Disclaimer: I own nothing

Me: *blinks* Is it just me or has the site gone into a Freya frenzy? I swear there have been new stories with her these past few weeks than the entire year!

Meh, anyway concerning the last chapter reviews….

8D

Oh my dear subjects, you have told me not to be so obvious with the plot! So don't think this is as straight forward as you think.

*evil grin*

Enjoy!

EDIT: I am making a calendar with my illustrations so if you like to help, please tell me what kind of drawings and/or situations would you like to see Merlin and the gang get themself into. Note that they can either be chibi style or regular. And don't be afraid to give me other fandom ideas to put in! I probably know it since I watch A LOT of tv. :D

As Merlin began woke from his slumber, his heart was heaving at the thought that what happened last night at the lake was nothing more than a wonderful but cruel dream. However, as his hands reached under his neckerchief, his look of devastation was replaced by pure elation when he felt the precious weight of the amulet that was the key to his beloved's survival. He immediately shot from his bed, and the covers rumpled around his ankle which made him trip slightly.

Still in his working clothes from yesterday, having been exhausted by the waves of emotions from the night before, he quickly filled a pot with water to see his reflection. True enough, the ruby pendant still lay upon his chest comfortably as the golden webs that held the precious stone together glimmered in the sunlight. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes upon, apart from his Freya of course. As he set himself to get ready for the day's work, he gently maneuvered himself out of his clothes and into fresh ones, careful not to take the pendant off. Once ready, he took great care in hiding the precious stone under his red neckerchief, knowing he couldn't be seen with something that looked more valuable than anything he could afford. As he opened his door, he noticed his guardian wasn't anywhere and came to the conclusion that he must've started rounds already. No matter, he would tell him the good news whenever he saw him.

He felt incredible. The heavy weight he felt each day walking around the castle seemed to be almost nonexistent now that Freya was back at his side. His heart burst with another bout of love for her, and he suddenly wondered if the remainder of their life would be time enough to show her how much he loved her. He would make sure to check his spell book to see if there was a way to prolong their time together. Even if they had all of creation, he didn't think it would be enough. As he made his way to the kitchens, he didn't notice the look of relief and elation the other servants gave him upon seeing him back to his usual, cheerful self. Even some of the knights and nobility could be seen giving him a small smile, filled with relief.

Arms now busy with his prince's breakfast, Merlin opened the door gingerly, his smile never leaving his face. Once inside, he lightly placed the tray on the table and went around the bed towards the curtains before stopping short to gaze at his friend. Merlin's eyes softened a bit as his smile became gentler.

How he wished he could share his news with him, to tell him that he too had someone very special to love and care for. How he wished to show him his other life, what he had risked and lost for the price of his safety. That he could see him completely instead of just one half. The charade of jester he had to play in order to avoid suspicion. But above else, to be able to bring his Freya back to Camelot without fear of persecution or death. To be able to provide his beloved with the things she deserved. A house, dresses, jewels and food. But before he could delve deeper into it, he shook his head and continued his path to the curtains. The time will come when Arthur will know of him. A time when he could stand beside him on his wedding day, a day that would come no sooner than his next intake of air. His hands grasped the soft fabric of the curtains and with a giant grin he threw them opened, letting the blinding sun enter the room and strike his friend right on his face.

"Good mooooorning, Sire!" Merlin made sure to make his voice as boisterous and cheerful as he could, and the sight that greeted him was worth it. At the sudden disruption of the pleasant silence, Arthur jumped half an inch from his bed with a startled yelp, his feet getting tangled in his sheets as his body fell to the hard wood below. Once he finally got his bearing, his gaze fell upon that of his too cheerful and smug manservant.

"Merlin?" Arthur couldn't help the surprised tone in his voice seeing his friend back to his usual annoyingly cheerful self.

Hearing his name, Merlin ginned even more. "Come on now!" He said as he continued to open the rest of the curtains in the room. "Up an attem! It's too beautiful a day to be lying down!"

