A/N: All right, I'm putting this chapter up a little bit earlier that I had planned because I couldn't have anyone being "very, very upset" - ariacle ;) and because Yukka Sam asked so nicely!

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review, folks; it's really very nice of you!

Having said that, this chapter isn't going to give you very many answers, but I promise they're coming.

Cheers

Chapter 4. Like Magic

Merlin couldn't understand. He was suspended in mid-air, struggling for breath, his lungs beginning to scream with pain. Arthur was holding him there even while his arms were limp by his side, his fists clenched. His eyes were still gleaming; earthy, golden light leaping from them in a way that spoke to Merlin's soul. He was entranced, unable to look away from this astonishing and appalling sight. And yet he had to. The sides of his vision were beginning to turn fuzzy and black.

"Arthur," Merlin managed to choke out, or something like it. "Arthur, please."

He knew he needed to find a way out of this, but inside his head all he could hear was his own voice repeating the same thing over and over again: 'Arthur's using magic, Arthur's using magic'. It wasn't until the voice changed to the more motivating observation of 'Arthur's trying to kill me with magic', that Merlin was provoked into taking some real action.

"Áhreddinge," he hissed, summoning what little energy he had left and channelling it all into the spell.

Instantly, he felt the magical coils around his neck release and he fell to the floor. Gasping for breath, he rolled onto his side so that he could see Arthur in case he had to be ready to defend himself. Instead, he saw the prince sway slightly before collapsing to the ground, taking with him a stack of freshly polished armour which had been sitting on a side table.

Merlin leapt to his feet, his head spinning a little in the process. "Arthur!"

He was at his side quickly, one hand tentatively touching the large lump that was already forming on the prince's brow. Arthur's eyes were closed and his sallow complexion looked worse than ever. Merlin was considering a quick healing spell when a loud bang on the door assaulted his already frazzled nerves.

"Your Highness?" a male voice called out. "Is everything all right?"

Merlin quickly weighed up his options. "No!" he called out after a moment. "Can we get some help?"

The door swung open and two guards walked in. "We were passing and heard a crash," the first began, before his eyes picked out the unconscious prince lying sprawled on the floor. "What happened?"

"The Prince is unwell," Merlin told them, his hands slipping under Arthur's head to lift it from the stone floor. "Fetch Gaius."

The guards exchanged a quick glance before one hurried out of the room. Together, Merlin and the other guard lifted Arthur awkwardly and carried him to his bed. Then Merlin set about extricating Arthur from his chainmail, his eyes frequently examining the pallid face upon the pillow which, though sickly, looked so much more familiar without the wild energy which had scared Merlin so much only minutes earlier.

Gaius hurried to the bed and examined the swelling on Arthur's head only briefly before looking across at Merlin, who was perched on the opposite side.

"What happened?" he asked, a mystified tone to his voice. "He looks appalling."

Merlin raised his eyebrows. "He, er, fainted and hit his head," he supplied, before pursing his lips and trying to make his nods towards the nearby guard as subtle as possible.

Gaius looked across at his charge for a long moment, one eyebrow lifted in confusion, before he caught Merlin's drift.

"Yes, well, I'm sure this is no cause for concern. Thank you for your help," he said, turning towards the guard who was still lingering near. "You may return to your patrol."

The guard seemed slightly hesitant. "Should I notify the King of his son's illness?"

"No!" Merlin cried impulsively.

Gaius threw him a quick look of incredulity. "No, that won't be necessary," he said smoothly, smiling cheerfully at the guard. "I shall inform the King myself shortly."

The guard nodded, satisfied with that, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Now, what did you do?" Gaius demanded, turning back to Merlin.

"Me? No, it wasn't me."

"Hmm." Gaius peered closely at Arthur's head. "You know, I think it might be frowned upon to knock the Crown Prince unconscious."

Merlin pressed his lips together and leant over the bed towards Gaius. "He picked me up by the neck and lifted me up in the air..."

"Why? What had you done?"

"No, you're not listening Gaius."

"It would be a lot easier to listen if you'd get to the point," Gaius countered, turning around to dig something from his bag.

