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It was dark. It was quiet. Not completely silent - there was a low ringing that just Would. Not. Stop. Merlin slammed a fist against his ear to quieten it, but the noise persisted. He blinked hard, but the darkness prevailed. He couldn’t even see the colours that would swim before him when he closed his eyes - it was just… nothing. Merlin’s heart slammed against his chest. Why couldn’t he see? Or hear? Would his senses come back? How would he protect Arthur without them?
Swallowing against the rising panic, Merlin pushed outwards with his magic. He didn’t sense any magic around him - the sorcerer who attacked him must be long gone by now. He stretched his arms out slowly, wary that absolutely anyone or anything could be there and he wouldn’t know. Something brushed his finger and his panic spiked. He jerked his hand back, cradling it to his chest and panting. Nothing happened. Slowly, he reached out again. The thing was rough against his fingers, and didn’t move when he touched it. It wasn’t alive, then. It was thin, and…
A leaf. It was a leaf. Probably red or orange, crispy. He imagined the crunch as he crushed it in his palm, and a hollow feeling settled in his stomach when he didn’t hear it.
Hyper aware of his lack of knowledge about his surroundings, Merlin pushed himself to a standing position. He was in the woods, he knew that much, and not too far from Camelot. But which way was he facing? He’d been facing a slight ridge when the spell hit him, though whether he’d got turned around since then he didn’t know. He’d used magic to find his way before, but usually he did that by lighting up the path he needed to take. Obviously that wasn’t an option at the moment, and Merlin found himself wishing he’d learnt more than just the one tracking spell. He should know by now that he needed to be prepared for anything.
Merlin took one shaky step forwards. He didn’t immediately tumble into a ravine, so that was good. He took another, then another, too scared to really speed up and wary of brushing into anything. His steps were wobbly and he imagined he looked like a toddler who had just learnt to walk. The ground was solid beneath his feet, he found himself hyper aware of the terrain - the tiny rises and falls of mud and earth. He fancied he could feel the leaves as they crunched beneath him. Once or twice, his outstretched hands hit a tree trunk, and he startled so much he nearly toppled over. His breathing was heavy. Tears pricked at his eyes. He didn’t even know if he was walking in a straight line. And on top of that, he was vulnerable. He’d always taken for granted how safe he was, how easy he usually found it to protect himself. How could he protect himself like this? A threat could be right in front of him and he’d never know. His magic could detect what was around him in theory, but he’d never bothered to learn how . He’d never needed to before. He made a mental note to find a spell for that as soon as he got his senses back.
All of a sudden, something gripped his arm and Merlin’s heart jumped into his throat. That was a hand. He jerked away, hands out, though as he stumbled backwards it hit him that he couldn’t use his magic - he may very well find himself on the pyre and not even know it until he was being tied up and set alight. Oh, God, he was helpless.
The hand grabbed him again, then another. He jerked and thrashed, but to no avail. The grip was strong. He was pulled against someone’s chest, and Merlin fought even harder, desperate to get away , to get back to Camelot, to find Arthur, to find help -
Wait.
Merlin sniffed curiously, body going slack without conscious thought. Armour polish, fresh soap, a hint of something like pine…
‘Percy?’
The arms around him gentled now that he wasn’t fighting to get away, and Merlin was finally able to register the armour pressed against his cheek. He reached out, still wary, and found a heavily muscled arm. He gently followed it up, up, up, and - Yes! The edge of a hauberk, sleeve ripped off for comfort. Relief rushed through Merlin and he sagged against Percival’s chest.
‘Percival, I can’t see. I can’t hear. I don’t know where I am.’
He could feel the tears threatening to choke him and he tried to swallow them down, but Percival’s arms were cradling him so tenderly and he suddenly felt so safe that he couldn’t stop a few from escaping.
‘Who else is here?’
