Chapter 6 What?
A/N- Thank you all for the reviews, favs, and alerts! Whoa! 33 reviews, 12 favs, and 31 alerts! Thank you so much for the support! Wow! :D So happy right now!
I know this is shorter than usual, but I just thought it was a great place to end it! Don't worry if you don't understand what I'm saying, you will at the end!
Sleep, eat, read, review, (wink wink, nudge nudge) and repeat! Enjoy! :D
"No, no no no! Come on Merlin, look at me!" Panic was rushing through Arthur. Merlin had actually been wounded. From what, he didn't know. He just knew his friend was bleeding and possibly dieing right before his eyes. "Look at me!" The prince gathered Merlin in his arms, pulling him close, not caring if he got blood on himself.
Impossibly slow, Merlin's eyes fluttered open. They were glazed in pain. Just before he spoke, his gaze focused in on the prince. "Arthur?" For a split second, Arthur felt relief rush through him. It was gone in an instant when Merlin went limp in his arms. Moving quickly, but clumsily, Arthur pressed two fingers to his wrist. A heartbeat met his touch, though weak.
He almost collapsed with joy that he wasn't dead. But Arthur knew if Merlin didn't get to the court physician soon, he would be lost forever anyways. And that thought scared him the most.
Scooping Merlin up in his arms, Arthur moved to his horse. Gwaine came and held him until the prince was seated on his steed. Then he put Merlin in front of him and tied his legs to the gelding so he wouldn't fall off. Arthur wrapped one arm around Merlin's waist to help support.
"Leon, I need you to ride ahead and tell the king of our return. Elyan, inform Gaius about Merlin's wounds," the prince ordered. Both knights nodded and spurred on their horses.
IDIOTTOIDI
Merlin slowly became conscious. He tried to open his eyes, but found the light made his head feel like it was going to split open. Instead, he focused on what he could hear and feel. Distantly, he heard voices. The next thing he became aware of was the sensation of being tied down. The warlock attempted to move his legs, but something was restricting him. Merlin also felt something hard against his waist holding him back.
Remembering the chains, Merlin was convinced that the voices were of Nimueh and Mordred, never mind that there were too many and too manly to be them. Panic overtook him as the memories of the last three weeks filled his mind. He struggled against the ropes, pure terror clouding his thoughts. The warlock twisted and turned, trying to free himself. A scream built in his throat, tearing past his lips. Vaguely, he was aware of words spilling from his mouth. Suddenly, the restraints were gone and he was on solid ground. Not knowing what was going on, Merlin hyperventilated and was about to pass out from lack of oxygen when a face came into his view.
Merlin realized that it was not Nimueh or Mordred, and when he looked closer, noticed a pang of familiarity spark inside him. From the deep recesses of his still-panicking mind he recognized the face as someone he could trust. The warlock's hand was thrust against the other man's chest as he took deep breaths. Unconsciously slowing his breathing, Merlin realized the blonde man was talking. Slowly, the sounds became words as he calmed. Wanting to know what this young man was saying, Merlin focused on understanding the seemingly random words.
"It's alright, Merlin. Breathe, come on. That's it, breathe with me. There you go. You're alright now. It's all going to be okay."
And that's just what he did. As his rapid inhaling and exhaling came to an end, Merlin felt weariness creep up on him. The panic attack had taken more out of him than he would have thought. His last thought before he fell asleep was this: That man had been Arthur.
PRATTARP
They were almost out of the forest when Arthur felt Merlin's breath quicken, as if he were awake. Looking down, the prince briefly saw his manservant's eyes open, then close with a groan. They continued riding.
Arthur cast a worried glance at Merlin when he felt the young man stiffen against him. He then started to get scared when his manservant tried to thrash around in the saddle, clawing at Arthur's arm. Understanding dawned on him when he heard Merlin's heart-wrenching pleads.
"No, please! No more chains! Please, let me go! Please...!" The warlock continued begging as tears streamed down his face.
Merlin was afraid of being restrained.
