Thank you so much for all the support for this story. I loved reading everyone's reviews of the last chapter. Have a wonderful week.
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.
Lancelot was sure he would never see Merlin's smiling face again. The knife was too deep, there was too much blood, and Ulric was too insane. He was dying, fading fast. Lancelot tried to hold on, he tried to fight for those he had loved and those he had lost. He didn't want to be a failure to any of them. But the pain, oh the pain was blinding him. It was making it impossible for him to form a sentence and think straight, the words muddled in his brain and heavy on his tongue. In his final moments, Lancelot saw a bright light and the pain began the recede.
~This must be my end. The Lord has finally decided to take my soul. I only wish I fought harder.~ Lancelot thought to himself. His eyes slipped closed, mostly out of necessity. The light was so blinding that it hurt to keep them open a second longer. Then, he succumbed to the darkness that had been calling him since he was shot. The darkness that offered a way out, the darkness that gave him a chance to escape the pain of his life.
Except, the next time Lancelot was aware, he was not dead. He couldn't be. There was a dull throbbing in his abdomen, each pulse bringing a new wave of pain. Lancelot had assumed death would be more peaceful. There was always the chance he had ended up in Hell, but shouldn't that be more painful than what he was feeling now?
And then there was the heaviness that was draped over him. It wasn't like Lancelot's body was heavy, though it did feel that way. This was more like an incredibly heavy blanket had been piled on him. Lancelot shifted, his wound straining to break open, causing him to groan.
"Lancelot, can you hear me, my boy?" a familiar voice asked.
"Gaius?" he slurred, struggling to open his eyes. A hand pressed lightly on his shoulder.
"Take your time, don't rush yourself. You were very close to death. In fact, there were a few times I didn't think you would make it, even with Rowena and Merlin's help," Gaius explained. Lancelot finally managed to peel his eyes apart. His tongue felt sticky in his mouth. His head pounded, causing him to wince. But Lancelot refused to go back to sleep, he refused to stay in the darkness. There was a soft snuffle beneath his chin.
"What?" Lancelot asked, looking down to see Merlin sprawled over his chest. Lancelot reached down and brushed some hair off the child's forehead. "Merlin?" he whispered, not sure if he should wake the child. Gaius helped him into a sitting position. Lancelot's arm, though shaky, wrapped itself around the boy's body to support him and to keep him from waking. Merlin's face was fuller, brighter, healthier. It was amazing how just a few short months could make a child so much better than before. Lancelot wasn't sure he could carry Merlin around like he used to, now that he had put on some weight. Lancelot smiled fondly at the boy. Merlin was safe.
Gaius cleared his throat and pushed a glass of water into Lancelot's hands.
"You are still recovering. You need to rest, so after I get some food in you, you're going back to sleep," Gaius commanded. Lancelot nodded and let the water dribble down his throat, wetting it, washing away the stickiness that had come about after being asleep for so long. Gaius turned to dish up what appeared to be stew into a small bowl. Lancelot took this chance to get some answers.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Well, you've been cleared of all charges against you," Gaius said, too busy cutting bread to see Lancelot smile slightly.
"I meant with my injury, with Ulric," Lancelot said with a small laugh. With Merlin was left hanging in the air. Thought, the fear in Lancelot's heart made his stomach turn. He had failed to protect Merlin. What if something truly awful had happened to the child and it was all Lancelot's fault. Gaius sighed and put the small tray on a table besides Lancelot. He reached over and began to dish the stew into his mouth, careful not to get any of it on Merlin or the bed.
"Well, after you were shot, Elyan was struck with fire protecting Merlin." Lancelot vaguely remembered that. "Gwaine then came running in with a wolf and started to fight Ulric. Turns out they were half-brothers. Merlin then released his magic and healed you, Elyan, and Uther. Ulric is dead now, killed by Gwaine," Gaius explained. Lancelot looked down at the boy who was still asleep. Did Merlin see Gwaine kill Ulric? He knew Merlin had seen violence before, but it was always different when the person doing the killing was someone you looked up to.
"Is Merlin alright?" Lancelot asked. He cursed his words as they caught in his throat once more.
"Oh yes, he will be fine. His magic just needs to replenish itself. He's woken up a few times, but refused to leave you. You gave him quite a scare with that little stunt you pulled, young man," Gaius scolded. Lancelot laughed, finishing the broth and taking some of the bread.
"I'm sure I can think of some way to make it up to him." Lancelot finished the bread in silence, Gaius busy making medicine. "I think I'll rest now. Tell Arthur I won't be attending training for a few days." Lancelot lay down, rearranging Merlin so his elbow wasn't digging into his side. Gaius patted his arm.
"I'm sure he won't mind."
"Lancelot?" a small voice asked. Lancelot looked down to see Merlin's eyes opened and staring intently back at him. Lancelot smiled.
