A/N: Hi everyone, sorry it took me so long again, but here is finally #14. I hope you've all had wonderful holidays and I wish you a happy New Year!
Chapter 14: Reverse of Shade
When Deirdre and Ivar returned to Kells, the princess was in a surprisingly good mood. Granted, she hadn't received a new weapon from Fin Varra yet, but she had the prospect of earning one as soon as she had passed the test the fairy king had talked about. She would surely have to face it very soon, but she had passed the test of the Little People once before, so Deirdre saw no reason why this time should be any different.
That thought in mind, the princess felt elated and more hopeful than she had been in a very long time, that is, until she passed the gate into the courtyard and her eyes fell on Rohan, who was still sitting on the ground against the wall, a sense of utter desolation radiating from him.
"Oh, no," the princess whispered, as she could think of only one explanation for her friend's depression. The potion hadn't worked. Or, as she thought desperately, maybe Torc hadn't managed to hold up his end of the bargain.
Fearing the answer she was about to receive, the red headed woman walked slowly towards Rohan and knelt down in front of him to get his attention.
"What happened?" she asked gently, but when the Mystic Knight of Fire looked at her with the same expression he had worn when they had thought Angus was dead, Deirdre knew what he was about to say.
"Angus drank the potion, but it didn't work." She had meant to pronounce it as a question, but in the end it came out as a statement anyway.
Rohan nodded, not trusting his voice at this moment to manage even a small 'yes'.
Deirdre's breath hitched in her throat and she bit her bottom lip unconsciously. She tried to reach back to the optimism that had filled her just moments ago and without knowing exactly how, the princess actually managed a small smile as she reached out to take Rohan's hand with hers.
"We will not give up on him, you hear me? I'm sure there is another way to break Maeve's spell and we will find it, no matter how long it takes."
It was practically the same as what Aideen had told Rohan not long ago, but hearing Deirdre say it now and seeing her hopeful smile somehow made him actually start to believe it.
The Mystic Knight of Fire tightened his grip on her hand and nodded once more, this time resolutely, before pulling himself and the princess back up.
"You're right. It's much too early to give up this easily and I promise that the next time we meet Angus we'll bring him home, no matter what."
Without realising it, the two still stood with their fingers entwined and just looked at each other, the young woman glad that she had been able to get Rohan out of his depressed mood.
However, their moment of closeness was interrupted all too soon as one of the guards approached them swiftly.
"Princess Deirdre, the king has requested your presence in the throne room immediately upon your return." Surprised, she nodded to the soldier while letting go of Rohan's hand in the process. The two Mystic Knights shared a short glance before heading towards the castle entrance to see the king, Ivar, who had stayed in the background during their conversation, following behind.
It was the most desolate meeting with her father Deirdre had ever attended. After having gotten the news from Aideen that the potion hadn't been able to break Maeve's magic, the king's mood had become grim, and neither his daughter's nor Rohan's assertions that they would find a different way to free Angus had done anything to lift his spirits.
After having agreed to send messengers out to the reinforcement units in the south to prepare for the large attack Maeve was planning, as Aideen had overheard, Conchobar had asked the Mystic Knights to leave to oversee the repairs still in progress all around the castle.
Deirdre had known it was only an excuse to discuss the matter with Cathbad alone, but since her father hadn't listened to anything she or the others had said anyway, they had left without objections.
Now she was in the courtyard with Rohan and Ivar, sitting on the stairs leading up to the wall, all of them deep in thought, searching for a solution or rather waiting for a sudden inspiration as to how they could break Maeve's control over Angus.
A few minutes passed by in silence without anyone being able to think of something useful and Deirdre let her eyes wander over the people walking across the courtyard. Guards were doing their rounds and a few peasants brought supplies for the castle, but nothing out of the ordinary happened, when a soldier with short blond hair visible beneath his helmet heading towards the main entrance of the building suddenly caught the princess' eye.
She had to search her memories for a moment to remember the name of the man she had met the other night when Angus had stolen his mystic weapon from the castle, but then it came back to her. Ulric. Both his efficient way to command the guards and the sincerity with which he had vowed to restore the memory of the Mystic Knight they had thought dead at the time had impressed her, and she wondered vaguely where he was going now with such determination.
As soon as he had vanished from her sight, though, the princess focused back on her real priority and started going through all the forms of magic she knew once more. Not that she truly believed that she had any valuable knowledge in this field, but they just couldn't afford to miss anything.
They had sat there for quite some time when Rohan suddenly got up from the stone step he had been sitting on and walked down to the ground. He seemed to be tired and frustrated and excused himself by saying that he would go to see Cathbad to go over some ideas with him, before turning around and leaving his two royal friends alone.
