A cold day in Camelot 3/3 (Secret Santa for groundcontrol) M

[TheCakeIsAlive]

 

Dear @groundcontrol  I hope you enjoy this foray into Camelot. I thought I’d keep it as friendship, but Merthur if you squint (I ship it). Arthur refused to be too sneezy, but I’ve argued with him until he cooperated at least a bit. This is set in an indetermined point probably around season 2, i.e. Arthur is still a little prattish but he’s already much improved, Uther is still very much himself and Morgana is still on the side of Camelot. Basically it’s in the slightly fictitious sweet spot where all hell hasn’t broken loose, yet.

 

This holiday season, I present you… Arthur feeling under the weather, Merlin being Merlin and Uther hating sorcery. Business as usual in Camelot… I really hope you like it! (more parts coming)

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It was a suspiciously quiet day in Camelot. It was at (in some cases an uneasy) peace with all its neighbours and it has been days since Merlin had to stop any kind of sorcerous plot. His mind was on full alert, constantly milling the concept of "too quiet". Something would crop up and the quicker he knew what that something was, the better a chance he stood of dealing with it swiftly and, more importantly, undetected.

 

The knights were training. Merlin sighed. 'It wouldn't be so bad to polish the royal armour', he pondered to himself, 'if only it wouldn't get dirtied most days.' Unfortunately, it did. Arthur was a fiend for training. Probably a good thing with all the ambushing, warfare, assassination attempts and general blokeyness going on. It was beyond Merlin why they all seemed to enjoy bashing each other with pointy objects so much. Despite his despair at said bashing, it did not escape his notice that the prince seemed a little sluggish. His reaction speed was down enough that knights who normally didn't stand a chance, got the occasional hit in. He winced on the prat's behalf. That was going to hurt later. He made a mental note to bring some extra ointment up from Gaius'.

 

After training he ensured a bath had been drawn in good time. As an extra treat he re-heated the water just those few degrees warmer before Arthur finished walking up from the daily battering. He helped the prat out of his armour, noting every spot of dirt and sighing internally about the tediousness of the task of cleaning it all once again.

 

Arthur was uncharacteristically quiet as he was undressed. Merlin wondered it he was just tired, or possibly ensorcelled. But when would they have had the chance? Merlin had only left the training field about 10 minutes before his Royal Highness, and the knights were surely paying some attention over that time. Maybe just tired then. Merlin chattered to fill the silence, interspersing his summation of the prince's schedule for the rest of the day craftily with some general nonsense. Council meeting, a meeting with the King and a small banquet for some foreign dignitary or other in the evening.

 

When the royal prat sank into the warm water, he made a positively sinful noise. Merlin bit his lip to avoid any number of inappropriate responses to that.

"Merlin!"

Perhaps he had been day dreaming.

"Scrub my back."

Merlin rolled his eyes, out of habit more than anything else, and walked over to the tub. "If your Royal Highness could lean forward..." Arthur obliged. Merlin scrubbed away with a cloth, wondering whether Arthur's skin felt so warm to the touch because of the hotter water. Talking of which, the Royal Prat appeared to be nearly falling asleep as his manservant was tending to him. Time for some unnecessary splashing.

"Merlin? Are you entirely incompetent?" There was no real heat behind the words, then again there hardly ever was.

"I'm very competent at some things, sire. I put up with you admirably." This caused said sire to splutter indignantly, which only really made him sound like he was drowning, hanging several inches above the water.

 

He next went on to washing Arthur's hair, running his long nimble fingers over the prince's scalp. As he carried on, he felt the tension drain out of Arthur and heard a heaving sigh of relief.

 

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. Well, as close to that as Camelot ever got. Council meeting was boring and mostly irrelevant to Arthur except for training-to-be-king-purposes, the meeting with Uther was surprisingly uneventful. A few mumblings about unfounded accusations of magic plotting, a near-future quest planning and even, astonishingly, a 'I'm proud of you, son.' Merlin nearly fainted. He kept looking up throughout the rest of the day. Just in case the pigs had got their wings. Arthur queried whether Merlin had gone completely dotty but couldn't hide the extra-lifted shoulders and stupid grin on his face.

Still, Merlin was sure something with off about Arthur. He didn't seem as enthusiastically prattish as usual. During the banquet he drank less than usual and seemed to clear his throat far more than usual. Merlin decided to keep some of his attention on that problem. For once though, it looked no-one was trying to assassinate the heir to the throne so Merlin could stand back and sneak the occasional sip of wine.

 

When the end of the banquet finally came, Arthur was sober, Merlin was decidedly not. He slurred his words as he walked the prince to his room, tripped over himself several time (let's just not even discuss the number of times he tripped over other objects). Arthur seemed mostly amused by this. "Really, Merlin, you're supposed to fill our goblets, not show us what a light-weight are you." Merlin hiccupped indignantly and tried to look annoyed. He merely succeeded at looking comical. He raised one finger in front of his face, got briefly distracted by it, and then waved it about threateningly drunkenly. Whatever he had been about to say was cut off by the arrival of Sir Leon.

 

"My lord, a word please."

Arthur gestured for him to go along, using his other hand to silence Merlin. "Your father wanted me to pass on that he wishes to see you first thing tomorrow, before training." Arthur groaned. That was never good news.

"Very well, thank you Sir Leon." Leon took it for the clear dismissal it was, only throwing a cursory, puzzled glance over Merlin who was still being gagged by Arthur's hand.

 

"Alright, Merlin", Arthur started, "wake me early tomorrow so I can see the king before training. Not that I think you really know what 'on time' means, let alone 'early'." Merlin opened his mouth to protest but was once again interrupted, this time by Arthur. "Heh.. HEHKSSHT! Excuse me."

 

Arthur dismissed his manservant as soon as possible after they returned to his chambers, citing Merlin's drunkenness and the early start. Merlin eyes him with mildly intoxicated suspicion, made his way back to his room and promptly fell asleep, not to wake until the sun had most definitely risen.

