Mistaken Identity

- 21 -

Gaius peeled the bandages back from Arthur's side and frowned. It was clear to him now that unless something changed, the Prince would never recover. The wound wasn't healing and Gaius could do little more than ease the man's pain for the rest of his life.

Merlin, being Merlin, had offered to use magic to try and heal Arthur, but Gaius had forbidden it. Uther was still on the hunt for the real sorcerer and it was too risky to try anything under the King's nose.

The physician wouldn't let Merlin risk his own life, but Arthur couldn't stay like this. He was the future king after all. Gaius hardened his heart. Arthur's life was worth ten of his.

Quickly, he mixed up a powerful sedative and handed it to Arthur. "This will help with the pain, Sire."

The prince swallowed the drug and grimaced.

Then he groaned as the world began to swim before his eyes.

The physician gently lowered the young man back onto the bed as Arthur's eyes rolled back in his head and the sedative took effect.

Closing his eyes and searching his old mind for distant memories, he began to chant.

"Gestepe hole. Þurhhæle, Arthur Pendragon."

Sighing, the old man opened his eyes. To his surprise and relief, the wound was closing up. The muscle had regrown and the gap was beginning to knit itself together again. Gaius sighed again. Arthur was well on his way to recovery.

But he couldn't let Uther have any suspicions about what he'd done.

Clenching his teeth, he gathered a needle and thread, and began slowly stitching the now healing wound in the Prince's side.

It would hurt and it did undo some of the magic he had just performed, but it wouldn't alter the long-term affect and if he avoided suspicion, it was worth it.

The physician smiled as he tied off the thread. He looked forward to informing Arthur of the good news.

— — —

Uther smiled in grim satisfaction as a man with similar proportions to Arthur was dragged before him by two knights: one of them Leon. Leon was another who would take some convincing before he forgave the King, Uther reminded himself mentally. He knew that the ordeal had been difficult for the knight, too, who was fiercely overprotective of the Prince and would not let any harm come to him, and yet was ultimately loyal to his King. It had been impossible for the knight to serve both loyalties, and so he had been forced to choose. And Uther knew that the choice had not been an easy one.

He glanced up when the knight spoke. "My Lord, we believe this is the sorcerer who is responsible for the... misunderstanding which led to the Prince's arrest."

Uther could tell that Leon was choosing his words carefully, and he was grateful for it. He did not want to have another reason to punish the knight after his earlier defiance when asked to lead the hunt for the sorcerer.

"I want you to take a group of your best knights. Hunt down this sorcerer. Kill him if you have to." Uther had spoken with fierce determination.

Still angry at the King for his attempted execution of his own son, Leon had answered: "Of course My Lord. Although I will not kill him on sight; it might really be your son!"

Uther had been shocked that Leon had spoken out against him in such a way. "Leave. Now. Find the sorcerer."

With barely a nod, Leon had left Uther angry, alone and guilty.

Uther looked with disgust at the man kneeling before him. The man who had so successfully dared to defy the law and practise sorcery. Of all things, to kill Arthur. It made the King shudder to think how close it had been. It made him angry. It made him need to blame someone other than himself. And this man, wretched and on his knees before him, was perfect. Uther adopted a sinister smile. "What is your name, sorcerer?" The very word made him feel ill. Contaminating his kingdom...

"Galdor Dry. And you?"

He grimaced as Leon twisted his arm further behind his back, but it was the King who spoke.

"You know who I am as well as I do. This is my kingdom and you have broken my laws! You nearly killed my only son!"

"I mean, technically that was you, but if we really want to lay blame... I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for you and your murderous laws, Uther Pendragon. If I had only succeeded, the grief on your face, your heavy conscience: it would all have been worth it to see those things. To watch as you were crushed by the weight of your own actions. It is no less than you deserve." Galdor gave the king an innocent smile, as if every word in his last sentence wasn't an act of treason.

He had signed his own death warrant and he knew it. But then, it was pretty much already signed. By Uther.

In fact, later on in the throne room, Uther was about to actually sign it when the doors burst open and Arthur entered. He was still limping, but not as heavily, and he held his right side gingerly. Merlin winced; it looked painful.

"Wait." Arthur's voice was calm and steady, and for the first time since his pardon, he looked Uther straight in the eye.

And when Uther looked back, all the King saw was pain, hurt and rage.

"Why? This man was almost responsible for your death."

"But is it right to murder as vengeance for murder?"

Uther looked at his son in disbelief. Arthur was challenging his authority in public. "Now is not the time, Arthur."

"And when exactly is the time? When this man is dead, burned at the stake like you would have done to me?"

"Arthur this man is guilty of treason!"

"That's what you said about me." The Prince's voice was calm, but his ire was rising.

"I will not listen to this foolish nonsense!"

"I'm just asking, My Lord, that he be given a fair trial. And that if you should find him guilty, you do not burn him."

Without another word, the Prince limped from the room. And it was that physical reminder of his son's suffering and the reason why he did not want to see another man burned that caused him to turn to Leon. "Delay this man's execution. Give him a trial."

The court seemed split. Some nodded in approval, others murmured worriedly. Could the King no longer properly follow his own laws? Or was he showing mercy by honouring his son's wishes?

Uther stood and dismissed the court before turning on his heel. He had much to think about before the trial.