Arthur and Merlin were not able to sneak back into the castle completely unnoticed, since the daily business had begun there in the meantime. Arthur ignored the surprised looks of the castle's inhabitants. They were not used to see the king at such an early hour, since he usually crawled out of bed in the late morning. He was definitely not a morning person. But he was not bothered further, because his surroundings noticed that he was deeply sunk in gloomy thoughts.
Just before they finally arrived in his royal chambers, the door was ripped open by an angry Gwen. The queen sparkled at the two men so penetratingly that they felt smaller and smaller and more and more uncomfortable. Gwen stepped aside, leaving the way into the room clear. She let them enter the room and closed the door just as she began to say, "Do you have any idea how worried I was about you two good-for-nothings! I have been waiting for hours for your return. I did not know where you were or why you left the castle. Which scenes do you think went through my mind - and one was worse than the other? I only knew from Gaius that Arthur was with Merlin that evening to talk. When I came to our room and no one was there, I didn't think anything of it at first, but as the hours passed, I could hardly put my impatience into words. The dinner from us is standing there untouched, because I couldn't get a bite down. All night I waited for you and ... and ..."
Merlin and Arthur looked at each other with a sad look and a guilty conscience. They hadn't really noticed how long they had been gone and had forgotten to let Gwen know.
Arthur first took the floor: "We are fine, Gwen. I'm sorry we left so hastily yesterday and didn't tell you where we were. Writing a letter would probably have been a bit risky, since I had expressed the wish to speak to the Great Dragon in person and we ..."
Gwen came up to him and shoved him because she was so upset. "By the dragon," she replied, struggling to keep her voice from getting too loud. "You're afraid if I talk to Merlin alone and then you go with him to a vengeful and dangerous dragon to talk to and you don't tell me this before?" Gwen exclaimed excitedly.
Merlin felt compelled to calm the waves a little. "Arthur couldn't believe that he had a great destiny ahead of him and wanted to see for himself if someone else was not meant. We thought the trip might take an hour, but we were wrong."
Gwen snorted, but Merlin didn't go into it and continued: "We didn't talk to Kilgharrah for very long until suddenly another dragon appeared on the horizon, which made the situation much more complicated.
"Another dragon?" whispered Gwen in shock.
"Yes, Merlin has his secrets, and one of them was that he had saved a dragon egg and helped it give birth," Arthur explained.
"I haven't seen her since the birth, because dragons should be free, and that freedom I gave her. But somehow Morgana has her hands in it. Morgana is alive, because Aithusa probably cured her. Creatures with magic are attracted to her kind and Aithusa is often close to Morgana. Although I can't communicate with her properly, she doesn't seem to have anything sneaky or evil in her. She also sought Arthur's proximity and made no attempt to harm him. One of the advantages of this encounter is that the young dragon saw that Morgana was desperately trying to cast one or more malicious spells".
Gwen turned white as a sheet at these words.
"Do you know what kind of spells we have to fear and when they will strike?" she asked seriously.
"No, I'm afraid not. The dragon lady has not yet learned to communicate with words, so she uses images and feelings. We can only assume that the curses are directed against Arthur."
Arthur, whose stomach was meanwhile starving, had started to look at the dinner of the day before. He was just about to eat a piece of cheese when he saw an alarmed Merlin in front of him who knocked the piece out of his hand. Arthur was just about to get upset about his behavior and reprimand him when he noticed that something was wrong. He saw everything blurred and even the sounds were somehow distorted. He could see Merlin screaming something to Gwen and she left the room in a hurry. A feeling of
Weightlessness set in and he didn't understand why Merlin probably yelled at him. But the strangest thing was that Merlin's eyes kept changing color and shining golden. He liked this interplay of colors very much and he smiled. He stumbled and fell into the chair, when he probably got a push from Merlin. Suddenly Gwen was there again and an old man. Gaius perhaps? When a disgusting tasting liquid was poured into his mouth, he tried to resist and not swallow, but his nose was covered. The liquid ran down his esophagus, leaving a burning sensation that reached his stomach. Suddenly he was so nauseous that he threw up. He hardly noticed that almost out of nowhere a bucket was floating in front of his face and he vomited into it. When the choking finally stopped, a cup of black liquid was held to his mouth. He was very thirsty, but on the other hand he did not want to drink this. His mouth was opened roughly, the liquid was poured in and he swallowed reflexively. This brew was not as bad as the other one, but still the comparison to pieces of coal came to his mind. He no longer refused to drink the rest of the cup because he lacked the energy to do so, and slowly he lost himself in the blackness. He briefly emerged from it again and noticed that he was carried to the bed by several hands, but he closed his eyes again.

