Ball and Chain - Episode Six

"I have the perfect plan, Torq," said Queen Maeve, winding her loose thread onto a skein which Torq obediently held.
"What would that be, my queen?" Torq asked, wishing he could get away from Temra just long enough to actually miss Maeve's sometimes stupid ideas.
"The soldiers I have now are weak; they were raised to be farmers, not warriors. They've known nowhere else but this island. I need...foreigners. People born and raised for battle."
Maeve placed her thread on the seat of her throne and stood, caressing her sceptre as though it were a newly born babe.
"Mider, I require your assistance," she said. "Please, Lord Mider, help me."
Mider's evil green flame leapt from Ivar's sacred chalice, placing the evil faerie on the smooth tabletop.
"Why do you summon Mider, Maeve?"
Maeve closed her eyes for a moment, summoning all her reserves into one sultry, smoky voice, hoping to seduce Mider into helping her.
"I want to bring the mightiest warriors in all the known world here, to Temra; to help me restore my birthright. But I have no knowledge of geography, Lord Mider. So I ask you; can you send Torq to a place known for having the best fighters, the greatest soldiers...and give him the power to bend them to my will?"
Mider thought for a moment, clicking his long black fingernails together.
"Yes. Mider can help you do this, Maeve. But it will require more energy than Mider is accustomed to using for your needs. Give me the rune-stone, Maeve," he said, pointing at her. "Give Mider the rune-stone so that he can do what you ask of him."
Maeve took the stone from her sceptre, placing it upon the table before Mider.
"Dark forces within me combine, all the power of this stone," Mider said softly. The rune-stone began to glow, projecting an image into the air in front of Torq. Soldiers with pikes and swords charged each other on open fields, their armor clanking against one another as the image unfolded. Mider continued to summon all his powers into the stone. "Send this general of Eire to the far-off land of Rome!"
There was a flash in the throne-room, like white lightning. Maeve covered her eyes until the blast was gone, then whirled to glare at Mider.
"Where have you sent him, Mider?" She asked, concern in her voice. Mider laughed.
"Why, only where you wanted him to go, Maeve. I've sent him to a place where the greatest warriors are made. I've sent him to Rome."

"Here, Cathbad," Bridie said, setting the basket of moss on the table. "Angus and I gathered your black-moss; have you enough for your needs?"
"Yes, yes, this will do quite nicely. Thank you, Bridie. Angus...good work," the druid added grudgingly.
Angus looked shocked at first, but then smiled warmly at the druid. "Thanks, Cathbad. It's good to be appreciated."
"Bridie! Angus! I'm so glad that I found you," said Aideen, fluttering into the window of Cathbad's chamber. "King Fin Varra wants a word with the knights. The others are already there; they were summoned an hour ago, but Fin Varra won't say why until you get there."
Bride placed her hand on Angus' arm. "We'd best hurry, then." She turned to Cathbad. "I hope it's nothing serious."
"If Fin Varra sent Aideen for you, I've no doubt the situation is drastic indeed," returned the druid. He waved them away. "Go, then. Your father has need of you, sorceress."
Bridie smiled, kissed Cathbad on his bearded cheek, and rushed away with Angus in tow.

