Home Again

[Igraine]

Igraine grinned as the shores of Ulster loomed. There were huge cliffs, waves crashing and roaring against them as they had for centuries upon centuries. Green, gods but everything was green and alive. The world, her world, was reflected in her beautiful green eyes. Igraine's eyes were, if Thorin were to take the time to notice, the exact shade of green of her homeland.

"Home..." she whispered. Thorin would hear the longing in her voice where no one else would. He would understand, possibly, her yearning to be back on her own soil. She hoped that he would enjoy being here, in this rich fertile world that was as old as time itself. She felt a deep sense of jittery excitement in her bones and she practically vibrated with it.

"Oh Thorin, isn't it beautiful?" They would make port in Emain Macha. In the distance he would be able to see the grand castle that was hers. Everything he looked at was hers, so to speak. "I always forget how much I miss this place until I'm gone."

When the boat docked there was more than a little chaos as everyone got their things together and Aiden oversaw the removal of the horses from the belly of the ship. Aiden nodded his consent to Thorin's demands and sauntered off the ship, hooking a rather fine young woman around the waist and laying a long kiss on her. It was his wife, Ashlyn. He hadn't spoken of her, but then again no one had really asked him, now had they?

Igraine smiled as she watched Aiden kiss his wife. "He's a good man. They all are." She spoke with Arthur and instructed him to procure a bag of gold to compensate the Captain and crew for their haste and discretion. "Once you're done with that, get them a cargo from McGruder. He always has something he wants to sell and it's usually linens."

Igraine took Thorin by the hand and walked down the gang plank to the dock. She was immediately swarmed by Council members and her chamberlain. The man held a clipboard with papers piled thick awaiting her attention and signature.

"Everyone, everyone please. We have plenty of time to discuss Kingdom matters but this is neither the time nor the place for such activities." Igraine walked through her councilors with Thorin grasped tightly by the hand. She was glad to find that her Chamberlain had seen to it that her carriage was ready to take them to the castle. She climbed in and motioned for Thorin to sit next to her. She sighed when the Chamberlain hopped onto the back of the carriage as it was taking off. He spoke through the back window to her.

"Mistress, really we have so much to get caught up on. You were in Xexoria longer than we had planned..." Igraine shook her head and looked up at Thorin with a laugh.

"Blackburn, I have been rude. I would like you to meet Thorin, my acknowledged lover. In fact, I would be amiss if I didn't refer to him as my Fiance, isn't that right darling?" Igraine squeezed Thorin's hand and smiled.

Blackburn paled a little looking at Thorin. The man was big, strong, almost certainly a warrior. How on earth had their sweet and gentle Queen found him? He looked like he cleaned up well, and if she was seriously considering marrying him then he probably had good breeding. He had potential to be a King of Ulster, he certainly looked like he could handle any problem that might plague the Queen.

"I apologize for not introducing myself. My name is Gavin Blackburn, Chamberlain and personal advisor of the Queen Igraine." He hastily reached through the small opening in the back of the carriage to shake Thorin's hand. If the Queen admired him, he must be amazing because her taste in people had yet to fail to impress.

It was a five minute ride to the castle and when they were out of the carriage, Igraine turned to Thorin -- ignoring Blackburn entirely.

"Welcome home..."

[Thorin]

Thorin was overwhelmed by the people swarming Igraine, for a moment, he almost reached for his blade. He felt judged by only a handful of her people there. The one that approached them, intimidated him momentarily, until he reached out to shake his hand. Removing his hand from the blade, he introduced himself to the man. “I'm Thorin Xanathi, son of Isabella Xanathi.” He said, wondering if his mother's name had any bearing here. If mentioning her name helped, maybe that would ease the feeling of judgment being placed upon him.

Bowing to Gavin Blackburn, he hoped he had made a decent impression. Thorin had only spoken a few words and he was still trying to get his footing in a new world. He had spent months on a ship, so it was a relief being on solid ground.

He had been distracted by the exchanges being made by the men and the Captain. When he heard her directly call him her Fiance', he only agreed. Maybe he should have had more enthusiasm, but the journey had taken its toll on him. Being in his form without any blood or flesh, had cost him his energy and good senses.

“We need to press forward, if I'm going to meet Isabella with a sound mind.” Thorin said to her, wanting Gavin to see that he acknowledged her. “If you have to take care of your business, then at least let me find some nourishment.” He said, wondering how her court would take to the sight of a demon feasting on flesh.

[Igraine]

Blackburn hovered around the pair until they reached the grand double doors made of heavy Ulsterian oak. He was prattling on about one treaty after another and Igraine gave him her ear, her gaze cast down at her feet as she thought through what the man was saying.

"Gavin, make sure that Thorin gets whatever he needs to eat. We still have travelling to do if I am to bring him to his mother and mine." Gavin swallowed visibly, wondering if the Queen's fiance might snap him in half if he got anything wrong. Gavin wasn't a big man, he was quite thin and resembled a little field mouse with his long nose and big brown eyes. The man cared deeply about his Queen though and it was apparant in his eyes and his demeanor when he bowed smartly to her. The last thing anyone wanted was Kahlan Lothair coming back pissed off that her daughter wasn't being respected or taken care of, much less the son of the infamous Isabella Xanathi...

