Chapter Text
Freya and Merlin...Weren’t very good nobles.
Arthur knew this. He knew this when he rose them both in rank. He knew this when Merlin insisted on wearing his old serving clothes to council meetings and he knew this when Freya adamantly brought cats into the castle despite his constant orders for her not to.
So...Should he really be surprised that they turned up to his coronation drenched head to toe in mud?
"Why?" He asked, trying to think of a reason - any reason, really, it didn’t even have to be good - for why this was happening.
"I know this looks bad-" Merlin was saying only for Freya to jump in.
"We dug up your father!"
...Right. He retracted his previous statement. It didn’t have to be a good reason...but it also couldn’t be that reason.
So, many months ago his father had actually been saved by Merlin and Freya back when he was regent. However, Arthur knew he was only delaying the inevitable with the state his father was in. A few days ago he had finally seemed to have given up...The shattered heart Morgana had left him with finally sucking the life out of him.
So you could imagine his confusion upon learning Merlin and Freya had desecrated his grave.
"And it sounds even worse," Merlin winced with a subtle nudge at Freya "It turns out his tomb was cursed. We had to break it or else he would rise as a sort of...Walking dead person." He clarified and winced again, possibly realizing that wasn’t comforting either.
"We broke the curse very respectfully." Freya nodded. Arthur stared. "And, um, we put him in a much better tomb. It was bigger." She added. Arthur stared. She turned to Merlin. "Is he sad? I can’t tell if he’s sad." She whispered and gnawed at her bottom lip. "I’ll get you cake." She decided and went to march away, mud trailing behind her. Merlin watched her go with a sigh.
"And...Who has cursed my father’s grave?" He finally asked. Merlin looked at him with raised eyebrows. Never mind. That was a stupid question. "Morgana." He sighed.
"Um, yes. Probably." Freya said, returning with the promised cake. "But try not to think about it today. Just focus on...Not falling?" She turned to Merlin again "Does he do anything during this ceremony?" She asked, lowly. Arthur made a strangled noise. "You’re going to do great!" She smiled.
Honestly.
"Are you two really going to show up like that? I have to introduce you both during the ceremony." He pointed out. Both Merlin and Freya seemed to realize the problem at the same time.
"Ah."
"Oh, I see." They both said and looked at one another. Merlin wrinkled his nose.
"How much time do we have?"
"Ten minutes."
"Yeah...Not going to happen." Merlin told him and glanced over at his wife. "Maybe Freya should just go up. She still looks nice."
"She is also still covered in mud."
"Yeah, but she looks nice." Merlin insisted. Freya beamed at him. Normally, Arthur might make fun of him for being so disgustingly in love but now was not the time.
"Can’t you just magic it off?" He asked, a little desperately. He could maybe deal with them both in commoner clothes if it meant they at least didn’t have dirt and leaves in their hair. Freya looked down at her dress.
"No, magic doesn’t work like that." She said and gave a meek shrug. "Do you have a rag, maybe?"
Oh God, oh God, oh God...
It wasn’t like the kingdom wasn’t aware that Merlin was going to be his court sorcerer. He had all but assigned the title... but now he was king. This was official. This was supposed to be one of the first official acts he makes as a new king. He couldn’t believe -
"Your majesty," Gwen’s voice called "Its time - oh." She interrupted herself when she saw Merlin and Freya. "You two look... Is this a Druid custom?" She asked, tilting her head in polite confusion. Freya and Merlin looked at one another.
"Yes." They both said at the same time. Arthur couldn’t believe this. Before he could freak out there was the sound of drums and singing, signaling his entrance.
Well. This was his fate, he supposed.
The whole thing was going rather well too. Arthur would be pleased if it weren’t for the fact that his least favorite couple of all time was about to walk in and ruin everything.
He braced himself as his knights were all called in...Along with members of his council. Gaius. Other court positions...And finally -
"Are you kidding me?" He asked, ignoring Geoffrey’s mortified look at Arthur speaking during the ceremony as Merlin and Freya walked in, both in noble clothes with sapphire blue and gold. Not a damn trace of mud on them.
"Merlin, I don’t think he found it that funny." Freya mused as she looked at her husband when they reached the end of the aisle to kneel before standing back up.
