Arthur sat in a chair across from his father studying the older man. His hair was unkempt and in a disarray, even though the prince knew that both the king's manservant and Gwen would comb it throughout the day. Unfortunately, the King had taken to running his hands through his hair when agitated, pulling at it.

The king sat there in his chair, his once proud shoulders hunched over under the weight of a light quilt. The whiskers on his face indicated he had not been shaved that day. In the beginning Arthur had yelled at the king's manservant for that, but was told that the king would sometimes become agitated and the servant feared that he would accidently cut the monarch. Last week, when the king had neither shaved nor properly bathed for several days, they had Gaius give him a potion that would calm the king. Gaius had warned them to use it sparingly that it would lose its potency if taken too often. There was no need to fear of that! The concoction had made Uther as submissive as a simpleton. It had hurt the prince to see his father in such a state.

Uther shifted and brought Arthur out of his musings. He looked up to see his father staring at him with a slight smile on his lips.

"What bothers you Arthur?" The king asked, his voice gravelly from disuse.

Arthur startled "Nothing Father, I was just lost in thought for a moment."

"It is not good for the people to see their king daydreaming." The king retorted, but kindly.

"Then it is good that I am not the king yet. You will still have many years with that title, Sire" the young prince deferred back to his father.

Uther's smile had fallen as he appeared to slowly look around the room, the lost look starting to take over again. Lost in memories, lost in sadness, lost to the ghosts that haunted Uther's mind.

Arthur hated this. Gaius had explained the king's mental state to him on numerous occasions over the past weeks, but he still hated it. He just wanted his father back, not just snatches here and there when the king would become cognizant of his surroundings. Arthur was determined to keep his father's attention a little longer.

"Horatius visited with you the other day, did you enjoy it?" The prince asked trying to prod his father to stay in the 'now'.

The king looked back at his son, confused for a moment, then broke out into a wide smile.

"Yes, Horatius, It was good to see him. Is he still in Camelot?" The king inquired.

"Yes, but only for another day or two." Came the prince's reply.

"You should try to entice him to stay. He would be a great asset to the council. He has many contacts across the Five Kingdoms" The king said.

"Perhaps you should ask him" the prince responded.

"No, he will not return while I am king. We are good friends, but we have our differences in opinion. He strongly opposed The Purge. I know he knows the dangers of magic, but his wife, he loved her. He chose to leave….Yet, he is still faithful to me and Camelot. He would be a good advisor to you when you take the throne…" The king trailed off.

"Still, it will be a long time before that happens. You will get better Father." The prince assured his father.

"But what of now? Who will advise you so that the council will not try to take advantage of you? You are still barely more than a boy, they will use that against you." The king asked grimly.

"Oh! That reminds me, I have received a response from Uncle Agravaine. He should arrive within a month. He has promised to stay as long as we need him to." The prince told his father, hoping to assure the older man.

"Good. Agravaine is knowledgeable of the court and how to rule. He will advise you well. Learn from him. He is also a strong ally against magic since it took your mother from us." The king stated.

Arthur cringed. Any time his mother or Morgana were mentioned, his father would start to get lost within himself again. "I will Father" he said as he watched his father's eyes become distant once more.

Arthur sat next to his quiet father for ten minutes when he heard the door quietly open. The prince looked up to see the king's manservant enter.

The manservant, Philip, bowed and walked in the room. "May I get you any refreshment, Sire?"

"No, I am fine." The prince responded.

Philip looked over at the king and noticed he was in a unresponsive state "Shall I put His Highness to bed, Sire?"

Arthur looked at his father. He knew his father would not come out of his silence for the rest of the night. "Yes, I think so".

The manservant placed one hand, ever so gently, on the king's shoulder and bent down so that the king could see his face. "Sire, it is time for bed". He stood and grabbed Uther's upper arm to help him rise, but the king just sat there.

Arthur watched as the man gently tried to get the king to rise. He rose himself and went to his father's other side and mimicked what Philip had done and bent down to where his father could see him. "Let's get you to bed, Father. It is getting late."

He then rose and took his father by the other arm and prince and manservant helped the king to stand, then maneuvered him over to his bed.

Arthur stood back and watched as Philip readied Uther for bed. The manservant spoke to king in hushed comforting tones as he removed Uther's tunic then put on the night shirt, then got him to lay down. He then situated the pillows for the king and covered him with the blanket.

Arthur came up to the side of the bed and grabbed his father's hand. "Goodnight Father, I will see you tomorrow."

The prince and manservant walked to the door. "Who will be staying with him tonight?" The prince asked quietly.

"I will sire" Philip answered back just as quietly.

"Haven't you stayed the last three nights?" The prince asked.

"Yes sire, but it is an honor to do so. Besides….I hope it does not sound presumptuous on my part….but he seems to rest easier when I am here. I have been his manservant for years, and I believe that he is comfortable with someone familiar around."

"I think you may be right" the prince responded. "Thank you for being so loyal to him."

Philip reddened slightly and gave a small smile. "Is not Merlin as loyal to you, Sire?"

Arthur, taken slightly aback, only nodded in agreement then left. The door clicking closed quietly behind him. He headed towards his rooms then noticed that it was still early. He couldn't have been with his father more than thirty minutes at most. He sighed and decided to take a walk. He needed some fresh air.

Arthur wanted to be alone with his thoughts. So instead of heading out to the wall, he went up the tower. He could see everything from there. He always referred to this tower as Merlin's "brooding tower". He was well aware that this was one of the places the young man went when he was upset.

He stepped out into the night air. It was rather windy, but not enough to make him seek the comfort of the stairwell. He walked out and watched the town far below.

He stood at the wall and let the thoughts and emotions wash over him.

He was afraid. Afraid that his father wouldn't get better.

