Miranda pulled into the rest station and parked. They were about halfway back to Cardiff and the two women wanted to stretch their legs. The rest stop was fairly deserted as it was nearly midnight.

"Can you get me a bottle of water, Cariad?" Nora asked. "I'm going to use the loo."

"Sure love," Miranda said as she moved towards the Costa Coffee. She grabbed a bottle of water and waited in the small queue. After she paid, she waited for Nora outside the loo and the two women walked back to the car together.

"Don't worry about Carys, she'll come around," Nora said.

"Your sister has good reason to dislike me, love. I'm not quite sure about your brother," Miranda said.

"Luke likes you. Brooke liked you too but then again Brooke likes everyone," Nora said with an eye roll.

"You don't like your sister-in-law?" Miranda asked as they neared the car.

"It's not that, it's just that Brooke tries so hard to please everyone," Nora said with a shake of her head. "Luke takes advantage of that sometimes, walks all over the poor woman."

Miranda was about to respond when a sharp pressure formed between her temples. She stiffened and looked around, holding up a hand to Nora to tell her to be quiet.

"Someone's here," Miranda hissed.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Another immortal…" Miranda pushed Nora between the two cars closest to them. "Stay here."

Miranda reached into her coat and wrapped her hand around the hilt of her sword, she stepped away from the row of cars and looked around. When she turned to the right, she saw him. It wasn't Adaf Terfel and Miranda breathed a slight sigh of relief. It was an older man who looked to be in his mid-fifties. He appeared to have just gotten out of his own car. He looked up and down the aisle and then locked his gaze with Miranda's. He opened the back door of his car and lifted out his own blade.

Miranda turned back towards Nora who was staring at the other man's sword, wide eyed and fearful. While keeping one eye on this newcomer, Miranda handed her the car keys and her mobile phone and then drew her sword from inside her coat. Nora looked at it, eyes widened further. It was the first time she'd seen it. "I don't want you to watch this, Nora. I'm going to try to talk to him first. If any fighting starts, get in the car, drive back to Cardiff and call Jack."

Nora didn't seem to know what to do. "I can't just leave you here alone! Please, Miranda, don't do this!"

"You have to, Nora. I can't defend myself if I'm worried about you. I'm sorry," she said. "I love you."

Miranda kissed Nora gently and turned away from her. She tried to build a wall in her mind between what she was walking away from and what she was walking towards. She held her head high and tightened her grip on her sword, giving it a few small swings to loosen her muscles. She stopped a defendable distance from the newcomer, eyeing him warily. He looked exhausted, as if he'd been driving a long time. It made Miranda hopeful that this encounter could be avoided all together. Even if this man did want to fight, Miranda knew she would have the advantage if her opponent was fatigued and weary from travel.

Miranda bowed low and said, "I am Chen Mao-Lin."

"Dominique Beauclerc," he said returning the bow. His French accent was thick and he looked a little embarrassed. "I have no right to ask, but may I use the toilet before we start this?"

Miranda smiled and switched to French. "I have no quarrel with you, Monsieur Beauclerc. I would be most grateful if my partner and I could be on our way. I would owe you a debt."

The relief on Beauclerc's face was evident. "There is no debt, Madame. Like two ships, we shall pass in the night."

Miranda bowed again. "Until the Gathering then?"

"Let us not go that far, Madame," he said with a chuckle and Miranda laughed.

He looked down at his sword and at his car.

"I will not attack you, Monsieur Beauclerc. I give you my word, on my honour," Miranda said as she replaced her sword into her coat. With a bow she said, "God speed to you."

"Thank you, Madame. The same to you," he said, stowing his blade in his car.

When Miranda got back to the car, she had Nora move to the passenger seat. She was pleased to see the car was already running and backed it out of the parking space and merged onto the M4.

"Miranda? What happened?" Nora asked.

"It's fine, love, I was able to avoid fighting him," Miranda said.

"So that's it?" Nora asked, skeptical.

"That's it."

"He just let you walk away?"

Miranda smiled and said, "He needed the loo more than my head."

Nora laughed at the absurdity of it. "You're taking the piss."

"So is he apparently," Miranda said joining the laughter a little.

Nora abruptly fell silent and Miranda looked over to see Nora breathing heavily, her hands shaking slightly.

"Nora? Nora!?" Miranda exclaimed, reaching her hand over to her lover. "I'm pulling over."

Miranda pulled the car onto the shoulder and turned the hazard lights on. She turned in the driver's seat and took Nora's hands into hers, they were ice cold and shaking.

"You could have died…" Nora said, gasping.

"Nora? Look at me," Miranda ordered. "Take a deep breath, slowly."

Nora obeyed, drawing in a shaky breath and exhaling slowly.

"Good. I'm here. We're safe. I won't let anything happen to either of us," Miranda said.

"How do you do it? Any moment… any minute… someone could come for you…" Nora said, her voice a bare whisper.

