Thank you so much for all of you who have reviewed so far-means a lot to me!

this chapter is my celebrationary chapter for passing my theory test this morning! wanted to celebrate in some way so what better than up loading a new chapter!?! :)

The door to the kitchen burst open with an almighty crash, making Mary spin around quickly, spilling stew in her haste. The sight in the doorway made her scream in shock, her hand covering her mouth. Framed in the doorway, a young man draped in a blue cloak stood, littered with numerous cuts. In his arms, another figure was lying, unconscious. He was also covered in injuries, but the trademark clothes were enough to send the old cook sprinting across the kitchen as fast as her legs would carry her.

"Oh my goodness. Merlin! What on earth happened?"

"I'm not sure," the young man responded, making Mary look at him in surprise. She was certain that it was the same man that had been in here earlier with Merlin. What was his name? Oh, of course, Archie. But yet, Mary couldn't figure out how an ordinary servant could speak so properly. Now she started to think about it, there was something familiar about him…

"We got in a bit of a fight earlier, but he was fine after that. One minute we were talking, and the next…" Arthur motioned to the unconscious figure in his arms. The boy was so ridiculously light that it required no effort at all on Arthur's behalf to carry him.

In order to allow Mary a closer look at him, the prince laid him out on a nearby table. Mary took one long look at him and shook her head, a sad light in her eyes. Sighing, she collected a small bowl of water and a cloth and set about washing the cuts on Merlin's face. With the blood wiped away, the cuts didn't look as bad, but it showed just how pale he was.

"Shall I fetch Gaius?" Arthur asked, desperate to be able to do something to help his friend. He looked so small and vulnerable lying there. It gave Arthur the desire to stand guard and prevent anything bad from ever happening to him again.

"He isn't here," Mary responded, sending Arthur another puzzled look. Arthur could practically see the clogs turning as she tried to place where she had seen him before and why he had suddenly found his voice from earlier. "Gaius went away three days ago to the outer villages. They have some sort of disease there and the king was worried that it would spread to the city if not treated. That's why Merlin is unconscious."

"Because Gaius isn't here?" it was Arthur's turn to be puzzled. He knew that the two of them were close. In fact, how often had he envied their relationship, as it was so much closer than his own with his father. But yet, just because they were close didn't explain why Merlin was lying unconscious on a kitchen table.

"Yes," Mary replied, the sadness in her eyes deepening as she looked upon the still form in front of her. "Merlin can't cook, and Gaius hasn't been here to make sure that he's been eating. Even when Gaius is here, apparently Merlin is often so busy that he forgets at least one meal a day. And with no one to remind him for the last three days…"

As her voice trailed off, Arthur looked at his friend, horrified. Why hadn't the idiot said something about not having eaten? For goodness sake, he had sat and watched Arthur demolish his breakfast only a few hours ago, not saying a word about being hungry. But with a start, Arthur realised that he had been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed any expression on Merlin's face, let alone if he had said anything.

"Excuse me," he said suddenly standing. He quickly made his way out of the kitchen, shutting the door carefully behind him. With the sounds of the hustle and bustle sealed off, Arthur couldn't control his emotions any longer. Leaning back on the wood of the door, the prince was as surprised as anyone when hot tears started falling.

He felt so guilty for not having noticed the state that Merlin was in. He also felt responsible. If he hadn't pushed him so far, then the servant would not have forgotten to eat. At the end of the day, Arthur knew it was because of him that Merlin was in the weak state that he was in and yet he still had the cheek to call his servant his best friend.

As he stood there, his mind in chaos, he didn't notice Morgana round the corner. She took one look at him and rushed over, throwing her arms around him and holding him close, the way that she had comforted him many times when they were younger. Her presence made Arthur open up even more and soon he found himself practically sobbing into her shoulder.

"What is it, Arthur?" she murmured softly into his blonde hair. "Are you alright? Is Merlin okay?"

Immediately she knew that she had hit on the problem as Arthur stiffened and drew away.

"No," he said somewhat angrily, "he isn't alright. He's lying in there, unconscious, because I was a prat. How could I have not noticed that he wasn't eating? What kind of friend does that make me when I only know that something is wrong when he collapses on me?"

Morgana stared at him, startled. She too had noticed how thin Merlin was, but never to the extent that she didn't realise that he hadn't been eating.

