SUMMARY: Details of Wink's visit to Lorelei in Chapter 41: Silver and Gold, of "Once Upon A Time," by LA Knight. After Wink has delivered Nuada's presents to Dylan at dawn (flowers and silly socks! whoo!), he takes his own sweet time making Nuada wait, and comes back to the lair at sunset with a smear of Lorelei's lip-rouge on his shoulder. Hmm, how'd he get that there?

PART 3: Directly continued from Silver And Gold Part 2: Touch of Time, Lorelei has invited Wink upstairs to her place, and Wink finally has some uninterrupted time alone with this woman for once!

A/N - German translations at the bottom in the end-notes. A few things may be quoted from LA Knight's "Once Upon A Time," or other shorts in this fic. There will be some elaboration on events from one of the flashes from Coruscation Part 1.

Also, as of posting this (May 31st, 2012), I've made some revisions to All's Fair In Love, War, And Drinking (chapter 1 of this fic), so you might want to go back and re-read that, but it is absolutely not a necessary thing to continue reading from here.

The style of the decor upstairs was as old-fashioned as the rest of the building, with rich, vintage wallpaper and furnishings. The ceilings were as high in the upper floors as they were downstairs in the tavern and rave room, making the place very accommodating, even for someone of Wink's size. The antique gold-and-crystal chandelier hanging high above his head in the front room that the door to Lorelei's personal living space opened on to was the first thing to greet the troll's eye as she invited him in. From the front room, there was a generously-sized living room with a very large brick fireplace, over which hung a wide landscape painting of a river, surrounded by lush, dark forest. The clouds in the painting and soft diffusion of the effects of light, in feathering shades of orange, pink, red, and gold, made it difficult to discern whether the scene was meant to be ere dawn or after dusk, and gave the effect of casting a dreamy glow from the painted skies over the haunting scene.

Across from the living room was an elegant dining area, next to a sparkling kitchen that had an aquarium that served as one of its entire walls, aquascaped with river strata and rocks, and a few small sunken castles and houses that served as homes to the very small handful of aquatic demi-fae that cared for the high wall of a tank and its various flora and fauna, including the assorted pan fishes swimming about. It was quite pretty and even artistic in its design, but Wink knew, without having to be told, what the fish were really for. He still remembered how Lorelei had described her first time "fishing" in the pond with her mother when she was a little girl, what it felt like to lure a creature to her from further out in the sun-shot shallows, catch it in her sharp grasp, and then savor the reward of her efforts for the first time. Such natural habits were how her mother and her ancestors before her had all subsisted, before the grand boom of human industry and its subsequent effects on the land came about. Someone like Lorelei, though raised with the ever-changing modernity of twentieth-century, all the same, could not thrive on "cultured" food alone. The fish in the aquarium-wall were for Lorelei's wilder needs, when she needed something fresh and alive.

But the piscine tenants of Lorelei's home interested neither rhinemaiden nor troll, presently. Both were lured towards the kitchen by the sweet, warm, spiced smell of fresh baking and other delights.

Upon reaching the arched entrance to the kitchen, Lorelei grinned at the sight of a sheet of Glühweinkuchen cooling on the central counter and smiled fondly at the kobold tidying up the kitchen, who was doubtless the one responsible for the pastries. Said kobold turned around once she sensed that she was no longer alone in the space of her culinary dominion, and greeted her mistress with a nod, "Fräulein Lorelei," and her grizzled, bristly guest with a curtsy, "Wink Ironfist."

"Was the plan to surprise me, Gita?" Lorelei asked the kobold, inclining her head towards the Glühweinkuchen with a wide smile. There was just only the faintest sense of something apologetic in her tone of voice. Gita only shrugged and smiled back, as if it was all of no ultimate import whether that had been the idea or not, or whether the intended surprise came now or later, so long as her mistress was pleased. The kobold housekeeper poured what was left of the Glühwein that had been prepared for making the Glühweinkuchen into two glass mugs and set them next to the cooling sheet of pastry, and then resumed setting the kitchen all back to pristine order once more.

