So I know that my wife Lily published this story before, (She's a Diamond in the Rough) but she wanted the linebreakers fixed. She's in hospital and I'm with her so I have nothing to do...so here it is. Lily's going to be ok now, btw.

It was the day of the summer solstice.

Merlin had been collecting Arthur's ceremonial robes for washing. That day, festivities were to be held in Camelot, as they were every summer and winter solstice. Yet the summer solstice was the more important and lively day, for there was fresh food to eat instead of what had been stored in granaries.

"Merlin, for heaven's sake," said Arthur in exasperation, "I need those washed today, not tomorrow. How can I preside over the ceremonies today without them?"

"The same way you preside over anything without them. And why didn't you ask me to wash them yesterday?"

"Just go, Merlin."

So Merlin did go, deciding that he would have to use magic to dry the robes once they had been washed. On his way to wash the robes, he went down the hallway in which were Gaius's rooms, where he and Gaius stayed. As he passed, Merlin saw that Gwen was there, helping Gaius with something.

"What are you doing?" he called from the door.

"Oh, Merlin! Thank heaven." Gaius answered.

"What is it?"

"There is a young woman here in the sickroom in labor, and she is having a very hard time of it," sighed Gaius. "I fear she'll not live. Go down to the edge of the woods and find some sticklewood. It will ease the pain."

Forgetting the robes he held, Merlin dropped them at the foot of the door and ran down across the grounds. In twenty minutes, he had found a sizeable clump of sticklewood, and he returned to the citadel more slowly, tired out with his run to the woods.

However, all was well when he returned to Gaius's rooms. In a whisper Gwen told him that the birth was finished and the mother would not die.

"Fetch me some ragwort from the cupboard, will you, Merlin?" asked Gaius.

Merlin at once picked out a jar labeled ragwort-but it was empty.

"It's empty, Gaius."

"Oh, dear," said Gaius. "I will need to go myself if the tincture is to have its full power. The ragwort needs to be collected by the one who makes the tincture. Stay here, and steep the sticklewood in a brew for the mother. And what is that heap of red cloth outside the door?"

"Arthur's ceremonial robes," said Merlin.

"I'll take them to wash," said Gwen quickly. "And you should get her some blankets, Merlin. She will be cold."

After putting the sticklewood in hot water, Merlin went upstairs to get blankets from his room. He opened the door of the sickroom, and promptly swayed on the spot, clutching the door for support.

It could not be.

It could not be Freya Linden, who had died in his arms, the only woman he had or would ever love.

"Merlin," she said softly. She was as pale as death. By her side was a tiny bundle, but her eyes were only for Merlin, who knelt by her with tears in her eyes.

"I thought you were dead," he said.

"Did I not promise I would repay you, someday?" she said with a smile. Suddenly, a shiver made her tremble all over, and Merlin placed the baby in the basket by the bed, lifting Freya into his arms, wrapping her with the blankets he had brought. Quietly, she fell asleep, her shivering ceasing, her breathing becoming even.

He had so many questions to ask her. How was it that she was here, in Camelot? Was she alive, when he had seen her dying? Was she still cursed? And did their daughter have magic? It was all bewildering, but suddenly Merlin, too, fell asleep, holding Freya close to him as if he would never let her go.

Half an hour later, Arthur was storming about the castle looking for Merlin. He asked everyone he met if they had seen Merlin, but he did not meet anyone who did.

"Perhaps he has gone to Gaius's chambers," he muttered in irritation.

The door was open, as it had been when Merlin had arrived earlier. Through the hinge of the open sickroom door, Arthur could make out a shock of black hair and a red scarf. He entered the room, stopping short at what he saw; Merlin, asleep on the small bed. . . in his arms, head on his shoulder, was a girl. She looked a little younger than Merlin, perhaps eighteen or nineteen. She was ghostly pale, and even in sleep, clutched Merlin's hands. Something about her face seemed familiar to Arthur, but he could not place it now. It seemed that the girl was ill, or had just been ill, yet she had not been here yesterday.

Immediately, Arthur thought of sausages. Surprised, he discarded the thought.

He intended to wait here until Merlin awoke. He was sure that Merlin would wake, but he did not; and soon Arthur heard the bang of the door heralding Gaius's return.

"Where is Merlin?" asked Gaius. "And what are you doing here, Arthur?"

"Merlin," said Arthur slowly, "is in the sickroom fast asleep."

"What? I told him-" Gaius saw the strange spectacle, and noted the tears on Merlin's face. He cast a glance about the room for the child, and then saw she was fast asleep in her basket.

"Whoever this girl is, Merlin seems to know her," said Arthur.

"I would say he certainly does. Come, Arthur, do not wake them. The girl needs her sleep."

"Is she ill?"

"She delivered a child about an hour past," said Gaius. "Perhaps she is Merlin's sister."

"I didn't know he had a sister."

"We will wait until Merlin and the girl wake," said Gaius firmly. "Guinivere has taken your robes to be washed, so do not fret about them."

Arthur sighed.

"All right. I will wait here. Do you need anything?"

"Yes, I do. Build that fire. I need hot water. And once you do that, start gathering the ingredients for the poultice. The recipe is on the table."

So Arthur stayed, doing Gaius's bidding for a good two hours. By the end of it, he was tired and hungry; it was eight o' clock. As he was about to go and fetch breakfast for himself and for Gaius, they heard voices in the sickroom.

"I promise I will come back room. You do know I will be back?"

"Yes, Merlin. Thank you." This was a girl's voice. "And before you ask about it, I am not, no longer."

"I thought I had lost you," said Merlin, his voice queerly thick. "Thank you."

