A/N: I'm so done. It's 3am and I have a 8am wake-up call. Night.

Chapter summary: In which Arawn awakes to a talking dragon and a sleeping god.

54: Imagine Blue-Eyed Dragons

As suddenly as the agonizing sensation ripping apart his very essence and everything that was the Unseelie Court began, it stopped. He swore the world had been coming apart at the seams, unmaking itself without any explanation. Why? What had been the cause? What, by the Caldron, was that?

Dazed and confused, the Holly King sat back on his heels. Since when had he fallen to his knees? Pwyll was still tense and shivering in his arms. The Seelie King's blunted nails dug into Arawn's back very likely leaving red crescent marks behind. Normally, Arawn would have teased his old friend mercilessly for the unusually vulnerable action. But considering, Arawn himself was in much the same state of disarray, the Unseelie King decided against it.

Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it of pointless thoughts, Arawn lifted his head and looked around, almost afraid of what he might see. He expected to see the kind of chaos that came with disaster; the kind very few entities of any pantheon liked. What he saw instead, made his mind bog down in confusion, desperately trying to comprehend the sight.

The sun shone bright far above him as if laughing at the state of his sanity. Arawn blinked, blinded by the light that mere moments ago had been completely obscured by the Otherworld disintegrating into ash. But this shouldn't be possible. He'd seen the Otherworld crumble around him. He'd felt his Court shatter into a thousand pieces like the shards of a mirror. It felt like someone or something had reached directly into his chest, wrapped iron fingers around his heart, and squeezed while a blunt knife hacked his body to pieces.

The world had been in the process of being unmade; both the Human world and its mirror, the Otherworld. Arawn was no fool. He had lived long enough to tell the difference between an end and an unmaking. That…destruction had not been an 'end' quite simply because, by definition, in order for there to be an ending, there had to be a beginning and a middle. Whatever had been happening was unwriting the future and working backwards from there, taking the present with it.

Whatever power was strong enough to do that was not something Arawn ever wanted to cross. By all reasoning, there shouldn't even be a power strong enough to pull that off in the first place. So why had it happened? What had caused it to happen? Would it happen again? Could it happen again?

Why had it stopped? Not that Arawn was complaining. But if that power of unmaking had been stopped, that meant there was something even more powerful out there. Or, at the very least, something of equal power to stop the opposing force in its tracks. A balance of some sort. Just as Arawn's pantheon had the Wheel of Time, always spinning on its axis bringing death and rebirth, tragedy and luck, Winter and Summer, the rise and fall of the Faerie Courts, and everything in between, other pantheons had their embodiment of a balance of powers in some way, shape, or form.

Had that destructive power been another pantheon? If so, which?

"Lord Arawn?"

The Holly King blinked, only just now noticing the woman kneeling next to him. "Primula?" he whispered.

Her relieved smile took his breath away just like it always had and always would. Her warm hands, calloused from her duties, reached up and gently cupped his cheeks. He allowed his eyelids to droop shut when she brushed her thumb across his cheek and leaned forward to rest her forehead against his.

"I'm glad you're back," she murmured just loud enough for him to hear.

"My people," he said softly. "My Court…"

"Are well and whole," his wife said, pressing a reassuring his to his face between his snowy eyebrows. "As is the Seelie Court. Rhiannon has taken charge of the Seelies until Pwyll is well enough to see to his duties."

"How long have I… we been…" Arawn swallowed, unable to find the words to finish his question and not exactly sure if he wanted to know the answer.

His wife leaned back and the Unseelie King opened his eyes once more to look up at her as spoke once more. "No more than an hour," she said. "The Otherworld is well. The Courts are whole. Although," she added with a wry smile that hinted at the teasing nature Arawn had fallen in love with millennia ago, "you might have to fight your way through a flood of Unseelie denizens demanded to know what just happened."

Arawn heaved a sigh, groaning in exasperation. "I look forward to it," he muttered, not meaning a single word. He dropped his gaze back to the Seelie King still clinging to him and sighed. "The younger ones, like Pwyll, will have been most affected," he said.

"I've already taken care of that," Primula said gently, resting a hand on the Seelie King's mouse brown hair. "I'm more worried about him. The Autumnal Equinox draws close and with it the end of his invulnerability. Anyone could challenge him for his throne in the state he's in and defeat him with ease."

Arawn shot his wife a wry glare. "I can sense your faith in my ability to protect him," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's flowing off you in waves, beloved."

"Call the truth what you will," Primula said with an easy shrug. "The fact remains, he's weak and you're in no shape to defend him." She studied her husband's face and the corner of her mouth twitched up in amusement. "And now you're sulking. How old are you again, dearest?"

The Holly King pursed his lips and groaned. "It's rude to ask people how old they are," he said. "Didn't your mother teach you that?"

"No," Primula said, a teasing smile on her face. "But a certain Fae did long ago. I chose to ignore that advice."

Arawn rolled his carmine eyes but didn't bother to fight back his smile. Already he could feel his strength returning. He was nowhere near full power as he would be on the Winter Solstice, but with each passing day, his power returned to him. It was a pity his power boost came at such a price.