"As you wish, Mistress. Come Thorin, I'll bring you to the kitchens. I would bring you to the dining hall but the cooks would be apt to bring entirely too much food and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable sitting alone in such a large hall." Gavin prattled on as he took Thorin by the arm gently. He felt the man's muscles and paled a little. Goodness but the man was strong and Gavin felt proud, suddenly, that his Queen had found such a great strong protector.

Gavin escorted Thorin into the kitchens which were bustling and very large. Cooks were running one way and another, all very much aware that the High Queen was back in residence and that there would need to be a large meal soon. The Courtiers had returned to the Castle shortly before her arrival and the gossip was already rampant that the Queen had a lover. Indeed word was that he was a giant with fire for eyes and snakes for hair!

The bustle stopped briefly as Gavin and Thorin stepped in from the hallway. Gavin motioned for Thorin to sit at a nearby counter.

"You there, head cook, this is Thorin Xanathi -- son of Dowager Queen Isabella Xanathi Rivenfelde of Xexoria. He is the acknowledged lover and Fiance of our esteemed High Queen. Bring him whatever he wants. I believe he'll probably require an exceptional piece of rare meat, isn't that right Master Thorin?" Gavin knew a half demon when he saw one -- and he knew that most of the offspring of Isabella Rivenfelde and her daughter Caela Xanathi were part demon and in need of extra special dietary provisions. He hadn't become Chamberlain and Advisor to the Queen for no reason at all.

The kitchen erupted into a frenzy of organized chaos as people scrambled to fill the orders of the Chamberlain while casting looks at Thorin. He was a large man surely, but his eyes didn't look like they were made of fiery coals. However he was the son of Isabella Rivenfelde Xanathi that had to make him extraordinary.

"Here you are Master Thorin. A very lightly seared beef shank just to take the chill off and get the blood flowing nicely. You also look like you could use some liquid courage..." The head cook turned and filled a huge tankard full to the brim with ale and he sat it down next to Thorin's plate. "If you require anything else don't hesitate to ask, we're all quite happy to meet you and serve you." The portly man grinned and bustled off, yelling at some lesser cooks to get the stew on the fire and to quit dallying with the scullery maids.

"I will stay with you while the Queen gets prepared for your journey to the Faery Realm." Gavin smiled and took a seat near Thorin, but not too close. He didn't want to seem as if he were crowding the man whom was being thrust into this obviously new way of life.

Igraine sighed as she rounded the corner and found some of her advisors huddled around her office doors. She pressed her fingertips hard against her temples and then forced herself to relax. The problems of a Kingdom were ever present, regardless of what the Ruler had to do.

"Gentlemen..." Igraine inclined her head at her advisors "Ladies..." There were two females on the council and thus in the high families of Ulster and they couldn't be entirely ignored. "I am home for no longer than a half hour and already there are problems?"

"My lady..." A man stepped forward and kissed her outstretched hand. "The problem is that you have denied us your presence for far too long. We hear that you have found a lover and are taking his offer of marriage seriously." One of her head courtiers of course sucking up to her.

"The rumors are true. I am engaged to Prince Thorin Xanathi, son of Isabella Rivenfelde Xanathi. In fact, I have a limited amount of time because we are leaving again soon to obtain the council of my mother and his. So, if you will excuse me, all of the issues of the Court will have to wait until I return. I won't be gone long, and you can all entertain me with stories when I return."

Igraine cut them all short by entering her office and shutting the door behind her. She leaned heavily on the door and rubbed her temples. She went quickly to her desk, which had been her mother's desk, and felt for the secret compartment that held a special key made from the wood of a white oak tree. It was smooth in her hands and she brought it to her lips and kissed it. It was warm to the touch though no one had touched it in at least a year.

It was her personal key to the Faerie Realm, used only when she had need to bring someone with her. She was very excited to bring Thorin to the place she regarded as her home, where she grew up. There was so much she would be able to show him.

With added excitement she realized that they would have a long lifetime together for her to show him everything that she held dear in her heart.

[Thorin]

Thorin finished his meal, befor Gavin could finish his introduction. He had been away on a ship for months, before setting foot here. He had been practically starving, basically eating average food to sustain himself. Thorin could feel his energy returning and some of his patience. While the man meant well, he preferred his solitude. He wanted to wander the grounds and he doubted many would cause him trouble.

Gavin left him, not wanting to argue with a demon. Even though the man knew their habits, it was another matter to upset their good nature. He was lucky to have met Thorin in the mood he was in, or he would have seen another side to the man.

Thorin watched Gavin leave his side, sighing from all that he had consumed. While the meat helped, it wasn't the same, as something slaughtered fresh and by his own hands- but it was better than nothing at the moment.