Then he emerged, to find Arthur and Gaius staring at him. From the look in Gaius's eyes, he had guessed a good deal of it, and Arthur was merely confused.

"So, Merlin, how is your sister?"

"My sister?" he said, looking blankly at Arthur.

"The girl in the sickroom. You were sleeping with her in your arms. Who is she?"

"Not my sister," said Merlin, his face flaming.

"Then who is she?"

"A girl I met a long time ago." Merlin rushed from the room with a book.

"Where is he going?"

"I don't know," sighed Gaius.

Merlin ran down to the great underground caverns close by the lake. Quietly making his way through the caverous passages which lead to the great cave in which Kilgarrah lived, a thought suddenly hit him. The baby was his daughter; and he was her father, Freya her mother.

He had not time to think more. He had arrived, to find Kilgarrah's great eyes staring solemnly.

"I understand, young warlock," said Kilgarrah slowly, "that the Lady of the Lake is no longer in the lake."

"No. She isn't."

"And what is it that you have come to see me about?"

Merlin spoke in a rush. "I want to know if my daughter will have magic."

"Your daughter, young warlock? Nowhere has it been foretold that you should have an heir. And the child's mother is the Lady herself, is she not?"

"Yes."

"She will," said the dragon. "Like you, young warlock, your daughter was born with magic. You must hide her from others as much as you can until she is a month old. Then her magic will recede until she has passed three years, and will become voluntary for her to use. Until she is three years old, she will not be able to use wordless magic."

"And Freya? Is she alive, or is she dead?"

"Every year, following the Summer Solstice, she may remain away from the lake for three months," said the dragon. "Then she must return to the water, for she is bound to it in a way even I have no knowledge to describe."

"Thank you," said Merlin, and rushed from the cave.

Gaius was waiting for him when he returned.

"Merlin," he said slowly, "Is that the Druid girl who turned into a Bastet due to a curse?"

"Yes, Gaius." said Merlin. "She is, but she is no longer cursed."

"And the baby?"

"Yes, I am her father," said Merlin. The words sounded queer on his tongue.

"And the girl. . . I thought she was dead."

"So did I."

But Gaius said nothing more of the matter. A week later, at night, Merlin was sitting on the floor at Freya's bedside.

"What will we name her?"

"Ania," said Freya.

Something irritated Arthur about the way that Merlin was ever-absent. Gwen said that he was often with Freya, the girl whose infant daughter had been born only days before. She had healed quickly, and when he yet again saw Merlin and Freya disappearing into the woods, he decided to follow them.

Merlin hasn't an idea what he's doing, thought Arthur. The child's father will be returneing for her. Gwen said so, she heard Freya say it.

He saw that Merlin was spreading a blanket for Freya to sit on. She leaned back against his shoulder, Ania in her arms.

"It is so beautiful," she sighed. "Though I have been here now since last September, it never looks any less beautiful to me."

Merlin kissed Freya and smiled.

"Neither do you."

Arthur could scarcely keep from rolling his eyes. Merlin was acting like a lovesick puppy. Then he saw the way that Merlin held Ania; as if she was his, the same way he held Freya.

Could it be?

What the two said next convinced him of this, and intrigued him so that he nearly betrayed his hiding place in his eagerness to listen.

"What day do you want for the wedding?"

"Quietly. In the chapel," smiled Freya. "Tomorrow."

"And Ania will hold your train."

Marriage? Merlin has lost his mind. If, of course, he ever had a mind to lose.

"Whenever I look at her, I still find it hard to believe that she is my daughter," breathed Merlin. "She is so perfect, Freya. . ."

"She has your eyes," said Freya, looking down with Merlin into the child's face. "And your hair. But my face."

"For a moment, I thought Arthur had recognized you," said Merlin, in a quieter, more somber tone. "Something in his voice, when I came out of the room that day Ania was born. I am terribly afraid that he will find out, Freya. Please, try to avoid him. For my sake."

"I do not think he will remember me," said Freya, so quietly that Arthur crept yet closer to hear. Then she smiled. "And he only thinks of me as baby Ania's mother."

Arthur suddenly realized he had heard that voice before. But it had been different then. Begging him, pleading. . .for what? The girl was not even of age. He would never hurt any woman in cold blood, unless she was a sorceress.

"And Ania? What of her after you must go back?"

"You will keep her," said Freya wistfully. "I cannot bring her back with me until she is as old as I was when I met you. . .which was seventeen."

"I will wait for you until you come back."

"There's still two months until I must go," said Freya. Then she tried to stand, only to go ashen and fall to the ground.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes."

Together, Merlin and Freya returned to the castle, Freya leaning on Merlin's arm for support. Even Arthur could see she fought tears at every step, not of pain, he knew.

"So, Merlin," said Arthur. "You finally decided to come back to work."

Merlin did not answer.

"Why? Is the wedding settled yet?"

Merlin looked up. In his eyes were incredulity and something Arthur could not place.

"I'm not blind, you know, Merlin. And your daughter Ania is beautiful. I was a fool not to have realized, your eyes looking straight back at me from her face when I helped Gaius with her." Arthur smiled. If only he and Gwen could marry and have a daughter like Ania. But that could never be; yet his heart had ached while he watched Merlin and Freya by the lake.

"How did you know?" asked Merlin in a whisper.

"Yes. And I am sure I have seen Freya before, somewhere. Can you tell me where?"

"No, you have not seen her." murmured Merlin.

"Yet I am sure I know her." mused Arthur.

The next day, Merlin and Freya were pledged as husband and wife. The wedding had been an odd one, but he would not have had it any other way; tiny Ania in his wife's arms, and Gaius and Arthur beaming.