Deirdre looked after his retreating form and tried to hold on to the slim hope that the druid had had a sudden flash of genius in the meantime, because otherwise they had not a single clue what to do next.
After the Mystic Knights had left the throne room, King Conchobar had stood up from his throne and was now pacing the floor under the concerned eyes of Cathbad. The druid despised the fact that he had been right about what had happened and he knew that the decision the king was about to make was probably the hardest of his entire reign.
"Cathbad, old friend, I have always been able to count on you as my advisor and it appears that your prediction has been right once more." Conchobar kept walking and only glanced at the druid between strides.
"Yes, my King, although in this particular case I would give anything to have been mistaken. Because I am afraid that aside from the potion I do not know of any other way to help Angus, and as Aideen reported, neither does King Fin Varra nor any other of the Little People." He swallowed hard, but continued despite his aversion against his next words.
"I think it is time to do something about the threat Angus poses to Kells, preferably without involving the rest of the Mystic Knights. It is obvious that they cannot accept the truth and are unable to face him in battle, although he has proven that he is not their friend anymore."
The king nodded and finally came to a halt, sad determination filling his voice as he answered his advisor and then called to one of the soldiers at the door.
"Yes, I know. Guard, go to commander Uuan and tell him to send his most trusted man to me immediately. Then leave us alone!"
"Yes, my Lord." The guard bowed to his ruler and left swiftly, whereupon Conchobar went over to one of the windows and looked outside, not wanting to see the expression on Cathbad's face when he spoke.
"Deirdre will never forgive me for this. Neither will Rohan, but I fear that my daughter will not even look at me ever again." His voice was filled with grief, and in this moment the king appeared to be much older than he really was, feeling the entire weight of his kingdom on his shoulders.
Cathbad looked at his monarch sadly, wishing that he could do anything to lighten his burden.
"In time she will come to realise that you are protecting not only her and her friends, but the entirety of Kells and she will see that you had no other choice."
Conchobar kept looking outside, his next words barely audible.
"I hope you're right."
The two men spent the wait in silence, until after some time one of the soldiers of Kells entered the throne room and bowed deeply to his king, then stood to attention.
"My Lord, soldier Ulric at your service! The commander said you wanted to see me."
Conchobar looked the man up and down with a raised eyebrow, trying to figure out if he was the right one for the task that awaited him.
"Ulric, yes? I do not believe that I have heard your name before."
"I had been stationed at one of our outposts at the border until a month ago, my King."
"Really? I have asked Commander Uuan to send me his most trusted soldier; it is quite impressive that he considers you as that after you have been here only a month."
The blond man shifted for a moment, seemingly uncomfortable under the scrutinising gaze of the king, but then he stood up straighter, his entire demeanour becoming more confident.
"My father has been a soldier of Kells, as has been his father before him. I only wish to do my best to continue the line of my family serving the kingdom."
Conchobar was surprised by this answer and looked at the man for a long moment in silence. Then he nodded understandingly.
"Good, because for the assignment I have for you I need a man I can trust completely."
"It will be an honour to follow your orders, my Lord," Ulric announced without hesitation, wondering why the king was making such a secret about his mission.
"I am sure that you have heard about the situation with Angus, right?"
"Yes, I have."
"But what you probably don't know is that today the only hope we had for freeing him from Maeve's control turned out to be futile. We have information that in only a few days we'll have to expect a new and massive assault from Temra and I think that that will be our last chance to put an end to their advances into Kells before it is too late.
The troops are prepared and even though my daughter is not in possession of a mystic weapon right now, I have faith that the Mystic Knights will be able to deal with Maeve's usual magic tricks, but the real problem is Angus.
After what Aideen reported about the effect of Cathbad's potion, I think freeing him from Maeve's spell is no longer an option. We tried to save him, but now the fate of Kells has to be our first concern."
Ulric had listened to the king's explanations intently, but wasn't entirely certain what his ruler wanted him to do. He voiced his question carefully, realising how delicate the subject was.
"Do I understand you correctly, that you want me to deal with him, my King?"
"Yes, soldier. When Maeve's army attacks, I want you to face him on the battlefield and make sure that he will not pose a threat to Kells ever again."
Silence followed Conchobar's words, as Ulric looked at him with repugnance, clearly not having expected such a task from the king. When he finally spoke, it was only with hesitation in his voice.
"But, my Lord, he is one of us. Is that really necessary?"
"Yes, I am afraid so, because he was one of us. Both Cathbad and the Little People have made it clear that they do not know of any way to break Maeve's enchantment and I can not risk having my daughter or Rohan fight against Angus once more. They are both too attached to him and I fear that they will not be able to do what has to be done. So I'm asking you to do it."
