Merlin was fast asleep on the bed in his room when Arthur decided that he could no longer keep his silence.

"Gaius, what happened to him?"

"His body was deprived of sleep, food and water for an unhealthy amount of time, Sire."

"And how did that come to be, Gaius? Surely as his guardian, you must have ensured that he has regular meals and sleep."

Gaius faced Arthur looking rather offended.

"I did try to coax him into eating and sleeping sire. He would just not respond to my pleas. Something on his mind reduced him to this state. As a matter of fact, I was heading out to find you to check if you knew anything about what is troubling him when you carried him in here."

"I wish I knew Gaius. For now, I'm just as clueless as you are. What can we do now?"

"Nothing much sire, we just wait for him to wake up and then try to get him some nutrition. After he is capable of handling it, we must find out what moved him to risk his health so. Why don't you head back to your duties, Arthur? I will send word if there is any change. I'm sure your father is looking for you."

"Of course, Gaius."

As Arthur turned to reach for the door, a soldier burst into the physician's chambers.

"Gaius ! Sir Leon took a fall from his horse and has injured his head deeply! The king has sent for you immediately!"

Gaius looked at Merlin for a moment before making up his mind.

"Sire, if you would be kind enough to watch over Merlin till I manage to send Gwen to look after him, I will go attend to Leon. If Merlin wakes up before she turns up, please try to make him eat or drink. There are some fruits in that shelf."

And before Arthur could respond, Gaius left the room with his medical kit, the frantic soldier showing the way.

Without any option, Arthur sat down heavily on the stool next to Merlin's bed. Before, he had any time to even think, Merlin began to come around.

"Merlin, are you awake? Can you hear me? Merlin?"

Merlin looked at him with those haunted blue eyes, pushed himself up with some help from Arthur before he could actually listen to Arthur rant about something. By the time he could clear his vision, Arthur was pushing a bowl of fruits into his hands.

"Eat."

Unable to think of a way to get out of the situation, merlin looked into the bowl.

Merlin looked at the strawberries in front of him. The redness of the fruit. His vision as he shook at the sight of them. After a minute they looked like a rose. The rose was so red. Like the dress she was wearing. The dress was drenched with her blood. Her blood was all over the both of them by the time he could carry her to the lake, his arms stinging. No matter how far he was from the place, he could still smell the blood, the sodden stones of the pitiful place that Freya was a prisoner of for her last days. There was so much blood. More than he had ever seen. The feel of the warm and sticky liquid all over him turned his stomach and before he knew it he retched all over Arthur's feet. His shoulders groaned and cracked as the sickness shook his very core. Soaring pains shot through his body as he chocked on bile and memories for the longest time before he gained control over his stomach. His body was covered with cold sweat and his vision was shaking. He was finally able to focus on Arthur's face but it seemed so distant. Arthur was saying something, his mouth was moving. Before he could try to listen to his master, blissful darkness took over him.

"God Merlin, What happened to you?" asked Arthur, mostly to himself as he watched his friend try to shift into a more comfortable position on the bed.