I'll Cover You

Dedicated to Lapin. Thanks for not drinking the Kool-Aid.


"Where did Raphaela put that thing?" Jophiel muttered, going through the shelves.

"What are you looking for?" asked Aindreas.

"Um...that book...." Jophiel's cheeks flushed a shade of violet.

"/The Karma Sutra/, right?" Aindreas said with a smile.

"Well..." Jophiel smiled and stroked one of Aindreas' locks. "There was this one position I wanted to try, but it looked tricky. I wanted to see what the text said about it."

"It's not one where you have to do it while gliding, is it?" Aindreas sighed. "I told you, there's far too much of a risk of us being caught."

"I know, I know." Jophiel sighed. "But if we went to the other side of the mountain...."

"No, Jophiel. Still too risky. And I refuse to do anything that would require ropes, leather strips or being turned upside down. Any positions requiring an assistant is certainly out of the question."

"What about the swing?"

"Swings fall under the category of ropes."

"We could make a swing out of cloth. Those drapes in that bedchamber nobody uses...."

"No swings!"

"Alright, love." Jophiel laughed. "Have it your way. No swings. I was only kidding anyway. Now, come here." Jophiel wrapped arms around Aindreas' waist. He held him close and nuzzled his neck. "I was right. Malachite was the perfect medium for that sculpture I'm working on."

"You ever think you can stop fondling me long enough to finish it?" Aindreas laughed.

Jophiel kissed his lovers' cheek. "I can't help it if my model is so beautiful I can't resist touching."

"Jophiel, when you do finish it, will you be able to display it? Anyone who looks at it will know just how you feel about me."

"Aindreas, they will see what they want to see. I've done sculptures and busts of anyone willing to sit still long enough. Everyone will just think I did a portrait in stone of a very dear friend and brother." Jophiel caressed Aindreas' cheek. "I wish it didn't have to be this way, love. All the sneaking around, making up stories."

Aindreas laughed a bit. "You'd like us to be able to make out in front of everybody like Gabriel and Ophelia do?"

"Oh, they only did that one time. It was their wedding and they were drunk."

"Oh yeah. Uriel still grounded?"

"Probably."

Aindreas smiled at his lover. "I love you." he whispered.

Jophiel pulled him closer and kissed him. Neither heard the light footsteps of Princess Katherine approaching. They started when they heard her drop the book she was carrying. "Katherine!" Jophiel tried to come up with something. "Erm...Aindreas had something in his eye!" They definitely heard her scream. Half the castle did.

Magus, Tom and a few gargoyles came rushing into the library. They came to see Katherine trembling and hyperventilating with a dropped book at her feet; Aindreas and Jophiel standing nearby looking terrified. "Katherine, dear!" Tom embraced the shaken woman. "Whatever is the matter?" Magus looked like he wanted to embrace her too, but refrained.

"Aindreas, Jophiel," said Magus. "Did you see what happened?" The two stood mute, unable to come up with words. Angela quietly slipped out the door.

Raphaela picked up the dropped book and laid it aside. "Did you drop it on your toe, Katherine?" she asked, lifting Katherine's long skirts just enough to reveal her slippered feet. "Take your shoe off and let me see."

Katherine gently pushed her away with her foot. "I did nae stub my toe! I saw...I saw!" She was shaking too badly to continue.

"Saw what?" Raphaela flipped through the book. "There aren't any pictures in this book." She read the title. "/The Sonnets of Selmasi/. Not exactly scary."

"'Tis alright, Katherine my love." Tom said soothingly. "Aindreas, Jophiel, have ye any idea what's got her in such a state?" They both knew lying would be useless. Katherine would just debunk whatever they came up with. "Come on! Out with it, lads!" Tom prompted.

"They were kissing!" Katherine hissed. "On the lips! To think such a vile thing would happen amongst my very own eggs! I won't stand for it!" She glared at the two male gargoyles she caught in the act. "I won't have that kind of perversion under my roof! Do I make myself clear?"

"Katherine." Aindreas stepped forward, having found his voice. "You know I love you." He reached out to touch her shoulder, hurt to see her flinch away.

"Ye hae a funny way o' showin' it!" Her brogue deepened with her anger.

"Katherine." Aindreas said evenly. "You are the mother to us all. Jophiel and I love and appreciate you for all you've done."

"Then show it, Aindreas, darlin'!" She grabbed his shoulders in desperation. "An ye love me, promise me you'll never do such a disgusting thing again! Both of you!" She looked pointedly at Jophiel. "Swear to me that this was but an indiscretion, ne'er to be repeated, and I may yet forgive you!"

Jophiel started to say something, but Aindreas stopped him. "No, no more lies. Katherine, I won't make a promise I can't keep. Not even to make you happy. I do love you, Katherine, enough to realize that lying to you is wrong. Even if the lie keeps you happy. The truth is, I love Jophiel. Not as my brother, but as my mate." Many of the gargoyles present gasped as Katherine trembled, her eyes tearing.