"Gwaine! Help me get him down!" The knight immediately came over and untied the ropes.
"What's happening?" he cried desperately.
Arthur didn't answer, instead opting for gently placing Merlin on the ground. Putting his hand on his chest, he breathed deeply and said soothing words. Merlin's gaze suddenly fixed on his face. At first, a look of pure terror flitted across his features. Arthur felt hurt by this. However, he quickly pushed it away when he saw Merlin recognize him. His expression calmed, and he no longer looked scared. Following his breathing pace, the warlock stopped hyperventilating. This relieved the prince immensely.
Merlin's eyelids began to droop, and Arthur understood just how much energy his ordeal had taken out of him. The warlock calmed even further until he was fast asleep, his hand still on the prince's chest.
He stayed like that for a moment, wanting to make sure Merlin really was alright. He knew if he didn't want something like that to happen again, he wouldn't be able to secure Merlin to his horse. So he decided he would have to just keep an arm around his waist from now on and hope his attention didn't wander enough that Merlin fell.
"Percival, can you help me get Merlin back on my horse?" he asked. Percival nodded. "Thank you." Another nod as a reply. Arthur didn't mind, though. He was used to Percival's quiet nature.
Together they were able to hoist the prince's manservant up in front of Arthur. That being done, they soon reached the gates to Camelot.
People stared and whispered about the crowned prince holding a bloody and wounded servant. The knights and he ignored them, however. They just focused on getting Merlin to Gaius quickly.
As they came to the main steps, they were met by the king himself, Gaius, and Gwen.
"Arthur. I see you have returned. Come to the Throne Room as soon as you can," Uther demanded.
Arthur slightly bowed his head. "Yes, Father." With that, the king left.
The prince turned his attention to Gaius and Gwen. Gwen had a horror written on her face, and Gaius was struggling to keep his physician's facade. "Sire," he said. "We need to get Merlin to my chambers quickly."
"Of course." Carefully, Arthur dismounted and pulled Merlin down with him. He cradled the servant in his arms, trying not to jar the wound too much. The prince headed to the physician's quarters. The knights tried to take him from Arthur, but the young man wouldn't relent. Finally they just decided to stay nearby in case Arthur couldn't go any further. They were not needed in the end.
Once they were in Gaius' room, Arthur quickly laid Merlin on the patient's bed. A horrible memory rose unbidden in the prince's mind. The last time he had seen Merlin on this very same bed was when he had willingly drank poison to save his life. Stupid idiot, he has absolutely no self-preservation skills! thought Arthur. Judging by the sadness and remorse in Gaius' eyes, he was clearly thinking and remembering the same thing.
Once Merlin was on the bed, Gaius turned to Arthur. "Sire, you need to go to your father. I can take care of Merlin. If I need help, I'll call for one of the knights."
Arthur looked at his manservant, and slowly nodded. "You're right, Gaius. I'll be back after I talk to him. I promise." Reluctantly, Arthur turned away and headed to the door. Stealing a glance at Merlin over his shoulder as he left, he felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He knew it was irrational, but he blamed himself for what had happened to Merlin.
GRUDGEEGDURG
"Arthur! I told you not to go searching for that servant! He is useless!"
"But Father, you're the one who gave me the search party!" Arthur was truly flustered and confused. Uther had been the one to give him the knights.
"I did no such thing!" The king stepped close to his son, their noses almost touching. Fury was etched in his features. He whispered fiercely, so that no one could understand what he was saying, but made them think he was livid,
"I know. Make it look convincing."
Arthur's eyes widened. "What?"
A/N- Do you understand now? Yeah, I know, now you probably want to kill me! Go ahead and do so, but then I won't be able to update, so HAH! :D
So any thoughts about how I could improve, what you think will happen? If so, please review! If not, review anyways! Please? *puppy dog eyes*
And I'm so sorry for everyone who got a knight! I promise the next time I do something like that I'll make sure to put them under a spell or something so I don't have to shrink them to cooperate!
Happy reading!
~Luna~