DISCLAIMER: I own nothing in this story but the story itself and the anonymous villains.

Hello there. I'm a bit tired so I'll keep this short and thank you all for waiting. Also, thank you for reading:)

Enjoy!

The fire crackled as the flames danced, swirling and twirling graciously towards the bricks of the fireplace, glowing with intense amber light.

There were several other candles, three to be more precise, lying in their respective brass candlesticks on the middle of the table.

A pair of gloved hands rested on the edge of the previously mentioned table, fingers entwined.

"Do you all agree?" the owner of the hand asked, his voice sharp and unwavering, making it painfully clear what he believed of those who did not agree, and what would happen to them if they did so.

A small silence stretched over the next seconds, tension rippling in the air around them as the voice awaited the others' answers to his question/demand.

Finally, a voice broke through the quiet. "Aye. You know I do"

"Good" the first voice acknowledged, then waited for the rest of the approvals, two of which came almost immediately.

"Yes"

"Of course"

Silence ensued after that, the flames trembling a little. The hands tightened their grip onto each other as they waited.

After a minute or so, a deep sigh could be heard, shortly followed by the last voice.

"It goes against all of my beliefs. However, I-I agree that these beliefs could be wrong." the voice paused, but continued after only a second, determined and strong. "I have fears about several aspects of your decision, but I agree with it. I believe in it with all my heart. My answer is yes."

And just like that, the tension dissipated, and even though the next words were spoken in the same commanding and firm voice, there was a tone of relief, even joy to the words.

"I am happy to hear that we all are on the same page on this. Do you swear on your lives, your honor, your titles and your home that everything we have discussed here, as well as the events of the previous day, will not leave this room? Do you swear you will deny all of these even in the face of the king, on the pain of death?"

At the last words, a voice huffed amusedly, but was silence by a glare.

"I swear"

"I swear"

"And I"

"Count me in"

Several beats later, the gloved hands relaxed and retreated from the table. "Good"

The sounds came first, almost instantly followed by the smell. And then he could feel the soft pressure of the blanket covering his body, the chill of the air against his face and, of course, the pain.

Almost as soon as he was conscious, Merlin wished he could go back into the darkness and oblivion of unconsciousness. He pressed his eyelids together more tightly in an attempt to block out the sharp pain in his leg and retreat back into blissful sleep.

Despite knowing fully well that falling back asleep was impossible now that he had awoken, he was determined to give it another shot. As a result of his stubbornness, the next five minutes were spent trying to tune out of awareness.

It is amazing how lying in bed and trying to sleep can exhaust you, but finally the boy decided to open his eyes, tired of standing still and all too aware of his body and surroundings.

At first, his vision was blurred, but it too soon cleared to reveal a white ceiling. Instantly, he knew he was in his room. He would recognize that ceiling anywhere.

The boy groggily tried to sit up, but his head dropped back down on the pillow like a rock after a sharp pain shot from his neck all the way down through his spine.

He drew a long breath in, knowing what he intended to do was going to hurt.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, he gathered all of his strength and was able to prop himself onto his elbows into a half-sitting position. There was no one else in his room, but someone had clearly been there, for he could see a chair right next to his bed, a chair that wasn't usually there.

Merlin sighed and closed his eyes for a second. He wanted to lift the blanket and see what state his injuries (and by that he meant mostly his leg) were in, but he couldn't bring himself to move again. Plus, removing the blanket could only mean the extremely uncomfortable cold that was biting at his bare back would also reach the front of his body, thing that didn't exactly appeal to him right now.

Of course, the young warlock thought, he could lie back down any time. All it would take was releasing his elbows of the weight of his body. However, he was sure he would remain there, and he really wanted to see how bad his leg was.

As such, when the door opened and Gaius entered, giving a small sigh of relief upon seeing his ward awake, Merlin was stuck in his half-sitting, half-lying position, trying to decide whether the effort of removing the blanket was worth it or not.

His thread of thought interrupted, he glanced up at the old physician.

"You are awake" Gaius said, closing the door and sitting on the chair next to his bed.

"So it seems" he replied, his voice hoarse. Merlin then realized his throat was very, very dry.

