- Six -

The castle had never seemed so big before. It took what felt like an age to reach the dungeons from the physician's chambers. Uther swung one arm as he walked, his other hand resting on the hilt of his sword at his hip in an effort to keep his mind focussed. Despite what his father had said, none of it could be true. He knew that it could not. Edmund was not the treacherous type. Nor would he ever be. That he should have been accused in the first place was simply preposterous.

Descending the steps to the dungeons, Uther found the very notion more and more disturbing. The thought that somebody who had cared for him, who had catered for his every need so without question since he was a boy could be secretly bent on bringing Camelot to war... it didn't bear thinking about. Could nobody be trusted?

At the foot of the stairs, a group of knights could be seen standing together in a cluster. Among them was the fair head and sharp brown eyes of Gorlois. He noted the prince's approach and hailed him, prompting his fellows to do the same.

Uther jogged down the last steps and looked to Gorlois for a report. "Has he spoken?"

Gorlois shook his head, a tired huff on his lips. "Only to protest his innocence, my Lord. He maintains it, despite the circumstances."

"I see." Uther clenched his teeth behind closed lips a moment in thought. Because as much as Balinor called him thick, nothing could be further than the truth. "Gorlois, come with me. The others of you -" he turned to the other knights, "remain here. He will talk to me."

His men nodded almost in unison, and proceeded to make themselves comfortable on the dungeon steps.

There were few people in the dungeons at present. Uther had to follow Gorlois along to the cell in which Edmund was held. A heavy feeling of dread grew in the pit of the prince's stomach. What if his belief in his devoted manservant's innocence turned out to be misplaced? What if Edmund truly had poisoned Godwyn in an effort to bring war to Camelot? What then?

He was broken from his worries as Gorlois halted at the furthest cell from the guardroom. Uther quickened his pace, realising that his musings had caused him to fall behind.

What he expected to find, and what he did were two very different things. It was with no small measure of relief that he set eyes on Edmund – normal, slightly grey and always reliable Edmund – sitting huddled against the far wall of the cell, looking both devastated and mortified in equal measure. Uther had to take a steadying breath and fight back his smile to find his manservant looking as he always did, and not appearing as the half-mad, crazed fanatic he had taken it into his head that he would find if he was wrong.

At the sight of his master, Edmund hurried to his feet amid a clanking of chains, and performed a customary and practiced bow. "Sir." No more words fell from his lips. Instead he folded his hands neatly behind his back and kept his mousy head bowed as was proper.

Uther stepped forward past Gorlois and gripped the bars of the cell tightly. "Edmund. How are you? Are you well?"

The servant gave a nod. "Quite well, Sir. Though..." He trailed off and gave a fearful glance about his cell.

Uther returned the nod. "Of course. I am looking into remedying the situation as quickly as possible." He paused a moment, and lowered his voice to a softer, gentler tone, encouraging his loyal retainer to look up at him, "Edmund, I need you to tell me everything. All that happened between your entering the kitchens and Godwyn's receiving his meal. Leave nothing out. Even the smallest detail could be vital."

Edmund gave another nod, and approached the bars. He quailed a little at Gorlois' subtle hand movement towards the sword at his belt, but only made effort to approach Uther more slowly.

A few feet from the bars, just to be safe, he halted, and clasped his hand in front of him, wringing them fretfully. "There is not much to tell, Sir." He murmured, fighting to keep his voice level and without quiver. "I woke from my bed and proceeded to the kitchens to collect Lord Godwyn's meal. It was placed into my hands by the cook and Audrey, the head maid, themselves. The boy checked it for poison and suffered no ill effect, I might add. I presumed all to be well."

"And after you left the kitchens?"

"I proceeded directly to Lord Godwyn's chambers. At no time was his meal unattended, or out of my hands until it was placed before him."

This did not bode well. Uther furrowed his brow. How could poison have found its way into the meal if it had never left Edmund's most capable hands? He did not want to acknowledge the only possibility. He would not just yet.

"Did nothing out of the ordinary occur this morning?" He pressed further. "Nothing at all?"

"No, Sir." Edmund appeared to pause after his answer, a small frown gradually creasing his forehead. "No... I tell a lie. As I made my way to Lord Godwyn's chambers, I narrowly avoided a collision with a serving boy. It was all that I could do to keep from dropping the platter."

