Omg bro, enjoy the summary. I'm just lazy like that sometimes, thank you for making me do it.
The sun once more rose in Camelot, a new day's lights cast on the stone. Another day had gone by, and yet nothing had changed. The pain was still just as painful. The air was just as cold and bitter. The blankets still did nothing, and the food was still untouched.
The only difference, it was someone else who tried to rid the occupant from the bed.
" Arthur, I know that you were," Uther paused, trying to be supportive with his words." Close, with your servant. But he will not be the last you lose. There will be others. But you need to keep going. You have duties to attend to. You are the prince, which means you have responsibilities to fulfill. You have had time to mourn, more time than necessary I believe."
Arthur didn't respond to the words. This time however, he was sitting up against the headboard of his bed. His broken blue eyes were directed towards the brightly shining window. Oh how he wished the curtains would be drawn again to block the insistent scolding glare out.
" Arthur answer me for heaven's sake," Uther angrily yelled. He yelled so powerfully it made his voice hoarse. The king strode to the side of the bed and took the thinning shoulders into his grasp.
" For the love of gods Arthur, you are putting our name down into the ground. What would the people of Camelot think if they could see you?" spit from the intensity of his words spat into the princes face.
Still, no response was elicited. The hard cold stare the king gave his son was met and held. Equal, if not more powerful frigid eyes stare back. They, so empty and weak were close to their breaking point; and the king saw that. And scared him.
"Gaius, there must be something that you can do," Uther referred to his trusted council member while he whisked into the dispersing council meeting. Uther had left the meeting to them to finish while he tried to convince Arthur to come out of his chambers.
" I'm afraid there is not. It's up to Arthur at this point my lord." Gaius said sadly. He had to act professional when really he simply wanted to join Arthur in his woes. He wanted to scream and cry, to punch, throw. But he couldn't. All any of them could do was little more than what Arthur was.
" You've seen him Gaius. He's losing weight. He is not well. There must be a medicine to help with this; something expensive perhaps,"
" It is not that simple. It's normal to go into a depression of sorts when something traumatic as such has happened. But if prolonged for months such as this with little to no improvement, it is likely to be permanent."
"Surly you must be mistaken, there must be something to fix this. It was just a servant!"
Gaius' gut fell to the floor in silent pain.
Uther lightly huffed to himself, not totally understanding the implications his words had. Gaius raised an unimpressed, offended brow but said nothing. Having a job that dealt with royals often meant that you became an expert at holding your tongue. In cases like this, it became increasingly hard.
Sensing the discomfort, Uther realized his mistake.
" I'm sorry Gaius, that is not what I meant. I know you were close to the boy. I just don't understand Arthur's attachment to his death. Something must be done to fix this,"
" There is no way I have not tried. The cause for this depression cannot be fixed. There is no bringing back the dead my lord,"
Uther sat back in his seat looking down at the scuff marks in the table.
" No," He said solemnly and dismissed Gaius to leave the heavy room.
Countless horse hooves clopped down onto the wet cobble stone courtyard signally the return of the patrol. Soft rain had steadily washed the Earth for the past day making everything slippery and shiny.
Droplets of water ran down the damp, blonde hair of the Prince. They trailed all the way down to the cold armor and finally to the ground. Behind him on the horse lay a still body covered in red cloth that had been taken from the back of one of the mourning men. Each now had their heads down in sorrow, ignoring the petrified, curious, and grief stricken looks that trailed their entrance. Several servants stopped in their tracks to gawk, others covered their mouths with shaky hands.
The worst though was Gwen. She hastily picked up her skirt, dropping her water bucket, and ran through the rain to stop a few feet away. Without lifting the cape, she knew who it was.
" NOOO!!" She shrieked. The thud of her knees hitting the floor caught Elyan's attention.
" Gwen!" He rushed to her side sinking to his knees. He held her freezing hands in his and spoke calming words in her ear.
" No! How did this happen? How did this happen to Merlin?! He-"
" There was a sorcerer, a powerful one. A light came from his hand and hit Merlin. There was nothing we could do," Elyan said quietly.
" No," She whispered so quietly the wind blew it away.
Arthur slumped off of his horse and looked at Gwen, meeting her eyes. He wished badly to comfort her, to be comforted by her. The thought wiped itself away as fast as he had thought it. He didn't deserve to be hugged and stroked. He didn't get to have soft words spoken to him as reassurances. He was a murderer. He did this to Merlin, it was all this fault. Nothing anyone said or did would change that. A mistake, a reflex really cost him the one person he could truly call a friend.
Instead of going to her, Arthur walked without purpose into the castle. His sopping wet boots squelched through the hall leaving soaked foot steps the entire way to Gaius' chambers. He could vaguely hear the shuffle of footstep behind him. They belonged to several of the guards who followed them as they entered the gates just moments ago. In their arms was the body of a man he loved as a brother, and Gaius as a son. They would now be reunited but not without heart break. As Prince, he felt it to be his rightful duty to give Gaius, his mentor, the news. It would be an announcement that would change his life.
