The Love Of Family pt.1
It was a beautiful, cool, fall day. A good day to go hunting. Arthur and Merlin were out hunting. Merlin kept scaring the prey because he did not like hunting and had only went hunting a few times. In Ealdor Merlin would find animals and capture them to show his grandparents and mother.
"Merlin go catch the hawk." Arthur said quietly.
"No. It's a Merlin. The hawk mother named me after." Merlin complained.
"You still do that. So that means we can't catch a dear. Right."
"Yes. Don't get mad at me. It's just who I am. I was born liking animals and taking care of hurt animals."
"Yeah. I know. Be quiet."
"Ok. I'll try."
"Got a rabbit. Here Merlin. What is it? You look as if you see someone coming to attack."
"Arthur look behind you." Merlin panicked. Then 4 men attacked. They tried to kill Arthur but failed.
"Merlin go! Leave me! Try to get away!"Arthur yelled.
"No! Arthur! I'm staying! I will not leave!" Merlin yelled. Then someone hit Merlin near the chest with an arrow. Then Merlin got hit with a sword in the right ribs.
"Arthur. Help me. Ow. It hurts. I have to lie down." Merlin moaned.
"Run Merlin. Just run to safety, hide, and then rest. Now go. Ill join you when I can. Now go."Arthur yelled.
Merlin ran as fast as he could and one of the men followed him. "I have to rest but I can't or I'll die. I need help. Ow. My chest. I can't breathe. I need rest. I'm dying." Merlin thought. Merlin found a place to hide. He went in to the hole and tried not to move. He watched as the man ran past him. He got out when the man was gone and walked to find Arthur. Merlin found Arthur coming to him. Merlin collapsed when he got to Arthur. Arthur grabbed Merlin and helped him lie on his back. Merlin tried to keep his eyes open and talk but he was very weak from the arrow wound. At first when Merlin tried to speak he began to choke. Then blood came out of his mouth and he began to speak.
"Arthur help me. It hurts. Help me." Merlin moaned.
"Merlin I got you. Let gets you to a house and remove the arrow." Arthur said calmly.
"The arrow. I think it's poisoned. I can't breathe. I know where we are. Get me to Ealdor. I'll show you the way. First get me to the lake. It's only an half an hour away. Hurry. I don't have long before I collapse."
"Ok. Here. I'll help you walk. Stay with me. Where is it? Where's the lake?"
"Over to the left. Hurry!"Merlin groaned. Arthur helped Merlin walk over to the lake. They were nearly there then a group of serkets attack. Arthur was about to get stung.
"Arthur go. Ah! Arthur run. Come back when the serkets are gone. One got me on the chest. Now go." Merlin moaned.
He pushed Arthur out of the way. Then he got stung. Arthur did what Merlin said. He watched as Merlin got stung. He heard Merlin cry in pain. Merlin knew that he was going to die. Then Arthur found a crossbow and killed all 5 of the serkets. Then he ran to Merlin. He saw that Merlin had been stung on the forehead and right cheek. When Arthur held Merlin head he saw the color had drained out of Merlin's face. Arthur gently woke Merlin up. Merlin began to move but his eyes remand close.
"Merlin. Merlin wake up. Come on open your eyes." Arthur whispered. Merlin's eyes shuttered open. He look around and then he began to shiver. Merlin moved his body closer to Arthur because Merlin could feel the warmth of Arthur's body.
"Hey, Merlin, how do you feel? Come on, speak to me." Arthur whispered tearfully. He lifted Merlin and put his Merlin's head on his left shoulder and began rocking back and forth.
"Arthur, the serkets stung me. Oh….I'm….so….cold. Oh….man. Arthur….keep…me….close. My ….head. I'm…..so…cold. I'm…so…tired. So…tired. So…..cold. So…..weak. Oh, oh. Arthur…"Merlin shivered. Then he closed his eyes. Arthur knew that Merlin was going into a shock. Arthur wanted to give Merlin a blanket but he didn't have any. Arthur kept Merlin close and tried to keep his dying friend warm. Merlin got worse the more Arthur tried to help him.
"Merlin. Hey, look at me. That's it. Speak to me." Arthur panicked.
"Arthur. I see the lake. Get me there. I need water. Hurry. Please." Merlin groaned in pain. Then he closed his eyes to help him rest. When Arthur got to the lake Merlin was nearly unconscious. Arthur got the water bottle and filled it up.
"Merlin. Here drink it. Come on. Drink as much water as you can. Where's Ealdor?" Arthur whispered.
