A/N - Sorry about the wait. Shit happens. Mothers-in-law suck, end of the school year is packed with loads of events, and my baby boy is getting ready to start kindergarten in the fall. That should be interesting. We're hoping he doesn't take one look at the driver and refuse to get on the bus! The great news is - I got a call from the elementary school principal and she told me that he tested the highest off all the kids on the placement tests. We are just hoping that school isn't going to be super boring for him since he is doing 1st grade math and reading and writing before he even starts kindergarten.

Now as to this story - This chapter and the next address some unanswered questions from season two. When and how did the treaty between Uther and Cendred come apart? Why was it a forgone conclusion to Uther that if Arthur went into Cendred's kingdom to find the Dragon Lord and was caught he would be killed? That always bothered me so in figuring out a way to transition this story to accommodate the second half I decided to answer those questions. I hope you approve.

Chapter Twelve

Arthur woke early, rising in the pre-dawn light. He wanted to get Merlin back to Camelot as soon as possible, and the earlier they started the farther they would get before darkness forced them to stop for the night. Nelora was awake and tending to Merlin when Arthur woke which surprised him considering the fact that she was still sitting with him when sleep took the young prince the night before. He found himself wondering briefly if the young woman ever slept.

The healer showed Arthur how to crush up the herbs as well as prepare them to wash out Merlin's wound. She had everything prepared to change his bandage and give him the elixir to combat the poison in his system. Just as Nelora had said, the stinging astringent roused Merlin when she poured the antiseptic wash over the wound in his arm, but he never opened his eyes, only moaning and trying to pull his arm away. Arthur was the one to get him to drink the antidote and he watched carefully as Nelora put a clean bandage on Merlin's arm. By the time everything was done Arthur felt more confident that he could tend to Merlin on his own, at least for as long as it took him to get the young man back to Camelot.

The sun had still not quite crested the distant mountains on the horizon when Merlin was securely wrapped into the travois and the device attached to Arthur's horse. He tethered Merlin's mare to the pommel of his saddle with a long length of rope and Nelora as well as several of the elders and Barach accompanied Arthur out of the druid encampment toward the clearing with the fireplace. Arthur noted that several people were up and it looked as though they were packing up the camp. He wondered if the druids planned to leave this area because of his presence among them, but he didn't want to ask.

Once they was out of the forest and in more open ground Arthur turned to Nelora. "I thank you for your assistance. Merlin would have died if you hadn't helped him, and I will be forever in your debt."

"You owe me no debt, Prince Arthur. It is my charge to help those who need it."

Arthur urned to Barach and looked at him as well as the elders who were standing with him. "I would like to say that it has been a pleasure knowing you..."

Several of the men and women bowed their heads, but Arthur really couldn't determine if it was due to shame, embarrassment, or some other emotion. "I have learned more than I planned to on this trip, and despite the fact that you tried to kill me, I view this visit with your people as a valuable experience. I promised you that there would be no repercussions if you let us leave, and I am a man of my word. I will not tell the king of your camp nor will I seek retribution for our little... misunderstanding."

Barach extended his hand much the same way Arthur did when they first met. After a moment's pause Arthur took the man's hand and shook it firmly. "I regret the steps we felt the need to take, Arthur Pendragon. We know that you will be a fine king and under your rule this land will once again know peace and justice. Take care of Emrys as he continues to take care of you."

Arthur looked to the sky and saw that the horizon was lightening. Without any further words spoken Arthur mounted his horse. He looked to be sure that Merlin was safely secured to the travois and without looking back he headed off toward Camelot and home.

Travel through the forest paths was slow and arduous with the travois and several times Arthur was forced to dismount to maneuver over or around obstacles. As he pushed forward through the denser parts of the forest, Arthur was stunned at how difficult it was to navigate with the heavy travois attached to the back of his horse. Smaller obstacles were no real problem because of the design of the device, but when a large fallen tree or boulder stood in the way he would have to lift the end of the poles dragging along the ground while coaxing the horse forward. Manhandling the travois over these obstacles was exhausting work and the young prince couldn't fathom how Inalyra had managed to get as far as she did on her own with her husband who was easily twice the size of Merlin.

