Before dawn the next morning Arthur woke cold and covered in mud. He most certainly did not give an undignified yelp when he discovered the largest frog he'd ever seen resting on his cheek. He rinsed off the mud as best he could in the shallow stream, but he knew he'd be a sight to behold when he made his way back to camp.
Arthur forced his sore legs into a brisk trot retracing his steps from the night before. He was far from the best tracker, but his path was easy to follow. As upset as he'd been, he'd carved quite a swathe out of the local flora.
By the time Arthur had made it back to camp, the knights had already eaten breakfast and were saddling up their horses. Arthur wondered with a stab of jealousy whether they'd planned to leave him behind to get Merlin to Gaius without delay. When the knights noticed him, their expressions clouded with worry.
Arthur's bitterness mixed with shame. He'd run off like a child when they'd finally told him the truth. He'd proved them right, he hadn't listened just as they'd feared. He was no better than his father who shut down any opinions-or facts-that he didn't like. The shame, though, couldn't completely smother the pain Arthur felt at his friends' betrayal.
The next two days Arthur spoke no more than was necessary. Fortunately, their driving pace had worn everyone out enough to not make his withdrawn state too noticeable. Around noon on the third day, the city of Camelot came into sight. The knights sat straighter in their saddles and even the horses seemed to strain against the reins with renewed energy, but Arthur's heart was conflicted.
He was finally home, but for all the time spent thinking on the road, he still hadn't decided what to do about Merlin. Part of him had hoped Merlin would die on the way back. At least then Arthur wouldn't be holding Merlin's fate in his hands. Most of Arthur, or at least most of Arthur at that moment, balked at the thought of a dead Merlin. That left him torn between doing what was right, or sparing his once-friend's life.
As they passed through the town, it seemed like there were more townspeople in the streets than usual. So many people were staring at him. Their stares had never bothered him before. Then he had felt like a prince, noble and handsome and brave. Now he just felt small.
A small crowd awaited them in the castle courtyard. Gaius was at the forefront of it all, his brow furrowed in worry. Arthur could see the blood drain from Gaius's face the moment he realized there was a riderless horse. His eyes locked onto the makeshift hammock.
He approached Arthur tentatively as he dismounted.
"Sire, where's Merlin? Is he…" Gaius wrung his hands. He took a deep breath as if to brace himself.
Arthur gestured to the hammock. "He's alive, but…" Words failed him.
Gaius pushed past Gwaine and Elyan. Gwaine caught his arm as the old man's legs buckled beneath him at the sight. But after a moment he composed himself and the stone faced physician part of Gaius took over. At Gaius's order, Gwaine took Merlin in his arms and followed him into his chambers. Arthur and Lancelot followed. Arthur told himself it was because he owed Gaius an explanation of what had happened, not out of any concern for Merlin.
Gwaine set Merlin down on a cot and Gaius stripped him of Lancelot's borrowed clothes with practiced efficiency.
"Oh, Merlin," Gaius gasped softly as he cut off the soiled bandages, revealing the extent of the damage.
The knights stood back to let Gaius work, but that didn't prevent Arthur from seeing how much worse Merlin looked. He had barely risked a glance after they'd first bound his wounds. He hadn't thought Merlin could get any worse short of dying. He'd been proved wrong.
The angry red lines of infection had spread out from the puncture wounds inflicted by the chains so that their spidery tendrils reached almost everywhere, several thick lines even reaching up his neck. His skin was paler than the sheets he lay upon which made the cuts and bruises stand out starkly against their backdrop. Sweat coated his entire body and his breath rasped weakly.
Gaius frowned as he felt one of Merlin's legs where jagged bone had pierced the skin of his shin. The frown deepened when he moved on to the other limbs.
"What's wrong, Gaius?" Gwaine asked. Arthur scoffed mentally. Everything was wrong with this situation.
