Hiding

Chapter 22

Arthur knew they had at least a few seconds before not-Merlin would be able to do anything, more if this sorcerer couldn't do much more than glamours. Even so, he panicked and tried to think of a spell to knock them out again. While he was stumbling over a few different spells, Gwen came up with a wine pitcher and hit not-Merlin over the head with it, knocking them soundly back into the abyss.

"Er, thank you, Guinevere." Arthur said after a moment of stunned silence.

Gwen straightened and smoothed her dress out, placing the pitcher back on the table she'd grabbed it from. "Of course."

"Right, well, we should be figuring out what to do with this fake Merlin, not standing around like a bunch of lumps. Arthur, I know you're loathe to use them, but Uther kept magic-dampening manacles somewhere, didn't he?" Morgana spoke in a commanding tone.

"Um, yes, I believe he did. Somewhere in the vaults, I think. Gaius would know better than I..."

Arthur looked very uncomfortable having to use the manacles. He knew that they were necessary, and that they really needed to contain this sorcerer. He knew that, but he just kept seeing Merlin in a state like death—almost dead, in fact—because of those wretched chains. He never wanted to see anything like them again.

He shut his eyes and tried not to think about it, only waving vaguely at Morgana, who seemed to take the hint and went to talk to Gaius under the pretense of seeing Uther. Gwen bit her lip, deciding if she should go with her mistress or stay and comfort Arthur. She chose the latter, and rubbed Arthur's arm for a few minutes before going back to check on Merlin.

Merlin still hadn't woken, so she simply made sure he was comfortable in bed. When she returned to the bedchamber, Arthur was sitting in a chair, staring into the fire. His expression was blank, and he looked deep in thought.

If asked, Gwen wouldn't have been able to say what Arthur was thinking about in that moment. Perhaps his father, and how he would soon be king. Perhaps Merlin, unconscious in the other room. Perhaps the attacker, or the manacles Morgana was fetching in the same moment. She wasn't sure she would've been able to deal with it all in the same stoic manner that Arthur was.

Gwen knew, however, that Arthur wouldn't allow anyone to care for him, and he would keep it all bottled up inside. She hoped that he would accept at least Merlin's comfort. Often times, it was only Merlin who would be able to bring Arthur out of his state of melancholy. If anyone would be able to help Arthur through this, it would be him.

Deciding to let Arthur sort out his thoughts, Gwen went to the kitchens to fetch some food for everyone. Yes, they had just been at a feast, but nobody had gotten around to eating much before Uther had been shot. Besides that, she needed something to do, and there wouldn't be much to do with Merlin still unconscious and Arthur brooding.

By the time Gwen set the tray of bread and cheeses on the table, Morgana had returned and was fastening the manacles on not-Merlin's wrists, and Arthur was pointedly looking away. Apparently, Merlin had stirred a bit while she'd been gone, but hadn't woken fully.

Morgana spoke to Arthur, but she knew that it was likely he wasn't listening to her. She simply couldn't stand the silence.

"Gaius says that it's likely Uther will be dead within the next two days. You'll have to inform the council."

"Mm."

"Once you're king, you're going to have to tell the council what really happened a year ago."

"Mhm."

"You'll need to tell the kingdom about your magic."

"Uh-huh."

"And that you're in love with your former manservant."

"Right."

"And that said former manservant is not, in fact, dead, as previously thought."

"Exactly."

Morgana rolled her eyes and Arthur exhibited no actual reaction to her words.

"Okay, Arthur, off to bed with you. As Gaius surely said, this won't help anyone."

"But Merlin—"

"You can sleep in Merlin's bed if that's really what's bothering you. But I know it isn't the only thing, so just shush and let me deal with this, Arthur dearest."

Arthur glared at Morgana, but did as she asked. When he was settled in the antechamber with Merlin and that door was locked, Morgana stood the attacker up. When she put him in the manacles, the glamour faded to reveal a tall man with short red hair and a pale complexion. The man, who had woken again but couldn't do anything due to his restraints, glared at Morgana as she led him out of Arthur's chambers, passing him to the guards on the other side of the door with a simple, "Put this man in the dungeons and don't take your eyes off him."

The confused guards grabbed the man as she commanded, obviously wanting to know where he'd come from and how they hadn't seen him enter, but she offered no explanation and returned to Arthur's chambers.

"Gwen, would you mind staying in here with me? I'd rather be here and be a buffer for anyone barging in than sleep in my room alone."

"Of course, my lady."

With that decided, they both found some comfortable chairs and blankets and settled down for the night. Neither exactly slept well, but they were much happier to be doing this than to go to sleep in their respective beds.

Merlin, meanwhile, had woken up with a wicked headache, moaning. Something very warm beside him shifted, and he realized that it was a body laying beside his. From what he remembered before he'd been knocked out, he'd been attacked by someone with magic, and he was suddenly scared that they'd succeeded in their goal and that he was in the dungeons and that he had the chains back on him and they'd killed Arthur and he didn't protect the man he loved and—

"Merlin, Merlin, calm down. You're safe, I'm right here." A familiar voice broke through his panic, and he turned and saw that the body pressed against him belonged to Arthur.

"Arthur? You're safe, thank the gods." Merlin threw himself at Arthur, ignoring how his head pounded at the sudden movement. "I thought maybe they'd got you and I didn't stop it, and I didn't know what had happened to you..."

"It's alright, we're both fine. Morgana put some...magic dampening shackles on him, and he won't be getting out of the dungeons with those on."

Merlin tensed at the mention of the chains, but relaxed a bit when he knew it meant that the man wouldn't be able to attack them.

"Arthur, what...what happened?"

"Long story short, he—he shot my father, ran, impersonated you, and probably would've killed me too if I hadn't realized his glamour wasn't quite right. I put him to sleep, then called for the girls and 'Gana sent him to the dungeons."

"Is...is Uther alright?"

Arthur thought that it was ridiculous that that was the question Merlin asked, but he answered nonetheless. "The bolt had poison on it. There's no cure, not even magic could save him."

"Oh...Arthur, I'm sorry."

Arthur snorted. "Why? He was a terrible person and the reason why you had to live in this room for the past year."

Merlin's voice was soft and caring when he replied. "He's still your father, Arthur, regardless of my feelings on him. I said I wouldn't mourn him, and I won't, but I know you, and you're going to hide any emotion you feel about your father's death in the pretense of being strong for your people. I'm not your people, you stubborn prat, so you don't have to be strong for me."

And somehow, Merlin had managed to say the, well, magic words, because Arthur started to silently weep. And Merlin held him while he wept. No more words were spoken, just the soft shh, shh's Merlin made, trying to comfort his lover. Eventually, both men dropped off to sleep, and, for the first time in a year, Merlin and Arthur slept in the same bed together.