By midday he was exhausted and ready to stop for a break. Merlin had remained unconscious during the arduous trek through the forest, and that didn't change even as Arthur cleaned the young man's wound and prepared to re-bandage it. Getting him to rouse enough to drink the antidote for the poison was nearly impossible and it was starting to seriously concern the young prince. Merlin seemed to be lapsing into the deep sleep that had Nelora and the druids so convinced would take his life. Arthur briefly considered turning back, but in the end decided that he must push forward and get him back to Camelot and Gaius. While he was impressed with Nelora and her skills, she was young and he had complete faith in Gaius and his wealth of knowledge. Gaius is the only physician he had ever known and the man had seen him through the most difficult injuries and illnesses of his life.

After a brief stop to allow the horses to rest and treat Merlin's arm, Arthur quickly packed up after forcing a little more water into Merlin and headed back out. He knew that travel would go much faster once he made it to the main road running north and south between the kingdoms. Cutting directly through the forest may have been the shorter route, but the travel was so slow because of the cumbersome travois that diverting to the main road was the better option.

With that in mind Arthur checked the position of the sun and changed his route, now heading due west. It took another three hours to make it to the road and Arthur decided not to stop again until nightfall.

They made such good time once that they had a clear road to follow that Arthur pushed on forward even after the sun had nearly set. They were less than an hour from the border of Camelot and something inside of the young prince wanted to get over that border before stopping. He glanced back at Merlin lying in the travois, but it had gotten dark enough that he couldn't really see his young servant any more, only his outline.

Arthur maintained a steady stream of dialogue directed at the unresponsive young man and was so absorbed in his diatribe that was sometimes fiery in nature that he didn't notice Merlin moving about trying to get out from under the straps holding him in place, until he heard his name called out in a strangled voice.

"Arthur!"

"Merlin?" Arthur spoke with worry and anticipation as reined his horse to a stop and jumped down. Merlin was thrashing about calling Arthur's name. While the young prince was happy to see that Merlin seemed to be coming out of the deep state of unconsciousness, he was concerned by his behavior. Stepping over to the travois Arthur knelt down and took a hold of Merlin's shoulders to calm his thrashing. "Hey, can you hear me? Merlin?"

Merlin moaned again causing Arthur to rest his hand on the young man's forehead checking his temperature. To his dismay Merlin was burning up and had broken out into a heavy sweat.

"Oh, God, Merlin! You're burning up." Arthur stood up and guided the horses off the road to a clearing about 20 yards off to the side of the road. He worked quickly gathering up some small kindling that was readily available and got fire going. By the light of the small fire he was able to see well enough to gather up some larger pieces of wood to stoke the fire up enough to set up a proper camp. But first he needed to check on Merlin who was tossing his head back and forth obviously agitated.

"No, don't! Arthur, run! Don't hurt him... I won't let you hurt him."

Arthur felt a mixture of pride and guilt as he listened to his friend's fevered murmuring. Merlin was so faithfully loyal to him which filled him with pride, but his initial anger and mistrust at Merlin's secret revealed sent a shock of guilt through him. How could he have ever thought that Merlin would have used any means at his disposal magic or otherwise to harm him, or Camelot? The young man may be a blundering idiot, but he was more loyal that the royal hounds, and more stubborn.

Arthur unhooked the travois from the back of his horse and dragged it over closer to the fire. The fever seemed to be much worse in the short time it had taken him to get the fire going and Merlin was drenched with sweat.

"You must save him. I willingly give my life for Arthur's. His life is worth a hundred of mine."

Arthur looked at Merlin oddly wondering what he was talking about. Hearing his servant - his friend - say that Arthur's life was worth so much more than his own chilled Arthur and brought back another memory of Uther saying that Merlin's life was 'worth less than his'. Merlin may have been delirious, but somehow the young man's words had a ring of truth to them. "Merlin?"

Arthur pulled out the kit that Nelora had given him feeling panic numbing the edges of his senses. "What do I do? What did Nelora say about his fever going up?"

Arthur had to take a few slow breaths and calm down to think more clearly. He grabbed a cloth from one of the saddle bags and wet it from the water skin to wipe down Merlin's brow.

"Wait! You're sweating! Merlin, that's good. That means that the antidote is working. I'm sure that's what Nelora said. This is good, right? Merlin, you just need to hang on. I swear I'll get you back to Camelot, you just need to keep fighting."

"You must learn to listen as well as you fight."

Those words sounded very familiar, and then Arthur remembered the conversation Merlin had with him after he was bitten by the questing beast.

