English oneshots by tasenda

[Merlin] A Servant Shouldn't Die on His Master [Arthur/Merlin]

A Knight Shouldn't Lie to His Prince and a Servant Shouldn't Die on His Master

Down it rained.

It wasn't pleasant, but at least the rain provided them water – fresh, clean water – exactly what they needed. Arthur found a pot in Merlin's bag and used it to keep the water, looking at the grey sky with worry. No good. Their trace must have been deleted. It would take longer now for the knights to find them.

Merlin's fever was still high. He checked his manservant's pulse, not like he was much of a physician but he had seen Gaius done it many times and hoped it would help. His knowledge about healing and curing was pretty, well, very limited and Arthur felt angry with himself for that.

"Stay with me, Merlin." He muttered, more to himself than the unconscious feverish Merlin. The latter murmured something back anyway, although Arthur doubted he heard him.

At least the prince knew that water could help fade away the fever, so he found a piece of cloth and soaked it with cool rain water and put it on Merlin's head. Common sense told him this could be done for the rest of the body too. He would just strip Merlin naked and rub some water on him if he didn't get better then.

Arthur sat down next to the lying still shape, sword in reach. He glared at the mouth of the cave and told himself nobody's going to be arriving soon, then set his eyes back to Merlin.

He was pale, indeed, pale and very thin. Way too thin for someone who always had to carry around those heavy armors and swords and stuff for Arthur. Every once in a while he wondered if Merlin got enough to eat. He couldn't really be seen offering food nor drink to his servant, or else he would have made Merlin eat with him. Maybe he should just ignore what he couldn't be seen doing and just do it. He was a crown prince after all. Next time he dines Merlin's going to eat with him, Arthur made up his mind, if there is a next time.

Merlin had always told him he was watching the prince's 'royal backside' and Arthur never let him have the credit, but actually he always knew there were times he wouldn't have survived without his loyal manservant. Also, there were many other times when he wasn't sure if Merlin had saved him. He doubted that maybe he owed Merlin more than he recognized. That little mysterious always-tiptoeing brat sometimes really seemed as if he had some magic to hide.

Just that the thought of Merlin possessing magic amused Arthur. He would have cursed him into something terrible a million times had he the magic. But really, he felt Merlin never told him all the truth or what's on his mind. Others did that too, actually, he knew. He was a crown prince so it was hard for people to speak bluntly to him. However, Merlin was different. The guy called him 'prat' and offended him usually, what had such a person to hide?

But it turned out he really had something to hide – he really had magic to hide.

Arthur didn't exactly know what to think. Merlin had magic, and he kept it from him all these years. Suddenly he wondered if the others knew about this. His father definitely didn't know, or he would have sentenced Merlin to his death. Gaius probably knew; Morgana and Gwen probably didn't. Suddenly he felt that it's his responsibility to keep the secret from the others – to protect Merlin.

"Arthur –" Merlin murmured and shifted a little. He's still hot from fever.

There was no point answering when it was quite obvious Merlin wouldn't hear, so Arthur kept quiet. However, he placed his hand on the other's forehead to check the temperature again then decided to unclothe the patient.

The prince didn't recall playing doctor when he was a child. He remembered playing knight, king, and on rare occasion even magician (of course he didn't let his father know about that). But the idea of being a doctor, treating patients had never crossed his mind. Arthur didn't get sick very often and when he was wounded from training it was Gaius's job. Whoever was sick or wounded got sent to Gaius, so Arthur never really had to worry about that. He knew a thing or two about how to take care of injuries, because knights were injured all the time, but only on the way to the doctor.

Now that Merlin's naked to the waist in front of him, Arthur wished he learnt more about taking care of patients. Merlin would have done better had it been Arthur who was sick. But for now Arthur was healthy and Merlin was sick.

The manservant had no wound for Arthur to tend to. He wasn't injured, but he's hot as fire. Arthur supposed he over-exhausted himself by overusing magic – and that was for protecting Arthur.

"You shouldn't, you know." The prince rubbed that slender body with the soaked cloth, relieving the hotness. "I'm the knight and the future king. I should be the one who protects you, not the other way around."

How many times had Merlin saved him? Considering how often he was nearly dead, Arthur figured the other probably had lost count.

"You're the one I should knight." He told the unconscious Merlin. "But I'm not going to knight you, Merlin. You have been lying to me, and a knight shouldn't lie to his prince." He paused a little. "A servant shouldn't lie to his master, too. But I'll spare you because you probably have saved my life a hundred times."

Those were stupid reasons, and Merlin would have told him so had he been conscious. But Arthur knew the real reasons.

"You must get better, Merlin. That's an order."

The prince was determined. "You've saved my life and you've lied to me. I will repay you for both. You're not allowed to die."