White knuckles tapped on the splintering wooded door with regret as the door opened not a second later. Gaius must have heard the commotion.
" Sire," He paused and visibly paled," What is it? What has happened?"
Arthur stood there gawking like a fish out of water and finally landed on the few words he knew wouldn't be enough, but needed to say.
" I'm so sorry Gaius. I couldn't save him. I couldn't-"
" Arthur, what are you saying?"
" I'm saying that he- Merlin is- he's dead. He died."
Just as the last word were spoken, the doors opened slowly to reveal a haul of 3 knights carrying the sagged body of a young man. His dark hair was plastered to his cold, wet forehead. The pale, gaunt face was haunting, yet all he wanted to do was touch it. To see and feel for himself that this was true, because they must be mistaken. He was still alive, surly.
They knights set Merlin's body down on the pre-made cot that lay near the physician's work bench. There he lay still, not a single movement from his chest, not a twitch in his fingers, nothing. It was eerie to say the least.
Gaius walked towards the cot hesitantly, but eventually kneeled down to his ward's level.
" Oh my boy, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" He rested his aged hand against the young head of his boy.
Sensing the personal moment brewing, everyone left except for Arthur who stood there silent. His eyes were puffy and red. He was soaking wet, water dripped from every spot on his body to the floor. He didn't know what else to do. Leaving Merlin now meant that he was truly gone. The moment he was cleaned, dressed nicely, and arrangements were made, it made it all real. He didn't think he could take it.
Several long minutes passed in the chambers before another word was spoken. It was like the room was filled with water, and everything was slowed down and heavy.
" How did it happen?" Gaius spoke, not looking the the Prince who still had yet to move.
Arthur didn't answer right away. He took a moment to relax the straining in his throat. He couldn't formulate a word that didn't sound so pathetic and broken.
" There was a sorcerer, he- he used magic. He killed Merlin as a punishment for me killing an innocent man. It's my fault, it's all my fault. Forgive me," The flood gates burst open and he outwardly sobbed one loud time and held his breath in. Now was not the time to break. Not when he was to blame, he didn't deserve to mourn. But, he was.
" Then you didn't kill him. The sorcerer did." Gaius spoke. He wanted to comfort the prince more but couldn't. He physically couldn't because his knees wouldn't hold his weight even if he tried to stand again. His chest ached, his head pouted, ears rang. He couldn't move. It hurt so bad, it was in his heart. It was in the strings. He couldn't breath.
Arthur didn't believe him, but didn't object when another patrol was sent out to catch the sorcerer who was loose. It shouldn't have, but it outraged him. They weren't sent because the sorcerers had killed a man, but because he used magic to do it. It was hypocrisy. Murder was murder, and by that definition, he should be hunted down and killed too. Instead, he was treated with a hot bath that did nothing to sooth the glacial ice in his blood. He got a heavenly meal that he couldn't stomach. He was given honey tea that stung rather than sooth. He didn't deserve these things, nor did he want them. All he wanted to do was bury himself and be lost to the world. He wanted nothing more than to cease to exist right there and then. He wouldn't though, it wasn't how life worked, so he'd pretend until it did happen. And so, that's where he stayed.
" We came back empty, my lord. There is no sign of the sorcerer. He must have left Camelot after the killing," The head knight of patrol once again said in front of the court. He and his men were extremely exhausted from the continuous search. It was fruitless time and time again. No new head way had been made since the day of the accident. Not a single clue had been found. It was as if the elderly man had vanished into thin air, lost in the wind.
" He must be found and brought to justice. Take a day and set out again. Do not disappoint me again," Uther waved the men off and waited until he and a few of his council remained. He ran a hand down his face and let out a long sigh.
" Sire, may I suggest we stop these patrols. They are doing no good. You saw your men, they are exhausted. The sorcerer is long gone, likely not even within Camelot's borders," One of the elderly members said. He held his hands in front of him righteously. His long purple sleeves nearly covered his aged hands and drooped onto the table.
" I cannot. He must be caught, for Arthur's sake. This may be the only solution to fix him," Uther proclaimed but still stayed in his previous defeated position. His disheartening look struck the stings of their hearts like a sorrowed harp.
" This is not a matter that can be merely fixed. Catching the sorcerer will do little to console Arthur. He lost a trusted man that had been by his side for more than a year," Another chimed in, surprisingly not Gaius who, though, was thinking much the same thing.
" I believe it is. The man practiced magic, and a life was taken because of it. Justice will do it."
" It won't sire," Gaius said, not looking at the king. He didn't want to see what look crossed that face.
" How can you be so sure Gaius?"
" Because it won't help me either."
Uther's certain look faltered. He was taken aback and leaned farther in his chair. It seemed as though Gaius and Arthur had the same intensity of a relationship with the servant. Would putting the monster to justice really not give them any bit of reassurance? Would it not help Arthur move past his mourning?
