500 Days of Freya (Merlin)

Lake

Chapter 47

Warning/s: none

A/N: I was watching the Olympic women's hockey last night (Great Britain vs Netherlands) and it turns out that my old hockey coach at my last school now coaches the Olympic team.

Pretty cool I guess. No big deal.

Prompt: Aithusa Vase: "BAMF!Freya (with lake magic)"

Truth be told, Merlin was heartily sick and tired of being ambushed by bandits.

It wasn't the way they tried to kill them; it was more their lack of originality. It was the same thing every single time, and Merlin would have to strategically drop branches and trip them over shrubbery because Arthur was too busy waving his sword around like he was doing ballet.

This time, Merlin was especially upset because they were right next to Lake Avalon, and Arthur had been planning to set up camp for the night, meaning that he could go sit by the lake while him and the knights were asleep and talk to Freya for a bit.

However, Arthur would in no way stick with that plan now they'd been attacked.

If you could call it an attack. It was rather lacklustre as far as bandits were concerned.

So Merlin occupied himself with trying to make various winds suddenly stir up and distract bandits, and stopping his friends from being killed with conveniently loose branches, when there was a massive roar from the lake.

Everyone turned to stare stupidly at the massive whirlpool that had suddenly emerged in the middle of the stretch of water, the bandits included. Arthur looked so bewildered that Merlin wanted to laugh, because he could see so clearly the play of emotions on the king's face; first confusion, then suspicion that this was magic, then back to confusion.

Merlin had a good idea of what was happening, and his suspicions were confirmed when Freya emerged from the whirlpool. She was more beautiful and iridescent than ever before, skin glowing blue and hair cascading down her back in loose curls. Her figure was complimented by a burgundy dress that ended at her knees.

Without hesitation, Freya began to stride along the top of the water, her feet hitting the liquid like it was a dirt path. She looked like a vengeful warrior, Merlin thought with a burst of pride. She looked bored by the proceedings, as if she dealt with this every day of the week (which maybe she did; Merlin didn't get the chance to visit her that often) and waved her hand as if swatting a fly.

One of the bandits shimmered around the edges and then faded out of reality, leaving everyone except Merlin staring at the space he had been with gaping mouths. (Okay, Merlin was kind of staring with a wide mouth, because that was some seriously impressive magic and he was so happy that Freya could do something like that.)

When she spoke, her voice was as sweet and soothing as it ever had been, but with an underlying tone of steel. "I could kill all of your miscreants where you stand, so I recommend that you run." Her final word was accompanied by a flash of gold that wrapped around her entire body, snaking around her limbs and encircling her head like a wreath of leaves. "Well?" she snapped, when nobody moved, stupefied by the raw power radiating off her.

As one, the bandits flowed back into the forest like water from oil, leaving the Camelotians standing bemused on the beach.

Despite his inherent suspicion of magic, Arthur knew that this woman had saved their lives, so he swallowed his misgivings and stepped forward to thank Freya instead.

She accepted his words with a nod of her head, smiling charmingly when it was her turn to speak.

"It was my pleasure, King Arthur and his Knights," she said softly. "Naturally I have my own reasons for saving you all; but those will have to remain my secrets, at least for the time being. Go on your way and do good."

She vanished just as soon as she had appeared, and none of the others seemed to notice the smile she shot in Merlin's direction as she went.

Arthur, comforted by the thought that they had some kind of 'magical lake goddess' on their side, decided to set up camp just a little farther than where they had originally suggested, still close enough to the lake that Merlin would be able to slip away easily.

Merlin volunteered for the first watch, enduring Arthur's teasing about being diligent for once with good spirit, and even making stew out of the rabbits they'd snared happily. Once he was sure his companions were asleep (and he may have put a tiny sleeping enhancement spell on them as they ate), he cast another spell that made them invisible to any passing threats and with soft tread made his way back to Freya.

She was waiting for him, cross-legged on the edge of the water, a wide smile gracing her features. He greeted her with a kiss and swept her into his arms and didn't let her go for another hour, then spent the rest of the night talking with her.

And other things, but nobody need to know about that.

When it was time to return back to Arthur, Merlin kissed her goodbye and promised to come back soon, reluctantly making his way back with tired feet.

He stifled a yawn as he prodded Arthur awake, and if the king didn't believe Merlin's explanation of not waking anyone up for their watch shift as him not being tired, he gave no indication of it.

Likewise, if any of the company noticed Merlin's inattention on the ride back or his slightly dopey smile, they made no comment.

A/N: I'm going to be really cheeky now.

My younger brother has autism and struggles with communication and as such he's really lonely and gets bullied by other kids his age. I'm trying to raise money for him to get on a course to improve those skills, so I set up a page: gofundme dot com / 2ke7k7w. If you can donate or even just spread the word around, you will have my undying gratitude.