Happy Turkey Day to my fellow Canadians :) And thanks to everyone who reviewed!
o}O{o
When the door shut behind Morgana, Mordred immediately tore away from the window. Gaius seemed to be expecting it and looked at him resignedly. The eleven year old came to stop on the opposite side of the patient's cot that Gaius stood on. Merlin slept between them, as pale and still as he had been since Mordred had woken up.
"Why did he have a fever?" Mordred demanded, free to ask such questions now that Morgana was absent. He had not been able to get much information before she had shown up looking for her maidservant.
Gwen looked nervously at the door as Gaius replied to his ward. "I cannot be certain, Mordred," he said in a lowered voice. "I can only assume because of the amount of magic it took to heal the king."
"But he never had a fever before when it happened," Mordred insisted with an obstinate frown on his face.
"No, but he has never used such magic before," Gaius countered. "It could have simply been his body's reaction."
"It's gone now though," Gwen pointed out.
Her reassurance did nothing to calm Mordred who did not even look like he had heard. The boy glared at the door. "Arthur never should have left him there."
"And what was he supposed to do, Mordred?" Gaius asked him briskly. "There is no one to cast blame on. Now pass me that bottle."
The old man indicated to Mordred's right, closer to the back room. A bottled potion waited on the end table to Gaius' bed for Mordred to get it. As the boy turned away, he muttered under his breath, "I should have just let Edwin kill the king."
"What was that?" Gaius asked distractedly as he pulled the blankets up to Merlin's shoulders.
"Nothing," Mordred replied, grabbing the bottle.
"Don't be rude, Morded. It's unbecoming," Gaius said dryly.
"I didn't say anything rude," the boy said and gave Gaius the bottle.
Gaius raised a single eyebrow to let Mordred know what he thought. As of yet the sight of that expression on Gaius' face had never failed to make Mordred feel chastised. "Here," Gaius said, changing the subject. "Drink all of this." The physician was pouring the bottle to fill a small ceramic cup and then offered it to Mordred.
"It's for me?"
"Yes, I imagine your head is hurting quite a bit," Gaius said and waited.
"A little," Mordred said. He hadn't thought about it before now, but it was rather surprising his head did not hurt more. He didn't exactly remember much of what happened after he hit the wall. But he reached for the cup anyway as his headache was starting to border on distracting.
It was the first and last time Mordred drank something Gaius gave him unquestioningly. He took the cup offered to him with complete trust and took a sip. Instantly his face screwed up in disgust and only through some miracle he did not spit it out. The liquid was thick- and why is it warm?- and the vilest thing he had ever tasted. He could not bring himself to swallow and the revolting creation stayed in his twisted mouth.
Morgana walked in just in time to see his disgusted face. "Ah just get it over with, Mordred," she coached, spotting the cup in his hand.
It took a few more attempts for him to succeed and when he did he exclaimed his disgust. "I need water," he complained and looked around frantically.
Gwen hurried to get some from the pitcher on the table but Gaius went to loom over him. "Not until you have drained that cup."
Mordred looked at the physician as if he was mad, already shaking his head. "It's disgusting!" The taste coated his mouth- it was almost metallic with an aftertaste he could not identify.
"There's not a lot," Gaius said lightly.
Mordred looked helplessly at Gwen who shrugged in sympathy. She waited with the water just behind Gaius. The boy groaned and stared into the cup, swishing around the thick orange liquid. Deciding to get it over with, Mordred tipped his head back and drank the potion. Only, as much as he tried he could not quite swallow right away. He had to clamp his eyes shut before he was able to and immediately reached for the water which Gwen had stepped forward with.
A shudder of disgust went through him after he tried to rinse the taste from his mouth. Feeling betrayed, Mordred glared at Gaius. The physician could not hold back a smile but he patted the boy's shoulder. "Better?" he asked. Mordred blinked and his furious expression formed into a surprised one. The ache in his head had softened without his notice and it was almost painful for him to nod and prove Gaius right. "And what do we say?"