 

When Merlin awoke and saw how high the sun was standing, he cursed, jumped out of bed, dressed, shouted something at Gaius as he ran past, missing out on breakfast, raced through the kitchen and up to the prince's quarters.

 

Said prince was nearly dressed and looking decidedly furious. "Finally decided to join us, Merlin?" Arthur didn't turn around to face him. "Strangest thing, I have a clear memory of asking you to wake me early today. Must have dreamt it." Merlin carefully schooled his features. "Must have. I brought you breakfast. And may I recommend the blue tunic instead of the green one for the meeting with your father? He seems to prefer it."

 

Arthur left it at that. And did Merlin imagine it or did the prince look a bit unwell? He had the nagging feeling he’d have plenty of time to contemplate that whilst in the stocks for not waking his master in time. Hopefully that would happen after the mysterious meeting. If Uther were to send his son on another fool’s errand, Merlin would like to have as much warning as he could.

 

“You’re late.”

“I’m sorry father. My idiot manservant forgot to wake me early.”

Merlin hoped with all his being the king wouldn’t go and say what he thought the king was about to say…

“A few hours in the stocks will no doubt remedy his memory problems.”

“Yes father. May I ask why you asked me here?”

Uther’s face took his well-known ‘I hate sorcery’-expression.

“Word has reached me that the envoy that arrived yesterday may not have only peaceful aims in sight. I want you to be on your guard for any provocations on their part. Remember that they tolerate and sometimes even employ sorcerers.” Uther spat out the word. “Uncover any ill plots. We are to sign a treaty with them tomorrow. If there is any reason we shouldn’t, I want to know.”

“Yes, father.”

 

Merlin noticed that Arthur’s face was in flux and wondered why. His arm was grabbed by the prat and they strode out of Uther’s chambers. “Ehh… HEKXNNGHT! Ehhh… hehh…” Merlin could feel a slight wetness from it on his arm.

 

“As much as I am loathe to let you escape the stocks, your station as a servant does open doors that are closed to nobility. I need you to keep a close eye on their servants. I may even assign you to one of the lords if we have any more concrete suspicions.” There Arthur stopped and leaned against the wall.

“Are you alright, my lord?” Arthur groaned. “Perfectly fine, just get on with it.” Merlin heard a note of congestion and hoarseness which rendered him believing the exact opposite. He’d have to snoop around the foreign envoy and look after Arthur at the same time then. No rest for the wicked.

“I will go and train with their knights this morning. I suggest you start fraternising with their servants in the stables and the armoury.”

Good, that would allow him to stay relatively close to the prince. If Arthur was as ill as he suspected, his reaction time would likely to be even worse than the day before. If someone had ill intentions (pun intended), they might actually stand a chance with Arthur on the field. Merlin disapproved. Armoury first then. It was the closest to the training field.

[tma]

Oooooo.... LOVE this!!!  

Remember, we can share "the boys" 😉😉

SneezyArthur is a fav, and you write them SO well!  😍😍❤❤

[groundcontrol]

Oh my oh my oh my! A million thanks to you!! I LOVE this so much already, and the fact that there's more to come? Wow. Everything about this just ticks every box: sneezy Arthur, denial, slow-build up to illness. Wow wow wow, and plus you write the dynamic between Merlin and Arthur so well. Can't wait to keep reading!

[AngelEyes]

This is fantastic!!!

[TheCakeIsAlive]

On 12/30/2018 at 7:12 PM, tma said:

Oooooo.... LOVE this!!!  

Remember, we can share "the boys" 😉😉

SneezyArthur is a fav, and you write them SO well!  😍😍❤❤

Absolutely.  Very glad you're enjoying it!  You are making me blush, my dear tma. ❤️ 

23 hours ago, groundcontrol said:

Oh my oh my oh my! A million thanks to you!! I LOVE this so much already, and the fact that there's more to come? Wow. Everything about this just ticks every box: sneezy Arthur, denial, slow-build up to illness. Wow wow wow, and plus you write the dynamic between Merlin and Arthur so well. Can't wait to keep reading!

I'm SO SO pleased you're enjoying it.  I read your Merlin stories before I started writing and I was a little nervous about getting it right so I'm so happy you're happy with it!   I think we'll end up with three parts, I'm slowly rounding it off at the moment, maybe 4 depending on how well the characters cooperate with me (they have a will of their own, despite their fictionality, or maybe even because). I really hope you will like the conclusion. *keeps on typing furiously* 

17 hours ago, AngelEyes said:

This is fantastic!!!

Thank you so much!

 

Part 2:

I apologise for the weird boldface. It isn't intentional but it appears to be here to stay. When I copy it over from the google doc, it erases my formatting and stubbornly refuses to not be boldface. Oh well. Enjoy part 2!  

 

 

The afternoon proved vexing. A few of the servants acted suspiciously but they might just have been on their guard, another few opened up rather too much for Merlin’s taste, complaining endlessly about their jobs or praising their masters into the sky, telling him their life story and how Camelot was so much grander than the court they lived at but… Merlin wished he could stop up his ears with wax by the end of it. He had learnt very little and all it did was keep him away from Arthur, who almost certainly needed his help more than uncovering this possibly fictitious magic plot.

 

His sense of relief was almost overwhelming when Arthur yelled his name across the field. He excused himself quickly and ran towards his master. If the roughness behind the barked command was anything to go by, he was going to be in a bad mood.

 

They walked to Arthur’s rooms in silence. As soon as the door closed Arthur opened his mouth. “Please tell me you had more luck.” Merlin shook his head. “No open hostility, some slight suspicions but nothing solid. I take it you had no more luck?” Arthur indicated he hadn’t.

“Either they are hiding their intentions incredibly well, or…”

“The king is seeing enemies where there aren’t?”

“Careful Merlin, this is my father you are talking about. But yes.”

The prince looked towards the bath. “I’ll get you a bath drawn.”

