One Prison is much like another - part 10
Author: archaeologist_d
Title: One Prison is much like another - part 10
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: none
Character/s: Merlin, Gaius
Summary: At least he got his memory back. that had to count for something.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 1225
Camelot Drabble Prompt #584: Mirror
Disclaimer: I do not own the BBC version of Merlin; They and Shine do. I am very respectfully borrowing them with no intent to profit. No money has changed hands. No copyright infringement is intended.
--------------
At least while walking back, it didn’t feel like glass shards were ripping through his chest. The bruises were gone, too, and Merlin could breathe again without pain.
Honestly, he wanted to dance or sing to the sky of how happy he was about it all, the agony vanished and his memories back. It was a huge relief, thinking of his friends and how his mum would have worried and Gaius pretending that he was untroubled about the whole thing.
But then he got to thinking about baby dragons and the questions arose, lots of them.
When he rescued the eggs-and that was a whole other problem because Arthur had been watching him like a hawk for days now, after they hatched, he’d have to feed them. He had no idea what they’d eat. Did dragons drink milk or a special formula of herbs and some kind of tea or would they just eat meat right away? He couldn’t let the little ones go hungry just because he was an idiot and knew nothing about babies.
And flying? Would they fly immediately or would Merlin have to teach them and how the hell could he do that?
It’s not like he was a dragon and Kilgharrah might have said he’d help but would he? He seemed more the distant parent bellowing instructions from afar than any hands-on type. Merlin just knew that he’d be left to handle it on his own and he’d muck it up for sure.
And where to keep them? Not in Camelot, even in the cave under the castle. It was too dangerous for them.
And he couldn’t just leave to take care of them, even if Kilgharrah found a safe place. He was supposed to be by Arthur’s side, not nursemaid to a bunch of dragonets.
Just how many were they talking about? It’s not like they were puppies, all cute and squishy, or maybe they were and just got more snake-like as they grew. And growing?
Hell, they’d be huge in no time.
Arthur was going to kill him.
His mind whirling with problems and no answers, he didn’t even nod to the guard as he entered the citadel. Scowling, he stumbled up the stairs and threw open the door and stared at Gaius a moment.
“I’m… I’m,” Merlin started to say but then he stopped. Gaius would never agree to bringing dragons into the world. He’d already yelled about how Kilgharrah had lied to Merlin-true, and how the great dragon had just manipulated Merlin into setting him free-also true.
But it was true, too, that he was a dragonlord and that had to mean something, right?
Gaius hurried over, feeling Merlin’s forehead, looking into his troubled eyes. “Is it worse? How bad is the pain? I’ve willow bark tea if you need it.” Then he dragged Merlin over and sat him down on the bench and fussed so much that Merlin felt guilty.
Brushing Gaius’s hands aside, Merlin said, “I’m fine, I’m fine. I-,” He didn’t want to tell Gaius how he’d recovered his memory but he didn’t want to lie, either. “I must have knocked my head a bit and well, my memory came back. Hurray?” He gave Gaius a little grin.
“That is wonderful news, Merlin.” Gaius looked suspicious, his mouth pursing a bit as if he knew Merlin was lying. “And the rest? Your bruises seemed to have vanished and no longer do you have broken ribs. That must have been some fall.”
“Umm, well, funny thing. I was able to heal myself after my memory came back. Isn’t that great?”
“Great indeed,” Gaius mumbled. He was frowning, too, as if he didn’t believe Merlin for a second.
But then his face cleared and he started smiling. Patting Merlin’s shoulder, he reached over to the hand mirror lying on the table, one Merlin had not seen before, and thrust it into Merlin’s hands. “While you were gone, I did a bit of investigation into possible cures for your memory loss. I did find something.” He nodded down to the mirror and his grin widened as if he were delighted by it. “This mirror has magical powers of its own. For any patient holding it, they will not be able to lie about their symptoms or injuries or to any other question I might ask about their health. I know too many who have downplayed their symptoms and died for it. It will be quite a relief to know just what problems they might have the better to help them.”
Merlin glared down at the glass, seeing his own horrified reflection in it. Trying to hand it back before it was too late, Merlin knew it was no use.
Gaius stood back, his arms crossed. His eyebrow raised as if he already knew the answer, Gaius said, “So Merlin, how did you cure your memory loss?”
