[AM] seek medical advice

>>>

When Merlin met Arthur Pendragon for the first time, he really thought from the bottom of his heart that the other party was an out-and-out nuisance.

What kind of person would unscrupulously fling throwing knives with a cold light in the direction of the person holding the target like a mockery?

Undoubtedly, a big fool with a pompous, big-bodied, simple-minded, and no respect for others.

When he knew that the man was the king's son and the prince of Camelot, Merlin was handcuffed in front of the palace, his face was covered with rotten tomatoes and green vegetable leaves, and even began to regret agreeing with his mother's decision, and chose to come to this country.

At that time, he really felt from the bottom of his heart that with such a prince, the country would end sooner or later.

But he really didn't expect at that time that in the future, he would pick up that round wooden shield one day, waiting for a certain vegetable to throw a blunt iron spear in his direction.

Although Caitou is Caitou, his muscles are not for nothing.The rounded arrowhead of the iron gun was wrapped in a rapid airflow, and it was nailed into the thick wood texture with a bang, followed by another bang—it was the collision sound of Merlin's buttocks and the grass of the martial arts arena.

Arthur looked around, and when he turned around, he found his lazy servant lying on the ground with a wooden shield and pretending to be dead. He raised his eyebrows, crossed his hips, walked over in a leisurely manner, and stretched out his hand to flick it. The wooden handle of the iron gun trembled slightly.

"You are hopeless." He gave the other party a brief but sincere evaluation. "Anyway, you probably won't even be able to pull out the iron gun. You don't need to take your things back to the arsenal today. Go and wash the clothes I changed yesterday." He moved the corner of his clothes away, and walked towards the palace with big strides.

He walked a distance of about ten meters, and found that there was still no one following him. While slowing down, he called back in a casual but serious manner: "Merlin!"

The summoned person still lies on the ground and pretends to be dead.

"Merlin!!"

The black-haired young man got up and stepped on the wooden shield. Arthur simply underestimated him. How could he not even be able to pull out the iron gun?

"Merlin!!!"

All the eyes of the martial arts arena were focused on him.

Merlin looked up at the Caitou standing at the side door of the palace with his hips glaring at him, let go of the iron gun decisively with both hands, then clapped his hands, and walked towards the side door as if nothing had happened.

Still don't have trouble with yourself.

The dissatisfied prince immediately turned around when his servant was about to walk up to him, but from the corner of his eye he was always paying attention to whether the servant followed him: "You have so much work to do every day, yet you haven't been able to develop any muscle. How lazy you are." He said with emotion: "My servant is indeed the laziest servant in the Five Kingdoms."

"How do you think you got your gleaming armor, your extremely sharp sword, and your clean clothes?" Merlin countered mercilessly, "Gaius helped me?"

Although it is true that it is not Gaius, it is magic.

But Arthur is obviously used to not arguing with Merlin on this type of issue. He shrugged and said that he didn't care if the other party was really lazy, "It's just that I think you are so weak. If we encounter robbers on the road tomorrow , you have to obediently hand over your belongings in exchange for your life."

"The brave Prince Arthur has always led his servants to run directly..." Merlin suddenly realized in the middle of speaking: "Wait, on the way tomorrow?"

"Yes, don't forget to pack your luggage."

"No." Merlin stepped forward to block Arthur's way, his brows were frowned in doubt: "Where are you going tomorrow?"

Arthur seemed to be more surprised than him: "Gaius didn't tell you?" He rolled his eyes after receiving the other party's puzzled look, "Okay, we're going to Namis to find someone who can help my father. A doctor who comforts the trauma." Mentioning Uther's condition, Arthur took a deep breath, half of the vigor just now dissipated, and his eyelids shrugged.

Merlin patted him on the shoulder knowingly. After Morgana publicly defected, Uther seemed to be ten years older.Even though he was no longer imprisoned, the proud king was hit hard by his beloved daughter who hated him to the bone. He was depressed all day long, and Arthur seldom got a response when he spoke to him.

