Ughhhhhh, I'm sorry. I've been mentally tired for the past two weeks because I had this narrative assignment that I had to do for class (which ended up as a ravishing 5100+ words in less than 3 days) that took up most of my mental capacities.

Anyone here a Wicked fan? I've recently become obsessed and now I have the entire album on my phone now. In fact, I'm listening to Kristin Chenoweth's 'Popular' at the moment. Just thought I'd share that.

So much thanks to my new beta, TheSilverSleeper. You are awesome, by the way.

Wisegirl6

Chapter 24 ~Some Secrets Revealed

Merlin woke slowly, his eyes just barely opening. The first thing that came back to him was the pain. It was raw and fierce and everywhere. It started somewhere around his navel and expanded outwards like a blooming flower, just as strong throughout.

He moaned, not even making an effort to stifle his cry. At least the guards would know he was in pain. Maybe they would decide that Merlin was in too much pain to ever get better and just put an end to his misery. In some small, twisted part of his brain, Merlin relished that thought.

"Merlin? Gaius, I think he's awake."

The slave's eyes snapped open at the voice. Arthur.

The king was looking down on him, a smile on his face. "Gave us quite a scare, idiot. Next time, maybe you shouldn't warn me when you're being controlled by a psycho sorceress," he said, his tone light, but his eyes gave away all of the stress he was under.

Something clicked in Merlin's mind. "Wait, you know? About Isobel?" he asked, alarmed by how rough his voice sounded. Did Merlin actually manage to tell Arthur about something before the pain made him collapse? Was this the loophole he was looking for?

"Stop worrying him, Arthur. He's been through quite an ordeal," Gaius said, shooing the anxious king and grasping his ward's wrist to check his vitals. "There's no need to start making plans now, he's still clearly in pain. I doubt he would be of much help even if you did come up with something."

Merlin was annoyed. Why did they keep talking like he wasn't even there? He wasn't some child that needed to be protected, he could take care of himself thank you very much. "Plan? What plan? How do you know about Isobel?"

"I'll tell you if you have something to drink, seriously, Merlin, you sound like you've swallowed a frog," Arthur said as he passed a cup of cold water to the warlock.

He drank obediently, his throat was rather raw. "Okay, now tell me."

Gaius exchanged an exasperated look with Arthur. It amazed the physician how Merlin could just barely escape a near-death experience and then try and prepare himself to run head first into another.

"It was the letter you gave me, before the whole, you know, spasm thing," Arthur said, making vague hand gestures. He looked at Gaius apologetically. The young king knew he shouldn't be stressing Merlin out, he really wasn't in a good condition, but he needed to get his servant out of this oath. And if that meant planning out battle strategies while he was still in critical condition then so be it. "After you blacked out I read it, and it explained everything. I know about everything," he said, locking eyes with the servant. "Everything."

Merlin remained expressionless, too much of his attention focused on Arthur's to try and formulate one of his own. He sat up, ignoring his aching back.

"And, well, me and Gaius have decided that we need to come up with a plan. To get you released, I mean."

Oh, of course. "Right. Yeah. That would probably be good," he said, dazed. Would Arthur really tangle with a sorceress to free him? The thought made him smile after so long being uncared for.

Arthur grinned good-naturedly. "I suppose the last three years didn't make you any smarter?"

"Still more intelligent than you," he scoffed. "Then again that isn't much of a compliment."

Gaius rolled his eyes. Merlin had barely been conscious for a quarter of an hour and they were already falling into their usual banter. The sight was heart-warming to say the least after so long.

Merlin attempted to rise, ignoring Arthur and Gaius' immediate shouts of protest. The warlock regretted the action instantly as his back and head flared up, striking chords of pain throughout his body. He hissed with agony.

Arthur looked over Gaius' shoulder, his expression scolding but with an undertone of concern.

"Stupid boy, you shouldn't even be worrying about moving until that back is fully healed. I don't even want to know how many times those wounds have been reopened." Gaius gripped Merlin's wrist, the only part of him that didn't hurt, and helped him into a better position. "I'm sorry to say, but they will leave some horrible scars unless you..." The physician trailed off, staring at something on his ward's wrist.

