This is it! The last installment!

Chapter 24

Merlin awoke to sound of the birds singing in the trees outside of the small cave that he and Freya had made their temporary home. He shivered as a light breeze blew through the opening and he stared around to find that Freya was watching over him.

Apparently used to this, Merlin leant back against the makeshift pillow that the pair of them had fashioned.

"You had another nightmare," Freya whispered, soothingly. "Can you remember anything?"

"No," Merlin sighed.

"It's getting worse. I couldn't hold you down this time. Do you think that something is going to happen to Arthur?"

"I can't find anything in Camelot, but Morgana and Morgause could be planning something else to try and take the kingdom."

"You'll find out." Freya leant next to him on the coarse blanket and gently stroked Merlin's hair as he rested his head on her chest. After a few minutes, he began to move, but she held him still. "You need to relax. I know it's important to protect Arthur, but you can't stress yourself out all of the time."

"Too late; I've been doing that for years." They both chuckled and Merlin didn't struggle again.

Soon, he spoke again. "We don't have to stay here."

"Sorry?"

"In the cave; it's not as if there aren't plenty of other places to go."

"It's the closest we dare go to Camelot and if we move further away then it could be dangerous for our friends. Where would you like to go?"

"Do you remember where we talked of going? The place with the lake, the mountains and the wild flowers."

"Not forgetting the fields and the cows."

"Definitely not forgetting them."

Freya laughed again, but shook her head. "The nearest lake is Avalon and that's about ten leagues away from here."

"It was worth a try. If you're not happy here then please let me know."

"Merlin, I'm happy wherever you are, even if it's in a cold and dark cave."

"The offers still there… Do you still think about when we first met?"

"Frequently. I remember that I was covered in rags and mud."

"You were still beautiful… and you looked so scared and lonely."

"Gaius told you to leave me alone, but you still came back and you hid me from those who hunted me… I could never thank you enough for that."

"But I still couldn't save you."

"You did, Merlin, and don't ever think differently."

"I never thanked you either."

"What for?"

"For understanding who I am and not who I had to pretend to be."

"You never pretend. Every time I see you with our friends, you're always yourself even if you can't use your magic. Hopefully one day they will understand."

Arthur wondered what on earth his father could want. It had been years since he had last been called to his father's chambers. Most of the time they met in the Council Chambers, so now the prince was incredibly confused.

It had been three days since they had returned from Elayne's coronation and since Arthur had re-discovered the truth about how he had been born. He had seen his father since then, and he had kept his word about not confronting him. Lancelot and Gwaine, who Arthur suspected had been told what had happened by the former, were also keeping an eye on him to make sure that he didn't suddenly fly off of the handle.

The three of them and Gwen had also spoken to the other knights. Elyan accepted the news of Arthur no longer being against magic quite merrily, as he obviously did not want to see Freya and Merlin's continued incrimination. Percival was also easy to persuade as he had grown up in a community that respected magic to a certain extent. As foreseen, the biggest problem was convincing Leon. The knight had been shocked to hear that Arthur now thought magic as something good, but he had fortunately listened to the prince and Lancelot explain. He had been horrified to learn that the king had once used magic and had turned against it because of a decision that he and Queen Ygraine had made, which was when he finally saw how wrong Uther's laws were, despite the fact that he had suffered at Morgana's hands whilst she had held the city. His liking of both Merlin and Freya had also helped

Now, the prince hoped that word hadn't somehow reached his father that he and the knights wer trying to come up with some way to find Merlin and Freya.

Knocking on the king's door, Arthur walked in, his face set in a neutral expression, which hid the worry that was churning in his stomach.

"Is everything alright, Father?" he asked, watching as Uther turned from staring out of the window, a letter in his hand.

"Arthur," the king welcomed. "I need to discuss something serious with you."

The prince felt his hands go clammy as he closed the door behind him.

"It is about the two sorcerers."

"Have they been found?" The clammy feeling intensified.

"No, but I have just received word. Have you heard of the assassin named Anwar?"

"I vaguely remember that you put a price on his head some years ago. Has he resurfaced?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. I was able to contact him and he agreed to hunt down the two sorcerers. It appears that he is on to them."

"Merlin and Freya?"

Uther nodded and turned to his desk, which was fortunate for Arthur as the prince turned a pale white. Anwar was known for being ruthless and cunning. Even if the two runaways had magic, they would still never hear the assassin coming.

"Did he give you a location?"

"He did actually. He thinks that they are hiding near the White Mountains."

Arthur's brain was buzzing as he tried to think. He had to find Merlin and Freya before Anwar did, otherwise there would be no saving them. He soon thought of something. "If it is allowed, I would like to see if I could aid Anwar."