"Thank you," Mordred looked away and mumbled.
o}O{o
By nightfall Merlin had not woken up. Had not even moved a muscle and there was no change to Mordred's eye. Now that Gwen and Morgana had left for the night, the chambers were quiet. Gaius was taking a nap since he had not slept for two days which left only Mordred to watch Merlin. The boy did not mind, it allowed him to look sad without anyone seeing.
"I really want you to wake up now, Merlin," he said quietly. Mordred listened for any response but could only hear the crickets singing outside the open window. He looked at it and then decided to go and close it. The evening was approaching and with it a cooler breeze. Closing the latch, he stared into the courtyard and found it to be empty save for a small group of noblemen. Not finding them very interesting, Mordred turned away.
Gaius was sleeping quietly, evidently too tired to even snore. Mordred felt a pang of affection for the physician and went to check on him on his way to Merlin. Seeing nothing that stood out to his inexperienced eye, Mordred reclaimed his chair beside the patient's cot. With nothing to soothe his boredom now that Gaius was not able to answer his questions, Mordred was forced to be alone with his thoughts.
They kept revolving around King Uther. Mordred knew that if he did not try and stop Edwin, the sorcerer would have killed the king. Merlin would not have had the chance to heal him. But he felt uncomfortable with that train of thought so he resumed on his idea to go find Selwyn. The idea had come to him before Gaius had fallen asleep but he did not see what it could accomplish other than satisfying his need to do something.
The druids had never been able to help Merlin before when he had used too much magic, not that any but Selwyn knew what had really been going on. What the child needed was rest in order to regain his magic. If only Morded could give him some…
It was quarter of an hour later before that same thought struck him dumb. "That's it," he breathed. Mordred immediately looked back at Gaius, set to ask him what to do. But as he took in a breath to wake the physician, Mordred shut his lips. The physician would not know how. He knew from both Selwyn and Gaius that there was little known about warlocks. And he had a feeling that Gaius would try to stop him if he knew.
So Mordred stared at Merlin and tried to concentrate. He took the child's cold hands within his own and tried to reach the magic inside of him. It was a part of him and he did not have a mastery of it like Merlin did so he did not know what to do. But he knew what he wanted and that was to give Merlin some of his magic. Mordred closed his eyes and tried to remember what it felt like when he used magic by accident. Three days ago when Morgana had been sick, the flowers in her room had been dying but when Mordred looked at them his magic responded to some unconscious thought and the flowers had brightened with new life.
It hadn't felt like anything though, that was the problem. Before he started to get frustrated Mordred took in a deep breath to calm himself. "Alright," he said aloud, "I can do this." Mordred was so busy trying to get his magic to work, he did not feel his magic warm his hands. It only seemed to him that concentrating was hard work for he was growing tired. About to give up, Mordred felt movement on the bed.
Snapping his pale eyes open, Mordred looked to see Merlin shifting slightly. It appeared as though some colour had returned to his face. The dark eyelashes resting on his cheeks twitched as Merlin squinted but then his brow relaxed and a light sigh escaped the child's lips. Mordred smiled when he realized the grayish tinge that had settled over Merlin's skin was gone. The boy was still pale but no longer looked to be on his deathbed. Overcome with relief that spent his energy, Mordred let his torso flop onto the bed and then arranged his elm pendant so it wouldn't dig into his chest. He grabbed Merlin's small hand again, a little disappointed that it was still cold.
The thought of trying to give Merlin more magic crossed his mind, but he soon forgot about it. He spent a short while basking in the darkness of his closed eyes, too tired to keep a straight line of thought. Mordred fell asleep in contentment.
o}O{o
Time had it out for Arthur and the prince was sure of this fact. He had kept his distance from the physician's chambers during the day, unsuccessfully trying to keep his thoughts away. In an attempt to distract himself he had organized a small hunt but as he trudged back home leading a triumphant band of knights, he reflected on the failure of his attempt. The minutes had passed slowly, like one of Gaius' potions pooling outward from a spill. It had almost worked, the first hour of the hunt was able to distract him but for the rest of the day his mind kept wandering.
When they arrived back in the city the sun was dipping lower in the fuchsia sky, making Arthur think that he had waited long enough. He did not even know why he was so reluctant to go see Merlin and was too preoccupied with examining why to hear Sir Leon's first attempt at contact.
"Sire? Sire… Arthur!"