Something inside Uther leapt on this new information with vivacity and a powerful flare of hope. "What did this serving boy do?"

"Nothing much, Sir. He assisted me in straightening, and brushed off my tunic in a manner I thought most helpful. He then apologised, and passed by on his way."

"Do you know the boy?"

Edmund opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He searched his memories a moment, and considered his response carefully. "No, Sir. I have never encountered him before. I simply assumed him to be new. It is not uncommon for the castle staff to acquire new servants in the run up to great events."

"Such as a royal visit." Uther mused aloud. He turned his gaze back on his manservant, and pressed a little closer to the bars. "You did not know the boy, and he did not have any opportunity to tamper with the meal in your hands?"

Edmund looked back at his master in stunned shock. It had not occurred to him previously that the serving boy could have...

He shook his head, however. "It was but the event of a moment. I cannot truly recall if any opportunity should have arisen within it. The memory is rather... fuzzy."

Uther gave a firm nod. "I understand. Tell me, where did this near collision take place?"

"The upper floors, Sir. Past the stairs ascending to the guest chambers, and those assigned to Lord Godwyn."

"And this serving boy? What did he look like?"

"He was young, Edmund recalled. "Of a similar age to yourself, I would venture, Sir. Of fair complexion, but dark hair, I believe." He paused a moment, and bowed his head thoughtfully. "His eyes may have been green. It was but a moment I saw him, Sir. I was rather disorientated by the near accident."

Uther straightened, and glanced back at his brother-in-arms behind him. "Gorlois, have Johfrit and Drydwyn speak to the servants and try to identify this boy. If they cannot, then I want every serving boy matching the description found, and gathered in the Great Hall. You are with me."

Gorlois nodded, and started away towards the guardroom.

Uther looked to Edmund once more. There was a fierce determination on his face that made the servant nervous, and want to enquire as to Balinor's whereabouts as it could only mean trouble for everyone. The prince included.

"I will free you, Edmund." Uther told him firmly. "Fear not."

Despite his worries for Uther's safety, he gave a courteous nod, and stopped Uther as he turned away. "My Lord, what of Lord Godwyn?"

Uther hesitated, aware that he ought not release information to the one accused of committing the crime against Godwyn in the first place, but this was Edmund. The man was innocent. "His condition is grave. Gaius and Balinor are attending him."

Edmund did not speak, but nodded again, sombrely.

Gorlois waited in the guardroom. Uther did not halt there, but continued on up the stairs from the dungeons without a word. The knight followed.

"Where are we going?" He queried, having to speed up in order to keep step with the prince.

Uther did not so much as glance back at him to answer. "To the scene of this almost collision Edmund spoke of. There may be evidence to be found, if that is where the poisoning of the meal took place."

That made sense. Gorlois pressed his lips into a thin line and followed silently. He was well aware that it may all come to nothing. Uther showed an attachment to his manservant, having known him for so long. The prince may be allowing it to cloud his judgement.

Gorlois did find himself worrying over Uther's reaction, should it come to light that Edmund had been lying to them, and that he truly was the one behind it all.

It truly was remarkable. Godwyn seemed for all intents and purposes, almost frozen. Certainly to the passage of time. Gaius did not know what to make of it. While he was grateful for the extra hours it afforded him in which to find a cure, he could not understand the science of it.

After checking the King over and discovering the man to be completely unharmed by the phenomenon, he had sat back in his chair and simply stared at the man. Once the fact of the matter had fully sunk in, he found himself struggling to believe that it had been his assistant to put Godwyn into this state.

How could a boy who had never been permitted to study magic manage to accomplish such a feat? The words Balinor had spoken – they sounded less like a spell, than a prayer. Could that be it? Had the boy in his desperation called out to some random deity for help and actually received it? Such instances were very rare, but not unheard of.

Either way, Gaius was stumped. It was as he had said to Constantine: there was very little known about Balinor's magic as it was untrained and, ultimately, untested. All the spells the boy knew, he had 'picked up' around the town or the citadel, or had heard Gaius use in his presence. He was very quick on the uptake, and had a natural gift for the language of magic. At times, Gaius suspected that he may have been born fluent, a gift given only to the most talented of magic users. Balinor could already incant silently, and his manipulation of his magic was simply astounding to watch. It bent to his will with such ease, it left someone who had to work at controlling and shaping magic – such as Gaius himself – quite frustrated to watch.