"Anne. Will. Over there. I can't…" Merlin strained. Then he was unconscious. Then Arthur looked and saw Will and Anne.
"Hey. I need help. My friend is very sick. He's very hot. He's near death. Help me please." Arthur cried.
"Merlin. Oh, no. What happened? He's so hot. He's in shock. The arrow you haven't removed it. You can't or he will bleed to death. But you can cut it. Hunith can remove it. Let's go." Anne said sadly. So they got to Ealdor an hour later. Merlin kept coughing on the way there. When they got to Ealdor Avalach came.
"Merlin. What happened? Who are you?" Avalach asked.
"I'm prince Arthur of Camelot. He's been stung by several serkets. He has a few other injuries but what he need is to get in bed before he wakes up. Where can he sleep?" Arthur asked sadly.
"This way." Avalach answered. They went into Hunith's house and laid Merlin in his bed.
"What happened? He is burning up. We need to get the arrow out. I need water, bandages and towel. Hurry." Hunith said quickly.
"I'll get that." Arthur said quickly. Hunith went to work removing the arrow.
"How is he?" Arthur asked sadly.
"He's lost a lot of blood. His wound that he got from the sword is in very bad condition. You may need to go get Gaius in the morning. His right arm and leg and ribs have a wound from where the serkets stung him. There's a serket's mark on his liver. At any rate he should be dead. You can go get Gaius in the morning."Hunith sighed. The next day Merlin kept getting worse his wounds got infected. His fever got worse. Then he began coughing up blood. Merlin woke up in a lot of pain. It was raining a lot so Arthur had to wait to get Gaius.
"Ow. Mother. Help me. Hold my hand and help me to be strong." Merlin strained.
"Hey it's ok. Just sleep. It's ok. There's someone here to see you." Hunith said quietly while holding Merlin's hand. Then Merlin saw his grandfather Avalach.
"Grandfather. Hey. What happened? Grandfather Hold me like you did when I was little."
"Ok. If it will make you feel better. How do you feel?"Avalach asked while holding Merlin. When Merlin was little Avalach would hold him to help him sleep. Avalach also held Merlin when he was upset. Briseis, Merlin's grandmother always helped Merlin learn because Merlin had a very hard time learning. That's part of the reason Merlin's cursed.
"Hot. So hot. Weak. Very weak. Tired. So very tired. My mouth taste like blood. Where's Arthur?"Merlin winced.
"He's talking to Will and Anne. He is going to get help tomorrow. Just rest. We need to keep you cool to help with your fever. Here some water. Sleep, Merlin. You're very hot. Rest." Hunith whispered. Then she went to get cold water for Merlin. Merlin closed his eyes as his grandfather held him and rubbed Merlin's cheek with the back of his hand. Half an hour later Merlin coughed up blood. He was very weak and in pain. He finally fell asleep. Avalach put Merlin's head on a pillow and put a cold and wet cloth on Merlin's forehead. Merlin was barely breathing. He was very tired because of what he was feeling. That night Merlin woke up crying because he was so sick.
"Hey. It's ok. Just calm down. Hey, look at me." Hunith whispered gently. She kept a cold cloth on her dying son's head. She removed it every few minutes and put it in cold water.
"Mother, Where are you? I can barely see. It hurts. I can't make it. I'm tired, sore, hot, weak, hungry, and thirsty. My whole body hurts so much. I can't sleep but I need to. Ow. Mother, help me. Hold my hand. Ah. Ow. My head hurts." Merlin cried and moaned.
"Shh. Shh. I'm here, my boy. Just rest. Breathe. Just breathe. Arthur's coming to see you. Arthur he's much worse."
"How long does he have?" Arthur asked quietly.
"Not long but with the love of family he will be ok till Gaius gets here. You can help him. I'll leave you 2 alone." Hunith sighed.
"Hey Merlin. How do you feel?"Arthur whispered calmly.
"So…weak…and…tired. I…can't…feel…my…leg. It…hurts…to…" Merlin moaned. Then he began coughing. It wasn't blood. It was just water. Hunith came and calmed Merlin down.
"Hey, Merlin rest. Shh. Sleep, my boy. It's ok my little Hawk. You're ok." Hunith whispered.
Finally Merlin got too tired and went to sleep. In the morning, Arthur went to get Gaius. Merlin slept for several hours that day. He nearly woke up a few times but went back to sleep when Hunith gently and quietly told him to sleep. It was noon and Merlin was still asleep. Hunith was cleaning after lunch and Merlin woke up.
TBC