Work Text:
Merlin walked down the empty corridor to the prince's chambers.
It was evening, twilight had long fallen on the lands of Albion, and only the soft, scattering light of the moon from the windows of the castle illuminated the corridor and small dust particles hovering in the air. And it was so quiet. Only the sound of Merlin's shuffling footsteps filled the empty corridor, echoing through the walls of the sleeping space.
shuff. shuff. shuff.
Merlin walked slowly, enjoying the moments of peace and letting his thoughts float outside of him, feeling the waves of magic racing through his veins and ending in the palms in which he carried Arthur's dinner.
Arthur had really made him overload the last few weeks.
He literally made Merlin wash the whole castle, so that it would shine like rubbed porcelain. As soon as the warlock came back to the prince's chambers, he unfolded him with a new urgent assignment and words about his uselessness. He cleaned the stables, polished his armor, saved him from evil-vengeful-sorcerers, gathered herbs for Gaius, cleaned the stables again, and my god, he was so tired. Every day, stress and malnutrition brought him to the point that his hands shook, and his legs barely bore his small weight. Gray circles under his eyes and shaggy, matted hair betrayed his fatigue, but not that the prince would notice it.
So he finally reached the prince's chambers. Unceremoniously, as always, he opened the door and stepped inside. Putting dinner on the table, he rested his hands on his hips and carefully examined the room. Arthur wasn't there, he's probably delayed again at the council meeting. Merlin sighed for the last time, casting a wistful glance at the prince's bed, and went to clean up the mess of his chambers, which had formed during, by God, an hour of his absence, while he once again washed the stables (it seems Arthur is thinking of making Merlin a groom).
Merlin reached for his tunic, which lay ugly on the floor, when he heard a barely audible creak behind him. He whirled around, dropping his tunic.
Nothing.
Well, apparently exhaustion brought him to hallucinations.
Merlin ran his hand over his face wearily and turned around to continue cleaning. He had barely had time to bend down for the same prince's tunic when a hand roughly grabbed his hair and jerked him up, forcing him to stand up. Merlin screamed, but before he could even comprehend anything, the man pinned him with his left hand against the wall, the other hand still holding his hair, causing Merlin's head to fall back against the cold wall.
Panic began to settle in Merlin's stomach and the adrenaline instantly sobered him up from his fatigue. He began to kick and tried to grab the man by the hand, with which he pinned the crow to the wall. The man was tall and slender, covered all over with a dark blue cloth that hid all of his face except for his impassive gray eyes.
Merlin reached out for his magic, but the man with a jerk by the hair darned him against the wall, causing the warlock to unravel again. His head was throbbing and he closed his eyes, unable to concentrate on his magic. He let go of the man's hand pinning him, instead lowering his hands to the wall behind him.
When he opened his eyes again, the man had already removed his hand from Merlin's head and was instead holding a vial of blue-gray liquid in it. Merlin's eyes widened and he tried to scream, but instead made it easier for the man who roughly grabbed his jaw with his other hand, forcing his mouth to remain open.
He brought the vial to Merlin's mouth and poured the liquid into it without difficulty. Merlin bucked and struggled to close his mouth, but he could already feel the liquid settling in his throat and flowing into his stomach. (and, maybe, lungs)
The man released Merlin and disappeared almost instantly, as if he had never been there. Merlin tore himself away from the wall and coughed as he fell to all fours. Almost immediately, he felt his stomach twist and he clutched at it, falling to his side, still trying to cough up fluid from his lungs.
Lord, it hurts. For real.
Merlin curled up on the floor, shivering, his hands helplessly grabbing and pulling at his tunic over his stomach as it continued to roll over and send rivulets of pain through his veins. It was a complete mess.
Merlin looked at the door and tried to call someone, but nothing came out but a plaintive sigh. He felt his eyes sting and his face tighten into a grimace as Merlin realized that he would probably die like that.
Well, at least it won't be Arthur. Soon he will come to his chambers, see Merlin's body, they will find the killer, and Arthur will be safe. Merlin felt a little relieved by this, before shuddering and clenching his stomach again at the new wave of pain.
The warlock thought for the last time of Arthur, who would never learn of his magic.
He let the sobs escape him freely, shuddering his already trembling little body on the floor.
~
Arthur walked back down the empty corridor to his chambers.
The meeting really dragged on. The lords seemed to be able to argue endlessly about everything, which annoyed Arthur to no end.
The Prince wistfully thought of the already cold dinner in his chambers and allowed himself to walk slowly, looking at the dark landscape from the windows of the castle. His straight steps echoed off the walls of the corridor.
The prince opened the door and stepped into the chambers.
First of all, he felt annoyed at seeing the mess of his room. Dinner was already on the table, which meant Merlin had arrived, so why didn't his lazy ass bother to clean up Arthur's chambers for his return?
The whimper made Arthur snap out of his annoyance and turn his head to the left. All annoyance immediately evaporated when he saw a small, huddled figure on the floor.
Merlin.
Arthur forgot everything he thought a moment ago and rushed to his servant, who was curled up on the floor. He knelt down in front of him and awkwardly reached out his hands to him, not knowing what to do. "Merlin. Merlin, what is it?"
He continued to tremble and whimper as if he hadn't heard him.
Arthur threw up his hands in despair, feeling helpless before stopping on his head. He ran his hands through his hair and suddenly came to his senses "Guards! Get Gaius!"