For a moment, Merlin just sat there, gaping up at Gaius. A magical mirror, one that forces the holder to the truth? Bloody hell, he was in trouble. Opening and closing his mouth a dozen times, finally, he gave up. Mumbling, he said, “Thedragoncuredit.”
“What was that, Merlin? Speak up, my boy,” Gaius insisted, blinking at him as if he had all the time in the world to listen.
Shit. “The dragon cured it. And my ribs and my bruises and the ache in my right toe which I broke a week ago, all right,” Merlin said, sulking. As he slammed the mirror down onto the table, Merlin scowled, hard. “Stupid thing.”
Gaius gave a little laugh, then sat down next to Merlin and patted his knee. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Merlin’s frown deepened. “So you say.”
“Well, I wasn’t the one lying. Although,” Gaius said, nodding down to the mirror. “I do think the fabrication about the mirror worked a treat.”
“Wait, what?” His mind whirling, Merlin stared at Gaius. “Fabrication?”
“It’s a plain mirror, nothing more.” Gaius raised his eyebrow again, waggled it a little, then said, more solemnly, “You don’t lie well. And I needed to know the truth to make sure you were not still hiding how badly your memory loss had been.” With that, he stood up, towering over Merlin. “So the dragon cured you. And what was the price?”
“I’m going to do it, if that’s what you are asking,” Merlin said. When Gaius didn’t say anything, just glowered down at him, Merlin gave an exasperated sigh. “He wants me to hatch dragon eggs and yes, I am. What kind of a dragonlord would I be if I let them die?”
“Merlin, you know it’s impossible, especially with Uther,” Gaius said.
“I know. But I can’t, I just can’t. They deserve a chance, just like I did.” Merlin turned stubborn, folding his arms across his chest just as Gaius had. “You can either help or not but I’m doing it anyway.”
“Have I ever told you that you are an idiot?” When Merlin shrugged, Gaius rolled his eyes a little and shuffled over to the dusty books on the far wall and plucked one out of the mess and handed it to Merlin. “At least, learn about dragons first before you go waffling off to do gods-knows-what.”
At least Gaius hadn’t said no.
Things were looking up.
Title: One Prison is much like another - part 10
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: none
Character/s: Merlin, Gaius
Summary: At least he got his memory back. that had to count for something.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 1225
Camelot Drabble Prompt #584: Mirror
Disclaimer: I do not own the BBC version of Merlin; They and Shine do. I am very respectfully borrowing them with no intent to profit. No money has changed hands. No copyright infringement is intended.
--------------
At least while walking back, it didn’t feel like glass shards were ripping through his chest. The bruises were gone, too, and Merlin could breathe again without pain.
Honestly, he wanted to dance or sing to the sky of how happy he was about it all, the agony vanished and his memories back. It was a huge relief, thinking of his friends and how his mum would have worried and Gaius pretending that he was untroubled about the whole thing.
But then he got to thinking about baby dragons and the questions arose, lots of them.
When he rescued the eggs-and that was a whole other problem because Arthur had been watching him like a hawk for days now, after they hatched, he’d have to feed them. He had no idea what they’d eat. Did dragons drink milk or a special formula of herbs and some kind of tea or would they just eat meat right away? He couldn’t let the little ones go hungry just because he was an idiot and knew nothing about babies.
And flying? Would they fly immediately or would Merlin have to teach them and how the hell could he do that?
It’s not like he was a dragon and Kilgharrah might have said he’d help but would he? He seemed more the distant parent bellowing instructions from afar than any hands-on type. Merlin just knew that he’d be left to handle it on his own and he’d muck it up for sure.
And where to keep them? Not in Camelot, even in the cave under the castle. It was too dangerous for them.
And he couldn’t just leave to take care of them, even if Kilgharrah found a safe place. He was supposed to be by Arthur’s side, not nursemaid to a bunch of dragonets.
Just how many were they talking about? It’s not like they were puppies, all cute and squishy, or maybe they were and just got more snake-like as they grew. And growing?
Hell, they’d be huge in no time.
Arthur was going to kill him.
His mind whirling with problems and no answers, he didn’t even nod to the guard as he entered the citadel. Scowling, he stumbled up the stairs and threw open the door and stared at Gaius a moment.