"I have learned quite a lot from you, Merlin, but if you ever repeat that I'll deny it completely. You were right though; and again I'll deny ever saying that so you might as well enjoy it now for what it's worth."

"Don't... get... a boot licker."

"You are going to fight this, you are going to get better and you will be there to clean my room, polish my armor and annoy me with your pearls of country wisdom. So, Merlin, no more talk about leaving your job."

"I'm happy to be your servant... until the day I die."

"You are not going to die, Merlin! Do you hear me?"

Merlin continued muttering under his breath as his fever climbed. He made odd references that Arthur couldn't help trying to put some meaning to, but most of his muttering was undistinguishable. Arthur spent a few more minutes wiping down the young man's fevered brow before he pulled out the supplies to clean Merlin's wound.

As he worked Arthur kept going back to the odd conversation he had with Merlin so many months ago. Merlin said he would give his life in exchange, and Arthur still felt that those words were more than just delirium talking. He knew what a questing beast was and he had been warned about it's bite. If Gaius said that the bite was fatal then he had no doubt that it was, so why was he alive? Some ancient elixir being his savior seemed far less likely given the revelations he had encountered on this trip. The questing beast was a creature of the old religion, it's bite should have been fatal which means that the only way Arthur could have survived is if he was healed magically, but how?

As he crushed up the herbs in the bowl realization dawned on Arthur. Both Merlin and Gaius has disappeared for nearly two days right after that cryptic conversation. Going over that conversation again in his mind a chill began to creep up Arthur's spine. Merlin wasn't just being cryptic, or imparting his own brand of country wisdom, he saying goodbye. He expected to die in exchange for Arthur's life being spared from the bite of the questing beast. Given that perspective the conversation suddenly made chilling sense.

"God, Merlin, is that what you did? You traded your life for mine? Is that why I recovered from the questing beast's bite?"

Merlin had stopped talking and was only moaning weakly now. Would Merlin really offer up his own life to save Arthur? The young prince didn't even have to think about that to get his answer. Merlin tried to do the very same thing when he was tested by Anahora with the poison cup.

"If you traded your life for mine... No wait that doesn't make sense. It couldn't be. You're not dead."

Arthur continued to mull the situation over in his own mind as he prepared the wash for Merlin's arm. By the time he was ready to unwrap the bandage he was no clearer than he had been before, but all thoughts of that incident were wiped from Arthur's mind as he unwrapped the bandages on Merlin's arm.

The wound was clearly infected with thick yellowish puss oozing from the center of the wound and the skin surrounding it being an angry red and puffy. He knew the antiseptic wash was going to hurt given the state of the young man's wound so Arthur grabbed hold of Merlin's wrist tightly and held his arm out straight. As he slowly poured the astringent over the wound Merlin hollered out in pain and tried to pull his arm away, but Arthur held on tightly. When he flipped the arm over to see the back he was somehow hoping that it would look better, but the back of the forearm looked even worse.

Arthur ran out of the wash before he had throughly cleaned both the entry and exit wounds and as much he wanted wrap the arm up in a clean bandage, he dared not until he made more of the cleansing wash and was able to wash out all of the puss. Not having anything else to use Arthur took the cloth from Merlin's head and tied it around the arm to cover the wound while he made more of the wash.

The moon was fully up and it was completely dark, except for it's celestial light, by the time Arthur was done tending to Merlin and finished setting up the camp. The fevered young man continued to rabbit on about the strangest things before he finally settled down into a fitful sleep. Arthur couldn't help wondering how much of Merlin's ramblings were the result of the fever and how much were snippets of truth.

After listening to Merlin, Arthur had come to the conclusion that Merlin is the one who had made the snakes on knight Valiant's shield come to life in front of the entire court, and that it was also Merlin who had defeated Cornelius Sigan, although how he had accomplished defeating the most powerful sorcerer that Camelot had ever seen was still beyond him. The druid elders seemed to think that Merlin possessed incredible power and he didn't doubt that after seeing what the young man had done to save him from the flames, but to defeat someone so old and so powerful seemed at the very least far fetched. As he thought back over all of the near misses and odd events over the past two years that he had known Merlin, Arthur came to the firm conclusion that Merlin had been standing behind him in the shadows saving him and saving Camelot right from the start. Considering how they first met this astounded him.

