Happy New Year!
Anyway, Merlin and Arthur will talk in the next chapter, I promise, but someone made a fairly good point that I need to stop killing my OCs, so I decided to write this.
Anyway, thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favorites last chapter. You guys never cease to amaze me, and I really do appreciate every kind word you guys leave.
So, thanks for reading, anyone not an OC is not mine, and I'll see ya in the next chapter.
Drop me a comment if you can.
Bye!
Three days later, Merlin still didn't have his memory completely back. He had had a few flashes, but nothing concrete stuck and it was beginning to drive him completely insane. It didn't help that the knights, Gwen, and Gaius were treating him like he was made of glass. What made matters slightly worse was the fact that Arthur seemed to be avoiding him again. The last one, if he were being honest, didn't bother Merlin nearly as much as it should, and that seemed to bother him the most. He really needed to remember something soon.
Merlin, having been yanked off his usual duties until Gaius gave him permission to return to work, found himself wandering the castle on most days, trying to remember something useful, usually, to his great annoyance, tailed by Gwaine or Percival. They tried to be stealthy, but Merlin was neither stupid nor blind, and generally spotted them within thirty seconds or less.
Having gotten to know the castle fairly well in the near ten years he's live there, it was fairly easy for Merlin to give his friends the slip, much to their annoyance. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate their concern, he did very much, but he just wanted to be alone for a while. That wasn't too much to ask, was it?
He found himself on the stairwell leading to a rarely used corridor, sitting on the third step from the bottom, knees drawn up, face buried in his hands. He focused on the few flashes he had had recently, trying to hold onto anything remotely helpful, but it was a bit like trying to cup water in his hands. Frustrated, Merlin sighed and looked up, jumping when he came face-to-face with Sir Lucian.
Merlin had known Sir Lucian for almost ten years, had actually attended the knights wedding, but he and the man had never been particularly close. In fact, Lucian was a borderline bully, something Merlin hated above anything else, which is why it shocked the wizard to see Lucian looking so self-conscious and unsure.
"May I join you?" Lucian asked softly, nodding to the space next to Merlin. Mutely, the warlock nodded, moving over a few inches. Lucian slowly sat down, resting his hands in his lap, looking at the ground between his feet.
The two men were quiet for nearly a full minute before Merlin opened his mouth to ask what Lucian needed, only to close it when the knight said, "I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, Merlin."
"What…?"
"I've never really trusted people like you," Lucian continued as if Merlin never spoke. "My mother was killed by a sorcerer when I was eight, right in front of me. He might have killed me, too, had it not been the Camelot knights that came along.
"I'm not telling you this for you to feel sorry for me," Lucian pressed on, causing Merlin to close his mouth again. "What I said to you, while I meant the words at the time, was inexcusable. But," he trailed off, looking down at his hands. He cleared his throat, looking up to continue, "But after recent events, I feel…" he trailed off again, running his hands down his trousers. "I heard you can't remember who attacked you."
"It wasn't you was it? Gwaine told me it was Sir Victor…"
"It was," Lucian responded quickly, nodding. "But he tried to frame me for it. I just wanted..." he sighed, frustrated, and pressed on. "When you regain your memory, because I know that you will, I want to formally apologize to you. And if you can't forgive me, something I won't blame you for, at least you'll know how truly sorry I am."
"Alright," Merlin said cautiously, a gut feeling telling him to hold onto any forgiveness for as long as humanly possible.
"Okay," Lucian muttered dragging himself to his feet. "I shall be going now, leave you alone. Good day, Merlin."
"Good day," Merlin replied with a small, forced smile.
Lucian nodded jerkily and walked away. For a while, Merlin watched him go, wondering what he could have possibly said to call for an apology, but nothing remotely useful came to him. About to just give up for the day, maybe track down Gwaine and Percival, Merlin stood up, only to sit back down as a new flash hit him.
"I'm surprised the king hasn't had that poor excuse of a servant executed yet."
"Lucian let it go."
"Why? Why shouldheget special treatment? No one else ever did."
"Lucian…"
"No Victor, it's a valid question."
"I'm sorry for inconveniencing you with my existence."
This time, to Merlin's surprise, the flash managed to stick. He remembered quite vividly Lucian insulting him, Victor trying to stop him, and Merlin, himself, sticking his foot in his mouth like he usually did. It wasn't much, still didn't exactly explain what happened, but it was something. It also meant he was one step closer to finding out why Arthur apologized, and why Merlin hadn't exactly sought the blond out since he started avoiding him.