Snippet #2488095

Saturday morning Deirdre showered after training. She was nervous but not like when she had gone out with Arin nervous. Balthazar had been somewhat sweet to her but Viv had made it clear that fae like him were changeable. What if he suddenly stopped being so nice to her and started to tease her the way he had Kat or Tim. She didn't have the willpower Tim did or the wit that Kat had.

She dressed in a black skirt and thick grey tights. The weather was cool and since she wasn't sure everything that they would get up to today she wanted to make sure she was warm enough. Deirdre pulled on a green shirt to finish off the ensemble. Ballet flats in black, her grey fall dress coat and her beret pulled the whole look together.

She went to find Arin, one last thing on her mind before she went to find Balthazar. She paused in the doorway of the mirror, "Arin?"

"Hi D! C'mon in. You know, you don't really have to knock, right? I was teasing." Arin's voice was cheerful.

She smiled a little, 'I know...I just wanted to say...bye?" Deirdre sort of shrugged. "I didn't want to leave with Balthazar without saying goodbye to you."

"Ah, sure. Thanks? I appreciate you coming by, always happy to see you. But you sound so serious. Are you worried?" Arin was a little concerned now.

Deirdre frowned, "Oh...I just thought maybe I should say good bye because well it is nice? Important maybe when someone is seeing, well not seeing...I well." She crossed to him and quickly kissed his cheek.

Arin put his arms around her as she kissed him, "Okay, it is nice. I believe it seems fitting to claim we're 'seeing' each other by now. I like you D. I'd rather have you around than not. Is that the definition you have of 'seeing'?", Arin was genuine. He wanted to know how she was defining them in her head. He was comfortable with where they were, so he wanted to be sure she was too.

"I don't know. I have never done this before but I didn't want to leave with someone else without saying something to you, it felt well not right..." She shifted slightly in his arms to be more comfortable. Her hands went to his chest. "Do we need a definition? Is that what happens?"

"If something feels right, it usually is worth doing." Arin smiled. "And I don't know. I'm pretty easy on definitions. If you want to figure out a definition, I can work with it too. If not, we just keep doing what we feel is right."

Deirdre shook her head. "No I don't need a definition. I was just unsure. I guess I made the right decision of coming to see you to say bye before I left." She smiled. "That's really all that matters."

"Anything that let's me see you again works for me, so I agree." He smiled.

"Bye, I will see you later." She kissed Arin lightly.

Deirdre made her way back into the batcave looking for Balthazar.

"Shway outfit there darlin'. " Balthazar said from his perch on the top of the couch. He was dressed a bit more casually in dark jeans, longsleeve green shirt, and a grey jacket. "And what d'you know, we match." He said with a teasing grin.

"Oh...we do. Should I change? I don't want people thinking I was copying you or something..." Deirdre shrugged a little. "Am I dressed okay? I didn't know what we we're doing so I went middle ground...maybe I shouldn't have..." She frowned.

"Nah, you look great. Just means we both had good taste." Bal said with a wink. "So...how's your French?"

"My french? Not bad....part of basic courses and ballet is pretty much all french but...why?" Deirdre didn't know of any place in New York that was big on speaking french. She didn't know the city very well so maybe Balthazar knew something she didn't. She found that very likely in fact, he was older by centuries and she lived in a secure little bubble up until a few months ago.

"Just curious." He said grinning as he held out his hand. "You ready to do some sight seeing?"

Deirdre eyed him, amused, "You have plans...should I be worried?" She shyly took Balthazar's hand.

"Naaaaah." Bal said grinning. "Everybody likes French food." Bal said winking as D's hand slipped into his own, and the two of them both disappeared.

When they reappeared with both feet on the ground, it was in front of the Eiffel Tower, and instead of the beginning of the afternoon, it was late afternoon, early evening. "Never said which sights we were going to be seeing." He said with a grin.

Deirdre stood there stunned. She had never been anywhere outside of the state, let alone the country. "Balthazar...is that..." She was wide-eyed and looking up. "Why...are we really in France? But..."

"Yup." He said looking satisfied with her reaction. "We're in Paris to be more precise. Got us a reservation at a little place I thought you might like." He said, holding her hand as they walked around.

"This is how you want me to repay my debt? To spend time with you in Paris?" Deirdre looked over at him. "I don't know what to say..." She let him lead her. She was enraptured with the sights around her. It was so different from New York.

"Well whatever you do, don't thank me." He joked lightly. "Unless you want another outing like this that is. I've got a standing reservation at this nice little place in Maui if you're feeling something more tropical."