Or he had learnt it from books. That boy devoured books faster than he did meals, and that was saying something.

All of Balinor's more mischievous, and certainly less useful spells were of his own design, adapted from those he had seen used elsewhere. From what he had been saying the previous day at breakfast, he had been employing his magic in defence of Uther, though exactly how often that was, Gaius still wondered.

He knew that Balinor talked his way out of most of his problems. The boy was peaceful to a fault, and did not like to raise a hand against anyone or anything. Though, even the quietest man could be provoked.

The nature of both the boy, and his magic eluded Gaius, as did the full mechanics of what currently kept Godwyn alive. He trusted Balinor, no matter how much the boy baffled him on occasion, and would happily put his own life in his assistant's hands should he ever need to.

Having left Godwyn's side some time ago to prepare a new solution with which to dose the King, Gaius still found himself pondering the puzzle that was Balinor, son of Rion.

Having known Rion for so long, he had of course come across Balinor in the boy's very early years, Before father and son came to Camelot, it had been a long while since physician and Dragonlord had seen one another. Gaius had hardly been able to believe that the tall, stick thin boy who dismounted his borrowed horse the day they arrived in the courtyard, only to get his foot caught in the stirrup and end up hopping helplessly on one foot while two guards assisted him, was Balinor.

The differences between father and son were marked indeed.

Rion was broad-shouldered, and held a presence that none could deny or argue with. Balinor was a slender, will-o'-the-wisp of a boy. If no one was looking for him, he could easily go unnoticed.

Rion possessed great skill with a sword, and could hold his own against a knight, should the need to do so arise. Balinor barely knew the correct way to hold a sword, let alone wield one.

Rion held great reservations about magic, and did not know the joy that could come from possessing it. Balinor Revelled in magic. He breathed it, felt it in his every fibre; played with it, as it too seemed to play with him. He loved it.

In fact, aside from his gruffness of tone on occasion, one would be hard pressed to believe father and son alike at all. Physically, Balinor shared his father's brows, that was for certain, and his nose. Those ears... well, where they were from was anyone's guess.

In all, however, aside from the obvious outward similarities, there were aspects of Balinor that clearly did not come from his father. No. With those waves just beginning in the length of his hair, his slenderness, and those dark, dark eyes, Balinor was quite like-

Gaius shook his head, and put all thoughts concerning the subject out of his mind. His boy was a mish-mashed puzzle. One, which at present, could not be properly solved as there was no time to dedicate to so arduous a task.

He was snapped from his thoughts by a tentative knock at the door. He glanced up from his work, but only briefly.

"Come."

A feminine face peeked around the door, curious blue eyes performing a sweep of the large chambers from beneath a mousy blonde fringe curled over its top by a thick braid.

At the sight of her, Gaius' slightly irritated frown softened into a small, warm smile. He set down his beaker and held out his hands to her. "Alice."

She mirrored his smile, and entered the chambers, pausing only to close the door behind her. She crossed the room to him, raising her hands to take his as they met, and she looked him over with a fondness that warmed him from head to toe. "How are you, Blaise?"*

Gaius' brow creased a little at the use of his surname, but he knew that she only did it to tease. He drew a breath, and sighed heavily. "Well, but at a loss."

Alice tilted her head, examining his expression closely. "Oh? That is why you have sent for me?"

Before he could answer, she turned her soft gaze on Godwyn where he lay so still upon the patient's cot. To her credit, her eyes only widened fractionally with recognition, before she schooled her face into the practiced neutrality with which she approached all of her work. "Well, then. What seems to be the problem?"

Gaius appraised her a moment, smiling inwardly at her composure and bravery. Whoever Uther sent to retrieve her must have told her nothing. "Lord Godwyn has been poisoned."

Her expression did not change. "With?"

"Digitalis. A large dose, administered in a meal." He paused, and gathered his tired thoughts before continuing. "Efforts to purge the poison with magic have been unsuccessful. He has been given a tincture of yarrow and dandelion to stimulate water production, and I have flushed out his stomach."

