Embers in the Dark

Operation Clean Slate

Song is, "Bittersweet" by Apocalyptica featuring Lauri Ylönen and Ville Valo.

Chapter is rated M for sexual content and mentions of suicide.

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After asking more questions about the horrific incident, the gods and Arthur searched for any signs of Lilly. They eventually tracked her prints leading to the port, so they asked around for Lilly. The people had no answers, save for one man and his ferry crew. They told the gentlemen that Lilly and her horse Phoenix had ferried over to Wales the night before. After a heated discussion about flying a human around like a sad sack of potatoes in order to save for time was wise, Lugh, Cernunnos and Arthur took the next ferry.

When they landed in Wales, Lugh called for Enbarr while Cernunnos and Arthur rented two horses. They asked questions and were told that Lilly was traveling to the east towards London, England to visit with the King and Queen. They immediately set out in search for Lilly, but they were surprised to find that once they had gotten to London, Lilly had already visited and left. What was typically a four day horse ride, Lilly and her horse Phoenix accomplished in two and a half days. When Arthur asked the King how she managed to travel that quickly, the King replied that she was in a bit of a wee fuckin' rush.

After discussing the event that occurred in Dublin, the King sent out an order that the black wolf be found and killed by any means necessary. Arthur then asked more about Lilly and if she was coming home. When the King answered that he didn't know, Arthur had a very hard time controlling himself at that point, so Lugh opted to take the fast way home by getting permission to activate one of the ancient travel trees just outside London. When it was granted, they went home.

In the mail, Arthur saw a postcard from Dublin, Ireland and another from London, England. Neither one had anything written on them except the estate's address. Dutch and Hosea informed Arthur that the night Lilly left, she told them that she would send postcards to let them know she wasn't dead. When it was also revealed to him that Lilly had no intention of coming home, that's when Arthur finally had a nervous breakdown.

Time dragged on as Arthur suffered from the horrible symptoms of Berserker Syndrome, both mentally and physically. He'd isolate himself for days, he'd drink himself into a stupor at times, and on occasion, he would suffer from seizures, headaches, nausea, hot flashes and chills. Sometimes Arthur was bed ridden, but sometimes he was able to function. Luckily, he had a whole house full of people and gods to help him with everything. They'd inform Arthur with the important stuff, but if they brought up Lilly, Arthur would simply shut down or change the subject to something else.

Time passed and Lilly was still sending blank postcards. She'd been all over the place, winning the hearts of many and allegedly having a good time doing it. It made Arthur begin to question if Lilly still loved him. The longer she was gone, the more the doubt ate away at him. When it was at its worst, Arthur would drink to numb the pain even though he was advised not to drink, but he didn't care. Nothing really mattered to him much anyway, except the kids.

Still, it was hard to even look at them because they both reminded Arthur of his wife so much, it hurt.

On one particularly uneventful evening, Arthur was doing what he normally did at the end of the day. He locked himself in his personal study and went to town on a few bottles of bourbon. As he did so, Arthur began to realize that tonight was going to be a long night for him so he planted himself on the floor, leaning his back against one of his book shelves, and sipped away at the glass in his hand.