It was odd, speaking but not being able to hear the words. He found himself wondering if they’d come out correctly, though they felt right in his mouth. Merlin was pushed back from the hug, though Percival’s arms never left his shoulders. A hand took his gently and he found it guided to a head of the softest hair. Merlin grinned, running his fingers through to the end of the locks just to make sure.
‘Gwaine!’
The knight’s arm was suddenly heavy around his shoulders, and Merlin found he missed seeing the grin that would usually accompany the action. Percival’s hand, larger and ever so slightly softer than Gwaine’s, lifted Merlin’s hand, allowing him time to push him away. Merlin didn’t. A finger traced over his palm and Merlin squinted in concentration.
‘J… U… S… Just! U… S. Just us?’
The hand patted his arm softly and let go. He was led, still with Gwaine’s arm around him, to start walking… somewhere. Home, in all likelihood. Hopefully Gaius would have some idea of how to undo this stupid curse.
Now that he was safe with his friends, Merlin’s panic softened to just a gentle flutter in his stomach. With nothing else to focus on, he was hyper aware of the earthy smell of the forest, the way his tunic brushed against his arms, the way his worn boots moulded to his feet. His socks were a little damp - he’d probably been sweating from fear and adrenaline. He wriggled his toes uncomfortably.
Instead of continuing their walk or being led to a horse, Merlin was sat down on a log and the arm left him.
‘Gwaine?’
Nothing.
‘Percival?’
Silence. Well, apart from that blasted ringing. Merlin slammed his fist into his ear, and his hand was almost immediately pulled away. One thumb traced gentle circles on his hand while a finger began tracing on his other palm.
‘C… A… M… P.’
It must have been later in the day than he’d thought. Merlin held in a sigh of frustration. He really just wanted to get to Gaius and get this sorted. The hand tapped the side of his head gently, before tracing a question mark on his palm.
‘Ears are ringing.’ He supplied. ‘Driving me insane.’
There was a pause, the hands still holding his but doing nothing. Merlin waited.
And waited.
What could they be doing? He was just about to say something when his hands were squeezed and the tracing began again. GAIUS FIRST THING. Merlin squeezed back to show he understood, and was sincerely grateful when Gwaine - he could tell by the movements, more languid than Percival’s - sat so close he was almost on top of him, their sides all pressed together. Only then did he let go of his hands. He was thankful for the contact - not having it left him feeling like he was adrift at sea, with nothing to tether him. Like he would just float away.
Either Gwaine or Percival stayed in contact with him for the rest of the evening, and Merlin clung to the comfort. He drifted to sleep with his bedroll next to Percival’s, hands clasped together as Gwaine kept watch. He could feel the odd drop of cool rain hit his face, along with a slight breeze, and tried to imagine the whispering of the trees as the wind blew gently through their leaves. He focused on the hard ground, reaching out a hand until he brushed warm skin. He wondered if the slight vibrations he could feel were his friend’s snores, or if he was imagining it.
He woke early, the infernal ringing, though much quieter now, still the first thing he noticed. He blinked his eyes open slowly. Nothing happened. He tried again, then the memory of the previous day hit him like a hammer to the head. Heart thumping wildly, Merlin reached out for Percival or Gwaine. No-one was there. Merlin’s stomach dropped. He reached further, patting the ground as he searched for his friends. Nothing. He didn’t want to go looking for them in fear of wandering away from camp, but what if they’d left? What if he was here alone and no-one would come if he stayed? He didn’t want to sit in the woods for days, it was cold and lonely and -
Warm? A warm hand clasping his own, pulling it to rest on someone’s chest. The rise and fall soothed him, his own breathing gradually slowing to match it. He hadn’t even realised how erratic it was.
Merlin’s fingers curled into the chainmail as his other hand fumbled to feel for the man’s hand. Percival. They hadn’t left. He wasn’t alone. They must have come unattached in the night, but he was here now. He hoped Gwaine was near, too.
