Ok, so I'm not quite sure where exactly this chapter came from. In my mind, this chapter was suppose to start all the action with midnight coming and all, but my hands seem to have wanted a different idea. I do believe my hands have something with this chapter as I enjoyed writing it. (Sorry if this author's note is random, weird, and annoying. It's almost midnight and I'm tired and slap happy haha)
Anyways, I'm sorry if Gwaine is a bit out of character, I tried to make him as in character as possible, but I know he's not completly. I'm one of those there's-more-to-Gwaine-then-the-show-shows people and that is very evident in this chapter. What can I say? He's fun to write haha
I'll shut up now and just let you read. Hope you enjoy the story! :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing...sadly.
Chapter 7: More Than a Drunk
Merlin sighed, scrunching his nose as he caught a whiff of himself. Mucking the stables defiantly was the worst job Arthur could give him. Somehow he always wound up covered in the manure, though Merlin wasn't really sure how. All he knew was that he was glad the job was finally done.
Merlin walked out of the stables and looked up at the sky, pleased to see that the sun had almost set. Another twenty minutes and Camelot would be in darkness. A grin spread across his face. He had his orders and all he wanted to do was fulfill them and please his queen. He hadn't seen Gwaine or Gaius since he had contacted his queen. He didn't know if that was good or bad, but he wasn't going to worry about it until he needed too.
Merlin hurried off toward his chambers, people scattering in an effort to avoid him. Merlin sniffed at himself again, not realizing he smelled that bad. When another villager went out of his way to avoid Merlin, the boy sped up to get home quicker. With his slightly increased speed, Merlin reached the physician's quarters. When he walked inside, Gaius was bent over his table mixing up different liquids.
"I hate those stables." Merlin announced, bouncing across the room to the bucket of water he had saved earlier.
"Indeed." Gaius replied, looking up from his potion to study his ward.
Merlin took a deep breath and dunked his head into the bucket of lukewarm water and scrubbed at the manure coating his face and hair. Gaius watched him for a moment before turning back to his potion. He heard Merlin lift his head out of the bucket with a gasp, but he didn't turn to look at the warlock. He bent back down and carefully poured a dark brown potion into a crimson one. A quiet sizzling rose from the potion as it changed to a dark green.
"What are you making?" Merlin asked as he scrubbed at his hair.
"It's a potion for the villagers who have been ill the past few days." Gaius explained, lighting shaking the potion.
"Oh?" Merlin said absently. "What do they have?"
"I…I'm not exactly sure." Gaius answered, stuttering slightly. "It is not a disease I am familiar with."
"And you think that will help them?" Merlin asked, rubbing a towel through his hair to dry it.
"I believe so, yes." Gaius replied. He paused a moment, as if considering something, before continuing. "I believe you should take some as well."
"Why?" Merlin asked slowly, eyeing the green potion nervously.
"The disease is very contagious." Gaius explained slowly. "You go to the lower town often. Better safe than sorry."
"I haven't been around any sick people." Merlin argued, not liking the look of the potion.
"We can't take that risk." Gaius replied, holding the potion out to him.
Merlin looked warily at the glass vial before reluctantly taking it from his mentor's hand. He looked down at the green liquid, dreading tasting it. Gaius's potions never tasted good and this one looked worse than others. Gaius gave him a look that clearly told him to hurry up and take it, so Merlin sighed and brought the vial to his lips, sipping as little of the potion as he could.
Even with the small amount of potion, Merlin nearly puked. He managed not to, but he gagged regardless and overdramatically. The potion tasted almost as bad as the troll disgusting potion he had been forced to try a few years back. Almost. Merlin grimaced, swallowing the potion as quick as he could and held the vial back out to Gaius.
"Uhg!" he groaned when Gaius took the vial from him. "Why do all of your potions taste disgusting?"
"They are meant to help," Gaius replied, frowning slightly. "Not be a drink."
