Merlin FanFic

Poison

Merlin felt hot. No, he felt boiling and like his blood was on fire. Merlin sat back on the floor of Arthur's chamber and wiped the sweat from his head, taking a deep breath, trying to get cool. It had been a week since the beast attacked, and Arthur was still in a foul mood as they couldn't track the beast. Merlin felt slightly smug that he hadn't got the beast. Arthur was even more annoyed as the beast went after Merlin when he was alone and he hadn't been there to save Merlin. Merlin got up from the floor, picked up the bucket of water, and left the room to get some fresh water. Merlin was on his way to the well when he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. Merlin had to stop and grip the wall for support. He weakly wiped away the sweat on his forehead. Merlin took a deep breath, pushed himself off the wall, and carried slowly down the hall to the well. He reached the well breathless and boiling; Merlin filled the bucket and poured some of the water on his head so he could cool down. The water had no effect, so Merlin made his way slowly back to Arthur's chambers so he could finish the chores. Merlin finally returned, and Arthur looked at the map on his table. Arthur looked up at Merlin and was shocked at what he saw. Merlin was carrying the bucket of water but was covered in sweat and looked breathless. Arthur thought it was odd as it was a cold day in Camelot. Merlin weakly put the bucket down, aware that Arthur was looking at him, and Merlin got to work slowly. Arthur watched as Merlin weakly washed the floor. He knew that something was wrong, but he wasn't sure what. Arthur leaned up and walked over to Merlin.
"Are you alright, Merlin? " he asked. Merlin looked up at Arthur's worried face, and it made him almost smile that Arthur was actually worried.
"I'm fine, Arthur; I'm just a little hot." Arthur nodded and Merlin could tell that Arthur didn't believe him. Merlin turned to continue with his chore when he felt another wave of dizziness strike, but this time, his muscles felt weak. The arm Merlin was leaning on while washing the floor gave way, and Merlin lay on the floor panting.
"Merlin!" Arthur shouted helplessly. He bent down next to Merlin and didn't like the sight of what he saw. He had become deathly pale.
"Guards!" Arthur shouted and instructed that the guards get Gaius immediately. Merlin could hear Arthur screaming, but it sounded far away, and he knew something was wrong. He thought that maybe he was coming down with an illness or something. Merlin found that he was struggling to breathe, and something terrible would happen. Arthur watched helplessly as Merlin's breathing started to slow down.
"You have to breathe, Merlin." Arthur commanded and wished that Gaius would hurry up. Suddenly, Gaius opened the door and was shocked to find Merlin on the floor with Arthur at his side. Gaius ran over to Merlin and saw that Merlin was sweating and that he was struggling to breathe. Gaius wished it wouldn't happen to Merlin; he thought Merlin was strong enough. Gaius leaned over Merlin and pulled his shirt down to reveal the bite he had gotten from the beast. He found that the bite was more prominent and had started to ooze. Gaius gasped as he realized the beast had poisoned Merlin.
"What's wrong with him, Gaius?" Arthur demanded, and Arthur watched the grave expression on Gaius's face. Gaius turned to him.
"The beast has poisoned him." Arthur felt the blood drain from his face. He knew that the other victims hadn't survived the poison that the beast had administered. Merlin's fate was sealed.
"There has to be something that you can do, Gaius." Arthur pleaded, and Gaius pursed his lips. Merlin watched weakly as Gaius and Arthur exchanged glances and kept looking at him. He was frustrated as he couldn't understand what they were saying but knew it wasn't good. He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, and he cried out, writhing in pain, but Arthur and Gaius were pinning him down. Merlin felt the burning from his shoulder race through his veins as if he was being burnt from the inside out. Merlin screamed out in pain and then felt the world go black.

"There is a remedy that he can have, Arthur, but it will only slow down the poison and will only buy him a few more days." Arthur ran a hand through his hair and jumped when he heard Merlin cry out. He looked down and watched Merlin writhe in pain and try to grip his shoulder. Gaius grabbed his hand and pinned him down, so Arthur got to the other side and looked at Gaius helplessly.
"What can I do?" He pleaded. Arthur needed to save Merlin.
"The only way is to track the beast, and the antidote is in its blood, so you need to get a sample. Beware, Arthur, the only way to defeat the beast is with magic, and only Merlin is the one who holds the power to destroy it." Arthur nodded.
"I will get the blood and bring it back. How long does he have Gaius?" Gaius glanced at Merlin.
"He only has about a week, Arthur." Arthur nodded and then scooped up Merlin.
"Take him to his chambers, and I will treat him there." Arthur strode out of the door and carried Merlin to his chambers.

Morgana stood outside the chambers that she shared with Merlin, talking to Gwaine. They were talking about fighting techniques when she heard a commotion. When she turned, she found that Arthur was carrying a limp Merlin. Morgana felt panic and ran over to Arthur, who pushed her out of the way. He walked in and placed Merlin on the bed. Morgana ran over to Merlin's side, took his hand, and glared at Arthur.
"What happened?" She demanded and Arthur glared back.
"The beast poisoned him." Morgana gasped and glanced at Gaius.
"What can you do?" She pleaded, and Gaius looked sad.
"I can only give a remedy to slow the poison. We need a blood sample from the beast to make the antidote." Morgana felt her heart sink as she looked at Merlin lying there, looking weaker by the second. She ran a hand through his hair and hoped he would pull through.
"I will track the beast, get the sample, and bring it to Gaius." Morgana looked at Arthur.
"I'm coming with you." Arthur shook his head. He knew that he wouldn't be able to stand Morgana if she came with him, and he knew that she would slow him down.
"You need to stay here with Merlin. He is going to need you." Morgana nodded reluctantly, knowing that she wouldn't be able to leave Merlin and would rather stay here and ensure he was okay.
"I'm going to get my men ready, but Gwaine is going to stay here and keep guard of Merlin." Morgana nodded, not looking at Arthur, and she heard him leave. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead.
"Please don't leave me, " she whispered. Gaius gave Merlin the remedy to slow the poison and watched helplessly as the remedy took effect. Merlin began to thrash about in pain. He then calmed and fell still, breathing slowly. Arthur strode down the corridor and called all of his knights to the throne room. He met them there, and they stood there waiting for his command.
"Merlin was poisoned by the beast and we need to track it somehow and bring back a blood sample to Gaius so he can cure Merlin." The knights looked shocked, but they all nodded, and Arthur was glad they stood by him no matter what he asked them to do.
"Prepare yourselves! We leave immediately." Arthur announced, and the knights dispersed to the weapon room, where they got geared up and ready to track the beast and save Merlin.