Merlin: The Light of Eriador

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Gaius couldn’t help mutter under his breath as he picked up another piece of broken glass from under his shoe.

“Merlin…” he signed.

The young wizard’s absence would not go unnoticed on a day like this.  Yet, there was still no sign of Merlin.  The door to his small bedroom was ajar and Gaius could see the first sunbeams touching the empty bed.  Since the middle of the night, when he had returned from attending to Uther, Gaius had been without news of his ward.  He had slept uneasily, keeping an ear out for the noise Merlin was certain to make when he returned, but there had been no such disturbance.  

There was no reason to worry, except for a few fallen plates and broken phials, which was typical of Merlin.  After all, his young apprentice was more than able to take care of himself.  In fact, Gaius thought halfheartedly, Merlin’s magic had grown much since he had first met him.  He sometimes wondered whether or not he should encourage it.  He had seen great men being thwarted by their own power.  But what of Merlin?  Was he really so different?  The answer to that question came naturally and seemed to ease his mind a little.

Gaius picked up a small piece of mirror, no bigger than a shard, and looked at his face to appraise his overall appearance.  The party that was arriving today, King Ulrik’s party, was of some importance to Uther and the whole castle had been polished accordingly.  Gaius had only learned about it while delivering a sleeping draught to Uther at around midnight, and now he felt that he had been a little harsh on Merlin, considering the amount of work that all the servants had put into making Camelot as welcoming as possible.

“Gaius?”

“Merlin!  Where have you been?  Have you no notion of…  Are you all right?”

Merlin was standing awkwardly in the threshold, looking white-faced and disheveled.  Gaius hurried towards him and he arrived just in time to catch the young man as he swayed sideways and stumbled on a nearby chair.  As he caught his arm to help him sit down, Gaius checked his pulse through his wrist.  Steady but weak, too weak…

“Take it easy, Merlin.  You’re not well.”

Merlin’s face was blank and his voice was hoarse.

“I don’t even remember how I got here.”

“Are you hurt?  How does this feel?”

“Like being jabbed in the eye.  Ow!”

Gaius was probing him, checking his pupils, prying on his every limb, looking for the trace of an injury, the hint of a fever.

“Did you knock your head?  Did you fall off a horse?”

“No!  I didn’t fall off a horse!  Why would you think…?”

He stopped, unable to continue.  He seemed to be struggling to breathe, and he was clutching his torso.

“Merlin, let me see.”

Delicately, Gaius lifted Merlin’s hand which was pressed against his side.  Merlin winced in pain instantly.

“Hold still.  I need to lift your shirt.”

“I am holding still.  I… I think I’m going to pass out.”

But Gaius was only half-listening to his young apprentice.  He had just spotted two blue bruises under Merlin’s skin, one on each side of his torso.

“What happened, Merlin?”

But as Gaius glanced into Merlin’s face, he saw his eyes turn upwards and heard the shallow breathing.  Catching the young man under the arms, Gaius wrestled him unto his bed in the middle of the room.  There were tiny beads of sweat on Merlin's forehead.  Quickly, Gaius shuffled through his potions and came back with a small phial of a clear liquid which he passed under Merlin’s nose.  The young man opened his eyes right away, startled to awareness by the strong smell.