A candle flickered in the corner of the room as Morgana sat on her bed. It was the only light to fill the void whilst she became lost in her deep and twisting thoughts. Morgana couldn't deny, Nimueh's plan to deliver Théa to the monster had worked. She had been close to its grasp, in the line of danger - and yet it had been Merlin and two guards who bore the brunt of its attack. How Nimueh had planned to cause Théa to be the victim.... it didn't make sense. Morgana's suspicions that Nimueh wanted to cause as much damage as possible, to weaken Uther with further loss of life, was both the likelier option and had almost been confirmed. But her resolve remained.

Théa could be gone soon. That relied on her powers being discovered but having to heal Merlin from the brink of death would surely arouse enough suspicion of her means of doing so. It was certainly less harmful to those around her if it was only Théa placed in the line of danger. It would depend on who discovered her as to how severe her punishment was though....

With her new plan Morgana would have to get closer to Uther than ever before but at least, even with this new form of thinking, if Théa's gifts remained undiscovered Uther could still be killed and remain dead. If Morgana was successful, she would be the only person who knew Uther was poisoned. Intimacy was the best way of manipulating Uther... and if she was able to acheive that vital part of her plan she would not alert the guards. She would not rush to his aid. She would stay with him, throughout the night, until there would be no hope of his revival from Théa or the heavens above.

Of course, Nimueh had not specified the extent of Théa's powers. She could very well have the means to revive the dead - in which case the best scenario was to have her gone from the Kingdom or this life. Morgana was more in favour of the former option if only because it was the simpler of the two. The less blood shed in Uther's name the better.

-------------------------

Despite everything he had seen in the hours before, when news of Merlin's remarkable recovery met Prince Arthur's ears he was the first to rush to his bedside. Seeing his friend fresher in pallour and with a smile upon his face was enough to relieve the iron cage of worry around his chest. He was not open in his affections - though his instinct was to hug him, a bright smile and a nod of acknowledgement was all Merlin received but he seemed happy enough. Of course, he was alive - anything was a blessing!

"Never have I been so happy that a manservant of mine survived," Arthur said with a smirk, slapping a hand on Merlin's shoulder. The warlock winced slightly but laughed in good humour.

"Your sentiment touches me to the core, sire."

"Merlin will be fighting fit in no time," smiled Gaius, retrieving a bowl of warm soup so that his apprentice could keep up his strength. "He is a fighter that is for sure."

A look crossed Arthur's face which caused his smile to falter, but his tone remained light and inquisitive. "It is quite remarkable at how quickly you were able to heal him Gaius. It is almost like you had help from the Gods."

A hum of acknowledgement, a half-nervous laugh. "They have certainly blessed Merlin. It was a fluke, to be sure, that we found the poison's antidote in time. It restored his flesh almost completely, and he should heal himself to full health within a few days..."

Arthur watched Gaius. He gave away nothing on his face. If Arthur hadn't known the truth he would have completely believed the old man's tales. As it was, he did not wish to ruin this moment of relief, and so he smiled brightly at Merlin. "Good. I have boots that are in need of a good polish since our venture, and my best shirt has been ruined. My horse needs to be hooved and my father wishes to see you once you have been restored to your usual... annoying self... I am sure you will enjoy Théa taking care of you though."

"Ha!" chuckled Gaius, causing Arthur to turn from taking delight in how crimson Merlin's cheeks were becoming. "I know I am not exactly a youthful brunette with a flimsical voice, but he will have to make do with me for now. Théa took a bad knock on the head with this creature and she is resting in her room until she is well again."

Another mark to add to Arthur's suspicions. "What was the creature, Gaius? Did you ever find out?"

Now Gaius' mood changed to one of stern truth. "I have not had the time to research it, sire, but now that Merlin is out of danger I will certainly do all I can to find its source and its undoing. It would help me speed up the process, however, if you both gave me an accurate description."

A distraction. Good. Inbetween telling Merlin to eat his soup and helping Gaius' attempts at trawling through his vast selection of books, Arthur was gradually able to forget the pressing problem which was the girl sleeping in Merlin's old quarters. It was with a heavy heart however that he left Merlin's side - there was a lot to be done here, a lot to consider. Now he was over the original shock of seeing magic being used under his very nose he would be able to weigh the options more clearly, with a sensible head and judgements not based on reactions. On the one hand, Théa had saved Merlin's life. On the other, she had used outlawed magic to do so. And Gaius had helped her which only made the situation worse. As Arthur was the only one to know, it was up to him to decide how he went about this. Though Uther would rightfully want to be told of the situation, Arthur wasn't sure whether he agreed with the consequences that would come next. He had to think about this. He had to give Théa a chance to explain herself and decide her own fate.