Hey guys! This chapter took me a little longer to upload than I would've liked, but here it is!
Gaius walked back into the room. Arthur needed to be examined completely so that the physician could take account of and treat his various wounds, so the old man got to work. Merlin was in no condition to help, still shaking terribly, his normally pale skin nearly translucent after the ordeal. The boy hadn't quite been himself recently, and Gaius had meant to speak to him about it. These events surely weren't helping him.
He wanted to get Merlin out of the room before he started categorizing the prince's injuries. It'd be too much for his already compromised ward. He thought to the boy's dry heaves, and turned to him.
"When was the last time you ate a proper amount, Merlin?" Gaius had noticed he had been getting unusually thin, worse than was typical of the young man, and now that the physician took time to really look at him, he realized he was appearing rather sickly.
"I had dinner with you last night."
"I'd hardly call that meager bit of stew you had a 'proper amount.' Before that?" Merlin was silent for a moment.
"I can't remember."
"For goodness sake, Merlin! Go get yourself some food while I tend to him." The manservant made no move to leave. Gaius sighed. "I know you want to stay, but I don't think it's a good idea. Just sit this one out, okay? He's fine, and you can be sure to be here when he wakes up, as I suspect with the pain mixed with the herb treatment will keep him out for several hours. Why don't you go inform Gwenivere of what's happened while you're out?"
"That's a good idea." He looked to the bed once more. "You'll tell me what you find, won't you?" Gaius nodded in affirmation, and with a sigh, Merlin walked to the door.
"And Merlin?" His ward turned to look at him. "Make sure you get some rest." Though as the boy left, Gaius was certain that he wouldn't listen.
oooOOOoooOOOooo
Merlin found Gwenivere on her normal morning route, but couldn't find the words to tell her what had happened. His head was swimming, and as she approached him, he found his knees growing weaker.
"Merlin? Are you alright? You look positively awful." The handmaiden moved to lay the back of her hand against his forehead, but paused when she noted his expression. Her voice became hardly more than a whisper. "What's happened?"
"Arthur," He choked out, biting back tears.
"What's happened to Arthur?" Her words were coated with a forced calm, trying to pry information from him without causing him more distress.
"He... He almost died. This morning." She covered her mouth with her hands in shock, letting the laundry basket tumble from her arms.
"What happened?" she asked, aghast.
Allowing his anger to fester, Merlin spoke firmly. "Uther broke several of his ribs and one of them punctured his lung. We were able to set the bones in time and help along the healing process. But he has far more injuries, this must have been happening for a while. It's bad, Gwen. And I only saw his torso."
"How could he have done this? I thought he loved Arthur."
"It definitely doesn't seem like it. He couldn't have done those things if he loved him. The scars… cuts, bruises, burns. Burns, Gwen! Uther burned him."
"Where is Arthur now? Is he safe?"
"Gaius is tending to him. I don't think Uther will dare to interfere."
With a heavy sigh, Gwenivere picked up the laundry basket she had dropped, gathering the clothes that had spilled. "Let me know when he can be seen." Before she had walked very far, she turned back. "Eat something, Merlin." Gaius hadn't been the only one to notice Merlin's shrinking frame. He gave her a half-nod before walking off down the hall.
He made his way to the chambers that he and Gaius shared, to his little bedroom, to his bed. He sat on it, and in his solitude he gave way to his tears once again. He wept bitterly, frustrated and broken.
Merlin took a deep breath. His brokeness didn't matter now. All that mattered was Arthur. Arthur and Arthur's safety.
How could he have been so blind? All of those wounds, they would have caused the prince a great amount of pain. By the sound of his breathing that morning, he wouldn't have lived another hour without help. Did Arthur have to nearly die for him to recognize a problem?
Die. Arthur nearly died. If he'd fallen asleep last night, Gaius would have woken him at the normal time, he'd have gone to bring his master breakfast slightly late, as usual. But it wouldn't have been as usual; Arthur Pendragon would have been dead.
The thought made Merlin feel ill. He would've been sick, but there was nothing in his stomach to expel. Rather than give it something to get rid of, he resigned himself to sleep.
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