Good evening everyone ! (or Good morning I suppose :p)
So, here is the next chapter, and relatively on time! I have to say that this chapter wasn't the one I initially planned to post but my wonderful Beta told me to swap with what will be chapter 13 and I think she was right :).
I hope you will like the chapter and that you are still bearing with me. I swear we are approaching a turning point, I can feel it :). And now that there will be a new Doctor Who soundtrack I have good hope I will write faster thanks to it. (Never under-estimate the power of music) But there will also be this new Muse album that probably will fry my mind... Hum... Okay, sorry, rambling.
Just to conclude, thank you to anyone following this story (or discovering it) and especially if you are favoriting and reviewing 3 and also big thanks to my Beta :)
Enjoy ! (and leave a little comment to brighten my rainy day?)
Chapter 12:
Saddling his horse took Gwaine far longer than he thought it would. Admittedly he could only blame himself for that. He had been slightly drunk last time he came back from patrol and so had left his saddle at the first place he could, meaning the stable hands had moved it to another place which led to him spending many precious minutes looking for it. But when he did eventually find it, he hadn't wasted another minute before he had the saddle and himself on his horse.
He took the same path he had seen Merlin and Arthur use and then followed the tracks of their horses even if he had a good idea where they were going. With all his previous lost time, they had already gained a sizable advance over him but he wasn't discouraged and kept a steady pace on his mount despite the dense foliage.
He had to admit he couldn't help but feel the tiny thread of worry for Merlin. He knew that the warlock would probably get annoyed with him but that was the way it was. Gwaine only ever had his toad of an older sister and had never wished for other siblings but somewhere along the way, he had begun to see Merlin as a younger brother. Not that he would ever admit that out loud. But it still meant that he felt a great deal of protectiveness for the younger man.
He was pulled out of his musing by the sound of hooves. He pulled his own horse to a stop and put a cautious hand on his sword, muscles tensed. He waited with bated breath, scanning the forest around him and after a few seconds spotted a horse galloping a few paces left of him towards Camelot. He let out a small sigh when he recognized Merlin. He was about to cry out to him when he noticed the redness of his eyes and the unnatural shine of his cheeks.
Gwaine was shocked. He had believed that Merlin had been better, if not also very hung-over after their night out. He debated following him but then remembered that he had been with Arthur and that the warlock's distress may have been caused by something attacking the king.
Gwaine cursed inwardly but kept following the path he was on, cautious of his surroundings, just in case bandits or renegades were hiding in the trees.
A few minutes later, he arrived in the clearing he had woken up that morning only to find it empty with no trace of any battle. Gwaine frowned.
He turned his horse back towards Camelot and kicked its flanks, determined to talk to Merlin and get to the bottom of what had happened.
When he arrived back at the stables he saw that both Merlin and Arthur's horses were there. Just to be sure he went to them and patted them, making sure they were unharmed.
Reassured that they were okay, Gwaine made his way back to the castle, feeling even more confused. He climbed the stairs and followed corridors until he arrived in front of Merlin's bedroom. He knocked and waited for a few seconds. When he heard no answer, he tried to open the door only to find it locked.
"Merlin?" He cried out as he knocked again, more loudly. "Merlin? It's Gwaine, you there?"
Once more he was faced with only silence.
"Come on Merlin! Open the door!" He tried again the handle, just to be sure, but nothing had changed.
Gwaine let out a frustrated growl. Fine, if you don't want to talk to me, I'll go to the king, he told himself.
And with that he turned to the Royal chambers with a determined stride and thunderous eyes that made servant hastily jump out of his way.
Any other day and that would have bothered him but right then he just wanted to know what the hell had happened. This time, he didn't even bother to knock and simply opened the door making the king jump in front of Gwen, defensive pose already taken despite the lack of sword at his belt.
"Gwaine!" He exclaimed, relaxing." What…"
"What have you done to Merlin?" He interrupted, feeling anger rise in his chest as he saw the guilty look enter the blonde's eyes.
Anger replaced guilt in the king's eyes as Gwen went up and put a hand on Arthur's arm, looking stricken.
"I followed you in the forest and arrived just in time to see him fleeing in tears! And when I tried to talk to him he didn't even open his door!" Gwaine carried out, not even caring that it probably wasn't anywhere near correct to speak to his king like that.
