What The Water Gave Me [Freya]

[em]

He watched her slide into the water, frowning slightly. Was she leaving him now? No she couldn't be - she would've said goodbye. He sighed with relief as she emerged from the water again, looking far better for it. Merlin watched her for a moment before he saw her reach for his hand. He smiled and took it, edging nearer to her and then finally deciding to actually get into the water himself. It would be far more easier than to have Freya come onto land again.

He felt the coolness hit him as he waded in, so that the water was practically to his waist. "You don't give yourself enough credit, Merlin," she was now saying in response to his words earlier, "If I was still welcome among my people...If I was, I would take you to them, for you to hear of the stories they tell of what is to come." He smiled at this, his hand still grasped over hers. He took her other hand in his free one, so that he was now holding them both.
"What was it like?" he asked, " growing up in surroundings like that, knowing that you had...well, that power" Merlin had always been curious of how druids had lived and practiced since he'd come across them. It was strange that they should cast one of their own out as they were generally peaceful in their practices and what they stood for.

Merlin then laughed slightly, "Of course I don't give myself credit - why should I when no one else recognises it but me?" Merlin didn't expect any thanks, but sometime he felt that if Arthur did know just how much he'd done for him so far, then it would be nice to hear it from him

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Freya watched, rather surprised, as he entered the water. She didn't wish to make him suffer any discomfort because of her situation. Yet without telling her he had decided to move into the water. She guessed, since it had been his decision, that she couldn't chide him. Well, that much.

"You'll get cold!" she insisted as he neared her. She gently squeezed his hand once he took it, now holding them both. He didn't seemed to be concerned over the temperature, as he asked her a question.

The druids.

She tried not to think of them, but it was near impossible not to. They had always been a major part of her life. "It was marvelous, truly," she replied after a few moments, thinking back on the pleasant days of her childhood. "Of course magic was accepted there; it was a part of everyday life. I suppose that is why the ban on magic in Camelot shocked me so much."

A smile formed on her lips.

"In the druids, the entire clan was your family, whether blood related or not. Of course I had my mother and father, but the others were just as important in my life."

She stared at their hands, the way that they fit together.

"I miss the way things were."

But then he was speaking of not giving himself credit, causing her to smile fully.

"I do," she insisted, laughing. "And Gaius as well. Why, that's two people right there!" She was teasing him, as she knew that there were hundreds of druids who knew of him.

[em]

She was protesting now as he had ventured into the water after her. "Cold shmold!" he scoffed, "Besides, it makes it more easier for you" and that was all that mattered to him. What harm was a little dip in the lake anyway? No doubt Gauis would give him a look up and down when he returned, along with a "what on earth happened to you?!" statement. Merlin would lie and say he tripped over his own feet and just happened to be next to the lake. Gauis wouldn't buy it, but at least he'd give up on the subject.

Freya told him about the druids and their lives. "It must have been nice" he said, "for you to be free, to be who you are without anyone around you judging you - and to be able to just use it as you wished" Merlin wished he could do that more often, but with Arthur around the the whole little detail of magic being banned, he could only use it as and when he wanted to. One of these days though, Merlin would tell him - and when that time came he was going to make sure that he could show Arthur just how much magic could be used for better.

"I miss the way things were."

Even now Merlin was thinking of Ealdor, of Will. His best friend had taken his secret to the grave. Merlin missed him as Will seemed to be the only one who understood, plus they'd grown up together so they could hardly turn their backs on one another.

Merlin shifted a little in the water and looked down at the reflection. All he saw staring back at him was a 'chicken bone' with the weight of the world teetering on his shoulders. "I know...but even sometimes I think that Gauis doesn't give me enough. I don't want him to, but I would have thought that he would at least understand a bit more - seeing as he was the first person to know of my magic when I arrived in Camelot"

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Freya couldn’t help but smile as he knocked aside her concern, insisting that his inconvenience would be better for her. He was always thinking about her welfare it seemed; it was nice to have someone looking out for you. But then again, she did the same for him. She had been the one to hand him the sword which had then defeated Morgana’s army. People that loved each other protected each other, did they not? Still, she didn’t wish for him to catch cold because of her. She would have to remember to have him dry himself with a quick spell before he left. Her heart sank at the quick thought of him leaving. But he would have to at some point. She would see him again, but it would be weeks before she would be strong enough to leave the lake. She wondered if she would ever be able to venture beyond the shoreline. Would she one day be able to walk free of the lake without the lack of water straining her body? Maybe.

