"I didn't catch your full name," Vivian said, tilting her head towards the woman sitting next to her.

"Freya," she replied. Then, after a brief pause, she added, "I'm the Lady of the Lake."

"That's nice," Vivian smiled, though she had never heard of that title before. Lady Freya was probably from the country, lady of a piece of land with just a few trees and a sheep. Her dress was nice, but of a style that might have been the height of fashion ten years ago.

Freya seemed shy, not used to be in a crowd, especially not among the large and noisome crowd that was filling the hall of Camelot's castle that night. She stared at her plate a lot, hardly touching her food, and occasionally sneaking glances in the direction of the king.

If she was going to act like that all the time, the evening would be very dull. "Is this your first time in Camelot?" Vivian asked, trying to make conversation.

Freya shook her head. "I was here once, many years ago," she said.

"As a child?" Vivian asked. Freya couldn't be much older than twenty.

She shook her head but then nodded. "Yes, of course," she said. "I have very nice memories of those few days," she added. It was the first time Vivian had seen her smile in the whole evening. It lit up her whole face, and Vivian decided she could pass over the terrible dress and the awkward pauses in her conversation.

"Mind you, King Arthur used to be totally insufferable years ago," Vivian said, taking a sip of wine and wiping her lips carefully with her napkin. "Thankfully he grew out of it."

Freya smiled again. "I didn't get to meet him until much later," she said. "Though I heard a lot about him from Merlin."

"Oh, you know Merlin," Vivian replied. That was surprising. Everyone knew about Merlin, of course, but not many people could boast to know him personally. Vivian herself had largely thought of him as another useless servant until she'd found out he was just about the most powerful sorcerer in the whole kingdom.

"Yes, he's the reason I'm here," Freya said. "He invited me. He said I should... go out and have some fun, once in a while," she finished after yet another lengthy pause.

"He's right," Vivian nodded enthusiastically. "The winter feast is one of the most brilliant festivals of the year. You should make the most of it while you're here. Try these," she added, pressing a plate of sweetmeats on her.

Freya took a sweet carefully between her thumb and forefinger and took a bite from it. She chewed thoughtfully and said, "It's good. Thank you."

Vivian thought it was weird of Freya to thank her - after all she'd just passed her a plate that was already on the table - but it was much easier to talk after that and the evening passed by without Vivian feeling bored at all.

-x-

Several hours later, the feast was winding to a close. The king and queen had thanked their guests and retreated for the night and most of the noblemen were also leaving.

Freya had excused herself and had retreated to a corner where she was deep in conversation with Merlin. Vivian noticed that Merlin pulled the girl in a quick, tight hug before biding her goodnight. She looked away as Freya walked back to their table, pretending she hadn't been staring and trying to guess what they'd been talking about.

"I've got to go," Freya said, wrapping a long cloak around her shoulders.

"So soon?" Vivian asked, trying not to let the disappointment show in her voice. She'd grown fond of the girl. "It's still early. We could talk some more and I haven't even told you about last year's feast..."

Freya looked torn but she shook her head. "It's nice of you," she said. "But I need to go back to my lake."

"Right now?" Vivian exclaimed. It was insane to think of traveling during midwinter's night. "Couldn't you stay here and leave in the morning? I'm sure they could find a room for you," she said, looking around for the steward.

"I'm sorry, I can only be here for tonight," she said. "I'll be fine."

Vivian wanted to argue against this madness, but then she thought that maybe Freya was a sorceress. She was a friend of Merlin's, after all, and she had said some strange things over dinner. In that case she wouldn't have problems getting home and she could use her magic to keep herself warm.

Regardless, she insisted on walking with Freya out of the castle. She took the younger girl's arm under her own and shivered - Freya's skin felt as cold as ice under the sleeve of her dress. Sorceress or not, Vivian didn't envy her the journey home in the night.

"You must promise that you'll come again next year," Vivian said as they walked. "Or you could visit me in my dad's kingdom!"

That would be even better because she wouldn't have to wait for a whole year before seeing Freya again. They could go on picnics and Vivian could tell Freya all the stories she didn't have time for and maybe find out how Freya was on such good terms with Merlin.

Freya hesitated. "I can't," she began, but Vivian wouldn't take no for an answer so in the end she said, "I'd like that."

Vivian grinned at her.

At the door Freya disentangled her arm from Vivian's. "Good night, Lady Vivian," she said, bobbing a courtesy almost as an afterthought. "It was nice talking with you tonight."

"Wait," Vivian said. She didn't know what else she could say to make Freya stay, so she blurted out the first thing on her mind. "Mistletoe."

"Mistletoe?" Freya repeated, perplexed, then she noticed the large ball of mistletoe hung over the door. "Oh!"

On impulse, Vivian leaned forward to kiss her. Freya's lips were icy cold too, and Vivian wrapped her arms around the girl hoping to warm her up at least a bit.

She didn't know if it helped at all, but when Freya stepped back and pulled the cloak's hood over her head there were two spots of pink on her cheeks.

"Goodbye," Freya said, smiling again.

"Goodbye," Vivian replied, pulling Freya into a last quick hug. "Come visit me soon!"

Freya stopped in the middle of the courtyard to wave at Vivian before disappearing into the night.

Vivian stared after her for a while after she was gone. Then, shivering, she closed the door and hurried back to her room.