Deirdre smiled, "Vivienne said we need to not thank fae. I am supposed to be very careful and that you changeable so you might not always be so nice to me...I don't know if I believe that, maybe I just like to think of you as nice. Maybe a little bit of a pest but you don't seem as mean as you could be."

"Yeah well, Vivienne doesn't know everything." Bal pouted lightly. "Bit of a racial stereotype that is. We're just a bit flighty is all. We don't all go looking for trouble on principal, it just has a tendency of following us around." Bal corrected mildly before flashing her another grin and digging through his pocket and pulling out a disposable camera. "Just don't go spreading that around, I've got a rep to protect y'know." He said placing the camera in her hands.

"You want me to take your picture? Sure." She lifted the camera and pointed it at him. "Don't worry I don't know that anyone would believe me if I told them you were a gentleman or sweet or anything like that. Your rep is safe." She laughed. "Ready?"

"I'm flattered." Bal said flashing a grin as Deirdre snapped a picture of him. "But it was more for the city itself. You've got a big room of your own to decorate now, figured you'd like some pictures of your Parisian adventure."

Deidre lowered the camera. "Really? Oh..." She smiled. "That is very thoughtful of you Balthazar. Than-" She closed her mouth tightly. "Maybe you need to stop being so nice to me."

"Good catch." Bal said amused. "Sorry to say I won't make it that easy for you though. I can be perfectly nice when I want to."

Deirdre raised the camera and snapped a picture of some of the buildings. "So you choose to be nice to me but pester Tim or Kat. Interesting." She looked over at Bal. "Am I allowed to ask you things about yourself? Or is that a no, no too when it comes to fae? That whole knowledge being power and all..."

"Boy scout just makes it too easy. Even a hint of flirting and he gets all red in the face. Might as well be waving a red flag in a bulls face." Bal said grinning. "Kat can hold her own, she likes shooting me down as much as she finds me annoying. I'll grow on her." He said with confidence. "You can ask about me if you want. Other fae...probably best not mention them. Invitation for trouble, and trust me, I'm a peach compared to some of those guys."

Deirdre nodded, remembering the woman who attacked Tim and Kat. "A peach, got it." She snapped a few more pictures. "Tim puts his foot in his mouth a lot. Did you know he asked Viv to send me away on the first day we were together. Said I was trouble, she was trouble." Deirdre pointed to her head. "He is okay, just kind of...I don't know. Course you bug him and you know Arey goes ballistic."

She turned and looked at Balthazar. "I think the only person you don't really phase is Arin. You don't make me angry, well not now...the club, when we first showed up at the rink maybe...you do however, talk in a way that makes me very scared to say anything. Vivienne said words are weapons with fae. Arin told me to ask lots of questions. I don't know, I always feel ten steps behind you..and Kat...and Arin..." She shook her head, one hand on her hat to stop it from falling off. "I am talking too much."

Bal grinned cheekily. "He should be thanking me for that one. They're pretty funny to watch when she gets all territorial." As she brought up the rest of, of being scared to talk to him, he sombered a little bit.

"Not sure I would say funny....." Deirdre murmured.

"They've just got more more experience right now, don't sweat it. I happen to like when you talk a lot. I think you've got the makings of a real conversationalist." Bal said grinning as he gave her a quick one armed hug. "So fire away. Questions?"

Deirdre chuckled as Bal stated she might make a good conversationalist. "You and Arin might be the only people on the planet that think I am enjoyable when I start to talk." She tapped her lips with her finger. "Easy one...how often do you come to Paris? Have you ever lived here and when?"

"It's been a while actually." Bal said thoughtfully as she asked about his time in Paris. "I was holed up here for a while in the twenties if you'd believe. Quite the place to be back then. The music was loose, the people looser, and it was very easy to blend." He said as they came by a flower cart, and he bought her a pink rose. "Floated to Berlin and Munich for a bit after that. Not my highest recommendation. The Germans are into some weird shit, even by my standards." He joked lightly as her put the flower in her hands.

Deirdre took the flower. "Oh..." She smiled. "I wish I could express my appreciation." Her teeth bit down on her lower lip. "Where else have you lived?" She tried to change the subject.

"Don't sweat it." Bal said with a dismissive gesture. "A trip to Paris isn't complete until you've given a pretty girl a rose. Selfish intentions." Bal insisted as he took the camera and snapped a picture of her with it before handing it back.

"Lots of places." Bal continued. "England when I was younger, Ireland for a while. Spent some time in Shanghai in the thirties. Mostly just drifted around from different cities. Italy was a pretty good place to get lost back in the middle ages." He offered up. "I'm about sixteen hundred sweetheart, pretty young by fae standards granted, but I've been a whole lot of places. Any time in specific you're looking at?"

