Body Change

The first feeling Arthur had when he woke up was that something was wrong. Something was really, really wrong. He knew it, but he didn't understand what was so wrong. Maybe he now understand those "funny feelings" Merlin always has when something bad's gonna happen. Merlin's almost always right about these situations, but now it wasn't the simple. He knew something was wrong with him. He felt something different. He felt something new, strange, even special. Something right inside him. Circulating in his veins. Something he's never felt before. But then, in the same moment, he felt like he has known this feeling for a long time. As if it's somehow familiar yet strange at the same time. He also felt like he could tear up the whole world, just if he wanted to.

What was it? He really did not know.

And what could he remember? They were... in a forest... on a hunting trip, but... it went all wrong. Yet he still couldn't remember why, and what had happened that was so wrong there. He just couldn't remember.

But slowly, it occured to him again. Slowly he remembered more and more details. He remembered...

Merlin.

His clumsy servant, who was a good and very loyal friend for a long time now, and maybe more.

They were camping beside a fire. It was almost night, and it wasn't dark yet. He was sitting near the campfire and was watching Merlin properly. Sometimes he just can't help himself from watching that dark haired boy. Actually, he dared admit, Merlin wasn't as awful as he thought he was when he had met him for the first time. He has thought this for some time now. In fact, Merlin was somehow... adorable. Beautiful even. When they were together, Merlin made him feel like he's complete. Like they always belong together...

Merlin was cooking something to eat after the whole day of hunting. There's no need to say, but Merlin hated hunting, so he wasn't really excited to be there. When Merlin slowly stood up, Arthur's food in hand, he almost tripped over his own two feet... Again. It wasn't something unusual to see him tripping over something. To be honest, Merlin broke the record of tripping. He could trip over anything that could possibly be tripped over.

But this time, it was different. Different, because just after Merlin almost tripped, his face immediately twisted in pain with his eyes shut firmly. Not that Arthur didn't notice it, he was still watching his friend after all. What was with Merlin? Was he wounded? Arthur's eyebrows narrowed in worry and he stood up.

"Merlin? Are you alright?" he asked. Merlin hid his pain in a fraction of a second and placed a false smile onto his face. He answered, saying it was nothing. Arthur could remember this part very well, and he was still in alert mode when he saw Merlin like this. He didn't want him to suffer, and Merlin was behaving suspiciously. He was surely hiding something, and that something caused him pain when he tripped. But why didn't he want to tell him?

Just when Arthur wanted to tell Merlin that he knows he's hiding something, a gold light appeared suddenly to the right of the camp. All the knights stood up together with Arthur and tossed out their swords. It was obvious that it was magic.

Arthur slowly walked closer to it, his sword in hands, when suddenly he saw Merlin right next to him. What was that idiot thinking? It was dangerous, why was he with him in the front? Arthur wanted just one thing, and that was to see Merlin somewhere safe. He didn't want his friend even more wounded than he seemed to be now, if that magic-thing were to harm them.

Arthur looked at Merlin and hissed:

"What are you doing Merlin? Stay back! It's dangerous!" Merlin didn't seem to have listened to his master (not that he listened to him sometimes anyways) and when Arthur saw Merlin still there he noticed something he hadn't noticed before. Merlin's eyes were blind. They seemed strange. They were looking just in the gold light and nowhere else. Merlin was like... enchanted.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked. Merlin, instead of turning to Arthur, he started to walk closer to the light. When Merlin started to walk faster and faster, Arthur started to follow him. Soon Merlin had started to run.

"Merlin!" Arthur cried as he started running after the servant. It was too late thought, Merlin was in the light already, and Arthur with him. He had managed to grab Merlin's jacket in the same moment that Merlin touched the source of the magic light...

And then nothing. Arthur couldn't remember anything after that, although he really tried to. The first thing after that light that he could remember was this.

When Arthur was more aware of himself, he slowly tried to open his eyes. But right then, he regretted it. The sun from the window shined right in his face. Arthur shut them again and growled.

He was lying. In a bed. But not in his, he can recognise his own bed, and this one was too hard. His bed was soft and... big. Bigger than this one. He turned his head and opened eyes again. He was in Merlin's bed, in Merlin's small room.

An then that bad feeling again. Something was wrong with him. He felt somehow smaller and less heavy. And then his eyes widened, when he looked up. He was pretty sure, his hair wasn't black, but blonde. Why did he have black hair? Was he still dreaming, and this all was just another crazy dream? Just like that one with him and Merlin when they... well, just need to say it took a very long time to forget that dream. Because he and Merlin would never... well, maybe, they would, but... stop!

Back to his hair. His hair was not black! And then, right when he tried to remember when he had enough time to change clothes, Gaius came in.

When Gaius saw that he was awake, he immediately came to him and put a hand on his forehead.

"The fever is not that bad as two hours ago, it's almost gone." he said and smiled. "I'm glad you're alive Merlin. You were unconscious almost the whole day!" Then his expression changed again. "What were you doing boy? The knights said you ran to some magic light! You know you're injured! For your leg is better to rest. I still don't understand why didn't you want to tell Arthur. He would have left you here. "

When Arthur just stared at him, as if Gaius had two heads or four arms, Gaius stood up. "You really need to rest Merlin. I'll let you be. Oh, and Arthur's still unconscious, I'm gonna be with him for a while. I need to control his fever." And with that, Gaius left.

And Arthur was just lying there, in Merlin's small bed, with the most confused expression the world has ever seen.