The Prince grumbled to himself as he paced around in his chambers; hands on his hips. His father and more or less dumped him in his room, posting guards outside the door that were supposed to stop Arthur if he tried to leave.

This was becoming intolerable! Merlin didn't have the time to wait for the Prince to finish his 'sentence.' The boy was dying and there was only one thing that could help him but that thing was in Cenred's kingdom, more specifically in the Caves of Balor.

Going to the window he looked out, seeing that the sun was beginning to set. If he was going to leave then it had to be soon. An idea suddenly came to him which caused him to slyly smile. Turning away from the window he made his way to his cupboard, opening it up and selecting a small pouch and a satchel that looked like it could carry no more than two of Gaius's medicine books.

Thankfully George had brought him his dinner not ten minutes ago and while a good portion of the food wouldn't remain fresh, Arthur stowed away the bread and what fruit would survive the journey. Securing his satchel the Prince opened up a slender drawer that was inside the cupboard. Reaching in he pulled out a long coiled piece of rope.

"Sometimes it helps to be prepared." he muttered to himself. He waited until it was dark enough outside that the guards wouldn't see him before he tied the end of the rope to the nearest secured object, which happened to be his bedpost, next he returned to the window and opened it, lowering the rest of the rope down until it was dangling only three feet from the ground.

Next Arthur quickly got dressed; his chainmail, sword and sheath being all that he could grab in under two minutes. Now he was ready.

Gripping the rope he slowly lowered himself out of the window. It was hard work, making his way down the rope while trying not to grunt but after a few minutes he was down on the ground in the courtyard of Camelot.

Not wasting any time Arthur ran for the stables and saddled his horse. Once the guards found the rope and sounded the warning bell he would have minutes only to get out of the city.

Meanwhile, in the caves of Balor, Nimueh looked into her scrying bowl. A smirk had formed on her lips and she couldn't help but laugh as she watched the Prince, dressed in full armor, scale down the castle walls. Nimueh hadn't expected to see that. She hadn't exactly expected the Prince to go after the antidote. Oh, how quickly things turn interesting.

She swiped her hand through the water. The image faded to nothing but darkness. Looking over at the cockatrice, she stroked its head. "My pet, we have a show to put on," said the sorceress. "Come."

The woman left the cave. "Go hide. Come when you see my signal," she said, kicking off her shoes and hiding them under some thick bushes. Ripping the hem of her dress as well as her sleeves, Nimueh sat down on a log. There she waited.

The Prince could not believe his good luck! He had managed to get his horse saddled and get out of the city before the warning bell sounded. Since there was nothing out ahead of him but fields, trees and grass, he took a single moment to glance back and smirk. He imagined that at that time his father would be asking why the warning bell was being sounded. Oh, once he figured out...!

Facing front, Arthur spurred his horse in to a gallop. He rode until the sun came up before getting off and walking the last two miles on foot. He was almost to the cave entrance when he thought he heard something. Curious he tethered his mount to the nearest tree and took out his sword.

Nimueh stood when she heard the cantering of a horse coming towards her. It was show time. She smirked for a brief moment, before she set her brow and lips into a mask of terror. Stumbling from behind the bushes, she held her hands in front of her face as she screamed.

"Don't hurt me!" she wailed. "I…I mean no harm, sir. My…my master he beat me and…and I ran away. Please, don't make me go back." Nimueh lowered her arm as she looked at the Prince and forced herself to shiver.

Arthur felt the hairs on the back of his neck go up when the woman screamed. Some girls just had that pitch that annoyed the hell out of him and obviously this girl had that! Somehow, he resisted the urge to put a finger in to his right ear to block the scream; figuring that it wouldn't speak very well of his gallantry.

Sheathing his sword the Prince approached the woman; his arms held out in a fashion that he hoped portray the fact that he wasn't going to hurt her.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you and I'm not going to make you go back to your master. I can take you out of here; back to Camelot if you wish. There is just something I have to do first." Arthur said.

As he stepped towards her, Nimueh stepped back. Her eyes never left him. Oh, she was playing the perfect victim!

She stopped when he began to speak. Slowly, the woman nodded. "Yes, please," Nimueh said. Her voice was soft and pithy. The sorceress looked over her shoulder at the cave. She then looked back at Arthur.

"I can help you," she cooed. "You are here for the Morteus flower, right? No one comes here unless they seek the plant. I am from around here. I know these caves. They can be dangerous."

Nimueh acted as if she heard rustling – which she did. Her head went back and forth. It looked like she was looking for the beast. Instead, it was a signal. The cockatrice barreled from the woods. "Watch out," she called as it headed straight for Arthur.

Arthur's eyes followed Nimueh's to the cave. "Yes I'm looking for the flower. I cannot leave here without it." he replied. While he was a little unsure of receiving help from a girl, he figured it was okay this once. Merlin was in need and if receiving help from a woman meant that Merlin would get the antidote sooner rather than later, Arthur was willing to suffer through the humiliation.

"Watch out!"

Within seconds, Arthur had his sword back out, whirling around to face this new threat that had suddenly presented itself. He twirled his sword in his grip for a moment, getting in to a fighting stance as well, before he lunged at the monster which he recognized as a Cockatrice; the beast from Gaius's book.

Feeling his feet flying out from under him, Arthur hit the ground hard but he managed to do a barrel roll and get back up to his feet within moments. He twirled his sword around once more, quickly turning and throwing his sword at the beast, hoping that it would hit and not just bounce off its thick armor.

Nimueh watched as the sword struck the beast. It imbedded itself deeply into its side. The cockatrice fell and lay motionless. This Arthur was tougher then she thought.