"I hear you're the reason Camelot is safe," he said quietly. Merlin's face broke into a toothy grin.
"Yeah! Do you want to hear about it?" Merlin asked. Lancelot smiled and squeezed Merlin a little tighter.
"I would love to hear about it."
oOoOoOo
"I just don't understand how the spell broke," Uther said. He was staring hard out the window, glaring at the bright and sunny day. The rain that had plagued Camelot since Ulric's death finally stopped. Though only a few short moments ago. Gwen wrapped a blanket around Uther's shoulders. He was still weak from being aged and deaged in such a short amount of time. Gwen looked towards Leon and Arthur, some fear in her eyes. Arthur gave Gwen a reassuring smile, causing the girl to blush and fumble with the blanket.
"I saw the light and then Ulric died," Uther said. His hands waved in the air, in some weird attempt to make it look as though he were doing magic. Leon stepped forward. He really should not be so comfortable lying to the king. But here he was, yet again with another excuse that anyone could see through if they decided to look into it more. Thankfully, when it came to magic, Uther was generally okay with just leaving things be so long as someone shouldered the blame.
"Sire, all we have is speculation since the man died. However, I don't think Ulric had good control over his magic. It was sloppy and more or less a one-trick show. He really only managed to do three things, shoot fire at Sir Elyan, cause an earthquake, and turn you old. It's quite possible that he was unable to hold the spell over you and therefore it broke. Gaius said that aging spells are often tricky in the sense that you never know exactly what is going to happen," Leon explained. Uther nodded. His face contorted into one of disgust.
"And are we sure the sorcerer is dead?" he spat. Arthur stepped forward. Normally, his fathers hate caused Arthur's own to boil in his blood. The idea that his father condemned an entire group of people for his mistakes would never sit well with Arthur. But this time, with this man, Arthur felt the same loathing for Ulric, but probably for different reasons. Uther hated him because he was a sorcerer and he attacked Camelot. Arthur hated him because he didn't just attack Camelot; he also hurt the ones Arthur held dear.
"His body has been burned and the remains have been locked in the vaults. He won't be coming back." Arthur may have gone overboard with ensuring Ulric was dead, but he told him men to get rid of the body with extreme malice and to ensure there was no way this man could ever walk the Earth again. Uther nodded.
"Good, and what of the people under his command. I'm sure they are more than happy of his death. "
"Yes, father. Sir Robin and Sir Galahad both traveled there to announce the news. The people were overjoyed. Apparently he had been a tyrant to them for years. Both Ulric and Godric. The way those people worked, I've seen slaves treated better, " Arthur spat. Gwen looked horrified, not having known until now what conditions those people were in. Arthur left out the part where Morgana managed to make the crops bloom with extra food so that the people could finally have a meal to eat. He also left out the fact that Morgana had tried several times to sneak out so she could visit the people and help end their suffering. It was only through Leon's persuasion that Merlin might need her that she finally gave into staying. Honestly, sometimes Morgana was more difficult to deal with than Merlin.
"How could we not have known about this?" Uther demanded, massaging his brow. "How could this have stayed a secret for so long?"
"As far as we can tell, Gwaine was the only one who managed to leave. And, up until Ulric's death, he hasn't met the man. It is possible that he was unaware the extent of how people were treated. He grew up in a castle, sheltered from the outside world. He may have thought they were under better working conditions than what was actually going on," Leon said. "He may have also feared Ulric and what he would do should he discover Gwaine. Besides, Gwaine was masquerading as a peasant, getting anyone to listen to him would have taken a lot more evidence than just his word. There was simply too much working against us to stop this before now." Uther sighed and slumped back in his chair.
"Ensure that Camelot helps the people in anyway possible. Their grain will be invaluable to our stores, but I first want to reconfigure the feudal system there. I will not have my subjects needlessly suffering," Uther said. Arthur and Leon bowed and turned to leave the room. Once the door shut behind him, Leon's turned towards Arthur.
"Gwaine has been actually acting weird lately," Leon whispered. Arthur knew this was going to come up eventually. He had hoped Gwaine would snap out of whatever was making him act this way eventually. But Leon apparently thought that this needed to happen sooner rather than later.
"I'm not sure what is going on, but I think we need to talk to him. I think he blames himself for the destruction," Arthur said. "I'm actually going there now. Hopefully, I'll be able to talk some sense into the man. I would hate to lose a good knight over this incident," Arthur continued. Though it wasn't just "an incident". Gwaine not telling Arthur the truth about Ulric had led to many deaths of innocent people. And it had almost led to the death of Merlin. There may not be any way to restore Gwaine's faith in himself.
"I with you the best of luck, my friend," Leon said before heading in the opposite direction. Arthur made his way to Gwaine's chambers and knocked on the door.
"Gwaine, it's me. Can I come in?" Arthur called.
