Goblin's Gold (Merlin 2)

Chapter 3

                                       Greedy Gaius

Kiara stepped back into Gaius’ chambers, holding the herbs he’d requested in her hand. They’d been difficult to find, and she’d had to deal with more than a dozen different market stands before she found the correct one. She was so tired and annoyed she didn’t even notice the fact that Gaius was chucking bottles of various potions over his shoulder on to the floor. She slammed the herbs down on the table and made her way into the side room where she was sleeping.

When Kiara had first arrived in Camelot, Merlin had slept in Arthur’s antechambers so she could have his bed, but she’d felt somewhat guilty that she was making him spend even more time with or near the prince. In the end, she’d used her magic to create another bed and although it meant he had to sleep in the same room as Gaius, at least Merlin now had the option to stay in his chambers if he wanted to instead.

“There’s the herbs, Gaius.” She called out, before walking into room which she now considered her own sleeping chambers.

“Thank you, Kiara,” she heard him reply.

They were silent for a while: Kiara was absorbed in one of books Gaius had lent her a few days ago. It was all about magic, which meant that she had to make sure she only read it when there was no one else around. That was easier said than done, especially when all kinds of people were visiting the court physician or requesting his presence. An hour or two passed, and it wasn’t until she heard Merlin’s voice did she step back into the main room. Her eyes widened in horror and surprise at the huge mess that met her gaze.

“What happened?!” Merlin cried as he stepped through the door, his eyes taking in the smashed bottles and the upturned furniture.

“It’s that pesky goblin!” Gaius cried out, “You let it escape and it’s ransacked my premises.” He told him indignantly. 

“What?” Kiara frowned, “The goblin was in here? Why didn’t you tell me? I could have captured it!” she glanced at Merlin, mutual expressions of confusion on their faces.

“It’s too late for that now, it’s gone again.” Gaius waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “You’ve both got some cleaning up to do!” he told them, and Merlin and Kiara gaped at each other. Fair enough, they often did help Gaius to keep their quarters clean and tidy but not when something like this had happened.

“Clean.” He repeated, as he shuffled out towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Merlin asked with a frown, as Kiara shrugged and bent down to start picking up some of the precious antidotes and medicines which were splattered all over the floor.

“I’m going to the tavern!”  Gaius cheerfully replied, and they both froze in shock. The tavern? Gaius, going to the tavern? Kiara was sure that he’d been acting strangely, and this just added to her suspicions.

“You never go to the tavern,” he reminded him, turning to Kiara to back him up. She nodded in agreement, a bemused smile on her face.

“Well, I shall see what I’ve been missing.” He replied, before walking out the door.

Merlin and Kiara stared at each other in complete bewilderment, but got on with cleaning up the mess the goblin had caused. They didn’t last very long before they started to use magic, for it would have taken hours to clean the mess by hand. Kiara was just placing the last bottle of herbs back into place with her magic, controlling it with a twitch of her finger, when Merlin looked at her with a frown. It was clear to her that he wanted to know what was causing Gaius to act in such a strange way.