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"And you are sure about this?" Uther Pendragon's face was stony as he mulled over the conversation he had been having with Gaius who had asked to speak with him privately in the council chambers.

"I am as sure as I can be without hard evidence, sire. However, I do honestly believe the presence of magic is real and that Princess Elena is somehow involved with it." Gaius's tone was grave.

"How did the servant Merlin come to be affected by it?"

"He had come to me a few days earlier saying he had noticed the princess's nanny behaving strangely and talking into a mirror. Presumably, the nanny caught wind of Merlin's suspicions and decided to take action to remove him from the wedding and possibly preventing the marriage from taking place."

"I see." Uther paced the stone floor, boot heels clicking sharply off the hard surface. "Very well." He said this firmly, more to himself, and strode determinedly out to the guests who now filled the Great Hall with noise and speculation. He called, "Wait here," over his shoulder to the physician. As the king returned to the guests, the noise died down as everyone waited to hear an explanation for the interruptions.

"My lords and ladies, my apologies for the delay. I am sorry to have to announce that due to Prince Arthur's concern for his loyal manservant who is gravely ill, he is unable to complete the ceremony. The wedding is postponed until further notice. Thank you for attending today and again, Camelot apologises for the unfortunate circumstances." There was a finality to Uther's voice which brooked no arguments or questions.

The King of Camelot went over to Princess Elena who was now sitting beside her nanny, anxious confusion written on her face.

"Elena, of course, you are welcome to stay until we know more of the boy's condition."

Geoffrey of Monmouth hid his surprise at news of the postponement. "The ceremony will not continue today at all?"

"Not today, no," replied Uther. "You shall be informed of any further changes." Although the king appeared not to even notice, he did not miss the look of barely suppressed fury on the nanny's face.

Uther returned to the council chambers and Gaius. "Find out the truth, any evidence of magic. Do whatever it takes. There will be no marriage until we know what is really happening."


Gentle hands wrung out a cloth and dabbed carefully at Merlin's brow.

"He's so pale and still." Gwen worried over his unconscious form. She lifted her head to Gaius. "Will he get better?"

"Hopefully, we are trying to find a remedy."

"It's been three days now and there's been no change." She sighed unhappily. Gwen spent most of her free time sitting with Merlin, tending to the 'stricken' young man. With Arthur standing behind her and leaning against the wall by the door, she did not see the way his jaw clenched and the vein in his neck pulsed as he watched the way she was so tender in her ministrations of his servant.

Gaius looked to the window and saw how dim the light was. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Gwen, it is getting late, you must rest. Merlin is comfortable and we are all doing all we can for him."

The maid smiled gratefully at the older man and at the word 'we' she glanced over at Arthur who nodded and smiled reassuringly at her. Gaius walked over to fetch a tincture of some sort as she stood and made her way to leave. "I shall come by again tomorrow, Gaius. Thank you."

"There is no need to thank me, my dear. Good night." His back was turned to her as he continued to search through the many little bottles and phials on his shelves.

Stopping in front of Arthur, she said, "Good night, my lord." She went to curtsey but he caught her hand.

"Please, Guinevere, there is no need, not here." His look was earnest as he held her gaze and he did not let go of her hand but rather, held it tighter as if afraid that once he released her, she would never return.

Her eyes widened slightly and she opened her mouth to protest but his expression halted her and instead, she bowed her head just a little and gave him a tentative smile. "Good night…Arthur." Gwen felt like a tongue-tied teenager. She had used Arthur's name plenty of times before when talking about him with other people but she had never used it with him directly. It felt strange and awkward, as if she were overstepping her boundaries even though he had expressed his wish for her to do so.

Arthur felt a peculiar quiver in his stomach hearing his name spoken in her soft voice. It sounded good to his ears, it sounded right like that was the way it should always be between them.

"Good night, Guinevere. Sleep well." He reluctantly released her hand and watched wistfully as she left.

His face hidden from view, Gaius let a knowing smile creep onto his face before he heard a noise behind him.


"Whoo!" exhaled Merlin as he dropped his pretence. He hopped off the pallet and began to walk up and down the chamber to stretch his legs. "Please Gaius, don't let Gwen come tomorrow. She is lovely at looking after people but I might just catch pneumonia if she doesn't stop wiping my head with wet cloths!"

"That's not very grateful of you – she thinks you're dying and you're complaining!" Arthur surprised himself with the sharp vehemence of his tone.

"Then why don't you just ask her to marry you instead and she doesn't need to think I'm dying and I don't need to complain?" retorted Merlin.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen," admonished Gaius as he shuffled back to where Arthur stood glaring at Merlin but unable to give a suitable reply.

