Author's Note:
This chapter is dedicated to my beloved19 year old cat, Q-Tip. He passed away a couple of days ago. As a final goodbye, I have allowed him to pad across some pages of my story as sort of an inconsequential walk-on character. I hope you don't mind.

Enjoy.

Edited to add:
I would LOVE reviews. I have had a few about the cat, but what I am really wondering about is the Merlin freak-out section at the beginning. Could some people maybe review on that. Of course I love to hear about the whole chapter as well. And...who knows...maybe Arthur's "Beautiful blue eyes" might become a running gag.

Merlin froze.

He was numb, his brain was numb. His body was numb. He couldn't move.

Balinor.

He knew that his eyes had gotten wide and his mouth had dropped open. He couldn't help it. He couldn't stop it. He couldn't move. His brain was all fuzzy. But no, he could see things. He saw Arthur standing there with a big smile on his face. He saw the smile slowly fall from his friends face. He saw it replaced with a frown, then concern. But at the same time as he was seeing Arthur, he was also seeing Balinor in his mind's eye. He saw him smiling. He saw him dying.

His ears were buzzing. He could see Arthur saying his name, but he couldn't hear him.

His mind was slow. But no, it wasn't. Behind the fuzziness, behind the ringing in his ears, behind his body being sluggish and heavy….he could hear himself thinking.

"No, no, no. Arthur knows!

"No he doesn't. He can't. It must be something else.

"Why did he say Balinor?

"Calm Down! Arthur is going to suspect something if you don't calm down!

"Does he know about Balinor?

"School your expression, Idiot! Arthur is going to know something is wrong!

"Think, think, think! Think of something to say.

"Come up with an excuse, FAST!

"Balinor, Balinor….Father

"Oh gods, I'm not breathing

"Oh gods, I'm breathing too fast!

"CALM DOWN MERLIN!"

Merlin blinked. He blinked again. Arthur was now standing right in front of him with a hand on each of his shoulders.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked, concern evident in his voice

Merlin shook his head as if clearing it. Sluggishly he said "Sorry. Um, the medicine. It must be affecting me. Can I sit down for a second?" In his mind thinking 'good, he'll buy that'

Arthur looked around. There was a stone bench not far from the well. He let go of Merlin's shoulder and grasped Merlin by the arm and walked him over to it. Merlin was a bit unsteady and walked slowly. After Merlin sat, Arthur noticed that his manservant was paler than usual, and his hands were shaking. "I'll get you some water" he told him and started walking to the well.

As he walked, Arthur's mind was turning in circles. He doubted Merlin's reaction had anything to do with the medicine. But why would the old Dragonlord's name elicit such a response from Merlin? For Avalon's sake, the boy looked like he was about to wet himself.

He knew Merlin got somewhat edgy when Balinor was spoken of. Not that the man was spoken of often, it had been months, if not years. Still, that had been part of the reason that he had not mentioned Balinor's name the other day when Merlin asked. He regretted having mentioned it now.

Arthur arrived at the well and picked up a communal bucket and ladle. He worked the hand pump a couple of times to get a bit of water in the bucket and turned to head back to Merlin. He suddenly noticed that a few people were looking at him oddly.

Oh.

He was getting water from a well. For a servant no less. He glanced at his gawkers and rose an eyebrow in challenge. They quickly turned and found something else to occupy their attention. He smirked, then turned and headed back towards his manservant.

He knew why he had mentioned Balinor. Even though he would get on edge, Merlin had seemed to admire the man. There seemed to be some invisible string that attached the two. Arthur guessed that Merlin felt beholden to the man for having saved his life. He would probably want to know everything he could about the all-but-stranger who gave his life for him. Arthur could understand that.

He arrived back at his manservant. Merlin was still breathing rather quickly, but seemed as if he had otherwise recovered from the panic attack. Arthur put down the bucket and handed Merlin the ladle.

Merlin took a long drink from the ladle, then drew more water from the bucket and drank some more. It seemed to have a calming effect on him.

"So…" Merlin said after dropping the ladle in the bucket for the last time "…did you say Balinor? The dragonlord?"