"It's the way of it," Miranda said softly. "It's the same for you. You could get into a car accident. You could get an illness. The situation is the same, the circumstances are just different."

"What if he comes back?" Nora asked, fearful.

"Then I will remind him of tonight," Miranda said.

"Do you think that would matter?"

"I won't lie, Nora. Not all of my kind fight in the Game with honour but many of us are from a different time, when a man's word was his bond," Miranda said.

The two women sat there for a few moments, Miranda rubbing Nora's hands to warm them. Nora seemed to be calming down, the fear had left her eyes.

"What was that name you gave him? Is that your real one?" Nora asked.

"I didn't think you heard that."

"You didn't answer my question."

Miranda sighed. "No, it isn't my real name."

"What's your real name?" Nora asked.

"Does it matter?" Miranda asked.

Her lover stared at her, her mouth a thin line and a glare in her eyes.

"Nora, please. I'm not keeping it from you because I don't want you to know. I'm keeping it from you because it's dangerous for you to know. I am one of the oldest immortals alive. My head is valuable."

Nora pulled her hands out of Miranda's and turned around in her seat, staring out of the windscreen. With a sigh, Miranda turned off the car's hazard lights and pulled back into traffic. The rest of the ride back to Cardiff was spent in silence and Miranda parked her car illegally in front of Nora's flat rather than finding a legitimate parking spot. The two sat in the car for a few minutes in awkward silence. Miranda holding firm and not wanting to give into Nora's silent treatment. Nora was reminding Miranda vividly of her second wife, Isabetta who had been a master of the silent treatment because she had known Miranda had little resolve against it. The silent treatment was petty and childish to Miranda but most of all, it wasted time and time wasn't something Miranda liked to waste with the mortals she loved in her life.

Nora reached for the door handle and went to leave the car without a word. Miranda felt her willpower crumble and she reached out for Nora's arm before she could step out of the car. "Yi Mei-Xiu."

She let go of Nora's arm and turned in her seat, angry at herself for giving in. Nora rested her hand on Miranda's arm.

"I'm sorry, Cariad," Nora said softly. "I didn't mean to force it out of you."

"Keeping things from the people I'm close to is almost second nature to me, Nora. It's something I've done for centuries and it's a hard habit for me to break," Miranda said. "It's not something I like doing. There are only a bare handful of people alive who know that name."

"Thank you for trusting me," Nora said, taking hold of Miranda's hand.

"It's not a matter of trusting you or not," she said, a little exasperated. "I don't like keeping things from you, Nora but when I don't tell you something, there's usually a damned good reason for it. It's for my safety as well as yours. I can't always explain and I know it seems condescending and patronising for me to say it this way but sometimes you need to trust my judgment."

"I'm not a child, Miranda," Nora said, annoyed.

"I know that, but there is a lot about what I am that you don't understand," Miranda said. "Nora, you can't immediately assume the reason I'm hiding something from you is because I'm being deceptive. I just don't want someone to try to use you against me. Some of these men are ruthless, born a long time before gender equality or even chivalry. They consider women nothing more than objects, no better than cattle. I'm trying to protect you. Something as simple as my name can put you in very serious danger."

"I don't see how that's possible. You're not even using the name now," Nora said.

"That's my point, Nora. There's a reason I'm not using the name anymore," Miranda said, losing her temper a little, "and before you ask, no I can't tell you exactly why because it would take a lifetime to explain. I don't just change names to conceal the fact that I don't age. I change names to keep myself hidden from the others. The Game is a man's world. Few female immortals live past a century, we are considered easy prey. If it was known that a four thousand year old woman was living in Wales, I would have every immortal man in Europe descending upon me."

Miranda saw the lightbulb go off over Nora's head. The remorse on her face made her look small. She looked down at her hands, folded on her lap and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't realise."

"I know you didn't, love," Miranda said. "It's why you need to trust me sometimes."

"I will. I do," Nora said and laid her hands on Miranda's. "Are you coming up?"

Miranda shook her head. "Not tonight, love."

"You're still cross with me," Nora said softly.

"No, I'm not," Miranda said, turning in her seat to cup Nora's face. "I promise, love. I'm not cross with you."

"Will I see you tomorrow?" Nora asked.

"Barring the end of the world, of course," Miranda said with a smile. "I'll stay tomorrow."

"I'll see you after you get off work then?"

Miranda nodded. "Go on, Alvin will be near bursting."

"I have something for you first," Nora laughed and reached into her back pocket. She held two small brass keys in her hands and handed them to Miranda. "For you."

"What's this for?"

Nora spread the keys and pointed to them in turn. "This one is for the front door and this one is for the flat."

"Nora…"

"Wipe that panicked look off your face, Cariad. I'm not asking you to move in. I'm just letting you know you're welcome here any time. You don't need to keep knocking and ringing the bell," Nora said, putting the keys into Miranda's hand.