The Dawn Of The Dragonheart

A Burning Feeling

The next day, early in the morning, before dawn, Merlin visits Xaiver's room. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He knocked a few more times, but still got no response. This worried Merlin a little.

"Ruler?" He called.

The door was unlocked, so Merlin opened it easily, revealing Xaiver. He had huge bags under his eyes, his skin was a little paler than normal, his eyes were red and swollen from crying, he looked sick.

"What's wrong, Merlin?" Xaiver asked, emotionless.

"Are you feeling well, ruler?" Merlin asked with concern in his eyes.

Xaiver closed his eyes briefly and pressed one hand to his sore forehead. "Not really."

Merlin furrowed his eyebrows, noticing that the young man's voice sounded weaker than usual. He invited himself to the Ruler's room and then began to closely examine Xaiver's condition. Merlin put his hand on the young ruler's forehead, noticing that Xaiver was burning up. He frowns in concern, approaching Xaiver, standing just an inch away from the Ruler's face.

"You have a high fever." Merlin declared.

"I'm fine, I can perform the ceremony, we have no time to waste." Xaiver tried to convince Merlin, but failed.

"Your body is weak, you need to rest." Merlin stated firmly.

Xaiver sighed in frustration. "But-"

Merlin cut him off. "No buts!"

"Fine." Xaiver pouted, annoyed.

"I will inform King Arthur about this." Merlin said, leaving the room.

Xaiver groaned loudly and sat up on the bed. He felt like he was being a burden on everyone, he couldn't allow himself to continue like this, he had to be strong and recover as soon as possible.

After a few minutes, Gilgamesh entered the room without knocking. "Mongrel, why-?" Gilgamesh paused when he saw Xaiver sitting on the bed, looking miserable. "What happened to you?" He asked.

Xaiver was about to respond, but Gilgamesh quickly approached him and placed a hand on his forehead. "You're burning up."

"I know, Merlin just told me." Xaiver responded weakly, his eyelids beginning to close.

"You should be resting." Gilgamesh scolded him lightly.

Xaiver opened one eye and looked at Gilgamesh. "I can't do that. I have to perform a ceremony."

"Your body is weak, you won't be able to perform the ceremony if you don't rest."

Xaiver pouted again, narrowing his eyes in frustration. "I don't care, we don't have much time, and I'm sure being away from Uruk could be dangerous for your people, especially now that Enkidu is gone."

Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow in surprise. He was impressed by how much the ruler cared for his people and his kingdom. It was unusual to see someone so selfless.

"Don't worry about my people, they are strong enough to defend themselves." Gilgamesh assured him.

"Still, I have to become the monarchy ruler, we can't keep postponing the ceremony."

Gilgamesh sighed deeply, knowing perfectly well that it was useless to argue with Xaiver. He knew that the ruler was stubborn and would not give up until he got what he wanted.

"Okay, fine."

Xaiver smiled tiredly, but happy that Gilgamesh agreed. However, his smile faded as he felt dizzy, his vision blurred and his eyelids began to close making his body fall forward.