Lorelei's golden eyes sparkled as she picked up one of the mugs and proffered it to Wink. "For my honored guest," she said, her smooth voice and charmingly sweet smile making the troll's heart stutter as he took the mug from her. He smiled warmly, giving her a short, soft grunt, by way of "thank you," and as his large fingertips very lightly brushed against the soft skin of the heel of her palm, he watched the lightest glow come to her cheeks and then spread over face, and she seemed to smile a little bit more than she had a minute ago as she turned to take the other mug for herself, which set a twinkle to Wink's eye. Both warrior and water faery raised their mugs in a silent toast, with a dull clink! and as the sweet, spiced taste of the warm alcohol slid over his tongue, Wink's eye drank in his comely hostess, savoring the soft curve of her sweet smile and the sparkle of dragon's gold from her bright eyes.

Gita was kind and polite enough to keep her surreptitious, knowing glances and smiles at the river maid and the great troll to herself. She liked the way that the renowned warrior looked at her mistress; intently, but not like some hopeless, drooling sot, nor like a leering lout. Wink Ironfist looked at Lorelei von der Strom only with appreciation. Possibly for her fine looks, or possibly for her welcome and inviting presence. But Gita was of a mind to judge that it was for a blend of both. For that which the eye both did and did not see. The kobold liked that about the troll, and imperceptibly kept nodding her head with approval. She also liked how the glow at her mistress' cheeks seemed to be trying to make up its mind as to whether it would turn into a blush or not. She knew that look, knew full well what it meant, and was quite pleased to see it. Her mistress deserved to be happy with someone, and she could certainly do a lot worse than Wink Ironfist.

At length, Lorelei did eventually break her gaze from Wink with a soft blush, and only then did she notice the slight quiver in her too-straight posture. She smoothly shifted into a more relaxed position, leaning with the back of her hips against the central kitchen counter, but somehow that only served to make her even more aware of Wink's attention on her, feel more open to his eye. Attempting to focus on something other than how being in the silver troll's company was little by little pulling undone whatever threads held her composure together one by one, Lorelei turned to Gita and asked, "Wo ist Gunter?"

"Hier," replied the gruff, no-nonsense voice of an older kobold from the kitchen's archway, and all turned to see that that is exactly where Gunter, Gita's husband, had appeared. The diminutive sprite gave a short nod to Mr. Wink by way of greeting and acknowledgment to the cave troll, and then gave his full attention to his mistress. The Rhine daughter proceeded to inform her pair of housekeepers that Wink would be her guest today and that it was unlikely that she would need them for anything, but if she did, they would certainly know in due circumstance. Taking that as their hint to depart, the two kobolds only shared a carefully blank look between them with eyes atwinkle, and said nothing more than a polite farewell to the rhinemaiden and troll, as they left for the lower floors to give their mistress some privacy with her burly companion.

Once the two sprites had left, and Lorelei and Wink were quite alone, there were a few long moments where all that happened, all that they did, was sip their glass mugs of Glühwein; unspoken things passing between them in smiles and sparkling eyes. Then Wink shifted his mug to his mechanical hand, and rested his left hand on the central countertop, by Lorelei's hip. A casual shift in posture, it would seem. But Lorelei took the next move, after a last sip of her warm, spiced drink, setting her mug on the countertop off to one side of her, and bringing her hand to rest on his, her fair fingertips just-barely brushing back and forth in tiny, minute spirals over his dark gray hide. The skin of his hand tingled under her soft touch, and then as Lorelei's hand began to slide further up his arm, trailing velvet heat in its wake - whether residual heat from the time spent holding the hot mug of Glühwein or something else, Wink neither knew nor really cared, only knew that it felt wonderful - the silver warrior took it as his cue to have done with vestiges of polite pretense and brought his body closer to her.

Again, she was engulfed by his mere existence, the overlap of electromagnetism - his and hers - humming inaudibly on the atmosphere with the pulse of life.

