The whole courtroom was staring at them. To be fair, if roles were reversed, Merlin would probably be staring too. After all, it wasn't every day that the people saw their prince gripping the nose of his servant in front of everyone, daring him to sneeze again.
Out of all the things the young warlock had done in his time in Camelot, even he had to admit that this made the top five of one of the strangest moments with the prince. How had this even happened?
When he tried to think back, he realized it had started like most other things tended to; with one of his bad ideas in hand with him not listening to those he probably should have been.
Merlin knew what he was doing was wrong, which was why he was here, in the dead of night, clinging to a satchel and waiting for the clouds to pass so the moon would help to light up his work. If Gaius knew where he was, or what he was planning, the elder would no doubt be furious with him.
Realistically, Merlin did know better, but after weeks of nothing his curiosity had gotten the better of him and he'd returned to the court sorcerer's tower. He'd planned to just read the journal again and be done with it, but he'd forgotten the secrets it held within its covers; secrets that were written in a foreign language and just out of his reach. That had been the start of many late nights and intense research.
Sprawled around and in front of him were many scraps of paper, scrawled in his own handwriting and showing crude drawings of some of the runes that were in the journal. Ralcade's book also lay open in front of him, and though he hadn't dared to write anything of his own on the pages, he'd copied many things on bits of parchment as he tried to figure out the meanings of what was inside.
He hadn't come very far in deciphering the language, but the runes he was starting to understand. Some symbols were written over and over, and he'd begun to learn the most basic ones, such as fire, water, and air. Then of course there were the spells, which was the reason he was kneeling on the floor that evening.
As the moon returned to the sky, the boy began to empty out his satchel, setting everything out in a line. The last time he'd been to the tower, a potion recipe had caught his attention. He had figured out the ingredients after some study, and the words weren't too hard to decipher. As an added bonus, it only had four components, so how hard could it really be to do?
From what Merlin could make out of the words, it was some sort of enhancer for crops and produce. Enhanced what exactly he wasn't sure, but he figured he could start with something small. Potions wouldn't hurt, right? Gaius had been concerned about that life force thing with Archimedes, but that had been an in depth spell, this was different.
Merlin carefully set out three separate bundles of herbs, a vial he'd borrowed from Gaius that he'd filled halfway with water, and a single hawk feather. He also pulled out a spare bit of cloth and a mortar and pestle he'd also borrowed from his guardian.
Propping open the journal in front of him to the specific page he needed and placing a page of his own notes off to the side, Merlin began to combine the ingredients. Pulling the herbs off their stems and grinding them together, Merlin added water from the vial into the dish and then dropped in the feather, stirring slowly.
Drawing in a deep breath, Merlin continued to stir while beginning to recite the spell as the potion started to glow with a dull green light. Repeating the spell twice, as the journal instructed, Merlin stopped stirring with the last word and leaned back, overwhelmed by the scent of pine trees and wet fur.
As the smell died down, Merlin poured the liquid into the vial and swirled it around inside, the glow fading to a barely discernible gleam. Holding the vial under his nose to catch another whiff of the strange scent, a sudden loud screech behind him startled Merlin, causing his body to jerk and the potion to splash against his face.
Jerking the vial away and sputtering, the boy turned with disgust to look behind him at where Archimedes was perched on the windowsill.
"What was that for?" The warlock demanded, pulling down his sleeve and wiping the liquid away from his nose and upper lip.
Archimedes let out another screech, flying inside the tower and landing in front of the boy, pecking at the mortar and pestle as Merlin waved a hand to shoo him back. "Hey! That's not food for you."
Hopping back a couple of paces and tucking his wings against his sides, Archimedes tilted his head and looked at Merlin before looking back at the vial, almost as if asking 'why are you messing with these things?'.
"Stop looking at me like that, I know what I'm doing." Merlin frowned, grabbing the vial and pressing the stopper into the top before side eyeing the owl. "Alright fine. Usually."
