Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters....but i'd like to own Arthur.
Thanks to Beth9874 for spotting the typo.
Gaius entered the cell that morning to see Merlin lying in the same position as the night before. He was soaked in sweat and his forehead was burning. Gaius didn't understand it, he was sure he had cleaned the wound properly. He changed the boy's bandages and gave him another potion. Gaius then left with a worried expression on his face; Merlin hadn't moved in the entire time Gaius was there although he was breathing regularly and had a pulse. As the physician crossed the courtyard, something shiny caught his eye. It was a dagger, the only one which had missed his nephew. Gaius took it back to his quarters to examine it.
"The bastard! The blade is covered in manure! God help you, Merlin."
Morgana looked up as there was a loud knock on the door to her chambers.
"Come in!"
Gwen opened the door to reveal a rather dishevelled looking Arthur, with dark rims under his eyes.
"What is it?" Morgana asked, being uncharacteristically nice to him. She pulled him into the room and into a chair by the fire.
"I can't stop thinking about him. He wasn't just my servant, he was my friend. And now he's going to die because he saved my life. He's probably saved it hundreds of time!" Morgana had no need to ask who he was.
"He's not going to die, not if we can help it!" the lady declared. "We need a plan."
Gaius was worried. Merlin just lay there, not moving, and he was getting worse and worse. He could not eat food and took very little water. When Gaius reported to Uther every evening, as instructed, the king seemed to be fairly happy if the warlock died, although he would rather had made an example of him.
The clock in the tower struck midnight as three cloaked figures slipped silently along the corridors of the castle, heading towards the dungeons. They halted at the top of the stairs, peering down at the four guards beneath them. The figure in front, Arthur, drew his sword and began to emerge when Gwen pulled on his arm, pointing to four more soldiers appearing from a side passage. The rescuers looked around as another set of guards marched in from the opposite direction. Uther wasn't taking any chances. Arthur shook his head; he could not beat so many soldiers, even with the help of Morgana and Gwen. They retreated back to Morgana's chambers to concoct another plan for the next night.
The next four days followed the same pattern. Gaius spent more and more time down in the dungeons, but to no avail. Merlin just lay there, getting gradually worse; it was only Gaius's expertise that had kept him alive this long. Arthur, Morgana and Gwen tried every night to rescue him, coming up with many plans, but none of them worked. Uther anticipated every idea they had; there was no way he was letting this devil escape, after it had been hiding in his household for over six months now, corrupting his son and his ward.
Eventually Gaius came to a conclusion. He asked Merlin's friends to join him in his chambers. They all sat around the old wooden table, studiously avoiding looking at the door to the room Merlin occupied less than a week ago.
"I'm afraid it's not looking good" Gaius started as he surveyed the people in front of him. "Despite all I've done for him, Merlin is most likely going to pass away soon." Muted gasps came from the two women, and Arthur's head bowed. Gaius continued. "He seems to have lost the will to live. He's not fighting anymore."
"Why?" said Gwen, tear-filled eyes latching onto Gaius.
"He must know he will die anyway if he gets better. Maybe he wants to avoid being executed, or, more likely, he wants to spare his friends the pain of watching him die in that horrible way." Gaius bowed his head and sat down on his couch, leaving the three young people deep in thought.
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