Another chapter! Unfortunately for Freya and Merlin, some complications are beginning to develop...

Just in case you need reminding, I don't own Merlin. Good? Good. Also, many thanks to Binnie-Bunny, who reminded me that I had a fanfiction to write. Enjoy reading, and if you leave a review, I will love you forever and always! :D

"We found a man dead, murdered by weapons that have been identified as yours. The blacksmith says he sold them to you only last month, and you have a history of small theft charges. So here's what I'm saying. You went to the warehouse to steal a few things, thinking it was deserted. But the merchant caught you, and you saw no other option but to violently stab him to death. Am I correct?"

The captain of the guard glared down at the prisoner in front of him, expecting an answer. The captive was really no more than a boy, maybe seventeen at most. He had a curly mane of red hair, and his many freckles stood out against his skin, turned pale white with fear.

"I said, am I correct?" the captain said menacingly, grasping him by the shoulders.

The boy gulped and nodded.

"I didn't mean to, sir. I swear I didn't. Please don't…don't kill me! I wasn't even thinking."

The captain released him and gave him a calculating look before saying, "Perhaps, if you're so eager to escape execution, we can strike a deal. You give us what we want, and we'll see what can be done about your sentence."

"Wha…what do you want?"

"Information. If you give us details about other serious crimes people you know have committed, we can get your name cleared. I'm sure you've heard of plenty of other dealings."

The boy's face lit up and he said, "Last week my uncle Albert stole three gold plates from the royal treasury! And his friend Robert who works at the inn took two bottles of wine from the king's own stores."

"Arrest both men at once," the captain commanded two guards standing at the door of the prison cell. Then, addressing the boy, he said, "Thank you for the tip. But I'm afraid that those stories aren't enough to set you free. Theft isn't much compared to a murder charge." The captain followed the guards out of the cell before the boy called him back.

"Wait! There's one more thing I know, but…" he hesitated, unsure of how to phrase his concern.

The captain interrupted his thoughts, "Any part you may have had in the crime will be disregarded if you confess now."

That was all the prompting the boy needed.

"A few months ago, one of my friends came to me, saying he had a job for me to do. I was surprised because he isn't normally the type for trouble, but he offered to pay me. A lot. He had me open a lock on some old lady's cage, just sitting out in the middle of the street. Later I heard she was a sorceress captured by a bounty hunter. I didn't know what she was at the time, but I think he did."

"Who was this friend of yours?" the captain asked, clearly interested in the case.

"It was Merlin. Prince Arthur's servant."

The captain's eyes widened, and he fumbled for the key ring on his belt. Unlocking the boy's chains, he said, "Pleasure doing business with you, Gavin. You're free to go now."

"We really need to get back to Camelot."

"Do we have to?" Merlin said, sounding like a whining small child.

"It's starting to get dark. If we don't hurry up, we'll be trapped out in the woods with no torch or food," Freya replied. She was right on both accounts. The sky was already tinted with the faint red hues of sunset, and they had eaten all the strawberries hours ago, leaving them with a foodless picnic.

"Okay, okay." Merlin reluctantly stood and started to fold up the sheet. "It was fun while it lasted."

"That was the most fun I've had in a long time," Freya said as they walked hand in hand out of the clearing. "Thank you, Merlin."

"You know, I actually first found this place when Arthur asked me to find a romantic spot where he could take girls. Apparently he thought he could better charm them in the forest."

"So we aren't the first couple to spend the day there?"

"Oh no. I'd say Arthur's probably taken a dozen girls to that clearing in the past few years. Every month he used to claim he was in love with a different one. Of course, that was before…" Merlin stopped mid-sentence, realizing that Arthur would kill him if his relationship with Guinevere became common knowledge. "Can you keep a secret?"

"No, I can't. It's not as though I have magic and the king could kill me at any second if he found out." Freya was quickly making it clear that she could rival even Merlin when it came to sarcasm.

"Right. Sorry. Anyway, Arthur and Gwen…fancy each other. They're not really together, but it's pretty obvious they want to be. Uther would have a fit if he found out."

"She's the girl who lent me this dress, right? They would make a cute couple!"

They walked quietly through the forest for a while, as the sky grew darker and darker. Merlin whistled as they went, with Freya humming along. She'd never learned to whistle, so it was the best she could do. Eventually, when Merlin took a break between tunes, she spoke.

"So, is that why you took me there today? To charm me, like Arthur does with all his girls?"

"Partly," Merlin said with a chuckle. "Did it work?"

"Well, you took me away from collecting herbs, got my hands horribly strawberry-stained, and are taking me home at a ridiculously late hour," She paused for a moment, reflecting on the many events of the day. "Yeah, it worked."

"Good. But that wasn't my only reason for inviting you. We were celebrating today."

"Celebrating? Celebrating what, exactly?"

"You're back! I thought you were dead, and I'd never see you again, but I was wrong. Also, you didn't turn into a giant cat last night, now did you?"