When Ulric didn't answer immediately, the king continued, understanding how uncomfortable the soldier felt about this task.
"I know you have objections to killing someone many of us have called a friend once, but you have to believe me that you will prevent Kells from suffering a lot more harm by making sure that Angus will never fight for Temra again."
He had wanted to say something more, but was interrupted when to both his and Cathbad's horror Rohan suddenly stormed into the throne room, his face contorted beyond anger.
"You're sending someone to kill Angus? After all the times he risked his life for Kells you're just going to abandon him like that?"
The Mystic Knight of Fire, who had only wanted to talk to Cathbad, not to eavesdrop on the king, had been standing just outside the door, shell-shocked by the discussion going on inside. At this point, however, he hadn't been able to listen to the king's explanations any longer, as the anger that had built in his stomach had risen into his throat, creating a bitter taste in his mouth.
Conchobar flinched at the loud interruption and directed his attention immediately at the intruder, clearly irritated to be spoken to like that.
"Rohan, what are you doing, listening in on our meeting? I ordered you to leave."
The blond man looked at his ruler furiously, not caring about anything like orders or court protocols at the moment, letting his emotions run freely.
"Yes, of course, you didn't want me to overhear your plans. But I'm telling you, I won't allow you to even lay a hand on Angus." Rohan's voice was strained from the effort it took not to shout at the king, but very matter-of-factly.
Cathbad looked at his former apprentice, understanding, but also concern clearly visible on his face, and spoke before the king had the chance to answer Rohan.
"Don't you understand that that is exactly what Maeve is counting on, Rohan? If we don't stop Angus, he will lead Temra's army to victory. We cannot let that happen, because no matter how much we wish it were different, he is our enemy now."
The druid had walked over to the blond man and now tried to lay his hand on his shoulder to emphasise his point, but the leader of the Mystic Knights pulled away from him and looked at him defiantly, not ready to give up on the argument.
"No! The only thing I understand is that the man I've known my entire life, who is my best friend, my brother, is being held in Temra against his will, forced to fight us, forced to attack his own home. So no, I will not accept that he is our enemy now and I will certainly not give up on him until he is safe back with us.
And you better call your assassin here back and think of another plan, because if he or anyone else even tries to strike Angus down, they will have to face me first."
Both King Conchobar and Cathbad seemed to be completely taken aback by Rohan's words, and the latter even slightly hurt.
He, too, cared about Angus, but as the king's advisor he knew that if he had to choose between the safety of Kells and his, he just had other priorities than Rohan.
"You're right, Rohan, none of us have known Angus as well as you did by growing up with him, but we've known him for over ten years now, too, and you can trust me that the King's decision has not been made lightly." The druid sighed deeply, but before he could continue, the king intercepted.
"What Cathbad is trying to say is, that your attachment to Angus is exactly the reason why I want somebody else to fight against him in the oncoming assault Aideen warned us about. I am sorry Rohan, but you have proven that you are unable to look past your friendship and do what has to be done, so I want Ulric to face Angus on the battlefield the next time he attacks."
Rohan stared at King Conchobar, momentarily speechless, not able to believe what he was hearing. It was as if both the king and Cathbad were stabbing him in the back with their plan and he was more than furious about it. However, his voice was surprisingly calm when he finally answered.
"If you really do this, then Draganta will have fought for Kells for the longest time. I will not risk my life for a kingdom that betrays its own soldiers like this." He turned to leave and even ignored it when Cathbad called after him.
"Rohan, don't go like this!"
The king put a hand on the older man's arm, silencing him effectively.
"No, let him. But Rohan, before you leave, tell me one more thing. What if Angus raises his weapon against Deirdre again? Or against Ivar or any of the other soldiers of Kells? What will you do then? Will you just stand by and watch them all die by his hand? Because that is exactly what is going to happen if we don't bring ourselves to treat him like an enemy."
Rohan didn't reply anything to that, but stopped on his way out nevertheless. Ulric, who had been silent since the Mystic Knight had entered, seized the opportunity to say something, to try and reach the other man despite his fully justified anger.
"Maybe it is time that you accept that the Angus you've known is gone and start to fight him accordingly, because otherwise not only are you vulnerable, but Kells is, too."
Despite his good intentions, the soldier immediately regretted to have spoken, as Rohan spun around to him in a heartbeat and fixated him with a furious gaze.
"You stay out of this! You don't know Angus and you don't even have the right to speak his name in my presence, you understand me?"
Ulric just nodded once and stepped back, realising that he was probably not in the best position to reason with the Mystic Knight just now.
