See Chapter 1 for warnings & info
Author's Notes: And things come together so that they can fall apart again… we are now in sight of the end, folks!
Promising to meet Theoden privately once the festivities were at an end, Uther took his place in the royal chapel. The guests were mingling, anxious for the ceremony to begin. Uther noted Julian and Merlin's presence, and he felt a wave of nausea as he remembered the events of last night. When Arthur finally appeared, his son refused to look him in the eye, and the king could sense anger radiating in waves off the prince. What had happened? There was no time for questions as a bell tolled, signaling the start of the wedding.
Arthur found himself too sickened by his father's actions to even acknowledge him. His gaze immediately fell upon Merlin, and he hoped the sorcerer would feel his love for him from across the room. He could barely stand being apart from him. All he wanted was to hold Merlin, who looked achingly uncomfortable being tied to that vile Julian's side.
Merlin did his best not to stare, but when he saw Arthur watching him, he couldn't help but smile. No amount of drugs could keep him from feeling elated at the very sight of the prince. He wished that the room would disappear, the he could rush to Arthur and hold him. Instead he tried to focus enough to respond to the events as he should. As if on cue, the music in the room swelled, and he turned to see Morena entering. The cream-colored dress that the woman wore was crafted carefully to conceal her condition from anyone who didn't already know that she carried Arthur's child. It set off her tanned skin and dark hair perfectly, and Merlin had to admit that she was a vision.
Despite the situation and its strangeness, Morena couldn't help but smile at the sight of Arthur waiting for her at the front of the room. Even with their strange situation and how bizarrely things had turned out, she felt warmth spreading through her as she stepped up to the altar. What they were doing was the right thing. It wasn't the convenient thing or the normal thing, perhaps, but right just the same. When she reached the front of the chapel, Morena reached for Arthur's hand and clasped it warmly in her own.
As the ceremony drew to a close, instead of feeling pride over his son's official wedding, Uther's nausea increased. He was profusely sweating now, and his vision blurred. As he cast his gaze about the room, his vision blurred and the last thing the king saw before he succumbed was Theoden. Uther collapsed with a groan, darkness swallowing him up.
Arthur had only just kissed Morena when his father dropped to the floor like a stone. Whatever ill feelings he felt for the king, the prince was by his side with an expression of shock shadowing his features. "What has happened?" he glanced around helplessly. "Quickly, Gaius!" Arthur signaled for the older man who was amongst the crowd to hurry forward.
Gaius was by the sovereign's side in an instant, puzzled over Uther's sudden ailment. "Bring the king to his chambers," he galvanized nearby knights into action. "I will care for him there."
It was all Merlin could do not to rush forward himself. Though he didn't care what happened to Uther, Arthur looked positively stricken, and more than anything, he wanted to help. Instead he remained by Julian's side, fidgeting and trying his best to see what was happening.
Theoden was likewise restrained, standing to the side of the dais and wishing that he could have darted forward the same way that Arthur had, could have been at Uther's side as he wished. He'd watched the color drain from Uther's face through the ceremony and thought it odd. Though the king wasn't thrilled with his son's choice of mates, the man had come to an apparent acceptance of the circumstance. /I should have said something,/ he berated himself - and yet no one would have listened to a servant, especially not one who had interrupted so important an event as the prince's marriage.
Hating that the king's collapse so obviously pained Arthur, Morena moved to her new husband's side and laid a hand gently on Arthur's shoulder. "Let Gaius do his work. If anyone can help the king, it is him."
Merlin was fairly itching with the need to help somehow - not for Uther's sake,
but to ease Arthur's obvious worry. "Perhaps we should offer aide?" He had never
discussed with Julian the fact that he was once the healer's apprentice, but it
seemed a good deal more pertinent now. "I used to work with Gaius. I might be
able to help the king, Sir."
Gaius lead the guards back to the king's chamber, where he instructed the knights to lay Uther down on the bed. Afterward, he sent one of the men down to his apothecary to gather his supplies. The older man bent over Uther, who had grown terribly pale and was running a high fever. His face was peppered with sweat and his breathing was shallow. Every attempt Gaius made to get a response from the king failed. His brow furrowed with concern, while his thoughts raced furiously over what could be the cause of Uther's ailment. He was so distracted, in fact, that he had failed to notice that Theoden had followed them into the room.
Only when Gaius moved away, visibly annoyed, did Theoden finally step forward from the shadows. He looked pale and drawn himself, nervous at approaching but obviously unable to hold himself back any longer. "Is there... is there anything I can, Sir? Anything to help?" It pained him to see Uther in such obvious distress and be able to do nothing but watch. Though he had no skill in healing, he hoped that perhaps some busywork might still yield results that could offer aide to Gaius as he worked.
Gaius did not suspect anything of Theoden. Instead he saw the lad as being nothing more than a worried and loyal servant to Uther. He relented, nodding as he suggested, "Fill that basin with water, then get a clean cloth and bathe the king's forehead." When one of the knights returned with his supplies, Gaius thanked the man and then set to work on trying to determine the nature of their sovereign's illness. He was almost certain the signs pointed to some kind of poison. But why and how were another matter entirely.
Though even Theoden was clever enough to see that he was doing nothing of any real value, he nodded and followed the order just the same. He knelt next to Uther's bed and carefully ran the cloth over the man's brow until it too was burning up. The cool water warmed quickly. Too quickly. The fever was bad, and Theoden felt his heart sinking more with each moment that passed while Gaius remained bent over the scattered ingredients and loose papers. "Please hold on," he whispered softly, unable to resist the urge to take one of the man's hands. The king's skin was hot and dry, and Theoden found little comfort in the gesture.
Hearing Theoden's voice somehow strengthened the ailing king for one brief, shining moment. His eyes fluttered open, revealing a murky which smiled when his lover's deeply worried face came into focus. "Still taking care of me?" he whispered, trying and failing to reach out and caress Theoden's cheek. It expended what little energy the king had mustered, and the world spun around and dissolved into blackness. Gaius rushed forward, calling Uther's name to no avail. After careful examination, the older man sighed and shook his head with a heavy heart.
"I'm afraid the king has slipped into a coma."
Theoden looked panicked at the thought. "Coma?" He had heard of the malady - long, uninterrupted sleeps from which those affected sometimes never awoke. The idea of the king slipping away was terrifying, and he clutched at the man's hand without any thought to what Gaius might suspect from the too-intimate gesture. "But you can... can help him, can't you?" Gaius had to know some potion or poultice that would draw out whatever afflicted the king and let him wake once more.
"I'm sorry to say that there is nothing I can do," Gaius replied, sad and defeated. "We can keep the king well cared for, but I'm afraid that I am unable to discern his ailment. I have not seen the like of it before." The aged physician had his suspicions, but until he could verify that Uther had indeed been poisoned, there was little he could do. It would fall to Arthur to rule the kingdom now that the sovereign was effectively out of commission. He would have to inform the prince immediately, and in private so as not to cause a panic.
Theoden swallowed hard and reached for the king's hand, pulling it against his chest. He didn't know what to do. That the gesture was too intimate in front of someone else never crossed his mind. The boy only thought of how badly he needed the closeness and comfort to keep himself together. It was hard to think or even breathe. Uther might not wake. Though Gaius hadn't said as much, the man's tone had been too somber for much hope to remain. Silent tears fell down the Theoden's cheeks as he clutched at the king's hand and prayed for him to wake.