Chapter 7
Merlin sat on the floor at the side of the hall. Arthur was meeting with a traveling merchant, though everyone could tell the prince was preoccupied with something. Merlin had planned on following Arthur into the meeting, but he'd gotten dizzy and had to sit down. He was hearing voices again, but these were words he'd never heard before.
It was Gwen at first. He heard her voice, laden with worry. She'd talked in Merlin's head for a good ten minutes. It echoed gently and gave Merlin a headache. She'd talked about how the castle wasn't the same without him, how he needed to get better, how he needed to fight whatever enchantment he was under… just like he'd done with the poison. She once said she needed him, but then spent the last five minutes of her talking trying to correct herself. It would have been a cute embarrassed babbling if it hadn't given Merlin a huge headache.
When Gwen's voice had been gone for only a moment, Gaius's voice took her place. Gaius had encouraged Merlin to hang on a bit longer. Merlin's headache lessened just with relief when he heard Gaius say he was getting closer to figuring out what was wrong.
Merlin smiled when the voices disappeared for good. Not only did his headache vanish with them, but he realized why they were there in the first place. These were the voices of people talking directly to his body, weren't they? He was hearing them like this because he wasn't by his body to hear them in person… which made Merlin stop for moment of thought. Why wasn't he by his body? He was still following Arthur as though the prince was the key.
If this had been a normal day, Merlin would've followed Arthur like this until the prince ordered him to do otherwise. However, this was not a normal day. Merlin was invisible, possibly dying. He was virtually intangible save for the way he could touch things… but he couldn't touch them around his body. Yes, that's the end Merlin came to. He could touch things fine in Arthur's room. He could touch things fine in the halls and training grounds. The only place he hadn't been able to touch anything was in Gaius's house – where his body was laying. It was the only plausible idea he could come up with. He must become more like an actual spirit when around his extremely solid, physical body.
Merlin frowned. He was probably avoiding his body for that very reason. Merlin remembered how it felt to be so ghostly that he couldn't touch anything. It was terrifying. He didn't want to go back there, not right now.
The door to Merlin's right swung open and Arthur walked out with the merchant. A servant stood by Arthur holding an expensive fabric. Arthur must have just purchased it.
"Thank you so much for coming, Sir. We look forward to doing business with you again," Arthur said and shook the man's hand. Merlin jumped to his feet and dusted himself off; though he couldn't get dirty in this state… he'd tried it. The dirt went right through him.
"Pleasure doing business, My Lord. Give my best to your father," the man replied and smiled as he walked away. Momentarily, Merlin wondered how much money the man had made off of Arthur.
When the man was gone, Arthur turned to his servant. He ordered for the fabric to be taken to the royal seamstress for new tunics, shirts, and pants for the king and prince. Uther had decided to plan a party next week and declared they have new clothes for it. But if Merlin was not well by the party, Arthur was going to be hard-pressed to enjoy it. When the servant had gone as well, Arthur sighed and began to walk. He just walked, and Merlin followed. Ever since the incident in Arthur's room when Merlin had been certain the prince had heard him yell, Arthur had been distracted. Merlin had tried yelling again to see if Arthur or anyone could hear him, but as of yet he had no luck. For now, Merlin just stuck to his job of following Arthur everywhere he went.
That evening, after Arthur finished all his royal duties, the prince found himself standing in front of Gaius's door. He frowned. Why was he here? He had no reason to come down here. He was useless to Gaius. He was useless… to Merlin. Right now, Arthur couldn't do anything, and unless Gaius told him what to do, Arthur would never be able to help. The prince scowled. He felt inadequate, and that was not an emotion Pendragon's were well acquainted with.
"Arthur, what are you doing?" Merlin asked softly. He stood by Arthur, looking at the door. "You came all this way to see me, didn't you? Just… push the door open."
"Damn," Arthur cursed under his breath. He reached out and gently touched the door. "Gaius?" he called as he pushed it open.
Gaius looked up from what he was doing. He'd been sitting at his table, apparently eating an early dinner. The old man didn't look shocked to see Arthur. In fact, he seemed disappointed.
"Prince Arthur," he greeted in a monotonous voice.
"Is he any better?" Arthur asked, stepping inside and motioning to Merlin on the bed.
"Actually, though he hasn't opened his eyes, he has begun to mumble from time to time," Gaius replied, standing up and walking over to the body. "Just little phrases, of course, but they are words."
Arthur nodded. He eyes glanced at the table and he frowned. "I didn't mean to interrupt your dinner."
Gaius waved him off. Arthur walked over and knelt by Merlin while Gaius walked to his shelves. Merlin looked different from the last time Arthur was here. He looked… hotter. He was covered in the lightest layer of sweat, as though he'd actually been up and moving during the day. It was nothing to fret about. Even healthy people sweat, and this was not an abnormal amount. Still, Arthur found himself searching every inch of Merlin he could see. He wanted to make sure Merlin was alright… to the naked eye at least.
"Look here, my lord. I did as you asked and began searching enchantments. I found something interesting," Gaius said. He brought over a book that he had open in his hands. Arthur stood to see and frowned.
"A soul snatch spell?" he asked. That didn't sound good. Gaius nodded gravely.