"He will be fine without your aid."

"All the same… it would be satisfying to know that he has done it. These are also powerful sorcerers so it may take more than one man to kill them. I can take some of the knights with me to make sure that they don't escape." Arthur felt sickened at the lie, but he knew that it was the only way.

Uther considered this for a minute. "I see what you mean. Very well, you can take a group of the knights. Make sure that neither of them escapes. If they do then they could alert Cenred's niece and she could declare war."

Hoping that wasn't what Elayne would do, Arthur gave his father a curt bow before marching out of the room. Once he was down the corridor, he broke into a sprint, desperate to find the knights.

He was lucky enough to find all of them having a discussion in Gwaine's chambers. He burst through the door, grasping at the stitch that had appeared in his side.

"Arthur?" Leon asked, concerned.

"We need to leave now," Arthur said once he had caught his breath. "My father has ordered an assassin to kill Merlin and Freya and apparently he's catching up with them. We have to warn them."

The effect was instantaneous. The knights leapt into action, all of them following Arthur as they sped down corridors and into the courtyard, heading towards the stables.

"Won't your father be suspicious?" Percival asked as they strapped their saddles to their mounts.

"He thinks that we're going to help the assassin," Arthur explained.

"Thank God he bought that one," Gwaine muttered, jumping onto his horse.

"Let's just hope that we aren't too late," Lancelot prayed out loud.

Freya scrabbled around in the undergrowth, reaching out for any decent sized twigs that would be suitable for a fire. Ignoring the cuts that the sharp edges of a bush gave her, she pulled out a couple before standing up.

The day was quite hot as Freya pottered around outside of the cave that they were hiding in. Merlin had left not too long ago to go to Camelot to keep an eye on Arthur and make sure that the prince was not in danger. Freya smiled to herself as she remembered a comment that Merlin had made about Arthur and his socks.

The sudden snapping of a twig caused the girl to spin around and inspect the immediate area. She could not see anything but her magic told her that something was wrong. Dropping the sticks, Freya treaded forwards, carefully peering around for a sign of anything out of place.

A horrifying pain ripped through her, and Freya screamed as she felt cold metal slide through her; the world being replaced with red.

Merlin crept down the dark corridors of the castle, keeping to the shadows and hiding in gaps as soldiers and commoners walked past in the light. Staring down the corridors, the warlock began to plan how he would get to somewhere near Arthur's chambers without being caught.

He was almost there when he felt a sickening agony, causing him to slump over. He grabbed onto a nearby basket of fruit, but this only dragged the basket down with him, the fruit rolling on the floor as he heaved in pain.

Confused as to why he was feeling this, Merlin checked himself for any injuries, only to find that there were none. That was when the horrible truth sunk in.

"Freya!"

Forgetting everything else, Merlin made his way back in the direction that he had come, muttering the spell that would transport him back to the camp.

Freya stared up at the man who had run her through with his blade, trying to crawl away from him. He merely stood over as she tried to inch towards the trees.

"Where's the boy?" Anwar asked. "I was told that there were two of you."

"You were told?"

"Uther is anxious to see that the pair of you are dead, so much that he contacted me. I'd been on the run for the last few years."

The girl began to mutter a spell that would heal her, but the pain was too excruciating.

"Don't bother," the assassin taunted. "My sword is laced with salamander venom."

Freya felt as if her heart had sunk. She knew exactly what that meant. Salamander venom could not even be healed by magic. She cringed again as another wave of pain rode over her.

"So where is he then? You can't tell me that he's left you, a pretty thing like you." He nudged Freya in the side with his foot. "I can't see why Uther thinks you're dangerous; this has to be the easiest kill that I've ever made."

"FREYA!"

Both Anwar and Freya looked around to see Merlin running into the clearing, his face alight with pure anger.

Anwar sneered and picked up his blade, which was covered in Freya's blood, pacing towards Merlin, "There you are then."

"What did you do to her?" Merlin spat.

"Salamander venom."

Merlin froze, his eyes watching Freya as she slumped to her side, her eyes bright with pain. Gaius had warned him about salamander venom. He was then more angry than he could ever remember being, every fibre of his being screaming in rage.

The clouds overhead began to roll in and turned a dark and menacing grey, causing the assassin to gaze up in fright.

"You should not have touched her," Merlin growled.

Before either Merlin or Anwar could do anything, the latter promptly dropped to the ground, a number of sticks embedded in his back. The warlock turned to look at Freya, who had managed to prop herself up and had cast a spell that had killed the assassin with the firewood that she had collecting.

