Archive of Our Own

Season 1 Episode 7 ½ - Origins Unveiled

     From where she was perched on the sill of her window, she saw the car pull up to the gate.  Rowan jumped to her feet and flew down the spiral steps of her tower, racing toward the foyer.  She reached the balcony overlooking the entrance hall below just as the large front door swung open.  As Helen stepped across the threshold, Ashley swept past her in a harsh silence of anger, pain, and confusion.  Helen’s hand momentarily reached forward toward her, but she let it fall to her side, deep sadness in her eyes.  Scaling the grand stairs in the entranceway with determined swiftness, Ashley disappeared around the bend of a corridor, her heavy footfalls echoing after her.

      Turning her focus back to Helen, frozen just inside the front door of her home, Rowan rushed down the stairs, sweeping her up in her arms.  “Oh, thank gods you’re home!”  Relief etched in her voice as she showered her face with kisses.  Holding her back at arms length, she raked her eyes over Helen’s body with studied intensity, “An ndéantar dochar duit?[Are you harmed?]   Are you quite all right?  Has he hurt you?”  She looked fiercely into the deep blue pools of Helen’s eyes, “Have either of them hurt you?”

     Helen smiled wanly, “I’m fine, Darling, really.”  She kissed her deeply, holding her close, relishing in the feel of her warm, strong, safe body against her own.  She pulled back, staring into her deep green eyes, stroking hair off her face and behind her ear.  “I promise.”

     “If anything had happened to you, I-” she cut herself off, lost in the sea of Helen’s magnificent eyes.  “I’ll kill Nikola, I swear.  Go n-ithefadh an cat é, agus go n-ithefadh an diabhal an cat![That the cat would eat him, and that the devil would eat the cat!]   What was he thinking?!”

     “It’s Nikola,” Helen smiled, “what is he ever thinking?”

     Rowan offered her arm to Helen, “Come, tell me what happened.”

     Helen took the proffered arm, lacing her fingers together in the crook of Rowan’s elbow, and the two women advanced into the Sanctuary, Helen recounting the events of the last few days.

     The two women sat at the island in the kitchen, Helen’s face showing the hurt in her heart despite her best attempts to conceal it.  “She hasn’t spoken a word to me since we boarded the plane,” she concluded, exhaling a sad sigh.

     “Give her time, Helen.  She’s taken in quite a lot these last days, and she needs time and space to digest it all.  Trust in what you two have, all will be well,” she smiled confidently, chucking her lightly on the chin.  “For now, just let her be.”

     Helen smiled appreciatively back at her, nodding agreement, “You’re right.  Of course you are.  I just-” she sighed in frustration.  “If she was going to find out, this just wasn’t the way I would have wanted it to happen.”

     “These things always find the surface.  Nothing ye can do about that.”  She stood and filled the kettle at the sink.  “But there is an awful lot you can do with how you handle it now.”  She set it on the stove and ignited the eye.  Turning back to Helen, she gave a small, sad smile, “Le fíor,[Truly,] did ye really think you could keep it from her forever?”

     Helen bowed her head, staring at her hands knotted together on the countertop in front of her.  “No.  Even when I thought John was dead and gone, or at least gone from our lives forever, I guess I never truly thought I could always keep it secret.  But I did rather think that the how and whens of its coming to light would be more within my own control.  I thought, when she was ready,” catching a glimpse of Rowan’s questioning eye, she amended, “when I was ready, that we would talk.  That I’d take her somewhere, some far off city I’d always wanted to show her, just the two of us, that we’d sit and I’d tell her a story of a young woman swept off her feet completely by surprise, by the most unlikely man.  That they shared each other's lives and secrets, and that they fell in love.  That that love had created a beautiful, precious child, that the woman was over the moon with happiness.  That darkness fell, and a terrible sickness pulled the man away, changed him, left their love broken.  That out of grief over her lost love and fear for the safety of her child, the woman had postponed her pregnancy, waiting until she felt it was safe, until the man could no longer hurt either one of them.

     “Then I was going to beg her forgiveness.  But beyond all odds, John came crashing back into our lives in the worst possible way.  He hurt Ashley, damn well nearly got her killed, he threatened me- but the secret was still safe, and there could be no doubts I killed him.  I kept that blood for over a century, a failsafe, just in case.  I killed him, Rowan.

     “But then…  And he took her, and….”  The kettle began to whistle.  “Now she hates me.”  Helen’s lip trembled, fighting back angry tears.

     Rowan set a delicate china cup in front of Helen, a dainty spoon resting on its saucer.  “Ó, mo chroí.[Oh, my heart.]   She doesn’t hate you.  She’s hurting, and she’s confused.”  She dropped an infuser ball into the cup, pouring steaming water after it.  “The two of you share everything, do ye not?  Even giggles over the cute boys?”  A smile twitched the corners of Helen’s lips, she nodded.  “Yet, the single most important thing in her young life- her father, who he was to you, and how she came to be- that you’ve kept from her.”  Rowan reached across the island top, taking Helen’s hands in her own.  Helen’s gaze met her eyes.  “She doesn’t hate you, Helen.  But how could she possibly understand why, when you are always so open about everything with her, her mother would keep this from her?”

     “What do I do?”

     “Give her space to sort through her feelings, she needs to put things in order in her own way before she takes in anything more from anyone else.  Then ye tell her about how those young people fell in love so long ago, but you’ll have to give her more now than you once thought ye twould.”  She smiled sadly, “Fairytales won’t cut it now that she’s heard the basics from John.  You’ll have to tell her the truth.”  She removed the infuser from the cup, setting it aside, and added a small spoon of sugar and a splash of milk.  “Then,” she said solemnly, “ye beg forgiveness.”  She tucked a stray wisp of hair behind Helen’s ear, lovingly patting her cheek.  “For now,” she smiled, “drink your tea.”

     Inhaling the steaming aroma as she took a sip, she sighed happily, the tea cup in both hands in front of her face, elbows propped on the counter.  She smiled over its rim at Rowan, “It’s so lovely to have someone else in the house who truly understands the healing effects of a proper spot of tea.”  

     Pouring a cup for herself, Rowan settled back onto her stool at the island counter.  With a smile, she raised her cup to Helen, “Sláinte!”

     “Sláinte agatsa,” Helen smiled back, and the two women talked of times long gone, tucked in with the restorative powers of their tea.

     The training room smelled of sandalwood and dragon’s blood with a subtle undercurrent of jasmine.  The lights were turned low, candles flickering around the perimeter.  The soft sounds of a sitar emanated from a small stereo in the corner.  Helen Magnus, dressed in a black sports bra and alluringly tight yoga pants the same blue as her eyes, lay on her abdomen on the padded mat covering most of the room’s floor; pelvis lifted, legs in the air, knees bent, her chest raised in the air, arms extending over her head, hands grasping the pointed toes of her feet.  Rowan was next to her in similar attire, her long fiery hair tied back into a messy ponytail, holding a graceful bow pose of her own.

