The smell of vanilla beans and earth surround every inch of my skin as I find solace in my archer's embrace. Tracks of wet relief run their course down my cheeks as I hold onto Nicole's tall frame a little tighter. She returns my hug with the same ferocity, and I know then that she had felt our separation just as much as I had.

I take a step back, giving her a once over to ensure that no injury marred her beautiful body. Finally, my eyes find their way home in the depths of her brown ones.

Her gaze mirrors what I can only imagine is my own relief and joy, along with another emotion. An emotion so intense that it grips my heart with hopefulness. "Nicole…you are okay." I choke out midst sob. Her eyes take on an even softer glow as she reaches to wipe a stray drop of moisture from my cheek. She smiles at me warmly. "I am more than okay, now."

I release a relieved smile and am about to capture the lips that I have missed so very much with my own when someone clears their throat behind us, breaking us from our bubble.

I remember then that not only were there other people in the room, but two of them (minus Nicole) were of noble blood. I feel the heat of a blush creeping up my neck, causing me to look down shyly. Nicole catches my gaze and gives me a sheepish smile and a shrug, before looking towards our audience.

She takes my hand and moves towards the throne, where Duke Nedley observes us curiously. I chance a look at the other two people present. Chrissy looks like she is about to fly right out of her chair with excitement, giving me a knowing wink. Wynonna wears a confused frown as she notices Nicole's hand in mine.

Then I watch as her eyes meet Doc's, causing a myriad of emotions to run across Wynonna's face. The dentist stares back at my sister with a mix of hurt and lovesickness clearly displayed in his blue eyes. Wynonna hurriedly diverts her gaze and focuses back on Nicole and I.

Nicole bows before the two nobles respectfully and greets them. "Your Highnesses."

"Nicole Haught, don't you bow to me. You are just as much of noble blood as I am." Nicole looks up at Duke Nedley in surprise, straightening up slowly. "Your Highness, you…you remember me?"

Duke Nedley releases a scoff. "How could I ever forget the little red headed ruffian fathered by William Haught?" I watch as sombreness washes over the archer's features at the mention of her father. She recovers quickly and gives the Duke a slight nod. With a sombre smile on her lips, she addresses the Duke again.

"You were my father's best friend, your Majesty. Which is why I come to humbly request your help. You are the only one that has the power to help us save my father's Earldom. To help us restore Monument to what it once was before my….mother had turned it into a place of fear and tyranny."

Duke Nedley observes Nicole for a long moment, a pensive look on his face. "Waverly here has informed me of the dire aftermath of your mother's rule. And of course, I want to help you. But without viable proof of treason, it would be against the law. I could go and march out there with my army and confront her right now, but unless there is a witness willing to come forward along with viable proof…"

I watch the muscle in Nicole's jaw tighten. "With all due respect, Your Highness, but did I just hit my head and wake up in patriarchal bullshit land? My mother cannot just be allowed to get away with this! Where is the justice in letting her continue the destruction of everything good my father helped bring about for the people of Monument?"

Before Nedley can respond, I decide it is time to put our only ace on the table. "What if we do have solid proof of treason? And a witness of said treason?" Nicole turns to me with raised eyebrows, whilst Duke Nedley looks at me with intrigue.

"Rachel Valdez." Wynonna speaks up, pulling everyone's attention towards her.

"What about her?" Nicole asks my sister curiously.

"You remember the infamous Valdez fire?" I ask, to which Nicole nods with confusion in her eyes.

"Well, Wynonna over here…" I emphasize my sister's name and watch as recognition washes over Nicole's features. "…she was there that night. She witnessed who started the fire." At this revelation, Nicole's eyebrows fly up even further.

"What? So it wasn't an accident?" She says in surprise. Duke Nedley also sits up a bit straighter, his interest now fully piqued.

"Nope. That fire was no accident. I know, because I caught sight of Bobo del Rey and his cronies at the scene of the crime. They were still holding the smouldering torches in their very hands. Unfortunately, Bobo had spotted me. So, I had to make a break for it." Wynonna explains.

