A/N -Helloo! I am back on schedule! Yay! So one per day up to the end of November now!

Thank you to JanetM74 for the review.

This one was written for my sister, I couldn't decide whose turn it was to get whumped this time and she asked for her favourite character! So this is her fault!

No. 22 – Poisoned

Arthur raised his goblet.

"To a successful day," he toasted.

"Hear, hear!" Gwaine called, downing the last of his goblet.

The others laughed but raised their goblets and sipped as well. It had been a long day, but a good one. They had rescued a village being tormented by a magical creature, half wolf, half lizard. Arthur himself had struck the killing blow and the villagers had been incredibly grateful, sending them back to Camelot with a brace of pheasants and a bottle of wine made by the village wise woman.

"More please, Merlin, my lovely purveyor of alcohol," Gwaine sang, leaning back in his chair and waving his goblet.

"I think you've probably had enough for this evening," Arthur told him.

He pouted, flicking his hair out of his eyes.

"Bet you can't go the rest of the evening without having another drink," Elyan said, flicking a bit of bread across the table at Gwaine.

Gwaine looked affronted. Percival nudged him with his elbow and Gwaine nearly fell off his seat. Although that could have been down to Percival's strength rather than Gwaine's intoxication.

"I think I'll join that wager." Arthur dug in his pocket and drew out a gold coin. He slammed it onto the table in front of him. "No more drink tonight."

Gwaine groaned. Leon and Elyan fished coins out as well, laughing and adding them to Arthur's pile. Lancelot gave a rueful smile but he was never one to gamble. Percival flipped a coin between his fingers.

"I wager he can," he said calmly, patting Gwaine's shoulder. "Faith in you, my friend."

"Merlin?" Arthur looked up at him, he was grinning goofily. He pulled a face then got a coin from his own pocket, walked deliberately to Percival's end of the table and dropped his coin down in front of the big knight.

The knights jeered and chuckled, Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"I'm in charge of the pouring, I'll make sure he has no more," Merlin said with a grin.

"Merlin!" Gwaine groaned. "Fine!" He looked around grumpily at the rest of the knights. Then snagged Leon's goblet from beside him and drained it. "Starting from now."

"That was the last of that wine anyway," Merlin said, tilting the empty pitcher.

"Open the one the villagers gave us," Arthur told him.

Merlin emptied the bottle of wine the villages had given them into the pitcher. Then came over and filled Leon's empty goblet.

"Thank you, Merlin." Leon took a sip, wincing and coughing slightly. "Ugh, that's strong." He shuddered and put the goblet back down.

"Aww, Gwaine, just how you like it!" Arthur teased.

Merlin plonked a goblet of water in front of Gwaine, some sloshing over the side at his overzealousness. Arthur was surprised Merlin didn't end up wearing it, given the glare Gwaine sent him. Elyan clapped and laughed. Lancelot smirked and lifted his goblet, nodding to Gwaine satirically. Then jerked in his seat as Gwaine kicked him under the table. Elyan laughed harder and received his own kick.

Leon coughed, lifting a hand to pat his chest and rub at his throat.

"You alright?" Lancelot asked, putting his goblet down and leaning forwards across the table.

"Yes, just a tickle in my throat. It's dry," Leon said, coughing again. He picked up his goblet and had a large swig to try and alleviate the tickle. Then pulled a face and pushed the goblet away. "That really is bad wine."

"Merlin?" Lancelot turned to Merlin but he was already pouring a goblet of water from the other jug. He handed it to Leon, taking the offending wine away.

Sniffing it, Merlin pulled a face as well.

"So thanks, but no thanks to the homemade wine," Arthur laughed, taking a sip of his own wine, which was still his first gobletful from the original pitcher of Camelot wine. "Throw it out, Merlin. Open another good bottle."

Merlin sighed. "I'll just go down to the cellars and fetch one, shall I?" He glared at Arthur. Arthur just gave him his princely stare and Merlin stomped out of the room.

Leon coughed again, Gwaine thumped him on the back, but Leon kept on coughing. Suddenly his hands flew to his mouth and he bent over double, coughing and retching. There was a loud scraping of chairs as the rest of the knights leapt to their feet.