He could feel the anxiousness rising from Igraine. Thorin wanted to find her, searching the rooms for his fiance'. In his mind, he was nervous, suddenly seeing her as a different woman. Her people respected her and saw her as a true Queen. He suddenly felt foolish for his behavior on the ship, now understanding what she had meant.

Thorin went down the hallway and stopped in front of one of the rooms. He could hear movement, the excitable emotions coming from Igraine. Opening the door, he shut it behind them and locked it casually- he was sure that she could predict his intentions by now.

He went over to her and embraced her tightly, never-minding the object she had been admiring. “I don't know how you stand those people- I might have to kill a wandering guard. That meat barely helped...I need fresh blood.” Thorin nibbled on her neck and let his hand wander inappropriately. It didn't hurt to create more rumors in the kingdom.

[Igraine]

Igraine laughed and looked over at Thorin laying next to her on the floor. There would be plenty of rumors around these two. Then again, her mother had never had a lover so long or so ardent as this. This had the trappings of true love and that was something that Kahlan had only felt twice and had lost twice.

"Are you ready to go see your mother?" Igraine propped herself up on her elbow and touched Thorin's face gently with her fingertips. She was completely in awe of him, just as he seemed to be completely in awe of her. She knew she was an anomaly to him, something that he didn't completely understand. Igraine laughed again and pulled her clothes back into some semblance of order. She was definitely okay with being a mystery for him.

Using the desk to pull herself up, Igraine looked for the key she had been holding when Thorin distracted her. She found it under the desk and snatched it up and tucked it in her pocket for safe keeping. Her eyes darted to Thorin and she smiled for what seemed the hundredth time in the past hour or two they had been together.

Igraine plucked at Thorin's frilly shirt and grinned. "We really need to get you into a more...modern outfit when we return. My seamstresses are the best in Ulster and will have an outfit put together before dinner in the great hall." Igraine smoothed out Thorin's shirt over his chest and abs before looking up at him with a smile. She didn't know how or why she had been blessed with this sort of luck in love -- but she wasn't about to give him up.

"When we enter the realm you have to remember to stay close to me. If you're with me then you won't be seen as a threat and they won't kill you. There are magicks there that you can't understand as a demon, and they would just as soon look at you as kill you. Oh, and before I forget..." Igraine turned to her desk and rummaged through one of the drawers before pulling out a long silver chain with a little bottle attached to the end. Inside the bottle there looked to be a few lavender buds and some tigers eye and a little turquoise. She walked over to Thorin and hooked the necklace around his neck and tucked it inside his shirt.

"A good luck charm, of sorts. It will allow you to be seen and felt among the Fae as a man of good will. It will make you seem more like an insider versus an outsider. Plus a little good luck never hurt anybody." Igraine smiled and took Thorin by the hand. "Okay, let's go."

It was a relatively long walk to where they had to go, down through cellars and basements of cellars, and into the bedrock of the cliff which the castle stood. All in all it took about an hour's worth of taking ladders and steep steps ever downward until they could barely see in front of their faces, much less beyond the safe circle cast by the torchlight.

Gradually the tunnel would level out and there would be an increase in ambient light, but it was green like sunlight shining through a canopy of leaves in the summer. When the light got bright enough to see by Igraine ditched the torch in a stone cistern filled with water. She held onto Thorin because the ground was slick with a green slime. As they rounded the last corner the light brightened the whole room and Thorin would notice that into the bedrock had been carved a huge tree. It was so intricately carved that it looked as if someone had painted a tree to look like a stone. The details were so fine that the leaves themselves had veins and there were small birds perched on some of the higher branches. From somewhere high above was the origin of the green glow, making it seem even more like sun filtering through leaves.

Igraine had always loved this room from the very first moment her mother had brought her here. She had spent hours down here when she was younger, studying the whole room for as far and as high as she could get. She knew how real everything seemed and how it felt to the touch. She walked over to the trunk of the tree and ran her hand over the stone bark until she found the key hole. She dug around in her pocket and pulled out the key. She slipped the key into the keyhole and turned. There would be the distant sigh of a breeze and the sweet smell of flowers . A blast of warm air would fill the large room and the light would turn a more golden hue than green. Igraine pushed the door open and turned to Thorin and held her hand out.

"Whatever you do, whatever you hear, as you enter this door do not let go of my hand. The Seelie Court may be considered good compared to the Unseelie Court but they are no less tricky when it comes to blood they don't recognize. Stay with me. Look into my eyes..." Igraine stepped backward into the doorway which was as gold as the sun on a deep summer afternoon. She kept her emerald green eyes on Thorin's eyes and she held his hands as tightly as she could.

Igraine wasn't going to lose Thorin, not before she could prove to the Faerie Realm that he was good, that he wasn't like most demons.

[Thorin]

The blinding light caught him off guard, but he didn't have time to react and turn away from its glare. The scents made him dizzy, overwhelmed with a new conscious. Thorin held onto her hands, more terrified of this realm, than any other- it was like a new poison for a demon. In his mind, he wondered how his father had crossed such a realm, without any irreparable damage.