He was angry. Angry at Morgana for betraying them like that. Angry that his father had sired her through a highly inappropriate affair with the wife of one of Uther's closest friends.

He was unsure. Unsure that he was ready to rule.

He felt betrayed. Betrayed by what Morgana did just recently. Betrayed by what Uther had done years ago.

He felt…..

Confused? He looked down at the courtyard and town below. He saw a shadow move. He looked again, all was still. Then…there it was…something out of the corner of his eye. Yes. There was definitely someone down there sneaking around. It wouldn't have even caught his attention had the person just been walking around, but his slow movements in and out of the shadows, spoke of stealth, of not wanting to be seen.

The moon was full and bright, Arthur squinted harder trying to make out the person moving in the shadows through the town. He saw other people walking around. He saw Percival and Gwaine heading for the tavern and the person hide himself to keep the two knights from seeing him. Arthur wanted to scream out and get the knights attention, but knew they would not hear him from this distance. After the two knights had passed, the figure came to the edge of the shadows again. Arthur noticed he was moving slowly, awkwardly…injured perhaps?

The prince noticed the figure was getting closer to the gates. The gates were open as per protocol, but Arthur knew that the guards would stop anyone coming in or out. The figure stopped at the last building and waited. Arthur would be able to see him better when he left the protection of the building as there were no more shadows to hide in. So he waited…and waited. He watched the guards on the gate and the guards doing rounds on the wall. The guards on the wall passed each other going in opposite directions. If it were Arthur, he would make his move now. But still there was the guards on the gate to contend with.

Arthur heard a soft sound down below, perhaps the sound of something falling. He watched as one of the guards on the gate ran off, then the other….to what apparently was some stacked barrels had been knocked over.

Arthur wanted to slap his forehead. He couldn't believe the guards were that dense! Sure enough, as soon as the guards left the gate unattended, the figure left the shadows and made his way past the gate to the field beyond. The prince lost sight of his quarry as the wall hid him from view. But it didn't matter. Arthur knew that gait, he recognized the way he moved, the way he swung his arms. He'd know that walk anywhere.

What the hell was Merlin doing?

A moment later, he saw the man walking across the field. He disappeared into the woods just as the two guards on their rounds came back into view and the guards on the gate return to their station.

To say that Arthur was flabbergasted would have been a gross understatement. First, what the hell was Merlin doing? The woods were dangerous right now. And what would he be doing in the woods anyway?

Secondly, how bad was their security that a clumsy and injured idiot can waltz right out the front gate of the city and no one be the wiser?

Arthur made his way down the stairs of the tower, by the time he made it to the courtyard, he was fairly certain that steam was coming out of his ears. Stupid manservants who didn't have the common sense to stay out of dangerous conditions. Stupid, stupid guards that leave their post allowing anyone to leave or enter undetected – not a month after Morgause and Morgana's attempted coup!

Heads. Would. Roll.
Well, Arthur conceded, not really. But there was no reason for the guards to know that.

Arthur came to a stop in front of the two guards at the gate. The stood at attention. Both could see how angry the prince was and were nervous at what could have caused him to be in such a state.

Then Arthur smiled… and the guards were terrified.

"I was wondering" mused the prince in a friendly manner, "why either of you…. No….why both of you would leave your post?"

"Sire?" One of the guards asked nervously.

"I asked" drawled out the prince, "why you would leave your post while on duty."

"Sire, Who sai…." One of the guards started

The prince jerked up his hand with his index finger in a 'wait' signal, then slowly lowered the finger to point at the guard who was speaking.

"Before you let that lie out of your mouth, I'll just let you know that I was standing on the tower. That one right there" he spoke softly and indicated the tower behind his back with his other hand. "I saw the gate. I saw one of you leave. Then I saw the other of you leave. And THEN there was the gate. Standing there completely unguarded.

"Now then, I'll ask again. Why did you leave the gate unguarded?"

"Sire, the barrels became dislodged and began rolling around. Someone could have been hurt!" One of the guards exclaimed.

"I see" the prince responded calmly. "And how many people were around that could have been injured?"

"Well, there was no one there when we got there, but we did check to see that no one had been rolled over by the barrels." The other guard responded.

"I see" the prince responded calmly again "And you didn't find this suspicious?"

"No sire" the guard said nervously. "But Sire, no one came or went through the gates. We kept an eye on it."

The prince's countenance went from placid to furious instantaneously. "That is where you would wrong. Someone did go through the gate." The prince roared.

The two guards paled.

"Consider yourselves both on report. Report to your commander tomorrow morning." The prince glared at them. He started to turn to walk away then turned back. "Be glad I know who went through the gate, or you two would be facing the gallows"

The prince turned and walked away but not before hearing an audible gulp from the guards behind him.

Now all he had to do was wait for Merlin.

Arthur was getting worried. Merlin hadn't returned yet. It has been over three hours. He had even gone to Gaius' chambers to see if Merlin had already sneaked back in without Arthur noticing.

Arthur paced back and forth over curtain wall staying behind the battlements so that he wouldn't be seen. He alternated between wanting to wring his servant's neck and being worried out of his mind. He paused and leaned against the wall and looked through the crenel. There! He saw movement. He stepped back into the shadows and watched. About fifteen minutes later he saw a figure come out of the woods and walk towards the castle gates. Then he lost sight of him again. There was no question though as to who it was. Arthur quickly left the walls and made his way towards the physician's chambers. He waited. He heard Merlin's footsteps and heavy breathing and braced himself. The second the man turned the corner his hand snaked out and grabbed Merlin's arm.

Merlin looked up first angrily then shocked. "Arthur! Um, what are you doing out this time of night?"

"Where the hell have you been?" Came the prince's angry reply.