Chapter Text
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It was an ordinary hunting trip. As ordinary as it could possibly be.
It was nothing new that Merlin was a bloody awful hunting partner and always managed to find a stick to step on, scaring off any game in the extended vicinity. And every bloody time, Arthur was reminded that he actually didn’t mind it. All in all, such hunting trips were not much about hunting anymore.
In the forest away from the castle walls looming around the two of them and the heavy burden of unending duties, they could freely laugh and just enjoy the blessing of some time, free from responsibilities.
Every day Arthur was face to face with ponderous council meetings during which he struggled to stay awake; stubborn members of court that droned on about all the same things over and over; holding trials to numerous crimes in the lands of his kingdom; holding horrendously long feasts to entertain guests he barely tolerated; not being able to sleep late into the morning, trying to come up with endless speeches and reports. Not to mention dealing with constant threats to the kingdom.
Yes, the last couple of weeks were especially exasperating. He definitely earned some distraction and rest.
And that’s why Arthur decided to trade one of his days for a hunt. Or it was better to say a ride. Merlin, of course, had objected, especially once he realized that there were going to be only two of them.
‘You’re the king now, Arthur! How can you be so stupidly reckless!? At least, let’s take Lancelot and Gwaine and…’
‘Quit whining, Merlin. We won’t be riding way too far. There’s no need for the whole procession of the knights.’
Arthur faintly smiled at the recent memory. Of course, the idiot didn’t have a clue that Arthur wanted them to be alone. He was more and more craving for time away from the castle and the responsibilities which came with the crown. Arthur just needed a break. And he was more than eager to share it with his manservant. Not that he’ll ever acknowledge it out loud. It would make Merlin insufferable. And despite all the grumbling, his friend followed him every time.
Arthur chose to ignore, for the sake of his own sanity, how Merlin was actively rustling dry leaves to spook yet another deer and smugly smiling at his king, and turned his gaze up to the sky. This day was blessed with mild warmth and a cloudless sky, so it was easy to see how the reds and yellows of the settling sun were ready to vanish into the calm of the night. It would be dark in a few hours, and they had to return to the castle if Arthur didn’t want to spend this night away from the comfort of his bed. Which he couldn’t afford - the council is especially unendurable when Arthur manages to avoid his duties for more than one day.
He would have already been longing for this time away together with Merlin, if not for the warming knowledge that he had the whole evening with servant’s mindless chatter ahead to ease Arthur’s worries in the privacy of his chambers. The king would have gone mad if not for his friend’s relieving constant presence.
“I guess it’s time to turn back.” Arthur finally said, and guided his horse to the trial that led to the main roads. When he didn’t hear Merlin following after him, the knight turned to his manservant in annoyance.
Said man didn’t even bat an eye at him and was looking somewhere into the forest, a deep frown on his face.
“There is something there.” Merlin said, barely audible. And there it was. A somber demeanor knitted into his whole being. It always caught Arthur by surprise when his servant was like that. Mostly because he wasn’t able to pinpoint what wasn’t right. Everything about this steady and quiet Merlin was screaming ‘WRONG’.
"What, some rabbit startled you again, Merlin?" the king joked, trying and completely failing to ease this dangerous swing of mood. His manservant just kept silently staring into the deep woods, as if the surrounding trees would whisper him an answer. Now Arthur was getting worried.
“Nothing good, I reckon.” he tried a different approach, desperately needing Merlin to return to his usual playful mood. “Come on, off with it. Let’s ride home,” Arthur tried to press again, but to his great frustration, he was ignored. When he was ready to snap, Merlin directed his mare further into the woods, sneakily avoiding his king’s anger.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Arthur hissed, hurrying after him.
“There is something there. But I can’t figure what.”
“And that means that it's better to be left alone. Aren’t you the one with these wicked funny feelings; always warning me not to go somewhere like this?”
“Oh, so now you’re willing to listen to me.” Merlin finally snapped out of his trance and returned to their usual banter. This made the knight breathe a sigh of relief.
