A Marriage that Started a Legend

by IJustShowedUp

Follows canon but with my own arranged marriage spin on it. What happens when Hunith makes a mistake and is forced on the run with her infant son? What happens when Camelot knights find her twenty years later? What happens when Arthur learns he's betrothed to a peasant boy? Will Merlin be able to stand among royalty? Will these two different boys survive each other? Review!

69. Chapter 69

Merlin closed the door behind him harshly, frustration built up inside of him after his talk with Arthur, the wooden door rattling inside of it's frame. "Uncle Gaius," Merlin called out with the agitation obvious in his voice, as he could not believe that Arthur was throwing a fit of some kind over a flower! And then trying to offer Merlin to Gwen? As if he was some kind of prized cow for Arthur to sale once he became more trouble then he was worth. It had been ridiculous because while the flower meant the world to Merlin, it should mean not a thing to a certain prince. Especially nothing so big as to try taking it from him, Merlin was almost able to reminisce how he'd managed to dig his nails into Arthur's wrist during his first attempt to get it from.

"I heard," Gaius said from where he was still standing next to Jerome's body, now covered head to toe with a sheet, for Merlin to get back in here. Merlin nodded, because as much as he wanted to stand there and curse the awful being from the heavens and back again, they didn't have the time if the king needed to see Gaius. And the faster they saw to what Uther wanted, the faster they could get back here to keep working on Jerome and his mystery disease.

Merlin walked across the length of the room to where Gaius was but came up short as the thought suddenly occurred to him. "Wait, did you hear everything?" He asked, feeling as if something inside of him must have just died if his own uncle had been standing right next to the door listening in. Did he hear Arthur or his outrageous demands that Merlin remove the flower, was Gaius going to say 'I told you so' and gloat a bit over how Merlin shouldn't have ignored him. Or maybe he had heard all about Arthur's 'generous' offer of letting him use Gwen to 'make him straight'. Or maybe it was one of the many other things that they'd been arguing about in between.

Gaius gave him a semi-confused look before he stopped messing around with Jerome and his hands, carefully tucking them underneath the white sheet he was under, "Of course not. I just wanted to see what was taking you so long." And that wasn't really Gaius's fault. He was only supposed to be out there for half a moment, just long enough to see whatever it was that Arthur wanted and then send him on his way so that the prince wouldn't see what was going on inside. But Merlin must've been gone for at least an hour before he had finally returned.

"Oh," Merlin said, feeling his shoulders slump in relief. "That's good, that's really good." He did not want Gaius to know that he'd gotten into another altercation with Arthur by trying to jump him. Which was totally Gaius' fault! It was because of all that stuff he had put in his head. Things like how Gwen would have to be the one punished, how his status as consort gave him some kind of protection if this little charade of 'true love' was gonna work out. It was then that Merlin realized Gaius was now looking at him with an arched eyebrow, Merlin straightened up and cleared his throat, "I just mean…if that was all Arthur wanted, then was there a reason he couldn't have just said that to begin with? To you, actually…"

Gaius' arched eyebrow rose even higher than before as he stated the obvious, "Because of you blocking the door would sound like a real good reason to not come in here. And there's also the reason you were blocking the door in the first place." He nodded down to Jerome's covered body.

Merlin felt his face flushed, right. He was just trying to make the conversation move away from what him and Arthur had been talking about outside. But all he had done was walk right into something else. "Of course, I knew that." He finished off sheepishly.

Gaius shook his head before turning away from Merlin, "Besides, that's the way Arthur was brought up. If it's something that Arthur can delegate to somebody else, then it's also clearly not so important that the prince needs to handle it himself."

Merlin shook his head in mild disgust, "That is messed up." But what was Merlin to expect from somebody raised by Uther. It had most likely been a childhood filled up to the brim with propaganda and other things that would make no sense to Merlin. "And what, does it mean Arthur sees me as a servant? Because I am so not going to be going around and doin' his dirty work just because he can't find it in himself to be bothered doing it himself."

Merlin didn't want to be a consort, this much was clear with every action he'd taken in the last few days. But he wasn't planning on just falling off to the wayside, becoming nothing more than a serving boy. That wasn't what he signed up for and Arthur would get far more than Merlin jumping him if he tried to order him around again. There had to be some kind of happy medium between being the consort he didn't want to be, and the servant that he most definitely wasn't.

"Be happy that he only ordered you to do a small matter." Gaius said dismissively. "Arthur could have done so much worse if he wanted to." And Merlin could grudgingly admit that it was true. Merlin could scream and kick up a fuss and demand some respect, but it would probably only get him the same response he had been getting this entire time. Nothing.

"Well, he wouldn't talk to me the way that he does," Merlin said grudgingly, remembering all of their previous conversations. Where the insults were abundant, where Arthur talked to him as if he was just a convenient holder for the 'position' of consort until he got whoever to fill in the spot when Merlin was done. All of the crazy talk, as if the only reason either of them were done wasn't because the other had died. Marriage vows were till death do they part, after all. "Not if he knew everything I've done for him. Not if he knew who I was…"

Because really, if Arthur had any brains than he would know it wasn't just a weird moment when the snakes on Valiant's shield came out to attack him. It wasn't a coincidence that it'd happened right out in the open when the two of them had the most witnesses. But no, he hadn't looked any further than it being just really good luck for him that Valiant had 'lost control' of his magic. Good news for him and his secret, bad news because it was just the first in a long run of saving Arthur's hide and being looked at like this…like this…like a fool!

"Then you'd be a dead consort." Gaius said the obvious. And Merlin couldn't even argue with him there. For a second there, he had almost forgot the consequences of what he would get if he was caught: a very painful and very slow-possibly both-death. Dying by the flames wouldn't exactly be pleasant, there was a reason death by the flames was the popular choice for a sorcerer's 'punishment'. It was a way of using the flames to send them straight back to hell where many people thought they came from, their magic a sign of the devil's work at play. His magic-as much as he wanted to shout it to the sky-wasn't something he could play around with. Not if he valued his life. "Now, Merlin." Gaius spoke up again, and the boy in question looked up. He saw his uncle look at him with a contemplative expression on his face. "You would tell me if there is something serious going on with you and Arthur, would you not? I know that you moved out but that was just because of a fight the two of you had gotten into, correct?"

Merlin's face went darker because of this, he doubted Gaius was just asking him this out of the blue. Not when they'd already moved on from Gaius asking him questions last night of why he was moving in. The walls around here were pretty thin, it wouldn't surprise him if he'd heard more than he had let on. Merlin cleared his throat, "Don't worry about it, what is one more fight among the many we have already had?" He waved his hand as if he didn't care one bit that all he and his husband did would fight till they were red in the faces and had to step back before things turned worse than their usual yelling matches.

Gaius frowned, he didn't like the flippant way that Merlin was acting, as if he was far too used to Arthur's mistreatment. It reeked of an abusive situation, protecting the abuser even as they showed you their true colors. But this was also Arthur, somebody Gaius had known since the day he was born. He hated to think that Arthur was behaving this way towards his own consort. He would've thought Arthur could at least act with some grace befitting of a prince. But if from what little bits and/or pieces that he managed to make out through the wall, if that was the way Arthur continued talking to Merlin, then it was no wonder that Merlin had left while he should could. Before he had stayed for so long that he ended up being drawn into the political mishaps of the Royal family and would have to claw just to find his way out of it.

Merlin caught Gaius' look and he was almost ashamed, practically able to read his uncle's mind about what he was thinking, "Let's just say…" Merlin scrambled in his mind for what would be the right thing to say to put Gaius' mind at ease. He was okay, perfectly okay and Arthur wasn't going to ruin that for him… "Arthur and I are very complicated. I…" Merlin trailed off, not exactly sure he wanted to go ahead and admit this next part. But then he pushed past his own insecurities, "thought we may have had something for a second. It turns out I was wrong, no big deal. I'm over it." He shrugged, acting as it it was really no big deal.

Or at least that was what Merlin kept telling himself. It still hurt like a bitch, knowing that nothing was going to go the way he wanted them to. But each argument he had with the prince was just strengthening his resolve and each fight was just another reminder of 'why' exactly he wanted to get his entire life back on track. Another reminder why he was doing what little he could to get away from Arthur, to get him out of his head where he seemed buried despite his resolves to move on. To do whatever it was 'he' wanted to do without it being subject to Arthur's scrutiny.

Gaius didn't seem very swayed, as if he was not entire sure rather or not he should believe Merlin, "Well, maybe you should go out and try to make some connections. Get Morgana to introduce you to some other people. It isn't healthy if you're gonna spend all of your time cooped up with an old man all over again." It wasn't mentioned but Merlin got the subtle message that he should stay away from this certain handmaiden. Which he wouldn't, not now that he knew she wasn't going to be a target for Arthur's aggression.

Merlin winced, remembering all those times before his self-isolation that he had spent all of his time holed up with Gaius. Or at least the majority of it, combing through all of the books to try and get his reading up to speed. And Gaius clearly didn't want him falling back into his old habits, which Merlin didn't blame him. He was ready to get back out and into the world. He'd made his first real step that day he'd gone looking for a job. But it wasn't the easiest thing to do when he was being a target to every knight or peasant he came across. But it had also been at least two days since an incident had happened…maybe they had all gotten bored and moved on to some other person to torment in their free time. Or maybe this was all excuses for Merlin to not interact with people who only wanted what they thought he-as consort-could give them.

