TEMPEST SLAMMED THE door shut.

Her gloved hand gripped the iron bars. She met Silver's eyes, unflinching and unbearably cold. He cradled the younger man's head in his lap, smoothing stray hairs from his face and rubbing his scalp.

"Is this really necessary?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't trust you not to make a mess of things while I'm away," Tempest replied.

The unspoken history behind her words reared its ugly head. Tempest knew it stung him when Silver diverted his sullen gaze elsewhere. With Caliburn in hand and Clarent strapped to her waist, she made her way through the dark dungeon. The few prisoners that remained in her care avoided her quiet storm as she blew past them. All save for one.

"Fancy seeing you down here," a lecherous voice called out to her.

Tempest rolled her eyes. "This is my castle. Who else would deliver new prisoners if not me?"

An old, haggard face appeared through the bars. He was a decent looking dwarf once. But time and failed deals had ruined him greatly. Making the small man smaller and his seafoam green eyes duller. His blond hair, which was once as long as glorious as the straw he spun, hung past his shoulders in greasy strands. Tattered clothes of red and green hung off his frail frame like a dress.

"You should eat more," she chided, motioning towards the rags he wore. "There's no reason to starve yourself when you're fed three times a day."

The man spat at his dirty feet. "Everything those damn brownies make is too sweet." Contempt marred his old face, curling his hooked nose even more. "I would rather you drive that sword through my chest then have to eat another one of those damn meals."

Tempest nodded. "That can be arranged, Rumplestilskin. But not now. I have more important matters to attend to."

Rumplestilskin screeched when she called him by his true name. His dirty skin seared itself raw as he flung himself at the iron bars in a feeble attempt to grab her. Explicatives echoed after Tempest like a song. She closed the door to the dungeons and secured all seven locks.

Tempest slipped off her gloves, taking the stone steps two at a time in her haste. The door to her plain room opened with an invisible force. She nodded in appreciation for the concealed brownie then kicked the door shut. Her dark eyes trailed over her small bed before settling on the mirror tucked away in a corner.

She was alone.

Tempest ripped off the black cloth draped over the round mirror. Gold and silver leaves gleamed back at her. The surface of the mirror swam with pastel hues. When her fingers grazed the glass surface it rippled then gave way to its watery counterpart.

"Take me to Nimue," she commanded.

The colors vanished, revealing Tempest's distorted image. She dove in, body reeling as the portal whipped her to and fro. Tempest relinquished herself to be tossed around, making sure to keep a firm hold on Caliburn. Barriers flashed before her eyes as she passed through realms. When the thrashing waves finally calmed she was deposited near the surface of a lake.

Ignoring the large castle at the bottom, Tempest kicked for the surface. She breathed in the cold morning air of Loch Arthur. In the distance she saw a figure shrouded in white sitting by the shore. Tempest swam towards her with strong, powerful strokes.

The freezing rocks slipped against her wet feet. She waved a hand over her body, returning the water to its rightful place. "Lady Nimue," Tempest called out when she drew closer.

Nimue glanced over her shoulder, diamond blue eyes glittering like a halcyon jewel. "Lady Tempest." Her voice was breathy but soothing. "What a nice surprise."

Mindful of the intricate white dress and cape draped over the older lady, Tempest sat at the edge of the lake. Leaves from the thick bush behind her tickled Tempest's neck. She moved forward then offered Caliburn to Nimue.

"He has arrived."

Nimue raised an arched brow. Her thin fingers wrapped around the hilt of the sword and she raised it. "The Once and Future King has risen. How interesting. I would've thought he'd rest for another generation at least before returning."

Tempest snorted, recalling the air of stupidity of the descendant and reincarnation of King Arthur. "Maybe he should've."

Nimue's amused smile unfurled like a blooming pink rose. "Not impressed?"

"Hardly." Tempest scoffed, pinning Nimue with an exasperated stare. "He's no warrior. No king. But he is an idiot. He made a deal with Silver after knowing him for all of five seconds. He could've made his curse worse for all I know. Useless."

Nimue hummed, placing Caliburn onto a bed of green grass. Her wise eyes spoke even as her lips remained frozen.

"I'm not here to discuss Silver. I've already made up my mind about him."

"Yes. But does your heart agree with what your mind has decided?"

"Yes," Tempest said immediately. "I almost killed him at Lake Glass-"

"Yet you didn't."

"Because he said that he might've brought Arthur back."

"You still could've killed him," Nimue argued. "You could've killed Silver and tested the Pendragon without him. You did not need to keep Silver alive. You chose to."

Tempest's jaw clenched. "I wasn't thinking clearly. Now that you've opened my mind to my own stupidity I'll make sure to rectify that once I get back."

"Do that and the reincarnation will never trust you."

"He's not even known Silver for a full day! I think he'll cope," Tempest hissed.

