After making plans with Gwen for the next day, Gaius wished her goodnight and headed home. Before he left, Gwen gave him a bowl of dinner, which he was grateful for. It tasted delicious.

The streets were empty. Most of the knights would be spending the night in the woods. The king would head out tomorrow at first light.

He glanced at the paper he was given. There were about thirty names on them, most of them were women. Morgana had gone to the market yesterday, where she met quite a few people. Lots of names could be crossed off of the list, because Gaius knew they were harmless. He would, however, still look into them. People could change very easily.

Morgana was still unconscious, when he opened his door. The same guards were still standing outside his door. He asked them if they wanted a chair. They gladly accepted his offer. They had the entire night to go before someone came to release them of their shift. Gaius stepped inside and motioned for them to come in. They all carried their own chair outside, thanking him before they closed the door.

The physician grabbed a bag filled with water off the table. Morgana had to drink something. After opening the bag, he sat down besides her. She looked very peaceful, just laying there. He wriggled his hand underneath her head, holding it up and putting the bag to her mouth. Her lips parted slightly, allowing a few drops into her mouth. Out of reflex she swallowed. Those drops would be enough for now. He prayed she would be able to keep it in. He rolled her onto her side, so that if she were to throw up, she wouldn't choke on her own puke.

His back hurt from rolling her over. It was a sign he had to rest. Out of his closet he grabbed his clothes for the night.

Since Morgana lay in his bed, he decided to sleep in Merlin's bed. He did not want to sleep there. The room was a mess. It smelled of rotten food. Merlin was sloppy and he hated cleaning.

The first thing he did when entered, was cleaning up the mess. Gaius's room was an orderly chaos. There was no order in his apprentice's room. In the windowsill lay old rotten bread. He was filled with disgust. Cleaning took him just ten minutes. If Merlin ever were to protest about how time consuming cleaning was, he would use this night as an example. The boy would not get away with not cleaning.

He changed his clothes and threw the blanket back, before stepping in and laying down. His last thoughts, before he fell asleep, were about Merlin. He was worried about him and wondered how he was doing.


In the early morning, he woke up. It took him a while to realize where he was and why he had woken up. Then he heard moaning coming from the other room. As fast as he could he got out of bed and hurried to Morgana. Her eyes were still closed. Sweat was on her forehead. She was moving her head around and murmuring incomprehensible things.

"Calm down," he whispered. "You'll be alright."

He put his hand on her shoulder. It worked. She slowly calmed down, sometimes she would still murmur but the moving stopped. She had managed to keep the water down, so Gaius decided to give her some more. Dehydration might have caused her troubled sleep. Since he now was wide awake, he figured it would be better to change clothes and make breakfast. He did not dare to give Morgana some food, in fear she might start puking again.

He waited until first light, before leaving his chambers again. He already finished all his chores for that morning. He just had finished delivering several potions. Cole and Margaret, two of his patients, were already awake when he got to their houses. They were grateful to receive their medicine on time. His other patients were lifted out of their beds by his knocking on their doors.

The castle and city were brimming with life. The king was ready to leave. Three knights, who had stayed in Camelot during the night, accompanied him. The knights were Sir Lucan, Sir Joseph and Sir Louis. The king spotted the physician and waved him over.

"How are you, Gaius?" He asked when the physician bowed. This was all politeness of the king.

"I'm well, thank you." Gaius figured it would be best to keep it short. He knew the king wanted to know how his ward was doing. "Morgana slept well during the night. In the early morning, she started mumbling, but unfortunately she did not wake up. She needs time."

The king sadly smiled and thanked him for the care of his ward.

"I trust you will take good care of her while I'm gone." He patted him on the back before saying goodbye.

Out of the corner of his eyes Gaius noticed Guinevere. He waved at her. She saw him and wished Sir Joseph good luck. He had been talking to her for a few days now. It was obvious he liked her. She came over to him and greeted him. They both waited until the king and the knights left the city before speaking again.

"Where do we start, Gaius?" Gwen asked.

"I think it is best if we start at the market. Quite a few people on the list are probably there now."

They headed towards the market. Guinevere had to adjust her speed to his. She was used to the fast pace of Morgana.

"You think Arthur and Merlin are okay?" She was worried about her friends, so Gaius understood why she asked. He too wondered.

"I hope so. I think they are, but they are two fools, disobeying the king like that."

Gwen wasn't shocked by the fact that he called the prince a fool. The prince was a fool in her eyes. She agreed with the physician. They put their lives in danger for something that the knights too could handle, she thought to herself.

"What do you think their punishment will be? When they get back, I mean."

"Honestly, Guinevere, I don't know. Uther is unpredictable with his punishments when it comes to his son. I will ask him to leave Merlin's punishment to me. The boy has a lot of explaining to do, leaving me all alone with Morgana."

