Note: nicsav I hope this (longer than normal) chapter answers your question. Thanks to all of the lovely reviewers and subscribers :) I hope that all the characters aren't too OOC in this (I try to make everyone behave, think, etc as realistically as possible)

Chapter 7

The second day of their quest was well underway. It was high noon, and Merlin was still mulling over Freya's words to him in his dream. She had said that she was expelled from the water as soon as her task was over. Yet she had delivered the sword to him months ago. How was it that she survived for all this time? From what he could tell, Gwen and Arthur had found Freya where she had blacked out. On top of that, where did she get those ugly scratches from? They were horrible, and just the thought of them made Merlin's blood run cold. He wanted to punish whoever did that to his sweet Freya, but he didn't know who to blame.

'If only I could've asked her,' Merlin thought wistfully.

He wasn't sure how the dream communication worked between them. He had had many dreams in which they reunited before, but none as vivid or realistic as last night's. And if she had been released from the lake for months already, why did the meeting-or dream-only occur now? Merlin was sure some sort of magical connection had been established between them, but by what? And why? And how did it work? And-most importantly-would it happen again tonight when he closed his eyes? Somehow, despite his joy at being able to speak with Freya again (and being so near to her), he had a foreboding feeling about the visit. As if it was a warning which he should heed. He just wasn't sure how it was one. Yet he couldn't get the feeling out of his gut.

Meanwhile, Arthur was still dealing with quite a lot of self-doubt. 'It was ironic,' he thought as they continued to make their way in silence, 'That the one man I can usually count on to help me through my uncertainty is the man who is causing the feeling in the first place.' Unfortunately, this put Arthur in quite a bit of a dilemma. For if Merlin wasn't willing to support Arthur, who did he turn to? He supposed Guinevere, but she was too far away from him right now to do any good. Technically, anyone who he could've leaned on aside from Merlin was quite a distance away from him.

As Guinevere, and Merlin for that matter, hinted at quite often, Arthur didn't have much tact. And unfortunately for him, tact was the best thing to arm himself with if he wanted to try and get anything out of Merlin. It wasn't like he hadn't tried already to get Merlin to open up with varying degrees of discretion-quite the opposite, really. But everything seemed to be in vain. 'How on earth will we ever triumphantly come back from the Sea if this level of our communication remains like this?' Arthur thought dismally.

They stopped for a brief lunch on the roadside after their long, silent ride together. Merlin had expressed a desire earlier that morning to not stop riding, but Arthur thought differently. He hoped that if they could stop moving for just a few moments, he might be able to get Merlin to talk with him.

They tied up the horses by a small stream, and Merlin withdrew a small package of food from his pack. The aura around him was practically oozing disapproval at the fact that they were stopped. The young man clearly wanted to continue forward.

Arthur, however, promptly took the food that Merlin-slightly-begrudgingly offered him and sat down by the water. He laid his sword to rest close on his right side, and motioned to the ground on the left.

"Sit down Merlin," Arthur said with false cheerfulness injected in his tone.

"No thank you sire," Merlin said stiffly, remaining at his position by the horses, "I prefer to stand."

"Oh come on now, you must be tired. You are such a girl in matters like these," Arthur jested. He hoped that his usual tactic of outright ignoring the situation and joking around might better his odds at receiving his desired information.

Merlin merely gave Arthur an impassive glance and remained standing as he ate his food.

He was sick of Arthur trying to pry in his business. After all, by definition the king had no right to snoop about in his personal affairs. However, as he thought this Merlin began to waver. After all, the man beside him was much more than his sovereign-he was his best friend. And as his friend, maybe he should give in a little bit to Arthur's requests. Because he really had been acting a bit surly lately, and the king had taken it as well as could be expected. Also, Merlin knew that he and Arthur probably did need a short break from riding. Even if he didn't agree, and wanted to press forward without hesitation he couldn't let Arthur know the reason why. Too many questions would be aroused. So the slight compromise of following some of his requests might be okay. If nothing else, it could put him off the trail and give up trying to persuade Merlin to talk about Freya.

So Merlin, taking all of these considerable factors in mind, slowly went over to sit down by Arthur.

The silence between them hung heavy in the air. It seemed like they hadn't been alright in years, not just two measly days, to Arthur. He hadn't really realized how much he had begun to lean on Merlin until now.

