It had been quite a long day, Gaius thought as he entered his chambers. Anybody would have been able to tell it from the way Gaius was looking. His long white hair falling limply around his shoulders, the heavy bags underneath his eyes that had somehow formed in the last few hours. The way his shoulders were slumped, as if he was carrying the weight of the entire world on top of them, and he wasn't able to keep up with the pressure. There was a bone tired weariness that Gaius couldn't quite conquer, making him weary and unsure with what he was supposed to do next, as he leaned against the doors to his chambers.

Merlin had been gone for two hours by this point, having ran away from Gaius in what looked like the beginning of having a mental breakdown. And Gaius had searched practically all over the castle looking for him since. But it appeared Merlin did not want to be found, leaving Gaius with no choice other then to return to his chambers, and hope that Merlin would return. The elderly man gave a heavy sigh, the air came out of him in a short puff of condensation. He had even stopped to check multiple closets along the way, just in case he was going to find Merlin sequestered away inside of one of their many closets. It wasn't as if Gaius hadn't found him hiding in a closet before. But that was the problem, there were just simply too many of them to check. Each hallway had at least one off to the side, someplace quickly assessable for all the cleaning servants to get to their supplies with a great haste, no matter where the mess they needed to clean up would've been located. And it wasn't practically for Gaius to check all of them. No…it was probably best for Gaius to wait here and hope that Merlin came home soon.

But that didn't stop Gaius from fearing the worse things that could happen…perhaps Merlin would trip over his own feet, as he was prone to doing, and crack his head along the floor in some off hand, abandoned corridor. Where nobody would come across him until it was too late, and Merlin had already bled to death from his head, having lost his consciousness some point before. Perhaps Merlin would find himself forced into a spot of trouble, he always seemed to attract the most worse kind of people. But again, Gaius couldn't do anything to help him if he didn't know where he was. At least the old physician-Gaius hoped, at least-knew that Merlin would be making his way back here at some point. Unless he decided to sleep on the streets, or make use of his consort status to commandeer an empty bedroom up in the castle to hide in.

But either way, there was very little Gaius would be able to do until Merlin decided to come home. So, with another sigh that sounded too heavy for a man who should've been living his golden years, Gaius pushed away from the door. He only made it a few feet inside the room, squinting because of just how dark it was. It would probably help if he had his glasses but he seemed to have misplaced them once again…Merlin usually had a nifty way of being able to find them. But that would have only helped a little, as none of his lanterns were lit up. That was a bit…unusual…Gaius frowned. Gaius always liked to keep them lit, it made it easier for him to read many of his books, with the small text and heavy worded many of his great tomes were. It would explain why it was so cold in here, that Gaius could see his breath when he breathed, but honestly. How did every one of his candles managed to burn themselves all the way down to the wick in the time Gaius'd been gone? If it had been one or two, Gaius definitely could have understood. But all of them…and since the sun started to sink beneath the horizon, only a small stream that's been barely noticeable was leaking in through the cracks among the shutters.

Gaius walked deeper into the room, getting to one of the many candles that lined the room, this one sitting innocently on the edge of one of his many tables. One squint down into the glass casing he kept around it to prevent any fire from breaking out, and Gaius felt his dread returning. Something …something was wrong, Gaius thought as he reared himself away from the candle. The wick inside, sticking out the top of the candle…hadn't been burned down to the waxy stick at all. It was still attached, as if somebody had blown it out purposely, instead of just waiting for it to be able to die on its own. Gaius' head whipped around, to look in all different directions where his other candlesticks were resting. Gaius was confident enough that he would eat his left foot, if all of the other candles also hadn't been blown out. Clearly it was somebody's odd attempt to snuff out all the light, but who in the world would come into his chambers sorely to get rid of his candlestick lights…Gaius took a slow step back away from the original candlestick he had looked at.

And immediately stopped when something crunched under his foot. Now, it was not unusual for Gaius to find something odd on the floor, he had a habit of setting things down onto any clear space of surface he could find. Even the floor, but what was unusual was what he saw. It was one of his roll of bandages, clearly pilfered from his medical bag, all torn up as if somebody had ripped a large piece of it out in quite the hurry. It was only half the roll compared to what he thought he'd had when he had done inventory earlier, as if whoever stole it hadn't known how much they were going to need to use. An amateur, who had needed help in a hurry? Or had it been somebody who knew they had a lot of injuries and had to take as much as they could so they would not need to be back for more later on. Now, Gaius was meticulous when he took care of his supplies, knowing that a dirty bandage was quite the difference between life and death. Not all healers focused on the cleanliness of their equipment, even having no problems with using their same tools from one patient to another, further exposing future patients to whatever illness had plagued those that came before. But Gaius had learned in his experience, cleaning his instruments and using fresh material often gave him better results. He would have never left a bandage that could have been used to heal, to gather dirt on his floor.

Gaius carefully bent down, and picked up the roll of loose bandages, before standing back up with it in his grasp. The physician-frowning heavily-held it up so that he could get a better look at the white cloth with the fading light streaming in from behind the closed shutters. The lack of light, which what little light he had in the room, still cast eerie shadows along his walls, making odd shapes and designs that could have scared a child into thinking monsters were coming for him. But Gaius hardly noticed them, biting back a gasp after seeing the state the bandages were in. There was this awful rusted color along the base of the bandages, still fresh that it felt wet. But dried enough that it was starting to become patchy in some places…anybody would have recognized the blood for what it was. Somebody had been hurt, and badly enough that they wouldn't wait for the physician to see that they were better himself. And it had been quite recent, since Gaius drew his hand away and some of the still wetting spot came off on his hand. Leaving his fingertips stained with the sickly color of spilled blood, red and dark…

And…Gaius whipped his head up when he thought he heard the creaking of wood…it was entirely possible that they had hidden themselves away somewhere in his chamber. Maybe it was a good thing that Merlin had not came back here, not if there was somebody else here as well. Perhaps they only needed help, and would go on their way once they had got better. Or perhaps they were a threat, dangerous and quite deadly, on the run from either justice or something that was far worse then what they were. Maybe they were scared and willing to attack the first person they saw, not knowing if the unfortunate soul that stumbled upon them wanted to help or was willing to hurt them more. Or maybe that were just lying in wait, waiting for said unfortunate soul to come wondering up to them. To end their life and slit the throat of any person who was unfortunate enough to have witnessed their face. It was a real possibility, in his line of work…Gaius would get all sorts of people coming to him for healing. Though they also didn't usually trash his equipment…

"Hello?" Gaius called out into the empty chamber, his voice coming out strong and firm. Quite dangerous sounding for a man of his age, but Gaius was no pushover either. If he was going to find somebody who needed medical attention, then they were not going to frighten him. Gaius had healed quite many people, and yes, many of them have shown him quite the violent side if they were delirious enough to not know he was only trying to help them. It have given Gaius this strong no-nonsense attitude, and they could either come out in the light so Gaius could access the damage. Or they could get the hell out of his home, before his nephew returned. "Who is there?"

Gaius didn't move a step, making sure to focus sorely on his hearing. But the longer he stood there, the more he realized he couldn't hear anything else. And he frowned when there was no shaking form emerging from the shadows. Perhaps…there really had been nobody here. There was every chance that this random person, had already vacated his home after grabbing what they wanted. Gaius lived in a very old part of the castle, these towers alone had probably been here from the very inception of the castle itself. It wasn't exactly out of the realm of possibilities-that the creaking he had heard just moments ago-was only the tower settling. With places such as these, that had been standing around for decades, it was expected to hear strange creaks and noises in the dark. The physician had gotten used to those sounds, though with his nephew hanging around, Gaius seemed to have heard them less and less. Maybe it was his nephew's presence, making a few things Gaius had always noticed during the silence he was often left with, less noticeable. Which was probably just why it was so strange to hear them now…the aged man had almost forgotten what those old creaks had sounded like.

Gaius shook off the strange feeling that something was still wrong, he was sure he was just being paranoid. With Gaius not knowing where Merlin was, or what he was doing when he was in such a state…it was almost positive that the aged man could have just been looking for something to distract himself with. And the mystery person who had broken into his home-which wasn't hard as Gaius rarely bothered to go out of his way to lock the door-had been a good place for Gaius to rest his uneasy thoughts. But there was nothing he could do for them, if they were already long since gone. So, Gaius brushed the uneasiness still lingering in his gut before placing the bandages back on the table. The old man would need to have them throughly washed and cleaned, soaking in water, to see if he could get the blood out before he could even consider reusing them on another person. But that was for another time. Gaius could hardly start working, when he was stuck carrying around this weight and worry for his own nephew deep in his chest.

