Title: Mythology

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's Note: This chapter is a little on the short side, and it has almost no Tess in it. I apologize for both, and there will be Tess in the next update. Right now, however, I am focusing a little more on dealing with Earth matters, so expect to see a lot of the other hybrids in the next several chapters.

this is the stuff of legends…

Chapter Four: The Waiting Ends

Day 4

"She what?" Mr. Evans asked quietly, pacing the floor of his study as he watched Jesse's glum face. The young lawyer looked up at his father-in-law, but did not answer the question. He couldn't bring himself to repeat what he had said, what he had heard. He couldn't bring himself to believe that Isabel could ever…

We basically killed Tess.

"Who was Tess?" Jesse asked at last, looking back down at the polished mahogany desk he was sitting in front of. His hands tightened on the arms of his chair, his knuckles turning white, as he slowly inhaled and exhaled in an attempt to keep the panic at bay.

How could this be happening to him?

"Tess was…" Mr. Evans frowned slightly. Who exactly was Tess? He knew little about the girl, except that Max had hung out with her quite frequently towards the end of junior year, and then the blonde had suddenly disappeared. "She was a friend of Kyle Valenti's actually. She lived with the Valentis for about a year, then left. I don't know the details of it."

"Did she actually leave?" Jesse asked, the words slipping out before he could stop them. Mr. Evans looked at him sharply, and Jesse shrugged uncomfortably. It was a logical question, he knew, even if it was not one that either man wanted to consider.

"I don't believe Isabel or Max could ever…you know…do that to someone," Mr. Evans staunchly defended his children. Although some doubt did flicker through his worried eyes.

"What do you want me to do?" Jesse asked slowly. He didn't want to continue this investigation any longer, didn't want to have to deal with whatever painful truths he found. All he wanted was to go back to the way things had been when he had first met Isabel, when they had been madly in love, and things had been so much simpler.

But at the same time, he knew he would never be able to live with the gut-wrenching fear that there was something big about his wife he didn't know.

"I'm going to call over to the Valentis'," Mr. Evans said at last, "and ask a few questions about this Tess girl."

"Do you think they know what is going on?" Jesse wanted to know.

Mr. Evans frowned as he considered the possibility. "Something weird was happening with the Sheriff…uh, I guess he isn't the sheriff anymore…with Jim around the time Tess left. Jim went on a whole bunch of crazy missions and ended up losing his job. I think the FBI might have been involved, but I don't know."

Jesse raised an eyebrow. The FBI? What exactly had his wife and her friends been doing in this sleepy little town? "Who's the Sheriff now?"

"One of Valenti's deputies. Hanson, I believe," Mr. Evans replied. "Why don't you talk to him?" he suggested to his son-in-law. "He might have some answers, and he may be more willing to share them than Jim."

Jesse nodded and stood up, his expression serious. "Mr. Evans? What are we going to do if we find something?"

"That," Mr. Evans replied slowly, "depends on what we find."

Shalimar kicked the dirt under her feet and watched the sun rising slowly over the distant hills. The landscape around her was beautiful, in a simple and uncomplicated way. To her left, several farms and fields stretched out, one of the many agricultural centers of Antar. To her right, an ocean glimmered in the early light.

She had always loved the sea. The smell of fresh salty air and the wind that whipped around everything, whistling as it passed through the brush, reminded her of the first several years of her life. She had been born on her family's ocean-side estate, and had spent several happy years there before the war had claimed her parents' lives and she had been forced to flee.

She tucked a strand of black hair behind one ear and closed her eyes. She had been hiding on this farm for three months now, and so far, no one had found her. She wasn't entirely sure if anyone knew that she had survived. She had heard bits and pieces of news from the few visitors who passed through the farms, and she had discovered that Larek's entire planet had been wiped out. Would anyone have noticed her absence from among the bodies?

Audin, perhaps, he was dead now, and good riddance to him.

"Shal!"

Shalimar turned to see her neighbor hurrying towards her, a wide smile on his face. "Morning, Yon," she greeted the farmer.

