The morning had been a hard one for all the servants, but especially Krysia, who had been in charge of making all of the arrangements for King Bayard of Mercia, their honored guest, and all his retinue.

She and Gaius passed Merlin, who was carrying a heavy bag and pouting.

"Why do I always get landed with the donkey work?" Merlin groaned. Krysia giggled.

"You're a servant, Merlin," Gaius said, amused. "It's what you do."

"Well, the lower ones, anyway," Krysia said with a snort. "If I'd ever tried to carry something that heavy one of the knights would have stepped in."

"You're much smaller," Gaius said with a dismissive air. "Besides, Merlin, it's character building. As the old proverb says, hard work breeds…a harder soul."

Krysia raised her eyebrow.

"There's no way that's a proverb," Merlin countered, sharing a look with Krysia. "You just made that up."

Krysia laughed and said, "Well, he may have said it to me before, but I don't doubt that there is no such proverb."

Before Gaius could defend himself, a young woman in the garb of Mercia's servants fell in front of Merlin in a way that Krysia was pretty sure was faked. She could have snorted. The girl was attractive, so what was she doing, trying to get Merlin's attention? Dark hair, bright eyes…. She could have been related to Morgana.

"Sorry," the girl said quickly.

"It's all right," Merlin said, watching the girl scramble to get the things she'd dropped.

"Excuse me," she muttered.

"Let me give you a hand with that."

Oh, the boy was so chivalrous it was almost sickening sometimes, and that was what women like this serving girl counted on. The nice ones were such easy bait.

"I'm Krysia," she said, holding out her hand as the two of them finished and straightened up. "I think I saw you at the welcoming. This is Merlin."

"Cara," the girl said, shaking Krysia's hand, then Merlin's. "You two serve Arthur. It must be such an honor."

Ah, so the girl wasn't after Merlin at all. She was foolish enough to think she could catch the eye of a prince. Perhaps she'd forgotten that, pretty as she was, clothing was the first thing any nobleman saw. She'd have no chance with any of the knights, much less Arthur.

"Oh, yeah," Merlin said, in that silly way he did when he was nervous and pleased at once. Poor boy was attracted to her. "It is. Well, you know, someone's got to keep the place running."

"Thank you, Merlin," the girl said sweetly.

"Hmm?" Merlin looked down at her burden absently. "Oh, right. Yeah. Er, no problem."

"It was nice meeting you both," Cara chirped, and Merlin watched her walk away.

That is, before Krysia slapped him upside the head.

"Don't you have a castle to run?" Krysia teased, a little bit bitterly.

After all, that was her job.

Gaius just laughed as they walked away.

/-/

The banquet was not a rare sort of occasion, but one of this magnitude and grandeur certainly wasn't an everyday occurrence. Krysia was frantic, making sure everything turned out perfect. Uther had a lot of faith in her, and she was not about to ruin that faith by being stupid about her duties.

However, she managed to get her work to a point where she was able to relax during the actual event, her job merely to oversee the other servants and personally serving Uther and Bayard. Uther said that Bayard had been impressed with her work, which was a pleasant bit of praise.

Gwen and Krysia were preparing cups for Morgana and Uther when Merlin approached with the ridiculous ceremonial garb, including a feathered hat. Gwen giggled.

"Nice hat," she teased.

"Thanks," Merlin muttered, obviously displeased with his outfit. In fact, Krysia noted that Merlin caught the eye of Cara and jerked the hat off his head quickly. Gwen had noticed too.

"She's pretty, isn't she?" Gwen said slowly. "For a handmaiden, I mean."

Krysia snorted.

"She's pretty for a princess," she countered, "but she's still only a handmaiden, and if she's smart she'll not forget it."

"Mmm," Gwen hummed in agreement.

Uther finished signing the treaty, grasping arms with Bayard as the room filled with applause. Without words of parting, Gwen and Krysia quickly moved to their proper places, awaiting the speeches.

