Reunion

[Demeter]

Luca was a little wary about the idea of someone casting spells on him while he slept. The idea of it made him twitch just once but the logical part of his brain said to knock it off. He'd gotten a good nights sleep. Given that, Luca tried to shrug off the shivers and gave Aria permission to use the spell whenever it was needed. 

That night, the three of them stared at Kyros' bed. Out of the three, he had the biggest so they'd opted to use that one. Luca looked around at the small group. "Well, we won't just be magically popped into bed," He said and flipped back the covers. He crawled in and flopped on his pillow. That night, he had no terror inducing nightmares.

He dreamed of something else entirely. 

Luca dreamed that he was in a tunnel made of stone and mortor. The tunnel was not only dark but long and narrow. He held a torch to light his way down the tunnel. As he walked, he became aware of doors on either side of the tunnel. The woods was bright, telling him that the addition if doors to a tunnel were recent. And there were names written on plaques to the side of each door. Gawain's chambers. Gareth's chambers. Galahad's chambers. Arthur's chambers. 

He'd walked this path before. Luca pushed up the door marked Arthur's Chamber and stepped into the light. The room was illuminated by torches secured to the wall and branches of candles placed at various locations in the room. A fire burned in the simply designed fireplace along one wall. 

There was a woman in the room, seated before the fireplace, working on some piece of embroidery. She looked familiar, he thought as he moved closer. The hair and clothing was different but he thought this must be some dream version if Aria. As he stepped closer, the lady set down her embroidery and turned to face him. "I wondered when you would come to me. He still sleeps but you left awhile ago."

This was not Aria. The coloring may have been right but the face was different. The eyes of this lady were too old and saw far to much. Luca looked away, unable to keep contact. He looked over his shoulder, saw the male body on the bed tucked into a corner of the room. He turned back to the lady. "Where are we? Who are you? Are you Aria?"

"Aria does resemble me, a little. She has my coloring, that is obvious. I am Eiru, Queen of the Tuatha de Danann, and we are in Camelot. Well, a dream version of the Camelot your soul remembers. Merlin has cleverly hidden away the real Camelot, as well as the path to Avalon. How he managed to get the Monks to agree to move the Tor to Glastonbury, I still don't know. Your modern archeologists bicker over which pile of rocks is the real Camelot while the castle remains hidden away. It's in dire need of tender care. He won't be happy about that if he ever wakes. He was quite proud if his Camelot, you know. People could see it for miles and it had a very unusual design for a medieval castle. Most only had grand chambers for the lord and lady of a castle. You, sir, would have had slept in the great hall if it were any other castle but Arthur felt that such arrangements, especially when surrounded by mortals, were hard on Triads. When he commissioned Camelot, he designed chambers for his nineteen fellow inner circle knights and Aria's ladies. To any who questioned the design, he stated it was because he'd commanded these nineteen lords to remain at Camelot rather then traveling back and forth between their home keeps. Camelot was the center of his power after all and he wanted his knights close. The tunnels circling the rooms made it easier for the Triads to be together without raising the suspicion of the mortals." 

Luca cast another glance at the sleeping man. "Dream version?"

Eiru raised an eyebrow. "Don't you find it odd that you know you are dreaming? Come, sit by my feet, Luca, and let me tend to your hurts."

He did admit to himself that he knew he was dreaming. Luca cautiously crossed over to Eiru. "You are going to heal my wounds?" he asked as he sat on the fur-lined wooden floor. 

"Not heal, just make it easier to deal with. Your physical wounds," she touched his shoulder and then his forehead, "and the mental ones will teach those trapped in the island so much."

Luca jerked away from her hands. "Is that why I was put through that hell? So that someone could have a lesson in healing?"

Eiru slid from her chair to kneel before Luca. She held his face in her hands. "My dear child, that is not what I meant. Mars came to me, told me that he did not See what happened until it was too late. Do you think he would have abandoned you to that fate if he had known about it? Sometimes, not even the Gods See everything that could happen. I simply meant that watching your Aunt heal these wounds would be an education, yes but you did not go through hell just for that. It was not wished in you. Besides, if you were healed with the medieval ways still practiced on Avalon, you'd die from the shock of having it all healed at once."

"Then why did that happen? Why did my men have to die like that instead of being brave old warriors? Why was I treated like that? Why do I have to keep reliving it?"

Eiru smoothed his hair back and when the tears started flowing, she pulled the young man close and rocked him back and forth as if he was a little child frightened by a shadow. "My boy, not even I know the answers to that. Fates are hidden from all. If we knew what were to happen, we'd never leave our mother's arms and then we'd never learn, live or love. Perhaps the reason will come in time as to why you were taken to that hell but, for now, heal and learn from it."

Sniffling, Luca sat back. "How can I learn from it if I can't even think about it without freakin out?"

"That is the part I'm am going to heal."

"But Aria's magic, shouldn't that do the trick?"

"Aria is very skilled. I have pride in her abilities but those abilities only bring you back from the edge after you have been there. I'm going to block the terror so you can view the experience objectively."

"It was a waste then, granting Aria permission to use the spell on me?"

Eiru shook her head. "I have no doubt that there will be more nightmares. With Lancelot's memories leaking to you, you will experience more and Aria will help you with those. They are different then your hell. His personal hell was about what he'd done to others and not what had been done to him. He never wanted those ones removed."
Luca watched as the Goddess stood and stated collecting items. "I guess that's good then."

Eiru peered at from over her shoulder. "Oh? How so?"

"It's my father's theory. A man who wants a dreamless sleep is a monster for his is comfortable with the acts of his life. A man who doesn't want a dreamless sleep is a good man for in his dreams, he revisits what he has done and in those dreams, he punishes himself."

"And the man who has done nothing wrong? Shouldn't he have dreamless nights?"

Luca pondered it for a moment. "We all confront our true selves in our dreams. The man who has done nothing wrong probably dreams about the things he'd like to do. Murder the nagging wife. Strangle the crying baby. Stab the annoying coworker. When the good man wakes and is filled with revulsion at where his thoughts went, he confronts the darker part of himself and says it isn't worth it in the end. The bad man would start planning and assembling his tools."

"Very wise. The bad do what they want. The good consider the consequences if their actions. They might still do it but they realize what might happen," the Goddess said while kneeling down. "Now, I'm going to remove the terror."
Luca peered up at her. "Will it hurt?"

Eiru blinked. "No. No, it won't hurt but it might feel a little funny for a bit." She said before placing her hands on his head. She said something in a language he didn't understand. And then she started to glow. And as the glow grew brighter, the feeling his skull being too small for his brain increased. 

It was over in a minute and the moment the Goddess took her hands away, the feeling was gone. He blinked and shook his head. "That's it? The terror is gone? How do you know it worked?"

Eiru shrugged. "You'll know it worked when you don't experience complete terror with your nightmares."

Luca stood and looked around the room. He wasn't sure that he believed the Goddess completely but his attention was caught by the figure on the bed. He tilted his head to the side. "Who is that?" he asked, pointing with his chin. 

"Why don't you go look? He looks perfectly normal."

Luca edged up to the bed and stared down at the man he wore simple clothing and looked to be sleeping but there was no movement to indicate breathing. He had a vague resemblance to Kyros. "Is this Arthur? He doesn't look like Kyros. Why is he here instead of with Kyros?"

Eiru joined him by the bed. "To be fair, you don't look much like Lancelot either. He was pale and fair and refined. And you are..."

"The words you are looking for are one hundred percent of gorgeously awesome Italian genes."

The Goddess raised an eyebrow. "That's one way to put it. As for why he is here. Yes, this is Arthur. Or rather, the part of the soul that was Arthur. He lies here, waiting for the day Kyros needs his guidance. Up until a few months ago, that which was Lancelot was by his side in this make believe castle. Lancelot woke when you needed him. This part of your soul would have remained dormant except he was needed. You would have died if he hadn't woken and added his strength to yours and given you pleasant dreams while captive. It's a hard thing to explain, the past lives of the Alati but those who have previous incarnations generally don't know it and unless they are told about it, they think they are going insane."

Luca reached out and touched the covers of the bed. "I thought I was hallucinating. There I was being tortured and suddenly all I could see was people having a picnic in a meadow but then the dreams of that last battle and death came to so I knew I wasn't insane."

Eiru wrapped an arm around Luca's shoulders. "If you had needed tactical advice or how to defeat an invading tribe of saxons, Lancelot would have know better how to help but all he could think of was easing you mind, thus the pleasant memories but he had no control over it so those thoughts slipped in unbidden."

He loomed at her. "So what happens now? With Lancelot that is?"

"That which is Lancelot will merge with your soul as it is now. You'll gain his memories and knowledge and maybe a few of his traits. You might even take on a few of his physical traits and make some improvements to your, how did you say it, one hundred percent awesome Italian genes."

"Can't improve perfection? What about Mars?"

"What about him?"

"Will I have to leave him and devote myself to you?"

Eiru blinked and stared at him. "Well, I'm not going to force you to leave him. That has to be your choice, Luca. But enough questions for tonight. It's time to sleep and I think I'll give you the gift of a very good dream tonight, though I won't stay to watch. There are some things I don't wish to see. Oh yes, a hint for you; Aira loves horses," the Goddess said before touching a finger to his forehead. And everything went dark. 

