Kindly edited by @CollinHarrison4

Floren was returning from her morning rituals - a task made more difficult in the woods. She wondered how it had become second nature to Juno. Of course, it was better than the duties of the nighthouse. Juno was paired with the Answer and held a place of respect. Perhaps that is why she was so adamant about Serenity. Love and position were hard to share.

"You have risen early," Gossamer said as he emerged from the trees and matched her pace.

"It is the sounds," Floren said. "I am not used to the scurrying of things in the dark. That, and there is one who snores. O'fan, I think."

"I find a swift kick rolls him over and silences his song," Gossamer said. He smiled when she glanced up. It was a warm, well-practiced smile, endearing in a way.

"You wish something of me?" Floren asked. Never trust a storyteller's smile.

"Aye," Gossamer sighed. "Though I thought I would broach it as we break our fast."

"Wear me down, will you?"

Gossamer laughed. "It was my intent."

"Tea then," Floren said. "Mayhap serving me such a thing would weaken my will."

"I will retrieve you a mug, my lady," Gossamer said. Floren smiled as the man headed off. Manipulative, to be sure, but he was kind. She withheld her complaint about the title 'lady' because she enjoyed hearing it emerge from his lips. Gossamer was a friend and held her in respect. She would return the same. Their history demanded it.

Floren moved toward her gear, shuffling past some others who were beginning their day. Many were still asleep, lumps of blankets that looked at home on the forest floor. In the three days since she had arrived, the army had grown. She knew it wasn't Kelton's intent, but the news of the promise had traveled fast. O'fan's scouts had been trying to dissuade them from an early arrival. Few listened. It was lucky that many brought dried foods. The woods around them were being emptied of game quickly. She knew they would have to move soon.

Gossamer returned as Floren rolled up her blanket. He held forth a steaming mug, a twin to the one in his other hand. It was most welcome. Without words, they both sat on the sleep-trampled grasses beneath the tree.

"It smells like rain," Gossamer said, then took a sip and examined the sky through the leaves.

"What is done when it rains?" Floren asked. She wrapped both hands around the mug to absorb its warmth.

"We get wet," Gossamer replied. Floren smirked, though she recognized the words as truth. She was not looking forward to rain.

"We are too old to dither about," Floren said. "What would you have of me?"

Gossamer chuckled at the directness. "Your attempts to push the last-of-the-line to the Answer have not gone unnoticed. I think it unwise."

"You coddle the boy's dreams," Floren returned. "Your love for him is understandable, but the Mothers are as one in this. It is time for the story to complete."

"Boy?" Gossamer said with wide eyes. "He has crossed the sea and returned with knowledge you never dreamed existed. He slices through white robes as if they were water. Men gather," his hand circling about the camp, "risking all to be at his side." He chuckled. "Do you presume you and yours know what is best for him?"

"Aye," Floren said. "You know well the time is coming. The Answer and the last-of-the-line must be one. All else has happened."

"They are old words, and the true meaning is unknown. Mayhap there is no meaning." Gossamer shook his head. "You are right in thinking the time is near. With so much pain to come, do not damage their hearts - it is the only solace they may find."

"And what of this land?" Floren argued. "You would throw it all away for mere moments of happiness."

Gossamer smiled. "You see moments, and I see a lifetime. Are you so lost in the curse you have forgotten desire?" It was a soft smile as if he held pity for Floren. Though it should anger her, she found it pleasing.

"It has been dulled some," Floren admitted. "Has not age damaged it in you as well?"

"Aye, some," Gossamer replied. "It was once all-powerful, as it is for Kelton and Juno. I am envious of what they have and will not see it impaired. Certainly not for an ancient tale."

Floren drank her tea as she studied Gossamer. He looked just as old as when she first met him. She was sure she had aged some if her aches were any guide. His beard hid much - by intent, she calculated. It was his smile that weakened the image - there was something younger about it. The wisdom he presented was also camouflaged. He knew more than he was saying. She liked that about him. Kelton could not have done better if he had picked a father himself.

"Kelton need not stay with Serenity," Floren said. "A short time at most, then Juno would own his heart again. If the tale be true, the sacrifice will end it."

