Here's the next update. Hope you enjoy. Oh, I don't own Merlin or everyone would know about his powers by now.

The Poisoned Chalice – Part 3

"Absolutely not," Uther countered, standing from Merlin's bedside.

Arthur blinked, his face quickly reddening with rage. "You cannot be serious. He will die otherwise."

"We will send a contingent of knights. They will go out and collect this flower. But you will remain here in the castle."

"I will not leave my brother's fate in the hands of others," Arthur argued. It blinded him to the pretty serving girl trying to make herself as small and unobtrusive as possible. It blinded him to Morgana dropping her head to Merlin's chest, her thin frame trembling as she sobbed silently.

"And I will not wait by both your bedsides! Do no disobey me, Arthur, or so help me…"

"What?" Arthur sneered. "You will ignore me or treat me like a visiting seventh son like you have to Merlin. This is your fault." He jabbed a finger at Merlin's waxen form, his body writhing under the pain. "He has been so desperate to please you. He drank poison just to do so."

Uther knew how true Arthur's aim could be but had never appreciated its strike until now.

"If he dies, I will never forgive you."

"Guard!" Uther snapped. Instantly, two appeared in the physician's tower. "Please inform Sir Leon that Gaius has instructions for him and a contingent of knights. They are to prepare for a two-day journey. Once you have finished with that, please escort my eldest son to his quarters and be sure that he does not leave them without my express permission."
Arthur shook his head. "You can't do this. Father, listen to reason. Do you want him to die? I trust Leon, but I must do this."
"You have a choice, you can sit here with me and your brother or you can be returned to your rooms."

So often Uther compared Arthur to his mother, he had forgotten that Arthur carried a heavy dose of his own stubborn willfulness. Once they had something in their heads, nothing could deter them from it.

"You can't stop me," Arthur muttered.

Uther sighed. He waved a hand at the guards and they instantly advanced on Arthur, taking either side of him. Before the prince knew what was happening, he was all but contained. "Take him to his quarters."

Arthur begged and pleaded, fought against the guards and screamed as he was dragged away.

Gaius approached him once Arthur was gone. "Sire, I need some space. I appreciate your worry for him, but I need to be sure I have done all I can for him. And all these hovering hands and bodies are not helping. Please allow me a few minutes alone with him."

"He cannot die, Gaius," Uther murmured, finally bringing his gaze back to his youngest. He only hoped that Merlin would not begrudge his choice. Under any other circumstances he would have allowed Arthur to obtain the needed ingredients for Merlin's cure.

It was necessary for Arthur to survive. Inherently, Merlin had known that. It was why he had drunk the poison before Arthur could even contemplate it. Uther could not also forget that Merlin had looked to him as he swallowed the poison, expectation in those exotic blue eyes.

"I assure you, sire, that I will do everything I can for him. I cannot do that at present."

Uther nodded. "Of course." He crossed the room, bent down and gently took Morgana into his arms. "Morgana we must leave him for a short time. Let the physician do his work." She shook her head, letting herself go limp so that her full weight fell on Merlin.

"M'lady," a timid voice said. "Please come with me. You and I will get what you need to stay by his side; another cot and blankets."

The pretty serving girl took Morgana's hand urging her to rise. Between the two of them, the managed to get Morgana into the hall, allowing Gaius the space to do everything he needed to help heal Merlin.

Uther watched as the young serving girl took Morgana off to gather her supplies for her vigil. Standing guard by the door, Uther was torn. Part of him wanted to go off himself and collect the flower that meant his son's life, the other part wanted nothing more than to break down and sob over Merlin's body.

For the first time in a long while, Uther wondered if he should send word to Ealdor. Hunith deserved to know if her son was dying. Merlin had become so ingratiated in the kingdom, and in Uther's heart, it was rare for the king to remember that Merlin was not of his blood. It was at times like these, when he was hurt or ill that Uther wished to have Balinor back. He couldn't help wish that everything could be different. That Ygraine would be alive. That Merlin would be allowed his dangerous talents so close to magic.

Magic.

Before Uther's head could fully contemplate this thought, Sir Leon came striding forward. "Sire, I have some bad news. Prince Arthur has subdued his guard and has escaped the castle."

Uther's first reaction was anger at Arthur's rebelliousness, followed quickly by fear. He should be glad that the two brothers were so willing to die for one another. Yet, all it would lead to was one of them dead.

"Send out the alert. If he is found, he is to be put in a cell."

"Yes, sire."

"Then gather your men, Sir Leon. Merlin's life rests in your hands."

When Morgana heard the news about Arthur, relief flooded her like a spring rain – warm and cleansing. She should have known better. As loyal as Arthur was to his father, Merlin often held his first priority. The only thing that usurped Merlin was Camelot.

With Arthur not in custody but required to stay in shadows, Morgana and Gwen had work to do. She sent her maid to the kitchens to gather what food Arthur would need for the journey to the Forrest of Balor. Meanwhile, Morgana crept to the hidden tunnels, just inside the city, close to the castle.

