Poison 19, 20 & Epilogue

[maderr]

Chapter Nineteen


“You evil, conniving, cruel…” Freddie looked down in disgust at the woman sobbing at her feet. “A thousand years you have been doing this to us. For petty jealousy.”

Etain said nothing, merely hunched her shoulders and cried harder.

Gael shook his head, saying nothing, the memories that had flooded through him still too overwhelming, too old and new all at once.

She’d hidden their memories. Kept them sealed along with their power in the great oak. Over and over she had tried to take away…

He turned away from his sisters and strode toward the figure lying too still in the grass, kneeling and hauling Noire into his arms. He held Noire close, breathed in the sorely-missed scent of his lover, ran his fingers through that dark, thick hair. Softly he brushed his lips across Noire’s, little more than a sharing of breath. “Kitten,” he murmured.

Slowly Noire’s eyes opened, long lashes fluttering as he fought his body’s desire to stay asleep. When his eyes finally stayed open, Noire smiled. “Your eyes are different, Gael.”

“Yours are still the finest I’ve ever seen, Kitten,” Gael replied, then gave Noire another soft kiss before hauling them both to their feet. “Are you all right?”

Noire nodded slowly, only wincing slightly. “I think I’ll have a headache for a week straight, but I’m fine otherwise.”

Gael kissed his brow, his cheek. “I’ll distract you,” he said so that only Noire could hear.

“I’ve missed you, Gael…” Noire whispered, leaning in, clinging to him. “I wasn’t sure…”

Gael kissed him full on the mouth this time. “It’s over, Kitten. You’re safe, I’m safe, and everyone watching knows you’re mine.” He smiled, then with a last kiss turned back to the problems that must be dealt with before he could truly spend time with Noire.

“Is Verenne all right?” Freddie asked, the closest to tears she would ever come as she gazed at her fallen former lover.

“Of course,” Gael said. “Go and see for yourself, if you like.”

Freddie shook her head back with enough force her hair flew out behind her. “Not until this matter is resolved. Not until we understand why our sister would so deeply betray and hurt us.”

On the ground, Etain had grown silent. She stared at her hands, the slight tensing of her slender shoulders the only sign that she heard them, realized the conversation had shifted back to her. “I did it for you,” she said.

“That is a lie,” Freddie said. “The fact that you kept our powers and memory from us says that clearly.”

“Yes,” Gael agreed, folding his arms across his chest, circling around so that he stood in front of her, green eyes flashing with anger, hurt. “What did you plan to do with these ceremonies? Not restore us to full power – that would mean we regained all our memories, as we currently have. I remember now…”

“We hid our powers in the great oak, sealing them so that only when all three of us touched it simultaneously would the powers be returned to us. In every life you brought us here, but kept us from the oak – tried to control what memories returned to us. Were you trying to ensure that no memory of those we love ever reached us?”

Etain remained stubbornly silent, glaring at the grass, their feet.

Gael shook his head, continuing where Freddie left off. “No…you are not so simple as that. You thrive on complexity, Etain…Fae. Of all the gods, you were the most skilled at creation. It was you who helped the dragons craft their daughters of the sea…you who played with Zhar Ptitka to create that apple tree of his…your hand is in so many beautiful creations…” He looked at her mournfully. “You would not have simply sought to block memories, or to erase them…the prayers, the spells…you were hoping to reshape our memories.” He turned to look at Noire, recalling every happy moment, in every life, that he had spent with his lover. “You wanted to put yourself in place of the memories in our mind. That is what you meant to do – only that would be challenging enough, perfect enough, for you.”

“Except it kept failing,” Etain said bitterly. “Despite everything I tried, everything I was promised…time and again your lovers appear to ruin everything, devolved it into violence, mayhem, until I am forced to let everyone die and start again.”

Freddie looked disgusted. “You sicken me, sister. I feel as though I do not even know you. All of this because of petty jealousy?”

Etain finally looked up at them, rage and anguish blazing in her eyes. “Petty jealousy? Is that all you see it as! You are the ones who do not see. We created this world together, vowed to cherish and protect it for always. To do it together. To be together always. We loved each other, all of Verde said no bond was stronger…” Tears trailed down her cheeks to fall into the grass, the light of her wings dimming. “Yet as the centuries passed, you both spread out, more interested in being everywhere, anywhere but close to me. Peg climbing up to her stupid rock, Uni prancing off to his watering hole, or losing yourselves in the land itself, swallowed up by the people. So I thought perhaps I would explore more, too, and spend time with you again, since you would not come to me…

“Instead I found that you were secreting away lovers, mortals that you loved more deeply than me! That you would not even tell me about! No, you kept them secret, hidden away from me, as if I did not deserve to know…”

Gael and Freddie winced, shared a glance, but their anger did not ease. “That wasn’t to hurt you, Fae…never that…” Freddie said gently. “I kept mine secret so that she would not be overwhelmed. We live so close to our mortals here, unlike our brothers, who keep their distance. She was frightened, uncertain, of loving a god…I wanted to give her time…”

“So too with me,” Gael said. “Besides, we brought them to the Ceremony to introduce you.”