Merlin sprinted out the door to catch a passing servant to set the chain in motion. When he re-entered the room, Arthur had slumped in a chair, stifling painful sounding coughs into his glove.

“Come on sire, let’s get you out of all this heavy metal. I can hardly clean it whilst you’re still wearing it.” Arthur groaned but got up and obliged. By the time he was entirely unpacked, the bath was mostly drawn and Merlin was busy dismissing the servants. It would do and it might even still be delightfully warm.

 

After his bath, Arthur flopped down onto his bed. "Merlin. Come and rub Gaius' ointment into my shoulder." The crown prince was definitely more tired than usual. He groaned as he turned around to give Merlin access. Merlin made sure his hands were warm as he straddled Arthur to get proper access to the royal shoulders and massaged the knots out. There were a lot of them. That had to be uncomfortable at the very least. It didn’t help that Arthur sneezed at least twice during the process, his body tensing so much Merlin almost had to start all over again. Merlin sneaked in a quick feel of the prince’s neck. It was far too warm. Definitely running a fever. Fever, coughing, sneezing.. Arthur must be feeling far worse than he looked. Which was pale with blotchy red, and exhausted.

Even before he finished, he could hear the tell-tale breathing that signalled Arthur had fallen asleep. He very carefully dismounted and retreated to a chair near the bed to make sure he was on hand in case Arthur needed anything and to keep anyone else from disturbing him. He’d asked a guard to excuse Arthur for the obligatory council meeting with the excuse of running an errand for the king, who Merlin knew also wouldn’t attend this time. Reporting back to Uther was something he would have far more trouble getting Arthur out of, especially since he was supposed to be in the stocks. He hoped the sleep would do the prince a lot of good, preferably in time to save him from a day of being pelted with cabbages. They hurt.

 

When hours had past and the prince showed no signs of waking up, Merlin dozed off a little himself. A loud knock on the door put an end to it. Arthur sprang awake, his manservant tipped onto the ground in his haste to look presentable and opened the door. It was Sir Leon again.

 

“My lord, apologies for disturbing you. The King, once again, requests your presence.” He swept his eyes over the scene in that calm way he had and surmised some conclusions of his own.

Arthur opened his mouth to respond, croaked something unintelligible, cleared his throat, which descended into a coughing fit that left him gasping for breath, at which point Merlin stepped in.

“Thank you very much Sir Leon. He will visit the king at his earliest convenience. Perhaps he could be reported to be doing a little more research at the current moment? Possibly until just before tonight’s banquet?” Leon’s left eyebrow rose to resemble the shape of a snowy mountain peak but he nodded. “Very well.” In a much lower voice he added “Good luck” and winked at Merlin. A moment later he had taken on his neutral expression again and excused himself.

 

Arthur was still bent over, trying to catch his breath, looking infuriated with himself. Before the door had fully closed behind Leon, Merlin was at his master’s side, feeling his brow and trying to feed him a little water. The lack of protestation was testament to how ill Arthur must be. He let Merlin fluff up his pillows and dutifully drank the water before leaning back onto the bed. His nose twitched, his breath started hitching and he sneezed a harsh triple.

 

“Ugh, I feel terrible. You really shouldn’t have let me sleep, Merlin, we have to work on the.. Thing.. Plot.” He waved his hands to indicate Merlin knew what he was talking about. Merlin nodded indulgently.

“Yes, but you are in no state to do any such thing. I have an alternative plan if I may.”

Arthur nodded, then grimaced and held his hand to his forehead as if that slight movement already pained him. Merlin smiled that smile that made Arthur feel happy no matter the circumstances.

“Have you narrowed it down to say… 3 suspects or such?”

Arthur nodded.

“We can match them up with some trustworthy friends. I would like to suggest Leon, Morgana and Gwen. They are all trustworthy, have a keen attention to detail when they want it and it’s possible to find reasons to have them hang out with or serve the visitors. Let them go out and report back to you tonight.”

Arthur contemplated it. His sense of duty was warring with the knowledge he really was in no shape to go anywhere and his friends would have a much better chance at figuring out what was going on. As loathe as he was to be in any sort of debt to Morgana or put any of them into danger, which is what they would be doing, it would be their best chance.

“Go ahead, Merlin. I expect you back in my chambers… heh…. EHHKNXTSHH! Ehh.. hehhh… hehh…. as soon as you’re done. Make sure they are aware of the risk.”

 

Leon was despatched to shadow a lord that seemed fairly dodgy with only minimal questions. Then again he had a decent overview of the situation as a confidant of both the King and the prince. Then Merlin went and found Gwen and Morgana in the walled gardens. After making sure they were not overheard, he explained the plan. Gwen would be assigned as servant to the wife of a minor princeling for the rest of the day and Morgana would be keeping the wife of the ambassador company for the evening. Show her around, craft in her guest quarters, that kind of thing. After the evening meal they would reconvene in Arthur’s room and exchange information. He needn’t have worried they would protest or decline, Morgana was thrilled to do some potential good and something potentially more dangerous than the constant dread she faced of pricking her finger on a needle. She got bored quickly. She really ought to have been allowed to be a knight, Merlin mused, or at least train with them. And of course sweet Gwen jumped at the opportunity to help Merlin, Morgana and Arthur.

“Look out for anything that suggest underhanded dealings, sorcerous or not. Uther has his suspicions. They may be founded, they may not. If they are founded, you might end up in a dangerous situation. Make sure you always have an out. Try and hang out close together.”

Morgana looked determined, her face holding the “I’m-on-a-mission” position which made Camelot courtiers get out of her way rapidly. Gwen smiled. The corners of Merlin’s mouth joined in. They broke up, Merlin bowing as if he had just delivered any old message and going in one direction, Gwen and Morgana making their way into the castle again, heading towards the guest quarters.

 

It took him far too long for his taste to get back to Arthur. He could hear the coughing as he entered the hallway on the far end. He winced. It sounded painful. The prince was shivering under layers of blankets and skins, sweat beading on his forehead. “What news, Merlin?”