"This is completely unexpected, Rohan," said Fin Varra once all the knights and the sorceress were assembled. The fairy king unrolled a scroll, reading something and then summarizing quickly. "Maeve has called upon Mider's powers to send Torq to a different land; where he has been commanded to recruit soldiers born and raised to compete in tournaments of great strength and stamina. They will be difficult to defeat, these soldiers; perhaps even unstoppable."
"Is there no way to prevent this, King Fin Varra?" Asked Rohan, reaching up to grasp the shoulder-strap of his sword.
Fin Varra referred once more to his scroll, nodding.
"Yes; but it will be very dangerous for the one who must go, for it is their quest. None of you underwent so dangerous a quest to retrieve your mystic armor; and this one has no armor to retrieve."
"Bridie," Angus gasped softly. All eyes fell upon him, then on the sorceress.
"But fath...I mean, King Fin Varra," said Bridie, falling to one knee to get closer to the little man. "How can you send me to this place? Wherever it is that Torq's gone; we don't eve know where it is. Unless you get all of your powers back from Mider, you can't send me there as well."
"Ah, but this is the first part of your quest," said the tiny king giddily. "You must first obtain my stolen magic from Mider. The reward you receive as a result of your bravery and skill will help you on your journey to this land as well as in it once you arrive. As for the rest, only time will tell."
Bridie stood once more, nodding. "I understand, your majesty. But how am I supposed to get your powers back? My magic is no match for what that evil little person can do."
Fin Varra summonedup his small remainder of magic. A staff of ashen wood appeared, woven from the air itself, before Bridie. Weakened and out of breath, the tiny king flopped back into his seat.
"This staff is more powerful than any mystic weapon," he told Bridie as she took it in her hands. She looked at the symbol burned into the wood toward the top of it; the same symbol as was on Rohan's arm. Bridie rolled up Rohan's sleeve to be sure; their eyes met in confusion. "Use it to channel your powers."
"King Fin Varra," said Rohan softly, "why does this staff have the mark of destiny engraved upon it?"
"Because it is what Bridie was born to; as were you, Aideen. And Rohan," Fin Varra leaned forward as the knights looked at one another. The tiny man gestured toward Bridie's arm. "See for yourself."
Bridie rolled up the sleeve of her tunic on her right arm; the mark of destiny stood there proudly for all to see. Bridie glanced at Fin Varra.
"That wasn't there before," she said, sounding unsure of herself. Fin Varra shook his head, smiling sadly.
"It has always been there; but until you began fulfilling your destiny, it remained hidden."
The knights waited patiently, expectantly. Soon Fin Varra began to tell them his story.
"Many years ago," the fairy king began, "I fell in love with a human woman. I made myself human-sized to woo her and take her to wife. Together we had four strong children; and I loved them all, though their lives would each take very different paths. Rohan, you were the first born of our children. Bridie followed a year after you, and then another girl, who has long since been lost to us. A boy was born years later, when you were five or six; but he was tainted with evil, like his mother. He was the undoing of our happiness. His name is Mider...and he was cursed by the gods to be made fairy-sized forever, in the hopes that it would keep his evil from spreading too wide. So...now you know. You are no orphan, Rohan. I am your father."
Rohan looked at the ground, dazed and trying to decipher this information. His life seemed to be revolving around him, spinning out of control and he had no way to stop its madness. Bridie slid her hand into his, tightening her fingers against his own, and Rohan grinned suddenly, catching her up in his arms and hugging her warmly.
"I have a family!" He cried. His friends smiled and began laughing with him. "I can't believe it!...but why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because you needed to have faith in your own abilities, Rohan. Not in those of others. Now that you have begun to fulfill your destiny as Draganta, you may know some of your background; and begin to have faith in your family."
Aideen alighted on Rohan's shoulder. "Guess you'll have to pay attention to me now, won't you half-brother?"
Rohan smiled. "Yes, Aideen. A lot more attention, I promise."
Bridie nodded, placing her hand on Rohan's shoulder.
"Well, I'm off to retrieve my father's powers, then."

"Mider, listen to me," said Bridie, making her way carefully through the outermost reaches of the Banshee Woods. "I need to talk to you. I know you're here...I can feel you. You know who I am, don't you?" She asked, making it more of a statement than a question.
"Yes," came the whisper through the treetops. "Mider knows you; Bridie of the Boyne, Sorceress of Kells."
"Where are you, my brother? Are you afraid to face me? Afraid I'll break your heart?"
"And steal my heart."
"Show yourself. I've no time for your games."
Mider appeared from the fog, but Bridie knew the human-sized man was mere illusion. She tightened her grip on her staff, holding it at her side, the tip grounded in case Mider tried anything funny.
"Well well well," Mider said, clasping his hands together. "You have grown, sister, since I saw you last. Yes, you have grown quite well."
"Enough, Mider. You know why I've come."
"Yes, Mider knows all. But why should I give you the magic I have taken from our father?"
Bridie smiled, approaching the illusion. She knew that she could convince her brother to do what she asked; she had only to say one simple spell: 'Cumhacht aischur'. Power return. But she didn't want to use force on her own brother.
"Mider. My dear, sweet, evil little brother. Fairies do age differently than humans, don't they? Yes; poor Mider. Grown old before your time. You know, if Fin Varra had the power to send me to where Torq is, I could stop his plan cold. Of course, that would mean Maeve would owe you an even larger debt, for the use of all your powers on yet another of her pathetic schemes...and I might even convince our father to give you a share of his magic once I have taken care of Torq. Think of how much more powerful you'd be then, with those powers given freely to you they will be ten times more useful to you than they are now. Think of it, Mider. We could all be one happy family again; you using Maeve like you've always done, only now joined on the side of your family. The gods might even make you human again if you help us, Mider. Please; I ask you as your sister; help us. Just this once."
Mider stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Yes. Agreed; Mider will help you. I return Fin Varra's magic to him on the grounds that you have promised me; Torq has een sent to Rome. I will give Fin Varra all the knowledge of this place he needs to help you prepare for your journey and reach your destination." Mider paused, for a moment he looked almost sad. He reached out a hand that was not there, touching Bridie's face. She felt a chill pass through her, as though she were walking in Death. "You have become a beautiful young woman, Bridie. If you were not my sister, I would be tempted to make you my queen when I take over tir na nOg; but there will be others just as lovely."
"No funny stuff while I'm away, brother," Bridie said softly, looking Mider in the eye. "Leave our father and tir na nOg alone until my return. Promise?"
"For you and you alone I promise this. But; can I still torment the mystic knights?"
"As long as no one gets hurt, yes." Bridie said. "After all, what would the knights do if true peace came to Ireland?"
They laughed together. It was the first time in many years that Mider had laughed with someone other than Maeve. It felt good.
Bridie pasued a moment before leaving the Banshee Woods. She reached out and grasped the illusion of Mider in her arms, hugging him close to her, ignoring the frosty sensation that chilled her to the bone. Then she turned and ran away, wanting to reach tir na nOg before nightfall.

