The White Queen and the Witch Hunter

A/N: I'm so happy you all seem to be so interested in this story. I do apologize for taking so long to update but I've been very busy lately. Here is chapter two and I hope you all like it.

Chapter 2

Chloe and Kaulder Landed in London and Kaulder immediately decided they needed to leave quickly, earning an eye-roll from the red haired witch with him.

"You live in a big city…yet you hate cities. Does that somehow make sense in your funny little brain Kaulder?"

He ignored her, not that she expected anything else really, but she did see his lips twitch so she knew he heard her at least. As they left the city and headed out into the English countryside the car Kaulder had rented simply stopped in the middle of nowhere…literally just fields as far as they could see.

"Did you forget to put gas in it again?"

"It had a full tank when we picked it up and it's only down by half Chloe…this isn't natural."

Even as he said it Chloe felt the hairs on the back of her neck and her arms stand up in warning. She immediately tried to get out of the car but the door was stuck.

"Kaulder…the damned door won't open."

She wasn't panicking…not yet…but she was concerned. The panic set in when shadow figures surrounded the car and started overheating the engine. Kaulder cursed in several languages when the engine started smoking and caught fire. Chloe froze in fear…she hated fire and it had always terrified her, even more so recently. Kaulder managed to break his window and got out of the car, not realizing Chloe had frozen on him, and started throwing holy water at the shadow people. The things scattered, hissing at him before vanishing like a puff of smoke. Kaulder turned back to the car and realized Chloe was still sitting there, staring at the flames in front of her and not moving. He cursed again and ran to her side of the car, tearing the door completely off the frame and yanking her out before carrying her over the opposite side of a nearby hill where she couldn't see the flames.

"Hey…come on kid look at me. Chloe? Snap out of it kid…"

She finally looked at him and blinked rapidly, seeming to realize she wasn't surrounded by flames anymore, and launched herself into his strong arms. He just held her close and let her get the rest of the fear out of her system, though both of them flinched horribly when the car exploded and a tire landed about a foot away from them.

"Well…I'd say we're in the right part of the world if they're trying to kill us…right kid?"

"Yeah…she's in Ireland though…I think…it feels like it…"

"Then that's where we're headed next…but we are not taking anything mechanical."

"Then how exactly are we supposed to cross the sea from here to there?"

"I've got a plan…"

"Why do I not like the sound of that?"

His answering grin only made her more positive it was going to be something awful. By the time they finally made it to England's coast Chloe was positive she wanted to kill something. She'd never been a huge fan of walking to begin with and the distances they'd had to cover were absolutely ridiculous. Kaulder had used a payphone to call Dolan and tell him what had happened, and inform him that no more mechanical transportation would be happening. Sadly for her, Dolan agreed. Kaulder now stood next to the water's edge and laid several items in the rocky sand in a circle. Chloe watched with curiosity because it looked like a summoning ritual, but not one she'd ever seen before.

"What are you doing?"

He didn't answer her, as usual, though she suspected he was concentrating. When the water far in front of them began to swirl and churn Chloe backed up a bit and made sure she was behind Kaulder, just in case he'd summoned the wrong thing or something. What popped up had her jaw nearly hitting the ground in shock.

"Is…is that…?"

"Yeah…Chloe…meet Nessie. Yes, she's real, and no she's not dangerous. If you know how to call her properly…and what payment to give…she'll give you a ride across the water."

"Doesn't she live in the lake?"

"That's just where she goes to rest. She can leave the lake anytime she wants to."

Kaulder waited until the, admittedly gorgeous, creature lowered her head in front of them before pulling out a massive piece of meat to give her. Chloe smiled softly when Nessie nudged her gently, like a cat asking to be petted, and she gently rubbed the top of her head.

"She seems friendly enough…"

Kaulder could see Chloe was still wary so he just picked her up and sat her on Nessie's back before joining her, keeping one arm firmly wrapped around her so she wouldn't fall off…or jump off. Nessie moved fast, really fast, but Kaulder seemed to have no problem keeping them on her back. Chloe was surprised at how quickly they made it to Ireland with the ancient creature's help. Once they were off of her back Nessie nudged Chloe for another pet, which she was happy to give her, before sinking back into the water as if she'd never been there at all. Kaulder chuckled at the awe-struck look on his 'little sister's' face.