"Hmm...That is a long time. Young huh?" She smiled. "What was your favourite place and time? Middle ages?" Deirdre was enjoying talking to him. He had been places, done things that she had never even dreamed of.

"Hard to say..." Bal said, pursing his lips in thought. "Probably in England when I was younger. Those guys had a real sense of humor, especially the Welsh. Things were a little more stable back then."

"When you were young..." Deirdre looked thoughtful for a moment. "A child...Viv said you were little more than a child when I met you...." Her voice was very quiet.

Bal's green eyes were a little guarded as they flicked back to Deirdre, and he tried to sound casual. "I'd doubt you'd even be able to remember me to be honest. I wasn't exactly advertising I was a fae when we spent time together, and Guinevere had more interesting things going on in her life than to remember one overly inquisitive stable boy." He said with a smile.

Deirdre's eyes clouded a little. "Tell me...tell me about the time we spent together. I feel...she had no child....she liked them but..." She shivered.

"She was kind of sensitive about that." He said gently, rubbing her shoulder in comfort. "I was barely more than a hundred back then, must have looked about eleven...maybe twelve?" He said thoughtfully. "I grew up in the Seelie court side of things, before they started shoving anyone with Unseelie blood behind the veil. The Seelie...they're complicated, politics are constantly shifting, and the only thing that stays constant is the caste system. Even in the court there's a hierarchy, and except for the highest tier of the Queen's favorites, there isn't much forward movement if you know what I mean." He tried to explain.

"Tricksters, because we're half Unseelie, are always bottom of the barrel. They're concubines or jesters or some other menial position serving someone else. That's part of why most of us leave. Even as a kid, when we're shielded from that a little more in our houses, I knew it what was coming, so I'd skip out a lot." He said looking ahead. The information he was giving her was mostly harmless, nothing specific with any names, so he didn't mind giving that to her. "I was an angry little kid who liked causing trouble. Loosening wheels, causing misunderstandings, general mischief making. I was pretending to be a stable boy in Camelot when I met her the first time, was going to let the horses out of the stable and watch the grooms spend the day chasing after them in a flurry." He said remembering with a fond grin.

"And what did you think when you met her?" Deirdre wanted to know. She knew what she thought of her other half but perhaps having a different perspective would be good. "Was she really as self centred as they say?" Guilt began to eat at her, overriding the enjoyment of the trip. "Sorry, we don't have to talk about this. Let's talk about you. Who was the most interesting person you ever met?"

"Nothing could be further from the truth." Bal said with quiet amusement. "Considering she caught me red handed leading the King's horse out of the stable without being saddled or prompted, I thought she was going to box my ears, or make one of her guards do it for her. I was enjoying my time as Bran the stable boy, and I was willing to take it because it was better than skipping back to the seelie court. Instead she grabs me by the arm and marches me back into the stable with the horse and gives me a ten minute lecture about proper consideration and manners for others. I being the incorrigible brat that I was, spoke like a gutter rat and used some colorful language to describe what she could do with her manners." He remembered, eyes sparkling.

"After which, instead of having me rightly flogged, she decided I was going to take weekly lessons in etiquette from her. Once a week, for about a year, I saddled two horses for her, went with her on her rides, and she 'taught me how to be a gentleman'. Women in authority from my experience have always been hard, demanding, and more than a little scary. She was the first one ever met who was compassionate." He left out the part where he'd been more than a little smitten with her for Deirdre's sake.

Deirdre shook her head,"Really? Oh dear..." She took his arm. "You weren't afraid of her? You went with her?"

"Nah, there's only so much a mortal can do to a fae, and she didn't even know I was one. I was bored and she was interesting, even if those lessons never really stuck. I actually began to look forward to them." Bal replied with a small smile.

Deirdre looked shocked, "You mean you never learned to be a gentleman? Oh dear." She laughed. "Sounds like she was fond of you."

"Only with her." Bal said honestly. "And I was fond of her too." When Camelot had died, so had Bran the stable boy, and the stable peace within the Seelie court had shifted. Those days were quite honestly the more happy of his life.

Deirdre smiled, "Vivienne said you were. I like knowing someone liked her beyond her reputation." She looked at her feet.

"Hey." Bal said seriously, lifting her chin up carefully with his fingers. "Guinevere wasn't a bad person, she never was. Making some mistakes is part of being mortal...part of living in general. People say bad things about her because she's the easiest target, because it's easier to blame someone else than accept their own failings. She was a strong, beautiful, confident woman who genuinely cared about the people around her. Don't ever let people shame you for your connection to her. You should be proud of it, that you're connected to such an amazing person."

