Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Merlin or any company or person associated with Merlin. I am not making money off this story.

Merlin woke as the sun filled the cottage.

The home where Ambrosia raised him, the home where he taught Arthur.

Now it was his home with Nimue.

He turned to look at her. She was still fast asleep beside him. He smiled. She was so beautiful. To think, just less than a day earlier, he never imagined in this lifetime he would see her again.

...

They entered the cottage. Merlin was struck by the familiarity of it all. For the first time in years, he felt truly at home. Nimue had made it her own, and it was their home now. Nimue, meanwhile, was still in awe that they both were young again. He couldn't stop staring at her. How many years had she been free? Could he have reunited with her long ago?

"I went back," Merlin said. "I went back to where the cave had been but it was gone. I thought you were lost to me forever. I never imagined you were freed. If I'd known, I would have kept searching for you."

Nimue reached for his hand. "I know. But you mustn't blame yourself. I wasn't freed immediately. It happened when…I figured out later that my release occurred at the same time Galahad retrieved the Holy Grail."

"Have you been here this whole time? Or did the illusion of the cottage fade along with the cave?"

"There's so much to tell." She laughed softly, slightly overwhelmed at the thought. "Where do I begin?"

He longed to hear what Nimue's life had been like all this time. "I want to hear everything."

She took a deep breath. "The cave suddenly opened up. I don't know how long I stood there in shock.. I couldn't believe it. I thought I was dreaming. Finally, I started walking toward the opening. Just before stepping outside I turned back for some provisions in case I needed them fearing the cave might close behind me. It didn't, but I'm glad I took the provisions because it was some time before I reached any hint of civilization. I walked for several days. At last, I came upon a band of traveling musicians. Some of their party had fallen ill. I was able to cure them using the knowledge I gained from the nuns on Avalon. They repaid me by letting me travel with them."

Merlin was amazed. His Nimue, always resourceful. What a very different life she had lived from the one she was born into. "Did you ever think to return home?"

"Briefly," she answered. "But I immediately understood how impossible that was. Another family had long since lived there. And who would ever believe I was Lord Ardente's disfigured daughter, lost for years only to suddenly return unscarred? And the more I thought about it, the more I realized I had no desire to return either." She spoke without regret. "I'm no noblewoman anymore; that was another life."

"So you decided to come here instead," Merlin concluded.

"Not at first. I did search for you but I didn't know where to look. I eventually made my way back to the woods where we first met. I even passed the mudhole where you saved my life." They both smiled at each other, each recalling the memory. They had barely been older than youths then, but it felt like yesterday. "I wandered deeper until I came upon the cottage. The illusion of it had been my home in the cave, and so I felt like I had returned home. I decided to stay and wait for you."

Merlin closed his eyes, wincing. So many years wasted! "If only I had thought to return home!"

Nimue embraced him. "It's alright, my love. We're together now."

He clung to her, doing his best to push his anguished thoughts away. She was right. All the years they had lost were returned to them, and he couldn't wait to live them with her. His smile returned as he gazed into her eyes. How much did he love her! "Tell me more."

"I get by living off of the land. The garden is full of vegetables and herbs and the trees are always abundant with fruit every year. I make baskets and other crafts and trade them with passing merchants for grain and anything else I need." She chuckled, remembering something from long ago. "Archery was something they taught noblewomen as a hobby, but my instructor said I was far too aggressive and needed to be more lady-like when I shot. I'm glad I wasn't. It proved useful here. I had a regular supply of meat as well as pelt to trade until it become too hard to steady a bow and arrow." She smiled at him. "Of course, now that I'm young again, I should be able to resume hunting. I'm glad now that I never traded my bow and arrows."

"I should take that up again too," Merlin mused, though it had been decades since he last hunted. "Perhaps the next time a peddler makes his way through these woods, we should trade for another bow."

"Perhaps," Nimue concurred. She squeezed his hands. "Tell me about you. What has your life been like all these years?"