Gaius took a few more steps deeper into the room, trying to think of where he had left his matches. Perhaps he could at least light some of these candles back up, just so there was something brighter for Merlin to come home too. But Gaius' dismissive attitude towards the situation he found himself in …didn't last for long. When Gaius rounded one of the tables he had stored around his chambers, the sun outside shifted and caused the light streaming in through the cracks in the shutters to be cast in a different direction. And Gaius froze in mid-step, as his eyes landed on something laying across the floor.

Book…his books. There were at least a dozen or so of his thick tomes flung about on the floor. As if somebody had picked them up, and flung them across the floor after they realized it wasn't the one they needed. There were three at the foot of the table, looking as if somebody had sweepers them off the edge of the table, more droplets of blood that matched the bandages on the edge of the table. And Gaius followed the trail of books with his eyes, catching the spare droplet of blood here and there. One book after the other…until Gaius' eyes fell onto the one place where they seemed to end. The foot of the staircase…the stairs that led straight to Merlin's bedroom.

The dread and uneasiness seemed to return to Gaius in full force, as he eyed the book resting on the bottom of Merlin's stairs. It was laid out on it's spine, the yellowing pages had a huge smear of blood going across it…and Gaius slowly rose his eyes up towards where Merlin's door resided. He wasn't able to tell if it was opened, or closed, the shadows dancing along the wall doing a good job of hiding it from his sight. A horrid thought seemed to cross Gaius's mind, a thought that the physician should have had right from the start, "Merlin?"

Gaius made sure to project his voice, calling up the stairs to catch the attention of anything-or his nephew-if they were still up there. But nothing answered him back…the quiet he was so used too, suddenly seemed to be unnerving. What in the world…it has to be Merlin. Who else would disappear for hours on end, and then return to his chambers injured..who else would search through his books and then disappear to his room. God, Gaius could only imagine the worse problem that could have happened to Merlin. Perhaps he had ended up stabbed-that would explain the bandages-though how in the world had Merlin ended up stabbed, of all thing. He..his nephew…the one he had sworn to look after, after he'd read the letter his sister had sent with him…could be up there at this very moment. Dying…would Gaius go upstairs and find a corpse…

Gaius didn't wait a single moment more, the horrors of his mind could only be beaten by the reality of what must have happened to his beloved nephew, before he was racing up the stairs as if he was some kind of madman. Nearly tripping and falling flat on his face-only stopped by grabbing on the rickety rail that nearly buckled under all his sudden weight being thrown against it-when he stepped on the bloodied up book. Gaius could hear the pages ripping and tearing out of the ancient text, but Gaius barely cared to notice about one of his prized books. There was something-somebody-that would always be far more important that any one of the far too many books he had collected over the years. Merlin…the physician must have taken the rest of the stairs at least two steps at a time to get up to the top of them even faster then he otherwise would have. Merlin…Merlin…Merlin…Gaius felt a thumping in his head, causing him to hand tunnel vision to include only one special young man.

Gaius reached the top of the staircase in record time-where he realized the door had been shut. But it wasn't locked, so Gaius flung the door open as hard as he could and storming into the room like some kind of avenging Angel. Gaius didn't care one bit, when he heard the door hit the wall so hard, he would probably find the wall dented on the other side. But it barely registered to him, his eyes squinting in the darkness of the room, whipping his head around as all of his mounting horror seemed to be reaching it's peek. If Gaius had thought it was dark downstairs, it was nothing when one compared it to Merlin's room. He could have been standing inside a void of emptiness, one that threatened to suck him up and never let him go, if he stood there for too long. Light…Gaius would need light if he was going to see what was going on.

Gaius whipped his head around to face where he knew the shutters closing Merlin's windows would be. The sky outside was darkening, and night would be falling soon, but…there'd be enough light to give Gaius a better view of what he would be working with. But Gaius nearly ended up needing to have medical attention himself, when he rushed across the room to get to the windows. There were just so much…clutter…on the floor. Gaius could feel things crunching underneath one of his feet, a piece of cloth sliding out from under him when he stepped on a shirt with his other. Gaius knew that Merlin could cause quite a mess among his things-teenagers were often prone to not cleaning up after themselves, if they got away with it-but this seemed to be a bit…excessive. It only caused Gaius' concern to increase, more positive then ever that he was going to find Merlin dead on the floor…the aged man was almost positive he was going to end up tripping on a body at some point.

But by the grace of god, Gaius reached the shutters without tripping over the still form of his nephew. And he wasted no time with throwing open the shutters, allowing the fading of the sunlight to emit throughout the room. The physician was quick to turn back around, allowing the new light to give him a better look around the room, knowing that he didn't have the time to waste with playing around. If Merlin's wound was as bad as the blood had made it look, well…Gaius would've been the one to know better than anybody that every single second counted. But upon his first glance around the room, the aged physician released a silent gasp in disbelief.

Gaius didn't even see Merlin at first, but his room…his room looked as if it had been hit by some kind of hurricane. Or it could have been hit by a depressed teenager looking to get his rage out in whatever way he could. There were clothes-Merlin's clothes-ripped from where Gaius had placed them in the wardrobe this morning, in an attempt to clean Merlin's space a little since the boy obviously wasn't going to do any of it in the state he was in. And were now flung in each and every direction across the floor, muddied boot prints looked to have been stomped across the back of them. The sheets from Merlin's bed-that he used to use to climb in and out of his window when he needed to escape his guard-were also on the floor. Only, they had been ripped in half, violently and completely ruining them. There looked to be this huge dent in the side of Merlin's bedside table, as if somebody took a foot and kicked it repeatedly. Or perhaps, Gaius noted when he saw a dented up washbasin Merlin would use to clean up himself with, dumped on it's side. Somebody had slammed the bucket into it again and again, until the dent happened…or somebody had used their magic to force the bucket to hit much harder then their arms would have allowed.

The glass that Gaius had been stepping on-the crunching he had heard under his feet when he made his way towards the windows-came from several glass bottles that had been knocked, or perhaps thrown in a continued fit of anger and rage-had came from Gaius' storage units downstairs. Extra potions and creams that he would usually kept on hand for any number of emergencies, and he recognized those glass casings almost immediately. Even broken as they were…the containers held different assortments of numbing cream. As if somebody didn't know what they had been needing to use and had just snatched up the ones he found to try out. And that decision now resulted in the large cream stains staining the wood…half of one of the bottles looked as if it had been used all up. Far more then what Gaius would have used if he was the one administrating the numbing solution-something he usually only used to help ease the pain, if he knew fixing the injury would probably cause more pain then the wound itself had been-but it seemed to have done the trick. Since it looked as if the other glass bottles hadn't been opened-as they were still holding the cork over their openings-even if they were as broken as the first, leaving glass everywhere.

And then Gaius saw him…how he had not seen Merlin in the first moment he had turned around, would forever remain a mystery to him. But there the boy was…looking like he was a useless lump on a lug. Laid out across his bed, laying flat on his stomach, with his head twisted at an awkward angle and buried into the thinning straw mattress. One of his arms was tucked up, curled into a tight fist somewhere near the top of his head and blocking his face, but the second arm…the arm was what grabbed Gaius' attention. Merlin's jacket had been shredded off-he could see the familiar lump of it curled into a ball near the door, as if it had been ripped off and thrown to the side to get it off as quickly as possible-and it left the boy's arm bare. With the sleeve of his orange shirt pushed up to bunch at his below…showing Gaius where all of those missing bandages had ended up with.

