Without a doubt, Valiant's shield was magic.

***

Later that night, while Gaius and Merlin were attending to the injured knight (who apparently had been bitten by a snake as Will had believed), Will was up in Jem's room, finishing setting out a surprise candlelight dinner.

All day, Jem had been acting strange. Will hadn't quite managed to put his finger on it, but there was definitely something different about Jem's demeanour. He had laughed at Will's jokes but the smile never quite reached his eyes. He refused to meet Will's gaze when questioned. He hadn't even mocked Will at all today. Something was definitely wrong, and William Herondale was going to find out exactly what it was.

Jem arrived in his chambers just at seven in the evening. He undid his cloak, sighing tiredly before he turned around and spotted Will, a table full of candles and food behind him.

"What is this?" he asked with a smile. Will grinned, taking Jem's hand and leading him to his seat.

"Well, you haven't been yourself all day," Will said. "So I thought I'd cheer you up a bit."

"Thank you," Jem said, as he sat down. Will went to the other end of the table to his plate and the two fell into the easy conversation they always found themselves in. It was only when Will mentioned his suspicions about Valiant that Jem's eyes darkened.

"What is it?" Will asked, picking up on Jem's sudden change in mood instantly.

"Nothing," Jem replied, taking a sip of his wine to cover it up.

"No, don't try and hide it away," Will said, getting up and kneeling by Jem's side. "What's wrong? Are you worried about Arthur? Because Merlin and I are going to protect him. We're working on it right now-"

"Do you think I'm weak?"

The question caught Will completely off guard. He looked at Jem with shock and concern in his eyes but the prince didn't meet his gaze. Instead, he looked down at his plate, picking at his leftover food.

"Of course I don't," Will said softly. "No one does."

"Knight Valiant seems to think so," Jem muttered. For a moment, Will felt nothing but pure and blinding rage.

"Did he say something to you?" he asked. "I swear I'm going to take him apart when I get my hands on him-" He stopped when he saw a lone tear fall down Jem's cheek before he furiously brushed it away. "You can't listen to him, Jem. You just can't. You're not weak. You're so strong. No one could survive as long as you have with your illness, but you have the strength to keep fighting for the people around you. Surely the only thing that matters is what the people you love think of you."

"I suppose," Jem mumbled.

"Hey, look at me," Will said, placing his hand on Jem's cheek and turning his face towards him. Will hated how red Jem's eyes were, and hated that yet another tear slipped down his cheeks. He'd obviously been thinking about this for a while which would explain Jem's strange mood today. But Will knew better than anyone that if Jem thought about something like this for too long...well, the consequences would be heart breaking. "You are not weak, Jem. You are not weak."

"Okay," Jem whispered.

"You are not weak," Will repeated. Jem gave him a small smile and planted a kiss on his lips.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"Always."

***

The next day both Arthur and Valiant defeated their final opponents which meant that they'd face each other in the final. Merlin found Will in the stands, beckoning him to follow. After Will had excused himself from Jem, they met behind Arthur's tent.

"You were right," Merlin said. "It's Valiant's shield. That's how he's defeating all the better knights. The shield is magic."

"I know, I saw," Will replied. "But what does it do?"

"The snakes on it," Merlin replied. "They're alive. One word from Valiant and they bite his opponent. There are two knights now that have gone down with poisonous snake bites. That's the only explanation." Will was quiet for a minute. "Will, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know yet," he replied. "Arthur is good enough to defeat him but with that shield...that shield will kill Arthur. Valiant's already got in Jem's head. There's no way that I'm letting him kill Arthur."

"Wait, what did he do to Jem?" Merlin asked. Will's eyes went dark with anger.

"He called him weak," Will said, grinding his teeth. "He made Jem doubt himself. And a man who doubts himself with Jem's illness...God, I want to kill him. I don't care if I'm banished for it. It want to wring my hands around his neck for what he said."

"You might want to get in line," Merlin muttered. "Arthur came back from the feast last night, angry about Valiant. Maybe that's why."

"We need to stop him," Will said. "We need to stop him now."

***

Later that night, when all the knights were at the feast, Merlin and Will snuck down the halls to Valiant's chambers. Muttering a quick spell, Merlin unlocked the door and the brother's slipped inside.

The shield was leaning up against a chair in the middle of the room. Merlin began to approach it but Will stopped him, handing him a sword.

"What am I going to do with this?" Merlin asked.

