There will be one more chapter in this prompt before I move on. This one is probably one of the most fun I've written. And I have xion000 and smokeydirtycat for the prompt.
I also thank you all for reviewing, alerting, and favoriting last chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this, leave me a comment if you can, and I don't own anyone associated with Merlin.
Thanks for reading!
"Gwaine, Elyan check the vaults, make sure she hasn't taken anything. Leon, Percival take a few men, check out the area she described during her story, confirm whether or not she had been lying. The rest of you, fan out, find out if she's hidden herself away anywhere else." The knights nodded at Arthur's orders, dispersing, leaving the king and his servant hurrying along the corridors.
"What do you need me to do, Arthur?" Merlin asked hurrying to keep up.
"I need you to tell me exactly what happened last night after you two left the throne room," Arthur replied noting the flash of several emotions flickering in his eyes. "Come on, Merlin, you were going to see her this morning, way earlier than you even wake me up, something must have happened."
"I-I…" Merlin trailed off, blue eyes widening as they settled on an empty corner. "No," he whispered backing away, shaking his head. "No, I-I didn't…" backed into the wall and slid to the floor. "I'm s-sorry. I'm sorry."
"Merlin?" Arthur rushed forward, crouching down next to the younger man, trying very hard to ignore the tears streaming down his face. It reminded him of earlier that morning, when he found his servant standing outside of Amelia's room, silently crying, just as unresponsive as he appeared to be right that second.
"You," he called to a passing maid, making her stop in her tracks, "go and get Gaius. Bring him here."
"Y-yes, sire," she stammered and hurried off, shooting a worried look over her shoulder.
"Merlin? Merlin, are you with me?" Arthur tried to snap the servant out of whatever he was seeing, but when he failed again he sat back on his heels, running a hand through his hair. "What has happened to you?" the king whispered softly, not expecting an answer.
Merlin continued to apologize to whomever he was seeing up until Gaius appeared, a medicine bag held tightly in his hands. He knelt on Merlin's other side, digging around his bag, bringing out a sleeping draught.
"Are you certain he'll take it?" Arthur asked worriedly, eyeing the draught cautiously.
"It'll be just enough to get him back to his room," Gaius responded popping the cork out of the bottle. The familiar popping sound seemed to do what Arthur could not, Merlin blinking and shaking his head, glassy eyes snapping back into focus.
"Merlin?" Arthur leaned forward, holding his hand up to stop Gaius from administrating the potion. "Merlin, are you alright?"
"I saw him," Merlin whispered hoarsely, Arthur finally realizing just how hard his servant was shaking. "H-he was standing r-right there."
"Who?" Gaius asked softly.
"M-my father."
Merlin
"He should be asleep for a while," Gaius informed the king as he shut Merlin's door.
"What on earth is happening to him?" Arthur asked curiously, arms folded against his chest, eyes resting on his servant's door.
"I do not know, sire," Gaius replied grimly, shaking his head. "But this is not the first time he's seen something. Just this morning he claimed to see someone from his past, but I know for sure that she died long ago."
Arthur wanted to ask who Gaius was referring to, figuring it had to be a childhood friend since Merlin didn't know many females at Camelot (and just as few were deceased), but the king figured that was something for Merlin to divulge, so he opted to say, "He was acting strange outside Lady Amelia chambers, too; seeing something that was not there. And…"
"And what, Arthur?"
"He kept whispering 'Arthur please.' I'm not sure what he was seeing, but it's reminding me of when he had gotten sick a few months ago and I do not like it."
"Nor I sire," Gaius agreed nodding his head. He crossed the room, climbing up the small ladder to access his books. "Something must have attacked him recently," the older man continued checking titles over.
"I don't know," Arthur admitted honestly. "We haven't been out of the castle in a few weeks, and the last stranger Merlin had contact with was Lady…" he trailed off, chewing on his bottom lip, a habit he must have picked up from Guinevere. "You don't think she was more than a potential thief do you?"
"Like a sorceress?"
