This is a Merlin/Freya fic. The first part is set about 8 months after Freya died. The second part is set three or four months after that. This all occurs during the year that Morgana is missing.
I have planned at least one more chapter, but I don't know when it will be posted.
Sadly, I don't own Merlin. But please read and review anyway!
Arthur had kept Merlin working late into the evening. After each task was finished, there was another boot to clean, suit of armor to polish, or stable to muck. He was finally released long after dark, tired and ready to collapse into his warm bed.
Merlin walked quickly through the dark streets. He had promised Gwen that he would deliver her a cold remedy that evening, and couldn't wait to get it over with. Gwen was one of his best friends, and he would do anything for her, but why did she have to live so far away?
As he passed by the tavern, a hauntingly familiar sight caught his eyes. A cart sat at the side of the road, the driver's seat empty. The body of the cart was a cage, lined with straw. Inside, an old woman sat in chains.
The sight shocked him, bringing back the image of Freya, huddling in the same position, in an eerily similar cage. Though months had passed, it still proved impossible to forget the beautiful druid girl.
He scanned the empty streets before crossing over to the cage. The old woman looked at him, not saying a word.
"It's alright. I'm trying to help you," Merlin whispered, pointing at the cage's lock. "Tosbri Ehj!"
The lock failed to spring open, the way it had the last time he tried this. His brow furrowed.
"Tosbri Ehj!"
Finally, the woman spoke, her voice low and raspy, "It is no use. Magic does not work against this cage."
Merlin sighed. "I'll be right back."
"I'm hardly going anywhere," she replied quietly.
Merlin hurried away into the darkness, heading down a small side street. He quickly knocked on the door of a small house. There was no answer, so he tried again, pounding harder on the thin piece of wood.
Finally a woman came to the door, a scowl on her face.
"What do you want at this hour of the night? I'm trying to sleep."
"I know ma'am. I'm sorry," Merlin replied penitently, "but is Gavin here?"
"No. He hasn't been home since yesterday."
Merlin frowned, "Do you have any idea where I might find him? It's kind of important."
"Try the tavern," she said curtly, shutting the door on him.
"Thanks for your help!" Merlin yelled, already running back down the street. He passed the woman's cage, giving her a small wave, before rushing into the tavern.
The large room was packed, filled with knights and townspeople alike. Merlin surveyed the crowd. In the corner was a thin, redheaded teen, flirting drunkenly with the butcher's daughter.
Merlin made his way across the room.
"Gavin, I have a message from your mother," he lied.
"My mother?" Gavin asked. "And why exactly would she send me a message?"
"She's ill. It's quite serious, and she kept asking for you," Merlin replied.
Gavin sighed and turned to the girl by his side. "See you later, sweetheart."
"But we barely even got the chance to talk, and you promised to buy me a drink," she said, an almost seductive note in her voice.
Merlin rolled his eyes. The butcher's daughter was infamous for her interest in boys, and Gavin seemed rather reluctant to leave her side.
"Your mother said it was urgent. You really shouldn't keep someone in her condition waiting," Merlin finally managed to tear the boy away, shoving him through the crowded room to the door.
When they finally made it outside, Gavin glared at his friend.
"What was so important that you had to interrupt me? I could tell Anna was interested in me!" he questioned.
"Yeah, interested in you and every other male in Camelot. Besides, how did you know your mother wasn't really sick?"
"Oh please. If she was on deathbed, she still wouldn't want to talk to me."
"Okay, you're right," Merlin admitted. "The truth is, I need help from someone with your talents."
Gavin's eyes widened. "You want help stealing something? Damn it, Merlin! I didn't know you had it in you."
"No stealing, exactly," the warlock replied, leading Gavin over to the old woman's cage. "I need you to open this lock."
"Why would you have me do that?"
"I just want to help out a person in need. Be a public servant."
Gavin looked skeptical, but he didn't comment. Instead, he walked up to the cage, inspecting the lock. He jiggled it a few times, and examined the keyhole. He gave off the air of being an expert, and Merlin had no doubt that he was. In fact, the day they met, the young thief had been in the process of breaking into Arthur's wardrobe, looking for valuables to sell. After Merlin reported him to the prince, Gavin spent a week in the stocks. Merlin threw more than a few rotten tomatoes at him, and the pair had been friends since.