Gwen and Morgana were the bridesmaids. The wedding bouquet had been caught by Arthur, and his and Gwen's faces both went pink. Yet somehow Arthur could not let go of his question. Who was Freya? Her voice he had heard, and he must have seen her before, but the voice he had heard was not the voice of this happy girl on Merlin's arm, their daughter held by him.

For their wedding trip, Merlin and Freya went to Ealdor. Hunith received Freya with open arms, and was Ania's willing slave at once, as Gwen, Morgana, and Gaius had been from the moment of Ania's birth. Reluctantly Arthur too had become as a servant to the baby, but he relented. Ania was Merlin's daughter, and had something of Merlin in her eyes. . .

When the two returned, Arthur watched them at the table. Freya was dressed in violet, a dress that had been Morgana's wedding present. On her feet were the slippers gifted by Gwen. Arthur's wedding gift had been a gold fillet set with a single amethyst, for he, like Morgana, had noted that all shades of purple suited Freya. Freya was not wearing the fillet, of course. Rather, it was clenched to Ania.

"You really do spoil her," said Arthur, hardly keeping from laughing. "It'll be about sixteen years before Ania can wear that."

Merlin looked down at the smiling baby with an answering smile. "She's certainly got the eyes to wear amethysts, though. It suits her."

It was then that Arthur realized who Freya was. The girl cursed, last September-oh, my God. Then he remembered how Merlin had been heartbroken after that, and how he had been blind. . .

Had she died? No, that was impossible. She was alive, now, and had had Ania a month ago. She could not be dead if she had so shortly before had a child. It was clear she was not still cursed. She had been in Camelot for forty-five days, and no deaths had been reported.

When dinner was over, Arthur gallantly bowed Freya from the room, along with Gwen and Morgana.

"You ladies have been up since dawn," he said. "Go to sleep, get some rest, especially you, Freya. You must be tired. Merlin, I want to speak to you."

Freya left with Ania. Morgana and Gwen said goodnight to her outside the door, and then left in the opposite direction.

"I know," said Arthur, after the voices and laughter of Morgana and Gwen and Ania's sleepy gurgles had faded.

"What-"

"Everything, Merlin. I followed you to the lake that day. I know everything, now. Who Freya is, and-I am so sorry. I cannot see how she can sit in my presence, after I stabbed her with my sword."

"She never was angry," said Merlin softly. "She understood, Arthur. But what will you do? You know now. Or do you yet not know everything? Perhaps I should tell you now."

"Tell me what?"

"I was able to rescue Freya from Halig's cage," said Merlin slowly. "Because I was like her. It did not take much to break those chains, though I had no tool with which to do so."

"What do you mean?"

"Arthur. . ." and Merlin spread his hands wide. There was a barely veiled apprehension in Merlin's eyes. "I am going to show you everything."

And Merlin wordlessly recited the spell that would bring his memories to life. He ran through some which were significant; his meeting with Freya. . .her death on the shores of Avalon, every spell he had perforned for Arthur over the last two years.

"You have magic," whispered Arthur when it was over.

"I do. I was born with it. I am also the son of Balinor."

"You are a dragonlord?" Something of the shock dropped from Arthur's face. "Wonders never cease."

"And what of you?"

"Oh, Merlin," said Arthur, his mouth curving into a smile, "if anyone ever understood anything I can understand why you kept your secret to yourself. But try to hide it better. I'm glad I know now, but if my father finds out, I cannot save you."

Merlin returned to the chamber he shared with Freya and Ania (not in Gaius's chambers now) and told Freya all that had happened since she had left the room before.

"So he knows now? About me as well?" A fleeting look of fear passed over Freya's face, and she clutched Ania to her.

"He knows everything-well, everything except the Dragon."

"And was Arthur angry?"

"No, But he warned me that if his father found out he could not save me."

Freya sighed, lying back on the window-seat she had been sitting on.

"I'm going to have to go back soon," said Freya. "I don't want to leave you and Ania."

In the morning, Merlin left his wife and daughter still sleeping, and went to see Arthur. Smiling slightly at the sleeping prince, he filled every vase in the room with flowers without knowing he was doing so. He heated the bathwater waiting behind a screen, and then said-

"Let's have you, lazy daisy!"

"I thought I told you to stop saying that."

"Well, I am saying it. And get up before I pour water on your head, because your father is stewing in his chambers about you not knighting Sir Philip yesterday-"

"Oh, my God." said Arthur, awake in an instant before Merlin could pour the water from the jug now hovering in the air. "I forgot all about it. How could I have been so stupid!"

Arthur dressed himself for once, completely forgetting about his bath, and departed his room at high speed. Merlin laughed and then headed off to Gaius's chambers.

"How is your wife?" asked Gaius with a smile.

"She is fine," said Merlin, smiling.

"And Ania?"

"She is well, too. Do you need anything today, Gaius?"

"I need remedies taken through the village. There's been an outbreak of fever there. . ."

When Merlin returned, he found his chambers empty. There was no sign of Freya; but suddenly Merlin heard a wail, and rushed to the inner room. Ania was crying, her small fists waving. He lifted his child and pressed her forehead to his cheek.

"What is it, sweetheart?" he murmured.

Ania's only answer was a redoubling of her screams. Merlin's brow furrowed. Freya would never have left Ania alone. Where was she?

So he went back to Gaius's chambers and asked,

"Have you seen Freya?"

"No, I haven't. But I did feel a great deal of magic going on in your room somehow; that old spellguard I have on my door, you know. I thought it was you."

"No. . .it wasn't me."

