All he could think of was the pain. The pain and a slight nagging feeling that the clot pole in the next room was somehow to blame for his present situation.

Not directly of course. Merlin understood that the blame lay entirely in the hands that were presently gripping the dagger in his back. The prince wasn't even aware of this, or he was certain Arthur would do something. However if his damn armor hadn't needed polishing again, he wouldn't have been here to get stabbed in the first place.

Though come to think of it, this probably could have happened just about anywhere. This wasn't the average assassin in to finish off the prince, only to find a particularly dedicated manservant in their way. No, this was a familiar blonde, a sorceress who Merlin sort of wished would stop showing up. The young warlock watched her mouth move as she spouted off something or other about Morgana. He couldn't help but think that she looked so ridiculous, but honestly it was just because he was to distracted to hear anything she was saying. He wondered if it was always like this. If all last speeches were complete wastes if you didn't have a third party to witness it. Probably.

Merlin looked down at the blood, realizing with a shudder that the pain had subsided. Seeing the blood washing down his side, he felt that wasn't a good sign at all. He wanted the pain back if only it meant he might live. He contemplated the extra damage that would be done if his legs were to buckle before the knife was pulled out. Trying to move his mouth, he wished he could shout to Arthur, but he found his words failing him. Mordred could knock over his enemies with a single scream. Why couldn't he do something that useful?

Morgause stopped moving her mouth. He watched her as she pulled out the knife, and sort of wondered if it had been hard, standing so far to the side he could see her, while still keeping pressure on the knife. Not that he felt sympathy or anything.

When the clot pole to blame (for the armor at least) finally showed up, Merlin wasn't altogether too surprised to see him. His mind had become to heavy with blood loss to work properly. He sank to the floor, watching as Arthur too began to open and close his mouth. As the world finally went dark, he wondered if he would ever polish that armor again.

The crown prince found that the attacker's identity did not surprise him. It was the victim that made him blink. Merlin. The damn fool could get himself into trouble just about anywhere. He could stumble into it, or just throw himself into it to protect Arthur, as much as he hated that. This was different though. He had heard enough of this to know that Merlin had been the intended target.

Fearing the outcome that Morgause would simply kill Merlin if she heard someone approach, he had lingered, waiting for an opportune moment, which unfortunately did not come before she left. The conversation was entirely one sided, but incredibly revealing. With Morgause twisting around Merlin to keep her hand on the knife in his back, while making eye contact, she did not notice the prince listening in. Morgana was her half sister? More than that, Morgana was after the throne. He didn't want to speculate how or what that meant, but it wasn't good. It hurt, and if he hadn't more pressing things on his mind, he would be deeply dwelling on the idea Morgana wasn't as trustworthy as previously thought.

Right now he just had to get Merlin back to Gaius. He lifted his servant up, which was far too easy to do, and brought him out of that dark hallway. It was late, and the physician's chambers were dark. The old man likely thought Merlin was up doing chores, and he had no need to stay awake for his return. Arthur acknowledged he had been keeping Merlin up considerably late these past weeks, piling on the same chores while increasing the amount of time Merlin spent at his side during the day. He never stopped to wonder when his armor was polished if Merlin went on these hunting trips or out to the training field with him.

"Gaius!" He shouted, using his foot to kick at the door. He didn't want to put Merlin down only to have to pick him up again. He could feel the blood on his shirt and arms, and he didn't want to know how bad it was. He had tried to position the wound over his arm to minimize the bleeding, hoping his own minimal body weight upon it would be pressure enough. It just wasn't helping as much as it needed to. "Gaius!"

It was a pause before a lantern lit inside and Gaius finally groggily opened the door. It didn't take more than one look for him to spring into action. He motioned Arthur inside, running to get some herbs and bandages together. "Put him on the cot over there." He said, grabbing a few other items. "And fetch some water from near the fire place." It didn't matter it Arthur was a prince or slave, he would be given orders the same right now. The physician was not interested in his status difference, and Arthur didn't seem to mind as he did what he was told. "What happened?"

"Morgause." Arthur said darkly. "She had a dagger in his back." He didn't go into details of Morgana. He needed to think on that a bit more before approaching Gaius. He also wanted to speak when the man's mind wasn't on Merlin. He was acting so professional, but he could see the fear in his eyes. Merlin was like his son… just as he was Arthur's friend. No one in this room wanted to see him die.

"Please roll him over." Gaius instructed. He came over, frowning deeply as Arthur did so. The boy was pale, and the temperature of his skin made Arthur instinctively pull away. Too cold, far too cold. For a moment he feared Merlin to be dead already, but he was still breathing. Gaius shook his head, seeing the large pool of blood that had formed on the cot, just since Merlin had been laid down. "He's lost a lot of blood." The old physician began to work more quickly, cleaning the wound and bandaging it as tight as he could. "We have to wait and see if he's lost too much."

Arthur looked at Merlin only briefly before distracting himself building a fire. It seemed so fast. So little time between Morgause and now. So much blood. Merlin had battled armies, mystical beasts, dragons and plagues. Was it going to be one tiny little dagger that killed him? A small quiet dagger in a dark alley way almost alone.

Morgana. It was her fault. Somehow, she was to blame for this. He had heard the topic of the speech Morgause had given. Somehow, Morgana would answer for this.

In the mean time however, there was only waiting. Gaius sighed, pulling over a chair, and making the crown prince sit. "Please sire. Tell me everything." Arthur took a deep breath, and began.

So, reviews are always appriciated. It makes me think there are people out there, and makes me wish to continue. I feel it got too slow and awkward at the end. It's my first Merlin fanfic, so I'm hoping I ease into the characters a bit more.