"Can you do it?" Merlin asked impatiently. He wanted to get this over with before anyone spotted them.
"Yeah, I could," Gavin finally replied. "What's in it for me?"
"The feeling of satisfaction that comes from lending a hand?" Merlin suggested. However, upon seeing his friend's look of disgust, he amended his offer, "Fine. I'll give you my whole next week of wages."
"Is she your grandmother or something?" Gavin asked, shocked at the sum being offered him.
"No more questions. Will you help me?"
"For that price, I'd be crazy to turn you down." Gavin took a few lock picks out of his pocket and began working. A few minutes later, the door swung open.
"There you go, my friend. I'll see you in a week's time to collect my wage."
"Thank you!" Merlin called after Gavin, who was already on his way back to the tavern.
Merlin helped the woman climb out of the cage. They quietly made their way down the road. After much walking and ducking behind various crates and pillars, they reached the deserted armory. They went through the same passage Arthur had used to smuggle Mordred out two years before.
At the end of the tunnels, Merlin recited a quick spell, and the grate opened. The woman smiled, stepping out into the free air.
"Thank you for your help, Emrys. I can manage the rest alone," she said.
"How do you know who I am? And what does Emrys mean anyway?" he asked, very much confused.
Suddenly, the alarm bells started, ringing loudly through all corners of the city.
"That's my cue to leave," the woman remarked. "You have saved my life. It shall not go unrewarded."
"Really, that's fine. I was just being nice. You don't have to give me anything."
"Oh, but I do. As an expression of my gratitude, I will grant you your heart's desire."
"But," Merlin protested, "that isn't possible. It—"
"Goodbye young warlock," she replied, disappearing into the darkness.
Merlin stared after her for a few minutes, before turning around and returning to the city. He had a cold remedy to deliver.
"Can't you move a bit faster than that, Merlin? Not all of my opponents stay completely still in battle," Arthur demanded, hitting his servant's armored chest with a mace.
"Yes sire," Merlin muttered, already struggling to remain upright, much less pose a moving target.
"And keep your feet farther apart. It's no wonder you keep falling over, with form like that."
"Don't you have knights who could help you practice? Why does it always have to be me?"
"Well I don't want to tire them out! Do you have any idea the toll it takes on your body to be hit on the head everyday?" Arthur came in for another attack, this time violently hacking at his manservant with a sword.
"I do have a bit of a concept of it, yeah," Merlin replied after falling on the ground for the hundredth time that day.
"What if I were to need them for battle, but they had already been injured helping me practice? This way is much safer."
Merlin stood up, wincing at the fresh bruises covering his body. "Safer for them maybe. I guess I'm the only one who's dispensable then."
"Now you're getting it! You see, I can hurt you all I want is because you aren't important. You're just a servant, and a rubbish one at that."
There were times like this when Merlin wasn't quite sure whether Arthur was kidding or not. Even though he looked at the prince as a good friend, it was hard to deny that Arthur could be an arrogant prat.
"Go get two horses from the stable. I need to work on my jousting for the next tournament. Oh, and make sure to get yourself a blunt lance. On the off chance you happen to hit me, I would hate my armor to get dented. It is brand new," Arthur imperiously commanded.
Yep. Definitely a prat, Merlin thought to himself, climbing out of the practice armor so he could make it to the stables without tripping over his own feet.
"Your Highness," Sir Leon bowed, approaching the prince.
"What is it?" Arthur asked.
"Your father requests your presence in the counsel chamber. He has been presented with a rather strange situation and would like your opinion."
"Of course. I'll go there immediately," Arthur replied, then turned to Merlin. "Put the weapons away, and go ask the blacksmith when my new sword will be ready. Report what he said to me in the counsel chamber. I need to know when to expect it done."
"Yes sire," Merlin said with a sigh. He started to pick up the various swords, maces, and spears that Arthur had wielded against him that day.
Do I have to do everything around here? Merlin thought. It's always do this, Merlin. Do that, Merlin. And get your head bashed in while you're at it, because you're a servant and you don't matter. Can't anyone else pitch in a bit? Come to think of it, I haven't seen a single other servant besides Gwen do something for Arthur since I arrived here!
