Arthur POV
I pace up and down my chambers, despair and panic clutching at me. Merlin can't have gone insane. We've gone through everything together. I've faced immortal spirits, ruddy goblins, bandits, undead armies, and evil sorcerers. But this...this is the worst. He hates me. Merlin. Hates. Me. He hates me so much that he wants to kill me. And by the looks of it, he's also desperately terrified of me.
What did Morgana do to him?! I yell, kicking my foot against my bed post, sending a jab of pain up my body. I ignore it however and sink into my bed, tears streaking my cheeks. I will kill her. I will have my revenge.
A knock sounds at the door and I quickly wipe my eyes, erasing any clues that I had been crying.
"Come in." Except that. My voice sounds hoarse and rough. "Gaius." I try for a smile as the old physician enters by the most I can manage is a weak twitch.
"Arthur." He nods his head to me gravely, sitting himself into a chair facing me.
"How's Merlin?"
"Sleeping. There's something I need to tell you though Arthur. About him."
"Yes?" I ask impatiently. I need to know if he'll be alright. I'll still kill her either way though.
"After...after your little accident, I put Merlin to sleep, so I could come up with a diagnosis."
"And?"
"And...he hasn't gone insane." I swallow hard. I'm afraid of the answer.
"I fear, what's been done to him is worse than insanity."
"What could be worse than insanity?" I question incredulously. At the same time, I'm really terrified.
"There is a spell, sire, a most terrible one, that can twist the way a person sees and thinks. The way it was used on Merlin is much worse. Morgana has used the spell to twist his memories. By the looks of it, she only twisted the memories which included you. He said you had tried to kill him exactly 527 times meaning Morgana has manipulated the memories until they portrayed a sense of you being his would be assassin."
"So your saying...Merlin actually believes I want to kill him?"
"I'm afraid so sire." Gaius lowers his head in shame and allows a single tear to fall from his face.
"And...for everyone else. She didn't..."
"No sire. Only memories of you."
"Is there a cure?"
"The only cure...the only cure is by using magic."
"Then we'll use it!" I shoot up angrily. "I don't care if it's forbidden or not. Merlin is my best friend. I can't lose him."
"Sire, you don't understand the certain extent of the spell cast on him. It would take a power greater than Morgana's to reverse the affects."
"Then find someone! I can't lose him! I can't!"
"As you wish." Gaius nods his head respectfully to me, and attempts to leave but I stop him. "Wait Gaius. I didn't mean to lose my temper. He's the...he's the only person I have left. I'm lost without him. If you ever tell him I said that I'll have you in the stocks understand? But that's not the point. I'll go find someone Gaius, by myself if you will."
"Of course sire. But I already have someone in mind, if you don't mind me announcing it. His name is Alastor, he'll be glad to help."
"I'll set off for him now-"
"No. Not yet. Give me two days with Merlin. That's all I ask. It's likely Morgana will use this spell on others, we need to be prepared incase someone like Alastor isn't around to reverse the affects."
"Of course Gaius. I understand. But three days without Merlin? I do need a servant after all."
"And you will have Merlin. Because the spell only affected his memories with you, I need you to stick with him, try your best to convince him you never wanted to kill him."
I look at Gaius full in the face, waiting to see if he's serious or not. Not a hint of amusement crosses his face and I sigh. "Alright Gaius. But if wind up dead from a sword to the gut, I'm blaming you."
Gaius chuckles. "You can't blame me if your dead now can you?"
"Yes I can! I'll come back as a ghost like my father and haunt you in your sleep."
"Just don't do anything stupid sire. Absolutely anything could trigger him off. I don't want to see either you or him hurt." I smile encouragingly at him, send him a quick farewell amd he disappears to fetch Merlin. Once he's gone though, my smile fades, and I slump into a chair, rubbing my temples with my fingers.
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Merlin POV
"Gaius! You can't make me go in there! He'll kill me!"
"No he won't! Just give him a chance! That's all I ask. To give him a chance."
"Gaius, I've always at least contemplated your advice, but this is just plain stupid. You can't leave me alone in a room with a murderer!" Merlin steams.
"I won't be leaving you alone. I'll be there. Taking notes, helping you out. There is nothing to fear from him!"
"Yes there is Gaius! I have magic! He'll execute me if he finds out!"
"Maybe. But he doesn't know now. Just...trust me Merlin. Just this once. Listen."
He throws his hands in the air, muttering curses underneath his breath. "Fine. Fine! I'll give it a shot. But if I die-"
You won't die Merlin. I promise. I'll stop him if he tries anything funny alright?"
"Alright. I trust you Gaius."