Katherine bit her lips. She wasn't going to give in to tears. She must be strong. She was the authority. "Jophiel?" She turned to the blue gargoyle. "What say you?"

"Katherine," Jophiel sighed. "Aindreas is right. We've been lying to you. That was wrong and we won't do it anymore. If you must forgive us, forgive us that. But don't forgive us for loving each other because we're not sorry for that."

"And which one of you thought this...this would be a good experiment?"

"This is no experiment, Princess." said Aindreas.

"I told him I loved him." said Jophiel. "And with all my heart I meant it!"

"Jophiel said the words first, true." said Aindreas. "But I was the first to initiate actions. They speak louder, so if either of us should be punished, it should be me."

"No!" said Jophiel. "I started it. I'm not sorry, but I'm prepared for any punishment you deem worthy, Princess. Let it be on me."

"I understand," said Katherine. "that young people are naturally curious about their sexual desires. But, these are temptations that can be overcome! I may not have imported you with as much spiritual upbringing as I'd like, out of respect for your parents, but I know I still brought you up better than this!"

"Katherine," said Jophiel. "This had nothing to do with you."

"It didn't start because of you." said Aindreas. "And it won't end because of you."

"Is that how it is then?" Katherine said evenly. "Very well then. Tom, ready the skiffs! As for the two of you, you have but a little time to pack some provisions. I want you off this island before sunrise!"

The gargoyles present immediately protested.

"No! Please Katherine! Don't!" they clamored. "You can't be serious!" said one. "This isn't fair!" said another. "Exile, you can't!" many others said.

Tom silenced them with a raise of his hand. "Princess." he said firmly. "Years ago, I made a promise to you to protect the Eggs at all cost. Please, don't make me choose between you and the vow I made to you."

"I won't put up with something so...so...unnatural!" shouted Katherine.

"Katherine." Magus said calmly. "Remember the last time I used that word to describe somebody? I turned out to be wrong. We both were." A mutter went up between the gargoyles. What was Magus talking about? "Come, Katherine. Let's go outside and talk. In private!" He gave a hard look to all gargoyles present before they left.

As they made their way downstairs, Katherine anguished over the recent turn of events. /How could they do this? How could they do this to themselves? To me? Didn't I teach them better? Aye, I did nae give them much schooling in religion as I'd like. Magus and I agreed to honor their fallen parents by raising them "The Gargoyle Way" as much as possible. Gargoyle don't have a religion so much as a philosophy to share and protect. Even Magus is a bit sketchy on gargoyle's visions on an Afterlife. They grieve their loss and have something called a Wind Ceremony, which is much like a funeral. He says they believe in a "next world" of sorts, but he doesn't know how or if good is rewarded and evil punished. That must happen! What's the point of an Afterlife otherwise?/

/I did insist on giving at least some of the Eggs good Christian names. Magus said that names of any sort were not the Gargoyle Way, but Tom and I outvoted him. Tom insisted there must be some way to tell them apart. I wanted to name one Egg after my dear friend Finella and Tom wanted to name one after his mother Mary. He also wanted to name one "Angel", after his mother's pet name for him. Well, little "Mary" turned out to be a "Marius". When little "Angel" turned out to be a girl, Tom decided "Angela" would make a prettier name. I thought naming them after angels would be a good theme. Magus got to name a few after Pagans, namely Hypatia and Perseus. I named one of the beasts Boudicca after the Celtic warrior queen. Just about everyone else was named after an angel, saint or Biblical hero. If I could not school them in religion, I thought maybe at least giving them names of highly moral people would somehow import morals on them. What a fool I was!/

"Hey, Guardians!" Uriel met the three of them on the stairs. "What's with all the screaming?"

"None of your affair, Uriel!" Katherine snapped.

"Ooh...you're mad at someone!" Uriel correctly guessed.

"Uriel," said Tom. "Perhaps it's best if you went somewhere else right now."

"Can I go to the beach?" asked Uriel.

"Fine!" Katherine shouted.

"Whoopie! Not grounded!" Uriel took a flying leap out the nearest window.

Katherine shook her head. /Light of God indeed! Then again, maybe it is appropriate. The lad makes light of everything. Ah, for the days when they were so young and innocent. When I was so young and innocent!/

/Jophiel, I remember your hatching. Your wee blue feet clawed out of the shell and kicked at the air. Magus said the Gargoyle Way was to allow the hatchling to break through the shell with no help unless absolutely needed. You kicked and kicked and made mewling noises inside your egg. I had always pictured hatchlings would burst from their shells with a roar, like adult gargoyles from stone sleep. Not so. Hatching is a long process and hatchlings make noises very similar to a human babe. I wanted to help you Jophiel, but it wasn't until your kicks became feeble, perhaps from exhaustion, that Magus allowed it. I gently broke open your egg. You opened those big blue eyes for a moment, then clamped them shut, as if even candlelight was painful for you. You began to cry and I picked you up, cradled you, sang to you./