After that, Rohan turned away from the soldier and wanted to leave the room at last, but stopped himself and faced the king and Cathbad once more. He looked into the king's eyes for a long moment, before speaking again.
"You know, what I can't help but wonder? If it were me under Maeve's control, attacking Kells, would you be just as eager to fight and kill me, or would you hesitate, because I'm Draganta and there had to be another way? Just honestly ask yourself that, will you, your Majesty?" With that, he turned around again and finally left the room, leaving the King of Kells and his advisor to their troubled thoughts.
When Rohan left the castle, still too furious to even formulate a straight thought, Deirdre was standing outside, waiting for his return, and was more than perplexed by his sudden mood change. She glanced back at Ivar, who was still sitting on the stairs at the wall, before approaching Rohan carefully.
"Rohan, what did Cathbad say? Did he have any new ideas?"
The explanation the blond man offered about what had happened wasn't very long, but with every word, Deirdre's expression became more and more filled with hurt and rage, unconsciously mimicking that of her friend.
She couldn't believe that her father really wanted to have Angus killed, not after having witnessed the pain that his supposed death had caused her and the other Mystic Knights over the past week.
Too enraged to bear any company right now, Rohan excused himself to Deirdre and strode across the courtyard to vanish through the gate, leaving a more than furious princess behind.
Deirdre stayed where she was for a few seconds, trying to clear her thoughts, her mind reeling after what she had just been told. Confusion and anger made it hard for her to think clearly, but when she saw a certain soldier come out of the castle and head towards the stables, she was instantly focused and followed him purposefully.
"Ulric!" she called after him, causing the man to turn around and bow to her without hesitation.
"Princess Deirdre, how can I help you?"
The red headed woman looked at him, the anger in her rising at the ignorance he was displaying, which she wasn't buying one bit.
"Rohan told me what happened, so don't even pretend not to know what I want from you."
Ulric kept his eyes on the ground when he answered her, understanding how much pain his assignment had to be causing her.
"I am sorry, but I have my orders from the King and there is nothing I can do about that. You have to talk to your father if you want to change anything."
"But I'm talking to you now and as the future queen of Kells I order you to leave Angus alone! Rohan, Ivar and I will take care of the problem; we'll capture Angus alive in the next battle and you'll have to stay out of that!"
Now the soldier looked directly at Deirdre, his eyes betraying his dislike for his orders all too clearly, but she didn't see it, as her own fury was clouding her vision.
"If you manage to do that, I will be the first to congratulate you, but until then I have to follow my orders. As you said yourself, Princess, you are only the future queen of Kells; in the present I still have to answer to your father."
Deirdre's eyes were shooting daggers at him right now, but she tried her best not to let her temper get the better of her as she replied.
"Maybe, but believe me, when I'm queen, you won't have to answer to anyone in this castle any longer, because I'll make sure that you won't be a soldier of Kells anymore."
Ulric inclined his head to Deirdre, genuine sadness visible in his features, because he knew he had lost her trust and respect forever. However, he was bound by an oath he was not willing to break, not even for his princess.
"I am very sorry to hear that, but until that day comes, I will continue to serve this kingdom as well as I can. Now if you'll excuse me, Princess, I have duties to see to." With that, Ulric turned around to go to the stables as he had wanted to before, but Deirdre's voice held him back once more.
"You swore to me only a few days ago that you would catch the thief who stole the mace from the throne room and return the weapon safely, or did you already forget that? So capture Angus alive and adhere to your vow!" The princess tried to sound as convincing as possible, realising that Ulric was a man who put great value on his word, but to her great disappointment, he did not share her opinion on the situation.
"I will do what I swore to do; I will return Angus' mace to you, because whether you can accept it or not, that is the only thing that is left of the man you knew." He held her gaze steadily for a long moment and then bowed shortly to the princess once more and left, this time uninterrupted.
A single tear was running down Deirdre's cheek as she watched him go, feeling as if her whole world was crashing down around her. It was bad enough that she wasn't a Mystic Knight at the moment, but having to realise that not even her title and position as heir to the throne could enabled her to influence what was happening around her anymore, was making her feel more helpless and vulnerable than she had ever felt in her life.
It was a horrible sensation and for a moment the princess didn't know what to do anymore, but then she thought of Rohan and how much he counted on her support and she wiped the wetness from her face immediately.
She would go to see her father now, not willing to give up until he changed his mind and then she would leave the castle and head for the nearby village where Rohan lived, hoping that the enraged young man had gone there after his argument with the king and Cathbad.
She wanted to speak to him, because she knew that as long as she was at her friends' side when they needed her, she was fulfilling her most important duty.
To be continued…