The characters from the show the Mystic Knights of Tir-Na-Nog are the property of Saban Entertainment. I'm just borrowing them. This is fan fiction, written for enjoyment of the fans, nothing else.
by: Amanda
"Well, this is it. We're here," said Angus, sitting down on a friendly rock and setting his mace beside him.
"Yes," answered Garrett, "but what do we do now that we've arrived? Summon a vision like Cathbad?"
"No," Rohan said, scratching his cheek with two slender fingers, then running those same fingers through his windswept curls. "We ask Dagda for guidance. He must give his permission if we are to receive a vision of Bridie."
Deirdre glanced up at the imposing temple; the black marble columns and forest green dorrway didn't look all too inviting. She'd always thought of Dagda as a lighthearted god...now she was beginning to wonder.
"Well," she sighed, taking Rohan's hand, "we may as well go inside."
Rohan nodded, squeezing the princess' hand gently. He looked upward and around himself, wondering why Aideen hadn't already joined them.
"Aideen, where are you?" He called. Soon he heard the flapping of fairy wings.
"Here, Rohan," she said.
"Do you want to come with us, to see how our sister is faring in Rome?"
Aideen grinned and nodded. "Very much."
Garrett gazed at the fairy.
"Would you like to sit on my shoulder, little one?" He asked shyly. Angus raised an eyebrow and elbowed his friend in the ribs. Aideen nodded uncertainly, alighting on the prince's shoulder.
"Garrett, I think you've been bewitched," said Ivar. Garrett shook his head.
"No, Ivar, I don't think so. And if I have, it's none too bad a feeling."
The other knights grinned, and Aideen blushed, hiding her face against the clean shaven-ness of Garrett's head. Rohan finally shook his head, nodding toward the temple.
"Come on, mystic knights," he said, and they continued their journey up the path in the hillside.
Theseus reached out a hand to help Bridie up onto the ledge. She hooked her elbow onto the hard packed earth there, pulling herself the rest of the way, standing and dusting herself off.
"Thanks," she said, gazing at Theseus, trying to understand how she could feel butterflies in her belly at a time such as this.
"Nothing to it. I'm just glad you let my friends come along," he said. "They really want to help."
"I may need their help. Torq is a dangerous adversary in my homeland...but here, in unfamiliar territory, he could be even more deadly."
Theseus looked ahead of them, where Lilith, Hercules, and Iolaus trudged along, obviously tired. Night was fast approaching, but Theseus wanted to get somewhere safe before they set up camp.
"So...just out of my own morbid curiousity...why you? I mean, it sounds like your friends are strong warriors. Why'd you decide to come here alone?"
"I didn't really decide. It's my destiny; the path chosen for me at the moment of my birth. I am to save my kingdom from Maeve's plans for the warriors here. If I had brought help with me, my destiny would have been broken. I had to come."
Theseus nodded. He understood destiny. Hadn't his own led him to the academy instead of another battle? Fate wasn't always kind, though she tried to be, in her own way.
They had come to a small clearing. Hercules had already set his pack against an outcropping of rock, and was sitting on the soft dirt, his eyes closed, his breathing harsh.
"We've gotta rest," Iolaus said, gasping for air. The drills at the academy were never as harsh as their travels this day had been.
Bridie nodded, removing her own pack, laying her sword, staff, and pipe beside it.
"Yes. We can rest now. We've nearly caught up to Torq...I can feel it somehow."
Hercules gazed at her, his blue eyes bloodshot.
"So...are you a demi-god or something?"
Bridie shook her head and smiled.
"No. I'm a half-elf. My father is king of tir na nOg, land of youth. I don't know my mother's identity. I am a sorceress; full of all the magic of Ireland, and possibly more. My destiny has led me on a different path than that of my brother, Rohan. Draganta..."
Lilith started, sitting upright quick as lightning.
"Your brother is Draganta?"
Bridie nodded.
"Yeah," she said, her brow creasing. "You've heard of him?"
Lilith shook her head. "I've heard the legend. That he will bring peace to your island for a hundred lifetimes. I never thought the stories were true."
"They are," Bridie whispered, watching Theseus build a fire. She gazed into the flames, thinking of Angus. And her friends of course. But mostly about Angus.
Theseus turned, his gaze catching hers. She jumped a little, startled by the fire that rushed through her body at that look. She shook her head once to clear it and pulled out a blanket, throwing it out over the sand, placing her body square in the middle and looking at the stars.
"We'd best get some sleep. We've a busy day ahead of us tomorrow." She said, and heard the rustling of clothing and bedding behind her, on the other side of the fire.
