A/N: I know, it's been forever. Writer's boredom/laziness. Still upon me. Plus, very busy. I refuse to apologize, because I'm not all that sorry, and it wouldn't make anything better. I'm here now! Review? Last chapter hardly deserved it, but this time I have a bit more length.
Leon slammed his hand down on the table in his room. The loud thump and the burning sensation that flooded through his fingers was strangely soothing, like a release of all the pressure.
He hadn't had a very good past few days, to employ the understatement of the century. It had reduced him to brooding to himself, and Leon did not brood. Ever. Even when lying on the ground, smoking gently as fire ate away at him, the reminder of the dragon's attack. Even when forced into a large woman's dress. He didn't really brood. But this was different; this time he'd been left all alone to deal with Camelot, and it was driving him crazy.
As Leon contemplated his fate, he put on his shoes and started down to the courtyard to start his day.
First Merlin and Gwaine had left to look for Arthur, and as much as Leon wanted to go, he had to stay for the official search party. And then he didn't even get to go on that. The other knights did, but Percival and Elyan had reminded him that Merlin wanted someone to keep an eye on Agravaine.
Because apparently knights took orders from servants now.
Sure, Leon had great respect for the gangly man, he reflected as he stomped down the stairs, but his orders were hardly law, and he wasn't to take charge in case the king went missing. That wasn't the way things were supposed to work.
And yet somehow he'd stayed and kept an eye on Agravaine as the others rode away to do something useful, like find their endangered monarch. Actually, it was a good thing he did. Agravaine would not make a good king, Leon decided—it was almost like he wanted Camelot to get in serious trouble from the decisions he made. Opening the gates when they should be closed and vice versa, wording certain diplomatic speeches or such poorly, and nearly announcing that Arthur was missing to everyone. That surely would have caused panic.
Between Leon and Gaius, they'd managed to mostly keep him in check.
Meanwhile there was no word about Arthur, and though certain members of the search party had come back to give the news that there was no news, Leon was antsy and unable to show it. He wished there was a monster he could go fight.
Yes, was the conclusion he came to as he reached the courtyard; he was greatly underappreciated.
Leon shuffled through Camelot, his head down, thinking about nothing in particular other than how much he wished life would return to normal. He only looked up when he heard a shout. It came from the gate, his brain registered automatically, and it wasn't a shout of pain. More like one of surprise or urgency.
The plainly dressed hordes of people on the street began to move as a rider came barreling up towards the castle—and towards Leon.
Merlin pulled his horse up short in the courtyard, nearly throwing himself off the saddle, his knees nearly buckling when his feet hit the ground.
"Leon," he said, his breathing heavy. "I'm going to get Gaius. Just get him inside—his room is fine."
"Who?" A stupid question, granted, but Leon had been caught off guard.
Merlin paused, and then a small smile appeared on his face. In a conspiratorial voice, he said, "I think he's going to be fine." And then he was off, sprinting for the physician's chambers.
Leon didn't have very long to wonder when he heard another horse coming at a marginally slower rate. Probably because there were two people on it. Gwaine sat in the saddle, using his arms to support an unconscious king.
Leon had to close his eyes for a second. Arthur looked like death itself. His head was back on Gwaine's shoulder, his blond hair swaying in sweaty clumps as the wind touched it. But he was breathing, his chest moving behind his ruined shirt. Except for his face and the visible parts of his chest, he was dirty. He appeared a little like he'd been through hell and crawled his way back up through the earth.
Gwaine pulled up on the reins, and Leon was by his side in an instant. "What happened to him?" he asked.
"Later," Gwaine grunted. "Let's get him to a bed."
Leon reached his arms out to take the king, and he supported Arthur's weight alone for a moment before Gwaine got off the horse and helped support the unconscious man. People were gawking.
"Quickly," Leon said, as they started towards the castle with the king held awkwardly off the ground between them.