"It's a magical shield with snakes that pop out of it," Will said sarcastically. "What do you think you'd going to do? Poke at it? No! If it attacks you, cut its head off, for crying out loud!"

"Okay, okay!" Merlin said. "Stop your whining." Once again, both of them slowly approached the shield. When nothing happened, they looked at each other nervously.

"Why aren't they doing anything?" Merlin whispered.

"I don't know!" Will said. "Do I look like a snake charmer to you?"

"No, but you're the ones with the Visions of the future!" Merlin whisper-shouted furiously. "Surely you'd know if they'd attack us!"

"You know it doesn't work like that!" Will hissed. Suddenly, the snake launched itself from the shield at the two boys. They fell backwards and Merlin randomly swiped with the sword, somehow managing to cut off the creature's head. Scrambling backwards, Will swept up the head and pulled Merlin up, running for the door.

They didn't stop running until they were safely back in Gaius' chambers, slamming the door shut and falling against it. "Next time," Will puffed. "I'm having the sword."

"Oh like you'd do any better!" Merlin snapped back.

"Boys!" Gaius interrupted them. "If you haven't noticed, there is a man dying over here. Perhaps you'd want to give me that head so I can cure him! Honestly, stop bickering!"

Once the venom was extracted, Merlin grabbed the head and headed for the door. "Where are you going?" Will asked.

"To Arthur," Merlin called over his shoulder. "He needs to know!" And he was gone before Will could stop him.

***

The next morning, Will was in Jem's chambers when Sophie entered with a message. "Prince Arthur has summoned the court," she said. "He has accused Knight Valiant of using a magic shield. You have been asked to attend, Prince Jem." Jem looked at Will from across the room, looking slightly shocked.

"I'll have him ready, Sophie," Will replied, forgetting about any comeback to wind her up due to the seriousness of the situation. "Thank you."

Once Sophie left, Will quickly helped Jem get ready, making sure he looked presentable enough. "Is this anything to do with you and Merlin?" Jem asked as they walked quickly to the council chamber. Will smiled sheepishly.

"Maybe a little bit..."

Jem didn't reply after that but his face was unreadable.

The court had gathered in the council chambers and Will took his place just behind Jem, standing to the right of the throne next to Lady Tessa. They waited nervously for a few minutes as Arthur and Merlin seemed to be in deep discussion in the centre of the chamber. Will could see Jem biting his lip, obviously wanting to ask Arthur what was going on, as did Will. But before either of them could make a move, Valiant entered, escorted by guards. He stood to the left of the throne, looking over at Jem and smirking. Luckily for Will, as he was sure he'd be executed if he attack the bastard, Arthur stepped between his brother and the knight, glaring at Valiant with a look that promised hell. A short while after, the King swept in with a face of thunder as he glared at Arthur.

"Why have you summoned the court?" he demanded. Arthur moved forward with Merlin just behind him and explained about Valiant's magic shield. Will tried to catch Merlin's eye but his brother stubbornly avoided him.

"Valiant, what do you have to say to this?" Uther asked the knight next to him.

"My Lord, this is ridiculous," Valiant said, sneering at Arthur. "Does your son have any evidence?" That was when Merlin stepped forwards and present Uther the snake's head, the same one that he had beheaded last night.

"Let me see this shield," Uther said, holding out his hand. From behind Jem, Will could see Valiant glaring at Merlin and all he wanted to do was punch him. He really needed to keep a check on his anger if he wanted to keep his position.

"As you can see, it is just an ordinary shield, my Lord," Valiant said as Gaius entered the council chambers. Will watched with narrowed eyes are Merlin quickly went to Gaius and seemed to be asking something. Slowly, Will slipped down the side of the chamber to Gaius's side.

"What are you doing?" he whispered, looking between the physician and his brother.

"Ewan's dead..." Merlin said lowly. "Oh god, Arthur's going to murder me..."

"He's obviously not going to let everyone see the snakes come alive," Arthur argued loudly on the other side of the room.

"Then how do I know what you say is true?" Uther snapped.

"Father," Jem said, stepping forwards to defend his brother but one look from Arthur made him go quiet. It was clear that Arthur did not want his brother involved in this, especially if it meant risking himself.

"I have a witness," Arthur announced. "Knight Ewan was bitten by one of the snakes. He has been cured of the venom and can confirm that Valiant is using magic."

"Where is this witness?" Uther demanded.

"He should be here..." Arthur looked to Merlin who suddenly looked pale.

"He's dead," Merlin said, swallowing hard. "Knight Ewan is dead."

