Chapter 13
"No!" Merlin yelled. One of Gaius's bottles shattered where it sat on the shelf.
"Something tells me he doesn't like your plan," Gaius said obviously, giving a wary glance over his shelves. Then he looked at the doorway with a warning look. Merlin ignored it. He didn't care that he had just used magic to break something. He didn't care if Arthur caught on about it. He wouldn't go along with this stupid plan!
"Merlin, calm down!" Arthur ordered, glaring at the doorway, ignoring the shattered bottle. "Honestly, why are you so upset? All I said was that you have to go grab that statue! I thought you'd be pleased! Once we break it, you'll be back to normal! Don't you want that?"
"Sire, perhaps you should lower your voice," Gaius suggested. Arthur looked about to yell at Gaius about ordering a prince when Gaius continued. "We don't want to draw attention to the situation, Arthur. Besides that… take a look at the body."
Arthur turned around. Merlin in the doorway had his eyes squeezed shut so tightly that he couldn't hope to see whatever it was Gaius was pointing out. The fact was, he wasn't even listening. He'd heard Arthur yelling, but he didn't hear the words. He didn't want to hear any of it.
The prince stepped closer to Merlin's body, worry beginning to etch itself into the edges of his expression. Merlin's body was trembling, and his face was contorted into a mix of fear and pain. His mouth opened and a few pained gasps squeaked their way out of his throat, as though they'd thrown him into a tub of frozen water and kept him from moving.
"I know Merlin wants to return to his body, Arthur… but you remember what he went through just a few moments ago. I assume he's afraid of entering the room again," Gaius spoke wisdom into Arthur's ear, and, unlike when Merlin did that, Arthur listened.
"Damn. I hadn't thought of that," Arthur murmured under his breath. He frowned and knelt by Merlin's body. The boy was still letting out gasps, but they were almost silent now. His hands were attempting to grip the sheets for security. His brow wrinkled in unease. Arthur frowned and seemed to forget Gaius was there momentarily. His hand moved almost of its own volition.
The prince's strong fingers curled in gently and he let the backs of his fingers trail comfortingly down the side of Merlin's face. The brunette's mouth closed, but his lips still trembled. It made Arthur want to kiss them until they were calm again, but his mind still knew he wasn't alone even if it was letting him show this much emotion. Arthur frowned deeper.
"Calm down, Merlin. I forgot. You know me; I don't think before I act," Arthur reminded in a slightly joking, slightly ordering tone that only he could pull off.
Merlin cracked his eyes open and looked over at the bed. All he could see was Arthur's profile. It was serious but plagued with a tinge of loving worry. The words both Gaius and Arthur had spoken just now entered his mind clearer than water and he pressed his lips tightly together. A sigh forced its way out of him through his nose and he frowned like Arthur. He understood the logic behind Arthur's plan… but he was still a captive of fear. Not only that, but Merlin could feel those fingers touching his skin. He could feel Arthur touching him, caressing him, and yet he couldn't react to it… no matter how much he titled his face toward the sensation.
"Arthur," his body breathed out. "I…"
"Yes?" Arthur asked. Merlin stared at his body in shock. Where had that come from?!
All was still in the room for quite a long time. For several minutes, not even the spirit dared to breathe. Merlin's body returned to silent shivering, it's steady breaths the only thing about it that wasn't shaking. Arthur frowned in disappointment.
"Merlin, I can understand if you don't want to, but I really think it's the only way. We need that statue, and Gaius and I can't even get through the door. Now we really need you to get it… or you'll die in a matter of days, tomorrow at the earliest. So Merlin, you really are your own last hope. Please do this for yourself. Do it for Gaius, or he'll be all alone down here with no one to watch after. Or at least do this for me. Can you imagine the person I'll be forced to get as a replacement? You have to do this or everyone in the castle will become utterly depressing and ruin the rest of my natural life mourning the death of the clumsiest servant ever known," Arthur complained.
