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At the doorway to Mailon's room, Kyrie paused again. Ahkshi didn't let her hesitate, but he knocked on the doorway and pulled back the curtain.

"Mailon, you've a v-v-visitor," he told him; and then he pulled the curtain back all the way and let Kyrie, Lin and Earendil lead the way in.

Mailon was still sitting at the window, but when he saw Kyrie step in, he stood up, his face etched with surprise.

Ahkshi led Kyrie in and directed her to the chair opposite Mailon, and it was only when Kyrie was sitting that Mailon sat down again.

"I b-believe we should start with s-s-some introd-d-ductions," Ahkshi said, standing next to Kyrie and putting one hand on her shoulder. He nodded at the White Elf. "You know Mailon, of course."

Kyrie nodded grimly, her only show of recognition a slight narrowing her the eyes.

Ahkshi turned to Mailon. "And this is m-my w-w-wife, Kyrie."

Mailon's brow furrowed, and he leaned forward slightly in his chair. "Kyrie," he murmured. "I ... know that name ..." He frowned. "Why ... I haven't seen you before coming here, I'm sure of it ... why do I know you?"

Mailon continued to stare at Kyrie, struggling to remember where he had seen her before, and when.

Kyrie looked up at Ahkshi, and he gave her a small nod. Kyrie sighed and looked back at Mailon. For a brief instant, hesitation flashed across her face, but then it was gone again, as quickly as it had appeared.

"We knew each other in your previous life," she said quietly.

Mailon blinked and put his chin in his hands, and for a moment he said nothing. Then he ran his fingers through his hair and looked back at Kyrie again.

"That explains so much," he murmured. "So much ..."

He sat back and looked at his hands with a new appreciation. "Muscle memory ..."

Kyrie's eyes narrowed again just as Mailon looked up at her once more. He blinked when he saw it. "That look ... is ... very familiar," he murmured quietly. "That ... wasn't ..." He frowned. "But your voice is not familiar at all. How could that be? If I know you, and that look ... but not your voice ..."

Kyrie clenched her jaw angrily, and Mailon didn't miss it. He sat up a bit straighter, confusion creasing his forehead, and he was wise enough to remain silent while Kyrie found the words she wanted.

"The first time I spoke when I was anywhere near you," she said at last, "it was over your grave."

Mailon blinked. "My -- what? Then-"

Kyrie's self-control was crumbling away, and her knuckles were white, so tightly was she gripping the armrests of the chair in which she was sitting. She leaned forward, towards Mailon, and her eyes were blazing with fury now.

"Yes," she snarled at him, "I killed you. And I'd do it again, given the chance."

Fortunately, Ahkshi stepped between the two of them at that moment, which kept Kyrie in her seat. Mailon's eyes were wide, and he was staring at Kyrie in horror.

Mailon swallowed hard. "Why?" he asked in a small voice.

Kyrie gestured towards her scars. "To keep you from doing to anyone else what you did to me," she answered in a voice that was almost eerily calm after her outburst of a moment before.

"What I ..." Mailon stared at her in incomprehension.

Kyrie looked up at her husband. "Ahkshi, let me up," she told him. Her tone disallowed argument, but that didn't keep Ahkshi from trying.

"N-no," he told her firmly, putting one hand on each of her shoulders. "N-not unless you tell me what you're g-g-going to do."

"Try to jog his memory," Kyrie retorted. "Now let me up." She tried to stand, but Ahkshi's hands held her firmly in place. She sighed and looked up at him again. "Please," she said, somehow making it sound both sincere and snarky.

Ahkshi looked at Lin, then at Earendil, and at Earendil's nod, he carefully released his wife and stepped back.

Kyrie ignored Lin and Earendil, other than to mind them as she rose slowly from her chair.

"Get up," she ordered Mailon crisply.

Mailon stood up slowly, confused but willing to go along with it. Kyrie's scars were obvious, after all, and if he had given them to her ...

Then suddenly, swiftly and without warning, Kyrie took a half-step forward and dealt the man a powerful kick between the legs. Mailon let out a high-pitched yelp and crumpled into his chair again, and Earendil grabbed Kyrie (too late) and yanked her backwards.

Ahkshi also darted forward and grabbed his wife, and very soon he and Earendil had her back in her seat.

"K-Kyrie!" Ahkshi scolded her angrily. "I kn-know what he d-d-did to you b-but that was-wasn't ne-necessary!"

"N-no," Mailon squeaked, his eyes watering as he tried to sit up in his chair. He looked at Kyrie, his brow furrowed deeply. "No, don't - don't scold her - I - remember - now ..."

Kyrie's eyes narrowed, but she nodded in satisfaction.

Mailon was still wincing. "I ... I deserved that. And ... and so much more ..."

"You never did let me forget that," Kyrie said in a low tone, fighting to keep her voice even. "For three years, you did not let me forget that. Almost every night for three years, you paid me back in full - and then some. But you know what disgusts me the most about all of that?"

She leaned forward, and both Ahkshi and Earendil reacted instinctively, grabbing for her shoulders before she could attack the man again. They needn't have worried though, as Kyrie had already done what she had intended to do.

Mailon looked at her through red-rimmed eyes. "What?" he asked, his voice still higher than normal.

The muscles in Kyrie's jaw tightened. "That when I was brought to you, I thought that part of my life was over," she hissed. "I honestly believed that elves were incapable of the atrocities that the humans performed. I was brought to you for safety. And never have I been so betrayed."