And Freya did not have magic away from the lake.

Merlin did not return to Arthur that day. He combed the castle and the village for Freya, calling her name until his voice grew hoarse. Then he went to the lake, frantically counting in his mind whether the three months were up yet; but there was still a fortnight or so left until they were finished.

Nowhere was she to be found. Finally, he laid his head down and sobbed on his bed. Ania was asleep; one of the maids had fed her and she was no longer crying. It was that way Gwen found him. Her own eyes were red, for she had just been overtaken by a sudden storm of memories of her dead father and of her missing brother Elyan.

"Where's Freya?" asked Gwen.

"She's missing," croaked Merlin.

Gwen made an impatient noise.

"You know, you could ask Arthur to send a search party for her."

"He wouldn't. Uther wouldn't let him. I've been through every Find spell I know but I can't-"

Gwen took a step backward. Her stomach had just dropped sickeningly. Find Spell?

"You're a sorcerer," she said. "I knew. I knew. There was no other way."

"No other way?"

"No other way Arthur could be alive today. And I saw Ania. She made Morgana's pearl necklace disappear. I don't think Morgana even noticed; she's got so many of them she wouldn't care if she did notice. But it just vanished off her neck while she was holding Ania."

Merlin sat bolt upright.

"Ania made a necklace disappear?"

"I think so," said Gwen. "Along with Arthur's keys."

"Oh, no," moaned Merlin. "No, no, no. I never knew. . .never knew she could be so powerful-"

"So powerful as in making Morgana's necklace disappear?"

"No, no, that's elementary magic. Any child born with her abilities can do it. I know I've done it. But what she's done. . .I didn't know such a tiny child could do it. I know what happened to Freya."

"What?" whispered Gwen, fearing the worst. Some part of her knew already what had happened to Merlin's wife, who had already become a dear friend to her.

"Don't you see, Gwen? Ania vanished her."

"Have you found anything?" asked Merlin. All Gaius's old books were open in front of him, and Gaius was sitting opposite him on a table with another pile of books. At first, Merlin and Gaius had been at a loss as to know what to do about Ania. The solution had been to enchant her with a Spellguard very like the one Gaius had on his chambers, which let him know every time magic was being used in the vicinity; only, the one they put on Ania would prevent her from using her magic. After that, they had put her to sleep, and now she slumbered peacefully in her basket beside her father.

"I think I have," said Gaius. Gwen looked at him from yet another heap of books. Arthur had been helping them, but he had fallen asleep a long time ago, and Merlin had levitated him onto Gaius's bed so they could have more space on the table to spread their volumes of spells.

"What?" asked Merlin.

"To reverse a Vanishing enchantment on a human being. . .it's complicated. It's a potion that has to be placed on the most valuable thing that that individual owns, and living things do not count. We could not place it on the baby or on you."

"Then. . .the gold fillet that Arthur gave Freya for our wedding," said Merlin. "I'll go and fetch it."

The mention of the fillet made Gaius look at Merlin curiously. He knew that Arthur's gift to Freya had been a circlet. . .

"Did you notice this before or after you came back from our wedding trip? Ania's magic, I mean?"

"After. Only then. Why?"

"And was the fillet set with a purple gem?"

"Yes." said Merlin. "Oh, no, this isn't good, is it?"

"Do you happen to know where he got it?"

"He said it was from a famous blacksmith in Cenred's kingdom, and that it had been in the vaults of Camelot."

"Purple gems absorb dragon's magic," said Gaius slowly. "Whatever magic Kilgarrah has used there has been absorbed by this fillet. It would have been kept near his cell, because the vaults are near there."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that any being of earthly magic who wore this would receive all the power it held," said Gaius, considering the tiny bearer of dragon-magic. "And you said that Freya let Ania wear it and hold it and play with it. This would not have affected Freya or you, because your power is different, and it would not have affected Arthur because he has no magic. But Ania's would have been in a stage that she could take the magic of the gem. Did she play with it often?"

"She did," said Merlin.

"And the greatest magic that Kilgarrah ever did was to forge you Excalibur," said Gaius. "Ania now holds all that power. Now she is safe. But it seems all the energy taken by that gem in the circlet since Kilgarrah was imprisoned there was taken in. . .not just the greatest magic."

"But how do we save Freya?"

"There is only one way," said Gaius, pointing to a picture in his book of a man shrouded in mist and tiny blue specks all around him. "You would have to go to the Sidhe. Freya is now in their realm, farther from you, Merlin, than she was while she slept in the lake of Avalon. For every human Vanished becomes Sidhe in the end. You must save her from that fate."

"And how do we do it? Does it rest on the will of the Sidhe?"

"No," said Gaius. He shut the book gravely. "Vanishing a human puts them in a state not alive nor dead. It is in this state that Freya is now. She was very much alive before Ania's magic Vanished her. To bring Freya out of this state another must be put into it."

"But who would do that willingly?" asked Gwen. "Could you perhaps do that on a dying patient, Gaius, one who would truly die if you did not do it?"

"No," said Gaius.

"Then what?" asked Gwen.

"The only one who could do this for Freya," said Gaius, "would be Ania."

Merlin snatched Ania to him. "No, Gaius. I can't. I will never be able to look her in the eyes if I gave our baby's life so she could live."

"No. Ania must cast the spell that will do this, and then no life will be needed. And how will she do it voluntarily?"

"I'm taking Ania to Kilgarrah," said Merlin, his voice shaking. "He might know what to do."

Merlin had never gone to Kilgarrah's cave more quickly than he did then; even more quickly than he had when Kilgarrah was imprisoned under Camelot. He nearly fell several times; as he held Ania at the same time as a torch. But at last he did reach the dragon's lair, and met with the great yellow eyes of Kilgarrah.

