Note: Thanks for the reviews!

Chapter 5

It was a two day ride until they found the lake. And they weren't more than ten minutes away from the castle grounds when Arthur decided to initiate a conversation.

"Sooo Merlin…"

Merlin groaned silently. He had been silently praying for the dollophead to remain uninterested and distant on their journey. But he knew it was too much to expect. He didn't feel like answering the clotpole's prying questions on a normal day, so how on earth was he going to survive a journey in which Arthur was likely going to prattle on all day?

'For Freya. For Freya. For Freya,' Merlin repeated in his head over and over again.

"Yes sire?" Merlin responded.

"What's the story with you and this 'friend' of yours?" Arthur inquired. He never was one to beat around the bush.

"Nothing," Merlin lied with skill, "She was just a girl from Camelot who moved to Ealdor. She and Gwen were girlhood friends. When she came to my village we became close, but-she had to-leave-after a few years. Her parents had-died-a few years after they came, so she wanted to get out of the town. She had said something-something about going away for awhile, and that was all I knew for a long time. I-I was surprised-to say the least-when she showed up with you and Gwen. Because for all I knew-you know-she was-gone."

He halted slightly as he spun his yarn-his improvisation shinning through in these small cracks-but Arthur either didn't pick up on them, or else didn't comment on it.

"But surely that isn't it Merlin! Come on, you can tell me. The way you acted…all 'shifty' back there…I have a hard time believing that's it," Arthur prodded.

"Trust me. That's it," Merlin said with a hint of finality to his words.

Arthur dropped the subject at his tone, and so they continued in silence.

They rode in this fashion for hours. Merlin had scouted out the route prior to departure, but it warned that the Sea moved about in its own fashion. All that the map had really done was give them general directions to the area the body of water was usually found.

The Sea would only reveal itself to those who knew the true meaning behind its name.

'What the heck did that mean?' Merlin pondered.

Grace. That was the name of it, as Merlin knew, but how was he supposed to know the "true" meaning of the word? He had a feeling that simply knowing the dictionary definition of the word would probably not do the trick. Hopefully, he could magically sense it. Or else, he would be able to use his magic in some sense to locate it.

Meanwhile, Arthur had also been stewing in silence. He had known about the mythical healing powers of the Sea since he was a young lad. However no one that he knew of had ever actually found it. Or if they did, they never came back to Camelot. But it had been a very long time since anyone had ventured out to find this mythical healing wonder. Only those in desperation sought it out, when no other cure would work.

'What sort of desperation could push Merlin to this?' Arthur speculated through their silence. He knew that not everything which Merlin had said about the girl had added up. This was clearly the plight of a man with nothing left to lose. However, the tone of Merlin's voice had not-so-subtly suggested that he drop the topic. Arthur wondered why his best friend continued to hide secrets of his past from him. He was trustworthy, wasn't he? Sure, he could be just as much of a pain as the next royal, and perhaps he was oblivious to certain circumstances which seemed to follow Merlin like a moth to a flame. But he knew how to be a good man, a good friend, didn't he?

Arthur groaned inwardly as thoughts of incompetence began to bombard his mind. He knew that he didn't deserve someone like Gwen, and he sure didn't do anything to justify having a friend like Merlin. In fact, he remembered with a wave of guilt, he had been the biggest bully in Camelot until they had shown him the error of his ways. The insecurity he felt was ridiculous. If his father could see him now he would most likely chastise him for caring so much about his people's opinion of him. In particular, two certain servants' opinions of him.

Throughout the hours of riding both Merlin and Arthur were too wrapped up in their thoughts to notice that the other was equally troubled. They were also too absorbed to see the bandits hiding in the forest, sneaking up on them until it was too late.

….

Gwen had been bustling around the castle all day. In between trying to convince Arthur to stay in Camelot, hearing the true story behind Merlin and Freya, helping Leon run the kingdom and her own duties around the castle she was exhausted. However, her day was nowhere close to being done. It was only noon, but the morning had been very trying. She was glad when lunch finally came around.

She went back to her own home for the mid-day meal. Normally, she would've either skipped lunch (there was just too much to do), or else she would eat something in the castle kitchens. But she had made an unspoken vow with Merlin to take care of Freya while he was away. He had never officially asked her to do this, but she knew that he wanted her to.

As she entered her abode, she noticed that Freya's condition had worsened. It hadn't even been 48 hours since the girl had entered Camelot, and Merlin had set out to save her just that morning. But whatever was slowly killing the poor woman wasn't being so slow anymore.

Previously, if you didn't look at the large gashes on her arms, one could've mistaken Freya for simply sleeping rather peacefully. Now, however, her skin paled to the extent that it looked like marble, and it felt just as cold. And her scratches had begun to bleed again. However, her breathing still had a steady, although faint, rhythm to it. 'Thank goodness for small blessings,' Gwen thought as she quickly went to the girl's side.

The wounds were not bleeding as much as Gwen first thought they were when she had first entered the room, which was a relief to her. However, no matter how hard she tried, Gwen could not get them to abate. There was a slow, steady trickle of blood which was pooling on Gwen's floor. She supposed it was part of whatever terrible magic had been in the attack or curse which Freya had faced.

