A/N: Before anyone gets surprised, yes I think that in the armies of both Kells and Temra there just have to be some actually competent soldiers. At least a few… maybe… somewhere… Ok, for the sake of this FF, let's just pretend there are. :D

Chapter 10: Shadow of the Day

It was still early in the morning, but the entire castle of Kells was already awake, with soldiers patrolling the grounds more alert than ever and the king himself pacing restlessly in the throne room. One of the servants had served his breakfast a while ago, but Conchobar was far too tense to even think about eating right now.

He didn't recall for how long he had been in this state when suddenly an extremely harried looking soldier rushed through the entrance and quickly bowed to him before speaking.

"My King, you wanted to be informed as soon as the Mystic Knights return. They were just approaching the gate." He kept his head down as the ruler of Kells left the throne room in a hury, too preoccupied to even bother with the messenger, but then followed behind to resume his post in the courtyard.

Conchobar stepped outside into the crisp morning air, just in time to see the Mystic Knights dismount their horses, and raised an eyebrow in slight surprise as he noticed how Ivar helped Rohan reach the ground safely. However, his worry as a father outweighed his concern for Draganta and so his focus shifted immediately to his daughter as he came closer.

"Deirdre! Where have you all been? I wake up and the entire castle is in an uproar about some thief and then the guards tell me that you three left in the middle of the night without telling anyone where you're going. What happened?" He looked over all the Mystic Knights and only now realised the bad shape Rohan was really in. Alarm rang through his voice as he addressed the most important fighter of Kells, still trying to make some sense of the whole situation.

"Rohan, have you been injured? Did you get into a fight with Maeve's soldiers?"

Deirdre, who was lacking any patience to deal with her father's questions right now, took hold of Rohan's healthy arm and pulled him towards the castle entrance.

"I guess you could call it that, but Rohan really needs to get inside and have Cathbad take a look at his wound. I'll explain everything to you later, I promise." With that, she turned her attention back to the blond man at her side, whose strength seemed to be leaving him rapidly, now that they had made it back to the safety of Kells castle. When he suddenly stumbled, Ivar was there immediately to take Rohan's arm from the princess and sling it over his shoulder to support the weight of his friend.

Conchobar watched the Mystic Knights walk slowly into the castle together and couldn't help but wonder whether he should feel angry for being dismissed by Deirdre so easily. Then again, he had seen her concern for Rohan all too clearly and knew his daughter well enough to know that she wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else until she had made sure that her friend was alright. So the king followed his warriors inside, he too, worried about Rohan's condition.

After getting Rohan safely into Cathbad's chamber, Ivar and especially Deirdre had only very reluctantly left their friend, but they knew he was in good hands and as hard as it was for them to talk about it, the king needed to be informed about what had transpired in Temra earlier.

The princess had mostly stayed in the background during the report, and had followed Ivar's explanations only loosely, trying not to visualise their reunion with Angus too vividly, although the look on his face still haunted her despite her best efforts.

"And you are sure that it was really him and not just one of Maeve's shapeshifter tricks?" the king asked cautiously as Ivar had finished, knowing how hard the unexpected encounter in their enemy's castle must have been for all of the Mystic Knights, particularly for Rohan and his daughter. The young woman's reluctance to talk about it just confirmed his assumption as Ivar answered once more.

"Absolutely! He is apparently under her control, just like Garrett had been before he became a Mystic Knight, but it was undeniably him; there is no doubt about that."

Conchobar stood from his throne and went over to the window to look out onto the grounds, deep in thought and just as overwhelmed by this change of events as Deirdre and the others had been. He rubbed his chin absentmindedly while pondering the consequences this would have for Kells, until he finally turned around again, determination plainly visible in his features.

"Well, then our most important priority right now is clear; we have to get Angus back to Kells as quickly as possible. When Cathbad is finished with treating Rohan's arm, he will immediately make the potion he used to free Garrett from Maeve's spell, because I am sure now that Temra's newest trump is unveiled, their next attack won't be far away." He sighed deeply and looked at his daughter in particular as he continued speaking.

"Every day I see the deep wounds Angus' loss has caused this kingdom and especially his friends. I don't know how Maeve has been able to save him, but I am glad that she has given us the unexpected chance to heal these wounds again." The king fell silent for a moment and averted his eyes from Deirdre in light of what he was going to say next.

"But despite this opportunity, we cannot allow ourselves to underestimate the danger surrounding Angus' return.

