"Are you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost" A soft voice spoke, riddled with concern.

He couldn't believe his eyes. How could this be? How was she still alive? How much was changed in this world, compared to his own? Just how many years had passed since his counterpart had been forced to flee Camelot?

He found himself moving forwards rapidly before he could stop himself, his arms wrapping around the woman that stood before him, squeezing her tightly. He fought back the tears that threatened to appear, as he held her in a tight embrace.

He felt a light touch on his back as the woman returned the embrace, with a soft, comforting touch.

"Freya.. I've missed you so much" He allowed himself to say, burying his face lightly in her shoulder, inhaling lightly and catching a whiff of her scent. She was very much real, and she was very much alive.

"And I missed you, Merlin. You had me so worried when you disappeared like you did. But when Morgause told me of your return, I was so relieved. I wanted to come see you right away, but she insisted that I let you rest." Her voice sounded in his ear. Her voice alone was enough to comfort him, to ease his mind and make him momentarily forget about his situation.

"I am so sorry. The last thing I would want is for you to worry." He spoke the truth in these words, his mind wandering to the time he had shared with her in his own world. He had to involuntarily break the embrace as she stepped backwards, her hands placed upon his arms. The young woman gazed towards his eyes, before one of her hands raised, gently caressing his cheek, wiping away a lone tear that had managed to escape his eye.

"Why do you cry, Merlin? Did something happen?" she questioned, her brows furrowing ever so lightly

He gently cupped her hand with his own, a sheepish smile appearing on his face as he shook his head lightly.

"No. Everything is fine. I was just so happy to see you." he responded. He allowed his hand to drop down, bringing hers along with it. For a moment, he let his gaze to drop towards her hand, his thumb gently trailing over her skin. He lifted his gaze lightly, meeting hers once more. Simply seeing her face made a smile appear on his face, and suddenly, for a moment everything that he had gone through since his arrival in this world seemed worth it. But then a small voice in the back of his head reminded him that this was not his Freya, and that caused the smile to fade away. He was a stranger in her world, bearing the face of someone whom she seemed to love. The man she cared for was on his lonesome in a strange world, frightened and confused. It did not matter how he felt about her, that fact would not change. He felt guilt residing deep in his gut, and before he registered it, he had let go of her hand.

He pressed forth another smile. "I haven't eaten yet. Would you like to join me?" He spoke. The cheeky grin on his face concealed his guilt, but it was still visible in his eyes. She must have noticed, but it seemed that she would not press the matter.

"I would love to" her voice responded, which prompted him to preform a curt bow, extending a hand forwards. "Ladies first." he let out with the cheeky grin still on his face. He did not know the way, and he hoped that she would lead him in the right direction. They walked for a short while down the empty corridors of the building before her hand traveled out in his direction. Despite his desire to take it, he found himself slipping his hand into the pockets of his trousers, as if he hadn't noticed the gesture. It did not take long before her her hand dropped back down towards her side, the young warlock making an effort to not look at her face. He wanted this so bad, and yet it felt so wrong.

The silence was overwhelming. He had so much he wished to say, and yet he could not speak the words that he wanted. She must have noticed his detached behavior, and therefore chose to remain silent as they walked together. The only thing he could hear was their footsteps on the stone floor. He swore that his heart was pounding so hard, that it would be audible if it beat any harder. Resisting the urge to stare at her face took more out of him than anyone could ever imagine.

It took him a while to notice that Freya had stopped walking.

"Merlin." He heard from behind him, which prompted the young warlock to turn around.

"It is this way." she added as she gained his attention.

"Oh, right. Sorry!" he let out, accompanying it with a small chuckle and a grin. He made his way back joining the young woman's side, adopting the most innocent face he could muster.

"Are you certain that you are all right?" she inquired.

"Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind is all. Please don't worry about it." he responded, smiling softly towards the woman.

"Do you wish to talk about it?"

"Perhaps some time, but not now."

They carried on down a small flight of stairs. He caught a whiff of food, which increased in strength the closer they got. They made their way through a short corridor before they finally reached the kitchen. It was fairly large, much to his surprise, and all the cooks seemed quite busy preparing what looked like a large quantity of food. He could only imagine what it was all for, though they were all so occupied that they did not notice their arrival.

"We should just help ourselves so we do not bother them too much" Freya suggested. She begun to fill a plate with some of the food that was set out on a table, and the young warlock was quick to follow her example. They were both noticed eventually, receiving brief greetings from the cooks which responded to by greeting back. It did not take long before they had left the kitchen and were on their way back up the small flight of stairs.

"Looks good" he commented as he glanced towards his plate. He received a small smile from her in response. They found themselves in what seemed to be a meeting room, which had been turned into a dining room for the time being. He now understood the quantities of food that was being prepared. It seemed like every single official was invited to eat breakfast in the main building. He received several greetings upon entering the room, seating himself down at one of the long tables, near the end. Freya sat down across from him, and once again their eyes met.

"So, what time is actually?" he questioned lowly, the young woman smiling in response as she spoke. "It should be about noon now."

"So this isn't breakfast." he concluded.

"No, it's not." she confirmed with the smile still on her face. He offered her another sheepish smile before he dug into his food. He practically wolfed down the food, having been way hungrier than he had initially thought.

"You mustn't have been eating properly in the last two weeks. You have lost some weight." she stated, making an observation. He didn't think that he had gotten any skinnier, but perhaps he had.

"People weren't exactly.. willing to deal with me out there. I mostly had berries and roots" He stated, scratching his head lightly. "Couldn't have bought anything even if they had been interested in doing business with me. Left my money behind you see." he added, further explaining what had happened.

"Why did you leave in such a rush? I went to wake you, but you had disappeared in the night without a word to anyone. The guards had not even seen you leave." she spoke. Momentarily she stopped eating as she awaited his answer.

"There was something urgent I had to do, and it could not wait. If I could have stayed, I would have. I wish I could tell you what it was, but I can't. Not yet at least." he replied, the words flowing easily off his tongue, although he had not put much thought into what he would say. It was a half-truth.

"And this is the thing that has been on your mind?"

He offered her a nod in response.

"I wish you could tell me, but I understand. I trust that Morgause can not know of this either, and that seeing Morgana must have been merely an excuse. But please tell me, Merlin. Does this have something to do with Camelot?" she inquired, their gazes now meeting again.

"I.. can't tell you. I'm sorry."

"I see.. It is fine, I understand. But I do hope you know that you can talk to be about anything, though. You are the reason for why I am still here, and I hope you know that I care for you with all my heart."

He felt his heart sink lightly at that statement, the guilt taking hold once again. He felt his throat thicken lightly as he fought back the tears that wanted to escape. The reason for why she was still here was currently stuck in his world, and again this all felt wrong, yet he did not think that he had wanted anything this much before.

"Yeah, I know. And you must know that I feel the same way, but this burden is mine to bear, and mine alone." were the words that escaped his mouth. His gaze trailed away from her face and down towards his empty plate as he bit at his lower lip.

"I must go, but know that I am here for you, Merlin."

"Thank you, Freya. It means more to me than you could ever know."

He felt a light touch on his shoulder which was followed by a brief caress of his cheek. Soon her footsteps could no longer be heard as he sat there, staring intently down towards his empty plate.

He didn't think he had ever been so happy, nor felt so guilty before in his entire life.