Merlin shook his head at Gaius' suggestion, "I'll get out more." He agreed. Back when he lived in Ealdor, he was rarely inside wasting away. But of course, he didn't exactly have an abundance of reading material back home to keep him occupied. Just three of the same books that were so old they had been literally falling apart. "But I draw the line at going to Morgana for that."

Morgana was great and all, Merlin really did enjoy spending time with her. But he had this feeling that he wouldn't enjoy spending so much time with her if it was also with the company of her much more posh friends that she occasionally disappeared to have 'tea' with. He'd probably just end up as the token friend, the poor friend, the one that got to be a tag along and just the new guy for all of the rich girls to take in as their new 'pet project'. Their version of charity. It was a miracle that Morgana was as sweet as she was.

Gaius only seemed to be half understanding of that. But still concerned, showing far more concern than Merlin was comfortable with. It wasn't like he had become a recluse! Well, he wasn't a recluse any longer. But Gaius didn't know that. He probably thought Merlin had just traded one self isolated room for another one. Merlin tried to alleviate those concerns by bringing up one of the many reasons that Arthur was being so prissy with him, "And if you must know, I spent the entire day out in the marketplace yesterday."

Gaius looked moderately pleased about this, ignoring that they were having this talk over a body. And that they were supposed to be off talking to a king. "Really? Is that so?" It was way better than hearing him spending one more day in his room.

Merlin nodded-and because he wanted to hear Gaius' thought on it since everybody else thought he was crazy-brought up why he was in town yesterday, "I went looking to get myself a job." And he tilted his chin up as to not be shamed by doing it. He had gotten enough shocked looks from the townspeople, as well as a bunch of pointless rumors of how he was trying to 'steal' jobs for his trouble, to last him a lifetime.

Gaius gave him the same look of 'WTF' were you thinking, that everybody else had given him. Looking as if the mere idea of him trying to find a job was nothing less than ludicrous, "…You do realize that you've married to the prince, right?" His reaction was very telling and made Merlin want to sink in on himself. Is he the only one that saw the benefits of him getting work? His own gold, getting his own experience, becoming somebody inside of the community other than 'unwanted'.

Merlin sighs irritably because not even Gaius believed it was a good fit for him. Maybe he should just put this whole thing to rest and focus on the 'Jerome' situation, "Arthur told me pretty much the exact same thing when he dragged me away from the shops." Merlin couldn't help but throw some more into that comment, rushed out as if he was trying to get Gaius see his point of view, "But I don't want any money from Arthur! What I want is to earn it myself!"

To know for himself that he was capable of doing something, of providing for himself. To know that he hadn't just gone from one guardian to the other. All his life, his mother had been there as a fallback. He had his own responsibilities and jobs to do around the village but he also didn't have to worry because he had a whole comfort zone going on with his mother, he'd always known she'd be there to take care of anything he may have overlooked. But here, it was like Arthur was trying to take over the role in his life his mother had always done. Or at least the bare minimum version of it. And it was disgustingly nauseating to be able to see those very few and very far similarities when compared to two vastly different people.

Gaius nodded, he to had once wanted to be able to prove himself capable of taking care of himself when he was young. And it had all worked out for him, working his way through the ranks until he became the top physician in the country. "Well," he said, as an idea had started trickling into his mind. But he shook his head because it wasn't the time for any of that. Uther was still waiting for them, so any thoughts on this would have to wait until this whole matter got resolved, "Come with me, we wouldn't want to upset the king with our tardiness."

Merlin groaned, knowing that he was going to tag along to whatever this meeting was about that Arthur was so adamant about needing to have Gaius for. "Yeah, heaven forbid that the king has to wait like the common people has to."

Waiting was one of the fundamentals of life, Merlin was pretty sure that the king had not once had to wait for anything. He probably had people parting for him the second that he showed up for anything. A summons from the king wasn't something that could just go ignored and they had already been pushing the boundaries by not leaving immediately.

After making sure that the sheet wasn't going to fall off of Jerome's body, Merlin and Gaius made their way to the door. Gaius was the first to file out but before Merlin was able to follow, Gaius put a hand out and gave him a stern look. Merlin was confused before he realized he was still wearing the flower on his neckerchief.

"…Right," Merlin laughed sheepishly before he hurried off to his room. He would put his flower in his new little lotus flower chest for safe keeping. It might not be a reminder of Ealdor, but he figured there was nothing wrong with keeping a few trinkets from his time in Camelot as well. The place wasn't completely awful all the time.

Besides, he wasn't going to lie to Uther and claim it was Arthur that gave it to him. Which he would have to do because he didn't doubt that Uther would send the guards straight to get Gwen if he knew the truth…

X

Arthur was doing nothing to hide his growing displeasure at the situation. If only Arthur had realized just how important the situation was, then he probably wouldn't have wasted much of his time arguing with Merlin. But his father hadn't saw it fit to explain to him what exactly was going on. He never did when giving him a job to do, not unless it was a vital piece of information he needed to get the job done.

Apparently the body of a servant in the dead center of his father's throne room wasn't the vital piece of information needed just to go to fetch Gaius. The serving man had came to bring Uther his morning wine before the king needed to start answering his missives and seeing through the important paperwork he had received as he did every morning. Firstly, Uther hadn't realized there was anything that was wrong with his manservant. He'd been so focused on his work, signing his signature on whatever document he was working on in that moment, he hadn't seen the pale skin on his manservant. Hadn't seen the way his arm was wobbling as he struggled to hold up the single tray with a goblet of red wine, with the pitcher next to it.

Not until the king's manservant had tried to place the goblet down next to his papers and it was the manservant that went down. Those goblets of wine had soaked the floor around the body, the red liquid so thick as it started to spread out that it almost resembled blood.

"What's happened to him?" Uther demanded in this harsh tone literally the second that he saw Gaius walking in, Merlin following close behind him. The two guards that had been allowed to stay in the room closed the doors to seal them all inside. Uther asked this long before Gaius was even close enough to get a good look at the body. Arthur stood off to the side by the throne chairs, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the scene unfolding in front of his eyes. He didn't bother sparing Merlin more than a glance, and only to make sure the eyesore of a flower was gone.

Good, Arthur thought, because at least now he didn't have to create some kind of low key distraction to swipe it off of him before it was noticed by the wrong people.

Gaius and Merlin shared a look before the old physician fell to his knees beside the serving man's body. Not answering Uther, Gaius set his medical bag down beside him. He didn't need it because he could already see that the body had the same blue veins working up his neck that Jerome did. They had both ended up dead because of the same disease. Gaius could already see the evidence of blue veins forming under the man's skin. He had died before they had fully formed, unlike Jerome who had lasted longer but contracted the disease first.

"I don't know, sire." Gaius finally answered without doing an official examination of the king's manservant's body. He looked up to admit his grievances to the king. "This is the second case I've seen today." There was no point in hiding Jerome's body now that they had a second body dropped. One was this isolated event that should stay out of sight, a second body started up a coincidence angle, but if a third body was reported in the next day or so, then it would be a pattern. This might just be the beginning of the next Great Plague if they didn't get ahead of this. Behind him, Merlin shifted on his feet, observing his uncle.

Uther whipped his head away to glare with a vein layer of surprise and betrayal etched on his face, "Why didn't you report it to me?" He demanded harshly. Something this seriously should have been brought straight to him, it should have been the first thing Gaius had done the second he saw the other body. And Gaius stood up, standing slightly in front of Merlin.

"I was attempting to find the cause." Gaius said without a hint of shame over having not sought to immediate inform the king. He had gone through multiple difference causes and possibilities for how this had happened, but not one was satisfying enough for him. There wasn't one that added up like it should, there was always something wrong with the theory he had moved onto. All except for one theory he kept coming back to, even if he hated to say it out loud. To bring it to the king's own attention simply because it might somehow blow back on his nephew.

"And what did you conclude?" Uther asked a bit more calmer now that he knew his most trusted physician hadn't turned traitor, trying to keep something like this from him. He gave the corpse at his feet a veiled look of disgust, wanting it gone from his sight. He'd need to have this floor cleaned until it was sparkling, his manservant of the last several years was a ghastly sight. It was as if the king couldn't see that the body at his feet was a person, it was just trash that needed to be disposed of as quickly as possible before it would start to stink up the place.

"I don't think it's time to hurry to any kind of conclusion." Gaius said slowly, trying to avoid admitting what he already thought the cause of this was. It was one thing to confess this truth to Merlin, it was quite another to send the king on a witch-hunt. Uther wouldn't rest if he thought their was a sorcerer running around unchecked in his kingdom, "The scientific process is a long one." Gaius had hoped by saying this, it would buy him some time to decide how to proceed. Some time to find a cure if this disease started to spread.

But Uther was not known to be a patient or understanding man, and the king would not be persuaded to permit Gaius to leave and continue his work. In fact, Gaius was clearly stalling for time and that made Uther even more suspicious, "What are you concealing from me?"

Beside Gaius, Merlin had yet to say any word because he was studying the body on his own. Trying to determine what was different from Jerome and this new body, but nothing came to mind. The manservant just looked… outwardly. Sick. Dead. But he looked up at this to hear Gaius' response.