Arthur still lay on the floor, astounded at the change in his friend. Just yesterday he couldn't gather the will to smile properly, and back at the forest, he had never seen Merlin act in such a solemn and defeated way. As he stood up, he took his time to examine his friend; he immediately noted that the glint of misery around his eyes that he wore yesterday was nowhere to be seen, instead there was an uplifting cheerfulness around him that was difficult not to smile at. Arthur couldn't understand; he knew Merlin was a terrible liar, and he knew for a fact that something was bothering him yesterday. Coming to a decision, Arthur stepped closer to the younger man and placed what he hoped was a comforting hand upon his skinny shoulder.

"Are you… ok?" He couldn't help but wince at how awkward it sounded coming from him. And apparently Merlin thought so too, since he gave him a look of confusion but his smile never wavered.

"Of course I'm ok! Why wouldn't I be?" Merlin asked happily as he turned around towards the opened window. "The sun is shining, the sky is clear and everything's right with the world!"

At this, Arthur merely raised an eyebrow and maintained an incredulous look at his friend. "Uhm… good. That's good."

"Now, you better eat up! You shouldn't leave your knights waiting for you!" Sighing quietly, Arthur simply turned around and sat down to eat, but his worry immediately seemed to disappeared as he stared at the contents of his breakfast.

"Is this it?" Merlin heard Arthur shout from the table and it was all he could do not to burst into laughter. "There's barely anything on the plate!"

"Come on, Arthur, you know I only do this because I care!" Merlin chided playfully as he turned to face Arthur's glare. "I mean, we can't have the future king be wearing a belly greater than his own ego. Of course your ego is pretty big to begin with, so it's sort of hard to imagine."

"Merlin!"

"Alright, alright! Your ego is not as large as it was the day we met, but I'm still serious about your weight!" At this point, Merlin couldn't help but give him a coy smile. "After all, we wouldn't want a certain future queen to think you unappealing now would we?" Seeing Arthur's temper beginning to rise, Merlin quickly began to walk backwards, his smile never leaving his face.

"Okay, so this is the part where you start piling up my chores, so I think I'll skip the part where you throw things at my head and just start with them." Arthur couldn't help but look abashed at his statement and Merlin felt accomplished to be capable of rendering the prince mute for once. "I think I'll start with your armor. No, maybe sharpening your sword would be better? No! I got it! I'll muck out the stables; I know that's your favorite!"

He had already opened the door when Arthur finally snapped into action and began to follow his manservant. "Wait a minute!" Arthur huffed as he managed to catch Merlin's arm but stopped short at the site of Guinevere in front of the two.

"Oh!" Gwen exclaimed in surprise before giving the two of them a welcoming smile. "Good morning, Merlin. Arthur." Arthur's face broke into a smile as he let her voice envelope him and was about to greet her in return when a blur of brown and red zoomed pass him and towards her.

"Gwen!" Merlin exclaimed cheerfully as he stepped forward to embrace his friend in a tight hug. As soon as he felt her feet left the ground, he began to spin her around as he felt himself laugh in happiness. He didn't seem to hear the small yelp that Gwen gave out when he picked her up.

"M-Merlin! What are you-" She stuttered in surprise at the amount of affection and cheerfulness her friend seemed to have this morning. Thankfully, Arthur stepped forward before Merlin could make her even dizzier than she was getting.

"Put her down, you idiot!" Arthur bellowed at his manservant as he forcefully tried to separate the two, but Merlin still held Gwen's shoulders and gave her a big smile.

"It's so good to see you! I hope you're having as great a day as I am!"

"I am," Gwen replied politely as she gestured to her shoulders. "But could you please let me go?"

Merlin simply blinked as he finally seemed to realize what he had just done. "Oh, right," he said sheepishly as he let her go. Immediately, Arthur went to her side and embraced her in a half possessive hug. "Anyway, I'll guess I'll see you both after I finish my chores!" And with this, the couple saw the cheerful servant turn around and began walking forwards with a hop in his step.

"Well, someone's happy today," Gwen said in amusement as she felt Arthur shift beside her.

"It's kind of creepy, if you ask me."

"Oh come on," she chided playfully as she turned to face him, placing a hand on his chiseled chin, her eyes turning softer. "I know you're glad he's back to his usual self. He was so depressed yesterday."

"Well yes, but now it's like he's too like himself."

Gwen couldn't help but agree with him in that statement, but she could feel waves of a very familiar emotion radiating from him. "He probably just finally realized that half the serving girls in the castle fancied him and took a chance."

