The Two Princes (Merlin Fic)

The sibling sorcerers

To say Merlin was getting annoyed, was an understatement. The boy certainly hadn't saved Arthur's life to be treated like this.
The manservant was helping the prince with his blocking techniques, or so it had been called but Merlin felt like Arthur was simply using him as a punching bag of sorts.
"Merlin, your not swinging against a toddler. Put some force behind that swing."
That was the last straw. Merlin threw down his own shield and tossed aside the bucket of a helmet he had been wearing.
"Fine, you want force. I'll give you force."
"Don't hurt yourself," Arthur taunted.
"Just worry about yourself, would ya?"
Merlin turned the sword in his hand before slicing down on the shield.
The prince stumbled back a few steps his eyes wide. He barely braced himself as the brunet slashed at him a few more times and struck as soon as there was an opening but Merlin blocked perfectly with his sword. They went like this till Arthur stumbled over a bench. A few of the knights, that were watching, laughed.
Arthur panted on the ground while Merlin hadn't even broken a sweat.
"Was that enough force for you?"
The prince raised his head to look at his servant for a second before letting it drop again.
"Why don't you fight like that all the time?"
"Like what?"
"Like your actually a competent fighter," Arthur stated.
"Well I can't show you up all the time, can I? Everyone would think their prince was a weakling."
"So you can fight."
"I never said that."
"Well you certainly weren't flailing around and getting lucky hits."
Merlin reprimanded himself for letting Arthur get under his skin.
"Your actually quite good with a sword," Arthur commented as he stood up.
The blond rubbed his shoulder with a wince.
"Maybe a little too good."
"Oh I see. First I'm not good enough, now I'm too good. There's just no pleasing you," Merlin joked.
"Shut up and go see if Gaius has anything for a strained shoulder, would you?"
"Yeah yeah, I'm going."
Merlin put the sword on a weapon wrack and jogged to the physician's chambers.
"Hey Gaius, do you have anything..." Merlin trailed off noticing the tuft of ashy blond hair that sat next to the patient bed.
The eyes that looked back at him were a venomous green almost predatory and all to familiar to the warlock.
"Gale?" He asked unbelieving of the younger boy there.
"Merlin?!"
The warlock walked up and embraced his friend.
"It's been too long, Snow,"
"That it has, Wolf. What are you doing here?" The other pulled away.
"I could ask you the same."
"Well..." Gale looked to the bed where a woman lay.
Her midnight hair fanned around her as she laid unconscious with a pained expression and slight dew forming on her brow.
"Oh no, Helewyn. What happened?" Merlin asked going, now, to the girl.
"We were attacked and she got hit with an arrow. Gaius thinks it was poisoned." Gale explained, worry for his sister evident.
Merlin looked to his friend then to the old physician that was sorting through herbs and back to the girl. His heart went out to her, she was the rough and tumble little beauty to their rag tag group of boys. She was always the bravest of them and never worried about getting her pretty gowns dirty.
Merlin felt a couple tears stream down his cheek that he quickly brushed away.
"Gaius, is there anything I can do to help?" He asked as the physician came over with a green paste and a bottle of questionable liquid.
"I'm afraid not, Merlin. The only thing I can ask you to do is let me work."
"Alright," Merlin nodded. "Don't you die, Hummingbird. Stay strong for us."
Merlin placed a kiss on the girl's forehead as Arthur walked in having lost patience with the amount of time his servant was taking. He froze as he noticed his manservant's actions, his cheeks slightly pink.
"Don't you die on us,"Merlin demanded again before turning to Gale.
"You look tired, Snow. Why don't you go rest in my bed, it's just in there." Merlin gestured to his chamber door.
The other shook his head.
"I can't. My sister needs me."
"She's in good hands, Snow, and she's tough. Hummingbird'll be walking around chatting our ears off before you know it," Merlin smiled. "Besides, she would want you to take care of yourself no matter what, so go and anything you need, I'll get it for you. All you have to do is ask."
