A few moments earlier...
Merlin knocked lightly on Morgana's door.
"Come in," a weak voice invited.
He opened the door and had a quick look inside. Morgana was sitting by the window, biting her nails. She was still wearing the same dress as the day before, which very likely meant she hadn't had any sleep at all that night.
She headed for him as soon as she saw who it was. "Merlin! Please, tell me you bring good news..."
"I bring much better!" Merlin announced with a wide smile. As he did so, Gwen followed him into the room.
"Gwen!" Morgana exclaimed joyfully and immediately took her maid into a tight embrace. "You have no idea how relieved I am to see you!"
"I'm glad to see you too," Gwen reciprocated.
Morgana eventually released her. "Are you all right? Is this disease gone?" she asked with worry.
"Yes, entirely. I'm cured and I feel fine!"
"Are you sure? Do you want to sit for a while maybe?"
"Thanks, but I really am fine..."
Morgana sighed. "This is the second time in merely weeks I almost lost you, promise me you won't make a habit out of this!"
"I won't, I promise. There's been too much emotion for me as well, I'd rather avoid this sort of situation from now on."
"Good. Now, tell me everything! What cured you? Did Gaius finally find some healing potion?"
"Well, actually I'm not sure," Gwen began with an interrogating look towards Merlin, "I think -"
She was interrupted by another knock on the door Merlin had left open. A guard was standing on the doorstep.
"Lady Morgana," he said with a quick bow, "the King requested your presence in the Great Hall at your earliest convenience."
"All right. Let him know I'll be there in half an hour," Morgana instructed.
The guard seemed embarrassed. "I'm afraid he's expecting you sooner, my Lady."
"Sooner. That means now, doesn't it?"
The guard managed to look apologetic as he bowed again.
Morgana turned to Gwen. "I'm sorry, I wish I could spend more time with you."
"It's all right," Gwen assured, "you should go. There's no need to upset the King over me. We'll meet you right outside the Great Hall, so we can talk once your done," she suggested while indicating herself and Merlin.
"That's a great idea," Morgana agreed. "Though I feel guilty having you going up and down the castle like this."
"Don't worry about this. Go see the King and we'll talk later."
Morgana nodded. "You're right. The sooner I go, the sooner I'm done with Uther. See you two soon," she finished and followed the guard outside.
Once they were gone, Merlin smiled at Gwen. "And down we go again..."
Gwen smiled back as she headed out as well. "So, how was I cured?" she finally asked while they were climbing down the stairs once more.
Merlin hesitated. "Didn't Arthur tell you anything?"
"Why, is there something he should have told me?"
He shrugged dismissively. "No, nothing."
"You know, when I took that drug that made me sleep... I wasn't entirely unconscious. It felt more like being in a cotton ball. And I could hear voices, close to me."
Merlin felt uncomfortable. Could he have inadvertently betrayed himself while he thought she was unconscious? Had she heard him casting spells as he unsuccessfully tried to heal her?
"I recognised some of those voices," Gwen continued. "Morgana's of course, but also yours and Arthur's." She paused, as if to give him the chance to intervene if he wanted to. He decided to remain silent and see where she was going first. "I don't remember hearing Gaius at all. It's not to him that I owe being able to stand and walk again, is it?"
"No, it's not," Merlin admitted. It was no use denying that. "Did you understand anything we said while watching over you?" he asked tentatively.
Thankfully, Gwen shook her head. "I could make out very few words, most of it was muffled. Sometimes it even sounded like you were speaking complete gibberish. Or maybe it was just a side effect of the drug, I don't know..."
Or, Merlin thought, maybe they were just magical words...
Gwen suddenly smirked. "Why are you asking, by the way? Did I miss any interesting conversation? Have you been talking about me?"
"Actually, we kept saying how horrible a person you were," Merlin played along. "I'm glad you didn't hear that, it certainly would have broken your heart."
"Oh, good then..." Gwen's smile vanished slowly. "Seriously, Merlin, how did you manage to heal me? Right before I was cured, I remember a... a sensation, a warmth... soothing... appeasing..." She lowered her voice. "It was magic, wasn't it?"
Merlin remained silent once more. Should he tell her? He didn't want to make a blunder in case Arthur didn't intend her to know the whole truth. No matter his own implication in the spell casting itself, it was not his place to tell her. Arthur had clearly stated it was his choice and responsibility to resort to magic. Merlin was sure Arthur would want to be the one to tell Gwen.
"You shouldn't make that sort of assertion in places such as this one. Who knows who could -"
Merlin stopped as they reached the entrance to the Great Hall. Its doors had remained open, and from what he could hear, it seemed Morgana, Arthur and the King were having the very same conversation as they were. Both Morgana and Uther were wondering how Gwen had been cured without Gaius' help.
"Speak, Arthur. How?" the King insisted.
"Well, there is a perfectly good explanation," Arthur began slowly.
Merlin gave a quick look inside. Arthur seemed embarrassed and unable to provide any explication to his father. Somehow, Merlin found it refreshing to see the prince in his shoes, struggling to find how to lie his way out of a situation provoked by the usage of magic. Actually, he found the change quite enjoyable.
But even if Arthur was the one in the position Merlin was usually in, it was different. This time, they were two to carry the burden of that secret.
"Yesterday, I passed by Gaius' laboratory," Arthur continued. Merlin knew he was only trying to buy himself some time while he thought of something. "That's when I -"
"Sire," Merlin hailed as he rushed into the Great Hall. "I beg your pardon for interrupting you, but I can't let Arthur cover up for my mistakes."
Three heads immediately turned to him with surprise.
"Merlin, what the devil do you think you're doing?" Arthur muttered to him.
The warlock remained impassible.
"Speak up, Merlin," Uther invited. "What mistakes are you talking about?"
"Gaius had prepared a potion to help ease the pain Gwen experienced because of that disease. He asked me to bring it to her." He paused briefly. The King waved him to go on while Arthur was trying to hide he himself wanted to know where Merlin was going exactly. "In the laboratory I inadvertently knocked a few ingredients over and it got mixed with the potion. I didn't want to get into trouble so I cleaned everything and gave the altered composition to Gwen."
Uther stared at him. "And this is what cured that girl?" he asked unbelievingly.
"I believe so," Merlin said with a shrug. "She recovered immediately after drinking it."
"So you're claiming you accidentally found a cure to this disease?" Uther asked again.
"I suppose that's what I did, Sire," Merlin continued. "However, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to produce any more of this cure. I have no idea what ingredients were added to the original mixture."
"Is it what happened, Arthur?" Uther finally questioned.
"Absolutely, Sire," Arthur said with an impressive confidence.
The King looked thoughtful for several seconds. He finally shook his head and sighed. "Morgana, as I was saying, do not leave the castle under any circumstances. Arthur, begin the searches for the witch immediately. And..." he began while looking at Merlin hesitantly. "Find whatever punishment you deem appropriate for this boy's clumsiness."
"Of course Sire," Arthur agreed. After those last words, Uther left the Great Hall. Arthur immediately turned to Merlin: "How do you come up with this stuff?"
Merlin had to admit he was getting a little too good at this – though he wondered how anyone could believe the story he'd just made up. The King must be either very tired or extremely preoccupied these days.
Meanwhile, Gwen had entered the room to join them. "What's going on? I'm quite sure I wasn't healed accidentally."
"Merlin, you would never have given Gwen an altered potion if for all you knew it could have done more harm than good," Morgana pointed out. "What are you two hiding?" she asked, looking alternately at Merlin and Arthur.
The latter gave a quick look around. "Let's find some place with less ears..."