 

Merlin quickly outlined what had transpired as he moistened a cloth to wipe the prince’s face. He watched the unfocused eyes and how quick the prince’s health seemed to have deteriorated. He didn’t trust it. Time to call in the support troops before it got any worse.

“They’re all in place or should be by now. We’ll just have to wait and see. When did you start feeling unwell?”

 

A look of concentration. “Good. I’ll look forward to their report. I first felt unwell about 2 days ago. It wasn’t so bad until… h-hold on… ehh.. Hehh…. Eh..hheh… until yesterday afternoon. This morning I felt like I’ve been trampled by a horse or worse.” Merlin grimaced as he thought of all the “and worse” creatures they had fought together.

 

He snuffled wetly, the urge to sneeze clearly still there, although unsatisfied.

“I want to ask Gaius to have a look at you. You got worse so quickly, I don’t trust it.” Again, Arthur failed to protest, which was probably the best confirmation that something was really wrong. The prince’s eyes were falling shut and he was drifting in and out of consciousness.

 

A quick sprint and a hurried walk back brought Gaius to the prince’s bed. “You were right, Merlin, this is no ordinary illness. It probably started out as one, but with the speed it is worsening, I suspect someone has been tampering with the prince’s health. Tell me all you can remember.”

Merlin related his experiences of the day, including the assignment from Uther that Gwen, Morgana and Leon were currently trying to fulfill.

“I will take a sample and do some research. Make sure you don’t leave the prince alone and send for me if he gets any worse.”

“Of course, Gaius. Is there anything I can do in the meantime?”

Gaius looked at the prince’s face, trying to ascertain whether he was entirely unconscious. He decided to talk to Merlin at the far end of the room, out of earshot.

“I fear that Uther’s suspicions might be correct. Be very careful.” At that, he gave Merlin one of his looks with the very high eyebrows, like castle turrets. “But if you can do anything…” He wiggled his fingers to indicate magic. Merlin nodded.

 

Arthur groaned, which prompted them to end their conversation. “Merlinn…”

“I’m right over here, Arthur.” He sent Gaius one more knowing look and returned to his prince’s bedside. It was only then that Arthur registered Gaius’ presence. He paled, if that was even possible. He gestured vaguely in the direction of the court physician. “Merlin?”

“I wanted a second opinion. Gaius wants to run some tests and will let us know more.”

“My father?”

“He thinks you’re doing more research, we don’t have to report to him until it’s time for the banquet. Which is… an hour or so away.”

Arthur nodded as if he were drunk. “Water?”

Merlin put a goblet to his lips. It looked to him as if swallowing was difficult for his master. After a few sips Arthur pushed it away. “Ehh… HEHHKXNNST! Hehh...EHHKXSHHT! Eh… hehh...”

Even that left him a little out of breath.

“Morgana was very excited to be able to do something more dangerous than cross stitch you know.” Arthur laughed at that, a barking laugh that was more like a cough. “I can very well imagine that.”

“Leon accepted everything without question. But of course he picks up a lot without showing it. Gwen accepted the most dangerous position, but she can take care of herself.”

 

Arthur thought about commenting, then decided against it in favour of drinking a little more water. He was happy to hear Merlin prattle on. It always restored a sense of normalcy even in the most stressful situations. He relied on Merlin a lot, he realised. He knew the danger of relying on any one person most, but he simply couldn’t imagine his life without his big-eared, manservant with the goofy smile that warmed his heart. Not that he’d ever admit that. Far too sleepy for that anyway. He smiled as he sank back into a feverish sleep.

 

Merlin saw that Arthur had fallen back asleep. He locked the door with a flash of his eyes and concentrated. He wasn’t sure how to detect magical interference, but he was going to try his hardest. If he didn’t have any luck he could at least try and spell Arthur’s temperature down. He didn’t like how close to delirium the prince had seemed for the last few spells of consciousness.

[AngelEyes]

Oooh. The intrigue. Exciting!

[groundcontrol]

It just gets better and better! Of course I enjoy it, and I'm flattered you read my fics. Thanks for all the work you're putting into this. I'm so interested in this not only from the standpoint of the sneezing (absolutely lovely by the way) but also the plot. Magical illness is so intriguing and I really enjoy the plot aspect, which is more than can be said for the mindless fluff I post here lol :) I love the friendship/preslash (I do ship it as well). Of particular greatness-- the coughing description, the fever feel while tending Arthur, and Arthur's begrudging admission of feeling unwell. Really everything is spectacular, can't wait for more!

[caramelfuzz]

This is so amazing!!!!! I absolutely love their dynamic!

[queenie]

Ohhhhh my, stubborn vulnerable Arthur is very special to me. Heavy is the head etc etc

[TheCakeIsAlive]

On 1/1/2019 at 12:50 AM, groundcontrol said:

It just gets better and better! Of course I enjoy it, and I'm flattered you read my fics. Thanks for all the work you're putting into this. I'm so interested in this not only from the standpoint of the sneezing (absolutely lovely by the way) but also the plot. Magical illness is so intriguing and I really enjoy the plot aspect, which is more than can be said for the mindless fluff I post here lol I love the friendship/preslash (I do ship it as well). Of particular greatness-- the coughing description, the fever feel while tending Arthur, and Arthur's begrudging admission of feeling unwell. Really everything is spectacular, can't wait for more!

Your fluff is absolutely lovely to read! I write more than my fair share of plotless fluff. It's good fun.  I'm so glad you ship it too. They are just the most adorable couple together. ❤️ Very happy you like the coughing, I was quite unsure whether that was alright to put in.  Still at the family computer, so I'll keep it brief, but in short I'm so very pleased you like it.  

On 1/3/2019 at 12:43 AM, caramelfuzz said:

This is so amazing!!!!! I absolutely love their dynamic!

Thank you so much!  They do make such a versatile pair. 

