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Chapter 24

Merlin was steadily improving, growing stronger by the day. His wounds were healing, and the aches and pains were slowly fading. The fever was gone. But the nightmares refused to leave. Every time he closed his eyes, Merlin was back in the cell with Morgana. His magic often flared up at these times, causing objects to fly across the room, and destroying various pieces of furniture. Gaius dosed him liberally with various tonics and potions, but they left him feeling so numb and unaware that he eventually refused to swallow anything Gaius handed him. The circles under his eyes grew ever darker, and the nightmares more and more frightening.

When Merlin jolted awake for the umpteenth time one night, shattering yet another pot with his magic, a bleary eyed Gaius began a nightly Merlin watch, keeping an eye on the warlock in his sleeping hours, so that he was always at hand to shake him awake before he slipped too deeply into his dreams. This arrangement did not leave Merlin happy.

"I'm fine!" he'd complain, whenever Gaius prodded him awake."Go away," he'd grumble, when he was feeling particularly grumpy, "I'm perfectly alright." But one look at his trembling shoulders, at the cold sweat dotting his brow, told Gaius otherwise.

"Is there anything we can do?" Arthur asked Gaius quietly one night, when a tired Merlin fell back into an uneasy sleep.

Gaius shook his head wearily. "Other than giving him more tonics, which he does not wish to take, I'm afraid not."

"I say we do it the old fashioned way," suggested Gwaine. "Pinch his nose shut and force it down, just like we did in the beginning."

Gaius sighed. "Much as I would like to, I don't think it's a wise idea. The medicines don't always stop the nightmares," he explained. "Their main purpose is to keep the drinker asleep. Even if he stays asleep, he will still be suffering the nightmares. And it will do more harm than good, for his mental state at least, if we force him deeper into those, with no way of waking up."

"Arthur…" They turned around to see Merlin tossing and turning restlessly. "Don't…" he moaned. Perspiration trickled down his face. Arthur watched helplessly as Merlin continued to mutter in his sleep, brow creased. He started as a hand came down on his shoulder, but it was only Gwen, bringing fresh towels.

"It's hard seeing him like this," she murmured, pecking his cheek. "But you're doing everything you can, Arthur."

"Why do I feel like it's not enough?" he sighed. He took the pile of towels from her and set them down near the nightstand. "You know you don't have to do this, Gwen," he added, gesturing to the towels.

"I want to," she confessed. "It makes me feel less…"

"Useless?" he supplied. She nodded. He felt a rush of affection for his wife, who had not allowed her rise in stature to change who she was at her core-caring and compassionate. He watched as she dabbed Merlin's forehead gently with a damp cloth. Merlin's face relaxed slightly at her touch, but only for a moment.

With a sudden gasp, Merlin's eyes flew open. One glance at the lit up irises was all it took for Arthur's instincts to kick in.

"Duck!" he yelled to Gwaine and Gaius. He pulled Guinevere down to the ground, just as the nightstand exploded, sending glass bottles and wood splinters flying. Gwen shrieked in alarm as debris rained down on them. But Arthur covered her with his body, shielding her from most of the splinters of wood and glass.

Thanks to Arthur's quick warning, Gwaine had been able to dive under the supplies table, taking Gaius with him. They were all unharmed. For now.

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted, leaping to his feet.

"Arthur, don't!" Gaius cried, but Arthur ignored the physician and ran to the bed.

"Merlin!" he roared, shaking his unconscious servant by the shoulders. "Wake up!" But Merlin's eyes were screwed shut again, his breathing strained. Suddenly, Arthur was flying backward, as though punched by an invisible fist. With a deafening blast, the oak door was knocked off its hinges. It teetered down to the ground with a crash, nearly flattening Gwen, who crawled away just in time.

"Arthur!" Gwaine yelled, hands over his head, "get down! Just wait for it to die down!"

"MERLIN!" Arthur shouted again from the ground. "You need to wake up!"

"Arthur…" Merlin whimpered. He twitched. "...Don't...want to...hurts...burns...please...no..."

"Morgana's not here!" Arthur said loudly. "You're dreaming. Wake up, now!" He picked himself up off the floor and ran back to the bed.

"I'll be good," Merlin gasped, panting. "Don't...hurt...Arthur…please"

"MERLIN!" Arthur yelled, slapping Merlin hard across the face. "WAKE UP!"

The furniture stopped moving around. Merlin's eyes snapped open, and he bolted upright in bed, breathing heavily. Arthur noted with relief that the gold had faded, leaving his eyes their normal blue.

"You alright?" he asked quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Gaius and Gwaine cautiously crawling out from under the table. Trembling, Merlin nodded, gazing around at the damages.

"Don't worry about it," Arthur said hastily. He sat down next to Merlin. "Just go to sleep."

"But…" he whispered, "Morgana…"

"Morgana is not going to harm you," promised Arthur. "No one is going to hurt you. Not while I'm here."

Merlin didn't look convinced, so Arthur sat down beside him. "Gaius," he said, not turning around, "do you have a spare pillow?"

Gaius finished helping Guinevere up, then hurried upstairs to fetch the spare pillow from Merlin's room. Gwaine started up after him.

"Gwaine," said Gaius warningly, knowing what the knight was up to. "There's only one pillow."

But Gwaine was undeterred. "Fine," he said with a shrug. "I'll just get my own." Arthur rolled his eyes as the knight ran off, but his lip quirked up into a smile. "Are you staying too, Guinevere?" he asked, turning to his queen. She smiled and shook her head. "I think I'll leave you boys to it," she answered. She kissed him goodnight, then turned to go, stopping first to give Merlin a peck on the forehead. "Good night, Merlin," she murmured, before departing. Merlin flushed, but Arthur could tell he was touched.