     “Why are we doing this?” Helen questioned.

     “Shh,” Rowan stretched deeper into the Dhanurasana, elongating her neck as she tilted her head further back.

     “What is the point?” the exasperation clear in Helen’s voice.

     “Your eyes are supposed to be closed,” Rowan softly admonished without opening her own eyes.

     Helen huffed a sigh.

     “Okay, now set your palms on the floor at your sides, lower your thighs to the floor, roll your torso into the air, locking your elbows, and tilt your head back so your crown is touching the points of your toes.”  Rowan fluidly moved into Bhujangasana.

     Helen, grudgingly, followed her lead, inhaling and exhaling at all the proper moments, she even closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind, simply focusing on the tension in her muscles.  After a very short few moments her eyes snapped open and she let out another agitated sigh.  “Seriously, this is stupid.”

     Sighing herself, Rowan opened her eyes and peered sideways at her lover, “It only works if ye give it a chance, Helen.”

     “Works how?  What on earth are we doing here, Rowan?  All this ‘incense, mellow, meld with the universe, sit still in silence’ nonsense- it makes my teeth itch!”

     “All right.  Obviously, tis not the best time for you to experiment with yoga,” Rowan relented, getting to her feet.  “Come on, then,” she extended a hand to Helen, helping her to her feet.

     “Well, Kemosabi, what say you on the matter of our next attempt to settle my-” Helen’s words were cut short, the wind knocked from her lungs as she found herself lying on her back on the mats.  Her feet had been swept out from under her, and Rowan was now standing above her, knees bent, hands at the ready, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet, the biggest grin Helen had ever seen spread across her beautiful face from ear to ear.  “Well now,” Helen said, now grinning herself, “that I can get behind.”  She rolled gracefully to her feet into her own ready stance, and it began.

     Helen sprung forward.  A wide right hook headed for Rowan’s cheek.

     Swiftly, Rowan’s left forearm knocked it away, her own right fist circling under toward Helen’s ribcage.

     Helen feinted backward.  Spinning to her left, right elbow poised to Rowan’s now exposed shoulder blade.

     Rowan ducked.  Using Helen’s own momentum, she tossed her over her shoulder onto the mat.

     “Oof!”  It took no time at all for Helen to collect herself and roll back onto her feet.  Smiling.

     Rowan tried to take advantage of the mere moments Helen had been off her feet.  She threw five blows, all in rapid succession.

     Helen easily blocked all five, countering with three of her own.

     Rowan fended off two and ducked the third.  She moved with lightning speed, as if she already knew what was coming, from where, and when.

     Lightly panting from the exertion, Helen questioned her, “Are you reading me?”  She threw a high kick, her right toes pointed to Rowan’s left temple.

     “What?” Rowan asked, startled, Helen’s ankle in her hand as she spun the striking brunette around, grappling her from behind.

     “Because,” Helen locked a tight hold around Rowan’s left arm wrapped over her shoulder, “that would be cheating.”  She fluidly flung the fire-haired faery over her shoulder onto the mat, straddling her and pinning her wrists to the floor above her head.  “Bad form,” she tsked.

     “I would,” Rowan thrust her hips up and left with a grunt, flipping Helen onto her back underneath her, “never do such a thing.”

     Helen shifted to roll Rowan off of her and stand up.

     But Rowan shoved her back against the floor, hands firm on her shoulders.  She leaned forward, her lips lightly brushing Helen’s in a taste of salt.

     As she leaned forward a bit more to deepen the kiss, Helen rolled her hips, sending her sprawling over Helen’s head onto the mat.  Now uncovered, Helen shot to her feet.

     Just as her footing solidified, Rowan’s leg lashed out at her ankles.

     Helen jumped the leg sweep with grace, but the follow up knee to the back of her thigh sent her staggering forward.

     Rowan, spinning through the kick to her feet, caught Helen by the straps of her bra and slammed her against the wall.  “Now that,” she panted against Helen’s ear, “was cheating.”  She ran her tongue up Helen’s neck, the salty tang of sweat mixing with the rainstorm sweetness of Helen’s natural flavor.

     Both women arched into the arousing gesture, then the intimacy shattered.  Rowan’s left foot throbbing where Helen’s heel had smashed against her instep.  A second blow from Helen’s knee caught her in the abdomen, just below her solar plexus, knocking the wind from her in a great whooshing grunt.  Taking full advantage of her gained ground, Helen grabbed her firmly by the hips and shoved her hard against the wall.

     “Really, Helen,” Rowan uttered with a groan, “attacking someone in a moment of affection, well, tis quite the underhanded play.”

     “Using one’s feminine charms to one’s full advantage,” Helen replied, biting aggressively at the tender spot on Rowan’s exposed neck, “is merely strategic maneuvering.”

     “Oh, is that so?”  Rowan swept her right leg around the outside of Helen’s left, hooking her foot around Helen’s ankle, at the same time pushing all her weight against Helen’s shoulders, unbalancing her center of gravity.

     Both women went sprawling to the floor, Helen back first, Rowan landing astride her once again, pinning her wrists to the floor.

     Helen lay prone, gasping, staring up into Rowan’s intense emerald eyes.

     Rowan sat, feeling the warmth of Helen’s hips pressed firmly between her thighs, enchanted by the sapphire glow gazing deeply into her.  She bent down and kissed her, hard, hungry.  “My gods, you are so hot !” she growled.

     Helen effortlessly rolled them over, pushing Rowan against the floor, returning the kiss with an aggressive one of her own, biting Rowan’s lower lip and tugging it with her teeth as she pulled away.  “This,” she laughed merrily, “was way better than your silly yoga idea.”

     Rowan grinned up at her, “Tensions all released now, Love?”

     “Mmm, not hardly.”  Helen stood, dragging Rowan up with her.  “Now I have a whole new bundle of nerves buzzing under my skin.”  She kissed Rowan again, pushing her tongue between her willingly parting lips, tangling it with Rowan’s eager one.  “I’m all hot and sweaty.  I need a shower.  You’re coming with me,” she commanded in a sexy, guttural tone.

     “Yes, ma’am!” Rowan smiled happily.

     The two women chased each other up the corridor and into Helen’s private chamber.

     An insistent knock at her bedroom door brought Helen out of the shower waters and her lover’s intoxicating embrace far sooner than she would have liked.

     Wrapping a robe around her still dripping body and grabbing a towel, she opened the door to the hall.

     Will, hand raised to knock again, stood before her, jaw slightly hanging at the sight of Magnus, dripping wet before him, in nothing but a rather well-fitted robe, head cocked slightly to the side, towling at her dark curls.

     After a few moments of Will gawping at her in silence, Helen spoke.  “Yes, Will?”

     “Uh, yeah.  Hi, Magnus.”

     “I assume there’s a reason you’re here, knocking on my bedroom door,” she spoke evenly, despite her irritation at being pulled away from Rowan so soon.  The tensions generated by the events of the past week had been eradicated by the sparring session, but the sexual tensions that had been caused by their rather hot fight were still tightly wound in her muscles.  A few more rounds in the shower with Rowan, which she had entirely planned on, would have alleviated her rather nicely.