Arthur shrugged. "It could be, or it could be another one of those sidhe creatures. They only attacked Merlin a few weeks ago, and I doubt they'll stop just because we thwarted them once." Arthur still hadn't gotten a direct answer as to why the sidhe wanted his servant dead, but he had a feeling it had something to do with that lake. He just wished he could remember why it was so familiar to him.
"It's possible," Gaius offered with a curios look, grabbing another book. "But we cannot skive on anything, Arthur. We must look into every possible creature, check over every possible suspect. Lady Amelia's appearance and Merlin's sudden visions could be a mere coincidence."
"Tell me Gaius, when has that ever been the case?" Arthur raised his eyebrows, waiting for the older man to argue with him.
"You do make a good point, sire," Gaius relented carefully climbing down from the ladder, keeping several books tucked under his left arm.
"Gaius," Arthur started watching as the older man carried his books to a table.
"Yes, sire?"
"There's something else that has been bothering me," Arthur continued rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yes sire?" the older man repeated, but something in his eyes told Arthur he already knew what the younger man was about to ask.
"Merlin mentioned his father…"
"That is something you have to ask Merlin about," Gaius interrupted taking a seat at the table, pulling a book towards him. "It is not my story to tell."
Arthur nodded, hating the fact that Merlin never bothered to inform him about meeting his father. The king wondered when exactly it happened, and if he had died or proved to be just another deadbeat father happy to have abandoned his family. A part of Arthur doubted it was the latter, but it still left a bitter feeling in his stomach when he thought about the former. Merlin obviously needed a friend. And if he couldn't have gone to Arthur then who exactly did he go to when his father died?
A knock sounded at the door and Gwaine poked his head inside. "Arthur, Leon and Percival returned."
"And?" The look on Gwaine's face confirmed what Arthur had already suspected. "Very well."
"Oh, and the nuisance is asking for you."
"Thank you," Arthur replied moving towards the door. Before leaving, he turned to Gaius and said, "Keep me informed on your findings."
"I will," Gaius stated with a small nod, not bothering to look up from his thick, dusty book.
Merlin
The nuisance was the same man who had attacked Merlin in the forest many months ago. Arthur had left the man's punishment up to Merlin, but the younger man had been unable to actually have him put to death, so Arthur just kept him locked in the dungeons. They still hadn't gotten a name out of him, but he continued to taunt Arthur about not really knowing his servant. The king generally didn't visit.
"Kingy-King," the man greeted when Arthur moved towards his cell, his face breaking out into a crooked smile. "I was wondering when you'd be visiting little ol' me again."
"You asked for me," Arthur stated deadpan, folding his arms tightly against his chest. "I'm not in the mood to listen to your insane prattle. So, either you tell me what you want or I'll feed you to my dogs."
"Threats and insults will get you nowhere, Kingy-King," the man taunted, his grin widening. "Ask me nicely and I may tell you what happened to that naughty servant of yours."
"What about Merlin?" Behind him, Arthur was well-aware of Gwaine glaring at the man, no doubt fighting the urge to unlock the cell and drag the answer from his sneering lips, but Arthur knew one dead prisoner was not about to help them find out what happened to Merlin. So, with forced pleasantries, he softly asked, "Please, just tell me what happened to my servant."
"The naughty boy has been punished, Kingy-King," the man whispered, gripping his bars, pressing his face against the metal. "His mind has been poisoned to relive his greatest fears and his past mistakes until they drive him mad. My mistress wanted it done quickly, but not so quickly that the naughty boy does not suffer."
"Who is your mistress?" Arthur asked slowly, having a feeling he already knew the answer but wanting to be sure. "Was it the woman who claimed her castle had been destroyed?"
"Always saving the damsel, you are," the man stated giggling. "One of these days it could very well get you killed, or your naughty servant boy."
"Is that why you attacked Merlin? Because your mistress told you to?"
"I do whatever my mistress tells me," the man replied taking a step back from the bars. "I am a good servant. I do as I am told. I do not act like your naughty servant boy." He suddenly cocked his head to the side, almost as if he were listening to something, and nodded. "Mistress sends her regards, but I must be leaving now. Good-bye, Kingy-King."