"If what we hear is true, Kelton risked all to pull two Chosen from a temple. Do you believe the man who did that would toy with Serenity's heart and risk Juno's?"

"If you would steer him." Floren nodded.

"I will not."

Floren sighed. "It is not for us we do this; it is for those two Chosen and all the Chosen who follow. It is for the cursed and for all the knowledge this land has been denied."

"The reason is just," Gossamer said. That soft smile returned like a weapon, and Floren knew she was its target. The storyteller was steering her with care. "The means are not."

"You do not dissuade me, Gossamer," Floren said. She parried with a smile to match his. A kind argument was better than an angry one. "Though I do enjoy doing battle with you."

Gossamer settled back, leaning fully against a tree. His smile had morphed into something different - an odd mixture of pride and defeat. There was no anger in his eyes as he sipped his tea.

"You see as I do," Floren surmised.

"It is they who will decide," Gossamer said with the slightest of nods. "It is not our place to steer the Answer; it is his place to steer us." He shook his head. "The words are ancient. Let them be as they will."

"Mayhap, the spirit of Kushiel guides me in this," Floren said and almost laughed at the idea.

"Mayhap your pushing will build a stone wall of stubbornness," Gossamer said with a shrug. "Let them be. Let them find a path of their own making, not the designs of mothers," he winked, "or fathers."

"I cannot ...," Floren began before a commotion ended her words. There were sounds of glad tidings and people moving toward the rising sun - shouts of the Answer's return.

Gossamer laid his mug down and rose with his hand held out for hers. It was a gesture of care, something Floren found valuable. She allowed him to help her to her feet, glad they would not be enemies over such talk.

"Push softly," Gossamer whispered as a wave of his palm gestured for them to follow the flow of the camp.

"Mayhap, a little softer," Floren said with a knowing wink. Juno and Kelton were too young to see the ramifications of their actions. They needed wisdom, even if she had to hit them over the head with it. The mothers were in agreement on it, and they agreed on so little.

Audria was surprised by the grandness of the greeting. So many smiling words for the Answer. She had heard him called 'sire' before, but it was at that moment she began to sense the conviction of it. She pulled Daphne close, a shield from the unknown and the duty that would define her place in Kelton's kingdom.

A woman approached, one of incomparable beauty. Her golden hair looking wild, yet framing skin unmarred by life. Each feature, eyes, nose, mouth, set perfectly as if designed by the Goddess' own hand. Audria felt smaller as the woman approached. She knew what marked her skin, the horror all must see. The scars were a badge in the tavern, proof of what she had survived. Now, they were ugly to own.

"Good morn, sire," The woman said, her smile threatening to dull the sun. Audria noted the woman's standing by the way other men deferred to her words. No doubt she was Juno.

"Good morn, Serenity," Kelton responded. Audria was taken aback. How could one destined to be with such a beauty deny her for another? Perhaps he was addled.

"Kelton!" The word came from another woman, one running forward - raven-haired and certainly not homely, yet less than the last-of-the-line. Her identity was confirmed when Kelton's attention shifted, as did his face. A mountain of strain Audria had not previously noticed fled his features. Pleasure burst in his eyes like a blooming flower. Audria's eyes widened further when the two embraced, exposing the wilted-rose on Juno's arm.

"What was done to you two?" Serenity asked out of the blue. Audria's eyes left Kelton and found concern in the last-of-the-line. Or was it pity?

"We were chosen," Audria replied with more strength than she expected. Pity she did not want. "It is what is done to break us."

"Horror," someone behind Serenity said. She halted further comment by raising her hand. Serenity did have power.

"You do not seem weakened by it," Serenity said, then looked at Daphne, who was cowering into Audria. "Her plight is worse?"

"Aye," Kelton replied before Audria could. He broke his embrace and brought Juno around at his side. "This is Audria, a woman with more strength than I. She could not be altered by the Brethren's torture. Her charge," he indicated Daphne, "Daphne, was near her end. They are proof of the Choosings' deceit."

"More strength than the Answer?" Serenity said, her smile solely for Audria. "That is high praise, and by the look of your scars, truthful as well." Audria stood taller. She couldn't remember the last time someone thought she was special, and It came from a woman with strength and the beauty to wield it.

