"You.. Remembered.."

"O-of course."

He said it with a smile. The best smile he could possibly muster. He smiled trying to fool himself; trying to deceive himself; trying to convince himself everything would be OK. She would be alright. She wasn't going to die. But anyone could see that his smile was in vain, that nothing could hide the unbearable pain he felt at that moment. He tried to laugh, but to his dismay, the only sound that left his lips was a broken croak. The fantasy he had swirling around his mind was crumbling around him, and he, the most powerful sorcerer who ever lived, Emrys, was powerless to stop it. His smile disappeared as he felt the heart beneath him begin to slow, the bloody wound sucking the life out of this innocent girl. "I'm so sorry for what that sorcerer did to you.." He choked, tears filled with sadness and guilt beginning to swell up in his azure eyes.

"Merlin, you have nothing to be sorry for." She whispered, and he clung to her every word, fearing it may be the last time he heard her honey-sweet voice. It was all his fault; he should have got her out of Camelot long before any of this happened. He had been being selfish, keeping her within the catacombs so he could stay by her side. It was too late when he had finally decided to go with her. He was Merlin wasn't he? Destined for greatness? Then why had he not been able to protect her; to rid her of this terrible curse that plagued her. He had sworn to look after her. He had promised her, no matter what happened he would protect her. He had to stay strong; to make sure he didn't frighten or sadden her further; he had to make sure he didn't cry. He must do anything but cry.

But he felt so weak; so helpless. The mountains, the wild flowers, the fields, the cows and the lake; it was all gone. "There must be something I can do.. Some way to save you.." He was completely and utterly desperate. He didn't notice the single watery drip falling onto his cheek. He didn't notice the soft trickle of teardrops descending from the early-dawn clouds above their heads. He didn't notice the droplets rippling the placid lake's surface and disappearing into the depths of Avalon. He didn't notice when they began to mingle with the tears now rolling down his cheeks. The only thing that made his rigid body stir was the soft whispering of the fragile girl lying in his arms. "You've already saved me.." He felt his heart beat faster as hers began to slow, and hated himself more and more, because it was not true. He had not saved her. He had let her down. She was dying, here, in his arms. He watched her lips as if his life depended on it as she uttered the next words. "..You made me feel loved."

His heart stopped. There were so many things he still wanted to say to her, things he wanted to do with her, share with her. When he was with her he felt so alive; so free. He felt emotions he had never felt before. And he knew that this was truly what it meant to be loved. And suddenly, he was crouching over her, sobbing into her chest. Those words meant so much to him, and it drove an icy blade through his heart a thousand times over to know that the person who had said them was dying in his arms.

He lifted his head to look up into her shining mahogany eyes, brimming with tears. He wiped his own away to look at her face just one more time. Her beautiful dark hair framed her soft, beautiful face perfectly. Her sweet aroma, like rain and spiced apple, filled his nostrils. Her skin was completely smooth, like flower petals of a perfect red rose. She sighed deeply, slipping further and further was panicking; hoping; wishing; pleading that the gods would take him instead. "I don't want you to go!" He said frantically, rocking her body from side to side, running his fingers through her dark brown hair. His breathing was rapid as her breaths bacame deeper, more shallow, as if accepting that they were her last. He shook her as his tears fell freely now; he knew that this would be the last sentence he would ever hear her say. "One day, Merlin, I will repay you. I promise.."

And just like that, she was gone. He stared at her for a few moments, not believing it was really true. He whispered her name, hoping without hope that she was just sleeping. He whispered again, and again, and again until, finally, he burst into heart wrenching sobs, hugging her limp body, not daring to let go. No, please, no.. P-Please...

The rain came pouring down onto him; soaking him to the bone. But he didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore. All he wanted was to have her again, feel her again, talk to her again, laugh with her again. He whispered her name into her ear over and over, as if it were a spell to bring her back, but he knew it was no use. All he could do was let everything out; let his tears flow like the waters of the lake.

"Astyre." He whispered, with a tremble in his voice and a flash of gold shooting through his eyes. He watched as the bed of flowers descended towards the center of the lake. But just as the spell had been cast, he decided that, actually, he didn't want it to go. Taking a few steps after it into the water he was able to control himself and halt just before the waters consumed his calves. Tears began to swell up in his eyes again. "Wæc-" He began, but again failed to fully finish his sentence. He shut his eyes, not thinking he could take the sight. Then, summing up all of the courage left in him and taking a deep breath, he said in the strongest tone he could muster: "Wæcce on sæbát bælfýr mæst."

When he opened his eyes he couldn't help but shed a tear watching the boat and the girl whom it guided to the afterlife burn in a wave of scarlet flames.

At times like this, when the night was dark and the rain was pouring against the window, he remembered her. He remembered the talks they had had and the kiss they had shared. He remembered their jokes and adventures. But most of all, he remembered her. Every detail. He remembered every single thing about her. He remembered her laugh, the adorable way she tucked her hair behind her ear, the way her eyes lit up when he showed her his magic. He remembered her breathtaking smile, beautiful voice, incredible body.

Sleep wouldn't come to him on nights like this.

And, if by some miracle it did, she would plague his dreams with both happiness and the deepest sorrow.

But, he supposed what he remembered most on nights like this, was that he could not even conger a simple strawberry for the woman he loved. And then, when he woke up, he would open his hand to find a single red rose, uttering just one word and one word alone.

"Freya."

"Blostma."

"That's not a strawberry.."

".. It's the right colour..?"

"Why are you so good to me?"

"I can't help it. I don't know. I like you. With you I can be just who I am. We don't have to hide anything. We don't have to worry."

"My home was next to a lake surrounded by the tallest mountains. In the winter the storms whipped up the water into waves and you thought they were going to crash down and take away all the houses. But in the summer… Wild flowers and… Light. It was like heaven."

"It sounds perfect."

"It was."

"Was..?"

"My family died."

"And you've been on your own ever since?"

"You're not on your own anymore. I'm going to look after you. I promise."

"I'm going to miss you."

"No you won't. Because I'm coming with you."

"What..?"

"I told you. I'm going to look after you."

"Merlin, don't say that, you can't."

"It's not what you want..?"

"… I want that more than anything. Where will we go?"

"Somewhere with mountains."

"A few fields."

"Wild flowers."

"A couple of cows."

"And a lake."

"..And a lake."

"They're going to find me. I can't go back in that cage, I can't..."

"Shh. I won't let that happen. I promised you I'd look after you, and I will. No matter what."

"..You really don't realize how special you are, do you?"