This chapter has references to Episodes 2, 3 and 4 of Series 1

Chapter 2

Rowen peeled her eyes open and looked around groggily, comforted to find herself in her own bed in her own chambers. She could vaguely feel something wrapped tightly around her arm and was just wondering why when she suddenly remembered the events which had led up to her loss of consciousness. Gasping, she shot upright, making to run to Merlin and tell him what had happened when a set of firm hands forced her back down.

"Take it easy."

Rowen's head span and her already blurred vision deteriorated more at the sudden movement. She hadn't figured out who it was that was sitting with her but that was the last thing on her mind.

"Valiant's shield," she mumbled deliriously, "Magic snakes."

"It's alright," the person soothed, "Valiant and the snakes are dead."

Rowen hummed in approval, "That's good." Her head was starting to gradually clear so she could see Gaius next to her, looking on with concern.

"You need some more rest," he told her wisely, "But in a few days your health will have fully returned."

"Thank you, Gaius."

"I must insist you stay where you are until I permit you to leave this bed."

"Gaius-"

"You are small and young, too much venom got in your system to be neutralised immediately. It will weaken you for a considerable time. You wouldn't want to injure yourself further by pushing yourself too soon."

"How long has it been?"

"Arthur faced Valiant yesterday."

"I've been asleep for two days? Gaius, what happened? The snake, it killed Sir Ewan- I couldn't do anything- it was-"

"Calm yourself. Everything will be explained when you are recovered. Get some sleep, now."

Two days later and, despite not having Gaius' approval, Rowen was marching through the halls of the castle in search of Merlin. So far, everyone who had been in to see her had not-so-subtly refused to explain what had happened. She didn't understand why- perhaps she was too young in their minds- but the rest of the kingdom knew, so why shouldn't she? Gaius, Uther, Arthur, Gwen and even Morgana had avoided the topic, even when she'd asked them. She had concluded that Merlin would be the only person likely to tell her the truth and was determined to find him.

Rowen politely knocked on the door to Arthur's chamber and pushed it open.

"Rowen? How are you?" Arthur got to his feet, eyes glinting. No matter how much he denied it he'd always seen Rowen as a little sister and had often taken the time to look after her while they were growing up when Uther was too busy. He was very protective and caring towards the young girl.

"Much better, thank you. I was wondering if I could have a word with Merlin?"

"Merlin? What on Earth do you want him for?"

"My bed sheets," she lied quickly, "They're filthy. Covered in blood. I need someone to clean them."

"And you want Merlin? Do you realise how useless he is? I can arrange for another servant to clean your chambers."

"I thought, considering the amount of battles you get yourself into, he'd at least be good at getting blood out of fabric."

Arthur hummed in agreement, "I suppose there are things he's worse at. Most things, actually. I'll send him along."

Rowen nodded sweetly, "Thank you, Arthur."

"Of course," he smiled warmly, "Is there anything else you need?"

"No. But if Gaius asks-"

"You were never here," Arthur winked, "I know."

An hour later, Merlin was bursting clumsily into Rowen's chambers, arms stacked high with clean sheets. She was slightly surprised he hadn't tripped over his own feet yet, but judging by the slightly crumpled state of the sheets, she deduced that maybe he had.

"Struggling?" she teased, stepping forward and taking some of the load off him.

"Slightly," Merlin admitted sheepishly, setting the bedding down and moving towards the bed, "Gaius sent me with a few medicinal potions for you. He said that by morning you'll be able to start your lessons again with your tutor. So long as they're in here and nothing longer than an hour."

"How kind of him. No doubt the king is responsible for wanting to restart my education?"

"It is important," Merlin said awkwardly, "You have a right to be properly educated."

"I know. I just can't help but feel like he only does it to get me out of the way. Arthur and Morgana never had so much lesson time growing up. I spend all day, every day in that little room with that boring old man who I don't even know the name of! He drones on and on, Merlin, I haven't learned anything in years!"

Merlin smirked, "And what would you be doing if you weren't in lessons?"

Rowen paused, realising he had a point. She didn't have royal duties, partially because she was too young and partially because she wasn't royal, so what else would she be doing? She decided to swiftly change the subject, "I wanted to ask you something, Merlin."

"Yes?" he said, clearly slightly distracted as he battled with the sheets.

"What happened with the snakes? I killed one in Gaius' chambers, were there still any left to expose Valiant?"

"There was one," Merlin quickly explained what had happened with the court meeting and the fight between Arthur and the knight.

"I'm sorry," she said when he was finished, "I should have been there to help you."

"It's alright. It turned out well enough."

"You were fired!"

"And rehired," Merlin smirked, "It's ok."

