The Cure

[archaeologist-d.livejournal.com]

Author: archaeologist_d
Title: The Cure
Rating: G
Pairing/s: none
Character/s: Merlin, Arthur
Summary: There are distinct disadvantages to helping Gaius make hang-over potions. Knowing what’s in them for one.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 245
Camelot_drabble Prompt: pt 419:bingo-round 2- cure
Author's Notes: none
Disclaimer: Merlin characters are the property of Shine and BBC. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
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Sometimes, Merlin thought Gaius was a sadist. That was the only explanation for the disgusting ingredients he used. A cure for a hang-over surely should be something tasty and easy to swallow.

Now that he knew what was in it, Merlin wasn’t sure he’d be able to drink it and not keep from vomiting it all back up again.

Still, Merlin followed the recipe, mashing it all up in the bowl, adding hairs from Arthur’s favourite dog and toad paste.
Honestly, he really didn’t want to know how Gaius pasted toads, but did he go out to the pond, bung them over their little heads and then grind them up? Because that was revolting.

Swallowing back the nausea, Merlin shoved down on the pestle a little more, then dumped in the rest, a liver of a lizard, a bat’s heart, and the ever-important slug slime and pulped it until it was a brown paste, added in well water and a bit of wine – finally something that tasted good, then let it boil a little before setting it off to cool.

Hoping that Gaius wouldn’t make him test it, he hadn’t forgotten the utter horror that touched his tongue when he had to sample the troll’s potion, still Merlin had seen others swallow down Gaius’s hang-over cure before. They even paid extra for it – because it worked.

Luckily for Merlin, this time, the cure wasn’t for him.

It was for Arthur.

Sometimes, Gaius was a genius.