Behind them, Leon noticed gratefully that a servant had run up and taken hold of Merlin's and Gwaine's new horses—which weren't their usual steeds.
"Where are your horses?" he asked.
"Didn't bring them," Gwaine said, shifting Arthur's weight. "I don't think Merlin expected to be gone so long. He got pretty far."
Which drew Leon's attention to the fact that once again he'd just taken orders from a servant. But this time, he didn't mind.
They got Arthur up to his room with some difficulty, and ordered a passing servant to open the door, which he did without question. Then Gwaine and Leon gently put Arthur on his bed, and Leon looked back at the young servant. "Get a clean shirt out of his wardrobe and go bring some water."
The man nodded and grabbed a loose white shirt quickly, putting it on the foot of the bed and rushing from the room to do as he was told. (Ah. Servants who didn't think they were in charge. That was a change.)
"Gaius will probably need water, to clean him off if nothing else," Leon said to Gwaine. Getting water used to be Gwen's job, as she always made herself available to help with these sorts of things, hovering directly over Gaius's shoulder. A lot had changed in Camelot recently. Leon didn't think it was for the better.
Gwaine shrugged, not really caring about that. He slumped a bit, glad that this bit of responsibility had ended.
Leon glanced at Arthur, lying on his bed. He looked… injured, hurt. It reminded Leon sickeningly of the Questing Beast.
There was heavy silence over the room. It lasted until Merlin came skittering into the room, Gaius behind him with his medical bag and limp. The physician made his way over to the injured man. "How long has he been sleeping?"
"Hours," said Merlin. "He wasn't really lucid when he was awake, though."
Gaius nodded. "Did you see his injuries?"
"His arm…" Merlin stopped and looked at Leon. Then he shrugged and plowed on. "The swelling in his arm has gone down, and so has his fever, but the burns on his chest still look bad."
Gaius carried about his examination, first checking Arthur's head and neck, and then moving to making sure the rest of him worked.
Leon said to Gwaine and Merlin, "The others in the search party should be back to today, judging by the food they took with them. They'll be glad to see you're back."
A knock on the door drew Merlin over. He opened it and took the water from the servant there with a nod. "Thanks, Walt," he said.
The man on the other side of the door nodded and left.
Merlin turned back to Gaius. "Where do you want me to put this?"
Gaius pointed towards the nightstand, and Merlin moved to put it there while asking, "Will we need to move him to your chambers?"
"I hardly think his condition at the moment calls for that," Gaius replied. "If everyone except Merlin would clear out, it would allow me to work in quiet."
Gwaine sort of wanted to complain and dig in his heels, but he thought better of it and allowed Leon to lead him out of the room. The curly-haired knight shut the door and turned to Gwaine with a face that brooked no argument.
"What happened to him?" Leon asked Gwaine. "Where'd you find him? He looks terrible."
Gwaine sighed and cast a glance back at the door as they started down the hall. "It's not a pleasant story," he said.
Deciding that they'd better tell Agravaine about Arthur's return, Leon went that way, replying to Gwaine, "Well, then, you'd better tell it quickly."
"I healed his arm as best I could. It was a bad break," Merlin explained as Gaius checked over the unconscious king. "I think it helped. It brought down the fever."
"I believe it did," Gaius agreed. "Where did you find him?"
"He'd been kidnapped by a group called the Mortdestin. He was in their hideout." Merlin looked at Arthur, enjoying the sensation of relief soothing his frazzled insides. Arthur looked safe in his own bed with Gaius hovering over him. It made Merlin think he'd finally be able to sleep tonight.
Gaius looked up with an expression of alarm and surprise pasted on his old, wrinkled face. But it faded after a second, to be replaced with one of concern. He turned back to Arthur. "How did you get him away?"
"Chaotically," Merlin replied. His smile was a little guilty. "He's going to be alright, isn't he, Gaius?"
"If these burns don't get infected," Gaius said, "then I believe he will."
Merlin couldn't swallow his watery smile.