"I did though." Merlin snorted as he took his place by Arthur’s side. Freya narrowed her eyes a bit before shooting Arthur an apologetic look.
"We really did have to solve that problem with your father," she said and when Arthur just stared at her, gave a small smile "More cake?" She suggested.
"You're giving out cake?" Gwaine whispered and gave a small yelp when Leon elbowed him "But Freya is giving out cake!" He objected. Immediately all the knights turned to where Freya and Merlin were standing.
"Sorry," she whispered back "Only Arthur gets cake because it’s his coronation." She told them and immediately there was some grumbling. "I can make cookies though?" She suggested. This seemed to raise everyone’s spirits until Geoffrey cleared his throat.
"May I continue?" He asked wryly. Ah. Right. Arthur gave an apologetic nod.
"Are you alright?" He heard Merlin ask. Arthur turned to tell him to shut it only to find a stark white Freya staring with pure horror at the ground. "Hey...Freya...?"
"I panicked, Merlin." She whispered back, "I don’t even know how to make cookies."
Being king was going to be stressful he could already tell.
In fairness...It wasn’t exactly Arthur’s fault.
He was a competitive person by nature. This was bound to happen. Granted, he didn’t realize it would end with him making Freya cry, but hey. At least he got her a friend?
It all started during a feast when Arthur was hearing the bards sing yet another tale of Merlin and Freya’s love story. Yeah, they got it. It was a classic. Girl in a cage is freed by brave a warlock and they have a forbidden romance while being forced apart for years and having to visit one another in secret. Big deal. That was how everyone met these days.
"Guinevere," he said, leaning a little closer to his wife "Which do you think is more grand: falling in love like Merlin and Freya did or how we did?" He asked, trying to sound as casual as he could. Gwen turned to look at him with glittering eyes as a smile hinted at her lips.
"Well...I’m quite partial to our story." She said and Arthur nodded.
"Me too!" He said and scowled at the bard "But why do they sing so much more of them?" He asked. Honestly. How was a king defying years of tradition and spite from his class less romantic than helping someone out of a cage?
Gwen rose an eyebrow at him.
"Arthur."
"I just think they’re missing out," Arthur said with his arms raised in surrender. Gwen shook her head and went back to her food. Arthur bit his lip. "Do you think it’s because people think they’re more in love than us?"
"No!" Gwen laughed and paused. "No. That’s silly." She said more resolutely before looking at where Merlin was making Freya butterflies at the other end of the table. "...if that were the case though...How could we change that? Because they’re wrong."
Thus it began.
They had tried everything. Holding hands during meetings, romantic picnics, long walks in the lower town, endless gifts and flowers to one another...Those damned bards were not swayed.
"Maybe it has something to do with the magic," Gwen was saying as she paced back and forth. "Ask Merlin to teach you some." She suggested. Arthur hummed in consideration. This was their third brainstorming session to no prevail. Though, Arthur would like to point out that it took a certain type of love to bring someone as sweet and kind as Guinevere down to Arthur’s petty level. Put that in your damned songs.
"I know what it is," Arthur muttered, "It’s because they are always together." He said, letting the bitterness he’d been so valiantly hiding show through.
Listen. He loved his wife. A lot...But he would be lying if he didn’t acknowledge that he also loved his (don’t tell anyone he said this) best friend. And Freya had bloody stolen him. She stole him and Arthur was annoyed by it and now she’s stealing how romantic his marriage was with her marriage and it wasn’t even fair!
"Oh..." Gwen frowned "You’re right. I don’t think I’ve seen her with anyone else in the castle...Has she not made any friends since arriving here?" She asked, the competitive note her voice dying into more concern. Arthur didn’t catch it though. He was too busy comprehending that sentence.
Of course. Why the Hell didn’t she have any friends? Annoyance swirled in his chest. He was just about to respond when there was a soft knock at the door. As if summoned by a higher power, Freya popped her head in.
"Gaius wanted me to ask you if -"
"Why don’t you have any friends?" Arthur demanded before he could think better if it. Freya froze.
"Arthur -" Gwen began, horrified. For his part, Arthur was realizing the misstep.
"I, uh, just meant...You’re always around Merlin-"
"Stop talking." Gwen interrupted. Yep. Right. That was a good idea. Freya was blinking, clearly stunned by the statement as a cat suddenly came barreling in at full speed to leap into her arms as if sensing the distress.
