A/N: A bit of Freylin fluff written for a fest I joined on Tumblr, used a whole mess of prompts. Hope you enjoy ;)
Prompts Used: Writing prompt- "It's cold. The rain won't stop falling, and he/she is all alone. And then they see a light coming from far away."; Three Words- "Enchanting. Running. Flying."; Image- [Roses]
Roses. Why did it always have to be roses?
When he'd only been a servant, any bunch of wildflowers would do, but ever since he'd become Court Sorcerer Arthur had had him producing the things at will.
It was a small bit of magic to conjure them, but… well, he really wasn't willing to explain why any roses he produced were huge blossoms of exotic coloring.
"Please Merlin, just this once could you give me a small rose? Barely more than a bud would be nice- and red! It's our anniversary and…"
The king was continuing to gush about his romantic plans for the day (subtly suggested by Merlin a week ago) but his warlock was years away in a candlelit corner of the catacombs with a frightened slip of a girl.
"Merlin, are you listening?"
He jumped slightly, jarred from the memories by Arthur's sudden proximity.
"Ah… yes, just a moment."
However, he soon found the magic wouldn't come. A lump rose in his throat as he stared at his cupped hands. Imagined scenes of himself and Freya, happy and surrounded by children, filled his mind.
Why was this happening now? It had been nearly ten years since he'd met Freya and only recently had he been assailed with these fits of… sentimentality? Loneliness? He wasn't sure what it was, but much of his free time had been spent at a certain lake of late -though he hadn't actually seen Freya since reclaiming Excalibur.
Perhaps it was because everything had been calm since Morgana's death and the legalization of magic two years ago. It certainly seemed as if everyone else was settling down…
"Merlin!"
This time he yelped in surprise.
"Are you alright? Not having a vision, are you?"
His tone was joking, but there had been an incident once with the Crystal of Neahtid that had scared the king witless. Merlin hadn't spoken for two days, and had refused to provide any explanation afterward aside from the Crystal's penchant for showing him things he'd rather not see.
"No, I- I just…" Completely unable to explain or pull himself out of whatever this mood was, he instead turned and ran, not stopping until he was outside.
It was cold where he stood, at the top of a tower with rain falling relentlessly, but he barely noticed. All control flew away from him, emotions surging.
Why is this happening?
As if in answer a golden radiance appeared in the distance, shining like the rising sun for a brief moment before receding. He knew exactly where that light was coming from.
Freya…
Completely disregarding Arthur, just now catching up, Merlin charged down the stairs and out to the stables. Grabbing the first horse he saw, he enchanted it to ride swift and sure to the lake, holding onto its mane for dear life.
His frenzied excitement burst into full-blown exuberance as she came into view, soaked but smiling just as brightly as he. Vaulting off the horse he swept her up in his arms, both of them laughing.
Perhaps he'd been having visions after all…