Chapter Two

The towers of Camelot came into view, and all that was left for Arthur to do was the mad dash towards the gates. The guards shot him a shocked look when he rode back into Camelot, armour missing, covered in blood, a limp servant boy cradled against his chest.

He shouted to the guards for help. Ordered them to run and tell Gaius to prepare. To tell him he was bringing Merlin. To tell him... it was bad. They helped him down from the horse, steadying Merlin, before the boy was pulled, bridal style into the prince's arms. He ran to the physician's quarters, bursting into the room, shouting for the old man. Gaius took one look at the limp, bloodied form of the boy he'd come to love as his own son in Arthur's arms and paled terribly. Arthur laid Merlin on the patient's bed, his head lolled to the side, mouth parted. Gaius was pulling the make-shift bandages away, and then was cleaning the horrific gashes on his wards chest. Blood bubbled around the cloth he pressed to them. Merlin lay, limp and unresponsive to even the pain. Arthur wondered if that was a good thing or not.

"Arthur. What happened?" Gaius fixed him with a firm stare, fear for his wards life blossoming within his eyes.

"A griffon. It attacked us... and I... I..." That's when Arthurs knees gave out and he slumped, exhausted to the floor. He nodded to Gaius in indication he was alright, and the old man turned to press a clean pad to the gashes on the Merlin's chest.

"These are deep Arthur. I don't think..."

Merlin took another shuddering breath. They were fewer now, less frequent. His pale frame sprawled unresponsively on the bed, as the old man tended to his chest.

Each breath shuddered Merlin's whole frame, his parted lips open in a silent plea for oxygen. The boy's ribs jutted out, frail and white against the taught skin - each gasp stretched the skin tight like a drum as they rose and fell. It was mottled with shades of blue and red and bruises that blossomed in horrible patterns across his torso from the original fall, weaving into the shape of the bloodied gashes. The skin was shiny and dripping with beads of sweat as the boy tried to fight for his very life. It pooled above his collar bones and on his brow. Merlin had begun to shiver as if terribly cold, but his skin burned hot and sticky with the raging fever. Gaius was now wrapping thick swathes of bandages around the fragile chest, careful fingers tucking and pulling on the white cloth.

"Merlin" Arthur spoke in an exhale, so soft he barely heard himself as he pulled a chair towards Merlin's bedside. Gaius handed him a cloth and a shallow basin of water, and turned away to peer at a row of little bottles and herbs on a shelf. Arthur stared at the objects in his hands for a moment, before asking: "What do I do?"

Gaius turned back towards him, and with one eyebrow cynically raised, mimed dipping a cloth into water and laying it onto a virtual forehead. Should figure the crown prince wouldn't know how to care for a boy with a fever.

Footsteps now. Running. And then Gwen was there, fussing over Merlin, tucking blankets around him at Gaius's command, as Arthur watched from his seat. She must have heard from the guards, Arthur supposed. Her face was lined with creases of worry, and she offered to fetch more, cool water from the well to dip the cloth in. At Gaius's nod she scurried off, leaving Gaius and Arthur to gently pull Merlin's limp, damaged body into a sitting position, as Gaius pressed a vial of thick, green liquid to the boys lips. At first the liquid trickled out the corner of his mouth, but with a little persuasion by tipping his head backwards, and massaging the lax muscles of his throat, they got Merlin to swallow.

"It will help him with the fever and the pain. It'll help him sleep." Arthur smiled gratefully up at the old man, who gazed sadly down at his ward with fearful eyes as he spoke. "There's nothing more I can do for him, save pray the wound will heal quickly. Merlin always was a fast healer"

Arthur nodded, and the old physician turned away to collect the water from Gwen as she bustled back into the room with the pail in hand. He laced his fingers gently through Merlin's where they poked out from his covers.

"Merlin" He murmured once more.

Merlin was a fast healer Gaius had said. Merlin would heal fast. Right?

He had to.

He just had to.