Sorry for the delay on this, but was concentrating on a few other things at the time. I haven't forgotten this though...
Arthur had felt very reluctant to wake Merlin, but he had to. To treat him and feed and water him, he had to wake Merlin up. He shook him gently.
"Merlin? Merlin, come on, wake up."
Merlin groaned and moved, then decided that was not a good idea. Arthur shuttled out from under Merlin and laid his head down. Merlin whined and Arthur tugged on his hair.
"Look, they've brought us what we need. You need to eat and drink, and I can treat your back. Here."
Arthur poured a goblet of water out and brought it to Merlin. Merlin didn't want to even lift his head. Arthur felt a need to threaten him with everything in the world, the worst chores he could think of, because he wanted to get him to drink, but he couldn't talk for that long, so instead he said.
"Merlin, please!"
That brought Merlin's head up. His back felt like it was on fire and his muscles screamed as he lifted his shoulders and propped himself up on his elbows. Merlin gasped for breath as even the slightest movements sent ripples of pain through his body. It took a little further effort to lift his head and look up at Arthur. Merlin saw the anxiety in Arthur's eyes ease as he met his gaze and Merlin glanced at the goblet.
"You need to have something as well," Merlin pointed out.
"After you," Arthur said stubbornly.
Merlin felt ready to argue, but he gazed at Arthur. He didn't look good. His face was pale, with dark circles under his eyes, his blond hair was dull and lank and the anxious expression on his face didn't help. Merlin knew they could both be stubborn, but this occasion was probably not the time for that. Reaching out, moving tentatively, he took hold of the goblet. He grimaced as his back burnt with pain, his shoulder blade throbbing as he took hold of the goblet. He didn't regret taking a deep swallow. The water was cool, and pure tasting, sliding down his throat and dampening his dry mouth.
"Thank you, Arthur."
Arthur smiled and as a concession to Merlin's pained gaze he drank from the other goblet and started to share the food out equally. Merlin watched him, reaching for some bread and nibbling on it.
"Shouldn't you do my back first?" Merlin asked. Arthur shook his head.
"No, by the time I've done that you won't want anything, trust me."
"Something to look forward to then," Merlin sighed, looking down at the bread in his hands. "It hurts enough now."
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," Merlin said, reiterating what he had mumbled earlier. None of it had been Arthur's fault, not even getting kidnapped could be blamed on Arthur.
"I'm supposed to be keeping you safe."
"You did your best," Merlin said, taking another tiny bite. He felt hungry, but he didn't feel like eating. On the other hand Merlin got the feeling that Arthur would force feed him if he had to. Arthur's sudden, open attentiveness was very unnerving. One covert glance up, watching as Arthur poked through the items that had been brought them, made Merlin think that perhaps Arthur was feeling a little out of his depth. Maybe dealing with the situation he was in was fine. It was dealing with the situation with Merlin that was causing him trouble.
Merlin shifted again and another riot of pain flared across his back. He was tempted to ask how much damage there was, but got the feeling that he didn't want to know. Instead he carried on nibbling what Arthur put in front of him, and drinking the water, and eventually some wine.
"It might help with the pain," Arthur mused as he examined the two jars that I'lian had brought with him. Merlin guessed they were some kind of medicine.
"Let me look at them," Merlin said. Arthur looked up, a flicker of irritation marring his face, but only for a brief moment. "You said I'm the one that had trained with the court physician."
Looking mulish Arthur handed them over, which made Merlin smirk, briefly. Arthur carried on eating. The food was more than they had had yesterday, but it was still simple stuff. There was bread, some fruit and vegetables that had been foraged and some probably grown. Finally there was a small amount of roasted meat, which Arthur presumed they had hunted and he very carefully made sure Merlin got most of it. Arthur wasn't sure if Merlin realised or not. Arthur guessed not, Merlin was starting to look very strained. On a few occasions Arthur remembered Gaius rambling on about shock, which was some kind of condition that came with injuries. Arthur wished he hadn't tuned out so much, and he didn't want to ask Merlin, who might be suffering from said condition.
Instead he watched as Merlin examined the jars, peered and sniffed at the contents, and then handed one to Arthur.
"That needs to go in some water."
"Right," Arthur said, he picked up one of the large jugs and a bowl. "How much water?"
Merlin couldn't help the smirk as he looked at the confusion on Arthur's face. "Just fill it about half full."
"Okay," Arthur said, in a serious tone. Merlin would have liked to poke some fun at Arthur, but guessing that Arthur's seriousness was concern and guilt Merlin decided to save it for later. There would be another occasion when Arthur pretended he didn't care, and Merlin could remind him of this.
"And all of this?" Arthur asked, sniffing at the oil in the jar.
"No, probably about half of it," Merlin said, easing himself up a little further to check Arthur's progress and hissing with pain as the skin on his back screamed. Arthur eyed him warily.