Merlin smirked and his body almost managed a smile. His lips twitched at least, and Arthur seemed to notice. Arthur's way of saying he cared really was a language of its own. Sometimes it was hard to tell he was trying to say he cared, but when it really and ultimately mattered, Arthur's true colors did show through… times like now.
"Okay… I'll do it," Merlin agreed. He smiled gently and shook out his arms to loosen up his tense muscles. His body responded on the bed. His hands loosened, his chest fell into a more relaxed position, his neck wasn't as taut, and his face visibly relaxed.
"Merlin?" Arthur questioned curiously. Gaius leaned closer, trying to pick out what the response had been from the new body language. Arthur set his hand on Merlin's shoulders as he would've done had Merlin been entirely conscious.
The shattered container from earlier mended itself as though it had never broken. Arthur didn't notice, but Gaius did. Arthur was too focused on Merlin's body language to care about the soundless reformation of a glass. Merlin's lips parted and a slow breath leaked out.
"…'ll try," the body murmured as best it could. Arthur smiled.
"You'll try once?" Arthur asked excitedly.
"Yep. I mean, you're right. I'll be letting a lot of people down if I just let myself die without a fight," Merlin replied, taking several deep breaths. His body smiled in one its best responses ever, but Arthur's smile was so wide that it could have eaten his face.
A few minutes later, Merlin had crossed the room and was standing outside his bedroom door. He felt heavier, but other than that there seemed to be no side effects. The memory of Gaius being flung back from the room popped into his mind as he slowly reached his hand forward. A spark of light flickered as his hand passed over the doorframe, but no pressure pushed back on him.
"Alright… so far so good," Merlin murmured and stepped forward into the room. Arthur and Gaius watched the doorway closely, unable to see or hear anything save for that one spark of light. They assumed it meant he'd gone in.
Merlin looked around his room and shrugged one shoulder. It didn't seem magically enchanted, but he knew what had happened to Gaius and he knew what that statue was doing now. So his room looked entirely bland and normal, but something most dangerous was in it. Merlin walked over to his table and stared down at the statue. It almost seemed to stare back, and that's when Merlin noticed it.
The statuary looked more like the knight he'd seen it as in the forest. There were differences, however. For instance, the face was longer and the eyes were more detailed. Merlin bent down to look at it better and knit his eyebrows together.
"Arthur, I think it's trying to look like me… a little bit… maybe," Merlin mused aloud, though no one could hear him.
Merlin reached forward and grabbed the doll off his table. Almost instantly, pain rocketed through his body and caused him to fall to the floor. The statue fell out of his hands and rolled three inches away before it snapped up to a standing position. Merlin twitched on the floor. Gaius was looking back at Merlin's body, which had cried out when the statue had moved. Arthur's eyes never left the statue in the room. He eyed the place where it had first hit the floor.
"Come on, Merlin," he said, almost to himself. "Get up."
Merlin let out a whimper of a noise. What had that been? It was as though the statue had been charged with a lightning bolt! Arthur's voice was loud like thunder in his mind, and he grunted as he pushed himself to his knees.
'What do you think you are doing, Emrys?' the statue asked, turning to look right at him.
"I'm handing you over to someone who can smash you into tiny bits and fix everything you've broken," Merlin growled through clenched teeth. He could still feel the sting of electricity in his limbs.
'Who said smashing me would fix anything?' the statue queried calmly. Merlin grunted and snatched the statue off the floor. His body let out several cries and twitched violently, but Merlin refused to drop it again. He grit his teeth and felt tears sting his eyes, but he still managed to force his body forward toward the door. His body began to cry tears, streams of them.
Arthur moved from the doorway and almost slid into a kneeling position by the body. Merlin's hands were shaking, his fingers twitching through different positions. Arthur smoothly slipped his hand into Merlin's and held it tight, interlocking their fingers. His eyes looked between Merlin's face and the floating statue in his view of Merlin's room. Arthur's own face was filled with worry, and Gaius stood stock still like a stone, too fearful to move or make a sound.