"So you have no proof of these allegations?!" Uther shouted.

"My servant has fought them-" Arthur tried to say but Uther furiously cut him off.

"You made these outrageous accusations against a knight on the word of your servant?!" he yelled, his face turning redder by the second.

"I've seen those snakes come alive!" Merlin cried out before Will could cover his mouth.

"HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT!? GUARDS!" Uther roared and the guards came forwards to drag Merlin away. Will's heart leapt up into his throat. There was no way Jem would be able to get Merlin out of prison a second time. Once was fortunate, especially since it was Arthur who had sent him there. But if the King gave Merlin his sentence... God, Will could feel the panic swelling in his chest by the minute.

"Wait!" The King ordered after a moment when Valiant said something in his ear. The guards halted.

"I'm sure the boy was merely mistaken," the evil knight said. "I do not want him punished on my account."

"You see?" Uther said, turning to Arthur. "This is how a true knight behaves - with gallantry and honour." And then the worse thing happened. Valiant turned and said loudly:

"My Lord, if your son made these accusations because he's afraid to fight me, then I will graciously accept his withdrawal. Or maybe Prince James has forced his brother to do this because of a small misunderstanding we had. It seems you may have two sons for cowards."

Gaius latched onto Will's arm like a vice just as Will was about to tackle Valiant. "Stay there!" he whispered furiously in his ear. "Don't make this any worse!"

"Is this true?" Uther hissed, whirling on Jem who took a nervous step back. "Have you forced Arthur to do this?"

"I-"

"Father, he didn't!" Arthur tried to defend him. "This was all of my own accord."

"Then what am I to make of these allegations?!" Uther spat. "What makes more sense to you? That your brother is a coward or you are?"

Silence echoed around the room as father and son stared at each other. The tension was so thick that Will swallowed hard to try and cope under its weight. Arthur looked like he was struggling too, knowing that whatever he said, he would be condemning Jem.

"Obviously there has been a misunderstanding," Arthur said finally, standing down. "I withdraw the allegation against Knight Valiant. Please accept my apologies."

"Accepted," Valiant replied with a smirk.

"Jem," Uther prompted. When Jem didn't answer, Uther took a menacing step forwards. "James! Apologise to Knight Valiant right now!"

"I apologise," Jem said reluctantly through gritted teeth.

"Good," Uther replied. "Now let's put this matter behind us and prepare for the tournament final. You shouldn't disappoint me."

The moment the court was dismissed, both princes stormed in different directions, their servants scrambling to catch up and calm them for two very different reasons...

***

Later that night, Will lay on his bed just staring up at the ceiling with a vacant look in his eye. Jem hadn't let him in to his room tonight despite how much Will had begged him to. He'd stayed right outside his door for hours on end until eventually Gwen had found him and told him to go to bed. But he hated not being with Jem. He hated not being able to comfort him, to tell him everything would be okay. And although Will knew Jem wouldn't do anything stupid, he just wished he could know how he was.

Will was about to close his eyes and fall asleep when Merlin rushed in, pushing a wheelbarrow that was loaded with a dog statue. He sat up, staring at the dog in shock as Merlin closed the door.

"What. The hell. Is that?" Will demanded, pointing to the stone statue.

"It's a dog statue Will, duh," Merlin deadpanned.

"What the hell is it doing here?!" Will shouted.

"I spoke to the Dragon," Merlin explained breathlessly as he unloaded the dog and dropped it on the floor. "Then I spoke to Gwen. And they both basically told me not to give up on Valiant. So I had an idea. If Valiant won't show us the snakes, then I'll just have to force him to tomorrow."

"So what's this for?" Will exclaimed, pointing to the dog. Merlin shrugged.

"Practice."

And that was when Will clocked on. "Oh no," he said, shaking his head. "No, no, no, no, no. There is absolutely no way. Nuh uh. Nope, I am not letting you do this." But Merlin had already pulled out his magic book from under the lose floorboard.

"Oh yeah?" he said before turning to the statue and holding out his hand. "Bebay odothay. Beday odothay arisan quickum." They waited.

"Nothing is happening," Will pointed out.

"I'll just try it again. Maybe I need to say it louder," Merlin replied, standing up on the chair and pointing to the statue.

"Oh god, no," Will muttered, dropping his head into his hands.

"Bebay odothay. Beday odothay arisan quickum!"

"There is still nothing happening."

"How observant of you, William," Merlin drawled. "Please, shut up. It's hard to concentrate with you yapping away."

"Maybe you need to say it in a more magical way," Will said, snickering.

