Welcome back to another chapter of To Sleep in Ones Bed. Merlin belongs to the BBC. But happy reading~

Chapter 3

By the Campfire

"Lord Emrys, thank you for allowing us to take shelter in your protection," the leader of a druid camp bowed to Merlin.

"Please, call me Merlin," Merlin waved at Lochru, the man had curly brown hair with green eyes and tanned skin. Lochru wore long green robes with golden runes stitched into the fabric. He turned to look at the other druids who were part of Lochru's group and nodded to them. Bright smiles grew on their faces and it wasn't long before they started to set up their camp.

"I will forever be in your debt," Lochru bowed towards Merlin who flushed with embarrassment, no matter how many times the druids responded to him like this he wouldn't get used to it.

"All I request that myself and Freya come and visit your camp when you're all set up. It would be of great interest for me if we could perform some trades?" Merlin asked. Lochru tilted his head slightly to Merlin before he nodded.

"We shall see if some trading can be done. Is there anything in particular you're interested in?"

"I'm only really looking for more books, but trading goods is also favorable too," Merlin smiled innocently and Lochru nodded.

"I look forward to trading with you."

Freya had curled up on Merlin's chair with his favourite book in her lap, a smile on her face as she read the fairy tales that had been written. She was thankful that Merlin had taught her to read, it allowed her to open up new worlds and allowed her imagination to place her inside the worlds, to imagine landscapes that the writers had envisioned, the characters, the objects Freya never would have thought of. She giggled as she turned the page of the book. She ignored the door when Merlin pushed it open and returned but she felt the breeze that slipped inside with him.

"Home," Merlin called as he shut the door. He shuffled before approaching the living room and found Freya. "Ready fairy tales?" He asked as he approached and peeked to where she was reading.

"How did it go?" Freya asked as she picked up a slip of paper and placed it between the pages when she finished the chapter. She looked up at Merlin and smiled at him.

"The druids will be camping here for a while and are happy for us to do some trading with them."

"That's good, I suppose we should gather what we can trade and make sure we have it all ready?" Freya asked and placed the book on their table before getting up and wrapped her arms around Merlin, pulling him close. Merlin wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "Merlin?"

"Hmm?"

"So far, I'm loving The Dragon Princess story. Thank you for teaching me how to read~"

"When do you want to learn how to write?"

"Are we going to your mother~?" Freya asked with a hint of excitement. She had only heard positive things about Merlin's mother but she had yet to meet her.

"I can send a letter and ask?"

"Please? I would love to meet the woman who gave birth to such a pure heart~" Freya booped Merlin's nose and laughed as he twitched his nose in reaponse.

"Alright, I'll see when we can visit although knowing mother, she'll say whenever."

"For now, let's get ready to see the druids."

"Merlin, hurry up!" Freya called as she saw the druid camp and broke into a run. It was easy to forget that Freya had once belonged to a druid camp before she was cursed and captured. Merlin tried his best to keep up with her but his feet decided to trip over a pocket of misplaced air (as Merlin would say) and caused him to tumble down. Freya heard the yelp from Merlin and turned to see him sprawled out on the forest floor. "Seriously?" She laughed as Merlin bounced up from the ground and smiled innocently.

"There's lots of misplaced pockets of air here…" Merlin spoke sheepishly. He dusted himself off and looked offended at the leaf that had decided to stick to his hand. Freya rolled her eyes while smiling and plucked it off and let the wind play with it.

"That was quite a trip," Lochru smiled as he approached Merlin and Freya. He bowed towards the pair of them, knowing already that Freya was Emrys' special one and therefor should be treated like they treat Emrys. "Please make yourselves at home, what's ours is yours."

"Thank you Lochru, do you mind if we get the trading done first?" Merlin asked.

"Keen to get your hands on some more books?" Lochru asked with a smile on his face as he stood tall once more.

"That and it gets the business over and done with. After that we can simply enjoy ourselves."

"Very well, we have a tent spare for you if you wish to remain here for the night."

"Merlin will be honoured but due to my curse I shall leave the camp and return in the morning," Freya spoke before Merlin could.

"Of course, then let us handle the trading."

Time flies when you're having fun, that phrase had never been more true than it felt that day. Freya glanced up at the sky and noticed how the sun was setting. She had spent the afternoon with the mothers and other women in the camp, chatting and learning how to sew. She wasn't any good at it but she had been invited to sit with the others, just feeling part of the group brought a smile to her face. She had left Merlin to watch over the children (he was a big child himself after all) and well…that excited the children to no end. The fact that they could spend the afternoon with Emrys? Who wouldn't that excited?

As Freya left the women to go find her boyfriend, she found him by the fire. She smiled as she approached him and found that he was fast asleep. Shaking her head slightly she gently shook Merlin.

"Snarf…" Merlin groaned.

"Snarf?" Freya asked before she giggled. She shook him again. "Merlin, my love, it's time for bed," she spoke softly. Her voice slowly pulled him from his sleep.

"What time is it…?" He asked as he blinked at the fire.

"Time for you to get some sleep. Come on, let's get you to bed before I transform," Freya gently pulled Merlin up onto his feet and guided him to their/his tent for the night. "You can asleep in a minute."

"I dunno what I'd do without you…"

"Sleep in uncomfortable positions," she responded and pushed Merlin into the tent and let him go. Merlin stumbled over towards the bed and crawled into the bed. Freya threw a blanket over him and kissed him. "Sleep well."

"Thank you…~ Happy hunting…~"

The Sorrowful Deity - Thank you~

Guest - Here's another chapter~

Guest - Yes, Freya still turns into the Bastet every night.

Eris - Ta-dah~

Take care, thanks for reading~

The Hut in the Forest Series:

The Hut in the Forest, The Prince Comes to Visit, Forging Friendships, To Sleep In Ones Bed.