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Merlin paced the physicians chambers, looking rather irritated and annoyed. "But-- Gaius?"
The old man shook his head. "Do not, Merlin. Arthur still isn't ready to be exposed to magic. It's too soon after Uther's death."
Merlin made an annoyed sound, golden wings fluttering indignantly behind him. "What do you mean? Arthur's been more kind towards magic than he ever was."
"Yes, but do you think he's ready for that?" Gaius said, waving a hand at Merlin, meaning his wings.
"I-- Well-- Yes? No? I-- Okay, I'm not sure, but I think he'll be okay, once I explain everything," Merlin stammered out, crossing his arms tightly.
"Merlin," Gaius warned, shaking his head and arching his famed eyebrow.
"Oh, come on Gaius! I think it'll--" Merlin cut himself off, hearing approaching footsteps. He hissed a breath through his teeth, tucking his wings in close to his back, vanishing them.
The door burst open to reveal Quentin, one of Arthur's guards. "Merlin-- You have to help us. Arthur's under a spell."
"Another one? What kind of spell?" Merlin asked, following Quentin out of the tower, rushing down the stairs.
"Love spell, I think. At least, that's what it sounded like, according to Vince. You'll have to see for yourself. You're the only person that I can think of who might know a solution," Quentin rambled slightly as they hurried to Arthur's chambers.
Merlin smiled slightly. He was at least glad that he had revealed his magic to Quentin and Vince. They would keep his secret safe, and it would help protect Arthur.
They continued down the winding halls, nearly crashing into Vince, who was out of breath.
"Woah-- Vince, are you all right?" Quentin asked, steadying his friend.
"Arthur-- out-- I-- Don't--" Vince wheezed, shaking his head frantically.
"What? Arthur escaped from where?" Merlin asked, looking between the two guards.
"We uh-- We locked him in his room? But... Obviously he got out..." Quentin winced, shaking Vince's shoulders to try and make him calm down.
"We still need to get to his chambers. Maybe there's a trace of magic that I could track," Merlin said, already beginning to walk again.
"You can track magic?" Vince asked as the two guards caught up, following Merlin's lead.
"Yeah. Apparently. I didn't find that out until the first time Arthur went missing with an enchanted object. I think it was a ring," Merlin replied with a chuckle.
"Oh. That's not great," Vince said, not really knowing what else to say. Then again, he didn't have to say anything.
Merlin just laughed.
They made it to the chambers. Merlin pushed the doors open, revealing the empty room. He immediately coughed, seeing a faint, shimmering pink mist in the room.
"Merlin? Are you okay?"
"Yeah. It's just the--" he coughed again-- "the pink dust everywhere."
"Pink dust?" Quentin repeated, confused.
"Yeah, the pink dust-- wait-- You can't see it?"
"Nope," Vince answered for Quentin, looking around the room with a blank expression.
"Ah. So that must be what remains of the love spell. Well, it's mainly concentrated near the bed," Merlin said, walking over. He pressed a hand on the bed, then lifted it up. The dust coating his palm was a deep red.
"Uh, and then there's red dust," he explained to Quentin and Vince, turning to the two guards.
"... We can see that."
"You can?"
"Yeah."
"Then it might be worth it to talk to Gaius."
"We'll leave you to it."
<<+>>
And that's how Merlin found himself back in the physician's chambers, pacing, wings sticking straight out behind him. That probably wasn't the best for his pacing; as he turned, he swept a few bottles and bowls off a shelf.
Gaius arched an eyebrow. "Your wings, Merlin."
Said winged warlock tucked his golden wings closer to his back, grumbling under his breath. "It's really boring, just waiting here, while you're poring over ancient books for red dust."
"You could help by looking for a spell to locate exactly what we need. Or just look for the red dust as well," Gaius offered, not looking up from the book this time.
Merlin huffed, crossing his arms. "I'm worried. Can I go track Arthur?"
"And not know what you're up against? No, you're not--"
"I'm not what?"
"You're not going to be going up against something you don't know about. Come over here Merlin."
He walked over, shuffling to stand beside where Gaius was sitting. The book was open to a page displaying the same glittering red dust that was on the bed, now in a glass vial next to the book.
"Essentia amoris flagranti. Essence of passionate love," Merlin read, tilting his head.
"That means Arthur was lured off by some sorceress who made him... Er-- lust for her... To put it plainly," Gaius said, rather awkwardly. "However, the enchantment isn't about magic. It's the dust alone. The woman herself needn't be a magic user."
"Oh, and it also says the spell will draw the enchanted to the first person he or she sees, or anyone they have strong feelings for, whether it be platonic or not," Merlin read a bit further.