A bowl was pushed into his hands as Percival moved to sit beside him, and Merlin fumbled with the spoon. He pulled the bowl away from the steadying hand that was placed upon his own. He could feed himself. He wasn’t that helpless.
Merlin pushed the spoon into the bowl, carefully moving it to his mouth. It took him a moment to find his mouth, but find it he did. The spoon was empty. He felt Percival’s shoulders jump in what was probably a snort and scowled, heat rushing to his face. He tried again, and thankfully the spoon was full this time. Maybe a little too full, but Merlin was nothing if not determined and he shoved the whole thing in just to prove that he could.
It took… a while to finish breakfast (and a moment or two to notice that he’d finished breakfast), but once he had he was pulled to his feet, knees almost buckling from a sudden wave of dizziness. He fell forwards into the chainmail and was held there for a moment while he got his bearings. It was difficult, without vision or hearing. He clenched his eyes shut, pretending that that was the only reason he couldn’t see. Yep, if he opened them everything would be fine. He just didn’t want to yet. But he could .
Finally, several deep breaths later, Merlin pushed himself back to his feet.
‘’M okay.’
The hands didn’t leave him, leading him a few steps away and placing his hand on something warm and slightly furry. It was rising and falling slightly under his hand, like breathing… a horse. He felt gingerly for the saddle and placed both hands there before lifting his foot, kicking forwards lightly. He was met with empty air. He tried again, slowly moving his foot forwards and from side to side, but he couldn’t find the stirrups. Merlin huffed.
All of a sudden, strong arms gripped him around the waist and lifted him high enough to get his leg over the saddle. Cheeks reddening, he slapped Gwaine’s arm. Well, he tried. He didn’t actually make contact, which just made him scowl harder.
‘I can do it myself!’ He scolded. ‘If you had to help you could have just guided my foot.’
There was a pause where everything was still except for the horse shifting under him. Gwaine was probably talking to Percival. Merlin wriggled uncomfortably. What were they talking about? Were they complaining about him? Was he being difficult?
His hand was taken gently, the word SORRY traced onto his palm. It didn’t help Merlin’s annoyance or embarrassment, but he tried to let it go. He knew they were only trying to help, and he was quite slow. It didn’t make him feel any better, though. He felt so helpless, but he knew he could have made it onto the horse by himself given time, and there was so much he knew he needed help with, like walking in the right direction, that it felt horrible to not be given the chance to do the things he could do.
Merlin slid forwards in the saddle as he felt someone clamber up behind him. Long hair tickled his face as Gwaine leant forwards to grab the reins. A strong arm came to rest around his waist and they were off. The first movement of the horse startled Merlin, though he had been expecting it, and he grabbed Gwaine’s arm in surprise. His arm tightened around his waist for just a moment, and Merlin settled down, finding a loose hold on the horse’s mane.
It was odd, riding a horse with no sight or hearing. He’d thought the rocking might be soothing, but it was only making him nauseous. He breathed deeply, hands fisting without his permission. The wind was cold on his face, stinging his cheeks and making his eyes water.
The journey felt long. Merlin tried to keep track of where they were, but he couldn’t be sure how far he’d wandered from his starting point before being found and his sense of timing was definitely off. He just hoped they wouldn’t be set upon by bandits - he was in no condition to help what with being unable to see if the coast was clear to perform magic, nor where to aim.
Thankfully, his luck held out for once and they made it back to Camelot without incident. Merlin felt a little stupid, being handheld around the castle like a toddler, and could only hope that the courtyard wasn't too crowded. He had no idea what time it was, but even at first light there were a few servants milling about, going to and from the well or the kitchens, so he didn’t think he’d have any luck there.