The next time he opened his eyes, the room was dark and he was flat on his back. There were no candles or lit torches, just a fire burned down to embers and moonlight streaming through an uncovered window. Luca wiggled around suddenly realized that he was naked, in a bed and surrounded by two other people. He looked to his right and saw Aria sleeping, one hand flung up over her head. To his left was Arthur. He looked just like the still man from his time with Eiru but this one was breathing. And staring at him, Luca realized.

"Awake so soon, A Ghra?" The man, Arthur spoke and Luca shivered. His sleepy, deep voice was decadent velvet. Smooth and soft with just a hint of danger.

Luca stumbled over his words. "I...I...it isn't...I mean.."

Arthur smiled at him, turning in the bed to half lay on him. And, oh gods, this man was naked as well. Luca swallowed as Arthur's strong thigh slipped between his leg. Arthur kissed his neck, flicking his tongue over Luca's flesh. "Don't worry, A Ghra, I know what you need. Who knew that Darling Lancelot could be so shy and so wanton at the same time," the man, who was surely a figment of Luca's poor overworked brain said. Exactly what kind of dream had that Goddess given him?

"A Stor, wake up. Lancelot is feeling lonely," the man said, reaching across to nudge Aria. She murmured something about rude men but Luca could only groan when he felt her roll over and slid her hand down beneath the covers to stroke him. 

Luca came awake with a gasp, sitting in the bed. That dream had been intense and he had the evidence to prove it. The front of his shorts were damp and quickly growing cold. He could still feel where his past lovers had caressed him. Their hands had been hot on his skin and had left a feeling of fire behind. He could actually feel it where Arthur had been thrusting into his Lancelot. And how Aria had felt, moaning and writhing beneath him. He blushed. Luca, who'd never actually gone all the way with a lover before had just had the most intensely erotic dream if his life. 

When he heard a cough behind him, Luca slowly turned his head to see Aria, propped up on her elbows, staring at him. When she asked if everything was okay, Luca hunched his shoulders and nodded. He looked everywhere but at Aria. He noticed that outside the thankfully modern window, dawn was approaching. "Gotta feed the horses. Wanna help me?" He didn't wait fir an answer. "Good. Meet you in the kitchen in ten minutes," and he scrambled from the bed to reach the safety of his own room. 

Twenty minuted later, as he leaned against his horse's stall, watching as Aria discovered the delights if modern horse farming, Luca vowed revenge in Eiru for giving him a wet dream while he innocently slept between two people he barely knew. But plans would have to wait. He was curious about something. " Hey, Aria, did Arthur sleep like a log like Kyros does?"

[Maira]

To be truthful, Aria was surprised at how well Luca eventually adjusted to the idea of her using magic on him. Lancelot hadn't reacted nearly so well. Apparently his adjustment to the idea was so good that it was decided by Kyros and Luca to ask her if she'd join them to sleep that night. Her reservations about getting too involved with them while she was still grieving their past selves started slipping at that specific request. After all, how could she deny Luca the same comforts she'd granted Lancelot. They truly were one, if not entirely the same.

She had eventually agreed with only minor hesitation and when it came time for them to sleep she joined Luca in Kyros's bedroom and the three of them hovered around the bed until Luca made the first move and crawled on into the middle. Kyros quickly joined Luca, quite used to sharing his bed with the other man, and that left Aria staring at the pair of them waiting for her. Before the men could see them, Aria blinked back tears and took her place in the bed on the opposite side of Luca from Kyros. She faced the wall instead of the men and she hoped they didn't think she was being rude. She just really wasn't quite ready for this even if it was truly all platonic. The important part was that she would be close if Luca started to struggle with his nightmares again.

The morning came more quickly than Aria believed it should and when she felt Luca stir she tried to go back to sleep. When he didn't settle back down, she coughed slightly to get his attention. When he turned to her, Aria asked him quietly if everything was alright. He wouldn't look at her, but Aria just figured he wasn't quite awake yet and was trying to figure out how to unwedge himself from between herself and Kyros. When he finally scrambled out of bed, claiming the need to go feed the horses Aria flopped back onto her pillow and closed her eyes to try and return to sleep. Only as she lay there in the quiet did she realize that he had asked if she wanted to help him. Not one to pass up a chance to play with horses, Aria too scrambled out of Kyros's bed and bolted for her own room to get dressed.

It didn't take her long to make her way down to the barn, asking a few of the less bleary-eyed staff where they might have seen Luca run off to, most had no idea. Finally one of the women directed her to the barn with Luca's horse in it. "He's normally in there first thing in the morning, Miss. He'll be feeding his beastie, first and then the rest." Aria smiled her gratitude at the woman and hurried to the barn the woman had inidcated. Once she found him, and he showed her the basics of Odhran's feeding system and then just let her poke around.

Aria was happily flitting between horses when Luca snagged her attention with a question about how Arthur slept compared to Kyros. Barking out a laugh, she answered him, "There were only two things that could wake Arthur up out of a dead sleep before he was ready, a sword being drawn and sex." The horrified look on Luca's face made Aria giggle to herself and she went back to the horses. One young filly in particular seemed to take a liking to her and Aria couldn't help but reciprocated with extra snuggles and a few treats from the tack room slipped into her breakfast.

*****

Knowing that Aria was sharing their bed that night gave Kyros a huge sense of relief. After watching her work to soothe Luca the night before, he knew that if the younger man were to have anymore nightmares that she would be nearby to help again. For the first time since he'd started sharing a bed with Luca, Kyros slept soundly. And when he slept soundly, nothing at all woke him. When he woke to an empty bed shortly after sunrise, Kyros couldn't help but frown in disappointment. Then, figuring that at least Luca was already out with the horses, Kyros pulled the covers up over his head and went back to sleep.

When he finally woke again, it was well into late morning and he glared at the empty spots next to him in his bed. Then, realizing he was glaring at the empty spots he glared even harder because he was confused why he was glaring in the first place. What the hell was wrong with him? Just because he knew Luca and Aria were the other parts of his Triad shouldn't mean that he was acting all lovesick and lonely when he woke to find them gone before him. Muttering to himself about the sad state of his as-of-yet loveless existence, Kyros got up, dressed and down to breakfast in surprisingly quick time.

He had just wandered into the kitchen, sniffing hungrily at the wonderful smells emanating from where his sister-in-law was working away at the stove, when Aria and Luca walked in together. Luca looked at him strangely and Aria was smirking. Suddenly, Kyros was a bit wary about just what they'd been talking about so early in the day to get them looking at him that way.

[Demeter]

Luca told Aria about his dreams. Well, only about the part with Eiru. When she'd started muttering about interfering grandparents, Luca had laughed an told her about Darius' adventures in grand-parenting. She got a kick out of hearing that such a brave warrior had a hard time changing diapers. When the chores were finished, Luca invited Aria up to the hayloft so that they could sit in peace.

While munching on apples snitched from the tack room, Luca listened as Aria simply talked about Arthur. 
He could see himself being a friend to this woman and it certainly seemed like she could use one. And being able to talk to someone about Arthur seemed to help her out. She told him all about Arthur's quirks. And when they returned to the house to eat something more substantial then a shared apple, they encountered Kyros. 

While Aria giggled, Luca looked at him, scanning him up and down. He tried to remain his composure but a little laugh snuck out of him and he clapped a hand over his mouth. Once he got control of himself, mostly, Luca spoke. "Aria and myself, were going to go for a ride after breakfast. You're welcome to join use, Kyros, if you are awake enough to stay on a horse. 'Scuse us while we go change."

Mirage watched as the two scurried from her kitchen. Just past the door way, the two burst into laughter with Luca exclaiming that Aria was so right about something. She the turned back to Kyros. She gave him the same critical look that Luca had and, when she saw it, Mirage had to press an hand to her mouth to stop the giggles. When Kyros demanded to know what was going on, she waved her spatula at him. "You might have wanted to look at a mirror before you came downstairs. Hair everywhere, pillow marks on your cheek and your shirt is inside out."

While Kyros growled and grumbled, Mirage wisely kept her mouth shut. Once his rumblings quieted, Mirage smiled at him. "Those two seem rather friendly this morning. It was nice to see Aria smiling and laughing."

Upstairs, Luca fell across his bed, laughing to himself. The Once and Future king of Great Britain was a grump in the mornings! Aria had told him that Arthur hated mornings and that the only thing that would rouse him in the early morning was a sword being drawn or sex with his mates. Anyone who dared to wake him before he was ready was in danger of getting something vital lopped off. 

And the frown on Kyros face at the sight of them, awake and laughing, had been too much. Still chuckling, Luca rolled off his bed to change into his riding clothes. He might Aria downstairs and both of them snuck a look at Kyros at the breakfast bar, grumbling over his breakfast. Together they rode out into the far pastures of Emerald Heart. No horse had been turned out to graze in this part of the farm for a while and the grass was thick and green. Eventually, they reached a quiet part of the pasture where a rocky out cropping was shaded by apple trees. They untacked the horses, letting them graze while they sat on the rocks. 

It was easy to just sit with Aria and he hoped she felt the same way. Maybe it was because of Lancelot memories that made it easier to be around her. Aria was the same, mostly unchanged from that time. He might not have been Lancelot but the man's memories were becoming his. Now that he knew what was going on, it was easy to pick up on this. For example, Lancelot had hated book learning and had thought of inventive ways to escape his lessons. He could have used some of those in his youth. Sitting with Aria was peaceful. He might have felt a little guilty around Kyros but knowing what they were and had been to each other made things awkward. Not to mention what he'd seen last night. Damn Goddess...

