Arthur in Merlin's land [Merthur - Eng]

Part 2

Merlin couldn't understand why Arthur was insinuating that he had gone to see him earlier.

"Hey! Merlin!"

"Good morning, Gwaine, how are you?"

"Fine, and you? I saw you running away..."

"I wasn't running away," he protested.

"Why are you making this face?"

"It's just that, I don't know, Arthur must be covering up an illness because I found him acting strange. He's wearing clothes he would never wear, and on top of that, he's mad at me for something I supposedly did to him this morning. But I was asleep..."

"You should really rest, Merlin. I think this virus must have taken a lot out of you. Seriously, go to bed, I'll tell George he can take care of Arthur," his friend advised, escorting him back to his room.

"But..."

"Merlin, I know you care a lot about the king's well-being, but you need rest, so go on."

"Okay," sighed Merlin. "You'll find George at the armory."

Gwaine, who accompanied him to his room, could clearly see the dark circles under Merlin's eyes. In a few months, his friend had found his place within the kingdom since Gaius's departure. Proof of this was that he had tackled the task as soon as the first signs of the epidemic appeared. Gwaine had even assisted him and had to admit that he had enjoyed handling the plants and everything that went with it...

"Yes, you're right, I'm dead tired," whispered Merlin as he lay down on his bed, watched by Gwaine who, once reassured that he was sleeping, left the room.

As soon as the door was closed, Merl appeared. He grimaced in dismay, shaking his head slightly.

"Good grief, Merlin, you really are hopeless. Well, don't worry, I'll fix this..."

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Gwaine was still in the laboratory when he saw Merlin coming out of the room.

"Merlin, what did I just tell you? You need to rest!" he exclaimed, disappointed that his order wasn't taken seriously.

Gwaine, who kept him under a dark gaze, found his friend to be different. He had a smile that didn't resemble the Merlin he knew at all, and it even sent shivers down his spine.

"Tell me, Gwaine," Merlin said in a rather serene and teasing voice, "what would you do to get the attention of someone you like?"

As he spoke, Gwaine felt an unpleasant sensation. His instinct told him that this man was not his friend. Quickly, he ran to the room and widened his eyes in amazement when he found Merlin fast asleep like a log.

"Who are you?" he demanded, casting a dark glance at the intruder.

Gwaine knew that anything related to Merlin was only magic and supernatural.

"Okay, okay, calm down," the fake Merlin replied, raising his hands in surrender. "I'll tell you, but whatever you do, don't wake him up..."

Unfortunately, Merlin opened one eye at the astonished look on the knight's face as he watched the impostor vanish.

"It's nothing," murmured Gwaine to the real Merlin, sweeping his hand in front of him. "Go back to sleep, I just wanted to tell you that you have the day off."

💖

Ten minutes later, Gwaine made sure his friend was indeed asleep when, finally, the double reappeared in the middle of the laboratory. Gwaine closed the door and scrutinized the figure.