"Come, if you are in need of the flower, then you must hurry. The person would not have much time if poisoned by the flower," she said. Without waiting, she entered the caves and walked until reaching a small bridge.

Looking over her shoulder at Arthur, she smirked. "There it is. But, be careful. The stone is very fragile and could crumble at any time," the woman said.

The Cockatrice now dead Arthur retrieved his sword and followed Nimueh in to the caves without a second thought. He found it a little odd that she would just assume the reason he needed it was because someone was poisoned, but because he was in such a hurry he didn't really think about it.

Coming to the bridge, he looked to where Nimueh was pointing. There across the bridge, almost out of reach was a small batch of delicate flowers that he knew to be the Morteus flower. "Stay back away from the edge. Don't worry, we'll be out of here soon." Arthur said, walking around Nimueh.

Stepping out on to the bridge he moved slowly, his eyes focused on his goal. He kept in mind the fact that the stone under his feet was fragile but still he was willing to take the chance of a collapse if it meant getting the flower. Gently he stretched out a hand towards the flowers as he got ever closer to them. Almost there...almost there!

Nimueh stood there, watching Arthur with a smirk on her face. This was just perfect! It was working out better then she could've hoped or dreamed.

When Arthur was at the edge of the naturally formed bridge, she held out her hand. Whispering a spell, the rock crumbled from beneath him. Nimueh laughed at the scene before her.

"Oh, you pathetic mortal…so gullible and willing to go at any length to save a pathetic servant, that you would go as far as risk your life," she said. "You, Arthur Pendragon, will perish here. Think of it as retribution for what your family has done to my kind. Good-bye. I hope you enjoy the company." She turned and left. As she left, hundreds of spiders crawled down and around the man.

Meanwhile, back in Camelot, Merlin writhed in the bed. He was pale and soaked in sweat. His hair and shirt stuck to him. His chest heaved and the warlock looked as if he were wasting away by the minute. "No, Arthur. Go. Save yourself. Go," he moaned. Under his closed eyelids, they flashed. In his unfurled hand a blue orb formed. Just as it did, a blue orb formed in front of Arthur.

Back at the caves, Arthur tried to wrap his head around. What had just happened? One minute he had been reaching for the flower, the next he felt a tremble in the rock below him. He knew what was about to happen so he jumped forward, barely managing to grab hold of the tiny ledge on the other side. It was out of the way of the falling bridge but out of reach of the flower.

Grunting, he looked back at Nimueh. She obviously knew who he was and why he was there. He wanted to know how she knew that, but he had more pressing matters. Fishing his sword out of his sheath, he hit one spider that lashed out at him, knocking it in to the abyss. Once that spider was gone, he tossed the sword on to the ledge and then hoisted himself up alongside it.

He was sweating and his muscles were trembling. It was dark and he needed to get out of there but he wouldn't go without the flower. Suddenly out of nowhere a blue orb of light appeared. It floated up from the dark abyss to hover just above his head. The light it gave off was just enough so that Arthur could see.

Slowly he made his way to the very edge of the ledge. Stretching out a gloved hand he tried to grab a flower. Even leaning forward it was almost out of reach but finally he managed to stretch out just enough to pluck the closest flower out of the wall. A smile on his face he delicately tucked the flower in to the satchel before looking up at the rock wall. It was indeed time to go. Re sheathing his sword he tried grasping at the wall only to find that the gloves made it too slippery so he took both gloves off and dropped them in to the abyss.

Grasping the wall again, he started to climb. The orb of light floated above him lighting the way. Arthur climbed as fast as he could because he could both see and hear the spiders pursuing him. Finally he looked up in time to the see orb fly out of the top of the cave. He was almost there.

A few steps more and he was out. Standing up he took out his sword once more, waited a moment to see if he would be attacked, before he ran towards his horse, jumped on it and took off back towards Camelot.

Meanwhile, in Camelot Merlin's eyes flash gold underneath his closed lids. His fingers furl into a fist. The blue orb in his hand was gone. His breathing was steadied and Merlin fell into a real sleep.

Gaius had watched the whole thing in amazement. He had no idea how Merlin could do magic when he was unconscious. To the old man it appeared Merlin had some kind of connection to Arthur because it seemed Merlin knew what Arthur was doing and what was going on around the Prince. Did the blue orb in Merlin's hand show up with Arthur? Gaius would have to ask once the boy got back home.

The physician leaned forward and dabbed cool water on Merlin's forehead. As his fingers brush the warlock's skin, he stopped. An alarmed look crossed his face. The fever appeared to be broken. Studying the boy, who was still as pale as a sheet, he again noted the unlabored breaths, the relaxed look upon Merlin's face, and the fact he was sleeping peacefully. How had he fought the poison? Was this happening because of Merlin's magic? Gaius shook his head and leaned back. He did not understand it.

*SLAM*

With a sigh Prince Arthur turned around and leaned against the cell wall. He had gotten back to Camelot roughly ten minutes ago. He had been stopped at the gates by four guards who had told him he was under arrest at the order of King Uther so he had been stripped of his chain mail and sword and then taken to the dungeons.

At least the guards hadn't taken the small bag that contained the flower. Now all Arthur had to do was figure out how to get the flower from the cell up to Gaius. He doubted the physician would leave Merlin's side just to come down and see if Arthur had managed to actually get the flower. The guards had been ordered not to listen to him so they were going to be no help. That left who...Uther?

He was sure to come down and chew his son out. Perhaps he would deliver the flower? It was doubtful but still Arthur knew he had to try to convince his father to do it...for Merlin's sake. Even though the servant boy wasn't related to the Prince by blood, Arthur still felt close to him as if they were in fact brothers. He just hoped that the flower would get to Gaius in time to save Merlin's life.