It seemed that Arthur was sharing his feeling as he growled his answer.
"I don't have to answer to you Gwaine."
Oh, and there was the prat that annoys Merlin so much, Gwaine thought as he opened his mouth.
Gwen took a step between them.
"Boys!" She cried out with all the authority of a queen, or a mother with two misbehaving children. "I know you both care about Merlin but arguing will get you nowhere."
Gwaine stared at her feeling strangely berated. God, she's going to be one hell of a mother, the knight's mind provided.
"I think that what Merlin needs right now is peace and quiet which we will let him have and, after that, I will go and talk to him. Try and explain things to him." She continued, ignoring Gwaine's and Arthur's angry looks.
It was obvious to Gwaine that she was also feeling guilty. He deflated.
"Right. But I'd still like an explanation of what happened." He said.
Arthur let out a sigh and went back to sit at the table gesturing for Gwaine to do the same.
"Long story short, Merlin discovered that we had sent out letters to find a replacement for Gaius and that was probably why Alice is here now." Arthur explained tiredly.
"You did what?" The knight cried out.
"Please, Gwaine, not you too."
"But… Why?"
"Surely you must have seen how overworked he is. I… I thought it was a good idea to get him some help for that." Gwen explained, her voice low and sad. "I see now that he should have told him from the start."
Gwaine could see the logic behind her actions. Of course, he had seen how tirelessly his friend was working and, of course, he would have done anything to help him, but the physician work was important to Merlin. He could only imagine what could have gone through the warlock's head when he learned that the king and queen had been looking for a replacement.
The knight sighed, wishing for the umpteenth time that the younger man didn't have to face all that.
When Gwaine left the royal chambers some half an hour later he decided he needed a drink. However, he wasn't up to the hustle and bustle of the Tavern so he just headed towards the kitchen to smuggle some mead from there.
A few charming smiles and he came out of the overheated room with two flagons of the best mead available and made his way to his room.
Once there, he lit a fire in his small fireplace and finally removed his armor. He rolled his shoulders and sat at his small table with a weary sigh.
He fetched a tankard and poured himself a good ration of the mead, drinking two long mouthfuls before setting it down and rubbing his eyes.
His mind went back to all that had happened. He so wished he could do more than just be an observer and pray that, ultimately, Merlin will be alright.
He was interrupted in his thoughts by a knock at his door.
"Come in." He called out, finishing his tankard.
The door opened to reveal Percival.
"Percival, my friend, is everything alright?"
"I'm not sure." The bigger man answered, closing the door and coming to sit at the other side of the table.
Gwaine automatically fetched another tankard and poured some more mead. He then waited for the other man to speak, knowing not to push.
"I happened to walk past the Council Room as the council was ending and I heard some nobles talking… It seems that Merlin had proposed a new Physician." Percival continued minutes later, the hard edge in his voice a clear sign to Gwaine that the way the comments were made was anything but respectful to the warlock.
The long-haired knight felt his familiar annoyance at those old-fashioned nobles spark.
"They said it was Gaius' friend."
Gwaine heard the hidden worry in his companion's tone and understood why he had come here. He sometimes forgot that he and the royal couple were not the only ones to care for the youngest of their motley group. He wasn't the only one to think of Merlin as a little brother. And he knew this was even truer with Percival, the one who had lost all his family, only to find a new one in his friends.
"His fiancée, in fact." Gwaine acknowledged, rubbing his neck before pouring himself a second tankard of mead, thus finishing the first bottle.
He saw in Percival's eyes that he understood what it meant.
"Merlin had to tell her how he died." He carried on anyway.
He thought he heard the bigger knight curse under his breath but he couldn't be sure.
"So that's why you looked so worried." He said out loud a bit later.
Gwaine nodded.
"Yeah… It feels like all we managed to accomplish together had been broken again." He commented sadly.
A broody silence fell for a long time as both knights nursed their drink, slowing going through the second flagon of mead.
"I'm sure we'll find a way to make him alright again." Percival finally announced his tone far more confident than what Gwaine felt.
"I hope you're right my friend, I hope you're right."
So, how did you like Gwaine? I really love writing him :)
Until next time !