Gaius strode into the throne room, where Uther sat. His eyes were smoldering with anger and he was drumming his fingers on the armrest. "That insolent boy, when will he ever listen," shouts the King as Gaius entered.

"Sire, I am sure he listens," the physician replies. His voice is calm and the expression upon his face was impassive. Standing before the King, he laces his fingers together and lets them rest in front of him.

"But, he doesn't follow my words or direction," growls Uther. "He could've gotten hurt. Arthur needs to learn to look after himself and to keep himself out of harm's way as much as possible. He's going to be King some day!"

"Indeed, he will be. However, would you rather have a ruler who tends only to his own needs rather than those of the Kingdom?" Gaius pointed out.

"No, but…"

"Or would you rather the future King protect himself instead of others?"

"Of course not," exclaimed Uther. "Have I done the wrong thing?"

Gaius shrugged. "I cannot say, sire. However, I believe that he should be released."

The King grunted. "Why aren't you with that servant boy? I thought he was direly ill."

"I needed to bring the Lady Morgana her sleeping draught. Also, Merlin seems to be recovering. I do not understand why it is so, but I am just thankful the boy is on the mend," Gaius said as he left.

Uther glared at the back of Gaius. He then stood and went to the dungeons. Taking his personal key, the King unlocked the door. "Arthur, out, now," barked the man.

Hearing footsteps approaching the cell door, Arthur turned to look and wasn't the least bit surprised to see his father, nor was he surprised when Uther opened the door. He was surprised however when instead of striding inside and telling Arthur that he'd be in there for what...a week? a month even? Uther ordered him out of the cell.

Curious, Arthur did as he was asked. He walked out of the cell, never taking his eyes off of his father.

"I know you are angry with me father," Arthur began, "but I had to go. I couldn't sit back and do nothing while my servant and friend died."

Arthur didn't know what he was expecting his father to say to that. Maybe he was expecting his father to chew him out as the King normally did. Even though the Prince knew he had to get the flower up to Gaius, he did at least have some respect for his father and was going to stay until the King dismissed him.

Uther stared at Arthur with a disapproving and unimpressed expression on his face. When the Prince was out of the cell, he closed the door and locked it. Even as he hooked the key to his belt, the King did not take his eyes off his son.

"You have no idea, Arthur," replied Uther. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "You didn't have to do anything! It wasn't your duty. You need to start looking out for yourself. You can't be King if you're dead."

He sighed. "Arthur, it's not wise to befriend your servant. He works for you. His class is below yours. How would it look for you to be seen acting all chummy with a servant? You'd be laughed at."

"Besides, you didn't have to go. It appears that servant of yours, to the bewilderment of Gaius, is recovering without the antidote," said Uther. "You need to learn to think and wait before just jumping into things. Now, go. I expect to see you at dinner – not before then." He waved his hand to dismiss Arthur.

Meanwhile, back at the physician's quarters, Merlin woke. He looked around him. A weary smile crossed his face. He was alive. The warlock didn't know how that had happened, but he was grateful. Shaking, he pushed himself out of bed.

Stumbling, Merlin went upstairs. Washing, Merlin changed his clothes and wrapped a blanket around his thin frame. It seems the poison had done something to make him more sensitive to the chill of the night air. Maybe because his body wasn't burning up, the normal temperature felt cool to him. Merlin didn't understand. Tiredly, he went downstairs. Pouring himself some broth, he sat down. Shaking, he fed himself.

The Prince had the strangest look on his face as he left his father. He couldn't understand why his own father couldn't seem to comprehend that the people needed to see a strong king; one who was willing to go above and beyond for someone as lowly as a man servant, rather than just sit on his haunches and watch his man servant die. Arthur had wanted his actions to prove to the people that one day he would be a King to be proud of.

Going upstairs Arthur made a beeline for Gaius's chambers. Once there he found the old man gone but Merlin himself seated on a stool eating something that looked like broth; a blanket was wrapped around his shoulders. A smile slowly came to Arthur's face. He was glad to see that Merlin was still alive and from the looks of it on the mend.

Clearing his throat he said, "Good to know that you are still alive then." He walked over to his man servant before sitting down in the other chair across from Merlin.

"How are you feeling?"

As Merlin sat there, alone in the quiet quarters, he tried to eat without spilling much of the food. It wasn't working very well and half of every spoonful had slopped on the table and on him. His body felt exceedingly weak from the poisoning. Merlin found that he was tiring just from the little exertion he had put out. With chest tight, arms shaking, and eyelids drooping, the warlock felt miserable.

Hearing a noise, Merlin turned his head. Seeing Arthur, he gave the Prince a feeble and uncertain smile as he wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. He was chilling because of the break in fever.

"Yeah, yeah, I am…alive," he said with a little chuckle. "I'm not sure what happened to me or how I fought it off, but I did. I hope Gaius can explain it to me. Have you seen him? He was gone when I woke up."

When asked how he felt, Merlin shrugged. "All right, I guess. I'm really tired and kind of cold, but I'll live," the warlock said. "At least I think I will. My body feels a bit like it was trampled by a stampede of horses."

"I'll be back at work as soon as I can," he promised. His voice shook as he spoke, the inflection of the words was soft, and Merlin's tone was quiet. "Well, as soon as Gaius releases me from resting. I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to be up."

The Prince gave a small half smile. Merlin did still look like death warmed over but at least he was awake and from what Arthur gathered, on the mend.

"No I haven't seen him. He's probably doing his rounds." Arthur said. He didn't tell the boy about his little foray in the dungeons below because he had a feeling that Merlin would find it amusing...which it really wasn't.

"Don't rush your recovery. Listen to Gaius and do what he says. He knows more about healing than you do." The Prince chuckled a little, having the slightest feeling that Merlin wasn't one to just sit back and rest if there was something that needed to be done.

The sound of footfalls echoing down the corridor alerted Arthur to the fact that someone was approaching. He glanced at the door just in time to see Gaius return. There was a strange glance that passed between the physician and the Prince, but no words were immediately spoken.

"He's been asking for you." Arthur said to the physician.

Merlin nodded. "Probably," he replied as he stirred his spoon around the bowl. It was an absent-minded movement. Deciding he should eat a bit, the warlock brought the spoon to his lips and poured the liquid into his mouth. Swallowing, Merlin licked the excess off his lips. "I don't really need him. I just want to ask him some questions about the poisoning and my recovery. It all seems off."

"I won't. I won't. I just can't sit around here too long. It'll drive me batty," Merlin said. "I don't like sitting still. You should know that by now."

Merlin looked at Gaius, who was staring at Arthur. A slight smile was upon his lips. He looked at Merlin and gave him a critical eye. "You should be resting, boy," Gaius said.

"I won't be up for long," Merlin called as Gaius went to the back of the home and to bed.