–Author- Lady Lioness
–Email- ladylioness81@yahoo.com
–Rating- I dunno. PG, I guess.
-Category- M&M. Interpret that as you will. Meaning I ain't telling. :p
–Summary- A hidden alien nature comes to light and with it, the past.
Disclaimer- Did you know that "Ring-A-Round-A-Rosey" is rather grim for a child's song? It's actually detailing facts about the Black Plague. The title refers to the marks that would surface on an ill person's skin. We now discontinue filling up the disclaimer space and return you to your regularly scheduled story.
Author's Notes: I was trapped on the train coming home for winter break, looking out the window at the world speeding by and wondering how much force it would take to break the damn thing. So I started to write in my head, trying to distract myself from my restlessness, mostly plot ideas for "Reaching" and my one-shot x-over, "Double Exposed." Later that night, I roused myself from bed at two am and wrote this whole thing until about four. I'm not too sure where it came from. Perhaps a combination of my repressed energy and my own twisted psyche. It's, um, AU, I guess. Spoiler warning for "Destiny," and the second season from "Surprise" up to "Max in the City." Mostly because I, uh, did take a bit of artistic license with the canon presented in these episodes, although no events are really disclosed. Feedback keeps me writing!
When he awakened in the morning, there was an insistent need, almost a compulsion to find her, to speak with her. He scanned the hallways, hoping to see her face, but she was absent. When asked, her friends told him that she was taking a "me" day. A day where she isolated herself from the rest of the world.
As the day went on, the compulsion grew stronger. It led him to her house. A knock on the door brought her mother, who regarded him with wary eyes. She knew who he was, indeed, she knew more than any of them realized. In response to his inquiry, she reflected a moment before directing him to the small park, just within the boundaries of town. He thanked her and hurried back to his car, not feeling her thoughtful gaze upon him.
The sunlight streamed through the gaps between the thick green leaves, giving the little forest an unearthly appearance. He walked through the underbrush, almost regretting the way his footsteps disturbed the silence. Nothing else seemed to be moving; there were no other signs of life. Not a bird, squirrel, or even an insect was present to mar the tranquility with harsh movement. Only he had the disrespect to do so. He committed another sacrilegious act, as he softly breathed out her name. There was no response. Yet his nerves were humming with unfamiliar electricity. Heeding an unknown instinct, he stopped and slowly raised his gaze to the trees.
He missed her at first. She seemed so natural there, crouched in the branches of an ancient tree. His eyes met hers and he experienced the oddest sense of deja vu. The way she was holding herself, it reminded him of a jungle cat, waiting to pounce. Time seemed suspended and he could only look at her. Her normal smile was absent and her face didn't betray any emotion. Only her eyes showed signs of life as they fixed on him, unblinkingly. Right now, this person before him wasn't the girl he knew, but someone else. Something else. Something else he recognized.
He breathed her name again and suddenly, she stirred. Without warning, she leapt down. He took half a step forward, as if to catch her, but she landed in a crouch in front of him. Her descent placed her in a patch of sunlight. As she gracefully straightened, the shimmers of light were trapped in her tangled curls and she seemed to be radiating a golden aura. He felt something inside of himself respond and his own body started to glow with a silver light. As he stared down at her, he noted with fascination as her eyes seemed to darken into a rich hazel. Her hand came up, reaching out to him. She spoke, in a language he never knew, but somehow understood.
He found himself nodding. Slowly, he slid his hand onto hers and they met in a palm to palm kiss. Then the tiny forest blurred away as they were plunged into a world of ghosts.
They had been friends, best friends, ever since they met when they were young children. She was able to tease him out of the darkness when the burdens of duty and honor threatened to overwhelm him. He showed her that she wasn't limited by gender or by anything else. Soon she was one of the best warriors on the planet, although she preferred healing. He liked to tease her that she only practiced her swordswork so that she'd have new patients to patch up.
