Arthur was pacing up and down in his chambers. Deep trouble-inflicted furrows had formed between his eyebrows. He ran a hand over his face, brushing over the stubble on his chin making them itch. He took a seat at his table and put his face into the palms of his hands. A long sigh escaped him.

The rudely swung open door made him look up suddenly, half expecting what was about to come; Merlin stepped into the room. He had an angry expression on his face and he was sweating, making his pale face glint in the morning light the sun shone through his windows.

"Elyan? Really?" It only took those words accompanied by Merlin's disappointed expression to make Arthur look down at his feet in shame.

"Merlin…"

"Do you seriously believe Elyan is responsible for those attacks? You think he is a sorcerer? That's not even possible! He stood right by your side during the festivities when I was attacked."

"Merlin, I-"

"He is a knight of the round table! Highly respected and truly loyal to you and Camelot. There is no way-"

"Merlin! I know! I know that Elyan didn't do it! I could never believe that." Arthur finally managed to interrupt Merlin's tirade.

"But why was he taken prisoner then? It makes no sense to me. What happened?" Merlin crossed his arms in front of him, still fuming. Arthur sighed again before standing up and walking over to the window, pretending to observe something in the courtyard.

"I had no choice. And Elyan knows that. In fact, he suggested to be imprisoned until everything is solved."

"Until what is solved?" Merlin asked, his anger slowly subsiding.

"Last night, Lady Goodhunt was attacked in her chambers. Guards found her screaming for help, her clothes dishevelled and her hands bloody. She said someone wearing a cloak was in her room trying to kill her in her sleep. She said that the voice had been male and that the attacker had been trying to rip her clothes off. She recounted that she managed to fight him off and while doing so, her hand somehow touched the man's back. She said that the man suddenly was in pain and when she felt around his back, it was wet with blood oozing from a big wound." Arthur took a moment to pinch the bridge of his nose before continuing. Merlin waited.

"She recalled the wound to be shaped like three parallel cuts running across the attacker's back. So, the first guess was that it was some kind of claw mark. One thing led to the other, her story spread throughout the whole castle and many people came to believe that the attacker was – not only the sorcerer – but also a victim to a wyvern attack." Arthur finally turned around to face Merlin again.

"You know how rumours work. They spread like fire. Only a few hours after the incident, everyone in Camelot knew about it. The other information that had spread nearly as fast was that Elyan had been attacked by a wyvern the night before and was still recovering from the claw marks on his back. People came to me and accused him of being the sorcerer. I told them that they are wrong and that there is no possibility of one of my most trusted companions to be a sorcerer of any kind." Merlin lowered his head slightly, biting his lip.

"They were all so riled up that they wouldn't listen to me! To the king! They accused me of incompetence and announced that they would take matters into their own hands. I even tried to explain to them that he had been standing next to me during the attack at the festivities but they simply shrugged it off, saying that he could've had an accomplice."

"They can't do that! They can't undergo your orders." Merlin said, his eyes wide open, mouth agape.

"Merlin, they are all aristocrats from different kingdoms, mandated by their respective rulers. As guests of Camelot, they have to obey me but they are currently deaf to my words because of fear. They are all afraid. One of them was attacked. This isn't something that only impacts Camelot any longer. The attacker, may it be the sorcerer or not, overstepped a boundary."

"But still, committing an intentional crime against a knight of the round-table is like committing a crime against Camelot and you." Merlin huffed in frustration.

"I know that, Merlin. But all those nobles don't seem to think that way. What am I supposed to do? Arrest all of them? Banish them? The political situation is too unstable at the moment. I don't want to risk a war. But I also had to protect Elyan. There was still the possibility of them going after Elyan themselves. So, Elyan had the idea to be imprisoned to ward them off. They'd be satisfied and it would buy us time to find a solution to all of this without risking Camelot's future." Arthur sat down again, his head slightly tipped to one side, his eyes unfocused.

Merlin sat down across his king, guilt gnawing at him. "Is it true that he might get executed?"

