The Arranged Marriage

Chapter 10

Balinor wiped his brow of sweat after removing his sword out of the last wyvern. It gave a nasty screech before falling to the ground and dying. Balinor looked around to see how much damage had been caused when he caught sight of Morgana kneeling on the ground by his son. He broke into a run and knelt beside Morgana, who was sobbing and brushing Merlin's hair out of his face.

"What happened?"

She looked up at him, tears rolling down her face freely, "he tried to save me and a wyvern got him."

Balinor frowned and let a hand stroke Merlin's cheek. He forced back his tears and turned to Morgana, "run to Gaius, tell him to prepare a bed."

Morgana nodded and ran towards the castle. She opened the large, heavy doors and made her way up the stairs and towards the physician's chambers. She burst through the door and the court physician, Gaius, looked up at her in surprise, "my dear, what's the matter?"

She panted as she tried to regain her breath, "it's Merlin, the king said to prepare a bed."

Gaius' eyebrows shot up, "the prince? Is anyone else wounded?"

Morgana nodded, "yes, but they only have minor injuries. Merlin's is fatal, we don't think he has much time left."

Gaius nodded and quickly got up from his chair and started to prepare a bed for the prince. Suddenly, the door burst open and the king walked in, carrying Merlin, "do you have a bed, Gaius?" Gaius nodded and pointed to the cot he has just laid out. Balinor nodded his thanks and set his son down.

Gaius immediately rushed over to Merlin's side and cautiously removed the tight cloth that Balinor had wrapped around Merlin's wound. The bandages stuck to the wound and Gaius grimaced as they finally came off. He turned to Morgana, "get me a wet cloth."

Morgana nodded and ran to Gaius' table and grabbed a rag, drenching it in a bucket of water. She handed it to Gaius and he started to dab the wound, cleaning off all of the dried blood around it. Gaius closed his eyes and whispered a very long phrase in a language that Morgana suspected was magical. An eerie glow seemed to emanate from Gaius' hands and the wound suddenly didn't look as black. Gaius explained when he saw the looks that he was being given, "I drew out all the dirt and poison that could cause infection. Morgana, could you get me some bandages?"

She grabbed the bandages off of the top shelf of his medical cabinet and handed them to him. After Gaius had stitched the wound back together, he wrapped Merlin's middle with the white bandages and sealed them together so that they would stay there.

Hours later, when Gaius was finished, Morgana, Balinor, and Hunith stood up from their chairs. Gaius smiled at them, "he should be alright." They all breathed a sigh of relief and Gaius continued, "though, he does have a fever and I don't expect him to wake anytime soon."

"How long?" Hunith asked sadly.

"One can never be sure with things like these," Gaius trailed off, "but maybe a week at the most."

Hunith nodded and smiled before walking to Merlin's bedside. She sat in the chair by the cot and smiled at her son. She looked up at the trio, "if you all don't mind, I'd like to sit with him."

* * *

Morgana sat in the chair by Merlin a week later, reading a book that she had found as she waited for him to wake up. When she heard him stir, she turned her head and watched as Merlin fidgeted. She rested a cloth bookmark in her book and set it on the table near his cot. She then grabbed one of Merlin's hands as his eyes fluttered open.

"Ow," he said softly as he grimaced.

Morgana smiled, "that's twice you saved my life."

"Yeah, lot of good that did me," Merlin remarked quietly with a hint of a smile.

Morgana started to laugh and for some strange reason, tears started to pour down her face. She laughed as she wiped them away, "I thought you were going to die."

Merlin smiled and brought a hand up to her face, brushing away her tears. He brought his hand back down and rested it over his wound, hoping to relieve the pain. He smiled up at her, "hey, it's ok. I'm alright now."

She slowly leaned down and she hugged him gently, "don't ever scare me like that again," she said sternly.

Merlin brought up a hand to touch the back of her head and he smiled, "as you wish."