Thank you again for the fantastic support. I have absolutely no idea how long this story is going to be, I have a vague plan, but more just letting it take me wherever!

"Come on, Sire, let me."

It had been almost two weeks since Dunran had been killed. The small party had stayed in the clearing for a few days, waiting for Arthur to calm down again. But eventually, Gaius had declared him fit to travel, and they had begun to make their painstakingly slow progress back to Camelot. At the beginning, the prince had only managed a few minutes at a time, but as time passed; his strength slowly began to come back to him as the wounds healed. He had managed four hours before exhaustion claimed him today. It helped that some of the bandages had been able to come off, the welts on his legs practically having disappeared under Gaius' careful treatment.

"Arthur, no." Rolling his eyes, Merlin sighed. The prince had managed to drink properly again, and even start on food, although Gaius didn't want him having anything solid just yet. The problem was, every time Arthur was left to manage it by himself, he tended to make himself sick, meaning that it was down to his servant to basically feed him. That was what Merlin was trying to do now. Sitting with his back against a tree, he practically had Arthur leaning on him, knowing the extra time on a horse he had managed had exhausted him. But that didn't stop Arthur from being any less stubborn.

Every time Merlin raised the water skin to his lips again, Arthur made a grab for it, clearly wanting to do it himself. Merlin might have felt like trusting him if it wasn't for the fact he had tried that the day before. Arthur had gone too quickly yet again, his still-weak stomach had protested and it had once more come rushing back up.

Grabbing Arthur's wrist in his other hand, the servant pushed the master's hand away for the umpteenth time.

"No." Arthur didn't say anything, but Merlin felt his body tense. The man was still speaking very little, months of forcing himself to not make a sound was a big boundary to overcome. He would make noises of protest or discomfort, especially when Gaius was tending to his back, and occasionally would come out with something when there was something particularly playing on his mind. But for the most part, he just stayed quiet. Merlin knew he was completely aware of what was going on around him though; there were subtly shifts in his body language when something happened, or when he caught sight of Rand.

Not knowing what else to do with the broken slave, they had ended up bringing him with him. Gwaine was all for letting him wander the forest, knowing that he wouldn't have a chance considering the state he was in. Merlin and Lancelot had immediately shot him down on that. If it was dark magic that had reduced Rand to this state, Merlin found he had to believe there was something that he could do, that there was some way of saving him. They weren't going to take him all the way back to Camelot; Uther would have his head before any of them could blink. But for now, Rand was travelling with them, only under constant watch from Elyan.

As Arthur once again grabbed for the water skin, Merlin lost his patience slightly.

"Arthur, no! Just stop it; you know you can't have it, so stop trying!" With one hand, he grabbed both of Arthur's wrists, holding them in the prince's lap as he tipped the last of the water into Arthur's mouth. He was lucky there was only a drip left and he was able to let go almost as soon as he grabbed hold. As soon as the prince had drunk, Merlin slipped out behind him, stalking over to the horses. It wasn't so much that he needed to get anything, more like he needed a moment. He let his fingers tangle themselves in the coarse mane, taking a deep breath to ground himself.

"Merlin?" Gaius' concerned tone made the warlock open eyes he didn't even know he had shut as he offered his mentor a sheepish smile.

"That was stupid, wasn't it?" He had been trying so hard to make sure there was nothing that could possibly set Arthur back, but this time, he had had enough.

"It was worth the risk. He responded well to it. As in, his only reaction was annoyance, no fear. He's getting there. But it is not him I'm worried about."

"I'm fine, Gaius. Just a bit tired." Even as he spoke, Merlin let the horse take more of his weight, resisting the urge to rest his head against the saddle and fall asleep where he was standing up. The Knights were taking their duty at protecting the prince very seriously, but it meant his care was practically left to Merlin on his own. Merlin was the only one Arthur would let near when he was having a bad spell, and the warlock was beginning to feel it. Every night he would be channelling his magic into the prince in order to counter-act the burn. The sleep was doing the royal wonders, colour was finally beginning to trickle back into his cheeks. Gaius had been right in thinking that as Arthur regained his strength, the burn would be less effective, but Merlin was still battling against the darkest of magics every night. It was beginning to take its toll.

"You need rest."

"I'll rest when we get him home. He made four hours today, Gaius. He's finally beginning to get there."

"At this rate, it will be you we have to carry."

"Gaius, I'm fine!" The physician looked at his ward critically. What colour Arthur had managed to gain, Merlin had lost, dark bags once again circling under his eyes, finalising the haunted look the man seemed to have perfected over the last eight months. Gaius hadn't quite realised how much of a sparkle had been back in Merlin's eyes once they had found Arthur, but this constant caring over the prince was beginning to show.