He was sure he knew where they were up until they went inside, but then they veered off down a corridor he hadn’t been expecting and he realised they must have gone through a different entrance than he thought. He couldn’t work out which one, and these corridors all smelt the same - of the people who were wandering through them, sweat and soap and mint and lavender. He got completely lost, trailing after his friends like a puppy until he was led through a door and the smell of parchment, smoke and something completely foul that could only be one of Gaius’ remedies hit him. Gaius’ chambers. He was gently pushed to sit on a bench and the touch left him. Merlin hoped his friends hadn’t gone anywhere.
He reached out to find the table, and immediately his hand hit what felt like glass. Merlin swore, reaching out to grab the bottle before it fell and ended up knocking over three (he guessed) more instead. He patted the table, but couldn’t find any sign of them. Hopefully they weren’t on the floor.
A hand gently took his and set it in his lap. He could somehow feel the disapproval through the touch, and smiled sheepishly at who he assumed to be his mentor. His suspicions were proven when his head was moved this way and that, his eyes were held gently open for inspection and he felt something tickle inside his ear. Then his palm was taken in Gaius’ hand.
WHAT HAPPENED?
‘I was collecting those herbs you asked for - I dropped the basket, by the way, and then I couldn’t find it, sorry, I’ll get you a new one - and this sorcerer came out of nowhere, cursed me to lose my sight and hearing and I think I must have lost consciousness. When I woke up he was gone.’
Merlin startled when a new hand grabbed his, jerking away on instinct. When the hand took his, gentler this time, he took note of the rings and the softness of the touch compared to the calloused hands he’d felt so far.
‘Arthur? How long have you been here?’
THE WHOLE TIME
Well, that was nice. ‘You could have said hello!’
ALL KNIGHTS ARE HERE
Oh, they’d all been here, probably watched him stumbling like a newborn foal and breaking Gaius’ medicine bottles. Great. Merlin tuned back into his surroundings when Arthur began to trace on his palm. Honestly, all this palm-tracing was beginning to tickle.
‘U… N… D… X… This isn’t a word, Arthur.’ He smirked as Arthur’s finger ran quickly over his palm, like a scribble. ‘Aw, can’t you spell?’ A hand came down on the back of his head, much gentler than usual since he couldn't see it coming, but he still yelped. The tracing began again.
‘U… N … P! R… O… V… O… Unprovoked. Yes, I was just minding my own business and this man came out of nowhere and took my sight. A bit of a blessing at the time, to be honest, you should have seen his face! Well, actually, no, you should be glad you didn’t, I’ll be having nightmares for weeks - and then he just disappeared. I assume, I mean he could have been lurking, I’d have no way of knowing - Oh, S… H… U… shut up? Well, that’s nice,’ he huffed, ‘my eyes and ears don’t work and now you want to stop my mouth too!’
The hand let go of his and Merlin was left alone for a very long time.
‘... Arthur?’
Nothing. Where had everyone gone?
‘Lance? Leon?’
Nothing.
‘Elyan?’
Panic rising, Merlin reached out to the table, using it to pull himself to his feet. He tried to turn towards the door, not sure where he was going but wanting - no, needing to find someone, anyone to prove he wasn’t alone - when his foot caught on something solid and he crashed to the floor. His ribs jammed painfully into what he presumed was the bench he’d been sat on, and Merlin only just stopped his face from slamming into the stone. He tried to scramble to his feet, but suddenly hands were all over him, pulling and guiding until he was up and back on the bench.
‘Ow.’
SORRY. TALKING
Merlin snorted. Arguing, more like. ‘Have you come up with anything?’
NO. SORRY
Great. And he couldn’t even help to look for a solution like this. Merlin rubbed his head, wishing that the ringing in his ears would abate, just for a little while, and tried not to feel annoyed. It was fine. They’d find something. He wouldn’t be like this forever.
Arthur’s hand moved away and Merlin tightened his grip. He hadn’t meant to, and quickly let go, but then the hand was back. Merlin felt a knot form in his stomach. He didn’t want people to think he needed his hand held while he was just sitting here, but… The thought of being let go, of being unable to feel that there were living, breathing people around him… It was terrifying. He’d been alone his whole life, but he’d never felt it quite so clearly before.
