Chapter Eleven : The warning

perspective Gaius:

Before either of them could say anything further there was a knock from the chamber door. The sound startled the two out of there hug, Gaius gave one more look to his son before inviting the mystery guest to enter.

Seconds later the queen and Leon entered with a matching look of concern, causing the same concerned expression to be found on Merlin, Gaius (and even Arthur's faces too.)

Gaius's response came instant "good afternoon my lady, what seems to be troubling you?".

"Sorry to bother you Gaius, I know you have lots of work ahead of you with the tournament." Gwen paused for a moment taking in the sight of the room and all the medical supplies scattered around it, likely remembering the times she had helped Merlin and Gaius following events like these. "But I'm afraid there's been talk amongst the arriving knights of some sort of beast that's been tearing through the nearby kingdoms, I'm concerned that with the direction it seems to be going it might arrive in Camelot very soon. I was hoping that you may be able to help us identify it so Sir Leon and the rest of the knights can be prepared for what to expect."

"I will do my best my Lady, What do we know about it so far?"

It was Leon that spoke this time "The creature has been described as having a round body with many tentacles but no identifiable arms or legs. The end of the tentacles sound as though they contain sharp spikes, while the rest of the body is covered in a dark brown hair making it camouflage well around wood and mud. Although each story we've heard contain a lot of varying details, so it's hard to know for definite which ones are true and not."

Gaius understood what Leon was referring to here, it is natural that in any deadly situation people will only likely have picked up on one or two facts, the rest being left for there minds and other gossip to fill in "Ah, yes that is to be expected, but knowing what's most common to have been said should help me narrow it down a little... has anyone mentioned how many tentacles the creature is thought to have?"

"Sadly the best I can give you on that is it's likely more than 4 and no higher than 10, sorry I can't be more help" Gaius noted the apologetic expression Leon had given him with this information, clearly knowing it's not much to go on.

"it's better information than non, thank you Leon."

Wasting no time, Gaius got to work finding out the appropriate books for his research. He was so focused on doing so he hadn't taken in a word that was said next; that was until he noticed Guinevere and Leon leaving while Merlin came over to help him. "Merlin, I thought you were squiring for Sir Leon during this tournament"

"I was... but I thought you might need my help with this instead, after all two pairs of eyes are faster than one and you may need to keep stopping to treat people."

"that's a fine point my boy" Gaius paused in his mission to now look towards Merlin "which is exactly why I need you to go to the tournament... with my medical bag. That way you can still Squire for Sir Leon and treat most of the injuries that occur- allowing me to focus more on looking for what this creature is." Gaius noted the shocked look on Merlin's face, he wasn't really sure why this had surprised the boy so much though (after all it's not the first time Gaius has asked Merlin to treat people).

It took a couple moments for Merlin to seem to get his thoughts back before responding, "but Gaius... are you sure, I mean I know I've treated people before, but... you know how bad these tournaments can get - and it's not like I've really been at my best at the moment - what if I mess it up... surely it's better to have the real physician there, not ..."

Having realised Merlin was starting to spiral Gaius decided to step in by placing a hand on the boys shoulder and cutting him off with his own firm voice "Merlin. You've treated enough people by now that I'm fully confident in your skills and judgment, to the point I've been speaking to Gwen about making you an official physician. I trust you and your abilities entirely. However I understand that the tournament can be a lot for anyone, especially when you will also be working for Sir Leon, therefore anyone who needs serious extensive care you can send straight to me here where I will treat them... but if your out there helping the most common injuries and choosing which to send to down to me, I can stay here and focus more of my time on finding out about the beast."

Merlin seemed entirely lost for words. He just stared at Gaius in utter disbelief, so Gaius decided to grab his medical bag off the table and held it out to his son. This gesture seemed to do the trick, snapping Merlin out of his trance. "You want to make me an official physician?" While Merlin spoke he accepted the bag his mentor was holding out to him.

"yes Merlin, now you better hurry the tournaments about to begin"

Instead of verbally responding Merlin embraced his father figure in another quick hug before heading to the door. Just as Merlin was about to leave Gaius called out to him. "Merlin!" When Merlin spun around to face him- Gaius wordlessly threw him a bread roll from the table. After catching the roll Merlin shouted back a "thanks" in response while running out the door and towards the tournament.

Perspective Arthur:

Arthur loved watching as Gaius and Merlin interacted together. He had known from very early on that Gaius was like a farther to Merlin, however he didn't very often get the chance the chance to actually watch the way they interacted together until after he died. In some ways, Arthur actually kinda liked watching on while no one else could see him (at least now that Merlin can) as it's allowed him the chance to actually observe and learn about his friends and people far better than he ever got to when he was alive.

Now that Merlin was running towards the tournament Arthur took his opportunity to talk to him. "See Merlin, I'm not the only one who was worried about you not eating today; Therefore I'm clearly not being a 'mother hen' "

Just as Athur had hoped this comment did receive a laugh from Merlin, however despite laughing and talking Merlin didn't pause or slow in his running at all. "Uh huh, I don't think comparing yourself to my father figure gives you as much credit as your thinking it does" Somehow even while running and being breathless Merlin still manages to master that slightly teasing tone he often mixes into their banter. This is followed by Merlin very aggressively biting into the bread roll (while still running), causing Arthur to laugh at the exaggeration.

Arthur was just about to question the other man over the shirt he had noticed Leon wearing earlier, that was until he noticed Merlin was just about to arrive at Sir Leon's tent and decided against distracting him with a question he certainly couldn't answer while there. If he was honest he genuinely thought that it was very sweet of Merlin to give Leon that shirt to wear as honestly if he'd been alive and knew everything that was about to happen he would have given him something like that too (more likely his sword or shield but the sentiment was the same.) After all sir Leon was his longest and most trusted knight. Despite this there's no way he could let Merlin know this, no, instead he decided he needed to think of a way he could get his payback...

Notes : thank you for reading, any feedback on the chapter or the story so far would be greatly appreciated.

Also my perception of time isn't great so sorry if 20 minutes feels more like an hour.