A Kind of Magic

Seventy-Six

It wasn't easy for Fiona to agree when the men-- Angus, Calum and Leodhais, who, since he had quitted his pampered life at Alaric's court had become as fit as any dragon shifter-- proposed the following morning to reach the other end of the long lake where the army was gathered. 

They needed to explore, the elf insisted, to see how far the coast was clear, and it wasn't safe to bring the women and his best friend along. They would also look for Peregrine-- Annwyn had told them that he was born and had lived somewhere on the shore of this loch until his parents were killed-- and they would do all of it running, which was the preferred way of transport, apparently, of the Scots. 

"Please don't take this in a bad way," Leodhais begged, looking from Annwyn to Aryana to Gilderoy. "But you would only slow us down, and I would never forgive myself if something happened to any of you. Not that it would matter, really, because I know that Peregrine would kill me if something happened to you," he finished, looking at Fiona.

And so the three women-- Fiona's ring blooming like a blue flower on her chest, responding to the nearness of its twins-- and Gilderoy, accompanied the explorers beyond the outer wall of the crowded, busy castle and watched them vanish into the low cloud of fog of Fiona's creation that stuck to their bodies, rendering them almost invisible as it followed them when they started running. 

Fiona didn't trust herself yet to use other kinds of magic without Emrys' supervision, but she had mastered the weather charms perfectly and could do anything with the weather, always keeping in mind the wizard's warming not to overuse her powers. Just like in life, even in magic, every action had consequences... She sighed, spreading the palms of her hands over the gentle swell of her belly, quite forgetting her friends, blushing as the smiling Gilderoy laced his arm around hers, leaving the two women to follow in their wake as they returned within the safe walls of the lively fort buzzing with activity.

"May I at least express my happiness about your sta..." Gilderoy whispered to her as they moved through winding narrow corridors towards their quarters.

"No," Fiona interrupted him. "Not until Peregrine knows. But I thank you anyway, Gilderoy," she finished in a whisper, smiling at him.

Leodhais and Annwyn's cousins returned at dusk, and the women made them recount everything they had seen before they allowed them to bathe and eat after the long day spent running.

They had explored the entire southern shore of the long loch, as far as the first tents of the dragon army's camp spread around the village of Inbhir Nis and the river Ness connecting it to the loch.

They had seen nothing strange or dangerous; the army seemed lying in wait. Many men had brought their entire families with them, making the village grow into a town. They didn't seem to be expecting to be attacked here, or to start marching south anytime soon which was good, Leodhais reasoned, it would give them enough time to connect with Peregrine whom they hadn't found yet before anything happened, and before they decided what to do next.

They had seen Ancalagon and Freddie though, Angus said even as Calum thanked Fiona for the magical fog that had not only hidden them from prying eyes, but apparently had erased their scents too, allowing them to approach the army without fear.

"Leodhais, please, tell me everything, how... is... he?" 

It was so difficult to pronounce those words, Fiona's feeling of almost grief caused by her child's absence was so deep that it caused her a near physical pain, making her feel short of breath. She would never forgive herself if something happened to him. It was she who had plucked him from the relative safety of his life in London and brought him into this world because... because she had allowed Peregrine to steal her heart. She had been selfish. A single girl could behave like that but not an adult woman with responsibilities for others, a mother of a ten year old...