When he stepped through with her, his sight was blinded, but it was not darkness he saw. In his crazed mind, he could see Igraine, but it didn't pose itself as the true Igraine. Regardless, his mind wanted to believe it was her and he began to stray. This phantom Igraine attempted to seduce him, kissing him and even embracing him. To the real Igraine, it would appear as if he had gone mad- she wouldn't see what he was seeing.

The creature whispered darkened lies about Igraine, explaining that another life was growing in the woman he loved. It attempted to convince him, that Igraine had left him for another, that she was simply bringing him to his fate.

It could be true...she's had many men in her court.

You are a demon. Why would a Queen want a demon's love, or their child? She is here to personally see your demise.

Laughter filled his head, with the scene of Igraine with another man. Thorin let the madness fill his mind, his conscious no longer his. It would take the power of Igraine to convince him of the real truths. He could feel his power draining, the nymph accomplishing her duty to their realm.

He muttered, feeling his heart break from the images and the fact she carried another man's child. “Whore...” Thorin muttered, blinded by the nymphs magick. Igraine would feel his grip lessen, his weakness becoming more apparent. He no longer focused on her eyes, but the eyes of a phantom Igraine.

[Igraine]

Igraine could hear what Thorin saw, but she couldn't see it. She could feel his heart break at what he heard and a tear slid down her cheek for his pain. He hadn't been expecting the worst, but there was no way to prepare someone for this kind of torment.

When the nymph started spewing darker lies and sucking at Thorin's power, Igraine let out a gutteral wolf like snarl. Holding onto Thorin hard with her left hand she lifted her right straight out toward the area of brightness that Thorin was staring into.

"Leave him be." Thorin would feel a change in pressure, like his ears wanted to pop, and a change in temperature. Igraine's power wrapped itself around Thorin and cut the images of the phantom Igraine from his sight. She gave him one massive tug, nearly upending him off his feet, and pulled him completely into the Faerie Realm.

Igraine didn't reach out and touch Thorin, or try to make any sudden movements other than to let his arm go. She looked around herself, taking in the rich scents of the soil beneath her feet and the sweet warmth of the ever present sun beyond the trees. She bent down and removed her shoes and set them near a tree, chosing to be barefoot in this realm that had raised her. She knew every inch of the realm and the creatures seemed to call out to her, rising in pitch and clamor as she neared the treeline. She turned to look at Thorin, looking soft, real, and carefree -- unlike any other time he had seen her outside of the bedroom.

"You may believe what you want, but you know that my virgin blood was yours. It's in your pocket even now. I can feel it from here. In this realm it has more power than you could ever imagine. We should go before darkness falls. The village where our mother's reside isn't far from here."

Igraine pointed to the trail that would lead them to the settlement and turned and began walking toward it. He would follow only because he wanted to see his mother. At this point she wasn't sure he was ready to believe she was real. Now that he had passed into the realm he would not be plagued by the Nymphs unless they wanted to suffer Igraine's wrath -- and none of them wanted that.

It was a short five minute walk to the settlement built into the trees. Igraine gave a call like a wild animal and a doorway was opened in a huge tree trunk. She waited quietly for Thorin to enter as well before closing the door behind them and motioning to the stairs used to climb to the canopy. Once they were at the top she stopped a hauntingly beautiful white haired woman with pointy features and what looked like wheat grass for hair. She directed them to the nearest canopy to find their mother's, whom were together that afternoon.

"Mother..." Igraine breathed and knew that her mother would know she was here.

"Igraine...my dove, what brings you to this realm? Surely you don't miss your mother that much." Kahlan's voice was rich and sultry, and so heart breakingly real that Igraine had a tough time sucking up a sob of relief. She turned to the sound of the voice and wrapped her arms around her mother and rested her head against her chest. She had always loved the comfort of her mother's arms and the sound of her steady beating heart. This heart had seen the rise and fall of nations, the birth and death of thousands upon thousands of races, and had given her all the comfort a mother could give.

"Oh, Igraine, my heart -- what's the matter?" Kahlan folded her daughter into her arms and cast a knowing blue green gaze on Thorin. "You are a Son of Xanathi blood. I can smell your father on you."

"Xanathi blood? Kahlan, are you sure? Trydian hasn't been to this realm in so...." Isabella's voice was heady, rich, and throaty. She wandered up beside Kahlan and Igraine and stared at Thorin for a good minute before she stepped closer to him.

"Roen Xanathi, I can say with a gladness in my heart that you look nothing like your father. Thank the gods for humoring that request while I carried you in my womb." Isabella was tall as Thorin would remember her, but she had a harder edge of beauty about her -- almost like an ice queen. She was regal and thoroughly in control of the situation with her long lost son. The last time he had seen her was after she had died giving birth to Caela.