"Sire," Gaius started, sighing heavily. "I have never seen anything like it. The victims have been dying during a twenty four hour frame and it is spreading fast." Gaius had seen the manservant just yesterday morning. He had visited him on one of his many rounds around the kingdom as the manservant had a chronic disease in his muscles and needed constant medication. Gaius had seen not a sign of this disease then, so it had to have started spreading quite quickly afterwards. But Merlin had also heard similar tales about Jerome which collaborated the timeframe. If only he could discover what the assistant to the baker and the king's personal manservant had in common to contract the exact same disease within hours of the other.

"What is the cause?" Uther asked, turning away from them all, a frown creasing into the center of his forehead. His wrinkled seemed to deepen, because whatever was causing the disease could destroy his entire kingdom if it was allowed to fester. And he shuddered to think of what the other kingdoms might do if they knew of this weakness. Or they might avoid Camelot all together for fear that they might contract the disease. A simple peasant man dying was of no consequence, but it had to be contained before it became a problem.

"I think," Gaius said sternly as he impressed on the king just how important this was, this was not something that could be isolated as a one time event anymore. "You should say that the cause is most likely sorcery." And he did not look back at his nephew when he was making this announcement. For fear that the king might be able to put the pieces together if he lingered for to long.

Uther's face shifted for only half a moment to look like untold terror had just flooded into his veins. One would have thought his blood had turned to ice at the mere thought of this sorcerer running amok his kingdom as they cast their wicked spells over the citizens of his kingdom. What was to stop this sorcerer from going after a noble next? If they were testing the waters by going after the peasant folk first, to see it they could get away with it.

Merlin must have made some kind of noise or moved the wrong way because when he was leaning closer to get a better look onto their latest victim, Uther's eyes seemed to latch on him, "What are you doing here?" Uther was demanding in half a second, voice harsh and hard. As if Merlin was an unexpected guest that should have never been allowed inside in the first place.

Merlin's head snapped up, his eyes large and rounded with surprised, glancing at Gaius as if he would be able to help figure out what he had done to incur the king's sudden wrath on him. Arthur resisted the urge to rub along the bridge of his nose in tiredness, knowing that the king would see the motion as some kind of weakness.

"I was already at the physician's quarters and that was when Arthur informed me that you had need for the physician." Merlin answered him, glancing back down at the body and up again to the king. He glanced to Arthur and then back at the king again. He was pretty sure Arthur hadn't mentioned anything from their previous conversation to the king. If he had, then Arthur would have to admit several things. Like how Merlin had managed to get the jump on him…even if it had lasted for only a second. And since Gwen wasn't here on her knees begging the king for mercy either, he could only assume that the flower remained a secret as well. So it stood to reason that the king just hated him, and would take any kind of opportunity that came up to yell at him or show his displeasure.

This was proven to be a fact when Uther lifts an eyebrow at him, "You were seeking aide from the physician?" Uther had clearly made his own assumptions about why Merlin had happened to be with Gaius during all of this. "I do hope that you haven't taken ill." But his voice sounded a little too smooth, as if Uther was almost hoping that Merlin had caught an illness. Possibly the same illness that took on the body of the manservant at their feet. This would be the easiest way to get rid of Merlin, to announce that his tragic death had been due to the mysterious sickness that already killed two members of the city.

Merlin smiled, thin lipped as he resisted the urge to say something particularly scathing about wishing death on him, "Well, sire-"

"Er, father-" Arthur interrupted quickly before shooting Merlin a stern look. He didn't know what Merlin was about to say but he wasn't going to risk it being incredibly inappropriate with their circumstances. He was about to suggest that they just focus on the body and what was happening right now, and not on what his consort was doing.

But at the same time, Gaius had interrupted as well because of the same fears that Merlin may say the wrong thing and end up getting himself hanged, "He has taken an interest in my work, sire." The physician said, which was a completely innocent reason for Merlin to be in his chambers. Things like-I'm moving out of the Royal suite because I can't get along with my princely husband-and-I was helping my uncle conceal a body before it all blew up in our faces-wasn't responses that would be taken to well with the king.

Behind the king, it was clear how Arthur had blanched that he didn't approve of explaining this to Uther. Arthur had hoped this was one of those things-which was far and few-that his father would never find out. He could just imagine the kind of trouble his father would unleash on him if he knew Arthur was having a bit of trouble controlling Merlin and what he did.

"Is that so?" Uther asked, giving Merlin this accessing look. "You know, I do remember getting a string of reports a while back. They all mentioned a strange boy was delivering their medications around the city. At I right to assume it was Merlin?" It was clear that even though he was looking at Merlin, it was Gaius that he was actually asking. Obviously it was because he thought a 'peasant' wouldn't be smart enough to answer his questions. "I had thought you'd decided to take on some kind of apprentice, but you never filed any papers saying such."

It was customary for masters of their craft, in Gaius' case healing, to file paperwork and to mark documentation if they had decided to take on an underling. An apprentice. Anybody that would work under the direct supervision, with plans on being a master themselves only after they'd had years of studying, and many years of training, another year of doing things on their own, before the master agreed that the apprentice was ready to strike out on their own. Uther had never received any kind of paperwork from Gaius asking permission to train a new healer so he had eventually let the matter go without a word. Assuming it to be nothing more than a rumor or at the most, Gaius was having a serving boy delivering his potions around.

"Nothing like that, sire." Merlin said quickly, shooting a glare in Arthur's direction. A glare that was returned in full by the prince. Merlin didn't appreciate Arthur trying to talk for him, he could defend himself. Even if it was most obvious exactly where Arthur had gotten his arse-holiness from. "I was just doing what I could to help." It was a bit nerve wracking to know that people had been talking about him even then, before they even knew who that the 'mystery man' delivering potions would soon become their consort. It was even more nerve wrecking to know that those talks had made it all the way to Uther. What would have happened if Uther had approached Gaius for it back then? Would Uther have punished his uncle for giving him free access to all of the multiple potions he was brewing? Or maybe Merlin was just looking for things that could cause the Royal family's ire, he had already invoked it so many times before that even the smallest of things seemed to be the start of another minefield of a fight. Only Merlin knew Uther would probably have him flogged from the start instead of just arguing with him like Arthur did.

Gaius put a hand on Merlin's shoulder as this solid strength of support for his nephew, "He was quite nervous before the wedding, sire. I thought the work would be able to calm down the nerves better than any tonic." Gaius could still remember quite vividly how Merlin would act back then. All jittery and nervous, acting in a panic which was only to be expected since he'd seen his first execution that week as well.

Arthur was really wishing that Merlin hadn't saw it fit to tag along to this meeting, and he was even more annoyed because everybody had their attention on him. How was Merlin so much more special than the literal body of his father's personal manservant still sprawled on the floor. So he cut in, shooting Merlin his annoyed look, "And I'm guessing it worked?"

He missed the days of their wedding. Merlin was almost docile back then. Well, not really docile. He was still a little spitfire but at least he seemed more willing to take Arthur's lead on some things. Or at least anything that did happen was more or less between them and not up for spectacle as everybody watched to see what either of them would do next.

Merlin was still a little spitfire, not yet tamed by Arthur's constant and growingly harsher hand with every infraction he made, if that glare Merlin shot him was any indication. "I don't think it's worked at all. My…" Merlin was smiling sweetly at Arthur, sweet and innocent and sickly from how sugary it was. It nearly knocked Arthur off balance, this queasiness in his stomach growing because he just knew Merlin was about to say something stupid in front of his father. "Husband isn't the type of man that can soothe a person. He seems to be pretty emotionally constipated actually."

Just a few words and Arthur had to bite down on the inside of his cheek, wanting-needing-to do something to wipe that smug little smile off of Merlin's face. Something shocking that would make Merlin see that Arthur had long been starting to tire of these little games they would fall into. To say something like that in front of his father! Arthur should…he should…

The king didn't seem to notice the tension in the room, or the way Arthur and Merlin were smiling smugly/glaring pissed at the other as he was turning to Gaius, "Well if you do want to have a apprentice, we'll see about getting you a more proper one. Any extra hands we can get around here," he shot the body down at his feet a cold look, feeling the itch of this terror going down his spine. He had thought he'd driven sorcery out of his kingdom, had thought his message had been clear right at the start. But no matter how many people he punished for it, no matter how much gold he offered for any information on anything that was magical in nature…it still somehow found its way back in. And he would need to have it extracted, quick and painfully, before it could start another wave of people using magic. He did not have another twenty years to fight the good fight if it was just going to keep coming back like cockroaches.

"Sire," Merlin jumped in here, not wanting the king to think Gaius didn't know anything that he was doing. "I can assure you that it was all in good hands. And I haven't been delivering anything since those first few days anyway." He wasn't entirely sure if anybody would take a potion from him anyway. The next time he'd hear the rumor mill spinning, he knew that he would probably be hearing all about how he was forcing people to drink strange and odd substances. Or how they hadn't taken their own medication because they feared he had poisoned it or some such nonsense.

Off to the side, Arthur was scoffing at the mere idea of anything being 'safe' in Merlin's hands. He'd probably end up shattering the glass with those claws of his, he thought with cynicism, still feeling the light sting of those claw marks Merlin had given him on his wrist. Delivering potions, now that was definitely to go on the list of concerns that he brought up with Gaius. It was something that dealt with patients, something that Merlin could also go tampering with before it would get to the right person. Merlin was a 'huge' liability just waiting to happen.