Thick, snow white eyebrows furrowed in a worried frown as Arawn gazed upon his dearest friend's unconscious form. Just as the Wheel of Time turned and the Tree of Life burned in the flames of the abyss, so to did Arawn's power grow, draining Pwyll's until only the smallest grain remained within the Seelie King. They would be of equal power at dusk on each Equinox and at their strongest at their respective Solstice; Midwinter for Arawn and Midsummer for Pwyll.

There were times Arawn wanted dearly to toss aside his throne and wander the world wild and free as he once did. But if he did so, he would have to pass his throne on to another Fae he deemed competent enough to handle it. He refused to do so until Pwyll made the same decision. Then, and only then, would he relinquish his throne and return to his carefree lifestyle.

Taking a deep breath, Arawn savored the scent of Autumn in the Otherworld. He lifted his gaze and actually took his time studying his surroundings. Helios still lay on the flagstones near the pond on the terrace with Selene by his side. But now there were others present as well. One guest was unique to say the least.

"Is that…a dragon?" Arawn said slowly, his carmine eyes wide in shock.

He hadn't seen a dragon away from their hidden lairs in the mountain of the Otherworld or, more rarely, the few times he visited the Far East during his days before taking the throne of the Unseelie Court. Even on those rare occasions, the Holly King had never even heard of a dragon like the one before him now.

The beast was not necessarily enormous, but it was large enough to take up much of the open space on the terrace near the pond which was often used as for sparring. Its body was graceful and beautiful to behold. It had no scales yet it was still armored. Thick, sparkling, white plates covered the dragon's entire body. They gleamed almost blindingly in the sunlight, pure and majestic. Its teeth were long and as sharp as a Fae blade, no doubt. The mere sight of this magnificent beast took Arawn's breath away.

At his voice, the dragon turned its large head towards him and for an instant, Arawn questioned if this was truly a beast he was looking at and not an intelligent existence. Those blue eyes were too clear and bright to be anything less than a higher being. Straightening his shoulders, Arawn met the dragon's gaze evenly. After a moment, he was certain it was laughing at him.

:You have old eyes.:

Arawn stiffened, his eyes going wide only to narrow a second later. "Yes, I suppose I do," he said with a smirk. "But then, you do as well Old One." The dragon sniffed in what Arawn could only call disdain startling a laugh from him. "While I consider this a pleasure," he said, moving to stand before remembering his armful of unconscious Seelie King and settling back on his knees, "I do have to ask your name and why you're here."

:Then ask, Old One.:

Yes, that was definitely an insult. The Holly King grinned. "Making me ask everything word for word, aren't you?" he said, his fingers toying with his wife's handling which still rested in Pwyll's hair. "What is that Human saying? Ah yes. Like pulling teeth."

A vibrating rumble reverberated from the dragon's throat and those eyes sparkled with humor. She -and yes, Arawn was now absolutely certain the dragon was indeed a she- opened her mouth in what the Unseelie King could only see as a grin and said in his head, :I think you'll find these teeth hard to pull. I doubt you would survive the experience.:

"I don't doubt that," Arawn said, nodding in agreement. "Be that as it may, this is my realm, my homeland. It is you who are the uninvited guest. It's only polite you give me your name at the very least."

The dragon tilted her head, considering the Fae's words. :True,: she replied. :It would be polite.:

Arawn waited as several silent seconds passed. Eventually, he chuckled. "You aren't going to tell me, are you?" he said, already knowing the answer.

The dragon opened her mouth in another toothy smile. :You learn quickly for an old person,: she said, amusement tinging her mental voice.

Despite himself, the response only made the smile on Arawn's face grow in size. If the glee behind the smile began to melt away and be replaced by something darker, who was to blame him? "I'm afraid, in this case, I must insist," he said.

"You are welcome in Avalon," Primula said, clasping Arawn's continually moving fingers in her own, squeezing them in a comforting manner. When her husband fixed his suspicious gaze on her, she brushed her thumb over the top of his hand. "I know you mean us no harm," Primula continued. "If you had, you would have killed us all by now."

The dragon closed her mouth and lowered her head in acknowledgement. :I have no desire to bring harm to you,: she said, projecting her mental voice to all present. :But I do not answer to you, nor will I ever,: she added, her crystalline blue eyes narrowed dangerously.

Arawn knew a threat when he heard one, but he did not take it personally. The dragon's words were those of loyalty and not meant to be taken personally. Nevertheless, a frown began to worm its way onto his face.

"If you mean us no harm and you refuse to give us your name," the Unseelie King began, allowing his Fae power to seep into his words, "then why are you here?"

The dragon gazed at the Fae thoughtfully before responding. However, her response did not involve words. Instead, she lowered her head curving her neck so she could gaze at something underneath her wing. Arawn followed the dragon's gaze and, when she finally lifted the leading edge of her wing, saw the reason for her presence.

There, slumped in his little brother's arms, was Set. Or was it Seto Kaiba? Or Seth?

Arawn would have to figure that out eventually. He understood the need for a name that hid one's true name, but the plethora of names the Egyptian god of chaos answered to seemed to continually grow in number. There had to be such a thing as too many names for a single person, right?

