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Merlin should have known it wouldn’t be a good day. He woke up feeling nauseous and his stomach burned. He thought it would pass, though. It didn’t. After he finished eating his breakfast, he had to run to the chamber pot to throw up. And he thought, maybe now that he had emptied his stomach, he would actually feel better. He still didn’t. Each movement he made, each step he took caused his stomach to throb painfully and his intestines to twist. The nausea didn’t fade either. When he tried to put his trousers on, his stomach clenched so tightly that Merlin couldn’t hold back a whimper.
That’s when he decided to give up.
Merlin went back to bed and lied on his side, curled in a tight ball. He closed his eyes, but sleep eluded him. It would be a long day. And he really didn’t have time to laze around. As the newly appointed Court Sorcerer, he had quite a lot of work. Convincing the Lords on Arthur’s Council was no easy feat. Some of them had welcomed him with open arms, and he was infinitely grateful for that. But others still expressed distrust towards anything magic-related. Merlin guessed that at least, Morgana would attend the Council meeting and try to reach an agreement on the new magic laws they were trying to establish. Merlin and Morgana didn’t agree on everything, but they saw eye-to-eye on everything that mattered.
Still, Merlin was too anxious to rest, but he was too sick to get up and do anything productive. He hated being sick.
Then, there was Arthur shouting his name in the corridor, and Merlin groaned. He was too tired to deal with an angry Arthur.
His door burst open and Arthur stormed inside. “What are you still doing in bed? The meeting starts in only a few minutes!”
Merlin only curled tighter on himself, the movement causing him to whine as his intestines formed knots in his belly.
“Come on, don’t be such a girl, Merlin. You have actual responsibilities now!”
As if Merlin didn’t know. Slowly, he turned on his back and sat up against the headboard. He didn’t know what his face looked like, but it probably conveyed how ill Merlin was, because Arthur’s expression softened, and a concerned frown creased his brow.
“Sorry, you’ll have to rely on Morgana for this one,” Merlin croaked. He hadn’t noticed how parched his throat was.
Arthur sat on the mattress beside Merlin and ran his hand through Merlin’s sweat-damp hair. When had he started sweating so much? Why was he sweating when he felt like he was freezing. He saw Arthur’s eyes widen in alarm as his palm came in contact with Merlin’s skin. Arthur’s hand was blissfully cold.
“Merlin, you’re hot!” The King exclaimed.
And Merlin, despite his sick and tired state, couldn’t help laughing, “Aw thank you, Arthur.”
“Shut up, idiot” Arthur said, his cheeks becoming almost as red as the drapes in his room. But he sobered quickly and, with an unexpectedly gentle push on Merlin’s shoulder, guided his friend to lie back down. “I’ll send Gaius to you.”
“But-” Merlin tried to protest. Gaius had more important things to do. Whatever illness Merlin had caught would either fade on its own or could wait until the end of the meeting.
Arthur didn’t even respond, he only sent Merlin a warning glare. That didn’t stop Merlin from sighing dramatically and rolling his eyes. Secretly, though, he was glad that Arthur cared for him. Of course, Merlin knew, rationally that he was Arthur’s friend and that the King cared about his well-being, but it was nice to have that confirmed once in a while.
Merlin resumed his former position on the bed, lying in a tight ball. Gaius came and gave him a potion, and then, Merlin was asleep.
When he woke up, Gwen was sitting on chair by the bed, doing some knitting. Her whole face lit up when she saw Merlin open his eyes. “How are you doing? Do you want anything? Are you thirsty, or hungry, or-”
“A glass of water would be nice,” Merlin said, his eyes crinkled with laughter. Gwen was the sweetest person he knew and it filled his heart with joy to wake up to a friendly face.
Despite now being the Queen, Gwen never stopped fussing over everyone. She simply cared too much, and that was why the people loved her. No one could ever hate Gwen, whether she was a servant or a Queen.
Arthur entered Merlin’s room just as Gwen handed him a goblet of water. He first brushed his lips against Gwen’s in a tender kiss before turning to his best friend with an equally tender smile. His hand landed gently on Merlin’s forehead, and some of the concern painted on his face faded when he was reassured that Merlin’s fever had subsided.