"He needs you in there, Arthur," she told him, anxious to make him realise that this wasn't his fault. "He needs you, not as whoever you're pretending to be today, not as his master, but as his friend. Now, go on, get in there."

Morgana watched with satisfaction as her words did the trick. Arthur seemed to straighten and his head lifted, revealing the prince within. He threw the cloak away from him, squared his shoulders and marched through the kitchen doors, back in control of the situation. Smiling softly to herself, Morgana continued her search for Gwen. That girl was hiding something as well, that was for sure.

Mary had finished cleaning up Merlin as best as she could and sat back watching his still body. She knew that the only thing that she could do was to wait until he woke up and then make sure that he ate something. She felt angry with the boy for letting things get this bad, but also with his master. The two of them spent most of their time in each other's company, yet the prince seemed not to have noticed that anything was wrong.

Just as the thoughts flickered through her head, the door burst open once again, and who should walk in, but the crown Prince of Camelot? Mary jumped to her feet and curtsied deeply, blushing all the while. She felt as if she had committed treason just by thinking the thoughts that had gone through her head, but to have the prince walk in on her now was not what she needed when she felt so angry with him.

Ignoring the cook, Arthur strode past her and crouched down by Merlin's side.

"Come on, you idiot," Arthur told him, not caring who was around to hear. "How could you do this to yourself and not tell me? How could I have not noticed? You have to wake up and eat, or so help me, I will make you!"

Listening to the prince speak to his servant, Mary felt some of her anger start to ebb away. His tone was not one of a master who was annoyed because they were wasting the day, but one of a friend.

Watching him closely, the cook could make out the signs of some early bruising coming out on his jaw, along with a trickle of dried blood from his temple. Frowning, she looked again. The injuries were in exactly the same place as those of that mysterious Archie. As the prince shifted position, realisation dawned of her.

"Sire!" she gasped and then blushed even deeper when Arthur turned to look at her. "You're…he…you…" taking a deep breath, the cook looked the prince straight in the eye. "You're Archie, aren't you?"

"Ha ha," a weak chuckle came from in between Arthur and Mary, causing them both to jump in surprise. "I told you that you wouldn't be able to make it through the morning."

"I didn't realise that collapsing was all part of a trick to show me up," Arthur responded lightly, a smile threatening to split his features in two while Merlin struggled to sit up. As the young warlock swung his legs around off the table, Mary hurried forward with a bowl of stew.

"Eat this," she told him, handing it to him along with a spoon, the concern evident on her face. "I'm not letting you out of my kitchen until you have."

Merlin took the bowl offered with heartfelt thanks. Watching him eat, Arthur realised that he was having trouble to maintain sitting up, so slipped himself on the table. Sitting directly behind Merlin, Arthur allowed him to lean back, supporting what little weight he had. Mary watched them both fondly, before something dawned on her, making her gasp again.

"Sire! I cannot say how sorry I am. You must think me to be dreadful; I didn't really mean those things that I said about you earlier. Honest, milord! I was just angry at the time."

Arthur smiled at her, shifting his position slightly as Merlin continued to gobble down the food.

"Don't be. In fact, I owe you thanks. It is because of your honesty that I was able to find out what was going on with all of the servants and the situations that they keep getting themselves in. Merlin here doesn't tell me anything. At all. Even when it concerns his own health!"

At Arthur's angry tone, Merlin looked up from the bowl sheepishly.

"I didn't not tell you. I just…well…I just forgot, okay!"

Arthur sighed and rolled his eyes, but failed to keep the grin off his face. He was too relieved that Merlin was awake again to be angry at him. That would just have to be saved for another time, when he was feeling better.

"You could have at least told me that Gaius was away. Honestly, Merlin, only you could forget to eat for three days in a row. Weren't you hungry at all?"

Merlin decided that it was probably safer to not answer Arthur's question. In all honesty, no, he had not been hungry. He had been so busy that food hadn't actually crossed his mind. The tear tracks down Arthur's cheeks made him think that it wouldn't go down well telling him that now.

Hopping down from the table, Merlin looked at Arthur expectantly. Whilst Mary, bless her heart, had cleaned up his own cuts whilst he had been unconscious, Arthur still had blood running down his face. If the king caught him like that…

"Come on, Sire. We should get you back to your room and cleaned up before the king finds you."