     “Oh, uh, yeah,” Will cleared his head with a shake, remembering the mission that had brought him to the door of Magnus’s chambers.  “There’s a bit of a situation in Wyoming that could use your attention.  Involving bats.”

     “Bats?” Magnus questioned.  “Will, we don’t handle bats.”

     “Right, uh, abnormal bats.  Henry’s got all the info.  He’s in your office with the report.”

     “Very well.  I’ll be right down,” Magnus sighed reluctantly, accepting that she wouldn’t be finishing her romp in the shower any time soon.

     “Don’t you think you should look at this right away?” Will questioned.  Magnus was usually the first one on top of something like this.

     “Will?”

     “Yeah, Magnus?”

     “I’m going to put on some clothes first.”

     “Oh, yeah.  Right.  Clothes.  Sorry,” Will rubbed the back of his neck, obviously embarrassed by his oversight.  “Okay, I’ll just meet you in your office then.”  He walked quickly back down the hall, muttering to himself as he went.

     Helen closed the door, leaning against it in frustration.  “Bloody bats.”

     Rowan came out of the bathroom, damp hair flowing down the length of her water glistened body, naked and sparkling in the sunlight.  “Coming back in, Love?  I’ve been waiting rather impatiently for you,” she smirked mischievously.

     “Ugh!” Helen groaned.  She stared at Rowan, drinking in all her curves, “God, you are so sexy.”  She closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms slowly around Rowan’s waist, drawing her naked body against her.  “This is torture.  You standing here all pouty and dripping.”  She kissed the tops of Rowan’s breasts pressed firmly against hers, then she kissed her wet neck, her jawline, her lips.  “But apparently we have bats,” she groaned against Rowan’s mouth.

     “Bats?” the naked woman questioned, a note of amusement in her voice.

     “Abnormal bats.  In Wyoming.  Everyone’s waiting in the study.”

     Rowan chuckled, “Well, I guess we better see to it then.”  She pulled Helen closer, kissing her hard and long.  “Don’t worry,” she whispered against her ear, “I’ll make it worth your while, having to wait to finish our shower.”  She dropped a teasing wink over her shoulder as she turned and headed to the wardrobe standing against the far wall.

     A few days after their affair began, they had stashed a some of Rowan’s outfits at the back of Helen’s standing armoire for occasions just such as this.  It wouldn’t keep their relationship secret very long if Rowan kept appearing at morning meetings in the same clothes she had been wearing the day before, now rumpled from the night in between.

     They dressed quickly and headed for Helen’s study.  Rowan waited for a few minutes down the hall before entering behind Helen.  They didn’t want it to appear as if they had arrived together.  Helen had been adamant, the first night they had spent together, that she didn’t wish for Ashley to know about their affair, at least not yet, and Rowan was happy to oblige, for now.  So they flirted in secret and kissed behind closed doors.  They made no mention in mixed company of their feelings for each other, and any time they were called to something while otherwise occupied with each other, they took great pains to arrive separately.

      “All right, Will,” Magnus said, seating herself behind her desk.  “What’s going on with the bats?”

      “Actually, Henry’s got the full scoop.  I’m still working on the whole ‘bats are a Sanctuary problem’ part.”

      “Henry?”

      “Right, uh, they’re durango bats, Boss,” Henry approached Magnus’s desk and handed her his tablet.  “Apparently, there’s a small nest of them that decided to take up residence in some caves in Sweetwater County in Wyoming.”

      Rowan entered the room, taking up a perch on the arm of one of the oversized leather chairs, crossing her legs below her full, purple satin skirts.  Will noted her still damp hair braided down her back with curiosity, but said nothing.

      “And this is on our radar because?” Magnus prompted, interest piqued.

      “Well, you see, Doc, Wyoming’s only underground coal mine is in Sweetwater County.  In the caves where the bats decided to nest.  Seems they’re not too fond of all the noise and vibrations from the mining operation, and it’s gotten them all riled up.  They’ve been spooking the locals, and some of the miners have wound up in the hospital with some pretty severe bites.  The local doctor gave us a call after the men were treated.  Said she thought this looked like it was in our wheelhouse.”

      “So it is,” Magnus nodded, returning his tablet.  “All right, bag and capture run it is.  We’ll round up the cauldron and relocate them here.”

      “Wait,” Ashley, who had been sitting silently on the couch until now, spoke up.  “A cauldron, seriously?”

       “Quite.  A large grouping roosted in a cave is a colony, and a group in flight is a cloud,” Magnus answered, amused.  “Since Henry specified that this is a small nest, cauldron should do just fine.”

      “What do we do about the miners who’ve been bitten?” her daughter questioned with concern.

       “Well, I’ll get some treatments together from our stores here and we can drop them off at the hospital while we’re there.  How many are hurt, Henry?”

       He consulted the tablet, “Looks like twelve miners got bit before they temporarily shut down operations.  Seven of them are exhibiting just your standard symptoms, but five seem to be experiencing a more severe reaction.”

       “And the mines themselves?” Magnus raised her brow.

       “They’re gonna keep it closed until we get the place cleared out.  Local authorities are publicizing the story that the durangos are a rare breed of bat from Northern Canada who have been infested by a local parasite which caused them to migrate so far from home, the bug’s also what’s making them unusually aggressive.  When the miners got bit, it transferred the parasite, which is making the affected men sick.  They’ve cordoned off the area and advised locals to keep their distance while operations are undergoing.  We’re specialized animal control, coming to take the little buggers back home, where they belong.”

        “Nice cover,” Magnus smiled.

        Henry beamed, “Thanks, Boss.  Came up with it myself.”

        “All right, so what’s the plan?”

         “Uh, I’ve actually got some new sonic tech I’ve been toying around with.  I’m sure I could adjust the frequency to be effective on the bats.  You carry a few speakers around, funnel them into containment, pack ‘em out, and call it a day.”

      “How long?”

      “I can have ‘em ready in an hour, Boss,” Henry replied confidently.

      “Do it.”  Henry nodded and headed for his lab.  “Ashley, load some containers into the Bell.”

      “You got it, I’ll get the Big Guy to help me haul ‘em.  Five be enough?”

      Magnus nodded, “Will, the medicine cabinet in my lab, there are some vials labeled hydroxyzine pamoate, I’ll need three dozen.  Also get twenty vials of vancomycin.  Bring the vials and my medical bag up to the pad.  Rowan and I will get geared up and be ready to fly out by the time Henry’s done with his modifications.”  Smiling at Rowan, she asked, “How do you feel about helicopters?”

      “There’s a first time for everything,” Rowan grinned back.

      “Uh, Mom?  Shouldn’t I get geared up, too?  The Big Guy can totally handle the crates by himself.”

