AN: I was challenged to write a 2k+ word fan fiction that does not mention Merlin's magic, has Arthur as a back ground character, and is a Hurt!Merlin by GLFoxLady. So here it is.

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There had been snow on the ground for nearly a month, but Uther insisted that Arthur continue the search for Morgana. Arthur knew it was pointless to argue with the king on this matter. So he gathered the knights and had Merlin prepare for a two day 'patrol' which was actually a hunt in disguise. Saturnalia had come and gone and Sementivae was fast approaching. So, the meat would be appreciated.

Since it was so cold and Merlin lacked any real winter clothing, Gwen had given him her father's old cloak and thick shirts that she altered to fit his slim body. She had need something to do with Morgana missing, so she settled on helping Merlin and Gaius as well as the women down in the laundry room. Besides helping Gaius with his rounds, Gwen had learned a great deal about the healing arts and had taught Merlin to sew and cook properly. Because of this, when the men left Camelot the day before, Merlin was the warmest he had ever been on a winter patrol. The day had gone fairly well, but Merlin had forgotten to bring his own pack. So, he had no spare clothing, no food, and none of the medical supplies he usually carried. Usually he would have at least been able to eat breakfast and supper with everyone else, but he had made the stew and then headed off to gather firewood. When he came back, all the food had been eaten. It was tending to the horses that made his miss breakfast the next morning. Knowing that they were due back in Camelot by midday, Merlin, though somewhat frustrated, thought nothing of it.

Before they broke camp, Merlin set off to the nearby stream to refill the water skins. As he leaned over to fill the third one, he slipped. He fell head first into the icy water. Suddenly one thought ran through his head. Merlin has a strong heart, but he also has weak lungs. Every winter Merlin could remember before coming to Camelot he gotten running pneumonia. His first two winters in his new home he was fine, but after just falling into a half frozen stream he knew he would once again have to fight for his life.

In hindsight, balancing on an ice covered rock was bad idea to begin with, but add to that the fact he had been light headed from lack of food and poor sleep, he had been tempting fate. Though, he was lucky in two respects. One, He managed not to cut his head too much on the rocks in the water and two; Leon had seen it and raced to help him. But not before Merlin had already inhaled a good bit of water.

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Leon had been worried about Merlin. He had not seen the boy eat anything since they had left the city the day before. After noticing that Merlin had not eaten lunch while riding like everyone else, the knight noticed that Merlin's personal bag was not in its usual position in front of the saddle. That night after witnessing the look of disappointment on the servant's face when he returned to find the stew pot empty, Leon realized that Merlin had not eaten before collecting wood. That night during his watch, Leon learned that Merlin did not have his bag or blanket with him this time. That meant that Merlin had not been able to eat all day.

The next morning, Leon woke late and barely got any of the porridge Merlin had prepared that morning, Geraint missed it entirely. Leon had no sooner swallowed the last of his food when Merlin returned from feeding the horses. Leon's stomach twist with guilt when he saw the frustrated look on the lad's face. Merlin had not gotten breakfast on top of missing those two meals the day before. As Merlin set off to replenish their water supplies, Leon fished a bit of bread and dries meat from his bag and followed the boy to offer the food to him.

Leon caught sight of Merlin a small ways upstream from camp dipping the skins into the frigid water. As he neared, he witnessed Merlin's foot slid across the frozen surface of the stone he was perched on and fall forward into the icy flow. Dropping the food in his hand, Leon rushed to the edge of the bank and pulled the boy up quickly. Water poured out of the boy's mouth. Setting the soaked servant down a few feet from the stream's bank, Leon checked him over. He had a cut on the edge on his hairline and a growing bruise just below it. The poor soul was shivering so hard and more importantly, he was breathing harshly.

Noticing the distant look in the boy's eyes, Leon scooped him up into his arms and rushed back to camp. The boy was skin and bones! He was much lighter that anyone that tall had any right to be. Hoping that the camp fire had not yet been put out, Leon began worrying about how to get the poor fellow dry, especially now that the lad was unconscious. The boy had no spare clothes, his cloak was soaked through, and Merlin didn't even have a blanket, which was in the missing pack. Leon's heart dropped when he reached camp and found that not only was the fire out, the camp had been packed up and everyone was mounted and ready to move out.

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Arthur had seen that Merlin had missed breakfast, but he had also seen that Leon was remedying that. Knowing that it might take a while for Merlin to eat and refill the water skins, Arthur ordered his men to break camp. Geraint obeyed without question, but Montague and Bertrand asked why they were to do a servant's job. Arthur told them off, stating that three year ago they would not have had a servant with them on a patrol and that if they hadn't eaten Geraint and Merlin's share of breakfast then Leon wouldn't have had to track the boy down to make sure he was fed.

After the camp had been packed away, Arthur had Montague and Bertrand ready Leon and Merlin's horses so that they could leave as soon as they returned. Bertrand finished with Leon's horse quickly and mounted, while Montague bumbled his way through saddling Merlin's horse, who didn't like the knight near her. Montague was barely in his saddle when Leon jogged into the clearing with a drenched Merlin shivering violently in his arms.

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Geraint had made a point to look out for Arthur's overly loyal manservant after he showed his willingness to forgive the prince after that whole Cornelius Sigan catastrophe. He had meant to share his lunch with the boy after noticing that Merlin had left his own gear back in Camelot, but Bertrand had been incorrectly telling the story of Lancelot Griffinbane, the commoner who had been knighted briefly. By the time the story had been told correctly, Geraint had forgotten about the hungry servant.

