The wonders of Avalon had only increased in the nearly two thousand years since it had first been hidden. After leaving the Lady, Ian and Aurelia had not been able to contain their curiosity, exploring the sites they knew and those they didn't, marveling at how the isle had flourished under Elaine's guardianship. Hand in hand, the Loremaster of Avalon and his wife had walked old paths they knew Arthur and Morgaine had walked in times long past, sharing their own observations of the isle as they went. It truly was astonishing to know that only that morning, they had been standing in this place, over a millenia before.

A wonderful discovery had been when they had found the cottage that had been given over to them when they had first entered Avalon. It had been kept almost exactly as it had been then, pristine and maintained to perfection, grown larger as a second bedroom had been added, and a better equipped bathroom installed. The deep stone bath was still there, bringing an impish grin to Aurelia's face as they had explored. It seemed that the cottage was still theirs to use whenever they came here, and had been for centuries. They had been fetched away to the Bristols' tower house to eat the evening meal with Rhys and Nat, and Rachel and Zachariel. and in the dusk that followed, a young Handmaiden had come for them, asking that they come to the Chalice Well at the Lady's request.

Ian had been pleasantly surprised by most of the changes, but even more so by the things that had stayed the same. He hadn't expected the cottage where he and Aurelia had stayed more than a millenia ago to still be standing, much less improved on and still available for their use. While Avalon felt a little empty without Arthur and Pellam and Morgaine, there were plenty of people to take their place, though they had yet to meet most of them.

Even dinner had improved over the years, which was a good thing in his opinion. He was amazed to learn that Zachariel had once been an angel and couldn't help the tumult of questions he had for him - so many questions they could not all be answered in the span of a single day. They were just finishing up eating when he was surprised once again by the Handmaiden who'd come to fetch him and Aurelia at last to see the Lady they'd once known simply as Elaine. Hand in hand, he and Aurelia followed the Handmaiden to the Chalice Well, though they knew the way well enough on their own.

The vines opened to welcome them inside once again, and once again, Elaine enfolded them both in a long embrace in greeting. It seemed that at least a little of her loneliness had been relieved, knowing that two people she had known in her youth were now a part of her life once again. "I apologize for the long wait," she told them gently, leading them to where they could sit with her once again. "There are always things to be done."

"It's been a very long wait for you," Ian pointed out with a fond smile and a hug of his own. Whatever title she know wore, she was still Elaine to them, and he knew better than any of them - including Rhys and Natalya - much of the loss and loneliness she'd suffered since they'd left Avalon for home.

She smiled faintly, the smile he remembered from a long time before, shaking her golden head as she drew them both to the Well itself. Her hand gripped Aurelia's with surprising eagerness. "Come," she told them. "I have a gift for you."

Startled, Aurelia glanced up at Ian even as she was tugged forward to kneel beside the water with Elaine. "You do not need to give any gift," she told the Lady, bemused that such a thought had even crossed the woman's mind.

Elaine laughed, shaking her head. "Nonsense," she said, almost merry in her quiet excitement. "I have held it in trust for a very long time."

Ian arched a curious brow as he followed along to the Well behind Elaine and Aurelia, wondering what it was the Lady wanted to give her. "You've already given us so much," he insisted for them both, though he did not presume to refuse any gift she might wish to bestow on his wife.

"This is not so much a gift as something that should have been returned to you before you left," Elaine told Aurelia, further confusing the witch. Dark eyes looked up at Ian, wondering if he could explain what this mysterious gift was supposed to be. Elaine lowered her hands into the water of the Well, cupping them beneath the surface. Yet when she raised her hands, there was no water caught within them - instead, she seemed to be holding something that shimmered, invisible to the naked eye but for the movement that distorted what could be seen through it.

Aurelia gasped in surprise, her eyes widening, as Elaine allowed the shimmering to cascade over the witch's head, absorbed into her body. "I ....Lady, I ..."

Elaine smiled, stroking the witch's cheek gently. "It is a part of you that should never have been lost," she said softly. "I am glad to return it, at long last."

Ian returned Aurelia's gaze with a light shrug, having no idea what Elaine had in mind. He watched as she lowered her hands into the water, but didn't grasp what she was doing until he noticed the shimmering that she was pouring over his wife. He remained where he was, watching quietly, a slow smile spreading over his face as he realized what she was doing.

"But ....the demon ..." Aurelia's fear was palpable - she had been a day without the demon, terrified now that Elaine had somehow returned that burden to her. But Elaine smiled once again, capturing the witch's hands in her own.