"I trust you have met your sister Caela. How is she faring? The children Trydian and Sebilla? We thought you were dead after so long." She neglected to mention how she wasn't dead, she simply stood near her son without touching him. She wore a turquoise robe that played off her eyes and warmed her tanned features and long chesnut brown hair. She looked like a legendary Queen standing among the Faeries and Elves and other strange creatures of this realm she now called home.

"What I want to know is how you found your half sister, Son." Kahlan spoke, her fiery blonde hair melding with her daughter's hair as she stood with her, one arm wrapped around her slender waist.

"Wait...what?" Igraine spoke and stared at Kahlan and then Isabella. "Who's half sister?"

[Thorin]

Thorin was speechless. He glared toward his mother and the woman speaking to him. It was Igraine's mother, but he didn't exactly welcome her company. The fact that they could be half brother and sister, disgusted him, but it wouldn't have been surprising. Turning to Isabella, he was shocked to see her, let alone hear her voice, that had once been a comfort to him.

This place made him remember unpleasant memories-a time when he betrayed his mother and father during a war. He had gone to the other side, hoping for an easy win, not knowing the outcome that would ensue from his choice. Thorin could see the joy and pain in Isabella's eyes, but he didn't feel a desire to comfort her as a son should.

Turning toward Igraine, he glared at her one last time, idly glancing at her midsection. Acknowledging Isabella's questions and concerns, he responded- albeit harshly.

“They are surviving....” Thorin said, looking his mother up and down. Her beauty hadn't changed, in fact, he couldn't see any flaws. “... but not as well as their mother.” He felt electrified by being in their presence and finally having a word on their past and their present situation.

If he and Igraine were truly siblings, he shouldn't be so surprised. “I guess I'm keeping up with my father's tradition. He didn't like the power leaving the family.” Shrugging, he went to sit down, noting that one of the guards must have taken his blade while he was in a haze. They were smart, not that he would have attacked his own mother, or Kahlan. He must have inherited his mother's intelligence. Thorin wouldn't let his anger overcome his senses in a realm like this.

Still disturbed by the recent events with the nymph, he sat away from Igraine and kept his focus on his mother. “We came for your blessing and Kahlan's blessing. We are getting married.” Folding his arms, he might look apprehensive, but he was still trying to grasp the reality he was in. Making sure that Igraine understood his intentions, he decided to be blunt about their relations. “Even if we are half brother and sister, I want her for my own.”

Thorin watched them, wondering what their private thoughts were. These women had both been with his father. It couldn't be an easy situation for them to grasp. If Kahlan and Isabella denied them, he would continue without them- he didn't need their permission, but he wondered about Igraine. Igraine was tied to this realm through blood.

Looking toward his mother, he had completely ignored his past actions. He should apologize, but what good would come of it now? So many years had passed. Thorin hoped that she would see he had changed.

[Igraine]

"You are your father's son." Isabella spoke as Thorin brushed past her. Her turquoise eyes settled on him, taking in his features and seeing the son she had given so much of herself for. If he looked close enough when she moved he would see the scar on her shoulder where he'd accidently shot her with an arrow under Vylrath's tutelage. She had suffered so much for love of this son, this man.

"Igraine..." Kahlan was trying to snap her daughter out of the shock she was in. "Igraine listen, I understand the pull of the Xanathi blood. It's okay, you didn't know -- you couldn't have known. We thought Roen was dead. Igraine!" Kahlan caught her daughter in her arms as the girl fainted cold. She lifted her daughter in her arms and brought her the short distance to where she lived, disappearing inside with Thorin's half sister.

"You could have at least tried to be nice. You aren't the only one shocked that your father couldn't keep his pants zipped. Well, let me rephrase that, Igraine had no idea that Vylrath had a son because you were never mentioned after he banished you." Isabella pushed her hair back from her face and looked at Thorin. There was a faint hint of Vylrath in the cut of his jaw and the line of his nose. He was a more handsome and well built version of his father, if anything.

"You may want her, but it is up to her if she wants you. You are a Prince of Xexoria but she is the Queen of Ulster and she can still deny you. You aren't married. Treat her well if you want to keep her, she's going to take this hard, and she will take your heart -- she's a Fae, Roen. She may not mean to but she can break you, just as your father tried to break me." Bella let her hand linger across her abdomen, remembering the birth of her only daughter and she sighed. Caela was born early, right after Vylrath had been hurt in the war created by Thorin and some other upstart that she couldn't remember the name of any longer.

Isabella caught the scorn on Thorin's face as he took her in, seeing how well she was and how healthy she looked.

"What? Surprised I'm not a haggard bitch? Your father infected me with a blood curse before he died. I am a Vuri, like your sister Caela. There are things that have changed about me, and I am here for the safety of humanity more than my own safety." Her eyes lingered on her son and she smirked, which in itself was strangely beautiful. "I am a monster, Roen. I have far less control over myself, and your sister has been adept at surviving change and loss -- she should be since Trydian, her son, is your father's offspring as well. Sebilla was lucky to be sired by a simple human man."

