A/N: So I have decided that Protective!Arthur is my favorite Arthur (at least for now) and that no one should mess with Merlin if they know what's good for them! Thank you to all of you who reviewed! I check every day (sometimes several times) to see if you guys gift me with any more happy thoughts. I love them all!

Disclaimer: Arthur and Merlin would have lived on forever if it had been mine!

Ch. 10-Just Who is to Blame?

Merlin. Merlin. Merlin. Merlin. Merlin. Merlin. Merlin. Merlin. Merlin. Merlin. Merlin!

Most other thoughts were driven from his head, the need to see his warlock overpowering them. Why had he stayed away this long? Why had he allowed those three to distract him? He should have just sent them straight to the dungeons and dealt with them later! Merlin was infinitely more important and he allowed them to come first.

No, justice for Merlin, those people in the square, and countless others who would not step forward had to be dispensed and that, annoyingly (because of the delay) was his job. Was it not just yesterday that Arthur stated that they must stay the course for now? How was Merlin nearly being killed on his third day in Camelot staying the course? The blond royal knew that his warlock attracted trouble like Gwaine attracted woman (sometimes worse) but this was ridiculous!

He should see to informing his father of exactly what had taken place in the square. Undoubtedly by now rumors were circulating like wildfire and word had reached the inner workings of the citadel. If they hadn't, then that would certainly change when those three morons were escorted to the dungeons. Arthur doubted it would take that long though; the guards were terrible gossips. Though some where likely going to be avoiding him seeing as they had done nothing to prevent Merlin's beating. The blond royal knew that it had been no-win situation for them. The three men were nobles, terrible ones to be sure, but still nobles. It could have cost them more than their livelihoods if they had intervened. Still, the king-prince had every intention of making it absolutely clear that something of this caliber was never to happen ever again. If it did, and Arthur discovered the guards acting as they had today, well…

Hell to pay didn't even begin to cover it.

Despite his father's likely reaction over the situation, Arthur could not steer himself away from Gaius's chambers. His body eerily pointed him in that direction, hardly consulting his brain on the matter and there were many a servant who had to leap out of his way as he barreled through the castle, basket still clutched to his chest.

His breakneck pace soon brought him skidding to halt in front of the physician's chambers. He paused, forcing himself to take several deep breaths and count to ten twice before he felt even somewhat in control of himself. Merlin being hurt or in danger drove the prince-king crazy faster than anything else could and to know that this happened when the dark-haired man was currently outside his protection was doing little to help that. Gaius didn't know that (not yet anyway, he would soon find out) and for now he had to appear…normal.

Damn.

Drawing in one last fortifying breath, Arthur knocked on the chamber doors before letting himself in, alerting the physician, but not drawing him away from his work. The older man did not spare him a glance, carefully completing his work on bandaging Merlin's head. Thomas did look up from where he was cradling the other man's head, nodding to the king-prince. Arthur did not speak, setting the basket at the end of the work table and coming around to (future) manservant's side.

His initial thought in the alleyway was not negated in anyway; in fact, Arthur would say Merlin seemed more of a mess now than before! His shirt had been removed and most of his chest was hidden under tightly wrapped bandages. The prince-king held in a wince, knowing that meant that he might have a broken rib or two (unless Gaius was just being overly cautious) and that they were necessary, but also knowing that so much pressure on the bruises the bandages were hiding would be painful. No-win there. The purple swelling from his eye was now so dark it could be mistaken for black. Merlin would not be able to see properly for some time. His left arm was tightly bound to his chest which made Arthur think that it was likely broken. Other cuts and bruises marred his normally pale now milk white skin and even in his unconscious state (had he woken at all?) the king-prince could see how his mouth tightened in pain.

"You may lay his head down now," Gaius's command broke him from his contemplations. Thomas obeyed, easing the dark head down upon the cot. No one spoke for a moment, merely stared at the battered youth before them. It took the physician rising to his feet, marching towards his work bench and slamming his hands down upon it for the silence to be broken. Arthur tried not to flinch (he had never, ever seen Gaius do such a thing) and Thomas could not contain a small yelp that accompanied his own.

Gaius bowed his head and his voice, though faint, rang out in the silent chamber. "Forgive my temper, I did not mean to startle either of you. Thomas, thank you for help, it was much appreciated."

"Anything I can do to help," Thomas replied, eyeing the man carefully.

"There is nothing more than can be done at the moment. It would be best if you were to attend to your duties for Prince Arthur," the older man stated.

Thomas glanced at Arthur, who nodded, and then left, the door snicking shut quietly behind him. The king-prince waiting a few beats, but when it seemed as though Gaius was not going to move, he cautiously approached, laying a hand on a tense shoulder.