Aria had scaled the tree and was stretched out on a limb while he sat below, tossing an apple from hand to hand. He'd already split a few between the two horses before shooing them away to munch on the plentiful grass. He looked up at the woman above him. "What is Avalon like?"

[Maira]

After he'd finished breakfast, Kyros stalked off back up to his bedroom to fix his appearance. Apparently everybody around him was in the mood to laugh at him today and he wasn't really in the mood to be laughed at. Once his hair was brushed and his clothes were on properly he made his way out to the barns. He thought of taking a spin on Heaven's Bane, practicing his horsemanship skills, but decided to spend some time with one of the horses that Odhran had rescued recently, a Vanner/Spirit Horse hybrid stallion that Odhran called Lobo. The poor beast had been horribly abused and while he wasn't malnourished like so many were that came to Odhran, he had a lot of mental issues to work through.

As soon as Kyros entered the small rescue barn, Lobo poked his head over his stall door and whickered a greeting at him. Kyros smiled at remembering just how surprised Odhran had been at the almost instant connection between the stallion and his brother. "Morning boyo, let me get you a snack and then I'll give you a good brushing," Kyros greeted the horse in return before making a quick detour into the tack room. He grabbed a few carrots and Lobo's grooming bucket and then went to the excitedly dancing stallion.

"You silly beast," he mumbled as Lobo nosed at his various pockets looking for sweets and totally missing the carrots in the grooming bucket. He dropped the carrots into Lobo's feed bin and when the stallion shoved his way past Kyros to get at them, he chuckled softly. Lobo was a very food driven horse, and Kyros had a feeling that the way to this "man"'s heart was definitely through his stomach.

Once Lobo was happily crunching away on his carrots, Kyros got to work. He started with the curry comb to help the last bits of the stallion's winter coat come loose. After that he moved on to the softer bristle brush. By the time he was done with the soft brush, Lobo was dozing and content and Kryos felt a sense of pride welling up in him. This was how Odhran had discovered that Lobo liked Kyros, he'd been the only person to get the stallion to calm down and relax this much. Knowing that from here on out, Lobo would be putty in his hands, Kyros finally plucked the hoof pick from the grooming bucket and went to work on his feet.

Kyros was so wrapped up in his work, now on Lobo's back feet and with his back turned to the stall door, that he never saw one of the barn kittens slip in under it. The kitten was stalking dust motes drifting in the sunlight from the barn windows and she'd seen some floating in Lobo's stall. She was so focussed on chasing those dust motes that when she jumped and swatted at them she didn't realize that her trajectory would have her colliding with the drowsy, normally spooky, stallion. Her impact with Lobo startled the kitten so badly that immediately she lashed out with the claws of all four feet at her "attacker". Poor Lobo, not knowing what was happening but feeling pain immediately kicked out with his hoof that wasn't on the ground. The one that Kyros had been holding and picking out.

When the stallion kicked out, his dinner plate sized hoof connected with Kyros's sternum and he went flying into the back stall wall, cracking his skull against it hard. The impact to the chest not only knocked the wind from Kyros, but it also snapped a handful of ribs and caused his heart to falter and then stop. He felt it stop, and felt his mind starting to go dark as the concussion took him. Just before he went under, he felt his heart give a weak pump and he prayed that it would keep beating, prayed that he wasn't going to die just yet.

*****

Aria had been enjoying her morning with Luca, an easy friendship seemed to be blossoming between them and for that she couldn't be more grateful. Friendship she could handle, she actually craved it. She was comfortably lounging on the branch of the apple tree that they had stopped near on their ride, when Luca asked her what Avalon was like. Switching from her back to her belly, she looked at him and smiled as she told him. "Its not as green as here, its actually a rather rocky island. Its home to many of my kind though, and the magic in the area is palpable even to most of the humans who share it with the Sidhe and the Alati who live there. Its a peaceful place by nature, the magic can be thanked for that, and the humans are as aware of the Sidhe and the Alati's existence as they are that of the magic. Its nice not having to hide who I am all the time. I can't wai--"

Aria's words were cut off as Excalibur shouted into her mind and pain seared into her chest. She nearly tumbled from the tree branch with the shock of the simultaneous pain in her head and her heart. When she could finally breathe again, she swung her legs off the branch and dropped to the ground in a crouch her eyes wild with panic as she turned to Luca. His eyes were equally wild and she knew he had felt it too. "Arthur!" she cried, her voice torn with grief. Her body shimmered and in an instant her dragonfly shaped wings were tearing through her shirt and she was white as ice from head to foot. She didn't wait for Luca, she didn't care if the human staff at Odhran's farm saw her, she launched into the sky and flew as fast as her wings and the gathering storm's winds would take her.

She reached the farm in record time but she had no idea where Arthur was, she could feel him but she could also feel him fading and that made it harder for her to pinpoint just where he was. What finally gave it away was the panicked squealing of a horse. Alighting outside the rescue barn, Aria shoved the doors open with the snow storm's howling winds and she sprinted through them to the panicked horse's stall. He panicked even more at her appearance and to get him out of the way she just flung open his stall door. She waited only long enough for the panicked stallion to bolt through the door before she rushed in. The sight of Kyros, similar in appearance to Arthur but clearly not him, sent a shock through her system strong enough to clear her head of the blind panic that had overtaken her. Running to his side and collapsing to her knees in the hay next to him, she could still feel him slipping away and she couldn't stop the tears from coming. She could see the dusty hoof print on his chest and knew not to move Kyros, but she also didn't know what else to do to help him. Her magic was not healing magic.

When she heard a scuff behind her, Aria spun into a fighting crouch, her wings flared to hide the fallen man protectively. The poor human groom stared at her with fright and she growled out at him, "Kyros is hurt, get help NOW!" Apparently getting yelled at was all the groom needed to prod him into action and he ran to the tack room and used the intercom to call up to the main house and inform Mirage that an ambulance needed to be called because Odhran's brother had been kicked in the chest and was out cold.

As soon as she heard the groom relaying the need for medical help, Aria turned back to Kyros and gently took one of his hands. She trickled only the tiniest amount of her magic into him, hoping to bring order to the erratic beating of his heart and help him hold on until real help arrived.

[Demeter]

Hidden away in the royal chambers of the dream version of Camelot, Eiru worked at her never ending tapestry needlework. She sat guard over the slumbering soul of Arthur until he woke. When she heard the cry of Excalibur, she jerked and stabbed herself with the sharp needle. She watched as small drops of blood fell to the white cloth of the tapestry. "Even still, they fight against me. So sooner after the reunion and their bond is already threatened?" She said to herself.

She heard a creak behind her to see the soul of Arthur sitting up. Smiling, she watched as the soul exited the room. With a flick of her wrist and stirred the fire up. She watched in the flames as Arthur went to Kyros to preserve his life. 
****
Luca felt the pain in his chest. He'd felt thus pain before; when he'd relived the deaths of Arthur and Lancelot. Wild eyed, he looked towards Aria, watching as she rolled out of the tree. When she called out Arthur's name, his mind fixed on Kyros. 

While Aria opted to use her wings to get back to the farm, Luca went for horse back. He would have liked to take the lighter mare but he was more used to his Sunrise. At a dead run, he jumped into Sunrise's back and kicked the big stallion into a gallop. He'd send someone for the mare and the tack later. Twisting his hands in the stallion's mane, Luca ordered him into the super speed his line was known for. 

They cut across fields, jumping the fences and dodging stock. Even with Sunrise's speed, Aria was far ahead of them and by the time he brought Sunrise to a sliding halt that brought him down to his haunches in the barn yard, he couldn't see her. He spun Sunrise in a circle, looking for any clue to where Kyros was. When Lobo came tearing around the corner, Luca spurred Sunrise towards the rescue barn. 

He lept off the stallion, Sunrise running off, and went running into the barn. Before he had a chance to see Kyros, he heard the groom calling for an ambulance. He knew that mortal medicines would have an adverse on the Alati/mutari hybrid male and dashed into the tack room. He shoved the groom out of the way and punched the intercom button. "Mirage, it's Luca. Cancel that ambulance and send for Genesis. No, I don't know what happened yet but I can feel that it's bad. Can't explain right now. Just send Odhran to the rescue barn. Send someone to catch Lobo and Sunrise. And have someone go to the far pasture to collect a mare and tack."

Letting go if the button, he ran down the hall to Lobo's stall where he found Aria crouched over Kyros' very still body. He knelt in the straw on the opposite side, hands shaking as he felt for a pulse. His fingers searched along the main artery in the man'd neck until he felt the weak, thready pulse. "Got a pulse," he called out, unsure if the woman opposite him would understand the terms. He fell back on his training. "Aria, I need you to listen to me. I'm going to need you to find blankets. We have to keep his body warm until help arrives. Aria, can you find me some blankets?"

While Aria was off, rummaging around for blankets, Luca took the chance to look Kyros over. He started at his head and neck. His field medic training had given him just enough ability to tell that while his spinal column had escaped unscathed, his skull hadn't been so lucky. He could sense the hairline fracture at the back of his head from where it had whacked into the stall's wall. He knew the man was bleeding from his head as well because the golden straw was turning red. "Aria! Where are those blankets! I need your hands in here!"