"Word of the promise has preceded you," Juno said. "Floren brought it herself."

"But you already knew," Kelton said. Juno nodded.

"My sorrows, my lady," Rolic said as he caught up. An apology directed at Juno that sounded winded. He had been lagging the last two days.

Juno's face stiffened, as did her grasp of Kelton's hand. "You have my trust," she said to Rolic, "and disgust in equal measure."

Rolic bowed slightly, his face ashen in shame. "More, I could not have hoped for." He moved off, away from the gathering. Audria now knew why he lagged. It was hard to return with the truth for one who swam in its profits. She tightened her hold on Daphne to stop her from following him.

What followed was a swarm of greetings by many who seemed to be enamored by Kelton. Names were thrown at her, and swift conversations occurred which Audria only half understood. They were like a family, where words were mixed with memories that Audria did not share. She wondered if there was a place here for her and Daphne. Rebecca and her father split off when she found her brother, a happy reunion that further isolated Audria. She could not blame Rebecca for seeking happiness, but she began to feel abandoned and wasn't prepared for it, at least not in the middle of the woods.

"Bynard," Kelton said and grasped wrists with the man. "I have another for your ranks." Kelton waved Hillbrand forward. "He is well trained and good with the sword."

"More is better, sire," Bynard replied, looking over Hillbrand. They grasped wrists as well, bonding in an instant on Kelton's words. A king with nothing on his head, yet all seemed to see a crown.

"We are training many and can use your arm," Bynard said to Hillbrand.

"Feed me, and I am yours," Hillbrand said. That caused a few chuckles before the two headed off as well.

The oddest of the crowd was the one called Floren. Her face was stoic until Audria was introduced to her. At first, only another name Audria would soon forget, then something akin to shock emerged in Floren's eyes. The woman scanned Juno and Serenity then returned to Audria as if they were all cursed. Floren also bore the wilted-rose on her wrist and was thwarted when she tried to lead Juno away. Juno and Kelton were having none of it.

"Shall we break from this?" Serenity asked softly. It took a moment for Audria to realize she was being addressed directly. Not something she expected.

"Break?" Audria questioned.

"Aye," Serenity said, her smile as inviting as the hand she held forth. "You both have traveled far and endured more than any I know. Mayhap, you can bed near me this night, and I can find some better clothes for you. A bite and tea as well."

"Aye," Audria said, looking down at the threadbare handouts she and Daphne acquired at the tavern. "We come without coin but will trade duty."

"That is for the morrow," Serenity said. "This day, your words will stand as payment. I would hear your tale if you would tell it."

"It is an ugly thing to speak of," Audria said, her sense of self returning. "Yet all should know it."

"I assure you, all will," Serenity said.

Audria liked the sincerity in Serenity's eyes. There was a surety behind it, the same thing the Brethren tried and failed to take from her. She wondered if all would bend to her will if she were unscarred and possessed the splendor that graced Serenity. Men deferred to Serenity, even after she bowed to Kelton. Audria smiled as she followed the woman; there was even power in the way Serenity's hips moved.

Floren gnashed her teeth as Juno moved off with Kelton. They sought privacy, yet it was the last thing Juno should seek. None saw what was now plain to Floren. They were all enamored by Audria's strength and did not see what it meant. Juno was now at significant risk, and Floren realized that was what hurt the most. The Answer's success had somehow become secondary, for Floren realized that Juno was more dear to her than removing the curse. In Floren's mind, mother had become more than a nighthouse title. Juno's survival was becoming her purpose. The tale had shifted, a new meaning that must not be.

Floren needed help. She thought of Gossamer, then discounted the idea. He was loyal to Kelton and the cause. Others would also see the Answer's success as paramount. The nighthouse mothers would chastise her for drifting from what must be done. Floren decided she would have to work harder to force Serenity to the fore. There she could find compatriots. If Kelton would lay with that beauty, perhaps Juno would flee in anger for a time. At least be gone long enough for the tale to unwind in a more acceptable manner. Gossamer was wrong; the words may be ancient, but they spoke the truth. They must not be as written.

