Deafening Silence

A Temporary Setback

Merlin woke up in pain. Which at this point, he should have been used to when you consider his job. He moved to sit upright in his bed and rubbed his eyes, almost as if to check if he was dreaming. When he realised he wasn't, the young warlock snatched a book from his bedside table and threw it to the floor as hard as he could, grimacing at the result.

He only heard a faint bump when he should have heard something a lot louder. Merlin's fears from the previous day came true as he sat there in bed trying to process it.

The ringing had gone, but he still couldn't hear anything.

***

The day before, he, Arthur and the knights had gone on a hunting trip. Straying not too far from Camelot, they went simply to hunt any animals they could find and bring them home. What Merlin hadn't anticipated was that he'd come home with a serious problem.

They'd been caught off guard. Bandits appeared from behind every bush in sight as the group was sat having a break from all their hunting. Of course, Arthur and the knights swiftly brandished their swords and crossed theirs with the enemies, whilst Merlin got out of the way and defended himself the best he could. He wasn't an idiot; he was perfectly capable of defending himself with a sword despite what Arthur thought. He just wasn't as skilled with one as the King and his knights.

Although, Merlin was much more skilled than all of them in another way.

In between defending himself and trying not to lose his footing, Merlin saved Arthur and Gwaine from what would have been devastating, if not fatal, blows, trying his best to conceal his help each time. This worked on his friends, who became none the wiser after the hunting trip. But it failed to work on one particular bandit who had spotted the sorcerer from behind.

As Merlin locked swords with a man who was at least twice the size of him, the other bandit crept up behind him with a malicious grin on his face. Before Merlin had a chance to turn around, he'd been hit hard on the side of his head with the handle of a sword.

With a sharp cry of pain, Merlin hit the ground. He lay on his side and pressed his hand to his head, trying desperately to numb the pain. He wished to God that he could use his magic to help him numb it ever so slightly, but couldn't concentrate enough to do it.

The dirty-playing bandit raised his sword on the now defenseless man, ready to take his life. That would have been so if it wasn't for Gwaine, who, ironically, came up from behind the larger man who stood over Merlin and ran him through. Sending him toppling backward and hitting the ground twice as hard as Merlin.

Gwaine then engaged with a few more filthy bandits, taking down each one with ease. Unintentionally leaving Merlin alone and in pain on the dirt whilst everyone else fought around him.

Once Arthur had noticed the state of his manservant, he made a B-line to him. Leaving behind a trail of dead bandits in the process. Upon reaching Merlin, he helped him to his feet and took him to rest against a tree where the pair witnessed Elyan and Percival finish off the last of the bandits.

"Are you alright?!" Arthur asked him, trying to mask the concern in his voice. Even if he'd succeeded in hiding it, Merlin wouldn't have heard him. All he could hear at that moment was sharp ringing as he looked down at the floor with his hand still touching his head.

When Arthur didn't get a response, he grabbed Merlin's shoulder and shook it. "Merlin, I said are you alright?" He asked again in a slightly quieter voice now that Sir Gwaine had appeared next to him, also concerned for Merlin.

Merlin looked up and stared at Arthur after he shook his shoulder, just managing to catch the final word off of Arthur's lips. He had come to terms with the fact that he could not hear much at that moment and thanked his lucky stars that he had some lipreading ability.