Hi everyone.
So the part where Gaius sacrifices himself in 1×13, always felt odd for me. I mean, even I could see exactly what was about to happen, and I'm terrible in predicting things, how could Merlin not see it?
So that's basically the plot. Enjoy.
…..
Merlin walked into the physician's chambers, looking defeated. A single glance was enough for Gaius to know everything.
The dragon had refused to help.
"How is she?" he asked with a tune barely louder than a whisper. There was a moment of silence as the physician decided what to say.
"She's sleeping" he answered, not wanting to worry the boy with further details. His ward nodded briefly before closing the door behind him. He walked slowly into the room, passing the vials and the books on the shelves, and sat on a small wooden stool facing his guardian.
His eyes locked with the fireplace, staring at the bright flames dancing happily, as if mocking his helplessness and frustration.
"I have to save her" he whispered, lifting his head and looking away from the slighting fire.
Gaius raised his eyebrows "You cannot" he warned.
"If balance of the world needs a life then Nimueh must take mine"
"No, Merlin" the old man's voice was pleading, though nothing seemed to affect the look of determination in the warlock's eyes.
"Yes" his voice barely audible. There was silence for a few moments.
"I will return to the island-"
Gaius interrupted "You are young. Your gifts, your destiny are far too precious to sacrifice-"
"My destiny? This is my mother!" now the boy was pleading, eyes glowing with tears. Gaius closed his eyes, he knew he was losing the chance to convince him.
"My powers mean nothing, if I cannot save her" Merlin's voice was hoarse. Looking deep into his guardian's eyes, the almighty warlock was begging for understanding. He wanted Gaius to understand why he had to do this, why this was the only option.
"You've taught me so much" he began.
"Taught me who I am, taught me the purpose of my skills. Taught me that magic should only be used for great deeds" pain was visible in both their faces.
"But most of all you have always taught me…to do what is right"
Gaius was finally defeated. Those words were said in such a firm tune that it was foolish to think he had any chance from the beginning.
"Merlin…"
The poor boy broke into silent tears. Sadness clutched at the old man's heart. The weight of this destiny had always been too much to bear, even for a man like Merlin. What he wouldn't give to ease some of his ward's burden…
But Merlin was wrong; there was another option, another way for this problem to be solved. Knowing the boy would never agree, the old physician decided to keep his thoughts to himself, not wanting the boy to stop him or worse, blame himself for what he meant to do.
"I need to say goodbye to Arthur" Merlin rose to his feet, slowly heading towards the door, but stopped midway.
"Gaius…"
The old man lifted his head towards the boy, only to find the boy's back was to him. Something in Merlin's slumped shoulders made him shiver.
"I-I need you to know…, that I'm really sorry, truly"
Gaius frowned, the way he had said those words suggested that he wasn't simply apologizing for going to the isle, but for something else. But what?
Sudden realization hit him full force. He knew what was about to happen a moment before the boy turned, facing him. He rose a hand towards his guardian and chanted something under his breath.
"Onslæpe"
Gaius felt a sudden rush of tiredness wash over him. He didn't even feel his knees buckle. Black dots filling his vision, he could only distinguish a blur of brown and red slowly tucking him in his bed.
"But I can't lose anymore…" Merlin whispered.
The voices sounded muffled in the old man's ears, he desperately wanted to shout, to stop Merlin from going, but the only voice he could make was a pained sigh as the world went black.
…..
Gaius woke to a sound, apparently his name. He felt someone shaking him. With great effort he managed to open his eyes and see the person was indeed Gwen, concern visible in her beautiful face.
"Gaius? Gaius are you okay?" she exclaimed.
"Gwen..?" his throat was too dry "What happened?"
"Arthur told me to find you. Are you alright Gaius? You're not sick are you? J-Just, when I saw you sleeping like this…I-I thought something was wrong, I eh…I didn't mean to disturb you, just that Arthur-"
"It's alright lad" he interrupted her nervous banter and smiled, her face brightened. She helped Gaius sit on the bed, still worrying about the old man. Gaius rubbed his palms to his eyes, trying to remember how he had ended up taking a nap in the middle of the day.
"You said Arthur sent for me?" he asked.
"Oh yes, right, that. He wanted to see you in his chambers, he said it had something to do with Merlin"
Merlin!
Suddenly he remembered everything, the questing beast, the isle, the sacrifice.
Merlin had put him to sleep to prevent him from doing anything, and had gone to the isle to sacrifice himself.
Oh no…
Gaius jumped to his feet and rushed towards the door, completely ignoring the surprised maidservant. He had to find Arthur soon, before it was too late. Since he had no chance to stop both the witch and the warlock alone, the prince was the only hope. He would risk everything to save Merlin, even if he had to reveal the deal with Nimueh.
The fact that Merlin's sleeping spell had worn off, made him panic. He refused to believe that the boy had succeeded in his mission. The old physician was half way through the corridors leading to Arthur's chambers when he saw the prince himself walking towards him.