"Why wouldn't anyone else tell me what happened?" she moved forward and helped him fix the last of the bedding.

"When Gaius returned and found Ewan dead and you-" he trailed off and coughed awkwardly, "Well, he didn't have time to heal you. The court meeting was already in place and he had to inform Arthur that his witness was dead. He didn't even tell Uther what had happened to you until much later. The king was furious. He seemed convinced you were going to die. The next few days weren't exactly easy. There were arguments and tensions right up until Gaius gave you the antidote. Uther forbade anyone from telling you what had happened."

"I'm too young, I suppose?"

Merlin chuckled, "He said he didn't want you scared by the threat of magic."

Rowen laughed openly, "How ironic."

"Well," Merlin looked up, eyes sparkling, "That's what I thought."

"Thank you for being honest with me Merlin."

The servant smiled, collected the dirty sheets and left, nodding respectfully.

The plague was causing terror throughout Camelot. People were dying from a horrible illness and nobody had a cure. So many helpless people were dying at the hands of something uncontrollable. Uther had forbidden Rowen and Morgana from leaving the castle through fear that they too might be infected. But Rowen was growing agitated. Gwen had been arrested on suspicion of sorcery after her father magically recovered from the illness and nothing Rowen or Morgana could do could stop Uther from punishing her.

Rowen stood next to her sister in the court room, above Gwen who had been forced to the floor.

"Perhaps he recovered naturally," Morgana snapped at the king.

"What of this poultice that was found?" Uther challenged.

Rowen's head had never moved so fast. Her eyes sought out Merlin who had standing guiltily behind a pillar. She sighed. Merlin had healed Gwen's father with magic. Of course he had.

"I can only hope that when you die, this evil plague dies with you. Take her away."

Now Merlin moved and Rowen could see the guilt and horror etched onto his face. He watched his friend leave sadly and then his eyes met Rowen's. His gaze faltered and then he followed the guards out, looking truly broken. Rowen glared icily at the king and then ran after them.

"Merlin!" she shouted, chasing the servant's retreating back, "Merlin! You did this, didn't you?" she said quietly when she caught up to him.

"I didn't mean for Gwen to be arrested! I just couldn't bear to see her so sad."

"Oh, Merlin. What are you going to do? You can't let her die."

"I know!" he snapped forcefully, "Sorry. I just- I need to find out what's causing the sickness, then I can fix it."

"Please be careful," she said genuinely, "And if you need any help-"

"I'll let you know."

Rowen was just thinking about how much trouble seemed to have come to Camelot since Merlin had arrived when he collapsed. Swords were drawn, people were shouting. Morgana pulled Rowen behind her protectively and but she pulled away from her sister's grip and ran over to Merlin, kneeling down beside Gaius and Arthur. Already he was pale and feverish, face contorted in pain. Arthur grabbed Merlin's arms and heaved him over his shoulder so they could hurry to Gaius' chamber. Rowen picked up the goblet which contained the poison and looked at Gwen, biting her lip in concern. The maid tried to smile reassuringly, placed a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder and guided her from the room.

"Is he going to be alright?" Arthur asked urgently.

"He's burning up."

"You can cure him, can't you?" Rowen couldn't hide the panic.

"I won't know until I can identify the poison. Pass me the goblet."

Gwen hurried over with it.

"Ah, there's something stuck on the inside."

"What is it?" Arthur stood up and Rowen immediately took his place by Merlin's side, watching in terror as Gwen mopped the poor boy's forehead.

Rowen desperately wished she could help. She wracked her brain to think of any healing spells that could help but given her company, she'd never be able to pull off a spell unnoticed. In fact, she was so focused on watching Merlin, Arthur's conversation with Gaius, nearly went straight over her head.

"Arthur-" she stood up as the prince was about to leave.

"It's alright," he comforted, "He'll be ok. Gwen, take Rowen to the Lady Morgana. Gaius, if there is anything you need, ask."

Rowen stayed with Morgana for a while until her older sister pursed her lips and stormed out of the room. Rowen didn't even flinch. She was so worried about Merlin. The servant didn't deserve this. He'd always had these crazy ideas about destiny and protecting Arthur but this was ridiculous! He was so loyal and kind and, while he wasn't the best servant in the world, he'd do anything if it meant saving Arthur. And now, he had been reduced to sweating, shivering, dying and was weak as a baby.

"Arthur's going on the quest."

Rowen hadn't even noticed her sister return to the chambers.

"But Uther forbade it!"

"I was able to… convince him."

Rowen stood up and kissed her sister on the cheek enthusiastically. Stopping only briefly in her chambers to change, she ran as fast as she possibly could to the stables where she only just managed to jump in front of Arthur's horse.