The prince shook himself out of his thoughts and regarded Leon blankly. The knight was walking beside him, leading his horse with his right hand so there was room on the cobbled street. "My apologies Leon, I was somewhere else."
Leon smiled gently. "That's quite alright. I noticed your thoughts were scattered today, Sire."
"It's nothing to worry about," Arthur assured, taking note of Leon's expectant face. The knight nodded, not seeming too troubled by the dismissal.
"I'm sure your servant will have been sad to miss this," Leon said to change the subject and gestured back to the carcasses behind them. The majority were foxes but Arthur and a few others were able to take down a few birds as well. Behind them, the hounds were panting happily.
Arthur knew Leon's statement would not be true today but allowed a smirk to grow on his lips. "You are probably right," he admitted, "Mordred was quite enamoured with his first hunt. Actually asked me if he could try." The prince scoffed at that and Leon laughed lightly. "Perhaps one day." Leon's eyebrows rose up but he refrained from commenting. Arthur liked that about Leon, he knew when his opinion would be of benefit or an infliction.
"Well I suppose I will see you tomorrow," Arthur bid once they had gathered in the courtyard. Servants were scurrying toward the knights to take their horses and one relieved Arthur of Hengroen. The bay horse tossed his head imperiously but allowed himself to be led away.
"Yes, Sire," Leon said and inclined his head.
Arthur said his farewells to the rest of the knights and a congratulations to Sir Nathaniel who had nabbed the most kills. The dark haired knight beamed at the praise and once Arthur's back was turned, started bragging to all who would listen.
Making his way into the halls, Arthur plotted his destination firmly in mind, deciding that he had waited long enough. The trip to the physician's chambers felt like it took no time at all, reinforcing Arthur's belief that time wasn't working for him today.
He paused at the door, telling himself that he was being an idiot for procrastinating. Arthur raised his hand and knocked quietly, erring on the side of caution. His eyebrows drew down in puzzlement when no voice called him to enter. Not bothering to knock again, Arthur opened the door slowly and walked into the quiet chambers. The reason for his silent reception was made clear once he laid eyes on the sleeping forms of Gaius, Mordred and Merlin.
Ignoring the fact that Gaius was snoring rather loudly, Arthur crept closer to the boys. Mordred was slumped over on Merlin's bed, looking tired despite being fast asleep, the bandage that had been wrapped around his head this morning was gone. The prince did not know what he expected but he had hoped for Merlin to be awake. He did look better though which eased Arthur's nerves.
The prince stood still for a while before sitting on the seat across from Mordred. The silence bothered him but not enough to wake up his servant so he waited for nothing in particular. He noticed that Merlin had a linen dog next to him, one which looked very much like the one Morgana owned when she came to Camelot. Arthur remembered teasing her for it as she had been two years older than him and still owned a doll.
With nothing better to do, Arthur listened to Gaius' snores and chuckled as he realized it sounded rather funny- a loud snore followed by a puttering exhale. Apparently Arthur snored according to Mordred. The prince glanced at the servant and realized that he could not be comfortable.
"Mordred," Arthur called, neither lowering or raising his voice. The boy did not respond which was odd since Arthur remembered Merlin bemoaning the fact that Mordred woke up at any sound. This was likely a good thing since Merlin said he liked to visit his unnamed imaginary friend at night. It did not seem if Merlin understood the concept of a curfew.
But Mordred kept on sleeping, oblivious to Arthur's call. The prince quirked his lips in thought, and even rose out of his chair despite a lack of plan. "Mordred," he tried again, this time louder.
Gaius' snores stuttered and alerted Arthur to the physician waking up. "Arthur?" Gaius queried as the prince met his squinted eyes.
"Hello, Gaius," Arthur greeted stiffly, feeling like he had gotten caught doing something he shouldn't have. But that was preposterous, he had every right to be here.
The physician blinked twice before vaulting up from his bed. "I fell asleep!" he realized while looking for his charges. "I asked him to wake me up," Gaius sighed, his eyes on the sleeping form of Mordred.
"He's sleeping," Arthur pointed out unnecessarily.
Gaius only looked at him with a slightly raised eyebrow that somehow conveyed insult. "I have gathered that, yes."