"Morning," Yon replied. He was a tall man, well built, with muscular arms that bore witness to his years of plowing fields. He was friendly as well, always ready with an easy smile and a kind word. This made him a favorite among the small farming village.

"How is your wife?" Shalimar asked on concern. Yon's wife had become severally ill a few nights before, and was bed ridden.

"Oh, she's doing much better," Yon said cheerfully. "Actually got up and managed to eat a little oatmeal this morning and drink some milk." He ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair. "Any news from your husband?"

Shalimar shook her head and replied, "No, not yet. I don't expect to, though, since he is on the middle of trade negotiations." She blinked and smiled gently.

It was always strange for her to talk of her husband since she had never actually been married. It was a disguise she had decided on when first seeking safety in this village. Although Antar was a large planet, and although Shalimar was a fairly common name, making it almost inconceivable that anyone from Khivar's army would find her here and know who she was, it still seemed better to leave her actual persona behind and develop a new identity. She had become a trader's wife, vacationing in the farming village until her husband returned from his many trips through the Southern Beltway.

"It must be hard for you," Yon commented.

"I miss him greatly," Shalimar replied. She was thinking of the Resistance, of Larek and Sria, of Lotho and Kani, of Sirch and Nasada. Of all the people who were dead now, and who she really would miss, and the tears that came into her eyes were real.

"He'll be back soon," Yon rushed to console her. Shalimar gave him a nod and looked away, discreetly dabbing at her eyes. "Oh, I am sorry," Yon started babbling, mortified that he had brought Shalimar to tears. "I never meant to bring up a painful subject…"

Shalimar waved him into silence. "Don't apologize, Yon, I am thankful that you care enough to ask." She swallowed and thought up a quick lie for her odd show of emotion. "I am just worried, now that we seem to be on the brink of all at war, what if he is unable to return safely? What is the other worlds join in? I could never live if something happened to him."

The words stuck in her throat. She had seen that kind of love before, with Lotho and Kani, and she had seen how Lotho's death had caused Kani to lose her heart and soul until there was almost nothing left to Larek's beautiful advisor.

But Kani was with Lotho now, united forever in the afterlife.

Shalimar sighed and wondered briefly how many other people would be eternally united in death before this war was over.

"Tess?" Valenti asked. He frowned slightly and turned away, hoping to hide his worried expression from Mr. Evans. "What do you want to know about her?"

Mr. Evans noted Valenti's unease as he took a seat on the ex-Sheriff's sofa. "Oh, I just remembered that Max used to hang out with her a lot, and I was wondering where she disappeared to so abruptly?"

"She went back to the East Coast," Valenti answered. "New York. It's where she is originally from."

"So she was some sort of exchange student?" Mr. Evans asked in confusion. He remembered that when she had first moved her, her father had been here as well. Ethan? No, that wasn't right. Evan? Edward? Ed. Ed Harding…?

"Not exactly," Valenti replied. "She moved here with her father, but worked for the army, and they sent him off to… Alaska," Valenti lied. And then wondered briefly why the army would have sent a consultant to Alaska. Pushing valiantly on, he continued, "Tess didn't want to move to Alaska because she had moved around so much before in the past, and I was friends with Ed from a while ago, so I offered to host her."

"I see…"

The word was long and drawn out, and there was no doubt in Valenti's mind that Mr. Evans did see.

He saw right through the entire lie.

"Anything else you wanted?" Valenti asked hurriedly.

"Her phone number in New York?" Mr. Evans replied easily.

"Oh, well, I don't have that, but Kyle does. When he gets home, I'll have him give you a call," Valenti said, trying to buy some time for the aliens to figure out how to solve the mess. Mr. Evans nodded, the two exchanged a few pleasantries, then Valenti showed his guest the door.

Once Mr. Evans had departed, Kyle stepped out of the hallway where he had been hiding and listening to the conversation. He looked at his father for a moment, then out at the window where he could just see the Evans' car disappearing around the corner.