"Thanks, Wolf. It's good to see you again, especially in one piece."
Merlin laughed.
"You too."
Gale disappeared behind the door, his feet nearly dragging as his exhaustion finally won out.
Arthur simply watched the exchange till Merlin noticed him standing by the door and his eyes widened with realization.
" Oh no, I'm sorry I forgot about you."
"Thanks," the prince scoffed. "You know them?"
"Yeah, Helewyn and Gale Driel. We grew up together," Merlin explained as he moved to stand by the blond.
"You seem close."
The serving boy couldn't help but laugh.
"You have no idea."
Arthur felt a pang in his chest at how his serving boy looked at the unconscious woman as he said that.
"I think I could guess."
Merlin gave another short laugh and Arthur watched as his manservant's mind began to wonder to days the prince was not apart of. He looked almost, sad? Regretful? Perhaps both, Arthur wasn't sure.
"Come on. Let's let Gaius work," the prince suggested.
"What about your shoulder?"
"Can barely feel it anymore," the prince lied.
In truth it still ached but with the worry in his manservant's eyes, he wasn't about to distract the physician with even being there, so the two left. They walked in silence for a while before Arthur piped up.
"Tell me about them, Helewyn and Gale."
"Well..." Merlin pondered what to tell the prince. "When I met them I was seven. Snow was six at the time and a very timid person. Hummingbird, was very demanding and bossy towards me and my brother at first. We didn't mind, the two had just lost their mother and Fargus couldn't take care of his children on his own, he was a busy man to the end. After awhile, I suppose since the four of us were the only children in our... circle... we just grew close. Though I can't say our group was complete till Bard came along a year later. Having them was the best thing for me in those early years, I I was... I was a wreck," Merlin laughed. "I'm still a wreck, but nothing like back then."
"You don't seem like a wreck to me, at least no more than anyone else," Arthur commented.
"You haven't seen me on a bad day yet, but anyways, I haven't seen those two in years. We used to have so much fun when we were young."
The tone in which he said that seemed off to the prince.
"What happened?"
"Lots of things happened since those days," the dark haired boy said almost too quiet for the blond to hear, his head stooped down low so Arthur couldn't see the tears that threatened to spill over.
"Don't worry about it, Merlin. Your lady love will be alright," Arthur stated in an attempt to cheer up his servant.
" 'lady love?' " Merlin laughed out.
"I saw that kiss."
"On her forehead. She's like a sister, besides, she's not really my type."
"Type?" It was Arthur's turn to laugh. "You have a type?"
"Oh shut up, you prat. I'm aloud to have a type."
Arthur's heart felt lighter, like what ever had had a grip on it let go knowing that Merlin didn't have romantic affections for the unconscious girl.
"How about Gwen, is she your type?" Arthur asked, remembering how close the two had gotten.
Merlin sighed.
"Hardly, we're just friends, and even if I did like her like that she has someone else she likes."
"Oh? So if Helewyn isn't your type and Gwen isn't either, than what would you consider your type to be.
The boy pondered this for a second. He had never considered the exact details of what attracted him in a person, though he knew he rather favored males but otherwise...
Merlin shrugged.
"I'm not sure, why?"
"A maid was curious and asked me since, well, you are my servant," Arthur lied quickly, unsure why he cared so much anyway.
"Hm, alright then, I suppose I'll get to polishing your armor if training is done for the day, unless there's something else you need." Merlin wanted to be done with this conversation.
Arthur noticed Merlin's change of subject and assumed his servant was growing embarrassed, not that he minded. The thought of Merlin fancying anyone made his brow furrow and the corners of his lips curl down. Then the prince realized he hadn't dismissed the other.
"Make sure to bring me my lunch by noon."
Merlin nodded and was off in the opposite direction, leaving Arthur to watch him go then continue down the corridor himself.
