Sooo... yeah finally decided to get this up. I have had this written for a while now, but have been hesitant to post it. Posting as I write it is a new experience for me and I'm paranoid I'm going to miss some foreshadowing that I had planned out in my head that I forgot to put into the story. I am aaaaaallll about the foreshadowing.
By the way, I guess I am writing this as a alternate season 5 (not that I don't like season 5, but c'mooooon). I'm getting tired of this no-reveal stuff so I am writing my own! That and this plot almost tore me to pieces it jumped on me so hard. I kinda blew off NaNoWriMo for this.
I'm trying to think of some kind of prize for someone who can correctly guess who each of the animals in my fable represents. Hmmm... any ideas?
Reviewer Responses
WE-ARE-SHER-LOCKED: I am such a Castle fan. I love Nathan Fillion. 3
HipHuggers2: Oh we're all a little evil in that way, or else there wouldn't be as many Merlin!Whump stories!
Captain Ozone: Thank you! The number of emotions that would run high in these first chapters is staggering and it was difficult trying to figure out what Merlin's reaction would be. It took me a few rewrites to work it all out. As for Gwen, I've always seen her as the support beams that hold up Merlin and Arthur when they are down. I think they're kind of touched on that in season 5, but not nearly enough. I really enjoy writing Gwen here. :)
Healed535: Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough. And your theory about the eagle isn't too far off the mark.
shadow visor: Thank you, and don't worry; there's plenty of mental vomitting still to come.
servant123: I'm glad the pacing is good. When I originally envisioned everything it wasn't in chapter form, so it has made it a bit finicky to separate the chapters. I'm glad the pacing feels good. And thank you! Characterization is a pet peeve of mine. Gotta git'em right.
Well anyway, I don't own Merlin so here we go!
The tomb of Myrddin has been opened.
The sound of Arthur's voice was suddenly drowned in a pool of screams and cries following the singular understandable sentence. Merlin put a hand to his head and tried to focus as Arthur spoke, but as the screams grew louder suddenly his vision failed him and his head snapped back as though he had been struck in the nose.
For a moment he was free falling, but then he slammed into the cold stone floor and his magic exploded within him. He grasped at his hair as his magic struggled to get out, and his entire being shuddered violently. His stomach twisted itself into a knot and his head felt like it was on fire. As the screams pounded once more into his head he arched his back and let loose a single cry of agony. He felt his body being moved, but his concept of up and down were so hazy he had little understanding of what was happening.
As his consciousness failed him, the voice repeated itself, though this time it was screamed in terror:
The tomb of Myrddin has been opened!
~ooOoo~
Arthur bent and swung Merlin's still body onto the cot. Gaius pushed him out of the way and began examining him; placing a hand beneath his nose, pressing his other on his forehead, and pulling one of his blue eyes open with his fingers. He quickly let the lid shut again as he found those blue eyes to be flashing gold repeatedly. He glanced behind him at Arthur, though the king was pacing behind him.
When Arthur saw Gaius look at him, he hurried over to the physician. "What is it?"
Gaius thought for a moment, his brain scrambling to come up with some sort of explination. "It is... something I have been treating Merlin for for a few weeks, Sire." Arthur folded his arms and looked pensive. Gaius looked to Merlin and then back to the king. "It seems that the brain has been bruised during a fall. After all, Merlin is not the most graceful of people," he said, forcing a small smile. Arthur didn't return it. "With a bruise like this, any number of side effects can occur," he continued quickly, relying upon Arthur's ignorance of the healing arts to pass his excuse.
Arthur shook his head. "It's different this time, Gaius. All the other times, he would just stop what he was doing and drop. This time he actually screamed in pain."
Gaius gave a blithe wave. "It is nothing to be concerned about, Sire. If Merlin's head leans in a certain direction, it could trigger quite a great deal of pain. All we can do is wait for him to wake up. I'll give him a draft to help with the pain when he awakens."
"Thank you, Gaius." He gave the place a quick look around as though deciding what to do before heaving a sigh and nodding at Gaius. "Send him to see me as soon as he is well enough."
"Of course, My Lord." Gaius bowed and Arthur headed out.