Lorelei brought her other hand up to rest with the palm on Wink's leather armor, her fingers extending lightly over his skin; the troll set down his mug and carefully took her soft, slender fingers in his metal grasp, moving her hand up to fully rest on his broad chest, his other hand finding its own way from the countertop to curl about her waist, bringing her gently closer to him. Lorelei's dragon-gold eyes flicked up from where Wink had moved her hand on his chest to his battle-scarred face. He was watching her intently, to the point that his eye almost pinned her every move like butterflies, and she pulled in a slow, silent, and somehow shallow breath, as he slowly bent to bring his tusked, craggy face closer to her. She could feel his heart thumping hard in his chest under her hand, matching her own, as he waited for what she would do. A blink of an eye that might have lasted an eternity passed, and the rhinemaiden closed what little distance was left between them, her slender body brought up against his, her face tilted up like edelweiss reaching for the sun. Wink acted on her unspoken invitation to continue by bringing his head even closer to her - so close, he could practically taste her breath - and then he stopped.

One look in his dark, shining eye told the river maid all that she needed to know. She would lead, he would follow. Obliging to his silent terms, Lorelei closed the last inch of space between their faces.

It wasn't a kiss when her mouth touched his. It was a touch that was soft, light, and exploratory as it slid over his thick lower lip. Wink's blood turned to molten gold as Lorelei's sweet, wine-red mouth moved slowly, deliberately, thoroughly over his. Finding her way, taking her time to learn each line and curve by touch, sending tiny sparks shooting down each nerve that she touched with each sliding stroke of her lips. She pressed a little more firmly, and his fingers automatically flexed in reaction at the change in the sweet stimulation, while his breathing deepened, and a shiver went through his body. Raw instinct had him tightening his hold about her waist by just a fraction. Her hand went from where it rested on his chest to the side of his face, her long, elegant fingers curling through his whiskers. Both her eyes and his had been opening and closing and in-between constantly, like window shutters in a strong wind, and Wink saw Lorelei's aurulent eyes look up at him, smoldering, her cheeks aglow with a golden flush. He could feel her slow, shallow breaths as her warm, soft lips carried on their exploration of his.

Magically, the raven-haired Rhine daughter had transmuted the silver cave troll's heart into a new, living incarnation of Mjölnir... and he knew it because it was beating him senseless with thunder and lightning from deep in his chest. When was the last time that anyone had made him feel like that? He couldn't remember.

Lorelei swept down from the corner of Wink's mouth to the center of his lower lip again, and then hovered there for a few beats, making his nerves strain with anticipation, before she at last pressed her mouth to his in a proper kiss, one that was gentle, lingering, and full of feeling. Her shallow breaths deepened, and she inhaled the scent of old leather, metal and stone, deep earthen caverns, and something warm and alive that drew in her senses like a fish to something shiny, something that was entirely unique to Wink the troll. His breath carried the burn of troll beer and the sweetness of Glühwein.

Wink's mouth molded to fit hers in response, returning the feeling. His strong arms held her so close to him, so carefully, her every soft curve pressed against his towering bulk. His left hand went sliding up her back and into her silky black hair. A low, deep, rumbling noise that sounded a lot like "Mmm" escaped Wink. Lorelei pulled back only the tiniest bit, but then she kissed him again, and then again. The troll and the rhinemaiden soon fell into a pattern with each other, each kiss gentle and full of tenderness.

When they came apart for air, Lorelei's heart was drumming a hard pace in her chest that would have daunted a gypsy dancer, and that Wink could feel even through his armor. It was a good thing that he had his arms about her, for if he let her go (which he absolutely did not want to do) he would no doubt only have to catch her again, since she clearly did not have a full hold of her balance. Her smiling mouth was flushed from kissing, and the Harvest Moon would seem pale and wan compared to the luminous glow that colored the swan-fair skin of her lovely face and slender throat.

Her eyes were what held Wink the most powerfully in that moment. He was mesmerized by the golden coruscation of the glimmers that were in her beautiful eyes once again. It swallowed his mind and soul, illuminated his whole world. Was this the true thing that drowning men would yield their lives for? That dragons would jealously kill for, magical voice or no? He could believe that. To have her look at him like that, always, would be the greatest treasure.

Wink's hand slid from Lorelei's hair to cup the side of her face, his thumb stroking back and forth over her flower-soft cheek. She sighed into the touch, and twined her fingers through his whiskers again.

