The kings have finished signing and King Uther has sat down, while Bayard begins his speech;

"People of Camelot, for a great many years we have been mortal enemies, and the blood of our men stains the ground from the walls of Camelot to the gates of Mercia. And though we remember those who have died, we must not allow any more to join them." As he is speaking a young servant girl enters carrying an ornate box with goblets, one larger than the other. The larger one is gold and the smaller silver.

"As a symbol of our goodwill, and of our new found friendship, I present these ceremonial goblets to you, Uther, and to your son, Arthur, in the hope that our friendship may last."

Nimueh, or Cara, rushes up to Merlin in a false panic and says:

"Merlin, I need to speak with you."

Bayard continues his speech in the background.

"What is it ?" Merlin asks her.

"Not here, please. I don't know who else to tell."

Merlin leaves the room with Nimueh, and Lancelot watches worriedly as he goes.

Merlin and Nimueh stop a small ways away from the throne room in the corridor.

"It wasn't until I saw him give the goblet to Arthur that I realised..." Nimueh starts.

"Whoa, slow down. Start from the beginning." Merlin tells her, beginning to worry.

"Two days ago, I was bringing Bayard his evening meal. We're supposed to knock. He didn't expect me to walk in..." Nimueh starts again.

"So what are you trying to say?" Merlin questions her.

"If he knows I said anything, he will kill me." Nimueh says, voice falsely terrified.

"I would not let that happen to you, I promise. Please tell me what you saw." Merlin begs her.

"Bayard is no friend of Camelot. He craves the kingdom for himself."

"Cara...Tell me. What has Bayard done with the goblet?"

"He believes that if he kills Arthur, Uther's spirit will be broken and Camelot will fall."

"What has he done with the goblet?" Merlin questions again.

"I saw him putting something in it."

"What?"

"I shouldn't! He'll kill me!"

"Please, tell me! Was it poison?"

Once Nimueh nods, Merlin, ignoring his painful side, runs back to the throne room, arriving just in time to prevent Arthur from drinking from the goblet.

"Stop!" yells Merlin running into the room.

"It's poisoned! don't drink it" Merlin warns running up to Arthur and takes the goblet out of his hand.

"What?" questions Uther angrily.

"Merlin, what are you doing?" Arthur asks in a quiet voice, believing him but worried about his father's reaction.

"Bayard was seen lacing your goblet with poison." replies Merlin, loud enough for Arthur and Uther to hear, but the rest of the room has become silent and everyone hears what he says.

"This is an outrage!" shouts Bayard drawing his sword, his knights following suit. The knights of Camelot also draw their swords.

"Order your men to put down their swords" Uther says as Camelot guards rush into the room "You are outnumbered."

"I will not allow this insult to go unchallenged!" Bayard fumes.

"On what grounds do you base this accusation ?" Uther directs his question to Merlin.

"I'll handle this." states Arthur, walking around the main table to stand in front of Merlin, taking the goblet back from him.

"Merlin, you idiot. Have we been at the slow gin again?" he asks loudly. More quietly he says

"Merlin, I believe you, but my father isn't happy and Bayard just might kill you for making such an accusation."

"I understand that Arthur, but this is poisoned and I can't let you die, not now." replies Merlin, just as quietly, Arthur nods in understanding but a frown forms on his face as Uther says;

"Unless you want to be strung up, you will tell me why you think it's poisoned now."

"He was seen lacing it." Merlin replies

"By whom ?"

"i can't say." Merlin replies, giving Arthur an apologetic look.

"I won't listen to this anymore." complains Bayard.

"Pass me the goblet." demands Uther and Arthur hands him the goblet.

"If you're telling the truth..." begins Uther.

"I am." interjects Bayard.

"then you have nothing to fear do you ?" continued Uther. Bayard sheathes his sword and reaches for the goblet. Uther pauses and then says:

"No. If this does prove to be poisoned, I want the pleasure of killing you myself." Bayard snorts and watches as Uther holds the goblet out towards Merlin.