Isabella walked over to where Thorin sat and looked down at him, taking a stance she had when he was but a boy and she was teaching him -- he would find it a natural memory. "Your father ruined lives, do you want to be the reason that Igraine has regret? Quit being an ass and do yourself a service by making sure she's okay. Make sure she still wants you and can't live without you. She may be your half sister, but if you two love each other that will change the outcome of this family's history. Instead of lust and hate and fear you can build on love and understanding."

Giving up on lecturing her son, Isabella turned and walked toward the house that Kahlan had disappeared into. She peeked inside and stepped in, closing the door behind her.

"How is she?" Bella rested a hand on Kahlan's shoulder as she watched an elvish woman press a cool cloth on Igraine's forehead. She was still out cold.

"She's taking this very hard. It isn't easy to find out that the man you've fallen in love with is your brother -- though I suspect Trydian and Sebilla are destined for that path. It would be a turn around for your family, wouldn't it?"

"I was saying the same to my son. He needs to forgive himself and forgive her. She was innocent until he met her."

"Her blood is mixed with his, I can feel it when I touch her. She must have a reason to have drank his blood. We will find out when she wakes, which I hope is soon because she needs to deal with this and not ignore it."

Kahlan sat in a chair near the bed within sight of the front door, watching for Thorin. Waiting. He could die as easily as his father if he did the wrong thing. Very easily.

[Thorin]

Thorin stood up, meeting her eyes that would always haunt his memory. “Our family has never been nice to one another. I'm only here for Igraine- not our relationship.” he said, instantly regretting his choice of words. He could see her anger flare as quick as his father's. It made sense why they had been together for so long.

When Kahlan took Igraine, he felt a desire to follow, but was pulled back by Isabella's words. She mentioned the Vuri curse, something he had never known about. In all of his time being here, he was more shocked to learn that Trydian was also his brother and child to Caela and Vylrath. Thorin began to hate his own blood. He regretted sharing his blood with Igraine, even if it had saved her life. Pacing in front of Isabella, he clenched his fists. He would never attack his mother, but the lecture made his temper rise.

“Do you want to know why I betrayed you? I didn't want to be apart of something that involved my father...even if it could have been victory. I would have rather died, then support anything created by him.” Thorin yelled, not fearing for his life. He could feel the power in the place, the intoxicating force that pulled them all together in the realm.

He always thought of his mother as weak. She had been keeping herself hidden, away from humanity. If she had been thinking of the plight in Xexoria, she wasn't doing her duty- their homeland was in ruins, most of their people suffering. She was being cowardly in his eyes.

Thorin fumed, watching her leave. Interestingly enough, his strength returned, his anger being the core manipulator. Following his mother, he entered the room, but not as quietly as he had hoped. Thorin was sure that his current state wouldn't go unnoticed.

“I had her drink some of my blood, or she would have died without it.” He turned to Isabella, purposely targeting her. “Would father have done the same for you? If I remember correctly, he let you bleed to death.” The memory of his mother's death came flooding back, but only in a fleeting moment. Going to Igraine, he kneeled by her and tried waking her up. He was sure that she would feel the pull of his anger and be consumed.

“Wake up Igraine...we're getting out of here.” Thorin could live without his blade, but he couldn't live without Igraine. If he had to fight against his own mother, he doubted he would survive.

[Igraine]

Isabella rolled her eyes and reached down to her son and grabbed him by the back of his shirt. She hauled him to his feet with very little effort, part of her power as a First Generation Vuri. Her turquoise eyes peered down at Igraine as she stirred, called by Thorin's heated blood.

"You came to us. Behave, or I won't be the only problem you have." Isabella felt Kahlan rise to her feet and walk silently to where her daughter was waking finally. Bella kept her grasp firmly on her son, letting her fingers brush the hot skin on the back of his neck. Oh he was pissed, and she was enjoying that energy coursing through him. Her thoughts turned darker, her eyes darkening from a bright turquoise to a darker moodier color.

"Isabella, he's not going to hurt her. He loves her too much. You can let him go. Besides..." Kahlan turned to where Thorin was being held like a petulant child by his own mother. "He can die faster by my hand than by yours. I have no emotional attachment to him, and my daughter will survive his loss." Kahlan's eyes flashed silver and Thorin might get a glimpse of expansive white and black flecked wings, before they would both disappear. Kahlan was deadly when provoked. This woman had caused the death of no fewer than fifteen monarchies and had led men into wars that had taken the world to the brink of distaster and back. She made Isabella seem like an unruly child, this fallen angel.

"Mother, stop." Igraine was standing next to Kahlan, leaning heavily on her outstretched arm. "We're adults and we can handle this. Thorin is doing his best to protect me from the Unseelie King. He's back. He's trying to trap me. The best guess I can muster is that he wants me on his side so he can tip the balance of this realm in his favor."

Igraine sat back on the edge of the bed and held her head in her hands. She felt sick to her stomach with all of this drama and all of the power swirling in the room. Not to mention that she was engaged to her own half brother, no matter how far removed they had been from one another.