Gwen would probably never forget how Merlin got goose bumps all over his body in a flash and his features were derailed. She followed his horrified look and could only see that Arthur had put some cheese from the last dinner in his mouth. Merlin was already with Arthur the next moment and prevented him from continuing to eat. Already he barked instructions to Gwen: "Run to Gaius immediately and come back with him and a vomiting and detoxification tincture!
Still she stared at Merlin in surprise and noticed that Arthur had glassy eyes and was swaying.
Merlin screamed, "Gwen! Immediately! RUN!"
Gwen freed herself from her rigidity and ran to Gaius as fast as she could. The way there seemed endlessly long to her. Her lungs burned from the spurt, but she gritted her teeth. She almost crashed into Gaius' chamber and breathlessly repeated Merlin's instructions. Luckily, Merlin asked no further questions, unerringly grabbed the desired tinctures and pressed them into Gwen's hand. "Hurry is definitely called for. I will follow as fast as I can, but you will be faster without me.
She stared into her hands, turned around quickly and shouted at a servant to get out of the way, thus avoiding a collision. When she rushed back into the room she saw that Merlin was chalk pale and had drops of sweat on her forehead. Again and again his eyes glowed golden. He murmured soft words and his hand floated over Arthur. When she saw the face of her husband, she was terrified. Not only did his eyes appear even more glassy, but his face had taken on an unhealthy coloration, and yellow foam came out of his mouth.
Merlin saw Gwen, and a small spark of hope spread in him. "Quickly, give me the vial of yellow tincture."
He almost tore the medicine from her hands and forced Arthur to swallow a few drops. With a gesture of his hand and another lightening of his eyes, a bucket floated in front of Arthur's face just in time. Gwen became quite different when she saw that there were isolated traces of blood in the bucket. Gaius had now also arrived, took the second vial from Gwen's hand, put the full contents into a cup of fresh water and passed it on to Merlin. After Arthur had swallowed the detox potion, he finally lost consciousness.
Sir Gwaine entered the room with a smile and understood the situation in seconds. He rushed to Merlin's side, who could no longer hold Arthur's weight. Sir Leon and Sir Percival had also just arrived in the royal chamber. They were from the guards were informed that Arthur had only returned from an excursion early in the morning and they were curious to know what was going on.
Gaius declared: "The king has been poisoned. We hope that by intervening quickly we were able to save his life. Help Sir Gwaine put him on the bed."
The moment the knights lifted their king and Merlin took the burden off him, the king collapsed with a sigh. Then Gaius hurried to his foster son and felt for his pulse. He had held his breath and ejected it in relief. "Go on, put the king in his bed and help me put Merlin on the other side of the bed.
The knights granted the first request, but hesitated to grant the second.
"Heaven forbid, do as he says," Gwen rebuked the knights.
They hurried to carry out the queen's order. After Merlin also lay in the royal bed, an uncomfortable silence developed. The picture of Arthur and Merlin in the royal bed was very strange and the knights stepped from one foot to the other, unpleasantly touched.
"What happened?" Sir Leon finally said.
Gwen had gathered herself something. She became aware again that she was the queen and had to behave accordingly. She now had to be strong, make decisions and lead. She looked around and considered what information she was giving away. Did the knights in the room know about Merlin's magic?
"We know that Merlin is a sorcerer, but I don't assume he poisoned Arthur?" Sir Leon said, as if he had read her mind.
Gwen was surprised that these words came from him of all people. At the same time, however, she was relieved because it made her decision easier. "This makes the answer to the questions much less complicated - or rather more honest. Let me briefly summarize what I know, then you can ask questions. Merlin and Arthur were on their way last night to visit the great dragon."
She heard the knights curse in a low voice.
"That was not the dangerous part of the evening. Since Merlin is not only friends with this dragon, but also the last dragonlord, there was no great danger." She saw that the knights' eyes almost fell out of their faces in astonishment. Apparently this was new information... "It became more complicated when a second, younger dragon appeared, who somehow has contact with Morgana. Through this encounter, Merlin learned that Morgana had recently begun casting curses again, probably against Arthur or in some other form against Camelot. I don't know how Merlin found out, but before Arthur could eat a second bite of the cheese, he stopped him. We need to find out who brought the dinner and who else had access to it," she said, turning to Gaius. "Can you further explain Merlin's behavior? I do not fully understand it myself."