Arthur groaned at the mention of his father, but climbed down from the table nevertheless. He knew that Merlin was right. Again. And that it was only a childish part of him that had rebelled against his father earlier. The bigger, more mature part of him – although Merlin would certainly question that – knew that walking around the castle covered in blood was a quick way to stir up a panic.

The two of them thanked Mary for all her help, not missing how badly she was blushing as she tried to curtsy to Arthur on his way out. As they left the kitchen, Arthur bent down and plucked something from the shadows, ignoring Merlin's puzzled glance.

Donning the cape, Arthur almost let out a sigh of relief. Something that the morning had taught him was how nice it was to be able to walk around the castle without everyone jumping up to bow or scurry out of the way. Arthur had surprised himself with how much he had enjoyed being simply a servant; it seemed a lot less confusing.

The prince decided to let Merlin lead back to his room. Although he was sure that he would be able to find the way, he really wanted the warlock in front of him at all times so that he would notice if anything happened.

Luckily, Merlin managed to get to Arthur's chambers with only stumbling once. To his surprise, as soon as he felt his footing slip, Arthur's arm immediately snaked across his chest, holding him upright. He refused to let go until Merlin was once again steady, but said not a word throughout the whole incident.

When they reached the room, Merlin found himself pushed into Arthur's chair and a bowl of something shoved down in front of him.

"Where did you get that from?" the puzzled Merlin asked, not missing the smug grin that was spreading across Arthur's face.

"From the kitchens, where else? As it's for you, I'm sure Mary won't mind. She seems to have a soft spot for you, Merlin. Now, eat."

Knowing from experience that it was pointless to try and argue with Arthur when he used that tone of voice, Merlin obliged. Even after already having eaten one bowl of stew, it didn't take him long to demolish the second. Contented, he sat back in the chair, feeling as if he was going to explode.

"Another?" Arthur asked, watching him closely. Merlin could see the guilt in the prince's eyes and knew that for the next few days, at least, Arthur was going to be trying to force feed him. Shaking his head, Merlin opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off suddenly from an outburst outside of Arthur's door.

"ARTHUR PENDRAGON!" before either of them could move, Morgana burst like a hurricane through the door, her face furious. Gwen was hovering just outside, looking like she had been crying.

"Where is he? Where is the scum? I swear I'm going to kill him! How are you feeling, Merlin?"

The question caught Merlin off guard; he had been too busy watching the sparks fly from Morgana's eyes. Once again, before he had the chance to answer, Arthur cut in.

"Where is who? I'm hoping you have a good reason for this, Morgana. As you can see, Merlin is trying to eat."

Morgana spared once glance at Merlin, who looked at the empty bowl in front of him. Not that Arthur was trying to use him as a distraction because the fiery temper of the king's ward was scaring him. Not at all.

"Greg!" Morgana spat.

Realisation hit both boys at the same time. Gwen had told her mistress why Arthur had allowed her to pass judgement on him, and Morgana was not pleased. Anxious to try and defuse the situation before Morgana had to be arrested for murder, Arthur kept his tone cool.

"He is carrying out the punishment that Guinevere set for him. Rest assured, after he has been in the stocks for a month and then sacked, he will never set foot in this castle again."

Morgana looked slightly taken back that Arthur seemed to know exactly why she was so fired up. Turning on her heel, she shot Merlin one last glance before striding from the room, leaving a stunned silence in her wake. Merlin had seen her angry before, but this seemed to be way beyond anything that even Arthur had experienced.

For a few moments, they both simply sat there, Arthur perching on the edge of his bed.

"The situation is going to change around here," Arthur announced suddenly, causing Merlin to look up at him quickly. "I'm going to make sure that the servants get at least an afternoon off per week. If they alternate, then we won't exactly be short staffed.

And I want you, Merlin, to be my spy. Anything going on like the Greg situation and you report it to me immediately. I don't want something like this happening again, it was too out of control."

Merlin smiled softly. He would have never have guessed that a simple bet would have made Arthur so determined to change things. He thought that he had seen every side that there was to Arthur, but apparently not.

"You know something, Sire," he began cheekily. "You lost the bet. That means that I can have the afternoon off today whilst you muck out your own horses."