Part Two
Merlin didn't know if it was the magic in him or if he was simply being extra observant that day, but he saw the accident waiting to happen moments before it occurred.
He cried out to Arthur to stop but it was too late. Even if the prince did hear him over the roar of the crowd he could never bring the horse to a halt in time. Merlin had briefly considered using magic and damn the consequences of being seen, but he wasn't able to contemplate that seriously before the impact happened with sickening force.
The crowd gasped in horror as the lance shattered against Arthur's leg, the prince valiantly trying to keep his seat for a moment before momentum dragged him down. He flew into the central fence, smashing one of the bars before he hit the ground with a heavy thud.
All was deathly still for a moment, people starring on in horror as Arthur lay motionless on the floor.
Then, as if orchestrated, chaos seemed to erupt, the crowd breaking into cries and panicked chatter whilst a dozen knights ran onto the field to tend to their prince. Merlin dropped all he was carrying and ran after them. As he did so he saw Uther, Morgana and Gwen all out of their seats, trying to see through the gaggle of men surrounding the fallen rider. Uther's face was a mask but Morgana's was set in clear horror, her hand clutching tightly at Gwen's.
Merlin pushed his way through the small crowd around Arthur, slamming down onto his knees at the unconscious man's side and, without hesitation, gingerly removed his helmet. To his overwhelming relief Arthur was still breathing. Clearly not so good however was the large splinter of wood, as big as his hand, sticking out of the prince's thigh. The material around it was already drenched with blood and Merlin turned on instinct to call for Gaius, only to see the physician already forcing his way through. He took one look at Arthur's injury and addressed the nearest knight.
"Go. Fetch a litter. We need to take him back to my rooms for proper treatment."
The knight, still looking stunned, didn't move.
"Hurry man!" Gaius snapped. "Or do you want him to lose his leg?"
Shaken into action, the knight nodded and ran off.
"Do you really think he might lose his leg?" Merlin asked in great alarm, looking up at Gaius.
"Let's just get him inside first," the physician replied, refusing to commit his answer as he gripped Merlin's shoulder in apparent reassurance. There was no mistaking his grave tone however and the younger man shuddered in fearful anticipation, knowing Arthur would prefer to be dead rather than crippled.
*****
Merlin slammed open the door to the rooms he shared with Gaius. Any other time the physician would have scolded him for that, but his attention was far too busy elsewhere in that moment to care.
The young wizard held the door wide as half a dozen knights brought Arthur in, lying still unconscious on the litter. They placed it careful on the floor before, with natural organisation, they lifted him onto the small treatment bed. Gaius then hurriedly shooed them from the room, telling them he needed peace to work, yet accosting the last one before he left.
"Go to the King," he instructed. "Tell him the wound is serious but I am confident that I can save Arthur's life."
The knight nodded in understanding and left. Merlin couldn't be certain if those assurances were the truth or if Gaius was just trying to give the King hope.
"What can I do?" he asked, hovering anxiously by the bed, feeling mostly useless. He'd been working with Gaius for many months now but his knowledge was still fairly limited when it came to matters as serious as this. He certainly didn't want to do anything stupid and make things worse.
"Put this over him for now," Gaius instructed, tossing him a blanket. "The blood loss will make him cold." He then busied himself behind a table of equipment and herbs, starting to gather all he would need before adding, "And get him out of that armour."
Merlin nodded, carefully laying the blanket over the prince's shivering form before starting to remove the metal plates that protected his sword arm.
"It was a minor miracle he wasn't trampled to death!" Gaius grumbled, half worried and half furious with the situation. "I told Uther this tournament was too dangerous."
"And since when has a little danger stopped men trying to prove how ridiculous they are?" Morgana said caustically as strode into the room like a force of nature come to call, Gwen following more timidly behind her. The noble woman's words were angry but her face spoke otherwise, showing how worried she was. That was probably the reason why Gaius didn't immediately ask her to leave as he had the knights. Besides, she was famously stubborn and he didn't really have time to argue with her.
"How is he?" she asked, crossing over to the low bed and kneeling down beside it, skirts swishing agitatedly about the floor as she walked.
Reluctantly Merlin lifted the blanket and showed her the wound.
"Lord have mercy," she whispered in shock, looking suddenly even paler than she already did. Then she seemed to pull her courage together, glancing up at Gaius, trying to be practical. "Is there anything you need?"
He quickly assessed the materials spread out in front of him. "Comfrey," he announced after a moment, "I find it's often more effective than yarrow in cases of physical injury."
