The Trouble with Time, Part 2.24 - Quote

It's funny, as they're falling through the portal, Kevin thinks he sees someone in his room. Someone other than the guards bursting through the room. Someone who looks like...

But it can't be him, because he's been gone for over seven decades.

And before he can make sense of anything, they're spinning around in an ever-changing sea of colors. He closes his eyes at the onslaught, trying his best to maintain his sense of balance. It's not easy.

They tumble onto the floor of the cabin, much like they did last time.

"Urgh," says Sam. He quite agrees.

They both take a moment to get their bearings. Sam looks around blearily. They seem to be faring a lot better than the first time they came through the portal.

"We... we're back here," they say. They manage to push themself up on wobbly feet. "What... how?"

"I made a portal," he says, pointing at the now portalless wall. He's still laying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. He fears what moving will do.

"If you could do that, why didn't you do that in the Heart room?"

"It's a long and tedious process to make a spot portal-appropriate." He presses his hand on his mouth for a second, an unpleasant gurgling in his stomach. "And I already had a wall prepped for it upstairs."

"Wait, the guards, can they follow us?" They lean close to the wall, give it a couple of knocks.

"It's a portal, not a door. And to link with this spot you need this." He holds up the silver pendant.

"Okay, another question." They come to stand above him, stare down at him. He has trouble focusing on their face. "Whose room was that?"

"Mine," he says. His guts make another somersault. Sam waits for him to elaborate, but he isn't able to.

"Okay then, what about the heart?? You just chucked the box away!"

"It's fine, I--"

He gags. He can feel the acid burn on it's way up.

He barely has time to scramble to his feet and rush over to a bucket in the corner when his dinner is forcibly removing itself from his stomach. He pants, heavily, as another wave of nausea hits him.

"Oh dear," Sam is muttering behind him. They place an opened bottle of water next to him as they dig through their bag for their medipad and scanner. The little bot jumps to life and starts to circle around him and they prod at the pad, looking over the gathered data.

The mechanical whirring of the bot is almost soothing.

"Looks like you have a bit of a fever coming," Sam says. Kevin picks up the bottle and takes a mouthful, trying to rinse away the foul taste. "Guess the stress finally caught up."

"Great, just what I needed," he grumbles. "I can be sick once we get out of here."

"What you can do, is go lay down as we wait for Alice and Vanessa," they say. "I'll fix you up something to get your temperature down."

Kevin continues grumbling as he crawls over to the very dusty couch along one wall, but as soon as he lays down on it, he can feel his eyelids drop and his consciousness slip away.

~x~

It's only around an hour later when a knock on the door jolts him awake. Kevin pushes himself up, feeling a bit better. Or at least not actively like he's about to throw up.

He sees Sam crack the door open to peek outside. Then they pull it fully open and immediately have their arms full of Alice and Vanessa. He stands up too, so so relieved to see the two of them. He rushes over too, turning the group hug into a bigger group hug.

"I've missed you so much," Vanessa says. "I know I have, I mean... it's hard to feel it without my Heart, but I know. I know I've missed you."

"The Heart!" Alice exclaims, pulling herself from the pile. "I need to reclaim the Heart!"

Sam looks at Kevin. Kevin nods.

"Right, so..." he starts, but the loud call of a horn cuts him off. Heat drains from his face at the sound. "Oh no."

He pushes past the others, through the door. The horn sounds again.

"Oh no, what now?" asks Sam as they join him outside the cabin.

From around the bend of the road marches a battalion of a dozen armored men, and leading them from atop a thoroughbred is King Oberon himself.

"For fuck's sake, we just can't get rid of you, huh?" Alice groans.

"Not a very polite way to talk to the King of the Fae, don't you think?" he says. She rolls her eyes at him, and Kevin would be proud if he wasn't mortified.

"How did you find here?" he asks. "No one should be able to find here unless I've shown them how."

"Oh, but I wasn't the one who did," the King says with a grin. "He was."

A soldier steps out from behind the horse and shoves forward a man. His hands are tied, so he isn't able to catch his fall, sliding face first into the snowy ground. He spits out some snow and looks up at them, his eyes filled with grief and regret.

Kevin's heart stops in his chest.

"Damien!" he and Vanessa shout as if from the same mouth.

"Wait, you know him too?" Alice is asking. He can barely hear her. Everything else is so distant at the moment.

There is nothing but him and Damien. And the memories. All the memories and they are crashing down, the feelings and the regret, the failure.

