The wound had been sealed and the final thread was woven. His arms, the floor, the sheets, they were covered in what looked like coal and the leeches Gaius had used were shrivelled into nothing in their dish, obviously succumbing to whatever it was flowing through Elaina's system themselves.

Gwen had tidied Elaina up, fitting her into a fresh nightdress and tying her hair away but when she did pull her curls back it made her look that much more gaunt, silencing everyone as they just looked on and stared at her expectantly.

Gaius had made it clear that he had no idea if she would wake and begun rummaging through some of his books, to see if he could find clues regarding the poison.

Merlin followed him to speak more privately, since Gwen and Arthur lingered.

"what is it Gaius, what's wrong with her?" he asked.

Gaius gave a long pause since for the second time in his life, he has been unable to help a daughter of Gorlois and he believed it to be for the same reasoning. Magic had its influence here, for any substance created by man was known to him while the abilities of a sorcerer were limitless.

"it's nothing like I've ever seen before merlin. If I had to guess I'd say that the poison was following the pattern of a snake bite. Her pulse is rapid, she's struggling to breathe, there's discolouration throughout her entire body and she's sweating from fever. If she wakes, I fear to think what other symptoms may present themselves."

Merlin dreaded where Gaius was going with this as there was no hope in his tone.

"what are you saying?" Arthur asked, as he had been listening in knowing Gaius would reveal more to merlin first before anyone else.

Before the physician could explain, another entered the room. Not morgana, but the king to finally see what was becoming of his ward as the castle was ablaze with the topic after he had come out of his council meeting. He had ordered not to be disturbed but considering the matter at hand he would have made an exception.

He glanced over at Elaina and went to take a hurried step forwards because at a distance she would easily pass off as already dead, then he saw her chest rise ever so slowly. A reassurance for the moment, only it was clearly a struggle for her which still made him concerned over her welfare.

"what on earth has happened!" he demanded.

Arthur bowed his head, "we were ambushed sire. Bandits I didn't recognise; they laid out a trap knowing we would be taking that particular road. Initially we thought to have defeated them and I was about to send merlin back to call on some guards to arrest them, but one man managed to stand. He meant to stab me except Elaina had seen it coming and put herself between us, taking the hit. She saved me father and I owe it to her to make sure she survives this."

Uther listened intently and wandered over to Elaina, looking almost too afraid to touch her and with a gloved hand he just gently hovered it over where the veins on her arms were darkening.

"a simple stab wound would not have done this. I've seen and been victim to a fair few too know."

Gaius folded his arms behind his back, his shoulders hunched and back aching after working on Elaina for so long.

"indeed sire. I suspect the blade used was laced with a poison, but as I was telling merlin here, it's not a poison I know of. which would mean…"

The king jerked back like the magic coursing through Elaina would take a bite out of him too and then to quickly adjust his resolve among a room of spectators, he turned his hand into a fist, his eyes like fire as he spat the word magic.

"Do you think Morgause is behind this? Vengeance for her past failures perhaps."

Her existence was a lingering thorn in Uther's side and the blame for all of Camelot's recent sufferings was at her doorstep as far as he was concerned, while her worse crime in stealing morgana would forever be unforgivable and remained unpunished.

Now it seemed she wanted the other sister to play with in morgana's stead for her own amusement. He looked around and was actually surprised morgana wasn't there and began worrying that the situation must have been a bit too much and she was hiding somewhere, to get away from it. He couldn't blame her since Elaina was in a pitiful state. He hadn't seen anyone look so ill before and he could see how the toxic blood made the veins rise from off her skin, making his curiosity draw up her sleeve where they travelled along her flesh.

'better she than morgana.'

Uther cleared his throat at the thought and turned his back on Elaina not wanting another look at her, as it was hard to digest such an appearance that even a beauty like she could not overcome.

Gwen had not been best pleased by the king's expression and took to sitting in the stool Gaius had been in to bring Elaina's hand to her lips. Unlike Uther, vanity did not make her care for what Elaina looked like and she wanted her lady to feel comfort and love, rather than the disgust of a spectator.

"it's possible," Gaius confirmed with a hint of a snarl, for he too had not missed Uther's regard over his ward, as even now he could not even pretend that he cared about her.