"Merlin, you are the only one he trusts. If you carry on like this, especially lashing out like that, he will lose that trust and we will back where we started." That was certainly the most extreme of a scenario, and considering Arthur hadn't shown any fear when Merlin had held his hands down meant it would be a long time before that became a reality. But Gaius knew the only way to get the warlock to take care of himself was by making him think it was for Arthur's benefit.

"I'm..."

"Sleep." A hoarse voice interrupted, making Merlin jump. Arthur had come staggering over, but even as he stood there, Gaius sensed the royal's legs beginning to give way. He moved forward, his action startling a nearby Percival. The Knight seemed to know exactly what was about to happen and lowered Arthur to the floor even before the prince had realised he was falling. The three of them waited for the explosion of temper – Arthur was beginning to hate how weak he still was – but this time, it didn't come. He instead just crawled forward and grabbed Merlin around the knees. Once again, it was only Percival's quick reactions that meant the warlock didn't fall on top of his injured master.

When they were both on the floor, the Knight moved away again, but Gaius caught his slight eye roll and the way the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. The Round Table party had always put friendship above duty, but this situation had shown them quite how close Arthur and Merlin were.

Said servant was looking at the prince in bewilderment, wondering precisely why Arthur had tried to pull him over. Normally, he could read the prince. If Arthur was getting paranoid over something, he would often keep pulling Merlin behind him, the way he had always tried to protect his servant. If he was weary, he would often lean towards Merlin ever so slightly, a sign only the servant could read as a sign he wanted to stop. Arthur may not be talking much, but he was certainly communicating what was going through his mind.

"Sleep." Arthur repeatedly stubbornly, all but glaring at his servant.

"Okay, Sire, I'll get you your blankets and roll, one moment..." Merlin made to get up, thinking the prince wanted to get some rest. He wasn't surprised; the man had gone almost an extra hour compared to the day before. Arthur, however, had other ideas. Lunging forward, he once again latched onto Merlin's ankle, stopping his gangly servant from standing up.

"No."

"You don't want your blankets?"

"You. Sleep."

"I'm fine, Arthur, honest..." Merlin didn't exactly know how to tell the prince that he couldn't go to sleep until Arthur himself was asleep, that he was the reason the man managed to get any rest. He had no intention of letting Arthur lose any of the sleep he was managing to get just because his servant was tired.

But what he wasn't expecting was Arthur's reaction. So far, the prince had just almost accepted anything Merlin told him, knowing that it would be helping him. But this time, Arthur was more aware than what Merlin was giving him credit for. He leant up, grabbing hold of Merlin's wrist and tugging him back down again, not letting go.

"Sleep." He demanded a scowl on his face as he glared at his servant. For a moment, Merlin caught a glimpse of the true Arthur. He was annoyed with his servant for once again not looking after himself. Merlin wondered what would happen if he was to fight back, resist Arthur in his normal way. He glanced over, intending to catch Gaius' eye and try and ask the physician without words whether it would be pushing it or not. But although he did catch Gaius' eye, Merlin found himself subjecting to a look that had him groaning. His guardian agreed with his master.

"No, I'm fine." Merlin announced stubbornly, accidentally drawing the Knights attention to the area and making the matter ten times worse for himself as Gwaine and Lancelot came meandering over to see what the commotion was.

"Merlin, you must rest." There was a note in Gaius' voice that made the young warlock look up at him in concern. Arthur still had hold of his wrist, Gwaine and Lancelot were practically flanking him and Gaius stood in front of the four of them, something in his hand. Merlin wasn't going anywhere.

"I can't, Gaius, you know that I'm needed." Merlin knew even as he tried pleading with the old man that it wasn't going to do any good. With only the physician – and Merlin suspected Lancelot might have an inclining about what was truly going – aware of why Merlin felt the need to stay awake, the rest of the group were preparing to back the prince on this.

Arthur pulled himself closer, not releasing his grip on Merlin's wrist in the slightest, mirroring the way the warlock had held him down not that long before. He pushed at Merlin's shoulder, clearly intending to try and get him to lie down, stubbornness burning brightly out of his eyes that, had he not been on the receiving end of it, would have made Merlin's heart soar.

"Gaius, please..."

The physician bent down, and for a moment, Merlin truly thought that he had won the man over, that his guardian was going to help him. But when Gaius spoke, his words were soft, clearly intended only for Merlin.

"Think of how much this will help Arthur. Seeing that others are tired apart from him. You cannot battle against the magic every day, Merlin, it's draining you. You need rest."

"But..."