Arthur could tell that Merlin had raised his mask once again. He wouldn't get any answers if he questioned him now. "Yes. Apparently Horatius knew him as a young man"

"Really?" There was almost a longing sound in Merlin's voice.

"Yes!" The prince said as he helped Merlin to his feet. "And like I said, Horatius is good at telling a story. I just thought you might be interested in listening. You aren't going to be able to do any work as it is."

"Yeah, I think I would like that." The manservant said quietly.

The two young men walked around for 30 minutes looking for the goldsmith when they were told by a servant that Horatius had just been seen going back to his quarters. Arthur asked the servant if he knew whether Horatius had eaten, but the servant was unsure. He then told the servant to go to the kitchen have a light dinner for three brought to his chambers as well as wine. The servant looked confused.

Merlin butted in. "I'll do it, Sire. Hendry doesn't know his way around the kitchens. Not to mention that the cook can be….intimidating." Merlin grimaced at the thought of irritating her, but added "Besides, that is my job."

"And you've been told not to lift anything heavy." The prince retorted.

"I'll have them send someone up with the food then" The manservant shot back.

The prince finally agreed and the two went their separate ways.

Arthur knocked on Horatius' door and was bade to enter. Horatius was sitting at his desk going over some sort of paperwork. He raised and bowed when he saw who his guest was. "How is your knight? I hope his injuries aren't too severe."

"They are severe, but he should recover, and hopefully without disability" The prince answered back.

"That is good. About the recovery, that is." Horatius clarified.

"Have you had dinner? I was just about to have a light dinner myself." The prince asked

"No, I haven't eaten yet, but I don't want to monopolize your time…which it seems I have been doing lately." The goldsmith replied.

Arthur laughed. "I don't consider it monopolizing. I've rather enjoyed it. Actually, I was wondering if it would be alright to ask Merlin to join us. He seemed to admire Balinor the couple of days we knew him, and I think he would really like to hear the story." The prince paused for a moment, thinking, then continued "We just have to be careful not to mention the ring."

The old man thought for a second then smiled brightly. "I think that will be a wonderful idea. However, I will have to mention the ring at some point in the story. We will just have to hide the fact that we are still in possession of it. I'll just say it was 'lost' years ago. He would want to see it otherwise, and that would ruin your surprise."

When Arthur and Horatius entered Arthur's antechamber, Merlin was clearing away the dishes from earlier. He had them loaded them on a tray and lifted them with an audible grunt. He carried them over to a side table and set them down, again with an audible grunt. Arthur cleared his throat. Merlin turned around and smiled. "The food will be up shortly. I'm just picking up a little."

Arthur gave Merlin a pointed stare. "You aren't supposed to be lifting things. I do not want to be the one to tell Gaius that you have injured yourself again".

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Arthur, it is only a few dishes on a tray, for crying out loud"

"You've been hurt?" Horatius interjected.

"Yes, it seems my manservant here was somehow involved with the bandit attack and ended up with a few cracked ribs." The prince stated as he crossed his arms and looked at his manservant.

Merlin huffed looking at Horatius and stated in a tone like he was reading off a list. "I had gone to gather herbs. I heard a girl yell. I ran to see what was going on. The girl was being attacked by bandits. I interfered. They weren't happy. That pretty much sums it up." He paused, then added as an afterthought "The knights showed up a short time later and took care of the bandits and rescued us."

Arthur just stared at Merlin. The boy hadn't mentioned killing one of the bandits. He apparently didn't know that Arthur knew. Arthur was getting angry again. He didn't like people trying to keep things from him. Well, this time he was going to get Merlin to admit it to him.

Reminding himself that they company, Arthur smiled at Merlin. "And what of the one you killed?"

Merlin stared at Arthur, mouth agape. Apparently Arthur had found out about the one that he had used the knife on. At least Arthur had only said 'one'. He looked at Arthur, gritted his teeth and said "And I was lucky enough to stop one of them by throwing a knife at him. Happy now?"

Arthur smiled. "Very." After a moment he added "I don't see why you didn't say anything. Otherwise the knights will get the credit for the kill."

