Author's Note: This story came to be because while I loved HB2, I loathed the ending of the movie. How dare they kill the prince when they should have saved him? So this is my version of what could have happened. There are kingdoms to be saved, hearts to be won, and of course, the happy ending.

But no one ever said it would be easy…

Please read and review.

"And if you go, don't forget to take me with you."

~ Basia

In The Beginning…

Seren

She was on her knees at the window-seat in her room looking out at the moon when her father walked in the room. When the sound of the opening door failed to catch her attention, her father had to rare opportunity of catching his daughter in a still moment.

It made the king smile to see her so, she tried so hard to keep up with her brother and cousins. She was ever after them to teach her to fight, to hunt. To duel. The last made him shudder remembering catching his twin children dragging off his sword so they could joust like knights with it. So he was surprised to see her turn to him with eyes full of tears.

He held opened his arms to her as she ran to him, "Whatever is the matter?" She'd hidden her face against him and he could feel her shake with the force of her sobs. He hugged her close, then tipped her chin up to face him.

Big gray eyes had all the sadness in the world in them, and fresh tears fell as she said, "Oh Athair. It's so awful, Bran and Alton told me that I'd never have a prince of my own!"

She hid her face against him as she said the worst of it aloud. "They said no one would want me, that all I do are things that boys do. That no real prince would want a girl who doesn't act like a lady!" The last was said in a wail of utter heartbreak.

King Conall had a moment to think that ruling a realm was often times easier than being a father to twins. He rocked Seren in his arms, stroked her dark curls away from her face. "Don't cry a stór, I was a prince myself once, and I know that any would be blessed to have you." He let her go and tilted her chin up to meet his eyes, "When you grow up, you will be a beautiful princess and a true lady."

Seren was shaking her head before her father had finished talking, "'Tis true though Athair, I'm not a lady. I can't sing, I can't dance, and Lynwen says-"

Conall studied her for a moment before he spoke again, "Maybe there are other things to you than dancing and singing. You've the blood of Afallon warriors running though your veins." He saw that he had her full attention and continued, "There are things coming to you Seren that are more important than a sweet song. War will come and your heart must be ready for it."

Seren's eyes were huge now, "War? Who would we war with?" She narrowed her eyes, her fierce expression was one her brother would have known to duck and run from. "Will it be the Bethmooran's? Bran says that all pale haired ones must be utter bastar-"

Conall cut her off before she could finish the word, "No, it won't be the Bethmoorans." He took a deep breath, "We split off from them because we felt it was best, not for any fault of theirs or ours." He had to fight a grin, knew his next words would seal her fate. "Seren, what would you say if I said that your prince is from Bethmoora? That you will be the one to save him from horrible things that would come to pass without you by his side?" He was surprised when she just frowned instead of protesting immediately. Then came a great swell of pride and love at her next words.

"Then I say that he will ever be in my heart, and I will learn to be the princess that he shall need me to be." Then with a tiny scowl, "Even if he is from Bethmoora." She hugged her father hard then and said, "Father, if I'm to save him…shouldn't I learn to fight with Bran and Alton? If he needs me to be a warrior, then I will learn to fight. Fight, so none will harm us."

King Conall winced, reflecting that the best of intentions could come back to haunt you worse than the most determined of spirits. With a rueful smile he told her, "Yes, you will learn to fight, you will be ready for the battle when it comes to all of our people. Not just the elves, but for all of faerie." He scooped her up into his arms, "But for now my love, into bed with you. Even the best of warriors need to rest." He tucked her back into bed, and kissed her forehead. "I love you Seren."

Seren bade her father goodnight, then waited for the door to close before going to her window once more to look out at the moon again. She thought on her father's words and then took a breath, "I know the Gods have concerns that are far beyond me, but I beseech you to please keep my prince safe for me. Keep him safe and let him know that I will love him. That we will be together and….and…even though I can't sing… or dance, that I will still be the lady he needs me to be."

As she walked back to bed she gave a thought to her brother. I wonder what Bran will say when he finds out I'm to marry a Bethmooran. And when she drifted off to sleep she had a smile on her face.

·

Two Thousand Years Later…..

Nuada

Nuada kicked the chest at the foot of his bed hard enough he heard the wood crack under the blow. How could his father be so blind! The humans would ever be naught but a blight on the world, destroying all they came in contact with. He'd been given the Golden Army; great metal soldiers with the strength of hundreds, to tear the wretched things asunder, freeing the fae from the damages they were inflicting on the earth.