"Come on kid…let's go find that Queen of yours."

Chloe snapped out of her daze and quickly followed him…into yet another long-ass walk that she cursed about the entire time and had Kaulder laughing at her. After a few hours Chloe stopped in her tracks and closed her eyes.

"Kaulder…I can feel her…we're close."

"How close kid? Where do we need to go?"

"Over there…she's in a cave in that forest."

Kaulder looked where she was pointing and huffed softly. The forest looked ancient, which it probably was, and had a large amount of ground cover to get through. He pulled out one of his larger knives and started hacking his way through the undergrowth, Chloe following behind him and using her magic to gently nudge some of the larger branches out of his way. It took hours for them to reach the cave, and only Chloe's ability to sense it allowed them to find it at all as it was extremely well-guarded. Chloe went to step into the cave but Kaulder's arm held her back.

"Kaulder…what the hell are you doing?"

"Easy Kid…we don't if it's actually her in there or a trap of some kind. I'll go first, you keep watch until I call for you. Got it?"

"Yeah…make it quick alright?"

He could see how impatient she was getting and shook his head in mild amusement at her eagerness. As soon as he entered the cave Kaulder felt a sense of peaceful calm as a soft voice seemed to be singing somewhere ahead of him. It took a few minutes to reach the source of the singing but once he had he felt his jaw pop open a bit. He had seen her briefly when watching his old memory but she'd been surrounded by so much light he couldn't really see her clearly, but here he could see every detail and she was a stunning woman. He'd been with a lot of women over the years he'd been alive but this one was different. She looked as beautiful as any model with her long black hair falling around her in waves and her bright green eyes lit by the smile on her face, but there was an aura of light and peace around her that left him momentarily speechless.

"Hello Hunter. I am Ariande, the true Witch Queen. Welcome to my hiding place. My followers hid me here long ago to keep me safe, however, I feel it is time for me to return and set my people back on the right path. They have allowed themselves to be drawn into darkness and disarray, so I must guide them back."

Kaulder just watched the woman for several long moments before realizing that Chloe would kill him if he didn't call her back in soon. As he turned around to call for her he grunted in mild annoyance to find her standing right behind him, an awe-struck look on her face. She stepped forward, moving past him as if her weren't even there, to drop to her knees in front of the other woman.

"My Queen…my true queen. I had thought you were just a myth…a story told to us as kids to give up hope…but you're real."

The woman placed a small hand atop Chloe's head and the red head closed her eyes with a smile on her lips. The dark haired woman gave her a soft smile and spoke to her in an equally soft tone.

"Yes Chloe. I am real. I have been hiding until my strength could come back to me, but until you reached out I was unable to regain my strength. The less people believed in me the weaker I became. I am still not back to my full strength but that will come in time. Thank you Chloe, for believing in me."

"Always. I'll tell everyone I know…I'll make them believe in you too."

"They will soon…I will reveal myself to our kind and show them that I am real."

"How? You can't exactly go on TV and make an announcement…"

"No, of course not, that would be quite foolish. I was, in the past, able to briefly connect to the minds of my people in order to send important messages, such as a warning of imminent danger. I can use that to show them that I am real, but I will need to be a bit stronger first."

Kaulder just stood back, watching and listening as the two women talked as if they were old friends. It was amazing to him to see Chloe so open and friendly since she was usually very standoffish with new people. He shifted a bit in the shadows and the dark haired woman's eyes followed his movements. He couldn't help the spike of lust that went through him every time he looked at her, she was a very attractive woman after all and he was a man used to having pleasure at his fingertips. He couldn't be entirely positive but he had a sneaking suspicion that Ariande knew exactly what was going on in his head when he looked at her, and judging from the twitch her lips made he was positive that it amused her for some reason. Eventually the three left the safety of the cave and Kaulder watched Ariande blink rapidly in the bright sunlight outside.

"You'll adjust soon…been in that cave a long time haven't ya?"