"Yeah probably…" But Arthur stopped nodding mid-way as her statement finally sunk in. "Wait what?"

"It's been like that ever since he first got here," she said with laughter in her eyes as she tried not to laugh at his expression. "Frankly, I'm surprise that it took him this long to figure it out."

"Please, tell me you're joking." Arthur couldn't process the fact that half his serving staff viewed his friend as 'handsome'.

Not being able to resist the chance to aggravate him slightly Gwen simply placed two fingers under her chin and began to appear pensive. "There was actually a time when even I…"

Arthur's eyes widened exponentially at this, and he placed both hands over his eyes, trying to stop the images that were popping up in his mind. "Okay. I did not need to hear that!"

"It was just briefly, mind you! Now he's more like my goofy big brother! Honest!" Gwen finally took pity on him.

Arthur merely gazed at her in exasperation; he knew she was joking of course, but he also knew that there was some truth to her previous statement. "Yeah, I think there are a few more chores that I need to inform Merlin about."

"Do you think Merlin's feeling better today?" Lancelot heard Gwaine ask beside him as they began to pack their weapons after the day's training. Lancelot was surprised at how meek and unsure the question sounded from the confident and suave knight, so he merely gave him a pointed look to let him continue.

"I wanted to see if he would allow me to take some flowers to his lake… " Gwaine said softly as his eyes were trained on the floor. "Whoever he was mourning for, she must've been pretty special for him. He was in so much pain…" Lancelot's eyes widened at this; he often forgot how loyal and protective Gwaine was towards Merlin. Seeing the almost perpetually cheerful man so solemn and so clearly in pain allowed them to see the other side of Merlin, one that he desperately tried to hide from others. That Gwaine wanting to do something nice for Merlin brought a smile to Lancelot's face.

Sitting right beside him, Lancelot placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "That is a wonderful idea, Gwaine. Hopefully, once we see him today he will be well enough for us to ask."

At this, Gwaine in returned smiled and the two began to walk towards the lower town. He could always count on Lancelot to keep him calm in situations like this, and he took his advice to heart since he had known Merlin long before him. But as the two made their way through town, Gwaine heard a cheerful tune whistling in the air and was surprised at the source.

"Uhh… I think he is…" Noting the confused look of the other knight, Gwaine merely pointed at the stables as Lancelot's gaze fell upon the familiar manservant mucking them out. As the two approached the man, they were confounded to see him act in such an uplifted and cheerful way. They were obviously expecting to see him put up a mask for the others, but to see him like this after last night?

Something wasn't right.

"Merlin?" Lancelot half called half questioned at the raiven haired man before them, and Merlin immediately turned around at his name. His already grinning face broke out into a full blown smile at the sight of the two, which made them worry even more.

"Oh!" Merlin exclaimed. "Good morning, Gwaine! Lancelot! I hope you've both had as wonderful a morning as I!"

At this, the two knights shared a pointed look and step toward the warlock. "Are you alright, Merlin?" Lancelot asked, but Merlin simply gave him a confused look, his smile remaining strong, so Gwaine tried to be more forward.

"You seem… happy."

"And what is so wrong with me being happy?" Merlin questioned the two knights, but he appeared to remember what was happening and finally realized what was wrong. "Oh! That's right! I haven't told you yet!"

"Told us what?" At this, Merlin looked discreetly at their surroundings to make sure no one would overhear their talk. Feeling comfortable, he pulled the two knights inside the stables and closed the doors before turning around and beginning to explain.

"Last night, when you left me at the lake, a druid elder approached me," he began. "She… sort of sensed when I was mourning…"

Their eyes widened in surprise at the fact that someone felt him grieve. "She did?"

"But that is of no concern now!" Merlin exclaimed as his grin grew almost to the point that it had to be painful to maintain. "She brought her back!"

"Merlin, mate, you're not making any sense," Gwaine stated, hoping to make Merlin explain the situation. "Brought who back?"

"Freya!" The two knights noticed how his eyes seemed to shine at the very mention of her and how his voice treated her name with reverence. "The woman for whom I was mourning. The elder druid sacrificed her life to grant me this miracle." He unconsciously placed a hand over his neckerchief where the pendant was supposed to be, and his eye became slightly dull for a second.