Maeve is not stupid; I'm sure she knows exactly what a harmful weapon she has created by turning Angus against us. He knows everything about the defences of Kells and of course has a very strong psychological advantage, which he seems to knows how to use quite effectively as Rohan has already witnessed first hand. And I fear now that his mystic weapon is in his possession again, he has both the combat strength and the armour of a Mystic Knight at hand, making him an even more dangerous opponent."

"But he's not our enemy!" Deirdre exclaimed almost angrily at her father's warnings. The king shook his head sadly, before trying to make his daughter understand the seriousness of the situation.

"Believe me, I know that, but in his own mind he is, and I don't think you will be able to get around fighting him. I'm not telling you to attack him uncompromisingly; I'm just saying that you should be prepared to defend yourself and this kingdom, because Angus is most likely not going to have any inhibitions to strike hard. Don't forget that it is your first duty to protect Kells, not your friends."

Deirdre stared at her father incredulously, not wanting to believe what he had just told her. Her voice was constricted with anger as she finally answered him.

"Oh, I know what my duty is, trust me, but if you think that I will sacrifice my friend's life for the safety of Kells, then you don't know me half as well as you think you do." She glared at the king for another moment, before turning around and storming out of the throne room, furious.

His voice heavy with emotions, Rohan had told Cathbad everything that had happened the night before, from the theft of the mystic weapon and his uncontrollable anger at Maeve to the moment when he had looked into his best friend's cold eyes and how he had received the wound on his arm his former teacher was now still busy stitching up.

Silence had settled over the small chamber, while the druid was trying his best not to hurt Rohan any more than necessary as he was using a sharp needle to sew his wound carefully.

"So… Angus did this to you?" he mused quietly, knowing of course that Rohan was telling the truth, but having a hard time processing it.

"Yes. I couldn't believe it at first, either, that he is really alive, but he knew things, things that only Angus could know about." Rohan broke off, still weary from the blood loss and shock alike, and stayed silent for a moment to gather himself. When he finally spoke again, his voice sounded even more choked up than before.

"I couldn't fight him, Cathbad, I couldn't. If it hadn't been for Deirdre and Ivar, he might have killed me, but I just wasn't able to fight back. All I did was try to ward off his attacks, and even that not very successfully as you can see." He moved his arm unconsciously to emphasise his point, but immediately cringed and hissed in pain as he thereby caused the druid to jab him with the needle.

"Hold still, will you?" Cathbad ordered strictly as he took hold of Rohan's arm. "I am nearly done." He continued to work in silence for a few more moments, before speaking again, in a much softer voice this time, while looking directly at his former apprentice.

"I know that you want me to give you an advice on this matter, Rohan, but I am not sure if I have one for you. I will mix the potion that should be able to free Angus from Maeve's control if she has used the same spell again, but I can't tell you how to approach an encounter with him. After all, it is your family this concerns, not mine." Rohan looked at the druid in surprise for a second, but then smiled slightly.

"Yes, that's what he is, my family."

Cathbad rested a hand on the blond man's shoulder and looked into his eyes steadily.

"Rohan, I know this situation isn't easy for you or anyone, but in the past you have always done well by listening to your instincts and your heart and I think you would be well advised to trust in them now, too. Have faith and when you face Angus again, you will be ready. You will know what to do."

This time Rohan's smile broadened and he nodded in appreciation of the druids help.

"Thank you, Cathbad, for always guiding me on my way. Even when you say that you don't really have an advice at all." He laughed shortly at that, but broke off as he suddenly had to yawn from exhaustion.

Looking down at his former apprentice with concern, the old druid went over to his bed in the corner and removed the scrolls and parchments he had put there earlier.

"You still look very tired, Rohan. You really should lie down, while I start to work on the potion. This could take some time and you're no use to anyone in this exhausted state."

The leader of the Mystic Knights wanted to argue that he was fine and didn't need to rest, but he had to admit, although grudgingly, that he was thoroughly depleted.

"Alright, but I'll only lie down for a few minutes. I still want to talk to the king about what happened," he insisted, but before Cathbad had even finished gathering all the ingredients for the potion from his various shelves, a soft snoring could already be heard from the blond man resting on the bed.

When Deirdre entered Cathbad's chamber, Rohan was still asleep on the bed in the corner while the druid was occupied with mixing different powders and fluids at his table, but he interrupted his work for a moment to look at her. The young woman was still angry after her confrontation with her father, and was slightly taken aback when she realised that Rohan was sleeping, as she had wanted to talk to him. It took her a moment to gather herself, but before she had calmed down enough to address the druid silently, to not wake up her friend, Cathbad beat her to it.

"Can I help you, Deirdre?"

"What?" she asked, somewhat surprised. "Oh, uhm, no, I'm afraid not. I had wanted to speak with Rohan, but I guess he really needs some rest, so it can wait."

