Alrighty then, another chapter. Again, not very happy with it, but that could be because I was falling asleep while I edited this. I swear these days I get tired just by laying down. It's bloody ridiculous. Anyway, who saw the new Merlin? I thought it was fantastic. And beautiful. 'Nuff said. So, long chapter, I hope you all like its length. I want to say that I really, truly believe that this time it's almost done. I know, I know, I've said that before, but I can't honestly think of too much more to write so it should be done in a couple of chapters. Which reminds me, if you still plan on voting in my next story poll I suggest that you do it soon.

Thank you for all of your support.

Arthur sat down on the edge of Merlin's bed. He's going to be okay, rang through his mind for the millionth time.

For a while he just stared at Merlin, not really thinking anything except that it was all over. His mind wandered and random thoughts flitted through his head, though, soon they became not so random. He thought of their talk the night before they were captured and all the new things he had learned about his servant. He thought of how Merlin's confidence in him never wavered.

Suddenly the image of the white scars on his back popped into his mind and he looked up at Gaius.

"Gaius, when we were…captured…right before Arcturus was about to—" He stopped himself. Remembering what had happened still pained him greatly, but he was more thinking of the old man and how he had heard every word that he had told Leon. That must have been painful for him to hear, but Arthur knew that the physician was strong, so he continued. "About to…flog him I saw something on Merlin's back."

He met the old man's eyes. "They were scars, Gaius. He'd been whipped before and badly by the looks of it. I wasn't exactly in the position at the time to ask Merlin about it, but…do you know anything…anything of how he got them?" Arthur both hoped and feared that he might know. He was more than a little curious himself, but he also dreaded hearing about another torment of Merlin's that had to be similar to this most recent one.

Gaius looked uncomfortable and sad, and his eyes bore a look that he had often seen in the physician and his father. It was a look that came from suffering and time and wisdom. It spoke of untold hardships and miseries that no one should have to see.

After a moment the guardian of a certain young manservant answered. "I have seen the scars you are talking about, Arthur, but I don't really know the story behind them." He gazed down at Merlin. "His mother is my sister as you know, and so we often write letters to each other. I remember, a couple of years back, she sent me a letter that nearly made my heart break with the pure anguish and desperation and sadness of it.

"While she herself was fine physically, she told me that something horrible had happened to Merlin. The pain in that letter was so strong that I wanted to go to her and offer some comfort. She told me everything she knew."

He looked back at Arthur. "But it is not for me to tell you."

"What?" Arthur asked incredulously. He had listened to what Gaius said with sadness and trepidation but now he was a bit angry. He couldn't just say all that and then not tell him!

Gaius raised a hand to forestall his words of outrage. "I said she told me everything she knew, but Merlin himself is one of the two people who actually know what happened. And he barely talked of it. To this day she only knows of the outcome, but not of what led up to it or the event itself, though, she has some idea. He won't tell anyone what really happened.

"I have seen the scars, Arthur, and they fill me with fear. I've honestly been trying to work up the courage to ask Merlin about it, but I doubt he'll ever tell me. Answer truthfully, if you had gone through something like that and were the only reliable witness and everyone kept asking you what happened, would you tell them? I know it must be hard for you to even speak of what transpired a few days ago, think of how hard it must have been for Merlin, it happened when he was only fifteen.

"No, I don't know nearly enough, only Merlin does. If you want to know then you have to ask him. It's his life and memories, after all."

Arthur stared at him for a long minute before coming to the conclusion that Gaius was right. Besides, if Merlin didn't want him or anybody to know than that was the boy's own right. After all that Arthur had seen him go through in the last couple of weeks alone he knew that if he didn't want to tell his prince of something that painful than Arthur wouldn't make him.

"All right, Gaius." He paused for a moment. "But can you tell me this: I also saw a strange symbol on his chest; it looked like the Morteus flower? Why is that?"

Gaius sighed again. "That I can answer. When Merlin drank that poison for you he was being killed by not only the liquid itself, but also the magic that had been imbued in it." Arthur stiffened at both the word magic and at the thought that it had once again been used to hurt his servant.

"The sorceress who placed the flower petal in the goblet in the first place also put magic on it. It was to make it deadlier and swifter, and possibly more painful." Gaius thought of how Merlin had acted just a few hours ago to the foul magic in his veins. The truth was that it was entirely possible.

