The Golden Age Universe
All for Love - Chapter 5
~Fran Gipani
Disclaimer - I don't own Merlin, or the characters...I'm just borrowing them and adding a couple of awesome OC's
AN - Thank you so much for your patientce guys! :) To all the new readers welcome and I hope all of you enjoy the chapter :) Please remember to leave a review if you have the time! :)
Brooke watched as Morgana rode towards the place where she'd broken the veil into the void, she seemed happy. Then as Morgana grew closer to her destination the witch seemed to grow stronger and more powerful. Seconds later the image jumped to be one of Merlin, somehow he was upright and walking towards what looked like a large whirl pool, distorting the air around the gathering of large stone boulders. 'Merlin!' she tried to call out, 'MERLIN!' But he couldn't hear a word, he looked back for a second, just one second long enough for Brooke to see the look of sadness on his face. Merlin then stepped into the open space, 'NO! Merlin!' She yelled but still he didn't hear, and he disappeared into thin air. Morgana's cruel laugh filled her ears jolting her awake.
Brooke little idea of why she woke to the sound of her own screams. The only thing she remembered was the immense feeling of stress, worry, pain and loss. The image of Merlin disappearing into thin air seared in her minds eye. She stumbled up, breathing hard, she pushed her dampened blonde waves from her face and stretched. Trying not to think about what she had just seen, Brooke turned back to the book she had been reading and tried to find her place. As her stomach started to tell her that she needed to eat, she found a chapter on magic which wasn't exactly what she was looking for, but it was what she thought to be a pretty good idea.
-afl-
"You want to what?" Gaius exclaimed.
"Let Merlin use my Magic until he's got his back," Brooke didn't see any problem with it. As soon as she'd read through the chapter Brooke had ran all the way back to the physicians chambers to tell him. "The book says it's possible, it would work, and it would save Merlin until we can work something else out."
"If you really think it will work without harming you?"
"It shouldn't, as far as I know I don't depend on the power running through my veins to live as much as Merlin does. I'll be fine, a little tired maybe, but it shouldn't matter."
"I'll wake Merlin in a moment and ask him about it, will you get Arthur, he needs to know what we are about to do."
"Of course Gaius, I'll be right back." Brooke replied with a relieved smile, before running out the door.
After Brooke had left Gaius started to put together a strong smelling jar, one which would revive him from his induced slumber. Minutes later Gaius sat by Merlin's still figure, and helped him into a slight sitting position. Unstoppering the small bottle with his other hand, he waved it under Merlin's nose.
Seconds later a disgusted sounding splutter was emitted from the younger man's lips, "what is that?" he cried out scrunching up his nose, "it distinctly reminds me of the smell of dirty socks, those of a certain king. Why are you waving them in front of my nose Gaius?"
"I needed to wake you." He replied simply.
"Yes, but there was no need to do so with the smelliest socks of Arthur's!"
"What of mine?" Arthur's voice interrupted Merlin's outburst.
"Oh...nothing." Merlin replied with a jump.
"What was it that you found Brooke?" Gaius changed the subject.
"Well, I have a feeling none of you will like the idea." Brooke began, ignoring the worried look which had come over Merlin's face, she carried on, "I didn't find anything on one loosing their magic exactly, but I did find instructions on how to 'borrow' someone else's power."
"Oh...and...?" Merlin breathed out, looking from Brooke's apprehensive expression to the book in her hand.
"You could borrow my magic from me..."
It took a few seconds for Merlin to process Brooke had said, but when he did the warlock shook his head defiantly, "Nope, no no no!" He muttered quickly.
"Why not!" Brooke countered, "I don't rely on my power for energy like you do, so it wont effect me too much. I'll be fine!"
"What do you mean? Lend Merlin your Magic?" Arthur questioned with a frown.
"She means to literally give Merlin her power for a while. Like you used to use Merlin to do your dirty washing, he will be using Brooke's magic to live." Gaius replied.
