A/N: Hello all. Chapter 3 up for you all. Many thanks again for all your review, keep em coming. Enjoy...
Chapter 3
Gwen studied the vial and its contents carefully, watching the liquid slosh around as she gently agitated the bottle. She smiled, looking at the skull and cross bones on the label; remembering this was the poison that Merlin had once used to try and kill the lady Morgana. The thought sent her into blinding anger. She wanted to do nothing more than strangle the warlock in front of her, right there and then, but that would be far too obvious. She uncorked the vial; she was going to savor the moment she killed Arthur's pesky servant.
"What's that?" A voice came from the doorway and Guinevere's head spun in the direction to meet Sir Gwaine's suspicious face.
"Just a tonic Gaius has prescribed him for the pain." The Queen smiled, turning back and ensuring the label was covered fully with her hand she proceeded to tip the vial closer to Merlin's lips. The liquid reached the rim and two drops contacted with the servants lips, sliding outward and then down his pale cheek, not reaching their desired destination. Suddenly Gwaine's gloved hand clasped tightly onto Gwen's wrist.
"What are you doing?" The rough knight growled, forcing her hand backward and away from Merlin's prone form.
"I told..."
"This is deadly hemlock!" Gwaine snatched the vial from her grip.
"So it is." Gwen plastered a look of alarm over the anger simmering under the surface. "I must have been mistaken!" She stood. "I was so sure this was the vial Gaius had told me to give, and I nearly killed him," she joked. "Thank God you were here to stop me." She flustered about and went back over to the vial stash, looking through them.
"Perhaps you meant to give it?" Gwaine did not move from the spot; he eyed her with suspicion.
"What?" Gwen rounded on her heels, this time the look of pure anger clear on her face.
"How dare you! I would never hurt Merlin; we've been friends for years."
"That's what worries me!" The Knight's hard set look told her that he didn't believe a word she had to say. He stepped forward, towering over her threateningly, "So I ask you again. What were you doing?"
Gwen shook her head, "I told you I was mistaken."
"Then we shall see what Arthur has to say about this." Gwaine latched onto her arm, dragging her towards the door. She resisted, struggling in his grip, the vial dropped and it made a shrill pop as it smashed on the flagstones.
"Arthur?" Merlin's weak voice came from the bed, and it was enough of a distraction for Gwen to pull free from his grip, her dress sleeve tearing in the process.
"Guards!" she shouted, racing to the door, Gwaine in tow, red faced and irate. He grabbed her again as she tried to escape the room, just as two burly guards rounded the corner.
"Help!" Guinevere pulled weakly on the Knight's grip in an attempt to look overpowered. The sentinels quickened their pace, they grabbed Gwaine around the arms, forcing them away from Gwen and behind his back.
"This knight was molesting me!" The Queen pointed, "Inform the King, and take him to the dungeons!"
Gwaine struggled wildly in the guard's grip but failed. He said nothing for a moment, his face contorting in unimaginable anger. They pulled him backwards down the corridor, Gwen smirked and made for the physicians chambers.
"Don't you dare touch Merlin!" Gwaine bellowed from down the corridor just as he disappeared.
The Queen reentered the physician's chamber, a smug look gracing her features, she stared at the smashed vial in the middle of the floor.
"What is going on?" Gaius pulled her away from her thoughts suddenly. The old man appeared in the doorway, breathless, holding a large bunch of mixed herbs and bagged powders.
"Oh, Gaius!" Gwen's face melted into worry, "Gwaine, he... he was trying to poison Merlin!" She pointed to the vial of hemlock, now smashed on the floor, the label still very much readable. The physician eyed it with suspicion.
"Where is Arthur," was all he replied, keeping his voice steady and calm against the concern underneath.
"I sent him to retire to his chambers, but when I returned, Gwaine was trying to give the poison to Merlin!" The Queen wrung her hands in anticipation of the old man's reaction, but Gaius did not give her the satisfaction.
"Then I suggest you retire as well" Gaius set the herbs down on the bench and began to work, pulling leaves off of some plants and slicing others, filling a nearby pestle. "It sounds like the castle is not safe tonight; I will find you a guard to escort you" Gaius gave her a pointed look, his eye brow hitched high, eyes examining her false face with skepticism.
"That will not be necessary." Guinevere smiled and bowed, "You know the King's chambers is not a three minute walk from here." She headed to the door, slightly nonplussed at the fact she was being made to leave. "Please inform us of any change." She skirted out the door and away into the night.
The moment she left, Gaius rushed to the bedside of his ward, studying the warlock's face carefully. "Merlin?"
The warlock groaned and shifted on the cot, brows furrowing in discomfort. Gaius studied his lips closely, hastily wiping away the residue of hemlock and flecks of blood which were still evident.
"Merlin. You need to wake up my lad." the physician gently nudged the mans shoulders and his patient groaned again, "Merlin?"
"Gaius?" The servant smacked his lips together, in an attempt to rid them of their dryness. He kept his eyes tightly closed knowing the thumping headache would not be so bearable once a crack of light hit his retinas. He could feel his muscles aching but thankfully he could feel the soft cushioned bed beneath him. He hazarded a guess that he was in his chambers, considering the smell of herbs and spices around him. "What happened?" he choked out.
Gaius brought a fresh cup of water to his ward's lips. "I was hoping you could tell me?"
Merlin took a large gulp of the liquid and then let out a pained moan as he raised himself on his elbows slowly and shakily. Gaius held him steady as his body let out another shudder, but refused to open his eyes "Gwen." He said with a croak.
"I thought as much." Gaius placed the cup down, feeling his ward's burning forehead. "But what about these last two days?"
"Ah," the warlock cracked a small smile which the physician refused to mirror, "Turns out Morgana knows exactly how to lure me out into the middle of nowhere." He shuddered again, letting Gaius push him back into the soft bed gently.
"And what happened while you were in the middle of nowhere?" Gaius pulled the pestle and mortar back into his grasp and began to crush the contents in haste.
"She poisoned me."
Gaius nodded, his face paling. He quickly added more herbs, water and mixed hastily in a bid to rid his thoughts of the image of his boy; poisoned and laying helpless in the forest alone.
"How did you get back to Camelot?"
"Daegal," Merlin's words slurred a little, "He gave me something just in time and I made my way back here, but seems I haven't been completely healed."
The physician hummed in response, he tipped the green substance he had made into a small cup and added a tiny dash of liquor from a small collection of bottles. He gently placed the mixture into the servant's hand and pushed it towards his mouth. "This will help." Merlin complied, downing the liquid in one go with a grimace at the taste.
"Thank you" Merlin let out a sigh, relaxing back into the bed.
"You are not out of the woods yet my boy." Gaius turned his attention to the warlock's leg wound, removing the now stained and dirty dressing. "If Gwen is so intent on finishing you off, then you are no longer safe, even in my chambers it seems."
The servant let out an incoherent mumble before pulling himself to the side and retching over the edge of the bed.
"Merlin?" Gaius face grew grave; he cupped the man's face and quickly wiped his lips clean of saliva and blood. The warlock groaned and twitched involuntarily, the physician held him steady as a convulsion passed as quickly as it came.
"Gaius?" The warlock's voice was quieter and weaker this time. "I think I'm dying from the inside out."
If it was possible, Gaius's face became even graver.