"He'll drink it."

Arthur can feel his panic begin to rise and he flicks his eyes towards the trio and sees looks of anger and fear on their faces, before he flicks his eyes to Merlin. When he catches Merlin's eye he can see fear, but also love, loyalty and determination. Arthur desperately tries to think of something to get Merlin out of this mess.

"But if it is poisoned, he'll die" says Arthur finally.

"Then we'll know he was telling the truth." replies Uther coldly.

"And what if he lives ?" questions Bayard.

"Then you have my apologies, and you can do with him what you will." says Uther, giving Merlin the goblet before returning to his throne.

"Uther, please! He's just a boy!" protests Uther.

"he is old enough to make such accusations, and he is old enough to face the consequences." says Uther states angrily.

Arthur takes a step closer to Merlin and whispers;

"Merlin, apologize. Tell him you're sorry and that it was a mistake. Please, I can't lose you either."

"This is a mistake. I'll drink it" says Arthur loud enough for everyone to hear and tries to take the goblet from Merlin.

"No, no, no, no, no. It's, it's alright. I'll drink it." Merlin replies sending a quick apologetic look to the trio, who look angry and terrified, their hands on their swords, before he sends an apologetic look at Arthur, upset that what they had would end before it even really began. Merlin toasts Bayard before he drinks, Nimueh watches the events unfold with a smile on her face, and the knights take a few steps towards their prince anxiously. After he's finished, nothing happens and he says:

"it's fine" with a frown on his face. Arthur and the knights sigh in relief until they see, and hear, Merlin begin to choke. Arthur steps forward just in time to catch Merlin as he falls, unconscious, towards the floor. He can already feel heat radiating from Merlin's body.

"Its poisoned. Guards seize him!" yells Uther, ignoring Arthur and Merlin and watching as the guards seize Bayard, his knights and his servants, dragging them out the doors of the throne room.

The trio, Gaius and Gwen rush over to where Arthur is cradling Merlin's overly hot body.

"Merlin. Can you hear me ?" Gaius questions hopefully. When he receives no response he says:

" We have to get him back to my chambers. Bring the goblet. I need to identify the poison."

Arthur picks Merlin up bridal style, mindful of his broken ribs and Gwen grabs the goblet. They, along with Lancelot, Gwaine and Perceival make their way to the physician's chambers.

As they file into the physician's chambers Gaius says:

"Lay him on the bed quickly, he's struggling to breathe. Gwen, fetch me some water and a towel."

"is he going to be alright?" asks Arthur, his concern, so normally hidden, evident in his voice and Gaius looks at him in surprise.

"He's burning up." replies Gaius, ignoring the prince's question.

"You can cure him, can't you Gaius ?" asks Lancelot, standing next to Gwen.

"I won't know until I can identify the poison. Pass me the goblet." asks Gaius and Gwaine hands him the goblet.

"Ah. There's something stuck on the inside." murmurs Gaius and everyone but Gwen, who's trying to control Merlin's fever, moves closer to the elderly physician.

"What is it ?" asks Arthur, standing beside Gaius.

"It looks like a flower petal of some kind." replies Gaius, using a small pair of tweezers to pull a translucent petal from the inside of the goblet.

"His brow's on fire." says Gwen and everyone turns to look at her and Merlin. They can see him shifting restlessly in the small cot, sweat coating his skin.

"Keep him cool: it'll help control his fever." says Gaius after a few minutes before pulling out one of his many books. He finds the correct page and begins to read:

"Ah. The petal comes from the Mortaeus flower. It says here that someone poisoned by the Mortaeus can only be saved by a potion made from the leaf of the very same flower. It can only be found in the caves deep beneath the Forest of Balor. The flower grows on the roots of the Mortaeus tree."

"That's not particularly friendly." Gwaine says looking down at the page of the book and pointing to a angry looking creature in the corner of the page.