Hate flared in Etain’s mismatched eyes. “Yes, to the Ceremony. The one place that was ours. This place is as sacred to me as your Cliff. As your Spring. It is the one place where we go and no others, and you insulted me, threw our bond in my face, by bringing your lovers – two of our children – into it. What do our children, our creations, have that I lacked? That you would fall out of love with me and choose mortals?”

“…We have always loved you, Fae…why would you think we do not?”

“Not as you used to!” Etain snapped, then dropped her head to stare at where her hands fisted in the folds of her dress.

Gael stared at her in disbelief. “I do not believe this. I am sorry we do not love you the way you want us to, Fae…but that does not excuse your actions. How could you be so cruel? To your own children?”

“They took what was mine,” Etain said. “Nor was I as cruel as I could have been. It would have been much simpler to kill them, yet I did not.” She didn’t lift her head.

Freddie looked at Verenne. “So what were you planning to do?”

“Alter your memories as I gave back your power, drawing it from the oak with our prayers, controlling the flow…after we were together, as we should have always been, I would have gotten rid of them. Sent them away, off to other countries, with compulsions never to return, to forget Verde and everything here.”

“You could have done that from the beginning,” Gael said.

“No,” Etain said. “It would have faded after a time. My power as mere Queen was not that great.” She shook her head. “I wish I could have killed them outright.”

Freddie looked sickened. “Why didn’t you?”

“Because they are still children of Verde,” Etain answered. “I love them as much as I hate them. All I wanted was for my brother and sister to come back to me. I did not want to kill them…I just wanted them to go away.”

“I do not know what to say to you, sister,” Gael said. “There are no words.”

“Yet I feel we have somehow failed too,” Freddie said, “for never realizing how she felt.”

“If I was jealous of your lover, Freddie, I would not poison or kidnap her,” Gael said.

Etain laughed coldly. “How would you know? Mere minutes ago you tried to kill me. Do not speak as though you are so much grander than me. We are equals.”

“No,” Gael said, “we are not. I will not stand equal to someone who would so torture our children for something as petty as jealousy. I am sorry we do not love you as you wish us to, I am sorry we unintentionally ignored your pain for so long, but that does not excuse the awful things you have done…and it will be a very long time before I can forgive you, Fae. Etain. More than a thousand years you have done this, causing pain not just to us two, and our lovers, but to all of Verde. The Beasts, the citizens, even the world as it suffers without our presence? Because you could not accept that we loved mortals? I want to slap you.”

Freddie snorted. “Punching feels better.”

“Could I ask a question?” Noire asked softly.

Gael turned to him, held out a hand to urge him forward. “Of course.” He tugged Noire to his side, briefly nuzzling his hair. “What is it?”

“Why was this time different? How did we manage not to end in tragedy?”

Gael started to answer the question, but movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned to beckon to the large group standing along the perimeter. “I’m certain you would like to ask your own questions, Beasts, children of the Firebird.”

“Yes,” Freddie said with a chuckle, eyes sliding to Luka, “that was quite a display of the Firebird’s power.” She held out her hand to touch is forehead, where a sigil suddenly flared up, a bright, burning orange. “Blessed, indeed.”

“He owes us for all the times he overcharged for his services,” Luka retorted, causing Ivan and the others to laugh.

The Beasts looked at them as though they had lost their minds, shaking their heads and murmuring.

Gael approached his own six, holding out his hands to clasp theirs. “Thank you, my Beasts. I am sorry I ever doubted you.”

“We would have doubted us too, your Grace,” Matti said with a smile. Then she broke into a laugh and looked past Gael to Noire. “I think maybe I would have kept him to myself, as well. Who would have thought her Grace’s messenger…”

“Yes,” Freddie said dryly. “My messenger. Gael, how long have you been seducing him? To think of all the messages I sent…no wonder you were such a hard worker, Noire.”

Noire opened his mouth, then closed it, and ducked his head against the sudden flurry of attention directed his way.

“He seduced me,” Gael replied, breaking free of the Beasts to go to his lover and tilt his head up, smiling fondly. “Came right to my Spring to see me.”

“Verenne did the same…” Freddie said, smile crumbling as she moved to kneel before the still unconscious Verenne, gingerly touching her fingers to the head wound, murmuring softly until the blood vanished, and nothing but the faintest scar remained. “I cannot believe…” she turned angrily back to Etain. “How could you do such a thing to me? I trusted you! You poisoned me, manipulated me…caused all of us so much pain…”

Etain said nothing.

“So why was it different this time?” Noire asked again.