"Gwen?" she asked anxiously, turning to her maidservant for help.
"A small plant with broad leaves and pink flowers?" the girl enquired, looking at Gaius who nodded before she gave her confirmation. "I know where some is."
"Hurry," Morgana requested and the other girl promised she would before she rushed away.
"Can you help me with this?" Merlin said, indicating the mail. It felt odd to be asking a noble woman to give him a hand with anything but he guessed that under the circumstances she wouldn't mind.
Clearly she didn't because she nodded and between the pair of them they undid the relevant straps and dragged the heavy garment over Arthur's head and arms.
"Will he be all right?" Morgana asked, again addressing Gaius, apparently unable to hold back the question any longer.
The old man looked grave, wanting to steel her against the possibility. "The injury isn't immediately life threatening but it can sometimes be hard to judge the outcome in cases such as these."
She nodded in understanding, the notion he might die making her suddenly reach across and use a tender hand to brush the hair off Arthur's perspiration soaked brow.
Merlin didn't know if there was any magic in her touch, but it was at that precise moment that the prince regained consciousness, surprising them all as he groaned loudly in pain. Obviously realising where the injury was he reached for his leg, hand finding the piece of wood. On instinct he went to pull it out and was only prevented from doing so by Gaius's quick reflexes, batting his hand away.
"Don't touch it!" he instructed firmly. "It will bleed profusely once removed and we must be ready to immediately stitch the wound. It's best if we leave it in until then."
"That's easy for you to say," Arthur pointed out between gritted teeth, "you don't have half a tree sticking out your leg."
Morgana instantly took his blood soaked hand in hers, trying to keep him focused on her and not the wound. She did appear a little relieved though and Merlin suspected that, like himself, she was pleased just to hear the prince lucid.
"Don't be ridiculous," she said, although her teasing held none of its usual amusement, "it's barely more than a splinter."
"So, I'm making a fuss over nothing?" Arthur croaked out, struggling to keep his decorum, his breathing all hurried gasps.
"Of course you are," she said with a shaky smile, obviously hating to see him in so much pain but trying to put on a brave face.
"Sorry. I'll try to be a little more manly about it then," he promised with a grimace.
"That doesn't seem likely. Remember when you were little and you fell off your horse trying to jump that brook?" She spoke hurriedly, attempting to distract him whilst Gaius took a closer look at the wound. "You cried like a small girl."
And even in his current condition Arthur seemed to take some offence at that. Seeing such a typical reaction from him cheered Merlin's spirits.
"So did you when you fell from that wall and took half the skin off your knees," he countered, voice trembling but still holding an air of indignation.
"I was a small girl," she reasoned with the slightest laugh.
Merlin grinned a little too, imagining them as children growing up together. Bickering as sure as the day was long, no doubt; Arthur breaking her dolls and her smashing his little wooden swords in retaliation. No wonder Uther had grown so grumpy with these two around, the young wizard decided, the grin widening.
It was instantly wiped off his face however as Gaius pressed on the piece of wood, moving it a little to test how deep it went and Arthur howled in pain, unable to hold back this time. From the wince on Morgana's face, Merlin guessed that the prince was gripping her hand far too tightly for comfort but she made no complaint or attempt to remove it.
"Sweet heaven," Arthur whispered hoarsely, as he tried to catch his gasping breath, the pallor of his skin having hurriedly worsened.
Merlin stood and fetched a bowl of water and a cloth, dampening the material before placing it on Arthur's forehead which was burning despite the shivers still wracking his body. It wasn't much help, he knew that, but it at least might make the other man a little more comfortable.
"Could you please just get on with it," Arthur growled, looking up at Gaius. Merlin suspected a mix of fearful anticipation and the worry of loosing face if he had to cope much longer had spurred that request.
"I still need a moment," Gaius reasoned hesitantly. "And we should try and wait for Gwen to return with the herbs."
"I don't care," Arthur spat, "just get it out!"
After a moment's contemplation, apparently coming to the conclusion that he couldn't leave Arthur in this state any longer than necessary, the physician nodded in assent. "Very well. I'll need better access to the wound," he instructed as he fetched what he would need.
Merlin hesitated, afraid of hurting Arthur further if he went too near the injury, and Morgana moved before he did. She let Arthur's hand go and decisively gripped either side of the tear in his breeches, pulling it wide, ripping the material. She then demanded a wet cloth, which Merlin hurriedly handed to her, and proceeded to clean the area best she could.
Arthur craned his neck to look up at her, biting his lip. It seemed that despite the situation he was not unmoved by her hands on his skin and under any over circumstances Merlin would have ribbed him about that.
