Percival was woken a little before dawn by a low, keening cry, and he lifted his head to find the source.
"I'm right here, my boy," Gaius was murmuring. Merlin was lying next to him, his head snapping from one side to the other. "It will pass."
For a moment Percival hesitated, wondering if he should just pretend to be asleep.
Of all the knights, Gwaine had been the fondest of Merlin. The two were a funny pair—Gwaine lived in the tavern, but Merlin hardly drank; Gwaine loved to fight, and Merlin was a pacifist (or a coward, in Arthur's words); Gwaine lived in the pursuit of women, and Percival had always wondered if Merlin had ever taken a lover. And yet… the barkeep knew to send for Merlin if Gwaine was too drunk to make it home. If Merlin was in danger, Gwaine was the first to be up in arms—even before Arthur. Percival knew he should be the one to tell Merlin about his friend, but he didn't have the heart. He had decided to wait until the servant was better, and even though he knew he had done everything he could for Gwaine, seeing Merlin made him feel ashamed.
"Any change?" Percival hesitantly asked Gaius while staying back a respectful distance.
"Some, but it's impossible for me to tell if those changes are for good or for ill." The physician sighed, lifting Merlin's arm and sliding down the sleeve. "Look."
The clouds from the night before had multiplied instead of dissipating, and the only illumination came from the fire Sir Leon had built. In its flickering orange glow, it became instantly apparent that Merlin's skin was… different. Where there had been a mass of bruising only hours before, there was now a wash of colorless porcelain, unblemished save for an iridescent patch which swept partially up his forearm from the base of his wrist.
"What is that?" His guilt forgotten, Percival took a step closer. From a distance, the patch had caught the light of the fire and shone in various purples and blues like the feathers of a raven; up close, however, he realized it was black, and composed of a number of fragments. "Are those…"
"Scales," Gaius confirmed softly. "I fear they're getting larger, and more numerous."
"Gaius, if he changes into a dragon… what happens then?" Percival stared down at the familiar face. The deep hollows in his cheeks and under his eyes were dark.
"I don't know," Gaius said, and he looked exhausted.
"You should rest," the knight didn't break his gaze from Merlin. "Just for a little. I'll watch him."
It was obvious the physician wanted to protest, but he seemed to think better of it.
"Wake me the moment something changes," he warned, and began to shamble away. "And Percival…" Gaius turned back. "Thank you."
"He's my friend," Percival offered him a small smile, and Gaius nodded before retreating.
He waited until he was certain Gaius had fallen asleep before speaking.
"Hey," he said, and he reached out to nudge Merlin's shoulder. Instinctively he recoiled. The skin was as hard as stone. "Merlin, I know you can hear me. I need you to… I need you to hear me. I have to tell you—" Percival broke off and shook his head, trying to clear it. An image of Gwaine had crept into his mind and he couldn't send it away.
"I failed," Gwaine said, and his eyes were dull. Defeated. And Percival wasn't fast enough, he couldn't find the right words and so Gwaine died thinking he was a failure. He died without knowing he was a hero.
"Stop it," he murmured to himself, and passed his hands over his face. "Merlin, Gwaine is dead. I couldn't protect him. I'm so…" Percival's voice died away.
In the time that he'd been thinking about Gwaine, the scales had multiplied. Merlin was now almost entirely covered with them. They stopped at his neck, just below his jaw, but even as Percival watched, the skin on his cheekbones was darkening.
Merlin's eyes opened.
Percival was not expecting the brilliant flash of gold, abnormal even for a sorcerer, and his mouth went dry.
"Gaius!" He scrambled to his feet, even as Merlin staggered to his own. "Merlin, can you—"
Merlin sprinted away.
In the sky, there were the first rumblings of thunder. The promised storm had arrived, and as the rain began to fall, it grew colder.