Arthur looked shocked for a moment before the shadow that was haunting his features became darker. "That's what they would expect from me now, wouldn't they?"

"Elyan is Gwen's brother. The Queen's brother! They can't expect the king to execute his brother in law." Merlin said. Alone the thought was ridiculous.

"Gwen…" Arthur seemed deep in thought again. With a monotone voice, he continued talking. "She wasn't happy about the whole thing. It made her cry. She was angry at me…" Arthur's head snapped back up, his eyes filled with determination and with a newfound energy, his voice was strong again. "We have to help Elyan, no matter what. And when we don't manage to catch the sorcerer responsible for all of this, we will find someone else who can lift the blame off of Elyan. For Gwen. And for Camelot."

"For Camelot." Merlin agreed.

When Merlin got back to Gaius's chambers he was exhausted again. His eyes wandered over the room. Gaius was sitting at the table and Gwaine was asleep on a cot, still trying to leave last night's events behind him. Gaius looked up from the big book containing the recipe for the potion which was supposed to heal him.

"Merlin. What did Arthur say?" Gaius put his old reading glasses down on the table, pushing the book aside.

"He was pressured by his aristocratic guests to arrest Elyan. He believes that Elyan is innocent but he needs to prove that to the guests to make sure they would leave Elyan and Camelot alone." Merlin grabbed one of the mugs and poured himself some water; his throat was suddenly really dry.

"And how is he planning on proving that to these thick-headed nobles?" Gaius asked.

"We need a sorcerer. And for that, we need this potion to work." Merlin waved a hand into the direction of the cauldron still sitting on the fire, the liquid inside of it slowly boiling.

"I agree with you on the 'we need this potion to work'-part, but I'm afraid I won't like where this is going." Gaius slowly shook his head as he walked towards the fire, stirring the potion with a wooden spoon.

"The potion is almost ready." He grabbed a cloth and wrapped it around the cauldron's handles. Then, he lifted it onto the table. "This needs to cool down a bit and then, you can take it." Gaius said, a serious expression on his face.

Merlin looked around once again. "What about Gwen? Is she fine? Where is she?"

"I gave her something to calm her down and send her to bed. She wasn't as agitated when she left and she mumbled something about 'Merlin finding a solution'."

"I will." Merlin sat down at the table; his eyes fixed on the liquid in the cauldron. A yawn behind him made him turn slightly only to find a big hand on his shoulder. "Gwaine. How are you feeling?" Gwaine let his hand rest on his friend's shoulder for a few comforting seconds before he walked around the table to sit across from Merlin. His face was pale and his eyes were surrounded by dark shadows.

"Is that it?" Gwaine asked, nodding into the direction of the cauldron and expertly ignoring Merlin's first question. Merlin sighed before nodding shortly.

"Yes. That is the potion. It just needs to cool down a bit and then I can drink it." Silence. "Gwaine, how are you feeling."

"I'm fine. My back still hurts a little but it's fine. The guilt that eats me alive overshadows the physical pain anyways." Gwaine said, snatching the mug filled with water from Merlin to take a sip.

"I'm sorry, Gwaine." Merlin tried.

"Don't be. It's my fault that I got caught. And my fault that Elyan will be punished for it." He took another sip.

"Not if we can do something about it. I talked to Arthur and told him about a plan that could prove Elyan's innocence. He was alright with it. The only thing that has to work now, is this potion." Merlin glanced at the cauldron again, his heartbeat slightly increasing.

After they had waited a few more minutes in silence, Gaius stepped up to the table, a big ladle in one hand. He dipped it into the potion and filled another empty mug with it. Merlin's and Gwaine's eyes followed his movements nervously. Then, he put the mug down in front of Merlin.

"You just have to drink it." Gaius swallowed nervously. "Merlin, I have to tell you that we don't know for certain if this is going to work. It could go wrong miserably. I also don't know if there are any side effects to be expected. We've never tried this potion before. Are you sure that you want to drink this?"