"People of Camelot," Bayard said happily, "for a great many years we have been mortal enemies, and the blood of our men stains the ground from the walls of Camelot to the gates of Mercia. And though we remember those who died, we must not allow anymore to join them."

A serving girl of Mercia brought in a box on cue and walked as a good servant would in such a circumstance up to the two rulers with deference in her every step.

"As a symbol of our goodwill," Bayard continued, "and of our newfound friendship, I present these ceremonial goblets to you, Uther, and to your son, Arthur, in the hope that our friendship may last. The wounds we received in battle…"

But Krysia had stopped listening. She was looking over at Merlin after Gaius had caught her eye and directed her attention. Cara was talking to him, and after several moments Merlin looked around and left the hall with the girl.

Either Cara was very presumptuous or something was wrong, but Krysia was not in any position to find out. She could not leave the hall without causing a scandal.

"Tonight we toast a new beginning for our peoples," Bayard continued. "We look towards a future free from the toils of war."

The entire time Merlin was out of the hall Krysia had a hard time listening to the speech, which she thought ought to be ending about three different times as she filled the cups of Arthur and Uther, who were too busy to notice that Arthur's servant was missing.

"And may the differences from our past remain there," Bayard said finally. "To your health, Uther."

The whole of the crowd stood to toast, obviously waiting for those words, but the windbag King Bayard was not quite finished.

"Arthur."

Arthur moved to drink, but once again, it was not done.

"The Lady Morgana."

Arthur waited this time, glancing over at Krysia with thinly veiled annoyance. She would have giggled, but she knew her place and the protocol as much as he did. Bayard was an honored guest, and they could both easily be seen by everyone in the hall if they made any sort of sleight.

"The people of Camelot."

Beginning to drink again, Arthur was this time cut off not by Bayard, but by Uther, who seemed more into the toast than anyone in the room.

"And to the fallen warriors on both sides," he added, in what Krysia thought was a fitting and regal sort of gesture.

This time, everyone had lifted their cups to drink, and when it seemed Arthur would finally get to drink from his new ceremonial goblet, Krysia was horrified to hear Merlin cry, "Stop!"

She felt a bit sick.

He rushed in, rushed forward, and continued to rave in a most unfitting manner.

"It's poisoned! Don't drink it!"

Merlin hurried up and took the goblet from Arthur and Krysia was getting a very, very bad feeling about this. She, too, hurried forward, although she wasn't sure whether or not to censure Merlin or support him, and she wished Gaius's voice was in her head telling her what to do.

"What?" Uther demanded.

"Merlin, what has gotten into you?" she settled for, knowing that it was giving him a chance to try to explain himself while still doing her job.

Krysia appreciated rare moments like this when she could do her job properly and still clean up after Merlin, but he usually was bad about making her life difficult.

"Bayard laced Arthur's goblet with poison," Merlin explained, and Krysia had so hoped that he was going to have some other explanation for everything.

"This is an outrage!" Bayard cried, as well he probably should, and he and his men drew their swords in response to Merlin's statement. In response to this action, every knight of Camelot also drew their swords, and Krysia was very much aware that she was standing between the drawn iron of the two factions without a stitch of armor.

"Order your men to put down their swords," Uther said calmly, moving Krysia behind the table deftly to keep her from being injured by accident. She noted that he made no such move for Merlin, although the guards were rushing in and Krysia held her breath as Uther gripped her upper arm, holding her away from the knights of Mercia. "You are outnumbered," he continued, nodding to the guards who had just arrived.

"I will not allow this insult to go unchallenged!" Bayard demanded.

"On what grounds do you base this accusation?" Uther asked Merlin in his most stern voice, the voice Krysia faintly recalled from her childhood, asking her questions about who she was and where she came from.

"I'll handle this," Arthur said softly, more for Krysia's benefit than anything.

He'd caught on fairly quickly that she'd been set the difficult task of keeping Merlin out of trouble, and whether or not he'd actually developed some measure of fondness for Merlin, Arthur at least seemed to want to smooth over his mistakes for Krysia's sake, if nothing else.

