A/N: Wow, this is really long. Didn't know where to break it, though.
"Not again. This is completely unfair."
Arthur didn't understand this comment either, so he chose to ignore it. Standing, he offered Merlin a hand up. The manservant took it without comment, levering himself to his feet.
"Are you all right?" Arthur asked cautiously.
Merlin looked at him with his distinctive blank "lying" look, swaying dangerously on his feet. "Yeah, I'm fine." One of his hands reached up unconsciously to the back of his head, and he closed his eyes tightly, as though the world were too bright.
"Don't lie, Merlin," Arthur said, rolling his eyes and moving to put an arm under Merlin's shoulders - his manservant looked like he was about to collapse. Quickly, Arthur scanned the area around the training ground.
He spotted a telltale patch of yellow in the distance. "Gwenevere!" He called, hoping she could hear him at this distance. "Gwen!" Even so far away, he could see Gwen cock her head curiously before she headed over.
"What are you doing?" Merlin asked cautiously.
"Getting you some help," Arthur snapped.
"No," Merlin protested, "I'm - "
"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur said shortly, then started pulling off his manservant's armor. "Help me with this."
Merlin recognized Arthur's don't-argue tone and started trying to help Arthur get off Merlin's practice armor. He couldn't seem to get his fingers to behave at all, though, so after the third time Arthur shoved his hand out of the way with impatience, he gave up fussing with the fastenings and had nothing to do but look up at Gwen, who was staring at them, confused.
"What is it, sire?" asked Gwen respectfully.
Arthur handed Merlin his armor and stepped back, leaving just one hand on his shoulder. "Could you conduct my manservant to Gaius's chambers, please, Gwenevere?" asked Arthur, with that strange combination of mocking and respect that he seemed to reserve for the maidservant whenever she caught his attention. "I think he might need some assistance."
Merlin looked mortified and mutinous, but before he could argue, Arthur turned and walked away across the field.
"Okay," said Gwen, looking at Merlin. "What was that all about?"
"Uh, nothing," said Merlin quickly. "Nothing to worry about. It's fine." He swayed slightly again, then tried to walk back towards the castle, only to find that his sense of balance was faulty, too. Gwen caught him before he could fall, wrapping her arm firmly around his chest, keeping him upright.
"Merlin, what's wrong?" she asked, looking worriedly up at him. They started walking back towards the castle, Gwen still supporting him.
"Um," said Merlin, trying to come up with an explanation. Why, why, why did it have to be Gwen? he thought desperately. "I...must have fell wrong while Arthur was training," he finally said.
"Did you twist your ankle?" Gwen asked, still concerned.
"Ah, no," said Merlin before he could stop himself. "Just..." a free hand floated unconsciously towards his head again. "I think I hit my head or something," he finished lamely.
Gwen's eyebrows drew together in a frown as she pulled her head back to look up at him. "...Oh."
"I know, it sounds strange," said Merlin. "I'm just really clumsy, I guess."
"No, it's not that," Gwen said quickly. "It's just, normally I don't think you can hurt your head just falling, is all."
"Oh," said Merlin, looking away. He couldn't exactly explain that this hadn't been the first time, or that he wasn't sure what had happened this time.
They walked on in silence until they reached Gaius' chambers. "Gaius," Gwen called, rapping smartly on the door.
After a few moments, the door opened, and Gaius looked out. "Hello, Gwen. Merlin, what are you doing in here?" He caught sight of the armor tucked under Merlin's arm. "You weren't training with Arthur, were you?"
"Um," Gwen cut in tentatively, "Arthur asked me to bring Merlin back there. He said he fell and hit his head?" she said, looking at Merlin for confirmation.
Merlin grimaced. It made it sound so pathetic and ridiculous when she said it.
Gaius, however, didn't think so. "Merlin!" he scolded. "What did I tell you, after what happened yesterday!"
Gwen looked extremely confused. "Um, what..."
"Merlin sustained another head injury recently," Gaius explained, while Merlin stared at the ground and wished the stone floor would swallow him whole. "I warned him not to aggravate it today, but..."
"You never said that!" Merlin protested.
"You, get inside to your room. Or do you need Gwen to help you?"
"No," said Merlin quickly, pulling away from Gwen. "But...thanks," he added awkwardly with a quick smile, turning to look at her before heading back a little unsteadily to his room.
"Anyway," said Gaius quietly, turning back to Gwen after watching to make sure Merlin really didn't need assistance, "thank you for your help. Could you tell prince Arthur that his manservant won't be able to attend to him for the rest of the day and possibly tomorrow?"
"Actually, Gaius," said Gwen, tugging uncomfortably at her skirt, "I'm already late to see Lady Morgana. I suppose I could - "
"No, that's fine," said Gaius, taking her hint. "If you could just get the message to him eventually."
Gwen smiled, relieved. "All right. Goodbye, Gaius."
Gaius nodded to her, and she hurried out, shutting the door behind her.
***
Merlin was sitting sulkily on his bed, his head in one of his hands - it was really killing him now - when Gaius came in with a small vial in his hand. He sat down next to Merlin and handed it to him without a word. Merlin, recognizing Gaius' pain remedy, drank it quickly, grimacing a little.
He didn't look at the physician. His headache - not to mention feeling completely humiliated in front of Gwenevere of all people - had put him in a poor temper.
Gaius' next words really didn't help. "You're going to have to stay here for the rest of today now, Merlin. I've asked Gwen to explain to Arthur."
"What?" asked Merlin angrily, turning to glare at Gaius. "Why?"
"Because, as I suspected, you already had a concussion, and now you've exacerbated the effects," Gaius explained, sounding annoyed. "I did warn you to be careful."
"I was being careful!" Merlin protested angrily. "But Arthur wanted to train. Apparently he wanted to prove that I really knocked him out. Which I never did, and never could, so it was sort of difficult to prove."
"I'm aware that dealing with Arthur can be difficult, but it's the price you have to pay for keeping secrets," said Gaius gently. "Hopefully, in a day or two, this will all blow over. I want you to try to rest for now, all right?"
Merlin didn't look at him, but his face was hard. "Fine." He reached down and pulled off his boots, and the last thing Gaius saw before he shut the door to Merlin's room behind him was the young warlock lying in his bed, staring sullenly at the ceiling.
***
Gwen dashed into Morgana's rooms, out of breath. "I'm so sorry I'm late, milady," she began awkwardly.
Morgana glanced over at Gwen from where she was sitting, staring out the window. "No, it's fine," she said, standing. "Is something wrong?"
Gwen shook her head, but her expression was worried. "It's just - do you know where Arthur will be later?"
"He's in Uther's council for most of the afternoon. Why do you want to talk to Arthur?" Morgana searched her maidservant's face, concerned.
"Oh, Gaius asked me to tell Arthur that Merlin wouldn't be able to attend to him the rest of today...and maybe tomorrow..."
"What's happened to him?"
"I don't know, exactly," Gwen admitted. "But Gaius said he hurt his head, and he has to rest..."
"What? How did that happen?"
"Something happened yesterday, and then today he was training with Arthur, and he tripped and hit his head...?" Gwen shrugged. "It doesn't make any sense to me, either."
"No. It doesn't." Morgana turned and looked out the window again. "You don't have to worry about telling Arthur, Gwen. I'll do it." More softly, she added, "There's something about all this that they aren't telling."