"That may work in our favor. You are a close friend of Arthur, meaning he may be drawn to you while still under the enchantment," Gaius said slowly, looking at Merlin.
"Oh-- Great. So that's how you want me to get him out of... Wherever he's been imprisoned? You want me to seduce King Arthur Pendragon while he under a love spell?" Merlin half-laughed, wings flaring out to the sides.
"That's exactly what I'm saying, Merlin."
"Lovely."
<<+>>
So now we proceed to find Merlin soaring through the air, following a faint trail of dark red dust, pink glitter, and golden smoke. It wasn't easy, despite what some would think. Sometimes the trail veered off somewhere, and it took him some time for him to realize that the red dust was being blown off course by the wind. Delightful.
Eventually, Merlin found the source of the golden smoke. It was coming from Arthur, who was holding hands with an Evangeline Trennis. An outdoor wedding.
He sighed loudly, shaking his head. "How did I get myself into this? Oh, yeah. By becoming friends with King Arthur."
Merlin fluttered down lower, into the cover of some trees. He tucked his wings close to his back, crouching and slowly creeping closer to where Arthur and Evangeline were holding each other's hands, looking deeply into each others eyes while some other noble rambled on about true love.
He exhaled sharply through his nose, then reached out with his mind. 'Arthur'
Arthur immediately stiffened up, but seemed unable to move from his spot, but Merlin could hear his mind frantically reaching out for his voice again.
'Arthur. Let go of her hands.'
'M-- Merlin! Merlin! You're here!'
'Yes, I am. Let go of her hands, Arthur.'
Apparently that was enough for Arthur to break some of Evangeline's hold over him, tearing his hands away from her clutch and whipping around.
Merlin winced, hearing the people gathered start murmuring. The noble reciting the stuff about true love or whatever stopped, looking shocked. Evangeline herself gasped loudly, crying, "Love, what are you doing!"
"Merlin!" Arthur called out, stumbling backwards from the altar. He was whipping around, crimson cape tangling around his legs. Merlin just became aware that he was in full ceremony garb. Great. Oh, and not to mention the fact that now Evangeline knew his name. Double great.
Well, no time like the present. "Arthur!" he called back, jumping and spreading his wings to leap cleanly out of his hiding spot, landing in an epic looking crouch with his wings flared to scare off the other people. At least, in his mind it looks epic.
And it seemed to do the trick. Most of the guests scrambled backwards, screaming and shouting expletives. Some grabbed weapons, which Merlin was immediately concerned about.
"Merlin!" Arthur shouted happily again, running over. He moved slightly strangely, stumbling a bit over his own legs in his rush to get to his manservant.
"Arthur-- Calm down! Just-- We have to get out of here," Merlin hissed, grabbing Arthur's arm. He attempted to pull Arthur into the forest, but the king pulled back, grabbing Merlin's arm in turn.
"No, wait. Merlin, we can get married here! It's an outdoor marriage!" Arthur grinned, attempting to drag Merlin to the altar.
"Uh-- Arthur," Merlin warned, looking at the people advancing with swords.
Arthur looked towards the men, still with a dopey smile on his face. "But they're guests!"
"No, Arthur, they're not guests. They're-- Trying to kill us!" Merlin shrieked, hauling Arthur closer and folding his wings around them. He felt swords crash against the feathers, but they were acting as a shield currently, preventing them from being injured.
"Woah!" Arthur stared around at the golden feathers protecting them from the weapons. "They're so pretty!"
"Uh, okay, they're pretty, but right now, we have to get out of here," Merlin growled, backing up, even as the people kept hacking at his wings.
"But I wanna kiss you!" Arthur whined, pushing his face close to Merlin's.
Merlin pushed him away, then felt branches crack under his feet. He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind, trying to figure out the layout of the land. He could still feel the attackers walloping on his wings. He could also see that he and Arthur were slowly getting further into the forest, but these crazy people wouldn't stop attacking them.
"Arthur, we're going to have to fly out of here," he said, squeezing Arthur's shoulder.
"You can fly?" Arthur asked, voice squeaking like a small child's.
"Well, yes. I have wings, or did you forget that already?" Merlin snorted, rolling his shoulders. He'd probably have to send out a small spell to launch them backwards, or freeze them in place so he could take off.
"Oh. I forgot. Your eyes are really pretty!"
For the gods sake--
"Thank you, Arthur. Now, hang on," Merlin said, the gold from his irises spreading to his whole eyes as he cast a silent spell, freezing everyone that was nearby, save from himself and Arthur. The spell wouldn't last long, but it should be enough for him to get airborne.
