AN: Hello! I'm kind of being bad and updating this again before I work on my other story...

Sorry people who are reading other story, but there are just so much fewer of you, and I REALLY wanted to write this chapter. So, I did.

The title of this chapter was stolen from a song from the musical Were the World Mine. It is absolutely beautiful, and I totally recommend it if you like musicals. Its about a gay boy who lives in a conservative town so life kind of sucks. But when he is cast as Puck in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, things start to change. When his script helps him make a magic flower that can make anyone fall in love with the next person they see, he uses this flower to change his town, and open their eyes. It is absolutely wonderful, and Oh my god, Tanner Cohen can sing.

Anyhoo, story time! I hope you like this! And thank you all for the wonderful reviews and everything else! You guys are absolutely fabulous!

Finally, I don't own Merlin. Sorry if this comes as a surprise to you, but it really shouldn't

Chapter Four: The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth

Merlin was surprised that he had woken when it was still dark. He usually tried to stay awake during the day, so he would be prepared for any visitors who might come, but he would always try to sleep during the night, as he had never been bothered then. It took him a second to realize what had caused this sudden change of schedule, but it didn't take him long to figure out when he heard a very familiar voice coming from just outside the barred doors.

"Merlin."

Merlin coughed, and slowly pulled himself into a standing position, to keep from looking weak. "Morgana. What are you doing down here?"

"I can't come and check up on you, Merlin? I was just worried about my friend." She replied with a smirk. Merlin cringed at the harsh sarcasm of her words, but stayed silent. He didn't want to give her the satisfaction of responding.

"I really should thank you. With Arthur gone, Uther will have no choice but to name me heir to the throne. And with you locked up down here, no one will be able to stop me from taking what is rightfully mine."

Merlin glared at her before turning his back on the door and moving slowly back to his corner. When he got there he sat down, keeping his back to the door, and trying to ignore Morgana's voice as she continued, saying, "Awww, don't be like that Merlin. I just came to talk. I have to say, this is the first time I've been glad Uther gets so crazy about magic. You finally get put in your proper place without me having to tell Uther about what you did, all because he thinks you're helping a witch. Poor little Merlin who would do anything, even kill his friends in order to protect his prince, suspected of assisting a sorceress! Ha! It won't be long now till Uther's men find Arthur without your help. Then he will have no use for you, and you will die."

Merlin squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to think about the truth in her words. But, he didn't want to give Morgana the satisfaction of knowing that she had gotten to him, so he kept his back to her, and remained silent as said, "Have fun down here Merlin. I won't be back." and she turned and left the dungeons. After he was certain she was gone, he moved back into the position he had been in before she was gone, lying down with his back facing the door. He tried to fall asleep again, but he couldn't; Morgana's words and his coughing keeping him up through the night.

The journey back only took two days, as this time Arthur was travelling alone, was less worried about getting caught, and had the prospect of seeing Merlin again to keep him moving. He had been a little worried about what would happen when he re-entered the city, but it seemed those worries would go unfounded. As he walked through the gates on the afternoon of the second day, he heard people whispering, and saw people pointing, but the guards seemed too stunned by his sudden appearance to do anything, and they let him make his way up to see his father. A small group had gathered behind him when he finally reached the council chambers. It seemed that although none of the guards really knew what to do about his sudden appearance, none of them wanted to let him leave their sights and possibly disappear once more.

Arthur entered the council chambers with a flourish, pushing the doors aside dramatically and saying, "Father, I made a mistake. I hope you can accept my apologies."

"Arthur!" Uther said looking up from the maps and other papers scattered across the large table. "Where have you been? Did the witch harm you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, father." Arthur replied. "And Guinevere was not a witch. She was also enchanted by whoever left that poultice in my bed." Arthur had been thinking about what to tell his father when he returned, and had made up a whole story while he walked. "Apparently, the only cure was for one of us to be kissed by our true love. Luckily for us, Guinevere met hers, and the spell was broken. Now that I can see clearly without the enchantment clouding my vision, I would like to apologize for my behaviors and ask for your forgiveness."

