-Chp 4-
Even a late night after a long evening spent at his servant's bedside couldn't stop his mind from trying to finish the puzzle and make the connections that seemed just out of reach. It felt as though he hadn't slept at all as he'd tossed around possible ideas of who the traitor could be even in his dreams. He threw aside the covers, ran a hand through his hair and groaned.
Rise and shine, he thought to himself with a snort. See, Merlin, the sun's barely up! I can get up on my own.
His boots lay where he'd kicked them off before falling into bed. His belt lay on the table beside a plate of dinner largely ignored and grown cold.
He grabbed the clean clothing Merlin had laid out while playing the dutiful servant the day before.
He still wanted a bath but that could wait -would have to wait due to the damage wrought to the tub by the deadly bath prepared the day before.
Merlin may have some insights on who the traitor could be. Perhaps Morgana let something slip? He decided to go ask.
Surprisingly, Merlin was puttering around, looking over Gaius' potions when he arrived.
He frowned.
"I see you're up."
Merlin turned to give him a hollow, wolfish grin. He was flushed, disheveled and flint eyed. The straps they'd used to bind him to the patient's cot lay on the floor. Evidently they should have bound him more firmly, regardless of his injuries. He surely shouldn't be up.
"Good morning, my Lord. Sorry I'm late with your breakfast," he returned.
Oh no.
"How are you feeling?" he probed.
"Peachy. Why?" Merlin asked suspiciously.
Arthur regarded him warily, noting with unease the absence of the old physician.
"Where's Gaius?"
"I have no idea," he said but then looked like a thought had struck him. "Why? Are you sick?" he asked almost hopefully. "I can give you some medicine!"
Arthur backed away half a step.
"No, I don't think so."
He watched with a sinking heart as Merlin's eyes narrowed and his gaze became calculating.
The door behind him opened and he half turned to see Gaius begin to greet him before the old man's gaze flicked past him in alarm and Arthur had only the barest moment to react before Merlin crashed into him, his hands closing around Arthur's neck.
"Merli-" he began before wiry fingers scrabbled to press in, trying to crush his windpipe.
Arthur jammed his elbow sharply backward into his gut, knocking the air out of him. As Merlin began to fold in half, Arthur twisted his arm behind his back and pushed him the rest of the way to the floor. He scooped up Merlin's other arm and pinned him down.
"Gaius! Hurry!"
Merlin gasped and growled, kicked and struggled, forcing Arthur to lean into him. He had a close up view of the thing writhing under Merlin's stitches again.
"Please be careful with him, Sire," Gaius admonished. He bent and dabbed a strong smelling concoction on Merlin's neck and Merlin's frantic struggles began to slacken and then ceased altogether. Arthur released his hold and rolled back. Merlin didn't move except to let his head thump quietly to rest on the floor.
"Owwww…"
Gaius was the first to recover.
"Merlin, my boy. Are you alright?"
Merlin flopped his hand then rolled his head to squint up at his mentor.
"Nooooo," he groaned. "I'm not. I'm really not." He closed his eyes and grimaced. "I hurt. All over. I feel like the griffin got me and gave me to the afanc. Then the afanc passed me to Morgana.. Morgana!"
He began struggling up, only to collapse back down and curl on his side, pained and panting. Arthur grasped him around the waist, feeling the heat of fever through his tunic, and helped him up onto the cot.
"What happened? How did I get back? I just remember Morgana.." He reached for his neck.
Gaius seized his hand and gently lowered it.
He squinted back and forth between Gaius and Arthur in growing dread. "Tell me."
Arthur leaned forward, "Close your eyes and just listen. Okay, you remember we were separated?"
Merlin gave a slight nod.
"The mercenaries were apparently hired by Morgana. They gave you to her and she must have-"
Merlin shot up, panicking.
"She put a monster in me! Arthur! Did I hurt you?"
"Calm down, Merlin. I'm fine and I'm telling you-"
"Did I hurt him, Gaius?"
"Not at all, my boy. Just relax."
Merlin struggled against Gaius' gentle efforts to push him back down.
"Did I hurt anyone else?"
"Relax!" Gaius commanded.
"The only one with any injuries at all is you, Merlin," Arthur commented in exasperation.
Merlin began to wilt.
"Why have I got such a roaring headache?" he whined, rubbing his forehead.
"You've got a concussion due to a series of blows to your head in the past couple of days," Gaius informed him and turned away to rummage through his stores.
Merlin carefully probed at the tender bumps on his head and squinted accusingly at the king.
"It wasn't me!" said Arthur.