They sat in the uncomfortable quiet for a few moments, eating the rest of their food before Arthur couldn't take it anymore. He just had to ask Merlin what was going on. He could do it, couldn't he? He was being ridiculous getting worked up over a silly servant. 'Ok, being worked up over his best friend,' Arthur conceded, 'After all, if Merlin doesn't want to tell me anything that's his business, right? Except for the fact that he's been so sullen for the past few days-he's not really Merlin. So I have a right to know…'

Arthur moaned silently. This internal conflict had been wearing on his mind. He didn't like to over think things, he didn't like to not be in control. He was much better with actions than with words. Most of the time it proved useful, but with Merlin he felt completely helpless. It really irritated him. It put him slightly on edge mixed with a strange tinge of depression. He had to act soon-it was driving him mad.

He opened his mouth, about to finally ask Merlin what was so troubling, but he never got a chance to ask his question. For at that exact moment a terrible monster had found them. It had stalked its prey carefully for the past few minutes, but once it understood that the "food" was going to stay put without any doubt, it pounced without restraint, issuing a terrible roar as it charged forward from the bushes.

….

Gwen was having a particularly bad day with Uther today. Some days were better than others, but today clearly was not one of those times. He was being stubborn, refusing to take his daily draught that Gaius had prescribed to help "take the edge off the madness" (in his words). Gwen knew that it was truly a sedative. Without it, the king could be particularly lucid, and with that came varying degrees of despondency, rudeness, depression, and anger.

She sighed, frustrated, in the antechamber connecting Uther's rooms to the rest of the castle. She had departed his chambers with a curtsey in deference, despite his downright uncouth behavior. However, on the inside Gwen was steaming. She knew that Arthur had no idea that on particularly lucid days Uther treated her horribly. He yelled at her, calling her a sorceress and a simple maid whose status was so low that she had no right to even be in the same room as her king. However, she didn't want to inform Arthur. If she did, she was afraid that he would act in anger against his father in the heat of the moment-so she kept her tongue in check. It wasn't like she couldn't handle Uther-she honestly could. However, now that she was busy taking care of Freya and helping Leon run the kingdom for a few days it was particularly taxing.

Gwen would've asked Gaius to help her, but she knew she couldn't. Gaius had entrusted Freya to her after he examined the girl. He said it was because he knew Gwen could take care of her, and wanted her to be watched by the person who had found her. However, she knew that wasn't true. Gaius had his own reasons for wanting Freya with Gwen. And it wasn't hard for her to decipher them once Merlin gave her a better picture of the situation.

Gaius didn't want Freya in close proximity with the young man. If she was, he was probably afraid of Merlin being influenced to try and save her (not that moving her into Gwen's house would honestly stop him). Furthermore, Gaius was busy with a mild sickness that was sweeping though the lower town. It wasn't anything serious, but it was enough to keep a man of his age busy for a few weeks. Also, Gaius knew that Merlin wouldn't mind it if Gwen watched over her. She was someone that both of them could trust. So really, it wasn't like what Gaius said was inaccurate. He knew that Gwen was capable of handling Freya on her own. But deep down, Gwen knew the honest reason Gaius had left Freya in her care. It was because he knew that the girl was dying, and there wasn't anything he (or anyone else) could do to stop it-save Merlin. Only the Sea of Grace could help someone with that type of injury and who was as far gone as Freya was. He didn't believe that Gwen could heal her, but he believed she could make Freya's passing more comfortable. If she were awake, she would probably want to be surrounded by people who were kind and loving, and Gwen had both of those qualities. Ideally, Gaius and Gwen knew that Merlin would be the one to witness the event, but Gwen knew that he was going to be busy trying to save her. And honestly, she didn't want to make Merlin go through it again.

So she kept busy in silence, and continued to wait for Merlin and Arthur to return.

….

It was hideous, massive, and deadly. The beast had appeared out of nowhere, and Arthur and Merlin just had time to quickly get their bearings before it attacked. It was covered from head to foot in poisonous spotted black-white-and-grey quills just like a porcupine that it could fire at will. It also had a tail which had a heavy club-like end that waved tantalizingly close above their heads. It had no neck, the head was simply attached to its body, and walked on all fours like a dog. Yet it could rise and stand on two legs like a bear-which it was closer in size to. Its appendages ended in paw-like structures, yet it had to ability to climb to great heights. It also had a single, gigantic, red eye above two slits which were presumably used to smell with. Finally, and obviously its most recognizable and striking feature, was its very large mouth. It had no lips, which meant that it couldn't close its mouth properly, but it also meant that all of its razor sharp teeth were very noticeable. They looked like miniature swords all lined up and ready to be delivered to an army. However, instead of being inside a box or caravan like they normally would be, they were in the enormous maw of this beast.

