MEMORIES CAME AND WENT when Chalice woke up. They were clinging to what they knew, only to lose it moments later. It was more than they'd gotten since they came back, though, and Eurion kept looking at them with an intensity she rarely possessed. She was hopeful, and her hope was their anchor.

The small village gathered to watch the spectacle, surrounding the edge of the lake. Chalice, full up of a fresh Fells lunch and nerves, stared out at the still, green water with shaking hands. They believed everyone who said they could breathe underwater, but they had no memory of ever doing such a thing. Their fear was understandable.

Eurion came up beside them, fingertips brushing against their palm in invitation. Chalice opened their hand, taking the thief's in a tight grip, focusing only on the feeling of her skin and the faint pulse in her wrist.

"I'll be right here," Eurion assured them. "I won't let my eyes off of you, I promise. As long as I stand here, you'll be safe."

Her words brought them comfort, but their heart still raced. The Grail only showed itself to those who were pure. What if they weren't? What if death had tainted them, or perhaps working with the Seelie Queen did? What if they weren't pure before their death, and the Grail had no intentions of coming to them? If they didn't succeed, there would be no way to save the Fair Folk.

You were always meant for this, Sera had said. It didn't help much, only added to the pressure. The fate of an entire people, perhaps the fate of the world, rested on their shoulders now.

Their lithe fingers pulled away from Eurion's, and they tiptoed towards the lake. They let their cloak slip to the sand in a heap, their toes dipping into the cool water. Chalice walked until it reached their knees, and then it dropped abruptly into a deep abyss below them.

They were not doing this alone. The only one without any faith in Chalice was, well, Chalice. And so, with that thought, they took a breath and ducked beneath the water. When they opened their eyes, they could see fine, if only a bit hazy. They let the air drain from their lungs, and in a moment of pure blind trust, they inhaled.

It was a strange feeling, but not terrible. The thing that mattered, though, was that it was working. They could breathe fine. One hand shot up above the water, giving them a signal that they were okay. And then they swam deeper, until the light of the sun was dim and the water pressed against their body in a strangely comforting embrace.

The Grail. That's why Chalice was there, though it was too dark to see. If they focused, perhaps they could find it with the magic. They had little faith in such a thing, though, as the last time they thought they felt something, it was only Sera's magic.

Deeper. They had to go deeper. They kicked their limbs until the top of the lake was barely visible, darkness engulfing the druid entirely, and they thought they were on the verge of remembering something. A vague memory, a memory of a vision.

Deeper, the voice had said. And this time, they did go deeper. And deeper. Their limbs ached and the pressure was making them dizzy, but they obeyed and swam until their feet brushed the mud at the bottom. Slick weeds tickled their legs and old things sent falling into the lake knocked against them as they walked, following a whisper of a feeling.

A faint green glow grew from their palm, illuminating the area enough to lead them onward. There was nothing Grail-like yet. They were stuck.

"Fine, you win," Chalice whispered, stretching out their arms and closing their eyes. Then they thought of nothing, until their mind was open to whoever it was that gave them their vision. "I went as deep as I could. What is down here?"

Nothing came for a long time.

"Come on," they whispered. "I'm usually very patient, but I need you right now. Please."

Then they felt it, a connection. But this connection didn't feel right, it wasn't a communication of two souls. It came from their chest, a pain so agonizing they fell to their knees. This was no God.

"Help!" Chalice cried, but the Gods did not reply. They'd opened their mind to a parasite and there was no mercy for a fool like them.

"I gave you life."

It was the Seelie Queen. She was in their mind, in their heart, spread about their body and refusing to set them free.

"I didn't ask you to," they replied.

A sharp, stabbing pain wailed in their chest, pulling a cry from Chalice's lips. They clutched their sternum, thankful there was no blood yet.

"You belong to me now, Red, and you always will. Chalice Daines is dead, you are impure and stupid and the Grail will never show itself to you."

They tugged at their hair. "Get out of my head. I belong to no one."

She chuckled. "You don't have a choice. The moment Namyra put that blade through you, you had no choice. Face it, Chalice, you are powerless."

Truthfully, Chalice always knew they were powerful. It was something they heard since they were a child, even when they had no idea how to cast a simple glowing spell. But they were afraid of power, because they knew what it did to people. Who would they become if they got a taste of it? They didn't want to be powerful, they just wanted to survive.

The druid let out a gasp. "I remembered something," they breathed. "I'm remembering, Titania. Chalice Daines is not dead."

Another crippling stitch in their chest threw them into a fit of whimpers. Titania was trying to kill them, and they had no idea how she was doing it.

"It hurts, does it not? You're in agony. Do you know why that is?"

"Because you're a bitch, perhaps?"

Titania laughed. "You could say that. But when I brought you back, I did it on the condition that you do as I say. And now that you've betrayed me, karma is taking back what I so generously provided."

Chalice clutched their throat as breathing became harder, coughing into the water and leaning against a large boulder. "I owe you nothing."

The Queen continued her mocking and their pain got worse as memories flooded in like the dam had broken. Fells, Eurion, the Mage Trials, Excalibur, everything. They could remember their life in more detail than they'd remembered before. But then more came, memories they'd never had before, and they slid down to the ground with wide eyes.

"Mummy! Mummy, where you go?"

A child's voice cried out, no more than a year old, certainly. They were standing near a lake, no thought on their mind but their mother and where she could've possibly gone to. The child would never see her again. Instead, they were found by a woman the next morning, and life went on.

Chalice never remembered their mother before, not until another memory knocked itself to the forefront of their mind.

An elegant, fair-skinned woman, rose-red hair floating angelically about her, black eyes filled with adoration. "It worked."