"A Cockatrice. It guards the forest. Its venom is potent. A single drop would mean certain death. Few who have crossed the Mountains of Isgaard in search of the Mortaeus flower have made it back alive." explains Gaius.

"Sounds like fun." Says Arthur, looking over at Merlin, seating and wheezing in the small cot, hair damp with sweat.

"Arthur, it's too dangerous. You're a prince, I'll get the antidote and bring it back." argues Lancelot, knowing that Merlin wouldn't want any of them to risk their lives, but especially not Arthur.

"I'm going Lancelot and there isn't anything you can say to stop me, but your help would be most welcome." replies Arthur looking at Lancelot, before turning back to Gaius.

"If I don't get the antidote, what happens to Merlin?" Arthur asks Gaius.

"The Mortaeus induces a slow and painful death . He may hold out for four, maybe five days, but not for much longer. Eventually he will die." Gaius says gravely and the knights suck in a worried and angry breath.

"Lancelot and I will go get the flower and return within a few days, Gwaine, Perceival, I want one of you or Leon, when you're not on duty to be available to help Gaius, please." They all nod their understanding, and turn away as Arthur moves over to Merlin and kneels beside the cot. Arthur gently places his hand on Merlin's overly warm cheek and whispers in his ear:

"I'm sorry my father did this Merlin. I promise I'll be back and I'll save you. Please, just hold on until I return. I need you in my life Merlin." Merlin turns slightly into the touch, though he doesn't wake and Arthur places a light kiss on his forehead before standing up and motioning for Lancelot. They both quickly exit the room.

"Lancelot I need to speak to my father before we leave, go down to the stables and get the horses ready, I should be down in ten minutes." says Arthur.

"Of course sire, and, good luck." Lancelot replies walking down the adjoining corridor towards the front steps of the castle, missing the slight smile on Arthur's face at the comment.

[Nimueh rides out of the castle on a white horse, blue cloak hiding her appearance]

Arthur finds his father just leaving the throne room and talks to him as they make their way down the corridor.

"What's the point of having people taste for you if you're going to et yourself killed anyway ?" asks Uther, giving Arthur a look.

"I won't fail, no matter what you think." replies Arthur and to himself adds 'I care about him too much to let him die like this, or at all'.

"Arthur, you are my only son and heir. I can't risk losing you for the sake of some serving boy." Uther replies coldly. Arthur sees red and answers, voice hard:

"oh, because his life's worthless?"

"No, because his life's worth less than yours." Uther says, spinning around to look at Arthur. Arthur snorts internally at that, wondering how his father would react if he found out that Merlin was actually a prince, and tries to control his angry tone when he says:

"I can save him. Lancelot is coming with me."

"No." Uther says, tone firm.

"We'll find the antidote and bring it back. We can save Merlin."

"no."

"Why not!?" Arthur demands.

"Because one day I will be dead and Camelot will need a king. I'm not going to et you jeopardize the future of the kingdom over some fool's errand."

"It's not a fool's errand. Gaius says that if we can get the antidote..."

"Oh, Gaius says? That's exactly what makes it so." Uther interrupts.

"Please, Father. He saved my life. I can't stand by and watch him die." 'I need him' he adds to himself.

"Then don't look.." Arthur has to use all of his years of training to keep the horrified look off of his face at that statement. "This boy won't be the last to die on your behalf. You're going to be king. It's something you will have to get used to."

" I can't accept that." Arthur says, unable to live without Merlin by his side, after only a month of knowing him.

"You're not going."

"you can't stop me." retorts Arthur.

"Damn it, Arthur, that's an end to it ! You're not leaving this castle tonight." Uther says before storming off.

'yes I am' thinks Arthur to himself, heading down to the stables. There he finds Lancelot and two saddled horse, packs attached to their saddles. The quickly mount up and ride out of the castle, ignoring the call of "Halt!" at the gates.