Of Chores and Crowns (A Merlin Fanfiction) ✔

Chapter Forty-two

I immediately ran to him, not even thinking about the possibility of another arrow being shot in our direction. All I could focus on was the bright red of the blood as it stained Arthur's shirt.

I slid down next to him, my hands fluttering uselessly in the air next to me. I was a lot of things, but I was no physician.

"Run, Dawn." Arthur whispered, his voice hoarse.

He tried to focus on me, but his eyes looked hazy and dazed. He was already losing consciousness. I grabbed his face in my hands, leaning down to press my lips against his.

"I'm not going anywhere." I promised. "I am never leaving you again."

He gave me a faint smile, but I could tell it was painful to do something even as simple as that. I grabbed one of his hands in mine, bringing it to my chest.

I started shouting. I needed to warn the Knights that we were under attack, but I couldn't leave Arthur's side. I don't know if it was my shouting, or if someone else had seen the bandits, but the alarm bells began to ring, echoing all around me.

I closed my eyes, trying to regulate my breathing. I needed to calm down and think. What could I do that could be of use?

My eyes snapped open and I looked down at Arthur. He had passed out, and his head had rolled back against the cement of the ground. Get him to Gaius.

With this plan in mind, I seemed to be able to focus. I released his hand before standing up. I looked down at him, frowning. How was I supposed to be able to carry a man twice my size all the way to Gaius?

Then I realized I didn't have to carry him all the way there. I just had to find a way to carry him until some knights came by, looking for him. Then, they could carry him the rest of the way.

But first, I had to deal with the immediacy of his wound. I knelt down and ripped the hem off the bottom of my dress, preparing to use it as a bandage. I braced myself, wrapping my hand around the arrow.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered to Arthur, before I yanked the arrow out of his chest.

He jerked awake with a yell, his eyes wild with pain. I whimpered slightly, but did my best to bandage the wound with my dress piece. He had quieted down while I did that, but I knew he was still awake.

"Okay, Arthur," I said, "I need you to try and climb to your feet. Can you do that for me?"

He grumbled in protest, his eyes fluttering shut again. I slapped him, keeping him awake.

"I'll be right here, but you need to get up." I snapped.

Something in my voice seemed to trigger something in his brain, because he began to move. With my help, he managed to get to his feet. I murmured praise in his ear, but it didn't matter, because the effort made him pass out again.

I caught him just before he fell, and slung his arms over my neck. He stayed upright, but I strained under the load. I shouldered half of his body and began walking along the wall towards the entrance closest to where Gaius lived. I couldn't afford to try and cross the courtyard.

"Just pretend he is a barrel of ale." I told myself, remembering the times when I would carry in the ale as a barmaid.

I grunted. Those barrels were no where near as heavy as Arthur seemed to be in that moment.

Finally I reached the entrance, and pushed inside, immediately yelling for some help. Eventually, two knights rounded the corner, their swords out. As soon as they saw the two of us, they burst into motion, moving to take Arthur off my shoulders.

I led the way to Gaius's. I was cautious around every turn, making sure we wouldn't come across any bandits, but we eventually made it to the small room. I burst in the door, not even bothering to knock.

Gaius turned around at the sudden entrance, his face dropping when he noticed Arthur's limp body.

"Get him on that cot!" He ordered, immediately taking charge of the situation.

The Knights hurried to obey his order as I shut the door firmly behind us. I locked it before running over next to the cot. Gaius was already examining the wound, his fingers probing the hole.

"What happened?" He demanded, not pausing in his work.

"I had gone searching for Arthur and found him in the courtyard." I explained, "Before I had even taken a step, someone had shot the arrow into his chest. Fayelinn said there had been chance of an attack on the day of the wedding. Will he be okay?"

I looked down at the wound. The skin around the edges of it were starting to turn a light green. I flinched away, stunned.

"What is that?!" I exclaimed, looking up at Gaius.

"It is poison." He admitted, "It must have been on the tip of the arrow. It's a good thing you got it out when you did. It's in his blood stream, but it's slow to spread."

He pointed to the wound and then traced his finger up to wear Arthur's heart would be. He said, "If the poison reaches his heart, he will die."

"What is the cure?" I asked, instinctively reaching down to grab Arthur's cold hand in mine.

"I do not know, yet. I will need some time to determine what poison it is. Only then will I be able to determine the antidote."

I squeezed my eyes shut, tightening my hold on Arthur's hand. This day was supposed to be such an amazing one, and now I was sitting here, holding the hand of the man I loved as he lay there dying.

"How long do we have?" I asked, keeping my eyes closed.

"Less than a day."

I whimpered again, but refused to cry. The Knights shifted restlessly behind me and I motioned for them to speak up.

"Who will lead us?" The one on the left asked, "We need someone to take charge while we are under attack. The entire lower town is a battleground right now. We need someone to lead us into battle."

My eyes snapped open and I turned to them, eagerly.

"I know just the person."