The market was not that busy at this hour. Most people were watching the king leave and most of them would visit the market later during the day. Some traders greeted them and others just stared at them with distrust. Those who stared were probably not from Camelot.

Gaius grabbed the folded paper with the names while walking. He had put the paper in his pockets when he was leaving his chambers. He opened it and read some names out loud. Gwen listened and told him where they could be found. She explained to him that the first four names were foreign traders who sold silk. Morgana had been searching for the right quality, but did not take or buy anything from them. They would be crossed off the list. They were not worth looking into any further.

They encountered a shop where herbs were sold. The herbs were displayed on a cart. When they walked by, the smell of mint and basil hit them. Gwen stated that they had not been there, but Gaius wanted to investigate. He had a plan.

They approached the trader, who was busy restocking rosemary. The trader was an old man, but was most definitely younger than Gaius. He probably was around the same age as Gwen her father. His greying hair was slicked back, probably to hide some bald spots. His eyes were brown and cold. He did not show any emotion. His skin was like dry leather. The man had been out in the sun too much for it to look like that.

"Good morning," the physician began. The trader quickly glanced up and greeted them, before getting back to restocking. He was not from the city. Gaius knew where to buy herbs, if he had not gathered them himself, and had never seen this man.

"My granddaughter over here has trouble sleeping." The man had a doubtful look on his face when Gaius claimed him and Gwen to be family. Gaius decided to ignore it. "I heard multiple people in city are having trouble with sleeping. It is like a disease, the way it is spreading! Do you have anything to help my poor granddaughter sleep?"

There were only a few herbs to make a powerful sleep potion. The ones he could think of were maca, valerian and sage. Only sage was sold at other herb shops in Camelot. He noticed that the trader had valerian and sage, but no maca.

"Well, I recommend valerian. It helps to calm the mind." The trader pointed towards it. Gaius was not satisfied with their findings and asked if the man had any maca. The trader was somewhat surprised that he asked. Not many people knew their herbs.

"Yesterday someone came by with the same complaints as your granddaughter. He too could not sleep very well. He did not ask for my advice, he bought all my maca. The only thing I can offer is valerian."

They politely declined his offer. "Do you remember what this man looked like?"

"Do I look like I keep myself busy with nonsense?" he snarled. The man was annoyed. Gwen sighed and took two silver coins out of her pocket. He suddenly had all his attention focused on them.

"For that money..." His eyes eagerly scanned the coins. He put up his hand. She dropped the coins in it.

"It was a young and fit man. He did not seem tired at all. He had brown hair." He thought for a second. "The remarkable thing about him were his eyes. They were so light blue. They really stood out." That was all the trader had to say about his buyer.

They thanked him before leaving. Both could not think of a young man with remarkable light blue eyes. It had to be a stranger in the castle. They once again took out their paper and crossed off every female on the list as well as any man with dark eyes. Now there were six names remaining. Merlin he crossed off just like he did with Arthur and Uther. They were most certainly innocent.

Now, there were only three names left. Two guards of the castle and the city drunk. Three men where Gaius was sure of that they were unable to even create a potion.
The guards were men who were full of themselves, proud to be a guard of the king's ward. The city drunk was not even able to tell the difference between water and beer, let alone creating a difficult potion. A potion that had to be brewed with care. They were left with nothing but the description given by the trader.

"Well, this is a complete bust," Guinevere exclaimed. "How are we ever going to find him?"

Gaius did not know. Rumbling sounds came from his stomach. His early breakfast caused his hunger. He asked Gwen to join him at the tavern for a second breakfast, to make up for the two silver coins she had lost. She gladly accepted. With Morgana passed out, she had nothing to do. She needed something to pass the time.

There were around eight other people in the tavern. A few were there from the night before. They had fallen asleep on their chairs. Others were there also for breakfast.

The owner of the tavern was quickly next to their table. Gaius let Gwen order for them both. Everything would do just fine for him. She ordered bacon and eggs for the both of them, along with some tea.

"We know it is a young man with exceptional light blue eyes. We know he has access to the castle," Gwen summed up when the owner left. "So, he can not be from the lower city. They are not allowed to enter the castle."

Suddenly, it hit Gaius. It could be the druid boy Mordred. The boy had light blue eyes and was capable of magic. The only thing that was not right, was his age. Mordred still had to hit his teens if the old man remembered correctly. He told Gwen about his suspicions. She remembered the boy vaguely. She too had her doubts about the age gap.

"The trader specifically mentioned a young man. He was not talking about a boy." She made a good point. They named a few other people, but had to dismiss them all. They were either not clever enough, or were not matching the description.

The owner brought them their drinks and food. They both thanked the man, and Gaius paid for it. The owner wished them a good day and went over to the men who were still asleep. Probably to wake them up and kick them out.

The physician smelled the tea. It was camomile tea and it was quite strong. He took a sip, burning his mouth in the process, and let it sit in his mouth for a few seconds. It tasted better than he expected.

