A Sorta Fae-rytale

Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first Lost Girl story, it's what I imagine happens between the scenes that we are shown in the third season, and then moves swiftly along into my own version of season 4. I never expected to be writing this story because up until I watched season 3 I was a Lauren/Bo fan 100%. I read about Tamsin before I watched season 3, so I was expecting her, and I was ready to dislike her from the start… I gave it a good effort, but by the middle of the season the Valkyrie had won me over – and apparently a shiny new obsession was born. I'm suddenly very interested in the mythology, legend, and lore involving Valkyries; sadly I haven't been able to find quite enough information to satisfy my curiosity.

Anyway, this story has been eating away at my brain for a while now. When it started invading my dreams I knew it was time to do something about it.

Time for the disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Lost Girl, characters, names, story lines, everything belong to the original creators; I'm just borrowing them for my own entertainment – and hopefully for yours as well. I'm not 100% sure where I'm going with it yet, but I hope we all enjoy the ride!

Now… On to the Show!

Tamsin could see herself clearly as she rounded the corner of the apartment building, wearing her fitted jeans and her black spaghetti strap tank, with the long dangling earrings and her hair pulled back. She was walking quickly toward her truck, which was parked in the parking lot of Dr. Lauren Lewis's apartment building, where she had just left Bo standing alone, after sharing a drink with her in the Doctor's apartment. She had followed Bo here after helping her complete her invitation to the Dawning. She couldn't explain why she had helped her; or even why she had followed her. She was starting to feel an irresistible urge to protect her. She was a shield-maiden after all. Once upon a time, at least; and that's what shield-maidens are meant to do, protect great and noble warriors.

She felt a sharp needle of dread pulling at her insides like a thread through a wound that was being stitched, as she noticed what appeared to be a Tarot card lying face down on the pavement just a few feet away from her truck. She bent to pick it up, holding it in her hands. She didn't have to turn it over; she already knew what the other side would reveal. She flipped it over anyway, hoping against hope that she would be wrong.

"No- No!" She pleaded desperately, looking to the sky as hundreds of Tarot cards depicting The Wanderer rained down over her. "Please, tell me she's not the one".

The Valkyrie woke with a start, hearing the last pleading words of her dream fade as she sat up, breathing deeply, and shaking her head, trying to clear the cobwebs from her brain. Please, tell me she's not the one. The phrase stuck in her thoughts. A tear made a slow trail down the surface of her smooth cheek in the dark. "Of course she's the one" she said quietly to herself as she pushed the tear away with her hand. "Why wouldn't she be"?

Tamsin hadn't realized it right away, of course, when she had first met Bo. That this Succubus would be the one she had been searching for – in more ways than one – for a couple hundred years now, in one sense, and a few months in the other. "She was just supposed to be another mark" she said out loud to whoever, or whatever might be listening. She ran her hands over her face, and then pushed the blankets from her as she stood up. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt she had worn previously, that were lying on the floor near her bed. I look like hell, she thought as she glanced in the mirror when she walked past it on the way out of her room into the larger more spacious living area "Guess that happens when you don't get much sleep". She grabbed a bottle of Whiskey that had been sitting on her coffee table. She opened the bottle and downed as much of the fiery liquid as she could manage in one tip up. Looking around the room she tried desperately to find some sort of distraction while she waited for the amber liquid to do its job and help her forget her woes.

In a more private and secluded area of the Dal, Bo was sitting alone on an older style sofa that was covered in throw pillows, when Tamsin walked in. The dark haired woman looked up from the beer she had been staring at, to take in the appearance of the normally gorgeous Valkyrie. Bo noticed that once again she looked disheveled, like she had a fight with a whiskey bottle all night, and the whiskey bottle had won - which seemed to be a good theory, since she was carrying a half empty bottle with her; as seemed to be her norm lately. Tamsin looked as though she hadn't slept in days, and her clothes hadn't been changed in at least as long. Her jeans seemed fairly wrinkle free, as denim usually does; but the white button up blouse she wore under her turquoise blue leather jacket looked like it had seen much better days.
"Right now isn't really the best time", she said flatly as she looked back to her glass. "After you climbing fully clothed into the tub with me last night, I'm really not so sure that I can handle any more of your cryptic weirdness right now".

The blonde ignored the comment and threw herself down next to the Succubus. Bo inhaled deeply and forced the air back out of her lungs as she slid over slightly, giving Tamsin a bit more room. "Hey, hot pants, nice to see you too" she said adding just enough snark to her voice to let Bo know that she was still lucid enough to know who she was talking to. "Where's the good doctor, she still missing?" she drawled. It was amazing to Bo how someone could emphasize their words in such a way that you could visualize the sneer on their face without ever looking at them. It was a talent that Tamsin seemed to have perfected over the years.

Bo heaved another sigh and took a swig from her glass. "Like I said, not a good time". She set the glass back on the coffee table in front of her. "What do you want?" she asked, her eyes hardened as she looked over at the blonde again.

"I don't know. I was supposed to be trying to forget about you", she shook her bottle at Bo "but here I am; talking to you again. I want everything. And I don't want anything. Especially not from you", she said emphasizing the word "you" as she draped her arm over Bo's shoulder, then took a long drag from the bottle she was holding.

"Then what are you doing here, bothering me?" Bo asked as she shrugged Tamsin's arm off her shoulder.

