Tristan had managed to slip out of sight late that evening when Brantly's men started to return to his command at Dorser. The fiend had taken up residence at the White Horse Inn with his men, forcing a cruel eviction of other patrons who at least paid for the service of sleeping there. From what Tristan could tell, the men were now searching south of Dorser for Ava. Some had even been sent on to Sir Rowan's Academy to see if they could find her along the roadway before she reached him. While the abundance of activity in the area was not ideal, it was certainly an improvement on the situation that morning. He hid and waited tiredly until the hour before midnight, then slowly and cautiously made his way to Mod Hollow to meet his squire and his lady.
'Where are we?' Ava asked groggily.
Tristan smiled warmly at the sleep clinging to her voice. It was good to know that she'd rested. She had endured much – the repose would have done her good.
'We make our way to the stone, my lady,' Tristan told her.
'Was I asleep so long?' Ava asked with annoyance. 'I should have been helping you. You must be exhausted.'
'I can endure it,' Tristan reassured her as he picked the way forward carefully for them.
He was fighting to stay alert and ready for them both.
'Then you must have amazing stamina,' Ava replied in an attempt to help revive his spirits.
His understanding of her innuendo brought a grin to his lips.
'Perhaps one day I shall be fortunate enough to acquaint thee with it,' he suggested wryly.
'I thought it was not proper for a lady to be taken advantage of by her champion,' Ava shot back teasingly.
'Rest assured, it shall be at my lady's behest,' he told her confidently.
'Cocky bastard, aren't you?' Ava noted with a little grin.
'How can I not be, when thee doth keep me half-cocked?' he shot back cheekily.
Ava laughed at that. Tristan grinned and reined in the horse. He dismounted and tethered the animal to a sapling.
'We are here,' he told her. 'It be just beyond that ridge.'
Ava could sense his apprehension. He was concerned. She was too.
'Tristan... maybe there's another way,' she began to reason.
'Thy spirit must be returned to thy body,' he replied firmly.
The truth was that he'd been musing over the old man's words all day. What he'd told them had been a mixture of half-truths, he was sure of it. His manner of speaking had reminded him of the riddles that his master had tormented him with during his training. Still he had not yet been able to drawn any other conclusions from his reflections.
Tristava slithered through the foliage and slipped down over the rocks they'd used to defeat the ogre as they entered the clearing. Tybalt should know he was there if they came, so Tristan made himself plainly visible as they waited.
'I don't think we should do this – not yet. Not until we know that there is no other way,' Ava told him wearily.
'Nay. The fates brought thee here. Thy hast a purpose to fulfill. Thy shall overcome nothing, I am sure of it. I was the one who taunted the spirits. If anything untowards happens, it will happen to me alone. Thy hath naught to fear.'
'Are you kidding me?!?' she shot back incredulously. 'There are so many scary things in this place! Monsters and soldiers and megalomaniacs...'
'I be a learned man, but there be times when thee dost test the limits of my knowledge with thy strange diction,' Tristan noted dryly.
'Tyrants,' she supplied. 'Here are evil men here who want to lock me up and abuse a power I didn't even know I had. Hell, I still don't know how it works!' Ava grumbled feebly.
'Thy hath Tybalt and Olivia – and Rowan and Uhtre'al. If the fates have ordained it, thy path shall be successful,' he reassured her.
There was a gentle rustle in the bushes up ahead.
'Master, be that you?' Tybalt ventured in a loud whisper.
His voice carried easily in the dead of night.
'It is,' Tristan confirmed as he stepped into a beam of light to show himself to them.
Tybalt looked relieved. He disappeared, then returned leading a horse. Ava's sleeping body was folded over its back, and Olivia walked at the animals' side, dutifully ensuring that she did not slip off. Fireflies seemed to spring into the air to give them just a little more light.
Tristan strode forward quickly, and lifted Ava off the animal gently. She seemed to twist around in his arms and fall against his chest limply, so he carried her to the Mod Stone and set her down before chancing his first look at the woman who'd been taunting his every thought.
She seemed to open up to him as she flopped back onto the earth, and he found himself awestruck at the prettiness of her face. He'd guessed that she might not be too plain, but the vision that greeted him was beyond his wildest imaginings. He felt Ava blush on his cheeks, reminding him of the urgency of their meeting. He tried to resume his mission.
'It doth appear that the time has come,' Tristan told her softly.
He let his eyes wander over to her again unwittingly, almost unable to comprehend that she was finally there before him in the flesh - her delicious thighs, the small, neat waist that he'd been unable to properly appreciate from the angle of her eyes but which he could now make out easily enough even through the oversized tunic that she still wore. Her sumptuous breasts... even the luscious lips that he'd once been daring enough to feel, and the warm golden braid of hair about her crown.
'How I wouldst hath been blessed to view thy open eyes,' he whispered as he tenderly pulled a stray tendril of hair away from her face.
'You're making me blush again,' Ava grumbled half-heartedly.
She was squirming inwardly in response to his honest adoration. She took up the pendant on her neck and tried to focus on the ruins that formed the outer border in the hopes that it would distract him.
'Thee be correct,' he noted. 'There be not much time. We must complete our quest.'
'I didn't mean... to rush you,' she noted hesitantly.