Deirdre tried to smile. "Enough about her. I am not like her. Tell me about you. Come on, most interesting person you ever met?" She pulled her eyes from his face.

"Besides Queen Guinevere?" He said with a wink. "I made out with Elanore of Aquitaine once upon a time if we want to get historical about it. That woman was real handsy, gotta say. Rudolph Valentino wasn't half bad either once he'd had a few brandies in his system. Kinda clingy and melodramatic though." He remembered with a grimace. "If we want to get more modern with it, I toured with Queen for a while back in the day. That was pretty cool." He remembered with a smile. Queen groupies were nuts in all the right ways...

Deirdre laughed. "You toured with the Queen? Of England?"

"Ha! That would have been a hoot, but no, they're a band. Bohemian Rhapsody? Somebody to Love? Hammer to Fall?" Bal prompted, listing off some of the greats.

"Oh! Music. I love music. I don't know titles, I might know them if I heard them." Deirdre looked over at him. "You play music?" She loved music but rarely put band or song names with the stuff she listened to. She knew what she liked, she knew what brought out emotions in her and she knew how to pick things that suited her mood. Who played it didn't matter as much as what it inspired.

"A little here and there. Picked up guitar in the eighties for the hell of it, not claiming to be good." Bal said with a wink. "I'll get you my record collection sometime. You can figure out who's who and if you like them." He offered.

"Wait, I am not really allowed to take favours from fae am I?" She frowned. "There are so many rules. I am worried about making Viv mad at something I might do."

"Well it's not really a favor if I'm the one offering to bring them. It's honestly more of an excuse for me to hang out with you." Bal shrugged. "Rules and structure's how we live. They have to power to bind for us. She'd just trying to look out for you is all."

"I know. I just don't want to do anything wrong." Deirdre frowned. "Hang out with me? You might find me fairly boring after a while Bal. Can...can I call you that or do you prefer your full name?"

"Call me whatever you like." Bal said with a smile, kind of liking it when she called him that. "And I don't think I could ever find you boring." He said as they stopped by the Arc de Triomphe. "You hungry yet?"

Deirdre took a few more pictures. 'Yes starving." She giggled. "But this city is so beautiful. And the conversation is very interesting, enough to forget all about food." She tucked the rose into the crook of her arm as she turned, taking another picture. "Bal, there is no way a silly mortal like me is interesting to someone who has seen and done as much as you but I appreciate the sentiment."

She tucked the camera away, the rose in her hand once more. "Alright, tell me the most boring person you ever met." She smiled at him.

Bal had to think about that one for a moment. After all, how could he be expected to remember all the boring people too? He was about to reply with a story of a British clerk he'd met during the British occupation in India when Bal felt a sudden shift in the air. Subtle, but powerful. A mortal wouldn't even have noticed it, the average fae either, but Bal did. He'd been running for the better part of eight hundred years, he knew what to look for. His head whipped around, eyes wide and intense as he searched the surrounding crowd as he tried to trample down on his rising panic.

Deirdre looked at Bal. He was looking around. He was very quiet and a little tense. She placed a hand gently on his arm. "Is something wrong?" She looked around as well seeing nothing but people.

Bal was tense, his eyes searching when they finally locked with the cold amber gaze of a brunette woman standing by the gift stand. His hackles rose immediately when he recognized her, the ghost feeling of hands running over him emerging in her presence and he ground his teeth. "Shit!" He hissed, as he grabbed hold of Deirdre's hand. "We have to leave now! When I tell you to run, run and don't look back." He said forcefully as they disappeared, blinking them back to New York with as much speed as possible.

"O-okay." Deirdre looked at Balthazar, "Wait, run?" She was slightly panicked. "What is going on?"

Bal didn't manage to get them back to the shop, but it was close, only being about a block away before the other fae grabbed hold of his arm, whipping him around and slammed him into the hard pavement. Bal at least had the presence of mind to push Deirdre out of the way, sparing her the blow.

"You've been sloppy Balthazar. I haven't been able to catch a trail on you this fresh in two hundred years." The brunette woman sneered in satisfaction.

She staggered as Bal pushed her. She was wide eyed. A woman slammed Balthazar into the pavement. It only took her a moment hesitation before she looked around and spotted a bottle near a garbage can. Deirdre moved to it and picking it up whipped it at the woman. "Let him go!" She watched the glass hit the woman in the shoulder.