“I’m… I’m,” Merlin started to say but then he stopped. Gaius would never agree to bringing dragons into the world. He’d already yelled about how Kilgharrah had lied to Merlin-true, and how the great dragon had just manipulated Merlin into setting him free-also true.
But it was true, too, that he was a dragonlord and that had to mean something, right?
Gaius hurried over, feeling Merlin’s forehead, looking into his troubled eyes. “Is it worse? How bad is the pain? I’ve willow bark tea if you need it.” Then he dragged Merlin over and sat him down on the bench and fussed so much that Merlin felt guilty.
Brushing Gaius’s hands aside, Merlin said, “I’m fine, I’m fine. I-,” He didn’t want to tell Gaius how he’d recovered his memory but he didn’t want to lie, either. “I must have knocked my head a bit and well, my memory came back. Hurray?” He gave Gaius a little grin.
“That is wonderful news, Merlin.” Gaius looked suspicious, his mouth pursing a bit as if he knew Merlin was lying. “And the rest? Your bruises seemed to have vanished and no longer do you have broken ribs. That must have been some fall.”
“Umm, well, funny thing. I was able to heal myself after my memory came back. Isn’t that great?”
“Great indeed,” Gaius mumbled. He was frowning, too, as if he didn’t believe Merlin for a second.
But then his face cleared and he started smiling. Patting Merlin’s shoulder, he reached over to the hand mirror lying on the table, one Merlin had not seen before, and thrust it into Merlin’s hands. “While you were gone, I did a bit of investigation into possible cures for your memory loss. I did find something.” He nodded down to the mirror and his grin widened as if he were delighted by it. “This mirror has magical powers of its own. For any patient holding it, they will not be able to lie about their symptoms or injuries or to any other question I might ask about their health. I know too many who have downplayed their symptoms and died for it. It will be quite a relief to know just what problems they might have the better to help them.”
Merlin glared down at the glass, seeing his own horrified reflection in it. Trying to hand it back before it was too late, Merlin knew it was no use.
Gaius stood back, his arms crossed. His eyebrow raised as if he already knew the answer, Gaius said, “So Merlin, how did you cure your memory loss?”
For a moment, Merlin just sat there, gaping up at Gaius. A magical mirror, one that forces the holder to the truth? Bloody hell, he was in trouble. Opening and closing his mouth a dozen times, finally, he gave up. Mumbling, he said, “Thedragoncuredit.”
“What was that, Merlin? Speak up, my boy,” Gaius insisted, blinking at him as if he had all the time in the world to listen.
Shit. “The dragon cured it. And my ribs and my bruises and the ache in my right toe which I broke a week ago, all right,” Merlin said, sulking. As he slammed the mirror down onto the table, Merlin scowled, hard. “Stupid thing.”
Gaius gave a little laugh, then sat down next to Merlin and patted his knee. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Merlin’s frown deepened. “So you say.”
“Well, I wasn’t the one lying. Although,” Gaius said, nodding down to the mirror. “I do think the fabrication about the mirror worked a treat.”
“Wait, what?” His mind whirling, Merlin stared at Gaius. “Fabrication?”
“It’s a plain mirror, nothing more.” Gaius raised his eyebrow again, waggled it a little, then said, more solemnly, “You don’t lie well. And I needed to know the truth to make sure you were not still hiding how badly your memory loss had been.” With that, he stood up, towering over Merlin. “So the dragon cured you. And what was the price?”
“I’m going to do it, if that’s what you are asking,” Merlin said. When Gaius didn’t say anything, just glowered down at him, Merlin gave an exasperated sigh. “He wants me to hatch dragon eggs and yes, I am. What kind of a dragonlord would I be if I let them die?”
“Merlin, you know it’s impossible, especially with Uther,” Gaius said.
“I know. But I can’t, I just can’t. They deserve a chance, just like I did.” Merlin turned stubborn, folding his arms across his chest just as Gaius had. “You can either help or not but I’m doing it anyway.”
“Have I ever told you that you are an idiot?” When Merlin shrugged, Gaius rolled his eyes a little and shuffled over to the dusty books on the far wall and plucked one out of the mess and handed it to Merlin. “At least, learn about dragons first before you go waffling off to do gods-knows-what.”
At least Gaius hadn’t said no.
Things were looking up.