The druid looked at her intently, easily seeing how distressed the young woman was. He motioned to a chair for her to sit down as he answered her.

"Or you could simply talk to me. Tell me what's bothering you, Princess."

Deirdre followed his invitation gladly, but ignored the seat and instead began pacing the room.

"You see, I've just been talking with Ivar and my father about what happened, and – Rohan told you, right?" she interrupted herself and looked at Cathbad with slightly raised eyebrows, causing him to halt in his work once more.

"Yes, he did. And I must admit that when he first said that Angus is still alive, I thought he was hallucinating due to his severe blood loss. I had never even dared to hope this was possible, but now I have faith in you and Rohan to return Angus safely back home."

"And so do I. But my father, as much as he certainly hopes for it as well, has tried to prepare me to… I don't know…" her voice faltered as she moved her arms in a helpless gesture. "To do everything to prevent Angus from harming Kells; no matter the cost..." She broke off completely now and finally let herself sink onto the wooden chair Cathbad had offered her earlier. The druid looked at her sadly for a moment, before abandoning his work completely for now and sitting down on a stool opposite from her. He glanced at Rohan to make sure he was still asleep and then began to speak very quietly.

"Judging from what I have gathered of Rohan's narration, Angus is completely under Maeve's control at the moment. If you have to fight him again, he will not hold back. One word from his queen and he will not hesitate to strike at you or anybody else. I know that you want to save him, we all do, but you will have to ask yourself what you'll do if Angus' life stands against Rohan's or somebody else's."

He looked at his former apprentice once more, but the young man was still sleeping peacefully. Cathbad sighed sadly, before continuing.

"Rohan is a great warrior and has more than earned the name of Draganta, but I fear that he might not be strong enough to stand up against Angus in battle. Losing him once has already nearly destroyed him, he would not be able to live with himself if his best friend should die by his own sword."

Deirdre stared at the druid in shock, completely shaken by his ruthless candour. After a few moments she had gathered her thoughts enough to speak again, although hesitantly.

"And you think I would? That… that I could do that and just be fine?"

Cathbad shook his head decisively, clearly feeling misunderstood, and tried to take Deirdre's hand, but the princess pulled back from him.

"Of course not. But as the future Queen of Kells it will always be on you to make the hard choices, because your first duty is…"

"I know, I know; to protect this kingdom. I heard," she interrupted him angrily, rising from her seat and heading towards the door. Before she could leave, however, Cathbad held her back once more.

"I pray to Dagda with all my heart that it will not come to this."

The princess let her head sink for a second, but didn't turn back.

"I know. I'm just not sure if prayers will be enough to help us now." She walked out of the chamber, leaving a very troubled druid behind, who returned to the potion he had been making earlier, deep in thought. He just hoped that it would prove to be the easy solution they were all counting on.

With one thing Conchobar had already been right; the day wasn't even over yet, the sun just setting in the west, and a large army of Temra was already heading for Kells Castle. A scout from the border had alerted the king quite early and so there had been time to get several reinforcement units into the castle to strengthen the troops and man the defence works.

With the enemy approaching in the distance, Rohan was busy checking the preparations one more time, while Deirdre and Ivar were still looking over the defence plans they had developed earlier with the help of some of the higher ranking soldiers.

Despite the looming danger, the princess was still finding it hard to concentrate, as she couldn't get the arguments with her father and Cathbad out of her head. Now that Maeve's army was getting closer, it was only a matter of time until she would come face to face with Angus again; in fact only a matter of very little time.

"Deirdre, are you even listening to me?" Ivar looked at her expectantly, having been talking to her for quite some time now, without the young woman noticing.

"What? Oh, I'm sorry Ivar, what did you say? I've been deep in thought, I guess."

"Yes, I noticed that. I just wanted to know what you think of these troop formations one of the commanders suggested." He held up a piece of parchment to her, but Deirdre was spared from getting her mind back to battle tactics as suddenly a soldier stormed into the throne room and came to an abrupt halt as he saw the two Mystic Knights. He seemed rushed and a little out of breath, but took the time to bow his head to Deirdre before speaking.

"My Princess, I bring news from the Temra forces."

"Speak soldier, we need to know what we're up against." The red haired woman looked at him eagerly, instantly focused again.

"General Torc is leading an army of at least three hundred men against us and they march very quickly so they will be here soon. They didn't bring heavy siege engines, only a ram and ladders, but…" he broke off shortly, a troubled look in his eyes as he continued to report his observations, "but I'm pretty sure that I heard the dragon Tyrune in the distance."

