Mystic Knight of Spirit Part 4

The morning came earlier than Breaca would have liked, but she got up and dressed anyway. She felt as if this day was going to be no different than all the rest. Suddenly she remembered the night before. Angus had kissed her.
Slowly she reached up and touched her lips. She had never felt anything like it. Breaca wondered if he would ever do it again.
Smiling, she left her room and headed to the throne room. Cathabad would want to talk to everyone about what they had learned in Tir-Na-Nog. She wasn't looking forward to everyone knowing about her armour, but she knew that it was for the best.
As she entered the throne room, the Druid approached her.
"We must tell the others what Fin Varra told us."
She nodded.
"Gather around, Mystic Knights." The King stood from his throne.
The four of them gathered around the King and his Druid.
King Conchobar seated himself. "Breaca and Cathabad went to speak to King Fin Varra yesterday. I believe they learned something important."
Angus glanced at Breaca. She knew he was looking at her, but she didn't want to look at him. She still felt kind of odd about what had happened, even though in a way she felt good about it.
"Fin Varra told me something that the rest of you may find very disturbing." Breaca looked at each one of them, then back at the Druid. "he informed me, that though I am a Mystic Knight, I am not like any of you."
The other Knights looked confused.
"But you are a Mystic Knight, your armour is from the fairies." Rohan crossed his arms over his chest.
She nodded. "Yes, but not from the fairies that you know." She walked over to the window and looked out over the land. She liked it here, but she felt as if she was going to have to leave. "I gained my armour from the fairies in my land. They are nothing like the little people of Tir-Na-Nog. Fin Varra knew of whom I spoke and he warned me about them."
Deirdre stood from her seat next to her father. She put her hand on Breaca's shoulder. "You can tell us, Breaca. We are your friends."
She smiled at the Princess. "I look to all of you for friendship, though I fear that this will cause severe problems." She sighed. "My armour was given to me by Mider."
This announcement caused a ripple of disbelief to run through the entire throneroom. Cathabad was the only one who not phased by the announcement.
King Conchobar stared at her in utter disbelief. "Mider? You are a pawn of Mider?"
She shook her head. "He has no real control over me, in fact I am not even sure that Mider was the one who gave it to me. More likely it was his people. The dark fairies."
All the Mystic Knights were stunned. Angus was the only one to speak. "What do we do?"
"I have to find something in Maeve's castle. The object that Mider is using to channel his powers. He can not take physical form, but can still use his magic. I need to end all chances for Mider to make an appearance or to help Maeve any longer."
The King nodded. "Maeve's powers are very weak without Mider, that we have seen."
Breaca turned to the King. "My King, I am still a Mystic Knight, regardless of where my armour came from. I am in your service and I will do what I have to to make sure that Maeve can not hurt this Kingdom any longer."
They all stared at her. Angus knew that this was a true statement, as did the other Mystic Knights. Cathabad nodded at her and then at the King.
"Well, then, with that statement. I believe there is some work to be done."
Breaca decided then that she would be heading straight for Maeve's castle to find whatever Mider was using as a portal. She bowed to the King and the other Knights and left the throne room.
She was walking out of the front gates, when she heard Angus' voice calling her from behind.
She smiled at him when he caught up with her. "I have much to do, Angus, you need to stay here and make sure that things stay peaceful."
He matched her pace and walked with her. "I know, I just wanted to tell you that I still have faith in you." He put his hand on her arm to stop her.
She stopped and looked up at him. "Thank you, I appreciate that. It makes me feel better about what has happened."
"You're still the same person, no matter how you became a Mystic Knight. I still..." He stopped and closed his eyes.
"You still what?"
When he opened his eyes he saw her smiling at him with that sweet smile he had seen a couple of days before. Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight. He couldn't believe how beautiful she was. He felt so much for her, but he was afraid to say anything. In fact, he didn't even know why he felt this way. He hardly knew her. It had only been days since she had arrived in this kingdom.
He squeezed her arm. "I still...care about you. You are a good friend and I don't want you to get hurt."
She stretched herself up and kissed his cheek. "I'll be back soon." She started to pull away from him when he did something quite unexpected. He quickly put his hand behind her neck and pulled her forward into a kiss. She thought the short kiss they had shared the night before was something wonderful. She could almost feel the fire coursing through her body with this one.
He could feel her melting in his arms. Slowly he slid his arm around her waist and held her to him. He couldn't believe he was doing it. He finally got up the courage to really kiss her.
They parted slowly, looking at each other as they pulled away.
"I need to get to Maeve's castle. I'll see you when I get back." She took a step away from him.
He nodded and watched her walk away.