"Oh." She said, voice impossibly small. Arthur felt his stomach sink a bit how the pure hurt that crossed her face and desperately turned to Gwen in a silent plea for her to fix it. "Um...Sorry?" She said, petting the cat in her arms a little faster than she needed to "It's just... Most of the nobles don't want to talk to me because I'm not really of noble blood and the lower town people...Well, I'm sure they're lovely it's just back when I was first taken to Camelot they weren't very lovely...Which wasn't their fault! I'm sure they just saw a witch in a cage and assumed I was really horrible so it seemed reasonable to throw stones and such...It, uh, just makes me a little wary to be around them at times," She admitted as Gwen pressed a hand to her mouth in horror "And, I do love the knights, but after Lancelot I... I just don't..." She trailed off and...Oh no. Oh, dear. Her voice caught at the end and Arthur could already see the tears forming. "But if it bothers you-"
"No!" Gwen said immediately and took a step forward only for the cat in Freya's arms to give a warning noise.
"Cody." Freya scolded slightly and put him down. Arthur immediately backed up.
"Isn't Cody the one who breathes fire?" He asked, but Gwen shushed him. "Okay, but he might breathe fire and-"
"Arthur!" Gwen scowled and turned back to Freya. "I am so sorry. We didn't think how hard it must be adjusting you to this life." She said, leaning forward to squeeze her hands. Freya blinked, staring down as if this act alone was unfamiliar to her... It actually might be something she was only familiar with Merlin now that he thought about it. "I should have known, I remember how hard it was for me to adjust and that was mainly just dealing with nobles." She sighed. "Could we be friends?" She asked. Freya turned bright red before giving the smallest of nods. Gwen beamed and hugged her, causing Freya to give a small squeak of alarm. Gwen let go immediately.
"Sorry! We'll work on that." Gwen said and patted her hand. "Also, I'm sorry about Arthur. He...Well, you're married to Merlin. I'm sure you know."
Amusement crossed Freya's face for a moment before she went into a deep curtsy.
"Right here," Arthur muttered, still inching away from Cody. The cat seemed to understand he was making the king uncomfortable because it was having a lovely time inching forward to try and pounce on Arthur's feet. Freya clicked her tongue and he immediately stopped.
"I should be going," Freya said, "I'll, uh, see you later?" She asked Gwen. The queen nodded and Freya smiled back before heading towards the door. "Oh, and your majesty?" She suddenly asked, turning back with a wicked gleam crossing her eyes "Funny you should mention making friends...Considering, Merlin made all of yours." She said. Arthur stared.
"He did not." He objected. That was ridiculous. Clearly, this emotional encounter had somehow impaired her judgment. Freya rose an eyebrow before leaning against the doorframe as Cody pranced out of the room, purring against her legs as he went.
"Really? Lancelot said Merlin was his first friend here...And that he only returned to Camelot when Merlin wrote and said he needed help. Same with Gwaine... And considering Lancelot brought Percival with him that would mean you wouldn't have met him without Merlin either." She said, tapping her lip. "Oh! And your wife, of course, was Merlin's friend first I believe. Right, Gwen?" She asked. Arthur opened his mouth to interject, but she apparently wasn't finished. "And you only were introduced to her properly because Merlin had you stay with her while you pretending to not be in that jousting tournament...and by extent you would have never met Elyan either." She reasoned. Arthur frowned.
"Hang on-"
"You have Leon, of course...Though...How close were you and Leon before Merlin came along?" She asked. Arthur spluttered for a few moments, trying to figure out which parts of her clearly faulted logic he should address first. "You know," Freya continued and Arthur knew her next words were going to be the final blow "If you really miss him that much all you had to do was ask."
"I - that is not about that!" Arthur gasped "It was just...Confusing that you and him are given so much credit and-"
"My lord," Freya scoffed "I mean this with all due respect but...The bards sing much more about tales of you and him than they do about us." She said and gave Gwen one last beaming smile before shutting the door with a click. Arthur gaped, slowly turning to Gwen who gave an apologetic nod.