Even Gaius said there was nothing he could do about this level of trauma.

In fact, not to mention Uther, even Arthur was greatly affected.No one knows this better than Merlin.When Arthur first learned of Morgana's rebellion, the undead army created by the Cup of Life was like a sharp sword resting on his throat. He was shocked and ignored his grief. His first task was to recover the royal city and rescue his father.After the war ended, Uther's condition made it impossible to take over the government. Therefore, Arthur, the crown prince, had to cheer up and asked his uncle Aguwin to assist him in supervising the country.As a personal servant, Merlin was by his side when Arthur was concentrating on government affairs, and Merlin was naturally by his side when the night was quiet.

Merlin would not believe it if Arthur was not thinking about Morgana's question when he leaned against the window without saying a word.

There were several times when Arthur hesitated to speak to him, and Merlin didn't know what the other party wanted to say, but in the end Arthur chose to shake his head and not continue the topic, and he didn't want to expose his scars.

When Arthur really wanted to speak, Merlin knew he would speak to himself.

The timeline turns back to the present.Facing his comfort, Arthur didn't feel ungrateful as usual, but just nodded at him with his lips pursed.Merlin looked at Arthur like this, and felt a little complicated in his heart.

In the country of Camelot, he is the prince who is about to ascend the throne in front of the people, the leader of the round table in front of the knights, and a reliable lover in front of Gwen. It seems that the only object Arthur can show weakness to is himself.

They are friends after all.

Although Arthur always refused to admit it.

"Don't worry, Uther will be fine." Merlin bent slightly, tilting his head and staring at Arthur with drooping eyelids. The blue eyes flickered.As usual, he made a sincere promise to Arthur: "I promise."

Those flickering threads of light were like clusters of sparks, which ignited Arthur's heart along the fuse - he felt that his chest was much brighter than before.It's hard to tell whether it's because of Merlin's promise or because of Merlin's too sincere eyes, but as long as Merlin promises like this, no matter what danger they face, they will basically save the day.

Rather than saying that Merlin was too lucky, he preferred that Merlin's guarantee gave him confidence, so he was always in a position to benefit.

Even though his servants are lazy and modest, it's a fitting mascot.

Merlin saw the softening of the opponent's face, and he couldn't help showing a smile. His eyes were curved, just like the yellow-haired fox that escaped from Arthur's crossbow while hunting last time.Thinking of the fox's flaunting face, Arthur simply grabbed Merlin by the collar and ruthlessly licked his hair.

It was really cruel, Merlin's whole head turned into a chicken coop.

Arthur pretended not to see the accusations on the other party's face, and reminded Merlin in a threatening tone as soon as he let go: "Also, don't mention this matter to anyone. We are just traveling as ordinary people, understand?"

Merlin with the chicken nest head on his head shook his head: "I don't understand. It's just asking for medical advice. Why do you have to be so secretive? It doesn't make sense at all, and your current status doesn't allow you to travel alone."

No one cares about the "aloneness". Everyone knows that Prince Arthur takes his personal servant with him wherever he goes, which is simply the standard equipment for travel.So when everyone mentions Prince Arthur, they always include his tail pendant, Merlin.

"Although there is no dispute between Camelot and Namis, it is obviously a provocation to cross the border with a team of knights swaggeringly. If you submit a letter of credence to ask for permission from the other party, you must clearly explain the reason, which will directly expose The current weakness of our country." The king has no intention of governing, and the crown prince is away again. Maybe Namis will not do anything, but if a country like Sennod, who is eyeing him like a tiger, finds out, Camelot may usher in another war .

Even though Sennod was severely injured and depressed after abusing the Cup of Life after the previous battle, Odin, who had a vengeance with Arthur for killing his son, was secretly staring at them.

"You can't expose your weaknesses, I know that." In terms of Arthur's safety, Merlin never gave way easily: "I just don't understand why you have to travel as an ordinary person? If you want to hide your identity, you can also cover up your family crest and use it as a knight. "At least it's much safer this way, and the robbers sometimes even selectively give way when they see the knight status.