Merlin sputtered for a moment then his fist balled at his side as he spoke softly "You know Arthur, I don't particularly like having to kill people. Sometimes there isn't a choice. But I sure as hell am not going to brag about it." He had kept his voice low, but the anger that dripped off each word was evident.

Horatius looked between the two wondering if he should intervene. He decided to keep quiet and let the two work out the issue on their own.

Arthur sighed and scratched the back of his head. "No Merlin. I wouldn't want you to brag. It wouldn't be in you to do so. But I do need to know what is going on. Hell, I didn't even know you were involved until Gwaine said that you were there. You could have been killed."

"Yes Sire, I realize how inconvenient it would have been for you had I not been around to clear your dishes tonight." The manservant said deadpan.

"Too right you are." The prince said with a smirk.

Arthur had started to say something else when they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Merlin walked to the door and opened it. A couple of servants entered with trays of food and set them on the table. Merlin told them to gather the tray from earlier and return it to the kitchen. After the servants had left, Merlin set the table for Arthur and Horatius. He had put his own bowl to the side. As the two men sat, Merlin ladled meaty stew into bowls and placed plates of bread, fruit and cheese near the men. He poured wine for the two, then filled his own bowl with broth from the stew and grabbed a small piece of bread. He retreated to someplace behind Arthur shoulder.

Arthur smiled. Merlin could be a pain, but when there was guest around, he attempted to be a proper servant. He also figured that Merlin was embarrassed by his little outburst and didn't want the conversation to continue. The best way to do that would to be out of Arthur's line of sight. Arthur sighed. They would continue the conversation. But at some later date. Trying to figure out what made his manservant tick usually gave him a headache, which was why he usually avoided it. He would just put it down to being 'Merlinistic idiosyncrasies.' But lately, too many things just didn't add up. He would get to the bottom of it. Tonight, however, they would just relax and enjoy the company of the goldsmith.

Arthur cleared his throat. "Merlin, not over there. Come have a seat." He turned around in his seat to look at his manservant. As he expected, Merlin had an utterly confused expression on his face.

Merlin looked at Arthur, then to Horatius, then back to Arthur. He tilted his head and quirked his eyebrow in a way that Arthur understood as 'Are you sure?' Arthur gave him a quick nod then added "If Horatius is going to regale us with a story, I don't want him injuring himself by craning his neck to look at your idiotic face."

Merlin huffed at the insult, but grabbed his bowl and plate and sat down across from Horatius. He smiled tentatively at the old man, who in turn beamed him a reassuring smile.

Arthur reached over to the tray and grabbed the last goblet, filled it with wine and pushed it at Merlin.

Merlin picked it hesitantly and took a sip. "I'm not sure I should have this."

The prince smirked, "You can have a drink with the knights, but can't share one with your prince?"

Of course, Arthur knew that wasn't the case. He had been to taverns with Merlin in the past. But he still liked to give the boy a hard time.

"It isn't that, Sire. I don't know if it will interact with the medicine Gaius gave me earlier." Merlin explained, more for Horatius' benefit than Arthur's.

"It should be fine" the prince answered back. "It is just dinner wine, Merlin. You know it is weaker than what we serve after. Besides, I have had those pain tonics that Gaius makes. I do fine with a glass or two."

Merlin grumbled quietly "I don't have your body mass"

"Did you just call me fat?" The prince demanded looking slightly irritated.

"Not at all, Sire! You have considerably more…muscles…than I do. It means you can hold your drink better than someone, such as myself, who has a much slighter frame."

"It is called 'skinny', Merlin. Twig skinny" The prince shot back with a smirk.

Across the table, Horatius attempted to hide his amusement behind his goblet, but his shaking shoulders gave him away.

The three men settled down to eating. About half way through Merlin looked at Horatius. "Arthur tells me that you knew Balinor?" He meant it as a statement, but it came out as a question.

"That I did, my boy. That I did" The old man said before taking another bite of his stew.

The goldsmith asked the prince if it was ok to go back over parts of the story that he had already told him, albeit abbreviated. Arthur agreed, and sat back and enjoyed the story once again. He also watched Merlin as he listened. He smiled. Merlin looked like a little boy drinking in all the parts of a fairy tale.