Breaca quietly made her way to Maeve's castle. She couldn't take her mind off of what had happened before she left Kells, though. She knew she would never forget that kiss.
She started to smile, but realized that she needed to keep her mind on the task ahead. She needed to find Mider's portal and destroy it. That was the task at hand and that was what she needed to keep her mind on.
Temra castle loomed into view. The castle looked more foreboding than it had the previous day.
She sighed and drew her swords. It was time for her to take action. She raised her swords, crossed them over her head and said, "Spirits move me."
Within seconds, she was standing inside Maeve's castle. Everything was as it was when she had been here before. Breaca had to move quickly before any of the guards found her. Or, Dagda forbid, Maeve.

The throne room was quiet. No guards, no Maeve, no one. She wasn't sure whether or not they we just being lax in their guarding or whether they were setting a trap for her. Either way she knew she could handle whatever Maeve threw her way.
Maeve's sceptre lay on the small table beside her throne. Breaca didn't think that it could possibly be what she was looking for, but there was no way to tell. She picked up the sceptre and held it in her hands. The power coursed through her body.
Breaca shivered. That kind of power was too much for her to handle. It frightened her to think that her armour came from the same place that Maeve's sceptre did.
As she stood there and contemplated the power of the sceptre, she saw the mirror on the far wall. That had to be it. That had to be Mider's portal. She walked over to it and looked in it. The mirror had a strange dark hue to it. This definitely wasn't a normal mirror. It was the portal.
"Get away from that!" Maeve's voice boomed through the silent throne room.
Breaca whirled around. Several soldiers stood behind her, swords in hand. Torc stood at the top of the stairs with Maeve.
Breaca smiled. "Good evening, Maeve. Torc, I see you're looking better."
Maeve stared wide eyed at Breaca. She had noticed the ram staff that Breaca held in her hand.
"I believe this is yours, Maeve." Breaca's smile broadened as she raised the sceptre.
Maeve cried out in terror as she watched the Mystic Knight of Spirit raise the sceptre in front of her. Before the sorceress could do anything, Breaca had swung the sceptre as hard as she could into the mirror on the wall. There was a deafening sound and a putrid green light surrounded her. Bolts of green lightning shot through the throne room, hitting various pieces of statuary and a few soldiers. Suddenly the light was gone and all was quiet.
The sceptre and the mirror fell to the floor in a thousand, scrambled pieces.
Breaca looked at the sorceress. "Sorry." She smiled sweetly at the angry Queen of Temra.
Maeve stared at the wreckage of her staff and the portal. She screamed in anger, but it was too late. Breaca pulled her swords. Saying the words, she disappeared in a swirling black mist.

Breaca felt good about what she had done. She smiled to herself as she approached the castle. She knew she had done the right thing. Now Mider would be trapped in his world and Maeve would be vulnerable.
Deirdre called to the guards to open the gates. The Mystic Knights rushed toward her, asking her what had happened at Temra castle.
She explained all that had occurred, but told them not to be too optimistic about the happenings. They still had to beat Maeve.
"But she doesn't have Mider helping her now. She should be easily beatable." Rohan looked back and forth among them.
Breaca nodded. "Maeve is more vulnerable, but she is not completely powerless. She still has her own magic.
Ivar nodded. "But she at least doesn't have Mider adding to it."
They all agreed that an assault on Maeve's castle should be soon.
They presented the idea of an assault to King Conchobar. He thought for a moment.
"Breaca, did King Fin Varra tell you how the destruction of the portal would affect Maeve?"
She shook her head. "No, he just said that she would be vulnerable."
Cathabad looked closely at the Knight of Spirit. "You say you also destroyed her sceptre. She should have no power at all."
Deirdre looked around the room slowly, thinking. Suddenly she looked at the Druid. "Once before when her sceptre had been destroyed, she found another rune stone to replace the one she had. Won't she just do that again?"
All the Knights were silent as they looked to the Druid.
Slowly Cathabad nodded. "If she can find the location of the rune stones, she will take them. Then she will be too powerful for us to stop."
The King ordered Cathabad to locate the other stones. The Druid nodded and made his way to his workroom.

