Chapter 10: The Snake In Armour

Disclaimer: Merlin and its characters do not belong to me

Merlin fretted the whole way back to Gaius' chambers. How was he going to get everything done before tomorrow? He still had a lot of reading to get through as well, on top of the work Gaius gave him.

By the time he arrived, the problem was solved. Nodding to Gaius, Merlin headed up to his room and flopped onto his bed – and didn't that take some getting used to, a bed!

It took a moment to find his place in the current book, but soon he was back to reading, while his magic worked – hammering out the various dinks in Arthur's shield, sharpening his sword, and various cleaning. He'd managed to make considerable progress before the door opened to admit Gaius, causing everything to fall to the floor.

Confused, Gaius looked around at the mess.

"Are you using magic, again?" he demanded.

"No." Merlin replied blandly.

"What's all this, then?" Gaius pointed at the mess.

Glancing at it, Merlin shook his head.

"No idea."

Gaius sighed.

"I just came to tell you that supper's ready." he raised an eyebrow suspiciously at Merlin before heading back down.

Once the door had closed, Merlin sighed in relief, before gathering everything up.

The next morning saw Merlin up bright and early, using his magic to finish his chores. There was less chance of discovery, after all, if Gaius was still asleep.

Once finished, it was down to the armoury, past the already-bustling courtyard. In contrast, the armoury was deserted, allowing Merlin to head straight for the Prince's gear. It was while he was double-checking everything, that he heard it. A loud, angry hiss, accompanied by his magic 'pinging' at him, warning of danger, and 'not-right-ness'.

"Hello?" he called, looking round.

The only answer was another long hiss. Merlin frowned.

"Is there someone there?" If anything, his magic got more urgent.

Following the hissing, however, only led him to Valiant's shield. Merlin's eyes narrowed, inspecting the sheet of painted metal. But, just as he was about to move back, one of the snakes blinked.

Startled, Merlin toppled over backwards, before scrambling back, eyes locked on the painted snakes, waiting for them to move again. Was it getting colder? Maybe it was just his imagination, his mind playing tricks? Working for the Prince was certainly tiring...

Needing to know, Merlin began reaching for the shield, only to find a sword pointing straight at his chest. When he looked up, Valiant was standing there, glaring.

"Can I help you with something, boy?" the knight asked, keeping his sword pointed at the servant.

"No," Merlin shook his head. "I'm good. I-I was just...I was, erm, gathering my master's armour." he motioned to the pile.

"Then you best be on your way." Valiant frowned.

"Right, yeah. No problem." Merlin hurried to grab everything, wanting to get as far away as possible, his magic positively screaming 'danger' at him. In his haste to leave, he managed to trip over a bench, bruising his knees in the process.

Valiant blinked, before finally lowering his sword, eyes twinkling in amusement.

Somehow, Merlin made it to the Prince's chambers without dropping anything. Which, given the state he was in, was quite an achievement. Leaving the armour in the, very handy, alcove, he headed off to the kitchens.

By the time Arthur was up, had eaten breakfast, and put on his gambeson, Merlin was ready. He'd taken full advantage of Arthur going behind the changing screen to collect the armour, and lay it all out on the dresser.

Walking over, Arthur cast an eye across it, checking it was all there, and all the chores he'd given last night had been completed.

"You did all this on your own?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Yes, Sire." Merlin nodded, not sure what the Prince had been expecting.

Arthur blinked, before giving a slight nod.

"Now, let's see if you can get me into it, without forgetting anything." he challenged.

Taking a breath, Merlin began, taking care to remember the sword.

"That was much better." Arthur nodded once Merlin'd finished. "Not, that it could have got any worse."

Merlin shrugged.

"I'm a fast learner."

"I hope, for your sake, that's true." Arthur retorted.

"Good luck," Merlin smiled.

Arthur glanced at him, sighing, before heading down to the arena, Merlin trotting along behind. As Arthur stepped out to applause, as the reigning champion, Merlin reclaimed his spot from yesterday near the entrance.

"Is it my imagination, or are you beginning to enjoy yourself?" Gaius asked, on his way to join the stands.

"It," Merlin sighed, struggling to find the right words. "It isn't, totally horrible, all the time." he admitted, much to Gaius' amusement.

And so, the battles continued, Gaius opting to stay with his young charge for a bit. The evening of rest seemed to have sent the knights into overdrive, trying to end the battles as soon as possible. The crowd loved it, cheering their favourites on, shouting in outrage when defeated, and choosing new favourites, sometimes at the drop of a hat.

It wasn't until Valiant and Sir Ewan's fight, however, that Gaius was needed. Normally, small knicks and scratches would be tended to back at the tents, with salves and ointments. But, sadly, this was not the case for Sir Ewan.

During the fight, Valiant had managed to knock Ewan down, and he didn't get up again. All Merlin could do was watch as Gaius headed over, having been tending Arthur at the time.

"I think he's badly hurt," Merlin muttered, Arthur nodding in agreement.

As soon as the tournament finished for the day, Merlin rushed back to Gaius' quarters. Opening the door proved to be...difficult while carrying Arthur's armour loose, but he managed it.

"How is he?" Merlin asked, pretty much dropping the armour on a nearby table.

Gaius huffed.

"It's most odd." he beckoned Merlin over. "Look at this – see these two small wounds?" he asked, motioning to a pair of punctures on Sir Ewan's neck. "Looks like a snake bite."

Merlin frowned. It didn't make any sense!

"How could he've been bitten by a snake? He was injured in the sword fight."

Gaius nodded slowly.

"But the symptoms are consistent with poisoning. Slow pulse, fever, paralysis..." Gaius stated listing them off.

"Can you heal him?" Merlin asked, getting more concerned by the second.

Gaius gave a sort-of half shrug, before returning to his work bench.

"Well, if it is a snake bite, I'll have to extract venom from the snake that bit him to make an antidote."

"What happens if he doesn't get the antidote?" Merlin asked hurriedly, following Gaius across the room.

"Then I'm afraid there's nothing more I can do for him. He's going to die." Gaius explained, returning to his patient, wet cloth in hand.

Horrified, Merlin could only watch, he didn't know anything about being a physician, as Gaius hadn't had a chance to begin teaching him yet. But, he couldn't just stand around, there must be something he could – Merlin froze, his mind returning to earlier that morning...

"He was fighting knight Valiant." Merlin murmured, beginning to out the pieces together.

"What's that?" Gaius asked, preoccupied with his patient.

"Nothing." Merlin replied, heading off.