I decided to give you all episode two as soon as possible! I hope to do the characters justice and please do enjoy!
Episode 2: Sorcerer's Bane (Part One)
Merlin couldn't help but continue smiling as he walked lightly through the marketplace of his lovely kingdom, Camelot. The sun was high in the afternoon sky and the birds were singing. The lower town, which consisted of the marketplace, was buzzing with life and laughter and bargaining and smiling. Therefore, what kind of person would Merlin be if he weren't smiling? A downright wrong person he'd be.
Merlin was clinging to the shoulder straps of Gaius's herb basket that was bobbing back and forth on his back with each step. For the time being, it was empty, but Merlin was sure to fill it up with everything Gaius had asked for.
With that thought, Merlin dug his hand through his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. He unrolled it and looked over the list of herbs Gaius wrote down. He could recall some of them, but a lot of the plants looked unfamiliar, which meant he'd have to ask someone.
The sorcerer looked up to find he was en route to colliding with someone, so he hoped quickly out of the way.
"Sorry!" Merlin called after the man, who simply smiled in reply and continued on his way. Merlin grinned as he backed up.
"Excuse me, sir."
Merlin spun on his heel and was met with a pair of beautiful gray eyes. A smooth face was framed by cascading strawberry blonde, wavy hair. The extraordinary girl was Merlin's age, no doubt, because that would explain the strange lump in his throat and the fact that Merlin felt his heart nearly stop. She was garbed in a dark blue cloak that covered everything from her slim neck and down.
"Y-Yes?" Merlin stuttered in a hoarse voice. He felt heat rising on his face and he lightly sucked in his lower lip, unsure of why such a beautiful woman would talk to him.
The girl smiled warmly at him and lifted her delicate hand from out of the cloak. It was so pale and smooth Merlin was sure it would reflect the sunlight if the woman wasn't standing between two tall buildings in the shadows.
"I offer you this charm in exchange for your everlasting smile," she said, her voice silky and low.
Merlin looked down to see a violet flower in the girl's hand. At first glance, something seemed incredibly wrong with the plant; as if it had an evil aura of its own. However, after stealing another glance at the beautiful woman, Merlin seemed nearly entranced and he took the flower gingerly from her fingers.
"Thank you… thank you so much," Merlin expressed his gratitude with a meager voice. The strange situation turned to light once Merlin smiled innocently, placing the flower between his head and his ear. "How does it look?"
The woman giggled and put her hand in front of her mouth. "Dazzling."
Both Merlin and the mysterious woman laughed a little until Merlin inhaled sharply. "Oh! I need to get back to shopping. Thank you, miss… uh…"
The woman looked up with her gorgeous gray orbs and smiled shyly. "… Aya."
Merlin began to back away slowly and bowed, looking at her with innocent, smiling eyes. "Miss… Aya. Thank you. I'll be off, then!"
Merlin trotted off back into the sunlight, completely oblivious to the pair of gray eyes menacingly watching his back.
[cue Merlin opening theme]
Merlin returned to Gaius's chambers by twilight, having a lot of trouble finding the herbs he wasn't familiar with. He walked loudly up the stairs and threw open the door, proud of his ability to barter and such. The basket hanging on his back was filled with the appropriate medical herbs and plants.
Gaius's face lit up in pleasure upon seeing the basket. "Well done, Merlin! All that with the little amount of gold I gave you?"
Merlin grinned proudly. "That's right. I'm starting to become a real master at bargaining."
"With no magic?" Gaius asked playfully.
"Yes! Jeez, Gaius! You'd think you would give me more credit after all these years!"
Gaius rolled his eyes and smiled. "With you, Merlin, I'm never sure."
Merlin carefully took the basket off of his back and placed it heavily on top of a table, steadying it.
Upon a closer look, Gaius raised an eyebrow and lifted his hand. "What's that in your hair?"
As Gaius went on to touch the beautiful purple flower, Merlin replied, "Oh, that? I nearly forgot! You won't believe-!" Merlin was interrupted when the tip of Gaius's finger touched a petal. The old man exhaled heavily and bent over, nearly falling over. Merlin launched his body forward to catch the old sorcerer before he tumbled to the ground.
"G-Gaius? Gaius! What's wrong?" Merlin struggled underneath the dead weight and his knees buckled under the pressure. Gaius fell on top of him, but despite the dull pain, Merlin was glad he fell on him rather than the floor.
Merlin slowly turned the old man on his back and put his hand on his chest. "Gaius? Are you alright?"
"Yes… Yes, I think I am now," Gaius answered warily, blinking and staring up at the ceiling.
Merlin put his palm on the old man's forehead, feeling for warmth, but it felt room temperature. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Gaius replied and he managed to stand back up with Merlin's help. "I felt incredibly dizzy for a moment." His voice was hoarse and out of breath.
Merlin frowned, concerned. "Come on, let's get you to bed. I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning."
Gaius smiled weakly. "I'm sure you're right."
Merlin helped Gaius into bed and put the sheets over his chest.
The old sorcerer laughed warily. "What would I do without you?"
Merlin smiled before turning to go into his own chambers. "You wouldn't get a decent amount of herbs for little coin."
Mere minutes later and Merlin himself hopped into bed. He was entirely exhausted for having walked around all day. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, something told him he was much too weak for simply walking, but Merlin paid no attention to it. A good night's rest would have him jumping again.
Merlin groaned and turned onto his side, snuggling into his pillow. Today was his day off. Well, not much of a day off. He just begged Arthur to let him help Gaius and Arthur smiled humorlessly and told him, "Sure, that'll be your day off". Tomorrow, he'd have to wake up early and tend to Arthur's every need, much like every other day.
