A/N: OVER 100 REVIEWS! I got 24 reviews of chapter 12, 26 reviews from the last update. You people are awesome! In honor of this occasion, this chapter has over 2,000 words (without the Author's Note) instead of my weekly goal of 1,000! Oh, and, I will be without wi-fi from the 17th to the 25th, so there will probably not be an update, unless a miracle happens, though I may put up two chapters the following week. We'll see.

This extra-long chapter is dedicated to Kallie01 for reviewing and being overall awesome and letting me know that the weird hand-flapping thing isn't just some weird thing I do :) .

Without further ado, chapter 13. R&R.

Arthur POV

As Gaius cleaned Merlin's left arm, Arthur's thoughts were running rampant. The sorceress had known. She'd known that Merlin was in danger, and she'd seen fit to help him. But why would an evil sorceress want to help the manservant of King Arthur Pendragon, the man who had sentenced her to death (with the encouragement of his councilors, but he was king, his decision was final)? And had the girl known what Merlin was in danger from? For some reason, he felt like she had.

Arthur held Merlin just a little tighter, as if doing so could reverse everything that had happened today. He'd even let the girl go if it meant that . . . that . . . that Merlin hadn't done . . . this. This wasn't . . . it shouldn't have happened. How could Merlin have been that unhappy? Sure, Arthur had noticed that Merlin had been acting a bit odd for the last few days, but that had been all. Just a little thought in the back of his mind. Arthur watched as Gaius gently cleaned the rest of the dried blood from Merlin's arm, and felt his heart stutter when he realized that there was a word carved into the skin. The word MONSTER.

"What is that!?" Arthur's voice was strangled, as if he didn't have enough air left to say those words. And maybe he didn't. Nothing was right anymore. He was vaguely aware of Gwaine leaving the room, hands clenched in his brown hair, as if suddenly unable to take any more. Arthur might have joined him, but Merlin's dea- no, just weight- but Merlin's weight was resting against him, and the King couldn't bear the thought of letting go. "Gaius?" Tears obscured Arthur's vision, and he couldn't wipe them away without moving his arms from where they held Merlin against him. The tears fell down his cheeks. "Gaius . . . why? What does this mean?" His voice cracked, but Arthur couldn't care less about that.

The physician shook his head, and Arthur saw, with some shock, tears glimmering in the man's eyes. Sure, he knew Merlin was like a son to Gaius, but he'd never, never, seen the man cry before. Arthur looked up towards where Lancelot was still standing against the door frame, as if the old wood was all that was keeping him upright. Merlin had affected so many lives; not just the life of his king. Lancelot, Elyan, Percival, even Gwaine (gods help him) were some the best knights he'd ever had the honor of fighting beside. Without Merlin, none of that would have been possible. Well, Gwen certainly needed to take her fair share of the credit, for helping Merlin make him realize that not all servants were bootlickers, or useless.

Oh gods, Gwen. She didn't know about this. Arthur knew that gentle Guinevere would not react well to this. She was brave and courageous, but none of that had done the Knights or himself any good when presented to this . . . situation.

"Sire?" Gaius' voice brought Arthur out of his thoughts, and, looking down, Arthur noticed that the physician was done treating the wounds, which looked a lot more manageable, covered as they were in white cloth. "We should move him." Gaius said quietly.

Arthur nodded and stood, slipping a hand under Merlin's knees and arms, hoisting the young man up so as to carry him to the other room. He placed Merlin on the small patient's bed, and noticed Gwaine standing in the corner, arms resolutely folded and jaw locked so as not to cry; but it seemed Arthur wasn't the only one unable to hold back tears.

Gaius followed Arthur, and once Merlin was on the bed, he busied about his surrogate son, checking his pulse and consulting a heavy tome that lay open on the nearest table. There was relative silence for a few moments, Arthur's mind too exhausted to do much more thinking. Merlin would have a field day with that, he thought. Lancelot and Gwaine were still standing silently, either lost in their own thoughts, or in the struggle to hold back tears. Arthur wasn't sure which. They probably would have stayed that way for a while, had a knock not come at the door then, the sound making Gwaine jump a little, startled.

Arthur watched the knight open the door a little ways, speaking with whoever was outside briefly before letting them through. It was Elyan. The man's face was set in apprehension, leading Arthur to guess that Gwaine had told him something bad had happened. When he saw Merlin, saw the bandages all along Merlin's lower arm, the pale skin, the blood that still soaked the servant's clothes, his eyes widened and Arthur knew that Elyan knew what had happened. He clamped a hand to his mouth, but still a strangled sound escaped him. He closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head slightly before forcing words from a locked jaw.

"My sister's looking for you. You might want to go find her before she finds this . . ." he trailed off and leaned heavily against the wall. Lancelot clapped Elyan on the shoulder, then moving to put a hand on Arthur's shoulder, steering him out the door.

As soon as the door closed, both men leaned against the wall, letting out long breaths. "What . . . ?" Arthur croaked.

"Best not to dwell on any of that now," said Lancelot. "Think of this as a mission. A quest to tell Gwen and not . . . well . . . scare her."

"Are you kidding?" Arthur asked, with a laugh that sounded a little insane, even to him. "She'll run strait to Gaius' as soon as she sees our expressions."

"Well . . . why don't we find her first, and then see where it goes from there?" Lancelot asked with a quirk of his mouth. It was almost a smirk. Almost.