Before he could ask, his fatherly figure produced a goblet of water seemingly out of nowhere, bringing it to his lips. The boy made and effort to support himself on just one elbow and hold the goblet with his right hand.

He gulped the contents of the brass container down faster than the old physician thought was humanly possible, then collapsed on the bed still thirsty, but feeling a bit better.

"What happened?" Gaius asked and Merlin froze, all pain forgotten.

He didn't. He couldn't. Those memories were not real. He couldn't have done that, could he?

He wasn't that stupid.

The boy could feel his heart pounding in his ears and he only distantly heard Gaius say his name. Panic flared inside his chest, spreading like wild fire, plaguing his every thought.

All the memories came back to him, flooding his mind. In an instant, all he knew was panic. He had used magic. In front of Arthur. In front of Gwaine. In front of Elyan, of Percival, of Leon.

All of the knights he considered his friends had seen the proof of his betrayal, had seen him use the one thing that was truly and utterly forbidden, punishable by death.

Arthur had seen him. Use. Magic.

His thoughts couldn't get around the idea of what he had done.

The door creaked as someone entered the room, but it felt like a distant sound from a different world. He was in his own dimension now, one plagued by panic and fear.

Someone had to shout his name several times until their voice finally penetrated the veil that separated Merlin from the real world, and the warlock gazed up straight into the eyes of the very last person he wanted to see.

Arthur.

Gaius was confused, and a bit scared. He had no idea what had happened during the hunting trip, he only knew that it was bad. The knights had returned the day before, bringing with them and unconscious and injured Merlin. Of course, he immediately tended to his wounds, which were pretty severe, but thankfully not life-threatening, though the old man couldn't help but think they could have been.

After his ward was out of immediate danger and tucked safely in his room, he had taken his time to examine the knights, all of which presented small bruises, some of them (not surprisingly, Gwaine) a black eye.

Arthur had also been hit by something heavy across the back of his head. He had confirmed that he had lost consciousness, and Gaius had warned him that he probably had a concussion, but the prince was going to survive. He had stressed that last point extremely hard to Uther, who had been his usual panicky and worried self.

Of course, thoughts of Merlin's well-being hadn't even got close to the king's mind, and upon hearing Arthur's explanation of what had happened he had resumed his duties, advising (ordering) his son to get some rest.

And this is where Gaius was confused.

Before the king arrived, as he was treating the knights (having already treated Merlin and Arthur) he had, of course, asked them what had happened, now that the danger of anyone losing consciousness or dying was out of the way.

The knights had immediately gone quiet and stiff, (in Gwaine's case, shifty) and they glanced to one another quickly before seeking the prince's gaze.

Arthur himself gave them a knowing look, then recited (and he had to emphasize the word 'recited') to him the same story he not five minutes later told the king.

"We were ambushed by a group of bandits. They stroke at night. We managed to fight them off, but as you can see, some of us received injuries. One of them managed to shoot an arrow through Merlin's leg."

Apparently, all the bandits were dead, and Uther congratulated his son for a job well done. ("You have managed to prove yourself in the face of a more powerful and better armed enemy. Very well done, my son.")

However, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were withholding something big. Apart from their shifty demeanor, he had also seen signs on some of their hands that suggested ropes had dug into their skin.

All of his suspicions were confirmed as he saw the face of his ward turn as blank as the sheets that were covering his body when he asked him what had really happened in the woods.

"Merlin?" he tried, but the raven-haired boy had clearly drifted away, his blue eyes holding the horror of a trapped deer. He tried again, this time placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Merlin?"

That's when the door creaked open and he gazed up to see the prince coming in.

"Is he awake?" Arthur asked, his eyes falling on the pale face of his manservant.

His face suddenly lit up, his expression relieved, as he rushed to the physician's side.

"Merlin? Merlin?"

He glanced at the old man, now worried. "Is he alright?"

Gaius opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. He wished he knew the answer to that. "I am not sure, sire" he answered truthfully.

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted, and this time said boy turned toward his voice.

And then his face completely drained of all and every color.

Gaius took this as his cue to go. Merlin would tell him everything later, but for now it seemed as if the two of them knew something he did not and had to talk about that something.