Gaius looked back at Merlin and pulled open the boy's eye once more, watching the flashing of gold for a few moments before putting a hand on his head. "We're lucky Arthur doesn't know much about medicine," he gave a wry smile before wandering over and pulling a book from the shelf and beginning to read.
A few hours passed with Gaius making his way through the book and regularly checking Merlin's flashing eyes. As the sun reached its zenith, he headed off to do his rounds, leaving Gwen- who had hurried down the moment she heard that her friend had collapsed- to watch Merlin. When Gaius returned, he gave Gwen a troubled look. Merlin lay still on the cot. Gwen looked up at Gaius and shook her head.
"He hasn't stirred," she said, looking back at the still man. "I keep checking just to make sure he's breathing."
Gaius put a hand on her shoulder. "He will be fine, Gwen. I'm sure of it." He placed his medicine bag down on the table and looked at the queen. "You should get something to eat. It's well past lunch time. I'll watch him."
Guinevere nodded slowly and hesitantly left the chambers. Gaius took her seat at Merlin's side. As time passed the physician dropped his chin to rest on his chest and it seemed as though he had just closed his eyes when,
"Gaius?"
Gaius jerked upright in his seat and smiled as Merlin tilted his head upward to look at him, his blue eyes tired but open.
"Merlin!" cried the physician happily.
Merlin winced and put a hand to his head as he attempted to lift himself into a sitting position, his strength beginning to return to him. "Ow... what happened?"
"You passed out again. Arthur had to carry you here." Gaius lept to his feet and gently grabbed Merlin's arm. "Carefully, Merlin. I'll get you some water." As soon as Merlin was sitting upright, Gaius shuffled off to fetch a cup. "What happened to you? Arthur said you cried out in pain."
Merlin sighed and held his head in his hands. "It wasn't like this last time, Gaius. Something happened..." Gaius sat back down, pitcher in hand, and gave Merlin the water. Merlin drank greedily, only stopping to breathe long enough for Gaius to refill his cup. After three glasses, Merlin set the cup down and returned his head to his hands. "It was like all the magic in me was trying to run away."
"Like your vision of the Cailleach, you are attuned to the magical world, Merlin. Something of great magical importance must have ocurred."
"And evil," said Merlin, lifting his eyes to look at his mentor. "I could feel it clawing at me." He paused as a thought occurred to him. "And I heard something... a voice."
"I thought you always heard voices," said Gaius.
Merlin shook his head. "Normally I just hear screams and yelling... unintelligible cries of the dying... but this time I heard a sentence. It was the voice of a child... a little girl. She said, 'the tomb of Myrddin has been opened'."
Gaius' eyes widened. "Myrddin?" he asked.
"Yes," answered Merlin, worried by the look of recognition and fear in the old man's eyes. When Gaius didn't respond right away, Merlin bent down to look him in the eye. "Gaius?"
Gaius seemed to suddenly register Merlin's presence and shook his head a little. "Myrddin lived centuries ago. He was a seer, Merlin. Much like Taliesin. It was said his powers were so great that he was eventually driven mad by his visions and spent the last twenty years of his life crafting magical items for something he called the 'ocean of magic's blood'." Merlin gulped and Gaius continued. "Some believe that he was referring to the purge."
"But Taliesin didn't seem dangerous to me. A little annoying, but not dangerous," Merlin scrunched his nose as he recalled the seer's insistance that he stay in that wretched cave despite his pleas to leave.
"Merlin, Myrddin was a very evil man. He gained a following and formed the first tribe of druids that were sworn to dark magic. They were shunned by the larger druid tribes. Whoever opened that tomb can only mean ill for Camelot."
Merlin stared at the floor. There was a certain amount of guilt that tugged at his mind. "They lost faith in me," he whispered to himself.
"Hmm?" Gaius stood and began to head to his potion table.
"It's nothing." Merlin stood as well and stretched. "I assume Arthur wants to see me?" Gaius nodded and Merlin rushed out the door.
It took him a decent amount of time to find the king, having to ask several servants who only knew where the king had been. After a while, Merlin finally found Arthur in the armory, slipping his hauberk over his head. "Ah, there you are Merlin. Just in time for a training session with the knights." Merlin sighed and headed over to finish dressing the king. When Merlin didn't say anything, Arthur smirked a little. "Your head still on straight, then? Well," he cocked his head to the side. "As straight as it was."