"Well, at least she can stick up for you." Isabella let Thorin go and dared him to challenge her. She bared her teeth and crossed her arms. "Your father hated me for coddling you as a boy. Your father let me die because he was too much of a coward to try to stop the bleeding. He picked up and left the Kingdom and raised Caela in a shack. Trydian was not willingly concieved, Roen. In fact, Caela was not a pregnancy that I had willed for myself. Your father was an ass, Roen. Just because you couldn't involve yourself with your father doesn't mean that any of the women in his life were willing participants either. I do believe Kahlan was the only one that willingly lured him to her bed more than once."

Kahlan laughed and shook her head. "I have to admit I did. Granted my legacy preceeded me and he died as so many of my lovers have before him."

These women were dangerous and slightly unhinged perhaps, but being as they had ruled and dealt with Vylrath it was to be expected when they discussed him. Isabella pointed at Igraine and pushed her son in her general direction. She hoped she didn't push him so hard that he went flying, but that remained to be seen.

"We'll leave you two alone to talk things through. You have our blessing in anything that you wish to do." Kahlan spoke, gathering her white robe around her and hooking Isabella's arm, practically dragging her out of the house along with the shocked elvish woman that had been taking care of Igraine.

Igraine settled back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, not really chosing to ignore Thorin or acknowledge him.

[Thorin]

He felt the painful grip by his mother, his eyes watching Igraine. When she spoke for him, he smirked. Maybe she was only using him as a weapon after all- she had been so helpless without him before. Thorin cringed each time his mother referred to him as Roen- the name they had blessed him with, in the beginning.

Thorin listened to their families history, feeling some sympathy for his mother. For a moment, he envied his father's strength. He had been strong enough to bring ruin to an entire country, in a short amount of time. It wasn't just the lives he had destroyed, but the method in which he had destroyed them. It was almost admirable for a madman.

In the past, he hadn't wanted to be like that person, but those thoughts were quickly shifting into darker paths. He stood up and rubbed the back of his neck, only bothered by her sheer strength. Looking toward Kahlan, he decided to explain their bond in greater detail. “I can control how she feels. We control each others fate. If I die, she will suffer.” Thorin began to think outloud, wanting to take control of the situation. He listened to Igraine explain the Unseelie King, not knowing how deep that history was.

Thorin wasn't as weak as his mother perceived him to be- he stumbled, catching himself. He was beginning to understand why his father often left his women unattended. They would drive any sane man to the brink of insanity.

He looked toward Igraine, who only ignored his existence. “Fine. Ignore me...but I can either be like my father, or the Thorin you knew before all of this. I don't think you want to see that side of me.” He paused, wanting to see her reaction and hoped that she understood. Thorin didn't like the idea of being violent toward her, but there was only so much he could take. With the other two women in the other room, he wondered how much they could hear. He decided to speak in a calmer voice and try to reason.

Thorin sat on the edge of the bed, his nerves finally calming down. He had been overwhelmed with the sight of his mother and the fact they were siblings. If he had to give her an ultimatum, he decided to be as harsh as possible. “You can either be safe with me, or be in the hands of a man that is probably a mirror image of my father.” Shrugging, he continued. “Either way, you are tied to me by blood and not just by my own. You will never escape me, like you escape him.”

[Igraine]

The two mother's had left the house so they didn't hear much of anything that went on. Igraine on the other hand fought with herself for a moment before looking at Thorin. Her eyes looked ancient and she looked tired and weak. He was wrong if he thought that only he had been drained while going between the realms. She wasn't used to having to fight her own people off of someone she loved -- she had been through shock and she hated that she felt so weak sitting here next to him.

"Don't threaten me. If I die you will suffer." Igraine mimicked his words and his tone and leveled her gaze on him. "You know what..." She shoved herself out of the bed and raked her fingers through her hair. "You know what, screw you. You can't just come in here and expect me to agree to let you be like my father...YOUR father. You can't just expect me to roll over and accept your every little demand. I can't believe you..." She threw her hands up in the air and sat down heavily next to him.

"I hate you, but I love you. I can't stop the way I feel about you and if you would feed me to the Unseelie King for want of attention then I can't stop you. You irritate the hell out of me and I can't stand being around you when you're like this. I get that this is a lot for you to digest, but for the gods' sake can you get your head out of your own ass for five seconds? I am a living, breathing, functioning adult with thoughts and feelings too. You can't treat me like baggage or you really are no better than our father." Igraine bent over and rested her head in her lap, clutching her head, trying to press the headache out of her skull.

"You see what he's done to them. How could you want to be like that? How could you want to do that to me?" Igraine felt sick again and just kept her head in her lap, breathing in and out evenly, trying to keep the panic down. She couldn't believe that Thorin would just throw her to the wolves. She wouldn't believe that. Thorin would be able to feel her shaking she was so close to him. He would be able to feel that her head was hurting so badly that it was making her sick. She had expended more power than she had intended to and now she was paying for it. It wasn't just fending off the nymphs, it was getting into the realm, keeping a protective ward up on Thorin -- marking him as her charge, the fight between Thorin and their respective mothers, and the emotional shock of finding out the man she loved was her older (oldest...?) half brother. She was quickly losing her hold on the power she had wrapped around her to keep her calm.