Gael frowned in thought, idly running his fingers along Noire’s cheek, through his hair, down to his throat and back again to his cheek. “Chaos,” he said. “There was a preponderance of chaos this time; the threads of fate that forced the cycle of tragedy began to fray…”

“Bands of chaos, threaded with strands of fate.” Etain said, voice faint but somehow still carrying to all who were gathered around her. “Once, we chose to let chaos rule this world we created, to let our children make their own decisions. Still, we could not completely get rid of order – fate, destiny, all such things are the result of order. Somewhere along the way, destiny fell so that my brother and sister would each fall in love with one of our children. I detested it, could not bear it. We were meant to be together…so I tried to rewrite fate, to control it myself. What is the point of being a god otherwise? We gave up the greater portion of our power, but we did not give up all of it. I tried to shape the fate that spilled from chaos according to my own desires. I failed. Have been failing. Always I come so close, only to be forced to start over. I suppose I was always destined to someday be thwarted."

Freddie stroked Verenne’s hair, holding her close, brow furrowed in thought, eyes seeing things that few others in the room could. “It might have gone on longer…except that we were the last to return. With the return of the Storm Dragons, the balance of chaos and order once more shifted back to chaos’s favor. They are the strongest, the closest to chaos – if not for their return, I do not think it would have been as possible for the rest of us. With the Firebird reclaiming his powers over rebirth…and the Basilisk so recently returned…” She closed her eyes, as if sensing or feeling something. “Your chances of success nearly vanished, Etain. You must have known this.”

“I couldn’t give up,” Etain said, staring at her hands. “Don’t you see that? You’re mine. We were always meant to love and cherish our children, to care for the land that is ours, but we were always supposed to do it together…in every way together.”

“We were together,” Gael replied sadly, hand tightening in Noire’s hair. “You are the one who has ruined any chance of us remaining so. I, at least, can hardly stand the sight of you…”

Freddie nodded in agreement.

“So we’re not going to vanish now?” Seraphin asked.

Etain looked up, smiling faintly, the expression holding something of the Queen everyone had loved and adored for so long. “No, nor did you ever. I am not completely cruel…the Beasts always killed themselves, or each other. I used the last of my power, in every life, to erase that knowledge from the minds of the people, made them think the Beasts had simply vanished. It was enough of a burden to bear that the gods had killed each other.”

“Why would we do that?” Matti asked. “It is true we do not get along… More than once I have wanted to pitch Rodrigue into the pond. Never have I wanted to kill him, though.”

Rodrigue rolled his eyes, but a faint smile tugged at his lips. “The feeling is mutual.”

Matilda shot him a look, then turned back to Etain. “I do not understand why we would do such awful things to each other.”

Etain sighed softly, smoothing the wrinkled fabric of her dress. “It is not entirely the fault of the Beasts that they clash, nor is it the fault of my children that they fight so amongst themselves…” She tilted her head back to stare up at the ceiling, eyes fastened on the shining, painted sun. “We three fell apart, for various reasons. In every life, for different reasons, we were afraid to completely trust each other even as we swore we always would. That mistrust spread down through our children, for we are the center that holds Verde together… I am the harmony, and I have been in disharmony for a long time. That spread like a poison to my siblings, down to the Beasts, down to the people…”

“The Beasts are tied irrevocably to their Guardians. When we lost control here in the Ceremony chamber, the anger, the hate…all of it spread out, as would any strong emotion. The assault led the Beasts, over and over again, to fall into the same tragedy as we. If not for events today changing so drastically from the past…”

“We would have killed each other, or ourselves,” Herve said. “I cannot fathom it.”

Further questions were cut off as Verenne stirred in Freddie’s arms.

“You’re awake,” Freddie said with a smile, relief plain on her face. “I was starting to think perhaps I’d been too late.”

Verenne stared, blinked, then slowly sat up, tugging herself free of Freddie’s hold. “You…you look like yourself again, Freddie. Except your eyes…but they look…better…” she said softly, reaching out to touch tentative fingers to Freddie’s cheek, the corner of her eye. “I…what happened?”

Freddie chuckled. “You lost your temper, dearest. Got in a good hit, but I’m afraid she one-upped you.”

Turning her head, Verenne’s gaze landed on the Queen and fury filled her face. “You—”

Catching her as Verenne started to stand, Freddie caught held her close for a moment before reluctantly letting go. “It’s over, dearest. Finished. Etain will not be poisoning anyone anymore.”

“What happened? How long have I been unconscious? My head is killing me.”

“Much has happened, dearest.”

Verenne stared at her. “Three times now. Three times you have called me that. In the span of two minutes. Freddie, you haven’t called me that in over nine months.”

“I’m no longer poisoned. I know who I love.”

Tears sprang up in Verenne’s eyes. “You realize I’m going to use this to win every last argument for a very long time.”

Freddie smiled and took hold of her hand. “’I was poisoned’ doesn’t count for anything? I should think I’d be the one winning arguments.”

Verenne shrugged, fighting a smile. “Depends on how badly I want to win the argument.”

“I suppose, all things considered, that’s plenty fair.” Freddie tugged her close. “Does that mean you’ll take me back, then?”

Tears ran freely down Verenne’s cheeks, but her eyes were bright and happy. “You stupid horse. I never let you go.”

Laughing, Freddie closed the space between them and kissed her lover soundly as around them everyone cheered – especially her Beasts, happy to have the long-running feud finally and happily resolved.