"Gaius?" Echoing with the agony of not protecting his friend well enough was the pain of letting this man down. In many, many, far too many to count, ways Gaius was more of a father to him than Uther. He could name several instances in his life where he had spent more time with this man here than the man who had sired him. And just what did that say about his life? Even if Gaius did not know it, Arthur had let him down by not protecting Merlin. The king-prince was ready to say to hell with the whole thing, snatch up his warlock (with Gaius, Gwen, Leon, and probably Morgana as well) and leave. Perhaps elsewhere they could find a moments peace to straighten this all out.

But no, that was a fool's dream and though he had been accused of being a fool many times (mostly by Uther) he knew that it would not happen. To protect the ones they loved, Arthur and Merlin would have to stay right here and that meant dealing with this and every other situation that would arise. They had done it once, he knew they could do it again, but right that moment he wasn't sure he had the will to face that future.

"His mother asked me to look after him," the physician said, his head still bowed. "Some job I have done so far."

"That's enough!" Arthur said firmly. That defeated tone would not be tolerated. This was not Gaius's fault in any form or fashion! Grasping the older man's shoulders gently, but firmly, he turned the man to face him. Tired hazel eyes met his in surprise. "This is not your fault. If anyone is to blame in this it's those imbeciles masquerading as nobles. Not you and certainly not Merlin. From what I could see he did his level best to get away from them. If anyone is to shoulder some of the blame it is myself."

"You, sire?" Gaius asked in astonishment.

Arthur nodded, releasing the physician to return to sit at Merlin's side. "I should have anticipated that they would not be satisfied with the punishment I doled out and seek to quench their own sadistic needs." The blond royal smashed his fist against his knee, relishing the minor pain. His voice went soft, "I'm so sorry, Merlin. I can't seem to get this right." He hoped that despite his unconscious state, that the dark-haired man could hear him. It was soothing, watching Merlin breathe as every movement of his chest reminded the king-prince that the man was still alive. How long he sat there, watching the slow rise and fall of the warlock's breathing, he did not know. Thoughts of reporting to his father, to seeing to the idiots' punishment, to the marketplace, the guards, Gaius all drifted away, unimportant in comparison to that simple movement of Merlin's chest.

In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

Arthur's own breathing slowly changed to match and he clenched his hands around his knees to keep from reaching for his warlock. Stay the course. Stay the course. He was truly beginning to hate that phrase. What was the point of staying the course when everything seemed so determined to leave the course? What good was foreknowledge when already the events that had come to pass differed greatly? What was next? Uther would try to poison him instead of some evil sorceress? Morgana would never leave Camelot? Lady Helen wouldn't turn out to be an imposter? No Great Dragon? No griffin? Or would it be worse and they would have all of that at once?

Just…why couldn't they have a few moments to themselves? Why weren't they allowed a chance to mend the wounds between them (Arthur's death and Merlin's secrets) so they did not fester? It was difficult enough not to have Merlin at his side before his death. Now it felt as though someone had severed a limb and he could still feel the phantom pains from it. Why couldn't he just have Merlin?

A wrinkled hand settled on his head, startling him as it carded through his blond locks.

"If Merlin and I are not to blame," Gaius began, "then neither are you, sire." Arthur gazed up at the wizened face, astonished to find a small smile there. "A great king is wise, but not all knowing. Even you cannot anticipate all outcomes. Those," here he paused, fumbling for the correct words.

"Morons?" Arthur offered, a smile beginning to form.

That won him a chuckle. "Those morons could just as easily have left Merlin alone. The fact that they chose not to do so was exactly that—their choice. The fault lies with them and them alone." The hazel eyes turned stern. "I will hear no more of you blaming yourself. If I cannot, you cannot."

Arthur wasn't sure how Gaius did it, but somehow the weight on his shoulders eased. Just like magic.

The magic of words, not the swirly gold kind. In many ways, the former was more important than the latter.

"Thank you, Gaius," he said sincerely.

The physician gave him an odd look that the prince-king thought he probably deserved it. Just when was the last time he had thanked the older man for all that he did? Too long, obviously if the calculating glint that was being directed his way was anything to go by. Probably everything he had been doing, now that Gaius had the mind to give it thought, was cause for suspicion. But then again, when had the last time Gaius had taken such liberties as putting his hands in Arthur's hair?

"It's I who should be thanking you, sire, for it is very likely that you saved Merlin's life."

Arthur nodded, rising from seat. "Just returning the favor," he stated cryptically, knowing it would drive the other man batty. Perhaps this 'knowing what's going to happen next' bit wouldn't be too bad. Except, now he had to go face the king. Joy.

"Keep me informed on his progress." With that last command he swept out, content to in the knowledge that his Merlin was in capable hands.