"Goodnight," she heard Lilith say, and a chorus of sleepy voices, including her own, were raised in reply. Bridie rolled over on her side, her heart aching to have Angus there to hold her on this, her first full night gone from him since their reunification. Soon, she promised herself. Soon I'll find Torq and this will all be finished. I can go home.
Bridie woke the next morning, shielding her eyes from the harsh glare of the sun above her. It had to be almost noon. She sat up...only to realize she was already sitting up. She was wide awake suddenly, glancing around her and trying to remain calm. Muffled moans from her right made her turn...her new friends were tied together, their arms seized behind their backs, the rope around them keeping them tied to a tall pole. At least they were sitting, she thought absently, looking upward. She realized that, although her friends were gagged, she was not.
"What's going on," she asked aloud. A shadow fell over her; and she looked up, into the face of a boy no older than Rohan, wearing an armored tunic and a sort of skirt around his middle. The thing looked oddly like Angus'...well, whatever that ornament was that he wore with his pants. Bridie's eyes studied the face of the boy before her; tanned, well-proportioned; his blue eyes were the meanest she'd ever seen in so young a face.
"You've been captured," said the boy. He raised an arm to the soldiers around the cadets. "Take them back to their academy," he said. Then he grinned, a terrible, macabre grin that sent shivers down Bridie's spine. "Make sure they don't squeal before they get there."
With that the hilts of several swords were brought down on the heads of Lilith, Herc, Theseus, and Iolaus, and the soldiers began dragging the limp and lifeless bodies back down the mountain. The apparent leader of these brutes turned his attention back to Bridie, the grin now a friendly and somewhat sad smile.
"You are Bridie, I presume? Sorceress of Kells...wherever the hell that is," he stated, kneeling and taking her chin roughly between a callused thumb and forefinger. His voice sounded amazingly calm, his accent crisp and clear. Bridie nodded slowly. The boy took out a dagger, wiggling it at Bridie's throat. She could feel the cold steel, waiting for it to slice through her flesh, for the last breath to be ripped out of her body; but the death blow never came. The boy was simply giving her the choice between life and death...while it was still her own choice to make. He slid the dagger back into it's boot-sheath, standing and waving his arm once more. Two more soldiers pulled yet another body forward. Bridie narrowed her eyes to look at the prisoner...
"Torq!" She cried. The boy feigned a look of shocked surprise, raising his hands to his cheeks, then grinning fiendishly.
"A reunion! How wonderful," he said, turning to Torq. "You told us what she looked like; now we have her. What am I supposed to do with her now that I have her? Hmm?"
Torq raised pathetic, tired eyes to the boy's face. Bridie almost felt sorry for her enemy; his beard was caked with dust and mud...it was obvious that he'd been dragged behind either chariot or horse for some distance. His helmet was gone, his clothing ripped to shreds. The skin of his face was torn and blood streaked. He raised his head just high enough...and spit into the boy's face. The boy shut his eyes upon impact, lifted a finger to his cheek, and wiped the spittle away, slapping Torq across the face with the same fluid gesture. Torq nearly went down, but the soldiers yanked him back up.
"Nobody spits in the face of Julius Caesar!" The boy cried angrily, his face mere inches from Torq's. "Put him and the girl in the Cage. I have plans for them."
The soldiers carried Torq away, ignoring the general's moans of mercy. Another soldier untied Bridie from her stake, leading her away more gently by an elbow. It seemed Caesar was unwilling to use force on her...yet. She would wait for the right time, then use her magic to whisk herself and Torq back to Eire; back to the relative safety of a known war, sure enemies. She hoped Theseus and the others were alright.
"Dagda! We humbly beg that you allow us to see our friend, my sister Bridie, on her quest in Rome," said Rohan as they kneeled before the carved altar in the black marble temple. A rumble coursed through the building, sounding like an avalanche.
"Who asks for the gift of Sight?" Said a deep voice, like the moving of the mountains themselves. Rohan spread his arms wide.
"Draganta asks this, oh mighty Dagda!"
"Granted," came the reply. A portal opened above the altar, a pool of deep blue light. As the knights watched, a human form appeared, and then another. Shafts of brown and grey shifted over the two humans, and suddenly, in a flash like the one that had taken Bridie away, they saw.
"She's in a cage!" Cried Angus. The others watched in stunned silence.
"Torq's with her," Deirdre whispered. "What in the name of Lugh has happened?"
From the pool came voices; those of Bridie and Torq.
"How did Caesar recognize me? I didn't know you ever saw me." Bridie was asking Torq, who was struggling against his bonds. He turned to her, all the fight gone out of him.
"I had seen you once before; when you were just a baby. I had just come to...but that's another story. Maeve showed me what you would look like in your later years; I knew it was you come after me. It could only be you. The others...they are not strong enough."