Arthur tried abundantly to keep this shift in the mood, so he started rambling about how disobedient Merlin is. But it didn’t stop his friend from going grim again. He was focusing on something that Arthur couldn’t hope to feel. Finally, some vigour slipped back into his servant’s stance, as the two men noticed a bulge on the ground of the forest floor, partly hidden under the leaves. Merlin hurried to get off the horse and rushed there. Before Arthur could bark a warning, Merlin was already kneeling beside the sticking-out silhouette and reaching for it.
Arthur dismounted his horse and strode to Merlin’s side, drawing a sword. He was cautiously looking around the woods, gaze darting in different directions of their surroundings in alarm, when his manservant drew his attention.
“She’s alive.”
Arthur allowed himself to relax when he found no hint of danger and looked down at where Merlin was kneeling beside the body. The body, nearly buried under the old dark leaves and sticks, happened to be a woman. Merlin turned her on her back, so she was facing up to the sky. Her pale skin was a big contrast to the dark muddy ground - white as a sheet and completely drained of colour. Arthur didn’t need to be a physician to know that it couldn’t be good. He studied her face curiously. Youthful features had not yet completely disappeared from her appealing face. She’s not younger than sixteen summers, Arthur thought.
“She must be some sort of nobility.” Merlin muttered while checking her on any visible injuries.
Arthur snapped his gaze at the lady’s clothing. Her dress hugged her figure nicely and was loose enough to move comfortably. Unlike Morgana’s gowns, the king couldn’t help the unwelcomed bitter memory.
Even dirty with dry mud and grass, her dress spoke of wealth. Light silver threads, forming various swirling snakes all along the length of a pale blue skirt, were faintly reflecting the last rays of the sun. At the waist was tucked a well-made dark leather belt with shiny buckle. All the clothing was made of fine material, had a rich color and looked generally expensive.
Both men exchanged a look and wordlessly moved to check the surroundings for the young lady’s possible company, parting in different directions. After a couple of minutes of unsuccessful searching, they returned to the girl’s side.
“There’s no one around, not even a hint of a horse or any visible tracks. To be honest, I don’t even know what to assume here.” Arthur sighed, finally sheathing his sword.
“We might stop assuming and just get her to Gaius. People don’t lie around forests unconscious without a reason. When she wakes up, she’ll be able to tell her story and well see what can be done.”
It pained Arthur to admit it, but Merlin was right. So he just glared at the other man, hoping that it would express all his discontent. And was impudently ignored.
Without any delays they burst into action. Arthur carefully picked up the mysterious girl and, with Merlin’s help, laid her on his horse’s back. He climbed the mane and adjusted the unconscious body, so it was firmly pressed against his front. Girl’s messy golden locks were sticking in all directions, violently tickling his face with every breath of wind. Arthur must have let the discomfort be shown on his face, as he received an amused quiet laugh from his manservant, who was standing to his right. That made Arthur shoot Merlin a smug look behind his shoulder, as he took the reins.
“Keep up! We don’t want you to get lost on the road back home, do we?” And with that, Arthur spurred his horse on towards Camelot, pretending not to hear his manservant shouting creative insults after him.
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Merlin managed to catch up with Arthur fast enough. The knight took a pity on their horses and warlock’s sore bottom, and now they were going through their remaining path moderately.
Merlin used this time to study the unconscious girl closely. Back in the woods, he felt a funny tingle of magic which didn’t belong to the forest. It felt so foreign, yet so familiar, and Merlin was completely baffled. He assumed that the young lady was a magic user, but it didn’t reduce all the questions buzzing in his head.
Throughout all his encounters with sorcerers, Merlin could feel when they were using their powers. How pure energy swirled around them, adjusting to the spell they were to use. But he never felt magic resting in their bodies, just being there. He didn’t know what to expect from this strange new sensation, but he was craving answers.
Merlin and Arthur went back to the citadel in silence. The king was shooting him concerned looks, as the man never stayed so quiet. Merlin understood that Arthur noticed his unusual behaviour and could practically hear how the knight’s head worked, stupidly worrying itself over such change. He understood, but couldn’t help but focus his whole attention on this girl.