The court physician cleared his throat. "Merlin sent Gwen to me. I suspect that he used magic to prevent the poison from doing further damage and that he additionally strengthened Arthur's own healing powers."
Gauis watched the reaction to his words very closely. Sir Gwaine merely nodded, with Sir Percival shaking his head. Sir Leon, however.
clasped the pommel of the sword.
"The first potion was intended to make you vomit, so that the stomach was quickly emptied and the poison could not cause any more damage. The second potion was used for general detoxification. I can only imagine a reasonable reason why Merlin collapsed. Since he probably did not eat anything poisoned, it was pure exhaustion. This means that it was a very effective, deadly poison or a curse could be attached to it. Merlin will hopefully recover quickly and for the king we unfortunately can't do anything more for him at the moment. I, however, will examine the dinner so that I can find out which poison was used and if an antidote exists or is necessary. Don't let them out of your sight and inform me immediately if there is any change in your health. With these words Gaius said goodbye and quickly bowed respectfully before the queen.
"Very well. Sir Leon and Sir Percival, go and find out who had the opportunity to poison the food and who brought it here. Sir Gwaine will stay here for now and keep watch. Make sure there's a change of watch every three hours, and for now I only want to see knights in this room who know about Merlin's secret."
"We suspect that only the three of us are privy to the secret, and your brother, my queen," Sir Percival said, explaining.
Gwen nodded in relief and said, "We can work with that. It is possible that Merlin will use magic again to facilitate, or rather, speed up Arthur's recovery. Also, put guards outside the door. I hate to admit it, but the thought that not only Arthur but Merlin as well is incapacitated makes me nervous. The only other protection we ever had from magic unknowingly was Merlin. If magic were to be allowed again, it would probably be good to know wizards among the knights."
In the last sentence, Gwen looked at the door as she heard a movement and bit her teeth. There stood Sir Mordred.
The knight did not move, but took in the details of the situation. He saw Merlin and Arthur lying in bed, pale and unconscious. He stared at Merlin and cried out in his mind: "Emrys!"
Merlin's eyelids fluttered and he slowly opened his eyes.
"Emrys! What happened?" Mordred continued to ask in his thoughts.
Merlin closed his eyes, focused on Mordred, and replied in thought: "Arthur knows I have magic, like everyone else in the room. Of your magic I have revealed nothing. But Arthur was poisoned. I was able to prevent the worst."
"Sir Mordred", Gwen interrupted the thought process. The others present had not realised Merlin had regained consciousness. However, he was so exhausted that he kept his eyes closed and concentrated solely on the conversation between Mordred and Gwen.
"What do you want, my queen?" Mordred asked.
"I demand to know what brings you here and how you feel about this situation."
Mordred pondered briefly and replied, "I heard from one of the servants that the queen was very upset and rushed from the healer to her chamber, and I was worried. As it seems, Merlin was able to help the king, but he overreached himself. By the way, I support the idea that some knights should not only be able to handle the sword, but also magic, although I can't imagine that Merlin will ever master the handling of a sword".
Everyone in the room was staring at Sir Mordred. He just shrugged his shoulders and turned back to Merlin in his thoughts: "Emrys, a little help would be fine. The only word Mordred could make out was a whispered 'exhausted' in his mind. He frowned.
"What's on your mind and how do you know about Merlin," Gwen asked, watching him.
"Emr... um, Merlin is not an unknown man among the druids. Nearly everyone knows him somehow, but again, not at all. Merlin has probably pushed himself to the point of exhaustion and beyond. I recommend that he is not woken and sleeps as long as he can, provided the king's health does not deteriorate.
"Then Merlin trusts you," Gwen concluded.
Although Mordred did not like to think about it himself, he said resignedly, "I trust Merlin, but unfortunately he does not trust me. On the contrary, but I cannot tell you the reason, because I do not know it myself. How often have I asked myself why Merlin always distrusts me? "But I have decided to teach him better every day."
"But you know his secret and have never told King Arthur," Sir Leon summarized. "Yes, it was not my place to tell the secret, and Arthur was not harmed by my actions. Besides, he needed Merlin as a magical shield to survive."
Each one of them thought about those harsh words.
Gwen whispered in horror: "That's what Merlin used to do, right? No matter what the danger, he always stood before Arthur without him noticing. What great strength does it take to do that?"
"If you believe the druids, Merlin is perhaps the strongest wizard born yet. So the magical talent as well as his tenacity and loyalty were probably the reasons," Mordred replied. When he saw Gwen's expressionless face, he realized that the queen might not have expected an answer to her questions.
