Merlyn's Last Dream

Goblin's Gold P2

Merlyn had heard some very strange rumours about Gaius. She'd got up as dawn grazed the horizon, polishing Arthur's armour in the armoury whilst the early patrol sharpened their swords, a couple of them chatting harmlessly before they left to saddle their horses. A few of the knights had apparently been at the tavern with the physician, who had come back rather late the night before, stinking of ale. It had been bizarre to hear about how he'd beaten Meurik, one of the Rising Sun's regulars who often challenged strangers to arm wrestling, in a match, and then, after insulting Sir Leon's honour, used his winnings to buy the knights a pitcher. There were a few things that didn't sit right with the witch: for one, there was absolutely no way that Gaius could beat anybody in arm wrestling, especially a bulky man such as Meurik, not without magic anyway, and hell would freeze over before the physician was stupid enough to use it so openly, even with a bit of drink in him. Furthermore, Gaius was far too respectful to even consider insulting a knight, let alone Leon, so it seemed odd that he would take the time to piss him off. She'd returned to her chambers rather confused, something itching at the back of her mind. There had to be some cause to his odd behaviour, and the only thing she was sure of was that it had something to do with the elusive goblin.

Shaking the thought from her head, she opened her door to reveal Gaius, still dressed in his clothes from the day before, belching loudly, shielding himself from the morning light.

"Oof, you look terrible." Merlyn remarked, trying not to grin. It wasn't often that she saw the physician so hammered. "How much did you drink last night?"

"You don't look so good yourself, what's your excuse?" Gaius slurred, leaning heavily on a table.

Merlyn almost laughed. "What?" she asked, her voice a tad louder than usual.

Gaius held up a hand, as if to block her voice with his palm. "Shh." he hushed. "Too much talking. I have a head like the inside of a drum and a mouth like a badger's armpit."

The servant didn't appreciate that imagery. "A badger's armpit? Ugh." she wrinkled her nose, trying to rid her mind of the image.

Gaius didn't seem to appreciate her mindless chatter, staring incredulously at the servant, as if annoyed that she'd interrupted him. "Make yourself useful. Go to the market and fetch my breakfast."

Merlyn opened her mouth to reply, but Gaius just glared at her. "Away, go!" he shouted above any protest she was going to make, so, without another word, she walked back to the door of the chambers.

"Wait one moment." Gaius called after her before she could open the door, striding over to one of the workbenches and picking up a small phial of glimmering purple solution. "You'll be needing this."

"What for?" she frowned, holding out her hand for the bottle, but the physician didn't hand it to her.

"I wasn't lying when I said you looked terrible. This," he pointed at the phial, "Will help."

"Okay." Merlyn held out her hand again, but the physician refused to hand it over.

"It's yours for one gold coin." Gaius grinned, stretching out his other palm. The servant just looked at him, utterly bewildered. The physician never charged for his remedies, and besides, she may look a bit tired due to being up half the night polishing armour, but there was nothing so wrong with her appearance that it would merit parting with a gold coin for.

She shook her head. "I'll be fine without it. I'm sure you'll find a better use for it." she smiled vaguely at the frowning physician before she left, wondering what on earth was happening to cause him to act so strangely.

~

Morgana had been avoiding the physician's quarters ever since Merlyn had discovered her true nature, telling herself that it was because she didn't want to have to listen to one of the servant's long, boring speeches about good and evil. In truth, she just didn't want to see that disappointed flicker in Merlyn's eyes. Unfortunately, she'd misplaced the bracelet Morgause had given her, the gold shine often giving her comfort within her dreams, which meant that her only other relief was Gaius' potions. Waiting until Merlyn had disappeared down the corridor, she headed towards the physician's chambers, hoping that Gaius wouldn't be quite as cold as the servant.