"Are you serious? Merlin and I have more songs than him and Freya? And - wait, more than me and you? That's it. Get Geoffrey over here. We're having him write a damn ballad about us, I swear!" He grumbled, sitting up. Gwen snorted just as the door opened again.
"Uh, sorry, but I forgot what I came here for. Gaius wants to know if you still need salve for your arm?" Freya asked. Arthur stared at her.
"You don't get to be mean and then come back in here like this."
"I'm not mean! Don't call me mean!"
"Yeah. You're mean."
"I am not." Freya frowned "My lady, am I mean?" She asked Gwen. There was a pause as Gwen looked back and forth between them before shaking her head. "Aha!" Freya laughed.
God freaking damnit. The damned witch got his wife now too.
Arthur wished he could say he had seen stranger things in his castle.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t even the strangest thing he had seen this week... Though he knew he should still probably inquire upon it.
"Hi," he said, walking up to where Gwen and Freya were dragging what appeared to be a dead body across the corridor. "Is he alive?" He asked as Gwen dropped the arm she carrying and Freya immediately fell back in alarm as she let go of the man’s foot. They both looked at one another and then back at Arthur.
"Yes..." Freya said slowly and poked him with her foot. The man snored and rolled over. "Yeah, he’s fine." She said, sounding much more certain now. Arthur waited.
"Well," Gwen smiled "It was nice speaking with you, my lord. We’ll be on our way now." She said and Freya got up to grab the foot again.
"Are neither of you going to explain this?" He asked trying to figure out if he knew the unconscious man. Freya fidgeted for a moment, eyes lowering a bit as she gave Gwen a panicked look.
"Um...No. I’m the queen. I don’t have to answer any questions." She decided. Freya nodded vehemently in agreement.
"But I’m the king-"
"Is he dead?" Merlin’s voice interrupted as he came over to stand by Arthur’s side. Freya and Gwen both sighed in unison as they muttered reassurances that the man was very much alive. Merlin blinked and stared down.
"What...Happened?" He asked and Freya put bad hands on her hips.
"We don’t ask questions when you two do strange things!" She asked and looked at Gwen who was nodding in agreement as she peered over her shoulder to make sure nobody else was watching.
"Us? What strange things do we do?" Merlin frowned, turning to Arthur. The king only shrugged in response as both Gwen and Freya gave gasps of outrage.
"Always sneaking around the castle-"
"-poetry at night, for one thing."
"Wearing disguises and hunting for bloody ghosts-"
"-You own this castle so I’m not sure why you think you need to hide all the time."
"Alright," Arthur said loudly as he held up a hand "We won’t ask. Carry on with...That. Though if something happens with this I’ll be asking again." He warned. Gwen had the nerve to roll her eyes before grabbing the arm to continue dragging though not before blowing him a kiss. Freya went to hug Merlin before grabbing the leg to continue her pulling.
"Huh," Merlin said as he watched them go. "That’s a little concerning. I don’t think we go about doing strange things in the castle, do you?" He frowned. Arthur scoffed.
"No. They’re just trying to make themselves feel better about accidentally knocking that poor man out or whatever," Arthur shook his head as the pair disappeared around the corner "Anyways, do you have the horse teeth?"
"Oh yeah," Merlin said and opened the bag "Should we go and tell them we’ll be gone for a few days?"
"I get the feeling they’ll be too busy to notice."
Arthur would say over the period of time he had gotten to know Freya that he had grown to...Like her. Sort of. He respected her, definitely. And he would like to think that he had gotten to know her fairly well.
However, sometimes she threw him into a fit of confusion when she did bullshit like this.
"What...Why?" He decided as he caught the druid exiting Merlin’s tent. She blinked at his voice before giving him a cheery wave. "Freya, we’re about to go to battle. Now isn’t the time for visits." He told her before catching a good look at what she was wearing.
Now, Gwen often traveled with Arthur to various battles. This was because she could use a sword and was pretty self-sufficient to leave even in the midst of danger. Plus if he told her she couldn’t come then he wouldn’t ever hear the end of it. Freya was...Well, she was a different case. He once saw her get frightened by a squirrel. A battlefield wasn’t exactly going to be her forte. So he wasn’t entirely sure why she was fitted with the same protective magical deflecting outfit Merlin usually wore when fighting. Nor was he certain why she had a bow and arrows slung over her shoulder.