At one point, Merlin interrupted "So Lucan was Balinor's father?" The old man nodded and smiled. Merlin himself nodded and looked as though he was trying to commit it to memory.

Horatius came to the part about the dragonlord funeral. Merlin was so transfixed on the story he held a piece of bread about halfway between the bowl and his mouth, completely forgotten.

Arthur watched his manservant throughout the story. He saw emotions flit across his manservant's face that he had never seen before. Some of which, he could not put a name to. Merlin seemed to lap up the story like a kitten to milk.

By the time they finished dinner, Horatius had brought them up even to where he had stopped earlier in the day. Merlin, of course, had questions. Arthur was slightly surprised that they were completely different than the ones he had asked. Merlin had been amused, for some reason, that Lucan and Uther – and by extension Arthur and Balinor – were related, albeit distantly. Most of Merlin's question's had been about the Dragonlord hierarchy.

"Yes, Balinor inherited his position very similar to how a prince inherits the crown. If Balinor were to have a son, his son would have inherited not only his power as a dragonlord, but also his position of being in charge of dragonlords. Or, well, dragonlords in his group." The old man explained. His eyes flitting over to Merlin more than a few times. Arthur, however, didn't notice.

Merlin said softly "Well, it wouldn't really matter now, considering there would be no more dragonlords to lead."

"Or dragons" The prince added.

The men stood up and moved to the other part of the room that had plush seats. Merlin quickly cleared the table and placed all the dirty dishes on the tray, then he joined them. Arthur, meanwhile, poured a stronger after dinner wine for himself and Horatius. For Merlin, he poured water, knowing the man would decline anything else alcoholic.

They all sat and Horatius continued with the story.

"After the meeting with the dragonlords, I brought Balinor back to the manor for lunch and we discussed different options. We wanted to have some sort of plan in place to suggest before the meeting that afternoon. The best we could come up with was to send more dragons out to look for Aurelius and Uther. If we couldn't find them, all would be lost. We would have no one to take the throne. There is a big difference between fighting to retake the throne and instigating an all-out civil war to place a new king on the throne."

"How so?" Merlin asked.

Arthur answered for Horatius "The nobility would be less likely to impede the attempted return of the rightful heir to the throne. Even those that were working with Vortigen would be hesitant unless they were absolutely sure he would be victorious. They would have too much to lose. If the rightful heir were to retake the throne, he could…and in this case did…take all the noble's land and titles if he felt that noble had moved against him.

"With a civil war, and a crown up for grabs, it would be even bloodier. Noble would turn against noble. People against people. A new champion would be needed to rally the people. And of course, each of the high lords would feel that they - or their heir - would be that champion. The land would be fragmented. While the people bickered over who would be best, Vortigen's army, created by the lords who backed him, would have the upper hand."

Horatius smiled. "Correct, Sire. I see you have been well educated in the area of political relationships. I have no doubt your father had a hand in that."

Arthur all but preened. Merlin wanted to roll his eyes, but he had to admit that he truly admired Arthur's ability when it came to strategy and tactics, whether it be in the court or on the battlefield.

Horatius continued on with the story. "I had tried to get Balinor to rest a bit before the meeting, but he had too much pent up energy. I was very proud of him, you know. It had only been a day since losing his father, but he held himself together. At the same time, I was concerned for him. The emotions he was hiding from everyone would have to surface eventually.

Later, at the meeting, we solidified it as a council. Balinor took Lucan's place. Ector joined his father, Galan. Of course there was myself. There was also Sirs Tydewell and Lyndius. Tydewell was an older retired knight and Lyndius was his son. So it was six of us. It would, of course, grow over time. But at the time being it was better to have a small group for planning. We decided the best thing to do was to continue with the harvest and fortifying the Manor walls. Tydewell's wife, Greta and my wife, Anna, would start planning sleeping and living arraignments if we were to come under siege. Also we planned that my steward and Galan's steward would share responsibility over storage of the harvest.

