A/N: Thank you GuestM, Buckhunter, leyapearl, and SnidgetHex for reviewing!

Chapter 2

Loud banging on the door woke Lily with a start. Lancelot was out of bed first, able to move more quickly than she could. She sat up, pulling the sheets up as he went to see what was wrong. A guard was standing outside.

"Merlin's been attacked," he said. "Gaius needs Lady Lily."

Her eyes widened and she quickly scooted off the bed to get dressed. Lancelot scrambled to get his boots on, then brought Lily her slippers. Then they both hurried down to Gaius's chambers as fast as she could manage. Gwaine, Arthur, and Gwen were already there, the royal couple also looking like they'd just been dragged out of bed. Merlin lay on the patient cot, utterly still. There were angry red rope marks across his neck, which was in the process of swelling significantly.

"What happened?" Lancelot asked in horror.

Lily went over to Gaius, who was busy checking Merlin over. He didn't appear injured aside from his throat. "What do you need?" she asked.

"A poultice for the swelling."

She nodded and went to their hybrid plants to get the leaves she needed. She listened to Gwaine explain what happened as she mashed the leaves into a paste with some camphor oil. She then brought it back over to gently massage into Merlin's neck, using her magic to activate the healing properties more quickly. Gaius stood up and pushed his stool over so she could sit while doing so.

Gwaine finished with saying he'd knocked out the assassin, who was now in the dungeon.

"First the Druids, and now Merlin?" Lancelot said. "Someone is attacking magic users." He flicked a worried look at Lily.

Arthur followed his gaze with a grim expression. "I'll order a guard for Lily at all times," he said.

"And if this is someone inside Camelot?" Lancelot replied.

"I'll get answers from Merlin's attacker," Gwaine said darkly. He turned to Gaius and Lily, that anger shifting to concern. "How is he?"

"Alive," Gaius answered. "And he doesn't seem to be struggling to breathe at the moment. Lily's magic will at least be able to help reduce the swelling and inflammation, make sure his airway remains unobstructed. Anything else, I won't be able to say until he wakes up." He paused. "If he wakes up."

That fury returned to Gwaine's eyes, and he spun sharply to storm out, no doubt for the dungeon. Lancelot looked torn between following to confront Merlin's attacker and staying to watch over his friend and wife. Lily had never felt in danger inside the castle before, but she couldn't help but worry now, and she self-consciously wrapped one arm around her unborn child.

"I'll post a guard outside as well," Arthur said. "In case someone tries to finish the job."

Gaius nodded grimly.

"I'll be here too," Lancelot said.

Arthur nodded, cast a reluctant look at Merlin, and left. Gwen stayed.

Lily finished infusing her magic into the poultice and reached out to stroke Merlin's hair back, praying he woke soon.

Gwaine stormed into the dungeon. "Which cell is he in?" he demanded of the guards.

They looked startled as they pointed down the aisle. Gwaine snatched the key ring from the small table and went to unlock the iron bars. The assassin was sitting with his back against the wall, knees drawn up in a relaxed posture. Gwaine strode over to stand over him.

"Who sent you?" he snarled.

The man lolled his gaze up, stoically quiet in the face of Gwaine's fury. Gwaine reached down to grab him by the front of the shirt and hauled him to his feet, then slammed him back against the wall.

"Answer the question!"

Still, the assassin said nothing.

"You failed," Gwaine told him. "Merlin is still alive."

The man finally canted his head in consideration. "That may be, but your reaction suggests he may not be in good health."

Gwaine's ire flared and he slammed the prisoner against the wall again, earning a wince. "You tried to kill my best friend," he seethed. "And I take that very personally."

He threw the man to the floor.

"Who sent you?"

The man kept his silence, so Gwaine delivered a kick to his ribs. He still refused to answer, and Gwaine kicked him in the lower back, eliciting a cry. But the assassin held firm, and Gwaine lost it. He could still see that moment when he walked around the corner: a man holding a rope tightly around Merlin's neck, Merlin's face puce and puckered as he fought to breathe, his struggles fading out by the second. Gwaine kicked and kicked, pouring all that rage out upon the man responsible.

"Gwaine!"

Elyan and Percival were suddenly grabbing his arms and dragging him backward. Leon planted himself between them and the prisoner.

"Enough!" he snapped.

"That bastard tried to kill Merlin!" Gwaine shouted back.

"We know," Elyan said, using his entire body weight to push Gwaine back. "But Merlin wouldn't want you to do this."

Gwaine shook his friends off with a scowl and retreated to the opposite wall, still fuming.

Leon turned to the prisoner lying on the floor and bent down to haul him upright and back against the wall. "If you tell us what we want to know, King Arthur might stay a sentence of execution."

There was a long, stubborn silence.

Leon straightened. "Or we can leave you alone with Gwaine."

Gwaine blinked in surprise.

"I thought you were honorable knights of Camelot," the assassin rejoined with a jeer.

"And you tried to murder one of our most beloved people in a dishonorable way," Leon replied, unfazed. "So I'm not feeling very chivalrous right now."

Gwaine figured Leon was actually bluffing, but he shifted into the prisoner's line of sight and glowered at him menacingly.