"Hmm..." Arthur found that he couldn't fool the past, and his eyes drifted to the other end of the corridor: "Because I want to experience the life of civilians? To experience the people's sentiments?"

"Oh." Merlin swore that he didn't mean to mock the prince: "The last time you had this idea, the two of us almost died in a tavern, if it wasn't for meeting Gawain."

"but……"

"And after that, there were two bullies who came to Camelot just to get revenge on you. You almost couldn't stand here." Merlin took a deep breath. Although Gaius could definitely give him the answer, he hoped that Arthur told him this himself: "Arthur, do you think I'm so stupid? You can't even tell if you're lying or not?"

Arthur felt guilty for a while. He knew that Merlin must be angry. Although he told Gaius not to tell Merlin the truth, if he continued to hide the truth, Merlin would definitely not give him a good face in the next few days when he was away from home.

It is even possible to intentionally make the food unpalatable as a way to express dissatisfaction.

"Well," he weighed it up, and decided to tell the whole thing. "The doctor we are going to find, I have a little bit of trouble with her before. If I go as a knight, she may run away as soon as she sees me."

"Her?" Merlin had a bad feeling, talking about women who were better at healing than Gaius... "Do I know the person you're talking about?"

Arthur also couldn't explain why he felt uneasy because of the attitude of a servant, but he still answered honestly: "It's actually Gaius' old friend, Alice."

"It's really her, Alice's medical skills are really superb..." Merlin put away the smile on his face for almost a second: "Are you kidding?"

"……No."

"Shouldn't you forget that you once put her in a dungeon and sentenced her to death?"

"……No."

"You haven't forgotten that the reason she was put in the dungeon was because of my informant?"

"……No."

"Arthur," Merlin's mouth tightened every time he heard a no: "Although I always say you are a vegetable, in fact, I think you have some brains besides muscles."

"..."

"But now I realize that I was wrong. You are an out-and-out brain full of muscles! Don't you think that the effect of going alone is better than that of the two of us?"

Arthur finally found a chance to speak: "I thought your point was that Alice knows magic."

"What? Gaius even told you this?" Merlin was a little surprised. Gaius had a deep affection for Alice, and he didn't expect Arthur to know this.

"Gaius said that she can only heal magic, and he also told me that it was just a misunderstanding last time." Arthur was referring to the manticore controlling Alice. Double-checked, her magic is not offensive."

It's not magic that worries me.Merlin complained, your royal life has been saved by magic many times.

Seeing that Merlin wanted to say something, Arthur threw out his trump card directly: "Alright, Merlin, I am the prince and I have the final say. This matter is decided in this way, no objection is allowed." He used full of coercion He stared at Merlin, "Understood?"

Merlin stared back with accusing eyes.

Arthur thought it was a sign that his servant cared about him but had to indulge him, but he didn't know the real meaning of this look was "I'm wiping your ass every time I want to do such a dangerous thing."

But in the end, Merlin could only nod reluctantly as before.

"Sure, sir."

>>>

"Gaius!!!"

Gaius looked in the direction of the door, and sure enough, the door snapped open after the sound, and a Merlin who seemed to be deceived by the world rushed in.

"It seems that Arthur has told you."

"You don't seem surprised at all." Merlin was very happy that Arthur didn't hide anything from him in the end, but it didn't mean he could accept Gaius' concealment, "By the way, when did he tell you about it?" How come I don't know about this at all?"

"You are not together all the time." Gaius put the magnifying glass on the table, "You know Uther's situation, I really can't do anything, Alice is better than me in this respect, but recently Camelot There have been several new outbreaks, and if I leave, no one will be able to control the situation.”

"I know you're worried about Uther." After all, Gaius and Uther have been friends for decades, "but I didn't expect you to tell Arthur that Alice is a mage!"

"If I don't tell Arthur that Alice can do magic, then when I explain to him that Alice is controlled by the manticore to do wrong things, how can I explain the source of the manticore?"

