A/N: Hey guys, A Price to Pay is now being beta'd by Caldera32 :) so yeah, gone are the days of bad grammar. Chapters 1 to 3 have already been updated, and here is chapter 4.
The next morning Arthur was at the door to Gaius' quarters bright and early. After a tense night of wakefulness (every time he closed his eyes he saw Merlin blue and convulsing) he had gotten up as soon as he deemed acceptable. Of course, there had been no manservant to bumble in and open his curtains with a chirpy comment about new days – which, although Arthur had always found it annoying, today he sorely missed.
After a moment of hesitation, he opened the door and entered.
Gaius was pulling a wooden box off the shelves with slow movements that suggested tiredness. Not seeming to notice the prince, he placed his burden on the table and slid off the lid before taking out a small glass vial.
"That's the same as the one Sir Howard trod on," Arthur realised with a start, surprising Gaius and almost making the old man drop the draught.
"Sire!" The physician exclaimed in surprise. "I didn't see you there." He paused as though processing what Arthur had said, then comprehension lit his eyes.
"Gaius?" Gwen called from Merlin's room, and Arthur found himself scowling. It wasn't fair that she had known when he hadn't.
The old man hurried off to his ward's room, glancing at the prince with a stern look that clearly meant 'stay here'.
Arthur ignored the message, following Gaius up the steps as soon as the physician had entered Merlin's room. It was when he was confronted with the firmly closed door that he accepted he couldn't just storm in uninvited - no matter how much he wanted to.
Arthur was intelligent enough to realise this was a delicate situation, so he decided to hover at the other side of the door and eavesdrop instead. What had that ridiculous servant of his turned him into? He wondered with a sigh as he pressed his ear firmly against the door.
"Gaius? He had another minor. I know you said he couldn't have his medication twice in twenty-four hours, but surely–"
"He can take it now. I've discovered the reason for his mysterious worsening – it seems he didn't take his dose yesterday. A knight trod on the vial."
Gwen let out a little gasp which sounded oddly relieved. "Thank goodness! I mean, not that he didn't get his medicine – that's awful – but he'll be alright now, won't he?"
Arthur felt extremely confused. Merlin took medication? That was what was in that little vial? But why, if this had happened before, was Gwen so relieved that there was a simple explanation?
"Why didn't he come straight to you after they got back?" Gwen continued, and the prince could hear the frown in her voice.
The physician heaved a sigh. "I'm sure we can both guess," he said in a vaguely annoyed tone. Arthur shrank back from the door as he realised it was his fault.
He sat down on the top step, head in his hands. He remembered how confused Merlin had been acting yesterday morning and how he had teased him for it. How he had forced the poor boy to come back to his chambers; finding it amusing to stop his manservant from going to Gaius when he was clearly desperate to. I didn't know, Arthur told himself - but it wasn't working. He felt sorry. He didn't think he'd ever felt this sorry in his life.
He couldn't find the anger he had felt yesterday when he first discovered Merlin had lied to him, that they had all been concealing this from him. He knew there must have been a reason why they'd kept it from him, tried so hard to keep Merlin's condition hidden - but Arthur just couldn't work out what it might be.
It was a couple more minutes until Gaius opened the door to get Arthur only to find the prince sitting there morosely.
"Sire?" The physician placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Merlin's asleep, but you can go in and see him if you'd like." He didn't comment on the fact that Arthur had clearly been attempting to listen in on what was going on, and for that the prince was grateful.
"Yes," he answered shortly, standing up. "Thank you, Gaius." He turned around and went into the room.
Guinevere was sitting on a stool by Merlin's bed, holding his pale hand in hers. She was stroking the back of it subconsciously with her thumb.
Arthur cleared his throat uncomfortably and she looked up, eyes fierce.
"You should have let him come to Gaius," she told him in a hard tone, and Arthur looked down at his feet.
"I know," he replied meekly and Guinevere faltered, surprised. Perhaps she had thought he was going to argue.
There was an awkward silence before Arthur spoke again. "How is he?"
There must have been something in his voice because she visibly softened, and the next time she spoke her tone was sympathetic.
"He had several more seizures during the night. Gaius says he'll be alright, and now that we know the cause-" she paused, taking a deep breath, "well, hopefully they'll stop. They only get this bad if he doesn't take his medicine, but he always takes his medicine..."
"But Gaius said this had happened before," Arthur interrupted. 'Merlin's are usually about three minutes', that's what he had said. Arthur would never forget.
"Yes, but they're not normally this bad. Arthur, I'm not supposed to be telling you this - Merlin will want to explain it himself."
Arthur rolled his eyes impatiently. "Merlin is unconscious. I want to know what's going on - Gaius said I could talk to him in the morning!"