The infant's first memory was their proud mother pulling them into her arms, singing them a lovely Gaelic poem. A soft giggle brought a tearful grin to the woman's perfect face.

"I don't have much time with you. But I have enough. One day, my love, you will save the world."

Chalice's eyes flew open then, greeted by more darkness. Their whole life was a picture in their mind, clearer than it had ever been before.

"Touching," Titania murmured. "But it won't work. So what, a witch loved you for a year. You're pathetic."

"No," Chalice hissed. "She was no witch, she was my mother. And so much more than that."

They pushed off of their feet and swam towards the edge of the lake until they found the place they remembered. They dug as the dirt and rock and plants until they uncovered a stone door. They heaved it open, revealing a row of empty shelves. Empty, except for a small bottle with a paper curled up inside.

Despite the water, they pulled the note from the bottle and opened it, confused by the words for a moment.

"My child. If you have reached this note, you have already won. You are not only a druid, you are a prophet. A vessel of the Gods, a piece of us. Do not forget who you are. Do not forget.

Signed, Vivien."

"Vivien," they repeated, and their heart skipped several beats.

Titania was as silent as ice in their mind, but soon they were on their knees again, choking and heaving until they got dizzy. She was killing them, and she was nearly successful.

Do not forget.

Vivien.

"Vivien," Chalice breathed again. "I know... that name."

They sorted through each memory, until they found what they were searching for. Vivien, a creature of legend. She forged the sword Excalibur and loved Arthur's mage, Merlin. No one could forget the Lady of the Lake.

And she was their mother.

"If I was meant to die the moment I betrayed you," they ground out, stuffing the note into their pocket. "Why has it only started now?"

The Seelie Queen did not respond for several seconds, but when she did, her voice was cold, stiff, defensive. "I was waiting for the right moment. Get you in a place you can die and no one will ever find your body and know that I killed you."

"I know you can lie," said Chalice. "And you're doing it now."

Silence.

The druid pushed into a standing position despite the pain, forcing themselves to stay on their feet. If they were to die, they wished to die fighting.

"You didn't kill me because you couldn't. It was only when I made myself as vulnerable as I could be that you took your chance. You won't win."

Titania growled. "You will never find that Grail."

"Too late."

Chalice pushed away from the rock, swimming back towards the wall. They pressed their hands over the surface, searching for anything that would help them find Vivien's hiding place.

Then something else caught their eye. Tucked between a rock and weeds, a small baby's cradle sat, as old and worn and unassuming as could be. Chalice leapt towards it, but an uncontrolled jerk of their leg sent their body crashing for the door with a sickening thud as the side of their head knocked against the stone.

It was enough to disorient them, certainly, but they were determined. They pushed further, until their hand brushed the cradle. Their limbs were getting harder to control, and they could feel Titania's grasp tightening around their throat.

Through the pain, they pulled the old sheets from the cradle, and there it was. Shiny and gold and holy. So holy, they wanted to look away. But they couldn't. It was beautiful, the most magnificent treasure they'd ever seen in their life. And just before they could reach it, they felt the scar in their sternum splitting open, and their vision finally faded completely.

When one world left, a new one appeared. It was the same lake, the same vision.

Deeper.

This time, Chalice did not hesitate. They swam deeper and deeper for what felt like hours, until they broke through the darkness and towards a glowing light.

"Hello, child."

It was Vivien, as graceful as ever, holding up a green-tinted lamp. Her face was gentle and fierce all at once, but she was beautiful either way.

"Mother."

Vivien approached them, free hand examining their face and the crack at the side of their skull. "You can still make it. This is hardly deadly."

"But it killed me before," said Chalice. "I was dead."

"Were you? Because I did not create you to die before your purpose is fulfilled."

Chalice gulped. "My purpose?"

Vivien looked them square in the eyes, a kind of fire that reminded them of Selene. "The Grail, Excalibur, all of this. You don't get to be done, do you understand?"

"How do I live with a hole in my chest?"

"You heal it. Easy."

Chalice looked down at their sternum, bleeding freely. "She made it bigger than last time."

"The Grail will heal you. For now, you need to wake up and take it. As soon as you have it, tell it what you need and why you're worthy."

Before she could give them further instruction, she vanished, and Chalice was back in the dark. They had to wake up. But how?

Eurion. They thought of Eurion. The thief lived for freedom, for spontaneity. She was unpredictable, she never stayed in one place. And yet, she was the one thing that kept Chalice stable. Among all this, she was loyal, determined, and grounded. The druid clung to the thought of her, to her smile, to her eyes, to her quick hands.

Their arm twitched. They could feel it gaining control again, and Titania tried her hardest to stop it, but they reached further, as far as they could.

And then they touched it. The metal was cool, with a magical buzz and a comforting warmth. They pulled it from the cradle, settling it onto their chest.

"I need a miracle," they whispered. "Help me, so I can help the world. They need me, but I will die like this."

Their chest burned so suddenly, Chalice feared Titania had finally won. But the Queen's frustrated cries said otherwise. Their limbs returned to them one by one, much to her dismay.

"It's Sídhe karma, you can't run from it," she growled. "You can't win. It's not possible."

"Let it go," Chalice whispered as their wound mended itself once again. "I am stronger than you. I am the child of Gods and the guardian of Fells."

"I am eternal."

"As am I," they replied. "And you are no longer welcome in my body again. Goodbye, Titania."

Her protests grew silent as Chalice pushed her out of their mind, and the pain subsided into dull aches. The moment their chest was healed enough, they clutched the Grail tighter, kicking their way upwards until they could find the surface.

They did it. They found the Grail, they could save the Fair Folk.

The first thing to break through the water was their hand, raising the Holy Grail high into the air, a symbol of victory. A symbol of hope. And hope was all they had.