Ignoring the now dead assassin, Merlin rushed over to the girl and cradled her in his arms.

"No," he moaned. "No."

Freya flinched in pain as her wound was jolted, but tried to smile up at him, gripping his hand.

"You can't," Merlin said. "Not now after all of this. I've only just got you back."

"It's alright, my love."

"How can it be alright? You've only been back for a few months. I should have been here."

"You had to be in Camelot to make sure that Arthur was safe."

"Not if you were at risk."

Freya tried to smile. "I guess we now know what those nightmares were." She then cringed from the agony, her eyes scrunching shut.

"It's going to be alright, Freya." Lifting her off of the ground, Merlin silently cast a spell and he felt himself melt into nothingness until the pair of them materialised in another place entirely.

Gazing around, weakly, Freya let a couple of tears fall as she recognised where they were. "The lake."

"It preserved you one, it can save you now," Merlin explained, sitting next to the shore of the vast expanse of water and hugging Freya to him, his eyes burning with tears.

"No, it can't... Merlin, you know what salamander blood does."

"I'm not giving up on you. I will not lose you again. We've come too far to let something like this tear us apart again. You called me back from the dead when Deryn killed me, so I can stop you from dying because of some poison; and I don't care where it comes from."

"Merlin, it's alright. I'm happy now. The last few months have been the best of my life. I had a home, I had friends and I had you. That's all I could ever want. It may not have been perfect because of Deryn plotting to kill everyone, but it was perfect for me because of you."

"It was." Merlin stroked her hair out of her face, his hands trembling. They were now both crying together. "But you can't give up now. I love you too much to be able to lose you again, Freya."

"I know, and the same goes for me, Merlin. I love you."

"Then don't leave me."

"Nothing can stop it."

"I'm the Rīce Ealdor. I'm not letting you go without trying to save you."

In truth Merlin didn't have a clue about what he could possibly try. In a moment of desperation, he cried out with his mind. "Help." That was when he had an idea.

"No," he told Freya. "I'm not going to let you die. This is going to work."

"What are you doing?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Always."

Merlin abruptly kissed her, the pair clutching to each other for what could be the last time.

"The tracks lead down here," Leon called, pointing as the footprints headed off into the undergrowth. "It looks as if he ran."

"Please, dear God, don't let him have found them," Elyan prayed.

Following the tracks that the assassin had left, the group soon came up to a clearing and immediately spotted the dead body of the assassin.

"I would not want to have been in his shoes," Gwaine said, shaking his head.

"He was trying to kill them," Percival muttered.

"Oh Gods," Arthur cried.

Rushing over, the knights saw something that made their stomachs contract. Blood covered the forest floor, and they could tell that it was definitely not the assassin's. That left only two possibilities.

"How long has it been like this?" Gwaine asked.

Unnoticed, Lancelot had doubled over. Images were somehow flashing through his head and he distinctly heard Merlin calling for help. He saw Merlin lift Freya off of the ground, an unsightly wound in her abdomen; and then the pair were weeping by a lake as Freya began to visibly become weaker. Finally, the images reverted back to when the assassin was still alive and he said something about salamander venom.

Coming back to himself, the knight was in time to see Arthur reach out to inspect the bloody ground.

"Don't touch it!" he yelled, pulling Arthur away. Everyone stared around at him.

"Lancelot?" Leon looked worried, as did they all.

"Are you alright, mate?" Gwaine asked.

"I think Merlin just projected some of his memories, and I think I picked them up." He had to pause to be able to say what he was going to next. "It's Freya's blood. The assassin ran her through, and his blade was lined with salamander's venom."

The rest of the knights turned either pale or slightly green.

"But she can heal herself," Arthur said.

"Merlin could even heal her," Elyan added, as an afterthought.

Gwaine, Percival and Lancelot were the only ones who understood the weight of the situation, and they were loath to break the news to the others.

"Salamander venom can't be healed by magic," Percival clarified. "I don't even think that Merlin could save her. Nothing can save her."

The effect of his explanation was shocking. Arthur actually had to lean against a tree as he processed this; and the knights failed to hide their horror. Elyan even knelt on the ground, his face blank of any describable expression.

All of them also shared the same thought. What would happen to Merlin? The pair had only known each other for a few months. At least that was what they thought- Lancelot knew differently. However, Merlin and Freya had already admitted their love for each other, even if their relationship had been interrupted by Deryn's plan to destroy Camelot. The knights did not want to imagine what Merlin would be feeling.

"We need to find them," Arthur finally said. "Lancelot, did you see anything?"

