Chapter 7: Start of a Journey
"This is it!" Gaius exclaimed as he pointed at the picture of the herb in one of the pages of the book Merlin had fetched for him. "Come on get up and get dressed we have lots of work to do before you go attend to Arthur." The physician stated happily as he threw Merlin a shirt from the many laying around his room and went back to his table.
Merlin stared down at his erection; he could see it through his thin clothes. Why had he had that type of dream about Arthur and why in the world had his body reacted to it? He bolted from the bed when his mind failed to present him with an answer and looked franticly for his clothes. Picking up a fairly clean set he moved to change. Once he was dressed and his lower body had calmed down, he opened the door and stepped out.
"It says here that the herb was often used for concoctions of extreme difficulty and skill. It was used mainly for potions of entrapment and of the heart." Gaius trailed off as he remembered the King's words on his visit the day before. "A love potion, now that makes sense." Gaius concluded as he slapped his hand on the book and removed his glasses setting them down.
"Merlin, the King was in here yesterday. He asked for something for his ailment. When I asked him what the side effects were he clearly explained those shown by a person suffering from extensive heat exposure." Gaius said as he looked back at the page with the herb on it. "But now that we know someone tried to slip him something, those effects could easily be due to the potion as well."
"How do we get rid of it? How do we stop it?" Merlin asked now that his own suspicions had been confirmed. Arthur was in fact under a spell and a love one to top it off. Everything that had happened the day before suddenly made sense. Merlin felt his face get red as he reached the conclusion that Arthur was in love with Merlin, or at least he thought he was due to the potion.
"I don't know there are quite a few love potions that use this herb, you will have to narrow it down." Gaius replied as he continued reading. "It mentions here that this herb's side effect include prolong effects of the spell or potion used and very hard to remove."
"That could prove to be troublesome." Merlin stated. "Not to mention that there are about 636 love spells that we know of" Complained Merlin as he moved to wash up. Gaius just shrugged and moved back to his mess. "I don't know Merlin but let's hope it comes to us." The day had just begun and they didn't' have much time. There was no way of knowing if the spell would stay permanent or if it required to be reversed in a specific time after it was consumed.
Merlin moved about in a hurry. Everything that he had gone through yesterday seemed meaningless now. Finding a cure far outweighed the embarrassment that would come today when he faced Arthur again. Merlin tried to calm himself by reminding himself that all he had to do was keep his distance from Arthur.
"You will be late; you better get a move on Merlin" Gauis called out to Merlin as he moved about cleaning his mess. "I will see what I can find in the meantime." He said to Merlin's back. "Thanks Gaius." And with that Merlin was gone.
XXX
Merlin paused outside of Arthur's chambers. He was carrying Arthur's breakfast, an array of meats, sausage, and cheese. After a few questioning stares from the guards for his hesitation, he opened the door and stepped inside. Merlin's eyes scanned the room until they rested on Arthur. The King lay under the covers sound asleep, his blond hair sticking in all directions.
With a sign of relief Merlin set the plate down on the table and moved to open the curtains. Merlin was in no hurry to wake Arthur so he took his time. After reassuring himself that Arthur's actions the day before had been caused by the love potion he had unsuspectingly taken, Merlin turned around and called out "Rise and shine, your highness." A hint of teasing could be heard in Merlin's voice, he couldn't blame his friend no matter how much he tried and found himself forgiving the King before he was even fully awake.