But King Balor had said, "No more. The Golden Army bears no distinction between the evil-doers and the ones that mean us no harm." Nuada had argued that there was no distinction; that they were cursed things and all deserved the same fate, that the king was blind if he thought it would ever be right between the world of man and the world of faerie. He'd spent long years alone, set apart from all in the world he'd held dear. Had returned once more to try to get his father to see reason, to see that there would never be a balance between them, but his father refused to see, to even acknowledge that his son could be right.

For a minute he let the grief he was feeling overwhelm him and he sank down on his bed, burying his face in his hands. He didn't look up when the door opened, but he knew the tread of his twin well…and if he was being honest, didn't want to see the disgust that had been on his father's face on hers as well. He looked up when he felt the touch of her hand as she set down beside him, was ashamed to see the tears on her face. He gently brushed one away, and said softly, "You know he's wrong. They will never stop, never change, never be able to live in harmony with the earth. All they know is to destroy, and I cannot let-"

Nuala cut him off, "Brother if you do not cease trying to force Father's hand on this I'm afraid of what will become of you." She took his hand, squeezing his fingers tightly, "Do not let this be the thing that drives a wedge between us for the rest of our lives."

Nuala's bright golden eyes shone with tears, and Nuada could feel the grief in her heart. Her fear that this would be the final blow of an already fragile relationship between father and son. That he would finally let the anger that had been growing in his heart take over, and there would be nothing left of the brother she adored. He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but by the look on her face he missed the mark.

"I will try and reason with him, I want there to be peace between us once more. I do not want to leave Bethmoora again, do not want to leave you and Father." He felt the relief, then the fear from her through their twin-link and sighed, "I will try talking with him again."

Nuala came to her feet and gave her brothers hand a tug, "Come, let us go to dinner. Father has said there are to be guests coming from Afallon this evening."

Nuada gave a bitter laugh, "This should be entertaining, the great warriors coming to see the ones who will not fight." At the pained look from his sister, he made himself smile at her. "Let us not keep our guests waiting then." When he looked back later, he wondered why he hadn't thought to ask Nuala exactly, who the Afallon guests were.

·

Seren felt like her skull was being cleaved in two by one of her father's war axes. She ran the cold cloth over her face, fought and lost a short battle with her stomach, and retched again. She moaned against the pain and prayed not to be ill again.

Damn the Bethmooran prince, and her brother she thought for the hundredth time. 'Twas all their fault, this wretched illness and pain in her head. She knew that what had transpired the night before wasn't the best way to announce yourself to your betrothed, but was there a good way to tell a person they have to marry? No, she thought, not only have to marry, but to have to put aside all that you believed in for a complete stranger. She sighed and laid back again covering her eyes. What happened after was only what she deserved.

·

She knew as she and Bran had entered the hall that she had only moments before Nuada and his father quit using the polite language of royal heir to king, and switched to the less polite tones of outraged son to father. She saw the prince's eyes were practically incandescent with rage at what his father had been saying, but what she hadn't expected was the fact she could feel how furious he was, feel all the rage, all the pain. It had staggered her, and if Bran hadn't steadied her she would have fallen.

It was enough of a distraction that the court chamberlain had time to say, "The Prince and Princess of Afallon have arrived and seek an audience my king." Then all eyes had left the disgraced prince, and focused on the newest bit of fodder for the court.

Seri ran a weary hand over her face. The evening had only gone down hill from there. She'd given King Balor the missive from her mother to read, and seen his eyes widen in disbelief. Then he'd read it again, and started to laugh before saying, "Prince Nuada, I give you your war. May you find much joy in it."

He'd handed the letter to his son and walked over to her, "Lady Seren, I wish you good luck with this one." The laughter had faded then, "It grieves me to hear the news of your father, Conall was a great warrior, and the truest of friends." Then he turned to look at his son, "Nuada, may you find the peace in Afallon that you cannot find elsewhere in this world."

In the time it had taken for Nuada to read the letter, Seren had all the time in the world to pray the earth would swallow her whole. She had known for some time it would come to this, but still it wasn't the way she would have had it thrust upon him. She looked up in time to see pale golden eyes lock on hers and light with fury, then he crumpled the letter in his fist and stalked after his father.

Princess Nuala had tried to give her a encouraging smile, "Welcome to Bethmoora." Then she leaned over and lowered her voice to a whisper and said, "This is probably best taken elsewhere, come with me please."