The assassin seemed to think on it for several long moments, and Gwaine began to wonder if he would call Leon's bluff. Not that it mattered, because while Leon would never cross that line, Gwaine would in a heartbeat for Merlin.

"I suppose you'll find out soon enough," the man said. "I was sent by King Artungrin of Deorham."

Leon frowned. "You're lying."

"I have no reason to lie."

"Isn't Deorham an ally of Camelot?" Elyan asked.

"Yes," Leon replied, looking perturbed. He turned and strode out of the cell.

The rest of them exchanged a look before following. Gwaine shot a parting glare at the prisoner before slamming the cell door closed behind him. Leon went straight to Arthur to relay the information.

Arthur looked just as confused as his First Knight. "King Artungrin has been a long-time ally of Camelot."

"When's the last time you treated with him?" Gwaine asked.

Arthur's mouth thinned. "Not since my father passed. I'll reach out to him immediately, get to the bottom of this."

Gwaine's jaw tightened. If a neighboring king had tried to have Merlin assassinated, then God help him.

Merlin woke to a sense of soreness he couldn't quite place. He prized his eyelids open and looked around Gaius's chambers, recognizing the viewpoint from the patient cot.

"Hey," Lily spoke by his side. "Welcome back."

He shifted his head toward her, wincing as his neck resisted the small movement. "Wh—" he tried to speak, only for excruciating fire to ignite in his throat, and he curled onto his side with a whimper.

Lily grabbed his shoulders. "Don't try to speak," she cautioned.

"Sit him up," he heard Gaius say.

Another pair of hands braced him from behind and elevated him slightly. He wanted to cough, to cry, but he could barely swallow around the agony in this throat.

"Drink this," Gaius said, putting a cup to his lips.

Merlin opened his mouth to drink. Warm liquid with honey slid down his throat, which only aggravated the fire more. He made a gargled sound of pain and tried to recoil, but the hands behind him held firm.

"I know it hurts," Gaius said. "Give it a little more and it will help."

Merlin's eyes were watering, but he trusted Gaius, so he took another drink, smaller this time. It still burned going down, but slowly a little numbness started to replace the searing burn. He became aware of Lancelot behind him, and Gwen standing nearby, watching anxiously.

"Don't talk," Gaius warned. "Nod or shake your head. Do you remember what happened?"

Merlin squinted as he had to recall his last lucid moments, but then he nodded. He reached up to grasp his throat, feeling stickiness there. Lily quickly took his hand and brought it back down. He looked at Gaius fearfully.

"Calm down," Gaius said. "Yes, you suffered some swelling and severe bruising, but you're awake and breathing, so that's a good thing."

He tried to calm his breathing, since aggravating anything related to his windpipe seemed like a bad idea right now. It was difficult, though. He remembered someone had interrupted his attacker, maybe Gwaine, and he opened his mouth to ask, remembering at the last second not to try. He gestured impatiently for something to write with. Gwen grabbed a quill and parchment off the table and brought it over.

Merlin scribbled out, "Was anyone else hurt?"

"No," Lancelot answered. "And the assassin was captured. The others are questioning him."

Merlin's eyes widened at the word assassin; he'd never warranted that kind of vocabulary before. But he supposed going from manservant to court sorcerer, he was going to have enemies like that now.

He scritched out another word. "Who?"

"We don't know yet," Lancelot said.

Merlin hesitated, remembering the matter they had just been thinking about regarding the attack on the Druids. "Insider?" he wrote.

"We don't know," Gwen repeated grimly.

Merlin's throat was still killing him, so he set the quill and paper aside and sipped more at the honeyed tea.

"I'll try a bunch of different healing plants," Lily said. "See if they can help your vocal cords heal faster."

He nodded, worried how bad this injury really was, whether he'd suffer permanent damage…

"It could also just take time," Gaius warned, of course knowing where Merlin's thoughts had gone. "So I want you to rest. You're relieved of duties for the time being."

Merlin nodded glumly as he took another sip of tea. He supposed he wouldn't be of much use right now. But if there were assassins getting into the castle, he needed to be back on his game soon.

Arthur and a small envoy rode out to meet with King Artungrin at a neutral location between their two kingdoms. Artungrin had readily accepted the meeting, as he had a hunting trip planned out that way.

Both kings dismounted and approached each other.

"Thank you for coming," Arthur said. There was no easy way to broach this, so he went straight into it. "I've heard some disturbing news from a man who tried to kill my court sorcerer."

"I've heard some disturbing news as well," Artungrin replied. "I was quite dismayed to learn that you were turning your back on the laws of your father. Magic is an abomination."

Arthur's jaw tightened. That was what this was about?

"The days of the Purge only plunged the five kingdoms into darkness," he said. Arthur paused. "Were you also the one who sent mercenaries to ambush the Druids?"

Artungrin sneered. "You are disgracing your father's legacy."

Arthur drew his shoulders back. "I'm making my own."

"Don't ally yourself with the enemy, Arthur Pendragon," Artungrin warned.

Arthur turned on his heel and went back to mount his horse. "I know what the enemy looks like," he said in parting, then turned his envoy around to head back to Camelot, disheartened.

Yesterday peace had been within his grasp, and now it seemed so far out of reach.