Chapter 47: Forty-seven.

Colt's previous irritation dissipated in an instant, replaced instead with an excited delight. It had been far too long since she had seen her Irish friend. "Maeve!" She squealed out, before wrapping her arms around her and pulling her through the doorway.

"Oooft! Let me go, you're stronger than you used to be. Must be that Highland air, or something...." She said slyly, giving Calum a side glance as she smirked, and they entered the main room of the house. "Here, hang this up please," she gave her jacket to Calum without ceremony.

"Beta," Colt said with a nod, acknowledging a solemn Zachary as he walked by with a tight smile, frowning briefly at Calum, before he whipped his head in Colt's direction.

"Luna," he responded with his own nod, "It's good to see you, and ignore Maeve, she is just miffed she got sea sick on the ferry." He laughed out.

"Zach, be quiet, or I will drown you, the first chance I get!" Maeve snapped out, making Colt bite her tongue to stifle her laughter, while Zach mouthed 'never going to happen' behind Maeve's back.

The commotion and familiar voices brought the others through from the kitchen, and Kalvin instantly went to stand beside Zachary, shaking his hand as if they were friendly business associates, who hadn't seen one another for a while. Felix leant on the wall with his calm gaze surveying the room thoughtfully, and Calum after closing the porch door with a click, came and stood behind Colt, threading his arms around her waist and pulling her body against his. It was a motion that Zachary briefly raised his eyebrow to, but currently kept his mouth closed; although he was already leaning to disapprove of the stranger holding onto his Luna.

"Maeve," Isla nodded, upon entering the room with Lewis, she wasn't unfriendly, but neither could Isla be accused of being welcoming towards the Irishwoman.

"Still haven't forgiven me for telling this one to jump in the sea I guess," Maeve shrugged unfazed, "Although, I'd have thought that one would hold more of a grudge on that front." She said, nodding in Calum's direction.

"Wait, what?" Calum asked, confused about the implications the stranger in the room was making, as his head lifted off it's resting position on Colt's shoulder.

Maeve laughed, "Oh, Macgregor, I knew you were following us, from the moment you left Dunluce Castle."

"Maeve!" Colt shrieked, "Why didn't you say something?"

"Because, I was told in no uncertain terms, that it wasn't my place to interfere, that it wasn't time yet. It seems the gods have taken a shine to your story, Colt, and they wanted you to figure it out on your own; believe it or not I nearly let the proverbial cat out of the bag when you decided to go home, or I suppose the not so proverbial cat," she stated with a wink, before taking off her hat, and revealing her long silvery white hair as it cascaded down her back. "Besides, what would you have done if he had caught up to you then?"

Calum looked at Maeve with a scrutinizing eye, her hair distracting him from his question about how Maeve knew his name; until Colt elbowed him in the ribs, thinking he was sizing her up for retribution.

"You're being rude," Colt scolded her mate.

"Sorry, it's just," he scratched the back of his neck, while frowning slightly "You're Nessie aren't you?"

The room went silent as all eyes flitted between Calum and Maeve, all eyes except one pair. Maeve was staring at Colt, looking pretty pissed off, her jaw tensing as her eyes turned to steel.

"What on earth possessed you to tell him that!" She asked accusingly, "You knew it was a secret!"

"I swear, I didn't say a word, Maeve! I only told him you were a shaman." Colt stated quickly, holding up her hands in her own defense, before turning her head up to Calum. "How did you know?" She asked perplexed.

"WAIT! It's true?" Isla asked dumbfounded, suddenly much more interested in the shaman than she had ever been before.

Maeve sighed exasperated, "Yes, but it's supposed to be a fecking secret! One time! You get caught on camera, one fecking time and this is what happens."

Calum smirked, "Aye, not among the Macgregors it's not. My Great Great Grandfather seen you emerge from loch ness, long before any camera was invented. There is a giant painting of you, in the main hall of Ardair House; white hair gleaming and tastefully masking certain areas, skin the colour of chocolate, but the eyes, your eyes are eerily similar. Most people actually think it's a Camelot crossover, and it's the lady in the lake. But my ancestor claimed he saw you shift, from a magnificent water Kelpie to the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. It's in his journal. We've all read the thing." He spoke in his thick Scottish brogue, before shrugging as he bacame uncomfortable with the focus of everyone being on him.

Maeve stilled slightly at Calum's explanation, and Colt seen the flicker of recognition in her eye through Calum's explanation.

"Holy shit! Maeve, you're the Lady in the Lake as well, arent you! You totally knew King Arthur!" She shrieked out, clapping her hands while jumping in Calum's arms.

Maeve flopped down onto the couch with a sigh, all pretense of secrecy abandoned, as Zachary came to stand at her side.

"I'll have you know, Arthur Pendragon, was a trumped up Mama's boy, who quite frankly is the reason dragon shifters died out." She huffed, "Oh, and I was only in that fecking lake, because the bastard couldn't swim, and it stopped him from forcefully claiming me! He had his whole damn army surrounding the thing to prevent my escape." Maeve admitted while crossing her arms, shocking the whole room and eliciting a rumbling growl from Zachary before he turned around to face the wall to gather himself together.

"I'm sorry, that was a whole load of information at once, Maeve," Kalvin stated, as he lead Isla to the cuddle chair to sit down, "Exactly how old are you?"

"Don't be rude, Kal," Isla took her turn scolding her mate, as she allowed him to sit and pull her into his arms.

