A/N: first prompt from kitkat. Exciting yet totally nerve-wracking. This might turn out absolutely terrible; I'm incredibly sorry if it does. Also, beware – this turned out to be much longer than I expected so will be in two parts.

Title: Accidents Happen

Author: FlYiNgPiGlEtS

Summary: prompt from kitkat – Merlin is accidently injured during training.

Ratings: T

Characters: Merlin, Arthur, the knights and Gaius.

Pairings: sort of Gwen/Arthur, though this is during their 'break up' period, and mentions of Gwen/Lancelot.

Spoilers: up to 4x09 (set directly after 'Lancelot du Lac')

Warnings: some blood and injuries, as well as possible OOC-ness (which is partly my fault… though certain fictional characters who like to accessorize with enchanted bracelets and go around kissing dead knights may also be to blame – sorry Gwen)

Disclaimer: unfortunately, I don't own Merlin; it belongs to the BBC and Shine.

V: Accidents Happen: Part I

Leon and Gwaine watched as Arthur stormed towards the training field, Merlin stumbling along behind the king as he struggled to carry nearly every weapon in the armory. Gwaine instantly recognized the look on Arthur's face; it was the one he had worn ever since exiling Guinevere, the one that meant he would tolerate nothing but a good fight today.

Gwaine would have smirked at the younger knights as they scurried away from the irate king if he hadn't seen the way Arthur had been treating Merlin recently. Gwaine knew the man was frustrated, he understood that he was feeling betrayed and used and angry, but that didn't give him the right to take it out on Merlin. The servant had done nothing to warrant such treatment. It wasn't right.

"I swear, if this goes on any longer I'm going to give Arthur a piece of my mind," Gwaine announced to Leon. "Merlin has done nothing wrong."

"He just needs some time," Leon reasoned.

"He's had plenty of time. He needs to stop behaving like a… what did he say to Merlin that time we were in Mercia?"

"Girl's petticoat?"

"That's it." Gwaine clicked his fingers in acknowledgement. "He's behaving like a girl's petticoat and if it continues, I will personally throttle the hypocrite."

"That would be treason, Gwaine," Leon sighed.

"Not if he deserves it."

"Even if he deserves it."

Gwaine shot Leon a dark glare. "You're next on the list."

Across the training field, Arthur and Merlin had come to a halt beside the knights who had already begun practice among themselves. Letting out a weary sigh, Merlin dropped the weapons he was holding to the ground with a loud clatter and stretched out his aching arms beside the king. He barely realized Arthur was no longer watching the fighting knights with angry disapproval, but glaring at him with barely-contained fury until he had finished massaging his protesting muscles.

"You useless idiot!" Arthur hissed. "Are you capable of doing anything right? You had one thing to do – one! – and you can't even manage that. How hard is it to carry a few crossbows? Did I tell you to put them down yet?"

"A few crossbows? This is every weapon in the armory, you prat!" Merlin protested exasperatedly.

"How dare you speak to me like that? I am your king, I demand-"

"Arthur-"

"You will address me properly!" Arthur snapped. "Now pick up that shield and at least act like you have a brain."

Merlin didn't move, only he stood and stared at him in shock. Arthur had never spoken to him with such vehemence, not even when he was just an arrogant prince and Merlin just another passing peasant he could patronise. He had become increasingly testy since Guinevere's exile, yes, but this was so out of character that Merlin wondered whether Arthur had somehow gotten possessed while he wasn't looking.

"I said pick it up!" Arthur shouted, kicking the worn-down wooden shield towards the dumbstruck servant.

Slowly, Merlin reached down and lifted the shield from the ground. Hooking one arm through the straps and using the other to put on his helmet, he wordlessly took up a ready stance and waited for Arthur's attack.

The first blow was much harder than Merlin anticipated and sent him wobbling backwards, almost tripping over his own feet. He had barely regained his footing before Arthur landed another hit. Between the slits in his helmet, Merlin nervously observed the livid expression on Arthur's face. His jaw was clenched and he looked as though he were fighting one of his enemies. Something akin to worry pooled into his stomach. Worry… and fear.

No, that wasn't right. Merlin wasn't supposed to be scared of Arthur. They were friends; Arthur would never do anything to hurt him. Yet he continued to strike the shield with more strength and velocity than the blow before, until Merlin was sure Arthur had forgotten he was fighting Merlin – Merlin, who he called a girl on a daily basis. Merlin, who was more than just a servant to him. Merlin, who he would never hurt.

He barely saw it coming. One moment he was wondering what kind of spell could make Arthur behave in such a way, the next was on the ground, helmet rolling off his head and shield slamming onto the grass beside him. He heard a sickening crunch and could distantly make out someone calling his name, but all he could focus on was the agony that shot through his left arm.