"You have brought the infant?" asked Kilgarrah. "And why?"

Merlin told him everything that had happened. Kilgarrah listened, and then he nodded.

"Your dilemma is no less serious than you imagine it to be, young warlock. For I doubt the babe can be made to understand what she must do."

"But Freya! She will be Sidhe by the time Ania is old enough to cast the spell."

"You must go to the tower where the witch Nimueh used to live." said the dragon. "There, you must place the circlet that bears the magic upon the sacred plinth that is there, and stab it with the sword Excalibur. It will release all the magic that has been poured into Ania, and that magic will go towards undoing every spell she has done."

"That sounds easy," said Merlin, exhaling a relieved breath.

"The Sidhe will not let it be easy," warned the dragon. "They will see Freya now as one of their own and will do all they can to prevent her from leaving Avalon. Though she is not yet Sidhe, she shares a kinship with them already. And the Sidhe are an enemy you would do well to guard -yourself well against."

His eyes met Ania's blue ones. Something akin to a smile curved his mouth.

"It has been so long since my own small ones were grown," said Kilgarrah. "Your child reminds me of my youngest daughter. My brood-mate Einhyi named her Anharra. The most beautiful dragon ever to grace the skies. . .and I saw my dear Anharra die at Uther's hands, through my mind."

His voice changed, stricken with grief.

"Merlin, guard this child with all your might," he said. "For she is one of the only hopes of Albion, and because of her mother, the hope of Avalon as well."

His snout touched Ania on the forehead. "May she have the strong heart to love with, the strong mind to know with, the strong limbs to fight with, and the strong will to do what must be done, and may she always come home safe to her own."

"Thank you," whispered Merlin, not knowing what Kilgarrah had just done for his daughter.

"You may well know now, Merlin," said Kilgarrah, "but the blessing of a dragon is a powerful thing indeed. Oh, but she reminds me of Anharra." A smoking-hot tear dropped from his eyes and hissed on the stone below. Ania opened her eyes, and smiled-her first-ever smile-into Kilgarrah's eyes. Then she laughed, a delightful, chuckling laugh that brought a smile to Merlin's mouth as well.

"And-I wanted to ask the spell that brought my daughter into this world."

"So you know, then, that Freya bore the child through enchantment?"

Merlin nodded. "But I do not understand why she is so like me. I have been through Gaius's books, but found nothing."

"She is truly your daughter, and not a creature born of magic. Arthur is Uther's son, through he too was born of magic."

Merlin nodded his head again. "Thank you. Will you be able to take me to the Isle of the Blessed where she once lived?"

"No, for that place has an ancient curse for dragons," said Kilgarrah. "But I can give you this."

Gently, at Merlin's feet, he placed something shimmering and opulent, like silk and glass.

"A dragon's scale," murmured Merlin. "What will it do?"

"Ah, Merlin," said Kilgarrah, "that you will know in time."

"When do you leave?" asked Gwen.

"Tonight," said Merlin quietly.

"I'm coming and so is Arthur," said Gwen quietly. "Morgana will come too."

"No, Gwen. It will be dangerous. Uther would definitely become suspicious if Morgana came. Arthur and I go off by ourselves all the time, so he won't suspect anything."

Gwen made a resigned face. She knew Merlin was right. But even so, she longed to go as well; but this was Merlin's quest, to save his wife.

Merlin then handed Gwen a box. Gwen opened it to find a fine gold chain with a purple jewel hanging from it.

"Merlin-"

"I know, it's a purple gem. But it will call the power that you need to keep the Spellguard on Ania so that she is safe until Arthur and I destroy the gold circlet."

"What must I do?"

"You have to open that tiny door in the gem and empty out the magic onto the Spellguard she wears on her neck. Once every two days. If you do it more often it will take her magic too, not just what she has from the gold circlet. Wear it at all times."

Gwen nodded, and then threw her arms around Merlin. "Keep Arthur safe," she whispered. "And stay safe yourself. You have a wife and a baby to look after."

"I will. I promise."

She pulled back from Merlin.

"I'll take care of Ania, I promise."

"I know you will," said Merlin.

That night, Arthur and Merlin left by way of Gaius's window. Morgana, Gwen, and Gaius were there too. Morgana was pressing several things on them, such as ointments, tinctures, coins, and a rabbit's foot. Gwen clung to her straight expression, and Merlin was trying to say goodbye to his daughter.

"It isn't your fault," said Merlin, putting his forehead to hers. "But I'm going to get Mother back. Be good and don't give Auntie Gwen too much trouble."

And then, ever so softly-

"If I don't come back, Uncle Gaius will tell you everything. . .someday."

When they had gone, the two women and old man watched the two figures receding into the night. Gwen picked up the baby, who was gazing out into the darkness with great blue solemn eyes.

"It seems so strange," said Morgana, running her fingers over the gold bangle she wore on her wrist. "That such a thing as the fillet could give Ania the power to vanish her own mother."

"Do you think she did it intentionally, Gaius?" asked Gwen. It was a thought that had lurked at the recesses of her mind ever since she had inadvertently let Merlin know what had happened to Freya.

"No. It was uncontrollable, you see. When the magic built up in her to a certain extent, it would have to come out, and if I remember rightly Merlin had an aptitude for vanishing things when he was young. Hunith lost so many things to Merlin's magic when he was a baby and couldn't manage it if he had wanted to."

"What happened?"

"She left Merlin with Will's mother and came here to get a Spellguard, like the one we've put on Ania." said Gaius. "After that, there was no more trouble, and that phase where magic is uncontrollable is always short in any case. . ."