Merlin felt something strange and lifted his head. The flower the beautiful woman had given him was crumpled underneath the weight of his head. Merlin groaned again in disappointment and placed the flattened flower on his bedside. He wanted to show Arthur that flower and brag about how much of a ladies man he's become, but now the proof was gone.
The sorcerer sighed, followed by a short coughing fit, and fell asleep.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Ah, it was so wonderful; the feeling of deep sleep. The feeling of regaining consciousness, but staying asleep. It was so relaxing that Arthur was sure he was smiling in the darkness.
"It's morning! Wake up!"
Four words. Four bloody words that were sent from the fiery pits of Hell in order to obliterate Arthur's happiness. Arthur moaned angrily and turned onto his stomach, shoving his face in his pillows before Merlin had a chance to blind him by throwing open the curtains. Despite his attempt, some light was able to make it to his eyes and Arthur groaned again.
"Come on, now! You've got a knighting in two hours! The nice woman from the kitchen made you breakfast! Don't want it to get cold, right?" Merlin yelled and began to shuffle through Arthur's wardrobe, picking out his outfit for the day.
Arthur sat up sleepily and yawned while stretching. "Perhaps I'd get up quicker if you weren't so bloody loud."
Merlin laughed and threw a red tunic and pants onto Arthur's bed. "Oh, no, sire. That's the reason why you get up so quickly."
The king smiled and frowned at the same time. "And do you know why that is?"
"To shut me up?"
"That's right." Arthur threw his blankets off of his legs and stood from his bed, stretching again to take on a new, bright day. Although he had a rude awakening, waking up to see his kingdom shining happily out his window certainly made Arthur happy. Loud coughing intruded his few moments of bliss and he turned around lazily to see that Merlin was the source. "Are you getting sick?"
Merlin was gripping tightly onto the bed frame with one hand and using his other to cover his coughs. "I… I don't think so."
Arthur scoffed as he threw on his red tunic over his bare back. "I didn't think sorcerers could get sick."
Merlin smiled after his coughing fit and mixed it with a quizzical look. "Really? We are human, you know."
Arthur paused his body and frowned. He replied after a couple beats, "Merlin, I didn't mean to suggest…" His voice trailed off into meek nothingness.
The sorcerer stood up straight and regained his composure. "I know, Arthur. I was joking. I did try some spells on myself, but they don't seem to have worked."
"Perhaps it's some kind of… magic… bug?" Arthur tried his best to sound like he knew what he was talking about, but all that earned him was a smile from Merlin.
The sorcerer shrugged and helped Arthur put on his belt, which was also hooked to his sword and keys. Once Merlin got a bit closer, Arthur could see a cold sweat had broken out on his face and looked paler than he usually did. His hands looked clammy and his eyes weren't as bright. For a moment, Arthur thought maybe he should send Merlin home, but he decided against it. Would that be insulting to a sorcerer? Arthur wasn't sure.
"Now, then, I'll bring your breakfast up," Merlin said and turned to the door. The king sighed heavily and looked back out of the window, breathing in the fresh Camelot morning air. He was feeling slightly deprived of affection, with his wife visiting another kingdom in order to form a friendship with another queen and unite them that way. Arthur was even considering adopting a dog until Gwen got back.
Arthur turned away from the window to watch Merlin carefully. Very carefully; all the way until he was out the door.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The king of Camelot raised his wine glass as a congratulatory gesture and smiled to the many knights seated around the table. "It's a pleasure to see you as a knight, Sir Harvey."
The newly dubbed knight looked professional as he calmly raised his own glass to the king. "It is an honor to work under a lord such as you, sire. I will not let you or the other knights down."
"Here, here!" Gwaine cheered, throwing his cup into the air, as well. The knights laughed and cheered on their new companion. Despite his annoyance with having to wake up to knighting ceremonies, Arthur thoroughly enjoyed the parties that evening in order to congratulate the knight.
Arthur eyed Merlin, who was standing in the corner of the room, looking hunched over for a seemingly healthy man. There was no doubt about it: that boy was sick and needed rest. Arthur would send his manservant straight to bed then and there if it weren't for the many pairs of eyes watching him. He would make certain Merlin would know he had the following day off after the ceremony.
"Is something the matter, my lord?" Leon asked over the loud chattering. Sitting right next to Arthur, Leon's question made earshot.
"No, no, it's nothing," Arthur provided with ease. Leon smiled and returned to drinking and eating the feast the chefs had prepared for the knights.
"Merlin!"
The happiness and cheering immediately began to die down and Arthur's eyes shot up from the ground and searched for his manservant. All he saw was Gwaine throwing his chair back and running to the corner of the room where Arthur had last seen Merlin. Concern made Arthur get up and he trotted over to the other side of the table, his red cloak fluttering in the rushing wind.
Arthur saw Gwaine kneeling beside a limp body with the familiar brown jacket and blue neckerchief. Arthur knelt on the other side of Merlin, putting his hand on his back. The man must've lost all consciousness as he had fallen forward, no backwards. That wasn't a good sign.
Most of the knights remained at their seats, but only the ones closest turned to look at what all the hush was about. Arthur placed his hand on Merlin's sweaty forehead and found it very hot to the touch.
"Gwaine, bring him to Gaius," Arthur ordered quietly. "I need to finish up here and I'll be down there shortly."
The brutish knight nodded in concern and heaved Merlin's unconscious body on his shoulders and ran out of the room. Arthur forced a smile and raised his arms.
"I'm sorry for the disturbance. Enjoy the remainder of the celebration. I'll need to attend to something," Arthur announced to his knights.
Leon stood from his chair with a concerned expression. "Sire?"
"Do not worry, Leon. Would you mind concluding the feast when everyone has had their fill?"
Leon nodded in reply and sat back down as Arthur turned to walk out the door.