Castle of Cards

Chapter 3

It was, quite possibly, the first time Arthur had been happy to see the sun peek over the horizon. He hadn't slept at all, despite Percival and Elyan persuading him to lay down and get some rest while they'd taken watch. Gwaine hadn't slept well either; his usual cavalier attitude had turned sullen and irritable; they couldn't reach Camelot quick enough.

The Knights had packed the camp at the first hint of daybreak, and they'd ridden hard all morning, stopping only to rest the horses. Merlin had made no improvement, which worried Arthur significantly. If she'd used magic to heal him, why wasn't he getting better? She had stopped the bleeding, at least externally, but still, they worried.

Gwaine had managed to get some water into the manservant. Merlin had refused to cooperate and drink the liquid until Gwaine threatened to bind him to a chair, force him drunk and leave him to the tavern wenches. The surly knight had become more incensed when the manservant complied, providing a moment of sorely needed levity, in a bad situation.

Arthur exhaled audibly when the towers of the citadel had come into view. More than once they had attempted to check Merlin's wound, but Gwaine would not allow it. He had even renounced his knighthood and threatened them with death if they pushed him on it. They had all heard her instructions, so they didn't take him too seriously, but it rankled that he'd kept to them, despite a weird symbol seeping through the cloth she'd wrapped around the wound. Gwaine had found an unlikely ally in Leon, who both were of the opinion she had not healed him only to curse him. Leon's agreement had initially surprised Arthur, but he'd recalled magic had once saved the older knight's life, so he'd left it alone.

Guinevere was waiting anxiously on the stairs to receive them. He'd sent Elyan ahead so Gaius would have everything prepared when they'd arrived with his ward. His brother in law now stood next to his sister, and a guard with a stretcher was waiting to receive its patient.

Arthur knew he should try and comfort his wife, but he found he couldn't speak when she looked to him for answers. His silent brooding, because that's what Merlin would have called it, had been keeping his nerves in check, so he'd just nodded and focused on the task before him; getting Merlin to his guardian.

The thought of Camelot, without Merlin, was so unthinkable, it had turned his blood cold when he'd attempted to envision it. Just the thought of it had hurt him more than he could conceive or would ever admit to any living person. Arthur had known it the moment he'd seen the silent goodbye in his best friend's eyes, just before he'd fallen; Merlin could not die. Arthur would never recover.

He had spent the last hours second guessing his decision to stand quietly while the sorceress had used, what he now knew was magic, on his best friend. The witch had been adamant Merlin must live, but the king had long lost confidence in her intentions. Morgause had seemed honorable when she had come to Camelot to challenge him, but she'd ended up manipulating him into turning against his father. He realized now he'd nearly fallen for it again when the sorceress claimed to be his cousin and invoked his mother's house. No. Fool me once. He wouldn't believe a word she said. As far as he was concerned, she was the enemy, and she'd done something to his best friend. Rubbing his hand over his face, he motioned his wife not to follow. He knew she would be upset, but he would not risk her if the sorceress had contaminated Merlin. Giving her an apologetic look, he turned to follow Gwaine to the physician's chamber.

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He'd arrived at the physician's chambers he'd found Gaius staring at the makeshift bandage, a startled expression on his face. The sight sent Arthur's heart lurching to his stomach.

"What did she do to him?" He thundered, his worst fear seemingly realized. It was taking an extraordinary amount of self-control to stop himself from turning on his heels and searching for her to bring her to justice.