      “No, that’s quite all right, Ashley.  I think the two of us can handle this one.  Besides, don’t you have a supplies shipment from Sylvio to pick up and inventory?  Will can help you with that, since I’ll be busy,” she stood to begin preparations to leave.

      “But, Mom-”

      “Enough, Ashley.”  Magnus’s voice was stern, but kind, “We all have jobs to do.  They don’t just stop because something unexpected comes up.  If I’m out on a mission, I need you here taking care of the rest of our work.”  She smiled slyly, “Besides, do you really want to leave the weapons intake to Will?  He’s never handled one by himself before.”

      “No,” Ashley admitted, pouting.  “He’d probably load us up on .40s and 9s, and completely ignore all the fun stuff.”

      Helen walked around her desk and kissed her daughter lightly on the forehead, “Good girl.  Now, get the Bell loaded up.  We’ll meet you out there.”

      Shoulders hunched in pouting resignation, Ashley sulked out of the office.

      “I’ll go get changed,” Rowan said with an excited grin, heading out the door and up to her room.

      “Uh, Magnus?” Will had that awkward, uncomfortable look on his face again.

      “Yes?” she replied calmly, turning her full attention to him.

      “You were in the shower when I came to get you,” he spoke slowly, nervously.

      “I was.”

      “Rowan’s hair is wet,” he scratched at the base of his neck.

      “Your point, Will?” she hoped the exasperation she put on would show in her voice, covering the rising panic she was feeling at where this line of questioning was leading.

      “Were, uh, was she in the shower with you?” his cheeks were flushed and he wouldn’t meet her eye.

      “Honestly, Will,” Magnus brushed him off as if it were the most absurd notion she had ever heard.  “We had a bit of a sparring session in the training room this morning.  I got rather sweaty and decided to take a shower.  I’m sure Rowan did the same.”

      “Oh, right,” Will studied the toes of his tennis shoes rather sheepishly.

      “Are you quite finished?” Magnus poured all the irritated offense into her voice that she could muster.  In truth, she was simply relieved that he seemed to be taking her half story at face value.

      “Yeah, Magnus.  I’m done.  Sorry,” he left her study and headed for her lab.

      Twenty minutes later Helen was standing at her door, covered head to toe in skintight black leather.  Knee high heeled boots zipped over the pants intimately hugging every last curve of her hips and exquisitely sculpted backside, a double breasted jacket leaving nothing to the imagination as it accentuated the swell of her ample chest, its collar was buttoned up her elegant neck and its sleeves were pulled tightly down over thin but sturdy leather gloves.  Her hair was swept up into a tight ponytail, just a few delicate whisps escaping to frame her face.  Rowan gulped, staring with ardour at the alluring form propped provocatively in her door frame.

      “Like what you see?” Helen smiled seductively, blue eyes ablaze with carnality.

      “Oh dear gods,” Rowan breathed.  “I am so tearing that off of you when we get back.”  Gathering Helen hungrily in her arms, she smothered her with kisses.

      Staggering when Rowan let her go, Helen placed a hand against the door frame to support herself.  “Dear Lord,” she murmured, her other hand pressed to her lips as she gasped, trying to regain her breath.

      “Sorry.  Mission time, I know.  Sexy thoughts later.”  Rowan flashed a wicked grin, “Seeing you like that, I just couldn’t help it.  The sexy thoughts invaded with a mind of their own.”

      A similarly aroused gleam flashed in Helen’s eyes.  “I’m about to have sexy thoughts of my own.  Strip.”  Her voice was sexy, commanding, lustful.  She held out a hanger full of leather, boots and all.  “This one’s yours,” she smirked.

      Rowan did as she was bid.  She couldn’t say no to Helen, using that voice, wearing that outfit.  Gods, she didn’t know how she was going to make it through the next ten minutes without flinging her against a wall and ravaging her without mercy, let alone make it through the whole mission.

      As she changed, Helen explained, “It’s for protection.  Think of it as armor.  The bats' fangs can’t penetrate the leather, and by keeping all but our faces covered by it, we’re far less likely to get bit if they decide to turn their aggression on us.”

      Rowan nodded.  It made sense.  Practically speaking.  Though, her focus was still entirely wrapped up in the fact that it was super hot, and the already unbelievably sexy form of Helen Magnus was now giving her some seriously kinky thoughts.

      Securing the zipper of her second boot, Rowan straightened, tugging at the hem of her jacket and smoothing her hands over the thighs of her pants, her crimson braid falling down her back, swinging like a pendulum.

      “Good God,” Helen gulped, licking her lips, fire blazing in her blue eyes.  “Well, I believe I now comprehend the nature of your response upon seeing me.”  A deep, frustrated growl emanated from low in her throat.  “Of all the days to be interrupted and left wanting!”

      Rowan smiled as she wrapped an arm around Helen’s waist, drawing her young lover firmly against her, caressing her full lips with passionate kisses.  “I’ll make it worth the wait,” she winked.  “Swear.”

      Helen stared into her eyes, lost in the depths of the jungle within them, “I don’t know if I can wait.”

      “Of course ye can,” she smiled sweetly, a firm finger crooked under Helen’s delicate chin.  “You’re Helen Magnus, savior of the unseen world.  Kicking butt and rescuing misunderstood creatures is what you do.  Tis what ye live for.  Everything else is secondary for you.  I’ve always known that, and I have no qualms with it.  That’s what life with you is, interruptions and crises and unexpected retrieval missions.”  Rowan placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, “We just pull our clothes back on and rush off to do what needs to be done.  Once you’ve saved the day, yet again, we can fall back into bed and lose ourselves in each other once more.  At least until the next knock at the door comes.”

       Helen nodded, solemnly, “All right, then.  I don’t know if I want to wait.  I’ve already waited over a hundred years for you, now that you’re here in my arms,” she let out an exasperated sigh, dropping her gaze and shaking her head.  “I don’t want to do anything but be with you.  It’s been too long, and it’s been too hard, Rowan.  I don’t want work, I don’t want missions, I don’t want bloody inconvenient interruptions.  I just want us.  Alone.  At least, for a little while.”

       “Why, Helen,” Rowan gasped with mock shock.  “Is the great Dr. Magnus actually asking to go on holiday?”

       Helen slowly brought her eyes back up to meet Rowan’s, the look of stunned amazement in them gradually dawning into comprehension.  “Yes,” she said quietly.  “Yes, I think I am.”

       “Come,” she said, bestowing Helen’s cheek with a sweet kiss.  “We can make travel plans after we rescue the bats.”

       Arriving at the helio pad, the women were greeted by the others, already waiting.  “Everything in order?” Helen asked, as Rowan placed the duffel she had been carrying behind the seat.  They had stopped by the armory on their way down and loaded the bag with a couple of 9mms and a Stunner for each of them.

       “Containment crates are loaded, and she’s all gassed up, Mom.”  Ashley gave her a quick hug and a sidelong glance.

        “Yes, Ashley.  I’m sure.  Thank you for taking care of things here while I’m away.”  Helen smiled, reassuringly.