Gael smiled at the happy pair, and turned to give Noire a soft kiss. Noire smiled at him, nuzzling into the hand that still rested in his hair. Gael allowed himself another second to gaze at his lover, then forced himself back to business as the cheering died.

“Etain…”

The Faerie Queen was crying, though behind the tears her anger still blazed.

“It does not have to be this way,” Gael said.

Etain laughed bitterly. “Yes it does. Don’t you get it?” She looked up at him, mismatched eyes blinding with the fury and pain that filled them. “I will not give up.”

“You’re our sister,” Freddie said, standing up, helping Verenne to her feet. “Despite all this, we still love you. We always have. We always will…why can you not just accept…”

“I do not want to accept!” Etain said. “If things had not gotten so completely out of my control, I would have kept trying until I got what I wanted. Don’t you see? I will not settle for anything less. You are mine. I am yours. We made this world together, we were meant to rule it together. With no one and nothing else in the way. I will never accept anything less. If I cannot have you the way I want, then I do not want to be. I am tired. I give up.”

Freddie and Gael stared at her in dismay. “But there are still ways to fix—”

“I do not want it fixed!” Etain raged. “I want you in a way I cannot have you. Your hearts belong elsewhere and I will never accept or live with that.” She dropped her head, laughing sadly, the sound more of a sob. “Besides, my brother, my sister, there is another crime for which I must atone. Some part of me must have known this would happen, for this is the first time since our initial fall that I have had them brought back into the country. I always thought I would do it differently but…” She closed her eyes, tears falling down her cheeks, still beautiful despite the tears, the split lip, the bruise left by Freddie’s punch. “…perhaps I knew all along how it would end.”

“What crime?” Gael demanded. “What more have you done?”

Etain opened her eyes, the anger faded to resignation. “I made a mistake. It is the only one I truly regret. I did not know just how deeply troubled Licht was…he and I…perhaps we never should have been gods. Perhaps it would have been best to remain unformed in the chaos.”

“What…Etain what are you talking about?”

“I summon my brothers,” Etain said softly, spreading her arms wide. “To hear my tale, and to witness my attempts to make amends. Permission is granted to enter the country of Verde. Come.”

Everyone jumped, a few crying out in surprise, as the entire world began to shake with the force of the thunder that cracked and boomed in the sky beyond the chamber, followed immediately by the pounding of rain upon the roof, so hard and heavy it felt as though the sky was coming apart.



Chapter Twenty

Noire started as three men suddenly appeared in the chamber, and the thunder and rain abruptly ceased. Three men…one with midnight hair, the second with white…the last with ocean blue…were these the Sacred Storm Bringers? He shook his head, unable to believe it. First Gael really had become a god, now other gods were appearing. Was he supposed to be here?

“Greetings to the Guardians…and the Faerie Queen…” The words were said by a tall, broad-shouldered man who was dressed in bright colors and a mass of glittering jewels. Beside him stood a man who looked like a sailor, but for the paleness of his skin, and a slighter man, long ocean-blue hair threaded with jewels, so beautiful it was hard not to stare.

The Beasts rippled with shock, as did Ivan’s men.

“Hey!” Karp exclaimed, pointing at Raiden. “We know you!”

Raiden turned toward them and flashed a grin. “Well, well, Raz’s pet mercs. Why am I not surprised to find you here?”

Ailill shook his head in wonder. “You are a Storm Dragon?” He turned to the other man he recognized. “You are Prince Nankyokukai, are you not? It was said that you died at sea…”

Nankyo shrugged. “Dead is accurate enough, in that I am no longer a prince. I am a dragon now.”

“Which may actually be worse,” the pale-skinned man muttered.

Raiden laughed. “You keep him in check, Kin.”

“I do not think anyone can keep a dragon in check,” a voice said dryly. “Least of all another dragon.”

The group spun around to see a man standing on the footbridge – young looking, his hair golden at the tips, eyes that moved and shifted like flickering flames.

“Raz!” Ivan’s men exclaimed, rushing to greet him, laughing and cheering.

“I see you’ve been prospering,” Raz said admiringly, proudly. He looked over them at where Ivan stood with Ailill. “Though I see you still cannot stay out of trouble for long.”

“What would be the fun in that?” Ivan asked. “It is good to see you, Raz.”

“The same to you,” Raz said warmly. “Pozhar is not quite the same without you to fleece.”

Ivan threw his head back and laughed, Ailill and his men joining in. “I am certain you are well occupied anyway.”

“I manage,” Raz said with a grin.

Beneath their feet the ground suddenly began to tremble – faintly and over so quickly it scarcely seemed to happen. Then the sound of a match being struck broke the sudden silence. Everyone turned toward the source – two figures standing behind Etain. One leaned against the oak tree, smoking a cigar, the sweet scent of it slowly filling the chamber. She was badly scarred from head to toe, hair cut boyishly short. Her right eye was covered by a black silk patch, the left the color of dark smoke.

Beside her, standing more attentively, stood a young man whose alabaster skin made the pale-skinned Kyo looked quite tanned. His hair was the color of slate, to match his uncovered right eye – the left covered by a black silk patch.

