Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: Written: 2008.- Licia

Kathleen wrapped her arms around herself as she continued to follow Avianna. Darkness had slowly begun to settle overhead, but the selkie paid it no mind. She held a flame within her palm, lighting the way into the forest; used to it by now, Kathleen didn't even blink when Avianna created it, though tears did come to her eyes, as she thought of her children, somewhere in Ireland, possibly lost to her forever.

Eventually, they stopped, and Avianna pulled her closer. "See tha'?" It took a moment for the paramedic's gaze to adjust to the darkness and light before her, but eventually, she nodded. Mushrooms, in a near perfect circle. "Tha's a fa'ry ring." The selkie turned to meet the paramedic's gaze. "D'pend'n' who ye ask, stepp'n' int' a fa'ry ring can bring eith'r bad fort'ne or good. Aga'n, d'pend'n' who ye ask."

Kathleen met her gaze, swallowing. "Wh... which do... do you believe?"

Avianna cocked her head. "Consid'rin' me encoun'er wi' 'em, I'd say bad, bu'..." She sighed. "Bu' th' g'ft Kiertan gave me-"

"The kids."

She nodded. "They be both good an' bad, ye jus' need t' le'rn 'ow t' play their games." She spoke from experience. Clearly, Avianna wasn't the naive young woman she'd been when she got pregnant; she knew better, she understood what the Fae were and how they played with people. How they cheated people and stole. The loss of her lover, her children, and the curse she'd had placed on her were evidence.

"What do we do?"

The other woman glanced back at the ring, her mind running through a plan. "D' no' give yerself a name; if ye mus' 'ave a name, use one tha' is no' real. Names 'ave pow'r. They will try t' use it 'gainst ye."

"Okay. What else?"

"Eat nothin' they off'r. T' eat from their land is t' lock yerself 'way from th' land o' th' martaels fo'ev'r."

"So... like Persephone eating the pomegranate seeds." She ignored Avianna's strange look. "Got it. Next?"

"D' no' thank 'em fo' inf'rmation they give. T' thank is t' admi' a deb' be owed, an' they will do all they can t' coll'ct. We 'ppreciate their assistance, an' tha' is all."

"Anything else?"

"Be cautious when acc'ptin' gifts. Oft' their gifts 'ave unf'rseen..." She bit her lip, thinking of her children. "Side eff'cts. Acc'pt a gift off'red, bu' if ye d' no' trus' th' one wh' off'red, d' no' 'esitate t' d'stroy it."

"Like the kids?"

"Tha' was diff'r'nt."

"How?"

The selkie swallowed thickly, turning away briefly. "'twas un'xpected. An' Kiertan... 'e is no' like th' cour'. 'e woul' 'ave made a good king. An hon'rable king. An' a good fath'r, 'ad..." She stopped, taking a deep breath. "D' no' speak wit' offense. Be polite, fo' many Fae are old'r than ye coul' ev'r dream o' bein'." She then held out a hand, causing Kathleen to start in surprise. But the look in Avianna's eyes was one of sadness now, not the glimmer of mischief she'd worn earlier, when she'd pulled Kathleen into the sea. She, like Kathleen, wanted nothing more than to find Tim and Sarah.

After a moment, she took Avianna's hand, holding her breath as they stepped into the fairy ring.

The house was warm, cozy even.

The siblings looked around; it reminded them of their parents' home, with the fireplace and the kitchen connected by an open floor plan. And like the house they'd grown up in, it looked bigger on the inside than it did on the outside; stairs led to a second floor, and the living room and kitchen were both of good, reasonable size.

"Please. Sit. Let me get you some coffee to warm you up."

Sharing a glance, they did as told, taking seats at the kitchen table, as the woman set two mugs on the table before them. She quickly poured the mugs before pouring one for herself and taking a seat across from both, wrapping her hands around her own mug, her gaze studying them each in turn. Tim glanced at her. "I don't think we caught your name."

She blushed, glancing into her mug. "I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself after opening the door. I'm Mackenzie Phillips, but everyone calls me Molly. And you two are-"

"I'm... I'm... Timothy McGee and this is... my younger sister, Sarah." The girl gave her a quick smile.

"It's nice to meet you both." She sipped her coffee silently. "How did you two end up in Ireland?"

The siblings shared a glance, confusion filling both their faces. "I... I don't remember. Do you, Sarah?"

The girl shook her head. "No, not really." They settled into uncomfortable silence, refusing to look at each other or even speak. Clearly, the fog had done something to them both.

Molly watched them, telling herself to keep calm, to not get her hopes up, that just because they looked like the age progressed composites of her children, didn't mean they were her children. But they look exactly how Jack and Fi would look as adults.

The girl yawned, and Molly stood, reaching over to take the mug from her. "I'll show you the guest room upstairs. I hope you two don't mind sharing a bed-"

"Not at all." The girl replied, glancing at her brother. "I'd crawl into bed with my brother a lot when I was little, especially if I was afraid of something. We can survive one night."

Molly nodded, reaching for his mug; the chord tumbled out from beneath her blouse, and his gaze lit on the jewelry hanging from the chord.

Two rings of black agate set in silver.