The bacon was dripping with fat. The eggs were scrambled. He smiled when he saw that Guinevere was already digging into her food. He loved to see a good eater, one who did not complain about fat on her food. Merlin always had something to complain about when it came down to food.

Sitting there with Gwen, the girl who he knew since the day she was born, made him realize how much he missed Merlin. He did not have children of his own. He considered Merlin as his son. The love of his life had to flee Camelot because of her magic. He never loved another since her. He still had hope, that one day, it would be safe for her to return.

His chain of thoughts were interrupted by the girl in front of him asking if he ever was going to eat his breakfast. Soon, they were both eating and thinking in silence about a possible suspect.

Once they were done, Gwen asked if he needed any help at his home. He explained that he did, but he also asked her if she did not have any work at her home. His age prohibited some tasks. Merlin usually did those chores.
She shook her head, explaining that her father would be working til late in the evening, which meant she had some spare time.

They chatted on the way to his chambers. Both in a better mood, now that their hunger was silenced. Gaius noticed new guards sitting on the chairs by his door. He greeted them, as did Guinevere.

They entered his home. Morgana was sitting on the bed. They were both surprised to see her awake. Gaius scurried over to her, while asking her how she was feeling. She looked up at them. She was crying.

"What is the matter, my lady?" Guinevere asked. She stepped further in the room.

"I don't know," she cried. She wrapped her arms around the physician. He patted her back, trying to calm her down. "What is happening to me, Gaius?"

"Gwen, could you get her some fresh water?" he asked. Gwen nodded and left. He needed some alone time with Morgana. He continued, "Do you remember anything from yesterday?"

They let go of each other and their eyes met. She shook her head.

"I remember walking with Merlin. That's it."

"Well, you were passed out for almost an entire day. You woke up once, but passed out again. Uther is now out in the woods looking for Arthur."

He felt her pulse. It was strong. When he felt her forehead, she had no high temperature. She stayed quiet for a while.

"I am hungry," she stated after she calmed down. That was a surprise. The potion had worn off. When Guinevere arrived with fresh water, she asked her servant if she could bring her something to eat.

Gaius stood up and walked with Gwen to the door. She went to the kitchen, he spoke with the guards. He asked them to get Uther once he was back. He did not say why. He did not want anyone else to know she was awake. He had told this to Gwen and Morgana as well.

The remainder of the morning, he was busy checking Morgana. He checked everything. She seemed fine. He asked her to recall things from the day before. They were trying to figure out how, and most of all who, poisoned her. While the two of them were busy with that, Gwen cleaned around them. She filled in details Morgana missed.

After they all ate a lunch made by the servant, Gaius demanded that the ward would get some rest. She could rest in his or Merlin's bed, as long as it was not her own bed. He knew it was safer here. She complied and went to Merlin's room, since it was more silent there.

The moment she shut the door behind her, Gaius and Guinevere looked at each other.

"Did you notice something off about her?" he softly asked.

"She is very quiet, but it could be because of the emotional day she has had." It could be, he thought to himself. Gaius wasn't 100% sure if that was the case. There was something about her, he just had to figure out what.

They checked in on Morgana a few times. She was fast asleep. They were chatting away, while she slept, not realizing the time. He told her all about the punishments he had in mind for Merlin. A few days at the pillory would do him some good. Gwen laughed. She told him that was the place she and Merlin first met.

It was now late in the afternoon. Dusk would set in soon. Gwen told him that she had to go home. Gaius's place had been cleaned entirely. She wanted to rest some before her father would be home. He understood and stated that he would be walking her home.

While they were walking, they made a deal to keep each other informed about a possible perpetrator.

They were interrupted by trumpets. Trumpets announced the arrival of the king at Camelot. Both Gaius and Guinevere turned in direction which the sound came from. It wasn't long before the people of Camelot realized something was wrong. Out of the direction, where the king was supposed to come from, people came running through the streets. They all had a panicked and shocked look on their faces.
Knights rode close behind them. All of them were covered in filth. But that wasn't the thing that stood out the most. Sadness hung around them. Some of them were crying. Gaius was seized with fear. What happened? He was terrified to find out.

Sir Lucan appeared galloping through the crowd. He was bleeding. Sir Joseph was on his heels.

"Move! Make way!" Lucan yelled. He was trying to make room for two horses behind him. People were desperately trying to get out of their way. While he was trying to get people to move, Joseph exclaimed at guards that they needed the court's physician.

On the two horses behind them were two men, but something was off. One man was not sitting in the saddle. He was hanging over the saddle, leaving a trail of blood on the ground.

Shock nailed Gaius to the ground. Gwen shook his shoulder and said something about how they needed him. He came to his senses. As fast as he could he headed towards the bleeding man. The man, sitting on the horse, pleaded to him to save the other. He was crying.

"What on earth has happened to you?" He ran along with the horses towards the castle.

"Nimueh happened."