500 Days of Freya (Merlin)

Captured

Chapter 14

Warning/s: None that I can think of.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

A/N: Everyone still enjoying the story? I have a massive list of prompts to work through, not even kidding. I love having prompts! *happy fangirl dance*

This is a prompt from MamzelleHermy: "What would happen if Morgana captured Freya to hurt Merlin?"

Not going to lie to you, this wasn't easy to write. I don't know how good it is but...*shrugs*

The entire court was in uproar. Freya had been snatched from her bed in the middle of the night, while Merlin was in a council meeting. All of the windows were closed and there was no sign of a struggle, but Merlin maintained that Freya would have fought back at whoever had captured her. The whole thing was peculiar.

Arthur had scoured their chambers himself, going over everything, but had found nothing. Merlin was distraught, sick with worry and concern for his wife. Arthur had tried to comfort Merlin, but he found that he was not able to be cheered up, miserable with the loss.

They had literally no clue where Freya could be, and Arthur finally conceded at the end of the day that the chances of finding her again were unlikely. However, that wasn't going to stop him from trying.

So, later that night, Arthur snuck down to Gaius's chambers, keen to avoid any guards. What he was doing was not illegal or restricted in anyway (at least, not the travelling to Gaius part), but it would be easier if he didn't have to answer any questions.

He hoped Gaius would still be awake: he hated waking the elderly man but he did need him urgently. To his relief, when he reached the small quarters, light was pouring from under the door, so he knocked quietly and when he received confirmation, pushed it open.

Gaius smiled kindly, albeit tiredly, and asked, "What do you want, sire? I've just had Merlin in here for a sleeping draught."

"Is this really distressing him?" Arthur asked softly, closing the door behind him. He was about to ask a favour of Gaius that he didn't want to be overheard.

"Yes, sire," Gaius replied, his face down-turned with upset for his ex-ward. "He will not sleep properly, nor indeed be the same way again, unless Freya is returned safe and without harm."

Arthur hesitated. He still wasn't sure the full story of Merlin and Freya, but he knew for certain that Merlin loved Freya more than anything. "Is there anything you can do to find out where Freya is located?"

Gaius raised an infamous eyebrow. "In what way, sire?" he questioned cautiously.

"Magic," Arthur confirmed, in a low whisper. "Is there any incantation which allows you to track someone?"

Gaius regarded the king heavily for a few seconds. "I have already been trying, sire," he said solemnly. "It is a difficult spell and so far I have only managed to summon a faint trace."

"But there's still a trace?" Arthur asked eagerly.

Gaius eased himself down into a chair, wincing when his joints protested. "It appears to go from Freya and Merlin's chambers, through the castle, and then a little way into the woods just outside the lower town."

"She was taken through the castle?" Arthur repeated disbelievingly. "Why didn't we hear anything?"

Gaius considered for a minute before replying, "I believe that Freya must have been drugged in some way; magic was possibly involved."

Arthur exhaled slowly. "So she's just in the woods? Not more than a mile away?" he guessed, and Gaius confirmed his suspicions with a nod.

"I am just concerned that there may be some sort of trap waiting for you."

"I will go and wake the knights," Arthur said hastily. "We must reach her soon, trap or no."

It took them under half an hour to find Freya: luckily for them, she was in the first area they searched. There was little light, only a small amount of moonlight squeezing through the overhanging canopy of leaves. They trod cautiously, wary of any traps, but when they finally reached the small, curled up figure of Freya, they found her unconscious but with no signs of injury.

Arthur lifted her up gently and mounted his horse again, keeping Freya secure against him on their ride back.

The dawn had just broken when Merlin awoke, and he stumbled down to Gaius. His old guardian was all he wanted to be with right now. To his surprise, the door was open slightly, so he slipped inside with knocking.

Gaius was bent over the bed reserved for patients, shuffling around busily, muttering to himself. For a moment, Merlin's heart leapt with the thought that maybe it was Freya in the bed, found. He scolded himself: he was only going to get his hopes dashed.

"Gaius?" he asked quietly.

The aged physician turned around, a grin on his face, and hurried to the door where Merlin was still stood. "They found her!" he exclaimed, leading Merlin over to the bed.

Merlin scarcely believed what he was being told. He stared down over the bed, into the face of Freya. "Is she asleep?" he asked.

"Unconscious," Gaius corrected. "I'm not sure how exactly, but she has no injuries, so I'm assuming magic is the cause."

Merlin nodded. He was still concerned about the state of Freya's consciousness, but this was an improvement on not knowing where Freya was.

It had been five days since Freya had been recovered, but she still hadn't woken up. Gaius had allowed her to be moved to her usual bed, and Merlin was spending all of his time with her, watching her for any sign of her waking up. He had barely slept.

Finally, on the fifth day, Freya's eyelid flickered open. Merlin thought he was hallucinating at first, but then when she narrowed her eyes and asked, "Merlin?" uncertainly, he smiled with cracked lips and sat down next to her on the bed.

"Hello again," he said gently, stroking her hair. "You were knocked out for five days." He decided to tell her the basics now and then explain the more detailed version later. "Do you remember anything?"

Freya frowned. "No," she whispered. "Nothing." She coughed, her throat obviously dry. Merlin grabbed a goblet of water from the table and helped Freya to sit up and swallow some of it.

"That's fine," Merlin reassured. "We think you were probably asleep when you were knocked out, so it's fine that you don't remember anything."

"Morgana," Freya said, "it was Morgana. I remember her voice."

Merlin froze. "What did Morgana want with you?"

"To hurt you," Freya whispered. "I don't know why."

"She didn't hurt me as much as she hurt you," Merlin pointed out.

Freya shook her head and cupped her husband's cheek in her hand. "You have large bags underneath your eyes, you're paler than usual, you've lost quite a bit of weight, your lips are cracked, your eyes are swollen...she's done a lot more damage to you than she has to me."

A/N: Word is trying to tell me that the last 'than' should be a 'then'. Pretty sure I'm right but I'm starting to doubt myself.

I didn't know how to finish this so I just ended it there...hope it isn't too shitty.