"Are you all right?"
"It hurts," Merlin said. He was starting to feel sick, the food in his stomach laying a little heavily but he had to have something, and it was probably just dread at the thought of Arthur having to touch his back to wash the wounds.
"Okay," Arthur said, dipping the cloth into the water before gently applying it to Merlin's left shoulder blade. Merlin lay down under the pressure and gave a gasp.
It had been a very good idea to dread the treatment. Arthur's gentle washing was just as painful as the beating itself. The cold water seemed to burn against his red raw skin and even the mildest amount of pressure made Merlin whimper. He started to feel increasingly sick, heat pressing out from his forehead, the cold water clashing with the flames of pain on his back. Merlin gasped and whimpered, until Arthur suddenly paused and waved one of his gauntlets in Merlin's face.
"What's that for?" Merlin asked.
"Bite on it, it might help."
"I'm not sure it will."
"Trust me, it helps," Arthur assured him. Looking at the glove made Merlin think of something else. He rolled his eyes up to assess Arthur, trying to get a look at his left hand.
"How are your fingers?"
"Merlin, they're fine, the splint is holding."
"It needs rebinding," Merlin said. He tried to shift on his side and then gasped as the pain was too much and he settled down again, taking ragged, panting gasps to recover himself.
"I know," Arthur said, reaching out to help Merlin position himself again. "But let's deal with one of us at a time, and you need it more. Now, just bite that."
Merlin took the leather in his mouth, clenching his teeth down on it. He had to admit, it helped, he gnawed on it until his teeth started to ache as well. Drool ran from the corner of his mouth, and he kicked his feet on occasion, the chain on the shackles clanking, and his feet drumming on the floor. All of that was interspersed by Arthur's apologies. Merlin grunted in reply. He got the feeling that the only reason Arthur had offered the gauntlet was to keep him quiet, so no one outside would know how much he was suffering. Arthur wouldn't want to give them the satisfaction.
Although he would never find out the truth, Merlin was only partly right. It was to keep him quiet, but because Arthur couldn't bear to listen to it. Arthur blinked and inhaled heavily on occasion to control his rising emotion. It would, eventually, unleash itself as anger, but for the moment, it was fear, futility and worry. He wasn't even sure what he was doing was the right way to treat Merlin, all Arthur could assume was that Merlin's back needed washing and the thick, gloopy liquid in the other jar was something to smear on the wounds. Merlin seemed to think the same, so Arthur just concentrated on trying to deal with it.
He focused on one raised welt at a time. They were all at least an inch across. Some that had landed together were double and triple that, and if Arthur stared hard enough he could even make out the pattern of the plaited leather within in each one, and once he found that, he couldn't stop and he stared at each brutal mark. The tiny sections of unmarked skin between them did nothing more than serve as a reminder of how Merlin's skin should have looked. It appeared so pale, almost fragile against the reddened, blood smeared marks. Barak had meant to do harm when he had beaten him, Arthur had seen the power the large, well-muscled bandit had put into the lashes.
Once he had gone through the agonising process of washing Merlin's back, he then had to apply the balm. It seemed more soothing than the washing, but Arthur wondered if that was because Merlin simply couldn't feel any more pain than he was already getting. Thinking that, he applied the cream as swiftly as possible, putting the stopper on the jar once he had done.
"Finished," he assured Merlin. Merlin's answer was muffled by the leather in his mouth. Arthur very carefully waited until Merlin relaxed his jaw and took the glove away, gazing at the teeth marks that Merlin had imprinted on them, and the damp saliva that surrounded it.
"I think those teeth marks may be permanent," Arthur mused as he looked at his damp glove. Merlin gave a feeble huff of laughter and slowly raised his head.
In contrast to the redness of his back, his face was waxy, the only colour came from the dark circles under his eyes. The blue of his iris' was dulled with pain.
From Merlin's perspective, Arthur didn't look much better. His eyes were slightly red, he was just as pale, strands of hair were stuck to his forehead and his iris' were also dull.
"Let me look at your hand," Merlin demanded. Arthur looked at it. Despite the fact the bandage had unfastened Galen had bound it well enough, so that it was still holding. Arthur put it close enough to Merlin, so he didn't have to reach too far to retie it. The splints were still in place and Merlin had to lie down, resting on his elbows, so he could reach out and tie the bandage back on. Arthur winced, but only a little. Merlin looked up at him and then glanced at the remaining things that had been left.
"I presume that soap and second water jug is so you can clean up," Merlin said.
"Probably," Arthur said.
"I suppose we can use it to go to the bathroom in as well," Merlin said. Arthur reached further over and lifted up the chipped chamber pot that had been dumped on the far side. "Oh," Merlin added. "All comforts present then?"
"It would seem so," Arthur said. Merlin watched him for a moment.
"Arthur, take your shirt off."