He wasn't sure how to answer her at first. Finally, he just sighed. "There isn't much to tell. I suppose I was withdrawn from the world. Everyone I loved or who ever loved me was gone. These last few years I've been wandering. Telling my story to whoever was interested in hearing it."

"Oh Merlin." Her heart broke for the man she loved. "Surrounded by people but alone at heart."

He regarded her, noting how well-adjusted she seemed despite her isolation. "And you? You don't feel alone?"

"Sometimes," she admitted. "But there's so much to be done around here that it keeps me busy. The woods aren't completely empty, either. There are peasants scattered throughout. I've traded with them. And after they learned I have medical knowledge, they've sought me out when needed and I've tended to them. I'm the closest to a physician they're able to see."

"So you're happy, Nimue?"

"Yes. Now, more than ever. All that was missing was you. And now I have you back." She smiled at him.

He pulled her into a hug, kissing her tenderly. "And I have you back." They remained in a tight embrace, so happy to be together they had to laugh to keep from crying. It was some time before they finally let go, both still overwhelmed that they were finally together with their whole lives ahead of them.

Merlin suddenly thought of a small problem. "What shall we do the next time your neighbors come by and see that you're now a young lady instead of an old woman? Even if they believe it was magic, that might frighten them all the more."

Nimue furrowed her brow. That was an issue they needed to consider. After a few seconds, her expression relaxed as she came up with a solution. "We'll tell them the Nimue they knew passed away. I'm her niece, also called 'Nimue', and you are my husband."

"Brilliant," Merlin declared, kissing her again. "Husband?" He teased, raising an eyebrow with a smile.

"Are we not to be husband and wife?" she asserted. Her eyes radiated with love. "I don't need a priest to bless our union. As far as I'm concerned, we've been married at heart nearly all of our lives."

"I feel the same way."

They were silent for a few seconds, simply staring into each other's eyes, drinking in the sight of each other. At last, Merlin reached out and caressed her face. "Oh Nimue…" They were truly together! He kissed her passionately. "I love you."

She kissed him in return with equal intensity. "I love you."

They soon ceased talking in favor of a more intimate reunion.

...

Merlin's eyes were still on Nimue as he recalled yesterday. They made love twice the previous night. The first time was admittedly awkward, given that it was the first time for both of them. But by the second time, they had found their rhythm, and soon fell asleep in each other's arms.

He couldn't wait for her to wake up naturally. He needed her now. He leaned in to kiss her, starting at her temple and leaving a trail of soft kisses down her cheek, her neck…

"Merlin…" she giggled, waking just as he reached her shoulder.

His eyes beamed at her and he smiled broadly. "Good morning, wife." He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "Did you sleep well?"

"Very." she snuggled into his embrace and gazed at him. "You?"

"Very." They huddled even closer; each silently basking in the other's presence. "I want to stay like this forever," Merlin admitted. "And at the same time, I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

"I feel that way too," Nimue responded, planting a kiss on his arm that was wrapped around her. "And what should that life entail?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know…" Nimue began, in a tone that suggested she in fact did know. "Children, perhaps?"

"Children?" Merlin was slightly caught off guard, but he didn't stop smiling. Arthur was the closest thing to a child he ever had, and he still lived with the pain of his loss everyday. He never imagined he would have children of his own, with Nimue being lost to him. But now that they were together again, anything was possible. "I'd like that very much."

"I want at least four."

"Four?"

She nodded. "Ambrosia, Elissa, Arthur, and Ardente. What do you think?"

"Those are lovely names, Nimue." He couldn't stop smiling

"Do you think we made a child last night?" Nimue asked.

"I certainly hope so," Merlin answered. Then he smiled mischievously. "But just in case we didn't, perhaps we should try again…" he kissed her forehead, "…and again…" her lips, "…and again…" her neck…

"Yes Merlin!" she exclaimed as he moved lower. "Yes!" Her hands were on him in turn, and they were making love again.