Arthur snuck out of the cells that night.
Reading this, you probably think, "Wow, that was stupid," but the young prince of Camelot knew his father wouldn't execute him if he found that his son had escaped. Arthur was Uther's only son and heir, and the king had lost his wife when his son had been born. And Arthur was much cleverer than most people gave him credit for.
Of course, Guinevere and Morgana were more than helpful.
After visiting their sick friend, the girls had immediately rushed to the cells to visit Arthur.
And that was when they hatched a plan.
Since Gwen and Morgana were not the ones locked in a dank cell, they were to do most of the work, but Arthur was the one who initially had the idea.
That night, when the moon was high in the night sky, the girls placed a smoldering herb in the air vents that quickly rendered the guards unconscious.
The girls returned to the cell once that was done, wisely covering their noses and mouths with the sleeves of their dresses.
With a sly grin, Morgana took the ring of keys from a sleeping knight.
"Quickly, brother," Morgana said, unlocking the door of the cell with a rusty key. "We have only hours before they rise from their slumber."
So, with that, the prince, ward, and servant left the scene of sleeping knights (Leon was actually cuddling a barrel that had been knocked over when a fellow knight had fallen off of his stool) and quickly made their way up the staircases.
Morgana provided Arthur with a blue cloak so that he could hide his face should they run across any more guards. Which was good, because they had to pass some guards to get into Arthur's chambers.
"No one may pass without permission," a guard grunted.
Morgana, a wonderful actress, looked quite offended. "Ivan, how very rude of you! This is a healer from a far off land who says he may be able to help Merlin."
"Why doesn't he show his face?" Ivan asked gruffly. Morgana stared at Ivan as if he were an idiot.
"Ivan," she whispered accusingly. "It is part of his religion that his face may not be shown to anyone but his family and close friends. I am surprised at you."
Ivan went red. "Sorry ma'am, sir," he said, opening the doors widely and granting them access.
Morgana gave him an approving smile. "Thank you, Ivan."
Ivan nodded, "Ma'am," before shutting the door behind him, knowing that healer's work was only for the privileged eyes.
Gaius looked up from where he was grinding silver herbs on the prince's table in surprise. Arthur pushed his hood back, and the old man grunted in disapproval.
"Morgana, Gwen, that was extremely stupid," Gaius tutted. But the old physician allowed Arthur to sit down next to the prone form of his servant.
Arthur glanced at Merlin with complete fear and utter in his eyes.
The boy was no longer breathing sharply, in fact you could no longer hear the breaths he was taking; you could merely see the faint rise and fall of his chest.
And somehow scared the prince even more.
Arthur looked up at Gaius, complete desperation filling his deep blue eyes.
"You got the Sanarepan flowers, yes?" Arthur asked, linking his fingers with Merlin's limp ones.
Gaius nodded. "I did. And I thank you. But this concoction is going to take time, though not much longer."
Arthur nodded. "Don't let me keep you waiting."
So the old man went back to working on the cure.
Gwen cleared her throat. "Morgana and I are going to wait by the cells and keep people out for as long as we can. One of us will come up to fetch Arthur if trouble arises."
Arthur smiled his thanks as Gwen curtsied and hurried out of the room, Morgana on her heels.
And so, left alone, the two men sat like that, Arthur stroking Merlin's hair and humming as the boy occasionally sighed contentedly in his sleep and Gaius grinded herbs and measured different liquids, following directions out of a book in a language that the prince was incapable of reading.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the physician help up a vial of shimmery silver liquid and checked it with the drawing in the book.
"Done," Gaius said, swallowing hard. He carefully made his way over to the side of the bed and pressed the lip of the glass tube to Merlin's pale pink lips and poured the concoction down his throat.
"Swallow, my boy," the old man whispered, placing the now-empty vial on the nightstand.
And the warlock did just that.
Suddenly, Merlin shuddered from head to foot and his grasp on Arthur's fingers tightened. A look of great discomfort crossed his features before the hand went slack and the boy went absolutely still.
Arthur backed away from the warlock in surprise.
"Gaius?" The future king barely whispered.
The old physician took Merlin's pulse and his expression darkened. He turned to the prince, his eyes older and sadder than Arthur had ever seen them.
"His heart has stopped, sire."
A/N: Oh my God, I am mean to you people. Um, more is to come, so keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter! Also, please remember that feedback is always loved!