Gathering up the rest of the supplies and putting them into his bag to return them before Gaius noticed, Merlin sneezed suddenly, his body shuddering from the motion. As he wiped at his nose again, the owl squawked, an almost mocking sound that made the boy scowl.
"Thanks." He muttered, shoving everything in the bag with little care before gathering up his notes and tucking them inside the journal.
Lifting a section of the floor, Merlin shoved the book far underneath and replaced the panel before slinging the bag over his shoulder. As he stood, another bout of sneezing shook the warlock's shoulders. When he was finished, Merlin drew in a deep breath and glared at the owl, daring the creature to make a sound.
When he didn't, Merlin made a shooing motion with his hand again. "Go on, go hunt or something."
With one last screech, Archimedes turned and flew out the window, leaving the boy to close it after him before heading out of the tower and making his way home. Every few minutes, during his entire trek, Merlin was sneezing. By the time he collapsed into bed, he'd lost count of how many times it had happened, the number going up even more as he tossed and turned while trying to sleep.
When he woke the next morning, it was to yet another round of sneezing. The sky was dull grey outside his window, and Merlin was in a foul mood. The entire time he got himself ready for his day, every task seemed to be interrupted by a sneeze.
Getting dressed? Sneezing.
Washing Up? Sneezing.
Walking out into the main room, Merlin rubbed his hands down his face as Gaius turned at the hearth, glancing at his ward as he sank down to the table.
"Feeling well this morning, Merlin?" The elder asked as the warlock laid his arms out across the surface and dropped his head against them.
"Fine."
"Are you quite sure?" He could hear the physician padding his way towards him, and Merlin listened to the sound of a dish being placed on the table in front of him.
"Very." He muttered, working to muffle a sneeze against his arm before he sat up slowly and stared with disinterest at the food.
"The sounds coming from your room last night say otherwise." Gaius said dryly, easing himself onto the stool on the other side of the table as Merlin halfheartedly picked up a spoon and stabbed at his porridge.
"Are you ill?" Gaius continued, prodding further as Merlin dropped his utensil and scowled.
"No, I just can't stop sneezing." And as if his body were trying to prove the point, the boy sneezed again, barely managing to contain it in the crook of his elbow.
"It is the time of year for allergies, though I don't recall you having trouble with them before." Gaius observed, eating a bite of his own breakfast while Merlin forced down some of his own.
"Maybe." The boy shrugged noncommittedly, feeling a headache beginning to form behind his eyes.
The warlock's fingers probed at his temples while Gaius hummed across the table. "Would you like a potion to help? Or perhaps one for your head?"
Grunting out a no, Merlin shoveled in one final scoop of the porridge before he scooted back his stool and stood. "I'm sure it will stop soon." He assured his guardian, and with a final two sneezes as a farewell, the boy wiped his nose and hurried out the door.
The citadel was already in the process of waking for the morning, various people rushing about either getting ready for their day or changing shifts with the next round so they could return to their homes. The warlock made his way past them all and through the halls until he'd retrieved a tray of the prince's breakfast and hurried to the royal's chambers.
Pushing open the door with his foot, Merlin deposited the tray on the table and hurried to remove the curtains from the windows, letting sunlight stream into the room. For once, the prince was already awake, sitting up in bed and staring across the room with a still dazed expression.
"Morning, Sire." Merlin uttered with a nod of his head as he moved to the second set of windows and tugged at the curtains, sneezing three times in a row as he did.
"Morning indeed." The prince murmured, eyeing the boy. "Perhaps you should take time to clean those this morning, Merlin, if they're so dusty as to cause you to sneeze."
"No, it's not them." The boy sighed, sneezing again and moving to gather up the laundry lying on the floor in the corner. "It's just allergies, or they are according to Gaius."
Tossing the clothes into a basket by the door, Merlin grabbed the tray and carried it to the bed when it was clear that Arthur had no intention of actually getting up yet. As he lowered it into the prince's lap, he sneezed again, unable to turn away in time and coating half the man's tray in saliva. For a moment the both of them were silent, staring in disgust at the now speckled and shiny breakfast.
