Betrayals

Something was wrong. She knew it instinctively and yet was not sure what to make of that feeling. It could mean anything, after all. Nuala had been at the archway for a little over two hours, not truly wishing to leave that place, hoping to see the prince's return. So it was that she had finally seated herself on the edge of the opening as morning truly dawned, her feet swinging freely in the open air. The princess could not help thinking that it would be a long, straight drop to the forest floor so far below, and instantly felt confusion over why such an idea would ever occur to her.

The sense of menace began to grow, and it was with mounting unease that the princess realised her brother's thoughts were very close. She had at first assumed she felt danger from him because he was in battle, and it was only then that she realised he certainly was not.

"Nuada?" she whispered uncertainly, feeling his presence close behind her; his body close to her, warm…threatening, "What is it?"

As a response, she felt something icy cold and very sharp run gently over her shoulder, down her arm and back up again, almost like a caress…and yet it was not. It was hard to believe for Nuala that she had just felt the tip of a knife.

"Perhaps you should tell me," the prince murmured in her ear, pulling his face back quickly when Nuala turned her head to look into his eyes.

"What do you mean?" she asked nervously, and cried out when he wrapped an arm around her neck, pulling her back against his shoulder with violent force.

"I mean that if you do not tell me the truth I will send us both to our deaths," he hissed, and she closed her eyes with a shudder, holding onto his arm with both hands as if that could somehow anchor them both in place.

"Then you would be killing yourself," Nuala reasoned, trying to sound calm though she could feel her heart beginning to break and fear was taking her over in great waves, "And how long would it be as we fell before you felt regret?"

"Regret means nothing," Nuada shook her, and in so doing his breath caught just as hers did.

Something cold ran slowly down Nuala's neck, and at first she thought it was the knife-edge again until she realised it was a tear. Liquid began to well in her own eyes as she thought of that, and she found she could no longer think badly of his state of mind – it was impossible for her to never forgive. He was suffering, she could feel it; something terrible had happened. Gradually, her grip on his arm became less fearful, her fingers moving in slow soothing patterns over his skin. His whole body was shaking by this time.

"Please, Nuada," the princess whispered, "Explain what is going on. I cannot help you if you will not speak."

"We were sent to ambush the gathering force of humans in the west," he said through clenched teeth, resting his forehead against her left shoulder as his knife clattered to the ground and he put his free arm gently around her waist, moving her back against him far more carefully than before. Still, his hold on her neck did not weaken, betraying his confused emotions better than any amount of sensing his thoughts could. So it was that the feeling of aggression was still prevalent when he spoke again, "But our ambush was itself ambushed; somehow the humans knew we were coming."

"And you suspect me of being the informer because I knew Maeve," Nuala managed to gasp, "And you will kill me if you become convinced I truly am the betrayer," her voice shook, and she sobbed when she tried to pull his arm away and he tightened his hold on her considerably.

"And who else could it be but you…Sister?" the prince demanded.

"Anyone but me," she told him, her hold on his arm once more becoming desperate; she felt her nails break through his skin, and blood trickled past her own right elbow, accompanied by a shockingly sharp pain. When his hold did not lessen, she began to struggle against him, but to no avail, and the forest below seemed almost to beckon as he leaned forward, forcing her to look down upon it.

"I find I cannot believe that, Princess."

"Please," Nuala begged, her tears finally spilling over, "How can you treat me like this? After everything you have done and said and felt. I know that as my heart breaks, so does yours."

"You will forgive me, if we survive this," Nuada promised.

"That may be, but would you truly seek to take advantage of my love for you?"

"Most certainly, if it saves me from ever losing you."

"I do not know why I cannot hate you for this, Brother," the princess told him, as fiercely as she could manage, "But I will tell you the truth because I do so irrecoverably love you and I wish you could feel the same, free of the anger that tears you apart from inside. So I promise to you, Prince Nuada, that had I known the plan which was betrayed to the humans, I would never have given it away, because, although I cannot hate them, they harmed me beyond anything you can comprehend. I can never trust a human man, so I would never seek to purely save their army when they threaten you who I thought I could trust, who I thought would never seek to hurt me.

