Jensen had Daisy and Merlin meet them that night as her house.
"Heads up, she'd a bit skittish around new people." Jensen warned, as she opened the basement door "But, if you had her life, you'd probably be too." She then carefully opened the door, calling down, "Freya, I brought some very nice people to see you." She then looked and gestured for them to follow her.
She turned on the light, revealing Freya, cowering in the corner in her chains.
"What the—" Daisy got out, utterly shocked.
"Why is she chained up down here?!" Merlin demanded, visibly angry.
"She asked us to do it." Jensen answered, "Actually, Rowena was the one who suggested it, but Freya agreed."
"Why?" Daisy asked.
"It's better if you see for yourself." Jensen answered before calling out, "That okay, Freya?"
"I don't—I don't want to hurt them." Freya protested softly.
"Freya, we talked about this." Jensen told her, "Those things are solid iron, they're not breaking. And I brought them down because I think they can help you."
"No one can help me." Freya lamented, "You should've never stopped me."
"Stop you from what?" Merlin spoke up.
Freya looked at him. "From killing myself."
Merlin's heart broke at that. "They were right to stop you." He took a step forward, "Whatever this is, I'm sure we can help you. Jensen tell me your name's Freya. I'm Merlin and this is my friend, Daisy. How did you get here, Freya?"
"She's Druid refugee." Jensen spoke up.
"Is that true?" Merlin asked.
Freya just nods.
They finally made it to the end of the stairs. "Wait here." Jensen said, putting a hand out in front of them before walking to Freya, crouching in front of her with an opaque bottle and two white capsules. "Pills."
Freya took the pills and the bottle, swallowing the pills.
"Now," Jensen began, removing a lose strand of hair from the girl's face, "Any request for tonight?"
"Just something slow." Freya requested.
"Okay, there, Miss Love Goddess." Jensen responded, beginning to stroke Freya's hair, "I don't know you, but I want you all the more for that. And words fall through me. And always fool me. And I can't react."
Freya closed her, the eyelids feeling heavy. The pills always worked fast.
"And games that never amount to more than they're meant. Will play themselves out…" Jensen continued to sing.
Freya was always scared to fall asleep. But it was better if it happened when she was asleep.
"Take this sinking boat and point it home." Jensen sung, "We still got time. Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice. You've made it now."
"What are we watching, here?" Merlin whispered.
"I have no idea." Daisy admitted.
Jensen was still singing, "Falling slowly, eyes that know me and I can't go back. Moods that take me, and erase me. And I'm painted black." By then, Freya's head was in her lap. "Well, you have suffered enough, and warred with yourself. It's time that you won." Suddenly she stopped. Carefully moving Freya's head, she pulled a blanket over the girl and stood up. "It's easier on her, if the change happens when she's out."
"The change?" Merlin repeated.
"Foxworthy, what are you talking about?" Daisy demanded.
"You'll see." Jensen answered, "It doesn't happen until midnight."
The three sat on the steps in silence, waiting for the moment to come. "What made you think to come to us anyway?" Merlin asked, looking over at Daisy.
"Well, don't look at me." Daisy responded, "I didn't say anything."
"You didn't have to." Jensen cut in, "You go after Nemiuah, not only come back alive, but somehow she's dead? I'm not stupid. I don't know what you did, but you clearly no something about something."
Suddenly, from somewhere in the house, a clock began to chime. Here we go. Jensen thought, hopping she had made the right choice.
Suddenly, Freya began to transform before their eyes, her body reshaping. Waking, she began to scream.
Both Merlin and Daisy jumped to their seat. Jensen put her arms out in front of them. "Don't."
Suddenly Freya was no longer Freya. She was some sort of creature that looked like a black big cat, but with wings. She tried to fly towards them, but the chains stopped her pursuit. She did not like that, beginning to struggle and snarl.
"Yeah, we might want to get back." Jensen advised.
They didn't have to be told twice, quickly backing up the steps.
The next day, as usual, Freya awoke on the cold hard basement floor. Good. She hadn't broken out last night. She looked up to see Jensen and her friends standing there.
"I didn't hurt anyone last night, did I?" Freya asked, forlorn.
"No, sweetie." Jensen told her, "You did great."
"Freya, Jensen wants me to help you, and I do want to help you, but I still have few questions," Merlin began, "For starters, what are you?"
"She's just a girl." Jensen snapped.
"I'm cursed." Freya answered softy.
"As in literally?" Daisy asked, fearing she already knew the answer.
Freya nodded. "There was a man. He attacked me. I didn't mean to hurt him, but I thought he was going to kill me."
"It was an accident." Jensen interjected.
"Sounds like it was self-defense." Daisy noted.
Freya picked up again. "His mother was sorceress, and when she found out I killed her son, she cursed me to kill forevermore. I wanted—I wanted to stop, so I ate an herb I thought was poison. But it only made me really sick. That's when Jensen found me and brought me to the hospital."
"She escaped that first night, when we tracked her down, that's what we found." Jensen picked up again, "No one died, and we didn't really want to put the phrase 'cat girl' in the report, so me and my partner at the time swore each other to secrecy, and I took her home. Outside of this room the only people who know about any of this are him and the girls."
Just then, the door was opened and a woman about the same as Jensen with wait long dark hair demanded, "What the Hell is going on down there?!"
