A/N: So, here's the next chapter. Don't worry, there will be angst to come in the future. Ah, I'm cruel to these characters, but what can I say? I'm sorry doesn't really cut it. ANyways . . . yeah.
This chapter is dedicated to Dreamer558750, to whom I must give a 'thank you' for reviewing! And I'm glad you liked the chapter!
R&R everyone! (Oh, and I don't own Merlin, and with this story, aren't you happy I don't? I am. :P )
Lancelot POV
Lancelot let Gwaine tug him out of the dungeons, past the guards, and into the hallway. Once out of view of any guards, he stopped, pulling Gwaine to a stop too. "Look, Gwaine," he said. "I know you're angry at Arthur-"
"Angry?" Gwaine asked. "What about? The fact that Merlin's hurt because of Arthur's childish need to continue in his father's footsteps?" He leaned against the wall, knuckling his eyes.
"Arthur doesn't know about the magic," Lancelot said quietly, leaning against the rough stone wall next to his friend. "We need to be careful about how we handle this."
Gwaine hummed in response, then began walking again. Lancelot hurried to catch up. "I'm serious Gwaine," he hissed. "I don't know how Arthur would react to news like that." Gwaine kept walking. "Gwaine!"
He turned, a dark look on his face. "We can still make Queeny see it's his fault, with or without the magic."
"That's not the point to this," Lancelot said, exasperated. "We're not playing the blame game here, Gwaine. We just need to help Merlin."
"Yeah, and to help him, we need to get-" Gwaine stopped talking as guards marched past. He lowered his voice. "We need to get magic back to Camelot."
"We can't tell Arthur," Lancelot insisted. "Merlin wanted to do it."
"Why? So Arthur could kill him where he stands and regret it terribly later?" Gwaine asked sarcastically. "Does Merlin have no self-preservation? Don't answer that."
"Merlin wanted to do it himself so that he could explain things to Arthur. To tell him all he'd done for Arthur and for Camelot. So that Arthur knew that Merlin trusted him with his secret." Lancelot sighed. He wasn't sure Arthur would ever really be worthy of Merlin's trust, not if the King continued to listen to the Noble council as much as he did.
"I think Merlin will have to wait a long time," Gwaine said. "If the Mair girl's sentence is anything to go on. Now come on," he said, nodding impatiently down the hallway. "I want to make sure my friend is alright." Lancelot didn't find it likely that Merlin would have made a miraculous recovery while they had been talking with the enchantress, so he doubted Merlin was any semblance of 'alright'.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Still Lancelot POV
Lancelot and Gwaine entered the physician's chambers to find it almost unchanged since they had left, except that Percival had since arrived, and was standing next to Elyan, forcefully looking everywhere but at Merlin. Merlin who, if possible, looked even paler than when they had left.
"Gaius says that if Merlin can live through the night, his chances of survival are much higher," Gwen said quietly, fighting tears. Her red eyes and glistening cheeks gave evidence that this battle had been fought and lost earlier. "But his chances now are . . . almost nothing." Lancelot glanced at Arthur, still sitting by the bed, head in his hands. Pale fingers gripped blond hair, muscles taught. "I can't get Arthur to leave," Gwen said, following Lancelot's gaze. "Not even to eat. He's really shaken by this."
"As he should be," Gwaine said quietly. Lancelot shot him a look that he hoped said 'shut up'. Gwaine made a noise of annoyance. "I'm gonna go hit something with my sword," he said, and stalked out of the room. Gwen looked at Lancelot, worry in her eyes. He just shook his head.
"This is taking it out of all of us," the knight said apologetically. Gwen nodded, and Lancelot went to stand behind Arthur. "Sire?" he asked. Arthur turned to look at him, and Lancelot was shocked by the red eyes and the drawn, exhausted expression on the normally regal King.
"Yes, Lancelot?" he asked, his voice matching his face.
"You should eat something," Lancelot said. In fact, they should probably all eat something, but Arthur most of all. It was a little past supper time, and due to the council meeting, Arthur hadn't had much of a lunch.
"Later," Arthur said.
"Arthur," Gwen came to crouch next to the king now. "Merlin's not going to get better just because you're sitting next to him. You need to eat something and get some rest." Arthur looked down at Gwen, then up at Gaius, who was sitting on the other side of the bed, sponging Merlin's brow with a wet rag.
"You'll send for me if anything changes Gaius?" Arthur asked.
"Of course, Sire."
Arthur nodded and allowed Guinevere to help him out of the chair and to the door. She looked back and smiled thankfully at Lancelot, who could feel the heat rising to his cheeks. He really shouldn't feel that way about Gwen . . . and now was definitely not the time to think about that. He took Arthur's now vacant seat. He vacantly heard Gaius shepherding Elyan and Percival out to get something to eat too.
"Did you know?" Lancelot asked into the resulting silence. Gaius delayed a while in answering, eventually speaking in a defeated tone.
"No. I did notice that he seemed to be feeling down, but that's been happening off and on for a while. I imagine it had something to do with his destiny. I never imagined it to be something this bad." Lancelot hummed in agreement, glancing down at Merlin's face. The pale skin, the occasional twitching of dark eyelashes that ghosted over his prominent cheekbones. "What did the girl say?"
Lancelot's head shot up, and he looked at the old man in surprise. "How did you . . .?"
The man chuckled. "Sir Gwaine seemed rather angry when you came back. I imagine you were told something he didn't like."
"Neither of us particularly liked what she told us," Lancelot said. "How blind were we? To not notice how . . . put down Merlin was? Or, at least me. I knew of Merlin's magic. I really should have at least guessed that this much stress would take its toll."
"We can't blame ourselves," Gaius said. "What is done is done. All we can do is try to make sure it doesn't happen again."
"That's what Yara said, more or less," Lancelot said. "But Gwaine's pretty bent on blaming Arthur."
"Why does he blame Arthur?"
"He . . . may have figured out about Merlin's magic."
Gaius just laughed. "Well, things could be worse. I think Merlin could use another person to confide in." Then he sighed. "I suppose he blames Arthur for this because of the girl's sentencing?"
"Yes."
"I think that that certainly had something to do with this. But," he said, before Lancelot could respond, "I don't blame Arthur. The boy has much on his shoulders, and the Noble's council certainly doesn't help. Geoffrey told me they were rather insistent that the girl be burned, but Arthur wouldn't hear of it. I rather think Arthur is not quite used to the power he wields as King."
"What do you think Arthur's reaction would be if he knew?"
"About Merlin's magic? I think, well, I like to think, that Arthur would at least let Merlin explain everything before doing anything. But we can't know for sure. We can only hope Merlin eventually tells Arthur."
Which could only happen, Lancelot thought, if Merlin was alive in the morning to say it.
A/N: Review? I enjoy reviews, and with school coming up, reviews are going to be what encourages me to write. Especially with both pre-calc 1 & 2 on my schedule this year.