Promise!: So far I have replied to every single review I have received! (Well, the ones I can reply to) And I have pledged that I will keep this up! So expect a reply if you review!
Author's Note: Halloo! A much needed and much requested Arthur - Emrys moment here. Really shows some of the feelings each of them have and the dilemmas they're facing. Interesting stuff! Well, hope you like! Thanks again for all the lovely reviews I've been receiving! Please read + review as ever! You guys are really fabulous - you know that? x
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of the BBC's TV programme Merlin (wish I did!) but any added characters and plotlines were completely my genius! All mistakes are also my own (and there are a lot of them!)
Chapter Nineteen
Diminished
Knock, knock. Lancelot lowered his fist and waited for a response.
"Come in," Came Gaius' crooked voice. Lancelot unlatched the door and slid in. Gaius was sat at his work bench, poring over a thick and dusty book. Gaius glanced up briefly and then returned to studying the worn pages of the volume. "You just missed him. He's asleep but you're welcome to wait." Gaius addressed Lancelot without looking up. Lancelot nodded, trotted down the steps and pulled up a chair to sit next to Gwaine's bed. He looked so peaceful. He would never have guessed that he had less than a week to live.
"How is he?" Lancelot asked quietly.
"His condition is definitely deteriorating. His breathing is becoming more strained, extremely slowly, so slowly that it is almost undetectable, but it is. It is the same with his heart, it is slowing down, slowly but surely," Gaius said gravely, without taking an eye off his book.
"How can the Thief using his magic on him when this chain… thing is enabling him?" Lancelot queried.
"From what I can see, once the spell is cast on the victim it doesn't matter what happens to the sorcerer who cast it. The spell will keep working until the sorcerer lifts the spell, or until the victim…is dead," Gaius admitted. Lancelot nodded slowly.
"So have you had any progress on finding an antidote?" Lancelot asked, still staring at Gwaine intently, watching for any signs of movement. Gaius sighed heavily at this question. It looked like he had tried to avoid it and dreaded it.
"I'm afraid not. It's starting to look like what the Thief said about cures is true. I have been trying my hardest but I have found nothing about remedies to this spell," Gaius said dejectedly. A string of hope that had been holding up the part that cared for Gwaine inside him snapped.
"Surely somewhere in all these books," he indicated the what must have been hundreds of volumes stacked up on shelves and cases around the room, "you must have something that says about cures to this spell?" Lancelot pleaded. Gaius looked helplessly at Lancelot.
"I'm trying my best," Gaius said simply.
Suddenly, Gwaine's eyes flickered. Lancelot instantly leaned forward. Gwaine tried again to open his eyes. He managed to open them a fraction but as soon as he did, he snapped them shut again.
"Ugh, that is the last the thing I'd want to see when I wake up. Lancelot, you really have to stop scaring people like that," Gwaine grimaced, but then his disgusted expression was replaced by a grin. Lancelot sat back, shook his head and laughed. "So how long have you been here? You haven't been crying over my bed or anything have you?" Gwaine asked suspiciously. Lancelot continued to smile. Gwaine would never fail to keep a grin plastered on his face.
"No, just came to check how you're doing. How do you feel?" The smile on Gwaine's face faded.
"I feel really weak, like I'm losing all my strength. It's horrible. I feel helpless." Gwaine stared up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. "So what's Uther's verdict? What does he want to do with me?" Gwaine asked crestfallenly, his eyes still closed.
"It's not looking good, he doesn't look like he's going to let the Thief go any time soon. But Arthur thinks otherwise. He is determined not to let you go, along with all the other Knights, including me. Uther can't just ignore us all." Lancelot said hopefully.
"He has before," Gwaine murmured. His brow furrowed. "I'm so tired," he breathed.
"You should let Gwaine get some rest Lancelot. You can visit him again soon but for now let him sleep. He'll need all his remaining strength for the coming weeks." Gaius uttered quietly as he entered the room from the neighbouring chamber. Lancelot nodded and stood up to leave. But something stopped him. Gwaine grasped Lancelot's arm.