"Ohh, were you worried about me?" cooed Merlin.
"Don't be daft." Arthur waved his hand dismissively. "However," he continued, pointing his index finger at the ceiling. "Gaius told me that I should go easy on you so as not to worsen the bruise on your brain."
Merlin stared ahead for a moment, attempting to translate what Arthur had just said. It took him a few moments to work out that a 'bruised brain' had been the false diagnosis that Gaius had given the king. He held in a chuckle at the idea that the king had actually believed such nonsense.
"I see. Well, you should go easier on me all the time," said Merlin.
As the servant turned to grab the voiders(1), Arthur stood and wandered over to an area where several sets of armor had been laid awaiting cleaning. From the pile he produced a large houndskull(2) helm, eyeing it for a moment and then nodding at it. He walked back to the bench and sat down for Merlin to put the finishing touches on his armor.
"Unfortunately for myself and the men, this means you won't be holding a shield for us today. You'll be doing your carrying with this to protect your little noggin." As soon as the last strap had been tied, Arthur scooped up the helm and plopped it onto Merlin's head, the boy suddenly resembling a watermelon that had been impaled by a stick. Merlin's thin figure wavered a little and he placed his hands on the pointed visor, searching for the small slit near the top.
Arthur snorted with the effort to hold in his laughter and clapped Merlin roughly on the shoulder. "All you have to do is manage our weapons." He gave the helm a knock and Merlin jumped at the clanging that seemed to echo in this little room of metal.
"Arthur, I can't see!" He called after the king, whose footsteps he could hear rapidly heading out of the armory. He squinted his eyes to see through the small holes that perforated the front of the visor, but the resulting gait was rather wobbly and it took him several minutes to reach the training field where Arthur had several of his knights lined up to watch Merlin's awkward exit. Merlin could tell he had arrived by the chorus of laughter.
The training was more pain-free than normal, not having to stand holding a shield as the large knights hammered on it with swords, maces, and actual hammers. But each time he would remove the helmet to take a breath of fresh air or to see where the knight to which he was to bring a weapon was standing, Arthur would threaten him with polishing duty for the whole regiment. And so Merlin's time was passed breathing in stuffy air and feeling sweat drip down his temple while the rest of his body chilled in the cool autumn air.
It wasn't until the knights and Arthur returned to the armory as the sun began to set and began to remove their armor that Merlin was finally permitted to take the helmet off. Arthur laughed and pointed at him. "See? Didn't you feel safe from head pain with that on?"
"Absolutely, Sire," said Merlin, doing nothing to hide the sarcasm in his voice.
Elyan tossed his hauberk into the pile of armor and moved over to the servant. "Merlin, are you really alright? Arthur won't admit it, but we were all pretty concerned when we heard what happened."
The knight suddenly yelped as a gauntlet hit him in the back of the head. He turned to chuckle at the king and then looked back to Merlin. The servant nodded. "I'm fine. My head will heal."
Gwaine laughed and threw an arm over Merlin's shoulders. "Well that's good to hear. Your head's been in need of healing for years now," he teased.
Merlin laughed along with the others and took a playful swipe at Gwaine. The knight skillfully dodged and backed up, but ran into Percival. The bear of a man chuckled a little and suddenly took an iron hold on Gwaine's arms, locking his own together beneath the smaller man's biceps.
Gwaine struggled, but Percival held fast. "You know," began Percival, a mischievous smile on his face that soon infected the rest of the knights. "Merlin spends a lot of time as our training dummy, and now he's had to help us even when he's injured. I think he deserves to practice on a dummy now and then too, eh?"
Leon and Elyan chuckled quietly and Arthur smiled at his knights as Gwaine laughed and did what he could to loose himself from Percival's iron grip. The large man seemed to barely notice his efforts. "Go on," said Elyan motioning to Merlin. "Give him a good smack or two."
Merlin shook his head. "Oh I couldn't," he said, laughing. "You know me... all muscle. Might hurt him." He pretended to flex his thin arms and laughed along with the other knights.
The laughter and noise in the room quieted suddenly when the door flew open and a guard rushed into the room. "Sire!" he cried. Arthur looked to him. "Your presence is needed in the Court Physician's chambers immediately."
Arthur nodded and shot a glance to Merlin. Without having to be told, Merlin jogged after him.
