Okay, I know I have written a fic before for Fable two. But this I was starting as an experiment and I find that I really like it, so if anyone has actually read my other fic needless to say it may end up discontinued as this is my most current interest… there will be some pairings but don't worry, no Mary-Sues… the pairings would be LoganxOC, BenFinnxPrincess, and ReaverxOC.

I own nothing accept the plot…

Two years after the darkness attacked Albion, Logan returns to Albion with a simple task, to right some of the wrongs that he has done before he dies of an incurable illness. But meanwhile the Queen has her hands full, as the Crawler may not be as defeated as everyone believes… It's going to take some new allies in order to save Albion this time...

Chapter 1

Logan Returns

Queen Elizabeth always hated the rain; she'd hated it ever since she was little… the rain always seemed to bring back bad memories for her…

Like the night her mother died…

Sure she may have been little at the time, but she never forgot that night. She could never forget the sorrow of that night… and her dislike of the rain only increased when her beloved mentor, Walter Beck, died in her arms… it had been raining then too… But as for now; the sky had been dark for days. As the looming threat of the impending storm would occasionally rumble through the heavens… no rain, nor any lightning would show in the sky…there was just the deep, rumbling, thunder which foretold that a horrible storm was on its way. As far as Elizabeth was concerned whenever a bad storm darkened the skies of Albion, something bad was never far off.

Two years had passed since the darkness, and Albion continued to regain its normality. Indeed there had been many lives lost but nowhere near as many as there could've been. Elizabeth had worked day and night for months and almost single-handedly raised most of the money that was required. This way she could honor her promises, and yet still defend her people. She had done so well… but every life that was lost still haunted her. The death toll was estimated to be about 10,000... Give or take a few hundred; but either way it was still considerably less than losing the entire population of Albion.

Now she sat looking out the window of her private quarters. Her faithful dog, Coal, was sitting beside her chair, chewing on a bone that the cook had given to him the other day. She sighed as she reached down and rubbed his head… as she thought back on all the events that had transpired to bring her to where she was now in life… she was now the Queen of her people that was loved and revered by all… Well maybe excluding bandits… But otherwise everyone loved her.

…It was a harsh contrast to the tyranny and hatred her brother had generated only a few short years ago…

… Logan…

After the final battle with The Crawler, Logan had entered a self-induced exile. He taken a small ship and left Albion… perhaps it was the shame, or his guilt that had driven to leave. He'd done such horrible things to her, to the people, and to the land… but deep down inside Elizabeth knew that Logan was not a bad man. He'd just been very unlucky… He didn't know how to handle the weight of the world on his shoulders; hell it had been hard enough for her to figure out… but even in spite of everything he had done…

…she forgave him…

She could not hate him, no matter how much throughout the revolution she thought she did… No matter how many times that she said she did… even though she had told him it right to his face…she knew she couldn't. He was her big brother, and before this mess had happened he had been a loving and caring big brother.

A sudden commotion drew the Queen's attention back to reality, there seemed to be something amiss in the courtyard. From what she could see from her current position, it appeared that two of her guards were violently apprehending someone… And they seemed to be particularly zealous about it too. They were actually kicking this individual after forcing him to the ground. This show of brutality caused a frown to darken her angelic facial features. As she wanted to know what it was that this individual had done to deserve such a harsh treatment.

She stood up and made her way downstairs, expectedly Coal had abandoned his bone in favor of coming with her… As she made her way downstairs, occasionally a glimpse of her white spectral wings became visible… which made many of the staff stare in awe, or the bow with the utmost respect. But their praises only made Elizabeth's frown only deepen. She loved her subjects, but she didn't want to be known as solely as the Queen… Sometimes she wished she could still be considered a normal person. With a life outside of the castles walls… but it didn't look like that was much of an option anymore.

Upon reaching the castles courtyard she could hear the angry voices of her guards yelling at this individual. Their voices were filled with hate and spite… and they really seemed to be enjoying beating on this individual… Just what the hell was going on?

"What're you doing back here? You don't deserve to come back here!" She heard one of the guards yelling as the sound of his boot contacted his victims' ribs over and over again.

"Haven't you caused enough pain yet! Go back to wherever the hell you came from!" The other guard snapped currently hitting this individual's back with the butt of his rifle… It was clear that both guards were completely unaware of the approach of their Queen… Even when she was right behind them.