"Too long…"

There was a weight in those words that Kaulder could hear and he felt a bit bad for the poor woman, having to hide from the world all this time in order to be safe. He had to fight back a sudden urge to hold and comfort her, an urge he couldn't understand as it was not usually his way of handling things. He only comforted Chloe when something really freaked her out and terrified her, not that she often needed or wanted comforting anyway but that was beside the point.

"Come on ladies…we've got a long walk ahead of us."

"Where are we heading now Kaulder? If we can't use mechanical means of travel because of those things…then how are we going to get home?"

"I can help with that. In ancient times there was a system of portals set up around the world, all anyone had to do was draw the appropriate circle in the center and stand in while picturing their destination in their minds. I know the one on the British Island is still standing."

"Wait…you mean Stonehenge? That place is a portal?"

"That was the original purpose for it yes. Now it is simply an ancient relic no one understands. I still know it's secrets so we can use that to transport directly to your home."

"Convenient…"

Ariande gave Kaulder a little smirk at his statement and moved to the front to lead them, much to his irritation. When they reached the edge of the sea Chloe was surprised to find Nessie already waiting for them. Ariande walked up and the large creature seemed to just melt against her, making these adorable crooning sounds. Ariande gave Chloe a little smile and decided to explain Nessie's reaction to her.

"She remembers me, even after all this time. I raised her. She was the only egg left from the last mated pair of her kind. The female died laying her batch of eggs and the male followed her into death, unable to remain in this world without his mate. They mate for life, and only ever have one partner, and they can't die from old age either. The rest of the eggs had been picked apart by animals but I found one underneath the rest and carried it home. I tended to it until it hatched and I raised the little baby until she could fend for herself. She is every bit as beautiful as I remember."

Kaulder let them have their moment. It was kind of adorable, even if he'd never admit that out loud, and Chloe seemed to be enjoying herself as she joined in on the petting. Eventually he felt that it would be wise to move on.

"Time to go ladies. We need to keep moving."

"Of course, Hunter. Come Chloe, let's move on."

The three climbed onto Nessie's back, Chloe clinging to her neck with a big grin on her face. Ariande was sitting behind Chloe and Kaulder climbed on behind her. He hesitated for a few moments but eventually wrapped an arm around Ariande's waist, smirking a bit when she leaned back into him slightly. They made it to Britain's coast in a short amount of time and thanked Nessie for the ride, giving her some more attention in the process of course. It was a long hike to Stonehenge and they had to spend the night in a small hotel, all three of them crammed into one room, and one large bed. Kaulder groaned softly but he knew they couldn't separate into two rooms, not with the threat of those shadow creatures, so he just had to suck it up and deal with it. The two women were quick to crawl under the covers and Chloe dropped into dreamland almost immediately. Kaulder let out a soft chuckle at the sight.

"She's not fond of walking much…or exercise in general really."

"Hunter…"

"Kaulder. My name, is Kaulder."

"Very well then…Kaulder…you should come and get some sleep as well. We have a long walk ahead of us tomorrow if we wish to reach the henge before nightfall."

"I know."

"Then why do you hesitate? I won't bite…at least not with Chloe nearby."

Kaulder snorted slightly and gave the woman a much different smirk than his usual one as he walked to her side of the bed and bent down, an arm on either side of her head as he loomed over her. He pitched his voice low and let it rumble from deep inside his chest, smirking wider at the shiver it sent through her.

"Is that an invitation little Queen? Do you have any idea what kind of fire you're playing with?"

"Oh I have an idea of what lurks within you Kaulder…and that is very much an invitation. I've been alone for a long time Kaulder…a very long time. However, as I said before…not with Chloe nearby…but once we're alone…"

Kaulder growled softly at her words as she arched up into him for a moment. She was definitely playing with fire but he couldn't deny he was very interested. She was right though, he couldn't do anything with Chloe nearby, it would be entirely too awkward for all of them really, so he settled in behind Ariande, wrapping an arm around her waist as they joined the red head in dreamland. He told himself the arm was to make sure he'd know if any of the shadow creatures tried to get to her in the night but he honestly just wanted to feel her against him and he was sure she knew it too.