"That seems as good a plan as any," Arthur agreed, and pushed himself off the wall to walk down the hall, hopefully in the direction of Guinevere.

-TIME BREAK of a few minutes-

LANCELOT POV

They found Gwen leaving Arthur's chambers, a look of annoyance on her pretty features. Lancelot didn't want to tell her what had happened, because really, he was still processing it himself. Not only would telling her scare her, but it would make it real. A large part of him was still hoping feverishly that this was some messed-up dream that he'd wake up from momentarily.

"Arthur! Where've you been?" Gwen asked. "Your dinner's getting cold." Then she asks a question that makes Lancelot's blood run cold. "Where's Merlin?"

Arthur makes this kind of choking noise, like the words are stuck half-way up his throat, but Lancelot makes no noise because he doesn't have the air to support it. It felt like he'd just hit a brick wall.

"What happened?" Gwen asked quietly, her voice low, almost pleading. Pleading that it isn't something bad, that they just don't know where Merlin is either. But Lancelot can't give her that. He's never been able to lie to Guinevere. And, he knew, neither has Arthur. Not since he really got to know her.

Something in Lancelot's mind must have been working, because he gets them all into Arthur's chamber. Better to say this kind of thing where there are less gossipy servants around to over-hear and spread it around. "Something . . . happened Gwen," Arthur says, and Gwen sinks into a strait-backed chair, as if she was a puppet whose strings were cut. Arthur walked over to her, sinking into a chair himself. Lancelot leaned against one of the bedposts.

"What is it?" She asked, and Lancelot could hear how she struggled to remain calm.

"Merlin's been hurt . . . he lost a lot of blood. Gaius is treating him now . . ." the King trailed off, running his hand over his eyes. "It's bad, Gwen. Really bad."

"How was he hurt?" Gwen asks, and now her voice trembled. Lancelot remembered Merlin saying something about Gwen being the first friend he'd had in Camelot. Arthur looks to Lancelot now, a slight panic on his features; and Lancelot understood. How were they going to tell Gwen what their friend had done to himself?

"Arthur," Gwen's voice held a grain of warning, and Arthur's hand twitched toward his arm. Gwen's eyes widened, and she gasped.

"No . . ." she said, and looked to Lancelot in desperation. Why did everyone look to him to tell them it wasn't true? Wordlessly, he shook his head. "No . . . he wouldn't, please gods . . ." then Gwen ran out of the room, running as fast as she could towards Gaius' chambers. Without a word, Lancelot and Arthur followed her.

When they reached to physician's chambers, Gwen let out a pained cry. Merlin lay, pale as he had been when the two young men had left a few minutes ago. Elyan folded his sister into a hug, and Lancelot watched as Arthur pulled up a stool to sit beside Merlin. "How is he?" Arthur asked Gaius, voice rough.

"There's not much more I can do for him," Gaius said quietly. "He's lost a lot of blood, and if he doesn't . . . if he doesn't fight to live there's nothing anyone can do for him." Lancelot felt the air leave him again. He turned to look at Gwaine, who was white as a ghost. Still, despite the shock on his friend's face, Lancelot also noticed that the knight was thinking. No doubt trying to find a way to make Merlin live, to force him to fight. And why shouldn't he? Merlin was their friend, and honestly, he kept them together. Without Merlin they would never have met each other, let alone become knights. He really wasn't allowed to just give up. So when Gwaine left, Lancelot went with him, Gwen's sobs still echoing in his mind.

"What are you thinking?" Lancelot asked quietly as they walked down the stone hallways.

"I'm thinking I'm an utter idiot," Gwaine said. "How long did you know?"

"How long did I know what?" Lancelot asked cautiously.

Gwaine snorted. "Don't play stupid, Lance. Merlin's magic. How long did you know?"

"Since he saved Arthur and me with it," Lancelot responded, a defensive tone in his voice. "If you really think that this makes Merlin evil, then . . ." but Gwaine cut him off.

"Oh, don't get that way. I traveled long enough to know that Uther's tirade against magic had little to nothing to do with the so-called evils of sorcery. Magic isn't evil, it's the person who uses it." Gwaine stopped and sighed. "I know I can't blame Princess for . . . well, for what his father did, but he should have lifted those restrictions long ago. None of this would have happened."

Lancelot nodded. "The problem is telling him it isn't evil and still having time to explain why we think so without being put behind bars."

"That Yara Mair girl seemed to be able to do it. Why do you think Arthur didn't mind it?"

Lancelot sighed. "I didn't know Morgana very well, but I think, from the stories I've heard and my brief time as a knight before I left, I think she might remind Arthur of her. She's not afraid to say what she thinks, and she's really rather sarcastic."

"Arthur said that Yara told him to find Merlin," Gwaine said, his expression thoughtful. "I think it's about time we went to pay the girl a visit."

"The King said no one is allowed to see her."

"Do you think that was Arthur, or the council talking?" Gwaine asked. "Honestly, the council has more sway over him than I think it should. Bunch of high-and-mighty Nobles only wanting more power." Lancelot couldn't help but agree with the sentiment.

"Besides," Gwaine continued. "Are we, or are we not, knights of Camelot? I think we can sneak past a couple of probably drunk guards."

I hope you liked it, and I feel like I don't even HAVE to ask for reviews, but I will anyways, because they make me smile! And I need that with school coming up so quickly . . . :(. WHY did I even think about that?