Ava still didn't wholeheartedly want to go through with it. She felt like she didn't know what would happen if she did, and that scared her.
'There are times when one must leap boldly forward,' Tristan reassured her as he took her hand in his.
His eyes drifted over to her face once more time. The light from the fireflies seemed to get even stronger.
'The sharing of two souls is best seen as a coming together rather than a splitting apart,' he recalled for the umpteenth time that day. 'A... coming together?'
He leaned over her hesitantly, then shrugged to himself.
'Nothing ventured, nothing gained,' he remarked with a wily smile as he let his lips find hers.
Ava felt a warmth surge through her body that seemed to ignite her with life. His lips pressed on hers, and she pressed back passionately. His eyes opened wide with surprise as he comprehended that she was responding. Her own eyes fluttered open at the same realization, meeting his for the first time. His grey-blue eyes stared straight into her green ones as they both paused with momentary surprise. Then Tristan smiled against her lips and let his tongue dive deeper.
"Master!" Tybalt shouted with alarm.
A bolt of pain wracked Tristan's torso. He gasped and looked down to see an arrowhead protruding from his belly.
"Tristan! No!" Ava squealed with horror when she saw it too.
They glanced back to see Lord Brantly lower his bow on the ridge above them. Soldiers flanked him to the left and right.
"I knew the gate would call to me ere you wished to use it," he told them brazenly as he started to approach with his men.
"We must get thee to safety," Tristan grunted stoically as he tried to encourage her to her feet.
He groaned again from the effort of it and fell to one knee. He heard Tybalt draw his sword behind him. The lad had a good heart, but he would be no match for his former master. They had done too little training.
"Thou... must... flee," Tristan pleaded as he drew his sword determinedly.
"No... Tristan – you can't fight like this. He'll kill you," Ava noted worriedly.
"Then I shall have proven worthy to have been called thy champion," he told her proudly as he tried to straighten and turn to face Brantly.
Ava trembled with anxiety, her hand falling on her chest as she clutched at her body with fear. Her fingers fell around the pendant. When she saw it, she knew instinctively what to do. She pulled it off over her head, held it firmly in her hand and let her eyes focus on the ruins determinedly.
"Kusalinatu abalee et natoree, vinuatu kudanee et puremah," she commanded flawlessly.
Somehow the words had just tumbled out of her mouth. The pendant pierced her hand again, but this time she barely noticed it. She didn't notice the chain starting to snake, or the way that the whole thing seemed to come alive and reshape itself around her hand. She didn't even notice the air around her shifting so that the leaves started to float a bit as a gentle whirl of wind fluttered around her legs. All she knew was that she needed to save them – needed to save him.
Brantly skidded to a halt even before the griffin's guttural shriek pierced the air. The sight of the woman he'd attempted to force into subjugation through marriage was enough to stop him in his tracks. Her hair whipped lose from her crown and floated eerily about her head, while a wispy trail of leaves circled her legs and her eyes glowed uncannily. She said nothing, though he could see her hatred for him in her face as she pointed her ornamented hand at him and made a firm fist. Before he could even think what that meant, he felt himself knocked down. Sharp claws tore violently at his skin. He screamed and struggled, but couldn't shake the weight of the beast upon his back. Finally, the griffin's sharp beak found his throat, and his moment of agony was ended quickly.
Brantly's men hesitated fearfully, their swords drawn in defense against the beast. Ava opened her palm and made a sweep through the air in front of her. The griffin leapt into the air and charged at the men, driving them away in a fear-induced panic. In mere moments the little hollow was cleared of all menace, save Tybalt who still clutched at his sword bravely. Despite his nerves, he was ready to protect his master from the beast if he should be required to do so.
Tristan, Ava, Olivia and Tybalt all stood motionless for a moment as their minds caught up to events. The wind swirling around Ava's legs died down, and her eyes ceased to glow. The griffin landed and padded up to her confidently, then nuzzled her affectionately for a moment. It was almost as though it was trying to assess her well-being.
"Thank you," she whispered as she petted its forehead caringly.
She really meant it with every fiber of her being. The griffin had saved them all. The hand-bracelet shrank back to a pendant, and the creature leapt into the air and flew away. Ava felt herself waver weakly on her legs, then they gave out and she fell over onto the ground. Olivia rushed to her side to assist her.
"Thy destiny be awe-inspiring," Tristan remarked with pride as he dropped his sword and fell to his knees awkwardly.
Tybalt ran to support his master.
"Tristan you... have an arrow sticking out of you!" Ava blundered as she tried to go over to him.
Her whole body felt useless. Even crawling was an effort.
"I had not noticed," he joked even as he clutched at the wooden shaft protruding from his stomach.
He grimaced, and the fleeting attempt at humor fell from his face. Ava noticed how pale his skin was. Tristan turned his head up to face Tybalt. He grasped his squire's tunic determinedly and stared him straight in the face.
"Stay with her," he pleaded weakly.
"Tristan, no!" Ava growled as she clutched at his clothing and pulled herself still closer.
His eyes wandered over to hers in response.
"Thy eyes be what I adore most," he mumbled softly with affection.
A tear slid down Ava's cheek.
"Tristan... Tristan you can't leave me..." she demanded half-heartedly.
His eyes closed and he went limp in Tybalt's arms.
"God, Tristan, no!" Ava wailed helplessly.