Anwen was reading by candlelight when there was a knock at her cottage door. She frowned—it was a little late for visitors, but she marked her place and answered it.

"Sir Gwaine!" she said, feeling a broad smile spread across her face. She tried to quell it. "What can I do for you?"

Gwaine didn't notice the smile. "Have you seen Merlin?" he asked worriedly. "He took some medicine down to the Rising Sun for the landlord, and he never came back."

"No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen him since I left the castle a couple of hours ago," Anwen answered. "Did you check Arthur's rooms and the kitchens?"

Gwaine nodded. "I've been asking people all over the castle. No one has seen him."

Anwen frowned. "What is it you're worried about?"

Gwaine sighed. "I'm not quite sure. It's just that… Bergam and Cranog and their knights have been picking on him since Arthur left, and… I just have a bad feeling about this. I think I'm going to search the lower town."

"Hold on. Let me go with you." Gwaine made no objection, and Anwen wrapped up in her shawl and stuck her candle in a lantern.

Gwaine had already spoken to the landlord at the Rising Sun and had determined that Merlin had delivered the medicine and had left again in the direction of the castle about an hour before. So he and Anwen began searching along the main street that led back to the castle. They checked each alley they came to.

"Maybe he went back to the castle a different way?" Gwaine suggested as Anwen shone her lantern down a narrow alley. "If we don't find anything this way, we should check the next street over."

"Wait a minute," Anwen said, stepping into the alley. "Behind those crates…"

"Merlin!" Gwaine exclaimed.

Merlin lay unconscious on his back. As they knelt next to him and the lantern shone across him they could see that his face was bruised and bloody. Anwen felt the back of his head.

"Go tell Gaius and get a stretcher," she said briefly, folding up her shawl and placing it under Merlin's head.

"I don't want to leave you two here alone—"

"They won't come back and incriminate themselves: we'll be fine," Anwen answered. "Hurry!"

Gwaine was gone on the word. Anwen quickly examined Merlin. The lump on the back of his head was pretty nasty, as was the bruise on his cheekbone. She needed to check for broken ribs. She pulled up his shirt—and froze.

There was a large, purple bruise on his stomach, bigger than her hand. She felt the area: his abdomen was rigid and tight. "Oh God. Merlin," she whispered. It was internal bleeding, and it was bad. Gwaine would be back soon with the stretcher, but Gaius wouldn't be able to do anything about this. If it had bled this much in this short a time, Merlin had little time left.

He groaned as she touched the place again. She held very still. "Merlin?" she said, as calmly as she could. "Merlin, can you hear me?"

Merlin groaned again and muttered something unintelligible.

"What was that?" She leaned forward.

He said it again, a little louder, and this time his eyes flew open. They were glowing gold. Anwen gasped and sat back as she felt a zing of fear go through her. Something under her hand was glowing softly in the darkness, and she snatched her hand away, the blood pounding in her ears. The glow faded out, and Merlin's head fell back as he lost consciousness again. Anwen leaned forward, peered at his stomach, then brought the light closer. The panes of glass began to rattle, and she realized her hand was shaking.

Merlin's abdomen was no longer bruised. She touched it hesitantly, and the skin was soft and flaccid.

"Merlin, you—" she gasped.

"Anna?" Gwaine's voice sounded from down the street.

"Here," she called, and Gwaine and one of the castle guards appeared, carrying a stretcher and breathing hard. They must have run all the way.

Anwen shook herself. "Get his knees," she told the guard, and crossed Merlin's arms over his chest. "And his shoulders. Gently now…"

They lifted Merlin onto the stretcher and hurried back to the castle, Anwen leading the way with the lantern. The corridors of the castle were nearly deserted this late in the night, and they were able to make their way to Gaius's surgery without hindrance.

Gaius was ready for them, water on the boil and herbs already crushed. "Put him there," he said, indicating one of the beds. "Anna, what injuries did you note?" he asked as they began stripping off his jacket and shirt.

"There's a lump on the back of his head, and I think there's something wrong with his right hip." She hesitated. "Broken ribs, and I thought there was some internal bleeding but… I must have been wrong."

Gwaine wondered how she could tell. Merlin's skinny torso, when they laid it bare, was covered in bruises that made him wince just to look at them. "I'll—wait outside," he said lamely. The two healers didn't seem to hear him, and he shut the door quietly behind him.

000

It was an hour later when Anwen finally opened the door again. She looked exhausted.

"How is he?" Gwaine asked from his seat on the top step of the dark staircase.

She shook her head. "It's hard to tell: he hasn't come around yet." She dropped onto the step next to him and rubbed her eyes. "His left wrist is broken, and we think they strained his right hip. Not to mention the broken ribs and the head injury." She began pulling at the fringe on her shawl. "I just don't understand. Merlin is just about the sweetest person I've ever met. Why would somebody do this to him?"

"I think I know," Gwaine answered darkly. She looked up at him. "I heard a rumor from one of Arthur's huntsmen that he had a private talk with Bergam when they went hunting the day before he and Leon left. Something about one of the maids, and I think Merlin told Arthur about it. Bergam and Cranog and their knights weren't exactly polite to Merlin before that, but afterward I think they got worse. Especially after Arthur left. Percival said Cranog and one of his cronies had Merlin cornered in a quiet corridor yesterday. They backed off immediately when Percival showed up, of course, and he couldn't get Merlin to say what it was about."

They sat in silence for a minute, Anwen still pulling at her fringe. "Come on," Gwaine said at last, climbing to his feet and offering her a hand. "Let me walk you home."

TBC


AN: Okay, so it didn't turn out to be as long as I thought it would. But at least I updated quickly! :P

Please review!