Cathabad spent many hours in his workroom. None of the Knights or the King knew what his search would find. For all they knew they may not have even been anymore rune stones. But they had to know for sure. If there were, they would have to be found and either destroyed or hidden somewhere. Somewhere that even Maeve would be unable to locate.

Breaca sat in her room, alone. She couldn't help thinking about Angus. Even with all that had happened at Maeve's castle, Angus was still foremost in her thoughts. She had feelings for him, but she wasn't sure what they were. She cared for him and was obviously attracted to him, but was there something more? She couldn't answer that question. Breaca knew in heart though, she needed to find answer soon.
A quiet knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts into reality.
Breaca opened the door to find a page boy with a message. Cathabad wanted to see her.
As she made her way to the Druid's workroom, she thought about what had happened at Maeve's castle. The sorceress had been truly angry at Breaca, she knew that. But was she also frightened? Frightened at the thought of being with Mider's magic again? Frightened to be without her magic?
Breaca's brow furrowed as she entered Cathabad's workroom.
The Druid stood hunched over the large oak table in the centre of the room. He seemed to be studying some scrolls. He looked up at her as she entered.
"Ahh, I think I have found where the stones are being kept." The Druid smiled at her.
"Where?" Breaca asked.
Cathabad pointed to one of the many scrolls laid out on the table in front of him. She glanced at the parchment. He pointed to an area in a land across the sea. She thought she recognised the area, but couldn't be sure. As she scanned the scroll further, she realized that she knew the land that the Druid pointed to. Off the western coast of the area where Cathabad believed the stones were, was a small island. Crannaght, her home.
"I believe the stones are on this body of land. Somewhere near this stone circle." Cathabad set his finger down on a crude drawing of stones.
Breaca recognised that as well. This ring of stones the Druid pointed to was near the fairie mound she had encountered. Where she had received her blades.
Cathabad could see that something was bothering the young knight. He inquired as to what it was.
She explained to him about the fairie mound being near a stone circle. "This is land where I ended up at it, after leaving Crannaght."
The Druid nodded. "I thought it might be." He turned away from her and paced for a few moments. "You must go there and retrieve the stones," he said finally.
She sighed heavily. She was afraid he was going to say that. But she knew that it must be.
"All right. How many stones are there?" She seated herself on a small stool.
The Druid thought for a moment. "In total, I believe there are seven. Maeve has already had two that we know of. Therefore, logically, there would be five left." He handed her a small leather bag. "Search well. You must return will all the stones. We can leave nothing to chance, where Maeve is concerned."
Breaca nodded. She tied the leather bag to her belt. She knew that she had a long journey ahead of her.
"You must leave right away." The Druid urged.
She nodded and took her leave of him. Breaca had one thing to do before she began her trip. She left the castle and headed for the hut that Angus shared with Rohan.