"Sleep." Arthur repeated, crawling forward now that Gaius had straightened up once more. Sitting by the warlock's head, he copied a position Merlin had often held him in and pulled the warlock onto his lap. His hand was combing through the black hair, and as much as he tried to fight it, Merlin could not give into his need for sleep. With Arthur once again trying to play the protector, it was a sign things were returning to normal. He knew that some things may never be the same again. The old Arthur would never have done something like this, he would have more likely ordered Gaius to drug him. But this one needed the constant reassurance of physical contact, and it appeared Merlin was the only one who could give it to him. Gaius said it was a response from how long he had spent isolated, but even in sleep, Merlin was still able to watch over his prince.

Gwaine and Lancelot watched their friend for a moment, before catching each other's eye and moving away at the same time, beckoning for Gaius to follow them.

"Are we still being followed?" The physician knew what the two knights would want, and why they had waited until Merlin didn't have a chance to over hear them. Gwaine glanced over his shoulder at where Arthur was staring into space, before nodding.

"It's been almost a week they've been following us for now, Gaius. Should we tell them?"

"No." Gaius' response was a harsh snap, and he immediately felt a stab of guilt at seeing the slightly hurt look on Gwaine's face. Merlin was not the only one beginning to struggle with their slow progress back to Camelot. As far as Arthur had come in the last couple of weeks since his rescue, they still had a long way to go. "You've seen how Merlin is with him. If he thinks Arthur is in danger, he'll never let him go again. It's not good for either of them. We have to build Arthur's confidence, get him to spend time away from Merlin."

"But they..."

"Haven't done anything yet. If they attack, we'll know about it in time, the guard has held so far. But until now, let them both think they are safe."

"Is that fair on Arthur?" Lancelot muttered, watching the prince closely. This was the first time Merlin had been asleep since the day they had drugged him with Arthur still being awake, and the Knight wasn't quite sure how the prince was going to react. "He thought he was safe before, and then got attacked again."

"That was personal. I'm sure this is different." The three of them jumped, not having heard Leon's approach. His eyes flickered over to Arthur, and he smiled gently. "He used to sit like that when he was a boy. I think it is just bandits, we can deal with them. If Arthur knows it is a normal attack rather than anything aimed specifically at him, he should be alright, shouldn't he, Gaius?"

"There is no telling, but theoretically... where is he going?" Breaking off, Gaius found that movement had caught the corner of his eye. Arthur had laid Merlin down on the ground, and even as the four of them watched, shakily rose to his feet and moved off slightly. Gwaine suddenly cursed.

"I know where we are. Lance, come on! It's the spot where he was taken!" Lancelot swore violently, something so uncharacteristic for the man, Gaius found himself blinking in surprise as the two of them shot off, Leon on their heels whilst yelling for the others to keep guard. Luckily, Merlin didn't stir.

Gaius followed as fast as he could manage. By the time he had caught up with them, Gwaine was struggling to hold up the prince, who was vomiting copiously, one hand resting shakily on a tree. Even now, months later, the clearing still held the air of what had happened that day. How Arthur had recognised it considering the state he had spent the last few weeks in, Gaius didn't know, but there could be no denying this reaction. He knew precisely the spot where his hell had begun.

"We need Merlin." Gwaine muttered, lowering himself to his knees whilst trying to support Arthur, who was now violently shaking, his eyes fixed on a spot in the centre of the clearing.

"I don't want to..."

"Arthur!" Gaius' protests about not wanting to wake Merlin were cut short as the said warlock came running past him, snatching the prince out of Gwaine's arms and holding him close in a way he knew calmed the man down. Somehow, destiny had alerted her protector that his prince was in trouble once again.

Arthur clung onto Merlin desperately, still not tearing his eyes away from whatever it was that was drawing his attention. For a while, Merlin didn't say anything, just let Arthur calm down in his own time. But eventually, he whispered something to Arthur, his words loud enough for the whole clearing to hear.

"What happened, Arthur? Can you tell me?" Gaius smiled at Merlin in pride. Everyone had wanted to know at the beginning what had befallen the prince, but it was clear Arthur wasn't ready to talk about it. But the servant had managed to read Arthur's body language enough to know this was the right moment. If Arthur didn't tell them right now, Gaius knew he may never do so.

The rest of the Knights moved in closer, Elyan tying Rand to a tree as Arthur shakily nodded. It was clear he wanted to tell them, but if his grip on Merlin was anything to go by, he was struggling. Gaius disappeared back to the horse, returning moments later with a small phial.

"It will help calm him." He muttered to Merlin, who took it with a smile and helped Arthur down the contents, settling the man's stomach at the same time. For a long moment, Arthur didn't seem to want to say anything, opening his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. But then he started speaking, and the events from almost nine months ago were revealed to all.