"And Angus? What seems to be his role in the attack?" Ivar finally asked what Deirdre had been waiting to hear, but was too afraid to ask herself.

"Angus? He is not with the troops," the soldier replied matter-of-factly. Now it was the princess' turn to question him.

"What? Are you sure; he has to be!"

But the man shook his head negatively.

"No, believe me I have seen the entire corps and he was not there. Now, could you tell me where the king is, I had been ordered to report to him and was actually expecting to find him here."

"He and Rohan are in the courtyard, inspecting the guards." Irritated by the soldier's surprising report, Ivar answered very briefly, but the man didn't seem to mind and excused himself.

When the two Mystic Knights were alone again, silence settled over the throne room for a moment, before the foreign prince finally voiced his confusion.

"Why isn't Angus with them? If there is one advantage Maeve has over us right now, it's him, and then she doesn't even send him along with her attack? Something is definitely not right about this."

Deirdre nodded in agreement while already having an idea on how to get an explanation for this.

"Yes, I really have a very bad feeling about this. We should send someone to search for him."

However, the look on Ivar's face clearly showed his disapproval of the princess' plan.

"The sun is already setting. Not even our best scouts could find him in the growing darkness, especially not since we have no idea where he might be."

"Oh, I'm not talking about one of our scouts," Deirdre replied with a small grin on her lips before she looked up into the air and started shouting. "Aideen! Are you here somewhere?" And sure enough, after only a few seconds the little sprite was flying in front of them, looking at her much taller friends sadly.

"Princess, Ivar! I have heard what happened to Angus; is there anything I can do to help you?"

Deirdre smiled as her small friend appeared and was very grateful for her immediate support.

"Yes, actually there is something. We can't leave the castle because Temra's army is going to be here soon, but we have to know where Angus is right now. Our scout said that he is not with Maeve's troops and I fear that this is not going to be a good thing. Please find him, Aideen."

The sprite nodded resolutely and already readied herself to fly off.

"Of course! Don't worry, I'll have him found in no time." With that she exited through the next window and vanished into the distance, leaving her human friends behind to prepare for the imminent attack.

The sun had vanished behind the trees about two hours ago and night had fallen across the lands of Kells and Temra when a troop of thirty purple clad soldiers approached the border from the north, carrying torches beside their usual weapons and shields.

They were led by a single man marching in front of them, the beautiful battle sword of Temra tied to one side of his belt, the Terra Sling Mace to the other. His face was impassive and calm, as he was completely focused on his task at hand; leading a well-aimed strike into the enemy's territory while Kells' army and the Mystic Knights were busy defending the castle from the much larger assault taking place almost simultaneously.

Angus smiled faintly as he marvelled at the fact that there was finally a task for which Torc was actually qualified; being the head of a diversionary attack which wasn't even supposed to produce any results.

Of course he trusted his queen's judgement without limitations, but somehow he couldn't understand why she had ever given her troops into the older man's control.

Then again, Conchobar had trusted him once, too, so maybe Torc had really been a great warrior and strategist in the past. Only that was a long time ago and Angus had no intentions of accepting the status quo in Temra unless his queen strictly ordered him to. And the fact that she hadn't was more than enough encouragement for him to try and seize the spot of her first general.

His thoughts were interrupted however, as he suddenly saw a couple of lights shining through the trees in the distance. They had reached their destination, the small border village that would fall under the control of Temra tonight, one way or another.

He thought about stopping and going through their orders again with his unit, but he quickly reminded himself that he didn't need to. These men were the best soldiers in Queen Maeve's army, well trained and reliable and since he had picked each of them himself, he trusted them to do their job. So they kept going until they could see the first huts in the darkness.

The village in front of them lay dark and silent, only a few torches were lit to illuminate the paths, but they didn't emanate even nearly enough light for anyone to spot the approaching enemies, had they wanted to stay undiscovered.

The area seemed to be completely deserted as all the villagers were already in their homes, sleeping or preparing for the night, but Angus stayed highly alert anyway. His eyes went everywhere to see if their presence had been detected, but so far everything was silent.

He knew that one word from him would change this in a second and the thought suddenly made him smile maliciously as he imagined the screams that would soon pierce the night. One word and a war like Kells had never seen one before would finally begin.

"Go! And get everyone!" he finally ordered quietly. The soldiers drew their swords and spread out into the village; those carrying torches pushed them into the ground, forming a circle in the village centre, while the others went straight for the various huts.

Angus followed them slowly, the battle sword of Temra in his hand, as the expected screams started to fill the air. One after the other, his men invaded the huts and dragged the villagers outside, most of them already in their sleeping clothes, and gathered them within the circle of torches in the centre.

