Disclaimer: I own nothing. I promise!

Author Notes: Huge thanks go to the people kind enough to review. I've loved writing these characters and I hope you've enjoyed reading them just as much. Special thanks to gnimaerd for getting me into Mystic Knights in the first place and encouraging me to write them. Hope you all like this final chapter.

"No, no, you need to tighten your grip," Rohan told the soldier, stepping forward to correct him. "That's why it's so easy to disarm you."

A couple of the other soldiers laughed, others stamped their feet against the fierce chill in the air. Rohan was glad of his thick fur cloak. The cold season had come upon the island with a sudden furore and Temra's people were suffering because of it. Sparring with his soldiers was a welcome distraction and it helped keep the cold away. It was also of use if the rumours about the movements of the North Men were true.

"Again," he commanded.

The soldier stepped forward and his grip was better. Amid the clashing blades, Rohan spotted a familiar splash of colour. It was so unexpected that his mind caught tightly onto it and moments later he found himself staring up at the sky. The soldier stood over him stunned, the others cheering loudly. Rohan cursed and Delaney called for silence and respect for their king.

"You see what you can achieve," Rohan was rueful, accepting Delaney's hand up. "I found myself distracted for a moment and you took advantage."

Delaney nodded when asked to continue the sparring. Rohan turned quickly, the sight of those colours pounding through him. He hadn't been delirious. Deirdre, wrapped up in her own cloak, was stood at the edge of the circle. There was a smile curving her lips, just the way it had in his dreams. Rohan couldn't help but smile back.

"Princess," he bowed as he reached her. "I……it's good to see you."

"Well, I heard how well things were in Temra. I wanted to see them for myself," Deirdre smiled. "It's as cold here as in Kells."

Angus had said much the same when he'd visited only recently. The Kells Castle moat was beginning to freeze and it was becoming difficult for the farmers to work the soil. Things were much the same in Temra.

"Come," Rohan hesitantly offered his arm as he'd seen Garrett do. "It's warmer in the castle."

Deirdre slid her arm through his, the warmth in her expression reaching something deep inside of him. Her latest letter was tucked carefully inside his tunic. It was a different thing altogether to have her here, beside him, touching him. She had come to see him.

"This is different," she remarked in astonishment as he led her into the throne room. "There's so much light, it's like a different room altogether!"

"That was my aim," Rohan admitted, taking a seat at the fireside.

"To make people forget?"

"To show them something different."

Deirdre nodded, pulling her cloak off and taking a seat opposite him. The reflection of the flames danced in her crown. The thick dull circlet Rohan himself wore still felt strange to him, like the games of royalty he and Angus used to play when they were young. He wondered if she saw flames in his too.

"Thank you, for your letters," Deirdre began, her hands nervous in her lap.

"Thank you for yours," Rohan quickly added, feeling the shift of paper at his chest. "I don't feel so far from Kells when I read them."

"We've all missed you," Deirdre's eyes didn't leave him. "It hasn't been the same without you."

Rohan's heart hammered fast. He felt at the edge of the cliff again. To let her marry another would keep her safe for sure. But if he could keep Kells and Temra strong and marry the woman he loved so……His head was starting to hurt again as his thoughts chased each other rapidly. Angus said he should stop torturing himself and ask Deirdre to marry him. But Angus had a sweetheart of his own without any worries as to his blood. Rohan had been unable to think clearly since Garrett's words to him.

"I miss everyone too," he replied at last, eyes on the flames and then Deirdre, seeing the frustration in her gaze. "It's not the same here."

"But my father was right, you did it," Deirdre reminded him. "You changed Temra."

"Maybe I opened their eyes," protested Rohan, uncomfortable with the praise. "But they help themselves."

"Once you showed them the way," Deirdre took a breath and there was a determined tilt to her jaw. "You've heard about the North Men?"

"Aye, I thought it was only a rumour."

"I've seen the villages," Deirdre's eyes burned brightly. "There's nothing left. If they advance, it could mean an end for too many of our people."

"Temra will support Kells. We'll stand beside you and fight."

"I know it," Deirdre smiled. "And I have the agreement here, signed by my father and with the seal of Kells."

She handed him a scroll, her fingers just touching his. Rohan could see his knuckles whitening. He had fought between thinking about and not thinking about her here in Temra. Her touch was like a flame amid the coldness. He grasped for safer topics, that wouldn't hurt his head any more.

"How is the king?"

"Well, thank you," Deirdre's eyes were still burning. "He still wants me to marry."

Rohan could taste the bitterness he felt growing inside of him. Of course that was what the King wanted; a royal marriage could mean another alliance.

"Of course," he managed.

"You need to marry too," she told him. "You need to find a Princess, it's expected."

"But the only Princess I really know is………."

Rohan froze. Deirdre's eyes looked glassy now and her smile was almost gentle and expectant. She couldn't mean what he thought she did. She couldn't. Garrett's words seemed to pound in his ears and when he didn't say anything, Deirdre suddenly got to her feet, pacing in the silence and filling it with her own words.

"A wedding, my father says, will help the morale of Kells. It would help Temra too. It would show everyone that the war truly is over and if the North Men are going to continue to advance over our borders……"

"Then we need to stand together," Rohan finished, still somewhat stunned. "But Deirdre, my blood….."

"By Dagda, I don't care about your blood!" Deirdre exploded angrily. "Rohan, I have never stopped……..of all the princes or kings I could marry, the only one I want to be with is you."

Any words Rohan had flew out of his head. He stood slowly, his legs feeling weak, unable to take his eyes from her.

"Your father can't approve."

"I'm here with his blessing," Deirdre smiled, then her expression darkened somewhat and her arms folded around her body. "Unless, you don't want to…….."

"Oh no," Rohan hurried to correct her. "It's always been………there's no one else."

She was all he wanted and she didn't care about his blood, he knew that. But still, he did.

"Rohan, look around you, all you've done," Deirdre's voice was quiet now. "You've done nothing to harm Temra or any of us. You've only made things better."

He could see that, believe it even. He could hear Garrett and Angus in his head now, their similar arguments for a marriage. He wanted to believe them. But she had to know……

"It's never going to leave me," Rohan warned her quietly. "How I feel about my birth."

"Then you'll always be wrong."

Deirdre placed her hand in his. There was clear cool whisper of something. Rohan didn't dare breathe, in case this was an enchantment from Mider to drive him mad. Deirdre asking to be his, wanting him even when he thought he could be a danger to her. She wanted to take that risk. His hand tightened around hers, just like it had in his dreams. She was here, really here, and he didn't want to let her go. He couldn't.

He was touching her and she was still here. She wasn't going anywhere, not snatched away by Maeve's ghost, or hurt by his blood. Not yet. And he would give everything to keep it that way.

He smiled and, hesitating for a heartbeat in the silence as though waiting to be stopped, leant forwards into a kiss. It was gladly and eagerly received.

-the end