Gaius's voice shook slightly as he answered. "We'll need to set the bones back in place. Several are severely displaced and it will be quite painful to correct. He's far gone enough I don't expect he'll react, but I'll need you three to hold him down if I'm wrong."
Gwaine rubbed his backside absently as he remembered the last time they'd tried to restrain Merlin while Gaius rummaged through a cabinet for materials.
Gaius poured a pain-reducing potion down Merlin's throat with some help from Lancelot, then instructed the three men where to hold Merlin. Gwaine and Arthur each supported him by the shoulder while Lancelot held onto Merlin's foot.
"I'm sorry, Merlin," Gaius muttered then motioned for the men to pull lightly and pressed the protruding bone back into the skin.
Merlin's eyes shot open and he let out a bloodcurdling scream. Arthur flinched but refused to let his grip falter. The process of massaging the bone back into place took what felt like an eternity. Just when Arthur thought it was over, Gaius moved on to a second fracture on the same leg, then the other leg and on. Eventually Merlin's voice gave out, and then his consciousness. His head lolled against Arthur's arm. Arthur had never been more relieved to see someone faint before.
By the end of it all, the four men were sweaty and exhausted. The knights collapsed on the floor, but Gaius didn't stop working.
"Do you think you can save him, Gaius?" Arthur found himself asking.
Gaius locked eyes with Arthur, his expression grave. He shook his head slightly then turned to his work table and grabbed fistfuls of herbs to grind in his mortar.
The unspoken word knocked the wind out of Arthur. Merlin was going to die. Unbeknownst to Arthur, a part of him had believed Merlin was going to make it. Merlin had always survived things he shouldn't have. Merlin couldn't die, Arthur cursed himself for having hoped he would. That was his friend on that cot, he couldn't die, he couldn't.
"Sire? Are you alright?" Lancelot asked in a hushed voice.
Arthur wiped the tears that had somehow appeared on his cheeks. "You and Gwaine return to your quarters, do not speak a word of what happened, tell the others to do the same."
Lancelot frowned in confusion but did as he was commanded. Gwaine shot Arthur a distrustful look, but had no choice but to obey.
Gaius was now applying a thick paste to Merlin's wounds. Arthur stepped closer and he noticed his hands shaking as he worked.
"He's dying," Arthur said. It wasn't a question.
Gaius pressed his lips into a line. "It's a miracle he hasn't died already. The infection has spread too far and he lacks the strength to fight it. Even if it weren't for that, he should have bled out. What happened to him?"
"Morgana," Arthur replied darkly. "She tortured him, I don't know why. She-those sounds there were caused by chains. She strung him up by them. Those burns on his wrists, those were from the chains too."
Gaius said nothing, only set to bandaging Merlin's torso. Arthur held Merlin against his chest so he could reach around his back.
"He killed her, you know. With magic."
Gaius's hands froze in midair as he looked slowly at Arthur. Something glimmered in his eyes, a look all too familiar now to Arthur. Dread.
"You knew too, didn't you?" Arthur said. "Am I the only one who didn't know Merlin was a sorcerer?"
Gaius continued his work, a convenient excuse to not look Arthur in the eye as he said "Are you certain you saw Merlin use magic? Could there be some mistake?"
"He threw Morgana across a room without touching her then did it again to Gwaine in front of the knights. But they already knew too. Don't insult me by saying it's a mistake."
"I see," Gaius replied. "What are you going to do, Arthur?"
Arthur hesitated. But he'd sent Lancelot and Gwaine away for a reason. He'd made up his mind. "Gaius, you were a sorcerer too once, before magic was banned in Camelot. Could you use it to save Merlin?"
Whatever Gaius had been expecting, it wasn't that. He jumped up with an incredulous look on his face. "Arthur! What are you saying? To use magic is treason, your father would have me executed, you know that."
"Can you do it?" Arthur asked again.
Gaius considered for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, it's been a long time and my strength is not what it used to be, but I think I have enough to save him."
"Then do it."
