Author's Note: Wow, this season has been GREAT so far! Here's my latest reaction. I know I skipped a couple of episodes, but I will get to them eventually... Please review, and share your reactions to the episodes if you wish. I sure enjoy hearing what people think - not only of my writing, but of the episodes themselves. Cheers!

Gwaine woke up with a headache. He hadn't slept well. Too much on his mind.

Gwaine was not what you might call the "sharpest knife in the drawer". He would usually be the first to admit this fact. He was even perverse enough to be slightly proud of it.

But not today. Because yesterday Agravaine had out-thought him, and he knew it.

Something about Agravaine's winning smiles and warm courtesy had always rubbed Gwaine the wrong way – but only when he wasn't in the same room with the charismatic man.

"A gentleman is what a gentleman does,", his mother had always told him. If you separated the words from actions... the king's favorite advisor didn't look so good.

But what troubled Gwaine most was the fact that Agravaine had quite easily persuaded him to leave Merlin alone in a dangerous place. Looking back, it completely confused him. How had the man done that?

In all honesty, it was a bit more than confusing. It was downright frightening.

Gaius head hurt for a completely different reason, and he decided he deserved at least one day in bed. He wove in and out of sleep almost seamlessly, but his thoughts and dreams were unusually heavy.

The thing that weighed upon his heart was the image of Arthur hiding behind the throne. He first dreamed it differently – was it a memory perhaps? Arthur was eight years old. He had been told to report to the school room for lessons, but had decided, in a streak of defiance, to disappear. Hours later Gaius spied the lad hiding behind his father's throne in the council room – looking rather dirty and a bit proud of himself. As this dream faded, Gaius amusement shifted to pain as he remembered how Arthur had kept to the shadows behind the throne and allowed that snake Agravaine to interrogate and defame him. The wound was still fresh, and it hurt quite a lot.

But Gaius was an old man. He had long known that sometimes the people we love will hurt us. Indeed, they can do it far more handily than any stranger. He knew the medicine for this injury, and he applied it with a well practiced hand. Two decades with Uther had given him ample opportunity to learn well what it takes.

He forgave.

Merlin was not happy. He was still upset with Arthur for choosing to trust Agravaine over himself and Gaius both in one shameful moment. He was smarting, in fact. His eyes stung slightly, his throat was tight, and he felt remotely like vomiting.

Merlin was overtired, and he knew this was making everything else seem worse. But was he home sleeping? No. He was in the washing rooms, up to his elbows in soap and water, doing Arthur's laundry. It was completely unfair.

Merlin was beginning to hate Agravaine. Arthur could not see the man for what he was, and it was putting him in considerable danger. No one else had ever been so deft at separating Arthur from his protection, nor at leading him into trouble.

What made Agravaine so appealing to Arthur? The man was certainly persuasive. He was subtle. His tongue dripped with honey and he always knew exactly what to say. He seemed utterly sincere. Something about him seemed to say "here is an honest and kind man, and you should do what it takes to win his approval". He was a master of almost imperceptible manipulation. Manipulation that worked, at times, even on Merlin.

Agravaine reminded Merlin of a sorcerer he'd once read about: A white-robed magician had once enchanted his voice so that even when he stood at the top of a besieged tower he could speak and his enemies below would do his bidding. Merlin sensed no such enchantment at work in Arthur's uncle, but the man's powers were undeniably similar.

Merlin reflected with rage at how easily he'd been duped into spending a night sharpening a new blade (the non-magical way, no less) for Arthur, while Agravaine had invaded his home, stolen his surrogate father, and driven a wedge between Arthur and his best friends. He felt angry at himself for falling for the ruse, and furious at Agravaine. Merlin had dealt with snakes before, and was beginning to relish the memory of slicing off their ugly reptilian heads.

But in this whole deplorable situation, it was Arthur who had the most to lose, royal imbecile that he was. Merlin had respected Arthur's wisdom at many times in the past, but now found he could not do so. This was at the real heart of Merlin's frustration. What was making Arthur so weak-minded?

Then Merlin thought of something, and his anger immediately and utterly deflated. It was suddenly so obvious. Why hadn't he seen it? Arthur had just lost his father and was now looking for his mother.

Merlin's ire suddenly vanished and compassion took it's place. It made perfect sense and he knew it was true the moment the thought came to him. He completely understood.

Even now that snake Agravaine, sensing weakness, was seeking to undermine his nephew at every opportunity.

Merlin looked around. The laundry girls were elsewhere – probably driven off by his unusually fowl temperament. He decided to stop wasting time with this nonsense. He whispered a spell and Arthur's washing suddenly dried and folded itself into a perfect stack of fresh, clean clothes. He tucked them under his arm and ran for the door.

Time to see what Arthur was up to. The king had been alone long enough.