It was now the fourth day since the attack. Four days, three nights, and neither Merlin nor Freya had any idea of exactly where they were. In the grand, sprawling forest it was amazingly easy to walk for hours, and to see no great change in the shrubbery that surrounded them. No human sound had reached their ears in all that time and for that Merlin was immensely grateful. The silence was a shelter from the harsh outside world, and it concealed and protected them as they walked through the endless woods. Merlin's forehead twitched into a small frown as he thought. It seemed every time someone came into contact with the two of them, something uncontrollable and volatile exploded, despite all efforts to keep calm. He didn't want to acknowledge it, but he couldn't stop the feeling, deep within his heart, that Freya's curse might have a much longer reaching effects than first thought.

His first instinct in relation to this thought was to bury it, deny it. He wanted to continue with the belief that Freya merely had … a condition. Manageable, and as distance as each dusk was from dawn. The idea that the curses effect could be as long reaching as to draw the dark tendrils of traitorous magic towards them, even in the daylight hours, was something too horrible and distressing to comprehend. All he and Freya ever wanted was peace. Was that really such a selfish desire?

"While I find your little frown very cute, Merlin, it does tend to worry me when it doesn't change for a couple of hours."

Merlin an effort to smooth out his forehead before turning to Freya was a wide and charming smile. "What little frown?"

"I can still see the lines."

"That's because my frowns are never little. They're deep and manly, like the rest of me."

Freya huffed out a reluctant laugh, threaded her fingers through his and rested her cheek against his shoulder as they continued to walk. "These past couple of days have been heaven for me," she murmured. "It's been so calm, so peaceful. Even the nights - when there's only you around me, I don't feel so much like the raging monsters within." She then pulled back to look him in the eyes. "But I'd like to think that I'd never get so lost in my own joy not to notice your pain."

"I'm not in pain. I'm in … thought."

"Unpleasant thoughts, I think."

Merlin sighed, stopped walking and took both of Freya's hands in his. "I'm thinking about your curse."

Freya carefully schooled her face into a mask of calm. "Okay."

"I was thinking …" he sighed, struggling to arrange his thoughts. "I was thinking that perhaps the curse is more complicated than we first thought. Maybe it's not just forcing you to become a terrible creature and …" he drifted off, swallowed before continuing. "Maybe it's also determined to make sure that there will always be some outside influence that will leave you no choice."

"What do you mean?" asked Freya carefully.

"You said you accidentally killed the son of a powerful sorceress, after he attacked you." Freya's fingers tightened on his, but she didn't look away. "And every time you've … killed … you never started the fight. Someone else has attacked you first. I think … it looks like the same story is being played out over and over again."

"Until I met you." whispered Freya.

"Until you met me." he echoed with a smile. "I don't know what it is about me, about us. Maybe it's because we can both feel the magic flowing around us. Maybe it's because we can both actually see each other, when no one else can. But whatever it is, I feel that as long as we're together - and the rest of the world is kept well away - then you should never feel the urge to hurt anyone again."

Freya looked down at their joined hands, one finger lightly running along Merlin's work hardened knuckles. "It's not the best solution, though, is it?" she said softly. "Either running in fear or completely detaching ourselves from the world."

"I wouldn't mind." said Merlin, but Freya cut him off with a soft laugh.

"Yes, you would." she said. "You would. Not at first, of course, and you'd never say a bad thing or blame me in anyway but, Merlin," she raised her hand to cup his cheek. "Even before you met me you had a secret to carry, the secret of the magic within you. With the court so full of people there must have always been the fear that someone would notice, that something would betray you and lead to your death. But even then, did you ever once consider the idea of leaving everyone and everything behind, to go and live off by yourself in the woods?"

Merlin's mouth twisted in thought. "I keep forgetting that you never properly met Arthur."

Freya smiled. "Think about it. Neither you nor I have the heart to live in isolation."

Merlin opened his mouth to protest, but one look at Freya's open, understanding face stopped him. She was right. Plain and simple. He wasn't one for locking himself away even when in Camelot. His mind flickered back to the very first day he entered that city. The rush and bustle of hundreds of people going to and fro, all with their own lives, dream, hopes and desires had left him with the widest grin and the lightest feeling in his chest. Merlin loved people, he loved the activity, the noise of so many busy lives. He still loved the small village he grew up in but there was no denying that he loved that bigger city more. She was right. He'd come to resent the silence and isolation, even if it was with her.

Merlin let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping. "So now what?" he asked. "We're in danger surrounded by people, because regardless of what we do the curse will attract those wishing to hurt us, and we can't wander the forest forever, so … where does that leave us?"

Freya shrugged and drew in a deep breath, looking up at the canopy of sun dappled spring leaves that we hanging still and silent above them as if they could whisper the answer they needed.

And in spite of everything Merlin found himself staring at the arch of her long, pale neck, suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to trace his lips along the sweep of her throat and taste the skin there. Unknowingly, his lips parted and he found himself leaning slightly forwards …

"We need to find her." Freya dropped her chin to look Merlin in the eyes.

"Wait, what … who? Her? What?" stammered Merlin. He cleared his throat noisily and smiled, while Freya stared at him like he'd sprouted horns.

"We need to find the sorceress who cursed me." said Freya, carefully pronouncing each word as if worried that Merlin might not be able to understand without help. "We need to get her to free me."

This dumped a heap of cold water on whatever lingering madness still rushed through his veins. For a moment all he could do was stare, his mouth opening and closing a few times as he struggled to find the right words to this proposition. "Freya," he said at last, speaking as slowly as she had. "You know how crazy that sounds, right?"

