Merlin woke from a horrid dream, his whole body shaking. His breath was ice cold and hurt his throat. Sweat dripped down onto the sheets. Merlin gulped and tried to calm his breathing. Eventually, he sighed and he calmed down enough to think straight. The warlock realised that he could not go back to sleep and instead sat at the edge of the bed to think over his dream. Despite this being the most rational decision he could make in his shocked state, this only made him stress even more. His dream had been so disturbingly vivid that no matter what angle he approached it, he found no evidence that it was an ordinary dream. After finding nothing new from his dream, Merlin stood up and sat by the window to look outside. The sky was a dark blue but the moon was no longer visible. The morning was just around the bend. Watching the sky slowly change colour and the people outside slowly wake up and go about their lives, Merlin did not notice when Arthur woke up and got out of bed.

"Merlin? Are you okay? When did you wake up?", the prince questioned.

Merlin looked over at his lover and smiled, "I am fine. I woke up not too long ago, how did you sleep?"

Arthur examined Merlin's face and nodded, "I slept fine."

Arthur got dressed and Merlin did the same before returning to the window, however, the prince had known that Merlin had lied and also knew he had a few nightmares that night as well. Therefore, the prince could not help but stare at his love for any signs of illness.

"Arthur, can you please stop staring at me?" Merlin asked.

"I am just checking up on you" Arthur defended himself.

"I am fine, I feel a little bit better" Merlin stated.

"You did not sleep at all last night. Something is wrong and I am worried about you, Merlin. How could I ever just sit back and watch whilst you are sick and tired?" The Prince asked as he walked over to his desk.

"You do not have to, nothing is wrong with me. I just had a bad dream again, it does not matter" Merlin sighed as he remembered the horror that he had dreamt about.

"What was your dream about?" Arthur looked at Merlin and he sat back in his chair.

Merlin hesitated but he realised that Arthur was worried about him "I dreamt that someone was throwing knives at you, it was a magic trick that went wrong and you were nearly killed".

"What was so bad about that?" Arthur asked, not understanding why Merlin seemed so distant.

"Because it was Morgana that was throwing the knives and I was lying on a bed and I was dead, therefore, I was unable to protect you" Merlin answered before he shivered as images of his blood and Arthur's terrified eyes flashed through his mind.

Arthur wanted to comfort Merlin but he did not know how to ease his worries, so he stood up and he walked over to where his armour was instead "I have got training, can you come and help me put my armour on?"

Merlin thought for a second but he decided to drop the subject about his nightmare for now and he stood up, he walked over to Arthur and he started to help him put his armour on.

Arthur pulled his armour on and Merlin fastened the straps of his wrist guards "Everything will be alright, I will not let anything bad happen. We will survive the dark times if they shall come in the future".

Merlin looked into Arthur's eyes and he nodded "I know, I just feel uneasy".

The warlock was suddenly overcome with the feeling of nausea and he ran over to the chamber pot, the prince winced as Merlin was sick and he sighed before he walked over to comfort his Love.

"Not to mention unwell" Arthur stated sarcastically.

"Very funny, dollop-head!" Merlin retorted before he was sick again.

"I am aren't I?" Arthur grinned smugly.

Merlin straightened up and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before he turned to look at Arthur "You are such a prat".

Arthur chuckled and he placed his hands on Merlin's hips "You look tired".

"I feel it, my back aches and so do my nipples" Merlin sighed before he covered his mouth to yawn.

"That is weird, I have not been nibbling or pitching them" Arthur stated as he looked down at Merlin's chest.

Merlin gave Arthur a light slap on the arm and he chuckled as he shook his head "Dirty minded arse!"

Arthur laughed and he moved his hand so that it was resting on Merlin's lower back, pulling the warlock very close and kissing his forehead "It cheered you up though".

Merlin smiled and he sighed "What am I going to do with you?"

Arthur shrugged and he pouted as he pretended to think "Stay with me forever and love me".

Merlin placed his hands on Arthur's shoulders "Alright".

Merlin and Arthur finished getting ready before they grabbed the princes sword and shield, they left Arthur's chambers and they began to make their way towards the courtyard.

Meanwhile, in the throne room... Uther was sat on his throne, a look of boredom settled on his face; before him, knelt down on the ground was the assassin. Agravaine's face spelt outrage, however, he was not angry at the fact there was an attack on Merlin, but more so the fact that Merlin was not dead yet.

Agravaine glared at the assassin and spoke out words of boiling anger, "You know what attempted murder on the royal family means, right?"

The assassin kept his head bowed. His face was of disappointment.

Agravaine growled lowly, "Answer me!"

Uther raised his hand for silence, making Agravaine jump in surprise. A moment passed and Uther sighed, "Let him go."

Everyone in the room looked at Uther in complete shock.

"There is no proof he attempted to take the witch's life. In fact, I think the witch was merely jumping to conclusions and this man got the blame for it." Uther determined, idiotically.