Alice considered the information carefully before nodding. "Right." She crossed to Godwyn's side and lay a hand on his forehead briefly before checking his pulse. As she felt for the beats, her eyes flew wide. "Gaius. His pulse is so slow!"

Her surprise came as none to Gaius, approaching behind her with arms folded to take up position at her side. "Balinor." He explained levelly. "After his attempts to purge the poison failed, he managed to slow Godwyn's heart to a crawl."

Alice appeared stunned a moment longer. She nodded her head, and returned her attention to their patient. "Good. That gives us more time. He seems unresponsive to physical treatment. We must purge the poison. Which spell did Balinor use?"

Without a word, Gaius fetched the relevant book and placed it open on the bed at Godwyn's side. "Balinor was unable to make it work. He had never attempted a spell of this nature before."

"Healing magic is not always the easiest to master." Alice acknowledged, and raised her hands over Godwyn's chest. With a deep breath, she began to recite the words of the spell on the pages in front of her, magic leaping to the fore in the golden glow of her eyes as the spell took effect.

Or at least, should have taken effect.

Uncertain, she glanced over her shoulder at Gaius, and tried again.

The result was the same. Her magic leapt to her use, the spell touched Godwyn, but it had no effect.

She lowered her hands to her sides, and looked to Gaius. He stared back at her in confusion.

"Why did it not work?" He queried. "It is the correct spell for the poison?"

"It is." Alice confirmed. "It ought to have worked. However, I fear that there may be more at work her than just poison."

Gaius stared at her. "Magic?"

"It may be so." She turned to Godwyn once more, and lay a hand on his forehead. Closing her eyes, she attempted to divine any foreign magic within the King's body. "I have heard of magic being used to increase the potency of certain poisons before, making them resistant to healing magic." Something warm, and... joyful found her, brushed against her in a manner that was almost friendly, and put her in mind of a puppy, or small, carefree dog intent on play. Magic for sure, but innocent magic, without malice or ill intent in its pure form and warmth. Balinor's magic, she assumed, given that the boy had been using it on Godwyn. She brushed it aside somewhat reluctantly, and continued her search. "It is not beyond the realms of imagination that this could have been done to the digitalis he ingested. "

There was definitely something else... there! A small roil against her probing magic from somewhere within the stricken man. "The purging spell will not work."

"Not at all?"

She shook her head. "Not in my hands. A more powerful sorcerer than I is needed, I am afraid."

"The priestesses have already left on their pilgrimage. There is no sorcerer known to us who could perform the spell remaining in Camelot." Gaius heaved a sigh. To send word to Nyneve now would be futile. The only way would be via magic, and again the time it would take for her to return would be too long for Godwyn. Even with the distance a transportation spell could cover, the priestesses would have travelled too far for it to be of any use now. They had left long before first light. He had toyed briefly with the idea of seeking out the Druids, but alas, they currently held no camp near Camelot's walls. The closest clan he knew of dwelt in the Forest of Ascetir. They, like the priestesses, would not make it to the city in time, even if a raven was sent with a message calling for them.

It was a shame that a raven could not bring someone back with it, as well as deliver a message. Flight would be infinitely faster than horseback-

Gaius almost slapped himself. How could he have been so foolish!?

Hurriedly, he made for his workbench, picked up a quill and scrawled a quick missive which he then took to the door and handed to the guard posted outside. "Deliver this to Lord Rion. You will find him in the caves below the citadel. It is of utmost importance that he receive it quickly."

At the urgency in the physician's voice, the guard did not argue about leaving his post, but took the missive and hurried away to do as he was bid.

Alice regarded him with a knowing look as he returned to her side. "I take it you have thought of a means of finding a more powerful sorcerer?"

"Yes." He answered gravely, and titled his head to look down at Godwyn's disturbingly sallow face. "Let us hope it is not too little, too late."

"In the mean time, we must not sit idle. Come on," Alice turned from Godwyn and made for the workbench, brushing Gaius' arm affectionately as she went, "there are other treatments we can try. Help me make a poultice."

Gaius blinked, and followed her. She was right, Even if help may be on the way soon, they must not do nothing while they waited. Balinor had bought them more time, they should not waste it. As healers they were duty bound to search for a solution, and search they would.