"If I don't wake up again, tell Arthur it was an honour serving him," Gwaine whispered, "But don't tell him I said it with my dying breath or anything like that. I don't like him that much," Gwaine joked. Lancelot smiled and Gwaine returned it, even though his eyes were still closed. Lancelot stood up from the chair, thanked Gaius and headed for the door. Lancelot didn't think that Gaius had overheard Gwaine message to Arthur, either that or he was pretending not to notice. It was only then that the true meaning of Gwaine's words seeped into him. Gwaine might not wake up. But he had to. This was Gwaine we were talking about. Gwaine always made it. He couldn't go out without a fight. It just wasn't right. But what if he didn't wake up. What if he didn't come back…
Arthur rushed down the unfamiliar steps to the dungeons. The guards on duty sprang into bows as he passed. He wound his way through the corridors. He was confident he would find his way but there was still a little doubt. This was the one part of the castle he hadn't officially mapped in his head. But then he finally found the cell he had been looking for. It seemed empty at first and was about to call a guard to sound the alarm, but then he saw him. He was sitting right in the far corner almost out of sight with his knees hugged up to his chest and staring at the ground. The black chain was coiled securely around his left wrist and Arthur could tell it was digging into the skin. Arthur came a little closer so he was right in front of the bars. Arthur wasn't sure if the Thief had noticed him or not. He opened his mouth to address him but the Thief beat him to it.
"What do you want, Arthur?" The Thief uttered quietly, his eyes still fixed at the ground. Arthur paused, stuck for something to say. He had even made a list in his head, but when he was actually here, it seemed his tongue didn't want to obey him.
"I-I came to ask you… to let Gwaine go," Arthur stammered. He sounded pathetic, like a little scared child.
"I thought you would. I know that your father doesn't want to let me go but you're doing everything you can to get him to change his mind. But I will not withdraw the spell until I have my freedom, or until Gwaine is dead," the Thief said emotionlessly, not taking his eyes off the floor in front of him.
"You will let another innocent man die at your hand?" Arthur asked, his temper starting to rise. He instantly regretted what he had said as the Thief slowly turned his head toward him.
"Yes, I will. You have me chained up here like an animal," at this he held up his chained wrist, "and as long as you do, I will not let Gwaine go. There is nothing you can do about it." The Thief looked back down at the ground and fell back into silence. Arthur did too. There was nothing he could say. He reached down to his belt where a ring of keys was hanging next to his leg. He unhooked them and pushed a key into the lock. The cell door swung open and Arthur slipped in, being careful to lock it again after him. Arthur walked slowly over to the Thief and sat down in front of him. He didn't even know why he was doing this. But it seemed the only way he would get the Thief's attention.
"Look, I can't free you, as much as I want to, I can't. I am asking you compassionately one more time but then I will have to take action. I am begging you, please let Gwaine go, for his sake. He has done nothing wrong and is suffering at your hand. He is going to die," Arthur pleaded quietly. The Thief kept silent. Arthur couldn't quite tell if the Thief was acknowledging his plead or if he was just mocking Arthur by letting the silence stretch out.
"See, I was thinking about it until you said 'but then I will have to take action.' I knew you couldn't do this without threatening me. You're just the same as your father, wanting anything magic to be exterminated. Gwaine will die and you will have done nothing to stop it Arthur," The Thief said coldly. He looked up at him and Arthur could tell that his eyes were full of burning hate and malice. Arthur just stared at him. He couldn't believe what had just been said about him. He waited for a moment then stood up. He made his way out of the cell and locked the door behind him. He made his way through the passageways that lead out of the dungeons, passed the guards who again jumped into a bow and dashed up the stairs. He now had a completely different view of the Thief than the one he had has when he first entered the dungeons. He now hated the Thief and would do anything he could to get rid of him without letting him go. And if this meant killing him, so be it.
Author's Note: Ooh, what a lovely blue button that is down there vvv ! So very clickable! Even more than last time!