        Ashley rolled her eyes, “Just be careful, okay?”

        Helen winked.

         “Uh, this is everything you asked for,” Will said, handing her two bags, one containing her medical instruments, the other the medicines she’d asked for to combat the bites of the bats.

         Magnus peeked into the one holding the makings for the serums, nodding approval, then slipped both bags next to the duffel Rowan had already loaded.

        Now Henry’s turn, he stepped forward and handed Magnus two megaphones.  At least, that’s what they looked like.  “Okay, so these babies emit a frequency specifically geared to the unique sonic vibrations of the durango bats- designed the wave patterns myself,” he grinned broadly.  “Just point these beauties at the bats, in the direction you want them to go, and you’ll be able to herd them to the containment crates as easy as a veteran sheep dog corrals a newborn flock of bleating lambs.”

        “Well done, Henry,” she smiled affectionately.

        Henry beamed under the compliment, “Oh, Doc!”  He dug into his pockets, producing a handful of small discs.  “They’re micro speakers.  They produce the ‘fly here’ signal, if you will.  Just put one in each crate and,” his hand slipped back into his pocket for a moment before returning with a small transmitter, “then you just flip this switch, here, and presto.  Now you’ve got ultrasonic bat navigation from both sides.”

        “Thank you, everyone.  We’ll be back in a few days,” Helen climbed into the pilot’s seat of the Bell 407 and Rowan climbed up front after her.

        “Oh, Mom!” Ashley called.  “I figured you’d want to stop at the hospital first, so I hung two lab coats in the back.  Might not exactly make the impression you want, showing up in head to toe leather and thigh holsters,” she smirked.

         Helen nodded, “Thank you.”

       The blades of the Bell spun to life and, under the well trained, capable hands of Helen Magnus, she lifted gracefully into the air and arced over Old City, heading to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County in Rock Springs, Wyoming.

      After a quick stop in Spring Creek, Nevada to refuel, and a couple of hours spent at Sweetwater Memorial administering Helen’s durango bite treatment, the two women had touched down in the clearing just outside the entrance to the mining caves where they had unloaded the crates, placing them strategically in a few of the false exits near the true one before they sealed it up with netting, just in case any of the bats ignored Henry’s sonic signal and tried to make a break for it.  Arming themselves, a Stunner in their right thigh holsters, one of the 9mms in their left thigh holsters and the other tucked into the back of their waistbands, they began scouting the caves, both for the bats and for the best route to guide them to the containment crates so they could be relocated to the Sanctuary.

     “Why did ye bring me?” Rowan asked suddenly.

     Though Helen seemed unfazed by the out of the blue nature of the query.  “What do you mean?”

     “On this mission.  Ashley’s your right hand for this sort of thing, is she not?  Yet you’ve got her babysitting the Sanctuary, and I’m out here in the field with you.  Why?”

     Helen smiled, “Well, I enjoy spending time with you, and this was a perfect excuse to have you all to myself for several days.”  Catching Rowan’s raised brows from the side of her vision, she cleared her throat and her response took on a more serious quality.  “I thought it was a good opportunity to involve you, to make you a larger part of my life, not just my bedroom.  It seems, despite what anyone’s intentions may or may not have been, that this little tête-à-tête of ours is more than just a passing physical thing, yes?  So I thought it might be nice for you to be actively involved in all of my life, not just the naked bits.”  She smiled, biting her lower lip at the naked thought.  “I also thought it might be a nice change of pace, for both of us, to be able to be away for a few days, alone, where we could just be together as we wish.  No sneaking or hiding or watching what we say or how we look at each other.”  She sighed deeply.  “As fun and exciting as it is, running around conducting this secret, illicit affair with you in the shadows, sometimes I’d really like to just be able to walk down the hallway holding your hand, or be sitting in a meeting and see a wisp of your hair being unruly and reach over and tuck it out of your face, without worrying who might see or what they might think.  I’d like to just be natural with you.”

     Rowan let out a lilting laugh, “Wait, are we actually having the ‘what are we and where is this going’ conversation?  Dochreidte.[Amazing.]   Helen, we’ve been having sex for what, all of four weeks?”

     Helen stopped, turning to face her, “What is so funny?”

     “I’m sorry,” Rowan got her voice under control, stifling another laugh.  “I just never in a million years would have taken ye as one for this oh-so-modern-human little chat.  The very idea, it goes completely against everything that makes you, well, you .”

     “Hmph!” Helen sniffed in distaste, crossing her arms over her chest, she hated being compared to the latest generations.  She hated it even more when the comparison was accurate.  Then her demeanor softened, her eyes returning to Rowan.  “Years change people, and I’ve certainly had plenty of them.  I don’t have the confidence I once had when it comes to the matters of my love life.”  She let out a soft, resigned sigh, “Or maybe I’d still be just as self-assured as I’ve always been, if it were anyone but you.  And, yes, we’ve only been having sex for about a month, but we’ve been flirting with each other and the idea of being something more to each other for over a hundred and twenty years.  It may well be a might early on the physical side of things but, considering, I’d say we’re long overdue.”  Her soft, lovely eyes searched Rowan’s face intently.  “What are we?  What is this that we’re doing?  Because I don’t know….”

     Rowan cupped the younger woman’s face delicately in her soft hands, and her quiet words were deliberate, intentional, “Ó, Grá,[Oh, Love,] I’ve told ye before, and I meant it with every fiber of my being.  I love you, Helen.  I’m in love with you.  Deeply, passionately, intensely, overwhelmingly, maddeningly in love with you .  Twould do anything for thee.  Give anything to be with you.  In whatever capacity ye might have me.  We are whatever you wish us to be.  I gave you all of myself ever so long ago, willingly and without regret or expectation.  I shall take however much of yourself thou art willing to let me have, in thy own time, for as long as ye shall allow me to have you.”

     Helen’s eyes were wide, her mouth a startled O.  Slowly, she laid her fingers against her lips, stifling a gasp as the dawning realization of the depth of the statement Rowan had just made crashed over her.  “Rowan, no.  You don’t mean-”

     “Don’t, Helen.  Please.  Twould do no good and I couldn’t bear to hear you tell me not to.  It’s too late to stop me, anyway.”  Helen’s trembling hand still covered her mouth, her head shaking ever so slightly from side to side in disbelief.  “It’s over a century too late.  I chose you as my mate long ago, Helen.  For better or worse, for good or ill, whether you ever choose me in return or not.  It matters not.  None of it matters.  You have my heart, Love, all of it, and ye always have.”  Rowan couldn’t look at Helen’s mournful face any longer.  She turned aside and continued into the caves in the direction they had been heading, after a few moments she heard Helen beside her, walking in stunned silence.  “So, you see, what we are and where this is or isn’t going is entirely up to you.  It always has been.”