"How can you trust me so little in return? Do not make me wish I never loved you!" she almost sobbed in relief as, with a groan he weakened his hold on her neck, letting his fingers linger over her throat. The princess leaned back against him, gasping for breath before eventually succeeding to speak again, "And to think that through all of that I found a measure of comfort in your presence, even your touch, however murderous your intentions. Oh why has Nature forsaken us?" she whimpered as both of his arms went around her waist, holding her to him with no lingering sense of menace.

"This is madness," Nuada agreed, his voice nothing more than a feverish whisper, "Madness…if only you could understand the agonies I suffer, if only I could understand the pain you will forever remember, the memories which will always haunt you," abruptly he moved away to the side, sitting against the side of the corridor and putting his head in his hands, shuddering, "I need to kill. I need to love. I wish for safety and happiness, and yet I watched the warriors die. Oh, Nuala how could I even suspect you? How could I for one second harbour designs of ending your beautiful life?"

"Please do not cry," the princess gasped in horror, moving quickly from the edge of the archway and carefully pushing the fallen knife to the other end of the corridor before approaching Nuada.

Nuala caught the prince's wrist just as he was about to hit the floor in anger. Slowly she leaned around his raised knee, using his leg for support as she pressed her lips to the palm, and then the back, of his hand. The prince whispered her name then, as if amazed by her very existence, and moved closer, seeking to find solace in the warmth of her lips against his. The princess avoided his attempt to kiss her, instead wiping the tears from his face with her thumbs as he did the same to her, his fingertips drifting over her skin and making her shudder.

"You just sought to kill me," Nuala pointed out, not actually aware of the fact that her hands had taken to unfastening his armour, "Why should I kiss you?"

"Nuala," he whispered her name softly, reverently as the armour fell away from his chest, "I cannot believe…I will not believe I would have done it, though the action in itself is inexcusable. There are no words known to me that can explain the remorse I am beginning to feel, no words to name you by or promise to you that can explain how I truly feel for and love you.

"Let me apologise in the only way in which you can ever believe me – with actions, for words are nothing in this moment. Know then that I am yours, eternally yours, I belong to you. It matters not at all that I am not mine, so long as it is you who owns me. Let me love you."

Nuala could hear her own heart pounding in anticipation as she looked up, tilting her head back a little so their lips brushed briefly once before he took her face firmly in his hands and kissed her hard. Neither cared, and certainly did not respond, when the sound of approaching footsteps sounded strongly and stopped with sharp deliberateness nearby.

"My lord," the newcomer said eventually, his voice sounding strained, obviously uncomfortable with the situation he was being forced to witness.

When Nuada finally did look around, he found he could hardly concentrate anyway, the princess leaning as she was against his chest, her hand running through his hair. He found himself fascinated by how delicate she felt, how warm and soft, even by the feel of her breathing, a steady rhythm by this time, nothing like before.

"What is it?" the prince asked of the young warrior standing at the other end of the corridor, eyes carefully averted from the twins.

"Elatha has not returned with us to the palace, my lord," came the hesitant response, "He left us when speculation began of who our betrayer may be. He is the only Elf among those of us living in the Central Forest to have a command of the humans' language – besides Elatha, only the Chamberlain has any knowledge of that tongue."

"Oh no," the prince whispered in horror, and Nuala was quick to take his hand in hers, and she sighed softly when he sent forth his love and the honesty of his feelings – only the truth could take the form of an apology for neither words nor the feeling of remorse were enough after what he had done.

"We thought you would know where to find him, as his closest friend, my lord," the young warrior added eventually, and Nuada nodded in grim agreement.

"Yes…I will seek him out immediately," the prince said, and upon hearing this promise, the messenger was quick to leave, fairly fleeing the corridor.