They were about to draw back together again, when a soft, hollow thump stole their attention. Both troll and rhinemaiden's heads whirled to the side at the same time to look. Nothing was out of the ordinary... except for the suspicious fact that one of the fish in the aquarium wall was blinking at them curiously while backing very slowly away from the glass. Lorelei chuffed a laugh, shaking her head, while Wink grumbled and rolled his eye.

"Perhaps this is best continued elsewhere," suggested the silver troll. Lorelei nodded with a "mmm-hmm" and a bright smile, and both the warrior and the river siren departed the kitchen together.

The furniture in Lorelei's living room would not safely accommodate Wink, (she made a mental noted to have that remedied) but the cave troll didn't seem to mind having to settle for the rug on the floor, for now. Once he was situated, he pulled her down with him and deftly caught her (with the softest interjection of "whoa!" from her garnet lips as he did this), settling her across his lap with a very bright twinkle in his eye. A smile curled up at the corners of his mouth, and Lorelei grinned back, remembering the last time that she had been in this position with him.

"Now," growled the troll warrior, sliding his brawny arms about the slender faery woman, his voice sending a shiver down her spine. "Where were we?" Lorelei's grin pulled wider before she met him halfway in another sweet kiss. Her hands roamed over his broad chest and shoulders, making a mockery of the work of the winter cold outside with the warm velvet of her touch, while his hands kneaded at her back like a cat's paws. At some point, her tongue flashed out across his lip for the briefest instant, surprising him and making his heartbeat skyrocket. The river maiden responded to this with that sly, fox-like smile of hers and a particularly bright sparkle in her dragon-gold eyes, before pulling him back in for more kisses, which he returned with gusto. There was no fire in the living room hearth at the time, but the troll felt quite warm right then. The Germanic siren's hands traveled up to the sides of Wink's face again, idling her fingertips through his soft, bristly whiskers. The great silver warrior let his hands slide from her back to her sides, his large thumbs stroking back and forth in firm strokes over her ribs, and noted with some satisfaction that now it was Lorelei that seemed to be feeling a little warmer. Suddenly Wink frowned. The thumb of his left hand did what could have been described as a tactile double-take over a particular spot on her side, just below her ribs. His frown deepened.

"Was?" Lorelei asked. "Was ist los?"

Wink knew that he was more than likely overstepping some boundaries in what he was about to do... but he had to know. Still maintaining the hold that he had on her, the thumb of his left hand swept down and tucked under the hem of Lorelei's rich scarlet-colored top, and swept back up again underneath it, over her soft skin, stopping when the pad of his thumb brushed over what had snatched at his attention.

Scar tissue.

There was no mistaking it. Wink's frown pulled itself even deeper as his thumb traced over the smooth, even line of a scar on Lorelei's side. How was it that she had a scar? He had been acquainted with her long enough to know that she healed from injury quite quickly, even seamlessly, and that if she ever came away from something with a scar (which was rarely, if ever), it always faded into nothing over a fairly short time, so that no one would ever know unless they knew exactly what they were looking for. But from the lay of what he could feel, she'd had this for quite some time; years, at least.

"How did you come by this?" Wink rumbled, as he brushed the pad of his thumb over her scar once again.

Lorelei had sensed the flash of alarm in Wink when he'd first brushed over that scar on her side, just below her ribs. Sensed also the mild shock followed by the deep concern braided with puzzlement when he'd found what it was, and so she had anticipated the question that he had just asked. It wasn't exactly a pleasant subject to answer for, though. Softly, she explained, "You were not in the region at the time when this-" she tucked her hand under her cami-top and swept her fingertips from over her scar down his thumb, to his hand and across his other fingers; a single, fluttering caress that left trails of sensation through his skin "-happened. It was back in Europe, after the Party began setting covert operations in motion towards 'preternatural' targets and before the expansion into the rest of Europe." The rhinemaiden's ultra-gold eyes took on a strange look, as though her very soul was choking on something, yet she spoke clearly and softly. "Some friends of mein Vater, were... Their children had been at another house, with other friends, when the agents came to take the family to heaven-only-knows-where. When I went to their home to visit them, all I found were little Sofie und Gustav. They were... they were so..." Lorelei couldn't even find the right words for it, her hand unconsciously squeezed Wink's just a little. Her eyes, her lovely face, conveyed so much of what she could not find the proper words to say to the troll, and he understood. He understood very well. How many times had he found helpless children huddled in the wreck of what was left of their homes over the countless war-torn years of his life?... How many more would there be before he breathed his last?