"Though we managed to give Merlin the antidote in time, the lingering effects of the evil magic left its mark on him." He gestured to the sleeping boy. "It left a faint image of the poisonous flower imprinted upon his chest. I don't know how long it will last, sire, but I do not believe it to be dangerous. It is only a remnant of what was. It could fade in a few days, or months, or years, and maybe even never. But, like I said, it is a very faint outline and can do him no harm. I'm just glad that it didn't leave behind something worse." Gaius smiled but it was slightly forced. Like Arthur he still had painful memories of that time and didn't like the thought of Merlin baring its mark.

Arthur was feeling much the same way. He was furious with the sorceress who had done this, he was furious with Arcturus, and he was furious with himself for not stopping all of this. And he absolutely hated the idea of Merlin baring scars from both of these recent events. But what could he do?

"Thank you for telling me."

After that neither of them said much of anything else. They were contented to gaze down at the person who had brought them so much trouble and joy, and who had found a way into their hearts. There was no denying it to himself anymore. Merlin is a very special person who could make all the difference in anything. Arthur once more found himself wishing that Merlin wasn't so loyal or kind. If he wasn't then none of this would have happened to him.

Eventually he asked more of himself than of Gaius, "Why, Merlin? Why would you go through this again for me? If anyone doesn't deserve it it's you."

"He is a great person," Gaius responded, "A lot greater than people give him credit for."

"I know," Arthur said with a hint of despair in his voice, "so why would such a kind person do something like this for a prat?" Again, not really to Gaius, but the old man answered anyway.

"Arthur I told you before you left that Merlin was innocent, but I didn't mean to say that he was naïve. Merlin wouldn't hurt anyone unless he had to. But that doesn't mean that his is as stupid as everyone thinks. He knows about the pain this world can bring, and the kind of people in it. He makes friends easily, but that isn't to say that he trusts blindly. You have to earn his trust.

"Merlin perhaps knows himself better than either of us do ourselves. He knows his limits; what he can handle. Merlin knew that he could handle physical torture. But what he can't handle is a different type of pain altogether.

"Seeing someone else get hurt, especially someone he cares about, is something that his kind heart can't take. He knows what the world can dish out, and he's prepared for that as long as it doesn't include losing the people he loves.

"Merlin is not naïve. He's brave and kind. And I am honored to be one of those people he trusts."

Arthur once more looked down at the boy he was learning more and more about with each passing day. "I'm sorry, Gaius, I promised you that I would take care of him. I broke that promise. Though, in all honesty I never thought it would be this hard to take care of a servant." He smiled but there was little humor in it.

Gaius looked like he was about to respond when both men's eyes were drawn to a movement on the bed.

Merlin shifted where he lay, and then stayed still. Arthur was about to look away, thinking that Merlin was simply moving around in his sleep, when a strange sound came from the manservant.

Immediately both men rushed to his side, hovering over him. The sound came again, but this time they could understand it.

"Arthur?" Merlin croaked.

Gaius and Arthur were too stunned for a short moment to say anything. But Arthur was the first one to recover. "Merlin?" he asked, hardly believing that his servant was awake. He lowered his head till it was level with Merlin's face and saw that the boy was slowly cracking open his eyes.

"Arthur...are you alright?" Merlin asked his voice still sounding as if he hadn't drank anything in years.

The prince chuckled a bit. "Yes, Merlin, I'm fine. Better than you it seems."

"Oh…that's good." Merlin was clearly still out of it. Though his eyes were open and looking at Arthur the prince doubting they were seeing much, he seemed just to be struggling to keep them up. "Where am I?" he asked.

Arthur and Gaius exchanged a glance, they weren't sure that reminding him of what he had gone through was a good idea in his current state of confusion. But then again, it would be cruel to not tell him that it was all over.

"We're home, Merlin. You're in your own room in your own bed. We're in Camelot. You're safe now."

Merlin seemed to want to look around, which was confirmed when he tried to sit up. The instant he moved he flinched and gasped in pain and both men immediately had their hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him back down.

"Whoa, just relax; your back is in pretty bad shape." Arthur said.

"Yeah, I gathered," Merlin replied sarcastically and through the pain. Suddenly a look of panic and fear flashed across his face and his still quite delirious eyes roamed around the room. "Arcturus?" Arthur was surprised to see that though there was fear, there was no anger or hatred on his face. Only the terror, which he had a feeling was made a lot worse by the fact that he wasn't very coherent.

"It's okay. We captured him. He's in dungeons right awaiting his execution. He won't hurt anyone ever again," Arthur reassured him.