Merlin knew straight away that it was broken. The sudden, intense pain of the initial break gave way to an almost unbearable agony as his radius struggled into a new position. He didn't know if the digging sensation underneath his skin was the shattered bone poking at his twisted muscles or if he was only imaging things in his barely-coherent state.

From somewhere across the training field he heard his name being called again, this time with more desperation and fear, and he looked up just in time to see a flash of silver. Then the hilt of Arthur's sword came crashing down onto his head.

Hitting the floor with a thump, the last thing Merlin remembered before the darkness consumed him was the feeling of something warm trailing down his forehead and seeping through his hair.

Since Guinevere's betrayal, Arthur found that the only time he felt better was when he was hitting something with all his might. He was angry and hurt and the only way he knew how to deal with that was lashing out. If he didn't have Merlin around to be his human practice dummy, his wrath would certainly be a lot worse.

That day had been no different. He had woken in a fowl mood after a decidedly awful council meeting the previous day and realized he had five ridiculously young and almost-as-useless-as-Merlin knights to train. The only reason they had been knighted was because Merlin had given him the wrong sword during their initiation, the incompetent fool.

His breakfast had been cold, his bed-tussled hair wouldn't settle and the shirt Merlin had forced him into was too itchy. The ground was still damp from the heavy rainfall the previous night and there was more on the way, which could possibly threaten the upcoming harvest. Nothing was going right.

So when Merlin had gone and deliberately dropped all the weapons he requested, Arthur had quite literally snapped. He had said things he couldn't remember but knew he didn't mean and forced Merlin into being his target again. It felt good to beat the servant's measly shield with all his strength, ignoring his cries of protest as he shoved him further and further across the slippery field. He dimly registered the concern in Merlin's eyes before the warlock went crashing down to the ground, shield and all.

He had taken things too far. He was blinded by his fury, by the betrayal that was eating away at his breaking heart. If he had been paying attention, he would have noticed the way Merlin was cradling his limp arm and how his helmet had fallen off when he hit the ground.

It was an accident.

Gwaine was yelling at him – he had been since Merlin fell – and Arthur was lifting his sword. A moment too late he realized Merlin was completely unprotected against any blow to the head. The hilt of his sword slammed against Merlin's skull with an audible smack and he went plummeting backwards.

Horrified, Arthur had thrown the sword as though it burnt him and stared wide-eyed at Merlin, who lay sprawled out across the floor, unconscious. A thickening trail of blood was sliding down the side of his face and dripping onto the once-green grass. His left arm, which Arthur was now sure he had broken, was twisted at an unnatural angle beside him.

Arthur didn't know what to do except stare.

Then he was the one hurtling towards the ground. Arthur didn't even register Gwaine's booming battle cry until he was sitting on the grass, hand against his throbbing jaw. Gwaine had punched him. Gwaine had punched him.

Leon and Elyan rushed to restrain the furious knight before he could land another blow. Gwaine struggled madly as they gripped his arms, pulling him away from Arthur and the still-unconscious Merlin.

"Let me go!" Gwaine yelled. "Let me at the little son of a-!"

Arthur could only stare as Gwaine continued to tug at the knights clinging to his arms. His eyes were wide with fury and hated as he spat profanities at the king, never relenting in his struggle for another chance to hit Arthur. He had never seen Gwaine so angry.

Blinking the shock from his foggy mind, Arthur scrambled across the ground towards Merlin's unconscious form. He could scarcely breathe when he saw the pool of blood beside his friend, flowing freely from the head wound he had made.

"Merlin," he whispered, voice cracking as he shook the man's shoulders desperately. "Merlin. Merlin, please..."

Arthur didn't know what he was asking of him. Perhaps he was begging for his forgiveness, perhaps he was pleading for him to wake up; perhaps it was both. But no matter how hard he shook Merlin, no matter how much he muttered unintelligible requests for him to be all right, to wake up, he didn't stir.

"Arthur."

Arthur didn't even notice Percival kneeling beside Merlin and checking his injuries until spoke. The muscular knight placed a reassuring hand on the king's shoulder and gently pushed him back onto his heels, stopping any more frantic attempts to wake Merlin, who still didn't show any sings of regaining consciousness.

"Arthur," Percival said again and Arthur finally dragged his eyes away from Merlin to look at him. "We need to get him to Gaius."

Seeing the evident worry in Percival's eyes, Arthur swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. Percival moved to lift Merlin from the ground, but Arthur stopped him. "No, let me."

Careful not to jog his broken arm or do any more damage to his head, Arthur gently lifted Merlin off the ground and stumbled to his feet. Percival stood too and, seeing how Leon and Elyan could barely contain Gwaine, made his way over to them after giving Arthur a small nod and matching smile that seemed to say, look after him.

The journey back to the castle felt much longer than usual. His arms ached from carrying Merlin, but he only reminded himself that he deserved it. After all, this was his fault. It was his fault Merlin was injured.