Seren took a deep breath, then she and Bran followed the princess to the king's private chambers. She could hear Nuada's voice getting louder, he was telling his father…that won't be good, she thought with a wince.

There was an almighty crash, then she heard King Balor shouting at his son, " I am King here, and you will marry her! For all that you've chosen to ignore it, she had been betrothed to you for over two thousand years. It is not an option." There was another thud, then came the sound of a slap. "You will marry her, the kingdoms of Bethmoora and Afallon will become one. Even you have to see it's for the best." He cut off Nuada's next words of protest, "We will be all the stronger combined, Afallon has ever been the stronger with their magic, it will be for the good of the people."

As she walked in the room Seren took in the sight of the desk with the fist sized hole in it, the two royals baring their teeth at one another, then cleared her throat, "King Balor, if I could please have a moment to speak with the prince?" She wanted to flinch from the enraged golden eyes staring at her, but wouldn't let herself. She'd come too far, waited too long, to let one angry prince thwart her plans. She gave him another glance and suddenly wanted to smile. Make that one furious prince.

King Balor had given her a brief nod, "We will have a celebration feast, and make the formal announcement tomorrow." He ignored the growl from his son, and took Nuala by the arm, and said to her brother, "Come Prince Bran, we have time for a light repast, it will give them a brief chance to get acquainted." Bran gave her a unreadable look, then turned to follow them. She could feel he was unhappy at leaving her alone with the Bethmooran prince, but then he wasn't happy with her plan of showing up unannounced either. But, for once, had listened to her when she said it had to be now.

Bran narrowed his eyes at Nuada, gave a gentle tug on his sisters' hair, "I'll be back soon Seri." In her mind he whispered, "If he lays a hand on you, it will be the last time he enjoys the use of it." With a final withering glance at the prince he followed the king and princess, leaving her alone with Nuada for the first time.

Seren drank in the sight of him; she knew she was but a stranger to him, but she had dreamt of him all her life it seemed. He had the height that most could lay claim to; white-blonde hair that shaded to a soft gold at the ends, the scar that marked him as royalty only added emphasis to his bright gold eyes. She could see the muscle that rippled with every movement, but he wasn't bulky with it. Lithe and graceful for a warrior grown. He watched her with wary eyes, and she realized he was waiting for her to speak. She'd waited so long for this moment, and now that it had arrived she could do naught but stare at him like a lack wit it seemed.

She thought of all that she'd been told of him, this stranger who would be her husband. Stranger. And yet… and yet not. The tales of bravery, of selflessness in battle. Then the dark side of the coin; the rage against the humans that he thought such a bane to the world of faerie, the anger that was driving him even now. She wanted to soothe him, give him sanctuary from the pain she could feel tearing him up inside, but knew he wouldn't take such a gesture from a stranger. That no matter what she knew of him, that's all she was to him. A stranger.

Nuada stalked over to the Afallon princess and studied her as well. Long dark hair fell in waves to the middle of her back; she wasn't tall, but slender and slight, had none of the height that was usual for most of the Elven races. She had the royal marks of her house on her left arm, the vine and leaf pattern with the three crescent moons intertwined, wending its way from her fingertips all the way up her arm to disappear up the sleeve of her black and white gown. Delicate brows arched over large dove-gray eyes as she watched him soberly while he looked at her, but she said nothing and continued to study him in silence.

"Why, after all these long years would your father choose now to see a betrothal come to pass that has lain void for all these long years?" He was gritting his teeth to keep from yelling at her. The idea of this was preposterous! Marriage, when all he could see in his future was war, and maybe death if he had to defy his father. Their bethrothal had been prearranged for so long that he no longer gave the idea any merit, had not given it a thought in years. Had truthfully been glad of the excuse of it to keep from having to wed another. And now, at the worst possible time in his life, his intended bride decides to come out of nowhere at the most inconvenient time, and ruin what was left of his life!

Seren could feel her heart sinking and her temper starting to rise, she knew Nuada had no reason to realize that standing this close to him she could read his thoughts, but the anger he was feeling was really starting to make her feel furious as well. Ruin his life? Inconvenience him? She could feel her fingers itching to grab her sword. How much more would it ruin his life if she stabbed him? Or would it merely be inconvenient? She took a deep breath and tried for a smile, but knew more likely it looked like she was baring her teeth.

