To whoever reviewed asking if this was going to be slash - no. The fingertips bit is to show that Arthur relies on Merlin for a feeling of safety rather than anything else.

This one was really hard to write, Uther's emotions bounced around like who knows what.

It was reasonably early in the morning when the message spread amongst the servants to stay away from the corridor around the prince's chambers. Considering how many of them had been hoping for a glimpse of the missing heir, it came as a disappointment. But when they learnt the reason behind the advice, all scurried in the opposite direction. None of them wanted to get in the pacing King's way.

Uther had risen at dawn, unable to sleep any more. He should feel relieved, Arthur was back and safe, not to mention clearly recovering from what Gaius had told him. The physician had given him a rough account of Arthur's injuries when he had been found, and the normally unmoveable King had found his stomach rolling slightly. This hadn't just happened to one of his subjects, it had happened to his son. Whilst Gaius had not explained how the injuries had come about, Uther had seen enough of war and the violence of men to have an idea of what had happened. And it certainly made him want to execute a few people. But he had no one he could, no idea where any of his son's tormenters were, or even who they were.

The only name Gaius had managed to give him had made Uther pale so fast the physician had been forced to shove a stool somewhat viciously under the king's knees. There had been a reason why Dunran had been cast from Camelot nearly ten years ago, and the thought that he had had his hands on Arthur made Uther want to be sick. He knew the man's reputation; the evidence against him had been overwhelming when the King had made his decision all those years ago. Many of Uther's sentences had been met with a stony silence as people tried to comprehend whether it was deserved or not. This one had been met with cheers all around as the rapist had been thrown bodily from the city.

Which was why Uther could now be found pacing outside of Arthur's chambers, trying to rid his mind of the idea that perhaps Arthur had been pushed too far this time, that he might not be able to just bounce back in his normal way. Gaius had been blunt, explaining how Arthur had refused to talk at first, not just about what had happened, but in general. And how he seemed to relate his manservant with the feeling of safety. Uther had been prepared to dismiss it; he knew how sentimental his physician could become when it was someone he cared about that was hurt. But then he had witnessed what had happened in the night, saw how the boy seemed to know what it was that Arthur needed and how his own son had reacted positively.

Sighing in frustration, Uther completely ignored the way the guards were doing their utmost to not look in his direction as the pacing King tried to get his mind around what was happening. He had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to treat Arthur. Did he act like before and hope that Arthur had recovered enough to be able to respond to it? He knew it had been months now since they had got him out, the physical evidence of how much he had healed showed that. Or did he treat his heir like something that had been broken, much as it would pain him? He knew that if Arthur was regaining his strength, being treated as weak would infuriate him. Uther knew there was too much of him in the boy, if angry; Arthur would try and do something rash. Uther may be the King and therefore the most powerful man in Camelot, but Gaius still had a way of making him feel like a boy doing something wrong. He knew the old physician had the same affect on his son, and it made him smile slightly.

As he turned to retrace his steps down the corridor, Uther suddenly froze, listening hard. He couldn't believe that he hadn't noticed it before, but there were voices coming from Arthur's room. He didn't recognise them, and for a moment, the normally strong King panicked. He couldn't lose Arthur again, not now, not after everything. Without warning, he burst through the door, hand automatically drifting to where his sword was resting on his hip. He had not been able to do anything but send out search parties for the prince when it was clear something had happened to Arthur. He was not going to make that mistake again.

Yet the sight that greeted him was not one that Uther was expecting. The room was filled with Knights. But it was no wonder that the king hadn't recognised their voices, for it was his son's knights, the peasants that Arthur had allowed to rise through the ranks. He just about knew their names – Arthur could be most insistent and damn stubborn when the mood took him – which allowed him to identify where each of them were sitting.

Leon, he knew. The leader of the Knights under Arthur, the man was still bolt upright, clearly not relaxed enough to sprawl in the way some of the others were. But it still surprised Uther how much the young man had accepted the others, watching them with a fond smile from where he was resting against the window, even if his face did morph into a shocked expression when Uther made his entrance.

