~Author's Note~

I have had an idea to post little quotes in the beginning of each chapter because I'm cringy like that haha...

"It's time to let it all go, go out and start again

It's not that easy..."

~High Hopes; Kodaline

"Do you... Know the Pendragons?" That damn question was haunting her for a while now. She was seated on her couch, watching the fire in the fireplace flicker along with her heart beat. The sweet smell of burnt wood and the crackling it made was calming her, but it wasn't enough to supress her wild heart beat. She watched the burning logs in a trance, her mother's voice lurking in her mind. She was afraid; her parents had actually gone out of their way to publicise her absence. Had they truly cared? Had she made a mistake?

She leaned her head back and watched the ceiling, filling her lungs with deep smoky firewood breaths. She licked her lips, recalling how she had reacted.

"Uh, what?" She blinked, her eyes wide, her breath caught in her throat.

"Well, you seemed surprised to learn that their daughter went missing. Did you know her?"

Arturia shook her head furiously, "That's ridiculous, what makes you think that?"

Diarmuid pursed his lips together, taking in the icy tone of the short female next to him, "You don't need to get too cold. I was simply asking. From what you told me, your family has a high position in whatever and why else would you be so surprised to hear what Grainne had to say that you were frozen?"

The blonde regretted having sounded so defensive, "Sorry, it's just upsetting to hear that people are missing their child and they don't know where they are. Who knows what could have happened to her." Hypocrite, she scolded herself.

The rain had stopped a few minutes ago and the knock on her door had surprised her greatly. With a loud sigh, she pushed herself off the couch and slid her feet towards the door. She wasn't up for talking with anyone, especially not Diarmuid. To her surprise—and dismay—it was not Diarmuid, rather his Girlfriend; Grainne.

"Hey." The brunette gave a small wave of her pale hand. She offered up a warm smile, forgiveness in her chocolate eyes.

"Uhm, hi?" Arturia blinked. It was late, what on earth was this girl doing at her doorstep? Not that it would be any different if it were Diarmuid that was standing before her.

Grainne swung on the balls of her feet gently, "Can...I come in?" She mumbled, not making direct eye contact with the blonde female.

Arturia rubbed the back of her neck and took a deep breath. It was a cold night, the clouds were still thick and well above them; a possibility of rain lingering in the evening air. It was muddy outside and the drop in degrees caused by the storm wasn't helping her conscious, "Of course." Stepping aside, she allowed the young girl into her cabin.

Grainne stood in silence, analyzing her surroundings carefully, as if she were going to buy the house or something. Her eyes caught sight of the fireplace and then lingered there for a while, "Thank you."

"Would you like to sit?" Arturia broke the odd silence that was filling the room, the curious stare of the younger girl snapping from the warmth of the flame and unto the fiery green eyes of Arturia.

"Thank you," Grainne gave a slow nod and made her way to the couch, her gaze falling back to the intoxicating dancing of the flames. She rubbed her thighs as if trying to warm herself up.

Silence bubbled up once more, keeping control for a while until Arturia stood from the couch with a sigh, "Would you like some tea?" She asked, tilting her head slightly while her right foot had taken a step towards the kitchen.

"Thank you."

Is that all she says? The blonde wasn't annoyed, per say, but she wanted the other to continue in a conversation—or at least talk about what she came to say.

Grainne sat patiently, gathering her courage and whatever strength she could muster. Why, you ask, has Grainne come over to talk with Arturia? It was simple in the brunette's eyes. She was tired of paranoid thought running through her head, her distrust in Diarmuid and more particularly—her attitude towards the new girl in town.

"Here," Arturia handed the brunette a blue mug, taking a better grip of her own as she sat next to Grainne, eyes trained on the fire as well.

Grainne tightened her grip around the burning tea mug, her brown eyes dropping down to the fruity goodness in her hands. The smell of citrus and berries floated in a cloud around them both as Grainne took a deep breath of it to prepare herself. The warmth of the mug radiated to her hands and kept her calmer.

"May I ask you something important?" The brunette did not let her gaze so much as leave the tea.

"Go right ahead." Arturia replied, keeping herself as neutral as always.

Another deep breath—one Arturia could hear, "Do you have feelings for Diarmuid?"

The question caught Arturia off guard. Her eyes immediately left the fireplace and stared in confusion at the female seated on the couch next to her, "What?"

