Chapter Two

It had been a beautiful day when Merlin and Gauis had gone out walking to collect herbs. That had been Gauis' excuse anyway. He had seen the tired eyes and the slumped shoulders of Merlin and he had decided that a pleasant day outside would do them both a world of good. A small bag of food and the pleasant familiarity of the company made it a relaxing day for them both and Gauis could feel the weight of being Court Physician falling away from his shoulders. He could practically see it falling away from Merlin's shoulders as the sunlight and the fresh air became a tonic that had more effect than Gauis' own remedies. The boy became bright and bubbly again, talking nineteen-to-the-dozen about who only knew what, but Gauis revelled in it. His boy was losing the tired look about him with every step.

They had collected a few herbs by the time that Gauis looked at the position of the sun in the sky and declared that they should sit for a little bite to eat.

He had to admit that he felt quite sleepy afterwards so he leaned back and lay on the grass, knowing full well that he would need Merlin's help to get back up, but the lovely day and the pleasantness of the surroundings was too tempting.

He was just nodding off when he thought he felt his ears pop. He opened his eyes a crack, but as nothing seemed out of the ordinary and as he could hear Merlin snoring gently next to him, he smiled contentedly and closed his eyes again and fell asleep.