A/N- Fiirst of all, so sorry I haven't updated for a while! I also haven't had time to reply to your reviews, but I promise I will!
And thanks to MerlinFan996 for betaing! Beta ing? Beta-ing? Oh, whatever!
Benugan!
The dagger sliced through the air.
Now:
Merlin let out an almost inhuman roar as his eyes burned gold. His arms pulled in just a few centimeters, but that was all that was needed. The blade missed the bed entirely, instead burying itself into Merlin's stomach. He dimly realized that Mordred was no longer in control. Hand clutched around the handle, Merlin backed up until he hit the wall. He swallowed, hearing the blood rushing in his ears.
Vaguely, he heard someone shouting his name. The warlock yanked the dagger out of his flesh, pain making him sway on his feet. The bloodied knife fell from his hand, landing on the floor in a clatter. Warm liquid covered his hand, sticky and red. Dizzy, he tried to grip the wall behind him, but to no avail. He slid to the ground. Landing in a tangled heap on the floor, he felt warm hands gather him into their owner's arms.
Suddenly, a shadowed face loomed into his blurry vision. In a startling moment of clarity, he made out the features of the familiar face. Something hot dripped onto Merlin's face, splattering as they hit. He tried in vain to call out the man's name, to comfort him, for he no longer comprehended anything except for that one name. Numbness spread from the gaping hole and overtook his senses.
Merlin looked up, straight into his eyes. "Arthur. You're safe now."
He blacked out.
PRATTARP
Mind racing too fast for him to sleep, Arthur stretched out in his bed. No matter how hard he tried, sleep wouldn't claim him. So instead, he stared at the wall, hardly noticing as someone came into his room. They were being so silent the prince wouldn't have been aware of them at all, except for the fact that the light shone through when the door opened.
Figuring it was just Merlin forgetting something again, Arthur stayed where he was and didn't make a noise.
Lazily, he looked up into the face of his manservant. It was blank, but something else surprised him greatly. It also terrified him. Holding a dagger above his head, Merlin had a malicious gleam in his eye.
He was about shout for the guards when Merlin roared. It was guttural, almost inhuman. Liquid gold obscured the blue and black irises. At the last second the blade pulled in, imbedding itself in his servant.
Arthur jumped up and watched as Merlin pulled the dagger out, stumbling into the wall. He stared as a red stain grew on the front of his shirt. The warlock slid to the floor, clutching the wound. The blood drained from Merlin's face making even paler than usual.
The gold was still in his eyes, but Arthur ignored that as he rushed forward and gathered the wounded man into his arms. "Merlin! Merlin..." the prince called. He didn't even care that stinging tears were streaming down his cheeks, falling off his chin and landing on Merlin's pale face, shattering into a million pieces as they made contact.
His heart seized up momentarily when the whisper came, the voice of a broken but triumphant man.
"Arthur. You're safe now."
"Guards!" he yelled. "Guards!" His voice broke, cracking. Two men burst into the room.
"Sire!" one exclaimed. They stepped forward, only to be stopped by the crown prince.
"Get Gaius! Now!"
The second raced out of the chambers as quick as he could, while the first came to Arthur's side. He caught sight of Merlin's pale form and gasped. "Sire, what happened?" He was a friend of Merlin's, the prince could tell that. Then again, who wasn't a friend of the manservant?
Thinking fast, Arthur lied through clattering teeth. "An... An assassin. A sorcerer. He tried to kill me, but Merlin pushed me out of the way, taking the blow for me." Arthur didn't even glance at the guard, though he could practically feel the the man's eyes grow wide at these events.
"Sire, I must inform the king! I trust you will be alright by yourself?" Mutely, the prince nodded.
"I will be back as soon as possible." He bowed and left the room, making as much of a bee line as he could in the corridors for the king's chambers.
Not but moments later the other man burst back into the room, Gaius struggling to keep up behind him. At first the physician didn't understand. He saw the prince cradling Merlin's head in his lap, tear tracks glimmering on his face. Then he looked down and saw the blood spreading across the manservant and onto the floor. Quickly, he knelt beside Arthur, ignoring his protesting joints. "Sire, what has happened?" Arthur didn't answer, just stared at Merlin with an expression of horror and worry. "Sire," he said again. "What has transpired? What happened to Merlin?"
"Dagger... Merlin..." he whispered. Suddenly he looked Gaius in the eye, but quickly darting onto the floor, refusing to meet the old man's gaze. "Assassin tried to kill me... Merlin..." He swallowed. "Merlin took the blow for me."
The physician grabbed Merlin/s wrist, feeling for a pulse. It was weak and almost seemed unsteady, but at least it was there. "Bring him to my chambers, quickly. He is losing a dangerous amount of blood."
The prince again nodded. Carefully pulling Merlin closer to him, Arthur stood up. His hands held underneath the servant's neck and knees, he swiftly sped down the halls, not noticing a single thing that occurred around him.
At the physician's chamber's Arthur used his foot to open the door and scrambled as gently as he up the stairs to Merlin's back room. Lowering him slowly and carefully, the Prince couldn't help but feel how light the warlock actually was. He had always been skinny, and Arthur had noticed it but never noticed how the manservant weighed as much as a mere child.
Gaius soon came in after the Crowned Prince, with a small knife held firmly in his hand. "I need to cut his clothes off- any unneeded movement could cause the wound to open even more."