The prince didn't feel like returning to his chambers quite yet. He knew there was a stack of papers waiting for him. Even as prince he had to play his part but he simply lacked the motivation to do it, so in stead he roamed the familiar halls in his own little world. His thoughts, as they have been the past couple weeks, filled with Merlin.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Arthur sat at his desk filing through a number of different documents when Merlin came in with his lunch.
The serving boy set the trey of food next to the prince. Arthur sighed in frustration.
"Is everything alright?" Merlin asked.
Arthur pondered answering before he threw down the parchment he was holding.
"No. No, this is irritating. My father expects me to understand what all these citizens requests mean. How should I know?!"
Merlin lifted the recently discarded page and read it over.
"I feel like you're making this more difficult than it needs to be, and isn't it your job to understand your people?"
"Who are you to be lecturing me on what my job is? Look at this place it's a mess!"
Merlin looked around the room puzzled. Sure, there was a small pile of laundry and a few pages lay on the floor around Arthur's desk, but the place was otherwise spotless. He raised a questioning brow, his chin raising a bit to drive his point.
"Mess?"
Just then, Gale burst though the door. Merlin locked eyes with the newcomer and it seemed, to Arthur, like they were having an unspoken conversation before Merlin left in a sprint the younger boy hot on his heels.
Arthur was left confused by the exchange.
The prince of Camelot didn't see his servant again for the rest of the day, which was a shame for he had been hoping for a nice warm bath to soothe his aching shoulder. The next day when Merlin came to wake him up Gale was with him.
The raven-haired boy threw back the curtains with a mumbled, "it's time to get up."
Arthur opened his eyes briefly to see a tuft of ashy blond hair standing next to the table and at first ,he didn't think anything of it, until he did.
The two jumped when Arthur sprang out of bed, Merlin almost getting hit in the process.
"What's he doing in here?" Arthur demanded.
"I'm sorry. I should have asked if he could join me while I do my duties.... May he?" Merlin asked.
Arthur noticed a slight rasp to his servant's voice and when he looked to him he could see the red and purple that rimmed his eyes and his slightly tousled hair. The prince than looked to Gale, who had been quiet through the entire exchange. He wore the same dark circles but his hair was neat being pulled slick back into a hair tie.
Arthur nodded his head.
"So long as you don't get yourselves into trouble."
"thank you, Sire," Merlin bowed.
Arthur stood there, baffled. He was certain that that was the first time Merlin had called him sire, without sarcasm and concluded he wasn't particularly fond of it. He quickly shook his head.
"And be sure to warn me that you have to leave for an emergency again," Arthur included.
"Yes, sire," Merlin answered barely above a whisper.
~We'll find something, Wolf. Don't worry.~
The serving boy shook his head but smiled slightly as he walked to the wardrobe to get Arthur's clothes for the day.
Arthur looked to the ashy haired boy. He felt unnerved by the look he was receiving in return but figured this  was a chance to get to know the younger boy.
"So, Gale," Arthur began in hopes of starting a conversation. "Merlin tells me the two of you grew up together."
Arthur doesn't miss the glance Gale flashes at Merlin and he couldn't help but feel like something was said that he couldn't hear. It was over just as quickly as it started and the prince had to question if it had actually happened.
"Yes, sir, Merlin and I became good friends," Gale finally responded.
The prince felt the predatory gleam land back on him, everything in him screamed unnatural.
"What did you do for fun?"
"Well," the ashy blond thought about it a smile grazing his lips. "Whenever Wolf and Raven weren't busy, all of us would usually wreak havoc or play down by the lake, though Wolf would never swim with us."
Merlin shot his friend a glare and the younger boy bowed his head in shame.
"Scared of a little water are we, Merlin?"
"I told you I was a wreck," the serving boy half-heartedly joked.
The prince took his clothes from Merlin and walked behind the changing screen. When he came back out, Merlin adjusted the fabric and secured his belt around his waist.