"Oh don’t worry, I’m not visiting." Freya laughed "I’m helping Merlin with his section of battle today." She said casually.
"Um...No. No, you are not?" He said though it sounded more like a bewildered question. Freya frowned. She still had freaking flowers in her hair. Who had the nerve - no, the audacity, to say they’re going to fight in a war and then braid blue and red flowers in their hair?
"Why not?" She asked. Arthur stared. Luckily, at this point, Merlin had exited the tent and was grabbing that staff he always used to blow things up.
"Merlin!" He called and gestures to his wife "Do you see this?" He asked. Merlin blinked and turned to look at where Arthur was gesturing to Freya.
"Yeah? She looks great." He shrugged and turned to Freya "You look great."
"No," Arthur said flatly "Merlin. Your wife is apparently about to go into battle. Is there nothing you’d like to say about that?" He asked. Immediately, Merlin’s eyes widened and Arthur felt a jab of satisfaction at the panic on his face as the realization hit.
"I didn’t forget!" He objected with a glare at Arthur before kissing her check "Good luck. Love you."
For the love of God.
“She is not going to fight!" He finally burst out. Merlin tilted his head.
"Why not?"
"Merlin. Freya. Both of you listen to me. Please." Arthur said, clasping his hands in front of him. "I love you both but do you really think she’s suited for this? Merlin, you are barely suited for this and we both know if I had my way that you would be casting spells far, far away from the actual fighting. You expect me to be okay with this?" He asked. Both stared at him for a moment before breaking into synchronized laughter.
"She isn’t going to be throwing a sword around, Arthur. She’ll be with the archers, obviously." Merlin said, gesturing to the bow over her shoulder. "She’s a really good shot."
Arthur didn’t believe that for a second...But he also didn’t have time to argue.
"I...Fine. Just make sure she’s as far away as possible." He sighed and figured he could maybe enlist Gwen to watch her back as she played around with arrows.
It wasn’t until they were fighting that the pieces clicked.
"...she’s using her bastet sight, isn’t she?" He asked breathlessly as another arrow hit a man square in the forehead before exploding and taking out a few other men nearby. Merlin smirked from where he was waving his hands like an idiot. "And she enchanted the arrows."
"Did you know cats can see in the dark? We can do this all night!" He said and shot a bolt of lightning across the field. Arthur glanced back. Sure enough, he could see Freya settled next to his other archers, eyes blown wide with gold and catlike pupils. She paused for a moment before putting an arrow down to wave at him again.
"Your wife is such a dork." He decided and Merlin laughed.
"She’s the best, right?"
"You’re a dork too."
It was later - much, much later that Arthur learned that Freya could also access her bastet powers enough to get grow claws and fangs on command. This was also apparently news to Freya since the first time it happened she looked down at her hand and screamed for a solid two minutes. Then Merlin came in and started freaking out too. A visiting druid had to walk over and calm them all down. Definitely embarrassing for everyone involved.
So, yeah, Arthur stood by his statement that they were both dorks.
It was Gwaine's idea.
Obviously, it was Gwaine's idea because Gwaine was an idiot. Still, Arthur supposed he should be asking who the idiot really was considering that they all went along with it.
"Please, Freya? Please?"
"I don't understand," She said as she looked at them blankly "You...Want me to...Bring you a panther?" She asked, tilting her head. "Why?"
"Um," Gwaine clicked his tongue in outrage "Because it's a panther?"
"Ignore him. He's stupid." Elyan rectified and sat down next to the sorceress in the pile of flowers she was currently braiding together "We just think that it would be useful in battle." He reasoned. From Freya's other side, Leon winced. Aside from Gwen and Merlin, Leon had become Freya's closest friend in Camelot. Arthur supposed it was hard for him not to eventually grow to like her. He was a traditional knight who was taught to be very polite to every lady he met. This meant that when Freya needed someone to help her pick berries or surprise Merlin with something or another, Leon almost always volunteered. Eventually, he started joining her without being asked and then he just began to search her out for company. They were a strange pair. Freya often liked to bring over various cats for him to hold while she braided his hair and in exchange, he taught her how to use various crossbows and knives while helping perfect her archery skills.