Tamsin repeated Bo's words in a mocking tone, as she raised her eyebrow and bobbed her head back and forth. "Fine, Succu-bitch. I know when to take a hint". The blonde took another drink from her bottle and stood up. "Just thought it would be nice to have some company", she said as she started to head out of the room.

Bo shook her head and sighed to herself. "Tamsin… Wait. I'm sorry, okay? Come back… Sit down".

Tamsin stopped between the doors, standing with her back to Bo. After a moment of contemplation she turned her head far enough to look back over her right shoulder at the other woman. "Why would I want to do that? You don't want me here any more than I really want to be here", she said, but made no attempt to further walk away.

"I still haven't heard from Lauren. I'm worried about her and to be honest, I'm not dealing with it so well at the moment; or with anything regarding her for that matter". Bo stood up and placed her hand on Tamsin's shoulder. "Please? Just come back and sit down. You obviously have something on your mind… And I could use the company right now, too". She reached over, swinging one of the doors with its many windows shut. "Can you shut that other door?" she said as she turned back toward the sofa, to reclaim her seat.

Tamsin did as she was asked and shut the other door before turning back toward Bo. "Cozy with these doors closed" she said sounding irritable, "I'm only staying because it makes me feel better to see you so miserable" she said as she sat back down next to Bo and took another long pull from her bottle.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it", the dark haired woman said not sounding at all convinced. She looked Tamsin up and down for a few minutes before saying anything else. "I don't get you Tamsin".

"No, you don't", said the Valkyrie flatly. "No one does, it's all part of who I am".

"You say that you enjoy seeing me suffer," Bo continued unbothered by the interruption. "yet, you helped me rescue Kenzi when she was fae-swapped with that little fox fae. You were the only one who would listen to me, the only one who believed me; hell, my own girlfriend was afraid of me. You let me feed off you, because you knew I was weak. You helped me through my invitation to the Dawning, when you didn't have to. The energy I can see surrounding you tells me you're doing anything except enjoying the fact that I'm suffering".

Tamsin scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Riiight. Try not to read too much into my 'helpfulness'. Maybe I'm just trying to gain your trust to make my job easier".

Bo sat back, shaking her head. "I don't believe that, but whatever you say. I don't know why you won't just let me help you".

"Because you can't!" Anger flared for a moment in the Valkyrie's voice, and then it trailed off into the hollow sound of defeat and resignation as she continued. "… No one can. And every time you try, it just makes it more difficult for me".

A look of empathy crossed the Succubus' face. "Tamsin…" she said softly. After taking a brief moment to think, she lifted her hand and gently cupped the Valkyrie's cheek in her palm and lightly ran her thumb over the blonde's cheek bone.

Tamsin turned her face toward Bo, her features hardened in a mask of indifference, but her eyes were pleading for help. "Don't try using your succubus persuasion on me", she stated without much conviction, although a slight hint of shadow quickly crossed her features, and was gone again. Bo knew it was just a small warning, to remind the succubus who she was talking to.

"I'm not. Not here, not like this". Bo looked into Tamsin's eyes and softly continued, "Tamsin, please... Talk to me; at least let me try to find a way to help you".

Abruptly, Tamsin leaned forward pressing her lips to Bo's. Neither made an effort to deepen the kiss – or to pull away, although Tamsin had cupped the back of Bo's head, pulling her closer; keeping Bo trapped there until Tamsin chose to let her go. Tamsin pulled back slightly, but pressed her forehead to the other woman's as she looked into her eyes. As Bo gazed back into Tamsin's eyes, she could see so many things. Conflict, passion, desire, agony, defeat, despair. She wanted to help this woman, she needed to; but she didn't even know what the problem was.

"You are my problem, Succubus", Tamsin said in a low, breathless voice. There was no real blame or malice in her voice as she spoke, just a statement of fact, as the Valkyrie saw it. The blonde closed her eyes and made no move to increase the distance between them.

"You keep saying that, but… I really don't understand how or why I'm your problem Tamsin", Bo said as gently as she could. "Please, explain it to me?"

The Valkyrie sighed and pulled away from the Succubus. She opened her eyes, studying Bo for a long moment, trying to make a decision. She reached behind her and pulled what appeared to be a folded Tarot card from the back pocket of her jeans; she looked it over thoughtfully and said "Because of this", as she handed it to Bo.

"Okay…" Bo said, looking at Tamsin in confusion. "It's a Tarot card, how does this make me you're problem?"

"Just look at it… would you".

Bo looked skeptically back to the card as she unfolded it. "You kept one of the cards from my Dawning? When we were talking to that strange woman, the Land Lady…" She shook her head, "Again, I don't understand".

"It's not from your Dawning invitation, Bo. This card was left for me, as a message; a warning…" Tamsin clenched her jaw, as she reached out taking the card back from Bo. "Never mind, I can't do this".

"Can't do what?"

"Nothing, forget about it. I've already said too much. This whole situation, it's not going to turn out well for either of us". Tamsin suddenly stood up and walked to the door. She looked back at Bo briefly, "Catch you later. Or not. Whatever". And with that she opened the door, walked out and left Bo staring after her.

"God, that Valkyrie has some serious issues". Bo said to herself as she grabbed her beer and finished it off in one long gulp.