When Aria came running in to dump the blankets she found, Luca instructed her to cover him with the blankets. While she did that, he stripped out of his shirt, not caring who saw his scars, and folded the material into a sloppy skull. "Aria, very carefully and gently lift up his head. He's got some bleeders in addition to a fractured skull. We need to try and slow the bleeding. I'm going to put this under and around his head. I need you to keep gentle but firm pressure on it when I'm done. "

Together they got the shirt beneath his skull. While Aria was holding it there to stop the bleeding head wounds, Luca continued his exam. He slipped a hand beneath the blankets and under his shirt. He quickly found the dinner plate sized indent cause by Lobo's hoof. He cursed when he found it and cursed again when he encountered the broken ribs. Gently he felt around the area and when he encountered soft flesh, he cursed for a third time. He'd been cuddled up to man often enough to know that he didn't have an extra gram of fat on his body. Kyros had a rock hard body and the soft flesh found on his belly could only mean one thing. Internal bleeding. 

He heard the sound of running feet and looked up in time to see Odhran and his father come skidding into the barn. Quickly, Luca stood and blocked the stall entrance. "Can't move him. Not until Genesis is here. Where is she?" 

Odhran held his father back from going to Kyros. He'd seen enough injuries caused by large hooves to know that they needed to avoid moving Kyros any more then needed. He grunted as he got an elbow to the gut but he kept his grip on his father. "Just coming out of the gate when we left the house. She's right behind us."

And then Genesis was there, telling everyone to get the hell out of her way. She barreled past Odhran as Luca quickly side stepped. She was followed by her two apprentices, Belladonna and Alice. Luca went around and pulled her away. "It's okay to let go now. Genesis is going to take care of everything."

Genesis knelt in the straw and whipped the blankets off. Her apprentices set to work on stripping Kyros of his clothing. She conducted her own quick visual exam of his wounds. While she worked, she called to Luca, asking him what he'd found. 

"Weak and thready pulse. Hairline skull fracture at the back, near the crown, multiple scalp lacterations, broken ribs, I believe that the impact may have completely separated his sternum from his rib cage. Possible internal bleeding but I couldn't find the source."

"I'll find it," Genesis said while rolling up her sleeves. She set one hand on the man's forehead and the other just to the left of the obvious indentation on his chest and just let herself sink into his body. First she healed the broken bones by reattaching the sternum to the ribs and accelerating the healing process and them sealing the fracture on his skull. Then she found and repaired the ruptured organs before draining the blood from the abdominal cavity and causing the head wounds to clot. 
It seemed like a long process and that she was doing nothing but everyone could see that his chest no longer bore the shape of Lobo's hoof.

While his grandmother worked, Luca held onto Aria, wrapping her tightly in his arms. "Shhh, it's going to be okay. Genesis is the best healer out there. She saved me from my wounds, my father from the damage inflicted on him from a giant squid, an uncle of sorts from third and fourth degree burns to 75% of his body. If anyone can fix him, it's her."

When she was finished with the Healing, Genesis slumped backwards. Out cold from the strength she'd used up, Alice caught her while Belladonna started another exam. She looked up. "His wounds are healed but except for the concussion. She used up her strength to heal the bones and the internal injuries almost completely. Now that his body doesn't have to focus on that, it can heal the concussion and the wounds to his scalp. We should get him to the house and into bed."

"A room has already been prepared. Best get him there as soon as possible. I don't think Mirage can distract his mother for much longer."

Everyone who was conscious turned to see Darius standing the hall with a couple of strong grooms and a make shift stretcher. Odhran and his father were the ones who shifted Kyros from stall floor to stretcher before covering his body with a blanket and easing the stretcher out the door. Darius swooped in to lift his wife from the floor and carry her out, Alice and Belladonna trailing him. 

Luca looked down at Aria. She was pale and starting to shake. Luca put aside his own thoughts for a moment as he realized how this might have affected her. She'd just found Kyros, the reincarnated match to her soul, and had almost lost him again. He lifted Aria into his arms and carried her the house. 

The grooms to stayed behind to clean up the bloody mess in the stall. They tossed out the ruined straw, picked up the grooming elements, found the crumbled hoof pick. They even found the kitten, dazed but in one piece from her misadventures. They brought the jumpy stallion back into the barn and spent the rest of the day calming him. 

Deirdre screamed the moment she saw her oldest being carried, unresponsive and bloody, on a stretcher to the house. She would have jumped off the porch if Merlin hadn't caught hold of her around the waist. "Don't go upsetting them now. Wait till they get him on a bed."

Luca followed, still holding Aria. Behind them, Alice and Belladonna exchanged glances. Belladonna followed the troop upstairs while Alice pulled Mirage towards the kitchen. Food, she said, and drink to combat the shock that would be hitting soon was needed. 

Luca sat with Aria on his lap. They ate and drank what was pressed on him and Aria eventually fell asleep. Luca waited out the hours. When the sky was dark, he eased out from beneath Aria to sit next to the bed where Kyros was laid out, still as death. Luca took his slack hand and held it

He hadn't know Kyros long, barely a month had past since the man had demanded to know why he was purposefully angering a prized horse. Despite that, Luca knew that if he were to lose Kyros now, his soul would be shattered. 

Bowing his head down, Luca clenched Kyros' hand in his and pressed a kiss to his warm knuckles. "Come back to me, Kyros. A Ghrá mo Chroí, come back to us."

[Maira]

If she hadn't heard his voice before he came running into the stall, Aria would have attacked him. The stories never got Guinevere right, they always claimed her as some delicate damsel not the warrior fae that she actually was. Right now the warrior and the protective wife were very much in sync and anybody who dared try and come too close, that she didn't trust, would find out the hard way just how wrong the stories were.

Aria watched Luca as he crouched next to the broken and bleeding man and as he checked for a heartbeat at Kyros's neck. When he ordered her to go find blankets she nearly objected, but she wasn't really sure her magic was doing his heart any good so she did as Luca asked because at least he seemed to know what he was doing. When she came back with the blankets he helped her get what appeared to be his shirt around Kyros's bleeding skull and then she cradled it in her hands, waiting for more help to arrive.

It didn't take long, soon Odhran and an older man came barrelling into the barn and shortly after them came a trio of women. She wasn't sure if Luca had said anything to her, but as soon as the woman in charge crouched next to Kyros he was pulling her away from where she'd been kneeling at his head. She tried to fight him, tried to stay with Kyros, but Luca's words convinced her to give in and let the healers do what they had come to do. She didn't realize that she was whimpering until Luca shushed her, trying to comfort her and convince her that everything would be okay. Aria tried to believe him but she'd felt his heart stop, that's what that pain had been, and she knew what that meant. She'd felt it twice before and both times it had meant death. She'd just found him again, Aria couldn't wait hundreds of years for him to be reborn again. If he didn't miraculously survive this Aria was pretty sure she wouldn't either.

Finally after what seemed like forever, the woman that Luca called Genesis slumped backwards and one of the others stepped in to do something while the other caught and gently eased down Genesis. The one that had gone to Kyros proclaimed his mortal wounds healed and that he was fit to be moved to a bed. Hearing this, Aria's form shimmered and she was once again the human looking woman with mousey brown hair though her skin stayed extremely pale. Her body began to tremble and she started to get a little dizzy where she stood. If Luca hadn't swung her up into his arms when he did she likely would have fallen.

After she was safely up in Luca's arms, Aria's mind mostly just stopped. Her heart couldn't handle the painful memories it was throwing at her and with one of her Triad seeing to her, it was just easier to not be mentally present. When Luca carried her from the barn to the house, then up the stairs and into Kyros's bedroom she barely noticed. When food was practically shoved at her she numbly went through the motions. It wasn't until sleep took her, still held safely in Luca's arms, that Aria was finally free from the terror that had her in its firm grip.

*****

Arthur was lost in Camelot, something which had never happened. He had planned every stone's placement and had never, not since the foundation was laid, been lost in his own castle. Wandering the stone tunnels that he thought he knew, he tried to figure out just where it was he was supposed to be going. Surely if he could remember that he would remember how to get there. Finally he found himself at a dead end in the tunnel with a door and on the door there was an odd looking word on it that he didn't know. Was it a name like the others? He didn't remember anybody by that name, and it was just odd enough that he would have remembered it for certain. Having learned long ago to trust Fate, Arthur lifted the latch, opened the door, and walked through hoping that he would find whatever it was he was supposed to be looking for on the other side.

What Arthur found was himself in a pain ravaged body, unable to breath properly and unable to move. The world was dark and all but one of the voices he heard around him were unknown to him. The last Arthur knew he'd been in battle fighting Mordred and to hear his nephew's half brother Bricius's voice was startling. When his body was lifted from what he assumed was the ground, Arthur was lost entirely to the darkness.

*****

Unaware of what his body was going through, or what had even happened, Kyros was wrapped securely in his dreams. Aria was there, in a long dress and with much longer hair, and they were walking on a rocky isle that seemed to be adrift on the sea surrounded in mist. Her eyes were worried and she was begging him, "Why do we have to build another castle, Arthur? The one here on Avalon is fine and the people here understand our kind. Living among only humans will be dangerous to our family and being separated from Avalon will leave us all vulnerable!"

