IDOM - still the same fic so still dedicated to the same sister! And of course, thank you thank you thank you so much my oh so wonderful beta - Mari!
The poison would not come out.
Gaius tried everything he could, from bloodletting, to even using magic - after chasing out Gwen under the pretense of needing more water, despite already having a couple of buckets filled to the brim - which he pushed under a table. He was not in the situation to be able to freely think of new situations currently after all, what with a rapidly fading Merlin on his cot, which Gaius feared would become his deathbed.
In the end, flipping rapidly through one of his spellbooks, he could only come up with one option. The one option that had been weighing heavily on his mind ever since they had left from Camlann to Camelot, and now after finding the spell, and with nothing else in mind, he could only think as to how to now bring back Merlin from the world of unconsciousness.
Thankfully, this sort of magic Gaius trusted he would be able to do.
Taking a vial from his shelf, he couldn't suppress the small smile that embraced his lips when he remembered the last time he had to use this on Merlin, to which after awakening his ward exclaimed.
"What is that? Arthur's socks?"
And just like that, the smile disappeared. He turned around, and stopping in front of Merlin's pale form on the cot, he took the cautionary glance around his chambers, empty except for one recently deceased knight on another table covered by a white sheet.
He took a deep breath, preparing to reach in for his rarely used magic as he clenched the vial tight in his hands.
"Awacnian eac úre cræft," Taking a deep breath, and praying to all the Gods and Goddesses he may have came across his books, he held it under Merlin's nose, and just as he removed the vial's stopper, he whispered again. "Awacnian."
Nothing happened.
Gaius waited anxiously for a few seconds, the vial still under Merlin's nose, but his ward did not even rouse.
The old man stepped back, his breath leaving him with gusto as his back hit a bench, and he slumped down on it.
A sniffle.
Gaius' head shot up, and he stared as Merlin's eyes flickered, before they slowly opened.
"Still using Arthur's socks, Gaius?" It was so quiet, Merlin's voice raspy, but that didn't stop the large grin from appearing on the mentor's face, as he leaned back with a sigh, before getting up and preparing himself for the next part.
"Oh, Merlin," he sighed, shaking his head before he came closer to his ward.
"What's wrong Gaius?' Merlin asked, his face taking on a worried expression. Before Gaius could do or say anything, Merlin started to get up before stopping, inhaling sharply as his face went even more paler than before - if that was even possible - and leaning back down slowly.
"Oh."
Gaius put his hand firmly on Merlin's shoulder, frowning.
"You're dying," he stated flatly. Not exactly how he planned to say it, but well. Time was running a bit on the short side, if he ever needed to explain himself. Which he didn't.
"Yeah, I figured that part out myself, thanks," Merlin groaned, blinking. "Could I get some water?"
Immediately, all pretenses of being stern faded away, and Gaius turned to the table where he hid the previous two buckets of water, and keeping one separately for drinking, he dunked a cup in it to fill it and brought it back to Merlin, helping his ward take a few sips before Merlin lay back down again.
"So…" Merlin winced, clearing his throat.
"There's a spell," Gaius started. "And right now, it's your only chance of living, so," without further ado, he showed the book, opened to the spell he was talking about, to Merlin. But the warlock didn't look at it.
"Arthur knows, Gaius."
Gaius leaned back, settling the book more comfortably in his arms.
"Yes, he does," Merlin looked at Gaius sharply then.
"He doesn't want me here, does he?" Merlin asked. Gaius paused, before answering, his voice firm, brooking no arguments.
"What he wants, does not matter to me right now Merlin. What does matter to me, is that you," he pushed the book towards Merlin again. "Do anything necessary to live," his tone softened. "I only have one son, Merlin, and he still has a great ways to go."
Merlin's eyes softened, and he stared at Gaius wordlessly, who just smiled kindly yet with a hint of melancholy at him, before nudging the book against Merlin again. This time, Merlin was ready to accept it from his mentor, and after helping Merlin sit somewhat upright and against pillows, Gaius readied the table closest to Merlin's cot while the warlock started to study the spell.
When Gaius had finished his side of the preparations, he turned to look at his ward to find him looking at the table the physician had set by him, an unreadable expression on his face.
"What is it, Merlin?" Gaius asked, catching Merlin's attention again.
Merlin opened his mouth, looking as if he was about to say something before he visibly changed his mind with shake of his head, looking down to take one last look at the book on his lap before turning to the body on the table by him, lifting his hand towards the corpse.
"Ic ábiddan onuppan sé fífmægen sylfum sé rícen æt afeormian mec fram þes bealubenn. Hálian mec fram sceaðignes, ond álætan þes bánfæt ágieldan sé manweorþ for mín hælþu!" His eyes flashed gold, and he suddenly let out a pained gasp as his back arched, a golden light erupting from his abdomen. Gaius flung forward in panic, calling out the warlock's name but only just holding himself back as he anxiously waited for the spell to first finish it's work, looking on in great concern as Merlin's back stiffened so hard it looked as if his very bones might snap -
And then with a final pained whimper, he fell back on the bed, unmoving and a deathly pale as the effort for casting the difficult spell took its toll on Merlin's already weakened body. As Gaius finally allowed himself to rush forward to check his ward's pulse, he noticed the rapid reddening in the center of the white sheet that had been covering the dead knight's body on the table which he had moved to stand by the cot that Merlin lay upon.
What he failed to notice, was a head withdrawing from the barely opened door, which slowly and quietly closed shut soon after.
Days went by.
Merlin didn't wake.
Until he did, a month later.
Awacnian eac úre cræft - awaken with your might
Ic ábiddan onuppan sé fífmægen sylfum sé rícen æt afeormian mec fram þes bealubenn. Hálian mec fram sceaðignes, ond álætan þes bánfæt ágieldan sé manweorþ for mín hælþu -
I call upon the powers of the goddess to cleanse me from this wound. Heal me from harm, and let this body pay the price for my health.
Yeah for those of you who haven't checked my profile, I went on a hiatus. This chapter was already mostly written so I decided to post it. I still don't know if I will continue writing, and as much as I've lost motivation for all these fics, I really hate leaving things unfinished.. And while I also really want to wrap this up as quick as possible this kind of fic probably requires something longer.. Idk.. we'll see i guess.