"Yeah, and then someone popped out of the burning house right in front of Wyn. That someone was Rachel Valdez!" I chip in, unable to hide the excitement from my voice.

A thoughtful expression befalls Nicole's features and she starts pacing. "Okay. So, you are telling me that not only was the Valdez fire started by Bobo del Rey, my mother's pet, but that Rachel Valdez survived it and could be a potential witness?" Nicole pauses, awaiting our confirmation.

When Wynonna and I both nod and smile at Nicole, relief consumes her features. The archer walks over to me and grabs my hands with a dazzling smile. "Waves, do you know what this means?!"

"It appears that perhaps you have found all the leverage you need to bring down Countess Eleanor Haught." Duke Nedley states, causing our attention to shift back to him.

I take a tentative step towards the Duke. "Your Highness, do you think it would be enough?" I ask hopefully.

He becomes pensive again, running his hand over his stubble as he gathers his thoughts. "If we play our cards right, it can definitely work. But I think that's enough to think about for now. Let's sleep on it tonight and decide on a plan of action tomorrow."

We all nod in agreement with the Duke, realizing that just jumping ahead blindly now would come to nothing. This was something that needed careful planning and execution, as the Countess would no doubt be prepared for a situation like this.

"It's settled then. Now, how about you all join me for brunch in the Great Hall? I would love to meet your friends, Waverly. And I cannot wait to hear about all the great stories you must have, Nicole."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

After the Duke's instruction, we all headed to the Great Hall. There, reunions happened in abundance. Mercedes hugged Beth tightly and checked her sister for any injuries. The rest of the gang also conveyed their happiness and relief at being reunited with Beth and Nicole.

Doc and Wynonna pretended to avoid each other during all of brunch, but I witnessed the frequent longing glances they would give one another when they thought the other wasn't looking.

Nicole also got to meet Rachel Valdez, who the Duke had summoned to join us. Nicole had apologized for her mother's hand in the death of the younger girl's parents and promised to do her best to make it right. The youth thanked Nicole and reassured her that she did not hold Nicole accountable in any way and that she would do anything to help us in taking down the Countess to free Nicole's people.

But my most favourite reunion of all? Well, let's just say that no-one was about to get in the way of Jack as soon as he spotted his owner. He sped lightning fast in her direction, relieved whines resounding throughout the Great Hall.

Nicole barely managed to crouch down to meet him, when he jumped onto her tall frame, causing them both to topple to the ground. The archer released the most wonderful giggles at the greeting from her canine friend, who vigorously licked her face.

I also decided to bite the bullet and introduced Nicole to Wynonna, telling her of the intimate nature of our relationship, of Nicole being the Sparrow and of her noble heritage.

Wynonna gave Nicole scrutinizing look as she gripped her hand in an unnecessarily firm handshake. "You hurt her, Haught, and I will destroy you." Wynonna had told Nicole, to my great annoyance.

I was about to step in between them, when the amount of respect in Nicole's eyes stopped me. I watched Wynonna wince slightly as the redhead returned her handshake with just as much firmness.

"If I ever hurt Waverly, you have my permission to do just that." That was all it took for Wynonna to relax and immediately pull my girlfriend to sit next to her. She then ordered a few pints of ale for Nicole and herself.

At my questioning gaze Nicole looked at me with a small smile and shrugged sheepishly, turning her attention to Wynonna. Wynonna mercilessly bombarded Nicole with questions on where she learned to fight, her bow, how many of Bobo's men she had taken out and the like.

I released an annoyed huff at not being able to spend time with my girlfriend after being reunited. But seeing my sister be so happy at having someone else to relate to, perhaps for the first time after losing Dolls, had me leave them be.