Arthur had grown as a man and as a prince since meeting Merlin and as much as he would like to take full credit for the emotional advances and maturity he had gained over the last two years he knew in his heart that Merlin's fiery opinions and his unflinching friendship and loyalty are the things that had helped him to grow into the man he was.

Merlin and Arthur had a dreadful night. Merlin's fever grew hotter and he often yelled out thrashing his arms and kicking his legs, and Arthur had to try to calm him down and would apply fresh compresses to his forehead in order to control the fever. Merlin didn't finally settle down into a more peaceful sleep until a couple of hours before dawn when Arthur finally fell asleep lying next to his servant ready to jump up and calm any renewed fits.

It was well past dawn when Arthur opened his eyes to the morning sun peeking through the lush canopy overhead. For a moment he felt disoriented, not knowing what time it was. Merlin was still sleeping peacefully and as much as Arthur was loath to disturb him he wanted to get them both back to Camelot before midday if possible. He got up and stoked up the smoldering embers of the dying fire from the night before and set water to heating while he pulled out the supplies to make a new astringent wash for Merlin's arm. He snacked on dried meat as he worked and opted to drink a small amount of water from their dwindling supply in the water skin. He still had enough to make the wash and get Merlin to drink a little as well. The infection in the young man's wound didn't look quite as bad as it did the night before, but Arthur was no physician and he couldn't really tell if there had been much improvement. There did seem to be less yellow puss oozing out of the wound and he took that as a good sign.

Much to Arthur's relief Merlin roused a little with the application of the wash and even opened his eyes looking around wildly seeming completely confused as to where he was and what was happening to him.

"Arthur? What..."

Arthur smiled at the young man as relief flooded through him. Merlin's fever had broken during the night and while he was still wet with sweat he was definitely cooler than he had been the previous night.

"Well it's about time you woke up."

Merlin tried to sit up but could barley raise his head. "What happened?" he asked with a weak and barely audible voice.

"Hold on there. Don't try to get up. You have been very sick. What do you remember?"

Merlin laid his head back down and seemed utterly spent. He closed his eyes and looked as though he were thinking. He didn't say anything for a long moment and Arthur thought he had fallen back asleep until he spoke in a voice just above a whisper.

"I remember pain. I was shot with an arrow. Who shot me?"

Arthur was a little nervous about Merlin remembering anything from the druid encampment and he answered the young man carefully.

"I don't know who it was. Someone hunting with poisoned arrows. The practice is outlawed in Camelot because it is so dangerous."

"Everything after that is fuzzy. Was there a fire? I remember a fire, or I think a I remember a fire and ... uh rain."

Arthur was tempted to tell Merlin everything for a moment, but as much as he may have wanted to, he understood the reasoning that the elders had given him for keeping his knowledge of Merlin's magic a secret. He hated to do it to him, but if Arthur could put Merlin on the defensive he might leave it alone.

"Merlin, you have been burning up with fever for two days now. You've been delirious and I have to tell you that not much of what you have said has made much sense. The fever had you talking about the strangest things, things that made no sense, things that couldn't possibly be... well true."

Fear and confusion ran across the young servant's face for a moment before he spoke. "Why, what did I say?"

"It doesn't matter. You were delusional with fever. Do you think you could sit up a little and drink some water?"

Arthur wanted to give him some more of the antidote for the Belladonna poison, but he didn't know how he would explain having it. As it was he was grateful Merlin hadn't asked about the painful astringent wash Arthur used on his arm that had brought him around to consciousness.

With Arthur's help Merlin sat up just enough to lean his back against Arthur's leg for support and took a drink from the water skin. The young man noticed the bandage on his arm and examined it.

"This bandage; did you do that?"

"It may interest you to know that I actually do have some skills. Every warrior needs to know how to apply an effective field bandage."

Merlin just nodded and laid back down utterly spent. He drifted off into a fitful sleep as Arthur packed up the camp and got ready to move back out to the road. Merlin slept hovering between a natural sleep and unconsciousness for the next half an hour. They were almost at the border of Camelot and Arthur felt the inexplicable need to hurry. He never knew if it was some sort of sixth sense or his observational skills or simple pure luck that tipped him off and made him more wary, but when the attack came Arthur was ready.