"What are you doing? She demanded. Her voice was cold and icy. The shock alone caused both guards to stop what they were doing immediately they looked upon her with fear in their eyes. At first she didn't understand why they looked so nervous… That was until she saw who it was that they were kicking…

... Logan…

He was bleeding badly, and holding his right arm as it was apparently in very severe pain… A trickle of blood oozed out from just above his hairline. And judging by the contorted position his body was in… he had not fought back as the guards had pounded him. Shock and anger immediately began to flood her body… It showed particularly in her eyes as they seemed to glow with and unnatural rage… And in a flash Elizabeth's spectral wings completely appeared and framed her angelic body in an intimidating manner…

"Get out of my sight! NOW!" Her voice boomed and needless to say; the guards ran like hell itself was after them. Only once the guards were gone, did Elizabeth start tending to her fallen brother.

"Logan?" She questioned and lightly shook her brothers' shoulder. But this caused him to hiss in terrible pain… Clearly his shoulder, as well as his arm were damaged far greater than she originally thought. She quickly looked around to seeing quite a large crowd of her servants were gathering around her and her fallen brother. She could see the looks of disgust and revolt, all clearly aimed at Logan… these looks only stoked her anger; but this was not the time for that.

"You there!" Elizabeth said pointing to two of the chambermaids who recoiled slightly in fear of their Queens very apparent anger and frustration; which even though it was not aimed at them was still a frightening spectacle to behold… "Bring him inside and call for the doctor to treat his wounds immediately!" She snapped; and the two maids obeyed without question. Being extra careful as they helped him up… They wanted to ensure that they would not enrage their Queen any further.

Elizabeth was seething with rage and it could be felt all throughout the courtyard, and her servants were quick to realize now was a good time to leave… And as her staff hastily departed, Elizabeth couldn't help but wonder… just what could have possessed Logan to return to Albion? She sighed loudly feeling a horrible headache coming on... Coal, nuzzled her hand and whined softly, sensing his owner's distress in trying to offer some support in his own way… Although it offered little comfort to her now very heavy heart. Just what was Logan thinking?

And why did she suddenly have such a bad feeling about his return?

While she wanted to immediately go and find out why he had come back she found that she couldn't… She'd been scheduled to have several meetings that day, and Hobson made a big pest of himself in order to make sure she didn't miss any of them… thus she had no choice but to leave her brother to be tended by the castles physician. The castles doctor was an older woman named Eleanor, and she was a very good friend of the young Queen… and some of the only comfort Elizabeth got at the moment was the knowing that Eleanor was a good kind soul, who would not hurt her brother… No matter what he had done in the past.

Of course it didn't take long for the entire castle to find out that Logan had returned. And there was an uproar among the staff about this… None of them liked Logan, many of them had families that had suffered terribly under his rule... And many more wanted to see him dead… the stress and worry about the whole situation made every minute of these mind-numbingly boring meetings take all the longer; and it was hours later, before Elizabeth could finally see her brother…

For what good it did… when she had finally made her way to his room he was asleep. It was also noted Logan's bedroom had remained virtually untouched since he'd occupied it. Elizabeth never had the heart change it into something else, so thus it was exactly the same; if not just a little dustier than usual. When she'd entered, she found Logan sleeping silently in his bed… Although she did notice immediately that his right arm was in a sling. And that his silken purple nightshirt was open revealing many other bruises adorning his rib cage.

Just looking at him in general, Elizabeth realized he did not look healthy. Of course Logan had always been somewhat sickly. She knew that he used to get sick quite often as a child, and would occasionally get very ill as an adult… During the years of stress that he endured after his battle with The Crawler, and his trying to prepare Albion for the coming threat of the darkness… It was no surprise that he had fallen into ill health again. But Elizabeth had thought that maybe once he left Albion his health would improve… If at anything look much worse than before.

"Good evening Elizabeth…" The voice of Eleanor drew her attention away from her brother. The older woman had been sitting quietly by her brother's bedside, and Elizabeth had not even noticed her until she had made her presence known.

Eleanor was an older woman probably in her late 60s to early 70s, her hair was gray and shoulder length. Her eyes were blue; her skin pale though with surprisingly few wrinkles, she dressed simply, her attire was nothing special… just a regular brown dress, with simple brown shoes, and the faded mark of where a wedding band once was still adorned her left hand… for she was a widow.

"How is he?" Elizabeth questioned as the old woman got up and approached her. Eleanor's face fell, and her expression became ominous.

"The wound your guards inflicted on him will heal. Nothing too severe… but he does have a broken arm, a few bruised ribs, and a dislocated shoulder." Eleanor said simply. Elizabeth sighed in relief…

"But I'm afraid… that your brother is dying…"

…Those words pierced far deeper than any blade ever could…

Elizabeth froze… it was as though all the blood in her veins suddenly was replaced with ice water. Surly she must have misheard… there was just no way she could have heard that right.