"They're next to a lake," the knight answered, hesitantly.

"Well that narrows it down," Gwaine mumbled.

"Not now, Gwaine," Leon whispered, grimacing.

"I think I recognised it, though," Lancelot continued. "I think... it's that one where nobody really likes going; the one that we avoid when we're on patrol."

The others knew where he meant. It had long been rumoured that spirits lived in the lake, and none of the knights liked going near it. Even the king didn't mind if it was avoided.

"That's ten leagues away," Percival said.

"Back to the horses now," Arthur ordered. "Let's just pray that Freya is still alive."

The knights spurred their steeds on through the wild, even if the weather was extremely cold and drizzly. They ignored the coldness of the sprinkling of rain that fell down their backs, all determined to reach their goal.

After what could have been hours, they broke through an embankment of trees and stared out at the Lake of Avalon. None of them could deny the prickling at the backs of their necks that had nothing to do with the rain.

Dismounting, they began to race around the muddy shore of the lake, staring around for any sign of their friends. They didn't have to wait long.

"Arthur!" Gwaine yelled.

The others sped over to him and looked on as the knight lifted Merlin's pale body into his arms.

"Come on, mate, you're not dying on us now," he told the warlock. "The princess has a few things to say to you." Reaching for Merlin's neck, he felt for a pulse. "He's alive."

Arthur and the others sighed in relief.

"What's he been doing?" Elyan said, inspecting Merlin's hand, which was sliced open. He then took the warlock's neckerchief and wrapped it around the wound.

"A spell?" Percival mused, shrugging.

"Magic wouldn't knock him unconscious," Lancelot argued

"Then why is he like this?" Leon asked.

"That might have something to do with the fact that Freya isn't here." Lancelot gazed around the bank, trying to spot her.

"Where is she?" Arthur queried.

"I'm here, Arthur," a voice said behind them.

Turning to face the lake, the group watched as Freya walked towards them over the water, her body glowing eerily.

"Freya?" The prince asked, walking towards her.

"I know, I look weird."

"What happened to you?"

"Merlin saved me. He wasn't prepared to let me die again."

"Again?"

Freya cringed. "I'll explain in a moment."

"Percival says that salamander venom is incurable."

"It is. That's why Merlin let the lake take back my soul. What Eard told us was right- the lake wasn't finished with me. I'm technically only half alive, meaning that I can only go so far away from the water. But it's alive nonetheless."

"How far can you go?"

"A few metres." Her expression fell at this and a pure tear fell into the depths of the murky water.

"That's not fair. You don't deserve that. After all you and Merlin have done, the pair of you deserve a happy life together."

"Things were never that simple, Arthur, though I take it this means that you all accept what me and Merlin are."

"You have Lancelot, Elayne, Gaius and Hunith to thank for that. Let's just say that I no longer think of magic as evil. None of us here do, and neither does Gwen."

Freya's mood lightened at this and she smiled at the prince. "Thank you, Arthur. How is Gwen?"

"She's fine, though I don't think she will be when I tell her what's happened to you."

"I'm sorry... Please tell her that and that I'm grateful for everything she did for me. She is a true friend."

Arthur acknowledged her request before turning back to another matter. "What did you mean by Merlin not wanting to let you die again?"

"Arthur, please don't be mad at this. Merlin and I met a few years ago and he saved my life. He made me feel like I hadn't felt in a long time, but then I was killed and he couldn't save me."

"How did you die?"

"I was the Druid girl that transformed into a Bastet."

Arthur reeled in shock at this, knowing full well what that meant. He was the one who had killed Freya, Merlin's love. He couldn't believe that he could have done that to someone who was now his friend.

"I'm sorry that I lied to you about not remembering anything about my life. If you had found out then you would have asked questions about how I had survived."

"How did you come back?"

"Merlin spilt the gift that the Fisher King had given him." Here Arthur and Gwaine stared at each other. "It was the Waters of Avalon, from here, where Merlin had buried me; and it brought me back, though how I don't know."

Arthur regarded her for a moment and then, to the shock of all, drew the glowing girl into a hug, promptly stepping into the lake, which went up to his knees. He withdrew and smiled at her. "There is nothing to forgive. In fact, I should be the one begging you for forgiveness."

"You were protecting your people; I can't fault you there." She then looked at the still unconscious Merlin. "All of you will need to be there for him now. He will have a hard time overcoming his grief."

"As if we'd leave him to it," Gwaine said, making a mockery of being insulted. "He's our friend."

"And he's family," Arthur added.

Freya beamed at him and then went into a hug with Gwaine, whose expression was now sad.

"Why is he like this, anyway?" the knight asked.