"Well, I can understand all of these, but what I want to know most is—" Merlin closed the door behind his back, walked to Gaius, and patted the table with his palms: "You, why, didn't tell me earlier ?”

"Oh Merlin," Merlin's childish expression made Gaius a little amused: "I wanted to tell you that I was here in the morning before I left the house, but you ran out yelling 'Lateagain'."

"Okay, okay." Merlin was really confused by Arthur's sudden decision: "You know, in fact, I don't doubt Alice's character. It’s okay to be someone else, but why does Arthur have to go in person? Although Moggs was hit hard by breaking the curse of the Cup of Life last time, Morgana is still active outside. You must know that Alice’s medical skills and healing magic are so powerful. Great, maybe Morgana will ask her to help heal Moggs... Wait, is this what Arthur's purpose is? He wants to talk to Morgana clearly?"

"Merlin," Gaius interrupted him, "I think you're overcomplicating this matter."

Merlin frowned, as if to say, "As long as Arthur is involved, it's not surprising that any accident happens."

"Arthur doesn't know how magical people connect with each other, and he doesn't think that Morgana has any connection with Alice." Gaius, as usual, patiently guided Merlin: "Arthur's stable family relationship has been going on for a while. He is now the de facto leader of Camelot, shouldering responsibilities and obligations, and does not allow himself the slightest weakness. But Merlin, you also had such a moment, how did you spend it?"

Merlin immediately thought of the small, rough dragon that was cut out of unknown material of wood that was placed beside his bed right now.

On the day Balino died, his mood fell from the clouds to hell.The newly recognized father is near death, and the magic he relies on for survival has no effect on it.He didn't know if he was capable of fighting Kangra, but he could only choose to face it with Arthur.

It was Gaius then, comforting him like a father, telling him that time will tell.Only then did he rekindle his confidence and face the next difficulty with Arthur.

He seemed to understand what Gaius wanted to say: "I have you, Gaius."

"Yes, no matter what, you still have me. But Arthur has no place to vent his pain, at least in Camelot, he can't find such a place." Gaius also watched Arthur grow up Yes, this kind-hearted little prince suddenly suffered great changes, and he, the elder, couldn't bear it: "So I guess, the reason why Arthur is so persistent is because he longs in his heart to take this opportunity to temporarily take off the burden and calm down. Quiet."

Merlin's eyelids drooped down, eyelashes cast a light shadow on the lower lid.When he yelled at Arthur, "Your identity does not allow you to take risks", he might have put pressure on Arthur invisibly.He is Arthur's friend and his closest person. What he should do is not to stop Arthur, but to protect him when he is in danger.

"Merlin, no one is perfect." Knowing that his little apprentice was blaming himself, Gaius said selfishly that Merlin was the best and kindest child he had ever seen. Everyone always praised Prince Arthur's character, but in his In his heart, Merlin's conduct was not inferior to Arthur's at all. "Not Arthur, and neither are you. You can't always put yourself in his shoes. And we both know you just care about him, and Arthur knows that, so he doesn't want to tell you to make you worry."

Gaius' words are always very convincing, at least Merlin's mood has calmed down a lot at this time: "I will pay attention to Arthur's condition during the few days outside." He smiled at Gaius: " Thank you, Gaius."

Gaius nodded and went on to study his medicine.

>>>

The bandits with square scarves on their heads and various strange symbols tattooed on their bodies howled loudly, and shuttled quickly and flexibly through the dark forest.

Right in front of them was Merlin running like a rabbit running for his life.

Merlin spread his legs and rushed towards the edge of the woods frantically, he could feel something guiding him there.

Although behind him is a gang of high-spirited robbers.

In fact, he could use magic to get rid of them, but he didn't want to stop for a moment, he didn't want to waste time on such nonsense.

Someone was there waiting for him.

"Mer..."

He heard someone calling his name.

"Merlin..."