"Guinevere, a stór, we will endure. It is the nature of our kind, after all. The humans don't call us immortal for no reason." The words had come out of his mouth, but the voice wasn't his. Neither was the inflection. Nor would he be calling Aria by her given name, or any such endearment. Believing that he must be dreaming of his past life with her, Kyros gave up trying to make sense of anything.

"Immortal our kinds may be, but only in longevity. We are not immune to the same dangers that kill humans and if we live among them we are more likely to suffer those dangers. Arthur, if you must build another castle please do it here on Avalon. Our family, your knights and their mates, are safer here I wish you would see that!"

Feeling frustrated at being yelled at and told how wrong his decision was, Arthur turned and walked away from Guinevere. What he saw next was a sunny green meadow. Guinevere and Lancelot were both there and their horses were grazing a short distance away. The other two were deep in conversation and by the twinkle in Gwen's eyes, Arthur was certain he knew what topic they were discussing. Recently one of his knight's mates had become pregnant and Gwen had become set on joining her in her condition. Neither Arthur nor Lancelot objected to the activities required to get her that way, but Arthur did worry at the safety of the idea. The land was restless and he feared that hard times were coming.

Worried Arthur once again turned away and this time he was greeted by a blood battle field. It was odd, he thought, looking down on his own blood-covered corpse. How could be be both dead on a battlefield and seeing himself dead on a battlefield? He turned from the sight of his own body and searched for Guinevere and Lancelot. Lancelot was a berserker knight and he wouldn't have shied from any battle, and their lovely Guinevere was no courtly lady as most believed she was. She too would have been fighting nearby. His eyes shortly found Lancelot and a great sadness took him. If he'd had a body still he would have fallen to his knees in mourning. Instead he turned, searching desperately for Gwen. When he finally found her, the remaining knights of his round table were bodily dragging her from the battlefield. She was wailing and screaming, cursing them in all three of the tongues she spoke. At one point she escaped and sprinted to his body, throwing herself on it and screaming out her rage. When they reached her she ran again, this time to Lancelot's body. Her screams of sorry and rage were no less intense for their third than they had been for him and Arthur was pleased. It was only right that she would mourn them as equally in death as she had loved them in life.

Unable to take the sight of his wife's utter desolation any longer, Arthur turned again. This time his eyes fluttered open and he found himself in a strangely familiar room before his own presence was swallowed up by that of Kyros. Looking around, Kyros realized that something was very wrong. He knew he'd gotten out of bed that morning, but he remembered nothing more than that. How had he gotten back to his bed without knowing what had happened during the day?

He tried to lift head and prop himself up on his elbows, but he quickly decided that was a very bad plan as shooting pains seared through his entire upper body and his head. Quite unbidden, a loud groan of pain escaped him. He felt his bed shift and in an instant Luca was visible and it was then that he noticed the feeling of the other man's hands gripping one of his own. Even in pain, and obviously missing a few hours, it didn't take much for Kyros to make the connection. Luca sitting at his bedside, plus pain, equaled what was likely a very bad run-in with a horse.

When Kyros's eyes connected with Luca's, the warmth that he felt in his heart for this man was stronger than he'd ever felt before and as relief filled his voice, he whispered gruffly, "Mo shearc, buíochas le Dia!" Kyros knew what the words meant but he was a little surprised to hear them coming from himself. Sure he felt strongly protective of Luca, and he wanted their Triad to be something special like he knew Luca's parents' Triad to be, but at this point in their friendship he was surprised to find himself calling the man "my love" and thanking god for him. Thinking on it too much made him woozy, so Kyros just ignored it for now and instead asked the startled looking Luca, "What did I do this time?"

[Demeter]

It seemed as if this vigil would last for hours. Outside of the room, he'd heard the others shuffling by to get ready for bed but he doubted any would sleep deeply until Kyros woke. The habits and routines of normal life were comforts in times like this. Within Kyros' room, Luca held in his hand, bowing over it and praying to every god that he would return to them whole. 

When he heard a groan, Luca started and then glanced around. Kyros' eyes were open! He stood and leaned forward, still gripping Kyros' hand until he was in his field of vision. He couldn't help a low chuckle at the question the man asked. He freed one hand and used it to brush at Kyros' hair. "Moving isn't a good idea right now. Best to stay flat until we can get some powerful painkillers in you. You had a very sudden encounter with Lobo's hooves to your chest."

Given the way Kyros paled, Luca guessed that he understood the implications about his injuries. Luca listed them off in the same order he'd given Genesis. "You had a very weak and thready pulse. Hairline skull fracture at the back, near the crown, multiple scalp lacterations, the concussion, and broken ribs. The impact of his hoof completely separated your sternum from your rib cage. Internal bleeding from lacerated organs."

Luca sat on the matteess, still holding Kyros' hand, and leaned over the other man. "You are very lucky to be alive, Kyros. Very lucky. We were so very worried that you wouldn't make it. Let me get you something for the pain."

Luca went to the door and opened it, blinking when he saw Belladonna sitting on the floor. "Uh, he's awake..."'he said. 

Belladonna bounced up, "that's good," she said before going into the room, hauling a bag in. She looked at the man. "Bet you could use some relief from the pain. On e i get this pump set up, there will be no pain."

It didn't take her long to set the medication pump up and to get an IV started. Once that was done, she loaded up a bag of Alati strength morphine. She handed the button to Kyros and smiled when he hit it a few times. "Call form me if you need anything. Genesis will be in to look you over in the morning." And then she was gone. 

While his aunt had been setting up the pump, Luca had checked on Aria, covering her with a blanket. When Belladonna was gone, Luca returned to Kyros' side and took his hand again. He didn't want to be apart from him. "Do you remember what happened? Odhran thinks you might have been grooming Lobo when it happened."

[Maira]

Hearing that he'd gotten a lot more up close and personal with one of Lobo's hooves caused Kyros's stomach to plummet. Hearing the list of his pre-Healing wounds made him gawk. He couldn't believe he was still alive, no wonder Luca looked so ragged. When the younger man offered to go get him some pain killers he smiled with gratitude and relief.

Almost as soon as Luca opened the door, in whisked a woman he'd never met before who started chattering away about getting him set up with something to take the pain away. He let her stick him with an IV, watching Luca tenderly cover Aria with a blanket, and when she gave him a button to push as needed he thanked her quietly. When she told him to call her if he needed anything he smiled his understanding and breathed a small sigh of relief when she breezed out his door.

Luca came back to sit with him as soon as the woman was gone and the question he asked caused Kyros's face to screw up in frustration. "I have no idea what happened. The last thing I remember before waking up now, was waking up this morning to you and Aria gone from my bed." After he'd spoken, Kyros realized how disappointed he sounded and immediately felt his face warm. He really hadn't meant to let either of them know he'd been bothered by their early departure, but the combination of the pain and the morphine were doing funny things to the filter between his brain and his mouth.

Instead of saying anything else that might be incriminating, Kyros questioned Luca. "Is Aria alright? She looks like hell. Is it because of the Triad bond?" He didn't mention how rough around the edges Luca was looking at the moment too, but if him being injured affected them through the Triad bond then that would explain Luca's dark circles under his eyes too.

As if her name being spoken was her cue, Aria roused slightly where she slept in the chair. She made sleepy noises, shifted around a bit, and seemed to settle again until she bolted upright panic clear on her face. Her body shimmered and her Sidhe form claimed her once again as she cried out in Gaelic and then English, and finally a language Kyros didn't know the name of, though he somehow understood it as clearly as the other two. As quickly as she'd sat up Aria collapsed again, landing on her strange dragonfly looking wings in a manner that couldn't be comfortable. Kyros wasn't sure if the whimpering now coming from her was caused by whatever dreams she seemed to be having or because she was laying on her wings.

[Demeter]

Luca looked down at Aria. With a sigh, he stood, telling Kyros to hold on while he got the woman sorted out. He untangled the blanket from her lower body and examined her delicate looking wings. Since they didn't appear broken, he smooth them down and carried her to the other side of Kyros' bed. After covering her with a blanket, he returned to Kyros' side. Sitting on the side of the bed, he took the man's hand in his, lacing their fingers together. 

"Aria's had a hard day. We've all had a hard day. Aria and myself went out for a ride to the far pasture; the one with the apple trees. We went out there to talk. She can make sense of memories of Lancelot that I keep stumbling over. And I think just being able to talk about those times makes things easy for her. We...felt it when Lobo's hoof hit. She took off right away, in that form, and I followed on horseback.

"Aria found you first and then me. Imagine how she must have felt, Kyros, to see you crumpled on the floor and bleeding. Arthur and Lancelot died hundreds of years ago but she's been sleeping all this time. She only woke up three weeks ago and the pain of losing her husband and mate is still too fresh. We are not what she wants but yet, at the same time we are. When she felt the blow, she cried out Arthur's name before speeding off. She's been out since my aunt, the woman who hooked you up to the magic juice box, declared the mortal wounds healed."

Luca squeezed Kyros' hand and then told him to get some sleep. After a bit of fidgeting, Luca managed to angle his chair so that he was alongside the bed, allowing him to keep hold of the man's hand. He didn't want to crowd the two on the bed but he didn't want to be far away from him either. With his feet propped on the edge of the bed, Luca dozed lightly. Since he didn't sleep deeply, the nightmares didn't come that night. Instead, he listened for any sound from the two on the bed. 

