Chapter 11: A scientific breakthrough

"Would Sir Bedivere and Sir Tristan be so kind as to bring him down to his cell? Please announce his execution later today, and make sure the public knows his crimes. Reach out to any of the family members of the children who disappeared and make sure they are taken care of with his estate's money. If his family protests, shut them down, The guilty must pay for their actions. The maids and guards in his home must be brought in and questioned and any found guilty will be thrown into cells indefinitely for the time being. Try and find where the children were dumped. We need to uncover them and get them into proper graves." Sir Kay was the first to speak up after Artie spoke.

"That is going to take quite a bit of resources, Sire. Do you want someone to be in charge of it? We can lead a group of the lower knights and guards in the investigation." Artie, who hadn't thought of that, smiled at the knight.

"What a wonderful idea Sir Kay. Sir Bedivere, do you have any protests in taking on this task?" Sir Bedivere, who was just about to leave with Sir Tristan while carrying the previous Lord Byron, turned to stare at his new King in disbelief.

"Forgive me, your Highness, but why would you nominate me? I haven't been exactly kind to you." He was honest, at the very least. Artie huffed, putting one of her hands on her hips.

"Sir Bedivere, I know you are honour driven, and I know your comments had nothing to do with my gender, only with what you perceived as my incompetence. That is an acceptable reason in my opinion, and why I didn't take offense." Sir Bedivere seemed shocked at the read Artie had gotten on him, before his eyes narrowed and he remembered that she was from the future. "I also believe that you'll be better suited at soothing the more pompous assholes as you inquire." Sir Percy laughed at her words, while Sir Bedivere seemed…impressed. He bowed.

"It will be done as you say, Sire. May I assist in bringing Lord Byron to the cells?" Artie grinned.

"Of course, it would be rude to make Sir Tristan do it all on his own. We are all officially dismissed. If I spend any more time not in the prone position my body is going to shut down." Artie said it with a smile, but that only set the others off. Sir Percy helped her put her sword back into the leather belt he'd tied around her waist, before he and Sir Kay lifted her down the stairs. Both Lady Morgan and Lady Guinevere dismissed themselves quietly before Artie left with her two worried knights. Artie refused to let them carry her back to her new rooms, and they instead led her quickly, but with care to her rooms.

Once there, they opened the doors and Moira and her friend were there, ready and waiting. Artie had an easy time laughing at herself. She was all decked out in a fancy dress in royal blue and gold, long, draping puffy sleeves finished with delicate gold trim someone must have spent hours on. And blood. Only a tiny spec, but it was there. Moira was pissed, and ordered them to turn their backs as the two of them tackled the new dress. They did it with more ease, since Moira knew what to do now. It was around this time that Merlin wandered into the room, and it was Sir Kay who forced him to remain on the other side of the room divider.

It was once the dress was tossed over the side that Merlin forced the issue, and came around to the other side. The way he was looking over Artie made it clear that he had some understanding of the medical field, and it was confirmed when the wound was exposed to the open air and everyone could see it was still weeping. Artie knew that they were going to have to deal with this her way, and soon.

"You didn't seal my wound?" She asked first, testing the waters and Merlin gently peeled the bandages back. He turned his swirling gaze towards her.

"Wouldn't that cause you more harm? I couldn't check on the wound and make sure it wasn't infected if I did that." Artie's lips firmed into a straight line and she sighed heavily. Moira was just draping a large nightgown over her head when Artie spoke up again.

"Moira, please have either you or the lovely lady helping you go grab a curved needle, string of thin metal thread and a candle please. As well as clean water, some clean cloths and alcohol, straight alcohol. Not beer." Moira, surprised by the strange request, went to quickly do as asked when Artie remembered something. "Oh, and a thick leather belt. That's for me." Her face paled at Artie's smile, and Merlin frowned at her.

"I can't torture the new King, even in my position." He protested and Artie huffed a laugh.

"You aren't torturing me. I don't have knowledge of pain suppressants here, so I'm going the old fashioned way. Plus, I need to talk to you and guide you in the procedure so I can't be unconscious." Merlin gave her a blank look as Moira's assistant pushed the room divider back. She remained against the wall, waiting for the next order from Moira when she got back from her errand.

"Sire, what do you mean? Guide me through? Guide me through what? I am a skilled pharmacist." Artie really didn't want to bruise his ego, or make him think she thought less of him, but she needed to get through to him. Artie didn't handle needles well, and she was going to have to tell him what to do to her while she was awake. It wasn't as if she could do it herself, since that would be crossing the line of what she could and couldn't do.

