Thanks to Kermit's Rainbow Connection, who has reviewed every chapter. Even though there aren't that many. But thanks for sticking with this story and thanks anyone else who has been with this story since the beginning. I really appreciate. So this chapter is dedicated to all of those people!
Oh and sorry about short chapters, but please begin to expect that chapters will be around the 1000 word mark. Great!
Bandage. Cream. Ointment. Cut. Brace. Broken. Bandage. Cream. Ointment. Cut. Brace. Broken. Bandage. Cream. Ointment …
Those words repeated over and over again in Merlin's head as he methodically worked his way through everyone on the Sredgon. The most devastating injuries were tended to first, proper bandages applied across gushing wounds, splints tied to broken limbs and dislocations were snapped back in place. He tried his best to make the pain as bearable as possible, transforming a small cabin into his temporary Physician's quarters. Until they reached land and found help, the supplies and knowledge that Merlin carried with him would have to be enough to keep more of them from dying. He just hoped it was enough.
"Next!" Merlin called out as he finished tying a white bandage around a crewmembers arm, sending him off hurriedly. There were still a lot of people to get through. It turned out that his shield hadn't worked as well as he thought it had and Merlin couldn't get the thought out of his mind.
If only he'd done more. If only he'd gotten out onto the deck sooner. If only he had remembered the full spell. If only he had stopped the storm before it had begun. If only, if only, if only.
He felt as though his guilt was eating him alive. Elyan and Leon were missing and so were the Captain and half the crew. Why hadn't he been able to do anything? He'd let them all down. Of all the great things he may have done to protect Camelot in the past, he wasn't able to continue when they left home. What did that say about him? Were his powers in sorcery not so great after all? Ten years since he had first arrived in Camelot but not for the first time, he was wondering whether or not Kilgarrah had chosen the right warlock.
In front of him, someone cleared his or her voice rather loudly, dragging Merlin's attention back to reality. He looked up and saw Percival standing before him, cradling his arm that was more or less drenched with blood and leaning against something to support his swollen ankle.
"Percival! Sit down, sit down. I'm sorry for not paying attention. My mind was … elsewhere." Merlin apologized, motioning for the giant bear to take a seat beside him as he reached for the proper supplies out of the medical bag.
"Why didn't you come to me earlier? This looks serious." Merlin scolded, gently beginning to clean up some of the blood.
"You were busy and I needed to get the other's through first. One of the Knight's codes." Percival replied, smiling even against the pain.
"How did this happen?" Merlin asked, frowning.
"Don't worry about that for the moment. What's wrong with you, Merlin?" He asked, cocking his head slightly.
Already this was the longest conversation he'd had with the Knight and he sensed that it wasn't going to be over soon. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong."
"You're lying." Came the short reply.
Merlin's shoulder's slumped, deciding that trying to pass it off wasn't going to work. He stopped in his work for a moment and looked hesitantly at Percival's face before continuing.
"I-I feel … guilty." Merlin finally admitted.
"Guilty? Why?" Percival asked.
"I should have done more. I should have been out there sooner so I could have helped more. I should have been more powerful." Merlin told him, adding the last sentence on more to himself.
A rather loud laugh erupted for the large Knight, shaking even the chair he was sitting on, forcing the servant's curious attention onto the man next to him. "What?"
"Merlin, you cannot blame yourself for what has happened. None of those men out there believe that this, any of this is your fault. Do not blame yourself. What could you have done anyway? It is not as though you can control the weather." Percival laughed, clapping the much smaller man on his back.
"That's just it though –" Merlin started to say before he was thrown off his feet and onto the ground as the ship began to shake and sway violently. Grabbing onto the bed that was secured safely to the floor, the two men held on tightly against the drastic moving before it all suddenly stopped.
Eyes wide and confused, Merlin met eyes with Percival before launching to his feet and dashing out of the room as a loud shout could be heard from above on deck. "What the hell!"
Coming out into the night, Merlin had to blink for a moment against the darkness but instantly he could tell that something wasn't right. He could smell trees, animals and plant life when they should be in the middle of an ocean. When he could finally see again, the sight around him shocked him and he stared in wonder and disbelief at the sight around them. The ship, instead of traveling across bouncing blue waves, was stranded in the middle of a grassy field, no ocean, and river or water body in sight. The stars shone happily down from a dark sky but in the distance, the first early rays of sunlight began to greet them.
Butterflies swirled throughout the air, swimming gracefully on the gentle wind, lit up by the lamps of the boat. The ground around them was full of grass and flowers, which the boat seemed half sunk into, the lower portion of the hull missing below ground. A number of large mountains could be seen to their left and to their right, a day's ride away was a dark expanse of trees, spreading away from the eye.
"Where in Albion are we?" Arthur cried, storming over to the side of the ship, looking ready to jump over the side.
"My lord, I fear we are not in Albion at all." Lucifer informed him, still staring in wonder at their surroundings.
"Where are we then? First we're in the middle of an ocean and then we're in the middle of a meadow!" Arthur asked.
"I believe we are in Middle Earth, sire." Lucifer replied.
"What's Middle Earth?" Merlin asked, stepping forward.
"A place where we should not be." Lucifer told them.
"How did we get here?" Arthur demanded.
"I fear by magic. What this means for us, I do not know."