The characters portrayed here do not belong to me, I just blew the dust off and
took them for a spin. This is a spoiler for "Last Knight". I never liked the way
the series ended and can never bring myself to watch that last episode.
Permission to archive at Mel's site, NNPack home, fkfanfic2 and the FTP site.
Anyone else, it's ok just let me know where so I can come for a visit.




Last Knight Revisited


Nick knelt dejectedly at her side, her petite hand clutched to his chest. He
bowed his head in grief as his body trembled in anticipation of the blow to
come. He'd killed her; he deserved to suffer, but at least his last act on this
earth would be to keep his promise to her. He would follow her into the
darkness, brave Hell and damnation if that was the path to her side.

LaCroix stood behind his son, his jaw set and his face emotionless; his eyes
alone betraying the hurt and despair seeping through his body. 'His oldest
friend', he mused. At any other time he would have welcomed those words, would
have thought them the beginning of a long overdue reconciliation. But no, damn
him, HE would make them the beginning of a permanent separation. He raised the
intricately carved stake above his head, steeling himself to strike the final
blow that would send his son into oblivion. The stake began its downward decent.
With a loud, feral growl, the thrust of the stake became a sideways swing a
professional baseball player would envy, catching Nick solidly across the
temple.

The impact sent Nick sprawling across the cold, cement floor. He lay still for a
moment, then as awareness returned he slowly pushed himself up, leaning heavily
on his left forearm. He grimaced, touching the side of his head, his fingers
coming away coated in sticky, red blood.

LaCroix stared down at his bewildered son. "I'll not go through with this folly
of yours, Nicholas!" he spat as he snapped the stake over his raised thigh and
threw the pieces down next to Nick. "You are being stubborn and stupid; only
seeing the negative side of what you are. You carry a goodness within you that
even I, after all these centuries of trying, cannot rip from you. Now you've
found someone who will truly love you for who and what you are and you prefer to
let your archaic notions of good and evil drive both of you into the abyss.
LaCroix knelt next to his son, gripped his arm and pulled him up sharply to
glare into his bloodied face. "Do you love this woman?"

Nick turned his head away from LaCroix's scalding gaze. "If I say 'yes', you
will kill her. If I say 'no' she dies anyway." He laughed bitterly, "Why hide it
from you now. I tried to protect her from you, but I needed to protect her from
myself and I failed."

"So you do love her," LaCroix said.

"Of course I love her, though it doesn't matter now. She's dead. By my hand or
yours, it's just the same," Nick said morosely.

"I release you from our bargain, Nicholas."

"You what?" Nick stared up at him, mistrust clear in his grim features. He
closed his eyes. "Why? After all I've done to you; the misery I've caused you
since . . . since I made you leave my sister."

LaCroix pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Because I've realized I have no reason to
blame you."

Nick's eyebrows rose in confusion. "Yes, you do. I made you give up Fleur," he
drop his head sadly. "I had no right," he whispered. "I don't expect you to
forgive me, but I do regret it. I'm sorry, LaCroix, so very sorry."

LaCroix sighed. "You didn't make me leave her, Nicholas. If I had loved your
sister with as much passion and need as you love this woman, nothing would have
made me leave her behind; not even you." He took a deep, calming breath. "I did
love Fleur. I still do. But . . . I love you more."

Nick's mouth fell open and a single, deep red blood tear trickled down the side
of his face. He brushed it away as he leaned his head against LaCroix's chest.

"Listen," LaCroix said as he turned toward the prone form on the floor a few
feet away. "She's not dead yet. Her heart beats. She clings to life but she
stands on the precipice." He turned back to his son. "Bring her over."

Nick listened intently and caught the faint sound. "Barely a flutter," he
responded woodenly.

"But a flutter is life. Bring her across," he urged.

"No! I won't bring her into this darkness. She wouldn't want that. She'd hate me
for it." Nick shook his head slowly.

"Agh!" LaCroix spat. "Nicholas! You are still being foolish!" He gripped Nick's
arm tighter and shook him slightly. "You tasted her, her blood runs in your
veins; her thoughts, her feelings, her desires are all there for you to sample
like a picnic lunch. Think! Feel! What does she want? Not what YOU want for her.
What does SHE really want?" he emphasized, hoping to drill through his son's
stubbornness.

Nick closed his eyes and let himself float once more in the sensations he'd
experienced. "She . . ." he faltered, his eyes snapping open to stare at her
still form. "She . . . wants . . . me?" he whispered in disbelief.

"So take her, Nicholas," LaCroix breathed into his ear. "Take her, make her
yours . . . as SHE desires.

Nick hesitated.

"If you don't honor her wishes, Nicholas, I will." He pulled Nick closer. "You'd
better decide quickly. You haven't much time."

Nick pushed LaCroix away and studied his face for a moment, worried that there
was some trick he was missing. Finding no deception in the anguished face, he
slowly moved away from LaCroix and crawled to Natalie's side. Gently, he lifted
her into his lap and cradled her head against his chest, resting his chin on the
top of her head. "I've been such a fool, Nat," he whispered. "Forgive me." He
turned, brought his wrist up to his mouth and bit deeply, tearing the flesh to
open the vein wide. He held his wrist to her mouth allowing the thick, cool
blood to flow down her throat. He kissed her forehead tenderly. "Come back to
me, Nat. Please. Don't leave me." He watched with growing despair as she lay
unmoving. He looked over at LaCroix, his body beginning to tremble with an
unreleased sob. As his bloodtears began to fall he felt sharp twin stabs in his
wrist. His heart leaped in his chest as she sucked greedily at his offering. He
rested his head against her cascade of auburn curls and closed his eyes, his
throat too parched to utter a sound.

LaCroix watched as Natalie fed insistently from Nick's wrist. He could feel his
son begin to weaken but still Nick made no move to remove his wrist from her
grasp. LaCroix reached out and pulled his wrist away from her. "That's enough,"
he said gently to his new granddaughter. "Sleep now," he touched the side of her
face and her head dropped against Nick's chest.

Wearily, Nick raised his tired eyes to LaCroix. "Thank you . . . Father."

LaCroix smiled indulgently. "Your welcome." He reached out and brushed a stray
lock of golden hair from Nick's forehead. "You need to clean yourself up; you're
a sight. Take her upstairs. It will be some time before she awakens. I'll return
to the Raven. You'll need supplies. I'll see to it."

Nick nodded gratefully and tried to get his legs under him without jostling the
sleeping woman in his lap.

LaCroix put his arms around Nick and helped him to stand with Natalie still
cradled in his arms. He gently pushed Nick toward the staircase. He watched
thoughtfully as his son climbed the stairs with his new fledgling. 'Perhaps,' he
thought, 'a reconciliation after all.'





The End

@2003 J. F. Hardin