All thoughts of eating during her lunchtime had fled Gwen's mind now. She could tell that the poor lass didn't have much time left, and she just prayed that Merlin and Arthur would find the cure in time. And once she thought about the pair, thoughts of disasters which could've befallen them on their journey immediately popped up within her mind. So for good measure, she whispered another silent prayer for their safety.

….

"Attack!" someone shouted, and in the next moment Merlin and Arthur found themselves surrounded on all sides.

Arthur drew his sword quickly, and immediately began to slice his way through these criminals. He wasn't the best knight in all of Camelot for nothing. However, although he easily dispatched five men quickly, twenty more were running at him. He dismounted his steed as soon as he saw his attackers next assault coming at him. As the twenty men approached, Arthur readied his stance. However, they never quite reached Arthur as a tree branch decided to snap before they could harm him. It knocked out all of them-apparently-even though it wasn't a large branch. 'It was a very fortuitous break-literally', Arthur thought as his next opponents approached him from his right, and were easily defeated.

Arthur's swordsmanship was impressive, and Merlin couldn't help but envy him sometimes. He was complete rubbish with a sword, but he had recently taken to practicing with one. It never hurt to have more skills that could protect oneself, or others. However, in Merlin's heart he knew that he would never be a swordsman. It would never be since he had an all-powerful magic on his side which came to him as naturally as breathing-even if he couldn't openly use it to their advantage.

So as the bandits attacked, Merlin picked up his own sword to fend them off in front of Arthur. But as soon as Arthur's back was turned to face his assailants, Merlin's eyes flashed gold and his own attackers flew back to the ground-dead. As he turned around he saw twenty men rapidly approaching Arthur underneath a conveniently located tree. Another discreet flash of gold, and they were easily taken care of. The broken branch had killed a few of them, but it was mainly to cover up the much more powerful spell Merlin had cast to take all of them out.

Soon enough, most of the bandits lay dead on the road, and the ones that had escaped were long gone in the trees. The odds had been stacked against them about 20: 1, but Arthur and Merlin had prevailed. Their silent battle of wills had been put on hold while they faced immediate danger. But once it was gone, the tension was back. 'Merlin really could be stubborn when he wanted to be,' Arthur thought dully as they finished accounting for all of their supplies and headed off again.

….

The attack had come around noon, and soon the sun began to set over the horizon. In the dwindling sunlight they had found a place to set up camp for the night. As Merlin left to gather more firewood in the distance after dinner, Arthur was left to ponder all that had occurred throughout the day.

It had started off with George. That usually never ended well. Then he had discovered Merlin trying to leave him-and without the decency to even tell him where he was off to! Of course, once he found out Merlin was going on a quest, Arthur couldn't help himself, and he had to come along-to protect Merlin, although he would never admit it. Then there was the silence. That really was the worst part of it all. Normally he wanted Merlin's endless prattle to find a stopping point. However, once it had, Arthur had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was the kind of feeling which never boded well with him. And then, of course, there was the attack. After attacks, normally, their bond grew closer than ever. They would celebrate-silently and secretly, of course, since neither could verbalize their true affection for the other outwardly-the fact that both were still alive through their banter and wit. Today, however, Merlin had resumed his stony silence. Arthur wondered what could've caused it as feelings of self-doubt began to plague his thoughts again. 'Could it have been something I've done?' Arthur worried.

Again, the feeling of incompetence and undeserved loyalty plagued his mind as Merlin came back with the supplies. The black-haired youth stacked the wood by the crackling fire, and then stood up again.

"Goodnight sire," was all he said before heading off to a tree a short distance away to sleep.

This was yet another thing which troubled Arthur. Normally, they would sleep fairly close to the other-to remind themselves of their companionship and bond. And usually it was by the fire to keep warm. Yet Merlin had chosen not only to distance himself from the fire, but from Arthur tonight.

The royal didn't comment on Merlin's distance, however, as he took the first watch (it had been agreed upon earlier). As he stared off into the far, dark recesses of the woods, Arthur felt his thoughts take a similar turn into a darker place within his mind. He knew that a future king really shouldn't feel so concerned over what his servant thought of him. He also knew that a Pendragon should not feel such a disproportionate amount of self-doubt. Yet that didn't stop his imagination from playing out horrible scenarios in which he failed Merlin during his shift. 'You really don't deserve someone like Merlin, you arrogant prat' his conscience conveniently reminded him for what felt like the umpteenth time that day.

….

While Arthur attended to the watch, Merlin fell into a restless slumber. He had decided to rest by the tree because he needed to sort out his feelings and thoughts away from the man who was causing his contradicting attitudes. However, when the warlock finally managed to find the sleep which so alluded him, he had a dream which was so realistic, Merlin was sure that it was more than just that.

He was in a field dotted with wildflowers. The sun was shining, and the sky was blue. The woods which surrounded the grass had a friendly feeling to them, and there was a lake at the edge of the meadow. Some sort of inner compulsion pulled him towards the body of water. He walked quickly to the lake's edge-for some reason, something told him that he didn't have much time in this wonderfully serene place.

As he finally reached the lake, the surface began to ripple from the center point. Suddenly, a beautiful woman emerged from its depths. But it wasn't just any woman-it was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. It was the woman which had captured his heart all those years ago.

Merlin stood still on the shores of the lake. He was too shocked to do anything else as she walked on the water towards him.

As she approached him, her features formed an enigmatic, yet beautiful smile.

"Hello Merlin."