/Jophiel. Beauty of God. You were a pretty hatchling with skin blue as the daytime sky in summer and a little group of three horns shaped like a fleur de lis on your forehead. You had wisps of snow white hair that have since grown into a thick cloud-like mass. You loved to play in sand and mud and made the most beautiful sculptures. I still have that clay gargoyle you made me when you were ten. When you were bigger and stronger, you discovered the marble quarry over by the mountain and decided that if your talons cut cut through stone, why couldn't you use them to sculpt? I was so proud of that bust you made of me. Flattered me, even if it did show my true age./

/Ah, Jophiel, Jophiel! What would your namesake do if he knew? 'Twas Jophiel that drove Adam and Eve from Paradise for their sin. Wouldst ye force me to drive you from this one? I had such high hopes for ye, but I cannae let ye corrupt the others! If I did, your namesake may as well drop his flaming sword and let everyone taste the Forbidden Fruit./

They found Angela sitting on the bottom step, head buried in her hands. "Are you alright, Angela?" Tom asked.

"What?" Angela snapped to attention and stood up. "Oh, I'm fine. Didn't mean to be in your way." She started to walk away, but Katherine took her by the shoulder.

"Angela, dear," she sighed. "I'm so sorry for what you must be going through right now."

Her face was puzzled. "What...what do you mean, Katherine?"

"I'm an old woman, Angela." said Katherine. "But I am neither deaf nor blind. I saw you try to slip away from the library up there. And I've heard the gossip about you and Jophiel. This must be heartbreaking for you! But, don't worry. They'll both be punished."

"Punished?" Angela went from puzzled to concerned. "Katherine, they don't deserve any punishment! And that gossip was only gossip. Jophiel has never loved anyone more than Aindreas."

Katherine glowered at Angela. "How long have you known, young lady?"

"I-uh...." Angela was sure she hadn't dropped any hints about knowing all along. "I once walked in on them as you did. Katherine, they made me promise not to tell and no one was getting hurt so...." Katherine walked away briskly before she could finish.

"Princess! Wait!" Magus tried to keep up with her.

"I'm sorry, Angela." said Tom. "She's a bit cross just now." Angela decided her brothers needed her.

/Yet another one of the Eggs fails to live up to their name./ Katherine groused as she walked across the grand entrance towards the door. /Angela. Magus told me it was Greek for "Messenger". She could have given me this important message, but for her own reasons chose not to. She chose their side. I could tell. She never could lie to me. Ah, such a dunce I am! Thinking Angela had been duped by Jophiel when really all three of them were fooling me!/

/Aindreas, you fairly punched your way through the egg shell. You did nae need anyone's help. You did have a bit of shell impaled on one of your horns after you broke loose, which I thought looked so cute. You fed eagerly and didn't like being put down. You always liked being up. As soon as you were walking, you were climbing everything. Then you discovered you could climb walls with your talons! You quickly discovered that your wings could slow down your fall and you showed the others how to do it. You couldn't wait to learn how to glide./

/Aindreas means "Strong and Manly". For so long, I thought the name was apt. You always were a brave one. Too brave for your own good, sometimes. You thought you could brave the ocean waves all by yourself when you were but a wee lad of eight. You got caught in the riptide and would've drowned hadn't Tom been there. At age 20, you declared you were old enough to go hunting with Tom. Tom only laughed and told you to wait four more years. So, you went off on a hunt all by yourself. We searched and searched all night for ye. 'Twas nearly sunrise when we found ye. Your eye was swollen shut, a fang (your last milk tooth, fortunately) was kicked loose and you had numerous cuts and bruises. You also had a young boar impaled on your spear. You grinned up at me and said "I caught dinner!" just before turning to stone. You grew into a hunter who was both strong and cunning. 'Twas you that came up with the pit trap. So manly you seemed. I never would've guessed the sin that dwelt deep inside ye./

/Oh, Aindreas, like Jophiel, you had a namesake who would hang his head in shame if he knew. You were named for the first man to follow Christ, an upright, virtuous man who would nae let himself be martyred in the same manner as his Lord, so great was his piety. This Fisher of Men brought the Word of God to ears that longed to hear it. So, why, Aindreas, why would ye walk down a path of sin and lead your brother with you? Or did he lead you down this wicked path? Neither of ye gave me a straight answer./

/Why, oh why did ye have to give in to such unnatural temptations? Did we not raise you right? Ophelia was the one I worried about, traipsing through woods with a bow and arrows like a common hoyden. I was almost relieved when Gabriel told me she was bleeding from her privy area and shamefacedly confessed to being the cause of it. You were both interested in hunting and fishing and other things lads do. You never showed any interest in dolls or cooking. I don't understand. We raised you right! If ye could nae control your wicked desires, surely ye could've abstained from taking part in these evil actions!/

Once she was outside, Katherine leaned against the stone wall of the castle and wept.


A/N: Sorry for lack of smut. Plot got in the way. ;)