There was surely something undignified in all this. Uther could not shake the thought of how he must look, trailing his way up and down the corridor outside the citadel's guest chambers, low to the ground in a sort of squatting creep.

His fingertips brushed about the stone floor in search of something – anything that could be interpreted as evidence. Some feet ahead of him along the corridor, Gorlois did the same thing. However the brown-eyed knight managed it, Uther could not work out, and he found himself intensely jealous of the fact that he could, but Gorlois looked anything but foolish with his look of deep concentration, and focus. Still every bit the knight of Camelot even in such a ridiculous position. Uther knew that he himself must look like an absolute twat.

Still, he was glad that it was Gorlois he had chosen to aid him in this... embarrassing task. He trusted all of his knights implicitly, but they were his father's men as much as well as they were his. Gorlois was his man through and through. They were the same age, had begun their training as knights together, and knew one another perhaps better than anyone.

… Except for Balinor, but he hardly counted as a real person. More a part of the furniture that was somehow part way intelligent.

Discounting the idiot sorcerer, Uther would say that Gorlois was likely his closest friend. He was the only one of Uther's former friends who had not gravitated away after Balinor landed in the prince's life. There was not another knight the prince would trust so wholly and absolutely to assist him in something that would likely be against the King's orders. Edmund was, after all, guilty in Constantine's mind. While this investigation was clearly absolute folly in Gorlois' eyes, he was still here, picking his way along a corridor in search of something that may not be there, simply because Uther needed to do it. That was what set him apart from the others.

This truly was a ridiculous thing he had asked Gorlois to do. The very idea of how he must look repeated on him once again, even as he forced it from his mind. Or tried to. The other knights were investigating properly, and here he was doing this. At his own behest, but still. THIS. If anybody saw him-

"Uther!"

The prince's head shot up. Gorlois' call came from just around the corner, towards the head of the stairs. The sense of urgency it carried had Uther up and running.

He reached the corner and came to a halt. Gorlois stood there, holding back the curtain covering one of the castle's many alcoves. Underneath the fabric, kicked aside as though hidden in a hurry, were shards of glass. A broken phial.

A grin broke over Uther's lips. "Ha! That is what I think it is, isn't it?"

Gorlois nodded, looking more than a little surprised himself. "An apothecary's phial, it looks like." The young knight raised both eyebrows, and turned his head to look at his prince, stunned. "It seems you were right, Uther."

"There's no need to sound so surprised about it."

Gorlois made no reply to that. He pressed his lips into a thin line, and bent to very carefully pick up one of the shards. Tentative, he examined it, and gave it a sniff.

"Well?" Uther demanded, watching his friend's actions closely.

"It has a strange odour."

"What king of 'odour'?"

Slowly, careful as not to let the glass actually touch Uther, Gorlois held the shard out to the prince that he may experience the 'odour' for himself.

Uther sniffed the shard, and immediately wrinkled his nose. "I see. A very strange 'odour' indeed."

"Have you any idea what it is?"

"No. Not for certain. It could well be the poison used against Godwyn, as I suspect. We must get it to Gaius at once. He will know."

Gorlois nodded and tugged at the length of rich, royal blue silk tied around his upper arm. Once it was free, he cautiously wrapped a few of the shards up in it and pocketed them. Though it was unusual to use a lady's favour in such a way, and may well offend most who would offer one, Gorlois did not think that the particular lady who had gifted him it would mind too much. She was hardly a conventional lady of court, after all.

Nodding to one another, the two knights set off down the stairs for the tower and the physician's chambers.

Uther, as he went, could not help but feel a small wash of relief. While it was not conclusive evidence of Edmund's innocence – his father would just say that Edmund used the phial to poison Godwyn himself – it was something to corroborate Edmund's story. Now if they could just find this serving boy and get him to confess, then his manservant would be free to go.

Hopefully, in the mean time, Gaius and Balinor had found some way to cure Godwyn. He certainly hoped that they had, or the danger to the kingdom would not pass. Not until they found this boy...

Evening had drawn in. The sun had sunk in the sky, replaced by the pale silver of the rising moon over Camelot's rooftops.