On 1/3/2019 at 5:28 AM, queenie said:

Ohhhhh my, stubborn vulnerable Arthur is very special to me. Heavy is the head etc etc

He is, isn't he? The poor darling. He tries so hard and yet it's never quite enough for Uther. I need to rewrite the end of the series, at the very least in my head for him to have a happy ending to the story. Because Arthur. 😍 And Merlin of course. Funnily enough I've written vulnerable Arthur before but in an almost opposite scenario. 

 

 

This grew rather out of hand. I was aiming for 2000-3000 words. I also found out how to get rid of the bold, so the last part is in normal text. And with the last part I mean more like the other half. Oops. I've had a lot of fun writing this and I hope you will have as much fun reading it. 

 

Part 3:

An unknown servant knocked on the door roughly a candlemark later. Merlin unlocked it. “My lord, Uther requests…” started the man loudly. Merlin hushed him. It was too late, Arthur had woken up. He looked marginally better. The fever spell had done a little good.

“Tell my father I’ll be there shortly.”

The servant scurried back out of the room with a “Yes, my lord.”

Arthur coughed harshly as he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

“Arthur, I really think that isn’t a good…”

“Merlin, it seems you keep forgetting who the prince is and who the manservant. Dress me.”

Under protest, the warlock obliged. “I don’t forget, you know. I just conveniently ignore it when you’re being a prat.”

Arthur gave another short laugh. “Only you, Merlin.” His face scrunched up and he sneezed harshly. “Ow.”

 

With quite a lot of effort, the prince was dressed and shuffled towards his father’s chambers, leaning quite heavily on his manservant. He still looked immensely unwell. Just outside his father’s room, he straightened himself with great effort, before knocking.

 

“Come in.”

Merlin pushed the door open and took his place behind his master.

“Please close the door.”

Only when the door was closed did his father speak. “What did you uncover? Who is plotting against Camelot?”

Arthur pretended he wasn’t about to fall over through sheer dizziness, grateful for Merlin’s subtle support from behind.

“We are still investigating. Our investigations earlier today yielded a shortlist of suspects and trusted allies are taking this investigation further. I will get a report back from them later tonight.”

 

Uther stopped pacing and looked at his son for the first time. “Are you feeling quite well, Arthur?” Arthur contorted his face, trying to suppress the next bout of coughing.

“A little under the weather, father. Nothing that a few good nights sleep won’t deal with.” The way he was swaying on his feet belied the statement, but Uther seemed satisfied.

“I will require you at tonight’s banquet, but keep a sharp eye out.”

“Yes, father.”

“You are dismissed.”

“Yes, father.”

 

The upright back slumped as soon as he was out of sight, his breath hitched and.. “Ehh.. HEHTCHH! Eh-hehh-ehh… EHHKNXSSHT!” Merlin took position to take a significant portion of the prince’s weight and help him shuffle out of the corridor.

“You are aware that you can hardly stay awake for 15 minutes, let alone pretend to be alright through a banquet?”

Arthur clenched his teeth, clearly in a lot of discomfort. “Merlin, can you enquire with Gaius if there is anything he can give me to get me through tonight?”

“Alright, let me just get you to your room first.”

Thankfully, Gaius arrived just as he put the prince, who was half-asleep on his feet, back into bed. They retreated back to their little corner of semi-privacy.

 

“It is as we suspected. I found some traces of Strophanthus Gratus. On its own only a mild poison, but it is sometimes used to exacerbate any pre-existing health condition when mixed with a few other herbs. It is a subtle way to get rid of any unwanted persons, since it will look like an unfortunate case of illness turned fatal. The dose given to him wouldn’t be enough to turn what I suspect started as the common cold lethal. I suspect that this night, at the banquet, the administration of a second dose might be attempted, should the prince attend. Otherwise we may have to expect an intruder into his rooms.”

Merlin grimaced. “He will attend, Uther ordered him to. I haven’t heard back yet from Leon, Gwen or Morgana, but I can enlist their help tonight. I’ve…” He wriggled his fingers. “.. to get his fever down a little, but he’s in a bad way. Is there anything you can give him to make tonight easier?”

Gaius contemplated the request. “I’ve started working on an antidote to the most likely mixture given to him. It would be a huge help if we could get our hands on the exact mixture, even without knowing the exact spell used. In the meantime, I can give him some herbs to further reduce the fever and some honey for his throat. That is as much as I dare interfere at the moment. At this rate of decline, he would have been dead within a few days.”

A cold dread settled around Merlin’s heart. “Are you a 100% sure you can save him?” He worried his lips with his teeth.

Gaius calmly responded. “Thankfully, it seems to be a fairly straightforward cure. I am confident that we can heal him between us.”

 

Arthur had fallen back to sleep, but the banquet was about to start.
“Rise and shine!” Merlin faked a lot of pointless optimism in that one statement. A groan was his only response. “Let’s have you lazy daisy?” A more question-based approach, which earned him a pillow to the head. “That’s better. Now Gaius has got some herbs I need you to swallow. He’s mixed them with water. They will help with your fever. And he’s added some honey for your throat. And then we’ll need to get you to the banquet.”

The prince obeyed meekly, drinking the liquid, only gagging slightly on the bitterness that wasn’t entirely masked by the honey and stood up on wobbly legs. He looked drunk, as well as ill. It would have been rather amusing if it weren’t so serious.

“Lead the way, Merlin-n hehh…. EHTSHH!”

 

By the way they had reached the hall, Arthur had been caught up with the likelihood of a plot, the measures in place to counteract it, an encouragement to be extra careful with anything that he ingested etc. The herbs had had some time to work and he looked a little less unwell, which was a bonus. His co-conspirators were already seated. It would be Merlin’s job to take them aside one by one and update them on the situation whilst getting any news out of them. That would mean leaving Arthur. Leon first then.

 

He managed to isolate the knight just outside the hall. “What news?” he whispered. “Nothing much I’m afraid, I think it might have been a dead end.”