Gaius knew why. She was so much like her father, Gorlois, that Uther couldn't bare the sight of Elaina, as she reminded him of the man he left to die on the battlefield. For years he has tried to bury the responsibility he had in his friend's death, but Elaina was a constant reminder. He did not so much as hesitate in asking how long she had left to live and tackled the issue head on, while the rest of them hadn't been able to stomach the thought.

"without means to treat such a thing," Gaius regrettably started, "A strong girl like Elaina, a day at most."

"A day!" Arthur excalimed, "You're saying that Elaina only has a day left to live."

Arthur could not deny that his own mind had been leading to this conclusion by itself, but a day was far too short a time for him to spend with Elaina. In her he could see some of the happiest days from his youth, where he finally got to share in it with people his own age. Before then the castle had felt isolated for a young boy like Arthur had been and fearing for his safety and that of protocol, Uther never allowed him in those days to leave without permission or a chaperone. Any exertion of play he attempted, then someone was always quick to tell him to preserve his dignity as a prince. so, he was just left with the option of idle walks, which is the main reason why he threw himself into fighting and sword training the way he did, as it was his only release of energy and source fun.

However, when Elaina came along she had been furious that there was someone telling her what to do and it became her mission to lose them every day and he would watch as she ran away. She even escaped from a window once, dropping down from pillar to pillar to the gardens. He had envied her for being so daring and she had caught him watching, with her instinct causing her to grab him when she passed by and continue to run. They had raced through the castle out the gates and into the upper ring of the city where her friends waited and he spent a day feeling as a child should, with freedom and no responsibility or expectation. The days that it rained, she would bring the games inside, playing bowls, hopscotch, beanbag throw and hide and go seek. Arthur filled the halls with laughter thanks to Elaina and that didn't mean they didn't have a few good scraps, because they did. Both teased the other relentlessly and it worsened as they grew and he became furiously protective over her as the knights ogled over Elaina as she became a woman.

She was everything to him; being a sense of family, fun, laughter and love. He wanted to see what the world had in store for such a spirit and he didn't want to think about the possibility that he would lose in so much, if she was taken from him.

Because she would always be his sister.

"I'm sorry Arthur. But I truly cannot do anything to save her. only magic can counteract magic from my experience and if a high priestess is the maker of a poison like this, then a force just as powerful must undo it."

Gaius exchanged a knowing look with merlin, whose neck jerked in comprehension. Elaina always put her faith in his capabilities and now a lot of the time so did Gaius and this was one of those occasions. He just needed an empty room to try…

"…she will be commended for her sacrifice."

Uther wasn't a fool; he knew that the loss of Elaina would hit the kingdom hard and especially morgana. He needed to let her know he was still there for her, even without her sister. The months will be a hard road ahead of them, but they will pull through as they did with every loss as this was just the cruel world they lived in, but he would ensure that morgana and Arthur will never be subjected to such a fate. Elaina's passing will enforce the war against magic, as it was by its doing that she was meeting her end. Peasant or noble, they would all be victims to its foulness if they let it, thus why he was forever taking a stand against it.

"commended for her sacrifice… you speak as though she is already dead. Look at her father! do you not care at all about your ward, the woman who just saved your son's life and has lived in this castle for the majority of her life! There must be something we can do…"

Uther in a rare moment was going to show sympathy to Arthur, forgetting what Elaina meant to him and he could not deny their fondness for each other, as morgana and admittedly also Elaina had fulfilled his wish for his son to have siblings, after his wife had died. It was only natural he would grow attached and that Elaina's loss would affect him as much as it would morgana.

However, this would be an instance where Arthur would refuse the king.

"get out, father. Just leave Elaina with those who truly care for her."

Elaina had touched many a soul in her time and Morgause was not alone in feeling when the lady had taken a blow in place of the pendragon prince. Like a ripple in a pool, the inkling of her being in danger had reached him, drawing Edwin away from his current affairs and the image of her consumed his thoughts. If he listened closely, he could have sworn to have even heard her voice in the wind asking him to return in her hour of need. His strength he had always known would never had lasted much longer before he needed to see her once more and this was his opportunity. He just wished it didn't come with this much urgency and this sense of impending doom. Fortunately, he had not been a great distance away from her and Edwin rode with all his might to get to Camelot and see what has come of his beloved.