"What?" Gaius spluttered, for once wrong footed.

"I'm going to kill him!" Gwaine growled.

"Merlin, you realise that saying that could get you into a lot of trouble," Arthur told him.

"No, it's true, he told me just before he knocked me out..."

"He did this to you?" Gaius asked, bewildered.

"Yes, but that doesn't matter right now-" Merlin said inpatiently.

"It bloody does," Gwaine said menacingly.

"No- you have to get someone down to the dungeons- he's going to let the prisoner out!" Merlin shouted frantically.

At that second, the doors banged open and a young serving girl entered, saying quickly,

"Sire, come immediately, there's been an escape from the dungeons-"

"I'll be back soon," Arthur said, running out after the girl.

"Told you..." Merlin muttered, then he gasped in pain again.

"Gwaine, pass me that small yellow bottle to your left," Gaius said. Gwaine did so and Gaius gave it to Merlin. "Drink it all," he said sternly. "It'll help, trust me."

Merlin downed the painkiller as Gaius set to work binding his hand tightly in bandages. When he was done he moved onto the ribs. They weren't broken, just badly battered, so Gaius applied a strong smelling ointment which eased the colorful bruises. Then he bound these too, and finally went onto Merlin's head. All the while Gwaine watched in murderous silence, looking as though he was ready to kill Drien with his bare hands.

Gaius cleaned and bandaged Merlin's head, recieving the most noises of discomfort from his ward to far. He gave Merlin another painkiller, then something which made him very whoozy, and just as Arthur returned, Merlin drifted off.