Things you should have known
Title: Things you should have known
Pairing: none
Rating: PG
Warning: small Arthur
Word count: 1,400
Summary: It began with Arthur missing and ended with a promise starting a long journey of revelations, because there are things Arthur should have been told.
Author's note: This story was already posted to Merlin flashfic as a part of a challenge. Arthur is here approximately 5 years old. I want to thank my beta Tana, all mistakes not spotted by her were surely made by me afterwards :)
“Arthur! Arthur!”
Gaius listened if there didn’t come any reply to the calls resounding around the castle, he was growing more unsettled by the moment.
“Arthur!” he called out himself. He even knelt down to look under Arthur’s bed…again - it wouldn’t be the first time the prince was playing with them; but the game was taking too long, Gaius thought uneasily, Arthur’s jokes usually weren’t this cruel.
“Have you found him?” Uther’s voice thundered from the door making him flinch; kneeling by the bed he looked over its expanse to the king standing in the door with a painful grimace and one hand pressed against his side. In a moment he hurried to support him.
“My lord, your wound. You should…”
“I won’t rest until he's found!" Uther growled and his hold on the doors tightened. "Shall anyone dare to harm him..."
Gaius hastily took Uther’s arm and put it over his shoulder to support the wounded man. When he tried to lead the king to a chair, Uther stopped him. "I shall not rest until the boy is found," he persisted, fixing his physician with a stone-hard gaze daring him to argue.
Gaius looked away first. "As you wish," he murmured as they went out into the corridor.
“When did you last see him?" Uther inquired a little breathily.
“I tended him in the morning...” At Uther’s dark frown Gaius hastily elaborated. "He fell and scraped his knees, nothing serious; I almost couldn't keep him long enough to clean them." Uther merely nodded frowning even deeper.
It was already late afternoon, soon the night would fall - that didn’t bode well for their search, surely the king must be aware of it too, Gaius mused. Going by Uther’s sharp intake of breaths his bruised ribs were probably causing him pain, however he soldiered on.
A servant approached them eyeing their pale king cautiously. "My lord, we've searched the dungeons. He's not there," he said quickly in a small voice.
“What about the underground tunnels?” Uther barked impatiently, making him shrink even more. “It…it s…seemed to be locked, th…the gate, I mean," he stammered. Gaius took pity on him. “Arthur knows he is forbidden to go there because it's dangerous,” he tried to soothe Uther’s anger a little, but Uther's face didn't relax one bit.
“He isn’t in the city, but he didn’t leave it, at least not through the gate. Nobody had seen him on the market either,” Gaius listed the results of their frantic search.
“He’s in the castle,” Uther pushed through his clenched teeth. “He must be! But where? If this is some disobedience…” He didn’t finish the thought, his grip on Gaius’ shoulder bruising soft tissue.
“Sir,” Gaius started not daring to look up, “there may be another option.”
“I’m listening.” Uther’s patience was worn threadbare; upon this realisation Gaius felt his heart leap into his throat, but it was the last place they didn’t check. “He could be in the northern tower."
Thick silence that followed his careful suggestion was interrupted only by Uther’s harsh intake of breath.
“We can look there!” the servant, still standing rooted to the spot, offered fervently causing Gaius to close his eyes in fear: He couldn’t fault the poor idiot for his eagerness to please the king though; he seemed to be new in Camelot, he couldn’t be blamed for not knowing all Camelot’s secrets, especially not the ones whispered in the most silent voices.
“No! I'll look myself!” Uther’s harsh refusal belied his condition.
“Yes, my lord,” the servant stammered almost tripping over his feet as he tried to scramble away from the king’s furious stare.
Gaius waited for them to be alone before he gathered enough courage to suggest. "I think it's not wise for you to climb to the northern tower in your condition," he said cautiously.
“You’ll help me to get there,” Uther told him off.
"I could look by myself,” Gaius insisted.
"No!” Uther barked and grabbed Gaius firmly. “You help me or I’ll go alone!"