***
Genesis checked on her patient in the morning. Healings like that tended to take a lot out of her. She's slept deeply until 10pm, when she'd woken to piddle around, eat some cure-all canned and condensed chicken soup, take a shower, and piddle around a little more before curling up next to Darius. She woke in the morning, refreshed. She wondered if the same could be said for Kyros.

She hated healing like that. If Kyros hadn't been a fit and strong relatively young Alati, the healing could have killed him just as easily as his wounds. She would have preferred to have healed the injuries to the organs and allow the ribs to heal naturally. The way his ribs had been snapped, made that impossible as they would have kept the organs from healing so it had to be done at once. 

Healing like that was best saved for life threatening or complex injuries. The process used up the stores of proteins and acids and nutrients needed to repair the wounds. Which was why it was best if the patient was in peak physical condition. Take too much and they wouldn't have enough to sustain life, even when healed. 

Kyros was fit and there'd been enough reserves to patch him up. All except for the concussion. That would have to heal on its own. She quietly peeked into the room and, seeing that all three were still sleeping soundly, beat a quick retreat.

[Maira]

Kyros waited while Luca tended to Aria, moving her to the bed next to him before taking up his place at the side of the bed once more. The guilt at hearing how poor Aria had reacted to his injury made Kyros cringe. He may not have known her very well but that didn't mean he wanted her to suffer unnecessarily because of him. And apparently he'd done something stupid around Lobo and gotten himself kicked for it. He knew the horse had a troubled past, but he also knew that of all the people at Emerald Heart he wasn't one that Lobo would lash out at without provocation. Still, whatever the reason that Lobo kicked him, his own physical pain had somehow transmitted through their bond and had sent Aria into a darkness he had no experience with and he couldn't help but worry and feel bad for his part in it.

After Luca told Kyros that he should sleep, and then proceeded to make himself comfortable in the chair next to the bed, Kyros laid his free hand on Aria's hip in hopes that she would get some measure of comfort from the contact. Only has the morphine and exhaustion took him under again did Kyros realize that Luca had twined their fingers together and a small content smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

*****

The trip to Avalon was surprisingly not delayed at all. Two days after his injury, Kyros, Luca and Aria approached the farm's gateway. Merlin had built his home near the dock which had at one time served as the land-side port for Avalon and next to the dock was another gateway. This gateway was long unused, had been locked by Merlin himself when Avalon disappeared, but before going on the journey to find Arthur and Lancelot reborn he had unlocked it. Considering Kyros and Luca's wounds, gateway travel was likely to be the least taxing both physically and emotionally. Not to mention it would be much quicker.

Once the trio arrived at the gateway, Merlin smiled at them and gestured them closer. Belladonna was already present and waiting for them. She eyed her patients and Kyros couldn't help but flinch and look away under her scrutiny. He still felt like a buffoon for getting himself kicked by Lobo, who it was figured out later had been scratched while dozing (likely by the dazed kitten found in his stall), and having Bella staring at him reminded him of how silly the whole thing was.

Before Merlin could open the gateway, Kyros turned to his younger brother and asked for the third time, "When we figure out if we can get horses onto Avalon, let alone ourselves, you'll bring Lobo to me right?" Odhran smiled and nodded, resisting the snicker that was trying to bubble out of him. Kyros glared and then grumbled, "You know he's been unmanageable for everybody but me since he kicked me. You'll all be miserable if he has to stay here without me for long."

At that Odhran did laugh, and nodded his agreement. "On that you're right brother, I think he feels bad for hurting you and just wants to make amends." What Odhran didn't say, was that somebody else that was trying to make amends was the kitten who'd scratched Lobo. She'd been seen sitting or laying outside his stall door on more than one occasion.

Aria watched the exchange between the brothers and cringed at the idea of Lobo coming to Avalon with them. The horse had nearly cost her Kyros, and through him her connection to Arthur, and she truthfully wanted nothing to do with the beast.

While Kyros and Luca said their goodbyes to their families, Aria stepped away and stood next to Merlin who put a comforting arm about her shoulders. "All will be well, my dear, you'll see. Your Triad is even stronger this time around and I have faith that they won't be taken from you again anytime soon." Annoyed that Merlin was able to read her feelings so well, Aria smiled stiffly at the older man and sidled away to stand on her own. Merlin frowned at her distance but didn't say anything.

As soon as the other two men were ready, Merlin opened the gateway and gestured for Aria to cross the threshold first. Belladonna went next, on the off chance that either Luca or Kyros had issues passing through and needed her on the other side. Next came Luca and Kyros, the older man barely allowing the younger one to pass through before he followed. Merlin turned and said his goodbyes to Darius and then he too slipped through the gateway.

*****

The boat that Aria had left Avalon in was still quietly bumping against the dock when they arrived at Merlin's property, through the gateway. The boat was a long, flat-bottomed creation with magical runes etched along the water line and around the top edge that prevented capsizing and passengers tumbling overboard. Aria left the gateway site immediately upon exitting and made her way over to the dock, taking a seat on the end and staring off into the perpetual mists.

If one left the dock and went back onto land, the sight of the mists would disappear. If one went farther into the water, the mists would get thicker. If all went well, when they came out of the mists they'd come into sunshine with a large rocky isle before them. If they weren't so luck and for whatever reason Avalon turned them away, when they left the mists they'd once again be adrift in the waters just off-shore of the dock that they'd left from.

Aria wasn't sure how she felt about going home now. Sure, her Triad once united once more but going home also meant being surrounded by people who knew she was royalty. People who knew that whoever was Excalibur's bearer was also royalty, though he wasn't born to it this time. People who would expect her to act as queen to them, and wife and mate to Kyros and Luca. Aria wasn't ready for any of it.

She wanted more with Luca and Kyros, more than friendship, but she was now also scared of it. If their Triad developed into anything more than friendship and something happened to either of them, taking them from her, she was almost certain she wouldn't survive it. Almost losing Kyros when they barely even knew each other showed her that quite clearly. Maybe she could just let them be together, let them love each other like they already seemed on the path to doing, and just be an adviser or confidant of sorts. She would not marry Kyros, would not be his queen. She could tolerate being one of his knights, but anything more than that would take too hard of a toll on her heart.

[Demeter]

Luca hiked across Avalon in search of Kyros. The knights wanted to speak to him about something and had deemed Luca the best person to track him done. He knew where Kyros would be; the old apple grove on the far side of the island. The three of them had taken that patch of land as their refuge from the people of Avalon and whenever one of them couldn't be found, that's where they'd go. 

The three months that he'd been living on Avalon had been interesting. It was definitely a simpler life here what with no high-tech anything. At least the people here had figured out indoor plumbing sometime ago, Luca thought as he closed in on the apple grove. He could see Lobo cropping at the grass that grew under the trees so Kyros was nearby. 

One of the drawbacks to living here was that while the people were nice, they kept calling him Lancelot and Kyros Arthur. And many seemed confused that their triad with Aria was barely a triad at all. The inner circle seemed to get it but even they slipped once in a while. And Aria wasn't having an easy time of it. He knew she was trying to stay out of the way of him and Kyros having an relationship but he knew it had to be hurting her.

They tried to keep things simple, for Aria's sake. Even then, maintaining a simple friendship with Aria was hard. She was grieving for the men she'd lost and everyday he and Kyros would exhibit one more trait or habit that had belonged to Arthur or Lancelot. It couldn't be easy for Aria to see men she barely knew act, behave or say things like those deceased beings. 

Luca approached Kyros, sitting beside him in the tall grass beneath a tree. The older man was sprawled out with the remains of his lunch beside him. He nudged Kyros' thigh with his foot. "Gawain is looking for you," he said, "something about wanting to know about rebuilding Camelot once Merlin tells us where he's hidden it."

While his relationship with Aria was simple friendship, what he had with Kyros had deepened considerably in the months they'd been on this island. Stretching out on his side, Luca leaned over Kyros and kissed the man. He still remembered the first time they'd kissed. 

It had been a month and a half ago, right here in this apple tree grove. They came here to spar, away from the prying eyes of the other knights. None of them could understand why picking up a sword could strike fear in the heart of the bravest warrior ever known to Avalon. And indeed, they hadn't understood when he'd freaked out and gone into a battle rage during a public spar. It had taken his own damn horse trampling him to knock him out. Since then, all of his spars had been out of the way and only with Kyros. They'd practice slowly with the older hybrid backing off if he saw any sign of panic. 

And then one day, there'd been no fear. At least, no fear when he'd been facing off against Kyros. It had been exciting to face someone who knew what it was to be in battle. He could remember the moment, it happened.

They'd locked blades and where alternately pushing and pulling, both trying to free their blade while making the other lose contact. They'd been panting and grinning at each other and damn Excalibur had been singing like a choir of angels. The next thing he knew, they'd tossed the blades aside and where kissing like starved, hungry men. They'd been down on the ground, half naked with Kyros' hand down his pants when fucking Galahad had ridden up, shouting about some sort of emergency. 

Okay, a child having fallen into a deep well was probably a real emergency but they could have handled it without Kyros' assistance. They'd managed to live hundreds of years without needing Kyros around to fix everything.

