The Aftermath (Merlin)

Chapter Twenty-Six: Just this Once

Over the next few weeks the boy was under constant nightly watch of the Royals, Knights and Physician. And whilst he was grateful he also felt suffocated, every night his friends would take shifts in watching over him and every night he would wake up screaming. His magic was getting more out of control: on more than one occasion he had almost killed his friends with shards of glass, fire or weapons being flung around the room, and yet every night they returned to protect him.

In his dream like vision Gwaine, Lancelot and Elyan would always be there, but he could not talk to them nor could he always see them but he felt their presence. Thankfully, the Warlock had not been burnt physically in these night visions since his arm. Well maybe once, on his neck, but his friends didn't need to know that. After all Merlin's neckerchief did a good job of covering the burn scar on the side of his neck, which travelled to his collar bone.

Speaking of scars, the Warlock still hadn't told anyone about the scars that laced his body, nor had he told them about this blackened mark which now covered half of his chest. Whilst the roots of the mark were still growing everyday (more like every night, it appeared to grow the most in the time he was asleep). The visions of his red eyes and of him attacking his own friends had lessened, he had only had two in the past few weeks and on both occasions he had managed to convince the others that he was just tired and that's why he had just stopped what he was doing and looked aimlessly forward. Although Merlin wasn't sure, he believed that his lack of sleep and his nightmares were the cause of the lessened red-eyed visions, as he only seemed to have these red-eyed visions when he was knocked unconscious or when he relaxed his mind and tried to let go of the worries the clouded him every day. The pain was still prominent everyday as it had been everyday since the servant saved his King but the 'blips' of pain (which the Warlock had now begun to call the torments of pain which paralysed him for hours) had increased: none as bad or as long as the one when Percival found him but it was still unbearable and the poor boy didn't know how much longer he could keep going through this hell.

~~~

Merlin awoke screaming in his bed, Arthur was sat next to him, he looked worried, sad almost. You could see it in his eyes as he leant back in his chair placing his elbow on the arm rest and resting his chin on his hand. The servant had stopped panicking and laid back down in his bed staring up at his ceiling, neither spoke a word to each other for at least ten minutes.

"Merlin" The King finally broke the silence, the raven turned his head to face his friend, but the blonde said nothing else.

"I know" is all the boy replied, and he did know, he knew what Arthur was thinking, he was thinking that this can't continue, these nightmares, the magic, the screams it all had to stop. "But I don't know how" he concluded.

The royal lowered his head in acceptance of what the boy was saying but also in shame that he couldn't help more.

"Right well, that's my few hours sleep for the night, lets get you back to your chambers and I'll come wake you in a few hours" Merlin said whilst getting out of bed and walking over to grab his jacket.

"What will you do?" The blonde asked, standing from his seat and making his way to the door.

"The usual, some of your chores or maybe start on the medicine, which Gaius needs to make for his patients."

"Is that what you do every night?"

"No... sometimes I go and watch the sunrise from the towers, it's.... Relaxing I suppose."

"Show me?"

"You want to come with me? But aren't you tired?" The Warlock asked astounded.

"Shut up and just show me" Arthur retorted whilst ruffling Merlin's hair and pushing him gently out the door.