~Arthur~

Arthur did not rush to throne room, needing time to collect himself. Merlin was, ultimately, going to be alright if Gaius's reactions were anything to judge by, but in a great deal of pain for some time. Arthur himself had suffered many of the same injuries, usually individually, sometimes in a combination, but the sheer brutality of what his warlock suffered was threatening to send his blood boiling once more. He halted before the great doors, taking a deep breath. Calm was the key. Ranting to his father over the moronic behavior of the idiot nobles would not do him (and by extension Merlin) any favors. His lips quirked. Maybe he would rant to Morgana later, he was certain she would have a few choice things to add.

One last breath and he squared his shoulders, nodding to the guards to open the doors. His father was seated at the long table, various papers scattered before him, obviously having just finished lunch if the empty plate was any indication. Uther glanced up and, seeing Arthur striding his way, set the document aside and rose to meet him.

"I would like an explanation as to why there are three nobles in the dungeons." The callous, cold disregard that colored his tone set Arthur's teeth on edge and as much as he wanted to lash out, he knew he had to tread carefully.

"I'm surprised they are already there, I expected them to be out there for a few more hours at least," he returned, halting just a few feet from his father. "Then again, the people in the marketplace had already done a rather good job of cleaning up."

Uther's eyes narrowed. "There was some sort of disturbance in the marketplace, was there not? What on earth do they have to do with it?"

Arthur grimaced, crossing his arms over his chest to keep from tugging at his ears. Damn Merlin! "They were the cause of it. Apparently, in the pursuit of a man, they destroyed half the marketplace."

"What did the man do? Steal? Start a fight?" the king demanded.

"Nothing. In fact, from what I can see, he did his very best to lead them away from the more crowded areas of the marketplace and in doing so managed to minimize the damage done somewhat," Arthur replied, doing his best to look thoughtful. He was going to do his best to paint these men in the blackest of lights so they might find themselves not only unwelcome with the knight's training, but within all of Camelot itself.

"But why where they pursuing him?" Uther wondered, circling his son as he spoke.

The blond royal hated when Uther did that; it made him feel like a rabbit about to be pounced on by a wolf. A rabid wolf at that. "I'm afraid that it stems from an incident yesterday. They were throwing knives at Thomas, my manservant, who, despite the shield was in no way prepared for such actions. Before I could intervene the man, Merlin, tried to stop them, calling them out on their behavior. I managed to keep it from escalating further at that point and sent Merlin to the dungeons for the night and into the stocks several hours today."

Unable to stand the circling any longer, Arthur broke away, crossing over to the window to gaze at the busy courtyard below. "I know that such actions would normally bring a harsher punishment, but he only did so to protect my manservant. I believed that it was only fair to show some leniency." He looked slide his eyes over to his father who had come to join him in his watching. "After all, it was only his second day in Camelot as I understand it."

"In this case, I believe you are right," Uther agreed after a long pause and the king-prince prayed that his shock was not so plainly written on his face. Really? Really? Uther actually agreed? He could not keep from discretely pinching himself to make certain that—ow!—yes, this was actually happening.

"That peasant must know that such actions should not be tolerated. Respect must be maintained. One can afford to be lenient, if the message is still delivered."

Never mind; Uther was discussing Merlin, not the morons! False alarm.

"I hope that you made certain he understood what should have been the true length of his punishment?" the king asked, turning back to his paperwork.

Arthur remained by the window, reminding himself not to grit his teeth too tightly for fear of cracking them. Though, if he did, perhaps he could get Merlin to fix them. Had his warlock ever done that before? "I did. Though apparently Sir Orvin, Estern and Val did not agree with my decision and decided to take it into their own hands."

"The trainees we spoke of yesterday? What exactly did they do?"

"The very ones," Arthur kept his gaze upon the courtyard so that any trace of anger that might reveal itself would hopefully go unnoticed. "They confronted Merlin in the marketplace and then proceeded to chase him through it, destroying anything that was in their path. They trapped him in a dead end alley and…" Like the Great Dragon, Arthur could feel his fury rising, roaring for the blood of those men. Voicing it…voicing it made it real. Deep down he hoped that this was just a nightmare that he would be able to escape if he only could wake up. That Merlin was able to do his chores for Gaius without being assaulted by men who were supposed to be upholding the knight's code.

But no. They were never that lucky.

"Merlin is with Gaius now," he finally continued, knowing that his father would grow impatient. "Their attack left him with a broken rib, broken arm and too many cuts and bruises to count. They treated him as though he were a murdering bandit." He could not prevent the venom from creeping into his voice towards the end. Others might think that he was over-exaggerating the situation (he was not) with that last comparison but he would stand by it. "I doubt that this is the introduction to Camelot that Gaius had been hoping for." He glanced towards his father, irritated to see him focusing on the reports before him. "Merlin is his ward."

"No doubt it isn't," his father commented. "Did they confess?"

Arthur smirked. "They did."

"And what did you deem their punishment should be?"