“As you wish,” Gaius sighed defeated, but gripped the other man’s arm tighter.
As they slowly neared the northern tower, Gaius felt the temperature go down and heard the wind outside go stronger: It howled and screeched terribly, although there was a beautiful day outside. The northern tower was like that - always in the chilling embrace of northern winds no matter the season. The hostility was oddly fitting, Gaius thought.
The coldness was quickly seeping through their clothes and wrapping icy fingers around them; yet, they stopped under a narrow spiral staircase leading into the tower in order to allow Uther to catch his breath. Gaius stared at the staircase, it wasn’t very long, he knew, but it would be very difficult for them to climb it side-to-side anyway.
He glanced at Uther's drawn face, but he didn't dare to suggest climbing it alone again.
As if sensing his hesitation, Uther leaned against Gaius prodding him to go. “I can make it. The wound is only painful, not dangerous.”
Knowing it was truth, they slowly began taking steps one after another. Gaius was making sure he threaded on the narrow side of the spiral carefully - one wrong stop would cause him to lose balance and make them both fall. As soon as he realized it, he broke out in cold sweat. They were proceeding only slowly, and Gaius felt himself shivering slightly with chill settling into his bones. Uther, on the other hand, seemed to be perspiring, as his exhaustion was starting to take its toll. His breathing, however, while laboured by pain, was still good enough.
At last the top of the stairs was in sight and if Gaius' eyes weren't fooled by the flickering light of torches lining the stairs, the doors to the tower appeared to be opened.
Uther looked up too and frowned even deeper. Finally they could see inside of the tower and indeed, there, in the flickering light of torches and howling of chilly winds, was huddled a small boy. His pale skin and golden hair seemed to shine in the yellowish glow of torches.
“Arthur,” Uther breathed out painfully. At that the boy turned to them shocked as if he didn't hear them climbing up and Gaius felt relief sweep over him, because he seemed unharmed. Even from the distance he could see the boy was shivering.
“What are you doing here? We’ve searched for you for hours!” Uther pushed between his teeth, because his laboured breathing didn’t allow him more.
Arthur flinched guiltily looking at them with wide eyes; he weakly motioned towards the wall. "I...I couldn't stop looking," he stammered. Uther’s stare slid from the boy towards the wall. Gaius closed his eyes as if it could stop what was coming; however, to his surprise, the howling of the wind was not replaced with Uther's shouting. Instead the king let go off him, turned on his heel and gripping the railing tightly, he set out climbing down the stairs by himself. “Take care of him,” he ordered Gaius over his shoulder, leaving them both alone.
Gaius looked at the boy gazing after the king with wide eyes; whether he noticed that the king’s form was a little slouched or his voice was a little tight, Gaius didn’t know.
"Come here, Arthur," he gently ordered taking off his thin cloak and wrapping it around the small boy shivering from cold. "How long have you been here?" he asked.
Arthur jerked guiltily, gripping the cloak. “I don’t know.” he murmured, his teeth chattering a little
“You’re entirely frozen, I hope you won’t catch a cold,” Gaius admonished trying to fill the hard silence they both felt after the king’s departure. He took the boy by his small hand leading him out.
At the door Arthur turned to take a last long look inside the tower before obediently following down the stairs. “Is father angry with me?” he asked hesitantly.
Gaius grimaced and was glad that the small light from the torches hid it. “No. I don’t think so. I think he agrees with you.”
Arthur’s small jerked him to halt. "What does he agree with?"
"Your father couldn’t look away either,” Gaius explained softly, pity creeping into his voice.
“Who is she?”
Gaius petted the boy’s hair gently. “Her name is Igraine. That in the tower is her only portrait left."
"Did father love her?”
Gaius smiled sadly. “A lot. More than people could imagine,” he said gravely, looking Arthur straight in the eye.
“Will you tell me about her?” Arthur asked hopefully with wide blue eyes that must have broken Uther’s heart all over again every day.
Gaius sighed. “One day I will surely tell you.“
THE END
Note for unknowing: Igraine is Arthur's deceased mother.