"You cannot use an animal to aid your battle." Freya gasped, putting a hand over her heart. "It's not a solider! I only call upon them when the situation is hopeless without them - as a last resort." She said firmly, fixing them all with a hard scowl.
"Oh..." Gwaine paused and looked at the others. "Well, um, do you know any panthers that would want to join us in battle?" He tried.
"Maybe another fire breathing cat?" Percival suggested. The rest of the group nodded vehemently in agreement.
"Ooh...yes! Yes, one of those!" Gwaine said excitedly. Freya wrinkled her nose as she considered.
"Well...Clawdia is part sphinx so she knows some pretty good riddles.."
"Claudia?"
"No, Claw-dia," Freya said with a wave of her hand. "Like, claws? Get it?" She giggled. Leon smiled fondly as Gwaine snorted in amusement. Arthur sighed. He couldn't stand them. "Anyways, I don't think she would be good... Oh! I have a lynx named Merlin. Though that may be confusing with the other Merlin..." She frowned and snapped her fingers "Ah, but Merlin wouldn't want to fight - Cat-Merlin, I mean - lynxes have psychic abilities so he'd probably consider it cheating to choose a side when he already knows the outcome." She mused. Elyan tilted his head.
"You named a cat after Merlin? Why?"
Freya grinned.
"When my Merlin gets annoyed he looks like a lynx...Plus, whenever I start talking to Cat-Merlin he thinks I'm talking to him. It's fun." She shrugged. The knights all looked at one another.
"Well, bring Merlin the lynx around to our next training so we can use him to torture your husband too," Arthur told her. Freya gave a stoic nod before sitting up in excitement.
"OH! I know who you can bring. Come on." She said, standing up and skipping across the courtyard. "His name is Bubbles." She added over her shoulder. Gwaine pouted as he mouthed 'Bubbles' over his shoulder with clear disappointment. Arthur shrugged. He wasn't going to underestimate this mystery cat. Freya once got frustrated and accidentally summoned a bunch of wildcats which had been terrifying. Turns out she named them things that ranged from 'Buttercup' to 'Sir Abigor Destroyer of Fire and Rain' (that had been a weird one to hear her coo affectionately). So yeah. Bubbles could be a cute little tabby or a huge, terrifying lion. There was really no telling.
It also made Arthur a little nervous that this Bubbles who was willing to fight in a war was being kept in his castle because that was where Freya was leading them. In fact, she led them straight to her and Merlin's rooms. Merlin himself was sprawled on the bed, nose buried deep in a book. He glanced up with a smile when he saw Freya only to stick his tongue out when he saw the rest of them filing in.
"Hi Merlin," Arthur smiled. Merlin narrowed his eyes.
"Hi-"
"Oh, I was talking to Merlin the lynx." Arthur cut him off and fixed him with a smug smirk "Perhaps we should call you human-Merlin to keep there from being confusion." He said, tapping a finger to his chin. Merlin, for his part, looked absolutely devastated.
"Freya-" He started to complain as he got up, but Leon merely pushed him back down.
"Not now, human-Merlin."
"Seriously? You can't-"
"Please, human-Merlin." Elyan said, sitting at the edge of the bed to throw a hand around his shoulders "Freya is showing us something." He said. At that moment, Freya knelt next to the bed as well, peering underneath to smile and whisper something that sounded...Well, it didn't sound human. It was a low purring sound that made Arthur a little nervous to be around her.
At her call, a paw appeared from underneath the bed, making everyone jump.
"Aw, Hell yes!" Gwaine yelled when the creature slithered out from under the bed "YES! This is Bubbles?!" He asked excitedly. Arthur blinked. Bubbles... Was very big. How did he even fit under that bed? It looked like a panther, but its fur was pure white and eyes an almost violent shade of red. It let out a low purr, curling around Freya protectively before going over to nudge Merlin's leg.
...There was something incredibly disturbing about seeing such a massive, dangerous creature act so passive around seemingly weak-looking people. Arthur had thought so when he saw Merlin use his dragonlord powers for the first time and had a similar feeling now as Freya kissed the tip of Bubbles' nose.
"This is him. He loves some bloodshed so he shouldn't mind battle. Also, you should be very careful around him. His bite is venomous." She warned. Gwaine gave what appeared to be a prayer before giving a delighted laugh and moving forward to pet him. Bubbles snapped his jaws and immediately the knight screamed and jumped into Merlin's lap.