Gwen shook her head. "The instructions remain. Sir Leon and Sir Percival, take up your inquiries immediately. Sir Gwaine and Sir Mordred remain with me and the king. Inform my brother also of the present situation. Reports will be made every hour at the latest. Arrange the changing of the guard among you five. Best you bring in two more beds so we can take turns getting some sleep."
"May I suggest that all food and drink brought into the royal chambers be screened for poison? I can do that part if you like - if Gaius is not available. During my stay with the druids I learned a lot about poisons and antidotes," Mordred interjected.
Gwen nodded gratefully, as she had been worried about this, and the suggestion sounded reasonable.

After a short time, Sir Leon and Sir Percival personally placed two beds in the room. The two knights quickly disappeared them again to gather information. Gwen looked longingly at the bed. She had hardly closed one eye the night. She just wanted to test briefly whether the beds would be enough for them. When she laid her head on the pillow, she had already fallen asleep.
Sir Gwaine whispered, "Let her sleep. If there is any change, we will wake her up again."
Sir Mordred nodded and replied just as quietly, "Yes, she looked very tired. How is it that not only Arthur knows about Merlin's magic, but also some knights?"
"He told Arthur out of the blue two days ago - just like that. I know about it because two days ago he saved me by magic from an arrow meant for me. But in retrospect, I guess it's not really surprising, is it? The other three know because I somehow pushed Merlin into it and I didn't expect Sir Leon's merciless reaction. Why didn't you tell King Arthur about Merlin being a sorcerer? "Wizards are evil, after all."
"You do realize I think differently, after all I was raised by druids? Most of the wizards I met were helpful and good. I'm glad that Arthur doesn't take after his father and slaughter one wizard after another. I don't think I could bear that. I respect Arthur and I like him too. I wanted to spare him the agony of banishing Merlin or, at worst, killing him myself. That would have torn him apart mentally and only a lesser version of himself would have been the result. That something significant was going on was clear to me after the council meeting at the latest. Perhaps magic should be allowed back into Camelot." Mordred shook his head and added a 'mad'.
"You have magic too, have you not?" Sir Gwaine surmised.
Mordred froze and heard Merlin speak softly to him in thought: "Trust each other and learn to understand each other better.
Mordred heard Gwaine answer, "Yes, but I don't think that's the reason for Merlin's distrust of me.
Sir Gwaine laughed softly and said, "I wouldn't be surprised if, after the law was changed, people everywhere would start confessing their magic after a while. It also seems to me another very good reason not to rat Merlin out to Arthur.
Mordred shrugged. "Why would I betray Merlin? He's a sorcerer like me and we're on Arthur's side."
"Then it would be good if you stayed in this room at all times until Merlin was conscious. "You should also have the opportunity to teach Arthur your own magic. I will do my utmost to keep silent. I still feel guilty about having pushed Merlin, even though it is advantageous now that several knights are privy to it.
"Why do you not mistrust me?" Mordred asked, visibly confused.
"Intuition and common sense. You don't need magic to make Arthur or Merlin suffer. You have mastered the martial arts. with the sword outstanding. Maybe Merlin knows something that we don't, but all this talk of fate is a bit restrictive and I don't really believe in it. That wouldn't make sense either. If everything was already fixed, then our decisions would not change anything about fate and I refuse to accept that. I take my fate into my own hands, but I will not ignore certain warnings and signs, which would be stupid," Gwaine concluded.
"I don't think I've ever heard so much wisdom from your mouth before," Mordred raised the other knight.
"Don't betray me, I'm hanging on to my reputation," Sir Gwaine replied.
Mordred looked briefly at the two sick men. Merlin was fast asleep and had some color in his face again. Arthur, on the other hand, looked almost healthy again, but this one was also asleep. After some time Gaius came in and instilled Arthur with chamomile tea and a light vegetable broth. Merlin, however, the healer could not make him do so.
"It was probably a light poison, which was intensified by magic. Merlin used magic to lift the curse, and the detox potion and chamomile tea will do the rest. Infuse him with a cup of it every other hour. Especially Merlin has to eat something."
The color of their faces became more natural and their pulse felt almost healthy. After Gaius had convinced himself that he could do nothing more but wait, he quietly said goodbye to the two knights so that he would not wake Gwen.

Hey:)

Little announcment. I have uploaded a new Merlin story which I will upload from my tablet, which means I can upload more often then here. Anyways go and check it out if you like it and leave your opinion here aswell. I will update this weekend as often as I can in this story, so make sure to stay tuned for more chapters coming in the next 48 hours. Until then, I will play gta san andreas xD since i bought this game in the appstore