Tristan's Peace - Chapter 10
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that you may recognize from King Arthur. Nor do I own any that you may recognize from the Dark Hunter Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I am merely playing with them for a time. So please don't sue me, I have no money. Nada, zippo, zilch.
Melosine - I'm glad that you like it. It's alot of fun to do. I'm enjoying putting all these final pieces together. And don't worry about the lateness in reviews. I've been lagging myself as of late.
A/N: Now you get to meet Joachim. (I just love that name. Heard it in 'Open Hearts' and was instantly drawn to it. Which is a wonderful Mads movie if anyone is interested.) I hope you all like how he's connected.
2005
"T...Hey T...Wake up beautiful." Brody was cautious, not wanting to get to close to her. You never got to close to a Hunter when you had to wake them up. And this one was known to be faster than most, being as little as she was.
"Teagan!" He said a bit louder, hoping it would work.
Teagan stirred. She gave a moan as she turned over, cracking an eye. "Whatdayawant?" She hadn't even been asleep for an hour yet.
"There's a Hunter down in the kitchen. And he's got Joachim cornered."
Teagan shot up, flying out of the huge bed, landing softly on the high piled carpet. Her feet leaving small indentations as she moved toward Brody. "Shit! Tristan." She had forgotten that he was here. And for him to see Joachim without a proper introduction... She flew by Brody, grabbing the light cotton robe as he held it out to her. Not bothering to hide the big grin on his face.
'To bad she's not nekked.' He thought lewdly. Silently following the fast moving form of Teagan. "I'd like to see more of that tat." He mumbled to himself as he followed her to the kitchen.
It was a shame that Jac was her squire. He wouldn't mind the job. But the council had given it to Joachim, since he was nearly related to her. They thought he'd be better suited to her needs.
Shit, he'd suit her every need if she'd just let him. And he wanted to find out if the rumors of her vacant bed were true.
0o0o0o
Teagan rushed into the spacious kitchen, her bare feet sliding on the linoleum as she came to a stop. Her mind still foggy with sleep.
"Tristan." She said simply, trying to distract the scout.
He didn't look at her, his eyes still on Joachim. "It's..."
Teagan cave a quick shake of her head, snorting just a bit as she did. She knew what Tristan was thinking. "No, Tris. It's not." She said as she tied the sash around her waist, covering a similar colored chemise.
"But, he looks just like him."
"I know."
Joachim, who had been staring at the tall, bare chested Hunter, suddenly glanced at Teagan, his eyes narrowing just a bit.
"Who do I look like?"
"Lancelot." Both Tristan and Teagan said together.
Joachim groaned. "Lancelot?" Not this again.
"Quite the echo you've got in this place T."
Teagan didn't bother looking at Brody. She shook her head, annoyed at the handsome squire. "Go home Brody." He wasn't her squire. He belonged to Adamo.
Brody didn't listen, he only moved into the kitchen, grabbing himself a cup of coffee, then poured another, leaving it black.
"Sorry, sweets. Taking Jac to class today." He handed Teagan the extra cup. "Take this and relax."
Teagan took the offered cup, taking in a long pull. She sighed, letting the hot liquid warm her throat. The familiar taste warming her tired mind.
She looked at all three of the men gathered in her kitchen. Each one dfferent as could be.
First there was Brody. He was a tall young man, over six feet tall. His shoulders broad from all the weightlifting he did. And he knew that the fitted black t-shirt he wore right now accentuated his shoulders and arms to perfection.
He was the epitome of surfer good looks.
Brody stood leaning against the island that sat in the middle of her kitchen, drinking his own cup of coffee. If nothing else, Brody could make a mean cup of coffee.
His hair was auburn, leaning more towards the brown. When he had hair. He currently had it cut short, almost shaved close to his head.
Brody was famous for his ever changing hairstyle.
With the short, nearly non existent hair, Brody's eyes stood out the most. They were the oddest grey that she had ever seen on a man. They almost were silver in color. Sometimes she wondered if he were related to Acheron also.
Brody knew his looks attracted the women. And Teagan would agree that he was, indeed, pretty to look at, but his personality took away from his looks.
No, she couldn't say that really. Brody was a nice enough man. But, he was obnoxious. Almost to the point where Teagan wanted to shoot him on a daily basis.
She would, if only he wasn't so good at what he did. And what he did was take on the lot of them. Enjoying it every step of the way.
Somewhere in the hose, the phone rang. Brody heaved himself away from the island. "I'll get it."