Seeing the look in his eye and the way that the lines of his mouth were drawn, Lorelei understood that he knew what she was trying to say without words, and so she simply continued. "I contacted my parents, arranged for the children to find a home - if only a temporary one - with another family friend, and I would take them back with me to my parents' tavern to rendezvous. What I had not counted on - what I had not thought of - was the agent that was left staked out by the place." Wink's arms slid to wrap around Lorelei's lower back and held her just fractionally closer to him. A subtle action born from the instinct to protect her, though he knew that these events had happened decades ago. Lorelei followed the very slight momentum started by the gesture and leaned into his body, her fair cheek brushing in softest strokes against the leathery hide of his chest and setting off fireworks around his beating heart, as he let his arms fold all the way around her, holding her close. The rhinemaiden continued, "He shadowed us for a ways, until Gustav caught on to him. I picked up Sofie and started running, Gustav close at my side. Gunshots were fired, but it was only to frighten us, make us stop or stumble. He wasn't trying to hit us, at first. When I felt sharp debris flying up close to my footsteps to pelter my legs I knew that he was shooting in earnest, then, determined to stop us." Lorelei paused for a moment, deciding how to go on, what to say. "It ended with a short scuffle where I had the element of surprise, which is the only reason that he didn't end me, knowing the training that he must have had to be in covert operations. I got the gun from him and shot him twice at point-blank range... It felt..." The Rhine daughter lifted her head up to look the silver troll in eye once more, her face taking on a look of wonder, an echo of the incredulity she must have known in that long-ago moment at what she had done. "... Like nothing you would believe," she said with a soft half-smile. Wink knew that she was talking more about how it felt physically, and the impression that it left, than anything else. Killing an enemy seeking her blood was almost as nothing to her. A fact of nature and survival, unremarkable. But to hold a gun, to fire it... A human's weapon! That must have been incredible, in so many nuances of the word. "But it was not enough to kill him, not quickly," she went on, murmuring like a stream in the night. "He choked on his own blood for a while in my arms, before I had the mercy to break his neck." The slightest, barely perceptible twitch in her body at the mention of that memory gave away more than she had intended.

She was in pain at that moment, Wink deduced from that ever-so-slight slip in her body-language, probably wincing from the wound at her side. It all made sense now, how she would have a scar. A human's bullet had grazed her, left her bleeding. Torn across her flesh with iron steel at highest force and speed, and left her with a mark that was unlike any other, one that would never go away. Even wounds and scars from iron could heal in a fae, but not when inflicted like that, there was only so much trauma that the cells of a body could take. Here and now, if anyone had been around to say, "it's lucky that there's only one," or "how fortunate that it is only small," he would have growled at them to go bite their tongue.

Her next words did nothing to cool the dark emotions that were smoldering behind his carefully blank, battle-scarred face.

"He would not have killed us... would not have had to try to kill me, if I had gone quietly, or if he had given me worse than this-" Lorelei's hand softly, languidly, moved smoothly over his rough hand that once again idled in place over her skin, over her bullet-graze scar "-and crippled me." Her voice was kept carefully even and matter-of-fact. Her shimmering gold eyes, however, were not. "My best guess is that it's part of the reason why an agent was left staked out there in the first place; not just to see when the children returned, and finish acquiring the whole fey family, but to see who else might come by to check in on them, lead them to more potential targets. That is why he shadowed us for as long as he remained undetected, that is what he would have done." The beautiful faery woman leaned back into the embrace of the troll warrior once more, and both were silent for a brief moment before she huffed a short, sardonic laugh. "Wie seltsam," she murmured, "he never kissed me, never asked me to a concert or a dance... Never even knew my name." Her glorious voice had taken on a faint edge of bitterness. "Yet he left me with something permanent to remember him and his love by... His love for his Führer and what he would have done for that love - to me, to Sofie und Gustav, to anyone..." The bitterness left her voice and was replaced by the weight of a strange resignation that carried a only hint of sadness. "Aber, I sometimes wonder, when I think of him, if he truly believed in what he did, if he was beguiled by the promises of a charismatic leader, or if he ever felt afraid, and saw loyalty as the better option for survival."

