-Chapter 12-

-Chapter 12-

-Heartfelt apologies to all who have been waiting patiently for this update. I have been somewhat bogged down with finals as of late; I hope you understand. Love, Aoife-

She sat again with manilla file folders spread out before her, this time on the floor of her bedroom. Dammit, I thought I was done with this for a while. Though she was allowed to involve her other Housemates this time, she wanted to get the decision at least narrowed down to two or three before she let them help. She trusted them to be intelligent about choosing a new Celt, but the fewer candidates they had to look at, the easier the choice would be. Aeron didn’t even bother knocking on the door; he knew what she was doing. He lowered himself cross-legged onto the floor in front of her, and his eyes also scanned the folders splayed around her. “I just don’t know,” she admitted. “I can’t take Telemachus from Greece, Mars from Rome, Erik from Scandinavia, or Ra from Egypt because they’ve all now been elected and set in line for High God. Ideally, I’d like another from Scandinavia to round things out here and keep it two from each House, but I don’t know if Green House can sacrifice another member.” She was really just thinking out loud, and Aeron remained silent, letting her brain work itself to a natural conclusion. “I know Blue House can’t afford another loss. Aside from the boys here, Egypt lost an extra one last year, so if possible, I don’t want to take another of theirs. And I’d really like another archer, but . . .”He could see her mind checking off names on the roster as her gaze moved across the mess of papers. Finally, she looked up to meet his eyes. “Oberon, Cupid, Brecker, or Reshpu.” A note of helplessness entered her voice as she spoke the names. He nodded, stood and offered a hand to her. Together, they collected their comrades from their individual lessons, asking forgiveness from the tutors, and led them all to the officers’ lounge, which they’d taken to calling Ynys Sci.

The six gathered on the couches that crudely circled the center of the room. No one spoke, waiting for their leaders to have the first words. Exchanging a look with his goddess, Aeron began, “You all aren’t stupid, so you can obviously tell that this is important.”

“Don’t tell me we lost Lleu for good too,” Taliesin assumed, worriedly.

“No, no, nothing like that,” Scathach eased. “Because of the loss of Cuchulainn, we must choose another member as soon as possible.”

“And on this rare occasion,” Aeron continued, “Death has given us permission to involve you.”

“I have here the files on the four candidates to which Aeron and I have narrowed the decision.” Scathach stood and placed the pile on the table in the middle of the group. “Oberon or Cupid from Red House, Brecker from Green House, or Reshpu from Gold House: those are the four you’re to choose from.”

Aeron passed around small slips of paper and pens. “You are all allowed to read the files. When you’ve made your decision, we’d like you to write your choice on this paper, fold it once, and put it in this jar.” He held up the canister and set it on the table next to the files.

“If there is no majority, Aeron and I will override all your votes and choose ourselves.” Scathach nodded to her Second, and they both stood and left the room. There would be no need for any vetoes, however. One hour later, each of the Celts had made his decision and placed his vote in the jar. All of the slips of paper inside carried the same name. After reading the files, each had found the choice staring him in the face; there was no contest as to who would join Silver House before the next battle.

--

Scathach, Aeron and Hope walked into the Hub. This was the first time either of the cadets had seen the House of an army of which they’d not yet been a part. The High God stood with the guardian and his High Queen, ready to receive them. “Here to take another of mine, I see.”

“Can you blame me?” Scathach responded with a half smile. “The first two were so well trained I wanted another.” As she took the last few steps, he welcomed her with open arms, embracing her. Unlike everyone else she knew, he made sure his head was to her left. As she pulled away, he kissed her scar. Only he would dare be that bold, and because it was him, she allowed it.

Hervor narrowed her gaze at her High God. Who did this little slut think she was? And who was he to humor her like that? She had never known him to be that tender. Her green eyes flashed quickly, and her face adopted a smile as Scathach neared her. Similarly, Hervor hugged the Celtic woman, welcoming her to the House.

“Which one are you here for this time?” Loki asked.

“Brecker,” Aeron answered. “If you’ll let him go.”

Loki looked at Scathach coyly. “You’re lucky we got nine Lilies that year.”

“Um,” Hervor interrupted. “Why is it that you need another soldier?” She looked at Scathach with feigned innocence.

“One has fallen.”

“Hervor,” Loki addressed her. “You heard Chaos tell of the loss of Váli along with the rest of us.”

“Oh, how silly of me; of course. Well, I do hope this one works out for you. And if for any reason he doesn’t, please feel free to trade him in for another as well.” She turned, her eyes shooting a knife into Loki, and walked away with her chin slightly higher than it should have been.

“Uh, you’ll have to excuse my High Goddess. Unfortunately, there were no women in my class, so I had to elevate her by two years.” They all watched her leave, a proud lioness off to stalk her next victim.

“It is a pity there are so few women here at Scandinavia,” Scathach sympathized.

“Well, whenever you feel like stepping down from Silver House, let me know,” he smiled. “Brecker!” He called it out into the nothingness of the House so that it reverberated through the halls. Scathach marvelled at just how different he was from Zeus and Poseidon; he acted much more like a king than simply a leader.

Soon, the young green-clad man strode up from the hall of classrooms. “I hope you have a good reason for stealing me from my lessons, Sir.”

“Pack what memories you wish to keep, Brecker. You’re being taken from us.” Brecker looked at his leader in confusion, which quickly turned to surprise as he shifted his eyes to the silver trio that also populated the Hub.

“You’re . . . I’m . . .”