"The demon has been destroyed," she promised Aurelia. "I discovered your shimmering in the Well, not long after you left us. It was expelled with the demon, but it absorbed itself into Avalon. It was the means by which we moved the isle behind the mists. Yet once that move was done, it had no function. That ability is part of your blood and bone, Aurelia. And now it is returned to you."

Speechless, Aurelia surged forward, embracing the Lady of Avalon like a sister. One day without that ability to shimmer had been harder than she had ever thought it might be. It was truly wonderful to know that it had been returned to her, the one good thing she had inherited from her mother. "I have no way to thank you," she said quietly as she sat back, touched deeply that Elaine had held onto this for her for so many long years.

The Lady shook her head once again, drawing the witch onto her feet. "There truly is no need for thanks," she assured them both. "We have done a great deal for one another. I would very much like to call you my friends. If you are willing."

"Of course, we are friends!" Ian replied quickly, moving forward to collect his wife and stand beside the two women at the well. "Why wouldn't we be friends?" he asked curiously, unsure why she'd think she even had to ask such a thing.

"He had no choice," Elaine was quick to assure him. "You remember we spoke of Mordred, raised by Morgause in Orkney' She sent him to Camelot when he was of age, and he manipulated his way into the king's trust by means of his mother, who loved him and did not see the danger. When he had Arthur's trust, and knew the truth of the pain in the king's marriage borne of Guinevere's inability to carry a child to term, he told Arthur who his father was. The rumor severely damaged Arthur's standing, his authority at court, made worse when Mordred set a trap to catch Guinevere and Lancelot together. Their intentions were chaste, but their choice of location was foolish."

"Yes," he nodded. "Much of that is written in the legends. Tell me, did Arthur arrange for Lancelot to rescue her or did Lancelot do that on his own, and how is it she ended up here?" he probed further, having a thorough knowledge of the legends, but curious how much of what had been written was true.

"Arthur arranged it," Elaine told him. "He asked me for my help. I sent Morgaine to find Lancelot, and together they rescued Guinevere from the stake. But there was nowhere she could go - no matter where she went, she would be recognized as the traitor queen. So I invited her to Avalon, and Igraine, Arthur's mother, brought her into the Christian convent here. She was broken by what had happened, by the mere fact of Mordred's existence, and how her own selfishness had condemned Arthur. I was witness to her vow never to rest until she found forgiveness. It is not a fate I would have wished upon her."

Ian frowned sadly. He knew well the tragedy of what had befallen Arthur and Guinevere, but to know that Guinevere still lived with that guilt saddened him deeply. She was one of several people he and Aurelia had not met during their time in the past. "Would you mind very much if I spoke with her?" he asked, though he wasn't sure he'd be able to bring her any peace. He had further questions about the past, but the matter of Guinevere seemed to take precedence in his mind and his heart, as it seemed she was the only one left he might have any chance of helping.

"You may try," Elaine said softly. "But she has grown hard over the years. She holds her pain close, and will not countenance any advice, however gently given. She will not even meet my eyes, though I forgave her long ago."

Aurelia frowned, her heart aching for the woman they spoke of. She could not imagine living for so long with such guilt and pain. No wonder it had made her hard, intractable. It was the center of her existence now.

He wasn't sure if he could help her, but he would never forgive himself if he didn't try. "What about Lancelot' What became of him?" he asked, assuming she'd had time to forgive the man's betrayal and put aside her own pain regarding her son's father.

Elaine sighed quietly, regret for the past clear in her eyes. "He would not come to Avalon, filled with his own guilt for the betrayal not only of his king, but the mother of his child," she said in a quiet tone, that nonetheless cut through the stillness of the Well. "He returned to Joyous Gard for a time, but as the last battle loomed, he could not stay away. He returned to fight at Arthur's side at Camlann, with all his sworn men, and died on that field in battle with the Saxons. I know your legends say that he took holy orders and died an old man, but I believe those who wrote did not wish for Lancelot's story to end so abruptly. Whatever they may say, he was, in his heart, a good man who loved not wisely."

"What is it they say about love?" Ian asked, trying to recall the saying. "Love is blind" You don't choose who you love" Love chooses you....or something like that. I don't think either of them wanted to hurt anyone. It just happened. Mordred is another matter entirely." He wasn't quite sure who exactly was to blame for that, but it was bound to end badly.