And Gaius could feel the tears rising in his eyes…it looked as if Merlin had hurt his wrist. And instead of getting Gaius, the boy had attempted to fix it himself…the bandages were not even tied properly. It looked as if Merlin had tried wrapping it up-the physician could see patches of purple peeking out through the stark white of the bandages, honestly, what had Merlin done to himself in the two hours that he had been out of his sight-himself, but then what? Was this where all those blood droplets downstairs had came from…had Merlin gone and cut up his wrist somehow. Perhaps Merlin's pain ended up being too great, and he had passed out before he'd been able to finish up the wound proper, though the numb cream should have taken care of most of the pain for a few hours at least, or at least…Gaius hoped that his nephew had only simply passed out. His incompetence with healing a hurting wrist could have done the trick, but if it was more that that…

Gaius' earlier thought struck him again, much harder and far clearer than the sound of a ringing bell…the blood…the hurt wrist…and Merlin had been so depressed as of late. Could it be possible…had Merlin gone so far as to hurt himself? Had Merlin cut his wrists, and allowed them to bleed, only to be regretful once he had. Was that why Merlin had tried to do it himself, help himself, instead of fetching Gaius…because he hadn't wanted his uncle to know what he'd done. Gaius had KNOWN Merlin was troubled, had known he was facing this great emotional distress when he had taken off on him, but he had never thought for one second, that Merlin may have taken that route. His nephew could be dead right now, bled out from a wound he had made himself…and Gaius was only standing here. Looking at his still body as if he expected for it to jump back up, the happy go lucky smile Merlin'd been wearing the first day they met gracing his face as he burst out laughing. Having successes in playing this horrible and awful trick on his uncle. But the body wasn't moving…Gaius made the first step himself.

In less time then it took for a heart to beat, Gaius rounded the corner of the bed so that he could climb onto the edge of it to sit by his nephew. The man didn't dare allow himself to start panicking over this, he was a trained physician, after all. And was used to dealing with situations that were often on the high risk side. But somehow, it was different when he was faced with the prone body of his nephew. But still, there wasn't a moment to waste, and Gaius immediately stopped only long enough to place his fingers on the side of Merlin's neck, where his pulse point would be found. The skin under his fingers was cold and clammy to the touch-just how long had Merlin been laying here on his own? And how long had Gaius wanted walking through the castle when his nephew had been in desperate need for his help?-but Gaius ignored this and closed his eyes. He concentrated, hard, and there…Gaius' eyes snapped open as a surge of relief flooded along his body. He could feel Merlin's pulse point beating to a beat all its own, under his fingertips. It was a strong beat…in fact, he would have thought there was nothing wrong with Merlin from his heartbeat alone.

But Merlin was still unconscious, and his skin should not be as clammy as it was, the physician thought as he carefully pressed the back of his hand alongside the underside of his nephew's neck. Feeling how cold the skin was to the touch…but that could also be attributed to whatever Merlin had did to himself. It could be some kind of infection that was now starting to overwhelm his nephew's body…Merlin being sick would be far better then knowing that he had fallen so deep, he had tried to hurt himself. And speaking of hurting himself Gaius reached over Merlin so that he could get his hands on the arm Merlin had tried to bandage. From what Gaius could see on the left arm, it appeared to be fine, though there was strange purpling markings-bruises?-around the wrist, but it was not bleeding. And therefore something Gaius could look closer at after he checked over the injury Merlin deemed so important, it needed to be immediately healed with the hand of somebody inexperienced with healing.

Gaius shifted, grabbing onto the crook of Merlin's arm, and pulled the bandaged appendage up off the floor and closer to him so he could get a better look. As he did, there was a loud thump that nearly made Gaius jump out of his skin, and it took only a glance for the physician to realize it was one of his many books, that had just tumbled off the bed. Another thing Gaius hadn't noticed after he had seen Merlin's body on the bed, the boy had apparently dragged a couple of his books up to his room. There was the book that had fallen to the floor, and another book-as Merlin moaned and turned to move his head a bit to the side in his unconscious state-was tucked underneath Merlin's head, as if he'd fallen forward to rest his head on it, and never got back up. Merlin moving his head had revealed a bit more of the page he was reading up on, but Gaius hardly noticed, his attention sorely resting on his nephew who mumbled something under his breath, but was still clearly unconscious.

"Shhh, shhh, Merlin, everything's okay now. Uncle's here, I'll take care of everything now. You just rest for a minute there, alright, and let me check over the damage." Gaius muttered to his nephew, keeping his voice low and soothing, keeping Merlin asleep. He watched as the troubled expression along Merlin's face deepened for a second, but Gaius quietly did a shushing sound that one may use to get a child to go into an easy nap, and the expression smoothed out. It would have been best for Merlin to wake up, but Gaius wanted to try to access the damage for himself, before Merlin could try to do that thing where he hid from him. Which he would surely do if he woke up right now, "That's alright now, Merlin. You are safe at home, and I'm going to fix you up just right. Perhaps after this, I can teach you a few things so you don't do any serious damage to yourself. A bandage improperly wrapped could cause all kinds of injuries later on if it's not holding right. If there's blood, it will need to be tight enough to stem the bleeding. Not so loose that it wouldn't do a better job if somebody held a simple cloth on it."

Gaius continued to talk to Merlin, hoping that his voice was somewhat soothing as it flowed into the recesses of Merlin's mind, as he gingerly lifted Merlin's arm up-half turning along his body-so that it was at eye level. Yes, just because Merlin spent so much of his time reading through his books, didn't mean that Merlin had the expertise one needed whenever it came to bandaging a wound. Merlin had completely skipped over the basics and learning the fundamentals, if he found a serious interest in the medical arts. Wrapping up any injuries or wounds, while not an expert level skill, would still take his nephew a bit of practicing before he could expect to get the bandage on right. It was a miracle this thing hadn't gone on ahead and slipped off while he was sleeping…but at least he could rest easily. As far as Gaius could tell, there wasn't any actual blood seeping in through the bandage, which meant it might not even be as bad as he had thought it was. Maybe it had only bled a lot, but wasn't nearly as deep as the aged man had feared it was. But the only way for him to know the exact damage, would be to take it off so that he can access it properly for himself.

"You just keep sleeping, Merlin. Don't mind me, I know that it's been difficult for you to sleep nowadays. So you, go on ahead and get all the rest you need. And when you wake up, I will have this wrist of yours all taken care of." The physician continued to talk to Merlin in this soothing tone, taking great care to keep Merlin asleep for as long as possible. He hadn't been lying, Gaius had woken up many nights during the past month, only to hear Merlin's footsteps on the floor above his head, making the wood creak ominously, as if Merlin'd been 'literally' trying to pace a hole into his floor. But Gaius tower had good structure, and had yet to come crumbling down to land on his head. If this moment had been his nephew's own body giving out because it desperately needed the rest that Merlin had been denying it, then Gaius was going to do any thing he could to not disturb him. "Now, we are just going to unwrap this bandage. It'll only take a minute, and you most likely won't even feel a thing with all that numbing solution you smattered your arm in. But don't you worry. As I said, it will all be taken care of by the time you wake…"

Gaius continued to explain to Merlin what he was doing-as if he was awake and listening to every word he was saying but using his voice to keep Merlin within the lull that would have to be the sleeping realm-as he would with any other patient he was seeing. Telling somebody what he was doing, as he was as doing it, really helped calm the nerves and had kept many of his patients from freaking out on the table. It also helped that Gaius could keep a calm demeanor about him as he did all of this…but Gaius gave a low tut underneath his breath and shook his head as he finally managed to undo the clumsy knot his nephew had made in an attempt to keep the bandage from coming off. Gaius carefully started to peel it away from the skin, wincing because he could hear every sound it made as it tried sticking to Merlin's skin. That was it, Gaius would have to teach Merlin how to do this properly before he tried doing something as dangerously dumb as a …a surgery, on himself next. Merlin had used FAR too much of the numbing solution, it was no wonder his wrist seemed so limp in his grasp, that the bandage had practically gotten glued to him. This would have never helped Merlin…the boy moaned in his sleep again, and Gaius glanced down at him as he tugged the last of the bandages off.

Not looking back at the wrist in his hand for a second, since there seemed to be no immediate danger, Gaius locked eyes onto his nephew's still form. And frowned heavily…the boy in his care was still looking far more troubled then Gaius would have liked. Sleeping as he may be, it was clear that it wasn't a restful one. Gaius was just about to pull his eyes away, so he could finally access the damage on the wrist, when the book under Merlin's head caught his eye. Or if he wanted to be more specific…the diagram drawing etched on the side of it. Gaius' spine went stiff, the limp hand of Merlin's feeling so much colder than it had been a minute ago-the chill of a death seemed to be suddenly hanging in the age-he would know that diagram immediately. Even if half of Merlin's head was covering up the majority of the page, using the book as if it was his pillow…Gaius knew exactly what that picture was detailing. And what the inscription on the other page Merlin was fully laying on, would be describing about.