And Uther…"Don't interrupt!" The king was snapping with a sniff of disgusted disdain to know the boy had some nerve trying to get in the conversation between him and the aged physician. "Be grateful that I haven't set the guards on you for even being here in the first place."

The only reason Uther had yet to send Merlin away after he noticed he was there because it was purely political. It was a consort's right to be involved in the going on's around their castle. A consort's right to be heard and to have their opinion valued. Uther didn't care enough to enforce those rights. Besides, that would have been Arthur's job as his husband, but Arthur would never go against his father.

"Sire," Gaius spoke out. "While I do value the suggestion, I will have to turn you down. The boy has been more than adequate with what he's done for me so far." Uther wasn't all that surprised, Gaius had turned this suggestion down multiple times over the years, refusing to accept help from anybody that proved to be unfit for the job.

Uther nodded, his grim displeasure on his face at the thought of Merlin being involved in anything, "Well how nice of you to allow it," he sneered this out, like the mere thought of Merlin being welcomed anywhere would be unseemly. Uther turned back to look at the body on the floor, getting back on track. He couldn't waste his time worrying about Merlin or his effect on his citizens. That was Arthur's job to keep him in line and if he wasn't up to the task after this problem was taken care of, then Uther would put his foot down. But for now, Uther had a kingdom to protect and the boy wasn't the biggest issue.

Uther grabbed Arthur by his bicep, breaking off his glaring at Merlin, and dragged him off to the side so they could have this discussion more privately, "First thing first, we will need to have this sorcerer found." He glanced back at the body still sprawled out on the floor, as Gaius and Merlin had gone back to looking it over. Nobody was daring to touch it for fear of being contaminated. Fucking sorcerers, always finding their way back into his home and using their wicked ways to cause chaos and destruction. And now his people were starting to be affected…he would eradicate the threat before it grew all over again to the horrible ways the city had been when magic seemed to be everywhere.

Arthur was just relieved they were now focusing on the problem at hand instead of what his consort was doing this week. Arthur knew his father would not approve of Merlin's new 'hobby' or him getting his hands to deep into Gaius's job. They did have a much bigger problem on hand and Arthur nodded his head as he vowed to see things through, "I will get right on it, father."

Already, Arthur was making lists and plans in his mind. Going over every little detail with a fine tooth comb, glossing over any mistakes in his plans with new ideas on what he could do instead. Possible traps that could be set to draw the sorcerer out, or maybe some kind of blockade around the entire city to keep out any newcomers that could end up disrupting the search going on. Arthur wanted to avoid a lockdown if possible. But if this sorcerer was just getting started, then they might have to if they were going to keep the city safe. Things like curfews and routine searches before any could go in or out of the castle itself, random checks in bags from the guards to make sure no magical contraband was being carted through the city.

Uther started to give Arthur more precise instructions on what he wanted to see being done around the kingdom to prevent this from becoming a catastrophe, "You'll need to conduct door to door searches, and increase your presence in the town. And double down the guards at all of the gates." Arthur nodded along with this, making a mental note so that he could adjust his own plans to fit with his father's orders. Door to door searches would cause unrest in the city but it might be one of the only ways to catch somebody with magic hidden away. Tricky little things they were, or so he had been told. And the people seeing him around the city would be a show of good faith, showing the people they were taking a pro-active stance against the threat made to their kingdom. Arthur had already decided to double the guards but he didn't dare try his luck at interrupting his father to let him know this. Uther glanced back to where Merlin and Gaius were now kneeling over the body, they were talking quietly among themselves. And Arthur followed his gaze, frowning lightly as his disproved of Merlin participating-or him getting to close to the body like he was right now-showed clearly. "And I think you should instruct your consort not to leave Gaius. Him and the physician have clearly bonded, plus Gaius could use any extra hands he can get on this one."

Sorcerer's were not to be played with and Uther was not taking any chances lest Merlin fall prey to the dark side. The boy might not have inherited his dreaded father's talent for that awful curse, but Uther would be sure to keep Merlin away lest he be tempted toward the powerful lure magic could have. Imagine if this sorcerer discovered the boy, coerced him into becoming just like….him. Uther was not going to allow his son to fall victim to the same thing he had in his youth, allowing the face of somebody familiar lure them into this false sense of security. Only to realize far too late that the 'familiar face' was carrying some dark heart, only to realize the person that one thought they knew had blood that showed to be more black than red. The true sign that of somebody with no soul.

"Father!" Arthur said, his head whipping back around to look at his father with true surprise this time. "You really…" he glanced back over to where Merlin and Gaius were leaning even further over the body than he had been just a moment before. Arthur's eye twitched, and he resisted the urge to drag the brat away from it by the scruff of his collar. Merlin obviously had no self-preservation in the least if he was getting that close to it. He could contract the disease even as they speak! "Approve of him tagging along with Gaius?" He asked, trying to hide the annoyance in his voice as he was turning back to his father.

"Of course I don't!" Uther snapped as if this was purely ridiculous. Arthur straightened up to give his father his full attention, knowing it had been wrong to ask his father any kind of questions like that. Unless his father wanted to ask him what his take was on a situation, it wasn't his place to question him. "You know that medication isn't an approved hobby for a consort."

A consort should work on skills that were of actual value to the kingdom. He should focus more on things like history or politics or even his diction. He should be learning the things his son had learned growing up, being taught how to communicate against the other noble families. Being taught valuable life skills that would better their kingdom. And since it was a rare thing for a Royal consort to go leaving the kingdom-just in case something would happen to their king/prince-the kingdom had somebody to fall back onto to take reins on the throne. Medication was pointless as the Royal physician-which in this case would be Gaius-would always be nearby or on hand if they were needed.

"Yes, father." Arthur agreed, nodding his head as he knew very well what his father thought of something like that. It was why he had suggested to Merlin other things to keep him busy, girlier things like needlepoint. Hell, he could even take up horseback riding if he was so inclined. Or pretty much any hobby to fill his days with, instead of one of those very few activities that wasn't appropriate for the Royal consort.

Uther nodded, "Now, Gaius is vital to all of this because he is the only one that will be able to figure out a cure. He'll need all of the help he can get, which is where your consort comes into play. Plus, think about it this way. The people will see Merlin working, or they'd at least think that he's working. And that will be good for you. What would the people think if you have a consort that does nothing but'll sit around all day everyday."

Arthur wrinkled his nose, seeing that this was a good point. What was the point of having a consort if all Merlin did was sit about and try to look pretty. Medication might not be one of the best choices out there, but it would also be loads better to make it look as if Merlin was playing his part. How long would it be if the people turned on Arthur, thinking that he was so easily swayed as to marry some vapid airhead. Merlin was a moron but Arthur would need him to play his part, to act as if he knew what he was doing, to put up a sort of United front during this crisis to keep the people at ease.

"And I can't bring him along while I'm trying to conduct searches throughout the lower town." Arthur mused over to himself, trying to imagine bringing Merlin along. If he bore any luck, Merlin would stand by the door and wait for Arthur to finish his searching. But what he knew of Merlin, Arthur had no doubt that he'd try to get involved. Go digging on his own or getting in his way. Arthur didn't need any of that kind of distraction when he was trying to catch a killer in his literal front yard. Plus, he'd need all hands on deck. Not a guard standing outside the houses, keeping an eye on Merlin so that Arthur could get some work done.

"Now, you're getting it." Uther said. Crisis or not they still needed to worry about the boy, make sure he was doing what was expected from him. "But," he said, a more serious look on his face. Arthur held his breath because he'd never seen his father look like this in a day of his life. So panicked and breathless, worried. "Merlin is only our secondary concern. Our first is this sorceress and you'll believe me when I say, if Gaius is right, and if they are this powerful…they could wipe out the entire city."

Arthur whipped his head back around to look at the collapsed body on the floor with a new perspective. He felt the same itching fear his father must have felt. Only to a lesser degree because Arthur hadn't had to live through a time where magic was out in the open, where it was unrestricted and people were free to do with it as the will. Or maybe it was an even worse fear, because Arthur had the fear of the unknown. He didn't know what to expect or what would happen if magic tried to roam free again. He just knew his people were in danger because of this completely barbaric era trying to make a comeback in the modern age. Arthur's fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, seeing that it looked as if Merlin was about to poke at the blue sheen that had overtaken the man's face. But Gaius grabbed his fingers and pushed his hand back, before shaking his head as if he was telling him not to go touching dead bodies that reeked of a deadly disease.

Uther continued talking, as if he hadn't once noticed his son's attention had shot to look worriedly towards his consort, "This will be the kind of magic that undermines all of our authority, challenges all of the work I've done over twenty years to purge our kingdom from this filth." And something about Uther and his voice pulled Arthur's attention back to him. It had almost sound like it was verging onto this near hysteria. Arthur couldn't blame him, not if this was the kind of things that magic could do against them. Not when magic could kill a man without the sorcerer being anywhere by them. It was a scary thought, something that Arthur had hoped would never return to their city. But it was here, and Arthur needed to be able to put a stop to it before anymore of the people got caught in the crossfire.

"Father," Arthur broached the subject slowly and hesitant as he glanced back over toward Merlin. "I understand that Merlin isn't the top priority at the moment, but are you really sure it's a good idea. To keep him with Gaius? It's practically right in the line of fire, and nobody knows how this disease is transmitted. What if being in close proximity like that is enough to contract it? Surely there is some other way for Merlin to make himself useful rather than keeping him in the physician's quarters?"