"Come on, Merlin," Arthur murmured, giving Merlin's hand a squeeze. "You can do this." He'd had the thought; yes, it had crossed his mind. There had been the possibility that Merlin would be hurt by touching the magical object that had cursed him… but it would be worth it once the thing was destroyed. Well, that's what Arthur believed. He had to believe that. He had to.
Merlin's knees gave out again and he fell to a kneeling position. His breaths came in pants, and his vision was blurred by the tears. He'd never been electrocuted before, and he never wanted to experience this again… but he had to get the statue out of the room.
"In that case," Merlin huffed out in answer to the statue's question from earlier. "Even if killing you doesn't save me… at least it will save some other poor soul in the future."
The statue did not reply. Merlin's head fell down till he was looking at the floor. The gravity of the room seemed to have doubled. He let out a struggled cry and his body imitated it. Arthur's lips pressed together in worry. He ran his thumb over the back of Merlin's hand and felt Merlin's fingers grip his hand in return.
"I'm sorry, Merlin," Arthur murmured, leaning his head down by Merlin's. "Why did you even listen to me, Merlin? You know I'm not as smart as you."
Merlin snorted. "Just get ready to smash the thing," he grunted as he pulled himself to his feet again, using the wall for support.
'Merlin,' the statue's voice returned, calling Merlin by his real name and sounding rather awed. 'What is this loyalty? - following ideas even while understanding the dangers, trusting each other despite magical interference and laws against all enchantments, working non-stop to help each other out of even tiny incidents. Is this truly just loyalty between a prince and his servant or a prince and his knight?'
"No," Merlin replied forcefully. "This is a human emotion called 'love'… It occurs every time you make a new friend or meet a stranger… then it grows… and in this case, it grew really fast and really big. So keep your memory snatching questions to yourself and just stop. Arthur and I will continue to fight against you until you're dead… so just die."
It felt horrible to tell anything to 'just die', but Merlin was feeling rather stressed and his body ached all over from the electricity and gravity. Besides, it was an enchanted statue, not an actual person or creature… or that's how Merlin had to think of it to keep his conscious clearer.
Arthur looked down at Merlin when the body suddenly calmed. For a brief, heart shattering moment, Arthur thought Merlin had died. Yet the steady pace of his breathing said differently and set the prince's mind at ease. Merlin stood in the bedroom and looked around in shock. The gravity was normal again and the electricity had stopped. Merlin looked down at the statue curiously and found it had shifted appearance again. The statue was now short and rounded. It sort of resembled a picture of a goblin Merlin had seen once – an old lady-like face was discernable, old fashioned clothing draped its body, and a huge laughing grin covered its face.
'What does the knight mean to the prince? Loyalty. Courage. Life. Protection. Love. Such good memories, such good answers. I feel full again,' and the voice sounded louder and more solid in his mind.
"What?" Merlin asked. His feet slowly carried him to the doorway subconsciously. There, he stopped, waiting for Arthur to take it… or for it to speak again… just waiting for something to happen.
'I want to know this energy. I want to feel this energy. I want this energy,' the statue said. Then its voice became scarily serious. 'Give me your energy, your emotions, your expressions!'
Merlin the spirit did nothing, but his body suddenly arched up off the bed and screamed, mouth open wide. Merlin's eyes widened and then he collapsed, though he felt no pain save for the numb remembrance of the electricity.
"Merlin!" Arthur and Gaius both exclaimed. Arthur dropped Melrin's hand and jumped toward the doorway, ripping his sword from its sheath.
"Arthur," Merlin murmured. His voice was soft and monotonous. Merlin frowned. "Uhn… Arthur, destroy it," he grunted as he forced his hand to push the statue across the doorway and toward Arthur.
'No, Merlin!' the statue yelled. It actually yelled. 'I must know! I need to know everything!'
"No," Merlin growled in attempt to put contempt into his voice. "You need to disappear."
Then Arthur's sword seemed to vibrate time as it pierced the fragile rock and split it into pieces.
A/N: One more chapter, fans. ... Sadness...