…How to Splint a Fractured Wrist.

Gaius' breathing seemed to slow down to almost nothing, as his eyes shot all around the room. The mysterious things he had seen suddenly seemed to make sense in his mind…all of his books being jerked about until Merlin was able to find his one page that he needed. The numbing solution…the pages would have explained to Merlin which one he needed to use, and how to apply it. But Gaius didn't label his stuff, as he'd be able to recognize everything he had on sight, so Merlin would have had no idea which one it was and had probably taken a guess. But only now was Gaius thinking…there was no reason for anybody, not even an amateur who had not an idea what they were doing, would have put the solution on their wrist if they were bleeding. And the bandages inside of the palm of his hand…soaked with the cream, but not a spot of blood on them. Merlin hadn't cut his wrist, not even a hint of blood could be seen on these bandages-but that did only briefly make Gaius question where all the blood downstairs had came from, though he moved on from that thought fast enough with other worries-…Merlin had broken his wrist.

Gaius whipped his head around, holding the wrist just a bit more gingerly then he had. He pressed one of his hands to the underside of Merlin's fingertips, so that he could spread the hand out a bit more to get a good look at the wrist. And yes, he could see this now. Merlin's wrist was-while it didn't appear to be broken, definitely had a minor fracture-it was something Merlin would have to wear a proper split for if he wanted it to heal properly. A simple bandage wouldn't have been enough to hold the bone in the rightful place, the old physician thought as he studied the molted bruises he was able to see covered a good chuck of Merlin's arm. Now that he could see the wrist clearly, it was obvious where Merlin's fracture was. Just below the wrist, where he could see the boy's hand hitting out at a slightly unnatural angle. While it was not anything deadly-especially if a physician like Gaius was able to reset it, and split it off properly-it looked as if it would have been incredibly painful. There was no telling just how long Merlin expected would have kept this to himself or if he seriously thought Gaius would not notice him wearing a wrap around his arm for the next few weeks while it healed.

"My dear sweet boy, what on earth have you been doing to yourself now. I do hope that this was only an unfortunate accident, and you did not do something to cause it." Gaius continued speaking in his most soothing voice. He hoped, after the way Merlin had ran off on him, that the boy had a good chance of possibly tripping. Perhaps he had been in such a state, he had tripped right over his feet and tried to use his arm to catch himself. Only for the trip down to be a rough one, and causing the bone to splinter out of its usual place. That was a better alternative, then thinking that the boy had somehow done this to himself. Breaking the bone like this would have suggested Merlin was angry, and could be far worse and as the results lasted much longer then it would have if Merlin had cut himself. Perhaps Merlin took to punching a wall? Perhaps he didn't even notice how much it was damaging himself until the bone finally gave way. Gaius was no full though, and he would get proper answers once his nephew woke up. If this became a usual thing-his only nephew hitting things when he was angry-then he may need some some help with the brain, rather then the body. "Now, I am just going to put this down. Don't worry your little head off Merlin, for I will return right back. I simply need to gather the right equipment, and see if you left me with anything I'll be able to use on you."

Gaius finished this with a teasing lilt in his voice as he slowly started lowering Merlin's hand down so that it would rest all spread out-doing less damage to itself-next to his head. But as he glanced up at the side of his nephew's face that could be seen, the boy was clearly far too gone to have heard that little joke, that Gaius had tried to make. But no matter, he'd just try to get a laugh out of Merlin when he was awake and back to some semblance of normal. But…it was as the aged Physician was starting to rise out of bed, that he froze, eyes catching sight of the molted wrist and the posture that he'd rested it in. That….that wasn't right, not at all, Gaius thought as a surge of upmost panic rushed through him. There had been nothing wrong with the way Gaius had laid down the arm, it was nothing that would have caused more damage to the wrist. But…Gaius gingerly picked the arm back up, one of his hands resting on the underside of Merlin's elbow and raised it back to his face.

"This…this isn't the fractured wrist of somebody that has broken a wall, Merlin." Gaius said firmly, his face setting into a hard mask as he studied the placement of where Merlin's fracture was, talking to the boy as if he was already awake and could give him the proper answers. Gaius ran one of his fingers slowly along the wrist bone, relieved when Merlin's fingers gave a little twitch, indicating there was still feeling in the arm. And the fracture hadn't caused blood flow to be cut off from the hand itself. "This…this is the kind someone gets when their arm has been twisted further then the body was meant to take."

Gaius could feel the rush of pure hatred running through him as he looked over the arm again and again, just to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. But he wasn't…Gaius had seen many twisted limbs in his days as physician. And when somebody fractured their wrist because they were hitting an object again and again, it left a distinct mark right along the knuckles to show they were hitting something. And that kind of fracture was usually along the top of the wrist, where the punches were extending most of their force. But Merlin had no such marks on his knuckles. While dirty, he had nothing to indicate he had hit anything with his hands, even Merlin's other hand bore no brunt of constant exposure to a surface that did not yield to him. And the fracture was more on the side of the wrist…in a position that was usually the results of somebody twisting again and again until they finally heard it starting to crack. This wound…it hadn't been the results of any kind of accident. Somebody had done this to his Merlin, somebody had deliberately hurt his nephew so hard that his own bones hadn't been able to take the strain. Somebody-in the time Merlin had left him and now-had seen fit to put one unworthy hand on his nephew. And purposely hurt him…god help the poor soul when Gaius found out who did it, each of the breaths he took only making his anger rear its ugly little head…

"Merlin…" Gaius let out a ragged breath, drawing his hand away from the wound only for a moment, so he could drop it onto the top of Merlin's head. Feeling the sweat that soaked up through his scalp, dampening the hair to his head…it was no doubt that the sweat had to be the results of the pain he had been suffering when the injury happened. Gaius blinked several times, to rid himself of the tears…he really had been doing a piss poor job as his uncle, wasn't he? Not only was Merlin seriously depressed, but the boy had gotten hurt on his watch. When he should have been keeping him safe, as he had sworn to Merlin's mother when he had burned away the letter she had sent him with Merlin. But how was Gaius to know, keeping him safe meant far more then teaching him the importance of keeping his magic in check. "…Whoever has done this to you, my sweet boy, I swear…I will make him pay for what has happened."

Gaius had taken a vow when he had first prove himself to be a master physician, as all physicians did when they'd grown ready to move on from the masters training them in the art of healing…to do no harm. To care not about the man that'd came to them for healing-rather he be a tyrant or a simple farmer-but to give them the same healing he would if it had been any other. To heal, and to not hurt, but…Gaius found it was a vow he would disregard in a heartbeat. The vow had been the most important promise Gaius had made within his entire life, strong enough to be matched with the vow Gaius had made to Uther when he had been first appointed as the Royal Physician. To serve the royal family…but promises like those seemed to pale when compared to the one he'd made his own family. Gaius had seen the damage being done with his nephew, and while he'd been doing what he could when he had his nephew in his sights, he had been only little more than a passive man, waiting for something in his nephew to awaken…so he could be back to his normal self again.

But…no more, Gaius thought as he rubbed a hand down his face roughly, to rid himself of the tears blocking his vision in all the wrong ways. He was no fool, and if things didn't stop or change, then things were going to get far worse. His poor and sweet nephew would come home with more injuries, till one of them finally did him in. If the man that did this to his Merlin got away with it…there was no telling what would be happening next. It was time for Gaius to take actions…all he needed was a name. A name from his sweet Merlin, and the physician would gladly take care of the problem…nobody in the world would notice if the man was one of the many that got his medications from Gaius. Who would be skilled to see if the color of the potion was slightly off, after Gaius pored a toxin inside of it…Gaius would gladly commit the greatest of sins a man could…murder…as long as it allowed Merlin the peace he needed to live on. Anything, to know the brute of a man that had laid hands on his nephew, would not ever have a chance to do it again.

