As Clear As Blood (A Merlin Fan Fiction)

[22]

As Arthur strode down the corridor leading away from Gaius' chambers he perceived a dark cloud circling his head, fogging his memory and letting dark thoughts leak into his mind. He'd never felt like this before, a numb, static, emotionless feeling controlling his body.

He stopped, a constant buzzing droning on and increasing volume within his head. Arthur pushed himself to a wall attempting to calm his breathing which began turning to a rush of breaths.

The black storm cloud sent a descending bolt of lightning to Arthur's head so a thought struck him, making him feel stupid for forgetting something so important. The attack of weird events: switching bodies with Merlin, switching lives with Merlin, had distracted him from his intentions of investigating Merlin after the jump from that wall.

Merlin jumped as Arthur appeared in the doorway of his chambers, he let his hands drop from where he had been snaking them around each other.

"Sire!" He cried, thinking Arthur did not want to turn up as he was late.

Arthur did not reply, he gazed expressionlessly at Merlin, his last thought still beating up his mind. He wondered if this thick mist trapping his head was Merlin's property and once again he found himself pondering over how Merlin was able to keep such pain to himself.

"Is everything alright sire?" Merlin asked politely, his eyes trying to desperately read his own face with Arthur's expression glued on like a mask.

Arthur looked up, staring into his own eyes and suddenly feeling unable to trust Merlin, how could he trust someone who looked at him with his own eyes?

"Sire?"

Merlin's eyes locked onto his body which was standing across the room, he felt weird, addressing his thin, tiny body as 'sire' because he looked nothing more than a servant. To Merlin he was nothing but a servant yet at the same time he was this secretive wise warlock, with powers unimaginable, however he wasn't sure if that was how he viewed himself or how the great dragon saw him.