Thankfully, Arthur didn’t try to move away again, and Merlin tried to quash down his embarrassment. He tried to imagine Arthur’s reaction, huffing and rolling his eyes as he took Merlin’s hand, proclaiming loudly that Merlin was such a girl, and so needy. He tamped down on his smile.
More time passed. Merlin wished he could contribute to the discussion, or even hear the discussion, but he was left sitting here staring blankly at… something. Hopefully not a person, that would probably be uncomfortable.
When Arthur traced on his palm to tell him that he had an unavoidable council meeting and needed the knights, Merlin let him go without fuss, though he couldn’t deny the fear he felt at being untethered. He sat for a few moments, before reaching out to the table. Something here could take his mind off it… Well, as much as his mind could be taken off of it when the lack of his two main senses was so loud.
A block of wood was pushed into one hand, a knife into the other. Well, Gaius was just asking for trouble here. But he supposed he could try a bit of woodcarving whilst he waited for Gaius to do his research. Maybe he could find a spell that made the letters tangible on the page so he could feel what they said? Or maybe one that translated the words directly into his head. There had to be some kind of spell he could use, right?
Yes, Gaius would find something like that. And maybe some kind of spell that told him when there was an object in front of him, another that told him when there was a person. Maybe he could even find something that directed the images straight into his head without needing his eyes. Cut out the middleman.
With a jolt, Merlin realised that he was planning for this to be permanent. Had he really given up hope so quickly?
A hand took his and Merlin became aware of a stinging pain in his finger. Shit, he must have nicked it. Something soft wiped around the pain, then something else, more coarse this time, was wrapped around his finger. Maybe he should leave the woodcarving for now…
~~~
Merlin didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there, but it felt like an age. His hand was bandaged, and all he could think to do was pick at it. He knew that there were things he could do, but just thinking about it made him exhausted. He liked the way he did things, and having to figure out new ways around everything was not something he wanted to do right now.
And there were so many things he couldn’t do. He couldn’t read, he couldn’t go out alone, he couldn’t do most of his chores - and honestly, Arthur not hounding him about them was not an opportunity Merlin was going to pass up. He couldn’t help Gaius, he couldn’t write (unless he wanted the lines to go up and down and over each other), he couldn’t draw. On top of all that, he got so little free time these days that he didn’t really know if he enjoyed most of those things anyway.
So, he sat. He stewed. And he waited for Gaius to suddenly find the answer and magically fix all of his problems.
After what felt like an eternity, he felt a light tap on his arm. Trying not to show that he’d jumped out of his skin, Merlin turned to where he thought the person might be. He sniffed lightly, trying not to look like he was smelling them, and got a whiff of freshly baked bread. Lancelot always stopped at the bakery at lunchtime, often bringing something sweet to Merlin when they met at training. This time, however, it wasn’t pastries or sweetmeats that were pressed into his hands. They were tugged at gently until he was holding them out, palms up. A heavy, warm weight was lowered into them. Soft fur, wiggling ever so slightly. Merlin gasped. He moved one hand, extra carefully because he was suddenly terrified of poking the poor creature in the eye, and felt long, soft ears.
‘A bunny?’ He grinned. He could almost hear Arthur calling him a girl as he spoke, but he didn’t care. It was warm and real and alive in his arms, fur soft against his cheek as he nuzzled its head.
As his hands were busy stroking the soft fur, Lancelot’s gentle fingers traced over the backs of them this time.
SHE’S YOURS
‘Forever?’ Merlin grinned. It would be difficult to look after an animal with his lifestyle, but he was sure he could convince Gaius to help. And it really was very soothing right now, to know he’d have something warm and alive to hold even when his friends had to go.
FOREVER
Merlin’s smile softened. ‘Thanks, Lance.’