Merlin looked relieved. Then slowly and hesitantly his eyes traveled up to meet Gaius'. "You're—you're not mad, are you? I swear I didn't plan for this to happen."

Arthur almost laughed at that, Merlin was defending himself for getting tortured. If the circumstances weren't so dark he probably would have laughed, called Merlin an idiot, and then reprimand him for not being able to do anything right. As it was, Merlin still had had some control over his torture, but as Gaius said he had opted for the less emotionally painful choice. Arthur wasn't sure if he should be mad at him or not for that, and he guessed Gaius felt the same way.

"No, I'm not mad, Merlin," Gaius said a bit sadly.

"Good." Merlin's eyes were starting to drift close, and he looked as if he was about to sleep. Arthur was starting to think that he already had when the eyes cracked open a little bit to stare at him. "You kept your promise, Arthur. You got me home. You got me out of there. Thank you. I don't know how much more I would've been able to take. Now I don't have to know. Thank you." And then the sleepy boy turned his head fractionally, though Arthur could see the wince of pain that that small movement had inflicted, and addressed Gaius.

"Gaius, please don't tell my mother. She'll just worry. She doesn't need to ever know. Promise me you won't tell?"

Gaius almost looked like he was in tears, though whether it was from the request, or just the fact that Merlin was awake, Arthur didn't know. "Maybe she has a right to know, you are her son after all." Arthur knew that the old man didn't want to tell her but at the same time knew that he should.

"No, Gaius, it will only bring back…painful memories." It was obvious that Merlin was losing his battle with sleep. "Besides, she sent me here; she'll only feel guilty if she knows what happened as a result. And she shouldn't feel guilty, if it's anyone's fault it's mine. And Acrturus'."

"Okay," Gaius said, obviously not able to argue with the boy at this point, "I promise."

And with a contented sigh Merlin rested his head on his pillow and fell asleep. And although Arthur was sure that it was only sleep, his tired mind still raced to horrible conclusions. He glanced worriedly at Gaius.

Picking up on the look and the meaning behind it, the physician quickly answered, "Not to worry, sire, Merlin is just sleeping. I believe that is most of what he's going to be doing for a while. I can give him all the potions and salves in the world but in the end his body mostly needs sleep and sustenance. He'll probably be sleeping for most of the day for some time. Like how a person with a fever could sleep all afternoon and then wake up better. His condition is far worse than a fever, so he's going to need a lot more sleep. But don't worry, this time it's all natural. Merlin's fine."

Arthur was still reeling. Merlin had said 'thank you.' Thank you for getting him out of there. He really hadn't done anything; in fact, it was because of him that Merlin had been tortured to begin with. And yet he had thanked him. Maybe it was just because he was so out of it.

This was the first time Merlin had woken up since they had left that hellhole. Arthur was just glad to have talked with him, even if it hadn't been for very long. Merlin would need some help getting over this, but before his mind could heal his body would have to.

It had been a week since Merlin had woken up, a week since Arthur knew that everything was eventually going to be alright.

Arthur had long since returned to his normal duties, though, thanks to Gaius saying that he should take things easy for a while he still wasn't as busy as usual. He still managed to go and visit Merlin every day.

For the first four or five days Merlin was sleeping a lot like Gaius had said, so Arthur rarely got a chance to talk to him. And though it was still disconcerting to see Merlin so tired looking when he was normally so energetic, Arthur found that he almost preferred Merlin to be asleep. Whenever the boy was awake, though he tried to hide it, Arthur could always see that he was in pain. And since too much of anything, including a painkiller, could be harmful Gaius couldn't always alleviate it.

Sometimes the servant would wake up and have to suffer on his own. Of course, the pain was always much more bearable for the boy when he was distracted and stayed perfectly still. But Arthur still hated seeing him in any discomfort, especially since he knew exactly how this tormenting injury had been caused.

Every other night Merlin would have a bad fever that would give him even scarier nightmares than the ones he had already been experiencing. Arthur had been worried about this until Gaius had mentioned that Merlin's body was merely working up a sweat trying to heal itself.

Often Arthur would stop by in the middle of the night and stay with Merlin as he suffered from the feverishly enhanced dreams. Sometimes when the nightmare seemed particularly bad he would shake the boy awake so as to spare him from it.

Arthur wished that he had someone to do that for him, but no, he was a prince, and princes had to suffer in silence. He had known this since he was a little boy. But Merlin wasn't a prince or anyone of important standing, so Arthur couldn't seem to figure out why the boy felt like he, too, had to hide his pain.