“How are you feeling?” Arthur asked, coming back to sit on the mattress, one hand on Merlin’s wrist.
Merlin shrugged, “Better than this morning, but still not very good,” he said with a sheepish smile. As if it was his fault that he was sick.
“Did you eat anything?”
At that Merlin only grimaced. The thought of eating anything solid made him nauseous. Arthur seemed to get the message. He nodded and said, “I’ll ask for some light soup to be brought to you, then.”
Gwen simply chuckled, “It always amazes me how easily you understand each other without using a single word.”
She pressed a kiss on her husband’s lips and another on Merlin’s forehead before saying, “I’ll get someone to bring the soup.”
Merlin was infinitely grateful that Arthur had married Gwen and not some other woman. One, because no other woman could be as fantastic as Gwen. And two, because Merlin was certain that no other woman would understand and accept Arthur’s and Merlin’s relationship. They would come to see it as a threat, eventually. Gwen saw it for what it was; a deep platonic bond, just as strong as the one that linked her and Arthur, but different in nature.
Soon, Merlin received another visitor. Arthur exchanged one glance with the newcomer and wisely left.
“How the mighty have fallen. You’re not so strong now, lying sick on your bed, are you?” Morgana said with a smirk.
Merlin tried to laugh, but the pain in his guts soon turned his chuckle into a groan. With a gasping breath that was only slightly exaggerated, he replied, “Yet you still are no match for my powers, Witch!”
Morgana laughed, that happy carefree laugh Merlin had heard too rarely. He was grateful for her visit. While he appreciated Arthur’s and Gwen’s concern, having someone joke with him instead certainly brightened his mood.
With her smirk still in place, Morgana approached and handed him a book she had kept under her arm. It was a new spellbook that had recently been added to the library’s collection. “Get some reading done, learn some new spells. I want my sparring partner back,” she said before taking her leave.
The soup arrived and Merlin ate. He didn’t manage to finish the whole bowl, but it didn’t matter. Gaius came back to check on him and gave him more of his foul-tasting potion.
“This is disgusting, Gaius. Why can’t you make them taste even slightly better?” Merlin asked with a grimace.
Gaius gave him a disapproving eyebrow. “It is a medicinal potion, Merlin, it isn’t supposed to taste good.”
Merlin grumbled some more as Gaius left.
Sighing, Merlin went back to lie on his side, although his position was more relaxed, now. He took the book and distractedly read the new spells it contained. He would give it more attention when he was feeling better, but for now, he simply enjoyed passively absorbing the knowledge that had been forbidden not so long ago.
The peaceful atmosphere of his room was shattered when Gwaine pushed the door open and loudly asked, “Hey mate, how are you feeling?”
Although Merlin would have preferred a quieter arrival, he was grateful to see his friend. He was even happier when he noticed that Gwaine hadn’t come on his own. The other knights entered the room after him, all smiling brightly at their friend. Gwaine came to sit on the bed with his back against the headboard. He helped Merlin to sit in a similar position and Lancelot joined them on Merlin’s other side. Elyan sat by Merlin’s feet, with his legs crossed on the mattress. Percival chose to sit on the floor, resting his chin on Gwaine’s thigh. And of course, Leon took the chair in which Gwen had sat earlier. Leon told him what happened during the meeting, until Gwaine interrupted him with a proclamation that, “this is boring, let’s play a game!”
Merlin laughed at Leon’s disgruntled expression. While he appreciated the efforts to keep him updated, he would have more than enough time to think about work when he would be back on his feet. For now, he appreciated the opportunity to relax.
And that’s how Merlin and his knights friends started playing some cards game Gwaine introduced them to. Merlin wasn’t sure he – or anyone else in the room for that matter – really understood the rules, but he still had a lot of fun.
At the end of the day, Merlin went to sleep with a happy smile on his face. He still felt a bit sick and the nausea never really left, but he had spent the day surrounded by the people he loved. And maybe, he thought, being sick wasn’t so bad when you had friends to take care of you.