Epilogue

One night, weeks after Merlin, Arthur and the knights had safely returned to Camelot and all the unfortunate victims of the Dorocha had been given proper funerals, Merlin had a dream about Freya. It certainly wasn't the first one he ever had but it was the most realistic.

He'd found himself beside that fateful lake where he had sent her to her rest, nearly a year and a half ago. It was night time but the full moon and many bright stars overhead cast an ethereal, silvery light over the vista.

As he gazed out, his beloved Freya emerged gently from the surface of the lake. His rational mind was telling him he should be terrified of this vision of the dead returned, but he felt only that this was how it should be - himself and Freya together again.

He could feel his heart rate quicken as she seemed to glide towards the shore where he was standing, rivulets of water sparkling and glistening in her wake.

She looked as beautiful as he remembered but seemed stronger somehow and her smile was more joyful and complete than it ever had been in life. She no longer carried the hunted expression or defeated posture that she had when Merlin had rescued her from Halig the Bounty Hunter.

"Merlin, I've missed you so much" she greeted him warmly.

Seeing the girl who had captured his heart, who'd meant more to him than even Arthur for a short time, was a little overwhelming and Merlin felt all the pain of her loss begin to resurface.

"Freya, I miss you too" he murmured, his voice shaking with emotion. "We had so little time together. If only I could have….."

"Please don't be sad for me." Freya interrupted his maudlin thoughts. "Don't feel that way Merlin. I'm more at peace now than I ever was when alive. I told you before that you saved me; I can finally do some good to make up for all the wrong doings I caused."

"Freya, you were cursed. It wasn't your fault."Merlin pleaded with her. Freya's body was beginning to grow slightly transparent in front of his eyes and she seemed to sense some sort of weakening herself as she quickly continued speaking.

"Merlin, I cannot stay like this for long. Please just listen. I brought you here to tell you something, so you would know you're not alone." Merlin tried to concentrate on her words, rather than the distress and pain in his heart.

"The beings who call themselves the Villia are closely related to my kind Merlin. They are the spirits of the streams and brooks. I am now a lake spirit. When I felt them healing you - the only person who had ever been willing to put themselves in danger to protect me - I had to add my life force to help. Together, our power protected you from the darkness present on the other side of the veil." Freya was smiling beatifically. Her image was growing fainter and fainter.

"Merlin, I have to leave you now but I wanted you to know how much I care for you and that I'll always do what is in my power to help you." As she reached the end of her speech she was becoming so faint that Merlin knew she'd be gone in a second.

"Freya, don't go yet!"Merlin pleaded desperately, "There's more I need to say to you!" Tears were welling in his eyes as she vanished completely from sight. It was like losing her all over again.

"Good bye Merlin."

Merlin awoke from the dream in tears. He knew he'd never get over her loss. She had let him behave with a freedom he never could in front of anyone else. They'd been so alike and in tune with each other. Her loss had left a deep hole in his life that nothing had ever managed to fill.

As he tried to calm himself down and go back to sleep her words replayed themselves in his head. Had she somehow protected him? He had no other explanation.
Once before she had appeared to him at a time when he was in desperate need of assistance. The Fisher King had seemed to know she would play a part in his and Arthur's destiny, so maybe it was all foretold. Whatever the case, it warmed his heart to know he was not as alone as he often feared.

Sometimes his feelings of isolation and the weight he had to bare alone on his slim shoulders was unbearable. Knowing he had one more person on his side, to help him do whatever was neccesssary to see Arthur become King of Camelot, to re-unite Albion and allow the return of magic warmed his soul and gave him extra strenght to face the trials that lay ahead. His destiny was a tricky thing, but it was something he was committed to with every part of his being.

A/N Sometimes, Merlin seems to be in desperate need of help to fulfil his destiny. I think one person who did help him carry all the weight of being a magical being in a land were magic is so dispised, was Lancelot, which is the main reason I did not like him being "killed off" in episode 2.

I like the thought of Freya and other creatures of magic assisting him too. Also, generally speaking, Merlin doesn't get enough lovin'.

I would really like your opinion, so please review.