"Be safe," the princess whispered, a little despairingly, pressing a kiss to Nuada's cheek, "And promise me that you will never seek to hurt me again."

"Ethlinn! My sister, we must leave at once!"

The healer turned in surprise upon hearing her brother's voice, uncharacteristically frantic, sounding from the trees nearby. She soon saw Elatha standing nervously on the boundary between the palace grounds and the forest, his eyes wild. Not for the first time since their father had been killed she looked at him and felt sorrow over the gladness his heart had lost since that fateful day. Still, in recent times some of his old happiness had returned to him. Seeing him in such fear explained much to Ethlinn; she knew her brother, and she knew that whatever he sought to tell her was both the reason for his happiness and his terror.

"What is it?" the healer asked urgently, approaching Elatha as he retreated deeper into the trees.

"We cannot stay here. For what I have done, however unwittingly, he will surely end my life!" her brother did not slow his pace until the forest was all around them, veiling them from suspicious eyes, and Ethlinn felt a sense of dread settling over her.

"Who? Why?"

"The prince of course! Ethlinn, please, come with me and hear me out. I have much to explain, much to admit…and I hope you will understand, for you are the only family I have left whom I feel I can trust," his words were rushed and jumbled, and Ethlinn listened to him in utter horror.

"What have you done to anger the prince?" the healer demanded nervously, and then her eyes widened, "No! Not the…"

"Sister, make no assumptions!" Elatha cried quickly, "For they will all be wrong, I promise you."

"Then at least tell me where we are going!" Ethlinn exclaimed in confusion, for they were veering to the southwest and the smell of smoke was thick in the air. She knew undoubtedly that they were nearing a human settlement, "Elatha! You are frightening me with your haste and your talk of death!"

Despite his sister's continuing pleas for an explanation, Elatha simply continued onwards in silence, suddenly very purposeful. He knew his destination well; a place along the border with the forest and the valley not far from where he and Nuada had watched those they knew killed so mercilessly. Here the final line of trees curved inwards, shielding the border from the view of the human settlement, and it was here that Elatha had been spending his evenings, nights and mornings.

As the trees thinned, a quiet voice sounded from nearby, and Ethlinn froze, her whole body going rigid with shock. She did not at first realise that such a voice had just spoken her brother's name; a voice that was lacking the gentle, flowing pronunciation of the Elves.

"Human!" she gasped in disgust, seeing a slight figure visible beyond the trees and watching as a human woman, tanned by long hours in the sun, with large blue eyes and flowing hair the colour of straw stepped into view. Her dress was dull green, shapeless but for a tattered string belt.

Elatha watched his sister's response in dismay, but smiled gently at the young woman before him, and her expression lit up at the sight of him. Still, he could not escape the fact that this creature he loved so dearly had inadvertently caused the deaths of so many of his friends. He had spoken with her as soon as he had escaped the warriors, and learned that she had relayed the information of the Elvish plan to her people only with the intention of drawing back for a time and rendering it useless. But the humans had been determined to spill Elvish blood, just as Nuada had been so set on doing the same to them.

"This is my sister," he told the woman eventually, "Her name is Ethlinn. I have brought her with me, as I promised." In response, the young human turned her gaze to the healer as Elatha spoke again, "Ethlinn, this is Siobhan, my…bride."

"A human? You love a human?" the healer whispered, stepping back into the trees as if afraid she might somehow lose her life by simply meeting the woman.

"Yes, and this is the reason why I must leave, and I had hoped you would come with me," Elatha said unhappily, drawing closer to Siobhan as his sister's glare fixed on her, "What I told her has inadvertently caused the deaths of my fellow warriors, and I fear the prince will soon learn this. I must escape here before it is too late. The other humans have promised us refuge for a time, until we can move on."