"What about me as a baby? Tell me...it's not long I'm going to know for very long."
Torq sighed, and Rohan sat ready to hear what he would say...when another voice interrupted. None of the knights could see his face, but it was definately a male.
"No, I don't suppose you shall know for long," said the man; or boy, they couldn't tell by the back of his head. "I plan to sacrifice you both to Ares, God of War; you will certainly pave my way to victory. A fine warrior and a beautiful...fresh...woman."
Angus growled in anger, but Rohan held him back. What good would it do to fight an image?
The vision continued to play itself out.
"Please, mighty Caesar," said Bridie. She forced herself to take on the helpless look that had always worked with Conchobar when she wanted Deirdre to come out and play. "Please...spare Torq's life. Surely I will be enough of a sacrifice to your god of war; allow Torq to return to his homeland...to his queen."
Caesar gazed at Bridie, and for a moment he seemed ready to be swayed by her plea of mercy.
"And why should I agree to such a thing?" He asked.
Bridie thought for a moment without appearing to do so.
"Because he is the King of Temra, that is why. He must return to his kingdom...for he has no heirs. And a great warrior such as you will need enemies to battle. If Torq returns, think of the strong warriors his blood will create; and with such a queen as Maeve...they will be worthy foes," she said, playing to the pride of her enemy. Caesar smiled, and nodded, digging his heels into his horse's flanks as he turned away.
"I will consider your words, sorceress," he said. He studied one of his soldiers, apparently his captain, then gazed at Bridie and Torq. "Have them chained to the wagon tonight when we break for camp. My father's troops are stationed another two days' ride away. We have time to rest up before continuing our course."
"Yes, Caesar," said the soldier, raising his fist in salute. Caesar continued on his way toward the front of the procession. Torq turned to Bridie.
"Why did you do that?" He asked, struggling once more with the ropes that bound him.
Bridie didn't look up. "Do what?"
"Lie for me. Save my life."
Bridie shrugged.
"I couldn't let them kill us both. Someone has to go back; it might as well be you." She grinned sheepishly, looking up to meet Torq's intense gaze. "My quest was for the sole purpose of finding you and putting a stop to Maeve's plan before it started. If you return now, while I still live, I'll know that I have succeeded."
The pool of Sight began to waver, and the vision became distorted. Rohan reached a hand outwards, as though trying to steady the portal; but he knew it was an impossibility even as he did so.
The vision was gone. Angus gazed at the ground, tears coming to his eyes. "Nnnnooooo!" He cried, pounding his fists into the ground. Deirdre reached out a hand to comfort him...but they all felt this loss personally, and knew that there could be no comfort for a long time.
"She might be spared, Angus," Ivar said sadly, a tear welling up in his own eye, which he brushed away fiercely. "Caesar looked to have been swayed by her beauty; perhaps he was only testing her sense of honor."
Angus considered a moment, then nodded slowly, standing up.
"Maybe you're right, Ivar," he said softly, "but I won't sleep or eat until I find out if she will or won't come back to us."
The other knights didn't know what to say. Angus had never been so determined to go through with something.
"We'd best head home," Deirdre said, placing her hand on Rohan's arm. He shook his head.
"I'll stay for a while longer. I've something...I've been meaning to ask the oracle."
The princess studied him, concern in her eyes. She nodded finally, and turned to leave; but then changed her mind. Turning back, she drew his face down to hers so swiftly he barely knew what was happening...and kissed him, leaving him breathless even as he tried to pull her body into his own. Deirdre could feel his passion against her belly, and it scared as much as thrilled her. Slowly she pulled away, not really wanting to, but knowing Dagda's temple was not the right place to lose her virginity.
"I'll be at the palace," she said softly, resting her palm against his cheek, "waiting for your return."
He nodded, wanting so badly to go with her now...but he had to know. Had to have some inkling of who his mother was...how he'd been born...why he hadn't been wanted.
"I'll return soon," he whispered, looking deeply into her eyes. She nodded back, and turned, walking away slowly, wondering what had gotten into her.
Rohan waited until she had closed the door of the temple behind her, until he was relatively sure that she was well away from the temple itself, before turning back to the altar, laying his hands on the dallben before him. He looked up, his blue eyes searching the shadows beyond the candles.
"Oracle of Dagda's Temple," he said softly, closing his eyes. "Show me my past. The occurences of my birth...my mother. Why I wasn't wanted," he said, his voice breaking with that last bit. "Show me!" He cried. "You're the only one who can!"
His cries shook the walls, and behind his closed lids, Rohan saw what he had been denied all his life. He saw what had been, what could be again.
