A/N: Thank you GuestM, SnidgetHex, PadrePedro, Buckhunter, Guest, and pallysAramisRios for reviewing!
Chapter 3
Elyan gasped awake with a violent jolt from the smelling salts Gaius had waved under his nose. Gwen let out the tense breath she'd been holding and took her brother's chilled hand as he looked around in confusion.
"Wh- what happened?" he asked shakily.
"You fell and hit your head," Percival answered. "It knocked you unconscious."
"We brought you straight to Gaius," Gwaine added, "but you already started having a nightmare."
"It was the creature," Merlin spoke up from the back. "I saw it and hit it with a blast of magic, which made it run off."
"And now we know Merlin is the only one who can see it," Leon picked up. "Because the rest of us saw nothing."
Elyan winced and reached his free hand up to clasp the side of his head. Gwen captured it and pulled it away so he wouldn't aggravate the massive bump up there.
"Don't touch it," she gently chided.
He stiffened and looked at her, eyes wavering with an emotion she couldn't identify. Then he looked away with a shiver.
Gwen pulled the blanket up higher over his shoulders, concerned about the chill, but Gaius had recovered from his attack, so she hoped it would be the same for Elyan.
"I don't want to pry," Merlin began regretfully, "but what were you dreaming about?"
Elyan glanced at Gwen and then quickly away again.
Her mouth turned down in worry. "Elyan? What is it?"
"Nothing," he mumbled, pushing himself up to sit. The blanket pooled in his lap, but he didn't pull it back up even though he kept shivering.
"It doesn't look like nothing," she said.
"Elyan," Arthur said kindly. "If the information can help Merlin identify this creature, then you need to tell us."
It was close to a king's command, and Elyan's jaw visibly tightened. Gwen reached for his hand again, but he shied away. Heart constricting, she settled for resting her hand on his leg.
"It was of Gwen and our father," he said, gaze averted. "How they hated me."
Gwen frowned at her brother's sudden distance just because of a bad dream. "It wasn't real."
"I know I've been a major disappointment in the past. I've tried to make up for it…"
Gwen leaned forward to grasp his hand, whether he liked it or not. "You have nothing you need to make up for. I love you. So did Father. He would be proud of the man you've become."
Elyan turned away from her. "I'm not so sure," he said quietly.
"I am. And I'm proud of you too." She gave his hand another fervent squeeze, beseeching him to believe in her again. He looked at her with remorse but at least was meeting her eye.
Merlin cleared his throat reluctantly. "The nightmares sound very personal."
"Does that mean something?" Lancelot asked.
Merlin shrugged helplessly. "Maybe. Elyan, did you see the creature in your dream somewhere? Or anything that seemed out of place to what was happening?"
Elyan shook his head. "No."
"Alright. Thank you for sharing with us. I'll get back to the research."
"You should stay here and get some rest where Merlin will be able to see if the creature comes back," Gaius put in.
Elyan didn't respond, just sat on the cot, shivering.
Gwen picked up the blanket in his lap and held it up for him to take. "Follow the physician's orders."
He didn't argue and took the blanket as he lay back down. He was still shaken by the nightmare, Gwen could tell. She didn't know the details of what had happened in it, but she could imagine. A lot of old wounds had just had the scabs pulled off. She wondered if he ever had this dream outside of a monster's influence.
"At least you get a nap," Gwaine groused.
"You're all welcome to pick a spot on the floor if you want," Merlin said.
"Nah, I don't need to split your attention."
With that, Arthur and the knights left. Gwen tucked her brother in and then went back to the work table to resume helping with the research.
Lancelot couldn't focus. He was past the point of registering what he was reading, which wasn't doing them any good at all.
"I'm going to go for a walk," he said, getting to his feet.
"Good idea," Gaius replied.
"Just don't fall and knock yourself out," Merlin called after him.
Lancelot smirked. "I'll try."
A brisk walk through the castle was harder than he'd thought. His body just wanted to sag against the wall and slide down to the floor, but he couldn't do that.
A raised voice up ahead had him veering down the next corridor to where he found Leon snapping at a pair of guards.
"Stop loitering and make your rounds checking on everyone to make sure they all stay awake! You want someone to die on your watch?"
The guards ducked their gazes in contrition and sulked off. Everyone was exhausted and worn out, making tempers flare more than usual. It was a normal response, but they were all doing their best.
"Hey," he said as he walked up.
Leon jerked his gaze toward him as though expecting some kind of assault, then settled back down and gave Lancelot a clipped nod.
"How are you holding up?" Lancelot asked.
"If people would pay attention to their tasks, things would be better," Leon snipped.
"We're all worn down to the end of our ropes," Lancelot gently pointed out.
"And I'm just trying to protect everyone," he snapped.
"I know. The men know that too."
Leon's shoulders slumped and his voice became more subdued. "I couldn't protect Caelen. If only I'd gotten there a bit sooner, I could have woken him."