And Arthur knew well what was plaguing Merlin's dreaming mind, for he had the same horrific nightmares. Hardly a night passed by when Arthur didn't wake up in a cold sweat with visions of Merlin's torture and the insane, laughing sorcerer. It was when that happened that he had often made his way to Merlin's beside and help him fight his demons, because when he did that Arthur's own would seem less frightening.

But they were both recovering. But Arthur did fear that Merlin wasn't healing mentally and emotionally. Whenever he visited and Merlin was awake they both opted to talk of happier things than their captivity. Their conversations, as usual, contained very little of substance and both boys were fine with that.

One time, however, probably on the fourth day of his recovery, Merlin had asked for the details of how they had escaped. Arthur had told him everything, including what Leon had told him. At the mention of the magic the manservant had stiffened, which couldn't have been good for his back, and had tensed up even more when Arthur had told him of his new belief about his magical protector. Arthur wasn't sure why he had reacted that way. Maybe it had just been the normal, conventional attitude towards magic that he had seen in Merlin, though, he still didn't think that Merlin was quite that biased. Or maybe it had been something else. And Merlin had looked hurt for a moment when he had said:

"I was wrong to think that I could trust this person. Perhaps it was my trust that got us into that horrible mess. I no longer have any doubts about the cruelty of magic."

Arthur had seen the pain in Merlin's eyes, but didn't think that it was because of his physical injuries. That pain in his eyes still bothered Arthur, maybe because he felt like he had caused it.

But Merlin was getting better. It had been a week since the end of the nightmare and Arthur believed that things were finally going right again.

Merlin could now stay awake for a maximum of eight hours at a time, which considering how he could barely stay awake for an hour six days ago was pretty impressive. His back was healing nicely according to Gaius, and the manservant could even move around slowly without crippling pain ripping through him. He still spent most of his time in bed, but at least he could now go to the bathroom on his own, assuming that he hadn't waited too long to go.

It was strange, but Arthur had found that with every improvement Merlin made in his health, he himself felt better physically. And he was no longer exhausted as he had felt the first few days.

Due to being a prince with important duties he couldn't spend as much time taking care of Merlin as he would secretly wish, so it was only natural that he didn't see many of them. He had learned from Gaius that, apparently, many people had been in to see Merlin. The physician had said that everyone from knights, to dozens of servants, to a cook, to people from the town, to even some guards had, at some point, visited Merlin.

Arthur was struck again with how big of an impact the boy had already made in peoples' lives. There were servants from all over the castle with all types of jobs that had come in and had expressed their joy at his recovery. And they all had brought some sort of gift, too. Of course, from servants gifts weren't particularly big or expensive, but Arthur knew that Merlin treasured the small items.

Several knights had been to see him as well. Arthur had seen firsthand the change Merlin had made in some of their lives. Some knights who were particularly pompous were now more humble. Others who didn't have a sense of humor now laughed. In fact, many of those knights had been the ones on their rescue mission.

But perhaps what had surprised Arthur the most about Merlin's popularity was a certain scary cook that had paid the prince a visit one day.

When Arthur heard the knock on his door he immediately thought of the time Gaius had come petitioning him to look out for Merlin. Now, of course, if he came to tell the prince something it would either be something bad or something good about Merlin. Arthur wasn't sure which one of those it was. Everything had been going well lately, which is usually, in Arthur's experience, when danger rears its ugly head up again.

But he called out anyway, "Come in."

He turned around and saw Margaret enter his room. Arthur had known the cook for his whole life. He had always sort of thought of her as a law unto herself. What station in life a person had usually made no difference to her. To a lot of people she could seem scary, bossy, and even a tyrant in her own kitchen. But Arthur knew better. She ruled her domain with a firm yet gentle and compassionate hand.

When he had been a boy she had often declared that he was too skinny to be healthy and would then force him to eat until he thought him to be adequately fed. She had never listened to his protests that a prince of Camelot who had lives to save and people to look after couldn't afford to be fat, and had instead judged him by her own rules.

But despite her gruffness and willingness to verbally slap some sense even into a prince, Arthur had always felt like she was the mother, (or perhaps the outspoken aunt,) he had never had.

She and Gaius had always been a source of comfort to him as a boy. The two were alike in many ways. They both had the intimidating eyebrow raise. Wisdom and sage advice. And a sort of comforting presence.

Thinking back on his childhood now, Arthur felt ashamed that he had declared himself at fifteen as no longer needing their help and support. He had been too proud. But then Merlin had come along and sorted that out.