Arthur sat at the table to eat his breakfast. Unsure how to carry on his conversation with the youngest of the three, they all sat in silence till the prince was finished.
"I'll take these dishes to the kitchen if you're finished?" Merlin walked over to the table when he noticed Arthur put an apple core down on his plate where only crumbs were left.
Arthur Let him take the plate from in front of him and the boy left leaving Gale with the prince.
"So..." Arthur tried thinking up a new topic. "Where did the nickname, Wolf, come from, if I may ask?"
Gale smiled, his intense gaze softening to the point that he could have been a completely different person. Arthur felt as if he had been accepted by a feral creature.
"Wolf was always the leader, being the alpha simply comes naturally to him and with his brother always following him where ever he went, it seemed to perfect, not to mention his fighting skill is terrifyingly amazing."
"Indeed he's quite the swordsman, though his mace work is terrible."
Gale laughed. Then he yawned.
"You should get some rest, Snow," Merlin stated as he walked in.
"But we hadn't gotten a chance to really catch up yet," the ashy blond complained.
"We both know you'll be up before the sun goes down. Besides I know your not saying up because you can't sleep. I can take care of myself so don't worry."
"Nice to see you've found a new way to keep busy, at least, and it was nice to meet you, Sir," Gale bowed to Arthur and left.
"He seems nice."
"He certainly has his moments," Merlin agreed.
"Is he not nice?" Arthur asked in concern, thinking back to the positive words his serving boy had spoken.
"No, he is nice, I mean he can just seem very..." Merlin paused, looking for the right word. "Disturbing? Off-putting?"
"Unnerving?" Arthur suggested.
"Yes, like your being scrutinized by a wild animal that's trying to determine if your friend or foe. He's been like that since his mother passed, always cautious of who to trust."
_______________________________________________________________________________
The rest of that day seemed to stretch on slowly as did the next day as Merlin was full heartedly concerned about his beloved friend's lack of improvement. Gale and Gaius were searching through old tomes in hopes of finding a cure when the boy snuck away from Arthur to see how she was doing.
"She isn't well, I'll be honest," Gaius spoke, sifting through pages. "I may have got her stable last time but every day this goes on the less chance we have of saving her."
"I think I found something!" Gale proclaimed, holding up his own book.
The physician took it from him and quickly scanned through the section the ashy blond pointed out.
"Isn't that a weed?" Merlin asked eyeing the drawn image of a small cluster of leaves.
"Maybe back home, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a number of healing properties," Gale explained.
Gaius looked to the youngest boy rather proudly.
"Indeed, I think this just might work. The only problem being that I don't have any."
"Well, where can we get some?" Merlin asked impatiently.
"You would have to go south aways for it."
"About how far?"
"A day perhaps, less if you're riding a horse," Gaius explained.
"I'll go," Gale piped in.
"No, let me go," Merlin protested.
"I can get there faster, Wolf, and you know it! This is my sister we're talking about and I'm not willing to lose her too."
Merlin opened his mouth only to snap it shut again, remorse for their father flooding his heart.
"Alright, go, stay safe, and don't let anyone see you when you leave."
"Of course." Gale gave a curt bow before heading to the window and opening it. "You'll leave this open, won't you?"
Merlin nodded and Gale glanced around to make sure nobody was watching before he took a few steps back and lunged out of the window.
Gaius looked stunned to see the boy turn into an owl with feathers as white as snow.
"I'm sure you have questions, Gaius, but I need to get back to work before Arthur thinks I'm taking advantage of checking up on Helewyn."
_______________________________________________________________________________
Gale flew as fast as his wings wound allow. In this form, he felt far too comfortable, more himself than he should, given that this wasn't his primary form. He couldn't help it though as he soared over the land of Camelot taking in everything he couldn't from the ground, and if it weren't for Helewyn's sake he would have taken his time and enjoyed the stretch of muscles he didn't seem to have access to in his human form.