And since then, every time they'd started to get serious about getting naked together, someone interrupted them. This time was no different. Kyros, no doubt as frustrated as Luca, had responded to his kisses with urgency. His tongue had been doing exciting things to Luca's neck and his hands had managed to find Luca's ass when Gawain appeared, shouting for his king. As Kyros collapsed back into the grass with a groan, Luca dropped his head to the man's chest. "Gods, give me the strength to not kill each and every one of them," he muttered before sitting up so that Gawain could see him. 

"Oh, Lord Luca...I didn't expect to see you here," Gawain, on seeing that Luca was straddling the High King's hips and that the High King had a firm grasp on his second in command's ass, had the decency to look away. "Please excuse me, my Lords, it's just that Lady Aria has returned from the main land and is asking for you."

Luca sighed, for it seemed like yet another possible first time was going to be cut short. "You can return and tell her that we will be there shortly."

He knew that if they didn't show up soon, someone would come looking for them. Luca waited until Gawain was out of hearing range before pressing his head against Kyros'. "I'm getting real tired of this interrupting us shit they all seem to do," he said, "I want you, Kyros. I want you inside of me."

[Maira]

Kyros agreed whole-heartedly with Luca's prayer to the gods to give him strength not to kill the rest of the knights. He was also extremely grateful for Luca's placement across his hips because while the younger man was surely able to feel his arousal, at least Gawain couldn't -see- it. Running his hands over his face to help clear his mind, Kyros listened as Luca gave Gawain instructions to let Aria know that they would be there soon. Before the other knight rode away, Kyros added gruffly, "If we don't show up in the next ten minutes, please for the love of the gods, don't send anybody out looking for us. I promise, we can find our own way by now."

The look Gawain shot Kyros made him laugh, which inevitably pressed him into Luca as his body shook. "Yes my Lord," Gawain answered with a knowing smirk and then he turned his horse away and made his way back to the castle. Once the knight was out of sight and Luca stopped talking, Kyros tumbled Luca off of him and onto the leaf-strewn floor of the orchard, still between the other man's thighs.

Leaning down to kiss Luca, Kyros pressed himself against Luca suggestively, his arousal still quite obvious. "I'm not waiting anymore Luca, they can be the ones to wait this once. Plus, you are not the only one who wants that and I am more than happy to give you what you want." With a growl Kyros forced his hips against Luca's ass again, fisted his hands in the other man's hair, and kissed him hungrily.

*****

When Gawain returned from his hunt for Kyros and Luca, he said something about them finishing lunch and then they would return. Aria did her best not to arch an eyebrow at his words because he either knew that lunch was definitely not what they were finishing and was too embarrassed to tell her, or he was just completely oblivious to what he'd interrupted. Aria however could, if she concentrated on them, feel all of the sensations the two men were causing in each other as they had their ways with each other under the apple trees.

When the two men finally returned she couldn't help but smile knowingly at them and with more confidence and familiarity than she had shown near them since arriving on Avalon, she sauntered over to Luca and plucked a leaf out of his hair before kissing him square on the mouth. She turned then to Kyros, handed him the leaf and teased him, "A souvenir of your conquest." Then she kissed him just as she had Luca and then turned to take a place at the table, set with food for the three of them. Innocently she said to them, "I thought maybe we could discuss my trip with Merlin over some lunch and since I know that Gawain gave me incorrect information on just what you were doing in the apple orchard I figured you both might want something to snack on at least."

The look she shared with both men was a strange combination of business, old memories, flat out yearning for what they shared with each other. Her time away had given Aria a bit of time to clear her head and come to terms with just who these men were and weren't. She had come home both with news of where Merlin had hidden away Camelot, that they had actually found it, and with the intention to let her guard down around them and see where things went between them. When she'd felt them enjoying each other, her determination to let them into her heart only strengthened.

She missed her husband and her lover, but they were gone. These men had been tiptoeing around her for months in concern for her feelings, something that only good men would do. Good men with good hearts. She just hoped she hadn't distanced herself too far from them and that they would be willing to care for her still, like Luca had seemed to want to before Kyros had been kicked by Lobo.

[Demeter]

Luca peered around the door to his chambers. What he wouldn't give to be a Camelot with its secret passages and hidden doors. Here, at the Avalon complex, there were just too many people and they all seemed to know what had occurred this afternoon. He'd gotten giggling congratulations from the ladies and slaps on the back from the guys.

Aria knowing was one thing, she just knew, but how did the others? If Gawain had spilled the beans...he really would kill him. Member of the round table or not, he'd kill him. Luca muttered under his breath as he slid out of his room and closed the door as silently as possible. It was late and most of the island was sleeping but he still crept down the torch lit hallway.

Ever since his encounter with that Goddess, he'd been able to sleep peacefully and alone. That wasn't to say that he slept comfortably. In a very short span of time, he'd grown very use to having Kyros' body near his. He never slept well when it was just him and ended up be a grouchy bear in the morning.

And now more then ever, he wanted Kyros to be near him. The afternoon in the apple grove had changed their relationship for good and for the better. It may not have been the way he'd imagined his first time with anyone but he wouldn't have changed it. Well, perhaps, he would have liked he actual event to have been a little slower. Things had been hurried and his ass was telling the tale.

Luca turned a corner and bumped into the young woman who tended to the torches. She gave him a knowing grin and he felt himself blush. He hurried down the hall and into Kyros' chambers. He quickly shut the door and turned to find Kyros staring at him and smirking.

"Shut up," he said before crossing over and climbing into the beside the other man. He curled up next to him. "What are we gonna do with Aria? When we go to Avalon next week to asses the situation there, should we talk with her?"

[Maira]

Kyros couldn't help smirking at Luca's embarassed flush as he slipped in his bedroom. When the younger man told him to shut up, Kyros couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. Luca's question pulled Kyros up short and silence was his answer. He had no idea what to do with Aria. She had never expressed any interest in him, but he knew that she and Luca had been getting close before his incident with Lobo. Finally, after a few moments, Kyros answered, "She finally seems open to the idea of getting to know us better, but since she was closer with you before Lobo took me out I think maybe you should try and pick up where you left off with her?"

He hoped that Luca wouldn't think he was pinning the woman on just him, but Kyros was more than a little nervous about being outright rejected by her again. She had never wanted him and had made that clear right from their first meeting. She may have kissed him the same as she had kissed Luca, but she had kissed the younger man first indicating that she still preferred the younger man over him. He didn't want to force her into anything with him just so she could be close with Luca.

Looking at the man curled up next to him in bed, he asked him, "What do you think we should do with her?"

[Demeter]

Curled up next to Kyros, Luca pondered the question about what to do with Aria. For Triads to work the way they were meant to, all three members had to be in harmony with each other. It didn't matter what sort of relationship was between the three but they at least had to talk to each other.

As far as Luca was concerned, he thought that Aria could take her time with the possibility of a romantic relationship between them but she still needed to communicate in order for their Triad to run smoothly. "I'll talk with her while we're at Camelot next week. There'll be less distractions there."

***

They opted to hike in and camp at the ruin. Concealed by layers of spells, the famous castle had been left alone. While that kept the scavengers and the tourists away, it also allowed the castle to fall to ruin. The spells made the people living in the village below overlook a supposedly empty prime piece of reality.

The three dropped their packs and stared in dismay. The walls had crumbled and the towers had collapsed in on themselves. Aria was shocked, Kyros was scowling and Luca saw a lot of time, work and money sitting in front of him.

Once Kyros was off inspecting his castle, with Arthur probably commenting and raging about this ruin in the background, Luca started to set up camp. He was pretty sure that they'd found a solid shelter in what used to be the stable block but even Lancelot was turned around in this ruin. With Aria's help, he hauled fallen stones into a circle to make a fire pit. There was a small grove of apple trees gone wild and they went there to collect wood for the fire. On their way back, arms loaded with wood, Luca started to speak. He didn't have a planned speech or cur cards so he went with the obvious. "Must be strange seeing this ruin. Last time you saw Camelot, it was probably a busy castle. He is not happy," Luca said, nodding his head towards Kyros. Luca laughed softly as he watched Kyros kick a pile of stones and then start hopping around, holding his foot and howling.

Most of the time, the man was too serious for his own good and then here were times like this, when he acted like a man who wasn't comfortable in his own skin. He knew that Kyros wasn't being comical on purpose; it just came off that way. It wasn't easy to combine two sets of memories after all.

After setting his armful of wood down, Luca helped Aria with hers. "Got any ideas on what we should do with this place? And it's not like we can just drop the spells around it. The mortals would freak out."

Luca stared out at the large town situated on the land beneath the castle. When Merlin had hidden the castle, it had been easy to adjust the memories of the humans - there'd been so few of them back then and most expected to die in the same place they'd been born. Now, without Camelot to draw in the Alati and those of the Other World, the mortals were overrunning the castle's town. Those of the Other world that remained were few in number. "To many people coming and going from this town for a ruin of a castle to just pop up."

Once camp was set up, Aria and Luca took their own tour of the castle. Where Kyros had gone down to examine the foundations, the two of them climbed up the stairs of the remaining tower. In silent agreement, they bypassed the floor that would have held Aria's former apartments with Arthur and Lancelot and climbed to the top of the battlements.

From there they could see the castle grounds, the town and the surrounding countryside. Luca grinned as he watched Kyros scramble around the piles of rubble that had once been the gatehouse. He didn't lean against anything here as he could feel the tower shifting beneath his feet but he turned to look at Aria. "We could rebuild it, you know. It would take a lot of time, effort and expense but it can be done.

