Betrayed and Broken

Lost

AAAAAA

"Are we there yet?" Gwaine whined from his place to the left of Merlin. Arthur ground his teeth. This was the fifth time Gwaine had asked that question in the last half hour. The king knew that he shouldn't have told him that they were close.

Arthur's head was reeling. He had just listened to Merlin go on and on about all the different countries he visited and all the things he could do now. He even showed them some of the things he could do, glancing underhand at Arthur as if to say, I dare you to stop me. That wasn't even the worst part. For some strange reason (because Arthur was most definitely over the traitor's betrayal by now), it grated on his nerves when he heard Merlin talking about all the different kings, queens, princes, and princesses that he had been royal advisor to, or servant of, or best friend of. For each name that Merlin listed, Arthur had a brief moment when he wanted to shout why can't you be my royal advisor, my servant, my best friend? But he didn't, and he wouldn't because he was over Merlin and he didn't need the sorcerer.

Then the blonde haired king saw an opening in the trees and grinned to himself. He answered Gwaine, "Yes, Sir Gwaine, we are there." He found it humorous that everyone sped up their horses to get to the clearing. Merlin was the first one to shoot off, sending his horse careening toward the lake.

Then, halfway to the lake, the sorcerer froze. Everyone moved their horses in behind him to see what was wrong, but Arthur couldn't see anything. He called out hesitantly, "Merlin?"

Merlin didn't appear to hear him, choosing instead to get off his horse, his eyes glued to the lake like it was his lifeline. He started walking closer. Lancelot and Gwaine swung off of their horses, suddenly serious, with Lancelot calling, "Merlin? Merlin! What's going on?"

"Freya?" The former manservant's voice broke halfway through the word as he waded into the water. He stopped when he was knee deep in the water. Arthur and the others heard Gaius gasp at the name, his wrinkled hand coming up to cover his mouth. Arthur was about to ask what was going on when the lake started to twist and ripple, centering at a spot about ten feet away from Merlin. The king took an unconscious step forward to help him, but stopped when he heard Merlin's breath catch in his throat. The whole group stood frozen as the lake formed a shape.

When the shape had smoothed out, Arthur saw that it was a woman. She was pale with large chocolate brown eyes and waist length, silky black hair. She was wearing a purple dress that looked fit for a princess. Arthur noticed offhandedly that she was walking on water. Her eyes were focused entirely on Merlin's still form.

Arthur had the strangest feeling like he had no idea who this woman was, but he did at the same time. Besides, he had to know her if Merlin was looking at her the way he was. Well, he might have met her in Ealdor. Maybe she was the person who taught him magic since she was obviously a sorceress with her coming out of a lake and walking on water and all that. He watched as she stepped forward a reached a hand out toward Merlin's face, gently cupping his cheek as she whispered, "Merlin."

He leaned into her touch put his hand on top of hers, saying, "Freya."

The girl, Freya, smiled delightedly at him and Arthur could practically feel the love coming off them in waves. He reached over and held onto Gweneviere's hand. Then Freya looked around and saw the rest of the group, who were watching in slight awe. She smiled again and pulled Merlin to sit in the shallowest part of the water with her. She gestured for the others to come sit on the shore around them. They did.

There was a long pause of silence and Arthur was just starting to get fidgety when Freya said, "Hello, I'm Freya as I imagine you gathered. In your prophecies, I am known as the Lady of the Lake. I guard Avalon and I, when it was still here, guarded Excalibur."