     Helen’s fingers brushed against hers, and then they were entwined, laced together in an easy and unassuming comfortableness.  They just fit.  Rowan’s heart fluttered rapidly within her breast, to walk with her life’s love this way, so comfortable, so obviously together, so out in the open- it was the way she would have given anything to walk with Helen down the halls of Oxford or through the streets of Piccadilly or in the gardens of Kensington.  But they couldn’t, not then; the world was too different then, an unwelcome place for women such as Helen and herself anyway, without adding the extra difficulty of being publicly seen as Sapphic companions.  Honestly, the scrutiny and the ridicule wouldn’t have bothered Rowan in the least, not for herself.  But Helen had a life to build and a reputation to uphold, and Rowan would see nothing done to hinder her in that regard.  She wouldn’t see the woman she loves tarnished in such a way, even for the sake of having her for her own.  Yet, as it always has and always will, the world was changing again.  Things weren’t looked down upon so harshly as they once were, and Helen was no longer a mere girl trying to find feet of her own out from under her father’s imposing shadow.  Helen’s feet were firmly planted and her reputation spoke quite loudly for itself as it preceded her everywhere she went.  Maybe, just maybe, the time for hiding in darkened alcoves and behind draperies was coming to a close, and if Helen- seriously, Helen of all people- was having “the talk” with her, maybe they could finally be something more, and maybe they wouldn’t have to hide it from anyone anymore, either.  The two women walked further into the darkness of the tunnel ahead of them, hand in hand, content to simply be together with no expectations upon them- either their own or anyone else’s.

     “I don’t know,” Helen said quietly.

     “Don’t know what, grá mo shaol?[love of my life?]”

     “I don’t know what we are, or what we should be, or where all of this is headed.  I feel like a school girl and a fool.  I’m so infatuated with you and so intoxicated by what we’ve been doing lately, sometimes I feel like I must be out of my mind.  I’m happy, Rowan, truly.  For the first time in a very long time, I’m completely happy.  I don’t want to rush it, or unfairly define it, or try and shove it into some conventionally expected box.  We’re not conventional, neither one of us.  We never have been.  It’s utterly absurd to expect whatever it is we have between us to be conventional.  It’s taken us two lifetimes to get here, to where we are with each other, why does the rest of it have to be fast?”  She stopped again, turning to face the graceful older woman whose fingers were still laced with her own.  “Why do we have to decide?  Can’t we just enjoy this moment and each other and allow it to flow naturally as it will?  Just let it carry us wherever it may in its own time?”

     “What do you want, Helen?”

     “I just want to be with you.  Whatever that looks like, however long it lasts.  No guidelines or constraints, no expectations, no labels, no requirements.  I just want us, this, whatever this is, to grow and evolve naturally, at whatever pace feels right each step of the way.  I don’t want to force anything.  This is good.  We are good.  Making things be something, that’s how they get broken.  I don’t want to break us.  I just want to enjoy us just as we are.”  She smiled into the depthless green eyes she’d grown to love so dearly.  At first, the unnaturalness of their green and the intensity of their gaze was startling, unsettling.  As their friendship grew, they became enigmatic and intriguing, a mystery to be unravelled and solved, a fascinating piece of the puzzle that was Rowan’s abnormality.  Now, though- and she realized she couldn’t even put a finger on when exactly it had happened- now they were strength and beauty and warmth and safety and comfort and wonder and excitement and happiness.  Yes, she thought, that was it exactly.  Now, those eyes were home.  “Is that alright with you?”

     “For you, Darling, anything,” Rowan kissed her tenderly, gently stroking her cheek with the fingers that weren’t still interwoven with Helen’s.  “But, if you wish to know the truth, I think it sounds perfect.  And rather eloquently expressed.  Not at all the sentiments of some foolish school girl,” she grinned merrily, and let out a happy chuckle when a smile broke across Helen’s lips as well.  They continued on, still in search of the cauldron they’d come to relocate.  “Logh dom, ach[Forgive me, but] since you did bring up the subject, my love….”

     Helen’s light flashed across the convergence they had come to, her eyes scanning the area.  She quickly settled on the path she felt would lead where they needed to go, and she led Rowan down yet another tunnel, deeper into the hillside.  Her eyes flicked sideways to Rowan’s face as they resumed their trek, “Yes?”

     “Ashley, Leannán.[Lover.]   At first I couldn’t talk with her because I was afraid she would read my feelings for thee before ye realized them thyself.  Now I can’t talk to her because I’m afraid she’ll see I’ve lain with you, and I truly feel that whatever it is we’re doing is best learned from you.  You said you asked me to come with you on this mission because ye want to make me a bigger part of thy life, to involve me in all aspects, not just your bed.  ….  Come to think of it, I’ve not been in your bed.  Sorry.  ….  I guess, my point is, how can I truly be involved in your life when the biggest part of your life- thy daughter- believes me to be naught but some old friend, and not even all that old, come to think of it?”

     “You’re right.  I know, it’s entirely unfair to shut you out of that part of me.  I need to talk to her about us, and I will.  It’s just….” she trailed off, her eyes flicking sideways to Rowan again.

     “It’s what, Darling?  Whatever it is, tell me,” she spoke softly, kindness and reassurance in her voice.

     “Well, honestly?  It’s an insane turn on.  The excitement of the secrecy, the sneaking in and out of each others’ rooms, the potential to be ‘caught’ at any moment.  I know we’re both adults, and it’s not as if any real trouble would come of it, but I find it terribly arousing, even if we do get interrupted far more than we’d like.  Could we wait just a bit, to tell people, I mean?  I’d like to keep it our secret for just a bit longer.  I’ve waited an awfully long time for you, to be with you, for this; I’d like to keep it private- sacred- just a bit longer before I have to share us with everyone else.”  She glanced nervously at Rowan, an awkward half smile on her lips.

     Rowan laughed, deep, melodious, genuine laughter.  “Tis your special treasure that you’ve discovered, and ye’d wish to keep its secret to thyself a while longer before you have to tell the world it’s been found, aye?  Is that it?”  She smiled happily at Helen, relieved to hear it was her deep value of what they were sharing that fueled her desire to keep it from her daughter and not, as Rowan had feared it might be, some bizarre sense of shame or a lack of affection deeper than physical interest that was driving her silence.

     Helen nodded, still unsure what to make of Rowan’s reaction.

     “Then it shall remain our treasured secret a bit longer.  As well as our randy tidbit of added foreplay,” she smirked wickedly.  Helen’s sexual appetites, as well as the things that drove them, never ceased to amaze her.  Memory flooded her, they did that sometimes, her memories, just washed over her from nowhere, taking over all her senses, almost as if she were living the events in them all over anew.  As this one began to pour over her and through her, consuming her with its vivid colors and smells and sounds and sensations, she wondered if that was why it had been so easy to stir Helen’s desires on that Christmas Eve so long ago.  She wondered if Helen had responded so quickly and thoroughly to her ministrations because there was the ever-looming chance that at any moment one of the boys- or, perhaps, Helen’s own father- might have come down the hallway and found them pressed together in that niche in the wall, sweating and panting, hands crawling all over each other.  The memory set her pulse racing, but the thought that, even then, the magnificent Helen Magnus had quite the wild side tugged an amused smile to her lips.