With Gaius' eyes cleared of his sorrow, he got serious, and turned to his nephew's wound with a clearer mind. Knowing the wound was caused by a breakage in the bone now, this called for a much more tender touch. And Gaius needed to know how far that brute had twisted, to determine which of the tools-how thick the splint would need to be, and rather or not Merlin would need Gaius to do anything extra, like if it needed to be broken again for Gaius to set it back into the rightful place-he would need to bring up here. So, the aged physician carefully and tenderly prodded at the injury, while muttering low shushes under his breath when Merlin started to moan in his sleep again. He could not distract himself and comfort his nephew anymore, his sole focus needed to stay on what was in front of him…Gaius pressed more firmly onto the awkward placing of the bone. Yes, he was definitely able to feel which of the bones had been cracked, and it was not a bone that would cause anything serious like cutting off the blood flow. Though it would probably make it difficult for the boy to write if it wasn't fixed proper…

Gaius exhaled a sigh of relief, marveling that it was not more worse than it looked to be. With how frail and weak the boy had became over the last few weeks, it would have taken no more then a simple twist for the bone to crack. If the brute that had done this, had used any excessive force…why…the physician could count his lucky stars that the bone had not been shattered beyond even his capabilities for healing him up. Merlin lacked the proper nutrition, leaving his muscles to be weak when compared to the much thicker men that lived in this kingdom. It didn't forgive the brute though, the aged physician would forgive no man for simply 'not twisting the arm far enough to break it past the point of ruin'. Gaius was going to have his say with what happened to the man if the court found out about this, and had him arrested for treason against the crown, after attacking the Royal Consort. Only a execution would be good enough for this lowlife…the healer ran his finger along the upper part of the breakage. But this area of skin was all patchy…Merlin must not have applied on the numbing solution as good as he should. It was the spot that it should have been focused on, but it was possible that all the pain had been too great for Merlin to touch the area for any length of time. So, he had compensated by smearing copious amounts on the bottom…it would not have worked if Merlin's goal was to stop the pain while he bandaged it into place.

Gaius experimentally pushed down on the broken part, just to see if it would slip back into place easily, or if the crack was too damaged. But Gaius must have pushed too hard, or the numbing cream on this part along Merlin's arm had most definitely not been enough. Because the second Gaius was pushing down, there was a subtle crack sound before it slid into its proper place…and Merlin came up screaming. A loud and high pitched scream of absolute terror that racked right along his body, echoing throughout the small room as Merlin shot up into a sitting position. And when that scream slowed there was another to take it's place, Merlin started swinging as if he did not know where he was. Attacking Gaius with all his might as he kicked and punched with his good arm to try and get the physician away from him, pelting Gaius as hard as his fist would allow him too. It was pathetically weak, but Merlin more then made up for it with his ferocity to get away from him.

"GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME!" Merlin screamed again and again, the desperation leaking from his voice and trying to scoot back along the bed. Towards the edge, Gaius panicked, trying to grab onto his elbows to stop him before he fell off. If Merlin fell off the bed and landed on his broken wrist, then there was a good chance that he could ruin what function he had in the limb permanently. But Merlin was too far gone, too far unhinged…his mindset stuck wherever he'd been attacked. "I WANT YOU TO GET OFF ME! JUST LET IT GO, PLEASE!"

Gaius could feel his heart breaking into a million pieces as he tussled with Merlin, trying to get him to calm down long before the damage to his wrist became irreparable. Those screams though…they were not the screams of somebody in pain because they had been injured. They were the screams of somebody facing true inner torment, the screams of one boy who had been living with something dark anguish trying to grow and fester within his soul. Like a disease with every intention of swallowing a man whole…had those words been what Merlin had bern screaming as some brute twisted and twisted until his wrist had cracked? Had Merlin been living in terror with what else the brute might do to him…did the boy now think that Gaius was the brute, having been woken from his troubled nightmares so suddenly. Gaius didn't know, but he did know one thing…he never wanted to hear his nephew scream like this again. So full of fear…terror…thinking that a brute had followed him back to the one place that Gaius was going to swear, would always be his safe space.

"MERLIN! MERLIN! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Gaius' roar was loud enough to finally be heard over Merlin's shrieks of pain, as if he was eternally trapped in the moment where the man had grabbed onto him. Gaius finally managed to catch onto the wild swings of Merlin's arms-his biceps-and grabbed them harsh enough, though it pained him to possibly remind the boy of his attacker, but it had to be done, to limit the risk of further injuring himself. And Gaius jerked, forcing Merlin into place so Gaius could look at his eyes, and the man sucked in a harsh breath when he saw Merlin's eyes. The consort was wheezing again, but his eyes…he was clearly looking at Gaius but they were so far away, as if he literally could not see it was his uncle sitting in front of him now. Gaius shook his head, before roughly shaking Merlin, trying to snap him out of the state he was in, "MERLIN! It's okay now! You are safe! It's only me, there is nobody else here with us now."

Gaius did not panic, but he wondered if he would have to add more to Merlin's terror by slapping him across the face to knock some sense back into him. Anything to get him out of the nightmare he was trapped in, but Gaius' voice ended up being the only thing Merlin needed. The wheezing Merlin had been breathing with started to slow, Merlin's shoulders were shaking and he kept his head low so that Gaius wasn't able to see his face. But that hardly mattered, as Gaius ran a hand up and down Merlin's arm, shushing him silently, while letting Merlin set the pace. Gaius would sit down with him to wait an eternity, if he had too, to know that his nephew was feeling safe. He would continue to whisper soft words in his ears, and run his hands through his hair until Merlin's body would start to relax. He would do this and anything else that his nephew needed, because that was his duty as his uncle. And he didn't dare cry as Merlin calmed down, didn't dare let Merlin see him crying. Gaius was the one that needed to be strong now, Merlin had carried the weight of this burden for far longer than he should have been.

It took a few minutes longer then Gaius would have liked it to take, but eventually, Merlin grew quiet, clutching tightly to the sleeve's of Gaius' shirt as if it was his lifeline. And a quiet voice-trembling more then Gaius had ever heard him speak before, said, "…Uncle Gaius…" as if Merlin was double checking to make sure he really was in the waking world. To know that he wasn't going to blink and reappear back in the living nightmare he had been experiencing. Gaius' face was tensed, he needed to be strong, he kept reminding himself so he wouldn't grab onto his nephew and never let him out of his sight again. Probably traumatizing him even more, the boy could not stay in these chambers forever, but hopefully his tormentor would have been dealt with by the time Merlin stepped back out. "Is that you…"

Gaius swallowed hard, pass the lump in his throat, before he tightened his grip on Merlin's biceps. One step at a time, he had to remind himself before he fell off the deep end. There was no time-yet-for Gaius to go on a murderous rampage to the man that had reduced his nephew to this…to this…to the shell that he was. Hunith would be so ashamed to know that Gaius had not seen things becoming this bad…but, he knew there were some things that needed to be handled before it was time for him to come up with a more solid plan on what he would do to Merlin's tormentor. First thing's first…would be Gaius finding out if Merlin's wrist was the only injury, or if there were others he couldn't see. Perhaps something that was hidden away beneath the boy's shirt that would need to be tended too? And then Gaius needed to gather up all the necessary supplies…he would start making things right by first fixing up Merlin's body. And once Merlin's body was on the way to healing…he could take care of a few things that his nephew…probably didn't need to know any of the actual details of.

"Of course it's me, Merlin, who else would be in your room other then me. Heaven knows people are gonna need some kind of shovel to make a pathway if they planned on getting in here somewhere." Gaius gave him a very poor joke, which included pointing out the horrid state of Merlin's room. But Gaius realized he probably shouldn't be trying to lighten the situation by making jokes at Merlin's expense, when the boy whimpered and buried his head deeper into Gaius' chest, to listen to the much more soothing sound that was his uncle's heart beating. Gaius sighed heavily, his shoulders dropping as if he bore the weight of the world on his shoulders. Yes…Gaius supposed Merlin was as calm as he was ever going to be, and a few jokes-when Gaius would have to be decidedly, an unfunny man-wasn't going to cause Merlin to relax more then he was. So, Gaius patted Merlin on the shoulder before starting to pull away, to let Merlin know that he needed to be getting up, "Come, Merlin. Let me see to your injuries and as I work on your wrist, perhaps you can share with me if there are anymore injuries I need to see to as well. And maybe you will also be inclined to share with me exactly 'how' you were given these injuries."