Lancelot’s hand patted Merlin’s shoulder, and he felt less alone.
~~~
The next few days were much the same. Time passed slowly, with not much to do and no way to mark it. He spent the time attempting woodcarving, which he was taking to with ease, much to his surprise (though he couldn’t see his creations so it was entirely possible they were disastrous). He’d been going on walks with his friends and playing with his bunny, who he hadn’t named yet because he didn’t really know what would suit her. But he loved cuddling her. There was the time she’d hopped right out of his arms and he’d fallen off the stairs to his room trying to find her, then stepped on her foot, but no-one needed to know about that.
A few days ago Merlin had constantly wished for more free time, but now he found he hated it. He thought of Fiona, the little girl in the lower town who had been born blind. She had ways of doing things, but the thing was that they all involved her ears. Which Merlin didn’t have use of. She also had a little bit of vision - she could see light, so she at least knew when it was day and when it was night. Merlin knew this, but only because somebody came and woke him up. He didn’t know of anyone whose senses were completely gone, or who was missing two of them.
It was incredibly frustrating, and he couldn’t even use his magic to get around it because he couldn’t research any spells. Gaius had brought him a book for the blind on his second day which relied on touch, which was great in theory, but the alphabet was completely different and even once he had a shaky grasp of it, there were no magic books for the blind. Still, he managed to slowly work his way through a few children’s storybooks, so that was something at least.
It was a week after he’d first been found stumbling around the woods that Gaius found a possible solution. He’d been in bed, moping, nose buried in his bunny’s fur, with no idea what the time was or where his friends were. All he knew was that he’d eaten breakfast but not yet lunch - so either it was still morning or Gaius had forgotten to make anything. Both were equally as likely.
He felt the bed dip and sat up slightly, holding out his hand in preparation. He recognised Gaius’ touch - it had become much easier to identify people by touch. Some had been easy immediately, such as Gaius’ older or Arthur’s softer skin; others were more difficult to parse out. He mostly knew the difference between Lancelot and Gwaine, for example, not by the feel of their hands but by the way Lancelot’s touch was soft and gentle while Gwaine was a little rougher in a playful sort of way. Leon’s fingers were slimmer than the others, Elyan had little burn scars from the forge decorating his fingertips and Percival’s hand was, quite frankly, huge.
Merlin focused on Gaius’ gentle touch, trying not to pull his hand away as the letters started to tickle.
‘You’ve found a spell?!’ He exclaimed, heart leaping. ‘What is it? Will it work? Can we do it now?’
Gaius patted his hand and the touch left, though the bed didn’t move so he was probably still sitting there. Merlin’s stomach was churning with nerves - what if it didn’t work? What if he was stuck like this forever? He couldn’t protect Arthur like this, and he missed seeing his friends. He missed Lancelot’s reassuring voice, Gwaine’s warm laughter, the tone Leon only used when he was alone with the group. He missed all his friends, despite the time they’d been spending with him. If this didn’t work he didn’t know what he’d do.
A cool glass vial was pressed into his hand, and Merlin immediately lifted it to his lips. He drank, and…
Nothing. Why was nothing happening?
‘It’s not doing anything.’ He could feel how shaky his voice was, but he didn’t care. He needed this to work. ‘Why isn’t it doing anything?’
Before he could get an answer there was an odd popping noise, far too loud after the long silence, and then a sudden rush of noise. The room was suddenly bright - too bright - and Merlin didn’t have time to take anything in before his eyes squeezed shut, hands slamming over his ears. His poor bunny hopped off of him at the jerk of his limbs.
It had only been a split second, but it had been so overwhelming. The noise still was, despite being muffled by his hands, and he was hyper aware of the colours drifting around behind his eyelids. He squeezed his eyes tighter, breathing harshly, and shook off the hands that tried to take hold of his wrists.