Freya's eyes widened. Somehow, she hadn't noticed it before, but he was right. By some miracle…

"My curse is gone. But…how? Why?"

She was free. No more innocent people would die because of her! She would never have to worry about hurting Merlin or Gwen or Gaius. She wouldn't ever be locked up in another cage, hating herself as much as her captors did.

As Merlin opened his mouth to answer her question, they stepped out of the forest, into the view of Camelot. And into the view of a group of guards.

"There he is!" one guard yelled. The men ran towards them, clutching their spears.

As the guards approached them, Freya whispered, "Merlin, what's wrong? Are we in trouble?" She instinctively stepped behind him. In the brief time they'd known each other, he'd always protected her. Surely he would make everything okay again.

But Merlin was as confused as she was.

Two guards roughly grabbed his arms and pulled him away from Freya. She yelled his name and vainly tried to grasp his shirt. The material tore out of her hands as they were separated.

"Why…? What happened? But…stop it!" Merlin tried to protest. The men capturing him were his friends, and they often drank together at the tavern. Why were they turning against him? Arthur had never gotten this angry when he'd skipped work before….

Merlin was pulled through the gates of Camelot and into the city, his scuffed boots dragging along the road. He could have walked, but the thought of doing so never even occurred to him. It wasn't in his nature to go quietly. He could hear Freya hurrying after him, but when she got too close to the caravan of guards, she was pushed back, landing in the dirt. Merlin wanted to strangle the man who did this to her and did his best to pull free. It was to no avail. His pitiful arm strength was nothing in comparison to the impressively muscular men holding him back.

"Where are we going?" he said one last time.

"To His Majesty's council chamber. You are under arrest for aiding in the escape of a known sorceress."

Damn it. How the hell do I get out of this?

A gentle knocking sounded on Gwen's front door.

"Just a minute!" she called as she finished up a few final stitches. She was making a new dress out of some lovely light blue fabric she'd purchased at the market. She had decided to make the neckline subtly lower, showing a bit more cleavage than she was accustomed to. She refused to admit that this choice had anything to do with Arthur, instead choosing to tell herself it was in response to more modern fashion trends.

After tying the final knot and taking a moment to admire her work, Gwen draped the dress over her kitchen chair and went to open the door.

"Miss Leodegrance?" the knight standing at her doorstep said in greeting.

"Sir Leon!" Gwen replied with a curtsey, remembering that all nobles were granted this customary gesture of respect. "Please come in."

"May I get you something to drink?" she asked, motioning for him to sit down.

He complied, saying, "No thank you. I have merely been sent to ask you a few questions."

Questions for me? She wasn't quite sure what he was getting at, but sat down opposite of him anyway.

"Do you happen to remember what you were doing on the night of February 25?"

Gwen racked her brain, but nothing jumped out at her about that date.

"Um, I can't say that I…"

"If it helps, it was the night that a sorceress was freed from a bounty hunter's cage. The guards searched every corner of Camelot, but no traces were found."

"Oh yes!" she said. "Now I remember. When the alarm bells sounded, I was mending one of Lady Morgana's gowns, waiting for Merlin to bring me some medicine. I had a very bad cold that week and finally asked Gaius to send him with a remedy."

As she spoke, she fiddled nervously with the hem of her sleeve. Surely she hadn't done anything suspicious, so why was she being questioned?

"Excuse me sir, but am I in trouble for something?"

"Oh no," Sir Leon said with a friendly smile. "We're doing some further investigation into the matter, but you aren't a suspect. Now, for reference, did you receive the cold remedy that night?"

Relieved, Gwen replied, "Yes I did. Merlin arrived about ten minutes later, before I was even finished with the mending."

"And did he give a reason for keeping you waiting that long?"

"Well, yes sir. He said Arthur—I mean, the prince—had kept him very late that night finishing up some chores."

Sir Leon looked briefly puzzled by Gwen's usage of Arthur's first name, but didn't pursue that train of thought. Gwen thanked any god that might exist that he didn't question her, and mentally rebuked herself for that dangerous slip up. Sometimes she found it hard to remember her place.

"Well, Miss Leodegrance," he said, standing up, "I believe that is all. You have been very helpful."

I have?

She curtseyed as the knight left, his last statement puzzling her. Unable to decode his meaning, she sat back down and picked up the dress, carefully examining it for any loose threads. Once she'd confirmed the quality of her sewing, she slipped it on. It was difficult to get an accurate reflection in the small hand mirror passed down from her mother, but Gwen was very pleased with what she could see. Secretly she wondered what Arthur would think when he saw her. A small smile graced her features as she thought of the man she lov—fancied.

As she pondered the prince's many attributes, she heard a commotion coming from the streets. She could hear the loud clanking of guardsmen's chain mail, and several voices shouting at once. For a moment she considered going outside to investigate, but just this once she was content to stay wrapped up in a daydream.

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