"Still would be nice if they could help and still taste good at the same time." Merlin replied with a goofy grin. "I'm going to my room for a while."
"I don't believe you drank enough of the potion, Merlin." Gaius said quickly, holding the vial back out.
Merlin looked at the still mostly full vial in disgust before raising his eyes to meet his mentors.
"The villagers will need it though," he argued. "And I don't see another potion like that in this room. I'm sure I'll be fine."
Gaius started to argue, but reluctantly sighed and nodded. He turned around, listening as Merlin's footsteps headed toward his room. Once the door shut and the bolt locked, Gaius put the potion on the table and hurried out the door. He didn't have far to go. At the end of the corridor Gwaine was hidden half in the shadows, waiting for Gaius. When he saw the old physician hurrying toward him, the knight stepped out of his hiding place, flipping his hair as he met Gaius halfway.
"Did it work?" he asked, worry etched in his voice.
"I am not certain." Gaius replied with a frown. "He didn't drink near as much as I would like."
"But it should still un-enchant him, shouldn't it?" Gwaine pressed.
"In theory, yes." Gaius replied with a nod before explaining. "The potion is very tricky. If the enchanted doesn't drink enough, it could have no effect. At the same time it could take several hours for the potion to take effect."
"So the enchantment could wear off in a few hours after Merlin's tried to kill Arthur?" Gwaine asked skeptically.
"Yes." Gaius nodded. "But I do not believe Morgana wants Merlin to kill Arthur, otherwise he would already be dead. Or at least have tried by now."
"What other reason could she have then?" Gwaine asked in confusion.
"I don't know." Gaius admitted.
"So what do we do?" Gwaine asked.
He wouldn't admit it, but he was worried about his friend. In the year or so he had been a knight of Camelot, he had come to regard Morgana as a formidable opponent, one not afraid to cut corners and do whatever it took to accomplish her goals. Gwaine knew that was a dangerous thing, add in her powerful magic and it grew ten times worse. If she had gotten hold of Merlin—and he was sure she had. There was no other explanation for Merlin's eyes glowing red—then there was no telling what danger Camelot was in for.
"Wait a minute," Gwaine muttered. "Camelot!"
"Excuse me?" Gaius asked, his eye brow raised.
"She's after Camelot, not Arthur." Gwaine answered his for-once-sober mind rushing as he thought of all the possibilities. "She must be using Merlin to get into Camelot somehow. Gather her army and have Merlin open the gates. That would leave princess for her to kill however she wants. It's a simple plan, but effective if Merlin does his job right."
"That's…" Gaius paused as he thought over what Gwaine had just said. "That's a logical idea." He looked at Gwaine, surprise lightening his face.
"What?" Gwaine asked, fidgeting slightly under the eyes of the physician.
"I didn't know you were so philosophical." Gwaine looked at him, clearly not understanding what he meant. "I didn't realize you could be smart and figure things out so easily. I always took you as…" he cut off, not wanting to say anything to offend the knight.
"A drunk?" Gwaine supplied, amusement in his eyes. " Unobservant? Clueless? Handsomely good looking and amazing?"
"Well, yes." Gaius replied. "Except for the last two."
Gwaine laughed and rolled his eyes.
"I'm more than just a drunk." He said. "And I'm defiantly not clueless. But don't let on to anyone, ok? It's more fun this way." A sly grin broke his face as he added, "I can get blackmail easier."
Gaius' eyebrow rose, not sure whether he should be amused or annoyed with the more-than-meets-the-eye knight. In the end, he chose to be amused. After all, he was hiding a secret warlock, so clearly people were more than they seemed.
"So what do we do?" Gwaine repeated, turning the conversation back to the problem at hand.
"We have to tell the King." Gaius announced after a moment of thought.
"He won't believe us." Gwaine frowned.
"We have to try." Gaius replied and took off down the corridor without another word.
Gwaine sighed and hurried after the physician. This was going to be interesting.