Elaine frowned faintly. "I don't know what to think when it comes to Mordred," she admitted painfully. "His was an unnatural conception. Viviane should never have arranged it. And yet ....if he had been raised here on Avalon, or even by his own mother, his path might have been different. It was Morgause's hatred and ambition that poisoned him as he grew, but Morgaine couldn't have known her own sister hated Camelot so deeply. And Viviane refused to see it."

Ian frowned at the thought of Mordred, though nothing could be done now to change things. "It might not have made much difference. The truth would have come out sooner or later. I don't know what Viviane had in mind there. That kind of meddling never comes to any good." He glanced over at Aurelia who'd gone silent through all this discussion of Arthurian history. "I suppose we've done our own share of meddling."

To be honest, Aurelia was learning more by staying silent than she could have done if she had taken an active part in the conversation. She hadn't studied Arthurian legend, apart from the occasional movie, a little lost in the names of people they hadn't met and the consequences of actions that had taken place before they had first entered the Avalon of the past.

Elaine smiled gently. "Without you, Avalon would have fallen," she said simply. "I do not think that your share of meddling caused so much harm."

"No, but..." Ian's frown deepened, feeling at least somewhat guilty for not doing more. "I've spent most of my life studying Arthurian legend and lore. I'm something of an expert in it back home. I knew some of what was to befall Camelot, though I had no way of knowing how much of what was written was true. In a way, I'm just as much to blame as Viviane or anyone else for what happened. I could have done something to prevent it, and I didn't."

"No," Elaine shook her head. "No one is to blame for the fall of Camelot. When the Romans left our shores, they left us vulnerable. They had broken the spirit of the tribes, forced us to embrace civilization. But they took their legions with them, and left us little or no defense against the peoples who watched our shore with envious eyes. In the north, there was no one to stop the Norsemen; here in the south, there was only Constantine, then Uther, and then Arthur. But during those three generations, the Saxons tested our strength, they knew what we were capable of mustering. Even without Mordred, Camelot would have fallen eventually. No one knew it at the time, but Guinevere was barren. Without a true born son to continue the line, there would have been war among the nobles, and the Saxons would have taken advantage of it. The fall of Camelot was inevitable, Ian."

"It is," she assured him, and she smiled, a mother's smile for a son who had made her exceptionally proud. "He was not at Camlann - he had traveled with Percival and Bors in search of the Grail a year before. It was a long journey for them, but they succeeded where Arthur and Lancelot had failed. Of them all, only Galahad was permitted to touch the Grail, raised to be pure of mind and heart by Percival himself. He recognized its power; knew, too, that it was a power that could not exist in the world of men. So he brought it here, and dedicated his life to preserving it and studying it. He died an old man, ancient by the standards of that time, having lived a full life."

"He didn't ascend into heaven after finding the Grail then," Ian remarked. "He disappeared from Earth because he came here." It all made perfect sense. Ian had already made the connection the first time he and Aurelia had visited Avalon, but it had been too soon to confirm it as it hadn't happened yet. He had only assured Elaine that her son would grow to be a great man, that she did not have to worry about him, and that he would make her proud. He wished he could have said the same thing about Mordred. "I wish I could have known him," Ian mused quietly, regarding Galahad. He almost wished he could have known Mordred, as well. Perhaps things would have been different, but he couldn't have risked it. History had to happen the way it was meant to be without too much meddling.

"I think you would have liked one another," Elaine said softly. Talking about her son brought her great sadness, always, but at the same time, she was proud of the life he had lived. "Ian, Aurelia ....there is a test you must undertake, in order to be allowed access to Avalon as you wish it. You must drink from the Grail."

Aurelia started in surprise. The Holy Grail was reputed to be something of great power, yet no one on Earth truly knew what it was or what that power pertained to. If it was somehow a means to bind a soul to Avalon, what was its purpose in doing so"

Ian looked as shocked as Aurelia by this prospect. He would have been happy just to see the Grail, much less drink from it. He assumed Rhys and Natalya must have done this already, and they had survived. What exactly happened when one drank from such a holy vessel, and how was it connected to Avalon' "What kind of test' What happens when we drink from it?"

"That is something I cannot tell you," Elaine said gently. "But that I believe you will both pass the Grail's test with ease. Everyone in a position of authority and learning on Avalon has done this thing, as has every agent we currently have on Earth. The Grail has bound itself to Avalon - those who have drunk from it are allowed to pass through the mists without the need for me to look into their hearts."

"I was meant to find it, wasn't I?" he asked curiously. "I was led here." And then another piece of the puzzle fell into place and he laughed aloud. "You gave the astrolabe to Dylan knowing we'd find it and come here, didn't you?"