Arthur had already established that this was stupid, asking his father questions and trying to challenge his decisions. But…like his father had pretty much said, Merlin was clearly his responsibility. And if he was Arthur's to do as he pleased with-to protect-was keeping him in such close contact with this disease really the best call? If something like this was even enough to scare his father, surely it might be the better call to keep Merlin locked inside of his room and protected by armed guards out by his door. With extremely limited contact to anybody until this whole matter was resolved.

But Uther shook his head, denying any of his son's concerns, "No. We cannot afford to go looking weak, our kingdom is only as strong as the weakest member and right now, even Morgana is more trained then the boy. He has to learn discipline at some point and this will be a teaching moment for him. Besides, with any luck, he'll succumb to the disease before we find the sorcerer."

Arthur felt his throat tighten at that, hearing the cruelty in his father's voice breaking free of the fear he was possessed by. And then he saw the manservant still sprawled across the floor. Only it wasn't his father's manservant any longer. It had transformed into Merlin, the boy so pale he looked blue, blank milky eyes looking up at the ceiling, looking at nothing as there was no sign of life in those blue eyes. He'd been working so hard to keep the boy on the right track, to force him into what the ideal consort but was rebuffed each time. Was all the time, stress, and agitation going to be for nothing?

"…The people will talk." Arthur said slowly, his voice sounding numb even to himself. Almost as if he wasn't able to recognize what he was saying. "If he ends up dead so soon after our marriage." If there was one that that Arthur'd knew about his father, the one thing that he'd gotten so hung up on himself, it was that the reputation of their family and their kingdom was a powerful thing. The wrong thing could make or break anything. Arthur would never be able to come back from marrying only to have them die so soon afterwards. Just a few months of marry life was not nearly enough time. No doubt the people would talk, and no doubt they would somehow claim that Arthur had used this sickness as a means of getting rid of Merlin. Arthur knew that Merlin was still alive was because his father allowed it to be so. Uther wouldn't risk the off chance that Arthur's future was already over, he wouldn't risk Arthur's future prospects if Merlin did die sometime in the future. No sane nobleman would allow their daughter into the family if they thought Arthur had already killed one of his spouses.

"Yes, that's right." Uther agreed with his lips going thin. He glanced back at Merlin himself and his lip curled in disgust. He turned back to his son, "But no matter. The thing we have to be focused on now is getting this plague under control, putting a stop to it…Arthur?"

Arthur's head snapped back around as he realized his father was still taking to him. And right, he had to put Merlin out of his mind and focus on the one thing that mattered, putting an end to this plague before the moron could contract it. It was a miracle he hadn't already if he was going around trying to touch all up on them like before, "Yes father. I will get to work on it immediately."

"Good." Uther said sternly, face determined but it looked as though it was ran by fear, as if he thought the world was about to crumble beneath his feet at any given moment. "If we cannot stop this, then the people themselves will start turning to magic to try and find the cure. This sorcerer needs to be found, now."

Arthur watched Uther walking away, this very unpleasant churning coiling around inside of his stomach, knowing that all of this rested sorely on his shoulders. If he didn't find this witch, how many of his people were going to die? How many would fall to the disease itself and how many would suffer the flames after it was discovered that they used magic to heal themselves? And Merlin…he tried to make himself comfortable with the idea of keeping Merlin out of sight. At least if he was with Gaius…Arthur would know where he was. And it was more isolated than having him out in town square.

Merlin looked up only when he saw that the prince was approaching, an oddly strange look on his face. Merlin didn't hesitate before jumping to his feet, "Okay," Merlin said, even if Arthur wasn't looking at him. "So, what do we do first?"

Merlin had never seen magic like this before, so he wanted to help stop it before anymore innocent people got hurt. Before anymore of the common people got hurt. The two victims so far had been common men, they were not special by any means. And Merlin figured not even Uther would have gotten himself in the matter if they'd died in a more natural way. It was people like these men who could easily get overlooked, their deaths written off as if it was their own faults. And if they actually had someone going around using magic to kill off people…Merlin wanted to know exactly who they were. He wanted to know how they were doing it, why they were doing it-what had the baker's assistant and the king's manservant done to end up with such a fate?

"…Arthur?" Merlin demanded when the prince continued to walk past him as if he hadn't even noticed Merlin was there. "Didn't you hear me?" Merlin stalked after him, leaving his uncle behind with the body.

If Merlin didn't know anything, he would say that Arthur was still holding a grudge against him. One that wasn't being focused on their marriage. Was Arthur mad at him because he had called him emotionally constipated? That had been the truth! Arthur didn't know how to process his own emotions without yelling at everyone, Merlin was just the first one to mention it to his face. Or maybe he was still mad because of the flower thing? But was it just him or did that seem like something that was really petty to still be mad over.

Especially since there was a city-wide crisis starting.

Merlin jolted to a stop when Arthur whipped around and his hand came down heavy and hard on his shoulder, nearly making his knees buckle in surprise. "You won't be going with me." Arthur said firmly, that odd look on his face even more pronounced than it had been a moment ago. "You're going to stay with the physician. You're going to do whatever Gaius asks of you and hopefully, this whole thing is going to be swept under the rug in the next few days."

Merlin stiffened, Arthur's hand on him doing absolutely nothing to relax him. "What? But I can help you! I can go out there! What're you going to be out doing!" Merlin was insistent that he could do something more. He felt as if Arthur was just patronizing him all over again by sending him somewhere out of his way. By sending him to do something he thought that he could handle, out of the way of the actual action.

"Merlin!" Arthur snapped, loud and he looked almost wild eyed, his hand squeezing around Merlin's shoulder tightly, cutting the younger boy off when he opened his mouth to start to argue some more. "This is not going to be up to discussion! You are going with Gaius and it is final." Merlin had never seen him like this, it was almost scary.

And then he was looking behind Merlin to where Gaius was walking behind him, as if silently asking him if that was okay with the aged physician. Evidently Gaius must have nodded because Arthur was nodding back and letting go of Merlin. Merlin's shoulder felt cold but not near as heated as he felt when he saw Arthur walking away like this was a done deal.

"Arthur! I'm not-" Merlin started, taking a step towards him. But Gaius put a hand on top of his shoulder from behind, stalling down his movements. Merlin gritted his teeth, seeing that Gaius was giving him a stern look before clenching his fingers into fists.

Merlin scowled and watched as Arthur made his way from the chambers. Fine, he decided on a bitter note, he'd go with it for now. But just until he saw something more concrete he could help with. Like if they were actually able to find the sorcerer. Until then, Gaius needed his help more. And besides, Arthur better be seeing this as a thank you. He wouldn't go off chasing Arthur today simple because Arthur hadn't cut Gwen's head off for the flower. But Merlin's thanks would only go so far. If he saw an opportunity to get himself involved, then he was going to take it.

Gaius led Merlin out of the room, his hand still planted firmly on his shoulder. As they left the chambers, Merlin glanced back over his shoulder to where two of the guards were starting to pick up the manservant's body to have it burned in an attempt to get rid of the disease. And he felt a trickle of fear going in his stomach. Jerome had not just been one unfortunate isolated incident. This was just so much bigger than that.

And Merlin had to ask himself…who would still be alive by the time this was over? And who would suffer the most during this time?

X

Merlin was exactly where Arthur didn't want him to be, downtown. And it was completely chaos. Gaius had led him straight down into the housing district, where they watched as dozens and dozens of townspeople had been rushed out of their own homes, chased out in some cases. It was anarchy, and more people then Merlin had even knew lived there filled up the streets to an almost breaking point. It was the guards, dozens of them dressed in vibrant red and armored, storming the town as if everybody had already been deemed guilty. It was this 'literal' witch-hunt, and Merlin was surprised there wasn't pitchforks and torches involved in the mix. Nobody had gone so far as to set a house on fire, but Merlin watched in horror as guards kicked down front doors without announcing themselves, terrifying all of the clueless occupants.

Nobody seemed to know exactly what was going on, whispering among themselves or even crying in huddles as they watched the guards go through their things, rifling with uncaring and calloused hands. Hell, things were being thrown out of front door or the windows to litter the streets, tossed out as if they were trash. The townspeople couldn't afford to replace anything that was broken by the knights search, but the knights didn't seemed to care.

Merlin watched as Arthur led the charge on ahead, storming up to one of the many, many houses that had been ransacked during all of this and kicked the door down. He led at least four knights following him close behind to get it throughly searched. It was…awful, he had no other way to explain it.

"Please, they can't do this-" an old woman was crying as her middle age son dragged her away from their home. The guards had thrown them out, followed by the drawer of a dresser through the window as they emptied its contents out on the floor. The old woman was weeping louder and Merlin wanted to stop it all, to find another way other than ruining the homes these people had.

Gaius had to put a firm hand around his bicep and steer him away, trying to keep his head down as he led Merlin towards his quarters. It was the solid grip that forced Merlin to stay grounded, that kept him focused because he knew there was nothing he could do to stop any of this from happening.

Merlin didn't get to go far when he heard this very subtle coughing. A weak kind of cough, as if he had no strength left in their body to do it proper. Merlin jolted to a stop, finding himself looking at a rundown body slumped against one of the house. Despite all of the dozens of people around, nobody had dared to approach the sickly man.