Gaius spoke this in the calmest, and most innocent tone he could manage, to hide the anger trying to re-emerge from him. It would not do to traumatize his nephew more showing him the true ferocity of Gaius' parental rage. Was this how a parent felt when their child returned home, beaten by boys in the yard that were far bigger then they were. Gaius could understand now, why so many people were willing to kill for their children, he had never understood just how far the love of a parent could extend when it came to keeping the child safe. And while Gaius knew he wasn't Merlin's father…Gaius had the boy in his home and Merlin's father was nowhere to be seen. Gaius would be more then happy to fill in that role, but…while Merlin had seen Gaius get angry with him before, the boy had never seen Gaius hold a murderous rage for his behalf. And Merlin was in such a delicate state as it was, the physician surely didn't want to do anything that would put a strain on Merlin.

Merlin's head popped up off Gaius' chest before the words had finished leaving his lips, a stricken look across his face to reflect his horror. Gaius had only wanted to coax the truth out of Merlin, let the boy feel as if he was doing something by admitting what really happened to him. Instead of feeling as if he had been pushed in a corner, and had no choice but to confess, since Gaius knew already that Merlin had taken on an attacker. But it appeared as if speaking the truth had horrified Merlin more then his injuries. Though Gaius forgot all about coaxing anything out of Merlin in an instant, as his eyes rested sorely on Merlin's face, getting a clear look for the first time since he had entered the room. Gaius couldn't stop the horror from etching itself across his face, not able to hide his startled gasp at Merlin's face. If the old physician hadn't figured out Merlin had been attacked by a brute from his wrist, then he surely would have discovered it by looking at his face.

The left side of Merlin's face-the one Gaius had been seeing this entire time-was as clear as it had always been. Sure, his nephew was a bit more gaunt around the cheekbones, while he carried huge bags underneath his eyes, but…normal and to be expected with his circumstances. The right side of the boy's face though, the one that Merlin had been laying on to block other's like Gaius from seeing it, looked as if it turned itself into roadkill. Merlin had large splotchy bruises-already growing dark and standing out in stark contrast when it was compared to his pale skin-along his right eye. Carrying itself down onto his cheekbones, the molted flesh looked as if the skin itself was painful. And there was this huge cut up along the top corner of Merlin's upper lip, it went down diagonally and ended in the middle of his bottom lip. It looked as if the brute who had done this, had taken some kind of hammer to Merlin's face. And while Gaius hated to think it, it would turn out to be a good thing that Merlin rarely smiled nowadays. It looked incredibly painful, the cut already scabbed over, but still bleeding in small spots here and there. Smiling would've torn the skin back open and possibly left scarring for Merlin to be left with, as a reminder of this event every time he had to look in a mirror. At least now, the physician could take an educated guess on where all the blood downstairs had been coming from, the lip must have been gushing when he came back home.

Merlin must have forgotten what his face looked like, before the realization hit him as he flicked his tongue out to lick on the cut, probably making it sting violently in the process…if the hiss he face had anything to do about it. And seeing that Gaius couldn't take his eyes off the mess that had became his nephew's face, Merlin immediately put his head back on Gaius' chest, trying to hide his features from the older man. But not before Gaius caught the look of shame that washed over his face, as if Merlin had anything to be ashamed about this. There was nothing to be ashamed of, Merlin had been a victim. Had been attacked and assaulted by some awful and horribly crazed man who 'thought' he could actually go free after 'hitting' the consort of the kingdom-the most revered and prized position other then the royal family themselves…and not only that. They 'thought' they could get away with a single hand laid on HIS nephew, but they would see. They'd see that Gaius was no longer playing around…his young boy should have never came home like this. And as far as Gaius was concerned…he wouldn't leave an opportunity for this to happen a second time. A name…he just needed a name and he could fix everything.

Gaius could feel as if every beat of his heart was stirring his anger up, as he grabbed onto Merlin's shoulders and pulled him away so that he could look him firmly in the face. He did not flinch at his nephew's face, he'd seen much worse in his line of work, but…this was Merlin. And that would've always made every difference in the world, "Merlin, you need to talk to me now, you need to tell me what has happened." He said in a calm but forceful voice. There was no more 'his nephew didn't want to talk about it' or 'I'm tired, it's not important to speak about right now' but never actually speaking about it when he had rested. Something like this would only end up escalating if it wasn't nipped in the bud immediately. Merlin didn't want to talk though, and urgently shook his head and kept trying to put his head back down to hide all the shame marking up his face. But Gaius could have been holding up an empty box, for as heavy as the pressure Merlin managed to put on him was, easily able to keep the boy at bay so that he couldn't hide himself away. "Tell me, what is His name. If you do that, then I can fix all of this. I can stop it. I just need you to tell me who did this to you. Can you do that."

Merlin started to shake violently in his arms, and there were a few tears that leaked out of his eyes and down his cheeks, clearly hurting him when they slid across his bruises, and he flinched again. Gaius clenched his jaw when Merlin started to shake his head back and forth violently, refusing to say a word on the matter. Gaius' jaw went tighter, and he dug his fingers a little into Merlin's shoulders, this wasn't something he could just ignore. Something he could get out of the boy at a later day. It was something that they needed to know, it was something he needed to know Right Now. What if that brute showed up at the door looking for Merlin, and the old physician let him in under false pretenses, not knowing that HE was the one that brutalized his nephew for his own sick and fun games. Gaius knew there was nothing Merlin could have done to deserve this, so clearly the brute had done it for his own…amusement. Absolutely sickening. But before Gaius had the chance to push deeper for answers, the boy seemed to have thought of something. And jerkily nodded his head up and down, still crying in his arms as if he would die if he didn't get this name out fast enough

Gaius head perked up like a dog being called to attention as Merlin started to speak, "A-A-A-" Merlin started to stutter a name, but he was crying so badly that it made Gaius unable to understand what was being said. "A-A-A-" Gaius was able to vaguely make out the 'A' sound, but that was hardly going to help him considering there were thousands of people out in the kingdom who had a name that started with an A. The physician-as Merlin continued stuttering this one letter as if he was stuck on it-was just starting to wonder rather or not he should make their family's secret tea recipe. Something that may calm Merlin down so that he could speak with just a bit more clarity and understanding, when the consort got the next syllable out of him, "Art-Art-Art…"

Art…Gaius practically latched onto this syllable as if it was a lifeline, his one and only clue for who could have done all of this to Merlin. Art…Gaius tried to think of anybody he knew whose name started with that syllable. There was Artair, but Artair was a serving boy who often assisted Geoffrey in the library-stacking books on the shelves mainly. He came by at least once a week to pick up the medications Geoffrey had to take. And let's just say…the boy was a shy type who had no chance of 'ever' resembling a brute. There was also that knight named Artemis. A very low level knight who had just a bit more brawn then he did actual brains, so he could be a possible candidate for Gaius' rage. There was also a knight named Arthel, who spent most of his days training the war horses for the day they would need to ride into combat. He was a strict sort, who rarely bothered with going around any actual person. But, Gaius supposed…he could also end up being a candidate if Merlin had stumbled upon the horses' training yard. And that was only the 'Art's' that he knew of personally. There was at least a dozen more that he knew he had heard of, but may not have met in person. And who was to know how many 'Art's' there were that he hadn't heard of yet. The point was…there were too many to choose from, so it wasn't like Gaius could go about killing all of them. No, he needed a bit more information than just 'Art.'

Merlin didn't seem to notice Gaius was already trying to pin point which of the 'Art's had done this, as he continued with his stutter, "Art-Art-Arth…" Merlin couldn't seem to be able to finish up, no matter how hard he tried, but he didn't need to, before Gaius got hit with an epiphany over what he was trying to say, his eyes going wide. After all, what other 'Art' did Merlin know, other then his own husband. Prince Arthur Pendragon…but why was Merlin trying to spit out the other man's name, when Gaius had wanted the name of the man that had attacked him. "Arth-Arthu-"

Perhaps, Gaius thought, Merlin was trying to tell him that he wanted Arthur…which was strange, considering Gaius knew the two did not get along at all. And as far as Gaius could've told, rarely interacted with the other one when they did not have too. There was no chance that Merlin would want the prince here as a source of comfort, like one might usually seek from their husband. Unless this was Merlin's way of saying he needed the prince for a specific reason, maybe so he could do something about this attacker. Perhaps Merlin would not want his attacker dead, which would have been Gaius' first choice. But if Merlin wanted Arthur here so that he could file some kind of report, and send Arthur to arrest the guy to be trialed for his crimes against the crown…then that is what Gaius would do. He could wave down a passing servant, and have them send for Arthur…surely Arthur would want to know about this anyway. Besides, Gaius figured he could still get a bit of pleasure after watching Arthur carting a man-his hands handcuffed behind him in iron shackles-for his stay in the dungeons, until they decided what to do with him.