“I have seen your pretty priest,” the woman said, gently blowing out smoke. “I think you do more than ‘manage,’ bird.”

Raz laughed. “Maybe.”

“Isn’t that…oh, drat it,” Luka huffed in frustration. “That is the Piedren woman! The one that could probably beat the boss.”

Ivan glared.

The woman laughed. “My, my. What a small world. I did not expect to see you lot again. And my name is Cortez, you silly man.” She motioned to the man beside her. “This is Culebra, my little brother.”

“The Basilisk Prince,” Ailill said. “I guess you are just the Basilisk now.”

“One of two,” Cortez said. “Men, they need help with everything.”

Culebra shot her a glare. “I seem to recall you forced the issue.”

“Maybe,” Cortez said with a smirk before she took another pull on her cigar.

Culebra rolled his eyes.

“Two instead of one,” Gael said, looking between them.

Freddie nodded. “Yes, I quite like it. You seem lighter.”

“Yes,” Cortez and Culebra said together, exchanging a smile.

Noire could only stare in wonder between all the gods, feeling wholly out of his element. It did not help that the Beasts looked more than a little intimidated themselves. To stand before their own gods was one thing…to stand before all of them was quite different and not just a little overwhelming.

A hand curled around his, and Noire looked up to see Gael smiling gently at him. “Gael…”

Gael kissed him softly. “Do not worry so, Kitten. All will be well.”

Noire nodded, feeling much calmer when Gael walked away to join Freddie and the other gods as they drew close.

The levity faded away as they gathered in a loose, wide circle around Etain.

“Sister,” Raiden said, “You have much to explain.”

“Yes,” Etain said faintly. “I am sorry.”

Gael and Freddie exchanged glances. “What did she do?” Gael demanded.

“Licht lost himself to despair, hate,” Culebra answered, clasping hands with Cortez as he spoke. “I too, back then, was drowning in my own loneliness and misery. We found comfort in each other…but for Licht it was always a lie. His only goal was to take my powers, use them to destroy our world, start it over with Order as the dominating force. I refused to help him. He refused to give up, and one night tricked me into drinking a poison that made it nearly impossible for me to retain control of my powers. Only by killing him, and then myself, could I be certain my powers would not be so terribly abused.”

Silence fell as he finished, and Noire could only stare at the utter fury that filled Gael’s face, the way that Freddie shook with anger.

Freddie stepped forward and knelt down to backhand Etain hard across the mouth. “How could you? Creation, invention, these are your greatest talents, your greatest gifts. You use them first to poison me, to poison our children – and now I find you used them to poison Basilisk? You helped Licht try to destroy the very creations you loved? How could you do such a thing?”

Etain seemed not to feel the brutal slap. “I didn’t know the full extent of what he wanted…”

“That’s a lie,” Gael said scathingly. “A poison like that…”

“No,” Etain said. “The way he said it, the way he explained…” She looked up at Culebra. “I was as fooled as you, in many of the same ways. I was leery of what he asked, but not until too late did I really understand what it was he wanted, what he intended.” She bowed her head low. “I am sorry.”

“Sorry isn’t enough, is it?” Nankyo asked.

Raz winced. “We have all made mistakes.”

“We none of us so deceived and hurt the others,” Nankyo retorted. “The crimes of Licht and Fae are great; an apology is not sufficient to make them right. We will be paying a long time for our mistakes, working to regain the trust of our children, fixing all that has suffered in our absence. But we did not poison, we did not lie and seduce, prey on our siblings’ weaknesses.”

“Enough,” Etain cut in. “I have said I will do what I can to begin making amends. You need not debate precisely how guilty I am. I have admitted my stupidity in the matter of Licht, and I will not regret trying to keep what I feel is mine.” She closed her eyes, then slowly opened them and lifted her head, squared her shoulders. “Marquis le Blanc.”

“Majesty?” Ailill asked, stepping forward and bowing.

“Do you recall our conversation of three months ago? What I bid you do?”

Surprise rippled across Ailill’s face. “Yes, Majesty.”

Etain smiled faintly. “Your courtesy is appreciated, Marquis. Bring me those items I bid you keep hidden and safe.”

“Majesty,” Ailill said with another bow, then turned and motioned to Ivan and his men. Ivan and three of them stepped forward, pulling from seemingly nowhere four glittering pieces of jewelry. From his own coat Ailill pulled out the pearl and onyx necklace he had once given to Noire. Stepping forward, he knelt and set them down before the Queen.

“Thank you,” Etain said. She looked up at him. “You never claimed your boon, my Marquis.”

Ailill shrugged. “I have all in life that I require, Majesty. By serving you, I gained my heart’s desire.”

“I am happy to hear that,” Etain replied softly. Her eyes flicked over Ailill’s shoulder to where Ivan stood with one hand on the hilt of his sword. “The Firelander is fierce, with a strong heart. Shadows taint his soul, but they are much faded, and the core of it is pure. Your lives will be long and prosperous, Marquis, as will the lives of those men who follow him. This is the last and final blessing of the Faerie Queen.”

