"Arthur, come quick!" Gaius called, looking out his window.

Arthur, who was poring over some of Gaius's more complicated books, came running to see. He growled with fury at the sight of Gedren entering the courtyard with Merlin.

"Bastard!" the prince snarled. Whirling about, he grabbed his sword off the table and marched to the door before Gaius stop him.

"Sire, you can't, your not yet strong –"

Gaius shrank back as Arthur spun around, and leveled a predatory glare at him. "He did something," he was so angry, he could barely speak. "That's my servant, Gaius. It's my duty as his master to watch out for him."

Spinning back around, he stormed from the room, leaving Gaius staring after him, dread pouring acid into his stomach.

With triumph in his heart, Gedren grinned as Arthur came charging into view, his gaze murderous.

"Meet your new servant," Gedren called when the prince was about ten feet away. Lifting Merlin up, he let him fall carelessly into the snow. "He's much better now."

With a feral growl, Arthur lunged, swinging wildly but missed. Laughing, Gedren spun his horse around and cantered out of sight.

Torn between going after Gedren and checking Merlin, Arthur opted to get Merlin out of the public eye. People were staring at them.

Back in Gaius's chambers, the prince paced frantically as Gaius attempted to get a response from Merlin.

"What is going on?" Arthur all but howled, his fear and frustration peaking. "What did Gedren do to him."

At that moment, Merlin, from where he lay limply on the bed, swung his head to look at him. One eye was on him but out of focus and the other drifted lazily to the left. Arthur felt the connection spark, but it was weak and after a few seconds, it vanished.

He sighed heavily and sat down. "He tried," he said; Gaius looked up.

"Tried what?" Arthur tapped his temple. "Oh," said Gaius.

"It was there for a few seconds but he can't maintain it."

Gaius sat down on the other side. "Well that was the only external stimuli he responded to. I don't know what's wrong with him."

"I'm having seriously bad deja vu," Arthur muttered, thinking back to the same scene a year and a half ago, only Merlin had been blind and mute then, and it had eventually gone away. Despair seared deep in the prince's gaze as he looked at Gaius. "What if he never gets better?"

Gaius looked miserable. "We have to believe this won't be permanent," he said.

Arthur hoped not.

It was just three days until Christmas, and Arthur had never felt worse.

Having found a paragraph in a book titled The Brain, Gaius suggested they try to get Merlin motivated by encouraging him to repeat things he'd done before. Arthur suggested merging, as it was something that he'd done thousands of times.

At last, just after ten o'clock, the prince let out a gasp, and his eyes flared gold.

"Arthur?" Gaius looked up from where he was bent over a thick leather tome, the candlelight flickering on the tabletop.

Arthur barely heard Gaius. Sensations the likes of which he'd never felt before flooded him and a heavy weight invaded his body. In his mind's eye, he saw Merlin and his wolf. They looked very sad and Arthur's fury at Gedren increased.

The man would pay for what he'd gone to them. Somehow.

He could feel how tired and weak Merlin was. Just merging had taken a toll, after hours of trying.

Blinking, Gaius's face came into view. He was frowning worriedly at him.

"Are you alright Sire?"

Arthur's hand went to his heart, which was now beating normally. "Yes," was all he said.