"I don't have another choice. I need to fix everything that went wrong." Merlin said determined and without wasting another breath, he grabbed the mug, put it up against his lips and tilted it until every last bit of the thick liquid was downed. He put the mug down again and looked at Gaius and Gwaine who were staring at him expectantly. They had a slight air of fear around them.

"I don't feel anything." Merlin said after a while, smacking his lips together.

"Maybe it takes some time? Or you are simply not able to feel the actual change?" Gwaine suggested, his eyes not leaving his friend.

"I don't know, maybe-" Merlin wasn't able to finish the sentence. He froze. Inside of him, something shifted. It felt like he had an intruder inside of him, poking and probing his insides. It was an uncomfortable tingling sensation but not that bad. The silence from the warlock had alarmed his friends though.

"Merlin is everything alright?" Gaius asked, his brows furrowed. Merlin opened his mouth to assure them that everything was fine but a sudden sharp pain, like being stabbed into the abdomen forced all air out of his lungs and all he managed was an anguished gasp. Gwaine was on his feet immediately and stormed over to Merlin's side. Merlin's world was spinning all of a sudden. He was so hot and then so cold and there was a burning fire deep down inside of him, milling through his insides. He curled in on himself, clawing at his abdomen. The world tilted and then he was falling. His shoulder hurt suddenly but Merlin couldn't focus on that, he was still falling. There was a scream and someone was grabbing his arms. They were trying to get him, to burn him. The fire was so hot, he needed to get away from them. The hands grabbing him had a deathly grip on him, holding him still. There was someone crying, begging for the burning to stop. The voice sounded oddly familiar to Merlin's ears. His stomach rebelled and he felt like he needed to empty it out. Something kept him from vomiting though… With all the power he could muster, he forced the content of his stomach down again. Someone or something was telling him to calm down, to stay still and to endure it for just a few more minutes. The voice sounded soothing and friendly and Merlin trusted it. He stayed like that until he felt his shaking limps aching. The pain in his shoulder felt more prominent now, too and the world around him wasn't spinning any longer. The hands on his arms were gone as well and the burning within him slowly started to subside. There was a low whine reaching his ears. Someone in pain, someone anguished and in need of help. Merlin took a deep breath and swallowed and the whining stopped. The sound had come from him.

His surroundings became clearer and clearer; He felt the wooden floorboards beneath his curled-up body. There was a blanket on top of him controlling the shivers that had apparently run up and down his body. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was on the floor next to the table in Gaius' room. There was a candle nearby lighting up the now considerably darker room. How long…?

Merlin turned his head slightly to look at Gwaine who was right next to him, leaning against the table, his head resting on his propped-up knees.

"Gwaih-" Merlin didn't manage to say more than that. His scratchy throat prevented him from doing so. It felt like he had been screaming for hours. The sound he had made was enough to alert the knight of the round table though. Merlin had suddenly a very worried looking Gwaine hovering over him.

"Merlin! You are awake! How are you feeling?"

"Wo-ah…" Merlin managed to say. Gwaine just looked at him confused but then there was suddenly a filled mug right next to Gwaine's face held out by Gaius for Merlin.

"He wants some water." Gaius said with a warm smile plastered onto his face. Gwaine grabbed the mug and carefully lifted Merlin's head to help him drink.

"You speak 'Merlianish'?" Gwaine asked around the grin dancing on his face.

"Of course, I do." They were sitting there in silence until Merlin managed to drink the better half of the filled cup and was too tired to try anything else. Gaius suggested that it was safe to move the warlock now and without any hesitation, Gwaine lifted his friend into his arms as carefully as he managed and started to walk up the stairs into Merlin's room. The knight tucked Merlin in and they left the sleepy manservant to rest.

"Do you think it worked?" Gwaine asked after he and Gaius were seated at the table again, sharing a pint of the alcohol Gaius had served days earlier.

"It better did after what that poor boy just went through because of that potion." Gaius sighed, taking another sip.

AN.: I hope you liked the Chapter. Review please :)