I wanted to give all my fantastic reviewers a gift and post this chapter up early! I really want to thank you reviewers, because you're the ones keeping me going and I'm having a TON of fun writing this. I hope to do the characters justice and please enjoy!

Episode 2: Sorcerer's Bane (Part Two)

Gwaine felt that Merlin was as light as ever as he hoisted him onto his shoulders. It was amazing how a man could weigh so little and be healthy, but then again, Merlin didn't seem healthy at all. Gwaine had watched Merlin with his peripheral vision through that whole feast and he did seem to wobble on his feet. Once scanning over his face after he collapsed proved how sick the man really was. He had broken out in a cold sweat, his forehead was on fire, and his hands were clammy. After throwing him up on his shoulders, Gwaine heard a gasping wheeze for air and it was possible the man couldn't breathe.

Worry climbed its way into Gwaine's throat, but no matter how many times he tried to swallow it, he couldn't. Merlin was his best friend for years and if anything were to happen to him, Gwaine wouldn't forgive himself.

Gwaine reached for the knob to Gaius's chambers, but every time he bent down to turn it, Merlin would slip off a little.

"Apologies, Gaius," Gwaine forced a laugh and lifted his foot.

In an instant, the door was kicked open, sending the metal hinges flying from the scene followed by sending the entire door clattering to the ground.

"What is the meaning of this?" Gaius asked loudly, having looked up from an experiment at a table.

Gwaine walked in quickly with Merlin still on his back and set the man down on the couch just below the window that oversaw Camelot's dark form due to it being nighttime. The knight licked his lips and explained, "Sorry, Gaius. We were at a knighting ceremony and Merlin just collapsed."

Gaius was quick on his feet for an old man. He immediately went to tending to Merlin. Within moments, he had an answer.

"High fever, dilated pupils, quick heart beat… none of it matches up."

Gwaine raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"The symptoms together aren't an illness. Separately, I could diagnose, but together… I'm not sure."

"And what does that mean?"

Gaius swallowed. "It means he's been poisoned." Gaius sent Gwaine a strange look and the knight realized the old man was hiding something from him. Either way, his fret for Merlin was much too overpowering to question Gaius.

"Gaius!"

Gwaine turned towards the stairway and found his king walking through the doorway. Arthur's expression was worry, but it quickly turned to confusion upon looking at the splinters that used to be the door. Arthur frowned and his eyes met Gwaine's angrily.

Gwaine shrugged. "I couldn't get it open with my hands."

Arthur rolled his eyes and walked in, taking off his crown and setting it on the table near the couch. "What's happened to him?"

For a moment, Gaius was silent, so Arthur looked up and saw that the old sorcerer was giving him a strange look. Arthur narrowed his eyes, frustrated, and shook his head.

Gaius sighed loudly and said, "Gwaine. I'll need a bucket of hot water and a few towels. Fetch them for me in the kitchen."

Gwaine stood up straight, about to turn and run to Gaius's orders, but he paused and looked at the old man, confused. "You… You don't have any here? I was certain…"

"Hurry up, boy! Do you want Merlin's condition to get worse?" Gaius interrupted, earning a flinch from the knight. "Go, go!"

Gwaine spun on his heel and sprinted out the doorway, his loud footsteps echoing as he clambered down the stairs toward the kitchen.

"Sire," Gaius called quietly, getting him attention from the king. "I believe I've found the cause of this."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "It's something you can't say in front of Gwaine?"

Gaius nodded. "Yes, as it involves Merlin's secret."

Arthur swallowed, feeling incredibly uneasy at the thought. He glanced down at Merlin's unconscious body and watched his chest rise and fall in shuddering breaths. His face and hands were clammy and his nose was a little red. Arthur was sure he could even feel the heat radiating off of his servant, but perhaps that was because Arthur was wearing his kingly outerwear.

"Yesterday," Gaius began, "Merlin came home with a strange flower. I touched it for but an instant and I became very weary. At first, I thought nothing of it, but I do believe what happened to me and Merlin's present condition is tied to that flower."

"How come the effects took so much longer for him?"

"He is a very powerful sorcerer, my lord. I'm not surprised the flower's effects didn't show up until now."

Arthur was amazed and a strange feeling of pride washed over him. His servant was the most powerful sorcerer to have ever lived? Gaius kept telling him that, but he refused to believe it. It was Merlin, for God's sake! The same moron who couldn't give his armor a proper cleaning! Arthur knew it would take quite some time to get used to such information.

"Do you know the name of this flower?" Arthur asked, looking up from Merlin's figure.

"I believe it's calledVeneficus Bane, or Sorcerer's Poison. It is a flower that harms only sorcerers and gives them a slow and painful death, hence the name."

"And where could Merlin have gotten this flower?"

Gaius frowned and looked stumped. "I have absolutely no idea."

A tense silence followed.

"G… Gaius?"