"Gaius!" Merlin exclaimed, nearly wrenching his arm free from his uncle's grip so that he could throw himself down to his knees. Merlin ignored the burst of pain that went through his kneecaps so that he could focus more on the boy, his skin so pale that it was already starting to turn blue. "He's still alive."

Merlin's eyes wondered over the boy's still form. If he hadn't been coughing, he could have sworn that he was dead. He was so still it was frightening, and his brown eyes had a pale sheen to it, as if it was in the process of starting to turn the same blank watery blue that the other victims had to it. He seemed to be coated in a sheen of sweat and there was no spot on him that didn't have a layer of dirt.

"No…" the man moaned, so inaudible that he had to lean forward just to hear that much as his mouth was barely moving. "Not…you…"

Merlin reeled back in surprise, blinking with dumb shock. And it took him a moment to be able to get past the blue tinted skin, the dirt, and the eyes with so much pain still lingering in them so close to death before he was able to recognize the boy. The farmer. It was the son of the old guy Merlin had tried his luck at befriending, the one who kept yelling at him for being on their property. The one who had turned him in to Arthur just for a handful of golden coins that he apparently wouldn't get the chance to spend. And even so close to his deathbed, he still didn't want anything to do with Merlin. Not even if Merlin would be able to make him more comfortable, help him live another day or two to give him some time before they hopefully found a cure. And was it him, or did it look as if the farmer was trying to use his already weakened muscles to push himself away. As if he was using the last bit of his strength to get away from Merlin, as if he thought it was Merlin that was the threat.

Merlin did nothing-struggling to understand how somebody could hate him so much that they wouldn't even accept his help when it was them dying-when Gaius grabbed him underneath his shoulders and dragged him to his feet.

"I'm afraid that there's nothing we can do for him." Gaius said firmly, looking around as he watched knights after knight tear through the town. The chaos was so great with growing destruction that nobody cared that the new consort was out and about. Merlin was just a footnote compared to the prince himself and all of the knights seeking to destroy all of the homes for something that probably wouldn't even be there.

Merlin glanced back to where the farmer had slumped back against the wooden post as he was being pulled away, other people stepping over him or around him as they rushed about trying to find love ones in all this anarchy. The guilt was almost overpowering. Even if he did not want Merlin to help, was Merlin really just going to leave him? Knowing that the farmer would be dead this time tomorrow, if not even earlier? "But we haven't tried to help." Merlin protested, feeling this overpowering urge in his gut growing. With all of the magic inside of him, there had to be something that Merlin could do! Something that would stop all of this! That would save these people from their homes destruction. That would save the lives of the people who openly scorned him. Why was he so…helpless! To do anything about it all? How many people were going to die just because of their inactivity?

Gaius explained to him quite firmly, "If we do not know what a disease is, then how could we possibly hope to cure him?" It wasn't as simple as just pouring different medications down his throat and seeing which one would stick. It was possible that they would only be making things worse, or cause some kind of averse reaction that would cause the death to be even quicker than it already was.

Merlin whipped his head back around to his uncle and practically shouts the one thing he had in his arsenal, "With magic!" He said this far louder than he meant to and it was only a miracle none of the guards they had passed by noticed, to involved in their searches to be able to pay attention to one of the many yells going on. And sure, Merlin didn't know any of the healing spells in his magic book, he didn't know how to use them or if it would be more powerful than whatever sickness spell that the sorcerer had used. But he had to try! He couldn't just sit back, knowing that he would be able to save lives if he just tried his hand at it. Even if it didn't work, wasn't it better to try than to just write it off?

Gaius didn't seem to think so, his face going flushed with anger over Merlin being so open and callous about his secret, especially when a literal witch-hunt was going on. "You need to have a look." Gaius hissed, dragging Merlin through the crowd faster, nodding his head to a group of knights body searching a teenage boy up against his house for anything that he may be carrying on him. "They are suspicious of everyone." And Uther would not care one bit if Merlin was the one to actually caused this catastrophe or not. If they discovered Merlin, then all of the blame would be placed sorely on his shoulders because heaven forbid that two sorcerers have found their way into his kingdom. "This is not the time to be using magic. Science will lead us to the source of the disease."

Gaius was a man of science, and would put his faith in it every time. Why use magic that could get one killed in today's time and age if there was another option one could use that would get the same results as any kind of healing spell.

As Merlin was being dragged away, almost fearful and ducking his head on the single off chance that somebody might be able to recognize the sorcerer in their mist, he was able to glance back to the fallen farmer. He knew there was nothing that he could do to help him, but that fact didn't make him feel any better about himself. Was it-despite all the farmer had done to him in the short time Merlin had known him-not his duty to help these people? Not because he was supposed to be their consort, doing his duty like it was Arthur's duty to find the sorcerer, but 'because' he had magic. If Merlin was able to do something to help save lives, shouldn't he be doing it? Was he not just as bad as the sorcerer who did this if he stood by and did nothing?

Merlin could only wish that the man was able to find better luck on the other side of the veil, in the next world they would go to after death. And he made a vow, ducking down his head further as he and Gaius passed by two knights carrying spears, that he would find a way to fix all of this.

X

Merlin was anxious, the energy flooded in him probably practically screaming at him just to do something while he still could. Before it all got so much worse. But he couldn't. Hell, he didn't even have anything to do that would be able to help him get this energy out. He was half tempted to march upstairs and grab his Arthur dolly and start stabbing it with some more pins until it looked as if it was made out of more needles than actual cloth. But it was not like the doll would help get him out of this crisis. Nor would actually stabbing the real thing.

Which was why he was standing by one of Gaius's tables, watching his uncle as he was mixing up one of his many potions, taking the ladle to pour the yellow liquid carefully into one of his vial's. Merlin was surprised that his uncle hadn't yelled at him yet because of just how close he was standing, watching his every move as he tried to learn something.

"Now," Gaius said, using his elbow to nudge his nephew away so that he wasn't standing right on top of him. "I know that you want to be doing more but you will have to trust me on this. Science really is the best that we can do, medicine can be the cure to help people instead of magic."

Gaius could very easily remember the lure of magic in his youth. How it made things seem so much easier or simple when one was just able to focus their energy to force something into happening that otherwise would have been impossible. Uther had used how easy the lure of dark magic could be to campaign the great purge, easily brushing aside all of the good magic could bring. It was probably so much harder for Merlin who had never had to go a day without using his magic for the most mundane things, to resist using it when it might make a difference. But the risk of it was just to high.

Merlin-after scooting back an inch to give his uncle some working space, but still standing far closer than how he normally should-cast a glance towards the door, "I just feel as if I should be out there doing something more than just running tests." All of those people had been so scared, so confused and rushing about in a panic to find somebody that had a scrap of news as to what was happening. Not one of them had somebody to explain what it was to them, nobody was there who'd explain how it was-supposedly-for their own safety so that they could find the sorcerer as quick as possible. But would they even listen to him if he had tried to explain what was going on? Or would they have pushed him away like the farmer boy had?

"Yes," Gaius said, his eyes focused entirely on his work, because he truly did wish that this was an era of peace where Merlin would be able to use his gifts out in the open and be praised for it, instead of prosecuted if the boy was ever discovered. But that seemed to be nothing more than a pipe dream, it wasn't the feasible option. "But maybe you should chew on this for a moment, what do you think will help the people more?"

Merlin's brows creased in thought, biting on his bottom lip, what would help the people more? Well, having the guards stop searching the way they were would definitely relax most of the people. But the guards weren't exactly the overlying issue. The only reason they did it at all was to find the sorcerer, so wouldn't it be the best for the people? Finding whoever it was that did this and putting a stop to them before more lives could be lost? And this was exactly what he told his uncle, "Well, Arthur is already looking for the sorcerer. Once they're found, everything should go back to normal, right?"

"Wrong." Gaius said, no expression other than concentrated as he raised his vial above his head, swishing the yellow contents inside of the glass casing to get a better look. And as if sensing Merlin's confusion, elaborated as he worked. "What is the use of finding a sorcerer who might never be found? What is the use of wasting our time and resources if they are too well hidden or was smart enough to flee the city before we even knew that this sickness was spreading?"

Merlin straightened up, "So you think that the guards and Arthur are just wasting their own time?" And if they were, then all of the people and their pain was for nothing. Watching their homes being placed under scrutiny and then being treated as if they were criminals. If they did find the sorcerer, at least Merlin would be able to comfort himself with knowing that it had only been done because of the searches. But if the sorcerer would never be found then what was the point?

"It's a good chance that they are." Said Gaius, not taking his eyes off of his work as he then started to light a candle. "And even if we do, I can bet you that Uther will have them put to death within the day. And whose to say that the sickness will even crease to exist after it's over with?"

Merlin just kinda figure that if the sorcerer was dead, executed by Camelot's mighty fist against magic, then whatever spell or potion they had used wouldn't be of anymore effect. It would have died with them, leaving behind all those who had survived this first wave of attacks. But what if Gaius was right? What if this sorcerer was really that powerful? To be so immensely powerful that not even facing death would be enough to end it so? What if it just kept growing and growing until there was nothing left of Camelot? It was an almost terrifying thought for sure.