"Fine!" Merlin exclaimed, knowing he'd have Gaius' full attention in a moment. "Arthur picked me up by the neck with magic."

Gaius turned around quickly and stared at the young man opposite him. "He did what?"

"Arthur used magic," Merlin repeated.

"Shhh," Gaius hissed, with a glance around towards the door. "Merlin, think about what you're saying. How could that possibly have happened?"

"I don't know, Gaius, but it did. He nearly killed me!"

Gaius shook his head. "No. There must be some mistake."

"You wouldn't be saying that if it'd been you hanging up there near the ceiling," Merlin snapped. "Besides..."

A groan from Arthur brought them both up short and they turned their attention back to the Prince as his eyes flickered open and his hand went to his head.

"What happened?" His voice came thick and forced.

"You hit your head, Sire," Gaius said, with a cautioning look across at Merlin.

"How did I do that?"

"Merlin says you fainted."

"No, Merlin doesn't," Merlin protested.

Arthur ignored his manservant. "I don't faint," he muttered scornfully, doing his best to sit up and failing.

"And I suppose you don't magic your servants up in the air while you magically choke them, either, do you?" Merlin cried, ignoring Gaius' groan of annoyance.

"What?" Arthur demanded incredulously. "Merlin, have you lost your mind?"

Merlin gave a shout of disbelief.

"Merlin, that's quite enough," Gaius admonished, his eyes reflecting his shock. "I don't know what's got into you. Have you been on the mead?"

Merlin held his hands up in the air, frustration written all over his face.

"Hold still, Sire," Gaius murmured, throwing Merlin one more frown before leaning in towards Arthur's injured forehead with a cloth and a jar of ointment.

But Arthur was still staring at Merlin and wanted none of Gaius' attention.

"Not now, Gaius," he said, swatting at the physician's hands. "What can you mean by such an accusation, Merlin?"

"You're trying to tell me you don't have magic?" Merlin asked, folding his arms tightly over his chest.

"Of course I don't have magic," Arthur shouted, pushing again at Gaius' persistent hands. "I said not now, Gaius!"

A bright flash of light lit up the room, a sharp crack sounded and Gaius cried out in pain, dropping the ointment and pulling his hands back towards his chest.

Arthur gasped in shock.

"You...You..." Gaius stuttered, his eyes wide open as he stared at the Prince. "I don't believe it."

Arthur scrambled up into a sitting position. "I...I didn't. It wasn't me," he choked.

Gaius rubbed his hands to ease his painful fingers and looked across at Merlin.

"It was you, Arthur," Merlin said quietly. "Are you saying you didn't mean to do that?"

"No!" Arthur's hands were shaking as they lay in his lap. "Of course I didn't. I would never..."

A crash on the other side of the room made all three jump and they looked over to see a second goblet fly off the floor and crash against the far wall. Merlin spun back around and saw Arthur's eyes, widened with fear, swirling like two pools of molten gold. A third crash behind him was followed by a fourth and a fifth. Merlin looked desperately across at Gaius, whose jaw was hanging loose.

"Arthur, calm down." Merlin fought to keep the excitement from his voice. "You need to stop this. Someone's going to hear."

Arthur seemed completely lost for words now and his chest was heaving with each breath. The breastplate that had been lying on the floor with the rest of the fallen armour now flew off the ground and crashed into the screen in the corner of the room. Merlin exchanged frantic looks with Gaius and winced as a gauntlet swept overhead and slammed against the wall.

"Arthur, stop!" Gaius demanded, his voice as authoritative as Merlin had ever heard it. "You must stop this now. Calm down. Everything is going to be all right."

"That's right," Merlin echoed, kneeling on the bed and reaching out to hold Arthur by the shoulders. "Everything's going to be all right, Arthur, honestly. Just calm down, please."

Arthur nodded silently, his expression close to terrified, and Merlin watched as his eyes faded gradually back to their normal blue. Merlin let out a slow sigh of relief.

Gaius sat back heavily in the chair by the bed and stared at the two young men before him, dumbstruck.