Balinor stirred, and nuzzled his cheek into his pillow. With a deep breath he cracked his eyes and groggily glanced about. Somehow, he was not surprised to find himself in his room, tucked up in his own bed. He felt strangely refreshed, and could not recall whether or not Gaius had given him a draught.

Stretching, he raised his hands to press their heels against his eyes. He remembered a little about the moments before he lost consciousness, but it all seemed quite fuzzy. The purging spell would not work for him, and then there had been a rush of very intense, very powerful magic, and he had passed out. Also, Constantine had been yelling at him. That had been a bit unpleasant. The King rarely yelled – only on the battlefield, or at Uther if the prince had done something particularly foolhardy and irksome. It was a nerve-wracking situation for all involved, so it was understandable that tempers had been a bit frayed.

Balinor turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling, blinking away the last traces of sleep. Was this him being passive again? He could understand Constantine's irritation, but still did not particularly enjoy being yelled at by the King.

There was more to worry about than Constantine's being angry with him. Godwyn had been dying.

Balinor pushed himself to sit and get out of bed. He stumbled a bit, searching for a steady footing on the floorboards in his disorientated, post-sleep state. Shivering, he grabbed up the blankets from his bed and wrapped them around his shoulders before heading for the door.

Godwyn was still alive by the looks of things. Gaius hovered around his patient, examining the effects of the treatments he had administered already.

Balinor clomped down the stairs from his room, hunched into his blankets, in need of their comfort. Gaius was not alone – a woman was also present examining Godwyn alongside the court physician. She must be the Alice Gaius had sent for.

The sound of his feet on the stairs drew both healers to look round at him, and Gaius away from the King's side.

"Balinor." Gaius took him by the shoulders, eyes searching him for any sign of ill health. "How are you feeling, my boy?"

"A bit rough." Balinor answered truthfully, voice slightly hoarse. He had seen better days, but there was nothing horribly wrong with him.

Gaius realised this also, and turned back to the King, guiding Balinor to take one of the seats at Godwyn's side with a warm hand on the boy's shoulder.

No arguments were forthcoming from Balinor, who took the seat gratefully and snuggled down in his blankets that they rose up around his ears.

Alice watched him with a thoughtful eye, her attention pulled from her patient momentarily to settle curiously on the awkward creature now seated a little to her left. Balinor did not seem to realise her interest. His dark eyes were focussed on the sick man laid out in front of him.

"Balinor?"

He looked up, blinking at Alice standing at his side. She was watching him with a kind, fascinated smile on her face. Her smile growing a little, she held her hand out to him. "I am Alice."

"Oh." Remembering himself, Balinor got to his feet and shrugged one shoulder free of his blankets to take her hand and shake it. "M'sorry. It's nice to meet you. Didn't mean to be rude."

Her soft smile twitched in amusement, but she held it from becoming a full grin valiantly. "Not at all. It is a pleasure to meet you." She threw a surreptitious glance at the court physician where he worked at the bench, clearly keeping one eye on them as they met despite his apparent busy behaviour. "Gaius has told me a lot about you."

"He has?" Balinor sent a questioning glance at his mentor, only to be met with a raised eyebrow.

Gaius picked up a clay mug from the bench and left his work to join them. He shrugged off the question within a question he had detected in his assistant's tone, not about to yield to the boy's teasing. "Alice is a healer in the lower town." He explained instead, and held the mug out to Balinor. "I thought her expertise may be more beneficial than mine in this case."

The gentle tone in his voice, and the softness with which he gazed at Alice gave everything away, though the man did not realise it. Balinor smiled to himself, though he refrained from saying anything about it while Alice was present. Tormenting Gaius could wait until later.

He took the mug from his mentor and peered inside before taking a long, deep mouthful of the lovely, sweet liquid inside. Warm milk and honey. His favourite, as Gaius well knew.

Over the rim of the mug, he noted that Alice was watching him, still with that warm smile.

"I was admiring your work." She told him, folding her hands neatly at her skirts, measuring his reaction carefully. "Your spell has held firm and in all certainty, saved Godwyn's life, for now. It has definitely bought us more time in which to treat him."

Yes. Gaius had said that Godwyn only had four hours to live, and that was this morning. Balinor felt himself pale, and swallowed his milk before it had a chance to go down the wrong way. "Thank you." He murmured, shifting uncomfortably. He was unsure what else to say on that subject. It was not as though he had meant to cast whatever spell he had.