"They were to clean the marketplace themselves and calculate the total cost of the damage they incurred. It would be their responsibility to pay for it. Since they did not believe that Merlin's punishment was stringent enough, I would have them suffer it as well. They will spend time in the dungeons and then in the stocks. Hopefully they will think twice about defying me again," he said, not bothering to hide his arrogance at the end. It was the sort of arrogance his father would expect and approve of.

It was just too bad he could not (as of yet) do what he truly wished to the men.

Uther smirked. "Poetic. I approve; you handled that very well. Hopefully they will learn not to defy the crown." Gathering the documents together his father stood, glancing briefly Arthur's way. "I will be dining with Lady Helen tonight, I would like you to join us."

And just like that, all thoughts of revenge were stricken from the king-prince's mind. Lady Helen was here, already? But it was too soon! Wasn't it?

Arthur would be the first to admit that some of the details of Merlin and his first 'adventure' together had somewhat faded over time. Though, he had believed, he had remembered the most important ones. In the long run, what he had and Merlin had gone through together was the priority, not the tinny-tiny details such as when Lady Helen had arrived.

Then again, who expected to live through their life twice?

"That is unfortunate," he managed to choke out, hoping his voice did not sound as strangled as he thought. "While I appreciate the offer, I am afraid that I will have to decline. I have work that I have delayed in completing for far too long as it is and with what happened this afternoon, it has only gotten worse. I wish to finish as much of it as I can tonight so that I may be free to fully enjoy the performance. Tomorrow is it?"

"Yes," the king confirmed.

"Then I best get to it right away. I'm certain it is a performance that no one will forget. Send Lady Helen my regards and let her know that I will be fully prepared for her at the feast."

Uther eyed him, no doubt searching for a lie. Arthur wasn't lying; he actually had a large stack of work that was reaching teetering proportions on his desk. He doubted he would tackle it tonight, but he was under no circumstances going anywhere near Lady Helen. As it stood, it would not be the first time that Arthur had skipped out on private meals with important guests though he do not usually do so directly, choosing to simply not show up. It was a habit that had irritated Uther to no end and more than once Arthur had been on the receiving end of his scathing tongue for his disregard of his duties.

If he was forced to hide out, maybe he could do so in Merlin's room. He would even take the work with him!

"I should insist," 'Please don't. Please don't. Please don't,' Arthur chanted mentally, "but when you are finally showing some initiative with your work, I can hardly disapprove." Doubtful considering the disapproval that was leaking through the man's tone. "I will give Lady Helen your regards and let her know that you are looking forward to her performance."

Arthur bowed. "Thank you, father."

"Well get to then."

As dismissals went, it was not the most polite, but very few people had ever termed Uther Pendragon as such. The king-prince bowed, taking his leave at the fastest walk he could manage without making it seem as though his greatest wish was to break into a run. He didn't dare to pause until two corridors later, sliding into an alcove hidden behind a tapestry. Releasing a sigh that felt as though it was rent from the tips of his toes, he slumped against the wall.

That could have gotten terribly. Arthur cringed at the thought of the numerous ways that it could have blown up in his face. His father could have ordered him to release the morons and he wasn't certain he would have been able to follow through with it. If he had, the men would come to regret it (he would make absolutely certain of that) so in reality, it was perhaps better for them that they were in the dungeons. Arthur wasn't certain how long his father would allow him to keep them incarcerated, but the king-prince intended to drag it out as long as possible. Maybe he would release them to the stocks on the hottest day. Severe burns might drive the message home.

You don't mess with Merlin.

That was the message Arthur was sending, even if everyone else was hearing something else. That was their problem, not his.

Then again, it could have gone better. Uther hadn't banished them from Camelot yet.

Another sigh and then he gathered himself up. No use worrying about it now; the seeds had been sown. Hopefully they bared vengeful fruit. Peeking from his hiding place to make certain that the corridor was still deserted, he strode off to his chambers. There was no way he could visit Merlin again this soon (damnit!) without someone finding it odd (did he really care?) and he did not want to draw any more attention to his (future) manservant than had been already. Besides, it was probably best to make his excuse into a reality if he didn't want trouble from the king.

Best not to risk that just yet.

Arthur hoped that Thomas had sent up a cold lunch as he was unaccountably starving. Surprising considering the knots his stomach was twisted into. He did find lunch when he entered his chambers.

Unfortunately he found something else.

"Hello, Arthur. I heard the most interesting news from the marketplace today," Morgana greeted with a smile that the prince-king swore was just an edge too toothy, "Know anything about that?

Damnit!

End Ch. 10

A/N: And so he has navigate the minefield that is Uther Pendragon only to run into Morgana! I love giving Arthur a hard time and if you haven't learned from my stories by now, that's true for a lot of characters. Let me know what you think! I'm anxiously waiting.