Arthur made his way around the table and grabbed Merlin by the arm, taking the goblet from him.

"Merlin, you idiot," Arthur said loud enough for Bayard to hear, "have we been at the sloe gin again?"

"Unless you want to be strung up," Uther continued more firmly, even squeezing Krysia's arm slightly, "you will tell me why you think it's poisoned now."

"He was seen lacing it," Merlin said.

"By whom?"

"I can't say," Merlin admitted.

Cara. Cara had been the one to tell him, which was why she'd taken him out of the hall. Something was certainly smelling fishier by the second, but Krysia couldn't decide whether it was Cara or Bayard or both.

"I won't listen to this anymore," Bayard snapped.

"Pass me the goblet," Uther said calmly, letting go of Krysia's arm as Arthur passed it to him. "If you're telling the truth…"

"I am," Bayard insisted.

"Then you have nothing to fear, do you?" Uther said coldly.

As if a king could argue with that.

Bayard, predictably, sheathed his sword and reached for the goblet, but Uther did not hand it to him.

"No," he said in a voice that made Krysia's skin crawl. "If this does prove to be poisoned, I want the pleasure of killing you myself."

Bayard snorted, and Uther held up the goblet to Merlin.

Krysia could feel her heart pounded in her ears as Uther said, "He'll drink it."

"But if it is poisoned, he'll die!" Krysia said, horrified, half because of what was happening, half because she'd so inappropriately spoken out of turn.

"Then we'll know he was telling the truth," Uther replied.

Krysia had always known Uther was a hard man. He had ironically taken her whole family from her, and then unknowingly facilitated her raising. He'd taken a special interest in her because she was around Morgana and Arthur's age, because she was pretty and talented and capable. But this was a chilling reminder that he was also incredibly cruel.

"And what if he lives?" Bayard demanded.

"Then you have my apologies," Uther conceded, "and you can do with him what you will."

Krysia stood there, unsure whether she wished for the goblet to be poisoned or not.

"Uther, please!" Gaius said, standing up. "He's just a boy! He doesn't know what he's saying!"

"Then you should have schooled him better," Uther said coldly.

"Merlin, apologize," Arthur demanded. "This is a mistake. I'll drink it."

A sudden fear gripped Krysia and she realized that she and Merlin could not take that risk. Arthur could not drink, and Krysia had to hope that Merlin was poisoned in a way she could cure.

"No," she said firmly. "No, no, it's fine. Merlin will drink it, Arthur. It's his job."

Merlin gave her a steady look that said he was grateful, that he understood, but Gaius was clearly outraged. Merlin toasted Bayard, then Arthur, and then took a drink. Krysia gripped the table, forgetting herself as she awaited Merlin's fate, not daring to wish for any outcome over another.

"It's fine," Merlin said, and Krysia's grip did not relax.

"He's all yours," Uther said to Bayard, but it was a moment too soon.

Not even seconds later, Merlin began to choke before falling to the floor, unconscious.

"It's poisoned," Uther said, still callous to the boy lying, dying, on his floor. "Guards, seize him!"

As chaos reigned in the hall, Krysia, Gaius, Gwen, and Arthur all hovered around Merlin, rushing to see how he fared.

"Merlin," Gaius said firmly, with no response. "Can you hear me?" Still nothing. "We have to get him back to my chambers," Gaius told his eager attendants. "Bring the goblet. I need to identify the poison."

Arthur picked up Merlin with ease and Gwen picked up the goblet, handing it to Krysia who wrapped it on a cloth and carried it back to Gaius's chambers.

"Get him on the bed," Krysia ordered Arthur as soon as they arrived. "He can't breathe. I need water and a towel."

After so many years of working with Gaius, her instincts kicked in, and Gaius had taken the goblet from her, unwrapping it and setting it on a nearby table.

"Is he gonna be all right?" Arthur asked, doing as she bid.

"He's burning up," Gaius said, examining Merlin carefully.

"Can we help him?" Krysia whispered, taking the towel from Gwen and administering it to Merlin's forehead gently.

