Sweet Dreams

Merlin hadn't remember falling asleep. Sure, he had been exhausted and started blinking to keep his eyes open, but sleep? No. He couldn't recall having done that. With that in mind, it was needless to say he was more than just a bit shocked to realize his surroundings had changed. Seconds ago the warlock had sat in front of a dying fire as the knights of the Round Table snuggled up on their sleeping cots with blankets. Sleep, to no surprise, had eluded Merlin for the third night in a row. Staring at the fire, Merlin was sadly reminded of the reason for being in the woods to begin with. A patrol of knights had found a group of bandits rumored to steal and trade children across the borders of Cenred's kingdom and Camelot. Once the bandits spotted the patrol, however, they burned everything they had in their possession, including the children. One of the children had been a druid. The druid's death had woken Merlin in his slumber. He remembered feeling the child being burnt and immediately screamed out in pain. At first he didn't know why he was feeling such pain, but soon enough images of the fire that had engrossed the children erupted in his mind. That was the worst part- knowing what was happening and not being able to do anything about it. So Merlin did the only thing he could: scream out until the druid's pain stopped, even if that meant the child was dead.

A hand caressed Merlin's cheek, and he was thrown back to reality. Well, at least he thought it was reality. Merlin sat upright, supporting his weight with his hands pressed firmly to the ground. That is, until he felt it. He gasped. Why was it so cold, and wet? He looked around again. The fire was gone. The knights were nowhere within eyesight. And, most evidently, there was no solid earth. So he was laying down in the middle of a frozen lake. Huh. How had that happened?

"Relax, Merlin. You didn't accidentally use your magic to teleport in your sleep again." The voice was all-too familiar, and a smile immediately spread across Merlin's face. "I haven't done that since we went hunting for your fourteenth birthday, Will," he retorted.

"You can hardly call that hunting, Merlin! You wouldn't let me kill anything we couldn't eat, and even then you would use magic to ease their passing." Will grinned devilishly and plopped down next to his childhood friend.

"That squirrel had done nothing to you, Will," Merlin objected with a shake of his head. "I couldn't let you kill it!"

"You've always been a gentle soul, Merlin. Always the lover, never the fighter."

The new voice hit Merlin harder than any arrow that had ever pierced him. He shot a quick glance at Will as if he was asking him for confirmation. Will just smiled sheepishly. That's all Merlin needed, though, to deduct who else was with them. He turned his head toward the source of the voice. A tugging on his heart and a pounding in his head started as he slowly let his eyes confirm what he already knew. There she was, standing right in front of him in the same dress he had last seen her in.

"I missed you, Merlin," Freya beamed.

"I miss you everyday, Freya." Merlin's voice cracked, betraying to Will quite a deal about Merlin's feelings for the strange woman.

"So it finally happened." Will watched as this Freya person sat down on the other side of Merlin, her smile never faltering. "A girl finally stole your heart."

"Yeah, I guess she did." Without thinking Merlin leaned forward and kissed Freya. She leaned closer to Merlin, and, when the kiss broke, Freya shifted so that Merlin could wrap his arms around her. He held her tight. God, how he had missed her.

Will watched the exchange with satisfaction. His friend hadn't had an easy life, but at least he could die knowing Merlin had experienced the one thing he himself had never been granted. At least Will had had his family, even after his father had died. Merlin never knew his father, on the other hand, and his mother was forced to work through most of Merlin's childhood. Hunith had done absolutely everything she could for Merlin, but Will knew how hard not having a father was on Merlin growing up. It was only fair that he had been given someone who loved him in return for all his suffering, and Will was glad that Freya could be such a person for Merlin.

Merlin briefly wondered if God had taken pity on him and let him pass away peacefully in his sleep. He tried to conjure up another explanation, but he couldn't help but hope that his first explanation was correct. Here he was with his love and his best mate. Sure, they were on freezing cold ice, but nothing was perfect, after all. Merlin had thought about asking his friends what exactly was happening, but he just couldn't bring himself to voice such a question. Why shouldn't he be content with what little happiness he was given, anyways?

"I missed you both," Merlin found himself mumbling.

"We missed you too," Will replied. His friend offered Freya a sad smile. She mimicked it back at him.

"We never truly left, Merlin." Freya whispered. "We're always going to be with you, even if it's not physically."

"We're always just a dream away," William nodded in agreement. "Don't forget that."

"Merlin."

Merlin blinked at the new voice. He glanced around in attempt to locate whoever the person was, but as he did so his surroundings changed. Freya and Will were gone. And so were the frozen waters of Lake Avalon. A hand started shaking his shoulders and his eyes fluttered open. So he had merely fallen asleep. Damn.

"Sorry mate, but I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Gwaine, Merlin's mind provided. Wait, why wouldn't he be okay-?

And then he felt it. He jolted into an upright position and cursed. Apparently he had rolled a bit too close to the fire, his left hand in particular. A nasty, yet not too serious, burn now scorched the palm of his hand.

"I brought your bag over," Gwaine supplied, effectively breaking the silence.

"Thanks," Merlin mumbled. Immediately he opened his bag and searched for the ointment that he was very thankful Gaius had forced him to keep with his supplies.

Gwaine stared as his friend treated his burn. He suddenly didn't feel the need or the desire to question Merlin about "Freya" and what Merlin guessed she did. Nor would he ask about Will and why they had been teleporting as Merlin slept. Of course Gwaine knew about the magical side of his friend, but that was another thing he never felt the urge to question Merlin about. His friend wasn't exactly stealthy, and his secret had been easy enough to figure out. After the fifth time rocks had magically decided to slide down and block the attacking bandits, the tenth time fires started just as the knights were about to lose a fight, and the 100th time Merlin's eyes glowed that bright golden color, Gwaine had decided that Merlin truly was terrible with secrets- that, and Arthur truly was a blind prat.

The sound of a bag being closed and tossed reminded Gwaine of what had stirred him from his position as "lookout" in the first place. Merlin talking in his sleep. Again. Though, this time was different. After he had mumbled "Freya", Gwaine had looked over at Merlin for the signs that his young friend was being plagued by nightmares again. But something else laid upon his face- a smile. Gwaine may not have known who Freya or Will were, but he sure was beginning to think he liked them.

"Thank you," Gwaine heard Merlin mutter again. His uninjured hand carefully finished knotting the wrap that carefully covered his burnt palm. Unable to find another excuse to avoid looking up at his friend, he sighed and finally met Gwaine's eyes. Oh, that was unexpected. Gwaine was smiling.

"What?" Merlin asked, exasperated, yet smiling himself. Gwaine just shook his head. Merlin would be embarrassed to know he had been talking in his sleep again. Besides, it wasn't like Merlin had had a nightmare. Gwaine knew Merlin was okay. No harm, no foul. "Just imagining how Princess will react to knowing you can't even sleep without hurting yourself." Merlin's smile widened at that. "Well, I hope that doesn't hurt too badly. You should probably try to sleep again, though."

"Yeah, you're right," Merlin nodded. "Good night, Gwaine."

"Sweet dreams," came Gwaine's reply. But it was too late. Gwaine peered over at Merlin's face as he stood up and sighed almost in relief. It looked like Merlin finally would sleep well tonight.

"Sweet dreams indeed."