Teagan nodded, then looked at Joachim, who was standing as far away from the rest of them as the kitchen would allow. And this was nearest to the fridge. His back tightly against it's coolness.
Joachim was only 25 and already had had three marriage proposals from three different women. Teagan knew that he fancied Carrick. But was to shy to do much about it yet. They were getting closer all the time, just slow like sloths.
He was tall also, as tall as Tristan. His short cropped curly dark hair falling in places around his deep brown eyes. Those eyes that would laugh when he laughed.
What Teagan most loved about this man was his smile. Once he let it out, he could have any woman eating out of his hands. His lips were full and always tinted a natural red color. It was surrounded by a closely cropped beard.
Right now he was frowning at everybody.
Joachim was smart young man, currently in his last year at RIT, majoring in Criminal Justice. With a minor in world history. He had figured that he'd put his squiring skills to good use. He wanted to go on and eventually become a lawyer.
Teagan followed Jac's eyes. Currently narrowed on Tristan.
Tristan. Not a man she thought she'd be seeing again. She had thought he was nothing but a wonderful memory.
Now, here he stood in her kitchen, his eyes shooting daggers at the whole lot of them. He looked as though lack of sleep was starting to catch up to him.
His looks hadn't changed in the thousand or so years since she had last seen him. His hair still messy with various braids throughout. Bits of it were falling in his eyes also.
Tristan's eyes. Once they were as deep brown as Joachim's were now. Only now, they were the black of the Hunters. Designed to see into the dark in which they lived.
Teagan loved Tristan's eyes. They had had a habit of looking into her soul, seeing what she truly felt. She had loved the feeling of falling so deep into them as he looked at her.
Now...Now they were changed. Dark, hard and full of anger. Given everything, she couldn't blame him for being angry. Hell, she was.
Teagan let out a sigh as she looked at the rest of him. Her heart gave a leap at the sight of his bared chest. He was as she remembered. Not as bulky as Brody, but toned and wiry. Even all his scars were still there. She didn't see his double bow and arrow mark though. She wondered where it was.
In thinking about his physical appearance, Teagan wondered at what his strengths were. Every Dark Hunter had their own unique set of abilities. Tristan was physically strong, he could crush a skull with his bare hands back when he was a human knight. She could only imagine his strength now. And she bet that his hearing was probably still intact, even better. Being a scout in his human life, she wondered if he still was now. Probably. Artemis usually kept the Hunter's original abilities. Only adding to them.
Joachim's voice brought her from her thoughts.
"I know I look like Lancelot, Aunt T. You keep saying that." It was something she said to him all the time. Jac inclined his chin toward Tristan. "Who's he and how does he know Lancelot?"
Teagan thought for a moment, wondering how she was going to say this. She had never felt the need to tell Jac about Tristan before. She had told no one but Ash about Tristan. Silently, she moved alongside Joachim, bringing her arm to circle his. "Remember I told you that I come from a time of Arthur and his knights?"
Joachim nodded. "Of course. I've used what you've told me for my paper."
"Well, this is Tristan. One of Arthur's knights. He was a good friend of Lancelot's."
This caught Jac's interest even more. His eyes lost their narrowed look, taking on one of curiosity. "You knew him?" All the legends and what people thought were facts, kept contradicting each other. He really wasn't so sure what was real and what was myth anymore.
Tristan nodded, not paying much attention to the Lancelot look-alike, his eyes more on Teagan. And what she was wearing. He wanted nothing more than to look at her. To touch her.
Teagan caught his eyes, her own smiling. She disengaged herself from Joachim's arm, picking up her coffee cup, pouring more to warm it up. "He's known him longer than I. If you can get him to talk, I'm sure he'll help you on your thesis."
Brody stuck his head around the corner. "T, it's Ash. He wants to talk to you."
Both Tristan and Joachim looked at her. "Tell that fool he can wait. Tell him I'll meet him at the coffee shop."
All three watched as Brody disappeared around the corner again. The sound of his conversation with the Atlantean filtering back to them.
With a sigh, Teagan moved to Tristan, running her hand down his bared arm. She smiled as his muscles twitched as she did. She raised her chin, catching his eyes. "I suppose I must go and talk to him."
Tristan dropped a kiss on top of her head. "Don't kill him." He said softly to her.
"I just might." She called over her shoulder, leaving the two men to themselves. Hoping that Tristan would be nice and talk to Joachim.
A/N: So. Now she is off to her confrontation with Acheron.