After a few long minutes, he felt like he was used to the sound enough to carefully remove his hands. There was his breathing, and Gaius’ breathing, and the sound of muffled conversation and laughter drifting up from his window. Birds were singing, hooves were clopping, a fire was crackling in the next room. It was a little distorted, like he was underwater but even so. It was all so much . It was overwhelming in the worst way, and it was the most wonderful thing he’d ever experienced.
‘I can hear!’ Merlin’s hands flew back to his ears in delight. ‘It’s muffled. Is it always muffled?’
‘I can’t say, my boy.’ And he nearly wept at Gaius’ voice. ‘I likely only partially healed you - there is only so much my magic can do, you know.’
‘Oh.’
‘Your magic may do the rest, in time. It also may not. Only time will tell, I’m afraid.’
‘So… It might be like this forever?’
Gaius patted his hand, and Merlin could hear the sorrow in his voice. ‘I’m sorry, Merlin.’
‘S’okay. You tried your best, and this is better than I was beginning to hope for. Thank you, Gaius.’
He felt disappointed, he couldn’t lie. But honestly, after so long of complete darkness and silence - apart from that infernal ringing that he hoped never to hear again - he was relieved to have recovered any of his hearing at all.
‘Why do you think the sorcerer did this?’ He asked the question that had been in the back of his mind this whole time.
‘I'm not sure.’ He could hear the frown in Gaius’ voice. ‘Perhaps to weaken you - without Camelot’s greatest defender being able to apprehend sorcerers, it would be much easier to mount an attack.’
‘But there hasn’t been an attack… Has there?’
‘No, my boy, but we’ll keep an eye out -‘
He was cut off as the door opened and Merlin turned at the sound of Gwaine’s rich voice.
‘Merlin!’
It was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard, though he was a little annoyed he couldn’t hear it in all its clarity. Who knew Gwaine had such a lovely voice?
‘Gaius found a cure!’
‘It worked?’ He grinned at the smile he could hear in Gwaine’s voice.
‘Sort of… It’s a little muffled, like I’m underwater. Actually, now you’re moving, I think this ear’s better than this one… But Gaius says it could get better in time.’ He squinted his eyes, the light blinding. It took far longer than usual, but finally he had his eyes open, the light uncomfortable but not painful. ‘I can see!’ There were a couple of spots over his vision, grey and fuzzy like fog, which were already driving him slightly mad. There were two small ones in his right eye which didn’t impede his vision much, and a larger one in his left eye which obscured a large portion.
‘There are fuzzy spots but I can see!’
‘Those may improve, only time will tell.’
Merlin turned his head so that Gwaine’s face was unobscured, and felt a rush of relief seeing his friend for the first time in days. His smile felt particularly warm.
‘Just have to wait and see, eh? Well, it’s a grand improvement on yesterday.’
Merlin nodded enthusiastically. ‘Everything’s so beautiful! The colours are so rich….’ He reached out for Gwaine’s cloak, fingering the soft red in awe. The colour seemed so bright. He turned to look at Gaius, delighting in the affectionate smile he received. Then he sprang from his bed and raced down the stairs. He went straight to the table, reaching out to pick up a glass vial and grinning when his hand found it without issue. His gaze roved over the table, the walls, taking in everything he could see with wide eyes. He’d never appreciated the cramped, brown room so much before. The sight of the window had a grin forming on his face.
‘I’m going outside!’
‘Be careful!’ Gaius warned, and Merlin’s heart leapt with joy when he saw Gaius reach out for him before the touch registered. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if you become overwhelmed quickly. Your senses will be overloaded, you’ll become irritable, get a headache - ‘
‘Oh, come on! I want to see the sky, the grass, the flowers -‘
‘I’ll go with him.’ Gwaine reassured. ‘I’m on my way to training anyway, we could just go down and update the knights and then I’ll bring him back. We’ll only be ten minutes.’
‘Yes! I want to see everyone!’