"King Fin Varra," Bridie said, placing the pointed end of her staff in between the two parts of the mark of destiny which was engraved into the floor of the king's throne-room. "I have convinced Mider not only to return your powers, but also to leave tir na nOg and yourself in peace while I am gone."
"Did you ask him to leave us alone as well?" Asked Rohan, referring to the knights. Bridie grinned and shook her head.
"Not exactly. I told him he could still annoy you all; but he'll do no more than that, I swear and so did he." She turned back to Fin Varra. "Now, your majesty; about that quest you promised me."
"Ah yes," said the king. He pointed his hands toward the staff, pulling all his magic back into himslef in a swirl of pinks and blues and greens and golds; then aimed his tiny walking stick at the reflecting pool. An image of Bridie appeared. She stood in a white temple, surrounded by tall marble columns and deep azure skies.
"You are to be sent to Rome, where you will find Torq; held captive by the very men he was sent to seek. If you rescue him, he will return the favor in time. But beyond that I cannot see. You must somehow make Torq tell you what he is after in Rome. What Maeve's plans are for the people of this land. That is all; I can see no more."
Bridie nodded. She took her staff and held it close to her side. Angus reached a hand around to take her free one, squeezing gently, infusing Bridie with new strength and courage.
"When shall I go...father," she asked. Fin Varra shrugged.
"I can send you now, or whenever you wish."
Bridie turned slowly to her friends.
"It's best that I go now; before I change my mind. I'll miss you all."
Deirdre embraced Bridie closely, a tear falling from her eyes onto Bridie's tunic.
"We'll think on you day and night, Bridie," she said. Ivar clasped her hand tightly.
"I have not known you very long," he said, "but I feel as though I am losing a very dear friend."
"Thank you Ivar." Bridie said, hugging him. "I will always consider you my friend."
"Bridie, I...I don't know what to say." Garrett seemed speechless for one time in his life. "You have come here and made me feel truly at home in this land. I can never repay you enough for that wonderful gift."
"Hug me close and say goodbye like you mean it, and I'll call us even."
Garrett embraced her warmly, hoping to bring some of her spark and lust for life into himself. They finally withdrew, and it was Rohan who Bridie faced next.
"Bridie...sister," Rohan said, grinning foolishly as he tried it out on his tongue. "I will miss you so much."
"I'll miss you too, Rohan," Bridie said. "You were like a brother to me all those years we were growing up; and now, just when we find out we are really brother and sister, we have to say farewell."
Rohan clamped his lips together and swallowed hard, trying his best not to shed a tear. He leaned his face into Bridie's hand when she lifted it up to touch his cheek. She felt a light stubble there, and smiled, remembering the days when his skin had been as smooth as her own.
"We'll always be together, Rohan," she said, placing her fist above her heart. "In here, you'll always be with me."
Rohan placed his own fist over his own heart, nodding, and Bridie smiled, pulling him to her. She buried her face in his chest as he rested his chin on top of her head. He couldn't stop the tears now, nor did he want to anymore. When at last Bridie pulled away, he felt the wetness on his tunic and knew he wasn't the only one to cry. Deirdre looked up at Rohan as Bridie turned at last to Angus. When Rohan turned to gaze at the princess, she slipped her hand into his and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"Angus," Bridie said softly. "I don't know how to say goodbye. I...I love you. Always have. Always will. You and no other."
Angus nodded, unable to speak for a long time, shoving his fist at his tightly shut lips to keep from crying aloud that she stay, or delay this foolish quest just one more day.
Finally he reached out and gingerly took Bridie's hand, turning the palm upwards, tapping his index finger in the exact center of the palm. His mouth opened and closed as though he would speak...and finally he did, looking up into her brown eyes, his face more seriously sad than she had ever seen it before as he did so.
"Me too," he said softly, and Bridie flung herself into his arms. They stood that way for a long time, and it seemed to Ivar and the others that they should turn away, give them their privacy, but they didn't. And when finally Angus and Bridie drew away from one another, it was as though all of the music in the world had stopped, and that neither harp nor pipe would play again until Bridie had come safe home from her journey.
Fin Varra waited patiently all this while, remembering what it was like to say goodbye to one you loved dearer than your own life. Bridie turned to the tiny king and nodded once, decisively.
"I'm ready now. Do what you will."
The king of the little people waved his walking stick in the air, around in ever widening circles before Bridie. A blue mist began to form around her, and she closed her eyes, holding the picture forever in her mind of her friends standing there, watching her disappear.
"Forces of virtue within you combine, powers of elements fire and earth," Fin Varra said, dropping his walking stick, closing his own eyes and bringing his hands together, forming a ball of pure energy between the palms as the knights looked on in fear and wonder. "Water and air, the powers of Dagda, to send you to the land of Rome." And the ball of blue light was shot toward Bridie, who in a flash of thunder and lightning vanished into the air.
"It is done," he said sadly, gazing at the empty place where his daughter used to be. "What happens now is up to her."
"Let's hope she returns to us soon," Rohan said, clapping Angus on the back as they bowed to Fin Varra and left tir na nOg. "And Dagda speed her on her quest."