He stared at the woman he had loved for more years than he could remember. The woman he had done his best to be faithful too, the only one to ever engender a desire for monogamy within him. She was also the woman who left him, broke his heart, but couldn’t stay away from him forever any more than he could stay away from her. They had remained married decades after they had separated, neither of them willing to sever that final bond. Until now. When the treachery of his first wife’s actions came to light not only did it reveal a daughter they had never known existed but it was also the final nail in the coffin of their relationship.
He had long ago stopped hoping they would reconcile, stopped hoping she would come to understand him and his needs and learn to accept the situation as so many others have done, but still that bond had existed and every decade or so they would meet, remembering why they loved one another. Now their only bond would be through the two daughters they shared, Sadia and Sabina.
And she was taking Sabina away.
For the first several weeks following the arrival of their long lost daughter and the revelation of just what had happened Nimue had remained sedated, incapable of coping with the sense of loss and guilt over having not sensed her sooner. The Lady of Avalon had always been somewhat emotionally fragile but the destruction of her former body and the placement of her soul into a new body had only made it even more so, her emotional fragility now coupled with a delicate and often abstract mental state making her one of the most powerful basket cases he’d ever met.
She was awake now and that basket case had definite ideas on what should be done with Sabina. During the past weeks his youngest daughter had remained within the suite of rooms she had been given, venturing out only when coaxed by someone else, most often Nimue’s middle daughter, Kisa. She was terrified of Desiree, that the woman would track her down and find her and somehow force her to return to the life she shared with the succubus.
He had done his best to reassure her that that would never happen but nothing he said would convince her of it and now Nimue stood before him echoing her concerns. He felt he could protect his daughter, that he would destroy the demon bitch before she ever got close enough to touch her and if he were not present his son was a battle mage of the highest order, his woman Kisa a faery witch who he knew would protect her. No matter the arguments he presented she was insistent that the safest place for Sabina was in Avalon where no one could reach her without the knowledge of how to part the mists to reach the Sacred Isle, or rather, the Avalon of Nimue’s time and era.
Horns locked he refused to budge on his stance but she had gone to Sabina without his knowledge and asked if she would like to go to Avalon where she could get to know her mother and the fae lineage she knew nothing about. He could not look into Nimue’s tortured gaze and deny her the chance to become a part of her daughter’s life. And so it was that he stood outside the portal housed in a bower in the garden not three hours later to bid farewell to his now ex-wife and his newest child.
The family had gathered to see them off, what family was there at the time that is. Antonio, Kisa, and Sadia huddled slightly behind him having given their farewells to their sister. Both girls had spent their time on Avalon. Sadia had departed, not caring for the life of the Avalonian priestess, but Kisa had no such options. She was the daughter of the prophecy and would take over for Nimue one day, in spite of her desire not to be burdened with such a destiny. Madalina was the only child noticeably absent. He had not yet prepared his eldest daughter for all of this just yet. Given her recent proclivity for kidnapping he wanted to do it gently.
Assurances were given that Sabina could and should return whenever she wished, that he would visit her on the Isle often and that he would always be there when she needed him. Each sibling gave their fare well and then mother and daughter passed through the portal, the subsequent violet spark of energy indicating the portal had taken them to Avalon sealing their departure.
He knew where they were, he knew how to find them, but as he watched them leave he knew that Desiree had well and truly succeeded in stealing them from him.
Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 12:05 pm