‘Just be careful.’ Gaius frowned. ‘I’ll expect you back within the candlemark.’
The walk to the training grounds was exhilarating. The castle was so noisy , how had he never noticed before? It was full of voices, footsteps, clothes were rustling, doors were being pushed open and falling shut. The sun was bright as they stepped outside, and Merlin had to shield his eyes with his hand as they made their way across the courtyard. He could hear the water sloshing as someone filled a bucket from the well, could see birds flying from their roosts in the gutters, could hear Gwaine’s humming next to him. It was a tune he knew well, and his heart ached to think he might never have heard music again if it wasn’t for Gaius.
As they got to the training grounds, Merlin felt his grin widen. His friends weren’t training at the moment but were gathered in a group by the grass, drinking water as they panted from exertion. Merlin immediately broke into a run, laughing with delight when he realised he didn’t need to go slow anymore.
Well, he was still Merlin , so he probably should have gone slow… The ground clearly hated him, because he tripped face-first onto the ground with a harsh jolt in his stomach, and when he peered around, there was nothing there for him to trip over.
‘Gwaine! Why did you let him run?!’
‘I’m fine.’ He pushed himself up and grinned at his friends, who were looking disapprovingly at Gwaine.
‘It’s fine, he got his senses back.’
Arthur snorted.
‘What senses? He never had any to begin with.’
‘Hey!’
‘You can see me?’ Elyan waved at him and Merlin chuckled, waving back. The knights grinned, ruffling his hair and squeezing his shoulder.
‘Yeah. There’re some fuzzy spots and my hearing’s a bit muffled but Gaius says he’s done all he can. Honestly, I’m just relieved anything was recovered at all.’
Percival nodded sagely. ‘Yeah, you don’t have to worry about Arthur knocking you into any more puddles.’
‘...What?’
Arthur bristled. ‘I saved him!’
‘No you didn’t.’ Elyan said quickly. ‘Come on, Merlin, let’s go and find Gwen - ‘
‘No, no, you have to tell him!’
‘Tell me what?’
‘Nothing!’ Elyan tried to drag Merlin off but he stood his ground, grinning.
‘What happened?’
‘Well,’ Gwaine grinned, ‘remember we went on that walk yesterday?’
Merlin nodded. They’d gone into the woods, all the knights, because Merlin had been sick of being stuck inside and he missed his friends.
‘Elyan nearly walked you into a tree.’ Gwaine sounded far too happy about that in Merlin’s opinion.
‘I saved you at the last second.’ Arthur said, puffing his chest out. Merlin tilted his head a little so that the fuzzy spots weren’t hiding his smug grin.
‘Only to walk you straight into a huge puddle of mud!’
‘It went straight to the top of your boots, only barely missing your breeches.’ Leon grinned. Arthur scowled. Merlin looked down and, sure enough, his boots were caked in dry mud. He knew they’d felt a little crunchy when he’d put them on that morning…
‘I’m surprised you didn’t feel it. Your socks got all muddy, too, and then there was a bit of a mud fight…’
Lancelot snorted. ‘A mud war, more like…’
‘While you were just… standing. In a puddle. And some ended up in your hair. Not enough for you to feel it hit you, rather a lot of splatters. But it was very obvious and you were walking around, completely oblivious, for the rest of the day.’
Merlin tried to scowl, he really did, but the huge grin taking over his face didn’t want to leave. ‘I should have known you’d do something like that.’ He told Arthur, who spluttered.
‘It was Elyan’s fault!’
‘Was not!’
‘If you hadn’t been about to knock him into a tree -‘
‘You could have pulled him out of the puddle when you noticed! You didn’t have to take him deeper into it!’
‘I am the King!’
‘Yes, so you should be more responsible.’
As Merlin watched the realm’s most fearsome warriors descend into childish bickering, he didn’t bother to hold back his laughter. He had missed this. He hoped he’d get to see it for the rest of his life.