Embarrassed already without Gaius pointing it out, Arthur glowered at the physician. "I was going to wake him up. He'll get a sore neck."
"You're right, Sire," Gaius said and shuffled to Mordred. The old man placed a gentle hand on Mordred's shoulder and called his name. Arthur's servant mumbled something unintelligible but did not wake up. The prince decided to wait and leave Gaius to it. "Mordred, wake up," Gaius said. Another garbled muttering was sent Gaius' way and the physician drew back with an unhappy look on his face.
"What is it?" Arthur demanded quickly.
"Oh nothing," Gaius answered in a vague voice. His gaze flickered between Mordred and Merlin before he brought it up to the prince. "If you don't mind, my lord, would you move Mordred to my bed."
"Not at all," Arthur said, relieved at being given something to do. "It's not like he weighs more than my armour anyway."
A gruff snort of laughter escaped Gaius' lips. "You are likely right."
Arthur smirked at the physician before bending slightly and gripping Mordred under his arms. While the boy was indeed heavier than his armour, the prince was certain he was still far too scrawny. Mordred slumped against Arthur, his head resting over his shoulder as the prince carried him one armed.
Thankfully he did not wake when Arthur set him down and went on sleeping with parted lips. Arthur could hear barely audible snorts of breath coming from the boy. "Thank you, Sire," Gaius said and walked over. He adjusted Mordred's pillow and then pulled a blanket to the boy's chest, making Arthur smile at the domestic sight.
"I came by to see how Merlin was," Arthur told him and walked away from the bed now that his task was complete.
"He has been getting better throughout the day," Gaius said, going to hover over Merlin. "Let's see." The physician grabbed one of Merlin's wrists and checked his pulse. It was a slightly jarring sight to Arthur who had only ever seen Gaius take the pulse of grown men. "Ah, his pulse is stronger," Gaius informed Arthur happily. "I think it a strong possibility that he will wake tomorrow."
The prince nodded at the information. "And did you discover what this illness was?"
"A run of the mill virus," Gaius sighed, "which seemed to affect Merlin more than it should have."
"That isn't run of the mill, Gaius," Arthur said and gestured to Merlin. Now the boy looked as if he were merely sleeping but this morning had been quite a different story.
Gaius made a half shrug. "As I was inclined to believe as well. However Merlin is very small for his age, a weakness to illness is only to be expected."
Arthur felt a scowl pull on down his brow, and he shook his head as if to deny Gaius' statement. "But he isn't sickly," Arthur protested, "he's practically bouncing with energy these days."
"I do not have another answer, Arthur," Gaius said earnestly, "we can only hope he grows out of it."
"Then will this happen again?" the prince asked him.
"Perhaps, but I should not think with such severity."
Arthur took in another sharp breath of air to make a demand but stopped himself upon realizing he was being entirely unreasonable. A prince was supposed to act with decorum, not become angry over the sake of his servants. "Well... alright then," Arthur stated, consciously arranging his features into a calm façade.
Gaius offered Arthur a kind smile. "You are welcome to stay as long as you would like," he said and went to one of his work tables.
Arthur studied Gaius as the physician smelled one of the herbs on the surface. Away from the forest, to Arthur's eye plant matter all looked similar- most of them green but some of them not. He had no idea how Gaius could distinguish them all as the work table looked to be overgrown. "I should get going actually," Arthur said and could have sworn Gaius' eyebrows droop. "Is Mordred ready to come to work tomorrow?"
"Yes," Gaius answered, "though I warn you he will likely be difficult. He won't like being away from Merlin."
Arthur had absolutely no doubt about that but instead of smiling and agreeing with the physician, he said, "We all have duties, I'm afraid. Mordred is no different."
Instead of a look of veiled disapproval Arthur had come to recognize, Gaius's face was gentle- a sight he remembered from his childhood. "Of course, Sire," Gaius placated. "You were most gracious for stopping by." From the physician's tone, Arthur got the definite sense he was seen through.
Arthur nodded stiffly and took his leave, taking a backward glance at his servants before he closed the door. In the fringes of his vision, Arthur spotted that the blasted physician had a large smirk on his face.
o}O{o
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