The Fates Changed Their Minds

Breaking The Curse

  Merlin and Freya has been on the run for months searching for a cure. They had visited people of high power and high knowledge, none knew how to break the Bastet curse.

  One night when they were settling right outside another Druid camp-they did not want Freya to risk lives by being directly in their camp-Merlin had an awful yet brilliant idea.

  "Freya"

  "Yes"

  "How much do you remember of the sorceress that cursed you?"

  "W-why do you need to know?"

  Seeing that he had hit a sensitive spot Merlin moved closer to offer some slight comfort.

  "I think I may have an idea on how to fix you."

  "Merlin, if you are thinking of finding the sorceress I do not think you have thought it through. How would you suppose we would find her?"

"Using her own curse against her, that's how," Merlin on, determined.

"So you're admitting that you are considering this as an option."

"Of course I am! We have tried everything we could possibly think of and nothing, no one, is able to help you." Merlin stood up. "No one knows this curse better than the sorcerer that cast it. If we go about it in the right way it is possible we can fix what she did to you!"

"Merlin how do we 'go about it in the right way' this woman s-she hates me. She cast this curse so why in all of Albion would she help fix it!" Freya matched Merlin almost yelling tone.

Merlin defeated sighed, sat down, and looked at the hands now in his lap, "Freya, I don't know, really I don't. I-I just want to help you, help you no longer live the way you are forced to live, and this is the only idea left. And if we play our cards right I think it is possible for it to work."

Freya, feeling guilty, sat down, grabbed her lover's hands and began to speak in a quiet, comforting tone, "Merlin, I know. But I, I just don't really understand what you are getting at. What is your plan?"

This caused Merlin to look up and smirk, in turn causing Freya to feel justifiably nervous. After all whenever Merlin wears that specific expression, you know there is a high chance of something going wrong.
___________________________
After discussing the plan for an hour or so that night, with a great deal of worrying on Freya's part, they went to sleep. Then in the morning, after a long night dealing with the curse, they bid the Druids in the camp goodbye.

Merlin cast the spell that he had learned in advance from a Druid, he had been planning for a long time, on Freya. It was a simple tracking spell that tracked spells that go as deep as a hundred years.

Then they rode for hours. And hours, and hours. Days, actually. The sorceress lived two kingdoms over from where they were when they made their decision to do this.

Then after what felt like an eternity to the lovers who longed for a lake, they arrived at what appeared to be a simple little cottage. But with their ability to sense magic they could feel that it was no normal cottage.

As decided prior to their weeks long journey, Freya was staked out where they believed she would be out of her sight. When he was sure that Freya was safe and secure Merlin went up to the door and simply, knocked.

A woman that looked to be in her mid-fifties opened the door with a very unpleasant expression on her face, looking like she just wanted whoever it was to go away.

Merlin asked if he could come inside she agreed, albeit reluctantly. Attempting to appear kind she offered him food and shelter for the night, predictably, Merlin denied the offer. Denied it saying he only wanted to talk.

  Their conversation was a long one. It started out good. To the woman it seemed like this young man was only trying to spark some small talk, after all she believed that he had not been in human company or a lengthy amount of time.

  Merlin inquired about her past, like did she ever have a husband or does she have children.

  To which she answered with a remorseful face, " I did once have a child, my only son, his father had long left me for another woman of far greater beauty, and was much more normal than I. My son was all grown up, looking to begin courting the women of our little village and perhaps beyond, until he was killed."

  She seemed as if she would stop there but Merlin knew he was close, he had come for answers, he would get them.

  "How was he killed, and I can see you do not want to talk about it, but you never know, it could end up helping you." Somehow he had convinced her, perhaps putting this buried moment on the top of her mind made her weak enough to talk.

  And so she talked. She told of her anger towards 'the young beastly girl' that killed her son. She spoke of how she wished more than anything to have her revenge on who she began to think of as a beast. Then she confessed to her affinity towards magic, completely expecting Merlin to get up and run but he continued to sit and stare intently at her.

  So she continued. She went on to tell about how her viewing the girl as a beast had given her an idea, she would turn into a beast. This is when Merlin got a tad bit confused, after all the curse was 'to kill forever more', but he just put it down to her wording.

  At this point what the sorceress said was not of her choosing, she was to caught up in the memory, and this time it was flowing out of her mouth just as quickly as it was running through her mind.

  She went into extreme detail of the process of tracking down the girl and her plan. She said when she cast the spell it did not go according to plan, she wished to turn her into a beast not a Bastet. As soon as she cast the spell she realized her mistake and wished to fix it but the girl ran away. She then confessed to her biggest desire over the years since the incident, it was not to have her son or husband to return, it was for her to be able to fix the young woman that she broke.

This revelation shocked Merlin so much that he gasped and broke the sorceress out of her endless cycle of memories. She looked at him skeptically and asked, "is something wrong young man."

"No no no no no," he exclaimed frantically, "It's just your telling me t-that all you want is to fix the girl that you cursed." She nodded. "Well then today is your lucky day!"
___________________________
Merlin was leading the confused yet to be named sorceress outside toward where he hid Freya. And when she saw them coming she was relived and scared at the same time.

  When the woman saw the face that so often haunted her dreams and nightmares her face face took on an expression of apprehension and hope.

  It was a long conversation of Merlin convincing Freya that the sorceress wanted to help her, and aiding the woman to realize that this was real and not a dream.

  Merlin asked how they could fix Freya, and what he got was a long-winded explanation of the curse and how to reverse it. First, they would have to wait until she transformed, they did.

  They waited until there was a chained up winged beast staring intently into Merlin's eyes, step one.

  The sorceress was of to the side so the Bastet could not see her and try to kill her, and she began to chant, step two.

  A few minutes into the chant the Bastet began to writhe in pain, step three.

  Then there was a bright flash of light and when it faded there lied a fully clothed Freya, step four.

Then they had to wait until the next night to see if she would transform once more, step five.

She did not transform that night, the spell had worked.