Pairing: none
Rating: PG
Warning: small Arthur
Word count: 1,400
Summary: It began with Arthur missing and ended with a promise starting a long journey of revelations, because there are things Arthur should have been told.
Author's note: This story was already posted to Merlin flashfic as a part of a challenge. Arthur is here approximately 5 years old. I want to thank my beta Tana, all mistakes not spotted by her were surely made by me afterwards :)
“Arthur! Arthur!”
Gaius listened if there didn’t come any reply to the calls resounding around the castle, he was growing more unsettled by the moment.
“Arthur!” he called out himself. He even knelt down to look under Arthur’s bed…again - it wouldn’t be the first time the prince was playing with them; but the game was taking too long, Gaius thought uneasily, Arthur’s jokes usually weren’t this cruel.
“Have you found him?” Uther’s voice thundered from the door making him flinch; kneeling by the bed he looked over its expanse to the king standing in the door with a painful grimace and one hand pressed against his side. In a moment he hurried to support him.
“My lord, your wound. You should…”
“I won’t rest until he's found!" Uther growled and his hold on the doors tightened. "Shall anyone dare to harm him..."
Gaius hastily took Uther’s arm and put it over his shoulder to support the wounded man. When he tried to lead the king to a chair, Uther stopped him. "I shall not rest until the boy is found," he persisted, fixing his physician with a stone-hard gaze daring him to argue.
Gaius looked away first. "As you wish," he murmured as they went out into the corridor.
“When did you last see him?" Uther inquired a little breathily.
“I tended him in the morning...” At Uther’s dark frown Gaius hastily elaborated. "He fell and scraped his knees, nothing serious; I almost couldn't keep him long enough to clean them." Uther merely nodded frowning even deeper.
It was already late afternoon, soon the night would fall - that didn’t bode well for their search, surely the king must be aware of it too, Gaius mused. Going by Uther’s sharp intake of breaths his bruised ribs were probably causing him pain, however he soldiered on.
A servant approached them eyeing their pale king cautiously. "My lord, we've searched the dungeons. He's not there," he said quickly in a small voice.
“What about the underground tunnels?” Uther barked impatiently, making him shrink even more. “It…it s…seemed to be locked, th…the gate, I mean," he stammered. Gaius took pity on him. “Arthur knows he is forbidden to go there because it's dangerous,” he tried to soothe Uther’s anger a little, but Uther's face didn't relax one bit.
“He isn’t in the city, but he didn’t leave it, at least not through the gate. Nobody had seen him on the market either,” Gaius listed the results of their frantic search.
“He’s in the castle,” Uther pushed through his clenched teeth. “He must be! But where? If this is some disobedience…” He didn’t finish the thought, his grip on Gaius’ shoulder bruising soft tissue.
“Sir,” Gaius started not daring to look up, “there may be another option.”
“I’m listening.” Uther’s patience was worn threadbare; upon this realisation Gaius felt his heart leap into his throat, but it was the last place they didn’t check. “He could be in the northern tower."
Thick silence that followed his careful suggestion was interrupted only by Uther’s harsh intake of breath.
“We can look there!” the servant, still standing rooted to the spot, offered fervently causing Gaius to close his eyes in fear: He couldn’t fault the poor idiot for his eagerness to please the king though; he seemed to be new in Camelot, he couldn’t be blamed for not knowing all Camelot’s secrets, especially not the ones whispered in the most silent voices.
“No! I'll look myself!” Uther’s harsh refusal belied his condition.
“Yes, my lord,” the servant stammered almost tripping over his feet as he tried to scramble away from the king’s furious stare.
Gaius waited for them to be alone before he gathered enough courage to suggest. "I think it's not wise for you to climb to the northern tower in your condition," he said cautiously.
“You’ll help me to get there,” Uther told him off.
"I could look by myself,” Gaius insisted.
"No!” Uther barked and grabbed Gaius firmly. “You help me or I’ll go alone!"
“As you wish,” Gaius sighed defeated, but gripped the other man’s arm tighter.