Gaius called over his shoulder, "No, it was mostly Gwen. She was helping me stop you although she held back a bit this last time." He returned to Merlin's side and handed him a vial. "You'll need to reassure her that she's forgiven, Merlin. I believe that harming you has been very hard on her."
"Whereas if it had been Arthur, he'd have had no such qualms," Merlin murmured.
"Snark, Merlin. It's unbecoming," commented Arthur as Merlin drank and grimaced.
"You actually gave yourself the first concussion, my boy. Gwen and I watched you thwart your own attempt on the king by running yourself head-first into a pillar."
"What do you mean he thwarted his own attempt?" asked Arthur, surprised.
Merlin echoed the look.
Gaius' eyebrow rose.
"Just what I said. I cannot think of any other reason why you would run into a pillar to knock yourself silly when running Arthur through with his own sword simply required you to run a straight, short path."
Both Merlin's and Arthur's faces drained of color.
"I believe you must have been fighting the fohmorroh somehow."
Merlin's eyebrow quirked. Somehow.
"None of your attempts worked."
Merlin slumped back against the pillows, in a limp heat. A line formed between his brows and he covered his eyes.
"Ughh. I really do feel awful," he sighed, groaning and gasping a bit as Gaius moved his arm to remove his tunic and his bandages. They all surveyed the damage and infection with grimaces.
"Your stitches have torn," Gaius tsked. "We'll have to try again. I'm so sorry, my boy."
Merlin looked up from underneath his fringe with puppy dog eyes and asked pathetically, "Could you wait until later when I'm asleep?"
"The pain would wake you right back up and you know it," Gaius answered with compassion. "Best not to put it off. I'm sorry, Merlin."
Arthur collected the straps from the floor and began to gently bind Merlin's arm to the cot.
Merlin looked betrayed. "You're going to tie me up?"
"I don't believe it's needful at this point, Sire. I will be sure to administer another dose of sedative to the fohmorroh before this one wears off."
"Did you loose him earlier?"
"No, he must have won free somehow while I was out."
"I'm glad I was the one to find him. You could have been harmed, Gaius."
Merlin grasped his mentor's wrist, halting his ministrations. He stared at him, distressed, scrutinizing him. He'd been alone with Gaius and had no memory of it. Who knows what he'd said or done -or what he would say or do if Morgana's command made him even more desperate. He looked to Arthur.
"Make it tight."
—-—-
Arthur couldn't bring himself to leave Merlin to his suffering, feeling that he at least owed his friend whatever support his presence could impart. It was a difficult vigil, though. Listening to Merlin try to suppress any gasp or hiss elicited by Gaius cutting and tugging the threads of the ruined stitches from his torn skin and inflamed wounds was undoing his royal stoicism.
Unable to remain silent any longer, he addressed Gaius. "There must be a way to stop the fohmorroh from growing back."
"Morgana has the mother beast, Sire. This isn't over until it dies," Gaius answered.
"Then we must seek her out and destroy the creature," he resolved.
Merlin, upset, murmured, "No, no, you can't. I'll go. I could find her now. I-I know where she lives. I'll go."
Arthur shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous. You couldn't even make it out of this room without assistance at this point."
"Anyone who goes should not go alone. Make no mistake, anyone involved in the attempt would be in extreme peril," Gaius stated. "Such an undertaking would be difficult enough but if Morgana were to be alerted- "
"The traitor." Arthur ground his teeth.
The choice was fraught with danger, not knowing who the traitor was.
"Who can be trusted with such a mission?" he murmured.
"The knights," answered Merlin.
"Leon, Gwaine, Elyan and Percival are true, my Lord, as are so many others. They would never betray you," said Gaius.
"Leon will be needed here to help Agravaine should I not return."
Merlin and Gaius shared a look of apprehension.
"These are perilous times, Arthur. It isn't wise to risk yourself."
"I'm going." He stepped out to send a summons to his knights.
At the bottom of the staircase he saw Guinevere, staring out a window. The light played across her face, softening her troubled expression.
"Guinevere?" he called.
She tensed but didn't turn. He approached quietly and wrapped his arms around her.
"He's awake and himself at the moment. Were you thinking of visiting?" he murmured in her ear.
"Perhaps," she replied softly.
He could sense her hesitation.
"You have a good heart, Guinevere. Please don't doubt yourself." He held her more tightly. "He doesn't blame you for anything you did to him and he would be the first one to tell you not to worry over him. You know he would. He's a selfless idiot."
He felt her breath hitch then she sniffed. He wanted so badly to comfort her but was obviously doing it all wrong. He gently turned her by the shoulders to face him.
