Paradise Within…Happier Far
Chapter 18
There's A Place Of Gold Not Far Away
It's Across The Sky, Land Of Mist And Ice
I Will Come For You... If You're Not There
With your Velvet Cloak And Your Long Dark Hair...
Shining...
I'll Wait Now For No One But You
I'll Steal The Sun, I'll Shine It For Your Pain
Come To Me Arms Entwined In Golden Mist
To Walk Again The Sunless Halls And Crystal Caves
Beyond... Avalon... Avalon... Avalon....
I'll Wait Forever... My Child...
I'll Wait Now For No One But You
I'll Steal The Sun, I'll Shine It For Your Pain
Come To Me Arms Entwined In Golden Mist
We Will Dwell Forevermore In Crystal Caves
Beyond... Avalon... Avalon... Avalon....
There's A Place Of Gold Not Far Away
In The Fields Of Grace You Long To Stay...
Shining....
Mists of Avalon, Virgin Steele
Eric and Sookie stayed an extra week in Finnmark. They stayed for the police inquiry into the accident that killed three of their family. They stayed for the funeral and the mourning that followed. They promised to return for the birth of Idona's child. They promised the older girls they would take them to the US next year. Eric promised they would return more often than just two weeks a year. The family breathed a sigh of relief that he would be present more to guide them. With too many promises made, Eric and Sookie took leave of the family to continue their trip.
The journey to their next destination was unexpectedly complicated to Sookie. Eric's private plane landed at the Newquay airport in Cornwall England. A trusted body guard named Michael took care of the arrangements for Eric's coffin, which he was currently in, and seeing to their luggage and their trip to their hotel near Tintagel. Michael was also responsible for making sure all of this, including Eric and Sookie arrived together, preferably after sunset. The ride was long and Sookie tired of the constant winding of the road. For the first time ever she felt car sick several times and the body guard gave her some Dramamine to help. The roads were impossibly narrow with room for only one car, and she couldn't count the number of times the limousine hearse would have to back up the road to one of the limited pull-outs to let another car go by. While she was charmed by the hedgerows and scenery, she was decidedly not by the car ride.
But then they finally reached their hotel. It was the farthest thing from a hotel Sookie ever expected. It was a full-blown castle, cheesily called Camelot Castle, but despite the name is was the most beautiful place she could ever imagine. It was surrounded by the moors, the green ground covered in a low mist able to be seen in the full moonlight. The Castle was lit softly, as if by candlelight. Eric had emerged from his sleep and joined Sookie in her joy at their latest destination. While she was still not sure why he had chosen yet another place called the 'end of the world,' she loved it immediately and felt called to the land and the sea she could hear not far from where they were.
Once the bellman had shown them to their suite, Sookie just stared at what was before her. The four-poster bed was intricately carved with gods and goddesses, nature, and battles from times past. The bed was covered in white with beautiful red rose petals covering the duvet. While the appliances like the refrigerator, TV, bath and Jacuzzi tub were completely up to date, the room itself was made from stone and looked like something one might encounter in a true English castle. This particular room, among several others, had been converted to serve the vampire guests requirements. Sookie was torn between going exploring the art and building itself with Eric, or soaking in the tub after the long drive. She opted for the bath first, asking Eric to order her some room service (a hamburger and fries sounded good, along with a real Coke) and then asked if he would go exploring with her while he was still awake. He laughed at her enthusiasm for the castle. It was different from his in Denmark. This was an English castle which was shaped differently, updated differently, and full of art and artifacts. And while his castle had the real thing, the things here were actually for sale.
After their shared bath, which culminated in several rounds of lovemaking (there was just something about water), a satiated Sookie and relaxed Eric took to their bed naked. Sookie decided that touring the castle together could wait until tomorrow night, or even some other time. Neither was in need of sleep, adrenaline and sex still keeping them alert. Lying on their sides facing each other, Sookie ate her now cool hamburger and Eric fed her the best French fries ever while they lay in bed talking.
"So Sir Galahad, when are you going to tell me why we are here? I know why we went to Finnmark. But here, Tintagel, the rumored place of Camelot and King Arthur? While it is very cool to be here, why are we?"
Eric laughed at Sookie's quip about Sir Galahad. He liked the idea of being her knight in shining armor. "Lover, we are here because there are some, um, people I think you should meet. They are expecting us and we will go there tomorrow night."
"Go there? Go where?"
"Ah, Lover…THAT is a secret until tomorrow."
"I was wrong, you are no Sir Galahad, more like Mordred!" she teased, hitting him on the head with one of the down-filled pillows.
He laughed and tackled her easily, pinning her under him. "Be careful lover. This is a part of the world filled with magic and fairies and ghosts of times past. But I am a ghost of times present, and I have to make love to you again."
"I can tell, lover." She could feel him rise between them. She picked up another pillow to throw at his head, but he caught her hands in one of his and held her there, squirming and crying out while he made love to her once again.
Eric rose early the following night. They needed to be at a certain place at a certain time in order to make their meeting. He had warned Sookie the night before that she would need to be ready when he arose. He left his sleeping room and followed her scent to the dressing room where he found her already dressed and almost ready to go. She wore the dress he asked her to and had her hair held up high on her head and curled softly. The dress was white chiffon with a neckline that fell from her shoulders like a Greek goddess. It was gathered at the shoulders with gold dragons and left her arms bare, despite the chill on the moors. The dress wrapped her body like a beautiful shroud and with her white sandals, she did look like a Greek goddess worthy of Aphrodite. He leaned over and kissed her bare neck.
"You look perfect for where we are going, lover. Thank you for wearing what I asked of you."
"Thank you, but I still don't understand. And what are you going to wear?"