In their twelfth year, their parents decided it would be a good match and so they were betrothed. He thought he was in love with her, but she knew the love between them was a fraternal one. She kept her silence, however, hoping it might deepen. At the ball celebrating their eighteenth year, his sister and her betrothed were welcome home from their fostering. She had taken one look at the travel weary Rath and learned what real love was. But her betrothed still did not know, and she took pains to conceal her growing relationship with Rath. Yet each seed brings back its crop threefold. She became pregnant and he was furious at her seeming betrayal. Rath wanted to come forward to claim the child, but she would not let him. She knew how important the alliance was between him and Vilandra. She was determined that the union be preserved. She would sacrifice herself for the People.
Her betrothed set her aside and refused to have her name spoken. His abandonment wounded her deeply, but it was not unexpected. She retreated to a small house, secluding herself. News of his new betrothal and the immediate weddings of the Royal Four were enough to send her into labor. A daughter was born and she was named Thyra. The old King died when Thyra was two. She received the news of her former betrothed's coronation through one of Rath's secret missives. Despite increasing uneasiness between the neighboring planets, he frequently found the time to sneak a letter to her. They were all similar, filled with news of the Royal Four and his desperate longing for her. She knew the slightest encouragement would bring him dashing to her side, so she only wrote once a year on Thyra's birthing day, telling him of their daughter's journey through life.
She was truly stunned when she rose on the dawn of Thyra's sixteenth birthday to find Vilandra waiting to speak to her. Vilandra was aged beyond her thirty-four years. She was garbed simply in the color of mourning. At the stricken expression on her face, Vilandra explained that the latest attack by their enemy had hit the palace and had taken the lives of her two young nephews. Ava was distraught with grief and her brother had thrown himself into the war plans. Vilandra pleaded with her to return to the capitol city and attempt to reason with him, to end the senseless fighting. She shook her head, but before she could explain the reasons behind her refusal, Vilandra hastened on speaking. She told her that her brother was not in love with Ava, that even after all this time, his heart would never belong to the Queen. She shook her head again, unable to explain to Vilandra that his heart was not hers either.
Vilandra would have continued to press her suit if Thyra had not chosen the moment to enter the room. When Vilandra caught sight of her face, all the breath was expelled from her lungs. Vilandra had not bore any children for Rath and there was speculation that the Princess was barren. While Vilandra continued to stare at Thrya in shock, she took the opportunity to examine her daughter's features through new eyes. She never before truly realized the resemblance Thyra bore to Rath. Vilandra turned wild eyes back to her and, in a frank tone of voice, asked her if she would continue to deny him meeting his daughter before he died. The blunt statement, coupled with the pleading expression in her daughter's eyes, was enough to make her capitulate.
Vilandra departed immediately and they left a day later. But that small delay would make all the difference. When they reached the capitol city, it was in chaos. She hastened towards the smoking remains of the palace, Thyra close behind. There she found the old Queen trying desperately to hold the People together, with the help of a trusted advisor of the King, who was as distraught as the old Queen. The Royal Four had been destroyed in the last attack. They had been betrayed, although no one knew who was the traitor. A bomb had been snuck past the guards and placed in the Royal Four's wing. It went off, killing them all. The advisor had been on her way to the King's chambers when she heard the explosion. She was not a trained warrior, but her rage had made her powerful enough to destroy those who had murdered her beloved sovereign.
She did not have the luxury of grief, but immediately went to the old Queen's aid. The advisor told her of a back-up plan where the essence of the Royal Four would be mixed with an alien race, in order to create duplicates of the Four. The duplicates would be sent back to the alien homeworld in hopes of hiding them from the enemy. Two duplicates of each individual would be created in order to double their chances of at least one complete set surviving. She sent Thyra to bolster the old Queen, while she carefully monitored the creation of the first set of duplicates. Then, at the beginning of the creation of the second set, news came of the enemy heading towards the capitol city. She left the advisor in charge of the scientists and went in search of her daughter and the old Queen. Only the three of them could be trusted with preparing the Granolith for the journey. The old Queen recorded a message for her children, imparting their origins. The orbs and the Granolith were placed aboard the ship, hidden carefully.