"Magic has once again attempted to ruin our kingdom. This was not your fault, my son. Even I have fallen prey to love spells. I hope that in the future you will trust my judgment and not try to act against me."

"I will do my best, father. I am quite tired from my journey, do you mind if I retire?" Arthur asked, wanting to get away from his father and find Merlin as quickly as possible.

"Of course not. But, I do expect you to join me for breakfast tomorrow so we can discuss the whereabouts of this sorcerer who enchanted both you and the serving girl." Uther said, turning back to his papers.

"Thank you, father. I will see you tomorrow." Arthur said with a grin, racing out of the room. He did make a stop in his chambers first, so as he wouldn't arouse suspicion in any of the guards watching him leave. He almost expected Merlin to be waiting there for him, but he knew that that wouldn't really make any sense, as Merlin would not be waiting for him in his room for the entire time he was gone. After he set down the few things he had brought with him from Haldor, Arthur left his room and hurried down to the physician's chambers. If anyone would know where Merlin was, it would be Gaius.

Arthur tried not to look too excited as he hurried down to Gaius' room. He didn't want to draw any more attention than he already was. He could barely stop himself from bursting into the rooms, instead deciding to knock politely, trying to maintain as much composure as he could. When he heard Gaius offer a muffled, "Come in." Arthur entered.

Arthur had been hoping to see Merlin there, thinking that he could surprise him by suddenly showing up in Camelot. Unfortunately he wasn't here either, so the only person Arthur was able to startle was Gaius.

"Arthur! You're back! When did you arrive? Is everything alright?" Gaius said, standing from the chair he had been sitting in, hand pressed against his head, seemingly staring at nothing. Arthur started to worry a bit as he saw the expression on Gaius' face. He looked more tired and much older than he had appeared when he left. Something or someone was making him worried, and if there was one person who would make Gaius worry, it was Merlin.

"I just returned, and I am fine. Is Merlin here?" Arthur replied quickly.

"No, Sire." Gaius replied, with a slightly confused and sad expression.

"Where is he?" Arthur asked, hoping to speed up the getting to Merlin process.

"He's in the same place he's been since you disappeared, Sire. The dungeons." Gaius said sadly. Arthur froze. That couldn't be right, why would Merlin be in the dungeons? This couldn't be his fault, could it? Arthur could feel guilt and fear and so many other emotions writhing in his chest as he turned back towards the door and sprinted down to the prison beneath the castle.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs that lead down to the cells, Arthur was happy to see the two guards stand aside and let him pass. They looked so stunned by his appearance that Arthur almost felt sorry for them. But, as he was completely focused on getting to Merlin, he barely had time to spare them any thought.

It took him a while to find the cell Merlin was in. It didn't help that Merlin was looking less like a person and more like a small pile of rags when he finally did find him. Arthur didn't want it to be him, but all the other cells had been empty, and Gaius wouldn't have lied to him about this. He edged towards the bars slowly, and whispered, "Merlin?"

The small pile in one of the corners of the cell looked up, and Arthur saw the blue eyes he had been missing so much. Merlin slowly unfolded his body from the curled up position he had been sitting, using the wall to pull himself into a standing position as he began to slowly walk towards the bars of his cell, and croaked, "Arthur?"

"Oh gods, Merlin, what happened to you?" Arthur asked, watching as Merlin slowly made his way over to the cell door. He couldn't move. He could barely breath. Why would anyone have done this to Merlin?

"You came back." Merlin said, a smile pulling across his thin face. Arthur felt tears fall from his eyes as he watched Merlin. The smile looked painful as it stretched his dry and cracked lips. His eyes and ears looked even larger than they normally did, as the rest of him seemed to have shrunk since Arthur saw him last. Merlin had always been skinny, but now it was so much worse. His clothes hung off his body and he looked as if a strong breeze could blow him away. Merlin had never looked more breakable. When he reached a pale hand through the bars towards Arthur, Arthur grabbed it and was startled by how cold the pale appendage was. He needed to get Merlin out of here, that was certain.

"Of course I came back. I said I would, didn't I?" Arthur said, clinging to Merlin's hand.