Gaius returned, and handed Arthur the pillow. Arthur eyed the ragged, lumpy thing, feeling a flash of sympathy for his servant when he realized how uncomfortable it was. How did Merlin sleep on this every night?

Merlin guessed his thoughts. "Not what you're used to?" he teased, the ghost of a smile on his lips. "It's not too late to change your mind," he added. "I won't mind." But his eyes said otherwise, so Arthur shrugged offhandedly. "I'll survive. Gaius," he turned to the physician. "You look exhausted. How about you go to sleep upstairs? We'll wake you if anything happens," he promised, when the older man still hesitated.

"Very well," Gaius agreed, looking rather relieved. "I haven't had a full night's sleep in a long time."

Merlin flushed, knowing full well why that was. "Sorry, Gaius." he muttered, looking guilty. Gaius noticed. "It's not because of you Merlin," he said quickly. "I've just had a long day. Don't apologize." He patted the boy's hand, smiling fondly, bowed to Arthur then climbed wearily up the steps.

Just as he disappeared at the top of the staircase, Gwaine burst into the room, pillow aloft. "Just like old times, eh Merlin?" he said with a grin, ruffling the warlock's hair. "Except this time I'm not stealing your bed."

"And this time I'm not picking up your tab at the tavern," Merlin quipped, smiling. But Arthur noticed his discomfort at being the only one with a bed, while the other two had a pillow apiece, with Arthur propped against it in his chair, and Gwaine on the ground.

"You're impossible, you know that?" he sighed, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it. Just go to sleep." Merlin, looking sheepish, complied, ducking back under the covers.

Gwaine's snores quickly filled the room. Arthur crossed his arms and leaned back, trying to get comfortable in the hard backed seat. He watched Merlin struggle to close his eyes. Every time he seemed about to nod off, he forced himself upright.

"You know," Arthur said thoughtfully, "I could just hit you over the head. You'd definitely sleep then."

Merlin scowled. "Thanks but no thanks," he said. "I can still feel where you slapped me before."

Arthur smirked. "I had to wake you up somehow."

Merlin stared up at the ceiling for a bit, with Arthur watching. Finally, he exploded.

"It's impossible to sleep like this!" he complained. "How would you feel having someone watch you sleep?"

Arthur obediently fixed his eyes on the ceiling too. "Better?" he asked, gazing up at an oddly shaped crack in the stone.

"A bit," said Merlin grudgingly.

"Sleep."

"I'm scared to," Merlin confessed.

"The dreams?" Arthur asked. Merlin nodded. Arthur surveyed him carefully.

"Want to tell me about them?" he suggested. "It might help," he coaxed, seeing Merlin's reluctance. "Just one. The worst one."

His servant's shoulders slumped. "Fine," he muttered. "It's...well...it's about you."

"I know," Arthur said. "You talk in your sleep," he explained, when Merlin looked surprised. "I just don't know what's happening. In the actual dream, I mean."

Merlin opened his mouth. Then closed it. Arthur waited patiently. "Is it about what happened when Morgana had us?" he asked, trying to help.

"No." Merlin shook his head. "I mean, sometimes," he amended. "But mostly it's here. In Camelot."

Arthur was burning with curiosity. What could be so frightening about Camelot? But he stayed quiet, not wanting Merlin to change his mind about telling. His patience was rewarded when Merlin continued.

"You're there," he said, "Standing next to Gwen. You're both angry...so angry." he swallowed. "And I'm there too. In the sentencing square. There's a pyre…"

"Oh." Arthur breathed. Merlin continued on.

"You look at me, and throw the torch down. The crowd starts applauding, and screaming for magic to die…" Merlin's face grew whiter and whiter. "It burns...It's hot, so hot, and I ask you to stop…"

Arthur's face was wet. "I'm sorry Merlin," he whispered. "I'm so sorry for everything that happened."

"It's not your fault." said Merlin shakily.

"It is."

They were quiet for a long time, the silence punctuated only by Gwaine's snores.

"Merlin," said Arthur at last. "I...There's something I have to tell you." He reached into the folds of his cloak. "I didn't want to tell you until it was official," he said, pulling out a creased bit of parchment, "But I see I was wrong for keeping this from you." He handed Merlin the paper. Merlin squinted, struggling to decipher the many scribbles cross-outs. Then his eyes widened in disbelief.

"I'm still working on the exact wording," Arthur explained, "But the basic gist of it is that-"

"You're allowing magic in Camelot," Merlin croaked hoarsely.

"Well, yes."

Merlin shook his head. He tried to speak, but words failed him.

"Are the terms alright?" Arthur asked anxiously, "Have I accounted for everything? I'm still used to you doing my writing for me, and I haven't had so much time to-"

"It's perfect." Merlin said quietly. He gazed up at Arthur. "Thank you." he whispered. His eyes were watery. Arthur felt uncomfortable with the expression in them.

"Don't be such a girl, Merlin," he said awkwardly. Merlin swiped at his eyes with his sleeve, smiling broadly.

"I'm sorry, Sire," he said, sounding a bit more like himself. "I'll make sure to act all stiff and cold, hiding my emotions like a proper man should. How's that?"

"Better," Arthur allowed. "Now will you go to sleep already?"

Merlin closed his eyes, still smiling. "Cabbage-head," he mumbled.

"I heard that."

"You were meant to," Merlin said tiredly. Within moments, he was sound asleep, not waking up until Gaius brought him his breakfast the next morning.