep in the King's bed, it was written all over his face, but he wisely kept his mouth shut yet he tried to make as much noise as possible. Arthur was very thankful that either George wasn't that loud or that Merlin was a very heavy sleeper because the servant didn't wake. As Arthur lays on the other side of the bed, he lets a small smile cover his face at his friend sleeping peacefully next to him. No matter what was happening, Merlin always came first to Arthur. Arthur knew that, no matter what happened, Merlin would always be with him, no matter how injured he was or how ill he was, Merlin would stay by his side. That's all Arthur could bring himself to care about in that moment.
A/N DONE! I wrote this on my phone because my computer was being dumb and died on me so yay! ;-;