“Want me to call for somebody to give you a hand?” Arthur asked, as he helped to move the young lady gently into Merlin’s arms.
“No, I’ll manage.”
“You? With those sticks of yours that you generously call joints? Don’t be ridiculous.” Arthur had this broad mocking grin on his face. “She might have a concussion, Merlin. We don’t want to harm this poor lady even more.”
“Very funny, your pratishness.” He rolled his eyes and adjusted the girl, so he was securely holding her with one hand under her knees and the other around her shoulders. “I drag your arse out of bed every morning. Can’t be harder than that.”
“Did you just imply that I was fat?” Arthur sounded genuinely offended. A smug smile travelled to warlock’s face, as he headed to the physician’s chambers.
“Don’t forget that I’ll be waiting for your assistance with my armour afterward!” the king shouted after him.
“Of course, my lord,” Merlin grumbled, and made sure to veil an insult under the title.
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Arthur liked to claim Merlin to be all lanky and weak like a maiden. But in reality, he, and only he, was responsible for Merlin’s strength. The variety of chores that he had to do for his king (the list included far more than an ordinary manservant had to do) did not pass without a trace. Even though Merlin didn’t resemble one of Arthur’s brute knights, hard work had made his muscles much stronger, whether he wanted it or not.
So Merlin managed to bring the lady to the physician's quarters in one go, which made warlock pretty much self-satisfied, even though his king wasn’t looking.
When he walked into the workshop, Gaius fixed him with a questioning look and a raised eyebrow.
“What have you done now, Merlin?”
“What?!” he exclaimed in disbelief. “Why did I have to do something? We just found her like this in the forest, Gaius. Unconscious. No horse. No companions,” Merlin carefully laid the girl down on the patient’s cot, mid-explanation. “No belongings to give a clue to who she is or where she’s from.” The man sat down on the stool right next to the bed and buried his face in one hand.
“And I’m more than certain that she has magic.” Gaius stopped examining the lady’s head and gaped at Merlin.
“So you’ve brought a sorceress within the Camelot walls. Very clever, my boy. She’ll definitely thank you. Anyway, how did you find out that she has magic?” Gaius asked and got on with work.
“I just felt it. Still feel.” the old man hummed in curiosity at that.
“There doesn’t seem anything off with her. Her breathing is even, her heartbeat stable. But I saw similar states a lot.” The physician eyed Merlin with determination. “Can you reach out with your magic and describe me what it feels like?”
Merlin raised his head and silently nodded, concentrating on the girl in front of him. His eyes fluttered shut when he let his magic wander, and it quickly stumbled upon the warm buzzing sensation. It felt like it was a thin blanket that was covering all of the lady’s body. Merlin reached further, trying to touch it with his magic, and the cover responded with a low hum. Merlin stopped, snapping his eyes open and bewildered, looked at Gaius.
He described this sensation to him, eyes never leaving the unconscious form on the bed.
“I see,” the old man hummed in response. He went to the back of the room, where various supplies were stored, and wriggled out a blanket from the pile of carefully folded fabrics.
“It all speaks of magical exhaustion.” Gaius stated, throwing a cover over the girl. She immediately seemed too small and fragile, lying like that in the patient’s cot. “There’s nothing we can do right now. She just needs a decent rest.”
Merlin nodded, perplexed.
“Gaius, I couldn’t help but wonder why I’m able to sense all of this? It has never happened before.”
“Well, it is quite unusual. Mostly it depends on the situation. My best guess is that she just doesn’t have good control over her powers, and they’re pouring off her that much that you can feel it.” The older man's eyes travelled to the cot. “But I suspect that there’s something more to it.”
Merlin understood that he wouldn’t get another reasonable explanation for now.
“MERLIN!” The comfortable silence of the workshop was wrecked with a thunderous exclamation, and Merlin flinched involuntarily.
“Seems like your destiny is calling. I’ll look after this girl. Now go!” Gaius gave him an amused look and vigorously pushed Merlin out of the room, before the younger man could roll his eyes.