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Day 1
Arthur POV
"Soup?" Merlins asks coldly. I nod my head quietly as he nervously ladles some more of my supper into a bowl. Once he's finished, he heads for the back corner of the room, trying his best to conceal himself against the wall.
It hurts to see Merlin this way. I thought I would be able to handle it, but it's tearing me apart. My insides claw at me, as pain and anger and despair crash over me. It's all too much. Merlin hates me. I will kill her. Merlin wants to murder me. I will make her feel pain.
Later that day, I gave a training session with the rest of the Knights. Merlin hands me weapon after weapon, probably not the best thing for him to be doing, but Gaius just sits there on that little chair of his, frantically scribbling notes on parchment. Merlin hasn't said a word since lunch earlier and I almost scream at the unfairness of it all. This anger fuels me and I beat down on the Knights shield of which I am facing, imagining that he is Morgana and I'm only seconds away from killing her, and within seconds his only defense looks like a piece of junk.
"Arthur stop!" One of the Knights yells, but when I continue hammering down upon my victim, Percival and Leon have to drag me off.
"Stop it!" I scream, thrashing all the while. "I will kill her! I will!" I shriek.
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Gaius POV
"Take him inside!" I yell over Arthur's useless attack. "Merlin you come too."
"Gaius! What's wrong with him?!" Leon yells.
"Later, Leon. I'll explain later." The Knights all look at each other anxiously, all of them wondering if Arthur's irrational behavior has to do with the unspoken separation between him and Merlin. None of them knows of Merlin's memories though. I had thought it best not to alert them of the possible danger Arthur and Merlin were now being placed in.
Eventually, Leon and Percival manage to carry Arthur all the way to his chambers, Arthur still hyperventilating the entire way. They drag him to his bed, pinning down his arms, much like he had done Merlin. I give him something which knocks him out temporarily, leaving me with four very confused Knights to explain his actions to.
"To begin with, this will be very difficult to explain, especially for Merlin here, because he simply doesn't believe." I starts.
"Explain what Gaius?" Lancelot questions anxiously. He is very worried about both Merlin and Arthur I can tell.
"A few days ago. You remember when Merlin was brought back to Camelot right?" I ask.
"Of course. How could we forget?" Gwaine mutters.
"Anyway, after treating his wounds, Merlin awoke from his supposed "coma." Arthur was the first thing Merlin saw after waking up. He panicked, pointed a dagger at his chest."
"And Merlin would do that because?" I can hear Merlin snort with laughter behind me, and I frown.
"Merlin's memories were twisted."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Twisted. Turned. Whatever you want to call it. The point is, all of his memories of Arthur were "twisted" into making him believe that Arthur wanted to kill him."
"So your saying...Merlin thinks Arthur wants to murder him?"
"My god!" I explain. "That's exactly what I just said. How you ever became Knights..."
"Hey!" Gwaine interrupts. "That's not fair."
"Doesn't matter Gwaine." Leon mutters. "What does matter though, is what's wrong with Arthur?"
"My guess...he's down without Merlin. Merlin is his crutch, his rock. And now he's not there, and all he feels is hurt...and anger. He's broken without him." Merlin, who hadn't spoke since they had arrived, suddenly interrupts Gaius.
"How can you believe this?! Arthur is a murderer! He cares about no one! He is just like his father! Arrogant and cruel."
"Merlin. Look at me." Merlin turns his attention to Gaius. "Arthur is your friend."
"Arthur is my would be murderer! So let him go insane. Like I would care." Merlin says he doesn't care, but I swear, as he turned away, his gaze fell on Arthur for that one second, and worry rested there. He cares about Arthur whether he will admit or not.
"Alright everyone! Clear out! I'm still testing Merlin here and I'd appreciate it if you would let me do my work in peace." Gwaine and Percival mutter annoyedly underneath their breath, but leave all the same.
"Merlin. I'm going to try something new." He raises his eyebrows at me, but I my speech doesn't falter. "I'm going to leave the two of you alone together. You care about him, and don't bother denying it." I cut across what he was about to say. "I want you to give him a chance, alright. No excuses."
Merlin frowns at me, obviously a little worried at being alone in the room with Arthur. "He won't bite I promise." I tease. He manages a weak smile before slowly making his way to sit in a chair by Arthur's bed.
"You better be right about this Gaius." He mutters.
"Just relax Merlin. Everything will work itself out in the end."
----------------A/N------------------
I completely forgot to publish the other ones I published today and just now finished this one. So, hope you enjoyed it. Please comment and vote, I did give you three chapters in a day after all. I will be ending this story soon, I never meant for it to be a long book. Keep reading,
gracie1009
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