     At the next convergence of tunnels, Helen chose the left fork and, after another fifteen minutes walk, they were spilled into a large underground cavern, a pool of water took up most of the center of the cavern, stalactites and stalagmites ringing its perimeter, and all around them a dazzling blue glow, shining off the surface of the water, scaling the walls of the cavern, twinkling on the ceiling like a thousand stars. Perched in the stars, a cauldron of bats, clinging with their feet to the ceiling.  Both women gaped at the unexpected wonder they had stumbled into, stunned by the brilliance of the sight.

     “Bioluminescent fungi.  Incredible,” Helen was grinning giddily.  “This must be why the bats chose this cave.  We should take some samples back with us, use it when we engineer their habitat.  It would be fantastic to be able to observe their habits in such a unique setting.  I’ve studied the durangos before, but never under such circumstances.”

     “Tis gorgeous,” Rowan breathed, softly.

     Helen nodded her agreement as she turned to smile at Rowan.  As her eyes fell on the older woman, she became aware that Rowan hadn’t been speaking about the cavern at all.  She was watching the way the soft glow danced across Helen’s face, and her cheeks reddened as she realized the comment was, in fact, about her.  “Flatterer,” Helen whispered.

     “Níl ar chor ar bith.[Not at all.]   I speak only the truth,” Rowan replied firmly.

     Helen blushed again.  “All right, I guess we ought to round these little guys up first, then come back for the fungi samples.”

     Rowan nodded her assent.  “What’s the plan, Boss?”

     “Oh, you,” she gave Rowan’s arm a playful swat.  “Well, I’m not sure how much of a range Henry’s Crate Beacons have.  But the next convergence only has one wrong offshoot.  If you block that tunnel, carrying your Sonic Director-” Rowan gave Helen a questioning look that clearly read Seriously? “we’re still working out the naming bit, okay?- and I guide them out of here with mine, then we should be able to funnel them into the proper channel and by the time we reach another convergence, we should be well within range of the Beacons.  After we have them all boxed up, we can come back and collect some of these fungi to regrow in their habitat back home.”

     “Sounds good to me,” Rowan gave her a quick kiss and headed back to the last intersection.

     Helen’s plan went smoothly, and Henry’s new devices worked masterfully.  The women had the entire cauldron of durango bats successfully encapsulated in their crates, it had only taken four of the five they brought to hold them all, and the crates securely loaded back onto the Bell in under three hours; at which point they had headed back to the glowing cavern to collect the fungus they would need to regerminate the species once they got back to the Sanctuary.  A number of fine specimens tucked safely away into the bag that had held the medicines they had delivered to the hospital, they took a few moments to admire the marvel that nature had so delicately created in this cavern beneath the surface of the earth.  Well, that, and to bask in the fact that, at least at the moment, they were perfectly free to just be, together.

     As Helen gazed at the ceiling, thoroughly enchanted by the glow of the dancing lights, Rowan walked slowly down toward the waters’ edge, dropping her jacket along the way.  She unzipped her boots and tossed them aside.  Helen realized she was now standing alone at the mouth of the cavern and her attention found her lover at the rim of the pool just as she was wiggling her way out of her constricting leather pants.

     “What on earth are you doing?” Helen called down to her.

     Rowan’s bright eyes twinkled back up at her, “Fancy a swim?”

     “What, here?  Rowan, you can’t be serious.  We have no idea what might be in that water, and we have a helicopter full of bats waiting to be relocated….”

     “Come on, live a little, Helen!”  Her pants successfully discarded along with the rest of her gear and releasing her abundant tresses from their braid, dressed in only her underwear, she waded into the water until she was far enough out to be safe, and her sleek form, glowing in the light of the cave, gracefully took a shallow dive into the luminous water of the underground lagoon.

     Grumbling under her breath, Helen strode determinedly down to the shore.  She could live a lot and did quite frequently, thankyouverymuch.  She was a great liver.  She constantly leapt without looking and made the most of any situation and did the crazy things that no one else thought were good ideas and carpe diem’d.  She could live in the moment with the best of them.  She was the best of them!

     Her head emerging from the water, Rowan allowed herself a small grin that her little jibe had worked.  Helen began working the buttons of her jacket, and Rowan glided across the water toward her.  Close enough to see Helen clearly, yet still submerged herself, Rowan spoke in a husky voice, “Slowly.”  Something about this place, and being here with Helen, alone with Helen, no possibilities of interruption this time…  She could feel the energies of the Earth thrumming through her veins, heightening her senses, elevating her desires.

     Helen looked at her, startled, but her hands slowed, her fingers working with methodical calculation.  All the buttons of her coat unfastened, she let the material leisurely slip from her shoulders, down her arms, drop to the ground.  She bent, the pale, rounded tops of her breasts spilling over the lace edge of her bra, gradually unzipping her boots, one and then the other, tugging them from her feet, letting them fall with her jacket.  She hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her pants, one above each hip, sliding them down her unending legs with maddening deliberateness.  All the while, her sparkling blue eyes never left Rowan.  It was intoxicating, watching Helen watch her watching as she enticingly undressed herself.  Helen straightened, her lithe, curving body glittering beneath the iridescent twinkle from above, naked except for the delicate black lace tantalizingly caressing the swell of her breasts and the space between her hips.

     A single finger breaking the water’s surface beckoned Helen into the pool.

     Helen stepped into the water, slowly submerging herself as she walked toward Rowan, fully entranced by this place and the pulse and throb of the water around her.

     Rowan’s feet found purchase, and she slowly helped Helen close the distance between them, the two women colliding in the lagoon, only their heads and shoulders above the rippling surface.  Their arms twining around each other, Helen’s legs encircling Rowan’s waist, the elder’s hair swirling about them both, like fire floating across the veneer of the subterranean lake.  Time ceased to flow, their own intense heartbeats the only reminder that such a thing as time used to exist at all.  Rowan stood in the water, holding Helen close against her, the two of them drowning in the depths of each others’ eyes, lost on the endless sea of what they found there, looking back at them.

     Neither knew who had leaned into whom first, yet suddenly they were kissing.  Immense, impassioned, devout, profound, eloquent kisses.  Boundless, inexhaustible, eternal kisses; adoration bubbling up from the depths within them, marveling at the magnificence in their arms, worshipping each other with wonderment and reverence.  There was no fervor or desperation in their movements, there was no need for it; no one would intrude on their liaison, not another solitary soul existed in the universe, it was only the two of them; they need not hasten,  for there was no time, everything was infinite, innumerable, unending.  They drifted in the depthless seas of this incandescent elysium, relishing the intimacy of their solitude.  They kissed each other, caressed each other, studied each other.  Slow, methodical, deliberate.  Overwhelmed by the languid bliss of being wholly enveloped within each other.