“Yes,” Scathach finished for him. “And we are happy to welcome you, Deartháir.”

“What’s that?”

“Brother,” Aeron answered, smiling.

--

“Would it be too much to ask for one person in this House to be as loyal to me as he was to Thor?!”

Loki stormed out of his room at the end of the hall, the room he shared with only his High Goddess. The ruckus he made turned the heads of all standing in the hall, and caught the attention of everyone in the House; his voice resounded through the halls as the echo of Thor resounded through Norse memories. Step after roaring step, he headed up the hallway. Nearly stumbling, Hervor bubbled from the room, the bed sheet flowing around her, gathered in one hand as the other reached for Loki. “Loki!” She was crying as she tumbled behind his heels. “Loki, please! Let me explain!”

“Explain what?!” He stopped in the Hub, certain that everyone would be able to hear of his High Queen’s sins. “Explain how you have the indecency to allow Freyr to enter you in my bed?! Explain how your Shieldmaiden oath, taken when you were named, has apparently meant nothing to you?! Please, Hervor, explain it to me, explain it to your subjects!”

“Oh, brave soul! You talk of my indecency, but fail to mention your own! How many of the women here have given themselves to you?! How many illegitimate children would you have, were all of us not on birth control?!”

“I could have ruled alone! But instead, I gave you the honor of being High Goddess a full two years before your time. And this is the thanks I’m given!”

“Did you honestly expect me to be faithful to a man who wasn’t so in return?!”

“And when was I unfaithful since choosing you to rule with me?” His voice quieted, and his stare iced. Her mouth opened, but no sound escaped; he had her there. There was no way to fight the truth. But she had one card yet up her sleeve.

“What about her?”

“Who?”

“The one from Silver House who keeps taking our soldiers,” she hissed. “Don’t tell me you’ve never thought about her.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m not blind, Loki! I saw the way you looked at her. Gods, what I wouldn’t give to have you look at me that way, just once!” Her grip on the sheet tightened, whitening her knuckles. “You didn’t choose me because you wanted me; you chose me because you thought it was the right thing to do.”

The blow should have hurt, but it didn’t. He felt nothing but sympathy for this girl who now stood before him, tears streaming from her face. She did not wound him as he did her.

“My gods; I’ve done you a terrible injustice, M’Lady.” His expression melted, but only for a moment, and quickly froze again. “You may rejoin your bunkmates tonight.” He turned sharply and headed for the gym. A good long run around the track would clear his head.

--

He stepped into the Hub; all of his Housemates were already there to welcome him. The High Goddess embraced him tightly. “We missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“So, how was solitary?” Taliesin asked immediately, ever curious.

“Let's just say, the guardians are glad those walls were padded,” Lleu laughed.

“We have a surprise for you.” Scathach nodded to Fionn, who stepped to one side, revealing the newest member of the Celts.

“Brecker!” he called, embracing his brother warmly.

“It’s Tristan now,” the boy corrected, smiling at Scathach.

“Well, Tristan, it’s wonderful to see you. And believe me, I’m not in a hurry to go back to that room.

“Good,” Aeron laughed. “’Cause we can’t afford to lose you for a while.”

--

Since their arrival at the school, the students had become accustomed to one constant season, no turning of the weather patterns to show them how the year was progressing. There was only the calandar to tell them how many days had passed, and how many they had yet to see before graduation. For some, the latter number was smaller, and for others, larger; but for a select few, that number halted sooner than originally intended. There were eight graduating from Blue House this summer, seven from Green House, nine from Red House and five from Gold House. Among them were three who were finishing early: two from Rome, and Apollo from Greece. Graduation was a somewhat trying time for most whose school carreers were coming to an end. There was, of course, the deciding what to do with the rest of one’s life. But foremost in the minds of the cadets was generally the fact that students still enrolled were not permitted at the ceremony. It was to be the first time they would see their old friends and family since the day they arrived.

Apollo walked across the stage, collected his diploma, saluted his teachers, his guardians, and the General, and turned to see his parents smiling and waving in the audience. His thoughts strayed to a lifetime ago when he’d received a young girl into his care. There had been no way to contact Artemis before he left, and now, he was fairly sure he would never be able to; a sad fact of life, but somehow, he knew she would be alright.

Sitting around Ynys Sci with her Housemates, Scathach suddenly felt empty. She couldn’t explain it; it was as if a piece of her had just melted away, leaving an oddly shaped hole. Like most things that troubled her, she put it out of her mind. Something that she would never get back was now gone, but as a leader she couldn’t dwell on that fact; for the sake of her soldiers, she had to move on.

The year itself had gone by much smoother than the last. The only incident of expulsion had been Joshua Wellington, who had failed to find his place in three of the school’s Houses. It was an unfortuante loss, seeing as how he’d only made it through a year and a half, but that was the way things went sometimes. Silver House had been properly introduced and had participated excellently through every battle that year. And it was no wonder that by the end of it, the soldiers were tired, having fought in more than their fair share. It was for this reason that Hope entreated to the General on behalf of the cadets that each House only be permitted to use the Celts in one battle. Each House would have to choose wisely which battle they would like Silver House for, and if there was a dispute, the knowledge tournament would ensue. Afterall, it just wasn’t fair to force Silver House to fight in all six battles that took place during the year when all the other Houses only participated in three.

This motion was accepted by Death, and the announcement was made in addition to his news that Silver House would be choosing eight more cadets from the four other Houses--those who would be considered Second Years in the coming fall--while the rest would be rounding up their Lilies.