A/N: In case you all couldn't tell, my daily writing journal should now be called Whenever I find time journal. And all these that I have been posting since Feb are from January and February fills. Was a little busy on set this past month and a half to write anything new (hence why there's no Compromising Position update yet. I'm trying to get a new chapter out though before my new film starts work on the 30th).

Title: The Rose

Prompt: "Is it supposed to be green...and pulsing?"

Words: 1,240

Warnings: Magical injury

Summary: Arthur learns that for an all-powerful warlock, Merlin is quite rubbish at healing spells.

"Uh, Merlin?" Arthur stared down at the man's right hand, confused and a bit worried. "Your hand. Is it supposed to be green...and pulsing?"

"What?" The warlock held up the hand in question and flipped it over with the palm facing up. His hand was indeed slowly turning a sickly shade of green, the color spreading out from a large pustule gently pulsing to the beat of Merlin's heart in the center of his palm. "Oh, that isn't supposed to happen."

"What is supposed to happen?" Arthur asked trying to keep the concern from his voice as Merlin ran over to his stores of potions and herbs.

"Not that!" Merlin shouted back, rooting through his shelves of various vials and bottles of different colored liquids and ingredients. He pulled one out, unstoppered it and upended the contents onto the back of his hand, dark blue liquid splashing over his skin as he muttered a few choice words of the Old Religion.

The pustule turned darker, almost black and Merlin gasped as his whole hand went rigid.

"Merlin!"

"It barely even pricked me, honestly," Merlin muttered to himself, frowning down at his hand. Arthur had no idea what Merlin was referring to, but his hand was growing darker with every passing moment. He quickly dashed over to the work table and grabbed a wet rag out of the bowl of water, seizing Merlin's hand and throwing the rag over it. A pained hiss escaped the warlock's lips with the contact but when Arthur lifted the rag up, Merlin's hand remained just as grotesque and immobile as it had before. "Ow, oh that's really not good."

"I would think not!" Arthur shouted, trying not to panic and definitely failing. He released Merlin's hand and dropped the rag back into the bowl. "Fix it!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do?!" Merlin's voice too was just shy of panic and Arthur didn't like that one bit. He was supposed to be the well versed magic user, he should be able to fix something like this in the blink of an eye. "I'm absolute rubbish at healing spells."

"Obviously!"

Merlin gasped then, grabbing onto his forearm as his face fell into a grimace of pain.

Now Arthur was very very concerned. "Merlin?"

"It's spreading," he groaned. "My arm, fuck."

"I'm getting Gaius."

"Please do."

Arthur didn't even bother leaving the room. He just ran over to the door, stuck his head out and shouted for Gaius. Someone would hear and send the old physician to them. There was no way in hell he was going to leave Merlin now.

"Can't leave you alone for a moment can I? Look at the mess you got yourself into."

"It wasn't me! Ok yes, it was me but—ow—in my defense a rose thorn should not cause this sort of reaction." Merlin was gripping his arm tightly, the knuckles of his other hand white with the strain.

"A rose thorn?" Arthur looked around, finally noticing the single rose lying on the bench by the table. It looked like just any other rose.

"It might be cursed."

"You think!"

"Why would someone send you a cursed rose?!"

"They didn't. It was for Gaius but it pricked me when I moved it to the table."

"What pricked you?" They both whipped around at the sound of Gaius' voice. Arthur felt a bit of relief wash through him at the sight of the old man. If anyone could fix this, it would be Gaius. Merlin was apparently just as useless as Arthur had always teased him about when the warlock had still been his gangly, clumsy servant, trying to hide his true nature. Not that anything had changed in his physical aspects Just his title.

"A rose thorn. Gaius, please. I don't know what to do." Merlin's voice was laced with pain now as he held his stiffening forearm out. "It's spreading."

It would have been funny, the scene in front of him and how it came about if it wasn't for the way Merlin seemed to be in real pain. From a rose thorn.

Gaius carefully held Merlin's wrist as he examined his arm, then the palm of his hand, brow furrowed. He turned the warlock's hand over with difficulty and poked at the pustule. Merlin winced. "Seems to be a sort of poison."

Arthur nodded. "Yes, we had gathered that much. Can you reverse it?"

"I believe so," Gaius said as he released Merlin's wrist and tutted over to the shelves of vials, selecting one. He unstoppered the vial and soaked a clean bandage in the substance before setting the vial down and picking up a small knife.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Merlin asked, taking a step back as Gaius approached him with the knife.

"The point of entry must be reopened. I'm sorry Merlin, this may hurt a bit."

Merlin wrinkled his nose and whimpered as he hesitantly offered his hand up to Gaius again. Arthur frowned in confusion, not quite understanding what was going on. That is until Gaius popped the nearly black pustule with the tip of the knife and a black substance sprayed out. Merlin bit back a cry of pain.

Gaius took the wet rag from the bowl beside him and wiped away the oozing black puss, cleaning the wound. Then he wrapped the potion soaked rag around Merlin's hand and up his wrist, chanting a few words in the Old Religion as he worked before tying the bandage off.

"That's it?" It seemed so simple to Arthur. And yet Merlin, supposedly the most powerful warlock that would ever live, couldn't figure it out. He glanced over at Merlin and raised an eyebrow. Merlin glared back.

Gaius ignored the looks they were shooting each other and cleaned up the table. "That's it. The potion should suck the poison out. We'll just have to change it every hour or so to freshen up the potency."

"Right." Merlin nodded, looking down at his wrapped hand. "Uh, thanks."

Gaius hummed in response. "Now where is this rose?"

Merlin nodded toward the flower sitting innocently on the bench. The old physician grabbed a rag before carefully picking up the rose in the material.

"It was addressed to you, Gaius," Merlin stated.

Gaius turned it over in his hand, examining the flower with narrowed eyes. "It has been watered with a poison spell. Someone grew this flower with the intention of poisoning another."

"You." Arthur repeated.

Gaius nodded, raising an eyebrow. "Apparently."

"Do you know why?"

"No. But I'll look into it." Gaius laid the rose down on the table and covered it with the rag. He looked up then, meeting each of their eyes. "In the meantime, I suggest you both be on your guard."

Arthur nodded. "Of course." Merlin copied his action, giving Gaius a swift nod. Gaius huffed in acceptance before he puttered out the door presumably to resume his rounds.

Arthur turned to Merlin, unable to keep the teasing frown off his face. "Are you sure you are as powerful as you claim?"

"Don't even start," Merlin huffed, shooting Arthur an annoyed look. "It could have happened to anyone."

"And yet, you were the one nearly brought down by a rose. A rose, Merlin. As if I needed any more reasons to call you a girl." Arthur chuckled. It was just easy, way too easy.

"Sire?"

"Yes, oh great powerful Merlin?"

"Shut up."