"Sorry." The boy murmured with a grimace, standing upright as Arthur shooed a hand at him.
"Take it. I've suddenly lost my appetite." Shoving the tray off to the side, the blond swung his legs over the side of the bed and tugged off his night shirt, gesturing towards the bandage on his arm that had a tinge of red in the middle.
Merlin recognized the wound from the melee tournament, from where Gwaine had stepped in to save Arthur's life. He'd still managed to get injured, and judging from the stain, wasn't taking it as easy as Gaius had strongly suggested.
"Just help me change this, it began bleeding again in the night."
Merlin did as he was told, stepping close to carefully unwrap the bloodied bandage before checking to make sure there was no infection. Grabbing a fresh roll of bandages from off the nightstand, the warlock leaned even closer to properly rewrap the wound. All of this he did while sneezing. Not just once or twice, but constant, every few seconds.
"Is there anything you can take for these allergies?" Arthur finally demanded, yanking his arm away the moment the warlock was finished and putting as much distance as he could between the two of them.
"Well I.." Merlin started, wiping at his nose with the edge of his sleeve before shrugging sheepishly. "I sort of turned down Gaius' offer."
"What?"
"It wasn't this bad earlier, I swear!"
"Well un-turn down his offer, I'm sick of hearing it!" The prince scowled, stalking out of his room and leaving Merlin to stand alone, sneezing once again.
"Fine! I'll take a potion!" Merlin shouted the minute he kicked open the door to the physician's tower, startling Gaius away from his workbench where he had been carefully mixing something in a large pot.
"Merlin, what in the world—"
"Potion, for the allergies, please Gaius. I can't take it anymore!" The boy wailed, falling onto a stool near the fire and looking up at his guardian with pleading eyes.
The physician just stared, despite his request, though Merlin knew he couldn't blame him. Not with the way he currently looked. During his work, Merlin had spooked the horses with his sneezing and had been knocked over twice, he'd run into multiple unsuspecting people, and spilled not one, not two, but three trays of food.
He was covered in dirt and gravy and other foul things that he was trying really hard not to focus on despite the smell currently wafting up from his body.
"Merlin, what exactly happened to cause this?" The elder asked, turning around and pulling different ingredients towards him as the warlock sighed and pushed himself up.
"I don't know! It just started last night and now it won't stop."
Walking into his bedroom while Gaius prattled on about different illnesses that he could have contracted, Merlin changed out of his soiled clothes and tugged on fresh trousers and a tunic.
"Perhaps someone has cursed you again." Gaius was saying as the warlock walked back out while tying a neckerchief around his neck.
"I've been checking all my belongings constantly since then, I don't think it's that." He grumbled, standing at the table and watching while Gaius strained liquid into a vial and then did it again, making sure it was smooth and clear.
A tickle started in the boy's nose and throat, and he barely turned away in time to sneeze, the sound loud and echoing in the room as they both paused.
"Is that mucus?" Gaius asked, though rather than disgust, concern and confusion furrowed his brow as Merlin looked down at his curled arm, and at the glob of green goo staining his sleeve. Green goo that was glowing.
Merlin's eyes widened moments before he hurried to fold his arm over. "What? Oh, yeah, it must be because of what I ate. Sorry, I've just remembered Arthur needed me." He spoke quickly, spinning towards the door and practically running out of it as he heard Gaius shouting after him about the potion he'd made for the boy.
Once he'd made it to the corridors, Merlin began sprinting, dodging around maids and guards and ignoring startled stares and gasps directed at him as he hurried back to the Court Sorcerer's tower.
He didn't hesitate to burst inside, shoving the door closed behind him as Archimedes jolted awake from his window perch from where the warlock apparently hadn't closed it all the way the night before. It was a safe place for the bird to be, but not an undisturbed one as Merlin dropped to the floor and began pulling out the journal and all of his notes. Sneezing again as he sifted through the pages, he glanced back at the owl who was watching him intently.
"Here!" Merlin called out loud when he'd found what he wanted, dropping the other notes on the floor and running his finger along his barely legible writing.