As they slowly neared the northern tower, Gaius felt the temperature go down and heard the wind outside go stronger: It howled and screeched terribly, although there was a beautiful day outside. The northern tower was like that - always in the chilling embrace of northern winds no matter the season. The hostility was oddly fitting, Gaius thought.
The coldness was quickly seeping through their clothes and wrapping icy fingers around them; yet, they stopped under a narrow spiral staircase leading into the tower in order to allow Uther to catch his breath. Gaius stared at the staircase, it wasn’t very long, he knew, but it would be very difficult for them to climb it side-to-side anyway.
He glanced at Uther's drawn face, but he didn't dare to suggest climbing it alone again.
As if sensing his hesitation, Uther leaned against Gaius prodding him to go. “I can make it. The wound is only painful, not dangerous.”
Knowing it was truth, they slowly began taking steps one after another. Gaius was making sure he threaded on the narrow side of the spiral carefully - one wrong stop would cause him to lose balance and make them both fall. As soon as he realized it, he broke out in cold sweat. They were proceeding only slowly, and Gaius felt himself shivering slightly with chill settling into his bones. Uther, on the other hand, seemed to be perspiring, as his exhaustion was starting to take its toll. His breathing, however, while laboured by pain, was still good enough.
At last the top of the stairs was in sight and if Gaius' eyes weren't fooled by the flickering light of torches lining the stairs, the doors to the tower appeared to be opened.
Uther looked up too and frowned even deeper. Finally they could see inside of the tower and indeed, there, in the flickering light of torches and howling of chilly winds, was huddled a small boy. His pale skin and golden hair seemed to shine in the yellowish glow of torches.
“Arthur,” Uther breathed out painfully. At that the boy turned to them shocked as if he didn't hear them climbing up and Gaius felt relief sweep over him, because he seemed unharmed. Even from the distance he could see the boy was shivering.
“What are you doing here? We’ve searched for you for hours!” Uther pushed between his teeth, because his laboured breathing didn’t allow him more.
Arthur flinched guiltily looking at them with wide eyes; he weakly motioned towards the wall. "I...I couldn't stop looking," he stammered. Uther’s stare slid from the boy towards the wall. Gaius closed his eyes as if it could stop what was coming; however, to his surprise, the howling of the wind was not replaced with Uther's shouting. Instead the king let go off him, turned on his heel and gripping the railing tightly, he set out climbing down the stairs by himself. “Take care of him,” he ordered Gaius over his shoulder, leaving them both alone.
Gaius looked at the boy gazing after the king with wide eyes; whether he noticed that the king’s form was a little slouched or his voice was a little tight, Gaius didn’t know.
"Come here, Arthur," he gently ordered taking off his thin cloak and wrapping it around the small boy shivering from cold. "How long have you been here?" he asked.
Arthur jerked guiltily, gripping the cloak. “I don’t know.” he murmured, his teeth chattering a little
“You’re entirely frozen, I hope you won’t catch a cold,” Gaius admonished trying to fill the hard silence they both felt after the king’s departure. He took the boy by his small hand leading him out.
At the door Arthur turned to take a last long look inside the tower before obediently following down the stairs. “Is father angry with me?” he asked hesitantly.
Gaius grimaced and was glad that the small light from the torches hid it. “No. I don’t think so. I think he agrees with you.”
Arthur’s small jerked him to halt. "What does he agree with?"
"Your father couldn’t look away either,” Gaius explained softly, pity creeping into his voice.
“Who is she?”
Gaius petted the boy’s hair gently. “Her name is Igraine. That in the tower is her only portrait left."
"Did father love her?”
Gaius smiled sadly. “A lot. More than people could imagine,” he said gravely, looking Arthur straight in the eye.
“Will you tell me about her?” Arthur asked hopefully with wide blue eyes that must have broken Uther’s heart all over again every day.
Gaius sighed. “One day I will surely tell you.“
THE END
Note for unknowing: Igraine is Arthur's deceased mother.