"Balinor would go to the dragons and have them expand their search for the princes. Several talked of having the dragons as a first line of defense and offense. Balinor had to explain that dragons did not take an active role in human wars. However, due to the fact that the dragons themselves had been attacked, there might some who would be willing to help. He did clarify that he would not allow the dragons to take an offensive stance, only a defensive one.

"To say that several were upset by that would be a gross understatement. Tydewell, Lyndius and Galan only saw dragons as beasts to be controlled. They did not consider them, or any other animal, to be creatures with intelligence. They thought of them as weapons only. Balinor had try to explain to them, but was shouted down every time. In the end Balinor just stood up and announced that the dragons were his responsibility and his responsibility only. That he would tell them later what his decision was."

"What was Sir Ector's position?" The prince asked.

"Well, I think he took a "wait and see" attitude during that meeting. Ector is a thinker. He likes to look at all sides of an issue before he forms an opinion. He was also like that when he was a young man. In the end, he sided with Balinor. However, he had many private talks with Balinor before he made his decision."

"It is good that there are people who think instead of react" grunted out the manservant.

Arthur somewhat agreed "It is a good idea to think and look at an issue from all sides, but sometimes there isn't time, sometimes you have to just act"

"True" the manservant said "but they were at a planning meeting. There was plenty of time to think and discuss. The problem was, they didn't want to listen to an opinion other than their own."

"That is true" the goldsmith injected "but think for a minute. What if the three of us were deciding on a course of action, and I said I had to ask my horse if he would be willing to ride into battle. The two of you would look at me like I had lost my mind.

"Most people believed that dragons were just simple beasts. That belief still holds true today. Matter of fact, had I not known Lucan and Balinor, and had I not spoken to Kilgharrah and some of the other dragons, I would probably have been of the same opinion. Sometimes, people need to be forgiven their ignorance."

Merlin huffed his agreement, but still seemed a bit irritated. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair and neither Horatius nor Arthur missed the pained grimace.

"Are you in pain, my boy?" the old man asked.

"It's fine." Merlin answered "Just a little stiff"

"Go on and take your medicine" Arthur urged.

"Nah, it isn't bad yet, I can wait a little bit" the manservant demurred.

Horatius laughed. "I take it Gaius' potions are still as nasty tasting as always"

"Well, they aren't too bad if you like licking the bottom of a bog"

All three grimaced in agreement.

"Go on and take it Merlin. The longer you wait, the worse you will hurt. The more you hurt, the longer it will take the medicine to take effect. And, it will still taste just as nasty." The prince reasoned with the young man.

Merlin couldn't argue with Arthur's logic. He sighed and pulled the bottle from his pocket. "I'll need something to wash this down with" he said staring pointedly at the wine jug.

"Oh no you don't" the prince started.

"Oh yes I do" the manservant retorted. "If you are going to make me drink this, the least you can do is give me something decent to kill the taste. Besides you said you could have a glass or two and it wouldn't hurt."

Arthur sighed and used his arm to gesture towards the wine jug. "If you get sick in here, I don't care about broken ribs, you will be in the stocks for a week."

Merlin slowly stood and walked over to the tray that held the jug. Although the boy had kept his face neutral throughout, the way he moved indicated to Arthur and Horatius that he was in considerably more pain that he had let on. He sat the vial down and picked up the jug and filled the goblet. He then set both down and picked back up the vial and uncorked it. He lifted it in salute to the two men then put it to his mouth and downed it as quickly as possible. As he was finishing it, he was already grabbing for the goblet. He lifted the goblet and chugged the wine down. He finally set it back on the tray, empty. He crossed his arms as he licked his lips slowly. He looked up at the ceiling and tilted his head as if contemplating the universe.

"You know," he said slowly "that wasn't half bad".

Both Horatius and Arthur groaned.

Arthur shook his head amused. "I think I am going to forbid you from associating with Gwaine. He is corrupting you."

Merlin pouted. Then he grinned. He slowly walked back over and sat back down. "Shall we get back to the story? What did he do after the meeting?"