It was their place - hers, Merlin's and Arthur's – the place they went to hide away from their fears and sorrows. When her father had died, Merlin had held her here while she sobbed. After being sick for two months straight, Merlin had been coaxed back to the castle with promises from Arthur that one day they would be written in legends.

Now, Morgana hoped to give Arthur what he needed to save Merlin.

She hadn't thought to bring a torch and had to stumble blindly through the tunnels, her fingers tracing over the cold stone. She breathed a sigh when she saw an orange-red light. "Arthur?" she whispered.

He stepped into the light, a familiar silhouette. "Morgana?"

She ran forward, hugging him uncharacteristically.

"How is he?" Arthur asked, drawing back.

She shook her head. "There's been no change."

He sighed, his jaw tightening with repressed emotion. "I must leave."

"Gwen is getting food and supplies. I don't know how we're going to get you out of the city. Uther has patrols everywhere looking for you. I barely made it here myself."

Arthur growled, kicking his toe into the ground and sending a plume of dust that dances in the firelight. "I don't know how he can remain behind and do nothing."

"You've always been a better man than your father," she hissed, tears pricking at her green eyes. Her thoughts turned to Merlin, dying slowly, why Uther bellowed commanded.

Arthur ignored her comment. "I need a distraction, something to keep the guards busy while I steal a horse."

"I'll think of something. Meet me at the stables before the sun rises."

"Morgana," Arthur stopped her as she turned to leave. "Tell him to hang on."

Uther sat next to Merlin's side when Gaius finally allowed him back in the room. He was doing his best not to be put out by the physician's imperious nature. Gaius was saving his son; he had no cause to be petty.

Instead, he focused on the sheen of sweat covering Merlin's pale skin. He carded his fingers through the dark hair and winced as he felt the fire from his son's brow. "Is Arthur right, Gaius? Did I push him into this?"

"Merlin's at a difficult stage in his life, sire. He has a world of possibilities in front of him that he didn't have only a fortnight ago. He's eager to grasp all those possibilities for himself, but he has not yet learned caution. He's watched you and Arthur save the day time and time again, always from the comfort of his bed or from a window far away from harm. He does want to prove to you and to Arthur who he is. But mostly, he wants to prove it to himself."

Uther listened, his gaze locked on Merlin's struggling form. He wondered if this could have all been avoided if Gaius's potion to bind Merlin's dragonlord powers had worked faster or if Uther had just let it be. But he had worried about bringing him to Camelot, with the Great Dragon living beneath the castle and what a dragon's influence could do to a child.

Then there was Nimueh and her threats. Some part of him had worried that she was right. That eventually Merlin would regain his power and hate him more powerfully than any other sorcerer. He would have created his greatest enemy out of one of three he loved the most. Merlin wasn't just any sorcerer or even just any dragonlord. He was his son.

He loved Merlin as much as he loved Arthur.

"I shouldn't have ignored him. It was just those hallucinations, Gaius. I should have known that he needed me now more than ever," Uther said. "I should hav…," he drew off. Abruptly, he stood up, leaned over and risked the Merlin's fire brow with a fatherly kiss.

"Sire?" Gaius asked.

"Do whatever it takes to keep him alive, Gaius. Whatever it takes."

"Of course, sire. You know I will."

The earnestness in Gaius's voice stopped the king for a moment. "Yes, I forget that he has been in your care for so long."

Gaius bent his head down in a sign of humility. "He is not my son, but often I think of him that way."

"I understand," Uther said.

He turned to leave again, but Gaius stopped him a second time. "Sire, where are you going?"

"If Arthur is so set on going to the Forrest of Balor, he will need company," Uther said.

Morgana met Gwen in her quarters, her friend pacing nervously in front of the bed. Her hands were shifting and clasping inside each other. Sitting at the foot, wrapped in a cloth, was much more food than Arthur would need.

"Gwen. I don't know if Arthur will need all that."

"Oh, m'lady. I didn't know. I had to tell him the truth. You have to understand."

The other girl looked so close to tears that Morgana grasped her hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm afraid she's referring to me," Uther said, stepping away from a shadowy corner of Morgana's bedroom. "Where's Arthur?"

She owed Uther her life. When her father died, she knew that she could have easily been cast away, without family, with no land or money, abandoned to make her own way. Uther had taken her in due to his friendship with her father. But as much as she was grateful for that act, she could not give the king what he wanted.

"No," she shook her head. "I cannot tell you, sire. I need him to succeed."

Uther moved forward, gripping her by her shoulders. It wasn't angry though as she had suspected. There was something pleading in his eyes that she had never seen before. "I need him to succeed, too, Morgana. But I cannot let both of them die."

She sniffed, turning away from that pleading gaze. "I do not know how you can protect one without endangering the other."

"That's why I must find Arthur. I know I cannot turn him from his task." Morgana turned back, locking on Uther's gaze. "I need to find him, Morgana. Then we can go to this Forrest of Balor together. I will make sure that both of them are safe."

Morgana could barely believe what she was hearing. It had been some time since Uther had ridden out on a quest himself. She might have suspected a trick, if it weren't for that foreign look his eyes. He was just as desperate to save Merlin as they all were.
She took his hand. "Follow me."