His head absolutely ached.

Noise, once as foggy and clouded as the thoughts in his head, now pierced his ears like daggers. His forehead felt heavy, as if something was pressed against it. It was very unsettling. He wanted it gone.

Raising his arm, to push the dreaded thing off, looked to be impossible. The best he seemed to be able to manage was a weak twitch of his fingers. After the first attempt, he didn't dare try again. His body screamed at him for doing so.

Ignoring the hornets drilling outward from inside his skull, he chose to instead focus on the conversation that was slowly becoming clear to his sluggish mind.

"…Anyone…blame…must be me, Sire. The boy is my ward, after all. If I were paying half the amount of attention to him as I have been to my medicine bag, he would never have made it out the door this morning. Or, so help me, for the past few weeks."

"Yes, yes, but he is my manservant, Gaius! He sees you once in the morning, right before he sets off, and once at night, just before he sleeps. The last only occurs if he's lucky. He is by my side far more than he is ever by yours, which makes this more my fault than yours."

The words swirled around him with more vigor, causing an unexpected groan to tear itself from his raw throat. Silence ensued. Merciful silence.

The object resting on his head was lifted off and cool air was left to caress what skin had been covered. Warm fingers slid across his face, checking the temperature. He was disappointed when the soothing strokes ceased.

"Merlin," a caring, confident voice whispered eagerly. "Merlin, can you hear me?" No matter how much he wished to answer, he could not muster the strength. "Can you open your eyes for me?"

Lifting his eyelids apart was like trying to tear a drunken Gwaine away from three flirtatious barmaids. That particular member of King Arthur's knights was as promiscuous as they came. 'Not that he isn't a good man. But, you'd think a guy would have standards. Especially since that one time with the girl from-'

"Merlin?"

Oh, right, he ought to be doing something about his current situation, shouldn't he? His eyes fluttered open, only to scrunch bock into a semi closed position as the light tried to fry them from his sockets. When everything came into focus, he was surprised to find a very troubled King gazing down at him as if he could shatter like glass at any moment.

"There you go… Here," Large hands pushed a golden goblet to his lips, "drink." Swallowing deeply, as he would have otherwise drown, Merlin had little time to relish the feeling of warm water running across his dry tongue before it was whisked away and the well-worn, calloused hands of his guardian, Gaius, began to probe at his naked chest.

"You, my young friend, are an idiot," he snapped as they grazed across his ribs. "How long have you been going without eating? Let me rephrase that: How long have you been eating so little? Not to mention that you became hypothermic during the night. I thought I taught you better than that. I should at least be able to rely on you, of all people, to keep themselves healthy." Ashamed, Merlin averted his gaze. Gaius huffed in annoyance, but refrained from admonishing him a second time. He glanced at Arthur, who's expression was unreadable, and withdrew from his side. "We'll talk more later, as long as you don't happen to spontaneously combust on your way back to our quarters." With that, the physician once again disappeared.

An awkward atmosphere descended upon the king's chambers, both men unwilling to discuss the turn of events. The pale boy sighed, closing his eyes in weariness, only to have them snap back open as he felt a hand rest on his sternum.

"You can't get up by yourself, can you," Arthur asked, slipping his hand under his servant and pushing on his back until Merlin was comfortably set in a sitting position.

Merlin flushed in embarrassment. "Clotpole," he mumbled, unsure of what else to say. He glanced up at the blonde in front of him. Thanking the prat would only boost his ego. He'd probably have to deal with Arthur calling him weak once this was over. He scowled as he thought of the torment to come. Wasn't it bad enough that his masculinity was questioned on a nearly daily basis?

Surprisingly, the king just smiled. A soft smile that was laced with so much relief and gratefulness that it left Merlin speechless.

And… It's gone.

"I hope you know that I'll be watching you closely from now on," Arthur hissed, glaring torture and death and kicked puppies at the raven-haired boy. "you'll be eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner in my chambers, as well as whatever else Gaius decides to give you. Every last morsel will be swallowed. Not a crumb will be left uneaten."

At a loss, Merlin nodded.

"You will tell me where you got each and every one of those scars on your body. I don't care how insignificant the story, or how small the mark. And, to make sure you never add another to your harrowing collection, you will attend every training session my knights and I have."

Merlin winced.

"Your clothes, as well, will need to be changed. I can't believe how moth-eaten they are! Honestly! They look about ready to unravel into a pile of twine! As soon as you can stand, we are visiting the tailor, and we are not leaving until you have clothes warm enough to satisfy a bald bear and numerous enough to please an army."

Dazed, Merlin scratched the back of his head. Muscles throbbing, head pounding, and mind spinning, he allowed a mocking smile to split his lips.

"Wow," he chuckled. "I should get sick more often."