Emrys and Cato

Arthur (Y/n)

Y/n POV

There are too many times that I have been immediately able to tell that something was wrong. Although none of them can quite compare to when Prince Arthur ran into the physicians quarters with Merlin unconscious and hanging over his shoulder. Gaius and Gwen followed him in. I stood up from my place in the back of the room and quickly discarded the book I was reading.

   “Lay him on the bed quickly; he’s struggling to breathe” Gaius instructed Arthur.

   “What happened?” I asked, standing.

   “He- he saved my life.”

   Arthur seemed surprised enough to not notice that Gaius and I particularly were not. I ran over to Merlin and quickly checked his pulse. It was faint but it was there.

   “Gwen fetch me some water and a towel.” Gaius instructed

   “Is he going to be alright?” Arthur asked.

   I placed my hand on Merlin's forehead, but pulled back quickly.

   “He’s burning up. What happened?” I asked again.

   “You can cure him, can’t you?” Gwen asked, glancing between us. She handed a cloth to Gaius.

   “I won’t know until I can identify the poison. Pass me the goblet.”

   So to put everything I know together, Merlin saved Arthur's life by drinking from a poisoned goblet. Seeing as Merlin had saved Arthur, it was probably Arthurs goblet. The feast tonight was with Balinor’s men to end a war.

   But why would someone poison Arthur? The death of Arthur would cause the king to go into mourning and no one can adequately run a country in that state. Camelot would fall.

   I gasped as I came to my conclusion: the kingdom would be Ballinors.

   “Ah, there’s something stuck on the inside,” Gaius muttered.

   Arthur stood from his seat across from me. “What is it?”

   “Looks like a flower petal of some kind”

   “His brow’s on fire.” Gwen made eye contact with me.

   “Keep him cool: It’ll help his fever go down,” I quickly told her.

   I kept my eyes on Merlin. He cringed every so often. Lines were formed in the space between his eyebrows and similar ones on his forehead. His hands stayed at his side, occasionally twitching.

   A loud noise came from behind me and I flinched. I turned to see Gaius flipping through the pages of a thick book and my eyes went back to Merlin. His eyes were closed tightly and the bags under them were barely noticeable now in the dark lighting. I’d been helping him with his chores so he could finish earlier and get more sleep. He needed it. He still does.

   “Ah, the petal comes from the Mortaeus flower. It says here that someone poisoned by the Morteaus can only be saved by a potion from the leaf of the very same flower. It can only be found in the caves deep beneath the Forest of Balor. The flower grows on the roots of the Mortaeus tree.”

   “That doesn’t look particularly friendly,” Arthur said.

   I held back a scoff, of course there's some sort of terrifying monster.

   “A Cockatrice. It guards the forest. It’s venom is potent. A single drop would mean certain death. Few who have crossed the Mountains of Isgaard in search of the Mortaeus flower have made it back alive.”