Ignoring his assistant's unease, Gaius stepped up to Godwyn's side and placed a hand on the King's forehead. "Yes. He surely would have succumbed to the poison had you not used your magic." With an eyebrow raised in thought, Gaius peered at his assistant in a searching manner. "The words you used sounded more like a prayer than the words of a spell. Do you remember what happened?"

Unsure, Balinor shook his head lightly. "I don't know."

"That's alright." Gaius returned his attention to his patient a moment to check the King's pupils. "They did the trick, whatever they were."

Confused, Balinor dropped his eyes to the mug in his hands. What had he done? All he knew was that the spell he had meant to cast was not working, and then suddenly he was uttering words he had not meant to say.

The conflict on his face was very clear as Alice lay a hand on his arm, bringing him back from his musings to look at her. She still wore that same smile on her kind face; one that reached her eyes in its honesty. "Balinor, I should like it very much if you would assist me."

Without waiting for an answer she took a seat at Godwyn's side, and patted the chair beside her to encourage him to join her.

He did, looking back at her curiously as he waited for her to tell him what she wished him to do. There was a poultice beside Godwyn on the cot, made of Hessian and marked with symbols of the Old Religion.

"I have been attempting to stem the poison by treating the sickness it causes, drawing it out little by little." She explained, indicating the poultice. "The poison is augmented with magic. That is why you could not get the purging spell to work."

Balinor frowned, drawing his thick brows together. That made sense. It helped him feel a little less useless, also.

"With both of us working on it, we ought to be able to do good a little faster for the poor man." Alice concluded, sending a questioning glance Balinor' way. "What do you think? Do you feel up to it?"

There was nothing wrong with his magic. Perhaps he felt a little sleepy still, but he was very much able to weave and use his magic as much as he always was. "I do."

Alice's smile twitched again, resisting the urge to become a bright grin. "That's the spirit. Now-" she leant forward a little and placed her hands on the poultice. "The spell I have been using is a very useful one. "Ahlúttre þar séocnes."* The poultice in this instance is fulfilling its role as a poultice, but also as a conduit for the magic. Do you understand?"

Balinor nodded, keeping a close eye on Alice and everything that she did. Somewhere, deep down, he felt a leap of joy. Somebody was talking magic with him. Somebody was teaching him magic.

She returned his nod. "Good. Now, watch closely."

Slowly, clearly, she recited the spell, her hands resting lightly on the poultice. Her eyes burned gold, the poultice momentarily took on a similar glow, before fading back to normal. It was not much, neither did it last long, but it was something.

Once the glow in both her eyes, and the poultice, had completely faded, she turned to Balinor. "There. Now, you try."

He swallowed, and glanced nervously over his shoulder at Gaius. At the bench, Gaius continued to work, though he paused a moment to raise his eyes to meet his assistant's. He understood Balinor's hesitance, and gave a small nod.

Balinor swallowed again, and turned back to Godwyn and the poultice. He handed Alice his half-full mug, and placed his hands on the poultice as she had done. With a deep breath, he steadied himself, and closed his eyes.

"Ahlúttre þar séocnes." Beneath his palms, the poultice glowed as it had for Alice, and Godwyn took a slow, shallow, shuddering breath.

Alice gave an approving nod. "Very good, Balinor."

Gaius had not returned to his work, but watched on silently. He did not say anything, but elected instead to add a pinch of herbs to the beakers bubbling away in front of him.

"Now we must repeat the spell and continue to draw out the sickness slowly." Alice told her temporary apprentice, quietly impressed with the boy's level of natural skill. Gaius had not been false in his fervent praise of the boy.

Balinor nodded, and did as she told him, repeating the spell at short intervals.

Seeing that he knew well enough what he was doing, Alice left Balinor to it and joined Gaius at the bench to assist him. She kept a quiet eye on Balinor as she worked, able to sense that the spell continued to work, and the poultice continued to draw out the poison's ill effects. "You made no exaggerations." She told Gaius in a low voice. "He has raw talent."

"Indeed." Gaius raised his beaker and swilled the liquid around inside before checking its colour against the chart in a nearby book.