On their way back to the scientists, to collect the duplicate pods, enemy infiltrators ambushed them. She managed to destroy the attackers, but not before she was mortally wounded. She made the old Queen promise that Thyra would accompany the pods to the alien world. It was her right as the last of the royal line. As she faded from the physical plane, she felt the wetness of her daughter's tears and heard her soft voice chanting the Ritual of Return. She could only listen as Thyra finished and announced her desire to impregnate herself with the duplicate of her mother. The old Queen murmured a protest, but the advisor suddenly there and was pulling them away from her body. And then, then there was only light.
Their hands slipped apart and he dropped to his knees, drained from reliving a lifetime of memories. She lowered herself down next to him, the underbrush crackling under her weight. When he felt his heart slow to a relatively normal pace, he turned his head to look at her. She was running her fingers through the dry desert soil. A rain was needed soon or else this magical place would be lost. His voice was hoarse as he said, "It was supposed to be you."She didn't look at him.
"Yes."
"But then Rath..."
"Yes."
He swallowed hard as he fought back the raging feelings of betrayal. All those years he had thought he was unable to love Ava because of her, all those moments wasted in blame...He had not known what love was, not as he did now. He couldn't look at her as he said,
"I'm sorry."
Cool fingers brushed against his face and he looked into her still hazel eyes. She said softly,
"Zan's mistakes cannot be yours. You cannot take them onto your shoulders nor can you repeat them. You must only learn from them. Heal what was damaged."
He covered her hand with his own.
"Healing was always your field of expertise."
A quicksilver smile lit up her face.
"You seemed to have done alright so far."
The smile vanished and she became serious again.
"No one else can be told. The complete set of the Royal Four is needed to defeat the Skins."
He let his hand slip away.
"But what about you?"
Her eyes glinted with humor.
"I will lead the cavalry, of course. All we need is for Alex to get himself shot and healed. Then we'll have our own Royal Four."
His eyes darkened when he thought of the past and their own discovery of their destiny.
"But-"
She shook her head, her tone deadly earnest
"You need Tess to complete the Royal Four. You need to be with her."
He wanted to protest again, but her words struck a chord of remembrance within him. And then one of the faces in the vision suddenly became clearer. His eyes snapped up to find her watching him carefully. He half-whispered,
"Duty and honor..."
She nodded and replied,
"The good of the many over the self."
They sat in the silence for long moments before a shrill bird cry shattered it. Almost immediately, the glow around her began to shrink. He became conscious of a feeling like time was rapidly slipping through his fingers. Looking into her eyes again, he realized they were lightening back into their original green. Answering his unspoken question, she said,
"My memories of the past, of my true self, will sleep again until they are awakened."
Jesting, he said,
"With a kiss?"
A smile curved her lips. She brushed a light kiss on his cheek and then rose to her feet. Looking down, she said,
"When he trusts me again, when his heart fully belongs to me, when his mind is open, then, yes, I will awaken with a kiss."
There could be no question of who "he" was. He could not prevent himself from asking,
"But if he is to be with Isabel, will you settle yet again for only having part of him?"
Her smile did not waver as she replied,
"I said only that the Royal Four must stand together. I did not say how."
With that cryptic parting statement, she turned and glided away, seeming to fade into the light. He was left alone, sitting on the dry forest floor, hearing life creep back into the world around him.
The incident faded in his mind, until it almost seemed like a dream. At first, he watched her like a hawk, looking for some indication that it had all been real. But there was never anything. Sometimes he had himself convinced that it was an elaborate trap set by the Skins. And sometimes when Michael came storming into the Crashdown for work, the battles with his demons clear in his eyes, she would go back to the lounge and gently calm him down. And sometimes when she came back out, if he managed to catch her gaze, in her eyes, there was the faintest tinge of hazel.