"D-Dying?" She stuttered in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper. Eleanor nodded gravely.

"I'm afraid so your Majesty… He's very ill." Eleanor said sadly. Immediately Elizabeth's world began to spin. This could not be happening; this just could not be happening… Not to her brother… Not to Logan.

"How… How long does he have left?" She could barely believe the words are coming out of her mouth but they did.

"A year… maybe little more… or less. It's a very nasty illness." Logan answered before Eleanor could… This made Elizabeth jump. She hadn't even realized he had woken up.

"You… You know?" Elizabeth questioned and Logan nodded weakly.

"It's why I came back sister…" He muttered. Eleanor sensing that she was no longer needed quietly backed out of the room. Thus leaving the brother and sister to converse in private.

"Can't anything be done? Isn't there a cure?" Elizabeth demanded, unable to stop the tears from beginning to well in her eyes. Logan's facial expression remained somber and he slowly shook his head no…

"No… There is no cure for this. And I wouldn't seek one even if there was one." His voice was emotionless… And it was weak. "I guess it's been a long time coming… retribution for all of the horrible things I have done." He was suddenly hit with a coughing fit that lasted about a minute and a half. When he pulled his hand away from covering his mouth, there were specks of red clearly adorning it. It made Elizabeth's heart skip a beat in sheer horror.

"Don't talk in such a way…" She began.

"It's true isn't it? I… What I did to the people of Albion… I can't forgive myself. What I felt was necessary, was all wrong. You showed me that… How you were able to save our people without resorting to the means that I did. It hurts like a knife in my heart, more than the disease that's eating at my flesh and bones… I've done terrible things sister and I can never hope to make the right… At least… not all of them anyway." He whispered.

"You tried… You tried your hardest, you had the best intentions they just…" Elizabeth tried to find soothing words but they refused to come to her. After a moment of silence Logan sat upright and he looked at his sister, his eyes were showing an unreadable emotion...

"I can never hope to make things right… Not with you… or anyone else for that matter." Logan muttered… "But I hope, that maybe… you would allow me to live out what remains of my life here… the thought of dying alone… and in some strange far off place, scares me as much as thinking of what kind of hell awaits for me after my death."

"It's all in the past now Logan; all that's done is forgiven. The people have moved on… I've moved on." She said softly. "And I want you stay here… the castle is still your home. You don't even have to ask if you can stay."

Logan chuckled dryly. "Your heart always was too soft… I was always afraid it would get you hurt... But I'm glad I was wrong." A loud bark caught both Logan and Elizabeth's attention… Coal was obviously tired of not being noticed…Logan smiled weakly and rubbed the dogs head. "It's nice to see that some things really never change." Elizabeth laughed a little at this and after quickly wiping the tears out of her eyes, sat down in the chair beside her brothers' bed.

"…I'm sorry… for Elliot." Logan said sadly. "I know that you two were-"

"It's alright… while it still hurts… I've moved on. I was actually trying to find you; I wanted you to come back. I wanted my big brother to come to my wedding." Elizabeth said with a small smile, and a slight chuckle at her brothers shocked expression.

"Y-You're engaged? To whom?" Logan stuttered. And Elizabeth giggled a bit.

"Ben Finn. We've been engaged three months now." She said softly… "We haven't set a date or anything… but… yeah…" There was a long awkward silence between the royal siblings… before Logan couldn't resist a small laugh.

"I should have guessed… you have a glow about you that only comes when you are engaged to someone you love with all of your heart."

"Like you and Kaya?"

Immediately a look of pure sorrow and pain crossed Logan's face. And Elizabeth realized that she said something wrong… Kaya had been Logan's best friend for many years, and eventually his fiancé… She was his closest companion, much like Elliott was to Elizabeth. It was a strange system that their parents had worked out, the previous hero Queen had often said that she grew up lonely as a child and that she did not want that for her own children… So over time she had many young noble children introduced to her son… in hopes that he would form a bond with one of them. As Logan had been a very shy child… and he had a very difficult time making any friends at all. Eventually the Queen had nearly given up her strategy. Until the two daughters of one of the most mysterious noble families she ever encountered were introduced to Logan... and it was the younger of the two, Kaya who became Logan's closest and most trusted companion. While Logan did become friends with Kayas sister, it was more...