"Will! You're not helping!" Merlin said the spell again, trying to whisper it to the dog. But still, nothing happened.

"Just give it a rest, Merlin," Will muttered. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Merlin gave up, huffing as he dropped the spell book to the floor.

"I'm going to find Arthur," he said. "I don't care if he sacked me; I need to warn him not to fight in the tournament tomorrow."

"WAIT. HE SACKED YOU?!"

But Merlin was already gone.

***

The morning came much too quickly for Merlin's liking. He found himself waking up in an awkward position, the dog statue still in front of him as much as stone as it had been the night before. Will wasn't there having gone to the tournament with Jem already.

Muttering the spell one more time, Merlin tried to keep his eyes open long enough to see the results.

"Woof!"

Merlin looked up in shock at the Rottweiler that growled at him menacingly. But despite that, Merlin smiled, leaping to his feet and dancing happily.

"I did it!" he cried. "Yes, I did it!"

"Woof!" The dog lunged at him, still barking as Merlin scrambled out his door, shutting it behind him.

"Merlin!" Gaius said, standing up. "Arthur is fighting Valiant. You have to hurry."

"I know, I'm on my way," Merlin replied, grabbing his jacket and scarf. He paused by the door. "Oh Gaius, don't go into my room....We'll deal with it later." The he ran, flying down the hallways and into the courtyard. He was panting hard by the time he reached the tournament ground.

He spotted Will in the stands, sitting next to Jem. Jem was leaning forwards on his knees, his hands to his mouth as he watched the fight between Arthur and Valiant rage on. Will looked like a mess as he watched too, glancing at Jem every so often as if to make sure he was alright.

The Lady Jessamine seemed more preoccupied with her nails than the fight itself, but Morgana and Tessa was clasping onto each other's hands, hugging one another tightly as Arthur was knocked to the ground by Valiant. But Uther cheered, clearing enjoying seeing his son challenged by another knight.

Valiant charged forwards, stamping on Arthur's shield and plunging his sword down. But Arthur managed to roll away as the sword was stabbed into the ground.

"Come on, Arthur!" Jem shouted. Arthur leapt back up to his feet and he and Valiant exchanged more blows, glaring at each other as the crowd roared. But Valiant once again gained the upper hand, pinning Arthur to the wall with his shield as they grappled. Merlin swallowed the bile that rose in his throat, begging that Valiant didn't summon the snakes to kill Arthur now.

It seemed that Arthur had the same fear as he punched Valiant in the nose and sent him sprawling away. That was when Merlin ceased his chance, muttering the words of the spell once more and directing the magic right at Valiant's shield.

The snakes hissed, sliding from the shield and flicking their tongues at Arthur. The crowd gasped as Valiant looked panicked, seemingly talking to the snakes and trying to get them to disappear.

From the stands, Will met Merlin's eyes and grinned, giving him a thumbs up. Merlin smiled back then turned his attention back to the fight as the king stood up and ordered his guards to kill Valiant.

The snakes fell to the ground, slithering towards Arthur and backing him up towards the wall. "Arthur!" It was Will, grabbing onto a nearby knight's sword and throwing it at Arthur. Arthur caught it, swiping at the snakes and cutting their heads clean off.

He then turned to Valiant and, without the use of magic to aid him, Valiant was soon run through. The crowd leapt up and cheered Arthur's victory, shouting out his name. Merlin smiled from where he stood, knowing that Arthur would now feel vindicated and had earned the support of his people.

The feast that night was a spectacular affair. Arthur escorted Morgana to the ball and he even rehired Merlin as his servant, much to his misery.

Will found his brother in the midst of the crowd, handing him a drink. "Ah, finally," Merlin said. "I thought I'd never get one." They both turned to face the feast.

"I'm proud of you, you know," Will said to him after a moment. "What you did today...well, it was nothing short of extraordinary. But don't let it go to your head. If anyone asks, especially Gaius, I definitely didn't say that."

"And what about Jem?" Merlin asked after he had finished laughing. "Is he alright?"

"Mostly," Will said, nodding. "Some of the things Valiant said opened up some old wounds. But he'll be fine. He's strong. The strongest man I know, really."

"Hey! I thought I was the strongest man you know!" Merlin said. Will only laughed, shaking his head as he returned back to the feast, Merlin shouting out insults behind him.

******************************************************************************************

And that's the second episode done! As always, let me know how you want to see any particular scenes. Please comment and vote!

Love y'all!

CricketCat