"I always knew you wanted to undress me," Arthur said with pained amusement.
"Being injured is no excuse for being coarse," she reminded him, concentrating on finishing her work.
"Sorry," he said, between breaths. "I seem to be suffering from a deplorable lack of etiquette right now. I can't imagine why."
Morgana actually smiled at that before Gaius tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a wooden rod and a cup filled with liquid.
"He must drink it all," he instructed. "It will help ease the pain and make him drowsy."
She nodded obediently, moving back to the head end of the bed and asking Merlin to help Arthur sit up a little so he could drink. The young wizard pushed his hands under the prince's back and shoulders, hoisting him as far as he could whilst Arthur used his shaking elbows to prop himself up. Morgana helped him to drink the mixture before he collapsed back to the bed with a disgusted look on his face.
"That was foul," he choked out. "Next time I'll take the pain thank you."
Ignoring him, Morgana pushed the rod into his mouth and told him to bite down. Merlin knew what it was for; to stop Arthur biting his tongue when the pain truly kicked in. When the prince looked up into her face Merlin thought he saw the tiniest flicker of fear there and Morgana must have too because she stroked his head soothingly again, taking deep breaths of preparation herself.
Merlin would never forget those few minutes as long as he lived. Arthur let out a muted cry of agony as Gaius swiftly removed the wooden spike, a sound Merlin never expected to hear from the prince's proud lips. He writhed in clear pain as Gaius began to sew, the physician explaining that he dare not wait for the draft to take full effect and getting Arthur's permission to continue. Merlin tried to concentrate on his own job, keeping the wound area clean so that Gaius could see what he was doing, whilst Arthur clutched fiercely at the sheets, gasping in pain at every stitch. At one point Merlin dared glance up at Morgana to see she was silently trembling but remaining steady all the same, pressing Arthur's shoulders to the bed to try and stop him moving too much.
It was a blessed relief to all when the draft finally kicked in and Arthur became drowsy before losing consciousness altogether.
Merlin didn't realise how much he was shaking though until Gaius announced that he was done and moved away. Morgana looked pale and drained too and when Gwen returned moments later she glanced with concern at all present, wondering if something terrible had happened.
"He's doing well," Gaius reassured her with a slight, weary smile.
Apparently relieved, she handed him the herbs and he put her to work immediately, grinding the leaves with a pestle whilst he mixed various other ingredients together into a paste. He paused for a moment to look up at Morgana, who was still sitting at the head of the bed, fingers lightly trailing through Arthur's hair.
"There's some water over there if you want to wash your hands," he said kindly, indicating a bowl on the other side of the room.
She glanced down at her bloodied palms as though she hadn't realised the mess they were in. Then she stood with a nod, but her mind seemed distracted and far away.
Merlin watched her cautiously for a moment, torn about what to do before he decided that it didn't seem nice to leave her on her own when she was clearly so shaken. He walked up to her, holding out a cloth so she could dry her hands once they were clean.
She thanked him with an unconvincing smile.
"Are you all right?" he asked gently, knowing the question was silly really when she clearly wasn't.
"I'm doing better than he is," she replied, nodding towards Arthur.
Which was true but not helpful.
"Well I thought you were really brave," he reassured her, trying to get her to be more positive.
"Hardly," she scoffed with a disbelieving laugh. Her hands were shaking violently as she dried them and he frowned.
"Would you like me to get you anything? I'm sure Gaius has something to help."
"No, I'm fine. Really."
Sensing that he was intruding, he nodded and walked away again. As he did so, Gwen passed him, her concerned expression fixed on Morgana as she shoved the mortar bowl into his hands and instructed him to grind. Doing as he was told, he turned around, watching as Gwen reached her mistress and laid a comforting hand on her arm, quietly speaking to her.
Morgana quickly turned her back on him and from the slight heave of her shoulders he guessed she was probably crying and didn't want to be seen. Gwen soothingly rubbed her hand up and down the other woman's back and, feeling awkwardly out of place, Merlin walked over to Gaius and left them to it.
By the time Morgana had recovered her composure, Gaius had mixed the crushed herbs into the paste he'd created and had spread it thickly over the wound, explaining it would help with the healing. Looking satisfied that he'd done all he could for now, he instructed Merlin to fetch several strong men. Arthur should be returned to his room where he could recover in greater comfort.
Remembering that Morgana and Gwen were still present, Merlin resisted the instinct to add the less hopeful caveat of 'if he recovered'.