Kelton's lips were happy again. Juno's hunger matched his own with a tenderness that forced a strange mix of comfort and desire surging along his skin. Nothing, not even the warmth of the Tarvakian bath house, felt so good. He wondered if they were alone enough. More of her could only be better. Voices, muffled by distance, shattered those thoughts.

"You have been gone too long," Juno whispered. Her fingers were teasing as they played with his hair, pushing it behind his ear as if it were in the way.

"Aye," Kelton replied. He sat up and pulled her from the grasses he had laid her in. "You fill my mind most of the day. It is hard to think with you swimming there." He smiled and kissed her again. It was meant to be quick, but lasted luxuriously longer.

"You desire a bed," Juno whispered, her smile indicating she dreamed of the same. It was so wonderful to have her read his mind. It was as if they thought as one, yet were two. He felt the animal in him growing more potent. There was so much more he wanted to experience - her soft skin against his was only the start.

"Aye, my love," Kelton replied. "There are times when it is all I desire." Juno laughed. A joyful sound that made him want her all the more. "Alas, acquiring a room has become a dangerous thing." He looked around at the trees. "And this place is shared with too many things that crawl."

"We could run away," Juno said, her grin forecasting she knew that was not to be.

"There are times I think of us in house Tarvakian," Kelton sighed. "Then I think of Audria and Daphne. Nay, it all must end. Mayhap, time will become ours once it is over." He straightened. "There is much I must tell you of the temple and what is to come. There is a great gamble I have chosen, and I desire your help."

"You will have it," Juno said. She cradled his head and kissed his forehead. A soft swift peck that allowed him to continue.

Kelton told her of what he experienced in the temple and the tavern. There was nothing he left out, not even the Nagada's influence. Of all he trusted, she was the truest and deserved everything. The risks were hers as well. Love demanded it.

"That is a perilous plan," Juno said when he was done.

"Aye." Kelton nodded.

"And I am to inform Fingers?" Juno asked. She had a mind on her, seeing what was coming before it started its approach.

"Aye."

"They will all think you addled," Juno said, adding a chuckle.

"Aye, they will," Kelton agreed. "It is the story they trust, so most will see my words done. There is sense to it. Mayhap, Tarvakian did not get my missive or is unable to provide."

"The care of others is always on your mind," Juno said. "It is why I adore you, my love. I will do as you ask, addled or not."

"Rolic says that empathy is my weakness," Kelton said, his eyebrows lifting.

"That is because Brethren have none," Juno replied. "Dressed in white or not, he is still of that breed."

"My sorrows, sire." It was O'fan leading another. Kelton grimaced at the interruption. He had meant to spend more time alone with Juno. Her lips were calling to him most insistently. Instead of complaining as he desired, he stood and offered Juno his hand to help her to her feet.

"There is one here who insists on your eyes," O'fan said, stepping aside to allow a young man forward. "Says he is known to you."

Kelton smiled. "Tired of marking walls, Cavid?"

"I kept my promise to you," Cavid said, his grin proving his words half correct.

"Juno," Kelton said, pulling her close. "This is the one who has scribed my name on buildings and taught others to do so as well."

Cavid bowed to Juno. "Kelton spoke of his search for you. It pleases me he has found you."

"And you are the scriber with that tasty tea," Juno said, bowing her head in greeting. Her words let Cavid know of her understanding of all of Kelton's travels. "Well met."

"You have done more than you know," Kelton said with a chuckle. "I will have you know that your tea has crossed the sea."

"Across the sea?" Cavid asked with wide eyes.

Kelton nodded. "Aye. I used it to enhance my plea for arms." He chuckled again. "It does not surprise me you are here, now, at this time. It is when I need you most." He glanced up at the sky as if there were another watching, then back at Cavid. "I am not the only one being steered."

"Steered? I was on my way home and was caught marking a stable." Cavid indicated O'fan. "One of his swept me away as I ran. It was luck, I am sure of it."

Kelton laughed and moved to place his arm around Cavid, the other around O'fan. "Home is where I desire you to go. Remember where I first came into your fields?"

"Aye."