Merlynn's Secret

Chapter 3

Arthur and the knights ride back into Camelot in record time. Not bothering to hand over the reins to the stable boy. dismounting instead and breaking into a sprint towards Gaius' chambers.   

It's Arthur who opens the door with a loud BANG! that nearly gives the old physician a heart attack. "What is the meaning of this-" Gaius begins to scold before his eyes land on an unconscious Merlynn in Percival's arm's. "Put Merlynn on the patient's cot." Percival did as he was instructed, carefully placing Merlynn's head on the pillow. "What happened?"

"Bandits attacked us. She stepped in the way of a crossbow bolt to save me." Leon was quick to reply. If he is to be honest with himself, he is feeling guilty about the whole thing. He feels that he should have been more aware of his surroundings. "It was my fault. I should have seen it coming."

"The only one at fault here is the man who shot Merlynn and he is dead." Arthur's voice holds strong validation. Leon is still wracked with guilt but he gives his king a grateful nod.

Gaius is fast to work on Merlynn's injury. "One of you go fetch a bucket of water. Another go fetch some clean bandages. The rest of you get out, I need room to work." He barks at the Knights who are crowding his workspace. Percival makes a silent dash for the water while Lancelot and Gwaine both grab fresh bandages. "Alright everyone out. Now." They reluctantly comply with the physician and wait outside the door for Gaius to finish working.

Gwen's POV:

Gwen watches from a window as her husband and his knights race up the courtyard at an alarming speed. She thinks nothing of it until she spots Lancelot helping Merlynn off Percival's horse and hands her back to the gentle giant. She watches in horror as they run in the direction of Gaius' chambers. Once her initial shock wears off Gwen runs as quick as she can to Gaius' chambers as well.

The queen bolts up the stone steps and past several servants until she makes it to the physician's door. She's greeted by the sight of Arthur, Leon, Elyan, Percival, Lancelot and Gwaine looking exhausted and defeated. "Merlynn," she whispers. Gwen looks into her husband's eyes as they fill with unshed tears that are threatening to spill. It's then that she knows just how scared they all really are.  

Without another word, Gwen pushes past her husband and the Knights to enter the room. "What can I do?" is the last thing they hear their queen say before she shuts the door.

"I need to stitch up this wound. Help me wash away the excess blood around it." Gwen and Gaius work quickly and efficiently to fix up Merlynn.

3rd Person POV:

Arthur and the knights stand outside the door trying to listen to what's being said between Gaius and Gwen. That is until they stop talking altogether. Gwaine takes to pacing the floor while Arthur, Lancelot, Elyan, and Leon sit with their backs to the wall. Then there's Percival, who is standing in front of the door as if someone is about to attack at any moment. He has been acting strange since Merlynn got hurt. They all noticed it but only Lancelot understands why.

"Gwaine stop pacing you're making me dizzy watching you." Elyan says as he props his elbows up on his knees. 

"Oh, I'm making you dizzy, am I? Well then don't look." Gwaine has been increasingly angry the longer they have to wait for news of their friend.

"Try to calm down, Gwaine. I'm sure they won't be much longer." Elyan tries to calm the situation.

"What's your problem? You have been brooding ever since we got here." Leon moves to stand next to his fellow Knight.

"My problem is that Merlynn, my BEST friend is in there, fighting for her life because I failed to keep her safe. I failed Merlynn." The only reason Gwaine returned to Camelot at all is because of Merlynn. She is the reason he stays, and she is the reason he tries to better himself. Gwaine is not loyal to Camelot or even to Arthur. No. Gwaine is loyal only to Merlynn and everyone knows it. Everyone except for Merlynn.  

"You couldn't have known something like this would happen." Leon places a comforting hand on Gwaine's shoulder.

"Merlynn did. She said she had a bad feeling. The night before the attack she tried to warn me. I should have listened, I should have been better prepared." Lancelot adds.  

"You did not fail Merlynn, Gwaine. None of us failed Merlynn. Merlynn is in there right now not because we failed her but because she was determined to save her friend. That's the kind of person Merlynn is. She spends all her time taking care of everyone else that she forgets to take care of herself." Percival pauses to take a deep breath. "We got her here to Gaius, she will be fine." Everyone froze in place and look up at Percival who is now facing the door as if willing it with his mind to open. He sounds so sure and it makes everyone feel a little better.  

"Percival's right," Lancelot starts. He stands up and walks over to his giant friend. "We have done all we can for Merlynn. Now we must wait for Gaius and Gwen to do the same." At that, the rest of the Knights and Arthur stand up and walk to the door. They all stand in front of the door waiting for news of Merlynn.

...

"Alright, that should do it. Gwen, help me dress her." It really only took Gaius about an hour to stitch up Merlynn and to do a more thorough examination of the rest of her body. Once Merlynn's dressed Gwen leaves to get Arthur and the Knights.

"You can come in now." As soon as she let the men back in the room she and Gaius are bombarded with one question after another.

"How is Merlynn?"

"Is she alright?"

"When will she wake up?"

"Is there anything else she needs?"

Gaius raises his hand in a silencing motion. "Merlynn is going to be fine. What troubles me is not the wound she sustained. But the fever that has set in. If her temperature doesn't drop in a few days, there could be terrible side effects. I have already given her a sleeping drought to help her sleep off the fever. It will take some of the strain off her body. When she wakes I will give her something for the pain."

"Did she regain consciousness at all?"

"Only long enough for me to put her to sleep again, sire."

"Did she say anything?"

"I'm afraid not sire. Merlynn's body has been through a trauma and is in need of much rest."

"What can we do now?" Elyan asks as he looks over Merlynn's sleeping face.

"Now we do all that we can do. We wait for Merlynn to wake up."

"But what about her magic? Can she heal faster with it?" Gaius shoots up from where he sits and raises an eyebrow at the king in surprise. "It's alright Gaius we all know about Merlynn's magic and we have for a while. Will it help her heal?"

"Yes sire, I can only imagine it is working to mend her body as we speak."

Arthur and his most trusted Knights had already been overprotective of Merlynn due to him being so significantly younger than the rest of them. His abnormally scrawny stature never helped any. Now they find out that their friend is actually a woman, it sends their protective instincts into a frenzy.