Helewyn.
The thought of his sister seemed to drive him further. She needed his help and he would be damned if he couldn't give his all.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Merlin awaited anxiously for news that Gale had returned. Arthur wanted to be furious with his manservant for being so distracted but than he remembered why and let the boy be.
"How is she?" He asked.
"She's not doing so well. Snow went to gather a herb they think could help."
"How far did he have to go?"
"A ways South of here, hopefully, he should be back before midnight."
Arthur nodded in understanding and let silence blanket the room, the last remnants of the day drifting away. Merlin started picking up the prince's clothes up so he could wash them and placed them by the door.
"You can leave those till tomorrow," Arthur stated.
"Thank you, but I think I'll do them tonight. It'll be something for me to do while waiting on Gale."
"You're going to wait up?"
"I am."
"You'll go to bed afterwards?"
"Are you concerned about me?" Merlin asked with a smug smile.
Arthur's heart forgot how to beat momentarily. It took only a second for the prince to recollect himself.
"Of course not. I'm concerned that you'll pass out while polishing my armour and it'll end up a shite job."
"Oh my apologies your royal pratness, I was unaware you thought so highly of your tin man suit," Merlin jabbed back jokingly.
"Merlin, Shut up. You probably haven't even worn a decent set of armour before."
Merlin scoffed.
"Yes, because wearing shiny metal and being a prat are the only important things to life."
"I am not a prat," Arthur snapped, offended.
"Whatever you say, sire," Merlin smiled wider as he gathered everything he needed to take with him into his arms.
Arthur shot daggers at the boy as he left, carefully balancing dishes, armour, and clothes as he opened the door with his foot.
Secretly, however, the prince was glad that his servant was better now that Helewyn had a fighting chance.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Gale dived towards the ground having spotted what he was after. He clutched a large cluster of the weed in his talons and pulled it up taking to the sky just as quickly as he had left it. The owl couldn't afford to stop now, now that he held his sister's salvation within his grasp.
Time felt inconsistent on the way back. Minutes felt like hours as Gale grew exhausted, his wings aching. Despite that, Camelot came into view sooner than he could hope for. When he flew through the physician's window, he barely stopped to make sure he wouldn't be in any trouble before changing back to his human form.
"Gale." Merlin stood, excited to see the younger boy back.
"Here, " Gale said handing the old man the cluster of weeds.
Gaius took them without a moments delay and began crushing them in a mortar and pestle.
Merlin led his friend to the table he had been at and ushered him to sit, pushing armour out of the way as he did so.
"Are you Alright? Can I get you anything, Snow?"
The Ashy blond shook his head, laughing.
"Something to eat would be great."
Merlin quickly grabbed a bowl of stew and placed it in front of Gale.
"Sorry it's cold," The brunet apologized as he poured a cup of water for the other boy as well.
"Your acting like a mother hen, Wolf," Gale joked.
Merlin glared at his friend.
"It's my job to worry about you, all of you, so don't laugh when I do!" Merlin snapped.
Gale's smile never left though.
"I know, Wolf."
They sat in silence while Gaius worked and Merlin continued to polish armour. Eventually, the secret prince finished his task and set off to bed.
The next morning, the young warlock awoke felling well rested. He sat up and stretched before getting ready to do his pre-dawn practice. Helewyn, was still laying on the patient's bed when he walked out and Gale was sitting at one of the tables, staring at a vial full of a milky purple substance.
"Is that it?" Merlin whispered as he pointed to the bottle.
Gale nodded.
"Gaius already gave her some of it. He wants to wait for her to wake up an eat something before giving her the rest."
This time, Merlin nodded as he looked back to the sleeping girl. She did look better, not as pale and the sheen of sweat nearly gone.
"I'll be going now, but I'll come visit her when I get the chance and you better get some sleep too, Snow."
The ashy haired boy roled his eyes but smiled all the same as he headed into the back room and closed it silently.