Well… To put it simply… Logan was a little scared of Kaya's older sister…

Her name was Ember. And she had been spit fire from a young age. As all three of them grew older, it was not surprising that Ember joined the Royal guards, and was for a brief time the protégé of Walter… Although he often commented she was too fiery for our own good. It made her a bit of a danger to everyone around her… Thus she was eventually just given the job of Logan's personal bodyguard… Walter had always gotten a laugh from this interesting case of bad logic.

But… It was on the year that Logan went off on an expedition to Aurora, Logan and Kaya had announced their engagement; and while normally Kaya went with Logan on all his expeditions… this time she didn't… Something had happened with their family, and both Kaya and Ember were summoned back to their family's estate; deep in the forest of SilverPines … and Logan was left to go to Aurora alone.

…We know how that went…

When Logan returned, he was a ghost of his former self… It was noticeable to everyone. And while he tried to act as if nothing had happened… Within two weeks of his return, he called off his engagement. And what was worse… He told Kaya to leave. It had been heartbreaking as he didn't even give a reason, he just told her to leave… And after many… truly colorful curse words being shouted at him by Kaya; she left. And of course this did not sit well with Ember, who threw one hell of a fit and severely injured most of Logan's new guards… She too left, handing in her resignation in the process. Although Kaya did return once about two months later… Logan didn't even speak to her, he merely had one of his guards remove her from the castle, although she had been stubborn and at first refused to leave stating that she had something important to talk to Logan about… It wasn't until this guard actually threw her down the castle stairs did she limp off and never return.

"You never stopped loving her did you?" Elizabeth questioned… There was a long pause, and then finally Logan shook his head no.

"When I had found out that Albion would be attacked by the darkness… I felt that even being around me was dangerous… I didn't know what to do. I knew it was wrong, but I thought that… She would just be safer far away from me." Logan said… His voice trembled as he spoke. That's when he looked at Elizabeth and his expression could not have been more serious.

"I know I'm dying… And I know that nothing can be done. But before I die… I want to tell Kaya just how sorry I am… Maybe explain myself, I don't know. Honestly I don't even know what I would do right now. I guess maybe… I'd just say goodbye." It was clear Logan was stressed and very upset; his frayed nerves caused him to have another coughing fit… And more red blood dribbled out of his mouth… Elizabeth felt so helpless… She was virtually watching her big brother begin withering away in front of her. She didn't know what to do.

"Once…" Logan breathed his breath coming to him in shallow gasps. "I rest a little bit, I'll go and I'll talk to her face-to-face… But somehow I doubt that she'll even to talk to me."

"You're not going anywhere." Elizabeth said sternly. "You're not healthy enough to travel all the way to SilverPines. Let alone as deep into the forest as their home is! You'll be torn apart by Balverines just entering the forest!"

Logan just rolled his eyes. "What are you going to do little sister? Stop me?"

"I will tie you to the bed if I have too…" Elizabeth warned icily. "If anyone's going to SilverPines it'll be me…" She said softly. Logan looked stunned at first… But after few minutes came to realize that his little sister was right… But far more pressing question in the back of his mind that he hadn't even thought of till this moment.

"Do you think they survived the darkness?" He questioned. Elizabeth expression suddenly changed to one of seriousness and confusion.

"It was very strange Logan… I had to go to SilverPines some time ago to settle a dispute… And I learned that the darkness never even came near the forest. It stopped and went around it. There was not a drop of that darkness anywhere near SilverPines… And I don't have a clue why… As long as Kaya and Ember were in the forest at that time… I think that they'd be fine." Elizabeth said as the mystery of why SilverPines was unaffected by the darkness once again entertained her mind.

"Maybe the darkness was scared of Ember…" Logan joked darkly.

"Could be…" Elizabeth chuckled. "But then again there are a lot of stories about SilverPines. The locals often speak of some kind of ancient and powerful monsters that are supposed to live deep in the forest…"

"What kind of monsters?" Logan inquired.

"Supposedly… it's a pair of hooded shapeshifters with a mask-like faces. Each is estimated to stand almost 10 feet tall… and they have apparently been living in that forest for hundreds of years…" Elizabeth explained with a slight roll of her eyes.

"Somehow I extremely doubt that…" Logan muttered as he settled back into his bed, clearly exhausted. "I'm tired…" He finally muttered.

"Then get some sleep… And don't worry about anything… I'll take care of talking to Kaya. You just rest for now."

"Thank you… Lizzie…" He muttered just as his eyelids drooped closed. Elizabeth finally let those tears that had been welling in her eyes flow freely down her cheeks as she quietly exited her brother's room closely followed by Coal.

"Welcome home brother…" She muttered under her breath as she walked the oddly long walk back to her quarters… And cried herself to sleep at night…