"Personally, I'm not that selfless. I don't want you to worry over us equally." Her lips twitched and he kissed them lightly. "But you're right, he does need looking after. Gaius has given him something for his headache and he's having to do some very unpleasant work on him right now."
Guinevere's expression pinched.
"Perhaps now isn't-" she began.
He nodded, "Probably not the best time for a visit but I know he'll be heartbroken if he doesn't see you tomorrow at least."
"Arthur? Can anything be done to help him, really?" Her eyes were swimming.
He cupped her beautiful face. " 'Working on it," he whispered.
"Can you think of anything I could bring him, anything he wants or needs?"
"A smile and some companionship?"
She nodded, looking somewhat lighter.
"And maybe some castle gossip? You know he's worse than an old mother that way."
She tried to squash a grin and lightly swatted his arm.
"Where are you off to?" she asked.
"I was going to find someone to fetch Leon, Elyan, Gwaine and Percival to discuss a matter of importance," he said meaningfully, glancing back up the stairway.
"I'd be glad to go for them, if you'd like," she said, cottoning on and eager to be of help.
"Thank you," he replied warmly. "Send them up to Gaius' chambers when you find them, will you? I'll wait there."
She smiled and kissed his cheek and hurried off. Arthur watched her go then retreated up the steps.
—-—-
"..but repeated stitching will leave scarring, I'm afraid," Gaius was commenting when Arthur returned. Arthur took one look at Merlin's face -jaw tight, teeth gritted as the old physician restitched the worst of his friend's wounds- before focusing elsewhere.
"Battle wounds, Gaius. The scars prove his mettle."
Gaius huffed at such nonsense and Arthur continued, "It's just more for his growing collection! You already seem to have plenty, Merlin. You'll have to tell me how you got them all unless they were just due to laundry or kitchen mishaps. The one I'm most curious about, though, is that one." He pointed to the horrific circular burn scar in the center of Merlin's thin chest. "I'm very interested to hear how that happened." He folded his arms expectantly.
Merlin grimaced, squirmed and panted through the pain. "D'you mind if I tell you later?"
Arthur winced. Merlin's voice was strangled as he struggled to respond to Arthur's attempts at raising his spirits.
"Of course. I'm sorry."
"No, it's just ..that I need time to.. make up a good story that'll make.. me sound really heroic.." He grinned through the pain. "..like, like, a wicked witch tried to kill Gaius and ..I battled her ..and won but ..not before she gave me this."
Arthur snorted and Gaius glared.
"What? It's possible!" Merlin protested weakly as Gaius finished tying the last knot.
Arthur shook his head then noticed Gaius putting away the surgical supplies.
"Wait, aren't you going to remove the creature?"
"No, Sire. I'll just deaden it and continue to do so until the problem is solved.
"But won't that foul thing cause more infection?"
"Possibly. But inflicting repeated wounds will as well."
"It can't go on!" He whirled back, "How do we kill it?"
The door opened to admit Leon, Gwaine, Percival and Elyan still in chainmail and armor from training.
"What are we killing?" asked Gwaine interestedly.
"Morgana's beast that she's using as a mind controlling parasite inside Merlin to make him try to assassinate me. Fortunately he's been an abysmal failure thus far."
Leon went milk white and sat down on the bench. Hard.
Percival's eyebrows rose.
"That explains why he's bound," remarked Elyan.
Gwaine frowned at Merlin.
"No wonder you've not been yourself. You had me worried, mate."
"You should still be worried, Gwaine," Arthur said testily, "because there's no getting rid of the thing inside of him until the mother beast is dead. It keeps growing back. How do we kill the mother beast, Gaius?"
"Fire," the physician answered succinctly.
"What're we waiting for then?" Gwaine clapped his hands together. "Let's go."
"We're leaving just as soon as Merlin tells us where she is." Arthur said.
Gaius and Merlin exchanged anxious glances.
"Arthur, you really cannot be allowed to risk yourself like this. There is a traitor in the citadel. To go haring off after Morgana-" Gaius began.
"You can't ask me to simply send a company of my men to face her-" Arthur interrupted.
"I'm not worth-"
Everyone rounded on Merlin, except Leon who still sat, looking as though he were the one who'd been clubbed over the head repeatedly.
"Of course you are!" "Don't be ridiculous!" "Why would you-"
"You are such an idiot!"
"Oh, I'm an idiot?" Merlin snarled. "Since when is the worst servant in the five kingdoms worth a king leaving the safety of his citadel, risking harm and death by a traitor, to seek out an evil witch who could magically dismember him before he could even think to draw his shiny sword?"