Arthur's eyes widened at the sound of Merlin's weak voice. His body stiffened while the old sorcerer waddled quickly to Merlin's bedside.

Gaius stroked Merlin's forehead gently and smiled. "My boy, you always seem to get caught up in the strangest situations."

Merlin laughed warily followed by another coughing fit. Arthur stood behind the head of Merlin's bed, fearing what his servant had to say to him. He didn't let Merlin take the day off. Was it his fault? Maybe the poison's effects could've been weakened if he had rested.

Arthur watched in silence as Gaius helped Merlin sit up.

"What happened?" Merlin asked in a croaking voice. Arthur immediately jumped to get him water. Upon hearing the footsteps of the king, the young sorcerer turned and found Arthur scrambling in the cabinets. "Arthur?"

"Why must you be so stupid, Merlin?" Arthur asked angrily, keeping his back facing his servant as he grabbed a mug. He walked over to the bucket of fresh water and dunked the mug in to retrieve the liquid. "Letting a flower get the best of you? Are you really a man?"

"Flower?"

Gaius intervened to explain. "I've come to the conclusion that the flower is the source of your feverish condition. Where did you get it?"

Before allowing him to answer, Arthur shoved a cup of water in Merlin's face, looking disrespectful, but Merlin knew better. Merlin knew how thoughtful the king was being and he smiled, taking the cup gratefully. He took a long swig of it and coughed once, wiping his mouth.

"A woman gave it to me," Merlin explained solemnly, looking crestfallen. "A woman named Aya."

Arthur scoffed to lighten the mood. "What's that, Merlin? Are you, perhaps, in a relationship?"

Merlin sent him an angry, weak glare.

Arthur tapped his chin with a playful frown. "Oh, wait. She tried to kill you, didn't she? Does this happen often?"

Merlin shrugged and to Arthur's surprise, he actually nodded. "Well, yes. I believe it's happened a few times."

Arthur crossed his arms and sat diagonally from Gaius on the table beside Merlin's bedside. "Why are women trying to kill you?"

"Not necessarily women. Just some." Merlin coughed into his fist.

"And not normal women, or men. Sorcerers. Merlin's magical abilities are known across the lands, sire," Gaius said with a touch of pride in his tone. "Of course, only a few are able to reveal Merlin's identity. This, Aya woman, wants Merlin dead. The strange thing is, is that Merlin isn't dead already. Where is the flower now?"

"On my nightstand."

Gaius exhaled gently. "You never cease to amaze me, Merlin. You slept beside such a dangerous flower all night long and only passed out from a fever. My lord, will you please bring it here?"

Arthur nodded and made his way into Merlin's room. He found a crumpled purple flower on the wooden furniture. Hesitantly, he picked it up between his index finger and thumb, but upon realizing that nothing wrong was happening, he made his way back into the living room where he found Gaius tending to the fireplace.

"Throw it in the flames, sire. That will surely destroy the flower as well as Merlin's illness."

Arthur lightly tossed the purple plant into the fire. For a moment, nothing happened. Arthur was amazed at how long the flower could stay in such heat for such a long period of time. But when he thought nothing was going to happen, the plant burst into a flurry of purple sparkles, disappearing from sight.

"Is that all?" Merlin asked from the opposite end of the room.

Gaius poked the fire to relight it. "I believe so."

Arthur smiled toothlessly. "Well, that wasn't so bad, now, was it?"

Loud footfalls clambered up the stairwell and Gwaine burst through the doorway, carrying a big bucket of steaming water and nearly five regular-sized towels on his arm. His long hair looked wind-swept from his speed and he was breathing heavily.

"I've got it!" the knight exclaimed with a childish grin.

The impeccable timing earned three beaming smiles.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The next day was yet another brilliant afternoon in Camelot. Despite its brilliance, the king was frowning at the document that rested on the elegant table before him. He had just returned to his chambers to find that he had to review the territory boundaries.

Merlin was cleaning up Arthur's room when there was a cold breeze and the king shivered. Arthur took notice that the fire in the fireplace had gone out.

"Merlin, do you mind…?" Arthur gestured to the charred wood.

The sorcerer smiled as he folded a blue tunic. "Oh? Have you realized how convenient magic is, sire?"

Arthur rolled his eyes and tapped the feather ink pen on the mahogany desk. "Yes, but please do so quietly and quickly."

Merlin replied with a short laughter and set the tunic down on Arthur's bed. Arthur watched closely, having become fascinated with sorcery ever since he returned to Camelot with the surprising knowledge about Merlin's secret. Merlin raised his hand and whispered a few strange words. However, that's all that happened. Arthur stole a glance at the fireplace; still no fire. Arthur remained silent and continued to watch with a scowl on his face. Merlin himself seemed stumped, but he shifted his feet and tried again. Same result.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked, signing his name at the bottom of the document.

There was a tense pause in Merlin's reply, but it wasn't the silence that worried Arthur. It was the shocking statement that followed.

"I… I can't use magic."