"Where's Gwen?" Merlin asked, but before Arthur could answer a racking cough shook Merlin's body. Arthur cringed at the sound. Everything about this was so terribly wrong. When Merlin had finished coughing, and turned his head slightly so he could wipe his chin with the hand that was currently pressed against the wall, Arthur said, "She's safe, with Lancelot. I guess she didn't love me after all."

"Oh, Arthur, I'm so sorry. I thought Lancelot had feelings for her, but I always thought she loved you more. I shouldn't have told you to go there." Merlin said his voice raw from the recent coughing fit.

"Don't be sorry. It's for the best. She is happy, and I was able to realize that I love someone else."

"What? Who?" Merlin asked. He was shaking more than he had been earlier, which was quite impressive.

"Merlin," Arthur said with a smile, "I love you. I was a fool to ever think otherwise."

Merlin pulled his hand back, staring at Arthur with wide eyes. Arthur felt terrible. He started rambling, hoping that Merlin wouldn't run from him at the first chance he got.

"I'm sorry, Merlin. That was a stupid thing to say. You're sick. I shouldn't have said that now. Especially since Gwen was your friend. I just needed to tell you. God, I am such an idiot. I'm-"

But before he could finish, Merlin reached his hand out, laying a cold finger against Arthur's lips. Arthur stayed silent as Merlin's long fingers traced the shapes on his face, brushing away the tears that had fallen when he had first seen Merlin. When the cold hand stopped, resting against his check, Merlin spoke.

"Arthur, please don't be sorry for saying that. It's just, I never thought you would. I'm pretty sure I have loved you since I first saw you, but I could only dream of you loving me back. I was just surprised. I'm glad you told me now, and that I got to tell you before it was too late."

"Merlin, don't talk like that. I'm going to get you out of here, even if I have to kill my father to do it." Arthur said, turning to head back to the stairs. He was stopped by Merlin grabbing onto his wrist, and he turned back to the small figure leaning against the bars.

"Don't." Merlin said. "It's not his fault. He was just trying to make sure you were safe."

The guilty feeling that had been stirring in Arthur's stomach returned with a vengeance, as Arthur moved back to Merlin's side, and said, "What?"

"He was worried about you." Merlin began. "He just wanted to find you and make sure you were safe. He knew I had helped you, so he figured that I might know something about where you went, so he kept me down here to question me about your disappearance."

"Why would he think you knew anything?" Arthur asked. He felt hollow. Merlin simply looked confused as he said, "Because I was leading him around the town, looking for a non-existent chimera while you were escaping. He was already angry at me for lying to him, but when he figured out that it was all a plot to get you and Gwen out of the castle, he was furious. He thought I was working with Gwen, and that she had some terrible plan for you." Merlin finished. His longer speech sending him into another coughing fit.

"This is all my fault." Arthur said, backing away from the bars and burying his face in his hands. He should have known his plan couldn't have worked so smoothly.

"No!" Merlin said, as soon as he stopped hacking, "I knew the risks when I said I would help you, Arthur. I wanted to protect Gwen as much as you did. I wanted you to be happy."

"You knew this would happen, and you still helped me?" Arthur said, pulling his face up from behind his hands.

"Well, maybe not this exactly, but yes. Of course I did, Arthur. I love you."

Arthur felt his stomach twist painfully. He was such an idiot. Merlin had risked everything for him to be happy, and he hadn't even given him a second thought. He hadn't thought about what Merlin would need to do to distract the guards so thoroughly. He hadn't thought of the risks for someone so close to both him and Gwen after they ran. He had been so stupid, and now Merlin was paying for it.

"I'm going to fix this, Merlin." Arthur said with determination. "I will speak to my father, and make him see sense. I will get you out of here, and then I will stay by your side until you are better, and much longer than that if you can ever forgive me."

"Arthur." Merlin said, a smile stretching across his face again. "I don't think you realize how long I have dreamed of hearing you say those words. I will never leave you, no matter what. I will love you until the day I die."

Arthur sniffed, and nodded before saying, "Thank you Merlin. I will be back soon with the order of your release. I promise."

Merlin smiled as Arthur turned to leave, racing back up to the castle to find his father and fix the mess he had made.