Gwaine, the one who was often found starting tavern fights. Oh, Uther knew about him well enough. How many of the men had tried to file a complaint about him, get him cast out once again. Uther had let Arthur handle it though, knowing he needed to win the others over, and sure enough, Gwaine was still here. Right now, he was sitting in Arthur's chair, his feet swung up on the table and eating an apple. His expression was almost comical at the King's arrival.

Then there was Elyan, the quiet one that seemed to have a reserved personality about him. Uther even had to admit to having vague memories of this knight as a young boy when he had inspected the forges in the lower town, a show to make the people think he cared. Tom had been a good blacksmith, and Uther remembered for a long time his son watching closely. It was one of the reasons why he had remembered the sister when choosing a maidservant for his ward. He was sitting cross legged in front of the fire, mirroring the position of the large one who was sitting next to him.

Lancelot was the final one that Uther saw, right by the door as if keeping watch. The king blinked around at them all, his mind finally beginning to process what he was seeing. It wasn't just the servant that Arthur was reacting to, but the company of his men. Men who had seen him broken, bleeding and defeated, and yet had still stood by him and done all they could in their power to protect the young royal. It was the type of loyalty that Uther could only dream of, and he knew that he had no business interrupting whatever sanctuary his son could find. Not that Arthur had noticed, he was still fast asleep.

The one person who actually met Uther's eyes before dropping them hastily was that servant again. He was sitting by Arthur's side, combing his fingers through the prince's hair, although his hand immediately shot away at Uther's look. The King locked a steely gaze on him and motioned for the servant to join him outside. He had some decisions to make. Ignoring the way the other knights all suddenly looked concerned for the boy, the king strode out.

Not before hearing the muttered command the servant gave the knights.

"Look after him."

Uther waited just down the corridor for the boy to catch up with him, making sure they were out of earshot of the ever present guards. He didn't want Arthur's vulnerabilities spreading around the castle.

"Why were you doing that?" He almost snapped as soon as the anxious youth stopped before him, eyes on the ground. When Uther spoke, however, his head lifted defiantly.

"The prince likes it." He stated boldly, looking Uther square in the eye and almost challenging the king to stop him from helping Arthur. "No one showed him the slightest hint of affection for the eight months he was in that hell hole. It was the only way I could get him to calm down to start with, and was the only part of him that wasn't injured in some way. Since then, if he is restless, it calms him down. He had just suffered from a night of nightmares; I wasn't going to let boundaries stop me helping him."

Uther raised an eyebrow smoothly at how defensive the boy sounded and had to admit to feeling a rush of respect. This Merlin was the only reason why Arthur was alive and back in Camelot, yet the King couldn't just bring himself to accept how familiar he was being with his master.

"Now that he is settled, you shall resume your expected distance from the prince." He said bluntly, making to turn and leave it at that. He wasn't going to punish the boy for overstepping his mark, not when it came to Arthur's wellbeing. But neither was he going to let it continue. He had made up his mind. Arthur must get strong again, for if rumours started that Camelot's heir may never again be fit to be a leader, the results would be catastrophic. Uther knew he had to think of the Kingdom as well as his son now.

"No." The King had almost completed his turn when the one word echoed from behind him and the temperature seemed to drop.

"No?"

"No." The boy responded, red patches beginning to appear on his cheeks and his eyes shining in an overly bright manner. "I'm not going to go through all of that only to be kept away from him now. He was terrified about returning here for fear of how you would react, and if you keep me away from him, his fears will become true, I swore I wouldn't leave him."

Uther saw red and before he knew what he was doing, he had backhanded the overconfident servant. How dare he suggest that Arthur didn't want to return home for fear of his own father? Merlin's head rolled with the slap, but he didn't drop his gaze. Uther grabbed his upper arm and dragged him down the empty corridor. When he reached an empty room, he threw the boy in, walked in himself and locked the door behind him.

"Do you know what I could have done to you for disobeying a direct order from your king?" This was a situation he was more than familiar with, and in a way, it was nice being back on familiar territory rather than contemplating the fragility of his son's mind.

"No worse than I've already seen." Merlin muttered, standing to look out of the window, his posture finally showing the defeat Uther wanted to see. But it was for the wrong reasons, he knew what seemed to bring the boy down was thinking about what had happened to Arthur. Uther remained silently, prompting the boy by his body language to carry on talking. He needed to know what had happened to his son, what it was that Gaius wasn't telling him. For someone whom he had always considered to be a bit slow, Merlin took the hint.