A long, intense pause lingered until Uther finally spoke up.
" Well, something must be done about Arthur. He cannot keep going on like this. Gaius, what would happen if this, depression, you so called it, continues?"
Gaius looked up at Uther for the first time since the meeting started.
"He'd likely weaken further, become dangerously dehydrated. If prolonged long enough the body will start to shut down from organ failure, my lord."
" He'd die?" Uther growled out a whisper.
" I'm afraid it seems as though that is what's coming," Gaius stated and sat back in his chair to end his point.
" That's enough for today, leave me."
The men, all older, left without words but one.
" Gereld, you are dismissed," Uther said once he saw the man not not move from his spot.
" I'm aware my lord, however I would like a word with you," Gereld said from his seat. His face was pale, yet red at the same time. His demeanor was frail, but defiant enough to stand up to the king.
" I wish to be alone,"
" I know sire, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important,"
Uther faced Gereld and nodded," Very well."
Gereld turned in his seat to better face Uther. He pushed back his remaining hair and took a breath.
" Sire, I should start by agreeing with what was said today. Arthur will not be fixed because we intend to hunt a man down and kill him. The prince has lost a servant, who I noticed he had a deep relationship with. I'd go as far as to say they were friends," He caughed into his fist and swallowed," Excuse me... They were close, and I beleive that nothing could fix the heartache he must feel. Nothing short of bringing back the lost."
" What are you implying Gereld?" Uther asked impatiently.
" I'm suggesting that you should consider what lengths you must go if you truly want Arthur back. What you have to do," Gereld paused to see what backlash there'd be. Nothing but questioning eyes bore into him, so he continued.
" Perhaps bringing back the dead is not the worst idea,"
" Are you suggesting I use sorcery to bring back a servant? The very thing that has put us in this situation?!" The king shouted," You understand what you are asking? I could arrest you right here for even mentioning it!"
Tensely, Gereld nodded and folded his hands together.
" I do, and I also know that you won't because this is the only thing that will help Arthur,"
" I'll indulge you just this once, how would you you suggest we do that?"
" The Isle of the Blessed Sire, where you and Ygraine were able to conceive,"
" Don't speak of her! This idea is ape, do you not have any idea what destruction happened last time?!"
" I do, and I also know what has to be given. A life for a life. The world's balance must remain in tact."
" And who, pray tell, would willingly give up their own life for a dead servant?"
" I would."
" Gereld, I cannot let you do such a thing," Uther rolled his eyes. All of this conversation has led up to this. Something so crazy, it was a waste of time. He should be thinking of a real solution to fix Arthur.
" I'm dying Uther, Gaius said as much." The two men stared at one another with mutual shock and sadness.
" How does he know?" Uther said quickly, it must not be true. Gereld had been his adviser since he was crowned Prince.
" He has his ways. I have all the signs of losing the race with age. I'll succumb within the next few months," Gereld coughed again into his sleeve, revealing old, browning stains accompanied by new bright red ones. There were so faint that you may not notice against the dark faberic.
" Uther, I'm saying this because you have the chance to help Arthur; and Gaius as well. They are in pain, and I am too. Put an end to all of our suffering Uther. I beg of you. I care very much for Arthur and can hardly bare to see him this way."
" I cannot do what you ask," Uther said with shining eyes. The tears threatened to fall down his brightening cheeks. He tried his best to blink them back as if they weren't there. It didn't fool the wise man however. He saw them, felt them within himself. He had the same reaction when he was told the news just over a month ago. Then when the accident happened, the idea arised when he saw how much it pained the physician, his friend. They had been boys together long ago. In those days, they'd see the elders die of much the same things. They get weak and frail. After a few weeks, what once was a strong, idependant man was dwindled in to little less than a weak, pathetic skeleton. He knew that it was his fate, and couldn't bare to see it happen.
" You must. What comes for me is not something I would like to live through. Doing this would mean that my life will have a purpose. I can give back. Please, sire, let me do this."
Uther sat down, holding his forehead in his cracked hands for what felt like an hour. It may have been a half hour, or ten minutes. No matter how long it was, it dragged. Gerald waited patiently for a verdict that may very well end his life.
" If I let you do this, do you truly believe Arthur will come back?" He said just above a whisper.
" I believe it will help heal the wound more than time and justice ever will,"
Uther nodded and looked into his advisers eyes.
" Are you certain of this?"
" I am, my lord."
" Then we will set out when you are ready, I'll give you some time to- make arrangments," Uther left before he could change his mind. What he was planning on doing went against everything he's ever tried to accomplish. Was he truly going to go through this again? It never ended well for anyone. He himself had been punished by the universe for wanting what everyone else got. A son. The same son who very well may not exist in a months time.
Reviews are very much appreciated. Chapter 3 is pretty much finished, I just need to read through it again!