Lorelei sighed heavily, like a wave breaking on a great lakeshore. Then the river siren turned her head, and began softly tracing over the lines of a few of the scars on Wink's chest with smooth, sliding strokes of her satin lips, as red as mortal blood; scars that had been gotten in the ancient wars between the human and fae kingdoms. Heat writhed like snakes through the troll's veins at the contact. Electric sparks sang up and down his spine, and he wasn't entirely sure, but he was fairly certain that his bristles were starting to stand on end. It was a welcome change from the smoldering rage that he had felt a moment ago.

"Did you ever wonder?" Lorelei's voice came through to his hazing mind like a gold coin tossed into a fountain, making the still surface of the water ripple. He knew that she was talking about the humans that he had fought against in those long-ago battles; if he ever wondered the same thing as she about his enemies.

"I might have," he rumbled, when he found breath enough to answer (which she was making rather difficult with that achingly sensuous mouth of hers). "Not while they were trying to kill me. I was preoccupied with thinking of other things just then." This made her pretty face break into a smile, her sharp teeth shining like pearls in contrast with the red of her mouth. "But I might have," he repeated, with a soft smile of his own and a twinkle in his eye.

TO BE CONTINUED...

A/N - Since Lorelei lives in the city, she can't count on getting to a river for her wild food needs all the time, so the aquarium-wall full of various kinds of pan fish is the solution for that.

- Glühweinkuchen is a German sheet cake pastry made with Glühwein. Glühwein (Mulled Wine) is a drink enjoyed during the Christmas holidays and throughout the winter months in Germany and other European countries, made from red wine and various spices, then heated just below the boiling point so that the alcohol doesn't evaporate, and served hot. The particular variation that Gita made is Honig (Honey) Glühwein.

- Mjölnir is the legendary hammer (some would say warhammer) of the enduringly famous god of thunder, lightning, and storms from Norse and Germanic myth, Thor.

- Regular fish don't have eyelids, so they can't blink. The fish that blinks at Wink and Lorelei is a magical animal, a faery fish.

- Some folks really do have a pattern of healing from scars, because they fade until they're so light and so faded that you don't even know, unless you have it specifically pointed out to you that there's some minute irregularity in the pattern of skin there, but otherwise can't tell at all and don't even care. Other folks (like Dylan and John Myers), not so lucky. :P I wanted to mention that so that no one wrongly thinks that it's just some faerie thing that I made up, because it isn't.

- "[T]he Party" refers to the German nazi political party of the 20th century. Not too many people in the mainstream outside of Europe bother to learn about how the word "nazi" is actually not a word, but an acronym for what translates as "national socialist." Don't take my word for it, look it up.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!

So, circumstances in my world have come to a crisis, and for the next twenty-one days, at least, I will not be able to read/review or write/post ANYTHING. It's complicated and I can't say much, out of respect for those involved, but suffice it to say that the most precious things in my whole world need my full dedication with them, whether I'm miserable about how things have to be or not.

Please do not let this discourage you from reviewing or messaging me. I will still be allowed and able to answer reviews and questions, and reply to messages (ones with hugs and various ways to say "dear god, what the #$% IS that thing!" in foreign languages are appreciated).

I would love to hear from just about anyone at this point. Say "Hi" all you Wink/Lorelei fans... I need it more than ever.

TRANSLATIONS

Glühweinkuchen = (literally) glow-wine cake

Fräulein Lorelei = Miss Lorelei

Wo ist Gunter? = Where is Gunter?

Hier = here

Was? = What?

Was ist los? = What's wrong?/What's the matter?

mein Vater = my father

und = and

Wie seltsam = how funny/strange

Aber = But/however