"She must've perished this morning... I owe her so much and now I will never be able to repay her…" However, as quick as it had happened, his eyes morphed back into the cheerful pools of happiness that they had been before. "But now I have Freya back! I shall never allow something like what happened last time to take her away from my side again!"

At his outburst, the two knights simply stood back stunned. They didn't understand what had happened, but the way that Merlin was acting and the too opportunistic act of someone bringing Merlin's loved one back from the dead was too much of a coincidence. They both knew that they needed to ask carefully, knowing full well what Merlin was capable of doing to defend his loved ones.

Lancelot gently stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder hoping to convey his thoughts. "Merlin, are you certain that…" He was unable to finish the sentence as the happy look of Merlin's face dissolved, leaving confusion and a bit of anger in its place.

Merlin didn't understand. Why where they so eager to disprove the miracle that had happened to him? They should be happy for him! Immediately, Merlin felt the urgent need to defend Freya from this two, so he shrugged Lancelot's hand off his shoulder and gazed at the two steadily. "I can assure you…" Merlin began with a dangerous voice that left the two knights still in their spots. "She is as real and alive as you or I. She breathes the same air as me, occupies the same space as me, and her mere presence graces the very ground she walks on."

As they saw him take a step forward they couldn't help but take a step back, not knowing how to deal with this side of their friend. "So believe me. She. Is. Real."

Having fallen into an uncomfortable bout of silence, Gwaine took this as his cue and step forward showing his biggest grin. "We're happy for you, mate! Aren't we Lance?"

At this, Lancelot immediately caught up with his friend and gave Merlin an apologetic but happy smile. "Yes. I'm glad you two were finally reunited." Instantly Merlin's whole demeanor changed with their words, but he didn't want to risk getting any more upset with people's reactions. Perhaps it was a good thing that he hadn't told Gaius; he certainly wasn't going to tell him now that's for sure.

"Thank you." As he said this, Merlin seemed to realize the time and began to walk towards the door. "I have to go! The prat has been unusually snippy today; I don't think he's going to run out of chores for the next few centuries!" Merlin explained with a slight laugh at the end, leaving the two to smile after his retreating form.

"Well, I'm sure you'll put him in his place soon enough!" Merlin's laugh grew louder at this and gave the rebellious knight a nod in response, leaving the two alone. As soon as he was out of hearing range, the two let their smiles fall and once they turned to look at each other they saw the same level of concern.

"Do you think it was just too much of a coincidence that somebody sacrificed themselves to bring this Freya back from the dead?" Gwaine asked straightforwardly, his gut telling him that something was off.

"I'm not sure…" Lancelot murmured as his eyes turned back to the castle where their young warlock was heading. "The few moments that I've spoken to Gaius about Merlin, he has spoken about him with something akin to pride, or awe. He says that Merlin is to the Druids as Arthur is Camelot. Perhaps seeing him as devastated as he was yesterday drove the elder to help ease his heart..."

"In my travels I've heard some of their prophesies. The Druids seem to see him as their savior," Gwaine informed him, but before they could dwell too much into this, Lancelot shook his head and turned to the other knight.

"We're probably worrying too much. Maybe it's nothing. Maybe destiny finally decided to allow our friend a modicum of happiness." As he said this, Lancelot's gaze turned once more upon the castle, becoming slightly softer. "Lord knows he deserves it…" Gwaine could only nod in reply, knowing full well how true that statement was.

"Still," Lancelot continued, "let's keep an eye on him just in case. We mustn't overlook an act of magic even when it was done in the presence of Merlin. Having one's loved one come back from the dead would certainly change one's perceptions."

Noting the steeliness in Gwaine's eyes, Lancelot nodded in acknowledgement and patted his shoulder as goodbye before turning around and walking east. Meanwhile, Gwaine simply stared at the castle concernedly. "Oh my friend, I pray to the Gods that there isn't anything more to this… For your sake…"

Me: *blinks inocently* What? They are at least suspicious of what happened!

And again, I don't want anyone stating the fact that Merlin and Gwaine seemed OCC. There is a reason! REASON I SAY!

Until next time!