She smiled as he spoke of being free. “But I can act that way around you,” she reminded him, “as you can around me. It makes me so happy to see you relaxed while using your talents. You, of all people, shouldn’t have to hide them.” He then spoke of Gaius, causing her to frown at his worry. “Your talent is quite rare, Merlin,” she said, trying to make him see himself in the way that she did. “People are not often born with your abilities. I do not think Gaius himself knows how to handle your situation.”

She blushed.

“I do not mean to discredit him,” she said, a bit flustered. From what Merlin had told her, the man was something of a father figure to him. “I just don’t think he understands you fully.”

[em]

Merlin sighed. Freya was the only person he felt free enough to show off the extent of his talents too. Ok Gauis had seen what he was capable of, but not as much as Freya had. It was as though they had a connection, and that wasn't just the fact that they both had magic. He'd known it from the first time he saw her in the cage, how she'd looked at him and he at her. It was as though he knew her somehow. "I know" he swallowed, "and I feel like I can be myself with you, not someone who has to hide...but I do wonder sometimes what it would be like if magic wasn't banned - that people used it for good..."

“People are not often born with your abilities. I do not think Gaius himself knows how to handle your situation.”
He looked up from his reflection to her. "Gauis has helped me since I first arrived, but not every book can tell him all he needs to know" he agreed. “I do not mean to discredit him, I just don’t think he understands you fully.”

"You haven't" he smiled, "but you're right...I don't think anyone does - sometimes I don't even understand myself."

His thumb grazed gently against the top of her hand as he still held it, the coolness of the water rippling around them."I guess...Sometimes I just wonder about whether I should walk away - from all this. Then I remember that I can't. I couldn't do that to Arthur...not after everything."

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Freya pondered his words as she stared down into the water. A Camelot where magic was allowed? She knew that at one time such a thing existed, but not in today’s world. “One day it will be allowed,” she said, hoping that her words were true. It had to be true, didn’t it? The druids spoke of a time where Emrys would prevail; a time that could only occur if magic was permitted. “Not in the current king’s reign, but in Arthur’s.” She should feel bitter at the man that had killed her, but she found that she could not. After all, he was one of the two that would bring Albion into a new age.

Her eyes fixated on his thumb on her hand, feeling the warmth of his touch run through her. She would never tire of the simple feeling of his skin on hers. She looked up at him as he spoke of leaving. “You can’t,” she insisted, thinking of every single story that the druids had spoken of his future. “You have so much left to do. For Camelot, Arthur….Albion.”

She took a deep breath, thinking.

“ Ideally I would like to be able to leave the lake for hours at a time. If ever I manage this, I will take you to the druids, so that you may hear of their tales about you.”

They might have to go incognito, as she was unsure if the druids would be pleased to have Merlin hear of his own future. Futures were testy things, after all. And they couldn’t go to her former tribe. They would have to find another.

[em]

She was right, even he believed that one day it would happen - he just hoped that it would be at a conveniant time. Of course it would be in Arthur's - the dragon had already hinted at that much, and Merlin knew that it wouldn't happen without both of them in the picture. "It will" he smiled, "I know it will."

“You have so much left to do. For Camelot, Arthur….Albion.”

Yes, once again it was all down to him so it seemed. He'd already expressed thoughts to Gauis about why everyone thought it was always down to him to set things right. Destiny or not, destiny carved it's own path - Merlin and Arthur seemed to be both there just to tell it which way to take. He said nothing out loud about this, otherwise he might just have well have gone into a full blown rant - and he didn't want to spoil things with Freya. Instead he kept his mouth shut.