Worried stares followed him up the steps and through the corridors. Agravaine would hear about this soon and no doubt disapprove, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Soon, he had reached the steps leading to Gaius' quarters and tiredly made his way up them. Thankfully, the door was open when he reached the top and he staggered inside, rapidly scanning the room.

"Gaius!" Arthur called loudly, praying the Court Physician was here and not out doing rounds.

"Arthur? What are you-?" Gaius came rushing down the stairs and, upon seeing the unconscious and bleeding Merlin, went slightly pale. "Put him here."

Arthur lowered Merlin onto the patient bed and stood uselessly beside it. He wanted to do something, anything, but he found himself watching on in detached distress as Gaius checked his ward. He held his breath when Gaius checked Merlin's pulse, as if it had vanished since Arthur last checked, and flinched when the physician started to brace his broken arm, which had now gone a horrible black-purple colour. He was relived when he saw Merlin grimaced too; it was a good sign, even if it made his stomach twist with guilt.

"He should be fine once he wakes," Gaius announced after he had finished bandaging Merlin's head. "He may be in quite a bit of pain and I wouldn't be surprised if he has a concussion, but he should make a full recovery."

Arthur let out a sigh of relief and smiled down at his friend.

"Sire, if I may; what happened?"

Unsure of how to answer, Arthur could only stare at Merlin. His smile had vanished, replaced by a look of guilt and uncertainty. How did he tell Gaius that this was his fault? That he had done this?

Arthur hung his head. "It was me, Gaius."

Gaius' expression remained impressively impassive, but his raised eyebrows spoke volumes.

"We were training. I was… I don't know… I…"Arthur babbled. "It was an accident. I hit him too hard and he fell – he must have broken his arm on the way down – and then… I didn't realize his helmet fell off and I-"

Before Arthur could finish his explanation, the door flew open and slammed against the wall with a loud bang, jars and bottles rattling on tables and shelves. Gwaine stormed inside, a murderous expression in his face as he pointed an accusing finger at Arthur and advanced towards him.

"You did this, you-!" Gwaine snarled, but before he could finish there was more commotion by the door as Leon, Elyan and Percival charged inside.

"Gwaine," Elyan said calmly. "You need to calm down."

"Calm down? He hurt Merlin!" Gwaine turned to Gaius. "Gaius, he did this; he hurt Merlin."

Gaius nodded calmly. "I know."

"That's it?" Gwaine demanded. "You're all going to act like nothing happened?"

"It was an accident, Gwaine," Leon argued. "You know Arthur would never hurt Merlin intentionally."

"He wasn't paying attention! He saw Merlin fall, he should have stopped!"

"You're right," Arthur murmured. "I should have paid attention."

"Like hell I'm right! Ever since Guinevere left, you-"

That was taking it too far; it was too soon since her betrayal, since Arthur sent her away. Gwaine was waving meat in front of a lion and expecting it not to pounce.

"Gwaine," Leon warned cautiously.

"No, let me finish," Gwaine hushed the concerned knight. "Ever since Guinevere left, you have treated Merlin like dirt. You yell at him, you insult him, you hit him. What has he done to deserve it? Merlin didn't betray you! He is loyal and selfless and you don't deserve a friend like him. And yes, Arthur, that's what he is – he's you're friend and in case you didn't know, you don't hurt your friends."

"You should leave, Gwaine." Arthur's voice was low and threatening. Gwaine might have been right, but that did not give him the right to bring Guinevere into this.

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" Gwaine snapped. "I swear, Arthur, if anything like this ever happens again I will hunt you down and-!"

"Silence!" Arthur bellowed. "Get out now or I will put you in the cells!"

Gwaine hands curled into fists. "What is wrong with you? Are you under some kind of enchantment, or is your poor little heart so broken that you are completely blind to everything but your own stupidity? In case you didn't realize, we weren't the ones bloody snogging Lancelot!"

"Guards!" Arthur snapped. He was going to lash out himself if Gwiane didn't leave.

The two guards who had been waiting outside the physician's quarters entered quickly, presumably already aware of what had happened after hearing Gwaine's yelling.

"Seize him!" he ordered.

Just as the guards advanced to remove Gwaine from the room, he scrambled towards Arthur as if to punch him again. Before he could get within arm's reach of the king, however, Percival's arms were hooked through his, pulling him away. Kicking and screaming, Gwaine was dragged from the room by the two guards and Percival. An unsure silence fell over those who remained inside; no one knew what to say.

"Sire," Gaius finally broke the silence, voice level and calm. "Merlin needs to rest. I think it would be best if you all left."

Arthur's eyes traveled to Gaius, then Merlin. He took a long, deep breath and left the room without a word. Leon and Elyan glanced unsurely at each other before nodding their farewells to the physician and taking their own leave.

Gaius took a seat next to Merlin and waited.

End of Part I

Well, this is going to be a long one. I hope you're liking it so far, kitkat; thanks for the prompt! :)

Reviews and more prompts are always welcome. :)