The potion had enhanced plants. Plants. It must have enhanced the pollen in the room from the changing seasons. Once it had gotten in his nose, along with the pollen, Merlin hadn't stood a chance.
Falling onto his back and grasping his head, the warlock groaned again, followed by another sneeze, and yet another groan. How long was it supposed to last? He hadn't properly tested it, hadn't planned to test it for another week at least, let alone using himself as a test subject.
"You think I deserve this, don't you?" Merlin grumbled, tilting his head back until he was looking at the owl upside down. Instead of an answer, Archimedes began preening his feathers, which the warlock felt was a very convenient way of ignoring his question.
Putting the notes and journal back beneath the floor with grumbles and muttering, the boy sneezed again, frustration slowly mounting. There had been nothing in Ralcade's notes about how long the potion would last, or if there was anything to combat the effects. The best Merin could guess was that he would have to wait for it to leave his system, which could take the rest of the day, and maybe even tomorrow if his bad luck held.
So, with a dejected demeanor and slumped shoulders, the boy made his way back into the main part of the citadel, his eyes on his feet the whole time. Which was exactly how he managed to miss the prince, and the opportunity to avoid him.
"Merlin!" The blond called, striding towards the warlock with purpose as Merlin paused, lingering in the middle of the corridor as he waited for the man to draw closer. "Perfect, I was just on my way, you can follow."
"Follow you where?" Merlin asked, turning reluctantly to follow Arthur once he realized the man wasn't going to stop.
"To court, you ought to be there."
"Court?" The warlock gaped, sneezing again as the blond side eyed the boy.
"Yes. Has those allergies of yours made you hard of hearing too?"
"I don't understand, why do I need to be there?"
Arthur made a show of rolling his eyes at the boy. "Considering we're discussing the sorcery that occurred at the melee, I would assume you'd want to be present."
Merlin nearly stumbled over his own feet at hearing that, but quickly regained himself at a curious glance from the prince. "Because it could affect any future Gwaine might have here. Why do you look like that? I figured you'd care about whether or not he might be allowed to return one day."
Gwaine. Not Merlin's magic, but the magic used during the melee by the men who had tried to kill Arthur. He was fine. Safe. For now.
Of course, a sneeze that made him lurch forward earned a disgusted look from Arthur and a reminder that he would never fully be safe. Not here, not under Uther's reign.
"Did you see Gaius about that ridiculous sneezing?"
"Yes?" Merlin said, hesitation clear in his tone. Thankfully they were right outside the doors, and Arthur merely glared at him threateningly before they walked inside.
Several people had already gathered, and as Arthur made his way to stand beside the throne and his father, Merlin made his way to the side where Gaius was already standing. The physician cast the boy a concerned glance, but otherwise remained silent, and Merlin worked to do his best at blending in with the wall behind him.
It didn't take long for things to get started, and soon a young farmer was standing in the middle of the room before the king, telling his story. He started by saying how his crops bordered the forest, and that his wife often gathered nuts and berries from said forest during the day while he worked.
That day, however, his wife had taken ill, and the farmer had cut his work a few hours short so he could still gather some of what they used to add to their sales. As he was detailing how and why this was an important part of their routine, Merlin sneezed. Then sneezed again.
For a moment the whole room descended into silence, and after a beat of hesitation, the farmer continued. He skipped to the part of seeing two men from a distance, and their conversation about these strange, magical stones and changing their forms.
The farmer talked about how he was going to tell the king, but his wife had gotten worse, and had instead sent a messenger to the citadel. Uther seemed unconvinced, as no messenger had ever appeared, but he continued to listen.
Or he did, until Merlin interrupted with a set of four very loud sneezes. The entire room went quiet again, and the boy could feel all eyes on him as he quickly wiped his nose and ducked his head.
Uther had only just started in on his line of questioning when Merlin felt the urge creeping over him again. Carefully covering his mouth with his hand and turning away, he fought hard to keep the sneeze in.