"Arthur?" Gaius asked, just to make sure Merlin really wasn't trying to say 'Artemis' or 'Arthel'. He didn't want to make the sorcerer even more upset by choosing the wrong man to go get. But Merlin's response was violently shaking his head up and down, a loud wail erupting from his lips as he let the old physician go so that he could put his hands over his eyes. It looked less like Merlin trying to wipe the tears, and more like Merlin was having some kind of mental breakdown, as if the consort wanted to claw his eyes out instead. Seeing this as it happened, the physician threw himself up onto his feet to get to work, "Yes, alright! Then I am going to have someone fetch him, and you can explain your story to the both of us. I am sure even Arthur, as awful as he can be, is going to track down the man that did this to you, and fix everything. Trust me, Merlin. The man that did this to you is not going to get away with it!"

Gaius was already stepping away from Merlin and heading towards the bedroom door. He was already dreading being away from Merlin for even a second-the thought that Merlin could be in such a state, he would actually hurt himself still lingering in the recesses of his mind-but this was only going to take a moment. And once Gaius got the servant looking for Arthur, the physician would be back to take care of the consort. He could take that moment to finally fix up Merlin's injuries. But before Gaius reached the door, the consort was suddenly in front of him, holding his arms out to block the doorway.

"NO!" Merlin was shrieking, his voice so loud and panicked, that it echoed off the walls of the room. Gaius jumped back, visibly startled by Merlin's sudden reappearance in front of him. "NO! NO! NO!" he shrieked again, and again, and Gaius had to start wondering if there was something more going on here, something he didn't quite understand. Because his Merlin-his beautiful, sweet innocent nephew-was starting to behave as if he was some kind of madman. And it left Gaius wondering rather or not he would need something that was much stronger then their family tea to calm him down. The sorcerer might be so distressed-traumatized-after he was attacked, that a sedative slipped into his tea might be what he needed. "I DON'T WANT TO SEE ARTHUR! I WILL NEVER WANT TO SEE HIM AGAIN FOR AS LONG AS I LIVE!"

When Merlin was done yelling his lungs out, the longest the physician had heard him talk in quite a while, the young boy was left breathing raggedly. Gaius was in a state of shock as the yelling left his ears ringing, the silence of the room was ironically, sounding a little too loud. But as what Merlin had said started to sink into Gaius' brain, he could feel a sense of dread twisting his stomach into knots. There….there was only one reason Gaius could think of, for why Merlin seemed to be so against Arthur. One reason as to why he'd started freaking out on Gaius. One single reason…and it was clearly obvious that Gaius had misunderstood the situation entirely. Merlin hadn't been asking for Arthur, when Gaius had asked him who had hurt him. Merlin was trying to TELL HIM who'd hurt him. And Gaius…Gaius had almost done the one thing he'd been cautious about. He had almost invited that…that monster, the one he had treated and cared for over the long course of twenty years, into his home. Arthur, the man that Gaius had watched grow from a small lad and into a strong man…had laid hands on his nephew. Merlin's own husband…the one man whose, rather they liked each other or not, only job when it came to Merlin, was treating him like one would a human being…had hit him. Had did more then hit him, the fractured wrist of Merlin's could attest too. Had completely traumatized him to the point where Gaius barely recognized the boy when compared to when he had first met him…

"Is was him…" Gaius breathed out, though he wasn't asking Merlin for any confirmation. He could see the answer in the way Merlin held himself, in the way it looked as if he could be two seconds from collapsing. He could see it in the way Merlin gingerly held his fractured wrist, and how the tears on his face looked as if they were not the first he had been crying today…he could see it in his eyes. And Gaius didn't need Merlin to nod, before his face was starting to turn this blistering red color…Arthur Pendragon was a bastard. The worse kind of bastard…the kind that thought they could put hands on somebody they had been trusted to take care of upon their wedding vows. Gaius could barely get his words out, but when he did, they were thundering loud and made Merlin flinch back in fear, "THIS…IS…IT!"

The shout could have shaken the shudders on the window from how explosively loud it was, and Merlin's whimpering could barely be heard over the sound of Gaius' rage, feeling as if a blood vessel in his head was about to pop as he once again roamed his eyes over Merlin's swollen eye and busted lip. But Gaius could hear the whimpering of his nephew, and it did nothing to calm the fierce protective rage growing it's way in his chest. In fact, it only seemed to make it worse as his nephew shrunk in on himself. As if he was ashamed, as if he thought Gaius thought he deserved to be treated like this by his own husband. But Gaius thought nothing of the sort…and shook his head roughly. He had 'known'-KNOWN-there was no lost love between Arthur and Merlin. Had known the two would never be friends, but…he had never once thought Arthur would stoop so low. That he would act as if he wasn't any better then the scum of their society, the low lives that abused their families as if they were beneath him. Was this how a prince act? How a husband…a man…acted, whenever they were faced with their much smaller partner. Uther had obviously not raised that boy proper, and Gaius didn't care if he was a prince or not. Nobody. Would ever. Put one hand. On his nephew like this.

"Merlin, do not think for one second that I am angry with you. This is not your fault." Gaius made sure to say, but his voice was clipped and his eyes were harder then steel as he threw his arm out to point out the door, in the direction that could lead to the prince. "It's that…that…that beast's fault!" But beast was too small of a word for a man like Arthur, for a man who…who…Gaius may have sworn a vow to always work in the best interest of Uther as a physician, but as far as he was concerned, Gaius would not be extending any vow like it to Arthur. If Arthur thought Gaius would work for any man that would hurt his nephew, then…then…he would just have another thing coming! Merlin had not had anybody to keep him protected during his time here in Camelot, but the old physician was also Merlin's only male relative. And married or not, Gaius had all the power in the world to enforce some kind of changes. Gaius had been pretty adamant to keeping out of it, figuring the boys were old enough to work any kind of problems that had for themselves. But this… "I've put up a lot with that boy, but this is the absolute last straw! I'll not allow that absolute…absolute…man child! To lay one single hand on you!"

Perhaps 'man-child' was too short of a word, it didn't seem to adequately announce what Arthur was, but Gaius-as the physician started to pace across the room with his agitated state-was to furious to think of a proper term for him. Gaius started to think of things he could do, since he couldn't very well kill the prince of Camelot. But there had to be things he could do, as the only male relative to the abused. Because mark his words, this was the LAST TIME Arthur would have a chance to lay his hands on Merlin. What did any father do after finding out their daughters-after being married off-was not being treated as they should be. Sometimes the abuser would pay off the family as a way of settling the matter, but Gaius would not stand for 'money'. He wanted his nephew to live in safety, to not be terrified of the man who was now in charge of Merlin's upkeep, after their marriage transferred it away from his family. Perhaps Gaius could go straight to the king with this one, and demand an audience-not as the royal physician but as an Uncle, and demand proper penance for what his nephew had endured under Arthur's hands. Gaius was the best physician in all the land, and he was sure Uther would not want to risk losing his service. There were things Gaius knew about the king, things that nobody else did…the things Gaius wanted would not be denied to him. And while he wanted Arthur's head-no longer the boy he had knew but a man who had made his own bed, and needed to lie inside it-on a silver platter, he would settle for something like…no longer being allowed to contact Merlin without Gaius' direct supervision. Gaius didn't care that Arthur's role as husband gave Arthur the leverage to legally force Merlin back to live in the castle, the physician would rein hell down on him if he tried to weasel his way out of this one. Or tried to silence his nephew from speaking the truth…perhaps Gaius would need to kill Arthur after all, if the prince did not agree to the list of demands Gaius would be making. Merlin needed him, as the one person who had the power to advocate for him properly, and Gaius would make sure everything they agreed with was going to land within Merlin's best interest.