"I will be dressed in moments lover, and then I shall fly us to our destination. You will need your green cloak and the dragon broach I gave you. And please wear these arm bracelets as well."
Eric brought out two golden arm bracelets to fit her biceps. They were each fire breathing dragons encrusted with diamonds on each claw and fang, rubies for the fire, emerald and topaz for the dragon body. They were incredibly beautiful and Sookie gasped at what they must have cost.
"There seems to be a dragon theme here. Are you taking me to the lair of Grendel or something?"
"You should know your Beowulf lore better, Sookie. Grendel's lair is in Denmark, we will see it on our next trip lover. I am taking you someplace even more special. You shall see. Now we leave in five minutes. Be ready."
Eric reappeared just a few minutes later dressed in ancient Viking war attire, complete with sword, the real thing Sookie could tell. He covered himself in a full-length black cloak that covered his face and head completely to block the last remnants of sunlight they would encounter. Sookie was ready with her cloak on as well as her bracelets. She looked like a princess, and he looked like the prince he was. He opened the doors to their balcony and gathered Sookie in his arms tightly. He kissed her lightly on the lips, smiled, and said, "And here we go lover…" Sookie felt her feet leave the ground and suddenly they were flying through the cool air. Once she got over the surprise of flying that she always experienced, she started to look around her. She saw the green moors covered in shadows and mist. It was no wonder there were those who considered them haunted. She saw the ocean in the distance coming closer and closer until Eric brought them to a light landing at the peak of what was once thought to be King Arthur's castle at Tintagel. The tourist place was closed now and they were surrounded by silence other than the crashing waves against the rocky shores and the birds cry as they hunted before the sun sank for the night.
As she watched the ocean go on forever, 'the end of the world,' Sookie whispered a prayer, or something like one. Her voice was trance-like, as she said words she didn't even know she knew, as she watched the sun sink into the horizon.
"Nothing else is the same as when I used to call you Morgaine of the Fairies… 'I was, and I am. But years have passed'. But the magic of Avalon never changes, the mist and the reeds and the cry of the water birds… and then the barge, like magic, gliding from the silent shore…I know there is nothing for me here, and yet, somehow, I always return…" *
As the last flash of sunlight hit the horizon, an island appeared, covered in mist at first and then cleared for a moment and then became mist covered again. Eric quickly picked Sookie up as she gasped at the island's apparition, flying them quickly to the misted island before it faded from existence again.
He gently set her on the land of the island. For some reason she expected marshy soft land, but instead her feet found solidity. Eric and Sookie brushed through grasses and as they pressed onwards, the mists beginning to thin and recede, and before them they see the otherwordly path leading to Avalon... Turning to see behind, they see only a veil of opaque mist, guarding this world from those unworthy.**
Before them on the path, the emerald mosses and reeds slope gently uphill...there is a thick line of apple trees, ancient and knotted, their limbs heavy and nearly scraping the ground with lush fruits... they bear them year round, the apples of the Otherworld and Immortality.... Plucking a fat and shining apple and tasting of the Mysteries as they pass, Sookie and Eric climb the rise ahead. Eric is aware of everything and follows Sookie who, almost in a trance, places her feet confidently on the path, choosing an apple to eat without fear. She was unaware of anything other than what surrounded her.**
Suddenly they practically fell through the thickening trees into a meadowed circle, full of low grass and flat-lying herbs like creeping thyme. The area smelled wonderful, like the air after a soft spring rain. The circle was empty except for the monolithic stones that surrounded it. Sookie led the way to the middle of the circle, dropping her cloak to the ground, and holding her arms high in the air, her face tilted upwards. She was not sure what she was worshipping, but she turned in a slow circle to face each of the giant stones. As she reached the last one in the circle, a man appeared on the opposite side of the large circle. He wore a shirt made of leather as well as pants made from the same. Both looked soft with age. His boots came to his knees. His face was tattooed with strange blue markings that Sookie had never seen before, and yet she felt she should know their meaning.
The man strode confidently to Eric and Sookie. Sookie had dropped her arms as she saw him approach. She felt no fear. Somehow she knew this man, but she had no idea how. Eric stepped forward to greet the man.
"Kindreth, we meet again my friend. It has been many long years." Eric said to the man.
"Leif Ragnar, or is it Eric Northman these days, welcome back to Avalon. You have travelled far and wide. I hope to hear tales of your life outside of these mists."
"I shall share whatever memories I have worthy of Avalon. I have brought Sookie Stackhouse with me. I believe she is the One. I wish to know if that is so. Will Morgaine, Queen of the Fairies meet with us, Kindreth?"
"I have prepared her for your arrival, and she will meet with you both. She has such tales to tell her kinswoman and her mate. It has taken more than a 1000 years in world time to bring us to this point. If it proves to be true, there will be much cause for celebration here on Avalon. Sookie, your pure heart and courage have brought you to a place of legend, of which most can only dream."
Sookie looked back and forth between both men. She could hardly breathe as she whispered, "Kinswoman?"
TBC
A/N: I have read many different versions of the King Arthur story, Tintagel (been there too!) and the debate as to whether it is Arthur's castle or Uther's or someone else's. For our purposes, it is the remains of Camelot. Stories of Morgaine le Fay often portray her as evil, but I like to think of her as a woman who takes matters into her own hands. The Mists of Avalon portrays her more sympathetically than most stories, and in our story she will be so portrayed as well.
*The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley, pg. 142
**Adapted from The Oaks of Avalon website, no attribution (at least that I could find), but I am thankful for the wonderful words and inspiration of whoever wrote the piece. Truly a beautiful image of what Avalon might have been like.