Merlin was lost in his angry thoughts as he carried out the chores assigned to him.
When I do get a single moment to myself, Gaius is always there to make me pick herbs or clean the leech tank. The only free days I've had since I got here have been in the stocks! And Gwen wonders why I like them so much.
"Arthur," the king said upon his son's arrival. "I'm glad you could make it. Tell me what you think of this strange situation." Uther gestured towards the two women in front of him. "Where did you say you found her again?" he asked.
"At my house, your majesty," the older woman replied. "I went outside to get the washing in the morning, and she was just there, asleep in my garden."
"And how exactly did you get into her garden?" he said, addressing the young woman.
"I—I don't know. I just closed my eyes and when I opened them, I was there. I don't know what happened, sire."
"You see," the king said to Arthur. "It doesn't make any sense. What could possibly have happened?"
"I have no idea," the prince admitted, "What were you doing when this occurred?"
The young woman hesitated before saying, "I had been injured badly. I was by a lake, and…" She smiled wistfully, "the boy I loved was holding me. I didn't think I would live to see the next day, but when I woke up, I was completely healed, as if by magic."
"That's exactly what I'm afraid happened," Uther said harshly.
One of the king's many advisors stepped forward. "Could the girl have had something to do with this? Perhaps she used an enchantment to extend her life."
"I swear I didn't do anything!" she said frantically, "I don't know what happened."
"Your majesty, she would hardly tell us the truth if she had," the advisor said, unconvinced.
Gaius frowned. "There is no enchantment that could accomplish that. No one can mess with the balance between life and death."
Uther glanced at the physician, a quizzical look in his eye.
"Not even the most powerful practicers of the Old Religion could have done this," Gaius added, knowing that Uther was thinking of Nimueh and the circumstances of Arthur's birth. "Tell me," he asked, addressing the young woman, "what of your family? Where do they live?"
"They are all dead," she replied sadly.
"How did they die?" Arthur questioned.
The woman hesitated again, although it was impossible to tell whether it was from guilt or just the pain of remembering.
She was spared answering when the door to the counsel chamber opened and a manservant entered.
Merlin bowed quickly, saying, "Your highness, the blacksmith said that—" He stopped mid-sentence, staring at the person standing in front of him.
"Freya?" he whispered.
"Merlin," the woman said, her tone mirroring his surprise.
"But…you died."
"I know."
The pair stared at each other for a moment, before Freya rushed forward. Merlin wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in a tender but passionate hug.
"Would someone mind telling me what this is about?" Uther demanded.
Arthur was equally confused. "Merlin, what are you doing?"
Merlin and Freya turned back to face the rest of the room, but they kept their hands clasped. Merlin wasn't sure what to say. He just wanted to kiss her, but he thought Uther might honestly have his head if he didn't explain very soon.
Fortunately, Freya came to his rescue, saying, "This is the boy I told you about. The one who was at the lake with me."
"How do you know each other?" Arthur asked, completely bewildered by the fact that his manservant might actually have a love life.
"Freya came to Camelot a year ago," Merlin replied, omitting a few details. "She was only here for a few days, but we fell in love. We had planned to run away together, but then she was shot by a stray arrow." His voice cracked slightly at the painful memory. "I don't understand how you're back after all this time."
"What are you talking about? It's only been two days."
Merlin stared at her. "No. You've been dead for a year," he said shakily.
"This is ridiculous," Uther interrupted. "People don't come back from the dead. It isn't possible."
The door opened once more, revealing two guards.
They both bowed, and one of them announced, "Your majesty, someone has broken into Merchant Tayber's warehouse. The person stole some expensive gold jewelry, and Tayber was found with three knives in his body. We think he was killed by the thief."
"Thank you," the king replied. "Arthur, see what you can learn about the murder. The rest of you are dismissed. We will continue to discuss this at another time."
The group of people flowed out of the chamber. As soon as they were out of Uther's sight, Merlin embraced Freya once more, kissing her gently.
"I thought I'd lost you," he whispered.
"Merlin," Arthur said, walking up behind the pair. "Come on. You're going to the warehouse with me."
"But Arthur I—"
"Now, Merlin."
"Go on. I'll see you soon," Freya told the boy by her side. "It is so good to be back."