City of Fear

Chapter 14

A/N - Queue: Nous n'avons rien dire, et le chapitre vous y est! Bon appétit.

Fluffy: Habla Español, por favor. No puedo comprender. A pesar de todo, ¡divertirse!

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"Gaius? Is it done?"

"Be patient Gwaine; this isn't a permanent solution."

". . .That's disgusting."

". . . There. He should have a maximum of twelve hours before the fomorroh regains control."

Arthur groaned and smacked his lips, rolling over. Was that Merlin talking to someone? He thought he'd made it clear that not just anyone was allowed to wander into the king's quarters, let alone wake him with their chatter. Arthur reached for his blankets, only for his hands to grasp a cold, hard table.

What in God's name-

Arthur jerked, sitting up as quickly as he could and reaching for an absent sword. The moment he sat up, pain pricked his vision as all the blood in his body seemed to rush to his head at once. Arthur rolled his eyes and his head felt unsteady for a few moments before he brought his hand up to rub his temples. Did he hit his head recently? He couldn't remember.

He opened his eyes, his vision adjusting to pick out Gaius, whose brow was furrowed with concern. Arthur frowned and tucked in his chin, glancing around himself.

"Gaius? What's going on?" He turned, managing to make out two figures beside him. "Gwaine? And. . . Who the hell are you?"

The stranger narrowed his eyes. He was pale, with dark, curly hair, and distinctly high cheekbones. Arthur racked his brain for a name to place the face with, but his mind was blank.

The stranger studied him carefully. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Arthur huffed. "I was. . . in my chambers- wait. Why do you want to know? Who are you?"

To Arthur's annoyance, he didn't respond but instead exchanged a long glance with Gaius and Gwaine.

"Does memory loss usually happen with a fomorroh?" Gwaine asked Gaius under his breath.

"You did hit him on the head a bit more than necessary," Gaius pointed out. "But I've only dealt with a fomorroh once before. Memory loss was a side effect then also."

"I'm right here, you know," Arthur snapped. "What's a fomorroh? Where's Merlin?"

Gaius studied him with a raised eyebrow. "You threw him in the dungeon, Sire."

"What? Don't be ridiculous. I would never-" Arthur broke off after realizing that neither Gwaine nor the stranger seemed surprised at this claim. After a long pause, he asked, "Why did I throw Merlin in the dungeon? More importantly, why don't I have any memory of doing it?"

"You were under the control of a fomorroh," Gaius explained slowly. "Your will was not your own. Merlin is in the dungeon because you claimed that he possessed magic."

Arthur gaped, trying to wrap his head around what he had just heard. Why would he—or not he, apparently—want Merlin in the dungeon? And for magic, out of all things! And what was a fomorroh? What did this stranger have to do with any of it? Arthur let out a long breath, trying to settle on a question to start with. "How long?" he demanded. "How long was I under the control of this 'fomorroh,' or whatever it's called?"