"Merlin!"

"Arthur, I've told you again and again, magic isn't supposed to be-"

"Well, just get these burrs off me, will you!"

Merlin sighed and muttered a spell, causing several sharp-pointed burrs to rise into the air off Arthur's hair and clothes, and then drop to the ground. "Arthur, you don't understand. You just left Camelot without a trace and your father will know by now you're missing. There could be patrols anywhere and if they saw me do magic-"

"Fine, fine, I get the point," said Arthur. "Let's keep moving."

They moved on, and neither of them noticed an ambient blue light moving steadily behind them. It grew in size and was soon so bright that they turned around. Merlin groaned.

The globe of light made short work of them. Before Merlin's incantation was out of his mouth and his staff pointed towards the Sidhe, he and Arthur were flat on the ground and unconscious.

The Sidhe drew nearer. So these were the two who sought to call back Freya of Avalon into the mortal world. One was the meddlesome Emrys; legends spoke of him being the husband of the Lady; the other was the prince whose soul he had nearly gained two years before.

Freya herself came behind. She was not as small as Sidhe; she was her proper stature and she did not yet have wings, but her skin glowed pale blue; even though it was not as bright a color as the skin of the Sidhe, it cast its own, strong light about her.

"Please," she said. "Do not kill them. Just leave them here. They will not seek again to claim me back."

The spark of light looked at Freya. "They will. I know Emrys. He will try to bring you back until he has succeeded-or he is dead and unable to do so."

"I have a child at home." she pleaded. "A baby, scarce two months old, who is not even old enough to control her magic. Please, let me go with them, or let him go for my child's sake."

"Yes, I shall let them go," said the Sidhe. "Emrys is destined to bring magic back to this world, but you must remain Sidhe. Do you agree to those terms, Freya of Avalon?"

"I do," whispered Freya. Already her body was tingling unpleasantly from the magic that ran in her veins, so many times stronger now. But she was powerless to use it in the state that she was in.

Freya stayed by Merlin. She did not know she was invisible to him and to Arthur, or that her features were changing very rapidly. The time for her transformation into a true Sidhe was drawing near; her skin deepened to electric blue, and her eyes, once violet, became blue as well. But she kept her human build, until wings, hard and wide, burst from her back. She looked in terror at the Sidhe above her head, only to be met by an evil grin.

"Why now?" whispered Freya.

She was answered by silence; the Sidhe had gone and with it the transformation stopped. The wings drooped, and then fell to the ground lifeless. The pain that brought wrenched Freya's insides; she dropped to her knees with a piercing scream only magical beings could hear.

Ania awoke in Gaius's room. She was uncertain what had woken her, but an image of her tortured mother presented itself at once to the infant mind. She began to cry at once, knowing her mother would come and take that nightmare away-

But the hands that lifted her were Gwen's. Ania continued to scream for her mother, and soon Morgana rushed from her room and tried her best to soothe the baby. Ania's eyes were covered with a haze that at the same time blocked Freya's vision in the forest, and, half-blind as she was then, Morgana's dark hair and pale skin and soft hands holding Ania seemed like Freya's; and with a thankful sigh, Ania returned to sleep.

"What woke her?" asked Morgana.

"I don't know," said Gwen.

Then Ania opened her eyes again, and the haze blocking them was now visible to the others; Morgana and Gwen cried out and Gaius's mouth fell open.

"What's happening to her?" cried Gwen. "Gaius!"

"I don't know-did you do what Merlin told you to do in the afternoon?"

"Yes, I emptied out her Spellguard," said Gwen frantically. "What is this?"

"What is happening to Freya now," said Gaius, lighting the candles and throwing books down on the floor as he searched for the right one on his shelves. "Ania and Freya share a unique connection, and it seems that what is happening to Freya will happen to Ania now. I have to find a spell that will break that connection-a sacred bond of magic though it is-and destroy it forever or-"

"Or what?" whispered Gwen, watching Ania's violet eyes through the blue haze lighten and change color, becoming a vivid electric blue.

"Or Ania will become a Sidhe herself."

Kilgarrah opened his eyes. Something had happened. Something magical had awoken him-some magical being nearby was in terrible distress. Merlin? No, Merlin had gone long ago and would have been miles away.

Then he sensed something else-the presence of a Sidhe outside one of the castle windows, and the distress he felt deepened to agony, and in the place in his mind where he had once been able to speak to Anharra, no matter how far apart they were, he heard an infant's cries.

Alert at once, he knew what the Sidhe was doing to Ania, the child of Merlin, and one of the reasons why magic had finally become balanced in Albion-

Ania was becoming a Sidhe.

Merlin awoke on the cold forest floor. Arthur was still and quiet beside him. There was no sign of the Sidhe; but in his heart Merlin knew something was terribly wrong.

Merlin.

Freya?

Yes, it is me. I am very near you, just a few feet away, but I cannot come closer.

Why? Are you all right?

I have just come a great deal closer to becoming a Sidhe, but I don't want you to continue on this quest any longer. Go back to Camelot. The same Sidhe you saw now is trying to make Ania a Sidhe, and he is succeeding. I can do nothing from here, Merlin. Leave me at once. Go.

But by the time I get back-

The dragon Kilgarrah is summoning his deepest power now to kill the Sidhe-for even a dragon's power is not as great as that in the staff you hold. You have to aid him as he reverses the enchantment on Ania.

I cannot leave you-

Go, Merlin! I don't matter now! Ania is what matters here. Go to her.

Arthur?

Give Arthur the circlet and Excalibur. I will stay by him.