He smiled at the cook and old friend. "What is it, Margaret?" He still had the uncomfortable sensation of déjà vu.

"Arthur," she said, she was a very no-nonsense person and didn't believe in calling someone you've known for ages by their title. "You may find this hard to believe but you are the only one Merlin listens to." Surprised didn't even cover it. "Sure he may not listen to you about silly, little things, things that don't matter. But when it comes down to important things Merlin listens to you. He obeys you. I don't know if you're blind, or maybe you have noticed, but that boy is insanely loyal to you.

"In all my years of serving at this castle and all the people I've seen he is the most unusual."

Arthur snorted; there had never been a truer statement.

Margaret ignored the sound and continued. "I've heard the story of what happened when you two were away and it nearly breaks my heart. He is the kindest soul I have ever seen and that someone could do that to him seems unfathomable.

"Loyalty manifests itself in many different ways. He's not just willing to endure torture for you. He shows his loyalty every single day. Every time I see him he comes in exhausted, hungry with no intent to eat, and running himself ragged to get you your food in time. I don't know all of what that boy does, but I know that it's all for you. Merlin would go to hell and back if it meant saving your life." She paused for a moment there to give Arthur time to process what she was saying. And boy was he.

"You may be a prince, Arthur, but you are also a person. And one of the greatest skills a king could have would be to know who his friends are. You have no flipping idea of how lucky you are to have him as a friend. Maybe you should start being his before he stops. I'm not saying that you treat him horribly or that you are not a friend to him. I'm merely telling you this so you won't forget.

"One of these days, Arthur, you are going to be king and you will need friends by your side. Merlin won't be there if you don't protect him." She sighed. "I'm not saying that what happened to you was your fault, but I am saying that you should make sure your friend eats enough. In battle you can't hesitate or you'll die. The same thing will happen to your friendships if you don't do something because it's weird. Sometimes you have to overcome your pride.

"Merlin has given a lot for you. When his convalescence is over don't just forget that. Give something back. You are a proud man, Arthur, but you are also a good man. One of these days it may be Merlin who is lucky to be called your friend, not just you.

"Now, I am going to be sending baskets of food to Gaius' quarters and you'd better make sure that that skinny boy eats them. Last time I saw him he was thinner than ever." And with that she left.

Arthur changed his thought; there was one big difference between Margaret and Gaius. Gaius would ask, she would demand that he protect Merlin.

The thing was that she was right, about everything. Including Merlin's eating habits. Due to his poor health he was only just now able to eat remotely solid food. A few days before and he had been living on broth and thin soups.

Margaret had been right and Arthur knew it. He had been thinking about some way to reward Merlin for his actions, not that Arthur believed that anything would ever truly compare to that. But Margaret had given him an idea.

It was scary, though, how she was able to read his thoughts. Arthur had feared for quite some time that as soon as this was all behind them he'd forget and return to treating Merlin like dung. But he couldn't, because she was right, Merlin was the kind of friend he wanted by his side. That thought alone almost made Arthur fear the outcome of a certain talk he would have to have with Merlin when he was fully better. But many people so far had told him to protect Merlin, so he would.

It had now been a week since things had started looking up and Arthur had a lot he needed to do. A talk with his father was in order; there was a certain sorcerer in the dungeon to visit, and a manservant he had to ask a question of. But before he could do any of that he'd have to make sure Merlin ate.

Yay! Actual Merlin stuff! We're getting closer to finding out about Merlin's painful past. Arthur's gonna have a talk with our favorite insane Merlin torturer. And for anyone who's scratching your heads and wondering I did make a reference to my other active Merlin story.

Yeah, I know I like skimmed over an entire week, but I'm trying to make this shorter, not longer. Plus I didn't have much to put in that week anyway. Um, yeah, I know, WAY too many heartfelt conversations about Merlin's awesomeness. Personally I am a big fan of all of that, but too much of even whump can get boring. But I really wanted to write a scene with Margaret and her going all advicey on Arthur was the only thing my boring mind could come up with. I hope you all liked it, though.

You know, I'm actually looking forward to being done with this story, even though I have enjoyed it and all the responses I have been getting. I feel like everything I write has become far too repetitious. Whadda you guys think?

Oooh, my thought is that I've got three or four more chapters left of this story, and being my first fanfic and all, well, why don't we see how many reviews we can get before it's over? Can we get to 250? I know, I'm just begging you guys, but honestly I feel like 250 would be epic for my first story.