"I shall leave you with him. I have a few errands I have to run." Gaius said as he stood up, and Arthur nodded distantly, not glancing away from his friend.

The physician left the room and proceeded to do as he had told the prince, all the while reassuring himself that the two would be fine and hoping his ward hadn't done anything extremely stupid this time.

Gwaine knocked on the door of the Court Physician's quarters. He waited several seconds, and when no answer came, he pushed the door open.

"Gaius?" he asked, but realized there was no one in the crammed room to answer.

He walked past the table and shelves full of vials containing weird-colored liquids, scrolls, books and herbs, dodging chairs and books scattered across the floor, heading towards the room at the back where he had once rested, the first time he'd been in Camelot.

He opened the door to Merlin's room slowly, hoping not to wake the boy, but the old hinges screeched anyway, not aware of his good intentions. Ah, well.

Gwaine soon realized that his worries had been unnecessary, as said boy was very much awake, sitting upright in bed, leaning on the pillow that had been placed behind his back by probably Arthur. The prince sat on the chair beside the bed.

The two had apparently been talking. He knew it, could feel it in the air and see in on their faces.

They both turned to him, and Merlin's expression turned wary. He shifted uncomfortably under the blankets, avoiding his gaze, suddenly very interested in the several loose strings at the sleeves of his shirt.

"Gwaine" Arthur nodded, standing up. "You're here just in time to take over for me. I have to go and take care of some business."

The knight nodded and grinned at the prince. "Right. I'll stay with Merlin, don't worry. By the way," he glanced at the boy, who was still staring at his sleeves, and his grin grew bigger of its own accord. "how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, thanks" Merlin mumbled, almost inaudibly.

Arthur stopped next to him on his way out of the room.

"Wipe that grin off your face, will you?" the prince hissed.

"Whatever you mean by that, sire?" Gwaine asked, his grin growing, if possible, even bigger. Arthur scowled.

"Stop being so annoying."

Gwaine smirked. "I'll stop being annoying when you stop being a princess"

Arthur threw him one last piercing glare (which had the effect of further feeding the knight's amusement, rather than scaring him) and left.

Gwaine turned toward Merlin and sat on the chair Arthur had sat on just moments ago, his smirk once more gone.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine" he muttered, again.

"Merlin" the knight warned, letting his friend know he was going to have none of this.

Merlin apparently had picked up on that, for he sighed and finally looked up into Gwaine's eyes. The knight could see so many emotions staring at him in those blue eyes, he almost looked away from their intensity. Almost.

The boy studied his brown-eyed friend for a long minute, his gaze seeming to see through them and into his soul. His expression unreadable, he asked simply:

"Do you hate me now?"

Gwaine was taken aback and it must've have showed on his face, for Merlin visibly relaxed after his shocked: "What for?"

The knight gave a laugh and put a hand on Merlin's shoulder.

"Are you mad? Why should I hate you? You were so cool out there! Saved our asses, you did. I bet you could beat the crap out of that stuck-up princess anytime"

Recognizing Arthur's nickname, the warlock smiled. Then his smiled turned into a smirk. And just like that, all trace of uncertainty was gone, a spark of joy flaring up in Merlin's eyes.

"I could beat the crap out of every one of you anytime"

"Ha!" Gwaine huffed. "Maybe Percival or Elyan, but I wouldn't be so sure about me, mate"

Then, the knight leaned closer and, looking to see if anybody was lurking behind the door or beneath the bed, he whispered, conspiratorially: "So tell me, Merlin. Can you turn water into ale?"

The old physician tried, he really did. However, even as the young apprentice of one of the best blacksmiths in the lower town stuttered out (a doubtlessly very confusing) explanation as to why his master wasn't in at the moment, Gaius' mind kept drifting back to his chambers. More specifically, to the small room at the back, where two very young, foolish and brave men were currently talking out something important.

Something that not only was he not a part of, but everyone else seemed to be, for the first time since the young warlock had come to Camelot, in on it before him.

He had to admit it to himself: it was annoying and he hated it. He was used to Merlin hiding things, yes, but he usually was the one who helped him hide those things. He was usually part of the action.

Plus, it worried him. Much more than he cared to dwell on, it worried him. He didn't think he had ever seen anyone's face as blank as Merlin's had been.