“Thank you, Majesty,” Ailill said, bowing his head low, then taking up her hand and kissing the back of it.

Etain smiled faintly. “Go, now.”

Ailill bowed once more as he stood, then turned and walked back to stand with Ivan.

“What is all this?” Gael asked.

Etain reached out to touch each piece of jewelry, fingers delicate and light as they brushed over rubi, saphir, pearl and silver. “When I realized just how badly I had wronged, just how mad Licht had become, I started to devise a way to break into Schatten…we of course, cannot…but the right mortal could, if only he or she had help…before I could complete my work, the gods started to die. It became impossible, because at the time I was not willing to do what I will do now. Instead of letting my work be destroyed, I broke it up into five pieces and put them in the form of jewelry. You have no reason to trust me,” she looked at each god in turn, “but I am trying to make amends and I need your help to complete the work that I began so long ago. It requires nothing from you but to each take a piece of jewelry – one to each country present.”

Silence weighed heavy for several long minutes, before Freddie stepped forward and held out her hand. “Give me one.”

Etain nodded and picked up a comb made of highland silver, with roses made of rubi with esmeralda leaves, the stems and thorns made of gold. Freddie accepted the comb and slid it into her hair, the colored jewels startlingly bright against the pearls and diamonds already there.

“I don’t think I’ve worn such pretty things before,” Cortez said, holding out her free hand, the other one still holding her cigar. She whistled at the pearl and onyx choker Etain handed her, then handed it to Culebra. “Put it on me, little brother?”

Rolling his eyes, Culebra obeyed, the black and white gems glistening against Cortez’s dark-gold skin, a bizarre but strangely fitting contrast to the scars along her throat and face.

“We will take one,” Nankyo said quietly, though he did not move from where he stood. Etain nodded and selected a piece, tossing it to him. Nankyo caught it easy, snapping the fan open as he did so, lifting it to admire the esmeralda, saphir, and pearls set into it. Beside him, Raiden whistled appreciatively.

“I want that bracelet,” Raz said, fingers snapping out to catch the gold and rubi bracelet that Etain tossed. He fastened it around his wrist. “I think if you’d asked me to steal this, Ailill, you might not have gotten it.”

Ailill, Ivan, and his men all rolled their eyes.

The last piece of jewelry was a delicate diadem of silver and diamonds, glittering like starlight as Etain combed back her hair and set it upon her head. “The pieces were meant to unite the powers of the gods as a blessing of ultimate strength,” she said quietly. “Do not be surprised if you are jolted as the spell is cast.”

When they’d all nodded, Etain bowed her head, hands clasped in her lap, rainbow dress fanned out all around, wings shining brightly upon her back, like a Queen with her head bowed in the most pious of prayers.

“To make amends for my terrible mistake, to undo the wrong I have committed, to save Schatten, the Land of Light, fallen to the Shadow of Licht, I give myself back into the chaos which formed me, to form instead a blessing and power to help the child of chaos.”

Her wings flared brightly, the rainbow light pouring out, spilling over to wrap around the Queen herself, until the radiance was so great that only the gods did not have to look away. More light flared, for an instant, where each god wore or held the jewelry Etain had given them, before seeming to simply fade away.

Then it vanished, leaving the room to suddenly seem much darker. Dimmed.

No sign of the Faerie Queen remained; no sign of disturbance in the grass where she had sat in front of the great oak.

Gael slowly stepped forward, then knelt in the grass. When he stood, all could see the ring in his hand. It glistened like silver, then seemed suddenly to glitter like a diamond, then seemed to hold the iridescence of a rainbow, as though made from a piece of the wings of the lost Faerie Queen.

“Incredible,” Raz breathed, stepping close to take the ring from Gael’s palm.

Uninterested in the ring at present, Gael merely turned to Freddie, the two siblings holding each other tight.

Noire ached, to see the pain etched into Gael’s face. Was it all right…perhaps he should just leave the two of them alone for now…he looked around anxiously for someone that could help – his eyes fell almost immediately on Verenne, who held out her hand. Noire went to her, tangling his hand with hers, as they watched their lovers mourn the loss of their sister.

No one spoke further until the Guardians at last broke apart. Noire immediately went to Gael, holding tight as Gael clung to him, wishing he knew what to say.

A few minutes later the silence was finally broken by Ailill. “What exactly happened?”

Nankyo took the ring from Raz and held it up; rainbows flashed as it caught the light of the painted sun. “Schatten is blocked from us; gods cannot enter there. Both because of an old pact, and barriers that Teufel has erected specifically to keep us out. Only mortals could get through the barriers, and only a strong one at that – and I do not mean physical strength.”

“Beyond the barriers are the Sentinels,” Culebra said solemnly. “It would take no small amount of skill to get past them to reach Teufel himself.”

Raiden snatched the ring away from Nankyo, tossing it up in the air over and over, as though he were playing catch with a diamond. “Licht was the god closest to order. Things in his world are tightly controlled, more so than the other four. An ordinary person would not be able to simply sneak into Schatten and do as he pleases. There, everyone is the victim of oppressive fate.

