After Gemma and her great granddaughter left, the evening became filled with the music of the Irish uillian bagbipe and old folk tales told by Mia and the golden-haired fairy Eriu. Arine was treated to stories of how brave Conchobor won the kingship of Ulster, the story of the children of Lir who were turned into magical white swans by their evil stepmother, and of the ongoing war between the oak king and the holly king who fight for supremacy every winter and summer solstice. Arine was spellbound by the tales, and yet at the same time was a bit disappointed; neither the elf nor the beautiful little fairy talked of the real-life conflict between the Shea and the O'Brian clan. Mythic tales of Tir Tairrngire (the Land of Promise also known as Fairyland) were beautiful to listen to, but she was more interested in the here and now. Why was this nutcase after the woman she loved? She decided she would ask tonight when she and Mia were in bed. At last, the elf noted the time and put the pipes down. As the fairy left, Arine and Mia both went to the bathroom to brush the garlicky smell of homemade spaghetti from their mouths and then headed for bed. The elf stripped down by the candlelight of the room and put on her nightshirt, looking over to see her beloved in nothing but her bra and panties. As the blonde turned her back to her and removed her bra to put her own nightshirt on, a very mischievous idea crept into Mia's head. She snuck up behind the reporter, and before Arine could get the nightshirt on the elf suddenly brought her hands under the blonde's arms. Arine screamed as Mia tickled her. She turned around and began to tickle the writer back. Soon they both fell on the bed giggling like children as each fought for supremacy. In the end though, Arine grabbed Mia's wrists and forced her on her back, straddling her abdomen as she held the elf's hands above her head. As the two women slowly stopped laughing, Mia looked into Arine's deep blue eyes, "You have vanquished me," she said as she felt the blonde's breath against her face, "To the victor goes the spoils. I'm now your prisoner. So, what do you plan to do with your prize?" she asked, a twinkle in her brown eyes. Arine smiled as she let go of Mia's arms and moved herself off the brunette's abdomen so that she was now lying topless on top of her. She brought her lips to those of the woman she loved as she brought her hands to Mia's breasts. The brunette opened her mouth, and their tongues danced around as the blonde kept one hand on Mia's left breast while her other hand grabbed onto her nightshirt and began to tug it up over her abdomen. They broke the kiss as the elf quickly removed the article of clothing, revealing her beautiful breasts to Arine. Their lips met again as the blonde continued to give attention to Mia's soft breasts. The elf meanwhile reached down and grabbed a hold of the blonde's rear as she brought her leg up, causing Arine to find herself suddenly straddling Mia's thigh. The elf noted with satisfaction that her love's body suddenly stiffened up in a mixture of surprise and pleasure. As she began to slowly lower and raise her leg against Arine's mound while pressing her down into her leg with her hands on her rear, the blonde moaned into her mouth. Arine pulled back. "N... no... fair..." she gasped as she found herself grinding against the elf's leg, "Y... aaaaah... you cheated..." Mia chuckled a bit as she turned her over, moving her leg out of the way so she could reach her hand down instead. "All's fair in love and war." the elf whispered as she massaged the blonde's sex through her panties. As Arine released a moan of bliss the elf kissed her way down to her right breast. With her one hand on Arine's sex, Mia began to stroke the reporter's left breast as she began to slowly explore her right with her mouth. Arine reached down and put her hands behind the elf's head as she sucked on her nipple, then moved on to the other breast. The blonde began to breathe heavier as Mia continued to cup her sex in her hand. The elf flicked at Arine's left nipple with her tongue before looking back up into her love's blue eyes. "Mo r'un," she purred as she slipped her hand beneath the fabric of the reporter's panties and began to gently circle her index finger around Arine's clitoris, "You know," she said playfully, "If you really think I'm being unfair, or that I cheated, I could always stop. If you want me to..." "Hunnngh... N... no, oh God! Oh... d... don't stop..." Mia smiled as she brought her lips back to Arine's, the smell of her love's arousal making her own heart quicken. Pulling away again, she moved down her body as she continued moving her finger agonizingly slowly around her love's most sensitive area. She pulled her finger away to kiss her through her now damp panties. She then took the fabric in her mouth, biting down on it as she pulled back and removed the panties with her teeth. Arine watched the elf's display through half-closed eyelids. She then arched her back as Mia ran her tongue along her cleft, bringing her lips to her clit as she inserted two fingers. As Arine began bucking her hips in ecstasy, she could feel the elf moving her fingers along the front wall of her vagina as if she were looking for something. A second later her jaw went slack and her world seemed to shatter as the elf found it. Her eyes closed tightly, Arine's entire universe now