To hell with Arthur Pendragon…

There was a sudden and loud creaking coming from behind the two of them, as somebody stepped onto the landing just outside of Merlin's door. Gaius, alarmed, whipped around as Merlin practically threw himself away from the door in a mad panic. The consort nearly fell into Gaius' side, shivering with fear as he looked wide eyed towards the door, refusing for a single second to have his back towards the door. It made his stomach churn with disgust, and he wrapped his arm tightly, thinking that Merlin feared being attacked inside of his own room. To the point where he refused to have his back to the only opened point of the room in case somebody would try to attack him here, of all places. But when the physician saw the look of pure unadulterated fear washing over the face of his nephew, Gaius whipped back around to look at the door. And he could understand Merlin's sudden fear…

There was this large shadow, the silhouette clearly shaped like a man-big and bulking and huge enough to have filled out the entire doorway. Like a hulking mass, ready to attack and pummel an unsuspecting consort that he had probably assumed would be alone. But the shadows caused this dark void to be cast over the doorway, giving neither Merlin nor Gaius a good enough view to be able to see who had just interrupted them. But Gaius immediately had his suspicions on who it was, and the old physician tightened his grip form around Merlin's shoulders, moving him so that the boy was standing half behind him. Putting his body between Merlin's and the…the…the brute that had decided he was going to do the dumbest thing possible. And follow Merlin here…as if he thought Gaius was going to turn a blind eye, and allow him to do whatever the hell he wanted to Merlin just because the two of them were married. Arthur Pendragon wouldn't ever know what he had done, by stepping into this room. While the silhouette seemed to be holding some kind of large…box or chest in his hands, Gaius barely even noticed before the physician was pushing Merlin more firmly behind him. And stepping forward to confront the dreaded monster that had broken his boy.

"How dare you…how dare you come here now." Gaius said in a low tone, his anger was audible by the way his voice was shaking, even if he didn't dare yell as he creeped closer to the shadowy figure of Arthur, who silently stared him down without saying a word. That only made Gaius's face start to glow a bright red…how dare he. How dare Arthur come right up to his home, how dare he not even try to make any lame excuses to explain his behavior, how dare he come here to…what? Humiliate and traumatize his nephew, as if he didn't have anything better to do then to hurt the people under his care. If this was how Arthur treated his husband…then this might be a sign for Gaius to take Merlin and run. He did not want to stay in this kingdom if Arthur was going to grow far worse then Uther had ever been. After all, Uther had never laid a hand on his beloved, decreased Queen. "Haven't you done enough! Haven't you hurt Him enough!" The old man practically shouted, throwing his hand out so that the man in the door-so that Arthur-could see what he had done with Merlin. To show Arthur how absolutely horrific such an act was. To force Arthur into doing some piss poor apology that neither of them would be accepting. Because god help him, Gaius would scalp Arthur himself if his nephew even briefly considered saying he was forgiven-even if he said it only to get Arthur out of the room. Arthur did not deserve to live on as normal, while his nephew dealt with his trauma. He didn't deserve to be in Merlin's presence, Merlin being somebody so much more precious then Arthur could ever hope to have a chance of becoming. "You absolute…scoundrel! I should cut off your head myself! Treating your own husband…your mother would be ashamed to know the man you've become! I'm ashamed of you. Give me just one damn good reason as to why I shouldn't kick you out my home by lodging my foot so far up your backside…"

Gaius didn't care if he had gone a step too far in mentioning the prince's mother-he knew better than anybody just how sensitive the prince was about the mother who had died as she held him, before he had even opened up his eyes for the first time. He had gone too far the second his hand-rather it had been a friendly slap on the shoulder, or twisting Merlin's arm until it popped-had landed on Merlin. But still, the other man did not say a word, and Gaius grew vengeful. What did the prince think he was doing, standing there silently in the doorway like some kind of hooded figure. Why he ought to…he ought too…Gaius started whipping his head around to try finding something he could use to beat Arthur over the head with. To beat him until his face was far more bloody and far more bruised and far more…swollen! Then Merlin's was. But Merlin, despite the mess scattered across his floor, seemed to own precious little belongings. The only thing that would be heavy enough to do the trick, looked to be one of Gaius' books that were still flung out across the floor and looked as if it was two inches from hiding under the bed itself. Just as Merlin looked two inches from crawling inside of his skin, to escape the horrific situation he was in.

But before Gaius had the chance to lunge down for the book and slam it over the prince's head, there was a startled gasp that echoed throughout the room. Two, startled gasps if one wanted to be more specific, and Gaius watched as two small figures-women wearing long dresses, if the shadowy figures were any indication. The first women was holding her hands into fists, bunching up the thick material of her dress. While the second figure, had her hand covering her mouth as if to hide her horror. And both of them were staring at Merlin and his disfigured face. As if they couldn't quite believe what he looked like…Gaius shouldn't have been surprised, when the two shadowy women stepped into the light that streamed in the room through the window, revealing themselves as only Lady Morgana and her maidservant, Gwen. Gaius blinked in surprise several times, unable to comprehend why Gwen or Morgana would be here with Arthur…did they not know what he had done to Merlin? Or had they dragged him here, with the plans of also forcing some kind of apology to Merlin. But when Gaius turned back to the hulking mass walking into his nephew's bedroom-and he was already starting to open his mouth to yell at him for being stupid enough to think that he would be welcomed in Merlin's space-he had to stop. Before blinking a time or two to understand what he was seeing.

The man that had just stepped into the light was…decidedly not Prince Arthur Pendragon. In fact, while the man did look to be a knight, wearing the garb of armor that all of the men wore, he couldn't look more different from Arthur then if he had tried. His long black hair did not resemble Arthur's far shorter blond hair in the least, and his dull brown eyes could not hold a candle to the blue that was Arthur's. His dark skin was much more than that Gaius thought Arthur was capable of becoming. And the most obvious different…the huge and hulking mass had to be at least two feet bigger than Arthur was, with arms so muscled that they looked as if they were bulging and could be two seconds from popping. Gaius was able to feel his face reddening, and he cleared his throat in an awkward manner. He would not apologize for defending his nephew against any man, especially not if he thought it was Arthur. But…he had just been yelling at an innocent man so…he turned his eyes back to Morgana and Gwen while the knight placed the chest down on the floor. It was this huge wooden chest with golden embellishments-clearly the girl's had needed the knight to carry it for them-and the floor was creaking when he let it go. As if the floor wouldn't be strong enough to hold the chest, and it was only two seconds from going through the floor and careening down to where Gaius slept just beneath where they were standing now.

The knight bowed his head once towards the consort, and he did it again once towards Lady Morgana, before taking his leave. Now that his job to carry the chest to them was over with, there was little reason for him to stay, apparently not the least bit curious about the bruising that marred his face. But Morgana was, her face looking pinched and those nostrils of hers was starting to flare dangerously, "Merlin…do I need to ask you what happened?" She asked in a slow and dangerous tone, her voice making Gaius suspect that she may already know something. Or had her suspicions on what had happened to him. "Or are you going to tell me if I have to kill him…"

This brought Gaius up short, and he whipped his head back around so that he could look at her more closely. How does Morgana…how did she know, from one look at the bruises or cuts decorating Merlin's skin, who had done it. Gaius could feel the torrent of rage starting to build up in his chest again and again as his thoughts started connecting…people didn't just snap and start attacking other people-attacking their husbands-out of nowhere. There was usually some kind of build up, a warning sign that would've been dismissed as nothing serious…until the first hit landed against unarmed skin. Had there been signs that Gaius missed? Had things grown far worse then what he had thought it was…had Merlin shared some of these incidents with Morgana. Taking the time to share things with a friend, things one might not share with a family member…how…how hadn't the physician snipped this whole thing in the bud. Gaius would forever be cursing the day he had first noticed something, and the day he hadn't pushed harder for clearer answers. That very first day Merlin had came home crying-before he would come to call this place home…on that night, when Arthur was going to be celebrated for winning the tourney and defeating that Knight Valiant. Was Arthur already abusing Merlin by then…or had that night been just the beginning of Arthur starting to fall down the dark road he was on now.

Gaius didn't know, but he was going to find out…one way or the other.