Merlin nodded. “Thank you, Leon. We suspect a goblet or dish might get tampered with tonight. Would you be able to look after Arthur whilst I catch up with the others?”

“Of course.” Merlin flashed him a relieved smile. “Thank you, Leon.”

 

It was fairly straightforward to get to Gwen, he just appeared at her shoulder, standing behind the nobles she was looking after, as well as investigating. Their conversation had to be conducted mostly in hand movements and very subtle whispers. She indicated that her noblewoman seemed fine, but her son seemed ambitious beyond his measure and had disappeared into the lower town for quite an extended period earlier. That wasn’t proof, but the best they had. He quickly outlined that Arthur was most likely kind of poisoned and that Gaius suspected a second dose might be administered that evening. Gwen promised to keep a very close eye.

 

Getting to Morgana, however, was quite the challenge. In the end, he pretended to trip whilst holding some wine, tipping a little over one of Morgana’s expensive dresses. Her anger was almost certainly not acted, but her willingness to follow him so he could attempt to fix it most definitely was. He apologised profusely (he wasn’t that keen to lose his head) but Morgana turned all business as soon as they had left the hall. She too was quickly updated, but her story was closer to Leon’s. Gwen’s charge was the most likely source. Her lips made a determined thin line before she turned back to all smiles as she re-took her place at the table.

 

Merlin returned to Arthur’s side, assuming his place behind the prince’s right shoulder as Leon was standing behind his left.
If you weren’t paying attention, the prince looked remarkably well for the condition he was in. Coughs were muffled, the odd sneeze hidden behind a sleeve and with the fever under some control, his courtly conversation was as pleasant as always.

 

Merlin had made sure the wine in his pitcher had been honeyed, to help his master as much as possible.

 

Uther opened the banquet with a speech about friendship, companionship and mutual education to which there was a general “hear hear”. Then the dishes were brought in. Arthur made sure to put a healthy-looking amount on his plate, feeding morsels to the dogs whenever possible to avoid actually having to force (and keep) the food down.

 

Five pairs of eyes were trained on the part of the envoy Gwen was serving. Arthur made sure to drink only wine from the pitcher Merlin didn’t allow out of his sight the entire evening. He had even left Arthur for a moment to fill it himself.

 

When the first hunger of the guests was stilled, mingling increased, which made their job a lot harder. Many of the visiting nobles wished to talk to Arthur and toast by clinking their goblets together. Some of the ladies brought him morsels that they observed he hadn’t tried. In other words, it was bloody impossible, Merlin thought. Having only one heir, surely the security measures ought to be tighter. Then he shrugged. It was five against, hopefully, one. And they had some idea who the one might be.

 

“I do hope you are enjoying your stay here at Camelot.”

“Very much so. Your hospitality is absolutely outstanding. I’ve enjoyed the sights of the palace and of the town around it very much.”

Merlin went on high alert. He looked around the room and saw several sets of eyes trained upon the interaction. Not just of his ‘spies’ but also of the boy’s parents. Co-conspirators or parental interest? He couldn’t make it out in the split second he allowed himself to rest on any person before looking back at the exchange.

“A toast to your good health!”

The goblets whacked against each other with more than usual violence and a good amount of wine sloshed from one goblet into the other.

Both parties raised their goblets to their mouth. In that moment, Merlin realised. The boy could drink the spiked wine without harming himself if he consumed either an antidote or had no conditions to exacerbate.

 

There was no time to look at his back-up. He had to knock the goblet out of Arthur’s hand without looking suspicious. No time to think about it. He took a deep breath in preparation for earning himself another stay in the stocks.

In that brief moment, Leon politely tapped on Arthur’s shoulders, looked at the goblet and shook his head.

“My lord, there is some commotion in the kitchen. I believe your interference may be needed. I don’t think it’s serious enough to disturb the king, but a figure of authority would be beneficial.”

Arthur nodded, jaw square and determined. He put down the goblet and clasped the young noble’s shoulder. “I’m afraid our toast must wait, duty calls.”

He stood up, surreptitiously leaning on Merlin, who had quickly swiped the goblet from the high table.

 

They left the hall together, the manservant supporting his prince on the one side and keeping the precious evidence in his other hand. Outside, he steered them towards Gaius, which was the opposite direction of the kitchen.

 

“Shouldn’t we at least feign…?” Arthur questioned.

Merlin glared at him and whispered “Poisoned cup. I think we should get this to Gaius to make absolutely sure with no delay.”

Arthur couldn’t exactly argue with that. Now that the adrenaline of the banquet was wearing off, he couldn’t seem to shop shivering, coughing and sneezing. Arthur’s sneezes were so violent, they could cause the suspect wine to spill, so any time he geared up for another “Ehh… HEHHKNXSSHT!” or an “Ahhh… ahhehh… hehh-heh-hehh…. ETCHHUH!” he let go of Merlin’s hold and leaned against a wall. It took them far too long to get there and sweat was beading on Arthur’s forehead by the time they arrived, but they did.

 

“Merlin! What happened?” Gaius seemed very alarmed by their appearance.

“Gaius, can you test the contents of this goblet for contamination with the Sthrophanwhatever? Don’t worry, Arthur didn’t drink any of it… Wait, did you?” Arthur shook his head. “Leon warned me in time. He told me there was some disturbance in the kitchen that needed some… authoritative dealing with. Remind me to give him some award for quick thinking.” Merlin pouted slightly but had to admit it worked out far better than his plan or just throwing himself at Arthur. Which was a bad idea in general, notthatheeverthoughtaboutthatofcourse. He barely stopped himself blushing.

 

“My lord, if you could just lie down on the bed over here” he cleared his own bed of the assortment of tubes and vials that had ended up on it, “I will take care of this. I think it might be sensible for you to avoid rejoining the party until we’ve confirmed or ruled out our possible culprit.” Arthur complied. He was, after all, very shaky on his feet. As soon as he lay down, something shifted in his chest and he shot upwards, coughing violently. As if by magic, a goblet with water appeared next to him.