"Sure, we could modernize it a little; indoor plumbling, insulation and some plaster but we could rebuild Camelot. Maybe make it into a bed and breakfast deal or something. We'd need a way to ease the mind of the mortals. They'd get restless over a bunch of committed threesomes living in a castle and attract the media."

Luca shifted his weight. "I'm not just talking about rebuilding the castle. We beed to rebuild this Triad. What we have now is not how its suppose to work, Aria. We both know that. You've been holding back from us; not that I blame you. As both Kyros and myself are dumb males, you need to tell us what you need and want. We're willing to give you the time and space you need to properly mourn them.

"We may share their souls but we aren't them. Like this poor castle, we can make something nee from the rubble. Just give us a direction to go in."

[Maira]

Having been with Merlin on the original trip to find Camelot, Aria wasn't shocked by the sight of the ruins of her once great home. The sight still deeply saddened her, however, and it was hard to fight back the tears that threatened to come once more as she took in the destruction that time had taken on her home.

Once Kyros wandered off into the castle ruins, she and Luca went about getting camp set up and fetching firewood. Once that chore was taken care of, they too ventured into the ruins. Amazingly, there was one tower left standing and it was there that the two of them decided to explore. As they passed the floor that had held hers, Arthur's and Lancelot's private quarters, a few tears finally managed to escape her control and she quickly brushed them away before Luca could see them.

At the top, as they were surveying the damage from above, as well as the surrounding countryside and town, Luca started talking about rebuilding. At first she thought he just meant rebuilding the castle and she couldn't help but cringe at his suggestion of turning her once great home into a Bed and Breakfast. Then he pointed out that the castle wasn't the only thing that needed rebuilding and she cringed once more. She knew she'd been more than difficult in trying to get their triad reunited but her heart couldn't even conceive of being in a triad without loving the other members and she wasn't sure she could love Kyros. She had been trying to feel out her budding feelings for Luca before Lobo kicked Kyros, nearly killing him and stealing what was left of Arthur from her again. She still held a grudge against that damn horse.

After a few moments of silence, Aria finally answered Luca. "The castle needs to be torn down completely. We can move in construction equipment with the assistance of more spells to hide them as they traverse up the hill. Once ruin is gone I'd like to lower the concealment spells and let it be rebuilt in plain sight." She knew that wasn't exactly what Luca had been waiting for but as he had opened with talk of rebuilding the ruin, so did she. Following her wishes for the castle, Aria told Luca nervously, "I can't fathom being in a Triad where I don't have at least some romantic affection for the other people. Some people can do it, I can't. It is too intimate of a bond -not- to be romantically invested in the other people. I don't know how to do this as just friends, and while you're easy for me to feel romantically about, I don't have that same reaction to Kyros."

There, she'd said it. She had finally expressed just what her problem was. The look on Luca's face showed her that he was trying to understand, but that he was still confused so Aria tried to explain another way. "I have already come to accept that you and Kyros are my old mates reincarnated, my soulmates. Yet you are the only one I feel any connection to anymore. I can't help but wonder if because of how long he has lived as Kyros if something essential to our soulmate bond has been lost because of this new life he's had. My brain knows how these things work, but my heart just isn't feeling it. I don't understand why I can't make the connection and I can't help but wonder if maybe there is something in me that broke when you both died before. These bonds aren't supposed to be breakable..." Her voice trailed off and she turned away from Luca, but not soon enough to hide the tears that were now streaming down her face.

[Demeter]

Luca kept himself still; he wanted to cross over to Aria and hold her but he had a feeling that touching her now would make it worse. So, placing his hands in the pockets of his jeans, Luca stayed put. "We'll disassemble the ruin, take the stones down over the hill and use them in the castle. There is still magic in these stones and they can make the new building stronger. The same goes for this Triad. The old magic is still there; we just need to rebuild. Now, let's get off this tower before it falls over and find some way to feed his Majesty."

Luca followed Aria down the stairs. Once he was back on solid ground, Luca took Aria in his arms and just held her. "We can rebuild this union. The bonds are not broken; just a little bent. Nothing is broken in you, Aria. You suffered a emotionally traumatic event. You lost both of your soulmates at once. There is only one other person who suffered the same and lived."

He gave her a little shake. "We will rebuild this castle and reclaim our home just as we will rebuild and reclaim this union."

[Maira]

The talk of rebuilding the castle and rebuilding their Triad had exhausted Aria and after Kyros rejoined them from his examination of the foundations, declaring them surprisingly sound, she took her leave of the men and wandered away from town and ruin. She shortly found herself in a familiar place along the cliff that the castle had been built near. Once she realized where she was, Aria looked around her and smiled to see that the path she had worn along the cliff all those years ago was no longer visible. That meant that she would have a measure of privacy from the villagers.

Overlooking the stormy ocean, her smile faded somewhat. She could feel the heated emotions coming from both me back at the castle and she couldn't help but fret over if she were the cause. Things settled down between them soon enough, however, so she was able to enjoy her solitude.

*****

Despite seeming to be totally wrapped up in his inspection of the ruins of his once great castle, Kyros had actually been keeping an eye on Luca and Aria as well. As soon as the woman wandered away, in what Arthur told him was a normal direction, he scampered over to Luca to ask how the conversation had gone. "Welll?" he demanded curiously, "What did she say?"

Upon hearing that Aria thought something in her was broken, and why she felt that way, Kyros couldn't help but feel both guilty and angry. "She's not broken!" he grumped, to which Luca agreed, then he continued, "So she doesn't care for me the way she does you, that makes it something wrong with me not her." Luca glared at him, and Kyros had to hold up his hands to stall him, "Wait, don't go getting mad at me for that! It didn't come out the way I meant it!" Now Luca was watching him with a raised eyebrow and Kyros just sighed in frustration. "Maybe she's right, maybe I'm 'too' Kyros and not enough Arthur. I'm too different from who she is used to and that makes it hard for her to connect with me. I'm not exactly the easiest man to be around sometimes and clearly she's feeling that."

Another sigh of frustration escaped Kyros before he abruptly changed the subject, "So, what did she say about the castle? Does she want to rebuild?"

[Demeter]

Luca grumbled as he chewed on a blade of grass. He was sitting on the hill above the ruin of Camelot. His mates, or rather the people he was destined to be mated to, were stubborn. Aria was all freaking out that something was broken in her because she just wasn't connecting with them. And Kyros was convinced that he was too much Kyros and not enough Arthur. Luca resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Aria was out brooding on the cliffs. Kyros was brooding in what used to be the stables and Luca was trying to figure out how to fix them. Kyros just needed a stiff smack upside the head and to be told to knock it off. Trying to help Aria would be difficult. She'd essentially lost both her mates at once, buried them and gone to sleep for centuries. She'd woken like no time had past and been tossed at him and Kyros. It was like Excalibur was telling her to forget Arthur and Lancelot.

Luca, who'd grown up around God Swords and Triads thought they were being idiots.

Quite frankly, Luca had no clue how to fix this problem. He did, however, think that they needed to get away from Camelot and Avalon and England all together. Get away from the legends and go somewhere were they weren't supposed to act like legends.

To just be three people trying to get to know one another.

Grandfather Darius had an island in the Caribbean that was fairly isolated from everything. No phone lines or cell signals were available on that island. The perfect place to not act like Legends or, for what Luca had planned, the perfect place to hold people hostage.

Man, they were gonna be so mad at him, Luca thought as he felt the surprise of both Kyros and Aria at the stealth attacks launched on both of them.

Luca looked up when Merlin sat next to him. "Everything ready?"

"Yes, Lord Luca. Your father advises that enough supplies have been sent to the island for a few months. I do hope you know what you are about."

Luca stood and stretched as he felt the mental links to Aria and Kyros fall silent. "I hope I know what I'm doing as well. Shall we get their majesties to the plane?"

It was somewhere around 48 hours later that his mates stirred once again. Working with the rest of the round table, he'd kidnapped his own mates and marooned them on the island. He'd last track of time during all the traveling and now he sat in the tropical darkness, wearing nothing but a ragged pair of cut off shorts. He looked up when Kyros stumbled out of the tropical foliage and onto the beach. "Evening,"'he said cautiously, "don't worry; I'm the one who arranged this kidnapping."

[Maira]

As the fog started to clear from his mind and he once again became aware of his surroundings, Kyros realized that he was -not- at Camelot any longer. Curious, but cautious, he too stock of the sights and sounds around him. When he couldn't sense any danger, Kyros sat up and then proceeded to get to his feet. After looking around for a moment longer, he noticed that one direction seemed less dark so he stumbled through the ground cover in search of light.

When he finally caught sight of the sliver of a moon hanging low over water, Kyros knew he was close to freeing himself from the mysterious forest. He was also quite overheated from the exertion of trudging through said forest. When he finally stumbled free of the trees and plants, Kyros spotted a familiar form sitting on a sandy beach before him. He was about to cry out with relief at seeing the younger man, when Luca informed him that he'd been the one behind the kidnapping. Instead, Kyros stared at him. What did Luca mean, Kyros wondered momentarily. Then there were the sounds of somebody else tripping their way through the forest and Aria then stumbled out from between the trees.

"Where are we?" she asked simply, pinning both men with a suspicious glint in her eyes.