"Then you have betrayed your people for the sake of love," Ethlinn shook her head in disgust, "Our people are dying even as we speak; to the south the Elvish army and the army of her people are meeting to end the human threat once and for all…and you seek to love a human? No, Elatha, how can I go with you? The only way I can repay you, betrayer that you are, is to turn my back on you as surely as you have done to our king. Let the prince have you, I say…"

"And so he shall, healer," a fourth voice cut in, low and menacing, accompanied by the slow swish of a familiar spear slicing ominously through the air.

Siobhan gasped in sudden fear, looking beyond Ethlinn to see the speaker, the silver head of his spear glinting brilliantly in the sunlight, the gold symbol of a tree rooted to the inside of a circle gleaming just as obviously on his stomach. She knew that picture for what it was – the royal seal of the Elves, and so knew that she was in the presence of one of the royalty of those magical people. As she met his orange-red gaze real fear, such as she had never known before, began to stir within her.

"Siobhan," Elatha murmured nervously, pushing the woman behind himself as Ethlinn moved to the side, leaving a direct line between the two warriors, "You must not try to come between us. He will cut you down."

"You love her," the prince noted thoughtfully, tilting his head to the side and watching the human woman dispassionately for a moment before a grim smile came to his face. He twirled his spear quickly through the air once again, creating an intricate pattern around himself, and saw her eyes go wide with shock, not able to keep up with the speed or precision of his movements.

"Yes," Elatha nodded in response to Nuada's observation, "And the fact that you stand here before me, so ready to end my life for a foolish mistake I made, proves that such an emotion has stayed your hand today."

"That will make little difference to you, Elatha, friend though you once were," without warning, he lunged at the golden haired warrior, who barely had time to dodge, rolling quickly out of the way and unsheathing his sword as he did so. Nearby, Siobhan gasped and Ethlinn retreated from sight into the forest.

"No! Nuada!" a new voice called as the prince stood straight again, and he paused, all of the anger and resolution visible in his expression simply ebbing away. As Nuada turned towards the trees, Elatha took the opportunity to scramble back, taking Siobhan by the arm and pulling her with him as the princess came into view.

"She is beautiful," Siobhan gasped reflexively as Nuala stepped into the light, the golden seal of royalty also visible on her shimmering dress of white and blue.

"Do not do this," the princess begged, approaching her brother somewhat nervously as he turned once more to Elatha, only to frown when Nuala took his shoulder and pulled him back around to face her. Instantly the spear was lowered, sliding back to the length of a sword.

"He deserves nothing better, Nuala."

"No. Such a fate is deserved by no one, human or Elf," she corrected, and then the princess turned her gaze towards Elatha, and she gestured quickly in the direction of the human settlement, "Go, now," she told him urgently, "You may not have another chance."

Obediently, the golden haired warrior turned and, pulling Siobhan with him, headed along the line of the trees and was soon out of sight. As soon as Elatha was gone along with his human bride, the prince turned to glare at his sister, and she did step back, momentarily afraid. However, Nuada was quick to sheath his weapon, and promptly took her into his arms. For a moment she did not know whether she should resist him; her emotions were confused as she looked up at him.

"The king forbade you to leave the palace," he reminded her as sharply as he could manage.

"He also forbade you to come near me. Did you listen to him any more than I did?" Nuala pointed out, and that the prince could not argue with, and when he looked down, taking deep, shuddering breaths to try and calm himself, the princess smiled and touched his face lightly, "You do not always have to be the one who must decide the fates of those who you – perceive – to have broken King Balor's rules." Her words were greeted only with silence, but somehow the princess knew he was listening to her.

"How did you get out of the palace?" Nuada asked eventually.

"I ran," she admitted with a smile, "No one saw me."

When the prince laughed briefly at this, the quiet sound, so very rare as it was, amazed Nuala, and she moved closer in his arms, pulling him down to her level and kissing him gently.

"You should be more willing to feel happiness," she told him, and he sighed, looking away until she leaned around him, pressing her lips to his once again until he groaned softly and drew her closer still.