Arthur wrapped his arms tightly around Merlin's torso, pressing his face into Merlin's shoulder. Merlin wrapped his right arm around Arthur, spreading his wings. He saw everyone standing, frozen in time with a light sheen of gold over them.
Merlin leaped up, rising without hardly beating his wings. He got above the crowns of the trees, looking down at the frozen people below. He murmured a small spell to make it easier to carry Arthur, then flew away, heading back to Camelot.
<<+>>
"Gaius? Have you got an antidote yet?" Merlin called into the physician's chambers, kicking open the door rather violently. He still had Arthur's arms wrapped around his shoulders, face buried in his shoulder.
Gaius looked over, potions still clutched in his hands. He arched an eyebrow as Merlin dropped Arthur to the ground. "Yes. The antidote is nearly complete."
"Good. Because this clotpole is being disgustingly romantic," Merlin grated out, looking immensely annoyed. As he spoke, Arthur whined from where he was laying on the ground, pawing at Merlin's knee.
"Merlin," he said, drawing out nearly every letter. "Why won't you marry me?"
"Ah, I see," Gaius said, nodding. He returned his attention to the small pot in front of him, uncorking the small bottle in his left hand. He tapped a few drops into the pot, watching as it hissed a bit, a few small bubbles popping here and there.
"How much longer will it take? He's been babbling like this for over half an hour," Merlin complained, shooting a glare down at Arthur. "You'd think I'd be glad to not have him yelling at me every other minute, but no. He's much more annoying like this."
"I feel sorry for you," Gaius said, not sounding sympathetic whatsoever.
Merlin sighed dramatically, stepping over Arthur and sitting down heavily on a bench, flopping his arms on the table behind him. "I'm exhausted," he said, flinging his wings out, moving his arms down on the bench.
"Tragic. Now, the antidote is ready," Gaius said, holding up a small glass bottle. The bottle had a pale blue liquid inside, sloshing about a bit as Gaius shuffled over to the two other men. He extended the bottle to Arthur, who was in the process of sitting up. "Drink this, sire."
Arthur blinked up at him. "Why? I'm not thirsty."
Gaius thought for a moment, and then said, "This will stop Evangeline from trying to get her to marry you again. After all, I thought you wanted to marry Merlin?"
Arthur immediately brightened up. "So it's like a protective shield!" he said cheerfully, taking the bottle and taking a few gulps. He sat there for a second, and then suddenly tilted sideways, the bottle falling out of his suddenly limp hand.
Merlin flung a hand out, freezing the glass bottle before it shattered on the ground. He pulled it into his hand, eyebrows raising as Arthur lay still on the ground. At least he was breathing.
He set the bottle on the table, sliding off the bench and crouching down to prod Arthur's cheek. "Was it supposed to do that?" he asked Gaius.
"I believe so. He should wake soon; within a few seconds." Gaius nodded, watching Arthur stir slightly.
Merlin sighed, tucking his wings close to his back as they slowly faded away into nothing.
The king began to struggle up to his feet, looking rather dazed. "Merlin? Oh, there you are. And hello Gaius. What... happened?" he asked, looking between the two.
"You may or may not have been put under a love... spell? Dust? Whatever. So yeah, pretty much a love spell," Merlin explained rather lamely. "Do you remember anything?"
"... I think I was out in the forest..? I remember a woman." He wrinkled his nose. "She looked foul, but for some reason I was going to marry her. Wait, no. Was I going to marry you? No..."
Merlin frowned, glancing at Gaius, taking comfort in the fact that the elderly physician didn't seem that concerned about Arthur's state of confusion. He rolled his eyes when he looked back at Arthur, asking, "Anything else? Because what you've said so far hasn't been very helpful."
"Well, I think I remember flying? That... That can't be possible. I couldn't have flown, could I?" Arthur asked, looking at Merlin.
"No, you couldn't have. I'm sure that's just your mind playing tricks on you, like how you thought you wanted to marry me. I found you when you were about to be married to a woman named Evangeline something or other," Merlin said with a quiet chuckle, but Arthur still heard it, glaring at him.
"I was about to marry... Who?"
"The sorceress who enchanted you-- Well, she wasn't a sorceress. You were enchanted by some sort of dust that she spilled on you," Merlin said, pausing in the middle when he realized he was incorrect.
"... Oh. And you stopped me?" Arthur asked, squinting at Merlin.
"Well. Yes..?"
"How did you manage to do that? As far as I can remember, you've always been a completely incompetent manservant," Arthur drawled, looking smug.
"Yes, well, I have my strengths," Merlin huffed, crossing his arms. "Gaius, can you-- Oh."
The physician had already left while the two of them were bickering.
They glanced at each other, then began laughing.