"So," Gaius continued to talk. "Is finding the sorcerer who may not want to be found going to help anything? Or will finding out the cure itself the better option?"

Merlin didn't have to ask any questions for him to get the point. It was like a knight going into battle almost, and what was important to a knight during a life or death battle? Would it be the sword he could hardly lift because he was so badly wounded just trying caused him to shake. Or the physician at his side that will do just enough to keep him standing, be able to give him what potions he needed to keep him fighting, until the soldier could get them back to safety.

Well then, Merlin decided, eyes dropping on to where Gaius was using a pair of tongs to pick up the vial, if this science thing really is the best way to help, he was going to damn well learn how it works. He sees his uncle moving the vial of liquid over the top of the candle, watching it starting to bubble and pop.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked, leaning in way to close all over again so that he could get a better look at this 'science'. But he had no idea what was happening. It looked as if Gaius was just boiling the liquid that he had extracted from Jerome's body-really gross by the way-and the liquid was reacting just like any kind of liquid would.

"I'm examining the contents of Jerome and his stomach." Gaius patiently explained, as he used the tongs to bring the heated up vial to his eyes. Merlin's face creased together with confusion, leaning in to try and get a better look than even before. Gaius might be able to read whatever the bubbling liquid was telling him but Merlin? For all he could tell, he might as well be looking at a pot of water as it was being boiled to cook that night's dinner.

"Will that tell you who did it?" Merlin finally asked as he gave up on trying to decipher the yellowish liquid. It wasn't like the liquid was to start speaking or writing letters by arranging the bubbles to tell who had been the one to do all of this.

"No," Gaius said, answering the obvious, as it was pretty clear this was an ordinary liquid. It wasn't a magical potion that would just throw out all the answers to every question anyone could have. He picked up a second vial, and this one was such a thick and deep shade of red color that it could have passed for blood. But he stopped just before he could pour the liquid into the stomach acid to take a look at Merlin, a solemn and serious expression over his face. "But it might tell us how it has been being spread. And one thing I do know," and here Merlin could feel an uneasy shiver going down his spine when Gaius finished what he was saying, "This is magic of the darkest of kinds."

Merlin looked completely baffled, shaking his head in disbelief. He'd seen a lot of things the day he roamed into Camelot. He'd seen Mary Collins use her magic to hide her true nature so that she could strike out at Arthur. He had seen Valiant use a shield of snakes to try and take Arthur's life. And now he was seeing this one, some kind of spell that could cause far more people to die than any other. He just did not understand it, "Why would someone use their magic like that?" He asked his uncle to give him some kind of clarity.

"Magic corrupts." Gaius answered softly. Now he didn't agree with Uther's all anything that even looked magic was to be exterminated til there was no root for anything else to grow. It still didn't mean he hadn't seen people using the gifts they had to commit wicked or awful crimes against others. Enchantments and/or spells to make somebody do their bidding or to punish them for some petty reason most people would have forgotten in a day or two. Some people weren't Merlin. They would use every little advantage they had to reek havoc just so they could have their five minutes at a power play. "People often used it just for their own ends."

"…But not all magic is bad." Merlin said slowly as he rolled what Gaius had said over around in his mind. He could feel the thumping of his own magic inside of him, almost like this kind of second heartbeat. Always there and would always be constant, warming him from inside out. And when he used it, it felt like nothing less than pure light coming out of his fingers to do what he commanded it to. To help. To protect. To be of some use to a world that he knew would reject him in a heartbeat. "I know it isn't." He said firmly, ignoring the trickling of doubt in the back of his mind. The voice that always said he was a danger, that he was able to do things nobody else could, so how did he think he was normal? The feeling that liked to say he wasn't normal, and what right did he have to live when he could use the gift he had been given to hurt people with ease.

Gaius set what he was working down on the table so that he could give Merlin his full attention, feeling this conversation was about to get on a deeper note, "Its neither good nor bad. It all depends on how you use it." While Gaius may have seen people use their magic for all of the wrong reasons, he had also seen it do great good. Far to much for him to just go writing it off.

But Gaius' reassurance did little to alleviate a decade of Merlin's own self-doubt, confusion and fear over his own gifts, "But I still don't understand." Merlin said in this slow tone as his eyebrows creased together. "I know that not everybody can use magic, some people don't have an affinity for it while some never have one. How could people who've been given the chance to have that kind of power, why would they choose to use it to hurt other people?"

It was the one thing Merlin didn't understand the most about all of this. Whoever it was to cast this curse, they were clearly powerful to be able to do something like this. To have this spread from person to person within only just a few days. If they were able to do all of this, then why didn't they use their magic to help people? Why didn't they heal those that were already sick instead of creating a whole new ailment?

"Merlin," Gaius started to explain. "Not all of the people who are lucky enough to be born with an affinity for it are good people. People aren't that simple, there is no black and white or good and evil. There are just people whose made choices. Think of it like a knight that is wielding a sword."

Merlin gave him a look because that was a really bad analogy. Did he look like a knight? He was lucky he knew which way to hold the sword, let alone whatever analogy Gaius was about to come up with.

"Oh, just stay with me." Gaius said, aiming a swat at Merlin's shoulder, before continuing on with what he was saying. "As I was saying before I was interrupted, think of people with magic as one would a knight. The knights are supposed to be good and honorable, correct, but not all are."

Merlin nodded, because Gaius didn't have to tell him twice. He had no doubt that he would be sporting several new bruises down along his spine from being pushed around if all of the knights weren't busy storming the town at the moment. Good and honorable his arse.

Gaius continued talking, "Well like I told you before, magic is all about how one wields it. And that depends on the person themselves rather that is a force for good or a source for evil. I like to think of it like a tool, meant to be used like a sword. The one who holds on the sword is who decides rather or not is should cut, and why. The one who casts the spell is the one who determines why it's being cast and for what purpose."

Like a tool, Merlin thought. That was exactly what his magic was. A weapon, something to be harnessed and controlled. Something that only he could determine what it was going to be used for. His stomach still churned with an uncomfortableness at anybody using magic to cause so much pain and so much suffering for god know's what.

Merlin opened his mouth to say something back-but what he didn't know-but before he could, the door suddenly flung open. Merlin whipped his head around with wide eyes as the door slammed open so hard that it was left to bang harshly against the wall behind it.

Arthur marched in like he owned the place, two armed guards Merlin didn't recognize followed in right behind him. "Over there." the prince ordered, not bothering to give the two occupants a glance before taking command of the situation. Merlin and Gaius watched in shock as the two knights did what they were told, storming to other sides of the chambers where they immediately started digging into everything. One knight started jerking books off the shelves, papers flying everywhere as he dropped what was obviously not going to be spell books onto the floor. The second of the knights went in the opposite direction to start riffling through all of Gaius' potions lined up on one of his tables. He didn't look as if he cared if he messed anything up, knocking a potion over where the bottle cracked, or the other bottle that fell off the table and was left to shatter on the floor.

"Arthur!" Merlin demanded, whipping his head around to glare at the prince who stood in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips, looking around himself while he was also watching the destruction that was going on around them, "What on earth do you think you are doing?"

Even when Merlin strode over there to get him some answers, Arthur walked right past him as if he wasn't even there, glancing over the stray bits of parchments scattered over one of the tables, "I'm sorry about this Gaius, but we've got to search every room in town. This is just on the next list of places we've yet to search."

Merlin gritted down his teeth, clenching his hands into fists because of how infuriating the prince was. Was Arthur really going to be this petty and act as if he wasn't here? Arthur clearly had no problems talking to Gaius, but why couldn't he talk to Merlin as well? It was like he was upset because of how Merlin had tried to go with him when he'd left to search the town. Which was just stupid, because he had gone with Gaius in the end. So what was there to be upset about.

"What for?" Gaius demanded, watching with disgruntled disgust as the soldiers would tear through his work with little to no care. If there was people that thought Gaius' chambers were a mess before, it would be nothing compared to how it would look after they got done ransacking the place.

"The sorcerer." Arthur said blandly as he was watching one of the knights toss yet another book to the floor, clearing out the bookcase just in case there was something that was hidden behind it. Merlin felt his jaw as it snapped shut, his teeth almost clanking as for once, he stayed quiet as to not drag any attention to himself. The sorcerer. Merlin had almost forgotten there was only one reason they'd be in here doing this. They were still looking for the sorcerer or…any sorcerer to burn at the stake. Merlin had a feeling that they weren't going to be picky if they would happen to come across another sorcerer in the search for this specific one.

"But why would he be here?" Gaius said to Arthur, demanding almost. He had to act as if the idea of a sorcerer in his home would have been nothing less than prosperous. Get them out of the house before they discovered the wrong sorcerer was really his only thought process.

Arthur looked at him, already knowing that he probably wouldn't find anything of value here but he had to do his duty and be throughly on the off chance they did discover Gaius as the traitor-big, never gonna happen. "I am doing my job." He said. His father would be pissed if he thought for one second that Arthur wasn't painstakingly going through every little bit of square inch the kingdom had. Plus, if more people died Arthur would never be able to forgive himself if it turned out to be one of the places he'd dismissed because of how unlikely it was. He still didn't acknowledge Merlin's presence in the room, finding that he had no time in delving into what would most likely be another fight when there was a killer loose in his kingdom.