That would be murder, Freya-

I will do my best to guard him from the Sidhe. Go.

And with that the connection was broken. Merlin put the circlet on the head of the still unconscious Arthur. Freya smiled as Merlin saddled his horse and rode for all he was worth back towards Camelot.

The great amethyst began to glow and golden tendrils snaked down Arthur's forehead. For Gaius had forgotten only one thing in his statement that the magic of the circlet would not affect Arthur, who had never worn it and, as it happened, never touched the gem itself. Arthur was, like Ania, born of magic. With the shock that the dragon-magic had given him, he sat up and looked around for Merlin.

Where is he? The last thing that I remember is that blue light-

With that, Arthur leaned over a still pool, intending to wash his face. Instead he saw his eyes glowing gold as Merlin's did when he did magic.

Arthur instinctively knew what Merlin had done, and about two miles away, Merlin knew what Freya had intended, and he sighed with relief.

Arthur was protected now as he went with all speed toward the place he knew he would find the boat to take him to the Isle of the Blessed. He was followed by no one, for Freya knew she could not cross the sea as a Sidhe, for they could not. She was not quite Sidhe yet, but she was close enough to it for that. It took hours of hard riding, but he reached the ferry and threw himself into the boat just as twenty enraged Sidhe gathered on the shore.

Merlin jumped off his horse and ran towards the citadel. He could see, in the air, Kilgarrah twisting madly in an effort to catch a speck of blue light. Merlin pointed his staff once and the spark writhed for a few moments, and then dissolved into nothing.

Then Merlin raced inside and up the stairs to Gaius's room, only to find Kilgarrah's great head had entered through the window and his snout was touching the baby's forehead as she lay in Morgana's arms.

He nearlsy screamed out when he saw that Ania was a bright blue, but as he was about to reach her, Kilgarrah began to glow gold all over, and in a blinding flash, Ania was back to her natural self. Ania stretched her arms out, opened her eyes, and began cryiing-the naturaly cry of a healthy infant who has just woken from sleep.

"Oh, thank goodness," breather Guinevere, bursting into tears and gathering the howling baby out of Morgana's arms and handing her to Merlin. At once Ania ceased to cry, and then laughed-a chuckling, gurgling laugh, her very first laugh.

And then Kilgarrah laughed in answer, a deep ruk-ruk sound in his throat. Merlin could see there were tears in his eyes.

"I could not save Anharra," he said, smiling as he looked down at the baby. "But I could save you, little Ania, child of magic and the savior of this world, just as much as your father is. I daresay you will cause just as much trouble as he does, too."

Merlin smiled, and, with a very girlish gesture, threw his arms around Kilgarrah's neck. "Thank you so much, old friend," he said, his voice muffled against Kilgarrah's warm scales.

"You are very welcome," said Kilgarrah. "For your daughter is the next dragonlord, and I am bound to serve her even now. Now, Merlin, if you will excuse me, I have one last thing to do."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Arthur had reached the tower of the Isle. He had with him the circlet and Excalibur, and he ran for all he was worth to the pedestal in the center. Freya's human life could be taken at any second now. . .

He saw the pedestal before him. Nearly crying with relief, he threw the circlet onto it, lifting Excalibur high, and then driving it into the violet gem with all the force that he had in his body. . .

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Morgana heard a clink as she was preparing for bed. A very definite clink, as if something had fallen into her jewel box. She went to it and opened it, and, atop the brooch she had placed in a compartment on its own (it was her favorite brooch, and she had been wearing it that night) was a. . .pearl necklace?

Frowning, she counted the pearl necklaces. She owned six. The ones in her necklace drawer only came up to five. . .so was this one hers?

Then she remembered what Gwen had told her. The moment the circlet is destroyed, all the magic will go towards undoing what Ania did. . .

When the impact of that realization hit her, she knew that the circlet had been destroyed. She ran to Arthur's chambers, which were, of course, empty. She searched with her hands in the darkness for the leftmost hook on his key rack. It had been empty, for Ania had vanished the key that belonged there. But she felt keys there, and Morgana knew they were the ones that had vanished.

Morgana gave a glad laugh and then burst into tears. The door opened and Gwen came in.

"My lady!" she said, surprised to find Morgana in Arthur's room. "Are you all right? What are you doing here!"

"Look!" said Morgana, holding up Arthur's keys. "Arthur's keys are back."

"You mean. . ."

"Yes, he's destroyed that circlet," said Morgana, and then the two girls threw themselves into each other's arms and cried tears of pure relief.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- o-o-o-o-o-o-o

When Arthur returned to shore, the Sidhe were gone. But as he rode, he passed by the place where he and Merlin had been knocked unconscious-and there was Freya, fast asleep-and looking her natural self again. Arthur dismounted and gently shook her until she opened her eyes.

"Freya. . .Freya. . ."

"What?" she murmured. Then she sat bolt upright and looked at her hands, and then threw her arms around Arthur.

"Thank you, thank you," she said, sobbing. "You don't know what you've done for me, for Ania, for Merlin. . .

"Well. . .come on," said Arthur. "Let's go back to Camelot and give them all a surprise, shall we?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The dragon was flying fast and low over trees when he spotted what he was looking for; the prince and Freya, now looking perfectly human again, riding on Arthur's chestnut horse. He dived through the leaves and landed before them, startling the horse so that it threw both riders to the ground. The horse at once bolted for home; it well knew the way back to Camelot.

"I am taking you back," he said.

Arthur backed away. "I thought I killed you."

"You have thought many things Arthur, few of which have been right. Now you and Freya get on my back and I will take you to Camelot."

"My horse?"

