No. 15: Feed a cold, starve a fever / delirium / fever dreams / bees
Whumpee: Gwaine
Gwaine was not the sort of person to be mad for very long… but it had been three days. Three very long days since as a prank, the knights had switched his normal soap and shampoo for garlic and oil that they had found in the kitchens. Three days since the disastrous date with Griselda, the shopkeeper's daughter, who didn't make it ten paces with such a smelly partner.
The knights were always pranking each other. There was the time Elyan showed up with white salt in his eyebrows, after they had coated salt in his washing bowl. The time when Percival found sleeves sewn into every single shirt he owned. The time when Leon's saddle was so oily that it stained his breeches. And so on… with the violence they faced each day, some levity was always appreciated. Except, of course, when you look and smell like a day-old dinner after chasing a woman and begging for a date for months.
They were currently on patrol, and Gwaine was pouting. Pouting was hard work because all he wanted to do was to fill the air with stories and laughter – he even saw Leon's shoulders shake after a particularly tall tale that involved bees, a donkey, and putting a village bully in his place. He sighed heavily. This sucked. He could still feel the oil in his hair, too.
"Don't you boys have anything better to do than to pick on your own kind?" he said grumpily. Oh shoot, did he say that out loud? Elyan and Lancelot were giving him a look, expecting a smile on his face – but Gwaine was out of smiles today.
As Leon motioned for the patrol to stop and water their horses, Gwaine went off to the side. He saw a squirrel jumping up and down in the branches, and started laughing. Did anyone else see it? Ha, the little bugger was so funny – was he sticking his tongue out at Gwaine now? Ha!
Percival got Elyan to watch his horse, and he made his way over to Gwaine, who was apparently very entertained by something up in the trees. He kept bouncing on the balls of his feet, and a big goofy smile was back on his face.
"What's so funny?" he ventured, not sure if Gwaine's good mood would carry his way.
"There's a little blue squirrel in the tree – d'ya see it? Ha! He's like a little gymnast, he is," was Gwaine's response, not taking his eyes off the tree.
Even though Percival scanned the trees a good three times, he hadn't seen it. "Ha," he was able to get out, just glad Gwaine was back to his goofy self. Though the knight was generally unflappable, him being in such a bad mood was like nothing they'd seen before.
"Right, men, let's mount up- time to get back to Camelot." The strong voice of Leon carried all the way back, and Percival hurried back to his mount. "Good to see him back to his old self," he quietly told Elyan. "Though still not sure what he was seein' in those trees." Elyan shrugged from atop his stallion, and they all set off down the trail.
They made record time back to Camelot, and while Leon went straight to Arthur to give his report, the rest of the patrol spent time in the stables taking care of their horses.
"I heard you laughing on the way back," Elyan tried to keep his voice light, not upsetting Gwaine. "What was so funny?"
Gwaine shot him a serious look. "What's it to you?" He kept up the stare, and Elyan realized just how serious Gwaine could be – and how threatening a serious Gwaine was. 'What a quick shift', he thought.
"Just…uh, nothing. Forget I said anything," was Elyan's meek reply, and Gwaine snorted in response. The rest of the time was spent in silence, as Elyan and Percival were puzzled by Gwaine's strange behaviour. He knew they played pranks on each other, and they hadn't gotten him in months – not since they filled his boots with sand last summer. Gwaine stormed out without saying goodbye, and they watched him leave. "What are we going to do about that?" Elyan wondered aloud.
"I don't know…" was Percival's sad reply. "But you know Arthur won't stand for it." And it was true, Arthur knew that the knights completely and utterly depended on each other, and he didn't take any sort of rancor or ill will from anyone. They could be called into battle that night, and they'd have to know that they had each other's backs. There was no other alternative.
After Gwaine left the stables, he wandered around a bit. It's like his feet had a mind of their own, and the restlessness was getting to him. 'Would Merlin help distract me?' he wondered, and made his way over to Gaius's chambers – but the door was closed, and he didn't feel like knocking. He found himself in the armory, then getting shooed away from the kitchens, and finally to the parapets looking above the city. 'So many people, with so many dreams,' he thought. Gwaine stifled a yawn. He was certainly tired, but he had been wandering around for a few hours. He looked at the evening sky, autumn stars twinkling, and knew he had missed dinner. Oh well, time for bed, he supposed. He wasn't even hungry to begin with.
When Gwaine didn't show up for the evening meal with the rest of the knights, Percival and Elyan knew something was truly wrong. Between the two of them, they saved three pieces of chicken and some vegetables to bring to Gwaine that night.
"D'you think he'll actually answer the door? He seemed pretty pissed at us today," Elyan whispered as they tiptoed through the castle with their precious package wrapped up in napkins.
"It's Gwaine," Percival reminded him. "He'll always answer the door for food."
"True," Elyan conceded. "We'll just have to make sure he talks to us after he gets the food."
When they knocked on his door, though, Gwaine didn't answer. Elyan pressed his ear to the door. "Either he's not in there or he's fast asleep – try knocking again?"