Arthur grabbed Leon's shoulders, pulling him upright. Blood tinged saliva was bubbling at the corner of his mouth, spilling over his lips into his beard. He was gasping, his hands clutching at his throat. His eyes were wide and terrified.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled, hoping the servant wasn't out of earshot already. "Someone get Gaius!"

Elyan sprinted from the room.

Percival caught Leon as he fell from his chair, shaking and convulsing. Together Arthur and Percival lowered him to the floor and rolled him onto his side. Lancelot knelt behind him, propping him up.

Gwaine stormed over to the table at the side of the room where Merlin had left Leon's goblet of the homemade wine. He examined it closely.

"Poison?" Arthur asked, gritting his teeth in anger.

"Must be," Gwaine replied. "But why? We saved their bloody village."

Leon began gagging, his fingers scrabbling at his throat and the collar of his tunic.

"Loosen his tunic," Lancelot suggested, Arthur was already trying to do so.

"Should we get him to drink some water?" Percival asked and Gwaine leapt towards the table, snatching his own untouched water goblet, spilling half of it in his haste to bring it down to Leon.

But Leon was gasping and didn't seem able to drink. His face was turning red as he struggled to breathe, sweat running down his temples.

Arthur was beginning to panic by the time Merlin came back in, tossing the wine bottle from hand to hand. It dropped and smashed on the floor as Merlin noticed Leon. He ran to them and fell to his knees at Leon's side.

"What happened?!"

"That wine was poisoned."

"No!" Merlin's hand fell to Leon's chest, steadying him as he spasmed.

The door banged open again as Elyan reappeared. Gaius was panting with exertion behind him. He hurried over and Percival helped the old man down to his knees, moving out of the way so Gaius and Merlin could examine Leon.

"Elyan says he drank some poison?" Gaius asked.

"Yes, the wine's over there if you need to see." Arthur pointed at the pitcher. Gaius looked up at the pitcher and nodded then back down at Leon.

He opened his medicine bag, it was much more of a mess than usual, as if he had hurriedly thrown things into it when Elyan told him what had happened. He pulled out some dry herb sprigs, handing them to Merlin, who leapt up and dashed to the table, holding the twigs over a candle. They caught fire and Merlin threw his arm over his face, covering his nose and mouth with his elbow.

"Cover your faces," Gaius said to Arthur and Lancelot. "You three stay back. You don't want to breathe any of this in."

Percival, Gwaine and Elyan backed away as Gaius, Arthur and Lancelot copied Merlin's action. Merlin knelt back down, holding a bowl and handed the smoking bundle of sprigs to Gaius. Gaius waved them under Leon's nose, making sure he breathed the smoke in.

Arthur saw why Gaius had told them to cover their faces when Leon leant forward and vomited violently into the bowl Merlin held.

"And again, make sure it's all out." Gaius waved the twigs again, patting Leon's back as he gagged and retched, emptying the contents of his stomach. "That's it. Merlin, cover that and no one touch it, the poison's in there."

Gaius dropped the smoking twigs into the bowl and Merlin whisked it away.

"Right, let's get him to my chambers. I can analyse the poison and find an antidote."

Percival and Elyan hurried forwards to help Lancelot and Arthur lift Leon to his feet. Percival wrapped Leon's arm over his shoulders and hoisted him up. Arthur pulled Leon's other arm over his own shoulders.

Leon groaned, his head lolling. Sweat was streaking his pale face and a small trickle of blood seeped down his beard, but he seemed to be breathing easier and was no longer choking.

"How did we end up with poisoned wine though?" Gwaine asked, picking up the pitcher and holding it at arm's length.

"It was probably meant for you, Sire," Lancelot said angrily.

Arthur growled. "I will not let him die because of me."

"He shall not die, Sire," Gaius assured him. "We've removed the poison from his stomach and I'll treat him with a simple tincture of rue and yarrow first. Then as long as I can keep control over his heart rate and fever, he will stay stable until I have made an antidote. Then he should recover fully in just a couple of days."

Gaius bustled out of the room, Merlin at his side with his medicine bag. Arthur and Percival carried Leon after them, Elyan hovering behind them to support if Leon fell.

"I think we'll let you off the bet," Lancelot said to Gwaine, putting an arm over his shaking shoulders. "We'll all need a strong drink after this."

A/N - Sorry (not sorry!)