She raised a brow, smirking just a little. "You did tell me how you came by it," she pointed out. "It was given into his hands after his own test, and though he never understood why, he clearly kept it safe for many years at my request." She looked shifty for a moment. "I may have had to ....nudge ....certain things to be sure you found it, though."

Aurelia pointed an accusing finger at her. "You pushed me!" she guessed. "I have never fallen over my own feet before, but somehow that day I did. It was you!"

Elaine didn't answer, but there was a certain amount of smug guilt in her expression that was answer enough.

Ian chuckled, though he wondered just how much he'd been pushed, as well. He hadn't expected to open a portal or step through into Avalon all those years ago, and yet it had happened. He'd read about people walking through the mists and experiencing strange things there, but he'd never expected it to happen to him.

"One thing," Aurelia said, her voice suddenly deathly serious as she met the Lady's eyes. "Actually, two. Will drinking from the Grail harm our child" And ....if we do not pass, what happens then?"

Elaine's smile faded as she heard those questions. "Those who do not pass the Grail's test ....die," she said, reluctance in every nuance of her tone. "But I do not believe either one of you will not pass that test. Just as I do not believe the Grail would harm your child in any way."

Ian reached for Aurelia's hand and linked his fingers with hers as he heard her questions, a worried frown on his face. Though he both believed in and trusted the Lady, he would not force such a decision on his wife, especially now that she was carrying their child. "It's up to you, Ree," he told her softly. "I will abide with whatever decision you make." That was a lot coming from a man whose entire life had revolved around the myths and legends surrounding this place, but now that he was a husband and soon-to-be father, there were more important things to consider.

Holding tightly to Ian's hand, Aurelia was lost in thought for a long time, frowning as she considered her options. "If I choose not to take this test," she said carefully, "I will not be allowed entry to Avalon again?"

Elaine frowned herself. "An exception can be made," she told them gently. "Until your child gains their first year. At that point, Aurelia, you will have to make the decision to drink from the Grail, or never to enter Avalon again. I truly understand your reservations, and no one would think less of you for waiting until your child is a full year old."

"It tests your heart, doesn't it' To learn your true intent, to see if you're pure of heart and worthy of Avalon," Ian guessed. It was the only thing that made sense, but to know that you either passed the test or you died required great courage. "I assume Rhys and Natalya passed." It kind of went without saying, since they were the Champion and the Priestess, respectfully, but had the Grail chosen them or had they chosen the Grail"

"They did," Elaine nodded. "It is ....it can be a trying experience. As I say, I do not think either of you will not pass this test. But to preserve your child from any harm, Aurelia need not drink from the Grail until after the child is born. You, Ian ....you are the Loremaster of Avalon, and have been for centuries in our eyes. You are long overdue your turn to be touched by the Grail."

"I'm not afraid," he said without hesitation. "I've been waiting for this all my life. I'm ready." He wasn't sure if it was something that would be done in private or as part of a ceremony, nor did it matter. She was right - he was long overdue, and he was certain he'd pass.

"Then at dawn, we will bring you to Grail, and you will drink," Elaine told him solemnly, certain he would pass with ease. There was nothing he had done in his lifetime that he could not forgive himself for, after all, and what he could forgive, the Grail would wash clean. "Aurelia, you do not need to witness the ceremony if you do not wish it."

But Aurelia was already shaking her head. "I will be a witness," she insisted. "I will not drink yet, but I will not allow Ian to walk into this without me by his side."

"I only have one regret in life," he told her, and they both knew what that was. If only he could make peace with his father, his life would be complete, but he doubted that would ever happen. The man was stubborn to a fault, and Ian had given up long ago.

Aurelia drew his hand between both her own, holding his gaze with gently understanding eyes. "It is a regret that need not stand for long," she told him softly. "Perhaps we will find a way to reconcile that part of your life. There is always hope."

Hope. He offered a strained smile that he didn't really feel. He'd given up on that hope years ago when his mother had died. "Perhaps," he replied, "But I wouldn't bet on it." He wasn't sure what any of this had to do with the Grail, but if it was going to test his heart, then it might come to bear somehow.

"It is amazing what can happen to the most stubborn of hearts when they are presented with the happiness of those they have almost lost," Aurelia said, her voice gentle but firm. She would not push him into a reconciliation with his father before it was time, but she did not think even the hardest of hearts would be able to turn away an only son who wanted to introduce him to his first grandchild.