"How can you forgive me so utterly?" he whispered in awe, "How can you treat me this way after everything I have done to you?"

"Because you gave me your thoughts," Nuala reminded him, "And I saw everything, and felt everything. You could never have hurt me…but I hurt you," she added, finding the four cuts on the inside of his right forearm, where his leather bracer was laced and so therefore left him vulnerable.

"I think I deserved that," he told her quietly, and when she shook her head the reverence evident in his expression only increased, and he sought to kiss her for a third time, "I wish I could hide in you forever, feel the goodness of your heart and let it wash away all the anger I feel. You are the only who can save me from this madness…hold me back; save my life," the prince whispered desperately.

"I will love you as well as I can," the princess said after a moment, "And perhaps that will be enough; the trees remember no love to rival what I feel for you and I know you feel for me…" she paused there, looking nervous again.

"The promise," Nuada smiled, "I promised I would finish what we…started…when I return. Let me keep that…let me finally show you what it is I truly feel," with these words, they kissed again so gently, lingering this time…

"Princess!" Ethlinn's voice rang out with painful clarity, but Nuala found she could hardly bring herself to answer the healer, let alone turn away from the prince.

"Yes?"

"The king is looking for you both at the palace. He will soon grow suspicious if you continue to 'evade' him. You are actively breaking a law he has set down for you!" Ethlinn's frustration did little to affect Nuala, whose attention had returned to the one before her.

"So once again we are denied," she sighed softly, "You are the only one I ever feel safe with, the only one I could ever trust or love enough to come closer to me. Yet he denies us. I will still be eternally yours, regardless of titles. I know that he will never stop; that he believes it is wrong that we love…but I know too, that he can never break this love, even if we are subject to his endeavours for a thousand years," she vowed.

Ethlinn cringed as the two kissed again, wondering how they could do such a thing after what the king had told them – and what he had decreed. It was as if they believed time had stopped around them, as if the imminent threat of the king's wrath was nothing compared to a few moments in each other's arms. Despite her disapproval of the situation, the healer could not help but notice that only then did the prince seem at peace; no anger and none of his increasingly characteristic viciousness showed in his countenance. The princess, too, was altered by the brief instant of tenderness, for she was somehow visibly happy, though her face was not visible to Ethlinn.

"You should go," Nuada told his sister eventually, pushing her back gently.

"And what about you?"

"I am not the one who has been forbidden to leave the palace, Nuala," he reminded her sadly, "And besides, if the king is looking for us both I must return soon, anyway. Unfortunately, it would not do for us to arrive in his presence together."

The princess paused a moment before looking around at Ethlinn, sighing perhaps because she had to leave or simply because the warrior's touch had left her shoulders. Either way, she did eventually approach the healer, who was quick to turn back towards the trees. Nuala hung back before eventually following, her expression thoughtful, watching Ethlinn set a swift pace for the palace.

"You did a very cruel thing, healer," the princess said eventually once she had reached her companion's side.

"Did I? Was I the one who promised Elatha death?"

"In a way, yes you were," Nuala was quick to correct, "You betrayed him because he loves someone."

"How could you know anything of what happened? You arrived only in time to stop your brother from killing mine," Ethlinn pointed out.

"Something which you condoned," the princess reminded before answering the question, "And the trees told me. You renounced your brother because he found love – and his love is not the first of its kind. He did not intentionally cause harm to his kin, and nor did she. He is your brother; your family! How could you so coldly wish for the prince to seek his death?"

"I hope you will forgive my impertinence, princess," Ethlinn said after an awkward moment of silence, in which the healer desperately tried to hold back what she was about to say, "But I have seen no evidence that you adhere to normal family protocol. Have you not heard what the other Elves whisper about you? I would sooner kill my brother myself than…than…"

"Than do what?" Nuala demanded, stopping suddenly and taking the healer by the shoulder to spin her around, only to gasp and draw her hand away just as hastily, stumbling backwards before speaking, her expression one of utter horror; she had heard Ethlinn's thoughts, "How could you? How could he? Why would my father think those things, how could you go along with that? Did you think the prince would agree to go near you? Oh, but your thoughts! Your thoughts," here it was the healer's turn to back up, thinking for a second that the princess meant to strike her.