     Helen’s fingertips brushed sensuously down Rowan’s spine, deftly unclasping her bra, fingers tenderly gliding the straps from her shoulders, abandoning it to the water; her delicate digits trailing soft patterns along the arc of her buoyant bosom as her lips whispered sweetly up the curve of one shoulder, across her neck, then down the sweep of the other shoulder.

     Trembling softly under her lover’s touch, Rowan released Helen’s enchanting bust from the swell of its black lace binding, setting the shroud adrift with her own; hands roaming the soft flesh of her elegant back, touring the seductive contour of her hips, grasping the edge of her panties, gradually drawing them down the crest of her backside; Helen replying by unwinding her legs from about Rowan’s hips, pulling one foot and then the other out of the dainty lace which was also forgotten to the modest sea.

     Helen ducked below the surface, tugging Rowan’s underpants down her luxurious legs, before reassuming her position tangled tightly around Rowan’s hips and torso, kissing her anew.

    The two women drank each other in, sustaining themselves on one another’s breath, intoxicated by the decadent taste of the lips pressed beneath their own.  All thoughts evaporated, every act now driven by instinct, emotion, sensation, desire.  Their primal need for each other was the only thing of consequence, and they couldn’t get enough.

     Helen was transfixed by Rowan’s intense, verdant gaze, arms wound around her neck, hands buried in her scarlet hair.  “The old legends, they say the Leannán Sídhe have powers,” she whispered, breathless.  “That they…  They say that they can….” her words trailed, but her meaning was clear.  She licked her lips as she spoke again, even more hushed than she had before, “Is it true?”

     Rowan smiled, “Oh, yes.”

     Helen drew in a short breath, gulping.  “Show me.”

     Rowan bound her love tighter in her arms, drawing her closer against her, their skin alight with the uninhibited press of flesh.  Focus fixed firmly on the lazuline orbs held in thrall by her own jade gaze, she opened herself; tendrils at first, licking their way across skin, then tongues of flame burning over their flesh, finally they were utterly engulfed in the blaze of Rowan’s magick.  Ancient, primal, potent, primordial magick.  The exclusive gift of the ‘Faery-Lover’, the Leannán Sídhe; designed to saturate the human conquest of the ‘muse’ with sexual arousal, desire, heat, stimulation.  Such a gift could even bring a mere mortal to completion without so much as a single, physical touch; thus was the power of the Olde Ways.  Rowan unfurled that power now, pouring it over Helen in a glorious inferno of erotic awakening; she held nothing back, the full force of her magick coursing wildly through them both.

    Helen’s eyes widened as Rowan’s power broke over her, the tremendous intensity of the sensations washing over her body was overwhelming, every nerve vibrating with hypnotic elation, it was exquisite.  Having Rowan’s hands on her- in her- was thrilling, dizzying, jubilant; but this, dear God, this was something different entirely.  She couldn’t even begin to describe the force devouring her body, nor did she care to.  All she wanted was Rowan, this feeling, this moment, this magic.  Entirely unaware that she was doing it, Helen began rocking her hips rhythmically against Rowan’s, using a hand on her shoulder as leverage, the other firmly clutching the supple skin of her back, drawing her closer.

     Rowan’s left hand was tucked securely under Helen’s bum, easily supporting her and offering greater purchase as her seductive hips rocked and swayed with the thrumming rhythm of the magick thundering around them, her right was tangled in the chocolate locks at the base of Helen’s neck, pulling her into a euphoric kiss, her own hips taking up the primal beat of Olde Power.

     Panting and gasping against each other’s lips, the lovers clung tightly to one another as their bodies danced under the water, fueled by the forces of the earth surrounding them.  Helen’s fingers wrapped their way through Rowan’s hair, her hand cupping the back of her neck, pulling herself slightly out of the water, bobbing up and down, faster and faster little by little as her body instinctually sped its pace in unison with the climb of the magicks and that of her need.  Their kisses now carried more intensity, more depth; they clawed at each other as their respirations shallowed, their pulses quickening; the drum of magick in their bones rumbled more arduously, hastening.  Their subtle gasps and moans called to one another, adding yet another layer to the symphony they were composing in each other’s arms.  Even the flicker of the glowing fungi seemed to pulse in time to the rhythm of their love.

     The whole world stopped, all of creation beat in perfect sync with their quivering forms, tangled together in the crashing waves of the motionless lagoon.  They held each other’s heads, foreheads pressed together, eyes locked, lips trembling, panting in unison.  Almost imperceptibly, Helen nodded, yes, now, please .  Rowan let loose a bolt of lightning, the final burst she had been holding back, waiting.  A clap of thunder echoed around them, within them, the shockwave sending a ripple spiraling out across the water’s surface.  Both women shuddered violently against each other, crying out together, their voices echoing through the cavern, ringing out across them, again and again.  Muscles seizing and quaking, they clung fast to each other, shivering with the intensity of the release that wracked them both.

     Rowan’s lips kissing her tenderly, her soft, strong hands supporting her, cradling her, drawing her closer, relishing the experience they had just shared, Helen surprisingly found the only coherent thought she could muster was one she would have previously sworn would never, under any circumstances, have come from her with any sincerity.  Drowning in Rowan’s kisses, sustained in Rowan’s arms, allowing herself to be entirely consumed by the warmth and love of the woman holding her so tenderly, Helen thought hazily Maybe there truly is such a thing as magic, after all.

     After the waves had subsided, Helen had been too spent to hold herself, so Rowan had carried her to the shore and then she had gone back to retrieve their abandoned undergarments.  They had lain together on the smooth rock floor of the cavern for who knows how long, ever so slowly allowing the world to revive around them.  Helen had dozed, regenerating her strength, and Rowan had held vigil over her, lightly stroking her face, her hair, utterly dazzled by the power and the beauty encompassed within the peacefully dreaming woman she was lucky enough to be able to hold in her arms and call her own.  Even now, Rowan found it almost impossible to believe it wasn’t all just some elaborate dream.  That Helen Magnus could truly, genuinely be hers- dodhéanta -[impossible-]  well, it couldn’t be real.

     Helen found Rowan on the roof of the tower, sitting on the parapet, propped against the corner merlon.  “The durangos are all settled into their new home, and the fungi specimens are acclimating well,” Helen smiled, settling herself between Rowan’s legs and nuzzling snuggly into her chest, head tucked beneath her chin.  Rowan wrapped her arms, and the blanket she wore about her shoulders, tightly around Helen, holding her close.  She softly kissed the top of her head, and Helen released a contented sigh.  The two stared out over the city, lights and stars twinkling alike, completely at peace to simply be.  “Is that truly how you see me?” Helen asked eventually, breaking their comfortable silence.  “Savior of the unseen world?”

     Rowan laughed lightly, the sound was warm deep in her chest below Helen’s ear, “Oh, my Love.  That, and so much more.”  She gingerly kissed Helen’s crown again, nuzzling her nose into her hair, drinking in the honeysuckle and sunshine smell of her, smiling happily as she held the woman of her dreams close to her breast as they watched the new day dawn over the city.