“Merlin, I need a hand. Could you hand me that brown vial on the 2nd shelf? No, not that one, to the right. Thank you, Merlin.” The vial changed hands.

“Now could you find me a little green dye? I’m sure I have some lying around.”

 

Arthur felt quite content lying down after the coughing had subsided, listening to Gaius muttering to himself, Merlin tripping over and cursing to himself as he tried to find the dye. It would have been even better if his nose didn’t feel like little feathers were running loose in it. Every breath he took in fanned the need to expel a non-existent irritant. “Hehh… heh-ehh…”

 

A victorious sound. “Got it!” Make that two victorious shouts. From different directions. “This wine indeed contains the same herb. I’ll need a little more time to analyse the exact content and find an antidote, but I believe we have our plotter!”

 

Arthur rejoiced, silently, with his eyes closed, fighting the urge to sneeze again. Merlin and Gaius appeared oblivious to his plight.

 

“I’ll return to the party and make sure that Leon and the King are aware so they can deal with the man as they see fit. I’ll try and update the other’s, but they may have to be patient.” Merlin was nearly out of the door when Gaius called him back.

 

“Merlin? Be careful. Having had no luck with Arthur at the banquet, they might try another target. This isn’t time to relax yet.” Merlin nodded.

Arthur lost his battle. “HAAAATCHHH! Ahh… ahhehh… AAAHHKXNST” He heard the retreating form of his manservant shout a “Bless you!”

 

Merlin almost sprinted back to the hall, spurred on by Gaius’ warning. If they didn’t succeed with Arthur, maybe he might be trying with the King, or, gods forbid, Morgana. He, or they? That was a question for later. First he ought to alert the King. As he was already aware and it looked like there were no further complications, this might be the one time they didn’t have to surreptitiously deal with the plot themselves without involving Uther or, in many cases, Arthur. He may only somewhat bend the exact truth of it for the King’s ears.

 

It took Merlin a little while to locate Leon, who had moved to a location between Morgana and Uther. He made a mental note to praise the knight when he had a proper chance. He started making his way across, but was waylaid by the King himself, grasping him by the arm as he tried to make his way past.

“Why has my son left the banquet?” came the hissed question into his ear. “Apologies, sire, we believe to have uncovered who has ill intentions towards the prince. The son of Lord Ulfried has poisoned the prince’s cup. Gaius has confirmed that it was poisoned. Your son is in the infirmary, resting.”

Uther released his grip enough to restore the circulation to Merlin’s arm. He was sure there would be bruises later.

“Will my son be alright?”

Merlin only lied slightly. “He will be, sire, but Gaius believes it is unwise for him to return to the banquet.”

“Very well, I trust his judgment.”

He turned around and gestured for the two guards at his shoulders to come forward. “Do not let the lordling sitting five seats down on my left side leave your sight. Guard his room tonight, place him under arrest if needed. There is evidence he tried to kill the heir to the throne.”

 

Merlin nodded quickly and escaped before the King could command him to do anything. He’d just have to catch the others up later. He trusted they’d be careful.

 

Gaius was busy at work, but no sign of Arthur. Gaius put a finger to his mouth. “Shh. Arthur is asleep in your bed. The antidote will require some particular help from you. It would be better if he weren’t aware of that part. What did you tell Uther?”

“I’ve told him Lord Ulfried’s son tried to poison Arthur. I’ve left in the middle whether he succeeded.” Gaius nodded. “You did well, my boy. Now, with a bit of luck, we can get Arthur sorted tonight, before we receive any more visitors.”

 

It took them most of the night. In fact, the first roosters were crowing loudly by the time an exhausted Gaius and Merlin held a vial that the physician believed would counteract the mixture that had made Arthur so ill. Thankfully, the prince had awoken only a handful of times, kept sedate by a mixture of honeyed herbs from Gaius and the occasional sneaky magic help from Merlin.

 

Uther had come by briefly after the banquet, enquiring after his son. Gaius had reassured him. Gwen, Morgana and Leon had crowded in after. Whilst Gaius kept working in the background, Merlin had caught them up on all details bar the magic ones. They reported the lordling had seemed put out after Arthur had left but hadn’t clinked goblets so vigorously with anyone else. He had appeared fairly oblivious to the measures put in place to guard him closely. He wasn’t a prisoner per se, but it was a close call.

They all retired for the night. Staying longer would have prompted some suspicions, plus it had been rather a long and intense day for all.

 

Tirelessly working through the night, Gaius and Merlin concocted the antidote, infused with just a little bit of illegal magic. Gaius was fairly sure that with the dose that Arthur had ingested, he probably wouldn’t die, but they’d rather be sure.

The physician chose a quick lie-down whilst he allowed Merlin to administer the potion. Arthur was groggy. He woke up, shaking his head as if to clear the fog that must undoubtedly be clouding his brain.

 

“Drink this.”

Arthur opened his mouth so that Merlin could tip in the liquid.

“This is vile.” Merlin chuckled.

“Stop complaining or next time you can help Gaius.”

“You do realise I’m the prince, Merlin. You can’t command me.” There was a smile behind the remark.

Merlin muttered something about clotpoles sleeping in his bed, keeping him up all night, which Arthur tactically ignored.

“You should sleep a bit more, Arthur, it will take some time to take effect.” Merlin had found a spare blanket and settled on the floor besides the bed. “I’m certainly planning to.”

 

Arthur looked on fondly as he realised his manservant was asleep before his head reached the floor. He pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth to suppress the building urge to sneeze again, realising that the physician nor his apprentice had gotten any sleep the previous night. He even felt a little guilty for taking his manservants bed. Funny, he wouldn’t have thought twice about it even a year ago. He would never admit it, but Merlin had been a good influence on him.

 

As he pondered, his eyelids grew heavier and he too sank into oblivion.