Gwen turned away from Arthur, looking back down at his manservant. Her hold on his hand tightened and she reached forward to brush a stray strand of hair from his forehead.
For the first time the prince took a good look at the boy in the bed. He felt his eyes widen in alarm. He hadn't realised how ill his friend looked. Merlin's skin was shockingly pale, tinted grey. He laid limp, eyes closed, and the hand that was held in Gwen's own was slack. If it wasn't for the steady rise and fall of his chest Arthur would have panicked.
"He's exhausted," Guinevere said gently, seeing the worry forming on Arthur's features. "As I said, he had more seizures during the night. Some were pretty bad. It took a lot out of him."
"Gaius said he would be alright," he said quietly. He didn't try to hide the vulnerability that slipped into his tone. He knew Guinevere would see right through him.
The maidservant sighed. "He will be. Gaius didn't realise he hadn't taken his medicine. Sometimes he has one or two at once, but never as many as..." she trailed off. "I told you, Arthur; I'm not the one who should be telling you this. I promised him I never would, you know. The first time I saw him fit he made me promise not to."
The prince didn't want to admit it, but he was hurt. Why was Merlin so insistent about hiding this from him? What on earth did the boy think he would do?
"Idiot," he muttered.
Both he and Guinevere were extremely surprised when a weak voice replied, "Prat."
They turned to the manservant, the maid in relief and the prince in apprehension.
"Merlin, you're awake!" Guinevere beamed at her friend as his eyes fluttered open. "Do you remember what happened? You came 'round a couple of times in the night, but I don't think you were completely aware."
The manservant offered her a small smile. "Probably not," his smile faltered. "The last I remember, I was in the forest..."
Guinevere squeezed his hand, and Arthur shuffled awkwardly.
"You came back from the trip with the others. Merlin, one of the knights stepped on the vial; you didn't take your medicine. You went back with Arthur to his quarters."
Merlin's eyes widened in alarm. "I didn't – he didn't see?"
Guinevere reached forward to take his other hand comfortingly. She didn't need to reply; Merlin could see the answer in her expression.
"No, no... no," the manservant whispered in horror, closing his eyes.
Arthur was feeling distinctly uncomfortable. "Merlin?" He asked tentatively and the boy's eyes shot open in alarm.
The prince turned to the maid in confusion, "But he spoke to me a moment ago - he called me a prat!"
Guinevere glanced at him before returning to comforting Merlin, who had tears in his eyes. "He gets confused sometimes, afterward. Do you want me to send Arthur away, Merlin?" She said gently.
Merlin hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head. "It's alright, Gwen. Can you get Gaius, please?" The maidservant nodded, rising. She gave Arthur a stern look before leaving the room.
Arthur took a step closer to the bed, and his friend sighed.
Then Merlin, taking a deep breath, told him everything. He told him about the seizures he had suffered as a child, how they had gotten worse, how his mother had despaired. That she created the herbal potion, and that he had taken it every day ever since - that it stopped the seizures for the most part but they still happened sometimes. He told him how Gaius had been told, how Gwen had found out, and that nobody else in Camelot knew.
When he had finished, his head had sunk into the pillows in exhaustion. Arthur was sitting on the stool by his side, having come closer and closer to his manservant as the tale went on.
"I think that's enough for today, Sire. You can come back tomorrow," Gaius instructed firmly, and the prince wondered how long the physician and maid had been standing there in the doorway. Probably since Merlin had begun talking.
"I'm leaving," Arthur nodded with a small smile, leaning forward to touch Merlin's shoulder. "Have the week off to rest. After that, we can discuss a revision of your duties."
The servant propped himself up with one arm. "What do you mean?" He asked quickly, ignoring Gwen's insistence that he lay back down.
"Obviously you're too ill to perform the normal duties of a manservant; I wish I'd known sooner. I can get George to do the chores where it would be a danger if you have a fit – and we'll have to find someone else to serve me whilst I'm on quests and patrols–"
"What? No!" Merlin protested. "I'm fine, Arthur! Nothing has changed now that you know; I can still do everything that I did before..." He trailed off when he saw Arthur shaking his head.
"Merlin," the prince spoke condescendingly, "let's be reasonable about this. If you were to have a fit whilst on a horse, or in the middle of nowhere where we couldn't get help, or in front of the royal court whilst you served me at a feast..."
The manservant was now shaking; whether from the physical exertion of holding himself up or in response to Arthur's words, the prince was not sure. He turned to the physician.
"Gaius," he said in a firm voice, "tend to your patient, and please help him to see sense." He turned around and walked out.
It was for Merlin's own good.
A/N: In the next chapter Merlin's condition will help Arthur and the knights get out of a sticky situation...