His worse guess would be that Arthur had somehow found out about the boy's magic, but that thought had been smothered as soon as it had formed. There was absolutely no way that had happened.

But clearly something did. And he was going to find out what exactly. Should his stubborn ward deny it, so God help him, he was going to talk some sense into that dense head of his.

Gaius finally seemed to notice the lack of noise and willed his attention to focus back on the ginger-haired man shifting uncomfortably before him, waiting for his response.

"Yes" he told the boy, his voice distant even to his ears, pushing two bottles of sleeping draft into his hands. "Quite"

The court physician then turned around and headed for the door,.

"Tell Gregory I'll come by in three days to see if there are any changes to his condition"

"Y-yes, sir. I'll tell him, sir" the boy squeaked, relieved to have been let off the hook.

That had been Gaius' last errand. If the prince and his charge weren't done talking, he was going to have to find something to occupy his time with in order to give them their space. Though the physician had a nagging sensation that if such was the case, he would end up eavesdropping at Merlin's door, something a man of his age and standing just did not do.

So he bid a silent prayer as he made his way towards his chambers, hoping for the best and eager to confront the young warlock.

His worries proved to be pointless, as when he was about to open the door to his room, it opened by itself to reveal none other than Gwaine, dressed in his casual outfit and apparently leaving.

"Gaius" the knight greeted, and he nodded in response.

"Is Merlin awake?" Gaius assumed (or, to put it more truthfully, was 150% sure) the younger man was returning from his ward's bedside.

"Yeah, I think so, though he seemed a bit tired. Started to doze off, 's why I left"

The old man nodded again.

"Well, I'm off. I've got some business to take care of"

And then he was off, leaving Gaius staring after the disappearing knight. The old man shook himself and proceeded to make his way to Merlin's door.

He didn't knock, afraid to wake him up, though he doubted he was asleep already. The door creaked and he stepped inside, his gaze immediately falling onto the form resting on the bed.

He was met by Merlin's blue and very much awake eyes.

"Ah, Merlin" he sighed, closing the door and sitting next to the boy. His face had regained some of the color back, so he could only assume the conversation had went well.

"Gwaine said he had to take care of some things" he began, the warlock staring at a place somewhere above his head instead of looking at him.

"I think he meant the tavern, Gaius"

Gaius smiled, but then his smile faded.

"Merlin"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." The boy pressed his palm onto his forehead, closing his eyes for a second. He looked utterly exhausted, the old man noted. "You want to know what happened."

"It would be nice, yes." he mused aloud. "But you should rest first. Seeing as no one is dying or dead, I believe it can wait another couple of hours"

Merlin looked at him gratefully as the physician stood up and headed for the door, suppressing his curiosity.

"Gaius wait"

"Yes?" Gaius turned to see a very much resigned look flash across the boy's face. He gulped and looked away.

"Arthur, ahem, kind of found out. You know. About the magic"

Gaius felt his mouth open. Oh. Oh dear.

Why not voice those only thoughts that his mind was capable of?

"Oh dear"

He quickly backtracked his steps and collapsed on the chair.

"How?" was the only thing Gaius managed.

Merlin shifted again and looked at him, smiling nervously. "I sort of used it in front of them" he mumbled.

Oh, dear. However, the prince hadn't seemed murderous, or mad in any way when he had come by earlier. He had only seemed worried. Could it be possible that Uther's obsession hadn't poisoned his mind yet, that he could forgive and accept Merlin?

Wait. In front of them?

Gaius glared at his charge, making him shift some more.

"Them?"

Merling gave a nervous laugh, avoiding his gaze. "Well, it is possible that Leon, Elyan, Percival and Gwaine were around there, too"

"Merlin"

"Hm?"

"Would you care to tell me exactly what happened?"

Merlin sighed. He wouldn't have been able to sleep right now, anyway.

Thank you for reading. So... what did you think? Let me know?

I believe you all hate me a bit right now, because I have been dodging that conversation between Arthur and Merlin this whole chapter. Not to worry though, it's just behind the corner. Right in the next chapter:)

I will update, as usual, in two days' time: which is this Thursday.

See you all then and thank you for reading^^