Arthur had luckily put his sword close to his side, so he was armed and ready. The same could not be said, however, for Merlin-or at least, that's what Arthur thought. So when the creature started to make its way over the seemingly less threatening man his well-trained battle reflexes kicked in. Instinctively, he sought to protect, so when the beast started to charge towards Merlin, Arthur jumped in front of his friend.

He pointed his sword in the direction of the beast, and prayed that he would be able to do some damage. Apparently, he had a guardian angel somewhere because it delved straight into the monster's single eye. Blood gushing out, the animal roared in anguish at being blinded and immediately responded by whipping its tail around. The monster was not disappointed for it found a target in Arthur.

Merlin had been mentally preparing-summoning up his powers to use in self-defense when he realized the beast was coming after him. He was glad it was, since if it was attacking him he wouldn't have to be secretly trying to protect Arthur. But the stupid prat just had to be noble and jump in the way of the creature. So instead of protecting himself, he quickly channeled his magic to affect Arthur's sword. His eyes flashed gold and the weapon found a mark in the form of an eye.

But when the brute swung its tail around in retaliation, Merlin was too slow to react. Arthur fell to the ground from the impact. Luckily, there were no quills on the end of the tail-it took on more of the shape of a club and brute force seemed to be its best advantage. Furthermore, Arthur's armor helped deflect a slight bit of the blow. However, there was no denying it-the prince was knocked out cold.

Although Merlin wished that Arthur wasn't lying unconscious in the mud, he also knew the advantages that came with the blonde being out of the picture. It meant he could freely use his magic.

So with a few small words, Merlin began attack against the beast.

….

The day had finally ended-much to Gwen's relief. It had been a strenuous one, and all she wanted to do was go home and sleep. The moon was high-proof of her long hours in the castle. However, as soon as she walked through the threshold of her house she knew that was going to be impossible.

For the moment Gwen had entered the room she heard a voice-and not just any voice. A very specific, supposedly quite lovely voice if it hadn't been screaming at the top of her lungs.

But it wasn't just shouting nonsense. It was yelling a name. And in the desperate pleas Gwen felt-for just a moment-all of the despair, longing , passion, frustration, and love pent up within her patient's entire being.

"MERLIN!"

….

The monster was vanquished. It had been a long, laborious battle, but in the end Merlin had won. The sun was just beginning to set when it was finished. Arthur also began to stir to consciousness as the last rays faded over the horizon.

"Mmm…Merlin?" Arthur asked woozily from his position in the dirt. He tried to sit up, and put a hand to his head, "What happened? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Merlin said wearily from his place about ten feet away from his companion. The body of the creature was gone. It had been levitated into the river by the raven-haired youth, and washed downstream. All that remained of their fight were the pools of scarlet blood which stained the green grass, a couple of quills (embedded in various pieces of nature), and a few demolished trees.

"The eye was its weak spot, I guess. After you were knocked out it stampeded around here in blind agony. It shot some quills out in anger, but I took cover and made sure you were safe. Its other senses weren't as good as its sight, so it didn't detect either of us. Eventually, it tired itself out and wandered off. I heard a splash in the river, and when I went to see what happened I realized it fell into the water and was swept away downstream." Merlin explained evenly, having years of experience lying to Arthur, to make it sound so convincing.

In reality, the creature had extremely heightened senses. Losing its sight merely increased the ability of the others, and it took all of Merlin's cunning to outmaneuver it. The beast was also more resilient to magic than Merlin had thought, and it was quick to dodge most of his spells. The quills it fired nearly hit Merlin multiple times. However, Merlin was going to be darned if he let a simple, blind creature kill him. After all, he had survived much worse and lived to tell the tale, and Arthur still needed him. Although, the fact that this quest was undertaken by Arthur trying to help Merlin was conveniently forgotten.

"Really?" Arthur asked, still slightly dazed.

"Really," Merlin affirmed, "I've been waiting for you to wake up for quite a bit. We still have a lot of riding to do and its already evening. I didn't want to chance putting you on a horse until you awoke."