Normally, Arthur would take the blade and do it himself, but his hands were shaking so badly he was worried he would Merlin. So he settled for rushing out of the room and return with an armload of bandages.
As Gaius finished removing the warlock's shirt and cleaning the injury, his hands brushed his forehead,. "He's burning up," The physician murmured. "Sire, I need you to get some fresh water, to keep his fever down."
It didn't take another sound out of his mouth before the prince practically ran from the room. Gaius looked after Arthur, carefully pondering over the change in the man.
IDIOTTOIDI
Merlin was sinking, he couldn't see...couldn't breathe. All the boy knew was an intense, white hot pain flaring in the darkness. He should fight, he should fight for Arthur, to complete his destiny, but his will to do so was slowly ebbing away.
The pain eased, then suddenly sprung up again. He only just kept himself from crying out. The warlock wasn't exactly sure what had happened, but he vaguely realized it had something to do with the child in his mind.
But it didn't matter anymore.
Merlin was slipping away.
PRATTARP
Nothing more than five minutes later Arthur returned, lugging two full pails of water up into Merlin's chamber. In there, he took a seat by the warlock's bedside in a rickety old chair. A short while later, he had his manservant's forehead covered in a damp cloth.
Gaius had taken leave to the prince's chambers to find the dagger. He was concerned about a poison on the blade for it showed no sign of infection in the wound, yet Merlin had a high grade fever. Said injury was now cleaned and wrapped, hidden by a thin blanket pulled up to mid chest.
Arthur removed the now warm rag and wet it again. "Brow's on fire," he muttered to himself.
The heavens showed mercy towards him, for only after he had placed the cloth on the frail boy's head did his father burst into the room. He stood, bowing to greet Uther.
"Arthur? Arthur!" The King cried as he rushed into the back chamber. "Are you alright?"
The Prince schooled his expression from worried to a slightly terrified one, (after all he had supposedly been attacked by a sorcerer) he calmly replied, "Yes Father, I'm fine."
The King, however, had not listened when the guard had told him about the serving boy saving his life. "Then why are you in the physician's chambers?" He asked, confused.
Arthur moved out of his father's line of sight, gesturing at Merlin. "It's because of him that I am in perfect health. He took the blow for me. I didn't receive even a scratch."
Uther was impressed. He knew the servant- Marvin? Melvin? -had saved his son's life before, but he didn't know he was so loyal as to protect Arthur like that. "What happened?"
Arthur glanced at Merlin before he spoke. "Merlin came in because he forgot some sheets he was supposed to take to the wash room as he left. When he noticed someone standing near me, he immediately woke me. I got out of bed quickly, preparing for a fight. The man lunged with a dagger that was clutched firmly and confidently in his right hand, and I would've been dead on the spot. But Merlin jumped in the way, taking the dagger that was meant for me. He was a sorcerer- after he saw he stabbed the wrong person he enchanted a spell and disappeared like Morgause did with Morgana, with the sleeping enchantment, before her betrayal."
Uther flinched at Morgana's name. "He was very brave. Will he recover?"
"I am not sure. He has a fever but no infection, so Gaius suspects there may have been poison on the blade. He went to go get it." Arthur informed.
The king nodded. " If he survives, he will be greatly rewarded."
Two days later, Arthur received the news.
He was sitting on his bed, still thinking about what had happened a few days ago. Funny, it seemed more like years had passed since that night. It took him a few seconds before he realized there was someone knocking at the door.
The prince sighed before getting up to answer. He flung the door wide, annoyance clear on his gaze. "What?"
The guard that stood before him panted, taking heaving breaths. He leaned slightly on the door frame, attempting to catch his breath. "Sire... Gaius has... requested your presence. He said it was urgent... and about... Merlin," he gasped.
Arthur was out the door and running through the corridors as soon as he heard his manservant's name. He stopped at the entrance to the physician's quarters, hand raised to knock. A million thoughts raced through his mind. What if Merlin was getting worse? Was he awake? How would he cope when he awoke? Would he ever open his eyes again? Was Merlin already... gone? But above all else, one question drowned out the others...
Could Merlin possibly be free from the curse and on the road to recovery?
Pushing those to the back of his mind, Arthur knocked and stepped through the doorway. Merlin's door stood ajar, and through it the prince could see the physician seated by the prone boy's figure. Hunched over, his face was covered by his hands. "Gaius!" Arthur called out. "You called for me?" He went up the steps quickly, yet quietly.
Gaius shook his head. "Sire, I thought you should know... The injury was deep, and I fear Merlin was already slipping..."
Arthur started shaking, fearing the words as they slipped from the old man's lips. "What?" he asked feebly. "Gaius, what are you talking about?"
He wouldn't look the Prince in the eye. "No one knew. That may have been part of the reason he stopped and he may have lost some of his will to combat the darkness..." For the first time Gaius looked straight at Arthur, revealing a tear stained face. "His breath is short and raspy, he is not reacting to anything, and he grows paler and colder by the hour."
Arthur's eyes opened wide, shock painting its way onto his face.
"He has two, three, maybe four days at the most."
Gaius turned his tearful gaze back at his ward.
"Arthur… Merlin is dying."
A/N- Yep. Merlin's dying. I'm so evil, I know. Major cliffie! :D See you people whenever!
Please review! Or I'll sic the demon child, aka Mordred, on you with another horrible curse! Mwahahaha!
~L~
Ps- This is a longer chapter and I was wondering if you people like that better? Or do you want shorter chaps? Its up to you! :)
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