Merlin Oneshots (and some multi-part stories)

Merlin's Shitty Brother

Title: Merlin's Shitty Brother
Description: Merlin finds Aithusa all alone, barely able to speak, and... human.
Word Count: 1,317
Part: 1/1

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I know this one isn't my best work. But I don't think it's horrible. Also ignore the bad speech for Aithusa. She has trouble talking and I didn't want to spend a dozen hours trying to figure out how she would speak. 

"Do you hear that?" Gwaine asked, while on a hunting trip. It was midday in the middle of a forest and he heard... crying. A child. Crying.

"Yeah," Leon replied.

"Oh my god is that a child?!" Elyan yelled running towards the noise.

They came across a child crying at the base of a tree, her hands in her knees. She had pure white hair and very pale skin. She was... small. She didn't look at all healthy.

Merlin, who had been lagging behind, had just caught up to them. He went to comfort the child.

"Hey, hey. It's okay," he said, crouching in front of the child, still a good distance away, "I'm Merlin, what's your name?"

The girl looked up and Merlin recognized those blue eyes.

"...Aithusa?" he whispered, much to the surprise of the other knights.

"M'rln?" she whispered, struggling to speak.

"Oh my god," Merlin said, shocked.

The child let out a cry and ran into Merlin's arms. Well, she more took a step or two and fell, seeing as she was having obvious trouble walking as well as talking.

Merlin cradled the crying child and she pressed her head against his chest.

"Aithusa, what happened? Wh-Where's Kilgarrah?"

The child started crying harder and looked up at Merlin.

"N't 'ere." (Not here.)

"Merlin? What's going on? Do you know this child?" Arthur asked.

Merlin turned to face Arthur and he saw Merlin fight to push down anger.

"I- Yeah. It's nothing. She's- I need to get her to Gaius."

Arthur nodded, and they quickly hopped on their horses and headed in the direction of Camelot, the hunting trip forgotten. They were still a ways away, and would have to camp for the night, but Merlin didn't stop until the sun was almost completely gone, and even then it took some prodding from the knights before he did. He didn't answer their questions when they asked. He only insisted it was nothing and eventually they stopped trying.

He looked angry, and sad. Never once did he let go of the child. He listened to her quiet crying and kept whispering words of comfort to her. She slept in his arms and he... didn't.

Once, in the middle of the night, the knights were woken when Aithusa started crying.

"Shh, it's okay 'thusa. It's just a nightmare, you're okay. You're safe now."

"'gana n't s'fe," ('gana not safe)

Merlin froze.

"Where were you? After he left you."

She shook her head.

" 'ark. c'ld 'oo 'mall" (Dark. Cold. Too small.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as everyone was awake the next morning, Merlin gave them time to make a quick breakfast (having already fed Aithusa) and once they were finished, he started riding to Camelot again, without stopping. Aithusa didn't wake up, exhausted and finally feeling safe. By the time they reached Camelot, it was midday, and Merlin went straight to Gaius's chambers, the knights not daring to follow him.