Merlin smiled as he watched his younger friend disappear behind the door, then gathered what he needed and took his leave to start his day.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Arthur refused to move from his bed, even if he was wide awake. He wasn't in the mood for what ever it was that the day would bring.
"Rise and shine!" Merlin called, a smile plastered on his face.
He's back to normal, Arthur mentally noted as he curled deeper into his blanket.
"Not today," the prince grumbled aloud.
"Not even for breakfast?" Merlin inquired.
"Later," was all the blond said.
Merlin smiled mischievously.
"Fine, than you won't mind if I help myself now, will you. It'll just end up cold and going to the pigs anyway."
Arthur shot out of bed an accusatory finger already pointing at the man servant.
"Don't you dare touch my sausage!"
Merlin raised a brow.
"Your sausage?"
The two stood in silence as the prince realized what he had just said. He flushed a deep red.
"You know what I mean!"
The serving boy laughed at the crimson blond without restraint as he made his way to fetch Arthur's clothes for the day.
Arthur wished he could die in that moment with the sheer embarrassment that seemed to grow as his servant continued to laugh.
"You have to clean out the stables today!" he finally snapped in hopes of recovering his pride.
"What!"
"You heard me, your cleaning the stables out. I want it done by noon."
"Noon?!" Merlin exclaimed, his laughter all but forgotten. "That's impossible with all of my morning chores I still have to do."
"You best get to it then, shouldn't you?"
Merlin glowered as he left, wadding up the prince's shirt and throwing it at him on his way. He heard the blond shouting at him as he ran down the halls toward the stables.
_______________________________________________________________________________
When Helewyn awoke, Gale was giddy with excitement. He watched as his sister scarfed down three servings of stew.
"Where are we?" Helewyn finally asked once she had finally put her bowl down and truly looked at the room she had waken up in.
"Camelot," came Gale's simple reply.
"Camelot?!"
"Yeah, Gaius, He's the physician, has been really helpful. He'll want to check up on you once he gets back, he had to make some deliveries. Oh, and Merlin is here!"
Helewyn's brows knotted together.
"Gale..." she lowered her voice. "Gale, this is hardly a place for any of us to be."
Gale looked at her in a way that coulD only be described as the look of a lost puppy asking for help finding home.
"We could be killed!" Helewyn all but shouted.
"You almost were killed, Helewyn! What was I supposed to do let you die and go back to living in the forest eating mice! I couldn't do that, not to you!"
Helewyn noticed the animalistic gleam shimmer in her brother's eyes as he spoke. It was his way of distancing himself, turning toward the animal in him that didn't hold these same worries, these same fears. None the less, the woman held her ground.
"That wasn't what I was suggesting, Gale!"
"Then what were you suggesting, there's no way I could've gotten you to anyone else in time! It was either come here or watch you die!"
"Me dying and you being alone shouldn't have to be the issue here! We shouldn't even be here! We should be at home, father should still be alive!"
"Helewyn?" Gale's voice has barely above a whisper.
"I'm not staying here," Helewyn hissed as she swung her legs over the side of the bed.
"Now hold on."
"No. I'm not staying, not another god damned minute."
She rushed out of the room feeling dizzy as Gale followed closely behind trying to convince her to calm down, to come back to the physician's chambers. In truth the younger boy had no clue how their argument started. It felt strange that they were even fighting at all.
Helewyn burst through into the courtyard and stopped in her tracks as did a certain secret prince who stared wide eyed.
Both were unsure what to say. A dizzying angering pit still lingered in the woman's stomach and only grew as Merlin opened his mouth to speak.
"Helewyn, you're awake."
"Merlin, my father is dead, why?"
The question caught the boy off guard. He was stunned that these were her first words to him in years but he also knew that they would eventually come up.
"Merlin, why?" Helewyn pleaded when Merlin didn't answer.