Arthur nodded, "Then what's the problem Merlin? From what I can see Brooke would get her power back once we've worked out what happened to yours."
"Well basically, there is a high chance this could go horribly wrong for Brooke - we have no idea of whether or not this could kill her-"
"-but, I am more than willing to take that risk to keep you up to strength." Brooke cut in, "I love you Merlin, I don't like to see you so weak like this."
"I wouldn't want you to end up like this either!" Merlin retaliated.
"I will be fine." She said with a small smile, before kneeling down by Merlin's bed and kissing him, her hands threading through her husbands dark hair.
Merlin pulled away slowly, resting his forehead against Brooke's, "I love you." He whispered, ignoring the onlookers.
"I love you too Merlin." She smiled, opening her eyes again, "and so that is why you'll let me help you." She said with finality.
Merlin looked to Arthur, who shook his head as if to say: 'You're alone with this battle mate'. Then finally, Merlin nodded, "okay, what do we have to do?"
"Thank you my love." Brooke replied simply, "From what I can read here, we need to do a sort of ritual - you put the ingredients into a bowl over a flame, then I have to say the first half of the spell, add some of my blood to the bowl. Then I say the rest of the spell and add some of Merlin's blood into the mix." She frowned, "It says that both participants will be likely to pass out for a number of days, depending on how dependent on magic the person lending the magic is."
"Okay," Gaius held out a hand, "pass me the book and I'll put all the ingredients together." Book in hand he walked to the back of the room to put it together. Minutes later he was ready, and he walked over to the stove to place the bowl in a sling above the open flame which Brooke had just lit.
Standing by the stove she began to read from the book, "Mea invocabo bardus vestros opportuno. Particeps es sensim amittere fortitudo noluit. Volentes te vivere." She repeated this then as she cut a deep slit in in her own arm, and collected the blood in the small bowl, Brooke then read, "Sanguis autem ille qui accepit, bene est."
Gaius then added a few more ingrediants to the bowl and stirred it once, stirred it twice. Then a puff of black smoke rose from the bowls contents, making their eyes sting. Gaius gave Brooke a nod to carry on with the spell.
"Sanguis ipsius donatoris, magna vi capta." Sending Merlin an apologetic look, Brooke cut a long slit in Merlin's arm in the exact place of hers, Merlin winced but said nothing as Brooke collected the blood and mixed it into the bowl. Taking a second deep breath Brooke finished off the spell with: "iam transferre," her eyes flashed gold making the small bowl catch fire, engulfing both the Brooke and the warlock in more thick black smoke.
Seconds later the smoke cleared around the couple. Merlin was now unconscious and Brooke was passed out on the ground, carefully Arthur lifted Brooke and placed her gently on the spare bed. Gaius put out the stove and turned to the king, "Well that's that Sire. We'll need to wait until they are both conscious to see if that worked. So my advice is that you go to bed and I'll call for you if there is any change."
"Thank you Gaius." Arthur replied, with a small smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Gaius nodded, and waited until Arthur had left before turning to clean up the mess the spell had left. It had been just over five minutes when Gaius heard the door bang wide open and turn to see Arthur standing there, panting slightly.
"I just thought Gaius, maybe...just possibly...what Brooke did with Merlin could be exactly what Morgana did to him. If you think about it - how long it was before he woke up, the scars on his arms that could only be knife wounds. Merlin told me Morgana was weakened when they fought the last time - maybe she is using Merlin to keep her strength so she finish off Merlin while he is without power..."
Getting over the shock of Arthur bursting back into the room, Gaius spoke, "you know what Sire, that is highly likely what has happened to Merlin's Magic." He sighed, looking over to where the Warlock lay in the bed. "And if it is, we are going to have to be wary - the sheer power Merlin holds is phenominal - not even he could control it until he'd learnt how. Imagine what could happen with that much power in the wrong hands."
Arthur nodded worriedly, "the damage would be irreparable."