"If he alive?" Arawn asked. He suspected so, because the boy Mokuba was not frantic with despair. Still, it never hurt to ask and receive confirmation.

"He is," Primula said, startling her husband. "He's sleeping at the moment."

"Sleeping?" Arawn repeated incredulously. "Who could sleep after what just happened?"

:He has not slept a full night in several days,: the dragon said. She sounded worried and perhaps a tad bit annoyed. :He also use a significant amount of strength and, like you, requires time to rest and replenish his reserves.:

"And the boy?" Arawn asked.

"Resting as well," Primula said.

This time Arawn looked directly at his wife and lifted an eyebrow at her in a silent demand for answers. The infernal woman merely smiled and tapped him on the nose.

"Next time don't sleep through important events," Primula said, a teasing smile brightening her face. "You miss things when you do that."

Arawn's other eyebrow joined the first at his hairline. He knew to expect sass from his wife. It was one of the reasons why he'd fallen in love with her so long ago, after all. But nevertheless, the way she did it so boldly would always surprise him in the best way. He snickered and swore the huff from the dragon was also laughter.

However, when the Unseelie King turned his burning gaze back to the dragon, she wasn't paying him any attention at all. He watched as the dragon nudged Mokuba sleeping form so the boy rested in the crevasse between her left forearm and her side. He must have been slipping to a less comfortable position. When she was satisfied, the dragon lowered her wing back down so Mokuba and Set were once again hidden from the sun's bright light. Only then, did she turn her head slightly so she could keep an eye on both her charges and Arawn.

"Hey! Where's Kaiba?"

Startled by the unexpected voice, Arawn blinked and turned his head to the guest room he'd led Set and the two lords Atem when they'd first arrived in Avalon. Standing in the doorway was the blonde Courtier Jounouchi.

"Welp," Jounouchi said, stepping out onto the terrace just outside of the door, "found 'im. Well," he amended, "foun' Blue Eyes, anyway."

"What?" the King's voice echoed from further inside. "Where?"

"Blue Eyes?" Arawn murmured. He glanced at the blue dragon and hummed. It wasn't much of a name, but it certainly fit.

The next moment, the King burst out of the room and coming to a stop next to his Knight yanking Arawn's attention back to them. Large violet eyes immediately zeroed in on the large white dragon lounging on the terrace flagstones. Arawn watched with interest as the dragon immediately lifter her head and turned her gace to face the new arrivals directly.

"You made it," Yugi said, smiling in relief. The relief faded not an instant later. "Blue Eyes," he said, taking a careful step forward. "Kaiba… Is he… Is Kaiba-"

He stilled and fell silent when the dragon tilted her nose down so both of her crystalline blue eyes locked on the King. They narrowed briefly before she lifted her wing just enough to reveal her precious treasure, lowering her wing as soon as comprehension dawned on the King's two violet eyes.

"Is he asleep?" Yugi asked, lowering his voice just in case.

The dragon nodded slowly. :Mokuba is with him: she said, projecting her voice to all present.

Apparently, that hadn't been what the two Courtiers had been expecting because the moment he heard the dragon's voice, they both jumped. Yugi, at least, had the presence of mind to keep his shock limited to his movements. Jounouchi, however, practically shouted in shock.

"What th' hell?" the Knight cried, reeling back with wide eyes and flailing arms. "Blue Eyes talks?! Dude, since when did that happen?"

Apparently, Blue Eyes did not appreciate the Knight's volume. She opened her mouth displaying her teeth in something that was definitely not a smile and growled threateningly. The Knight stiffened and slapped a hand over his mouth until Blue Eyes closed her mouth and fell silent once more.

:I have always been able to speak, Knight,: Blue Eyes said. :My words were simply lost to me.: She lowered her head so it rested on the stone and made a rumbling sound that sounded much like a cat purring. :However much I wish to hold this conversation,: she said, :my boys must rest and your voices are nothing but a nuisance.:

He couldn't help it. Arawn snorted. He liked this dragon. However, no matter how interesting Arawn found this situation, the awakening Seelie King in his arms was more important.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Arawn teased when Pwyll finally found the strength to open his eyes and sit up. "Sleep well?"

Pwyll lifted his violet gaze to his old friend's, slowly but surely releasing his death grip on Arawn's body as he did so. The humor faded somewhat from the Unseelie King's eyes when he saw the haunted look in Pwyll's expression.

"What… What was that?" Pwyll whispered.

All traces of humor vanished completely with those emotionally frayed words. Arawn frowned. "I don't know," he said honestly. "But I can promise we will know before our guests decide to take their leave of us."

Pwyll blinked in confusion before turning to the other present. "How long have we been…"

"Not long," Primula said gently, tucking a stray strand of earthen brown hair behind the Seelie King's pointed ear.

"Rhiannon?" Pwyll asked, a pleading note in his voice. "Is she-"

"Well," Primula said. "She is watching over your Court as we speak. I sent Arthur with her when I was sure the danger had passed."

Pwyll nodded, his gaze still clouded with confusion and exhaustion. "It feels like an Equinox," he murmured.

It took much of Arawn's self-control not to flinch.