Kilgarrah snorted.

"The deer-animal knows the way back. Do not worry, I will set a charm on it so it will go unhindered by horse-thieves and the like."

Freya and Arthur climbed up his neck and onto his back, and with that the powerful dragon shot up into the sky and back toward Camelot.

Merlin, Gaius, Gwen and Morgana were waiting by the lake when Kilgarrah returned. Ania gurgled at the sight of him and clapped her tiny hands. Freya tumbled off Kilgarrah's back and ran to her and to Merlin, lifting the baby blindly into her arms, while Merlin wrapped his own tightly around her.

"It seems to me that I have given all those of this family a certain gift except for you, Freya," said Kilgarrah, "I have one last gift for you, and for Merlin and for Ania. What do you want more than anything in this world?"

"To be able to leave the lake and stay with Merlin and Ania," said Freya wistfully. In thirteen days she would have to go back to the lake.

"Then your wish is granted," said Kilgarrah. "Go, child. Avalon will be safe."

"But who will guard it?"

"I will," said Kilgarrah.

"Thank you," said Ania. "Thank you, so much."

"It was my duty," said Kilgarrah with another queer smile, and then he descended into the caverns in which he lived, which were hidden just behind the lake.

"Do you know," said Freya, as all six of them started back toward the castle, "we have not yet held Ania's naming ceremony. What should we name her? Ania Linden Ambrosius?" Often, in Camelot, the given name of a person was different from what they were called.

"No," said Merlin. He looked at Ania's smiling face and then at Freya's. "Anharra Linden Ambrosius." The words of Kilgarrah from the time he had first taken Ania to him rang in his ears. Anharra, in the tongue of the dragons, meant the one who kept the very earth alive, its only hope to continue.

"And call her Ania, short for Anharra?"

"Yes."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A week later, Merlin and the others stood at Ania's naming ceremony. The festivities had started in the morning and continued until past noon; for all of Camelot knew Merlin, and everyone wanted to come to the naming-ceremony of his daughter; finally Uther relented to Arthur's constant badgering and came to the ceremony himself. Freya held Ania as Merlin made the signs of two clans in oil on the baby's head. Usually, it was only the sign of the father's family-which in Merlin's case was a wooden staff and a spray of herbs. The sign of the Lindens was a linden sapling, and on Ania's forehead above her left eye, he made the sign of the Ambrosius clan, and then, on the other side of her forehead, he drew a linden sapling.

"Thus I name thee Anharra Linden Ambroisius!" he said, and the crowd burst into cheers. Everybody had a gift for the baby, and everyone wanted to offer their good wishes. Freya and Merlin disappeared in a mob, and Arthur and Gwen stood to the side smiling.

"I'm so happy for them," said Gwen.

"I've something to give you," said Arthur. From a table behind him he picked up a plate. On the plate were seven custard pastries, each with a letter made out of currants on the top. He put this into Gwen's hand and she looked at him quizzically.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Well, it is, to tell the truth, a battle strategy test. If you were heading an army and an ally left you a message you would have to be able to understand it."

Gwen looked at the currant buns. There were two M's, two R's, an E, an A, and a Y.

Her first attempt read, "ARM ERMY."

"No, that's not it," said Arthur laughing. "Try again."

Gwen looked at the buns for a little longer and then wrote, "YAMMERR."

"One more chance before I tell you what it is," Arthur said, grinning.

She considered the pastries for a little longer and then pieced out two words-"MARRY ME."

At once she looked up Arthur, who smiled and said, "Well, will you?"

She threw herself into his arms. "Yes, with all my heart, I will."

Then she pulled back from him and looked for Morgana in the crowd. "I'm a bit sorry for her. Merlin has Freya and I have you, but she hasn't anyone."

"Oh, she will, someday," said Arthur. "You will see. Plenty of young men love her now, but she will love when she is ready, not before. And she's not ready, yet."

When the crowd had at last dwindled into just a stream of well-wishers, Merlin and Freya firmly excused themselves and went to where Arthur and Gwen had now been joined by Morgana.

"Well? Have you heard?" said Morgana.

"Heard what?" asked Freya, who was holding a now sleeping Ania.

"Gwen's marrying the clotpole!" shrieked Morgana, unable to contain herself any longer.

"About time!" said Merlin. "We thought you'd wait forever before you found the nerve to ask."

"You'll be Queen of Camelot one day," said Morgana, with a suddenly businesslike tone. "And I don't care if you won't be a Lady until Arthur is King, but I am going to furnish you with a whole wardrobe of gowns."

"My lady, you can't," protested Gwen.

"You'll have maids doing this later on, so you'd better get used to me," laughed Morgana. "Come on, Gwen."

And the two girls disappeared up the castle steps, leaving the others laughing behind them.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Well, that whole episode went well," sighed Merlin, undressing Ania for bed. She had gotten very fond of the violet frock she had worn for the ceremony and was holding her tiny arms stiff in the hope that Merlin would give up and leave the dress on her. She had, however, forgotten the buttons at the back, which Merlin promptly undid.

"Yes, it did," said Freya, who was brushing out her long black hair. "I am so tired, though." She braided her hair and then handed Merlin Ania's nightgown, and then she fell into bed with a yawn.

Ania gave the frock up for lost and submitted meekly to Merlin pulling the nightie over her head and buttoning it down the back. But Merlin could tell she was falling asleep even as she sat on his knee, so he kissed her forehead, and then Freya's, and put Ania in her place between the two of them. She snuggled down into the blankets and fell fast asleep.

Merlin stayed up to savor three words he had so rarely ever been able to say before.

"All is well."

And then he too fell fast asleep.