"This can't be happening," Arthur murmured, speaking for all of them.

Merlin patted him lightly on the shoulder and was about to speak when the sound of voices caught his ear. Jumping up from the bed he hurried to the door and opened it just enough to take a look along the corridor. Then he closed it quickly and turned to the other two with a panicked expression on his face.

"Uther," he hissed.

Instantly, a dozen items from around the room soared into the air.

"We can't let him see Arthur like this!" Gaius cried, aghast, ducking as a plate whizzed past his ear.

Merlin thought quickly. "A sleeping draught! Give him a sleeping draught!" he cried, launching himself towards the bed.

Gaius searched frantically through his bag as the voices drew neared before pulling out a small jar. "Here!"

Merlin snatched the bottle from the physician and his fingers fumbled briefly with the stopper.

"Arthur," he cried, finally getting the jar open. "You need to drink this."

The Prince turned to look at him, warily. For a second Merlin worried that he was about to be hoisted up into the air again, but he swallowed his trepidation and did his best to smile at his master. "Drink it, Arthur. We'll fix this, I promise, but right now we need you to not to be awake when Uther gets here."

He raised his eyebrows in a hopeful gesture and raised the jar to Arthur's lips. A second later, Arthur gripped the jar himself and poured the liquid down his throat. Merlin knelt back and stared back at Arthur. Without warning and within seconds of each other, Arthur slumped to his side, the airborne objects fell to the floor, and King Uther strode in the door.

Merlin hurriedly pulled the blankets over Arthur and set his head comfortably on the pillow while Gaius moved to meet the King at the door. Then he sprang to his feet by the bed and waited while the two men talked.

Uther listened attentively to Gaius and when he was finished speaking moved quickly to his son's bedside and lowered himself into the chair.

"Do we know the cause of this illness?" he asked, regarding his son closely.

"Not yet, my lord," Gaius murmured. "But I will begin treating him for his symptoms while we look further into the cause."

Uther reached out and brushed the hair tenderly back from his son's forehead. "And he has been unconscious since he hit his head?"

"That's correct, Sire," Gaius confirmed, glancing quickly at Merlin, who was trying to remain inconspicuous at the foot of the bed.

Uther sat silently for a moment, his head tilted to one side as he looked down at his son. "Arthur, can you hear me?" he murmured softly, cupping the Prince's face with his hand. "It's your father."

Arthur's head moved on the pillow and a quiet groan escaped his lips. Merlin winced; the draught had not had long to take effect. He looked across at Gaius and was surprised to see the old man's eyes wide with horror. Merlin followed his line of sight and saw a large pewter jug rising up from the bedside table and hovering unsteadily over the King. Nearly tripping over in his haste to intercept it, Merlin edged along behind Uther, and lunged at the jug just as if was about to fling itself at the back of Uther's head. Sensing the movement behind him, Uther looked around and frowned as he saw his son's manservant holding a jug aloft.

"Thirsty, my lord?" Merlin queried, thinking fast.

Uther shook his head and threw the boy a confused look before turning back to his son. Merlin rolled his eyes at Gaius and ran a hand over his face, thoroughly mortified.

"I'll leave him in your care," Uther announced, standing and giving Merlin one more reproving glare, which was met with a wide smile.

Gaius nodded respectfully. "I'll send word the moment he wakes, Sire."

"Make sure he has everything he needs," Uther directed Merlin, as he began to walk to the door, where Sir Leon was waiting for him. Halfway there, however, he paused and looked about him at the objects scattered all over the floor. "And for goodness' sake, tidy this room," he ordered. "It's a mess."

"Of course, Sire," Merlin murmured.

The door closed behind him and Merlin and Gaius both moaned in relief.

"Well," said Merlin, collapsing into the chair recently vacated by Uther, the pewter jug still in his hand, "that was easy."

Gaius shook his head and laughed from sheer disbelief.

"Now if we can just make sure Arthur is unconscious anytime Uther is in the room, it'll be fine." Merlin laughed. But he couldn't sustain it. He clutched at his dark hair with his free hand. "Gaius, what are we going to do?"