Maeve looked around the room, like she was evaluating every person there. Judging them on whether they were worth telling at least part of her story to. When she was done, she began, "If you must know...."

"Mae, be careful," Zachary stated warningly turning back to face everyone, unsure of whether they could all be trusted.

"Mae?" Colt replied with a raised brow.

Maeve just smiled and waved her hands at Zachary to shoo off his warning, "Don't you fecking look at me like that, Beta. I am old enough to make these decisions, I am the oldest afterall." She stated, ignoring Colt completely.

"What? In the room?" Lewis chimed in, not seeing how the woman looked any older than his parents, but feeling she somehow meant more than, her age in relation to Arthurian legend.

"No, young one." Maeve smiled, enjoying his perceptive mind. "In the entire world. You see, I lose count of the exact number of years my age holds. Humans have changed their calendars too many fecking times to keep track properly. But, I am the first shifter ever created. My name literally translates to *she who rules,* and I was made by the goddess Dana; to rule over all humans.... initially anyway."

The room went silent around Maeve's revelation. So much so, that you could hear a pin drop as everyone absorbed not just the truth of her words but the weight behind them, until of course, Felix spoke.

"Sooo... Was Guinevere really as stacked as the legends say?" He asked holding his hands out in front of himself, and groping rather large and completely imaginary breasts.

Lewis and Calum were left stifling their laughter, as Isla rolled her eyes at the lion like a misbehaving child, Kalvin scowling at Felix's immaturity, and silently cursing his existence.

"For the love of all that's holy, Pussy Cat! Lower your damn hands. She is not going to answer you," Colt scolded Felix while shaking her head in embarrassment.

But, Maeve had a twinkle in her eye, "Felix? What colour is my hair?" She asked sweetly.

"Eh, white?" He answered confused, while slowly and awkwardly lowering his hands, as Colt had requested.

"And what am I? Or rather what am I connected with?" She asked, furthering her line of questions.

Felix stood there even more dumbfounded, before awkwardly offering up an answer, "Magic?"

"Oh come on!" Colt stated, exasperated at Felix while Calum's smirk had changed; it was now down to the two of them acting like childish rivals, vying for Maeve's approval. "The gods you idiot! Maeve is connected to the spirits and the gods! She is a shaman. You know this! Clearly you spend way too much time thinking with your smaller head, and chasing red dots on the carpet."

"Only because I live with you, Kitten," Felix countered Colt's insults, before adding "But, thanks, what she said."

Colt merely rolled her eyes, leaning further into Calum's tigheneing grasp.

Maeve smiled, "Google the meaning of the name Guinevere, Felix," she stated, "There you will find your answer, I think, especially if you consider the effects of christianity on the gods."

But before Felix could open up his cell, Lewis, like any typical teenager, already had the search results in his hand.

"No. Fucking. Way." He swore out loud.

"Language, Lewis!" Isla scolded, fed up with everyone swearing around her.

Maeve started laughing with glee, at Lewis's disgruntled expression.

"But, Mom! She is Queen Guinevere!" He pouted, pointing at Maeve's cackling form on the sofa.

"Maeve!" Colt spluttered in astonishment.

"What? I have lived many lives in my time, and I did tell you I had to hide from unwanted suitors when we were in Ireland," She shrugged, adding for shock value, "Lancelot was sweet though. Dumb as a box of rocks mind you, but sweet." She acknowledged, "Wonderful in between the sheets too, and I mean toe curlingly good. However, the king killed him when he discovered we were lovers, and I wouldn't give him up. He wanted my power to rule over man, as he felt was his right. Even went as far as to make up that ridiculous tale about me being his wife and lying with one of his knights. Arsehole!" She added in her thick and annoyed Irish accent.

Felix stood there scratching his head at a loss, while Zachary mumbled under his breath about "hating this conversation."

Colt was now engulfed within Calum's embrace, smiling at Maeve's tale, when Isla suddenly stood and excused herself to make breakfast. Unsurprisingly uncomfortable with a tale about another Arthur who disliked being told no.

Watching her retreating form, Colt peeled herself from Calum's warmth, and made to follow her Mom; arriving into the kitchen with a tentative smile.

"Mom?" She asked softly.

Isla sighed, she needed to shift. To let out her tension and escape from her pain for a while. She didn't want a heart to heart right now, nor did she want another fight. All she wanted was to be left alone. But, Colt was persistent.

"Mom, please?" Colt tried again, watching her Mom load the empty used mugs and cups into the dishwasher.

Isla gave in with a loud sigh and asked, "What is it, Colt?" Her eyes were the only part of her, still stubborn enough to stay focused on her task, rather than look at her daughter while she waited on an answer.

*Author's Note: So, Mr River is currently in hospital. He has an infection from an umbilical hernia repair, which so far is not behaving itself and responding to the antibiotics as it should. I wonder, if you don't mind, and if you are a person of faith, please would you spare a thought for him in your prayers. He is quite seriously ill at this point and due to a mix up with covid tests and a mistake made in the first hospital he was in, we cannot visit him as he has also been exposed to covid 19 in the hospital and is listed as a close contact. His latest tests are all negative but that doesn't mean it isn't incubating just now. I'am incredibly scared right now, thankfully writing gives me a bit of an escape from it all. The hospital are trying to get ahead of his infection just now. I'm sorry to ask, but I would really appriciate any spare thought you can offer. Thank you. Of course, I hope you liked this chapter as well, please let me know in the comments. B x.*