"Now, Merlin. I have been thinking and I think I have found a way to show Grunhilda for what she really is." He held up a small bottle of a syrupy, purple liquid.

"What is it?" asked Arthur curiously. He did not often go to Gaius's laboratory and the smells and sights of smoking liquids heating and bubbling over small flames fascinated him even as the leech tank disgusted him.

"This is a special distillation of several herbs and, uh, some other ingredients which you're probably best not knowing about." Gaius let out a low chuckle to himself whilst the two younger men shared a look of mild alarm.

"What does it do?" asked Merlin.

"It strips away magical disguises, reveals the wearer's true form. Arthur, you must try to get Grunhilda to drink some of this potion. It is a powerful solution - just a few drops is all that is required but beware, it has a taste that is distinct, much like almonds but with a hint of bitterness. You will need to hide it somehow."

"Me? Why me?" exclaimed the prince. Subterfuge was not his natural state of being, Arthur preferred the more straightforward sword-and-slash method which in his opinion usually brought more direct results.

"Sire, Merlin clearly cannot go, he is meant to be close to dying. We cannot tell Guinevere lest you wish to tell her everything?" Gaius looked meaningfully at Arthur who slowly shook his head. He was not yet ready to confront and battle his father over his love for a commoner, a servant. "There is no-one else we can tell about this and we can't let Grunhilda get wind of our suspicions."

"Very well, I shall do as you say." Arthur pursed his lips as he wondered how he was going to complete his latest mission.


Late next morning, Merlin was sitting, poring over a heavy book of magical lore trying to find out more information about pixies when he heard a sound at the door. Quick as a flash, he dived onto the pallet while throwing the book down the space between a small chest of drawers and bookcase.

With eyes closed, he heard a peremptory knock at the door before it swung open and he heard the sound of it close before a familiar voice spoke loudly.

"Get up Merlin, it's me." Arthur commanded.

"Arthur, you might have given me some warning."

The blond man shrugged. "No need. Besides, I can't stay long, I've got training soon." He was about to say more when he caught a surprised expression on Merlin's face. "What is it?"

"Your armour…"

"Yes, Merlin, it's what knights generally wear when training with weapons."

"Yes, I mean, no…I mean, it's shiny, very shiny!" he peered at his friend and master. "Who have you got to do the polishing?"

"Uh, just another servant."

"Oh, who's the unfortunate?"

"Um, red-haired fellow, I forget his name."

"Red-haired? I don't think the castle has any servants like that…" frowned Merlin.

"Perhaps he is new?"

Merlin caught something in Arthur's voice, something which did not quite sound right and after scrutinising him for a few moments, he realised what it was.

"There is no red-haired servant. You polished it yourself!" he exclaimed. "Don't deny it, you did!" Merlin practically crowed with incredulous laughter. "Prince Arthur cleans his own armour. Well, well, well. Does this mean I'm out of a job now?"

"No it does not! You will have more than enough to do after you have your miraculous recovery!" Arthur was adamant but added more sheepishly, "However, I…um…don't really trust anyone else with my armour."

"Is that a sort-of compliment, my lord? I am honoured," mocked Merlin good-naturedly.

"Shut up, Merlin!"

They were quiet for a second or two then Merlin spoke, "Gwen came by earlier. She's very worried about me, you know. Hopes that I get better as she doesn't want to lose me." He kept his face straight, unable to resist baiting Arthur. "She talks to me."

"She's a very kind and caring person and she's only talking to you because you can't answer back." Arthur gritted his teeth. "Can't think what you've done to deserve her attention, though." He knew how she felt about him but he couldn't help feeling a bit jealous at the amount of time she was spending with Merlin, even if it was a bit one-sided and not of a romantic nature.

Although Gwen was not aware of it, Arthur knew that Gwen had been a tad smitten with Merlin when he first arrived in Camelot and sometimes he thought she might still have a soft spot for him.

"Anyway, Merlin," said Arthur brusquely, "I just came here to ask what you might think the best food or drink would be to hide the potion that Gaius gave me."

Seeing that he had hit a nerve with Arthur, Merlin felt a little guilty and put aside any remaining mischief he might have planned. He thought for a minute before grinning. "A cherry and almond tart. Almond for obvious reasons and the bitterness could be explained by using sour cherries."

Quick to shrug off the momentary antagonism he felt towards his servant and friend, Arthur clapped him on the shoulder. "Genius!" With that, the prince set off for the training fields with a reminder to stop in at the kitchens.