In the silence that followed Merlin could hear his own heartbeat. He'd gone too far. Arthur would be angry and punish him for the rest of the day for having overstepped himself. He'd have to sneak out and follow Guinevere himself.

Arthur was still watching him with a mixture of incredulity and shock. When he finally spoke, it was quietly and surprising.

"Very well, Merlin. For whatever reason, I do trust you."

"You do?"

"Yes, you dolt. And I listen to you more than you care to remember. Although I am not quite sure why!"

They stared at each other across the room, and a thousand thoughts went through Merlin's mind. Perhaps he'd been wrong not to tell Arthur more along the way. Perhaps Arthur would have come through, but he'd never given him the chance. He'd hidden everything from him to protect him. It had been wrong. Maybe this and not the Disir had been his biggest mistake.

"I wish I knew what was going on in that head of yours, Merlin," Arthur said wistfully. "I can see the wheels turning. Rusty little wheels, that is."

"Arthur," Merlin began, "there is something that I ..."

The door opened and Guinevere walked in.

"All is ready for the journey, Arthur," she said. "We should be back by midday." She came close to give Arthur a parting kiss and Merlin turned tactfully away.

"About that, Guinevere," Arthur began, and Merlin excused himself and slipped out. He trusted Arthur to convince Guinevere once his own mind was made up.

Deep in thought, Merlin walked across the courtyard with long strides. Ahead of him stood a group of knights and their horses, Guinevere's escort. He looked up at them and noticed Bri was there, talking quietly with Gwaine. She was dressed in one of Gwen's old dresses, the colour of wheat, and her hair was braided up around her head, shining in the sun like molten amber. She was still pale and quiet but then Gwaine said something and Bri's face broke into a smile.

Gwaine noticed Merlin and shouted a greeting.

Still fascinated by the smile on Bri's face, Merlin barely felt his boot catch the raised edge of one of the paving stones until he went sprawling forward. He heard the knights' shouts of laughter.

Merlin had put up with the knights' teasing. He was used to it. But right now, it felt like injustice heaped on top of injury. He didn't need anyone else to make him feel more like a clumsy idiot than he currently thought himself.

Bri looked at him as he lay on the ground, and her face reflected nothing, no concern or amusement. At least she wasn't laughing at him, but Merlin still felt like an insect under a magnifying lens. Her eyes held none of the warmth or kindness he'd seen in them when she'd nursed him after Arthur's death. He had hoped that perhaps if he looked closely enough he would see the friend she'd been to him before.

Gwaine was beside Merlin in two strides and helped him to his feet. What didn't help was that he was still laughing.

Elyan came down the steps and announced to all the gathered knights that their trip would be postponed. The king had advised against it while Morgana was at large and so close to Camelot. Elyan was disappointed, but he wouldn't risk his sister's safety and so, he had agreed with Arthur.

Merlin allowed himself a sigh of relief.

"Will you take a walk about town?" Gwaine asked Bri. "I'd be happy to escort you, now that my services are no longer required."

"Yes, I would like that very much," she answered Gwaine. Her voice held none of the roughness she'd had when Merlin first met her. He wondered if her captor had damaged her vocal chords or whether she'd done it herself by screaming. He shuddered at the thought and pushed it out of his mind. It was pointless to speculate about it now.

Gwaine offered Bri his arm and they walked down the courtyard together. Merlin watched them go feeling inexplicably forsaken.

...

Midday, taking a break from his chores, Merlin joined Gaius for his lunch.

"You keep glancing at the door, Merlin," Gaius finally said. "Are you expecting anybody?"

"I thought Bri would be coming back by now."

"She is eating with the queen today, Merlin. Guinevere has prepared chambers for her, so she will not be returning here this night. I will take a tincture to her tonight, to help her sleep."

"I can do that for you."

Gaius raised an eyebrow and regarded him thoughtfully for a moment.

"She doesn't know you, Merlin. Whatever friendship you had before, for her it never happened. And you scared her last night. You need to be careful."

"I know, Gaius."

"But?" Gaius raised an eyebrow. "There's always a 'but' when it comes to you Merlin."

Merlin shook his head and moved the spoon absentmindedly through his bowl of broth. He ripped a piece of bread and used it as a stir-stick until it got so soggy he had to drop it in.

"Are you going to eat any of that, Merlin, or just stir it into a mush?"

"Maybe, Gaius, you could ask her if she'd like to help you with your work," Merlin finally said.

"You are still talking about Bri."

"She knows herbs. She's good at it. Her mother taught her. It would be really good for her."

"Very well, Merlin," Gaius conceded. "Now just, for goodness' sake, eat your food!"

...

Gathered around the round table Arthur spoke to his knights and Guinevere about his intention to begin peace talks with Sarrum of Amata. Some of the knights raised objections.

"He's craved the throne of Camelot, Sire, since your father's reign," Sir Leon said, who'd lost men fighting against Sarrum of Amata many years ago.

"Well, I believe it's time we came to a settled truce," Arthur parried. "I believe that what he has witnessed in the past years, the uniting of the kingdoms of Albion, has given him pause. He will not risk war against Camelot now that we have so many allies. Sarrum may be greedy and ruthless, but he is not stupid."

Merlin stood a few paces behind Arthur's chair. There was no reason to fear Sarrum of Amata. Without Gwen's plot, Sarrum would never have attempted to take Arthur's life. Besides, even if he wanted to persuade Arthur against it, he was running out of "Trust me on this, Arthur" arguments before he would have to show more substantial proof than his mysterious intuition.

"Sarrum has accepted Camelot's invitation, and will arrive in a week's time," Arthur continued.

Merlin's head snapped up. A week's time was much earlier than it had been before. Sarrum had not arrived in Camelot for another two months. What had happened to convince the ruthless ruler of Amata to negotiate with Camelot so much sooner? Did Morgana have her hand in this? He couldn't know for sure.

And yet another matter worried Merlin more. A week had passed since their return from the Disir's cave, and Arthur had not mentioned before the council the promises he'd made or any practical indication that he intended to fulfill them.

As they walked away from council, Merlin followed closely in Arthur's footsteps.

"Sire, I need to talk to you."

"About what, Merlin," Arthur said without stopping or slowing his pace.

"About your promises to the Disir."

Arthur came to an abrupt halt. Merlin had to throw himself sideways as not to collide with him. He bumped into the windowsill instead.

"You've got a gift, Merlin," Arthur said irritably, and Merlin's eyes widened. Could Arthur know something after all? Could he be more perceptive than he'd given him credit for? "Were you born with it or did you make a lifelong study of being clumsy?"

Disappointed and relieved, Merlin swallowed the retort that jumped to the tip of his tongue.

"Arthur, you promised the Disir that you would make magic lawful in Camelot."

"Don't speak to me of it, Merlin, I know full well what I promised," Arthur bit out, looking grim. Merlin searched his face.

"What are you going to do?"

"Leave it alone, Merlin."

"But sire!"

"I said leave it alone!"

As Arthur strode away, Merlin looked behind him in the corridor and noticed Gaius standing there. They shared a look that was both grim and foreboding.