Less than a mile from the border a group of three marauders emerged at full speed from the forest to the west and before they were even close enough to engage Arthur was off his horse with sword in hand. Three against one were odds that the young prince of Camelot was familiar with having trained against as many knights simultaneously. This battle was different. These men had murder in their eyes and had obviously thought that Arthur was an easy target since he was carrying an injured man behind him. This thought on the part of the bandits was erroneous as Arthur went on the offense meeting the first of the bandits before he could get close to Merlin.

As Arthur reached the man he swung his sword to his left and brought it back in an arc slicing the man through the midrift. Without stopping at all he lunged forward meeting the blow from a second man parrying the thrust from his sword while spinning around and throwing his sword directly into the chest of the third man charging from the right.

The one man left standing paused only for a moment hardly believeing that his comrads had been felled so quickly and easily, but he realized that his opponent was now weaponless and vulnerable. He screamed and charged directly at Arthur who was able to dodge the attack by diving and rolling to his right. He knew he was in trouble and at a distinct disadvantage but that didn't stop Arthur. As he rolled out of the way he reached out and grabbed a fallen branch from the ground and swiftly came to his feet using the branch like a fighting staff to block the over head swing of the man's sword. The branch was uneven and cumbersome to use but it was still an effective weapon for defense. As the two men faced off exchanging strikes, blocks and blows three guards ran into the fight from the opposite side of the road, obviously drawn to the sounds of battle.

Arthur was pleased to see Cendrid's men show up on the scene and called out to them as they approached.

"I am Arthur of Camelot, glad you could make it to the party!" he shouted, as he swung around clipping his attacker behind the knees and sending him sprawling onto his back. Arthur turned to face the approaching soldiers and much to his shock they were still brandishing their weapons and running forward to attack. The first man reached Arthur sword raised above his head ready to descend on the young prince of Camelot.

Arthur raised the branch up just in time to fend off the blow and shouted angrily at the man. "What the hell are you doing? I told you that I am Arthur of Camelot!"

The remaining bandit had made it to his feet and was now fighting two of the other soldiers while the soldier who had attacked Arthur renewed his own attack on the prince joined by yet another of Cendrid's men.

Arthur was one of the finest warriors in all of Camelot and would feel comfortable holding his own against any man from any other kingdom, but he was now outnumbered four or five to one, depending on whether or not the bandit decided to suddenly ally with Cendrid's men.

Arthur was less than a mile from his own kingdom and if Cendrid's soldiers were to follow him into Camelot's territory knowing who Arthur was it would be an act of war. Arthur had moved closer to the bandit impaled by his sword and decided that his best bet was to go for the weapon. A branch used against one untrained marauder was one thing, but it was a useless weapon against trained soldiers. He gripped the large branch with both hands and threw it viciously at the advancing soldiers chests. He used the distraction of them avoiding being hit by the heavy branch to run for his sword.

Pulling the sword from the lifeless man's body Arthur spun around ready for battle. He knew in the back of his mind that he had little chance of coming out of this fight alive, but he would fight to the end no matter what happened. As the soldiers advanced he set to work blocking and parrying the blows fighting with every ounce of strength in him.

He wasn't even sure when he sustained a wound to his upper arm nor did he take much notice of the slash across the back of his right shoulder. What he did notice was when the two soldiers who had been engaging the last marauder finished him off they too joined the battle against Arthur. Much to his surprise the two men approaching were suddenly flung to the side but he did his best not to notice as he continued to fight for his life.

The thought that Merlin had been awakened by the sounds of fighting and had most likely used magic to help even the odds gave Arthur renewed fervor. Ignoring the pain of his wounds Arthur screamed out a blood curdling battle cry as he charged. He attacked relentlessly making quick work of the stunned soldiers who had assumed they had the upper hand and the advantage of numbers.

Cendrid's men moved too slowly. The man closest to Arthur didn't have time to parry the diagonal upward stroke that felled him. As the second soldier charged the prince thrusting his sword forward hoping to deliver a killing strike and didn't anticipate that Arthur would spin on his heel avoiding the blow. As Arthur turned with the grace of a dancer the soldier never saw the sword wielded by the enraged prince before it ran him through the back.

It took Arthur a minute to realize that all of the enemy combatants were dead or out of commission. He always felt an odd sense of euphoria immediately following an intense battle, but as his eyes fell on the travois a nearly numbing panic washed over him.

"Merlin!"

TBC