"We're screwed."

Arya crouched by the fire, peering through the dark night at the distant hills. She had spent the better part of the day talking to all of the commanders, making sure each unit was prepared and able to fight. She did not know how much longer they would have before Khivar attacked, but it couldn't be long.

She stood and looked back behind her at her own army. They were anxious and full of nervous energy. Very few of them had ever fought in a real battle before, and none had fought Khivar's royal army in an all out war. But they had all been strengthened by years of hardship and guerilla warfare, and they were all filled with the persistence and passion of people who believed in the values and goals they were fighting for.

And they were ready.

Arya closed her eyes and reached, seeking the Queen's spirit. When she found it, she discovered that the Queen was troubled and discontent.

My Lady? What is wrong?

I've had a revelation, Arya. An epiphany, if you will, and I do not think it bodes well for us.

Oh? What was it? Arya was concerned by the despair in the Queen's tone.

Khivar cannot be defeated without the Royal Four.

Arya accepted the words without comment, thinking over them. It was true, the only ones with the strength to defeat Khivar were the royals, that was why the Resistance had gone to such great lengths to recreate their essence and send them somewhere safe. And it was why they were so upset when only the Queen returned.

You know it is true, Arya. I cannot defeat Khivar without the others. What do I do now? How am I supposed to fight? There was definite cynicism in her voice, and again, Arya was troubled.

"Lady Arya!"

Arya's eyes snapped open as the connection with the Queen was abruptly cut by the man frantically shaking her shoulder. She resisted the urge to yell at the soldier for interrupting her conversation, and instead asked sharply, "What?"

The soldier turned and pointed out into the distance. Through the dark light, Arya could see thousands of dark shapes moving, slowly filing over the hills and crossing the great expanse of open space. The moonlight reflected of their shining armor, revealing thin rapiers and long swords, and even from the distance, Arya could see the deadly look in their eyes.

Khivar's army was moving.

Jesse padded softly down the hallway and paused outside the door to his bedroom. It was well past midnight, and he knew Isabel would be fast asleep by now. He had told Isabel he was going to be stuck at work late, although he had been, in fact, meeting with Sheriff Hanson.

He dropped his briefcase outside the door and rolled his stiff shoulders. Hanson had been of very little help, having no idea why Valenti was fired or where Tess had gone. The only bit of information he did have, which Jesse found more than a little interesting, was the disappearance of the Evans jeep. Around the same time Tess had left, Max Evans claimed to have sold his car, yet there was no record of a purchase having ever been made. And then there was the slight issue of the destroyed jeep that had been found at the bottom of a set of cliffs a few miles outside of Roswell a few months ago.

Jesse paused with his hand on the door knob and glanced down the hall to his wife's office. With Isabel asleep, now would be the perfect time to do a little at-home investigating.

Jesse entered the study flipped the light on, then shut the door firmly but softly. He blinked in the bright light and looked around. A desk was pushed up against one wall, piled high with school books, papers, and a computer. A large window was partially blocked by the filing cabinet, and at the opposite side of the room, a bookshelf leaned up against the wall.

Jesse walked over to the filing cabinet first. He ran his hand over the drawers, then paused at the bottom drawer. It was locked. Frowning, he looked around until he found a stray bobby pin and a paper clip sitting on the desk. He picked them up and bent them into straight wires, then quickly picked the lock, thinking of the irony of the situation as he did.

Here he was, a lawyer, breaking into his own wife's personal belongings.

A moment later, the lock gave way, and he pulled the drawer open. He reached for the first of the files, intent on pulling them out, when the sound of the door opening behind him caused him to stand and turn around sharply.

"Jesse?" Isabel was standing there, dressed in her pajamas, her eyes wide with shock and betrayal. "What are you doing?" Her gaze traveled to the lower drawer, and her eyes widened dramatically. "You broke into my filing cabinet? Why?"

And Jesse knew that there was no right answer to that question.

Next Chapter: The Nightmare Begins

Due: Friday 2/10