The boy in question fumbled for the right response. In truth he couldn't find the right words to tell her, he didn't know how to explain how he just stood there while her father died, how he did nothing for the man that had been loyal to the Ambrosia family for nearly forty years. Eventually he settled on,
"I'm sorry..."
Pain crossed both their faces. Merlin's for he never felt more useless than in the moments he thought of those he didn't save, and Helewyn because the last shred of respect, and love, and hope, and many other feelings she held for the young warlock in front of her disappeared as if carried away by the wind like dried leaves. A couple tears fell down the young woman's cheeks as her venomous eyes bore into Merlin, holding nothing but hate.
"It should have been you!" She snapped.
"Helewyn!" Gale shouted trying to redirect his sister to no avail.
Merlin looked to the ground dejected.
"It should have been you!" Helewyn lunged at the boy, knocking him to the ground.
Merlin didn't lift a finger as the girl threw fist after fist at him screaming at the top of her lungs. Everyone was astonished at what was going on in the courtyard even guards were too shocked to move. In the small time that Merlin had been in Camelot, no one would even consider that there was anyone that would hate the boy, he was so beloved.
"Why?!" Helewyn demanded.
Her face was red, her breathing hard, and her knuckles bloody as she tried one last time to get an explanation. Merlin didn't answer though, leaving her emotions to fester just a bit more. With one more shout, Helewyn wrapped her fingers around Merlin's throat, putting all her weight into it as she squeezed.
Arthur ran to the sound of shouting, curious and worried as to what the commotion was.
"Merlin!" He shouted as he lay eyes on the two on the ground.
The prince was shocked, to say the least, that Merlin wasn't fighting back. He ran over and tried to pull the girl away. Two more guards had to help, once reality hit them, before the girl would budge.
"Traitor! Murderer! You deserve a burning pyre for what you've done!"
Merlin flinched at that last statement. It was the only true reaction Helewyn could get out of him.
"You should be dead for what you've done! You abandoned us, all of us!"
The guards dragged her a few feet from the boy and Arthur let another knight take his place holding her so he could check on Merlin.
"Are you Alright?"
"Fine," Merlin rasped out.
"Let's get you to Gaius," Arthur said as he eyed the split open skin that oozed red.
"You won't get away with this Merlin! I will destroy everything that still makes you happy in this world, everything that isn't already dark and dreary within your heart, will be ashes. I promise you that!"
"Take her to the dungeons!" Arthur ordered.
Helewyn quickly chanted a spell and disappeared into a fine, blue-ish mist.
"Search for her!" Arthur ordered, then turned to Gale. "Help me get him to Gaius."
"Of course."
The two lifted Merlin up and helped him walk to the physician's chambers.
"I'm sorry, Wolf. You know your not to blame. No one else blames you, so don't take her words to heart. She's just upset that she wasn't there for him. It was not your fault, my father fought for what he believed, who he believed in and he was happy to go out under those circumstances."
Gale tried reassuring his friend, but Merlin didn't respond, he had mentally retreated. Gale could practically see the light in Merlin's eyes dull as he drifted further and further into his mind's recesses.
"Come on, Myrri, you don't want to go back, not to that." Gale sounded almost to tears and it made even Arthur concerned.
"Back to what?" He asked in an attempt to understand the situation fully.
"Come on, Myrri, please don't."
Arthur watched as the younger boy's pleas did nothing. I was a wreck, Merlin's words from a few days prior echoed in the prince's head.
Arthur pulled the other two to a stop and spun Merlin to face him. He gulped and his hands felt slick against the other's shoulders.
"Merlin," he began before swallowing once more. "Merlin, you can't let yourself sink into this this... this depression of yours. Gale is here for you, I am too, and I'm sure Gwen and Morgana would be too. So don't let this get to you, okay?"
A small smile reached the boy's eyes as he stepped out of the other's grip.
"Thank you," he whispered so quietly that if Arthur hadn't been looking at him he might have thought it was the wind.