Merlin wondered what was so interesting until he remembered, the gold. The veins in his arms were completely metallic gold now, glimmering like coins when exposed to harsh light. He suddenly became aware of the weak state his lungs were in, choking him more than giving him air with every forced breath.

Gaius was staring at it with something akin to horror. Even as a physician who dealt with magical attacks every few days, he had never seen anything even remotely like this. It was physically impossible, even more so for someone who had been cut off from their magic for so long like Merlin.

"What's that?" He asked weakly, holding tight to his ward's arm.

Arthur looked over again, having retreated to the window for the moment. "What do you mean? What's what?" he asked, warning bells going off in his head.

Merlin pulled his hand away. "It's nothing," he said, shooting a meaningful glance at his mentor. 'Nothing that I can say around Arthur.'

With a look of comprehension, Gaius nodded slightly. "Oh, yes. Must have been a trick of the light." The physician still looked uneasy. Whatever it was, it didn't sit well with him, or Merlin either for that matter.

He had paled considerably when Gaius had brought it up, a feat he didn't think possible with the tone of skin Merlin carried originally. Now the warlock was refusing to meet his surrogate father's eyes, another bad sign.

Gaius sighed. Why did Merlin always get into these situations? It just didn't seem fair for someone so young to have to carry such a burden and go through so much. "I think the best thing for Merlin right now would be to get some more rest," Gaius said in his best physician-voice. "I don't think it would do for the guards to have to carry him through the castle to my chambers, it would cause quite a scene with the Mercian visitors."

Arthur nodded absently. Quite frankly, he didn't care if Cavell and his family set fire to the citadel, as long as Merlin wasn't harmed. He had just gotten his manservant back and wasn't planning on giving him up any time soon. "Of course. Merlin can stay here as long as needed." He tried not to let himself sound too concerned. A thought occurred to the king. "I need to find Guinevere! Merlin, she has no idea you're still alive! I'll be back," he paused. "And you, get some rest."

Merlin and Gaius watched as Arthur tore out of the room in search of his queen. Once his footsteps had retreated, Gaius turned back to his ward, trying to identify the strange gold that streaked across Merlin's arm.

"Merlin, tell me. What is it? Quickly!"

The warlock winced, his arm was still tender, and all of the constant activity going on around him was making his head throb. "It's my magic. Isobel cut me off from it when..." He trailed off, able to save himself from the pain this time.

Gaius nodded. "Yes, of course."

"Yeah, when that happened and she blocked me off from my magic, I couldn't use it to escape. It would cause me so much pain I doubt I'd even be able to control it. So after a few horrible attempts I decided to stop," He grimaced, remembering when he had first been put under Isobel's control.

He had tried so hard to escape her grasp, but to no avail. He had attempted magic for months, in a sort of desperation-induced adrenaline. He had needed to make sure Arthur was okay. He needed to get back to Camelot. He would not live the rest of his life here. Merlin had woken up more times from a painful unconsciousness then he had from actual sleep in those forest few weeks.

"And-and now I'm dying Gaius," he stuttered. "All of my magic is just building up, but I can't use it and now I'm sick. I can't use my magic and-" Merlin's voice cracked. It was only now that the slave knew how afraid he was of dying. Before, when his world was only work and pain and nostalgia he hadn't been afraid. But now Merlin had a life to come back to. And he wasn't ready to give up that life. Now he was terrified of dying.

"No. No, Merlin, we can still fix this. We still have time." The physician studied Merlin's arm, trying to determine where the gold veins ended.

Merlin was panicking now. "We don't have any time! Gaius, once it reaches my heart I'm dead! It'll stop my heart and I'll die as a slave."

The physician embraced Merlin as he started to cry. At any other time, the warlock would be ashamed at his breakdown. But he was dying, and his chances of surviving were slim. So he sobbed silently into Gaius' shoulder, finally having a chance to grieve for his oncoming death.

And all Gaius could do was whisper reassurances that he barely believed himself.

Aweeee, sadness! I wrote this a while ago so I'm not even really that sure what just happened. :P

I don't really have much else to say but be sure to vote on my poll, I've really changed my summaries for some of them and 'Mute' is a totally different story than the one I originally had in mind.

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Yeah, that's about it.

Wisegirl6

P.S. Thanks sooo much to my reviewers. Still loving you guys over here.