There were two guards waiting in Gaius' chambers when the two of them arrived. Gaius was hunched over the cot. Arthur stopped to speak to the guards as Merlin rushed past them to Gaius' side.
"What's happened?" asked the king.
"She came from the northern woods, Sire," answered one of the guards. "She appears wounded and the only thing she would say is that she needed to speak with you."
"She even objected to being brought here," said the other. "Just kept saying she needed to give you something."
Arthur nodded and watched as Merlin was sent to one of the tables to throw a draft together. He dismissed the guards and moved to stand over Gaius's shoulder. He let his jaw drop a little at the sight lying on the cot.
The girl couldn't have been past her 8th year. She wore the rough green robe of a druid, though it had been stained in several places by what Arthur feared to be blood. Her midsection appeared soaked in red and there were cuts and dirt covering her face. Her small hands were clenched tightly around a little bag that Gaius was attempting to gently wrestle from her grip. Her eyes were closed, but she was clearly conscious as she shook her head back and forth against Gaius' attempts.
Merlin pushed past Arthur and lifted her shoulders to seat himself underneath them. He held a small bottle in his other hand and he pressed it to her lips. "We need you to drink this; it will help you."
At being moved and then spoken to, the girls deep brown eyes slowly opened and widened at the sight of the servant. Merlin's stomach once again erupted into butterflies. Before now, if a druid called him Emrys, he would have little to fear, but with Arthur's research he now knew the meaning of the name.
His mind was eased when she caught sight of Arthur's blond head and attempted to sit up. Merlin did his best to gently hold her down. "King Arthur!" she gasped. It sounded as though she had not had water for days. Merlin was taken aback by her voice but he tried to hide it.
As Gaius headed off to fetch some water for her, Arthur knelt at the side of the bed, sympathy in his eyes. She held the small bag out to him. Her eyelids drooped heavily as though she would sleep at any moment. Arthur took the bag from her and she sat back against Merlin, watching as he opened it. He upturned the little sack and a golden piece fell into his palm. As he examined it, Merlin coaxed the contents of the bottle into her mouth.
The piece was flawless and of beautiful craftsmanship. There was an empty setting as though it were meant to hold an oblong gem of some kind. From that setting there reached four thin legs ending in sharp points and flat on one side. Arthur turned it over in his hands a few times and then looked back to her as if expecting an explination.
"For your sword," she rasped, pointing weakly at him.
Arthur shook his head. "What do you mean? What is this for?"
Her eyes closed and then opened like a long blink and then heaved a breath. "You will need it to save him."
Arthur raised an eyebrow. That hadn't explained anything.
Gaius returned with the water, but the girl pushed it away and instead grabbed the front of Merlin's shirt and stared into his eyes.
Emrys, she said into his head. Beware the one with the corrupted mark.
Her hand went slack and she fell back onto his lap and her eyes slipped closed. Arthur stepped back as Gaius moved to check her vitals.
After a pause, Arthur asked, "Is she alive?"
"Yes sire," answered Gaius. "But only just. I will see what I can do."
Arthur nodded and left, followed by the two guards.
Gaius let out a breath as the door shut behind Arthur. "I feared she was about to call you Emrys, Merlin."
Merlin nodded and eased her back down onto the cot. "Me too. But it seems her real mission was to get that golden piece to Arthur."
Gaius grabbed the cloth and bowl of water that had been set to the side and began to dab at her face as Merlin opened one of the cupboards to fetch bandages. "Poor girl," Gaius mused. "These wounds are fresh. She must have run all the way here from her village." He moved a little to examine the bottoms of the girl's feet. They were cut and blistered from her run and blood mingled with dirt along her heels and toes.
"She's the one I heard, Gaius," said Merlin suddenly, placing the bandages at the bedside and beginning to remove the girl's stained cloak. "She's the one who said that the tomb had been opened."
Gaius looked up from where he was attempting to ease the blood and dirt from her feet. He looked at the girl and then back to Merlin. "I hope she said all she needed to say, Merlin. If she survives this, she won't be waking up for some time."
1: Voiders are shoulder armor according to Guinevere
2: A houndskull helm is one of the ones with the pointed visor. Kinda looks like a beak. lol
Alright. Hope you enjoyed and I will see you all later!