"I apologize for the timing, it wasn't of my choosing either truthfully." His head had snapped up at her words, and she inwardly cringed. It had been years since she'd made a mistake like that; answering someone's thoughts aloud. Or she thought, it was more likely her tone, which she knew was less than the gentle speech of a royal lady, and more of a shrew. But really, ruined his life? Alright, enough of that, she told herself. She tried again, "My father had taken grievously ill, will likely not last the next few months, Afallon has to have a ruling pair in line before he passes from this world."

Grief made the words want to die in her throat, how was she to live without him? Let alone rule and somehow prevent a war. She had his attention now, she thought with a trace of bitterness. "This is not how I would have had it begin between us, but there are some things that we've both no choice in." She saw a flash of puzzlement in his gold eyes, "I promise I will explain all to you when we go to Afallon." Heard the refusal in his mind before the words passed his lips.

Nuada was tight lipped with anger, "I will not go with you to Afallon. I am Crown Prince Nuada, Silver Lance. Of Bethmoora, not Afallon. My place is here with my people, of all the times to leave them, this is not-"

Seren cut him off, ignoring the glare he gave her for interrupting him, "They will be our people. We are both Elven, are we not?" She wanted to scream at him that she didn't have time for this. Didn't want to rule, not at the price of her father's life. Not like this, not forcing Nuada into a marriage he didn't want, and killing her chances at happiness in the bargain.

She tried again, wanting to cry but refusing to let the tears fall, and said, "One year." She held out her hand to Nuada. "If you give me but one year to bring the kingdoms together then if things are not improved to your satisfaction, I will-." She paused, and took a breath, then said the rest, "I will put my army with yours and if you still wish it, we will war on the humans. We will fight until they've been wiped from the earth and are naught but a distant memory."

Nuada's eyes shot wide, then narrowed as he sneered at her, "You must think me a fool. What possible reason can you have to want to help me?" He pointedly ignored the hand she'd extended to him. "Why would you make that kind of promise to a total stranger?"

Seren lashed out, and grabbed his hand before he could avoid her, "This is why!" Then she joined her mind with his and showed him what she'd seen come to pass.

The world was burning, everything he held dear was awash in ash and fire was his first thought. They stood on a bluff before Bethmoora, he and Seren. She still had a tight grip on his hand, and he could only watch, horrified as the humans destroyed his home, and together they stood and watched it burn.

Seren squeezed his fingers as she shared his pain, felt the anguish that ran through him at the sight. The weapons were too great and the fae fell to the humans. Her voice was hoarse when she spoke, "This is what will come to be if you continue on this path. Bethmoora, will fall and the rest of faerie will follow soon after." She gripped his chin roughly, and turned him to face her. "You will slay your father for the crown piece, your beloved sister will die, and you will be the destruction of all that you hold dear."

Nuada turned to the chaos and death before them once more. Gods, he could hear the screams of his people as they tried to escape. Heard, and could only stand there helplessly as they died and fell. He yanked Seren to him and shook her hard, "How can you know this? How can you see this, and not be moved by any of it?" He expected her to push him away, slap him, because if what she was showing him was true…Well, he had destroyed them all, hadn't he?

Seren ran soft fingers across his cheek, she didn't think he was even aware he had started to weep as he shook her. She turned her wet fingertips to show him. "Because it does not have to be this. Because you and I can stop it, here and now. Because we can save our people from this." She gestured to Bethomoora as she spoke, "We can stop it, we will stop it." She shook him them in turn, and felt the tears in her own eyes spill over, "Nuada, we will stop this and save them all." Then she took his hand in hers again and brought them both out of the vision.

Nuada felt his knees give out on him, and only the hold she had on him kept him on his feet. He wouldn't be the one to destroy them all. He would not. He kept the tremor from his voice by sheer force of will, "If what you've shown me is true, I will do as you ask." He tightened his grip on her hand to the point of pain, but she never flinched. "We will join the kingdoms and save the people." Then he gave her a formal bow and kissed the back of her hand. "I vow it. But Princess Seren, if I find out you've lied to me, if this is some great plot of my fathers'?" Golden eyes locked on hers, "Then it will be you who will need saving."

·

After that they'd rejoined King Balor, Princess Nuala, and her brother. Who upon hearing that Prince Nuada was going to acquiesce with the marriage plans, had decided they needed to toast the impending nuptials. 'Twas Bran though that thought he and the prince needed to finish the bottle of wine. And all the ones that followed.

As Seren lay with the cloth covering her eyes, cursing her brother, the prince, and really all males at the moment, she realized that she'd been feeling something besides the headache and sickness.

Fear.

She hadn't lied to Nuada. Not in the strictest sense, but she hadn't told him the whole truth either.