"I-it never came to anything…how could it?" Ethlinn stammered.

"The king had a hand in it, you need not deny it…my own father sought to break my heart for the sake of a foolish prophecy. Must you all betray me? Every single one of you?" she brought a hand to her own neck then, "The king seeks to ruin me, to ruin my brother, too. My brother seeks to kill me, so desperate to end something, however insane, and you…you sought to seduce the one I love beyond all others."

"I…"

"You will never come near me again, Ethlinn. I told you once that I would be forever grateful to you for saving my life, but how can I be after everything that has befallen, everything you have caused? You should have left with your brother when you had the chance," the princess paused then, as if not sure why she was feeling such strong emotions, or knowing that what she was about to say was wrong but she simply could not stop it, "If he wanted death to a true betrayer, Nuada should have turned on you…and Ethlinn, I wonder if, knowing what I know now, I could have the heart to stop him."

With these words, Princess Nuala turned and vanished into the trees, trying to escape the troubles she found herself so very deeply a part of, but with no idea of how many more horrors she would soon be witnessing.

The throne room was silent; the attention of all the advisors in the stands was trained solely on the king. Balor himself sat upon his throne, his chin resting in his hand, staring pensively at the golden crown in the open, jewelled box standing before him. The stand upon which this container rested had – literally – become restless, the brass feet on the ends of its four long metal legs shifting uncomfortably over the dusty ground.

It had been some time since the arrival of the crown and the quick departure of its lone Goblin courier. Not long after this, the twins had been sent for, and it was fortunate for them that their father had not noticed just how much time had passed since then. His thoughts were very much taken up with considering the true implications of the use of that crown. Even then, before anything had begun, he could envisage the destruction the army would bring upon not only a whole species, but also the land. Neither of these consequences felt right to him – he was, after all, the king of the Elves, the most powerful species of all the magical creatures and therefore the protectors of the Hidden Realm.

"They must be stopped," Balor sighed eventually, speaking to no one in particular, and the crown's stand leapt in surprise, one of its legs jerking outwards at an awkward angle before eventually recovering itself. The king simply shook his head in disbelief at the strange Goblin contraption before speaking again, "So I suppose we have no choice. The humans will kill us all eventually if we do not take action…"

"Father?" Nuala's voice rang clear with confusion and worry, interrupting the king's musings as she stepped into the open gateway of the throne room. Her eyes instantly focused on the box standing at the centre of the hall, to the strange animated table it rested upon, and she recognised whatever her father was staring intently upon was the work of Goblins. It took her a moment to realise that a crown, intricate, pure gold and somehow ominous, glimmered in the box. This did nothing to explain the strange situation to the princess, so she looked questioningly to her father, but he refused to meet her eyes.

"You know nothing of this, do you my daughter?" the king said at length, "Your brother did at least have the heart to spare you the truth of why I sent him away so soon after you both returned so…injured. And you never had the heart to ask him, did you? It would be plain for any creature in your situation to realise that something was very wrong, but you never asked."

"I do not understand…what more do you have to keep from me?" the princess could not hide a hint of sadness – an emotion that bordered on bitterness – sounding in her voice then.

"I wish I did not have to tell you these things at all, Nuala," Balor groaned, shaking his head miserably, taking a deep, shuddering breath before continuing, "They only ever serve to distress you, innocent soul that you are. More than that, I find myself wondering whether you would love us so dearly if you knew what we have sought – and will seek, I fear – to unleash upon this world? You, the best of us all; it goes against the very principles of your nature."

