Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin. I don't even own his little finger.
A/N I am truly, awfully sorry for the long delay and I have to say, I have no excuse at all. I just lost a bit of interest in Merlin but it's gradually coming back. Sorry people.
Merlin awoke in Gaius' chambers his head was throbbing and his eyes struggled to focus. The magic he had felt had been so dark, so evil and his stomach churned at the thought.
He knew that magic, it was Morgana and things involving her never ended well. Merlin dreaded to think what sort of dark magic she had released.
"Merlin my dear boy, are you awake?" The familar voice of Gaius said worriedly. Merlin tried to respond but ended up simply spluttering. A warm hand pressed into his shoulder, lifting him up and holding him as his lungs fought desperatly for air.
"Merlin?" Another said. Merlin could not work out who it was. After a seemingly long time Merlin caught his breath and opened his eyes. The concered faces of Leon and Gaius stared down at him. Merlin blinked in suprise he hadn't been expecting Leon.
Leon heaved a sigh, swooping his hand across his clammy forehead. "You had us worried then, dear friend."
"I'm sure I'll be back to work in no time." Merlin assured him.
"I'm glad to hear that, Gwaine has been insufferable without you by his side."
"How long have I been out?" Merlin posed the question to Gaius but Leon answered much to his surprise, it wasn't like him and Leon were close friends.
"Just a day give or take a few hours."
"Well I feel fine, I'll be up and about before you know it" Merlin smiled goofily up at Leon, Leon gave a soft smile back.
"Good, we have missed you in the meetings." Meetings? All Merlin did in meetings was stand in a corner and try not to fall asleep. Unless the knights used him for entertainment in meetings?
Merlin paused before speaking "I thought everyone just ignored me in the meetings?"
Leon laughed loudly "How could we ignore you Merlin."
"Well I am just a servant." Merlin told the laughing knight.
"Always the joker, Merlin." Leon clapped him on the back and left the room still chuckling. Merlin frowned after him, something was off with Leon but he just couldn't work out what it was. Maybe it was another prank the Knights were cooking up. Or maybe not, either way he was getting an odd feeling and he didn't like it at all.
"Where's Arthur?" Merlin asked Gaius. Gaius carried on pottering around the room and didn't respond. "Gaius." Arthur should have barged in by now, complaining that Merlin was late to work or something equally silly, but he still should have showed up- it was his odd way of showing he cared.
"Hmm?" Gaius said distractedly.
"Where's Arthur?"
"Who?" Gaius replied as he put some medicine back on the shelf. Merlin sighed in fustration, why couldn't Gaius just listen to him.
"Your King?"
"Agravaine?" Gaius said lightly, no hint of deceit or lie in his voice. The odd feeling grew larger.
"No, Arthur." Merlin frowned what was up with Gaius. Gaius could behave odd sometimes, but not this odd.
"Who's Arthur?" Gaius asked absent mindedly as he continued sorting out the medicine.
"Your King." Merlin said dumbly, "Arrogant prat most of the time, dollap head extraordinaire."
Gaius turned round to face Merlin, a deep frown creasing his old face "I don't know anyone called Arthur, and he most certainly isn't our King. You must have hit your head harder than I thought Merlin, let me take another look."
"There is nothing wrong with me!" Merlin shouted angrily jumping up, ignoring the flare of pain in his skull "I am perfectly fine, it's you who is acting strange! What the hell is going on? Why can't you remember Arthur? Is this just some trick you are playing on me? Because if it is, I don't think it's funny at all!" Merlin wrung his hands, it was in that instant that he realised that Gaius wasn't lying to him. That meant that he couldn't ask for help from Gaius in whatever this was. He was well and truly on his own, with only his confusion for comfort.
"Merlin" Gaius said soothingly, "Please sit down, let me just get something to help you." Merlin remained standing, shaking in anger. How dare Gaius try to patronise him. It wasn't him with the problem, it was everyone else. Gaius pulled something of the shelf and handed it to Merlin, but Merlin didn't drink. Who knows what this strange Gaius would give him, his Gaius would never harm him but he didn't hold the same belief for this one.
"It must be something with Morgana, you wouldn't lie to me like this." Merlin muttered under his breath. His head aching he held his arm out to bring the water pitcher towards him. Except it didn't work, the pitcher remained three foot away. Merlin gaped in shock. That should have worked; there was no reason why his magic wouldn't be working. He'd had more serious injuries than this little bump and his magic had worked perfectly. Horror made his stomach crawl, he tried again. It still refused to move. Merlin closed his eyes, probing inside him for the magic inside him, a magic he was so used to. He couldn't find it. It's normal comforting feel was gone, Merlin's insides ached at the loss.
Merlin's eyes snapped open, his breath coming in gasps. "Something is awfully wrong here."