In front of him, Merlin flinched at the noise and weakly looked up at him with his blue eyes "A- Arthur?" His face was pale and distorted with pain, and in the moonlight on his cheeks one could see wet streams that had not yet dried up.
Arthur's stomach clenched immediately, and he could not do anything except pull Merlin to him and hug, clasping his back with one hand and the back of his head with the other, burying him in the crook of his neck. Merlin inhaled at the sudden movement, but relaxed, at least as much as he could. He grabbed Arthur's back and whimpered weakly, pulling his knees up towards him, but he couldn't quite because of their posture.
To make raven more comfortable, Arthur stretched out his legs and Merlin sat on them. He desperately clutched Arthur's tunic and trembled with sobs. Arthur didn't know what to do, so he just sat in Merlin's weak grip, swaying gently and cradling his back.
What the hell happened?
Soon he decided to stand up, almost without changing his grip on the servant. He pulled him up, which was not comfortable with Merlin's shrinking and hunched figure. So they slowly made their way to the prince's bed. Merlin was still whimpering weakly, and Arthur was practically carrying him as he barely moved his legs in front of him.
When they reached the bed, Arthur sat down on the soft sheets, holding on to Merlin. The prince twisted his legs, and Merlin settled to his left. Weakened, now he barely grabbed Arthur's shirt, making him nervous about it.
It was so unusual and strange. Arthur sat on his bed with his manservant. After all, he did not even think when he took him, when he sat him on the bed, cradling and singing words of consolation. But Merlin was much more than his manservant, he was like a brother to Arthur. Clumsy idiotic little brother.
The prince shifted his position slightly to lower his head and look at Merlin. Now that he looked closely, he could see visible bags under his eyes, and his face seemed painful. Arthur suddenly became ill. Why didn't he see it? Why does Merlin even look like this? Gods. It's not because of him, is it? Arthur's eyes stung and he looked up and put Merlin's head under his chin, staring at the door, waiting for the doctor.
After a while of silence, broken only by Merlin's convulsive breathing, Gaius rushed into the chamber in a hurry. He looked around for a while until he noticed the couple on the bed and hurried over to them. Arthur immediately climbed carefully out of bed, holding Merlin gently as he whimpered, his hands on his stomach and his eyes closed. He stepped back to make room for the doctor and watched with concern as Gaius turned Merlin over and checked something.
After a while of muttering to himself and examining the patient, Gaius nods and pours something down Merlin's throat, which makes him toss and turn at first, but then gradually calms down, completely limp on the bed, apart from a slight shiver. The doctor turns to Arthur, who is staring at the man in the bed. "He must have been poisoned."
Arthur's eyes widen and he looks at the old man. "You sure? Maybe he just ate something wrong?"
Gaius closed his eyes and shook his head. "It's poison. I gave him painkillers now, he won't wake up anytime soon."
Arthur looked at Merlin worriedly. "But he'll be fine, right?"
"He will. I know the antidote, but it still needs to be prepared. He needs to be transferred to my chambers for-"
Arthur cut him off "Let him stay here."
Gaius raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. "Okay. Then keep an eye on him while I go to my chambers. Call if he gets worse."
Arthur nodded slightly and closed his eyes at the thought that Merlin could still get worse, how he would again writhe and whine painfully, and Arthur could not do anything. However, he allowed himself to be reassured by hope and his confidence in the court physician. Merlin will be fine, Gaius will make the antidote and he'll get better. Everything will be fine.
Gaius also nodded and with that left the prince's chambers. The rumble of the closed door hovered in the air for a few more moments, until the monotonous noise of silence blocked it. Arthur took the nearest chair and pulled it over to the bed. He looked into the servant's face, which was slightly frowning even in his sleep. Sweat broke out on his forehead and the shivering still persisted, and the blue moonlight accentuated his pallor. Arthur didn't like it. He never wanted to see Merlin so sick again.
The prince took one of Merlin's hands and squeezed it gently, circling his knuckles with his thumb, painfully aware that it wasn't clenching in response.
Some time passed like this, and Arthur was surprised to find that the morning light was coming through the window. Has he been sitting here all night? Arthur was too lost in thought and observation of Merlin to keep track of time.
And then Gaius entered the chambers of the prince, carrying in his hands a bowl with some liquid of a not very pleasant color. The old man walked over to Arthur and gestured for him to raise Merlin's head. The prince obeyed and watched as Gaius gave him the liquid. At the same moment, Merlin's face contorts and he grimaces, coughing. Arthur looks in panic at Gaius, who just stands there, watching his charge. So, everything is as it should be. Arthur relaxes slightly and lowers Merlin's head. Gaius moves to the table where he left his supplies yesterday, leaving the two almost alone.
Merlin tosses and his eyelashes flutter as he opens his eyes slightly, turning them into two slits. Arthur almost jumps for joy. He stands up and leans over Merlin, looking into his face. Merlin looks around for a moment, puzzled, until he lets his eyes rest on Arthur's face. His face slowly breaks into a smile.
Arthur can't help but break into a huge smile too. "Good morning, Lazy Daisy." He leans down and wraps his arms around Merlin's shoulders, kissing him gently on the forehead. As he pulls away, he sees Merlin's shocked look, which only makes him chuckle and hug Merlin tightly again.
"You're going to choke me now, you moron!"