"I'd like that" he smiled at her mention of hoping to leave the lake, as well as taking him to the druids. "Although...won't they be a bit...well, annoyed that i'm there? After all, I serve a man whose father hates anyone with magic. Won't they dislike me for that?" he asked.
When Merlin had gone against Mordred, he was a druid and hates him. Then again that was quite personal but still - with druid traditions as they were, he had steered clear from them.

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Freya knew that to bring him to the druids unrecognized would be an issue. She wasn't sure if the head druid of the tribe would be able to sense him, even disguised. She had only heard of the extent of the tribe leaders' gifts, not even knowing how talented the man that had led her own sect had been. That might be a problem. But if they didn't recognize him, even disguised, they might be able to listen to the stories and songs. She wished for him to know that others, beside herself and Gaius, believed that he had the will to do what he was destined for.

"We will disguise you," she said, a smile finding its way to her lips. "Though, if that does not work, I do not think that they will find fault with you. They will not hold Arthur against you. You are Emrys, and they will not forget that. "

She only hoped. It wasn't like the druids to hate others; her case had been the exception it seemed.

[em]

It appeared that Freya had this all thought through, going to see the druids and all. Merlin would like that, especially to gain a little more knowledge and understanding of them. Still there was always the risk of them finding out where he was from. Freya seemed to be justifying this right now, and he believed her. He believed every word she said. Freya wouldn't like to him - he knew that much.
He was Emrys. Yes and apparently he wouldn't be forgotton. That alone had it's advantages and disadvantages. "I don't know whether never being forgotton is a good thing or a bad thing" he chuckled. "especially when people are out to get me for most of the time."

Out to get him and Arthur so it seemed. That was what destiny was all about. Avoiding the obstacles and working their way to the finishing point whenever the time was right.

"Won't they be a little...scared of me though?" he asked, "Knowing that i'm who they've heard about?" He didn't know what extent the druids knew about him, and he wasn't sure whether he wanted to find out.

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Freya squeezed his hands, mulling over his words. "It will be good, to not be forgotten," she said, knowing in her heart that the world would never forget him. Not if her people had any say in the matter. It was nice, to know that others would know of his achievements and accomplishments years after they had happened. Even if he did not have any children of his own, others would pass along his stories. A pang in her chest had her clearing her throat. Of course he was able to go on and have a normal life. She wasn't going to stand in the way of that. She was in the lake, and she would have to live with that.

She shrugged, not exactly sure what the druids' reactions would be. "If anything, I think they'll be in awe," she responded, a smile forming on her lips. "To finally see the man of the age-old prohpecies? I think they'll be falling over themselves." She laughed, seeing in her mind's eye her ex-chief elder falling over the hem of his robe. That would have been a sight.

[em]

Would it be good never to be forgotton? Had Merlin had a massive ego then he would've thrived on the statement - but thankfully he didn't have anything of the sort and was more modest when it came down to the whole 'emrys' stories and such. "I'll only believe that when I see it." he smiled. People could be remembered for all sorts. Good and bad.

Merlin shifted slightly in the water, his hand still entwined with Freya's. It wouldn't be long before he would have to leave. He had no idea as to when he would be back again but he would try to visit as regularly as he could. "I didn't know I was that much of a 'legend' with the druids' he smiled.

He looked around. "I'll have to go soon." he turned back to her with a sorrowful look, "But I promise to come back often, even if it means swimming to the middle of the lake to see you." Questions would certainly be raised when he returned, so he'd have to come up with something believeable rather than the whole 'I just happened to fall in the lake' thing that was currently going through his mind.

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Freya grinned, squeezing his hands lightly. How nice it would be to spend an entire day with him! It would have to be some time from now, as she could not stray beyond the lake for too long. She already had ideas in mind to push herself in order to up the time allowed beyond the water.

She tried to keep her features from falling as he mentioned that he needed to leave soon. Of course she knew he couldn't stay, but she hadn't realized how fast the time had gone. She waded toward him, embracing him and resting her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, for visiting me," she said quietly, trying to commit the feeling of his arms to memory. It could be weeks, months in which he could have the chance to see her again. She would fill that time with pushing herself beyond the water.