"Dunran took him that first night. On his hands and knees, like a dog." Merlin's voice was hollow and emotionless, and Uther suddenly wondered if he really wanted to know. But something in him told him that he had to know in order to even contemplating understanding.

"It took them three weeks to get to where I found him." The boy continued. Merlin was thinking hard about what Arthur had told him one night. He didn't want the others knowing everything, but somehow seemed to understand that he had to talk about it. "For three weeks he was chained behind a horse and forced to run. Every time he fell down, they beat him until he could make it to his feet again. Every time they stopped, Dunran had his way with him. But Arthur was still fighting when they got there, so they chained him to the floor by his wrists and ankles and...and..."

Merlin went exceedingly pale, and Uther could not ignore the rolling in his stomach. Yet he had to hear it, had to know what had happened to his son.

"And?"

"They raped him in pairs until he passed out." Merlin delivered bluntly, but wasn't quick enough to stop the tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes. Now Uther was getting what he wanted. He had wanted to see what the boy's genuine reaction to his master's predicament was, wanted to know whether he could trust him to be discreet. No one could fake the agony in Merlin's expression as he was forced to tell what had happened.

"When he came to, he was locked in a tiny cell. He stayed there at all times unless they strung him up by his wrists in a larger, dark room. That's where the people came, that's where they beat him. For eight months they tortured him and I couldn't find him!" Merlin kicked out at the wall, only to suddenly freeze. It was as if he realised who he was in the presence of for the first time, and could no longer meet Uther's eyes. The King nodded softly. He could trust this boy not to spread rumours about Arthur's condition, but that still didn't mean he was happy with Arthur being so reliant upon the boy.

"As Arthur's servant, you know about the monthly nobles?" Merlin blinked in surprise at the change in conversation, but nodded. Uther signalled his approval. Every month, a few nobles would come to stay at the castle for a month themselves. It was supposed to show hospitality, keep them on his side. But it also meant that Uther could keep an eye on any that were potentially a threat.

"The changeover is scheduled for two weeks time," he continued, knowing that Merlin had no idea where he was going with this. "I'm appointing you to one of them to act as servant."

"What? No, I can't leave Arthur..." Uther watched as Merlin almost tried running for the door, as if he had to get back to his master right that second. He waited until the servant was level with him, and then grabbed his arm. Wrenching it up behind his back, he slammed Merlin against a wall, holding him there with ease.

"For once, you will do as I say." He snarled, not liking the way this servant seemed to know better about how Arthur was to be treated than the prince's own father did. Uther was in such turmoil, he just didn't know what to do around Arthur, so found himself reacting in the only way he knew how. He lashed out at those who did know how to treat the prince.

"Please, Sire..."

"You will not make me the bad man in this, servant. I'm not taking you away from Arthur yet. You have two weeks to stop him being so dependent on you. If you value his health as much as you appear to do, you will make sure he is ready to be on his own by then. You are going, whether you like it or not. Make a smart decision and make sure he can cope with that before you go."

With that, he let go of Merlin's arm, unlocked the door and strode from it, leaving the shaking boy massaging his wrist and staring out after him with tear filled eyes. He was not going to have Arthur afraid of his reaction, but nor was he going to let the prince remain scared. The others all cared too much, they would pander to his every whim until he came reliant on it and didn't want to recover. With any luck, having a time frame would mean that Merlin would push Arthur to become independent again. But two weeks was a long time, Arthur would be able to do it. It would push his recovery without forcing him too hard.

This time, Uther didn't head back towards Arthur's chambers. He was clear in his mind now what needed to be done, and just hoped that Arthur could see it was for his benefit. By giving Merlin two weeks, Uther knew that when those two weeks were up, he would address his son as if nothing happened, making sure Arthur was ready to become the heir once again. But for those two weeks, Arthur would simply be his son, nothing more and nothing less. Uther would do whatever it took to make the prince well again. And if that meant threatening his servant and – much as it pained him to admit it – friend, then that was what Uther would do.

Just because I'm not sure if it came across or not - he doesn't know how to react, which is why he goes from one extreme to the other!