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

Gwen did as she was asked and Gaius began to examine it more closely while Krysia took care of Merlin.

"Ah," he said. "There's something stuck on the inside."

"What?" Krysia asked sharply.

"It looks like a flower petal of some kind."

Krysia moved to get a book off the shelf and Gwen took over at Merlin's side.

"His brow's on fire," Gwen remarked.

"Keep him as cool as you can," Krysia instructed, putting the book down on the table between her and Gaius. "His fever needs to be kept in check as best as we can."

Gaius flipped through the book quickly, looking for a match.

"Ah," he murmured. "The petal comes from the Mortaeus flower. It says here that someone poisoned by the Mortaeus can only be saved by a potion from the leaf of the very same flower. It can only be found in the caves deep beneath the Forest of Balor. The flower grows on the roots of the Mortaeus tree."

"That's not particularly friendly," Arthur remarked dryly.

"If I remember correctly," Krysia said with a shrewd narrowing of her eyes, "a Cockatrice guards that forest. And venom from a Cockatrice is nearly as bad as what we're dealing with here. Maybe worse because you're basically dead right away, no chance of redemption. It's not a well-travelled path."

"Sounds like fun," Arthur continued in his dry tone.

"Arthur, it's too dangerous," Gaius cautioned.

But Krysia knew that Arthur had already made up his mind.

"How will Merlin die if we do not get this leaf?" she whispered.

"The Mortaeus induces a slow and painful death," Gaius said reluctantly. "He may hold out four, maybe five days, but not for much longer. Eventually, he will die."

/-/

The following day Krysia received word that Arthur had left the castle against the orders of Uther, who had forbade him to search for the flower. Leon was going through fits about it, but he gave her the things she asked to be brought to the physician's chamber without too much question. He'd become fond of Merlin, as so many at court had.

"He's getting hotter," Gwen said nervously.

But what was even worse was when Merlin began muttering spells in his unconscious state moments later.

"Him. Liffrea, wuldres wealdend, woroldare forgeaf."

Nervous, Krysia quickly said, "Gwen, I've brought some more towels. Leon fetched them for me."

Gwen barely noticed the towels as she took them from Krysia.

"What language is that?" Gwen asked curiously.

"None," Gaius said sharply. "The fever's taken hold. None of those words are his own. His pulse is weaker."

Gaius turned over Merlin's arm to reveal a circular rash.

"What is it?" Krysia asked, stepping back slightly in case it might be contagious somehow.

"That can't be right," Gaius said, frowning at the mark. "The rash is not supposed to appear until the final stage."

"What does that mean?" Gwen pressed.

Krysia took the book and pulled it closer to her, reading it out loud for Gwen's benefit.

"It says, 'once a rash appears, death will follow within two days.'"

Gwen rounded on Gaius.

"You said he had four days," she reminded him, fear in her voice.

"Something's increased the flower's potency," Gaius deduced, taking the book back and reading it with his magnifying glass. "It warns that 'the effect of the Mortaeus will be more rapid if an enchantment is used during the flower's preparation.'"

"Magic," Krysia whispered, touching Merlin's sweaty brow thoughtfully. "But Bayard is not a sorcerer, Gaius."

"No, he isn't," Gaius agreed solemnly.

"Then who did this?" Gwen asked softly.

And suddenly the memory of what had happened at the feast, the warning Merlin was given, the behavior of Cara, the egg Krysia had found….

"Gaius," she whispered. "You don't think…."

"Think what?" Gwen pressed.

Gaius seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"What happened to that girl?" he asked.

"Cara," Krysia whispered, running a damp cloth along Merlin's brow.

"Just before Merlin burst into the hall one of Bayard's serving girls took him outside," Gaius reminded Gwen.

"She had dark hair," Gwen recalled. "Very beautiful."

"You need to find her, Gwen," Krysia whispered. "You need to find her now. Act in my name if you have to."

Merlin began to mumble again.

"Arthur... swa…"

Krysia soothed him as Gwen rushed out of the chambers.

There might not be time.