Struggles and small fights could be seen and heard everywhere, but most of the people were simple peasants and craftsmen who didn't know much about fighting, let alone own a weapon. The ones who were stupid enough to put up a stronger resistance wound up with a broken nose or a dislocated shoulder as the soldiers forced them along.

Once inside the circle of torches, only a few guards were needed to keep the villagers in check, as the men, women and children were too terrified to put up much of a struggle anyway.

When Angus approached them and stepped into the light of the torches, some of them stared at him, shock and confusion on their faces, but he didn't pay them any attention as he continued to watch the progression of the raid.

Only a few minutes after starting the invasion, each and every one of the formerly peacefully sleeping villagers was herded together and surrounded by Temra soldiers who were watching them carefully. Up to this point none of the attackers had even said as much as a single word to the people of Kells, frightening them even more.

"Who speaks for this village?" Angus suddenly asked in a voice almost too calm, while slowly walking past the people kneeling on the ground, completely unmoved by the terrified looks on most of their faces or by the women pulling their children closer in fear. After a few seconds of strained silence, a man with blond, thinning hair hesitantly raised his hand and tried to stand up before being pushed back to the ground by one of the Temra soldiers.

"I… I do. I preside over the village council." His voice trembled, but he faced Angus without flinching as the latter approached him and came to a halt directly in front of him.

The villager looked up at the enemy soldier and now that he could get a better look at him, a strange sense of familiarity overcame him, but before he could really place it, Angus finally spoke again.

"From this moment on, this village and the surrounding land belongs to Temra. You and your people can stay here, unimpeded, if you pledge your allegiance to Queen Maeve," he announced loudly, actually speaking to everyone present. However, the kneeling man in front of him seemed to be less corporative than the leader of the soldiers had hoped he would be.

"But how could we? King Conchobar is our lord and he's always been a just and generous ruler. His army and the Mystic Knights regularly defend us against Maeve's attacks."

Angus' eyes narrowed dangerously and he leaned down menacingly to the older man, looking straight into his eyes.

"But they're not here now, or are they? You should better choose your next words wisely or I'll have to demonstrate how the Kingdom of Temra reacts to a refusal."

Swallowing hard, the man from the village council summoned up every bit of bravery left inside of him and managed not to waver as he spoke up again.

"You'll have to do that, then, because we will not join Temra. And once the Mystic Knights find out about this, they will avenge our deaths."

Angus raised an eyebrow at that and nearly laughed at the man's rather convincing display of defiance.

"Your deaths? Don't be melodramatic!" he remarked almost amiably, while grabbing the kneeling man's arm. He kept eye contact the entire time while slowly tightening his grip around the other's wrist and then suddenly pulled it back so forcefully that a sickening snap could be heard throughout the village centre, followed by the man's anguished cry.

"I'm not going to kill my Queen's future subjects. I just wanted to give you a chance to save your village." Angus let go of the village chief's broken wrist, but didn't take his eyes off of him as he ordered the soldiers to proceed.

"The torches! And make sure you don't miss anything." About half of the troop left their posts around the villagers and started to set the huts and stables on fire, while pleads and shouts erupted from the men and women on the ground, who were forced to witness their homes and goods being destroyed.

The remaining soldiers had to force several of their captives back down as the flames around them started to grow and their resistance only lessened when every thatched roof, every wooden fence and every hut was finally ablaze.

After a few minutes, the villagers' protests had died down to cries and silent sobs while they watched their former lives being consumed by the flames. Angus walked around them quietly, knowing that this was his first victory on his way to conquer the land that rightfully belonged to his queen.

The village and the surrounding stretch of land were irrelevant, but the fear and terror in these people's eyes would soon spread into every citizen of Kells, and the next villages he set foot in would beg to join Temra before they had to suffer the same fate.

The flames around them cast an eerie glow on Angus' face as he watched them intently, but as much as he enjoyed his success, he knew that it was time to move on. The reinforcements from Torc's troops would soon arrive and he wanted to get his own men to secure the new line of the border as fast as possible, before any interruptions occurred.

Turning around to the frightened people still cowering on the ground, he slowly drew his sword from its sheath and approached them, causing those closest to him to try and back away, albeit futilely.

Instead of hurting anyone with it, however, he rammed the battle sword of Temra into the ground right in front of the petrified villagers.

"By fire and sword. Tell everyone that this is the way they're going to lose their land and their homes if they're foolish enough to reject the rightful dominion of Queen Maeve. And that anyone who wants to defy Temra will have to stand up to me first." He paused for a moment to look into the faces before him and found them sufficiently shocked and terrorised.

"And now… run!"

To be continued…