"Rowen!" he called out, startled.

"Take me with you," she said, "I'll help."

"You will not. It's dangerous, you have to stay here."

"You're not staying here."

"But I'm not-"

"Not what? A girl? Young?"

"Exactly," Arthur spat, "Move out of the way."

"No, Arthur. I'm not going anywhere unless it's with you- to the caves or to the castle."

"The castle? To do what? Wait until he-" he paused, "I can't stay here and watch him die!"

"And you think I can? He's my friend, Arthur! And just because you don't treat him well, doesn't mean none of the rest of us do. Unlike you, some of us actually care about Merlin and want to make sure he recovers for reasons other than personal convenience."

"Personal convenience? You think I'm doing this just to save myself the effort of finding a new servant?"

"I don't know, are you?"

"The king will kill me if he finds out I let you come."

"Sounds like you're doomed either way, then. We both know he forbade you from going anywhere."

Arthur glared at her icily, "Get on a horse. Quickly."

Rowen smirked in victory and mounted the nearest mare. It felt like they were riding for years. With every passing minute, Rowen's concern for Merlin grew. Dawn broke, and still the pair were charging through the woods determinedly.

Finally, Arthur raised a hand to stop Rowen and she could just make out the form of a girl on a nearby log. Arthur and Rowen dismounted and Arthur passed the reigns of his horse to Rowen so he could approach the sobbing woman. Rowen watched as he consoled her from a distance, holding the horses carefully.

Her task became much more difficult, however, when a horrifying beast appeared. She screamed Arthur's name and pointed. The horses were crying and jumping, suddenly, and unsurprisingly, very skittish. She had to duck several times as she avoided kicking hooves. She tried to focus on Arthur's battle so she could help if he needed with magic, but the horses were wild with fear at the cockatrice.

By the time Rowen had managed to calm the animals, she had a dark bruise on her shoulder after she'd been too slow to move out of the way, and Arthur had killed the monster. He rushed over to his father's ward, "Are you alright?" he demanded.

"I'm fine," she breathed heavily, arms aching from the strain of holding the reigns, "Who's that?"

"I don't know. She said she was lost. Look, I'll go and find the flowers and then we can get out of here. Ok?"

"I can help," the girl came over, "You said you're looking for something. I know this place, I could help you."

Rowen tensed and looked at the stranger curiously. Arthur seemed all for the idea of getting help if it meant Merlin could be saved faster but Rowen caught his arm, "You said she was lost."

"So?"

"How can she 'know the area' but be lost? The area which happens to be exactly where we need to go."

"If she can help us save Merlin then we don't have a choice."

"Arthur, please. She's already lied to you and you can't help Merlin if you're-"

"Rowen," Arthur grabbed her arm and dragged her away a few steps so they were out of earshot of the stranger, "You really think if it comes down to it, I can't beat her? Even if she is lying, as long as she gets me to the flower, I'll deal with it, ok? Now, you stay here with the horses and I'll be as quick as I can."

"I really don't think I want to stay with the horses after this," she indicated to her bruised shoulder, "I'll come with you."

"No. If you're right, and she's trying to deceive us, I can't put you in danger and if something does happen," he paused, "Well, someone has to find the flower. For Merlin."

"So you want me out of danger but if you don't come back, you want me to risk my life for Merlin?" she teased.

Arthur opened his mouth to retort, but Rowen cut him off, "Go. Just be careful."

She watched, biting her lip, as the prince followed the girl into the caves. Rowen waited anxiously. She didn't know how long to give Arthur until she went after him. If something happened to him and Rowen returned alone with the cure for Merlin, Uther would surely have her head. Prioritize a servant over the prince? Unheard of.

Just as she had decided to go and find Arthur and was heading over to the cave entrance, the stranger reappeared. Alone.

"Where's Arthur?" Rowen backtracked and grabbed a sword from the horse's saddle.

"He is," the woman smiled evilly, "Detained."

"Who are you?"

"No one you need concern yourself with."

"If you've hurt him," Rowen stepped forward as intimidatingly as she could manage.

The stranger laughed, "It is not up to me to hurt your prince. And you're lucky I have no quarrel with you either."

Rowen frowned but didn't have time to react before the horses next to her were rearing wildly. It was so sudden and out of nowhere that Rowen couldn't even step backwards before a hoof came crashing down onto the back of her head.

The next thing she knew, she was lying across a horse which was storming forward. Panicking and assuming she had been kidnapped, or something equally horrible had happened, she started flailing around, trying to free herself. Unfortunately, this just resulted in her flying off the horse and landing in a heap on the ground. It was only then that she registered how much pain she was in. Landing on her bad shoulder had done nothing to alleviate the dull ache caused by the horse's previous attack and her head was pounding, mind swimming as something throbbed at the back of her skull.