The king's words were nothing but a buzz as he struggled and, inevitably, failed. The sound cut the king's words off midsentence, and Uther let out an irritated sigh, shifting on his throne and glowering at the boy.
"Is there something wrong with you?" Uther asked, his harsh tone echoing in an otherwise silent courtroom as the boy stiffened.
"Just in the head." Arthur muttered beside his father, folding his arms across his chest and glaring at the warlock with the same expression his father wore.
"N-No, Sire." Merlin swallowed, barely bowing as Gaius closed his eyes and inhaled sharply beside him. "I just have.. allergies.." His voice fell quiet near the end as he sneezed once more and quickly covered his mouth.
Uther scowled but turned his gaze back to the farmer. Arthur on the other hand had stepped away from the throne, and Merlin made himself look away and tried to focus on the hearing.
Several minutes passed without incidence. The farmer answered each question quickly and thoroughly, and Uther seemed to have forgotten about the young warlock's interruptions. At least until it happened again. Or rather, almost happened.
At some point during the few minutes between sneezes, Arthur had crept around the back of the crowd until he was right behind the boy and his guardian. When Merlin felt the urge rising, and his body started to tremble from the effort of holding it in, he felt fingers clamp down over his nose. More specifically, Arthur's fingers.
Wide, shocked eyes stared into Arthur's, the blond wearing a blank expression, though judging from the tight way he gripped his servant's nose, Merlin suspected rage was boiling right beneath the surface. If that had been it, the boy was fairly certain it would have gone more or less unnoticed.
The people directly around them had turned to stare, but everyone else seemed enamored by the farmer's story. Unfortunately, Arthur's attempts did nothing but delay the inevitable. Merlin tried, he really did, but the sneezing was fueled by magic, and forced itself out in a painful spew.
It all seemed to happen in slow motion. The gasps from the crowd. Uther's wide eyes and gaping mouth. Arthur's disgust, shock, and anger. And the glob of glowing green mucus splattered across the prince's chin.
His grip on the boy's nose fell, and Merlin lunged forward to wipe away the snot before anyone could see the magical qualities it had.
"Merlin!" Arthur roared, the shock disappearing, replaced with more anger than he'd seen in a long time.
"I'm sorry Arthur, I didn't mean to—"
"Court is adjourned, I believe we've heard enough." Uther grimaced, lifting a hand to cover his mouth as Arthur remained frozen after his outburst.
"Come, Merlin, we should treat your allergies." Gaius hurried to step in as Arthur took a staggering step towards the boy.
"Merlin, you—" His words were cut off by another servant hurrying forward with a wet cloth, and Arthur snatched it from their hands to quickly scrub at his chin.
Neither Merlin nor Gaius looked back as they hurried out the door and down a small corridor, leaving a commotion of shouting and rage behind.
"Was it my imagination or was that discharge of yours glowing?" Gaius questioned once they were out of earshot, and Merlin hurried to shake his head.
"What? No. What?" He gasped, over exaggerating as the physician frowned and dragged the boy towards their home.
They were silent the whole rest of the way back, and Merlin didn't argue when Gaius directed him to a stool and told him to wait. It wasn't long before a potion was brewing, and Gaius was studying the boy over the top of it.
"What?" Merlin asked after ten more minutes had passed, unable to take the staring any longer.
Gaius didn't respond, only turning his gaze back to his potion. The warlock fidgeted where he sat, sneezing yet again and groaning.
"Here." The elder finally spoke, passing a small vial with a yellowish liquid that smelled of fish towards him.
"What is that?" The boy asked, his lips turning down in disgust at the odor.
"It's what's going to stop that infernal sneezing of yours. Before you drink it, speak this." The physician instructed, passing over a torn piece of parchment that was weathered and old with age.
The writing was almost illegible and was written strangely, each word written out as it should be said, rather than how it might have been spelt. Giving his guardian a curious glance, Merlin did as he was told, quoting the seven words carefully over the potion. As he did, the vial began to glow, magic infusing with the remedy until he finished speaking and the glow faded.