"Ah Gaius, I was looking for you-"
"Have you seen Merlin sire?" he interrupted hurriedly. Arthur frowned seeing the fear in the old man's face, something strongly suggested that his idiot manservant had gotten himself in some serious problem this time.
"I saw him an hour ago, the stable boy said he left, why do you ask?" he couldn't hide the hint of concern in his voice, Gaius shook his head.
"He has gone to the isle of the blessed, he's going to do something stupid if we don't stop him"
"What?" his mind was spinning. Isle of the blessed? Where the hell was that? He couldn't remember if he had heard the name before but it didn't exactly sound like a peaceful island with seagulls.
"There's no time for explanations sire, just that his life is in danger. I will tell everything on the way but now we need to find him"
Now Arthur was definitely worried. He had seen his idiot servant merely an hour ago, and he sure hadn't seemed to be in danger back then. Though he had said strange stuff like 'being his servant till the day he died' which had sounded very confusing; too confusing in fact, it was the main reason he had sent Guinevere to find Gaius, he wanted to ask if the man knew what was going on.
Apparently he did.
"Alright, you know where this place he's going is?"
"Yes sire" Arthur nodded.
"I'll get the horses, meet me in the court yard"
He pushed down his numerous questions and rushed towards the stables. It wasn't a time for panic, he could ask everything from Merlin later.
But he needed to find him first.
….
"What do you mean she took his mother?" Arthur exclaimed.
In the past hour, Gaius had told him mostly everything he knew _or so Arthur thought_ as they rode in full speed.
At first he had frozen, when the old man told him about the deal with the witch and the cup of life. The thought that he was openly admitting to have consorted with a sorcerer and therefore committing treason had made his head spin. A part of him wanted to yell at the old physician _and if he could, Merlin_ for doing such stupid thing but he found that he couldn't feel furious, maybe ashamed and guilty but not anyway near angry.
"I told you sire, the witch tricked him"
The other part of the story however, had made his rage rise to the skies. The part that included Merlin attempting to sacrifice his own life and what the witch had done to his mother. Based on what Gaius had said, they all had been badly deceived.
Stupid! He thought. This is what happens when you trust magic.
Their conversation was interrupted when the seashore came into view. He could see an ancient-looking boat tied to a pole, slowly moving with the waves. The physician and the prince didn't hesitate and immediately boarded the small vehicle. Arthur found an oar lying at the bottom of the boat and picked it up. They rowed towards the dark ruins _they seemed to belong to a castle_ that were appearing through the thick mist.
Once arrived to that poor excuse of an island _Arthur's description_, they found stone stairs heading somewhere inside the castle. The voice of a woman yelling something was could be heard. Arthur hurriedly climbed the stairs, following the source of the sound.
"Ic, séo héahsácerd, þe ácwile strengþe ealdan æwfæstnesse!"
"STOP!" he shouted.
The witch stopped chanting and slowly turned her head. They were in some kind of yard, surrounded by piles of stones that were the remains of what Arthur guessed were once walls. There was a big chunk of greyish-white stone in the middle of the clearing, the size of a bed, and lying on the top of it…
Oh god…
Arthur could hear a gasp from behind as the old man saw what he was looking at.
On top of the white stone, lied the still form of a certain servant, who from where the prince could see, didn't seem to be breathing. Arthur's heart dropped and he froze in his steps, suddenly losing his ability to talk.
"We meet again, young Pendragon" The witch said casually, breaking the silence and disrtacting the blonde's attention from Merlin.
"Nimueh" He hissed. He had to fight with the strong urge to run her through, because he knew, if there was a solution to save Merlin, it was her.
"Did you kill him?" Gaius asked, stepping forward. Nimueh winced at the view of her once considered friend. The friend who had sold them, sold himself to a filthy excuse of a human being, and had watched his kin burn by the hands of the tyrant.
"It was his wish" She enjoyed the look of grief in the old man's face. 'Serves you right' she thought, 'now you know how it feels'.
Arthur's frustrated yell caught her attention. She smirked, things were turning out better than she had expected.
"Now isn't this interesting! The crown prince of Camelot caring for a life of a peasant. You should be happy, a lowly servant has voluntarily given his life for you!"
Arthur felt a chill run down his spine and shivered. The way she had said those words along with the sight of his too still manservant created a sense of unease in the pit of his stomach.
No, not unease.
He was terrified.
It took a few moments for him to pull himself together, deciding by the witch's expression that she demanded a reply.
"This is my doing, my life, I'm not letting anyone do such thing for me" he finally managed to say. Nimueh's wicked smile widened as she took a few steps towards him.
"How noble of you, young prince. But then again, you always had a soft spot for the man. Not every poisoned servant gets to be saved by the prince himself" her soft tune reminded Arthur of purring cats. Well, a vicious and deceitful cat in this case.
His anger got the better of him. No longer feeling scared or weak, all he felt was the rage boiling inside him, driving him mad. He tried control his emotions, if he wanted to bargain with the witch, he needed to look calm.
"Lift. the. curse. Undo what you have done" he threatened.