"You cannot go back now, Father. She must know, but you need not vilify us so ardently. We have done nothing but what is necessary in this war," Nuada cut in, and the princess could not suppress a gasp at the sound of his voice so close by. As he moved past her in the gateway, he was careful to brush closely against her, his hand resting briefly and unnoticeably against the small of her back, his hair tickling her neck.

Nuala remained as one frozen, staring stoically at the ground, in that brief moment that felt like an agonising lifetime, able to imagine the feel of his lips moving over her skin…The contact he had made seemed to send a shockwave up her spine, and it was everything she could do simply to remain still, holding her breath, silently begging that he would move away and stop tormenting her in such a manner in front of her father of all people. It was only then that she realised why the prince was doing this: he was using her against Balor to try and prove a point.

"Then perhaps you should be the one to tell your sister about the Golden Army you look so favourably upon, Nuada," King Balor retaliated as the prince did finally move into the throne room, away from the gateway and Nuala.

"Perhaps I should," the prince shrugged, unconcerned, though his sister was regarding him with shock, the word army ringing so violently in her mind that he could sense it, too, "But then again, Father, I believe it is your duty."

"What are you speaking about?" the princess demanded suddenly, her attempt to stay calm under the weight of the suggestion of such a horrible truth failing somewhat. The prince simply frowned in response, looking to their father.

"The war rages on even as we speak," the king began unwillingly, "You know this, but you have been isolated from it until now. For the humans are greater in number than we ever could have imagined before, and they are advancing slowly upon this place, our home, the Central Forest.

"The recklessness of humanity has disturbed the lives of many other creatures within the Magical Realm, and so it was that the Goblins proposed to build an army of seventy times seventy soldiers; golden constructs, in fact, that will feel no hunger and no thirst, that cannot be stopped and will never tire."

"The deaths of thousands," Nuala gasped in horror, and the prince turned his gaze angrily upon her then, but she spoke to him before he could say a word, "And you championed this, did you not? The king sent you to find out more, and you heard of the potential destruction not with disgust but with gladness! I can hear the very words in your mind now." Build me this army. As soon as those words sounded in her thoughts, the princess began to realise how much stronger the link between them had become; they were beginning to recognise each other's thoughts.

"And the deaths of many more will occur if the human race is not stopped once and for all," he told her fiercely, the coldness in his voice enough to make even the king cringe, "Your misplaced pity is beyond tiresome, Sister." His sudden aggression, along with his choice of wording, not only startled, but frightened the princess, too. Suddenly, she could remember his arm tight around her throat, his threat to kill them both…

"Enough, Nuada!" the king cried, seeing tears beginning to well in the princess's eyes, "Is it any wonder that I chose to keep you away from here? You and your cruel words and crueller heart!"

"What more have you to say?" Nuala asked eventually, her voice shaking with grief at the news she had been given, tears falling freely over her cheeks.

"This crown is the means by which I, as one of royal blood, may command the army. Any who challenges me at my coronation tomorrow must also not only be of royalty, but will be challenging me in battle," Balor warned, "Know then that there is no way by which you can contest this decision, my daughter, though I see in your eyes you will dearly wish to."

"And that is all? You are willing to kill and kill until all are dead and the world is weary of all life?" Nuala demanded, steadfastly refusing to look towards the prince, and so instead saw her father's expression of resolve waver.

"I will do what I must, Nuala," came the quiet response.

"Then know, father, that you will be dooming us all to ruin," she looked to Nuada then, regarding him unwillingly with a fondness that gripped her heart and sought to tear it in two with the bitter realisation of her own hypocrisy – she adored his very being, though she also knew the truth of her next words, "By listening to the machinations of the cruellest of all hearts." This is your second betrayal, Nuada, and your most unforgivable. I fear I can never forgive you for these things, and I surely shall never try.

The weight of the princess's thoughts did indeed reach the warrior's mind, and he staggered back with the agony she gave him with both her spoken and unspoken words. When he could think clearly again, Nuada saw that his dear sister had already gone, and his father was once again leaning his head in his hands, utterly despairing of his children.