'…And I would never leave you,' Merlin finished in his head. Despite what had happened today he would never abandon his master. Arthur would have to succumb to death itself before he could ever get rid of the warlock, and even then Merlin would find a way to bring him back or follow him into the Silence.

However, Arthur didn't seem to sense the unspoken words which hung in the air. Almost immediately, he tried to stand after Merlin spoke. To him, Merlin's information meant that they had lost a lot of time-and it was all his fault. After all, if he hadn't suggested going to stop for lunch they probably wouldn't have encountered the beast, he wouldn't have been knocked out, and they would've been closer to finding the Sea. Furthermore, blame for any injuries that he and Merlin sustained would be his to bear as well. In short, he was the entire reason everything was currently messed-up. So the sooner he could move the sooner he could try to amend for his actions.

….

It was all they could manage to find and set up camp. They had found a small stream by which to rest, roughly close to where they were supposed to have reached hours ago. The young warlock had sensed a mild form of protecting, good magic by the water, and immediately liked the location. So unofficially, he had decided the camping spot. Furthermore, they were-finally-less than an hour away from the area where the Sea was reportedly sighted.

"We'll be safe here," Merlin pronounced, plopping down on the ground after making sure his horse was in order, and the firewood had been rounded up. He placed it close to where he was sitting, wanting the fire to be as close to him as possible as he started to feel slightly chilled.

"Since when do you decide things like that?" Arthur joked hollowly. He was still bitter about how the day had turned out, and was beating himself up about it. However, he still eagerly sat down after his own affairs were in sorts. He was still trying to recuperate since the blow to his head, and standing for an extended length of time was making him nauseous-not that he would ever admit it.

He sat close to the pile of wood with the intention of getting a decent fire going. As he did so, he heard Merlin mutter, "Since you can't trust a prat to do it right."

However, his slight grin was unmistakable in the fading twilight. It was the first "normal" thing Merlin had said to Arthur in a long time. The king practically beamed with joy at finally getting a glimmer of his old friend again. Maybe it was a good sign.

"Mer-" Arthur began, but as he turned his back on the fire he was so focused on starting, Merlin was already fast asleep. Apparently the small joke had taken all of the young man's strength. For the raven haired youth was still propped upright, and in a position which looked like he could be ready to take off at a moment's notice. Yet he was unconscious, and his head slightly lolled to one side.

Arthur chuckled softly to himself. Maybe there was hope for them after all. The joke had already raised his spirits because it could mean that Merlin did not blame him for today. He meant to take the first shift for their watch, but soon he too had drifted off-unknowingly-to sleep.

….

While Arthur started the fire, Merlin hadn't meant to fall asleep. But the magic he had felt occurring in and around their campsite gave him a much different story. Its comforting presence reassured Merlin that they would not be attacked by any of the forest creatures as long as they stayed within its power. And the magnitude of Merlin's secret battle was beginning to catch up with him. Thus, with the adrenaline gone from his system, Merlin began to feel his aches and sores until he simply blacked out from the pain.

Merlin found himself in the field of wildflowers again. The sky was once again shinning, and the lake was still there at the end of the meadow. It was exactly the same as before, but this time Merlin knew precisely where he wanted to go. So he wasted no time in moving quickly to the shores of the lake to await the appearance of his Love…

….

Arthur hadn't intended to, but he had fallen asleep without waking his friend for his shift. He was so exhausted from his head wound, and internal struggle that as soon as he took a deep breath, his eyes began to droop shut. There was also something to the location Merlin had picked, but Arthur wasn't quite sure what it was. Somehow, it felt-safe.

However, halfway through the night Merlin started to break a cold sweat and began to thrash about in his sleep. He moaned and rolled around so fitfully that Arthur actually began to wake up.

'Mmmgghh….Meeeerrrrlinnnnn," Arthur grunted sleepily, being only half-conscious to mentally process what his friend was doing. All he really understood was that Merlin was the reason his rest was being interrupted.

However, that changed when Merlin suddenly uttered a blood-curdling shout.

The moon was high, and Arthur jolted upright. He ran over-sword in hand-to his friend who was only a few feet away.

"Merlin! MERLIN!" Arthur shouted, trying frantically to wake him up when he realized Merlin's cries were caused by his dream.

But Merlin's eyes didn't flutter open. They stayed tightly sealed as he yelled a single name over and over again, "Freya! FREYA!"