consisted of nothing but a tongue flicking her sensitive bud and a pair of fingers moving back and forth across her g-spot. Her breath came out in gasps, and she could feel something building up within her ready to explode. She grit her teeth as she clung onto the bedsheets beneath her, her head thrashing around as she grunted and moaned in the throes of rapture. Finally it hit, and the blond cried out as her muscles tightened and she lost herself in the moment. As her body continued to tremor, she gasped for breath. Mia continued to minister to her for a few moments longer in order to ease her down from her orgasm before removing her fingers. She licked them clean, and then reached down for her discarded nightshirt to use as a makeshift towel to gently wipe herself and her love off. She then went up and took the exhausted blonde in her arms, holding her tightly until her breathing returned to normal. As the blonde finally caught her breath, she uttered the only thing she could think of, "T'a gr'a agam duit (I love you)." she then kissed the elf, tasting herself on her love's lips. As she felt her strength returning, she pulled back and smiled impishly. "That was a dirty trick." she said as she began to stroke Mia's thigh, "You caught me off guard." Mia smiled as the blonde began running the tips of her fingers beneath the elf's panties, "I'm sorry," she offered, "You're just so beautiful when you're in afterglow." Arine chuckled a bit at that as she started pulling the elf's panties off. Once they were down, Arine turned her attention back to Mia's breasts. They were slightly larger than hers, and as the blonde slowly licked her way in concentric circles around the base of the elf's right breast up to her areola, she could feel Mia squirming underneath her. She lightly pinched the brunette's left nipple while she raked her teeth across her right. She then went to Mia's left breast, giving it the same thorough attention as the other. Mia moaned and threw her head back as Arine then slowly licked her way down her abdomen, past her belly button, down to her sex. She separated Mia's now moist lower lips as she inserted her tongue, and quickly grabbed onto the elf's thighs as the brunette started to thrust her hips. Now it was Mia's turn to loose herself as the blonde continued to French kiss her sex, occasionally pulling back to give attention to her clitoris before going back down. As Arine reveled in both the honey-like taste of the elf, and in the sounds of pleasure escaping her lover's lips, she could feel Mia's muscles beginning to contract as she neared orgasm. She quickly went once again to the brunette's clit, sucking on it and licking it as Mia screamed out Arine's name. A few seconds later, the elf lay panting for air. As the elf's body became almost limp, Arine made her way up to where Mia was and sat cross legged on the bed. She pulled Mia over and laid the brunette's head in her lap, running her fingers gently through her chestnut-brown hair as Mia snuggled up closer to her. As she stroked a few hairs back, the reporter bent down and kissed her tenderly on the forehead. They stayed together for quite some time with Mia resting her head in the blonde's lap. The elf looked so peaceful and contented as Arine ran her fingers through her hair, that it took a few minutes for the reporter to remember that she was going to ask Mia something. "Mia?" "Hmmm..." the elf sighed as she closed her eyes. Arine suddenly wasn't so sure about bringing up the subject of the feud. And yet, she somehow felt she had to know. "Darling, there's... something I need to ask you." Mia noted the nervous tone in Arine's voice, "Yes my love," she said in as reassuring a tone as possible, "You know you can ask me anything." Arine took a deep breath as she continued to stroke Mia's hair, "The... the feud," she said, "the one between your clan and the O'Brian's. Mia, what caused it?" There was silence for several seconds before Mia finally spoke up, "A stolen cow." Arine was taken aback by the answer, "A blood feud, started by a stolen cow?" "It was the initial cause," Mia continued, "The impetus. It was stolen by a Shea named Dermat, who was something of the black sheep of our clan, from an O'Brian by the name of Ailill," Arine listened with interest as Mia her lover became once again Mia the storyteller, "By the time the theft became known, the cow had already been killed by Dermat and his wife for its meat. The head of my clan, Fingin Shea, met with the owner of the O'Brian farm from where it had been stolen and offered an eric, a fine to be paid in restitution for the theft of the cow. Ailill and the rest of the O'Brian clan turned the eric offered down, instead insisting that Ailill should be given Fingin's daughter, Finola." "Finola, so the family stories say, was a gentle lass who had admirers from Ulster all the way down to Leinster. When it came to telling stories, she was as good as any bard had ever been, and her singing was on a par with the fairies. Her beauty was well spoken of by all, and she was as beautiful on the inside as she was outside." "Well," Mia said as she continued with her tragic tale, "To make a long story short, Finola was sent for by her father Fingin in order to restore peace between the clans. She met Ailill O'Brian, and felt nothing. There was no love whatsoever between Finola and Ailill. The farmer smelled of pigs, and