Gaius decided to change tactics from acting as if this was ridiculous, to being consenting, "We've nothing to hide. Go on then, search!" He exclaimed, throwing out his arm to wave this on as if he had nothing better to do than watch them tear through his stuff. He saw out of the corner of his eye, Merlin whipping his head around to look at him panicked, but the aged Physician didn't look back. This was all part of his plan, to make Arthur think they're doing nothing but wasting their time here. It may get them out faster because Gaius knew he didn't have anything magical worthy out in the open. The book he gave Merlin was really one of the few artifacts he had from his days of magic in his youth, and as long as Merlin had hid it like he told him to, then they would find nothing.

Arthur strode with large steps across the room before stopping at one of the many tables scattered around. This one was filled to the top with book after book, which many were laid out onto a specific page or even left forgotten by Gaius at one point. Papers and pieces of parchments stuck out of the books, several of the books had written marks inside of them as if Gaius had made his own notes or corrections that he thought would work better.

Arthur picked up one of the books, keeping his eyes focused on the table as he said, "By the way, I have some questions for you while I'm down here."

Arthur honestly could have been talking to anybody at that point, but nobody was going to acknowledge him. This was probably why it took a minute for Merlin to realize he was the one Arthur was addressing. "W-what?" He stuttered, before clearing his voice and trying to sound as normal as possible. Which Merlin should definitely not be freaking out, right? It wasn't like he had anything on him that would scream he was a sorcerer.

Merlin was almost positive that Arthur was about to ask him some really obscure, crazy out of the blue question that only a sorcerer would know the answer to. But what kind of actual question he would ask, Merlin didn't have a clue. And from the curling of Arthur's lip as he finally looked up to him, he was also pretty sure Arthur was still mad at him. Mad because Merlin was asking questions instead of letting Arthur take his sweet time asking it? Or still mad at him because of the flower, only not yelling at Merlin for it still because they did have more important things going on now that trumped whatever issues Arthur was having about it.

"Questions, Merlin, questions." Arthur drawled out as if he thought Merlin was being particularly stupid on purpose. Merlin was left to grit his teeth sharply when he caught one of the knights shifting through some of Gaius' medical equipment snickering under his breath. As if he thought Merlin was being reprimanded for interrupting and thought it was funny. "I'm talking about your chambers, of course."

Merlin's brain jolted to a stop because that…had not been what he thought Arthur would be asking. His…chambers? What about his chambers? What did Arthur care about his room for? It wasn't as if the prince had ever once been in it? "…What are you talking about now?" He asked roughly, and maybe he was a little too abrasive since Gaius was staring at him now. Merlin had this feeling that he was forgetting about something, but no matter how hard he tried to pull at the thought in his brain, whatever it was escaped him. But then it must not have been all that important, he dismissed it, if he'd forgotten it. Or it wasn't as important as this witch-hunt.

Arthur put the book he was holding aside and gave Merlin a firm stare, the one that said you had better answer all of my questions before I try coming after you. And Merlin would have scoffed if he wasn't so focused on watching the knights who continued on with digging in Gaius's stuff. "Your chambers are empty." the prince said, obviously disgusted by this as if it was also some kind of misperceived slight made against him. "I have searched through them and if I didn't know any better, I would claim that you don't live there."

After searching a few houses down inside of the lower town, he'd gone upstairs to start a more personal search. And his first step was to get the most obvious places out of the way to be done with. He'd searched his own room just to make sure nobody had planted some kind of poultice, which was unlikely as they'd have to get past Gregory first and the guard hadn't reported anybody suspicious hanging around the entranceway. He'd done an over exhausted check of Morgana's room-just for the sheer pleasure of bugging her as she'd watched him flipping up her bedcovers and going through her wardrobe. Then he'd gone to his father's where he had spent what was an abnormal amount of time searching for it. He had to make sure that it was clean, make sure nobody had stuck something in there to hurt the king.

And then he'd gone to Merlin's. And had just found a room that was more bare than any of the guest chambers. He'd combed through it again and again, trying to find even one hint of the boy having resided there. But he had found nothing. Nothing other than his clothes that Arthur vaguely recognized as the clothes he'd gotten married in sitting at the bottom of his wardrobe. And wasn't that a spit straight in his face. It was actually the main reason he was at Gaius' now even though the physician chambers had been further down the mental list of places to check. Merlin's missing items had bumped Gaius' right up the list since he knew Merlin was there-or he'd better be. He was lucky he was because Arthur had literally had on the tip of his tongue, an order for one of the guards to go looking for him and drag him to Arthur if he must.

"What were you doing in there?" Merlin said, almost demanding it with a snarl as he went straighter than a ruler. Clearly he was talking about Merlin's Royal suite, and didn't that just remind him of what he'd been forgetting. He was no longer residing there. But he still felt violated at the thought of Arthur being there without him knowing. Was this what all of the people in the lower town had felt as all of the guards raided their homes? This violating and piercing fear that what should have been his safe space-which it wasn't as Arthur had just proved again and again ever since he had the nerve to barge in that first time-wasn't any longer. It didn't matter that he no longer lived there and all his stuff was gone. It was still a violation of his privacy.

"I did just say that I was checking all of the rooms, so do try to keep up." Arthur sneered at him, letting his true colors-his irritation-show through that he'd been hiding ever since he'd first shown up and saw that Merlin had really gone with Gaius. At least Arthur now knew he could follow orders, that was a good sign and meant Merlin 'might' just be trainable. Arthur turned back to his books with an air of nonchalance, trying to elude to the fact that he didn't care where Merlin had hidden his stuff at. Or why he'd hidden away all of his belongings…it was fucking killing him to know. To dive deep into the boy's skull just to find out what the whole point of this was. Had he done it to get Arthur's attention, but that was a bit strange as he had no way of knowing rather or not Arthur would be in his room. Or maybe Merlin had been robbed and hadn't even known his stuff was gone until Arthur had just said it now…

Arthur picked up a stack of parchments and flicked through them, noticing they had been covered in detailed sketches of different type of flowers with notes coating every spare bit of parchment it could find. He didn't read any of it, "What are all of these books and papers for?" Arthur asked, directing his question to Gaius-interrupting his own conversation with Merlin as if he didn't care one way or the other what Merlin had done with his stuff.

"My life's work." Gaius noted in the blandest tone he could possibly make it, making sure Arthur really felt as if he was barking up the wrong tree. "Dedicated to the understanding of science. You are quite welcome to go and read through them if you wish." Already, the physician knew that Arthur wasn't going to take him up on his offer. The prince hadn't ever been much of a reader outside of the books he thought would help him. Meaning any book pertaining to whatever problem he was facing at the time. Or something that he thought a future king should know.

And true enough, Arthur turned his head away to hide the blanched look he got at the thought of wading through all of these medical journals. To bad for him that he had not turned far enough and Merlin caught the look on his face. Merlin snorted, "What, you aren't a big reader?" But in the end, Merlin was almost wishing that he hadn't said it at all because that just pulled Arthur's attention straight back to him.

Arthur ignored Merlin's remark-taking control of the conversation because he wasn't about to let Merlin off the hook so easily when he'd all these unanswered questions, "Now, are you going to tell me why your rooms look as if you didn't sleep there, or am I going to have to drag it out of you." And despite Arthur and his own agitation, his gaze dropped down to where Merlin's neck was. Even though there was no flower any longer, he still couldn't help the thought in the back of his mind that said Merlin had tricked him earlier. Maybe he wasn't gay and he and Gwen really were in a committed relationship that had somehow process so fast he was already sleeping over.

Over Arthur's dead body would that happen.

But Merlin played dumb, blinking his eyes at Arthur as if he had nothing to hide, "My stuff isn't up there? Are you sure?" He asked. But Arthur narrowed his eyes, not believing him for even a second. The moron actively looked as if he was trying to hide something. Being all fidgety and avoiding Arthur's eyes, one tell was he kept playing with his fingers. Yeah, as if he could pull a fast one on Arthur.

"I'm quite sure." Arthur said, practically biting out the words. He had combed that room one time, two times, and then a third just for good measure to make sure he hadn't missed any wayward item. But no. The room looked as if Merlin had never been there at all. In fact, if it wasn't for the wedding clothes inside of the wardrobe, Arthur would have thought he had got the wrong room.

Merlin didn't answer him, and that was when Arthur realized something. The way Merlin's eyes were moving…they weren't avoiding him per-say, not like he was scared to tell Arthur what was going on like he had thought at the first glance. No, Merlin avoiding his gaze was only a natural consequence of looking off to somewhere behind him.

Arthur followed Merlin's gaze to the top of the stairs. He'd known the stairs were there and they led to a second level with even more books than were down here. But he hadn't realized that there was a second staircase to branch off from the first, heading straight to a closed door.

"What's this room up here?" Arthur asked, gesturing up towards it. He didn't think he'd ever been up there before, had barely even known it was there. He would have thought it was where Gaius slept, but he could clearly see one o his guards searching under a cot pushed off into the corner. So no, it wasn't where Gaius roomed.

Behind him, Merlin wanted to scream. He had figured Arthur would have found out that he'd taken his leave at some point. It might have been because there was a Royal function going on and Arthur suddenly decided that he needed his attendance and went looking for him. Or maybe he stumbled across Merlin returning to Gaius' one night and started to ask all of the wrong questions. One scenario he hadn't considered was Arthur finding his new rooms because of a city wide witch-hunt!