Deirdre had dropped her rose and now her hands groped for something else to throw at the fae. A can this time. She threw it too. It rang out as it hit the woman's arm. Her other hand rummaged in her pocket for her phone. Pulling it out she yelled, "Call Arin" at it. It began dialing Arin's cell phone. Deirdre was shaking but she couldn't let this woman just attack them.

At the impact, the fae woman turned her gaze toward Deirdre. "Playing with mortals again Balthazar? You always did have pathetic taste. Her Highness will be woed to hear of your destitute state." The woman said with a mean kind of grin, yanking Bal up by his collar and catching the fist he threw her way as he tried to buck her off. "D, run, run now!" Bal growled, trying to body slam the other fae.

"Let him go!" A rotten apple landed with a wet thud on the woman's back. Deirdre took a step forward. If Arin picked up he'd be able to hear her words. "No! I can't leave you here!" She shook her head frantically. "Arin will come, we aren't far..." She grabbed the lid of the garbage can and not thinking ran at the woman, swinging for her head.

"She just keeps talking..." The fae woman said cocking her head in birdlike contemplation. "I think I'll make it stop. Will you cry for this one too?" Bal landed a hit to the fae woman's middle, regaining her attention. "Fuck you Syb, and fuck the Queen too, you lot can rot in faery!" Syb, as she was now named, landed a vicious backhand to Bal's face, grinning in satisfaction. "I've been waiting eight hundred years for the chance to do that." She purred.

"Y'know Syb, when a man doesn't call for eight hundred years , it's usually a hint." He growled back, earning another hit.

Deirdre went into training mode. She knew she couldn't hurt the fae for real but it didn't mean she couldn't try. She swung the lid with all her power. Her eyes were on the woman's face. She wanted to make her stop smiling.

Syb caught the lid with one hand, the metal giving way with a crunch between her fingers, as if she were gripping butter. "Your mortal wishes for death." The fae said with molten eyes. "I would give it to her." She purred. Bal flung himself against Syb, gripping her in some kind of vice hug. "Deirdre, back away, now!" He said, struggling to hold her back.

Deirdre stopped dead as the woman crushed the lid of the garbage can. She swallowed hard as the woman stated she would give her her death.

"But...." Deirdre backed away. She sought something iron, something she could use to hurt the fae who was attacking Bal. She didn't know what iron looked like.

"D, you can't hurt her, she's a hunter, she'll kill y-gah!" Bal was cut off by the blade that slipped between his ribs, forcing him to his knees as she twisted the blade cruely. "I always did like you better this way Balthazar, your natural position." The fae woman sneered as she petted through Bal's hair with her free hand and he glared, panting through the pain.

"NO!" Deirdre screamed as Balthazar crumpled to his knees. "Syb! Let him go!" She called out to the woman, hands in fists. She couldn't hurt her but she might be able to get her talking. Words are weapons. If she could delay her then Arin and the others could come. They weren't far away, surely they would come.

Syb turned her gaze back to Deirdre, looking a little more carefully this time. "You are one of Arthur's." She said contemplatively. "For that, I shall grant you life. This one," She said grasping Bal's face in her hand. "Belongs to the queen. She will want him back."

"What's wrong? She looking for a replacement for Lugh now that he's done fucking her?" Bal bit out weakly, spitting as much venom into it as he could muster

"He belongs to Arthur. He is under Arthur's protection." Deirdre countered. "You risk much by attacking him." She stood taller, trying to level her words and tone to a more neutral but commanding tone. "You should choose your next action carefully Syb. The knife was not perhaps wise."

Syb threw back her head and laughed, as the end of the blade seemed to grow a chain that wrapped itself around Balthazar. "Arthur has no claim to the Seelie or our own, and even if he tried, our claim is older and much greater. I would sooner risk the wrath of your mortal king than that of my queen. She will be wanting her jester back. If Arthur wishes to contest that claim, he may do do with the Seelie Queen herself." Syb said gripping hold of Balthazar.

"Until such time as that can be arranged Balthazar stays here. You do not get to take him. We cannot be ensured of his state if you take him." Deidre countered.

"His state is not of your concern. He is of the fae and is claimed by the Seelie. Farewell mortal, you have proved most amusing." The Fae said chuckling as she began to drag him with her back across the veil.

"D...just go, it's alright." Bal tried to call out softly between clenched teeth, before the pair of them disappeared.

"No..." Deirdre watched as the woman ignored her and walked away with Bal. "No..." She was crying now. She had failed to help him. She stood there for a moment just staring at where they had vanished. She made her way back to the batcave.