As she approached, she could hear laughter from within. Angus and Rohan appeared to be talking about something. She hated to interrupt them, but she needed to speak to Angus.
She knocked softly on the door frame. Within seconds, Angus' head came out of the entrance to the hut. He saw her and immediately emerged into full view.
"Breaca." He smiled at her, then realized that she wasn't smiling at him. "What's wrong?"
She explained to him about the finding of the rune stones and about her trip.
"How long are you going to be gone?" The look on his face made Breaca feel terrible about going to find the stones. He almost looked devastated.
She shrugged. "I'm not sure. I have find all of the stones before I can return. Cathabad was very insistent that I leave immediately."
Angus sighed. He didn't like the thought of her going alone. He wanted to go with her, but knew that he shouldn't defy the wishes of the Druid. Anyhow, the last time he did, Cathabad shrunk him.
Breaca smiled, wanly, at him. She wanted him to come with her, but with the mode of travel she was forced to take, she had to go alone. Her ability to travel with the spirits allowed her travel, no one else. It was the quickest way.
Angus took her in his arms and held her. She liked the way he felt against her. She would miss him, but she knew that he would be here when she returned. Breaca knew that he would wait for her, no matter how long it took.
They parted. Breaca stared into his eyes, waiting to see if he would do anything else. After a moment, she decided that he was finished saying goodbye to her.
She turned to walk away, but before she knew what was happening, Angus had grabbed her arm and spun her around. She faced him. Angus looked at her, his expression serious.
"Be careful." He paused. He appeared to be thinking about what he should say next, when he opened his mouth and the words spilled out. "I don't want to have to worry about you too much. I care so much for you. You're...you're..well," Angus stumbled over what to say next.
Breaca smiled at him and waited for him finish.
Angus looked down at his hands. He was fidgeting with one of the ties on his vest. He only did it when he was nervous. Suddenly he reached out and took her hands. He looked into her eyes.
"I...I...I love you." Angus looked at her.
She stared at him. She couldn't do anything but stare. Breaca was left completely speechless. Angus had just said something to her that she had never expected to hear from him. Or from anyone else for that matter.
Before she could say anything, he kissed her softly and left. She watched him walk back to his hut. In moments he was out of site, having entered the small doorway into the home he shared with his best friend.
She decided this was the best time to make her departure from Kells. She removed her swords from her scabbard. Raising them over her head, she intoned quietly, "Spirits move me." She was surrounded by a black mist, then she was gone.

Breaca stood in the middle of a small ring of stones. She vaguely recognised the stones. More so, she recognised the fairy mound just outside of the stone circle. It was the same mound that she fell into, so many years ago.
The Mystic Knight looked around. The moon shown high in the sky. Not even a cloud touched the dark sky. She remembered this area all too well. The lay of the land was familiar to her. As she stood there, completely still, she could almost hear the crashing of the waves against the rocky shore. The memories of her journey to this strange land came back to her.
Her first trip here was unplanned and unwanted. The natives were savages and killed her companions. All because of one power hungry sorceress.
The land itself was beautiful. It reminded her very much of Kells. In a way, she felt like she was standing somewhere in Kells, even though she knew that she was far away from the place she now called home. Far away from her King, her friends and the man that loved her.
She sighed, remembering Angus' face as he told her how he truly felt. Soon enough she would return to Kells. Maeve would become a powerless woman, hiding in her castle at Temra, mumbling to herself about her days of glory. The thought of Maeve crying in a corner, brought a smile to Breaca’s face. If anything her time away from Angus and the others would bring her the satisfaction of seeing Maeve fall from power.
Breaca decided that she should begin her search in the morning. Regardless of the fact that her trip took less time than it would have normally, travelling with the spirits was tiring. She moved out of the stone circle on the side away from the mound and made a small camp.
As she laid down to sleep, her thoughts wandered to Angus. Breaca couldn't help thinking about the things he said and the way he looked at her. He had such a longing in his eyes. She didn't understand it at first, but slowly began to realise that his expression was one of caring. Not just the care that one would have for a friend, but the caring that one would have for a...dare she think it? A lover? Could that be what Angus was wanting?
Breaca smiled at the thought of being intimate with Angus. As she drifted off to sleep, her last thoughts were of Angus holding her to him as they made love.