"What on earth are you doing?" a voice came, sounding completely exasperated. Was that-

"Arthur?"

"Get up, quickly. We have to get back to Camelot."

"You got the flower?"

"Obviously, I got the flower."

Rowen grinned and made to stand up, but her vision failed and her knees buckled. With superhuman speed and strength, Arthur lunged forward and swooped her up by her waist, lifting her back onto his horse.

"What happened?" she asked him.

"I erm-" Arthur thought up a lie quickly, "You were right. She was trying to kill me. She tried to lead me deep into the caves so I wouldn't be able to get out again but as we were walking, I spotted the flower. I managed to lose her with a few turns and backtracked to flower. I grabbed them and ran back to you but you were knocked out."

"The horses got spooked again. I couldn't get out of the way in time," Rowen knew he was lying, but didn't question him. If Arthur had managed to lose the woman in the caves, she wouldn't have got out before him.

"Speaking of horses, where's mine?" it hadn't managed to skip past her attention that they were only travelling with one steed.

"Well, you couldn't very well ride on your own and I didn't have time to tie the two together. I hoped your horse would follow but clearly-"

"It didn't. Stupid creature," Rowen laughed, "Not that I'd particularly want to be riding a horse that knocked me out."

"I'm sorry," Arthur said, "I should have checked you were alright."

"I'm fine. Better than Merlin is, anyway."

"I'll get Gaius to look at you as soon as we get back," he promised.

"No, you'll get Gaius to heal your servant as soon as we get back. Then he can check me over."

Arthur didn't bother to hide his smirk.

Rowen tried to ignore her awful headache, but she couldn't help but notice how much trouble she was getting into since Merlin had arrived. First, she'd revealed her magic to him despite never before telling anyone her secret. It had confused her at the time what had compelled her to do such a thing so easily in front of someone she had never met, but something about Merlin was so trustworthy. Since then, she had been bitten by a venomous snake, a magic plague had befallen the kingdom, and then she'd been attacked by her own horse while trying to save the strange man's life. She thought back to when her life had been simple and the most difficult thing she'd do in a day was escape her philosophy lessons with her tutor. Somehow, she didn't mind the dangerous turn her life had taken since Merlin entered it. She was sure the boy was doing something good for the kingdom. And it was so easy to trust him.

The sun was just beginning to shine when they arrived at the gates of Camelot. Arthur had guided the horse the whole way back through the night, allowing Rowen to sleep, sitting behind him with her head resting between his shoulder blades and her arms around his waist. She had stirred when the sound of the horse's hooves changed from soft squelching on mud to harsh clacking on stone and winced as the sunlight made her head pound.

"How's your head?" Arthur asked, sensing her movement.

"Fine," she lied through her teeth stubbornly.

"Right, and your shoulder?"

"Never better."

"Naturally," Arthur chuckled, "You're just as stubborn as-" he faltered as a group of guards approached them. "What are you doing? Let me past!" he ordered.

"I'm sorry, Sire. You're under arrest. By order of the king."

Arthur was dragged off the horse by the guard and marched away. Rowen moved to follow, but another guard took the reins of the horse and guided it away. Once they reached the courtyard, he lifted her off the horse and motioned for a nearby servant to take it back to the stables before pushing her into the castle.

He pushed her all the way to her chambers where he shoved her inside, ordered her to stay where she was, left, and locked the door behind him. Rowen sighed, running forwards and screaming for them to let her out. She ignored her crying shoulder which protested with every punch she landed on the hard wood.

'Merlin', she thought desperately, knowing she had to get to him, 'Please, Merlin, just hold on a little longer.' She could have sworn she heard his pained grown as a response. She shook her head, wiping away tears and sank onto the edge of her bed. Arthur was locked up. After everything they had been through, Merlin was still going to die.

She stayed exactly where she was, head held in her hands for a short while, until the door to her chambers opened and Gwen popped her head in, looking very serious.

"No," Rowen gasped, "Please, no. Is he-"

"He's still alive," Gwen said, but she didn't seem hopeful that this would last.

"Why are you here, then?"

"The king said you were in need of medical attention. He sent Gaius but I came instead. I thought Gaius should be with Merlin, in case-"

"Arthur has the flower," Rowen interrupted, "You must get it Gwen, he's been arrested for disobeying Uther but he has the cure. Please, Gwen."

"I must help you first."

"No. I'll order you if I must, but Merlin is in much more danger than I. Help him."

Gwen nodded and ran from the room. Then all she could do was wait.