"Rowena, it's okay." Jensen declared getting up, "They're here to help."
"Help?" Rowena repeated, "What do you mean help?"
"By breaking the curse." Merlin spoke up, "Or at least trying to. Because if it's a curse, it can be broken, right?"
"Makes about a much sense as anything else." Daisy replied.
"I want more of an explanation," Rowena began, walking down the stairs, "But first I'm getting her unlocked."
They parted ways for her and she went over to Freya and began unlocking the chains. "Why would do that?" Freya asked as she was freed, "Help me? You don't even know me."
"Well, why did the girls help you?" Daisy countered; thought she had a feeling she knew the answer. She was trying to make a point.
"Why wouldn't we?" Rowena responded, before stating matter of fatly, "We couldn't let an innocent person suffer like that. Not when there was something, we could do about it. We can't fix the curse, but we can minimize the risk."
"Well, then," Merlin began, "There's your answer."
And so, not having any leads, Daisy and Merlin snuck back into Camelot. They crept through the streets until they came to the door of the physician's chambers. "Gaius." He whispered, knocking, "Gaius."
The door opened a Gaius poked his head out. "Merlin? Daisy? What are you doing here? Have the others returned as well?"
Once inside they explained as much as they dared about Freya.
"The ancient chronicles speak of a heinous curse." Gaius began once he had finished, "It dooms the victim to turn at the stroke of midnight into a vicious bloodthirsty beast. The writers of old called this creature a Bastet: a monster of a nightmare that inhabits the world between the living and the dead. I believe that is what we are dealing with."
"Is there any way to break the curse?" Merlin got right to it.
"That I do not know." Gaius admitted, "But I suspect that if I don't help you try, you'll try on your own anyway."
After two days of searching and coming up with nothing., Merlin snuck back to the colony to check on Freya and the others, and was greeted by the door by Jensen. "Oh, thank goodness."
"Don't get too excited." Merlin began, "We haven't—"
"You can still help." Jensen said, pulling him in, "Listen, somehow me and the girls all wound up on a night shifts, so, would you mind locking Freya up tonight?"
"Lock—her—" Merlin began.
"Just—secure her chains, make sure she takes her pills, try to keep her comfortable." Jensen cut him off, "She'll be back from the trading post in an hour, just wait here, as long as she's on lockdown by nine, it should be fine. Here are the keys." She handed him a small set of keys, "Thanks." Then with that, she was gone, leaving Merlin wondering what just happened.
When Freya came home an hour later, she found they boy Jensen had brought a few days earlier sitting on the couch. Alarmed, she began to pull back, when Merlin spoke. "It's alright, it's me, Merlin. We met the other day? There was a misunderstanding and Jensen asked me if I could—lock you in for the night."
Freya stepped in, looking the door. "Where are the girls?"
"They're at work." Merlin began, "Apparently they're all on night shifts." After a beat he asked, "So, um, exactly how does this work. Jensen didn't leave a lot of instructions."
"Usually I—I eat, do something for a few hours, read a book or watch a scope with the girls, then I clean up and go downstairs." Freya explained.
"Alright, I guess I'll just wait here then, while you do that." Merlin began awkwardly.
Freya began to walk towards the kitchen then turned around. "I set some fish and beets out to heat up for dinner. Do you like fish and beets?"
"I've had fish before." Merlin responded, awkwardly.
"Would you like to eat with me?" Freya offered.
After dinner, Merlin helped her with the dishes. "You're good at that." He told her as she filled up the water in the sink, putting the soap in.
"I just filled up the sink." Frey responded, not thinking there was much reason to be impressed.
"So how long, how long have you lived here?" Merlin asked, "With the girls?"
"About a year." Freya, smiling slightly as she looked down, "It's been good, actually having friends again."
Merlin just stared at her for a moment, pained. Even though he could relate somewhat to the isolation, he couldn't truly fathom how lonely and miserable her life had been up until now.
After cleaning up, the pair wound up on the couching, watching something called a TV show on a scope, a small screen that contained codes and film to make picture stories, that Rowena had rented out from the archives. Freya had been curious about it when her roommate tried to explain it to her.
"I know you've never met him, but Cenred looks a lot like Lucifer here." Merlin commented, "Except you know, with longer hair, less cleaned up."
Freya giggled. "You probably shouldn't say things like that."
"Why not?" Merlin responded, "Not like he's here to hear it."
After about two episodes, Freya readied herself for bed and she and Merlin went down to the basement.
"These aren't too tight, are they?" Merlin asked, as she turned the key on her wrist.
"No," Freya assured him as the chain slid down her wrist, "They're designed for the monster's size."
Merlin handed the pill. "If you need a song, I should warn you I'm basically tone-deaf."
"Jensen's really the only one who does that." Freya explained, softly, "I mean, I like it, but it's not really necessary." After a moment she added, "But—would you mind staying until I go to sleep?"
Merlin smiled. "Sure." He leaned back, just looking at her. She was so beautiful, really.
Freya curled up, pulling a blanket over herself, closing her eyes. "Goodnight Merlin. Thank you for staying with me."
"My pleasure, Freya." Merlin told her, "Good night."
AN: Sorry this is late. Still trying to catch up from the holidays. This was actually suppose to be much longer.
Also Cenred/Lucifer comparison is because they're played by the same actor. I've been wanting to make that joke for a while now.