"I'm so sorry," Damien says and it's been so long, he's missed his voice. "I didn't want you to see me like this, I didn't--"

The King snaps his fingers and a guard smacks Damien across the face. Kevin takes an instinctive step forward, but restrains himself. Damien spits out blood, the red specks stark against the white snow. Kevin takes a few calming breaths as he glares daggers at the guard.

They need to play it cool right now. He has no idea why the King is here, they've already won and there's nothing he can do about it. He must have something up his sleeve, but what?

"Anyway, it appears someone left the castle in quite a hurry tonight," he says and dramatically pulls out the iron box. Sam gasps. Kevin feels the bottom of his stomach drop.

"Is that..?" Alice starts, looking at him and Sam.

"The box I had custom made to keep Vanessa's Heart inside?" the King says. "Why yes, yes it is."

"No, Alice, wait," Kevin says and she looks at him like he's crazy.

"You didn't get the Heart?" she asks, her voice so small but so full of sadness.

"That's not it, listen--"

"Not another word from you, Cadeyrn av Oberon!"

The King's voice booms across the clearing and Kevin chokes on air. He gags and coughs, but not one word escapes his mouth. Only desperate wheezing. He grabs a hold of his throat. Another gag.

"Kevin, what's wrong?" Sam is rushing to his side, hands running across him, not quite knowing what to do. He looks at them, desperate. "What did you do to him!?"

"Words hold a lot of power here," the King says with a sneer. "As do Names. You call a Fae by their True Name and they must do your bidding."

"But... that means..." says Alice, looking wide-eyed at Kevin. He lowers his gaze. This isn't how he wanted them to find out...!

"Your little friend is actually a Fae," the King says. "And not just any Fae, but my own son!"

A stunned silence stretches for what feels like an eternity. There's tears welling in Kevin's eyes, his mind filling with dark, jagged thoughts, worry gnawing at him. Paranoia. What will they think? What will they say? Will they want to be his friends anymore?

"I..." starts Alice. She pauses. "I guess that makes sense."

He blinks. Looks up.

"I take your biometric data all the time," Sam says quietly. "Did you really think I didn't know you weren't human?"

"I am surprised about the prince thing!" Alice says. "If... that helps?"

A strained laugh falls form his lips. He winces at the pain, sniffles.

Thank you, he wants to say. But he can't speak.

"Oh, how dreadfully dull," the King says. "No betrayal? No delicious backstabbing? Oh well, I do still have this." He holds up the box and all attention is on him once more.

Alice glares at him. Kevin tries to get her attention, to get her to understand this is a trick, but she is fully focused on the King and the box.

"What do you want?" she asks.

"I will give you the box," the King says. "If you stay here... and we can hunt you for sport." She squints at him.

"Alice, no, absolutely not," Vanessa says, spinning around to stand between him and her. "I won't let you do that, I'm not leaving without you."

"You leave without me or not at all," Alice says, placing a gentle hand on her cheek. "I can't let you stay here any longer."

"Decisions, decisions!" says the King.

"Hunt you, he said!" Vanessa tries, ignoring him completely. "You stay here, you die!"

"I know, but..." Alice trails off.

Kevin is screaming on the inside. He needs to stop this! She is about to throw her life away for nothing and he needs to stop her! His throat hurts and his head hurts and his heart hurt but he can't speak! Against a command on his true name, what can he--

Oh.

"Nessa, I have to," Alice says and gently moves Vanessa aside. "I will--"

"STOP!"

A gust of crisp air flows down his throat, filling his lungs and freeing him from his shackles. He feels light as a feather. He takes a long drag of air and blows it back out. Nothing hurts anymore. He can speak once more.

"Impossible," the King hisses.

"Do not take that deal," Kevin orders Alice. "The box is empty, he's trying to trick you."

"How do you know...?" Alice starts, looking at him with wide eyes.

"How can you speak!?" the King demands. "I commanded you! I command you, stay out of this!"

"I'm not sorry, but that won't work on me anymore."

The King's face is red, his composure lost along with his cool. He's breathing hard and glaring down at them.

"I told you, my name is not Cadeyrn..." He grins. "It's Kevin."

___________________

SO! As is typical of my last parts, this......... is going to be way too long, so I'm cutting it here! The last (I swear!!!!) part will be posted tomorrow! But for now, enjoy these revelations, and have a pleasant Christmas Eve!

The topic for tomorrow will be "Reclaim". Bye now~

Pie out.

PS from matleena: there will maybe probably also be a short short epilogue the day after tomorrow.