"The magic of the cup of life is not a curse; how dare you insult the ways of the old religion like that!" Nimueh yelled, dropping her catlike tune, her voice was filled with rage and power. But Arthur had none of it, he didn't even flinch at her dangerous tune. He was not going to lose.
"It's not the old religion that has done this, it's you" Gaius yelled back. A few moments passed in silence. The witch switched to her soft tune again, smiling to the young prince.
"Come now, don't deny you're actually happy for what he has done. You're only here because of Gaius" she spat the last word, but other than that, she sounded like a loving mother talking to her son, except that her poisonous smile suggested otherwise. Arthur winced.
"Go home, Pendragon, and don't forget how magic saved your life. One day, with my help, you will became king. Remember your debt that day" she ordered, Arthur felt the anger again.
"I will become king, but you will not see that day" he hissed, unsheathing his sword, and lunched towards her with a yell. With a small wave of her wrist, both Arthur and Gaius were thrown across the yard. The prince hit hard to the stone walls. He fell to the ground with a groan, eyes shut with pain as he slowly rolled to his back, breathing heavily. Nimueh smirked, gracefully walking towards where the prince was lying and took a glance at the young man.
"Your childish tricks are useless against me. I'm a priestess of the old religion"
She turned her back to him, lazily walking to the stone table. She still had a life to take, a balance to restore.
Behind her, Arthur exhaled deeply and opened his eyes.
Nimueh slowly picked the cup of life, ready to continue the rite. She raised the shiny thing towards the sky and opened her mouth to start chanting but the only thing that escaped her moth was a surprised gasp. Her eyes slowly dropped to the blade that was sticking out her chest, blood soaking her dress.
She felt a breath behind her neck, then someone whispered into her ear.
"You shouldn't have killed my friend"
The witch stared back at the expressionless face of the prince with disbelief. As the life finally left the witch, her body slowly sank to the ground. Arthur pulled out his sword from her body and his eyes lingered on her unseeing ones for a second. Gaius's shout brought him back to the present.
"Merlin? Merlin!"
The old man was shaking his ward but the boy didn't seem to respond, his head only lolled with every shake. The prince dashed towards them in a heartbeat, grabbing Merlin's shoulder. He was cold…
Gaius frantically put the boy back on the table and placed an ear to the warlock's chest, holding his breath. Arthur watched with horror as the old physician's face filled with pain, suddenly looking decades older.
"Oh Merlin…"
He couldn't believe it, he had to see it for himself. The prince's shaky fingers pressed to the pale neck of his friend, waiting desperately for something.
Nothing…
As if touching something hot, he withdrew his hand, slowly backing away from the haunting scene. Gaius slowly wrapped his arms around the boy's frail form, pressing the mop of black hair to his chest. The old man was whispering soothing words and rocking his ward, tears falling and soaking the Merlin's hair. The scene broke Arthur's heart.
He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to do something. He had never before felt this frustrated in his life. The lump in his throat was suffocating him and tears were burning the back of his lids.
"No man is worth your tears"
He remembered his father telling him. He had followed it before, when any of his knights died, he had stayed strong, for his men, for their families. He never cried for soldiers.
But Merlin was no knight, he was just an idiot manservant. The manservant who never woke him early for morning councils, the manservant who had fed him rat, who had called him an ass, who had knocked him out with a lump of wood, had forged a seal of nobility, had humiliated him in front of the whole town…
The same servant who had saved him from lade Helen's dagger, who had revealed valiant, who had helped him defeat the afanc, had drank poison for him, had lied to the king for him…
Had been ready to die for him…
Had died for him…
Tears fell from his eyes on their own accord. No, Merlin was no knight, but if any man was worth his tears, it was him.
"Merlin? Merlin!"
Gaius exclaims caught his attention, the old man had pulled back the raven hair boy and was looking at him with hopeful expression. Arthur's heart broke seeing what grief had done to the old man-
But then he froze.
For a soft groan escaped the supposedly dead Merlin's lips as the boy shifted in Gaius's grasp.
Arthur's legs moved as fast as they could, now that he was closer, he could see the soft rise and fall of the boy's chest. He released a breath he didn't know he was holding and put a hand on Merlin's chest, feeling the steady beat beneath his palm. The warlock's eyes slowly fluttered open. Brilliant blue focused of the prince.
"'rth'r?" his voice was weak and the words slurred, but for the prince, it was the best sound in the world.
"Back to the land of the living it seems!" He said sarcastically, Merlin managed a smile but then he frowned.
"Wha' 'ppnd?"
"Nimueh is dead, the balance is restored"
The raven haired boy's eyes widened, Arthur let out a laugh and clapped his servant on the shoulder.
"Let's go home"
Merlin weakly smiled, for once he knew everything was going to be fine.
….
Onslæpe: Sleep.
Ic, séo héahsácerd, þe ácwile strengþe ealdan æwfæstnesse: something that Nimueh said in the episode.
If you're about to say "She couldn't be killed by mortal blade", I figured out that Nimueh never claimed to be a 'high' priestess, and that Morgana too was vulnerable against mortal blades when she was a normal priestess (remember 4×13 how she was dying and Aithusa saved her).
Please review :D