Morning came without warning. Breaca was awakened rather rudely by a large black raven perched on the top of one of the stones in the circle.
She cursed the bird quietly, knowing that a raven was never a good sign. Especially before something important was to happen.
Breaca gathered herself. She stretched her lean body to the sky, hoping that Dagda would see her and grant her good luck in her search.
The sun shone high in the clear, blue sky. The day was beautiful. Breaca regretted the fact that she would have to spend such a beautiful day alone, searching for a bunch of rocks.
Breaca surveyed the landscape. The stone circle looked less interesting in the daylight, but she knew how much power it held. Not to mention the fairie mound. She knew more about that fairie mound than anyone else did. There were days when she cursed the moment that she fell into that mound. Down in her heart, she knew that becoming the Mystic Knight of Spirit was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Had it not been for that fateful night, she would have never met the Mystic Knights of Kells, or Angus. The thoughts of the previous night entered into her mind again.
She shuddered with the memories of Angus touching her skin, holding her, kissing her. Breaca closed her eyes. She needed to focus on the task ahead. She would have plenty of time when she returned to Kells to think of Angus. The stones were the important thing in her future for the time.
Breaca decided it was time to enter the fairie mound and hope that they would help her in her search for the stones.
As she approached the mound, she hesitated. Knowing that the fairies were more of Mider than of the little people of Tir-Na-Nog, she feared that they would already know why she was there. If they did know, they would not help her.
Breaca took a deep breath as she prepared to enter the mound. She walked forward to the small doorway. As she reached out to touch it, she could feel the power.
Her body was surrounded in a green light. Suddenly the light disappeared. Breaca was also gone.
She stood in the throneroom of the King of the little people.
"What do you want?" The little King demanded.
"I am Breaca, Mystic Knight of Spirit." She bowed lowed to the little King.
He nodded. "Ahhh, yes. I remember you. You have faired well. What is that I can do for you?" His voice was high pitched with a slight tinge of evil to it.
She knew for sure that these fairies were nothing like the little people of Tir-Na-Nog. She shuddered to think that Mider could be anywhere, watching her.
"I am looking for rune stones, your majesty. I was hoping you could direct to where they are kept." Breaca could not look at the little King. He reminded her so much of the descriptions of Mider. Though she knew that it couldn't be, she still felt odd being in his presence.
He stroked his chin and thought. Slowly he looked up to her. "Why do you want these stones?"
She knew that she couldn't tell him the real reason, so she had to be convincing. "I am hoping to gather all the existing ones together and attempt to pull the power into one."
The little king nodded. "Interesting idea." He reached behind him to a little basket and pulled a scroll from it. He looked at it, studying every inch of the parchment, then handed it to her.
She bowed and thanked him. As she turned to leave, she heard the little King say, "Be careful along the way, everything could be against you."
Breaca stopped in her tracks. She knew she had heard him right, but she didn't want to think about it.

As she came ascended from the fairie mound, she looked at the scroll. It was a map of the land, much like the one that Cathabad had shown here. The only difference was that this one had certain places marked. Places which contained the rune stones.
Breaca had to work quickly. Finding the stones was her first priority. She would tell no one of her quest outside of the little king, which she had already spoken to. She had to be very careful.
She studied the map. The first marking was not far from the spot where she stood. She looked around her, looking for specific things that would coincide with the map. She did notice that a large tree was drawn on the map. Underneath the tree was a marking for the stone. Scanning the landscape, she spotted a large tree not far to the south.
Well, here I go. Breaca headed south, in the direction of the tree.

After several hours of digging, she finally found the first rune stone. As she held it in her hand, she understood why Maeve wanted them so badly. Breaca could feel the power coursing through her as she held the stone. Her eyes became transfixed on the pulsing colour of the rune stone. It took all of her will to break her gaze away from it and place it safely inside the leather bag tied to her belt.
The sun had begun to set. She had no idea, how long she had been staring at the rune stone. The last thing she remembered was seeing it gleaming in the sunlight, still partially covered in dirt.
Breaca decided to make camp underneath the tree. She felt safer there, than she had near the fairie ring. It was getting darker, and she needed to sleep.

Her mind was plagued with dreams of darkness. Spirits tortured her, shades of her past followed her and pleaded with her. She awoke many times, expecting to see the shades of her friends staring at her, reaching for her. But she was alone. Alone in a strange place. Completely defenseless.
She shuddered at the thought. Laying down, she tried to go back to sleep, but sleep evaded her for many hours.

Sunlight broke into her sleep. It had been only a short time before that she had finally found what she had been seeking all night.
Breaca yawned and stretched. She glared up at the sun. Morning always seemed to come to soon.
She prepared herself for another day of searching. Pulling the scroll from her pack, she glanced over it. She took a look at the map, then out over the landscape. She looked for points that would mark her next stop. She noticed to the east, a large stone outcropping. It seemed to match the map, where the next marking was at.
She sighed as she pulled her things together and made her way there.

Continued.