Raz nodded at the words. “To defeat Teufel, the Shadow of Licht, would take a person of Chaos. Someone who can change, who wills himself to change, and instead of succumbing to those who would instill Order – changes them.”

“Such people are rare,” Cortez said, blowing out sweet-smelling smoke before she continued. “All people are subject to fate to some degree. It is how souls meet in every life, how we gods can bestow blessings that transcend death and time. It is why souls are reborn. The reason for coincidence, why there is such a thing as luck. People completely immune to fate, to destiny – to Order – are quite rare.”

Ailill shook his head. “Where would you find such a person?”

“We will have to look,” Kin said. “It could take but a moment, it could take several lifetimes.”

“How does the ring fit into it?” Verenne asked. “She did many wrongs, and I for one will not forgive her for a very long time, but she was also our Faerie Queen.”

“The ring will help,” Freddie said. “It is made of pure chaos, meant to be worn by a person of chaos. The ring will assist in keeping Teufel’s dark order from gaining the upper hand. We would have devised something ourselves…but it would not have been as elegant or powerful as this. Fae…Etain…was always the most talented creator among us.”

“Keep it,” Raiden said, tossing the ring to Gael. “Until we find someone to wear it. We are sorry it came to this.”

Gael nodded. “Thank you…she made her choices. We will miss her, but Verde has been poisoned long enough. She gave us what we need of her power, to shift the balance from three to two. We will manage.” He took a deep breath. “It is good to see you all again, despite everything.”

“The very same to you,” Raiden said. “We will speak again shortly. For now, I think we had best leave you in peace.” With another world-shaking crack of thunder, the dragons vanished.

“Show-offs,” Raz muttered. He smiled at his friends. “Come and visit sometime.” With a last wave, he vanished.

Cortez slid her hand into Culebra’s. “Farewell for now,” she said simply. They vanished, as silently as they’d arrived.

“Our Queen is really gone,” Seraphin said, swallowing, voice rough with tears he wouldn’t shed. “Verde has always had a Queen…there has always been three…”

Gael nodded. “Her portion of the power of Verde has shifted to balance between us two. We will adjust. She made mistakes, she has paid for them – and never doubt for a moment that she loved her children. It was for you she made the choice she did. Now we must be strong, and show that strong face to the people.”

He turned to Freddie, who nodded and stepped forward to join him, her voice ringing out. “We will make her a hero, for the people do not need to know what transpired here today. There has already been too much tragedy in Verde. Tonight we will celebrate, and pay respect to our lost Faerie Queen. Over time…we will heal. Verde is poisoned no more.”


Epilogue

Noire leaned over the railing of Freddie’s wide balcony, laughing at the antics in the private courtyard below – Ivan’s men currently doing their best to drive the White Mongoose and Fox to the brink of insanity.

Ivan and Ailill had retreated earlier, no doubt to spend some time alone now that the furor had finally died down. After mourning the Queen, who’d given her life to prevent a greater tragedy – Noire had seen more than a few Beasts who had wanted to grumble quite loudly about that, and Gael and Freddie had merely stood with masked expressions – it had been decided the best thing to do would be to unite both halves in the royal palace.

So everyone had moved; the Silver and Golden palaces closed up until a different purpose for them could be found. The Queen’s wing of the palace had been sealed, no one willing to ever set foot in there again. Eventually it would have to be put to some use, but…Noire, for one, was in no hurry to unseal it.

There were plenty of other things to do, anyway.

Such as watch the chaos in the courtyard below while he waited for the others to show up. Freddie and Verenne were taking their time emerging from their bedroom, and Gael had been dragged away at the last minute to deal with some problem.

It was strange how much had changed, and how much was still the same. Freddie and Gael still worked and worked at running the country, even though many duties were delegated to the Beasts. They were gods, he knew it – beyond their eyes, the obvious increase in their power, there was a difference in the way they carried themselves, in the deeper knowledge they possessed that occasionally slipped into conversation.

Down in the courtyard below, Seraphin bellowed – only Ivan’s men could cause the Mongoose to lose his temper – as Karp darted off with his jacket.

A dark blue jacket. Not white. Gael had eliminated that rule almost immediately.

Now he just grumbled about how often the seamstresses insisted he needed new clothes, most of them in shades of green. Thinking of it made Noire snicker.

“Kitten,” a voice said right before heat pressed up behind him and warm lips landed on his throat, right beneath his ear. “What are you laughing about?” Gael nuzzled against him, then shifted his attention to the antics below. “Ailill needs to give them something to do.”

Noire snickered again. “When he leaves his bed, I’m sure he will.”

“I like the way he thinks, Kitten,” Gael murmured, turning Noire around and kissing him hard, taking immediate possession of his mouth, pressing him to lean back over the railing, so far that Noire felt as though he would fall right over if he let go of Gael.

Which wasn’t likely to happen. He slid his arms up to wrap tightly around Gael’s neck, bring them flush together, clinging more tightly still when Gael suddenly grabbed him and sat him on top of the railing. “Gael—”

“I missed you, Kitten.”