"Caelen likely died in the middle of the night," Lancelot pointed out. "Long before he was even late for duty. There's nothing you could have done."
Leon didn't look comforted.
"I wonder what nightmare he had," he said quietly. "It sounds like a torturous way to die."
Lancelot silently agreed, and he had no words of comfort for Leon over this. So he merely reached out to clasp his shoulder in solidarity.
A yawn broke the moment, and Lancelot stepped back as he raised an arm to cover it. "I should get back," he said.
"I'll walk with you."
For a castle where everyone was trying to stay awake, it wasn't bustling as normal. People were moving about at a sluggish rate, trying to get their work done with little to no concentration. Lancelot knew they wouldn't be able to keep this going for much longer.
Leon checked every room and chamber they passed, searching for people who'd fallen asleep. He took the protection of Camelot and its people to heart, and would view any loss from this point forward as a personal failure, even though he couldn't cover every inch of the castle on his own. Just like Merlin couldn't.
They walked past the council chambers and Leon peeked through the cracked doors. Then he was bursting inside with a shout. Lancelot pivoted and hurried after him, his heart lurching into his throat as he spotted Arthur seated at the table, asleep in the chair.
"Arthur!" Leon yelled, reaching him first and grabbing his shirt to shake him.
Arthur jerked awake immediately, eyes wide and startled for a brief moment. "I'm awake, I'm awake," he said, sitting up straighter with effort.
"Were you having a nightmare?" Leon asked worriedly.
"No," Arthur said.
Leon looked ready to sag in relief that the creature hadn't pounced during the king's brief lapse.
Arthur rubbed his face vigorously. "Sorry," he mumbled.
Lancelot grabbed the water pitcher from atop the wine cabinet and poured a glass for him. "We're all struggling," he said.
Arthur nodded and knocked back a long swig. "I've half a mind to dump this over my head."
"If you fall asleep again, Sire, I will do it for you," Leon said seriously.
Lancelot caught the First Knight's eye. "Stay with him. I'll get back to helping with the research."
But when he arrived back at Gaius's chambers, it was to Merlin practically in a tizzy.
"I found it!" he was exclaiming.
"Sit down and tell us," Gaius chided.
Merlin was almost delirious with exhaustion, giving him an odd burst of energy as he jabbed a finger onto the page in front of him. "It's a mara, a creature that induces nightmares and then sucks the life out of its victims."
"Okay, how do we stop it?" Lancelot asked.
Merlin pursed his mouth. "It doesn't say. It's not even fully physical. That must be why only I can see it."
"Is there a spell to let us all see it?" Elyan asked from the cot where he was still resting.
"Mm, I don't know about that either. But if anything can kill a magical creature, it'd be a sword forged in dragon's breath."
"Excalibur," Lancelot supplied.
Merlin nodded and picked up the book. "We need to make a plan."
So they all gathered in the council chambers so Merlin could share what he'd found with Arthur and the others. Which, granted, wasn't very much.
"Are we supposed to search the castle inch by inch with Merlin?" Percival asked skeptically. "We could chase the creature in circles doing that."
"It'd be quicker to lure it out with bait," Gwaine said.
Merlin shifted uncomfortably at that idea, but the knights gave a chorus of agreements.
"Are you volunteering?" Elyan asked Gwaine wryly.
"If I can finally get some sleep, yes."
"What do you need, Merlin?" Arthur asked.
"Your sword," he replied. "I'll hide in Gwaine's room and wait for the creature to come for him."
"I'll go with you," Lancelot said. "Help you stay awake."
Merlin nodded. "Good idea."
"Let's get this over with," Gwaine said.
The three of them headed up to his chambers where Merlin and Lancelot concealed themselves behind the dressing screen. Gwaine didn't bother changing out of his clothes and simply plopped on the bed and was asleep within moments.
If it was difficult trying to stay awake while poring over books, it was even more of a struggle sitting on the floor in a dimly lit room listening to Gwaine snore loudly. A few times Lancelot had to prod Merlin awake after he nodded off. For his part, even though he was severely fatigued, he was also antsy over not being able to see the creature. It was always a challenge for Lancelot, wanting to provide his best friend with backup but so often being out of his element and having little to offer in the face of magical threats.
Merlin eventually stiffened as he peered around the edge of the dressing screen. "It's here," he hissed.
Lancelot looked but didn't see anything, not even the rustle of fabric to suggest something invisible was moving about. He waited tensely as Merlin rocked onto his feet, Excalibur gripped tightly in hand. Then he leaped out and charged, and Lancelot followed. But Merlin didn't end up swinging the magical sword and instead let it drop with a curse.
"It ran off too fast."
Lancelot sagged in disappointment, while Gwaine snored on.
"If we want to surprise it, we'll have to catch it while it's feeding on someone," Merlin said, though he obviously wasn't keen on doing that.
Lancelot's mouth thinned into a grim line. Time for another plan.