"Merlin, I am not trying to insult you or ruffle your feathers. In my time, medicine has far advanced anything you could even dream of. There are creatures that humans make out of the same metals we make swords out of that perform precise surgeries for us now. And we are able to make other organs through minimal work and effort. Trust me when I tell you that what I am going to guide you through will save many lives. I'm not a doctor back home. I don't specialize in that. So, what I am going to tell you is common information that everyone learns. Alright?" Artie hoped that unruffled him slightly, and it seemed to work. Even Sir Kay and Sir Percy seemed interested.

"Alright, I'll believe you, but not in the creatures. That sounds too far-fetched."

"More far fetched than fairies or magical swords?" He frowned at her comeback.

"You make a point, Sire, and I hate it. Now tell me more about this procedure before Moira gets back."

Artie did just that. She spent about 20 minutes going over everything with Merlin, and by the time that Moira got back with the things that she had requested, Merlin seemed far more calm about it, but just as confused.

"I'm to run the needle through fire? Explain that one to me again?" Artie sighed for the thousandth time.

"Merlin, once again, we cannot see these creatures with the naked eye, but they live on everything. If we run it through a flame, we are effectively eliminating them so that they will not infect my wound. That is what attacks people and livestock and makes them sick. Trust me on this." He huffed, and Sir Percy chuckled. He'd overheard this exchange quite a few times already. Sir Kay had brought over the wooden table with a porcelain top that Merlin had requested while Sir Percy had stayed in the room with them.

Moira joined them as Merlin began laying out all the tools that she had asked for. Artie didn't know how to make half of the medical solutions used in surgeries, so hard alcohol was going to have to work. As soon as Artie was lying on her back on the bed, the two hovering around her, she grabbed for the leather belt and held it like a lifeline in her hands. She knew the other two were nervous, especially Moira who had missed the explanation. Hell, everyone in the room was. Sir Kay and Sir Percy still remained, even with their backs turned. This was a serious situation, and Artie was doing her best as well to remain calm.

"Remember what I told you. Through the flame, and then start to clean the wound." Merlin nodded, before following her instructions. Artie put the leather belt in her mouth, holding down on it as he worked. It was an awful, grating feeling. If they had been able to take photos, Artie would have asked for one to see how bad the damage looked from their side. She knew that was a pipe dream, but it was something to think about besides the feeling of them poking around near her wound.

Everything was unbearable as soon as they began working with the needle. Artie had to force herself not to scream, or pass out from the pain. They were inexperienced, and had no idea what they were doing, so it wasn't done with her pain in mind. Every once in a while Merlin would ask her a question and she'd have to fight through the haze of pain to answer him. She was unaware of Moira wiping sweat away from her brow as Merlin worked away. Artie had to explain sewing to Merlin since he'd never held a needle in his life, and after a few minutes of Artie in severe pain, Moira kicked Merlin out and took over. She asked what kind of stitch Artie wanted and Artie explained it. Moira, with deft hands, took over. The texture threw her for a loop, but once she grew accustomed to it, she was quick and efficient. Merlin watched her, clearly impressed with her skill and let everyone else know. If Artie had been able to pay attention, she would have noticed a light blush touching Moira's cheeks. Unfortunately, she was semi-delirious from pain. The other handmaiden took over wiping Artie's brow without any prodding on Moira's part and Artie wanted to sigh. It was supposed to be the other way around, so that the doctor who was working on the patient's sweat didn't get in the wound, but she was too exhausted to voice her concerns.

Soon, the wound was closed up with a few of Merlin's awful stitches at the top, and Moira's expert ones finishing it off. The two were quite impressed with themselves, and Artie gave them a tired smile in return.

"Remember, only a gentle, damp cloth to clean the wound at first. Then a quick finisher of a cloth damp with alcohol to kill the germs." Merlin nodded at Artie's slightly slurred words. She remained conscious long enough to look over the pair who had performed the first of this kind of surgery in this time, covered in her blood, and clearly pleased with each other. Artie closed her eyes, a slight smile on her face and her body went lax. After covering her up in the sheets, Sir Kay and Sir Percy joined the two of them to look over their new King.

"She lasted quite a bit longer than I thought she would." Sir Percy admitted, brushing a lock of her hair away from her face. Sir Kay frowned, but said nothing. Merlin sighed.

"She did. Most knights pass out as soon as a needle pierces their skin. Maybe we should enforce the flame method." Moira snorted, and began cleaning up the mess.

"Or maybe the new King is just that impressive." If Artie had heard their conversation, she would have protested that she wasn't impressive, but a perfectionist. Those were two different things.