"It would appear that he has an affinity for healing magic. That spell is not the most simple to master, despite its length and inflections." She bundled some sage together ready to tie up and burn.

"I had suspected as much." Gaius admitted, and cast a quick glance at Balinor to see the boy working the spell again.

"With proper training..."

Gaius shook his head. "I agree. But it is not I who prevents it. His father is not keen that Balinor learns magic. I cannot train him if Rion forbids it."

"And why forbid it?" Alice almost demanded, though she kept her voice hushed that Balinor would not overhear. "I should be proud if a child of mine displayed such aptitude. Not to train him is to prevent him from reaching his full potential."

"Alice." Gaius placed his beaker on the bench and turned to her, He opened his mouth as though to speak, but no words came out, Instead, he cast a glance Balinor's way to see his assistant oblivious to the conversation where he concentrated on healing Godwyn. Still, Gaius took a hurried breath and turned his back to the boy and the bench to speak with Alice in a whisper.

"You know that I would never hide from you any of my own secrets or reasons." He assured her almost imploringly. "But these are not my reasons to give, nor my secrets to tell. Rion believes his actions in this matter justified. He wishes only to protect Balinor, even if that be to the detriment of his gifts. It is not for me to tell his reasons why."

Though she did not look entirely satisfied, Alice did nod her head and laid a hand on Gaius' arm. "I understand, Gaius. Though there is no denying that it is a shame. The boy is wasted like this."

"I teach him what I can of physical healing." Gaius replied, and returned to his preparation.

"And yet he could do so much more."

Her wistful tone reflected his own feelings on the subject, but Gaius remained silent. As much as he cared for Balinor, and treated him like a son, he was not the boy's father. Decisions concerning Balinor's future beyond his work as physician's assistant rested with Rion, and Rion alone. What Rion decided, Gaius knew that he must stick to. "Is that sage ready?"

"Almost." Alice tied off the bundle and raised one hand to hover over it. "Cume þrosm áfeormian. Bringé lihtling æt sé mann."*

The small sage bundle began to burn, and smoke. Alice offered Gaius a fond smile, before heading back to Balinor and Godwyn with the sage.

As she went, Gaius watched her and found himself unable to shake off what she had said. He agreed with it. To possess such talent, yet to be denied training for it was a waste. Speaking as one with the gift of magic, however comparatively small, to see one who possessed such ability and potential languish without chance to use it was a real shame. Yet, he also spoke as one who knew the reasons behind the decision. Perhaps he did not agree with them, but Gaius understood Rion's fears. He just wished that circumstances could be different. Things would be a lot easier on Balinor, if they were.

Notes: So unashamedly me writing for the love of it :P Anyone else who wants to tag along on this journey is more than welcome whether you feel like making yourselves known or not, it's here for any others who wish to enjoy it xxx I'm happy to see people looking my rambling chapters over, whether I hear from you or not. I do fear, though, the unforeseen circumstance of falling totally in love with these young, impressionable characters, as I am so very definitely doing. It wouldn't be so bad, if I didn't have to inevitably rip each and every one of them to absolute shreds :( It is interesting to write a story with a set ending, however, even if it is likely to leave me blubbering in a heap of tears somewhere.

So, we've met Uther, Balinor, Nimueh, a not-so-young-as-he-was-likely-never-young Gaius, and now Alice and Gorlois. Two more of our central cast have been mentioned thus far - one directly by name, the other only alluded to. Why not take a minute to look back and try and find them, if you fancy. One's easy, the other's virtually impossible at this stage, but kudos if you do find her :) We shall be meeting another of our young band next chapter. Also, Uther: Action Prince!

There should only be a couple more chapters to this part as I have cut it down a lot. The other parts shan't be as long as this first one (I'm looking at each self-contained story as a part, made up of chapters), I don't think as there won't be as much need for exposition and the groundwork with most of the characters will be more or less done, and we'll be free to get to know them properly at our leisure.

Anyway. Spells:

* Ahlúttre þar séocnes – Cleanse the sickness (very useful for Balinor, and extremely helpful for Arthur :p )

* Cume þrosm áfeormian. Bringé lihtling æt sé mann – Come forth healing smoke. Bring relief to this man.

And general notes:

* Blaise – The name of Merlin's mentor in legend, and likely the character on whom Gaius was based.