"What?" Arthur snapped, but Merlin saw the sudden shift in his eyes. Arthur's gaze moved away from him, glancing out into the middle distance, as if he didn't want to meet Merlin's eyes.
"I want to know what you're hiding. Your fingers are broken, and you have a cut, but you're acting like there is something else. You almost said as much in the other tent."
"I did not!" Arthur's voice hardened defensively. Merlin sighed.
"Arthur."
He decided guilt-tripping Arthur would probably work. Very slowly Merlin pushed himself up, hanging his head as a wave of nausea rose in him. He wanted to keep what he had eaten down. Digging his toes into the ground he got up onto his knees and slowly eased himself up into a sitting position. Arthur was reaching out, not quite daring to touch him and looking unsure as to whether to help Merlin or force him to stay still.
"I'll help you with the chain mail," Merlin said, now utterly determined to get to Arthur's injury. He could see Arthur debate the best course of action, and in the end he gave in. There was no way he could get out of his chain mail without help so he got Merlin to hang onto it, while he held his arms straight and wriggled backwards out of it. Merlin sat back on his heels for balance and just held on, trying to ignore the pain across his back. He had to admit, he felt a little better now.
It could have been because of the treatment, the salve felt like it was cooling his red raw skin, but Merlin was just using Arthur's hidden injury to distract his mind from the pain. He wanted to see what Arthur was hiding, if he was injured Merlin wanted to make sure he was all right.
Arthur flopped backwards out of his chain mail and took the shirt from Merlin, dumping it to one side.
"Hey, I'm going to have to straighten that out if you twist the links," Merlin complained. Arthur huffed and lifted the chain mail shirt up to shake it out and he carefully laid it down, draping it across his armour. He didn't think he wanted to be wearing any of it for a while.
"Happy now," Arthur asked, once he had finished and he started unlacing the ties on the padded shirt.
"About that, yes," Merlin said. Arthur shrugged off the shirt and looked at the light cotton shift he was wearing underneath. It was grubby, sweat marks evident on the material, under his arms, across his torso and Merlin guessed on his back as well. Merlin made no comment about him having to wash it, especially as Arthur tentatively lifted the material to look at what had happened underneath. He hadn't examined it yet but both of them gasped slightly as they looked at the bruising across Arthur's side.
"Ow," Arthur commented. He shuffled closer to Merlin to allow him to examine the area. Arthur hissed and flinched as Merlin touched him. Merlin flinched back, and then cringed as the pain flared in his back.
"Your hands are cold," Arthur told Merlin.
"Oh, for heavens sake," Merlin grizzled. This time, Arthur gritted his teeth so he didn't react as Merlin's cold hands touched him. He wondered if he could request a fire or something. The days were not exactly cold but they were not warm either. Perhaps he could get a blanket to help keep Merlin warm.
Then Arthur hissed, drawing in his stomach as Merlin touched the area, probing as gently as he could.
"I don't think you have broken any ribs. Lift your arm."
Arthur managed to oblige, lifting his right arm tentatively, but Merlin could his jaw tense with pain as he tried to get his arm up.
"When did you get this?" Merlin said.
"During the fight when they captured us, I think. It started to tighten up last night."
Last night, so long ago, Merlin thought; the fight, Galen's injuries, his beating, they had all occurred today. One very long day and it was still daylight outside the tent.
"I think you might have strained the muscles or tendons around there. How did you manage to lift a sword?"
"I had to," Arthur said flatly.
"No, you didn't."
"I was worried he might hurt you."
They both carefully didn't look at each other. Merlin pressed the bruise a little more, but felt satisfied there was nothing more serious than what he surmised.
"The ointment might help with that. Do you want to wash?"
"Yes, but I'm not doing it now. Just put something on it."
Merlin wasn't going to argue with Arthur. He looked in an equal amount of pain and Merlin didn't want to prolong it. Arthur did as he was told, smearing the ointment on the bruising and sore areas.
Then they suffered through Merlin's desire to put a bandage around Arthur for support. They only had enough to wind it round his torso twice and it was done with a comedy of hands pressing, pulling and swearing when they lost grip of the material. Merlin was trying to do it while still lying down, Arthur was winding as best he could, letting Merlin support where necessary. In the end they got the makeshift bandage around him, it felt a little loose and ointment had been smeared around Arthur's torso and their hands, and the lower part of the bandage was missing the area it was supposed to bind.
"It'll do Merlin, just leave it. We need to rest."
"We should tidy up."
"No we shouldn't, someone else can do it."
"I should."
"No, you shouldn't Merlin, you can stay where you are."
Merlin did and then stirred again, looked up at the debris around the tent.
"Did they bring some blankets?"
"No, why? Are you cold? You felt cold."
"I'm not, I'm fine, I just needed to take my trousers off, just for a minute…"
"Do you need to go, they brought the pot, I don't have to look."
"No," Merlin said, sounding very tired. "I don't need to go, I already did."