Thorin would feel that she just wanted to pass out and forget the pain. He might think she was weak but she was the reason he was still alive, regretful as he may think it to be.

[Thorin]

Thorin stood his ground, knowing the ancient women were in the other room. He felt dizzy himself, but he didn't give Igraine the pleasure of seeing him disoriented again. There were no words to say, not after everything that had been shared and revealed. This was a moment of revelation and trials. Sitting down beside her, he could see her weakness becoming more relevant. Her body sagged, her strength fading with the spark he had fallen in love with.

If this was how they were going to be, then he didn't want any part of it. She could keep her kingdom and worry about the Unseelie King herself. Thorin didn't need anymore burdens. After speaking with his mother, he felt as though he had literally disturbed the dead. Maybe he had been hoping that she wasn't really alive, but now she was in a room, only a few feet away.

He didn't want to be cruel to her, or dominate her- it wasn't in his character to act that way. The anger he felt earlier, forced him to shock her into speaking. Whether Igraine wanted to face the fact or not, she had been protected and given luxury her entire life. She would never be able to fend for herself on her own. The love he felt for her was endless, but he didn't want it to destroy what relations they had.

“I loved you before I knew we were related. Why should the feeling change? This family is not known for keeping its decency- I doubt many others outside this kingdom know we are related.” He said, watching her struggle with the pain. Mentally, he was there for her, but he realized not physically. Holding her, he didn't know what else to do- he called out for Kahlan and Isabella. The weakness in Igraines body was more severe than he had realized...she was falling limp in his arms and her words became muttered nonsense.

He could feel, or get a sense of something greater happening around him. It was possibly some sort of protection ward, but it was quickly fading with Igraine. Clearing his mind, he concentrated on his dark energy, thankful he had at least some control. While it wasn't protective, it would at least fend off intruders and warn creatures like Nymphs.

It was all Thorin could do in her realm and he was beginning to feel very helpless and hopelessly in love. His body would give off a unnatural hue, something radiating from within. If Kahlan entered the room, she would find the essence threatening, as if he were anything but protective toward Igraine.

“I'm not anything like my father...I stayed.”

[Igraine]

"You are truely nothing like our father." Igraine melted against Thorin and let go of the strangle hold she had on her power. She felt it slip away and she sagged even further against him with her head dropping against his shoulder. Her hair fell to cover part of her face and she was too weak to really give any effort to moving it.

Thorin's power felt hot and wild against her skin, like a wind blowing in the deserts of Xexoria. She felt it deep in her core, relaxing her muscles and dulling the ache of her bones. She kissed his neck gently as she sighed contentedly. He might not have meant to have his power affect her in such a way, but just his presence seemed to calm her nerves -- though she was beyond exhausted.

"I will marry you still, if you want me. I'm not scared of what we are or where we came from. If we can love like this then there has to be some way of making this family turn around -- to have something to be proud of." Igraine murmured the last bit and she heard Thorin call out to their mother's.

"Don't leave me, please." Her grip tightened on his arm as she slowly slipped unconcious.

"She has expended more power than she thought she would. She has been protecting you since you stepped through the gateway into this realm. She does love you if she would fight an entire realm of her people just to keep you safe with her. You both need to rest." Kahlan brushed her daughter's hair out of her face, letting her fingers linger on the girl's cheek before letting her hand rest on Thorin's other shoulder.

The power emanating from him was moderately threatening naturally to an Angel but it didn't seem to bother Kahlan at all -- she had been the pet of Lucifer himself after she fell from Heaven after all. Her eyes lingered on her daughter for a moment, assessing his power's effect on her. She looked completely calm and at ease in her skin next to him. She slept soundly, as if nothing at all could hurt her with him so close. She looked into Thorin's eyes and nodded, as if affirming something in her mind about him. She cracked a smile at him before gesturing to the bed, removing her hand from his shoulder.

"Thank you for protecting her. She means well but she doesn't understand how to protect herself yet, or that she even needs to. She is always so worried about other people that she never focuses on herself. Igraine needs you to be with her, to protect her when she won't do it for herself."

"I doubt she can rest without you, and I know that you need to rest after expending so much power. She's not weak, you know, she just chooses to see the good in people and it is a fault she has had since she was a baby. Sometimes I wish I could still see the good in people first, before I see the rest." Kahlan turned to leave and smiled back at Thorin. "Rest. We can celebrate your engagement when you are both awake and well."

Kahlan walked out of the room and Thorin would be able to hear a few murmured words and the front door closing. It would be quiet in the house but not oppressive. It would feel comfortable and safe, and that was all Kahlan's doing. She wanted the pair to succeed and not fail. She wanted them to have what she had sought for thousands of years but found only once.