So instead, I took a seat between Jeremy and Rosita as we listened to Doc and Beth relay the events of how they had managed to rescue Nicole from the bandits via distraction, a pitfall in the ground and dental tranquilizers.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The rest of the day was spent giving the three newcomers a tour of the town and the castle grounds. I also made sure to introduce Nicole to Matt the Blacksmith, who marvelled at the craftmanship of her bow. He had even asked her for some pointers on bow making and offered to restring and oil her bow. He also offered to make her some new arrowheads using the light, yet powerful keronite steel.

Finally, the daylight gave way to the twilight of the evening and I wasted no time in pulling Nicole towards my room. I made up an excuse of not having yet shown Nicole around the inside of the castle and rapidly pulled her up the stairs towards the rooms. Once I reached mine, I pulled her inside and locked the door. She gave me a bewildered smile, which I immediately replaced with my lips.

The kiss took my breath away, our lips moving in a searing passion against each other. It was like I had been in the desert for years and Nicole's lips were a ice cold glass of crystal clear water, and I was now finally able to drink in every inch of her glorious mouth. She too seemed to share my sentiment and kissed me back as if our lips touching was equal to her need for oxygen.

I finally break away to allow us both some much needed air. We both pant profusely from the breathlessness resulting from the kiss. I rest my forehead against hers gently. "Oh, how I have missed you, my darling." Nicole whispers.

"You have no idea how hard it has been, worrying about you, not knowing if you were okay." I say. "Don't you ever do that to me again, Nicole Haught. I can't lose another person I love, okay?" I choke out the raw words, no longer wishing to hold anything back.

I feel a sharp intake of breath against my forehead. Then gentle fingers cup my jaw, tilting it so my hazel eyes can meet with the most beautiful shade of brown I had ever seen.

Nicole looks at me softly, full of awe, like I was the most precious thing in the world and she was the luckiest to be able to be in my presence. My heart accelerates in my chest, thumping out every feeling brought forth by my archer.

"You love me?" Nicole asks, her voice vulnerable and unsure. It was like my answer held the purpose to her whole life's journey up to now.

I hold her intense gaze and finally say the words I have carried in my heart for so long. "Yes, Nicole Haught. I love you. So very mu…"

Nicole stops the rest of my words with a kiss so full of passion, it makes my lips tingle. My hands automatically tangle in her red locks as I kiss her back fiercely, holding nothing back. She releases a moan and grips my hips tightly. The sound sends a delicious sensation to my core. "I love you too, Waverly Earp." She confesses once we finally break apart again, and I feel every part of my heart melt with the intense joy I experience at hearing those words.

Fuelled by my desire to be closer to her, I take her hand and place it over my left breast, right above my wildly beating heart. She looks at me with a mix of desire and awe. "Touch me." I whisper.

Ever chivalrous, she hesitates. "Waves, are you sure?"

"I have never been surer of anything in my life." I tell her with the utmost honesty.

That was all the confirmation Nicole seemed to need as she scoops me up and carries me to the bed. She gently lays me down, kissing me deeply. I tug at her tunic, asking her to remove the annoying thing. She willingly complies and I marvel at the taught snowy skin of her abdomen. I turn, allowing her access to the buttons on my dress which she deftly unbuttons.

Nicole runs her hands along my calf and thighs, leaving burning tracks of goosebumps in their wake. Once she reaches the hem of my dress, she grips the edge and gently pulls it upwards and over my head.

Wishing to be as close to her as possible, I waste no more time and remove my brassiere. I watch in delight as Nicole's eyes run over my exposed torso, looking at me as I was the greatest gift to have been given to her. "You are so beautiful." She says when her eyes finally meet mine again, a burning intensity in her brown orbs.

I bury my hands in her hair, pulling her closer. "Make love to me." I whisper before capturing her lips in mine again. Nicole breaks our kiss to give her full attention to the rest of me, running her lips in heated kisses along my neck, breasts and down down down…moans of my pleasure resound softly in through the cool night air as I surrender body, mind and soul to Nicole Haught.