That night he tried to save a bowl of stew for the boy, but Montague and Bertrand ate more than their share, so he was forced to give Arthur Merlin's share, which was all that was left. At breakfast, Geraint wanted to complain about Montague and Bertrand's eating habits when he saw the hard look on the prince's face as he watched the two knights eat. Knowing that the prince would deal with the two of them and see that Leon was heading off to give Merlin some food he had managed to hide from the gluttonous duo, the tall knight Geraint was about the break camp when Arthur asked them to do just that.

Geraint saddled the prince's horse, which was Merlin's job, before saddling his own. He received a nod of thanks from the royal. Looking over the prince's shoulder, Geraint saw Leon carrying Merlin before the others. Geraint, knowing that the boy had no blanket or dry clothing, grabbed Bertrand's pack and fished out a dry outfit as he was the closest in size to Merlin. He also grabbed Montague's blanket before helping Leon remove the boy's wet garments and drying him off.

Montague and Bertrand looked like they were going to protest the use of their belongings, but Arthur gave them a look that nearly made them cower.

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Leon and Geraint positioned themselves so that their bodies blocked the view of Merlin from the other three as they stripped the boy. One look at the servant's exposed chest and they made a silent agreement to keep this a secret. The servant, who everyone seemed to think was frail and innocent, had a massive circular scar in the middle of his chest with numerous smaller scars scattered across his body.

After a moment of speculation, the two began drying Merlin with the blanket. Once dry, they quickly dressed him and wrapped him in Geraint's thick winter cloak warm with the knight's body heat. Once they less worried about hypothermia, they started worrying about the cuts and bruises on the boy's head and the rough, wet sound of his breathing. They both agreed that Merlin would not be able to ride by himself and draping him over a horse would only make his breathing worse.

Since the boy was wrapped in Geraint's cloak, the servant would ride with the tall knight and the two of them share the piece of material. With this decided, Leon picked the lad up and carried him over to the horses. Geraint settled himself in the saddle before taking the skinny fellow from Leon and positioning the boy in front of him. As Geraint did this, Leon pulled the cloak off Merlin's shivering form. Climbing onto his horse, Leon turned and threw the thick material over the tall man's shoulders. Both knights adjusted the cloak before turning to the three who had seemingly turned to stone in their saddles.

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Arthur was upset, a mixture of concern, anger, and frustration, while Montague and Bertrand felt ashamed and shocked. They could all hear Merlin's harsh breathing and the bruise on the boy's forehead had grown since Leon had entered the clearing. All in all, Merlin looked and sounded awful.

Noting the stares, Geraint told them that Merlin was in need of Gaius's care and that if they did not head out soon then they would be late in reaching Camelot. The statement seemed to release them of the spell holding them in place. Arthur only nodded before kicking his horse into a canter.

The ride was not treating the injured servant well at all. After an hour, Merlin's rasping breaths could be heard over the noise of the horses' hooves connecting with the ground. But on a brighter note, Merlin had warmed up considerably and was no longer even shivering. Though, the lack of the cold allowed the bruising to increase drastically. The entirety of Merlin's forehead was a massive hematoma that nearly kept his eyes from being able to open.

At this point, Arthur was mentally debating whether to slow down in hopes of making Merlin more comfortable, picking up the pace and getting the boy to Gaius quicker, or continuing at their current speed and hope that the poor fellow remain unconscious until they reached Camelot. All three had their pros and cons. He continued to debate the three choices until the castle can into view. Realizing this, Arthur pushed his horse into a gallop.

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The first time Gaius ever met Merlin, he was only four, almost five years old. The boy had gotten lost in the woods just before a late fall storm hit Ealdor. The child had gotten sick. So sick, that Hunith had brought him to Camelot to seek help from her brother, the renowned physician, in hopes of saving her son.

Thinking back, Gaius realized that his bond with Merlin had formed that winter. The boy should have died that winter, but Gaius had broken a few rules. Herbs such as Garlic, Fenugreek, Sesame Seeds, Turmeric, Black Pepper, Astragalus, Eucalyptus Oil, and Tea Tree Oil were rare and imported, but they were also only meant to be used to help the royals. So, he only used minute amounts of these herbs in conjunction with his regular store of remedies such as Elecampane, Mullein, Coltsfoot, Horehound, Rosemary, Turpentine, and Camphor. On top of that, Gaius had used magic to save his nephew when the boy showed all the signs of septicaemia, also known as blood poisoning.

It was the first day of Sementivae festival honoring Tellus that the boy's fever broke, announcing that the child was finally out of danger. By the time the second half of the festival came around, the part honored Ceres, Merlin was nearly strong enough to stand on his own. By Parentalia, the boy was able to walk about, but he still tired easily. In fact, if it wasn't still winter, Gaius would have sent Hunith and the boy home a week before.

When Hunith and the child returned home, Gaius told her that Merlin would be very likely to get ill every winter, just not as bad as it was this time. That prediction had come true. For the next twelve years Merlin would come down with a mild case of pneumonia, a kind that he could still work with while ill. But for the last two winters, Merlin had been healthy as a horse. So, when Sirs Leon and Geraint came barging into his chambers with his badly bruised and poorly breathing ward, Gaius cursed.

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Merlin was unable to work until after Compitalia had passed, and even then he tired fairly quickly. Arthur and all the knights now understood why the boy had such troubles with hunts and training; he wore out easily and was forced to keep going. To Arthur, this showed loyalty. To the knights, it was strength. To the servants, it showed Merlin's sense of duty. To Uther, it was choice well made.

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AN: Sorry for the crappy ending…