"Probably more so than you," she sighed sadly. "I … I killed her son. Her only child. Her rage is to be expected, her vengeance understandable. But … I can't keep living like this. We can't."

"I don't see how someone who had such hate within them to cast such a powerful, cruel curse could ever be persuaded to lift it." said Merlin, shaking his head.

"Well, do you know of any other way to be free of this life we're living?" asked Freya. "I know that if it were in your power, you would've lifted the curse already."

"Of course I would've!" he grasped her hands even tighter and tugged them to his chest, pulling her even closer. "But, Freya, think about this …"

"I have been thinking about it, Merlin. Actually, I've been thinking about this for a while now, even before I met you. I've been this way for a year now, one terribly long year …" She left loose a shuddering sigh and leaned in closer to rest her head on his chest, just above the jumble of their clasped hands. "And I was in utter despair when you saw me in that cage. I was ready to take any punishment the King was going to, even if that meant me meeting the executioner's axe. And if I somehow escaped that fate, I was determined to seek out the sorceress and ask her - beg her - to release me. Whatever form that release would take."

At this Merlin tugged his hands free of hers, then flung them around her shoulders and back, holding her closer to him. "Please don't." he whispered.

"I won't," she breathed in his ear, warm and soft. "I don't want to die, Merlin. Not now that I've met you. But we can't keep pretending that this is the life either of us wanted. Always running, always scared. There's only one person who can free us, and even if it's the one person in this world least likely to want to we still have to try. We have to try."

Merlin closed his eyes and turned his cheek to crown of Freya's head, planting a firm kiss in the tangle of her hair. She was right. Again. They had one massive problem between them, and their only solution that was one hell of a long shot. He let loose a shaky sigh, soft words almost lost against her skin.

"What did you say?" she asked, pulling back.

Merlin swallowed, and then repeated, "I'm afraid. I don't want to loose you."

For a second Freya's deep, dark eyes were utterly unreadable, then she reached upwards and caught his lips with her own. The kiss was sudden and her lips were dry, but half a heartbeat was all the time missed before Merlin matched her, his long around twining themselves around her waist and pulling her up as far as her toes would stretch. Her sweet tongue darted out between his lips and it was only a moment before he matched her there too, tasting her, feeding on her warmth, wanting to be closer than he'd ever been to anyone before, even letting a touch of desperation enter into his kisses as he'd never allowed before. Don't go, his mind whispered, hands splayed over her back, don't go, don't leave me, please don't leave me, I'm afraid, I'm afraid of this sorceress, I'm afraid of this curse, I'm afraid you'll die, I'm afraid, I'm afraid, I'm afraid …

"I'm afraid, too." It wasn't until her low voice reverberated through him, almost as if the words had come from his own lips, that he realised that he'd been talking aloud as he'd kissed her. They'd stopped, but Freya hadn't attempted to move back and Merlin was more than content to hold her close, eyes closed, forehead leaning against hers. "I am just as scared by all this as you. I know that this will most likely lead to my death." At this Merlin let out a little groan and held her tighter, but she went on. "And it could even … lead to yours," she croaked. "But there is no other way. Either we lift this curse or you will loose me. Someday, somehow, something will go wrong. You know it will. And I'll be lost. So, yes, I am afraid of what we must do. But I'm more afraid of standing still."

Maybe he was still heady from her kisses, or maybe he was getting disorientated from have his eyes closed for too long, but Merlin could swear that he could feel the earth slowly rolling under his feet as the weight of her words settled upon his heart. She was absolutely right. Again. There was only one way forward, and that was through Hell.

Slowly, he relaxed his hands against her back and gently pulled away. As he gazed down into her beautiful face, eyes bright, lips pink and swollen, and a light flush still glowing high on her cheeks and along her lovely neck, he felt a sudden wave of resolution wash over him. It would be Hell to get this curse lifted, and it would be a miracle if they both got out of this unscathed, but if there was ever anyone that he would brave Hell for, it was her.

"Okay," he breathed, taking a step back but still unable to remove his hands from her waist. "Where do we start?"

She smiled up at him, her usual small, sad smile, but this time there was a hint of something steely and strong in those dark eyes that he'd never seen before. "The sorceress comes from a place called Caer-Didi, which is to the south east of here. It's a small village nestled right by the ocean, where the people are mostly left to themselves. It's hard to get to from here, and most people that visit come by boat."

"A perfect place to live, if you want to stay out of Uther's reach." nodded Merlin. "How long do you think it will take us to reach it?"

Freya bit her lip in thought, and it was all Merlin could do not to gently follow suit with his own teeth. "Two weeks, at least. Maybe more, if we have to continue to avoid people."

"Two weeks." he repeated, clearing his throat. "Well, we'd better get a move on."

They finally drew apart, and Merlin wondered if she felt the cold as keenly as he did just then. For a few lingering moment, all they did was stare at each other, then Freya suddenly gave a short laugh and started to swing her arms.

"But before all that … I am rather hungry, aren't you?"

"Starved." agreed Merlin. "And I think I'd better start getting a little bit more magical practice in along the way so … watch this."

He shook his hands for a moment, as if trying to shake water off them, then brought them together in a sharp, loud clap and burst of bright magic that made unwary birds take flight in offence. And once he widened his hands he revealed.

"Irises!" exclaimed Freya, delightfully plucking one the delicate white and purple blooms that were now overflowing from Merlin's out stretched palms. She shot a wicked grin as she twirled the flower between her fingers. "How tasty."

"And exactly what I intended to do," laughed Merlin.