"The spell required some of his blood and I think it exhausted him, emotionally and physically. I don't know how long he'll be like this." She was now looking worried.

"We'll take care of him," Arthur promised. "If necessary, we can always come and ask you if we need help."

Freya hung her head. "I'm afraid you won't see me for a while. I haven't exactly been fully 'reacquainted' with the lake, so I expect I'll need to stay in the water for a while."

"Why?" Lancelot asked, to which Freya shrugged.

"I don't really understand it myself."

Knowing that it was possible that they would never see her again, the rest of the knights hugged Freya tightly, only now just admitting to themselves on how good a friend she was.

Finally, Freya knelt down next to Merlin, kissing him before withdrawing, her cheeks wet with tears.

"I love you," she whispered into his ear.

With that, she gave a final smile and wave to her friends before leaving them on the shore, watching as she went. As she began to walk out towards the centre of the lake, her outline became less defined before she had vanished completely.

The knights were silent and bowed their heads, assuming a position of mourning.

Gaius looked up from his working bench as the knights trundled in. He began to panic when he saw that Gwaine was carrying Merlin's body.

"What happened?" he asked, rushing over to inspect his ward as the knight lay him down on the bed. "Where's Freya."

The knights looked at each other, sadly.

"She's gone, Gaius," Lancelot explained. Gaius was shocked. "Merlin managed to keep her half alive but she can't leave the Lake of Avalon."

The physician shook his head, gazing down at the warlock. He knew what it was like to lose someone that he loved, and words couldn't describe how Merlin would be feeling, especially since it was the second time that he had lost Freya.

"Do you know what's wrong with him, Gaius?" Gwaine asked. "Freya said it was something to do with emotional and physical exhaustion."

"That is probably the case. All we can do is wait for him to wake up. How did you get up here without anyone seeing you?"

"We didn't," Leon answered. "The people ran into their homes when they saw him and I think a couple of soldiers went to alert the king."

As if an cue, they heard a knock at the door and a soldier entered, addressing Arthur. "The king demands your presence." He then cast a quick glanec at the warlock and left as quickly as he could, the door snapping shut behind him.

"That's just over-reacting," Gwaine grumbled.

"Uther still hasn't told anyone about what happened in the Council Chambers," Percival muttered.

"He'll never want to admit that magic saved him," Arthur explained. "Leon, I think I'm going to need you for this. We're going to have to explain and he may not listen to only one person. We need to make him understand."

"I'd better go and tell Gwen," Elyan added. "Do you think you'll all be alright?"

Gaius, Gwaine and Lancelot nodded.

"We'll stop anyone who tries to come for him," Lancelot said.

"We'd better move him into his room if that's the case," Gaius suggested.

Elyan opened the door to his and Gwen's home, staring around to see his stister sitting at the table, clearly worried about something. She jumped up when she saw him.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "I saw you all run off. What happened?"

Elyan closed the door, his expression sombre. "We found Merlin and Freya."

Gwen's face lit up with hope, but it disappeared as Elyan continued to look grave. "Are they both alright? Where are they?"

"Gwen… Uther sent an assassin to kill them. His sword was laced with salamander venom and apparently not even magic can heal it. He got Freya. Merlin managed to trick his way around the venom, but Freya cannot leave the lake he took her to. She's had to go away for a whiile, so I'm not sure how long she'll be gone for. At any rate, she can't leave the lakes shores."

Gwen's hand went to her mouth and she collapsed into her chair, unable to speak. Her brother could tell that she was about to cry.

"Merlin's alive, but he's unconscious. We don't know how long for and we don't know how affected he'll be when he wakes up."

There was silence, though Gwen soon managed to say something. "Uther actually sent an assassin to kill Merlin. His own nephew?"

"It proves how much he hates magic. He may think that his entire family is betraying him."

"Merlin hasn't betrayed him, though. He spends most of his life saving Camelot from the sounds of it."

"Uther doesn't know that and I don't think he'd listen even if we tried to explain. Arthur and Leon have gone to speak to him, but I'm not sure if it'll do any good." Elyan shook his head. "Merlin will be devastated. He loved Freya. I wouldn't blame him if he left Camelot for good."

"He won't. Merlin's lost people over the years, but he's always been strong. He'll try and hide his grief."

"But then there'll come a point when he explodes, Gwen. A person can only take so much."

"Then we'll have to help him. He's hidden for a long time, so we'll have to be there for him and support him. All of us will have to."

"That's what Freya said."

"Then I'm glad that we're thinking the same thing."

Gwen stood and walked over to her brother, embracing him, something that he returned.