"Drink." Gaius directed, leaning his hands against the table with a stern expression hardening his features.
Picking up the vial, Merlin forced himself to down the foul liquid, the taste far worse than the smell had been and causing him to sputter and cough once he'd gagged it down.
"What was that?" He wheezed, scrambling out of his seat and finding a pitcher of water that he began chugging from in an effort to rid his mouth of the taste.
"A cure." Gaius remarked dryly, practically burning a hole through the boy's head with the way he was glaring.
Swallowing the last bit of the water and setting the pitcher down, Merlin turned to face his guardian and waited for the inevitable sneezing to start again.
And waited.
And waited some more. But no sneezing.
"Oh, thank you!" Merlin's whole body drooped with relief, a grin pulling at his lips as he walked back over to the work bench. It was only when Gaius's harsh expression remained that the boy's joyous one started to fade.
"Why are you messing with the things I deliberately told you to stay away from?" The elder finally asked, his voice calm and controlled.
"What? I'm not." The warlock said slowly, doing his best to feign ignorance.
"Do not lie to me, Merlin!" Gaius snapped, leaning heavily against the table. "That remedy I just gave you is old."
"It worked well, though." Merlin muttered, feeling his shoulders tense, knowing they were approaching a subject he'd worked to avoid.
"It only worked because of what you first ingested." At that, Merlin frowned, his eyes flickering back down to the scrap of paper he'd read from, realization slowly dawning. "That's right, Merlin. That is from the same language as that book you've been reading from." The physician scowled, throwing a hand into the air. "Do you have any idea what you're messing with?"
"No!" Merlin shouted back, catching the elder briefly off guard. "I don't, because no one will give me any answers!"
The two stood staring across the table at one another until Gaius nodded once, hard and firm. "Alright, Merlin. Tell me this then. Do you know what language it is that is in that book of yours?"
"The ancients. The dragon told me." The warlock sighed, sagging back on his heels and folding his arms across his chest.
"Yes, but it is worse than that. Do you know what the ancients were?"
"No, that was kept from me as well." Merlin grumbled, watching while his guardian looked at the top of his work bench, almost as if he were fighting with himself. "What is it, Gaius?"
"It's the language of the dragons." The man uttered, looking up with a grave expression that sent a chill down Merlin's spine. "An old, ancient, lost language. One that no, not even the Dragonlords spoke. And now, you've not only unearthed it, but you've begun to play with it as if you have no regard for yourself or anyone else."
"But—"
"Merlin, that language was never meant to be spoken by mortals. Dragonlords, they shared a language with the dragons, but this was all their own. Not for you, and certainly not for the previous court sorcerer. What you have uncovered is dangerous, and the fact that you've been learning to use magic with that language is more dangerous than you can imagine. You've upset the balance, and if you don't stop, the price you'll be forced to pay is greater than you know."
"How.. How do you know all this?" Merlin asked, ignoring the way his voice sounded hoarse and scared, even to himself.
"Because I knew Ralcade, once upon a time." Gaius sighed, sitting down heavily at the table and looking up at the warlock with mournful eyes. "I saw what this did to him. And heaven forbid I watch the same thing happen to you."
"But what did happen?" Merlin pushed, his arms falling to his sides at the same time that Gaius' head dropped.
"I cannot speak of it, Merlin. But it was the cause of his demise."
"Demise?" The warlock repeated slowly, barely shaking his head. "But he.. But I.."
"Saw him? Spoke to him? As I said, Merlin. The price is far too great."
A/N
What is this I smell? A backstory perhaps? Hmmmmmmmm….
Hope you guys liked this one! It was just something silly I thought about one day while suffering through my own allergies, and decided it would be a good way to introduce some deeper story and lore!
Thank you all for your well wishes! We're doing great, and we're loving the Colorado mountains where we're at! I previously lived literally in the middle of a corn field in Illinois where everything was flat and boring, so this is a great change of pace!
I hope you all enjoy the upcoming holiday season, and feel free to leave any comments, questions, and thoughts! See you guys soon!