his heart was petty and cruel. Still, the beautiful elf would've gladly gone through the marriage in order to keep the peace between the two clans, and in fact had agreed to a formal engagement ceremony. But it was then that she laid eyes on the farmer's sister, the beautiful Nes O'Brian. And both Nes and Finola fell in love." "Oh no," Arine muttered, suddenly realizing where the story was going. Looking down at Mia's face, she could see a tear work its way down the elf's cheek as she remembered the tale. "On the eve of the engagement announcement, Ailill... Ailill found Finola and Nes in bed together. He took his sword and killed Nes, his own sister, right in front of Finola. He then took Finola, and... and..." at that point the elf started to weep. Arine pulled Mia up into a sitting position and wrapped her arms tightly around the elf as she wept. She had no idea the memories would be this painful, and was about to tell her to let it go, when the elf once again took up her story. "She... she made it home to her father Fingin before... before she finally passed away, but not before telling him and the others present what had happened. The Shea elves retaliated of course, killing Ailill and all his menservants before burning his barn to the ground. The O'Brian clan heard of this and retaliated with a raid on a group of elfin women and children washing their family's clothes in a stream, leaving not one survivor. And it went on from there..." The reporter held Mia tight as the tears continued to come, "I... I'm so sorry." Arine said, "I didn't know." Mia slowly began to calm down as she wiped the tears away from her eyes, "It's okay," she said, "It's just that, when I think of what that monster might've done to you if I hadn't shown up when I did..." Arine put her index finger under Mia's chin and tilted her head so they were looking at one another, "You did show up, though," she said softly, "And if that O'Brian ass hole comes back, we'll be ready next time," she said as she kissed the elf tenderly on her lips. Mia looked into Arine's eyes as she reached a hand up to affectionately stroke her cheek. They both lay down, holding each other as sleep finally came to them. ------ Arine felt something warm on her face. She opened her eyes, only to find herself lying on her back, the sun shining down on her as a group of birds flew overhead. She slowly raised her head to look around, and found herself alone in a lush green island next to the shore, with a forest on the other side of the field she was in. She also noticed she was completely naked. As a gentle breeze blew around her, she got up to her feet. "Dia duit," a friendly voice said. Arine turned around and saw an adorably cute young girl who couldn't have been more than thirteen swimming in the ocean water, her wavy black hair rolling over her shoulders as she looked back at the blonde standing on the shore. When Arine didn't immediately reply, the youngster decided to come closer. That's when the blonde saw her fish's tail wagging behind her. "A mermaid!" she gasped. At Arine's shocked look, the young mermaid's face lost its joy and took on more of a concerned look. Before either she or Arine could get any further, a third voice was heard. "Gabh mo leithsc'eal," a deep male voice said, "Conas t'a; t'u?" Arine turned around, only to be met by a bigger shock than the mermaid. There was a large unicorn staring at her, its long white horn twisting up from its brow and the entire animal white as new fallen snow. It spoke to her, asking her some further questions, none of which the blonde was able to understand. She desperately searched her brain for some sort of explanation, and finally, like a distant memory of ages gone by, remembered being in a bed holding Mia in her arms. 'A dream,' Arine suddenly realized. And yet, this didn't have the feel of a dream, it was far too vivid. She could feel the sun overhead, the grass beneath her, the wind blowing past her naked flesh. The mermaid and the Unicorn were both so lifelike, more so than any dream might be. As she pondered these things, a woman's voice called out something. Both the unicorn and the mermaid nodded knowingly. The unicorn dashed off for the woods, and the mermaid's cheerful countenance was back. "Sl'an agat," she said cheerfully, waving before she disappeared from sight under the waters of the lake. As Arine watched her disappear, she could hear footsteps crunching the twigs and grass behind her. "Ye'll ave t' forgive them." A lovely feminine voice said behind her, "They were just a wee bit curious, and wanted to make sure of yer wellbein'." Arine turned and saw a young woman in a dress that would've been considered fashionable back in the nineteenth century, her red hair pulled up into a bun and freckles sprinkled liberally around her cheeks and on her nose. As she came closer, the blonde suddenly recognized her from the photos in the album Maire had shown her. "Katie?" the blonde asked incredulously, "Katie Flanagan?" The redhead smiled warmly at the naked woman before her, "Aye," she answered as she nodded her head, "'Tis herself that stands here before ye. Come," she said, holding out a hand to the blonde, "We need to talk." -End Notes- Mo r'un- My secret (love) Dia duit- Good day Gabh mo leithsc'eal- pardon me "Conas t'a; t'u?"- are you alright/how are you?
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