"Merlin!" gasped Gwen. Her eyes were wide as she looked at her husband. "Did he…"
"Use magic? Yeah," Arthur whispered. His brow was furrowed in confusion. Anger, hurt, relief, worry, and apprehension flickered through his eyes. The King did not know what to think.
"He's not surfacing, Arthur," Guinevere said. "He should've by now."
"Yes," Arthur said, stripping off his armor and added jacket until he was only wearing his tunic. Unclasping his hilted sword from his waist, Arthur waded into the water. He spread his arms out wide as he felt for the man. "Merlin! Answer me! Come on. Stop being an idiot and answer me!"
Of course, there was no answer. That worried Arthur. Even though he was furious with his manservant and felt exceedingly betrayed by him, Merlin's lack of response was unnerving.
Once the level of the lake had deepened, King dove under the water and started to search. Even though the lake was clear, he still had to break the surface several times to get his bearings as well as his breath.
Finally, Arthur saw Merlin. He was slowly sinking to the bottom. In the water, Merlin's dress floated awkwardly around the manservant. Coming close, the King grabbed Merlin around the waste and pulled him above the surface of the water. Arthur was sputtering, but Merlin didn't move.
Indeed, his head lolled against Arthur's chest. His eyes were closed and his face was pale – too pale. This wasn't good.
"He's not breathing," Gwen said as Arthur laid Merlin down on the lake's shore.
"I know that, Guinevere," the King replied in a slightly annoyed voice. He didn't know what to do and that worried Arthur just a little bit.
"Aren't you going to do something?" the Queen pressed as she swallowed hard.
"What would you have me to do?" asked Arthur in a less irritated tone.
"Maybe you should turn him onto his side and thump him on the back," she suggested. After the dark-haired queen spoke, she shrugged. Guinevere didn't know either, but it sounded reasonable.
"That is not a bad idea. This is why I married you, Guinevere," mused Arthur to a blushing Gwen. Carefully, the king rolled Merlin onto his back and pounded on the warlock's back.
After a few minutes, Merlin started to convulse with coughs. His face was contorted with pain as the water came up and he kept his eyes closed. Water poured from his mouth for quite some time, but finally it stopped and the warlock was mostly still. With eyes still closed, his chest heaved.
Sighing heavily, Arthur looked at his wife. Now that Merlin had been saved from drowning, what was the next step? What would be done about Merlin? Would he allow the warlock to stay or would he send him away or would he have him executed for his abilities? Arthur didn't know the answer to that too and that scared him.