"What does that…?" Arthur trailed off when the man pulled out a dagger. "Get the keys," he snapped at Gwaine as he watched the man drive the dagger into his chest.
Giggling feebly, falling to his side, blood seeping from his mouth and chest, the man whispered, "B-by s-sunset you w-will l-lose your p-protector." His eyes then glazed over and he gave one, final shuddering breath before he died.
"What the hell was he talking about?" Gwaine asked glaring at the man, the cell's key clenched tightly in his hand.
"I honestly don't know."
Merlin
After the body had been moved from the dungeons, Arthur returned to Gaius' chambers, Gwaine several paces behind him, only to find the older man neck-deep in Latin text. The physician looked up at their entrance and asked, "Did you learn anything useful?"
"No," Arthur responded shaking his head.
"The man's dead," Gwaine added sitting heavily at Gaius' table.
"Did you two…?"
"No, Gaius, he stabbed himself," Arthur answered with a tired sigh. "I think Amelia may have given him a dagger before she fled because I am certain he did not have any weapons on him when we locked him away."
"Percival and I checked multiple times," Gwaine informed the room as he dragged a book towards him. "Besides his crossbow, he only had a pocket knife. I believe you are right, Arthur."
It was such a small gesture on Gwaine's part, agreeing with the king, but for Arthur it meant the tension between them was slowly loosening. He couldn't believe how strained their already taut relationship had been over the past few months, and he had started suspecting Gwaine was only sticking around for the cheap ale and Merlin, but maybe this was a step towards the knight actually becoming more than a reluctant friend to Arthur.
"Have you found anything?" Arthur questioned turning his attention to Gaius.
"I believe we are dealing with the sidhe again," Gaius responded turning the book towards Arthur. "I think Amelia may be an elder or someone working closely to them. They generally come with a servant, but…"
"That was the prisoner," Gwaine and Arthur said together, the former aimlessly flipping pages while the latter leaned against a table. "He said that his mistress wanted Merlin punished," Arthur continued crossing his arms. "He also said something about wanting Merlin to suffer, and that'd Merlin would be dead by sunset."
"Seeing these hallucinations would be more than enough to make Merlin suffer. As for Merlin dying…" Gaius trailed off just as a terrified scream came from Merlin's room followed by a crash and a thump. The three men shared a worried look before scrambling towards the closed door.
Arthur burst in first, followed closely by Gaius and Gwaine. Merlin was huddled in the corner, a broken vase sitting near his feet, his hand bleeding profusely. He appeared to be shaking and, for a terrifying second, it reminded Arthur of the last time the sidhe attacked his servant, but his skin appeared to be a parchment pale this time and not an icy blue.
"Merlin," Arthur said softly, waving Gaius and Gwaine back, slowly approaching the younger man. "Merlin, it's Arthur. Can you hear me?" He crouched down to the servant's level, hesitating for a few seconds before stretching a hand out and gently resting it on the younger man's shoulder. He could feel Merlin trembling against his palm, could hear the younger man's gasping breaths and whimpers, and could practically taste the fear rolling off him.
"It's okay, Merlin," Arthur whispered gripping Merlin's shoulder, "we're going to fix you. I promise and afterwards we are having a very long talk about everything."
"I-I'm sorry, Will," Merlin murmured as a few tears. "I-I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Merlin," Arthur repeated leaning forward to rest his forehead against his friend's. "You're going to be okay."
Merlin
Arthur waited until Merlin calmed down before he and Gwaine moved him back to his bed. Leaving him with Gaius, the older man administrating another sleeping draught and fix his hand, Arthur and Gwaine headed towards the front room.
"What are you planning?" Gwaine asked softly, obviously reading something on Arthur's face.
"Amelia is a sidhe, right?" the king started slowly, his locked on the book Gaius had been reading.
"Yes."
"And where did Gaius and I go to help Merlin last time?" Arthur's eyes flicked back to Gwaine's, the knight taking a moment before realization dawned on him. A steely gaze settled over his features and the knight said, "I'm going with you this time."
"Good, I was hoping you'd say that."