"Human-Merlin, help!" He screeched. Merlin made a face and dumped him to the ground.
"You look exhausted."
Arthur smiled a bit as he glanced up from his place at the edge of the lake to find Freya standing beside him, hair free from its usual braids. He moved over for her to sit next to him.
"Your husband is driving me crazy." He told her as she plopped down and put a foot in the water.
"Morgana again?" She asked and Arthur nodded with a sigh. "Yeah... I know," She said gently and tilted her head back to look at the stars above them. "What's bothering you exactly? Do you not think he can win?" She asked and brought her eyes back to look at him. "Or are you worried that he will?" She asked, voice going impossibly soft towards the end. Arthur closed his eyes.
"Why does he want to fight her so badly?" He asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's not like him."
"He's just tired of being afraid all the time," Freya said, fingers digging into the ground next to her "He's given up on getting her back. He wants to end it." She said and bit her lip. "I think... He's worried about... The future." She said slowly. Arthur turned to frown at her. "Last month, there was a moment where I thought I might have been..." She trailed off and Arthur blinked. Oh. Oh. "Yeah," She smiled, reading his expression. "It should have been exciting, but he could not keep himself from worrying about it. About having something else that Morgana can take from us. From you and Guinevere one day." She said and tugged at the loose end of her hair.
"Well... He does have a point." He said and went quiet for a moment "You know, when I was younger I always thought I would have to worry about Morgana trying to spoil my kids. Not murder them." He admitted, feeling a deep bitterness run through him. Freya nodded.
"I'm sorry. It must hurt."
"It will...Get better." He said, not really believing the words as he said them. Freya's eyes softened. "I never apologized to you," He said suddenly. "About what you went through. The bounty hunter and hiding and being cursed and me trying to kill you." He said and took another breath. "And your family. I'm sorry. None of it would have ever happened if it weren't for me and my father." He said. Freya bit her lip, gaze turning back to the lake as she seemed to mull over the words for a few moments.
"My mother," She began slowly "Was a very renown seer among the druids. Though she wasn't very forthcoming with what she saw of the future. I sometimes wonder if she saw her own death...Or maybe my father's and sister's...Or perhaps if she saw what was to happen to me." She said thoughtfully, brows coming together. "If she did, she never warned me. One night she came in and kissed me before telling me that I didn't deserve any of it, but I guess I can't be certain she saw my fate. Maybe she saw what came after too. Merlin and Gwen and Lancelot and Leon and... Well, all of you." She smiled and shook her head "I could never blame you, Arthur. You've done right by your conscious too many times for me to. And, I think, if I were as skilled of a seer as my mother was... I wouldn't be able to find a future where you didn't do the best you could." She shrugged and Arthur had to look away at that. "Though you should be apologizing for telling me I had no friends that one time-"
"You ruined the moment." He groaned but gave her a small smile anyways. "I'm sorry. You have plenty of friends now...And speaking of friends, will you help me convince Merlin not to try and face Morgana anytime soon?" He asked, sitting up. "Just...Hold off on any potential baby creating action until I figure out how to deal with her so he doesn't have a crisis about it." He added with a shake of his head at Merlin's ridiculous antics. Freya laughed.
"No promises. He's super cute. Plus, have you seen him in those new robes?"
"Gross."
"Come on," She said, standing up "We should head back to the castle...You never know what kind of things lurk around here at night." She smiled and he rolled his eyes as he let her pull him up. "I hear rumors that sorceresses with eyes of silver and hair of butterflies are seen here."
Arthur laughed.
"Those are just myths." He said, dusting off his pants. "Nobody would believe you if you saw one." He said and Freya's smile widened a bit as she lifted her dress out of the mud before fixing him with a serious look.
"I've seen something far more rare here once." She told him and Arthur paused. He couldn't tell if she was serious or not. "It was a long time ago though..." She mused, shaking her head. "You would think I'm lying for sure..." She trailed off, eyes dancing back across the lake. Arthur made a face before taking the bait.
"Try me." He said and Freya turned back to take a long breath.
"I saw a prince here once. His hair was spun gold with sun's rays and eyes bluer than the ocean-"
"You just think you are so funny, don't you?"