"I know, this sounds ridiculous," Grainne sighed, "I sound paranoid and stupid and crazy"—she kept on talking without so much as another breath— "and it's dumb to think that. I mean, you just got here; how could you like Dia?" After speaking she set the tea on the coffee table before her and proceeded to rub her face, acknowledging the warmth that her hands acquired from their time with the mug, "I had lots of friends before. Hard to believe—I know. But, uh... You see, they..." She was at a loss of words.

"They?"

"They were jealous that Dia was my boyfriend and they found ways to break us up. I swore I would never leave my friends for a guy, but... but Dia... I never left them for Dia, they left me. I'm not full of myself, I swear." The girl just rested her head on her hands, "We've been together for three years and we've done a lot together, we've been through a lot. I trust him, I do. It's just that... All the girls before, he didn't even glance at them but with you... he just—he seems brighter. I don't know; I probably sound psycho."

Arturia had clearly not expected to have someone pour her heart out. What do I do? There was but one thing to do, explain.

"Diarmuid is just my friend... I know, there's a little bug in all of our ears and it's only natural to be cautious of new comers."

Grainne groaned, "I mean, you're so different. You're silent, subtle, brave. You're—perfect! I don't understand why you came out to the country. I mean, the city has it all for you; you're free out there... but here...ugh.

"It's a wasteland out here. It is. You live here and all you're ever going to do is be a farmer or be a teacher; like Scáthach. Then a rumour explodes and you're done; the life you worked so hard for is over. You're rotting away in this small town where everyone knows everything about you and you can't escape it. But the city. The city; London," she gasped at the word, as if it were holy, "It's huge. You get—you can get lost out there and you'll be free. Forever. Only some people know who you are and no one cares what you do."

Arturia blinked, "Grainne, we all have our secrets; the ones we tell, the ones we keep for our friends and the ones we bottle up to ourselves." She landed a hand on Grainne's back as so to comfort her, "You see the countryside as a prison but to me, it's freedom. We've lived different circumstances which have made us think in different perspectives."

Grainne gave a slight nod, somewhat taking in the comment but not exactly thinking about it too much, "Sorry to have bothered you, I was quite petty, I'm sorry." She stood, completely ignoring the drink she had set down on the coffee table a few minutes prior, "Well, it was truly nice talking with you and understanding you without my biases."

Arturia blinked, tilting her head ever so slightly and knitting her brows with confusion, "You're leaving already?"

"I should not have stopped by in the first place..." The younger of the two pushed her hair behind her ear, "Sorry to have caused you trouble."

"You did nothing—" There was another knock on the door that interrupted the blonde.

She stood, excusing herself to proceed and open it. Grainne stood in the living room, afraid that Diarmuid had come to visit Arturia at such a late hour.

Arturia pulled the door open, not giving herself time to think about who it could have been that was waiting on the other side of the door. It took her by surprise, more so than the storm. She stumbled back a bit, her grip tightening around the door knob, her heart clenching and almost stopping entirely, "What," she breathed, hoping to catch her breath, "What are..." She gathered her thoughts and did not even finish her sentence before shutting the door close.

"Who was it?" Grainne had already guessed it wasn't her boyfriend, but rather someone entirely different.

Arturia had gone from being completely calm to something between anxious and angry. Grainne could see it clear in her face; the worry in her eyes, the wrinkles forming between her brows in anger, her mouth slightly parted—it was so clear she was upset out of her wits.

"Who was that?" Grainne spoke again, hoping Arturia would answer.

"Arturia." The voice on the other side of the door was strong but a bit familiar to Grainne, gentle and very posh, "You can't be running away from me forever."

Both Arturia and Grainne kept silent, no one spoke a single word for a while, "Fine, you're not ready to talk right now. But I'm not leaving until we talk, I hope you know that."

Arturia had not been free for a single month. It had been two weeks since her move and clearly she had not gone far away. The idea of America had always seemed tempting either way, she would have been better off if she had gotten on a plane instead of a train.

"Who was that?" Grainne was certain that the man had left, it had been a few minutes now.

Arturia groaned and rubbed her face, "How did he find me?"

"Were you running away from him?" Grainne tilted her head, a bit afraid now, "Is he a stalker? Did he hurt you?"

The blonde shook her head rapidly, "No, I just wanted to leave him behind as well. But it seems Lancelot has his own thoughts."