"Well, he was upset, obviously" Horatius answered. "He was angry at them for not listening to him, and he was angry at himself for not being able to get them to listen. He was also upset because he felt if it were Lucan telling them, that they would have understood. Then there was the fact, of course, that he was in mourning and couldn't really take time to mourn. All in all, he was in a right state.

We walked around and I tried to calm him down a bit, although I don't think it was working. I saw a shadow overhead and saw Kilgharrah fly over. Balinor had paused for a moment then said that Kilgharrah wanted to meet with him at a clearing a few miles away. He said he wanted to go alone, but I wouldn't let him. First off, he was upset. Secondly, even though we figured it would still be a couple of weeks to a month before any of Voltigern's men would come, I was still concerned that there might be scouts about.

"I saddled us up a couple of horses and we rode out. It didn't take long to find the clearing. Kilgharrah was waiting there. He said that he had sensed Balinor's emotional turmoil and had come to take him off for a while. I asked him how long that he would keep him, that we were trying to prepare for battle.

"The dragon turned to me and stared at me with those big gold eyes. He said, 'I don't care about your puny human wars'. Word for word, that is what he said. He told Balinor to come along. Balinor gave me a hug and said he wouldn't be gone for too long. He then climbed on Kilgharrah. Before they left, Kilgharrah looked at me again and said 'He will be back when he needs to be back. Be prepared.' At that he lifted off. I yelled at him again and again, asking him what he meant by 'be prepared', but he never answered. Damn cryptic dragon."

Merlin barked out a laugh, then covered his mouth. His eyes were crinkled with mirth.

Arthur glared at him "What the hell is so funny?"

Merlin uncovered his mouth, his lips still trembling. "Oh nothing. I, um, just thought it was funny."

"What, exactly about it was funny?" The prince inquired.

Well, um…" he trailed off then glanced around furtively then wrinkled his eyebrows as if trying to think of something to say "An overgrown winged lizard….talking in riddles. It's funny!" He burst out laughing again.

Arthur glared at him some more.

Merlin calmed himself again and frowned. "It's not funny?"

"No Merlin, it is not funny in the slightest." The prince growled.

Merlin pouted and grumbled softly "Well, I thought it was funny".

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Idiot."

Horatius shared an amused look with Arthur, then glanced back at the tray with the empty medicine bottle and wine goblet. "Perhaps we should finish this tomorrow."

"NO!, I want to hear more" the manservant stammered out.

Horatius laughed. "My boy, in about 15 minutes, you won't be hearing or feeling anything."

"I am not drunk! See!" the young man exclaimed as he jumped up quickly from the chair to perform some feat to prove his sobriety. However, he stopped quickly and grabbed his ribs.

Arthur smirked openly. "Forgot that you were injured, didn't you?"

Merlin sighed dramatically "I. am. not. Drunk."

"No you aren't" Horatius agreed. "However, the wine and the medicine will hit you before long, I fear, and you will be lucky to walk back to your room."

Merlin looked deflated. "But…I really want to hear more."

The need in Merlin's eyes spoke volumes. Even Arthur saw it. "Don't worry, Merlin. Horatius will continue the story tomorrow."

"Yes I will" the old man assured him. "But for now, we need to get you back to your quarters." Horatius turned to Arthur. "If you don't mind, I'll walk Merlin back. I wanted to check in with Gaius anyway"

"I have to check on Leon as well, so I will accompany you." The prince replied. "Besides, if he does start having problems walking a straight line, you'll need help."

As they walked down the steps to the courtyard Merlin stopped. A big smile spread across his face. "Look! A kitty!" He walked over to the step and bent down. "Hey there boy! What are you doing out tonight?" He started petting the cat.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "What are you doing Merlin?" He stepped around to see a creamy white long hair cat with a slightly darker points. "Oh for crying out loud, leave that poor cat alone"

"But he's so pretty. And look, he has your eyes!" The manservant said as he picked up the cat. He turned the cat to where it faced Arthur, and yes, it had bright blue eyes.

"Merlin, put the cat down" the prince sighed.

Merlin pulled the cat in close to him to where it faced him and started scratching behind its ears. "He's such a pretty cat. Yes he is. Look at those big beautiful blue eyes. Yes they are, they are beautiful. I bet the lady cats love those eyes" Merlin continued in baby talk to the cat. Finally, the cat jumped out of his arms and took back up its place on the step.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked softly, his face contemplative.

