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“What happened?!” Merlin cried, rushing to Arthur’s side as Leon and Gwaine laid the prince down on his bedroll. “You three were only supposed to collect some firewood!”
“We ran into some trouble,” Gwaine grumbled, wiping the sweat from his brow.
“Merlin, please, you have to do something,” Leon said, grabbing the arm of the physician’s apprentice.
“What? I can’t do anything for this!” Merlin said, his eyes wide as he looked down at the profusely bleeding wound in Arthur’s chest. “He needs Gaius!”
“We don’t have time to get him to Gaius!” Leon countered. “Please, Merlin! Your people can heal wounds like this. I’ve seen it.”
“Those people have years of experience over me!” Merlin shouted, shaking his hand off and backing away. “I’m not nearly that far along in my studies! I can barely heal a papercut with the right herbs. How do you expect me to heal this?!” He asked, starting to panic as he paced back and forth.
“I can’t expect you to heal him,” Leon said, getting up. “But I expect you to try at the very least! Please, Merlin. Arthur is dying. He won’t make it back to the castle like this.”
The servant looked at the knight, pressing his lips together. Tears were gathered in his eyes as he warred with himself, scared to try, but knowing that if he didn’t, Arthur would die for sure. He nodded silently, reaching up to wipe at his eyes quickly before kneeling down at his injured friend’s side.
He reached toward him with a shaky hand before pulling it back, shaking his head. “I don’t know what I’m doing.” He said helplessly, tears dripping down his cheeks.
Gwaine placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve got this, Merlin. Even Gaius says you’re his most gifted pupil. If anyone can do this, it’s you.” He murmured gently.
Merlin swallowed anxiously, closing his eyes for a moment. He took a deep breath in and nodded, reaching for Arthur once more but not touching him.
He kept his eyes closed, his hands hovering over his body as he focused on the magic around him. He could feel the life draining out of Arthur, spilling into the ground and the air. A deep crease on his brow, he frowned and drew on the magic, fingers curling and moving slightly, like those of a puppet master as he worked the strings of his craft. Slowly, Merlin pulled the magic towards him, a shock going through his body as he gathered it in his hands.
It tingled as it seeped into his skin, and the warlock gasped. It was too much for his inexperienced body to handle, but he couldn’t stop. It wasn’t enough to heal Arthur. He needed more.
Clenching his eyes tight and gritting his teeth, Merlin steeled himself before putting all his strength into drawing the escaped magic out of the air, taking it into himself.
The magic burned as Merlin collected it, lighting his veins with liquid fire as he yelled in pain, his body twitching as sweat gathered on his forehead and rolled down his face.
The knights around him glanced at each other but didn’t dare to interfere. Even as the sweat on his face turned to droplets of blood that dripped from his skin in dark splashes against the ground, they only watched.
When all of Arthur’s life force had been pulled from the air, Merlin cried out. His very core felt as though it was breaking apart, the contained magic bashing against his own. It was agony, piercing every part of him and threatening to tear him apart.
Muscles aching, Merlin moved to press his hands over Arthur’s chest, and with a mighty shove, he forced the magic out, channeling it back into Arthur’s body.
Prince and warlock alike screamed as the magic flowed from one to the other, the wound in Arthur’s chest healing and the glow in Merlin’s eyes blazing.
Merlin sat back, and Arthur sat up slowly, looking dazed but healthy as the knights cheered.
Gwaine squeezed Merlin’s shoulder, shaking the servant excitedly, only for his bubble of joy to burst as Merlin fell over, his body spasming.
A distant call of his name was the last thing Merlin heard before he passed out.
=+=+=+=+=+=
Hours later, the young man was resting in his chambers, pale and weak, but alive.
In the outer chambers, Gaius was speaking to the knights. “If this had been any of my other students, they would not be alive right now.” He told them wearily, sitting down.
Arthur glanced at the others. “I don’t understand.” He admitted.
“Neither do we.” The others chorused.
The physician sighed. “You three really should endeavor to learn more about these things.” He told them. “What Merlin did today was a dangerous practice, one that most sorcerers and even warlocks never master in their lifetimes.”
He took his spectacles off and rubbed at his eyes before going on. “What he did, essentially, was absorbing the magic of another into himself. It is a risky practice because the magic in our bodies is not meant to touch another. So when he took Arthur’s life force into his body, his own magic was fighting against it, trying to expel it by force. It took great strength on Merlin’s part to hold it in for so long.”
He shook his head. “If a sorcerer tried to do such a thing, he would have died almost instantly without the proper knowledge. Only because Merlin is a warlock did he manage to survive. Warlocks are born with an innate sense of how to manipulate magic. That is the only reason he managed to hold back his own magic so well. Without that intuitive ability, he would surely have died.”
“But he will be okay now, right?” Gwaine asked, looking worriedly towards Merlin’s room.
“Yes, with time. Merlin will need to rest and heal, but he’ll make a full recovery in a month or so.” Gaius assured him.
“A month?!” Arthur nearly yelled, eyes wide.
“Keep your voice down.” Gaius scolded. “Yes, a month. And you had better be thankful that it is such a short period of time. It was your life after all that he saved.”
The prince shut his mouth quickly, looking contrite as he nodded.
“Good. Now all of you get going. Merlin needs his rest, and so do you.” Gaius said, shooing them out of his chambers. He checked on Merlin one last time before heading to bed.
That student of his was going to be the death of him one day.