The familiar voice was getting closer and closer to him, and Merlin dared to say that his footsteps were so fast that he almost flew up. His body trembled involuntarily, as if someone was grabbing his shoulders and shaking him.

"Merlin."

The young man opened his eyes suddenly, and the magnified face of the blond prince was reflected on his retinas. His eyes were not yet in focus, and his expression was quite dazed.He paused in this position for a few seconds, then turned to look behind him.

What caught my eye was the old wall of his bedroom.

... What about the bandits?

This appearance of him waking up from a dream obviously pleased Arthur. The prince suppressed a smile, stretched out his hand to straighten the messy hair on his forehead, and then slapped him on the head again.

"Aw!" Merlin clutched his forehead, and instantly threw the question of whether he had run to the edge of the woods to the sky.He turned his head and looked at the gloomy sky outside the window, "I dare say there are still several hours before the sun rises!"

"Come on, Merlin," Arthur felt that Merlin looked like an angry pufferfish. "It's you who break my dream every morning. I don't have as many complaints as you."

"That's because you don't get up until the sun shines on your butt every day!" Merlin sneered at Arthur's unreasonable level. He washed Arthur's clothes and packed his luggage yesterday, and helped Gaius clean the medicine jar after he came back. It took a few bottles of new medicine to fall asleep, and even dreamed of being chased by robbers all night.

"We have to leave before everyone wakes up, otherwise they will definitely use my safety as an excuse to ask me to bring a team." Arthur pretended not to hear his complaint, and threw his luggage at Merlin on the bed and body. "I'm going to lead the horse first, you hurry up and follow with your luggage."

When I turned around, I was taken aback.

Gaius, in his pajamas and holding a shovel, stood at the door of Merlin's bedroom, watching them silently.

"Sorry, I thought it was a thief."

Arthur let out a long breath, "No, Gaius, I'm the one who should say I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for waking you up." After speaking, he gave Merlin a urging wink, and strode out.

"Unbelievable! He just said sorry to you!" Merlin put on the expression he had yesterday, as if he was deceived by the world, "Shouldn't he say this to me?"

"Merlin," Gaius walked away slowly with a shovel in hand, "I only know that if you don't get up quickly, you won't even have breakfast."

After a while of confusion, Merlin finally appeared at the dining table with his luggage on his back.Before his hand touched the first piece of bread of the day, it touched a letter from Gaius.

[ToAlice] was clearly written on the envelope. Merlin raised his head and cast a puzzled look at Gaius. Gaius explained: "I wrote this when you were brushing the medicine tank last night. If Alice really If you reject you, you can show her this letter."

Accompanied by Merlin's nod, there was a deep roar: "Merrrlin!"

Arthur had deliberately lowered his voice, but he pushed the door so loudly that neither of the two people at the table could ignore it.He rushed in like a cannonball, grabbed Merlin who was fully dressed and rushed out: "If it's later, the knights will all get up for morning exercises!"

"But I haven't eaten breakfast yet!"

He was answered by a piece of dry bread that Arthur stuffed into his mouth.

Merlin rolled his eyes while chewing the bread: Let that Merlin who thought he owed Arthur yesterday die!The bastard didn't deserve his guilt at all!

However, when Arthur lifted his belt and pushed him onto the horse roughly, Merlin, who had finally finished eating the bread, still felt his conscience and asked: "We just sneaked away like this, will they find you missing?" Chaos?"

Arthur said he was as witty as he had left a letter on the bedroom table.

Merlin sincerely made a sign of the cross in his heart for the knights and ministers who collapsed a few hours later.

The crisp sound of horseshoes gradually disappeared outside the city gate of Camelot, and the faint morning light crossed the horizon, coating the city wall with a light golden shell.Merlin rode slowly, following Arthur who was plated with gold like the city wall.

If you want to relax, then whether it is self-willedness or this attitude that is not impatient at all, it can still be tolerated.

After a long, long time, when Merlin recalled this incident, he realized that this was probably the last public willfulness of Arthur in his years as a prince.