"Obviously we won't meet her head on, we'll use stealth," Arthur protested.
Leon stood.
"Sire, he's right. Please don't do this. You are our king. We have all sworn to protect you with our lives. You must let us do our duty. I beg you to let me go in your place. I must make amends for failing in my duty, my Lord."
"You haven't failed in your duty, Leon."
"Forgive me, Sire, but I have. Your safety is my first priority. When I encountered Merlin yesterday, he spoke a direct threat upon your life and I- I took it as a joke." His face was red, his eyes cast down in shame.
Arthur gripped his arm bracingly. "You couldn't have known. Morgana chose her assassin well. Merlin often spouts treason when he means to be funny and he is the least likely to be taken seriously and viewing him as an actual physical threat would be a stretch by anyone's estimation."
Merlin's rueful expression turned sour.
"Thanks," he said flatly. "You can't go, Arthur. Listen to Leon. This isn't like hunting bunnies and Camelot cannot lose her king."
Arthur's temper boiled. Never had a king been ordered around and forbidden his decisions by a servant as he often was! Rather than yelling, his tone delivered his decision with royal finality.
"Enough. She's my sister, my responsibility. If anyone ends up having to face her it should be me. I'm going. We will find the place and destroy the mother creature. Gods willing, there's only one of them. We will set Merlin free and anyone else she's perpetrated this horror on, perhaps even our traitor. No other person will suffer such enslavement."
Merlin said quietly, hating to dash his king's hopes that the betrayal of one of his men wasn't real, "She brought the creature to life when she did this to me, Arthur. I'm sorry. The traitor works of his own free will."
"Give us the best directions you can, mate," said Gwaine, "and we'll find her."
"No. Not without me you won't," Merlin declared.
In the corner, Elyan groaned, "Oh, here we go."
"You're not going," Arthur replied.
"Yes, I am."
Leon was shaking his head vehemently, no. Arthur agreed.
"There's no point in having you accompany us. You're in no shape to undertake a quest. We'll have to move quickly and you'd slow us down. This can only be accomplished with stealth so you are the last person I'd choose for such a mission. And you can't be trusted so long as that thing is alive."
"I'm still going," he responded, stoutly determined, one eye closed against the painful light, the other eye glaring.
"You're not!"
"I have to."
"Merlin, what don't you-"
"Sire," Gaius interrupted, "as much as it pains me, I must agree with Merlin. I'm afraid he must accompany you. From what Merlin has told me of the little he remembers, I'm afraid Morgana's wards will obscure her refuge from notice by anyone who has never been there but such measures are ineffective against one who has been there before. Merlin must accompany you or you stand no chance of finding her abode and therefore no chance of retrieving and destroying the fohmorroh."
Merlin shot him a look. It certainly sounded plausible and might even be true but Gaius knew as well as he did that Arthur could never be allowed to face Morgana's magic without him by his side.
Arthur massaged the bridge of his nose.
"Can you send enough of the medication to keep that thing dormant?"
"I'll send all I have."
"How much time would that give us?"
"Perhaps half a day more once this dose wears off."
He looked to Merlin.
"Will that be enough given the distance and time, d'you think?"
He nodded.
"Fine." He looked around at the knights. "One of you needs to babysit Merlin so he won't stab us in the back or hurt himself with further clumsiness."
They all ignored Merlin's offended "Oi!"
"I'll take Merlin Duty," Gwaine volunteered. "I've come to recognize what it looks like when our Merlin is an evil puppet versus when he's his cuddly, sweet-tempered self."
It was said lightly and teasingly but gave Merlin pause and he felt the reflexive need to apologize.
"I'm sorry, Gwaine," he said, abashed.
"What are you apologizing for, mate?"
"I'm not sure but I must have-"
"If you don't know, then it isn't you who needs to apologize."
"I'm still sorry."
Gwaine ruffled his hair lightly. "Not a worry." He looked up at the others, pointed at Merlin and declared, "Currently not evil."
Arthur rolled his eyes.
"Leon, I'm counting on you to keep order here. Keep your eyes open and watch for anything unusual, anyone behaving differently. Make my excuses to any who inquire as to my whereabouts, tell them I'm on a private hunt."
Leon clasped his arm.
"Be careful, Sire."
Arthur nodded.
"Gaius, patch up Merlin as best you can for traveling. Gwaine, bring him and any medical supplies he'll need. Percival, grab us some provisions, Elyan gather our weapons from the armory and I will see to the horses. We leave as soon as possible. And not a word to anyone. We've got a traitor in our midst and the last thing we need is another ambush."