"Yeah, princess, you can come in," Gwaine called. Arthur smiled. If Gwaine was insulting them, there was a chance that he wasn't as broken as Arthur thought. There was a chance he had already started to heal from the wounds this ordeal had brought down on them all. Arthur entered the room to see several articles of clothing beings strewn about the room. Gwaine was stuffing some into his bag.
"You're leaving?" Arthur asked. Gwaine sat back and smiled at Arthur, a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. There was an excuse on Gwaine's lips. And Arthur doubted it would make him believe that Gwaine actually wanted this.
"Yeah, I don't stay anywhere for an extended period of time. You're lucky I stayed this long," Gwaine laughed.
"I thought you liked it here," Arthur said. Gwaine stuffed some socks into the bag with a little more violence than strictly necessary.
"I do. But, there are plenty more taverns to drink at, and places to see, maidens to impress," Gwaine said, not facing Arthur.
"You're running away," Arthur said, staring at Gwaine's back. He hoped Gwaine could feel his eyes boring into him, demanding a real explanation and not one that Gwaine just threw together. Gwaine threw the shirt he was holding down on the bed.
"Dammit, Arthur, yes. Alright. I messed up and I can't be here anymore." Gwaine snapped. He whipped around to glare at Arthur. This time the emotion did reach his eyes. Arthur sighed and sank down onto a chair.
"No one is blaming you Gwaine," he said. "There was a lot going on and—"
"And what, sire?! I still ran away. I knew he was evil. I was scared of him and I didn't warn anyone. And now, now Lancelot and Elyan almost died and Merlin was buried alive! Have you forgotten this?" Gwaine shouted.
"No, I remember very well what happened. But just because you think you're a coward doesn't mean everyone here does. Have you even been to see Merlin yet?" Arthur asked.
"No. I can't see him. I am the son of a psychopath. I have that blood running through my veins. What is I become like him?" Gwaine snapped. ~What if I hurt Merlin?~ lingered in the air, unspoken words that held to most amount of fear and loathing.
"Listen, Gwaine, you may have your father's blood, but you are your mothers son. Not everyone turns out like their parents. And you won't hurt Merlin," Arthur said. Gwaine sank back on the bed. A shirt was clutched in his hands. But Arthur could see that determination to flee slowly leaving his body.
"What if I do? I can't risk becoming like them. I will not be the one who hurts Merlin."
"You won't. Merlin needs you just as much as he needs the rest of us. You can't just abandon him because your scared. Besides, if you do hurt Merlin, there are several knights who are more than willing to torture you," Arthur said, clapping Gwaine's shoulder. "Go and see him, Gwaine. See that he's not afraid of you and that he needs you. Don't abandon him." With that, Arthur was gone.
Gwaine leaned against a wall, staring at a fly buzzing on the ceiling. He couldn't abandon Merlin. He wouldn't be the reason that boy was sad. Gwaine dropped the shirt on his bed before standing and walking out the door.
He turned the corner to see Morgana staring out the window. She seemed lost in thought. Gwaine cleared his throat and stood next to Morgana. Morgana turned and gave him a weak smile.
"Well, my lady, it looks as though your visions have come true, and look. No one was killed in the process," Gwaine said cheerfully. Morgana gave him a tired smile.
"I'm glad. hopefully there won't be any more dangerous circumstances for Merlin or Arthur," she said, staring out the window.
"I'm going to see Merlin now, do you want to come?" Gwaine asked. Morgana shook her head.
"I'm going to help Gwen distribute some food to those that lost their crops during the earthquake."
"Alright, I'll tell Merlin you said hi," Gwaine said before walking off. Morgana bit her lip and stared down in the courtyard.
"Something evil is coming," Morgana whispered. "Something with a heart of stone,"
oOoOoOo
Gwaine knocked on the door to Merlin's room. he heard a crash and winced as the door was flung open. Merlin looked up at Gwaine and smiled. There appeared to be some sort of purple ooze on the top of Merlin's head.
"Gwaine!" he said, launching himself into Gwaine's arms. Gwaine thanked his reflexes for being so good as he caught the child and laughed.
"Merlin, kiddo, how have you been? And what is on your head?" Gwaine asked. Merlin smiled and leaned back to plant a kiss on Gwaine's cheek.
"It's some sort of hair care potion! I was helping Gaius make it. Rowena said that you saved Camelot. That's so cool!" Merlin said. Gwaine laughed and sat down on the chair, shifting Merlin so that he was on his lap. Merlin began talking excitedly about how the dragon had given him a really cool spell and how he had used it to save the knights. Gwaine smiled and listened to the child, feeling confident that he could never hurt him. He would never be able to hurt Merlin. He would never be like his father or brother. He would make his mother proud.
I kind of like this ending, despite it being really sappy. Everyone needs a little sap and fluff in their lives. See you next week.