Okay, so here's the conclusion. It's short, sorry, but I like the ending so, yeah. This is for those who wanted a second part, so I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favorites last chapter. You guys are awesome.

Thanks for reading, drop me a comment if you can, and I do not own the recognizable characters.

See ya!

"I had this dream last night," Gwaine started receiving groans from Elyan and Leon in response. "What?"

"Face it, mate, your dreams aren't exactly normal," Elyan replied with an easy grin. Leon nodded in agreement.

"So, you don't want to hear about it?"

"Well…" Leon trailed off with a 'not really' shrug.

"I'm going to tell you anyway," Gwaine retorted ignoring the exasperated looks on his friends' faces. "So, we were out hunting and…" he stopped when he spotted a figure staggering towards them, eyes narrowing cautiously, hand reaching for his sword.

"What is it?" Elyan questioned as he and Leon straightened up. Gwaine nodded towards the figure, and his fellow knights follow his gesture, their hands darting to their swords. Gwaine squinted at the figure, trying to figure out if it was friend or foe, his eyes widening when he realized who it was, his stomach jolting when the figure collapsed to the ground.

"That's Merlin," he called over his shoulder, already running towards his friend. Leon and Elyan were right behind him, the three knights skidding to a halt next to the unconscious man.

"What happened?" Elyan asked worriedly.

"I don't know," Gwaine replied as he and Leon carefully lifted Merlin off the ground. Blood stained his breeches, his signature handkerchief tied tightly around the wound, and he seemed to whimper softly when Leon barely touched his shoulder.

"We need to get him back to Gaius," the blond knight said softly, and Gwaine and Elyan nodded in agreement.

"I'll go," Gwaine offered hefting the younger man up, into his arms, reveling in how heavy the lanky man actually was. "You two go find out who did this, and I'll let Arthur know before I join you." The two knights nodded again and Gwaine hurried back towards the castle, barking at two off duty knights to guard the gate as he passed them.

Merlin

"What is your name?" Arthur asked carefully, eyeing the man cautiously. The man stayed silent, his eyes trained on Arthur, a smarmy smile on his face.

"I'll get him to talk," Gwaine announced from behind the king, removing his sword from his scabbard.

"Go check on Merlin," Arthur responded softly, keeping his back to the knight.

"You can't possibly…"

"That's an order."

Gwaine snorted, "An order? Don't forget who you are talking to, Princess."

"Gwaine please." Arthur clenched his eyes shut, grasping at the last strains of patience he had, still keeping his back on the knight.

"I'll be back," the long-haired knight snarled at the man. He then stormed away, Arthur listening to his footsteps until they disappeared.

"Insubordinate," the man commented in a sing-song voice. Arthur's eyes opened, glaring at the sneering man. "I wouldn't let my men talkety-talk to me like that."

"Well, you aren't me," Arthur snapped crossing his arms. "Are you going to tell me your name now?"

"Just like that servant of yours." The man snickered, ignoring Arthur's question, wincing when the action pulled on his broken ribs. "No equal is he yet you treat him as one. Shame, shame, shame Kingy-King."

"Just tell me who you are," Arthur growled through clenched teeth, feeling his patience wearing thin.

"Though would you treat him as an equal if you knew what he was?" Something sparked in the man's eyes and his smile turned oily, his voice dropping to a whisper. "He's a bad, bad boy, Kingy-King."

"I've heard enough." Arthur walked away from the man, ignoring him as he called, "You may choose what you wish to see, but all is not what it seems, Kingy-King."

Merlin

Arthur dropped by Gaius' chambers that night, still trying to shake what the man had said. What did that mean? All wasn't what it seemed? And what did he mean he by Merlin being a 'bad, bad boy?' Did Merlin do something? Had he broken the law? Could he possibly be…?

Arthur shook the dark thought away, knocking softly on Gaius' door. It was a few seconds before it opened, revealing a rumpled looking Merlin. His hair was sticking up, an old, hand carved crutch held tightly in his hand, the pant leg of his left leg bulky where bandages, no doubt, swathed his wound, and his left shoulder was bound up in a cloth sling. His face was unnaturally pale, dark circles stood out under his eyes, and he looked as if he could use a weeks' worth of rest. He had seen better days.

"Hello," Merlin greeted with a tired smile, taking a step back to let Arthur inside.

"Hello," Arthur repeated closing the door behind him. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," the younger man replied, slowly limping towards the table.

"Where's Gaius?" The blond looked around, noting the lack of the physician.

"Gaius just left to attend to one of the villager's children." Merlin slowly sank into a chair, placing his crutch on the table.

"Ah," Arthur responded nodding, taking a seat across from Merlin. "So, I talked to your attacker."

Merlin froze for a moment, his face carefully schooled while several dozen emotions flickered around his eyes, before softly asking, "What did he say?"

Arthur watched Merlin carefully, thinking over everything the man said, everything he may have implied, and softly lied, "Nothing important."

Question: Since you guys are very invested in this story (this has become a very fan heavily written story) I wanted to get your opinion on the next chapter. I have two prompts in mind. One) Poisoned Merlin or two) half-frozen Merlin. Which do you guys prefer? I'm going to write both eventually, but which one do you want to read next? Let me know.