A/N: I don't own Merlin
"Please, tell me!" Merlin begged. "Was it poison?"
Nimueh nodded, maintaining her expression of feigned terror. Merlin immediately ran back into the banquet hall. Nimueh followed, now smirking. Merlin had taken the bait. He would accuse Bayard of trying to poison Arthur, Uther would force Merlin to taste the wine, and Arthur would come seeking the antidote…
…or Merlin could use a covert spell to knock the goblet out of Arthur's hand and spill the poisoned wine. That worked, too. For Merlin, that is. Not for Nimueh.
"Sorry, Sire, I'll refill it!" Merlin said quickly, snatching up the goblet. He hurried over to the nearest jug of wine. Well, Nimueh supposed she could work with that. The petal would poison the new wine, Arthur would drink it, and either Bayard or Merlin would be blamed. Preferably Bayard, so that she would still get her war, and then she'd get revenge on Merlin when he came for the antidote…
…damn. Merlin had noticed the petal and removed it. At least he would still accuse Bayard and start that war? Or perhaps Uther would suspect Merlin of planting the petal to sabotage the treaty?
No such luck. Merlin simply refilled the goblet and handed it to Arthur with a bow. The toast continued as if nothing happened. Merlin returned to Nimueh's side, holding up the petal. "Thanks for the warning. You just saved Arthur's life."
"But…what about Bayard?" Nimueh asked, feigning fear once more. "Are you going to let him get away with this?"
Merlin grimaced. "I promised I'd leave you out of it, which makes it my word against Bayard's. Uther will never take my word over that of a noble. He almost had me arrested the last time I tried to accuse one. Honestly, he probably still wouldn't believe it even if you came forward. I'll keep a close eye on Arthur's food and drink until Bayard leaves, but…he's probably going to get away with it."
Nimueh swallowed. "I see. Thank you for protecting me, Merlin."
"You're welcome." Merlin flashed a cheerful smile at her, as if he hadn't just foiled her entire plan in one fell swoop. Nimueh would have to return to the Isle of the Blessed and come up with a new plan, one that took into account that Merlin wasn't as much of an idiot as he led the court to believe…
A/N: Seriously, Nimueh's entire plan hinged on Merlin (and later Uther) responding exactly the way she expected. She'd never even met Merlin; it was ridiculous to think she could predict him that accurately.