"The user must be a powerful sorcerer to pull it off successfully. It renders the target in a coma-like state. Then the one who cast the spell can take on the appearance of the victim and use all their skills and memories to literally become the target," Gaius explained. Arthur frowned deeper.
"But why would anyone want to cast that on Merlin? He hasn't got any special skills and, memories or not, a fake Merlin would be easy to pick out. They'd never succeed. Besides, Merlin's not in a coma. You said he talks. When have you heard of a coma patient talking?" Arthur asked. Gaius sighed but nodded.
"I do see the cracks in that idea, Sire… but I'm afraid it's all I have to go on. It's the most plausible explanation," he replied. Arthur shook his head.
"No. Gaius, there must be something else. There must be something we're missing. Merlin's under an enchantment, but not that one," he declared. "Keep looking. Maybe… Maybe he's-," and here, Arthur stopped.
Gaius looked at him expectantly, but Arthur only had eyes for Merlin. His lips pressed together, but not too tightly. He was practicing his princely ability to hide his emotions. Arthur gazed over Merlin's face and body. The servant's fingers were slowly moving. His breathing was deep.
"Gaius, could you excuse me for a moment," Arthur requested, though no servant could refuse a royal's request so it was more like an order. Gaius nodded and strolled from the room.
Arthur knelt by Merlin and put a hand on Merlin's shoulder. The spirit of Merlin still stood in the hall. He watched Gaius walk away, confused as to why he was leaving Arthur in there alone. Merlin desperately wanted to be by Arthur's side and see what he was doing, but the fear of being in a room where he was virtually nonexistent kept him from walking in. Merlin leaned on the wall and then slid down to his bum. He would just have to wait for Arthur out here.
"Merlin," Arthur's voice spoke in his head. It was soft, almost caring. Merlin smiled to himself. He heard Arthur let out a breath – almost a laugh. "What are you smiling about?" he asked. "It's just me."
"Just you," Merlin murmured. "Arthur, there's no such thing as 'just you'."
"So… Gaius says you could've gone and gotten your body snatched. I don't believe it. No one would want your body. I mean, you look like a mouse with those big ears and defined cheekbones. Yes, Merlin, you're a common rat," Arthur sneered. Merlin frowned. Sometimes Arthur was such an ass. Merlin was half-dead in front of him and he was still picking at him.
"Yet somehow everyone likes you. Maybe they're happy to see someone dorkier than they are. Honestly, you've got no balance or professionalism. I wonder how it is you manage to get your work done so well when you manage to stumble all over the place and hardly ever know what it is you're doing. I mean, I've watched you all day before. I've watched you do all your tasks, and I still don't see how you manage it," the prince admitted.
There was silence. Merlin blushed lightly. Arthur had watched him for an entire day? But Arthur had duties and raids and people to take care of. When had he found time to watch Merlin work?
"I mean, not that I have time to waste on you, but… I mean," and here Arthur sighed. "Of course I have time to waste on you," he admitted softly. "Merlin, don't let this go to your head… but you're the closest friend I've got. Sometimes I feel like I can tell you anything… or most things, anyway. But you don't understand how hard that is on me. A prince isn't supposed to be best friends with a servant. My best friend should be a knight or a fellow prince. You understand, don't you? But I don't trust anyone else as much as I trust you, Merlin. I can't explain it. It must be fate or destiny… even though I find it hard to believe in that sort of rubbish. It's more witches and druids that talk about that."
Merlin found himself frowning, but his chest was swelling. He felt almost proud. Arthur was admitting all this information. The prince never would have spoken like this had Merlin been conscious.
"So I must be under the influence of trust, because I'm going to let you in on the craziest idea I've ever had," Arthur murmured, as though making sure he was really going to do this. "Merlin, I think you're still here. I think you're not in a coma. Somehow, someway, I feel like you're watching me… so, if you could give me a sign, that would be fantastic."
Merlin looked at Gaius's door. He couldn't touch anything in Gaius's chambers. It was impossible. But perhaps he could give a sign out in the hallway that Arthur would notice. For one, though, Merlin had no idea how Arthur had figured it out. He was probably just trying to make up an excuse about Merlin's condition that he liked, but it was pretty spot on.
The young magician stood up and took a deep breath. Since the door wasn't technically in Gaius's chambers, he shouldn't be able to walk through it. He could open the door or run into it. Either one with no one to be the cause should be sufficient, right?
Merlin took a deep breath and reached for the handle. He gasped and frowned as he went through it and another hand snatched it. Gaius pushed right past Merlin, somehow avoiding going right through his apprentice.
"Arthur!" Gaius gasped and the prince nearly fell over in his shock. However, he was a prince and wouldn't dare be seen falling over like that. That was something that was more Merlin's style. Instead, Arthur stood up.
"What?" he asked. He'd asked Gaius for a moment alone. Why was he back so soon?
"The Lady Morgana calls for you. She says it's urgent," the old physician explained. Arthur pressed his lips together tightly. He couldn't just ignore an urgent summons. That would be un-princely… even if it meant finding out something about Merlin's condition.
"Yes, alright. Gaius, continue searching. I will return in the morning," Arthur decided as he strolled from the room. He spared Merlin one last glance before he was completely gone, with the spirit Merlin hot on his heels.