Nimue tilted her head to the side. Her long mahogany hair, braided and shining like silk, followed the action. "I don't know. Silver is the type of fae that you miss. You may never fully trust him. But there's something about the way he carries himself that you just can't help to like."

Tempest's expression hardened, uninterested and unwilling to continue the conversation now.

"You can't be so annoyed, love." Nimue patted her hand the way a doting grandmother would. "You raised him to be too likable."

Tempest swallowed thickly, annoyance brewing beneath the surface. "I should've raised him to be obedient."

Nimue carefully carded her fingers through Tempest's smooth hair. "You think him insolent when obedience was a trait he sported well. You simply loved him too much to see that his obedience had shifted elsewhere."

Tempest chuckled as her eyes lined with unshed tears. "I didn't even know he served the Unseelie Court until it was too late. Now our sister is gone and he's damned to be an eternal ferryman to pay for his crimes. And what do I do? I protect my swords and waste away."

Tempest hung her head to hide her cracking mask. Nimue continued to stroke her hair through the silence of a new day. When the sun rose and yellow painted their feet, Nimue spoke.

"The world will not end in a bang or a whisper. But rather one scream at a time," she recited. "The end of the mortal world approaches again. One by one countries vanish. Consumed by the flora and fauna they raped and abused to advance their scientific world."

"Some would say they deserve it," Tempest whispered bitterly.

"Are you one of them?" Nimue asked. "Does it please you to know that your sister is the one to bring the apocalypse?"

Tempest held her tongue.

"When Mother falls with a whimper, The Storm, Advisor, and King begin the climb. So, whoever raised the Pendragon has died and set him on his course to follow his destiny. A pity."

Tempest thought back on the nature of which Kane acted. "He doesn't seem to be taking her death that hard."

"We all grieve in different ways," Nimue said, lingering on the sheared edges of Tempest's hair. "Some don't process the death of a loved one until months or even years have passed."

Tempest hummed. She had been like that once many years ago when she mourned the loss of her parents. She couldn't cry for them when they fell in battle because she had to focus on her siblings. But years later she cried so hard that a terrible storm overcame Lake Glass for an endless slew of weeks.

"The King is obvious. I think I might be The Storm..." Tempest met Nimue's eyes once her own were dry. "Don't tell me the last one is..."

Nimue shrugged. "King Arthur always had his trusty advisor in his last life. Why would this life be any different?"

Tempest jumped to her feet, splashing into the lake with a mighty kick. "Silver is no Merlin!"

"Many fae would come to hear his words-"

"Before he betrayed me, joined the Unseelie Court, followed the wretched Queen Mab, and made our sister a slave." Tempest's fists curled into tight balls. The lake that wasn't hers to command shuddered in response. "The only thing he could advise that boy about is how to do wrong and be a coward."

Sympathy clouded Nimue's fair face. "Your heart is so cold, my love. I miss the days when Sunshine roamed free."

"She's dead," Tempest growled. "Silver made sure of that. Only Tempest remains now."

Nimue bowed her head. "As we speak Morded's reincarnation leads your sister on a rampage. Every country she claims, every mortal that dies, that is blood on her hands. If you have any hope of saving whatever's left of her, then you must relinquish the darkness in your heart. The King needs both of you to succeed. He cannot do it on his own."

Tempest contemplated her words then asked, "But can she? Be saved, I mean. The prophecy entails that life will prevail when a sister dies. If not her then will it be me?"

"Would that bother you?"

"Not if it means she gets to live."

Nimue smiled a sad smile. "Always so quick to sacrifice yourself for others."

"I already failed her once before. If there's a chance that I can save her then I'll gladly give my life."

Nimue sighed, lifting Caliburn with a pensive stare. "Before any of that happens the new king must first earn the right to wield Excalibur. Take him to the Seelie Court's post in the Otherworld. Have him join the war. When Excalibur tells me the new king has earned him then I will be there to deliver Excalibur myself."

Caliburn sliced through the cold earth. A loud shriek followed. Tempest shuddered, recognizing the banshee's scream as Odette's. When it ended Tempest knew that another country had met its demise.

"Time in the mortal world is longer. It would be wise of you to use the faster days in our worlds to make that boy into a king." When Nimue turned Tempest was shocked to find genuine worry in her eyes. "Guard your heart, my love. Do not let it bleed but let it breathe instead. And good luck. You will need it."

Nimue pressed a piece of paper into her hand before vanishing into Scotland's lake. Tempest retrieved the sword and opened the note, curious.

It was the Pendragon Curse.

🗡

Vote and/or Comment if you enjoyed this part!

🗡

QOTD: Do you think Tempest will be able to listen to Nimue's words regarding her siblings? Or does Silver's betrayal run too deep? How do you think Kane will fair in his journey to be worthy of Excalibur?