 

Merlin awoke feeling sore and cold and wondered why his face was on the floor. Arthur! He jumped up, a wave of dizziness his punishment for the activity so quickly after waking. The prince was awake, looking a lot better.

“Ah, finally decided to join the living, Merlin?”

“How are you feeling, Arthur?”

Arthur cleared his throat, which made him cough. It didn’t sound nearly as harrowing as it had the previous day. “Still like I’ve been trampled by a horse, but a much smaller one.”

It was entirely worth it for the wide smile Merlin threw him.

“Brilliant. Then I’m sure you can vacate my bed and move your royal arse to your own room.”

Arthur sputtered, yet again. This was becoming a theme. “I’m sure I’ve told you many times, Merlin, you cannot talk to your prince like that. But since your bed is rather small, I might oblige and find the comfort of my own.”

 

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up. The world spun around around him, a sinus headache pounded behind his temples and he felt the temptation to lie right down again. On shaky legs, he got up. Entering the physicians work chambers, he saw Gaius was already pottering around.

 

“Ah, my lord, I see you are much improved. Very glad to see it. You can expect to feel ill for a while longer. This has merely counteracted the effects of the potion you ingested. I’m afraid there is no cure for the common cold.

 

“Hehh… EHH’CHUCH! Ahh.. AAHHTSHH!” Arthur leaned on the corner of a table to steady himself, knocking two phials onto the ground. “Apologies, Gaius.”

“Bless you. Don’t worry, Merlin will clean it up.”

Merlin shot the physician a glare, but did kneel to collect the broken glass and mop up the liquids. When it was mostly cleared, he disposed of the debris. “Come on, my lord. Time to get you back to your own bed.” He offered Arthur his shoulder and together they made their way back to the royal quarters.

 

The king, for a change, allowed Arthur a couple of days to recover, which also conveniently kept him out of the way whilst the perpetrators were dealt with. The family disgraced after Gaius presented the evidence, backed up by two members of the court and a knight. The visit was cut short and the delegation given the freedom to penalise the man as they felt fit.

 

Arthur recovered at a good pace after the toxins had been neutralised, although the lack of fever resulted in him being very stuffy and, more noticeably, sneezy for most of the following week. It annoyed him, which in turn annoyed Merlin, who took refuge with Gaius on occasion. The leech tank had never been that clean. There was a particularly notable incident where Arthur insisted on training. During training he felt absolutely fine, the adrenaline keeping his symptoms at bay. As soon as it was over, which happened to be in the armoury, where Merlin was taking off his armour, the adrenaline drained and his symptoms came back full force in the shape of a sneezing fit that started off manageable, geared up to bend him double and finally left him gasping for breath, red faced and messy. His first breath was dedicated to admonishing his manservant for being slow to take the armour off. Poor Merlin, who had been in the firing zone, finished the job work clenched teeth and then ran off citing chores for Gaius. The next day, feeling much improved, the Prince was far less of a clotpole.

 

Two days later, Merlin woke up with a pounding head, stuffy sinuses and… “Ehhh’etchh! Etchh!” He cursed Arthur only a little bit as he went about his chores.

 

When Arthur caught on, just after breakfast, he commanded Merlin return the favour and use his royal bed (provided he wouldn’t snot all over it) to get a bit of well-deserved rest whilst he went about his duties. He didn’t examine the warm glow in his chest at seeing his manservant fast asleep in his bed.

 

The end!  

[AngelEyes]

This is a wonderful finish to the story! Nicely tied up.

[groundcontrol]

Aww, poor poor Arthur  He really was miserable, wasn't he? It's just like him to drag himself half-dead to do something just to please his father, and it's just like Uther not to pay enough attention to Arthur to realize how sick he really is

I'm glad the conspirator was caught, and that was, again, a very compelling aspect to the story. Aggravating a natural illness, that's a very creative spell. Also, I can just imagine the scene where Arthur sneezes all over Merlin in the armory, and then yells at him. That's so them. 

The sweetness of Arthur sleeping in Merlin's bed, feeling guilty about it and trying to disguise it with prattishness, only to return the favor when Merlin catches his cold was almost too sweet for me to handle. You write Merlin and Arthur's relationship so well. Love love love. 

My only complaint was that this is the final part! Haha, as they say, all good things must come to an end  Thank you so much for writing this for me, I couldn't have asked for a better fic!!

[TheCakeIsAlive]

On 1/7/2019 at 8:32 PM, AngelEyes said:

This is a wonderful finish to the story! Nicely tied up.

Thank you very much

On 1/8/2019 at 10:31 PM, groundcontrol said:

Aww, poor poor Arthur  He really was miserable, wasn't he? It's just like him to drag himself half-dead to do something just to please his father, and it's just like Uther not to pay enough attention to Arthur to realize how sick he really is

I'm glad the conspirator was caught, and that was, again, a very compelling aspect to the story. Aggravating a natural illness, that's a very creative spell. Also, I can just imagine the scene where Arthur sneezes all over Merlin in the armory, and then yells at him. That's so them. 

The sweetness of Arthur sleeping in Merlin's bed, feeling guilty about it and trying to disguise it with prattishness, only to return the favor when Merlin catches his cold was almost too sweet for me to handle. You write Merlin and Arthur's relationship so well. Love love love. 

My only complaint was that this is the final part! Haha, as they say, all good things must come to an end  Thank you so much for writing this for me, I couldn't have asked for a better fic!!

He was, the poor dear. Uther does tend to be clueless the majority of the time. The general "OMG SORCERY" *red curtains in front of eyes* 

So glad you enjoyed the plot, such as it was. Ah yes, them ensorcellors are well sneaky.  I quite enjoyed writing that. I could see Merlin's response. They are just so adorable together. 

Aww, thank you! I couldn't resist putting that in. I remember where Merlin (and I think Hunith too) had to sleep on the floor because Arthur took the only bed and didn't realise. I've always wanted to do something like that again but when he was less of an oblivious prat. 

I can totally live with that complaint. You're very welcome, I'm just so chuffed you like it! 😻