The guards helped the assassin to his feet and led him away, his face frozen in shock. Agravaine gnashed his teeth together, worried the assassin might let slip that it was he and Morgana who hired him.

Uther reached over and patted Agravaine's back, "Do not worry, friend. I do not think he will try to hurt us."

Agravaine nodded, calming his face so as not to arouse suspicion. "Sorry, sire, but may I be excused for a moment?", he asked, bowing his respects to the king.

Uther nodded and yawned.

The raven-haired man tried not to run for the large doors and out to the corridor. The assassin was waiting behind a pillar just out of sight from the throne room. Agravaine rushed over.

"I want my pay now.", the assassin stated.

Agravaine let out a dry laugh followed by a sharp glare, "I said that I would gladly pay once that the witch was dead. You get nothing because Arthur is not bawling his pathetic eyes out whilst cradling his dead witch in his arms!" he hissed.

The assassin sighed and stormed off 'Well that was a waste of blood!' he thought to himself as he started to admit defeat.

'Why does that son of a bitch witch have to be so powerful?' Agravaine thought he kicked a chair over in frustration and anger before he turned and he walked back into the throne room.

The sharp song of swords slicing the air filled the courtyard as Arthur and the knights practised with Merlin watching off to the side. Despite feeling ill due to the roughening with the assassin, Merlin felt the need to learn. The warlock watched on intently as the knights swing their swords, the power put behind them and the speed at which they cut down their invisible targets.

After he was sure of himself, Merlin picked up a spare sword and began copying the knights.

Arthur stopped when he saw the warlock and smiled before slipping behind him and placing his palms on Merlin's slim hips.

"Arthur?", Merlin asked, stopping and letting the tip of his sword touch the ground.

"Keep going, you are doing quite well.", Arthur said simply.

Merlin nodded and continued to slash the air.

"Keep moving your feet and let my hands guild your hips" Arthur whispered.

Merlin allowed his movements to be guided by the prince, he smiled when Arthur kissed his neck and he started to become more confident.

"A knight must use his skills to succeed in battle, use all of your skills whenever you wield a sword" Arthur instructed as he gently assisted Merlin's movements.

Merlin immediately understood what Arthur was saying and his eyes flashed gold. He began in pretend fight like he was a natural swordsman and he smiled when everyone clapped.

"That was amazing, my darling" Arthur whispered and he wrapped his arms around Merlin's waist.

"Thank you" Arthur whispered back to Arthur.

Eventually, the knights began pairing up and fighting each other to practice.

Lancelot walked up to Merlin and smiled before readying himself, "Come at me!".

Merlin smirked and lunged at Lancelot. However, the knight moved to the side, letting Merlin stumble before finding his feet again. Merlin did not give the knight the chance to launch an attack because he spun around, the sword following through and sailing towards Lancelot. The knight found this a lot harder to block but managed to hold his ground despite the force that was put behind the blade.

The knight and the warlock continued to fight and everyone watched on in amazement, Arthur was watching Merlin in awe as he bathed in how proud he was of his warlock. Gwen walked over to the knights and she stood beside Leon as she watched her husband and Merlin train through fighting.

Merlin was doing very well but Lancelot was a skilled fighter and the knight pushed him backwards, the warlock fell onto the ground with a thump and he winced because he had fallen awkwardly on his ankle.

Arthur panicked for his warlock and he moved to run over to Merlin, but what the warlock did next surprised him.

Merlin did not hesitate to roll onto his side and he reached out his hand towards the blade, he uttered a spell under his breath and his eyes flashed gold. His sword flew back to him and he grabbed the handle and he quickly rolled onto his back, he moved his arm and he used it to block Lancelot's blunt sword.

Lancelot smiled at Merlin and he put his sword away before he held out his hand to the warlock "Well done, Merlin".

Merlin grabbed Lancelot's hand and the knight helped him to his feet "Thanks".

Everyone clapped for Merlin and the prince walked over to congratulate his beloved. Arthur wrapped his arms around the warlock's waist and he pulled him into a loving kiss and Merlin returned his affection.

Arthur was the one to pull back from the kiss and he smiled at Merlin "I am so proud of you".

Merlin smiled at Arthur but then he noticed someone walking down the palace steps and his smile quickly disappeared when he realised who it was "What?"

Arthur was confused so he followed Merlin's gaze as he looked over his shoulder, his throat went dry when be saw that the assassin that had attacked Merlin was actually walking away free "You have got to be fuckin kidding me!" he hissed through his clenched teeth.

Merlin tensed up in Arthur's arms and he dropped his sword, he moved away from Arthur and he began to back up towards the servants' door leading into the palace "I have to go!" he turned and he ran away from the outside world.

Arthur watched as Merlin ran away and then he turned to the knights "Get back to your posts, stay on guard for any threats made against Merlin!" he ordered before he began to stomp towards the palace.

"What was Uther thinking? How could he let that assassin get off scot-free?" Lancelot looked at his fellow knight and he saw that all of them were glaring at the smug assassin as he arrogantly walked passed them. Completely free and without the punishment of justice.