Just then the physician's doors banged open and a harried looking Elyan walked in "Gaius it's an emergency, the whole town is coming down with some sort of illness. Agravaine want's you down there immediately." As soon as his message was done Elyan gave a quick bow to Merlin and dashed back out. His boots clacking on the stone floor as he ran back to the town.
"Merlin, please go back to your rooms and rest, don't strain yourself. I shall be up to see you tonight hopefully." Gaius called as he grabbed his medicine bag and left the room in a hurry.
Merlin waited until the door swung shut before bolting up the stairs to his room. As he entered he instantly knew something was wrong. The room was too tidy; he could see the entirety of the floor. A quick check of the wardrobe proved it to be empty. Merlin began to panic as he pushed the bed across the room and yanked the floorboard up. Underneath it was empty, his book and staff gone and just dust bunnies in his secret hideaway. He squeezed his eyes shut and counted to ten forcing himself to calm down, but he couldn't. Whatever Morgana had done had worked, not only that but he now had no magic and no Arthur. Things couldn't really get much worse.
But they could, the certainly and most defiantly could. Merlin stood on the stairs of the castle, surveying the courtyard with a critical eye. It seemed that everyone in the courtyard was suffering some sort of malady, boils, colds and weeping wounds. Everyone was struck down by something. It was horrifying to see people that were normally so healthy struck by so many diseases at once. There was no way this could be normal, nor a coincidence. This had something to do with Morgana and his own lack of magic. No longer caring if it was daylight or not Merlin left the castle, heading towards the large clearing he could call the great dragon to.
Merlin noticed that once he left the city things seemed to return to normal, there were no people walking around with wounds and illness nor the peculiar behaviour he had seen earlier. It was normal. Merlin let out a sigh of relief, whatever was affecting people was only affecting people from the citadel. Merlin tried to use his magic again with this revelation, he could still not access his magic but at least he could sense it inside him. Bubbling away and fighting to escape. He sighed in relief, his spine relaxing with the knowledge that he still had his magic, he just couldn't access it. It was better than having lost it completely.
As he reached the clearing Merlin gave a shifty look around before calling the dragon. For the longest moment nothing happened but then he heard it, the beating wings of the most powerful beast to walk the earth. Kilgharrah landed with a loud thud, his claws digging into the soft ground. "Young warlock, there is something most wrong happening in the world and you must right the wrong done to nature."
"What? What is going on? Is this to do with what's happening in Camelot, Arthur's missing and there is something wrong with everyone, I just can't work it out. Kilgharrah… I can't use my magic."
"It is as I feared young warlock, Morgana has used a spell that is of the darkest intention but she does not truly understand the spell." Kilgharrah bowed his head, his eyes almost level with Merlin. His soft breath calmed Merlin's frantic thoughts.
"What has she done? Please, if I am to stop this I need to know." Merlin begged his eyes wide and pleading. Kilgharrah gave a soft chuckle.
"If you would only use your head, you would have the answer. Think."
Merlin closed his eyes, thinking of the events of the last few hours, the odd behaviour and his own malady. "Everything has changed, Arthur is no longer King and no one but me seems to remember that he ever was. My magic is gone… people seem to be treating me with more respect. The town is sick…" Merlin trailed off, the cogs in his brain spinning as he tried to grasp the answer that was so close but yet so far away.
"Think" Kilgaharrah encouraged softly, Merlin frowned angrily at him. Why could he not just tell him the answers for once? He nearly asked but decided against it. He needed the dragons help and he wouldn't get it if he was angry, he was a stubborn old thing.
"Arthur… Arthur sometimes wished he wasn't royalty, he wanted to be normal. Now he's not King." Merlin broke off thinking hard "The people are sick so Gaius is more needed than ever. I have no magic, so I'm essentially normal." Merlin glanced back at the unreadable face of the dragon. "Is that it? It's what people want..."
"Almost, it seems Morgana has used a spell that has brought everyone is Camelot's darkest desires to life. Arthur in his bleakest moments has wanted to be normal, to be able to leave his responsibility behind. Gaius wants to be needed, and you Merlin have always had to struggle with part of your life that can't disclose it is only natural that at times you would wish you didn't have such power."
"Now can I stop this? Now can I put everything back to normal when I have no magic and no Arthur?" Merlin said desperately.
"You must find Morgana and destroy the source."
"But how do I know what the source is? How can I destroy it without magic?"
"Merlin, you are far more powerful than you believe. Not all your power is your magic, trust in yourself and in your destiny and this wrong shall be righted." The great dragon righted himself before pausing "You will need Arthur to end this, you need one and other… one side"
"Of the same coin, yes I know." Merlin said dismissively.
"Believe in each other and you shall not fail." The great dragon beat his wings, Merlin dashed backwards and out of the way of the mighty beast. The dragon soared into the air.
"Wait! How do I find Arthur?" Merlin yelled after him, he didn't respond. Once again Merlin was left with more questions than answers.
A/N Please review!