Noire laughed breathlessly as his throat was attacked, glad he hadn’t bothered with a neck cloth, that Freddie always insisted these lunches were kept informal. “You’ve been gone fifteen minutes.”

“Mm…” Gael hummed in pleasure as he licked Noire’s lips before taking another hungry, dizzying kiss. His hands went to Noire’s jacket, sliding the buttons open easily, teasing across his chest, the press of the soft linen making the touches somehow more. “I’m spoiled. Now that I can have you whenever I want, I want you all the time.”

Noire just kissed him again, more than content to spend the rest of his – now very long – life doing nothing else, more than willing to survive only on the flavor and feel of his lover. “Gael.”

“Perhaps we should postpone lunch, hmm, Kitten?”

“Your sister will kill us if we do that again.”

Gael snorted softly as he dipped his head to lavish more attention on Noire’s throat. “Because of course she’s back there getting dressed and not playing with Verenne at all.”

Noire chuckled into Gael’s mouth as he took another kiss.

Howls and cries from below startled him into breaking away, and Noire buried his head in Gael’s shoulder as he realized he’d completely forgotten the group below.

Laughing, Gael yelled down for the group to find a different courtyard to destroy. Jesting calls were his reply, but in short order the courtyard emptied.

“Now, where were we?”

Noire slid his hand into Gael’s hair, wanting to yank the ribbon out and let the long, gold strands fall free – but they were supposed to be having lunch. Still, that didn’t keep him from tugging Gael close again, tilting his own head to meet the mouth that claimed his, burning all the way to his marrow.

“Ah, yes,” Gael murmured. “That’s where we left off. You are a constant distraction, Kitten.”

“Yes, we can see that,” Freddie said from behind him.

Noire snapped his head up, hand tightening in Gael’s hair, cheeks burning.

Gael turned and smirked. “Oh, yes, I can see you haven’t been distracted at all,” he replied, taking in Verenne’s still flushed cheeks, Freddie’s not quite perfect hair.

“Yes, but this is my suite,” Freddie said, folding her arms across her chest. “Nor are you running out on lunch yet again.”

“As you command,” Gael said tolerantly, sweeping his sister a deep, formal bow. He turned and tugged Noire off the balcony railing, pulling them flush together to steal one last, long kiss. “Temptation, Kitten.”

Verenne laughed softly. “Certainly I can now see why Noire pitched Giles into the fountain. I would have done the same.” She winked at Noire. “Hearing you called Kitten makes me shiver.”

“Oh, really,” Freddie said. “Obviously I am failing somewhere, sweet.”

“Not at all, I assure you,” Verenne said, giving Freddie a wink that was nothing like the one she’d given Noire.

Gael rolled his eyes as he sat down. “So they are allowed to play but I cannot?”

“We play with our clothes on when in the company of others, Gael.”

“That is your problem,” Gael countered.

Noire choked on his tea. “We’re not that bad.”

“Only because everyone makes me behave, Kitten,” Gael said, eyes blazing as he looked at his lover.

“Gael!” Noire said desperately, fidgeting in his seat. “Behave.”

Gael grinned and settled back in his own seat. “I suppose I can for a little while.”

“Through lunch,” Freddie said sternly.

“Through most of lunch,” Gael replied. “I still have months and months of secrecy to make up for.”

Freddie glared. “That is not a fair card to play.”

Verenne laughed. “You told me this morning you still had months to make up for, Freddie.”

“You, sweet, are supposed to take my side.”

“Well, that would be no fun.”

“Oh, really?” Freddie said, leaning forward in her seat, eyes flashing as the two fell into a friendly, heated argument.

Gael sipped his tea and watched them.

Noire was more than content to watch Gael.

That his lover was a god now was…not as strange as he supposed it should be. Perhaps because it had always been assumed that one day Gael would be. The only strangeness came in that he thought of the Ceremony in the past now, instead of as some ominous future.

All that lacked anymore was the Faerie Queen. By all rights, Noire knew, three gods should rule Verde – but Etain herself had readjusted the balance of power before she die, that it might be supported by two rather than three.

Someday, Gael had said, there might be three again. Until then…

Until then Noire would never tire of drinking in the sight of his lover. That they were no longer a secret was the strangest thing to him. Strange, but wonderful, and now that he could stare openly at Gael, he could not seem to stop doing it.

He realized abruptly that he'd been caught staring, and flushed.

“Something wrong, Kitten?”

“I…” Noire ducked his head briefly, but forced it back up. “I keep thinking I’ll wake up in that little room again. Or my own." Alone, with only secrets to warm him.

Gael set down his teacup and pulled Noire’s chair close to his own, settling his arm across Noire’s shoulders, tipping his head up for a slow, gentle kiss. “The only room you wake up in now is mine, Kitten. Always.”

Comments

[tygati.livejournal.com]

Noire just kissed him again, more than content to spend the rest of his – now very long – life doing nothing else

Yes, the lovers are immortal now. ^.~

[lokiloo.livejournal.com]

Ah, I missed that. Whoops?

Thankies. <3