Percival gave three loud raps this time, but there still wasn't any movement from the other side. "We'll just put it right inside for him, maybe he's with Merlin or in the tavern," he said. As they deposited the food, they noticed a pile slumped over in bed. "Gwaine?" Percival was the first to venture over. "Are you OK?"
"Yeah, we know we messed up, mate, but missing dinner – that's unheard of," Elyan chirped up. The pile in the bed didn't move.
"Gwaine?" Percival had been on the bad end of accidentally waking Gwaine up once, and he knew the knight was liable to lash out if he didn't know you were coming. But the lump didn't make any move. Percival reached out a hand and felt the heat emanating off of Gwaine's forehead. "He's burning up, get Gaius, quick!" he told Elyan.
As Elyan ran out the door, Percival reached over and moved Gwaine over on his back. He let out a little moan at the movement, but still didn't wake up. Percival found his water bowl, and starting to soak a cold cloth for Gwaine's sweaty forehead. The fever must have been taking hold for some time, because his face was covered in sweat, and Percival could see the moisture and heat coming from his chest all the way down to his toes.
Gaius, Merlin, and Elyan came in shortly after. After Gaius did a quick examination of Gwaine, he started his usual questioning. "Has he eaten anything out of the ordinary?"
"No, he didn't even show up for dinner." Percival was first.
"That's how we knew, we brought him some leftovers, but then…"
"We found him like this," Percival finished.
"Hmm…" was all that Gaius said. "What was he doing today?"
"Just a patrol, the usual patrol around the western gates. It was pretty light and really, nothing out of the ordinary happened."
"How much water has he drank today?"
The two knights looked at each other. "Umm, I'm not sure he has."
"He forgot his water skein and didn't drink out of any of ours."
Gwaine started to shiver, his teeth chattering.
"Gaius, do something!" Merlin had been unusually quiet since they came into the warm room, but he couldn't stand to see his friend suffer this much.
"OK, it's important to keep him cool. Help me get his shirt off."
As the knights helped Gaius with Gwaine's sweaty shirt, Elyan noticed a small hole in his shoulder. The surrounding skin was a deep red. "Uh, Gaius?" he asked. "Would this have anything to do with it?"
Gaius moved a candle closer, the heat from Gwaine making him warm. "That would do it, yes," he agreed. "Well, now that we know the source, we can help treat it."
Merlin immediately moved to Gaius's little bag he always brought, lining up glass bottles on Gwaine's bedside table. "There's some honey and wine here for the wound."
Gaius cleaned it, then he and Merlin took turns wiping Gwaine's brow and neck with cool water. Percival and Elyan took turns getting fresh water from the well, and pacing in anxiety.
"He will be alright, won't he Gaius?" Elyan's voice relayed just how worried he was. It had been hours, and nothing that they were doing was helping Gwaine's fever. It kept climbing and climbing, and the more timed passed, the more Gwaine was starting to scare him. He kept twitching and moaning, something about a person named Jarl and being a champion.
"Unfortunately, sometimes a fever just needs to run its course. We're doing everything we can." Gaius gave Merlin a pointed look at that.
"Y'know, it's late," Merlin started. "Why don't you both go to bed? Your chambers aren't far, and we'll wake you if there's any change – anything at all."
Percival and Elyan looked torn. It had been an early morning – they were probably on 22 hours without sleep at this point.
All of a sudden, they heard an "agh!" from the bed. Gwaine's arms started swinging, and he was struggling to sit up. "Merlin! Quick, hold him!" Gaius was struggling to keep Gwaine's wily limbs to himself.
"Probably fighting an invisible person," Elyan noted.
Once the four finally got Gwaine settled, Elyan and Percival went to their chambers after Merlin swore that he'd wake both of them if there was a change. Since they were then alone with Gwaine, Merlin was able to send some healing magic into Gwaine, and the two physicians settled in to wait. Finally, just after sunrise, Merlin noticed that Gwaine's forehead was just warm – not its usual lava-like temperature.
"Gaius!" he shook the sleeping physician in his chair. "Gaius, it's Gwaine!"
"Hmph?" the physician snorted.
"I think his fever's broken!"
As Gaius got up to examine Gwaine, they were rewarded by some very tired-looking green eyes looking at them.
"Is this what it feels like to be run over by a herd of horses?" Gwaine's voice was rusty after his nightmares.
"No, my boy. We're going to have a talk about hiding injuries, though," Gaius's voice was both calm and firm. Merlin shuddered. He hated being on the receiving side of the eyebrow of doom that Gaius reserved for only the most pesky of situations.
"I'm going to tell Elyan and Percival the news," Merlin said, bouncing on his feet with happiness. Gwaine's breathing was still a little labored, but he managed a pitiful sigh. "I don't really remember much, but I don't think I was the best to them, eh? Tell 'em I'm sorry."
Merlin gave his shoulder a reassuring pat. "Take it easy and rest today, and tell them yourself."
-Fin-