"Hmmm?" Merlin relied while watching the cat

"Did you just say my eyes were beautiful?"

"Hmmm?" Merlin asked again, then turned abruptly to look at Arthur. "WHAT?"

Arthur smirked. "You said my eyes were beautiful"

"I did not! I said the cat's eyes were beautiful!" Merlin exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"Yes, but you said, and I quote 'Look! He has your eyes!" Arthur retorted. "So apparently you believe I have beautiful eyes."

Merlin sputtered. His face morphed into something between fear and disgust. It then settled into a thin lipped smile.

"Arthur, I am quite fond of you. But you aren't exactly my type" Merlin replied with all the decorum he could muster.

"Oh, and what type would that be, Merlin?" the prince inquired.

"Oh, I don't know" Merlin quipped "Maybe someone with a little more up here" he held his hands up to his chest to demonstrate "and a little less down here" pointing at his crotch.

They both turned to see Horatius leaning against a column with one arm and bent over laughing. His whole body shook. He finally stood up straight and brushed tears of mirth from his eyes. He calmed himself and shook his head. "The two of you are something else."

They walked the rest of the way without incident, Horatius would smile and his shoulders shake every now and again as he remembered the cat incident.

They opened the door to Gaius' chambers. Gaius was reading a book. Leon was on the cot sleeping. Arthur cleared his throat softly to get the physician's attention. Gaius signaled them to come over.

"How is he, Gaius?" Arthur asked softly.

"He woke up a little while ago, but has gone back to sleep. I asked him questions. He appears to have suffered no permanent brain damage. However, I do want to keep him at least until tomorrow evening. If he is doing satisfactorily, then he should be able to go home after dinner."

"I'm very happy to hear that" the prince said, relieved. "Would you mind if I stopped by in the morning and asked him some questions? If he is awake that is."

"That should be fine, Sire. Just don't tax him" the physician answered.

Gaius saw Horatius standing next to Merlin. "Horatius!" He exclaimed happily and walked over to give his old friend a hug. "It is good to see you"

The old goldsmith hugged back with gusto "It is good to see you too, old friend"

Before the two could get to reminiscing, Merlin interrupted. "I hate to break in, but I think I am going to bed. I'm sort of tired."

Gaius looked over his ward. "Do you need another vial of pain medicine?"

In unison, Arthur, Merlin, and Horatius called out a resounding "No!"

Gaius eyed them all suspiciously, but Merlin spoke up "No, really, I am fine for right now. I'm just tired and a bit sore. You might want to leave one out on the counter in case I need it later tonight."

"If you are sure, my boy." The old man eyed his ward up and down.

"I'm sure" Merlin smiled at his mentor. He nodded at the rest "Well, goodnight" he said and walked up the steps and entered his room.

Gaius turned back to the prince and his old friend. "Would you like some tea? I unfortunately don't have anything stronger at the moment"

"No thank you" Horatius answered. "I know you are busy tonight with your patient, and I don't want to wake him with our talking…but I was wondering if you possibly had something for my inflammation."

"Your shoulder acting up?" the physician queried.

"Ha! Isn't it always?" Horatius laughed back.

Gaius went to the cupboard, took out a bottle, and handed it to his old friend. "Only one spoonful before retiring. It should help you sleep and your shoulder should be less painful in the mornings."

As he started to say something else, they all heard a strange scratching sound. Afterwards they heard something that sounded similar to a child calling. Gaius raised an eyebrow, and the other two looked around trying to find where the sound was coming from. The scratching and calling became more insistent.

Arthur suddenly looked up with understanding. He shook his head and sighed as he walked to the door and opened it. In trotted a creamy colored cat that Gaius had never seen before. That cat walked across the room and up the stairs towards Merlin's room. The cat meowed one last time and the door opened only wide enough to allow furry creature enter, then closed again.

Gaius looked completely confused. He turned to the two men.

Arthur just shook his head. "Don't ask, Gaius. Don't ask."