Let me know what you like about this, what you want to read next chapter, etc. I'd like to know what you think and what I can improve on.

I've played around a bit with timelines and other details. It's set while Arthur is king, but the sword is still in the lake, and he apparently hasn't had to take it out of the stone. Imagine Merlin threw it back to Freya instead of sticking it in a stone. Morgana, by the way, is evil. I'm going to say this is set in a season four AU, maybe? My first AU. I could get used to this.

It's odd how much Merlin/Freya I write, considering that I headcanon Merlin to be asexual. If you want me to write about that, I would be more than happy to. I think Merlin was more in love with the idea of playing the hero and not having to hide than he was in love with her.

If you have an idea for a oneshot you're too lazy or too busy to write, or there's a situation you've always wanted to read but never have, review or PM me. I've got an urge to write but no topic, which is pointless and frustrating. I've asked people in my life, and they've suggested that I write about Merlin using flatware dangerously on a plane, which is not exactly what I'm looking for.

Also, for my other story (a Harry Potter story) I need a prank that two immature eleven-year-olds would think was a slightly cruel but effective way to humiliate someone they hated quite a bit. I don't even care if you read my story, just review with a prank. The clever and incredibly orignal title is Marauders: Year One. Seriously, though, I don't care if you read it or not, I just need a prank to write the next chapter.

He stared down into the lake, concentrating hard. The water was glassy, still, and liquid magic, though that last detail was only known because the lake's magic was constantly promising magic-users a safe place to rest. Merlin, being quite a skilled magic-user, could practically feel the ground vibrate with it, and he could sense that she was there and listening.

"I know you're in there," he said in a clear voice that he imagined was just as clear to her. "I'm just trying this - it's Samhain, and the veil between our world is very thin. I've seen you here before, remember? The sword I put where none could wield it? Well, I figured that for one night a year, we could probably see each other, given what we've both sacrificed on the chance that I can do my job properly. If you're there, and I know you are, come and speak to me."

There was a long silence, where the only sounds were Merlin's steady breathing and the whisper of wind through the grass. Then, the water rippled in the centre of the lake, until a woman rose from the depths with tangled hair and a sword. Her dress was damp but not dripping as she walked out towards him, and her eyes were fixed on him. Her pale skin shone in the moonlight.

"I knew you could hear me," Merlin said quietly, grinning. "I've missed you."

"And I you," Freya replied, walking out of the lake barefoot to stand in front of him for a moment, then murmured, "So which of us kisses the other first? I don't have long here, you know."

He laughed, still hardly able to believe that he had called her to the living world. "I'm too busy wondering why you have the sword here with you. Why'd you bring it out?"

"It's time to give it to Arthur," she replied, admiring the sword for what she obviously knew would be the last time. "He's ready. Your destiny is coming quite a bit sooner than you think, Merlin. I don't know all of the details, but there's something they'll see that will reveal you as Emrys, and from there, Albion will become either a reality or an unfulfilled prophecy."

Merlin froze. "They'll see me?"

"It's destiny, my love," Freya told him with a smile. She stuck the sword in the soft ground and leaned on it to look up at him. "You've had experiences with trying to change destiny before."

"Don't remind me," he muttered bitterly, then shook his head. "Anyways. You're here. Let's forget our destinies for a while."

He kissed her, slowly, and the only thing that mattered in the world was her. They might have stood there for days, for all he cared about Camelot in that moment, and he wasn't sure that they didn't.

"You really have missed me," Freya remarked, smiling just as much as he was.

"You have no idea," he told her, remembering weeks of trying to hide how miserable he felt after she had died. "How have you been?"

She shrugged, taking his hands in hers casually, as if every touch didn't mean the world to both of them. Her hands were cool and smooth. "Dead and stuck at the bottom of a lake isn't the ideal way to live, but it's better than being cursed. My role as guardian of Avalon lets me see parts of what's to come, and when we talk of destiny, you and Arthur are nearly always mentioned."

"As Emrys and the Once and Future King, or as Merlin and Arthur?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

Freya sighed. "The former. You'll be revealed quite soon, and I've seen parts of what could be coming. Brace yourself, my love; it won't be easy for you no matter what course events take."

"Is it ever?" He muttered, and she laughed, a sound he wished he could listen to forever. "I mean, thanks for being a little less cryptic than that damned dragon, but are there any more details you can tell me?"

She stared straight into his eyes, completely serious. "This is not the last time you will see me in the days to come. I might be able to be a bit clearer then. At this point, it's hard to warn you without causing too much trouble with destinies and all that. All I can tell you is that Arthur will find out about your magic and your combined destinies, and his reaction - and the reaction of the Knights of the Round Table - will shape Camelot's future."

He sighed, taking a step nearer to her. She did the same, walking forwards until they were so close he may as well have been holding her.

"Every time I see you, it feels like my heart is being torn in two," he murmured to her, trying to memorise her scent and the way she breathed even though she didn't need to.

"Oh, Merlin, my love," Freya whispered, sounding anguished. He put her arms around her, and she leaned in, obviously trying not to cry on his neckerchief. "What are we to do?"

He laughed quietly, wishing he could reply differently. "We can try to make this work. We have so far, haven't we? The tragic romance of the immortal Emrys and the dead Lady of the Lake?"

They held each other, and for a few minutes, the world stopped around them. Merlin's chest ached with sadness, and he stroked her wet, tangled hair and rubbed her back soothingly as she sobbed a few times in his arms.

"I only have so long," she told him, finally breaking away, and they stared at each other for a long moment through the blur of their tears. "I will see you soon, my love."

Freya took another step back, tears finally spilling over and rolling down her cheeks. She reluctantly walked backwards, gazing at him as the water covered more and more of her. "Be careful."

"I always am," he replied, and they both laughed like their hearts were breaking before the water went over her head.

Merlin kept laughing until he was sobbing. After a few minutes, he straightened his posture, wiped his face, and, with a deep breath, turned around to find some people he'd rather not see at that moment crouching in a bush behind the lake.

"I can explain, I swear I can, if you'll only give me a chance," he said quickly, as any sense of calm he had felt vanished on the spot.