A quick A/N: This story takes place after the events of Fable II and before the events of Fable III, so it will contain spoilers for both games. Though Fable III has yet to come out, I have taken what has been revealed by Lionhead to piece together my own backstory. Whether or not it is accurate remains to be seen. But I digress; if any of you have not at least completed the Fable II story line and do not wish for any of it to be spoiled for you, I suggest you don't read. As for the Fable III spoilers, most of it is general knowledge, so it may not really be considered "spoilers" unless you want to be completely surprised when it's released.

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. I did flesh out the characters a bit more than they are in-game, but they are all based on characters that were generated within the game and their personalities are based off of the ones the game gave them.

The Prelude

Part One

There was something unique about the youngest son; it hung over the boy like a dark cloud, streaked with lightning and alive with thunder. The queen's forefinger made gentle circles upon her swelling stomach, but her thoughts were on her son as he watched his two sisters play within the courtyard. He was a quiet one, regarded as strange by the other children and adored by the nobles. Even at the age of eight, he was more like an adult than a child; rarely if ever did he have fun, preferring to read or stare broodingly into space to frolicking in the shining Bowerstone sun. It was not normal, the queen knew, for a child to be so withdrawn and serious. As an experienced mother of five, she couldn't help but wonder if something was wrong.

A tan hand gently wrapped around the one she was using to trace patterns upon her belly. She looked up to see her husband's kind, bestubbled face and gave him a small, warm smile of relief. "Dean," she breathed, leaning gingerly into his side. He wrapped his arms lovingly around her.

"You seem worried, love," he noted, his voice coming in comfortingly light lilts. "Is it about the baby?"

It was not, though she guessed that she should have been worried about her unborn child. Forty-five was awfully old to be pregnant-usually women her age stopped being able to have children, and when they did end up with child, the births would be too much for the mother, or the babe would arrive deformed in either the mind or the body. But the queen was confident that this was not to be the case for her child. "No… No, it's not that."

Dean's brow furrowed. "Then what's eatin' ya, Maeg?" His lack of learned and proper use of the language, as well as the use of his nick-name for her betrayed his humble origins as a gypsy stone cutter. In truth, their entire family was unorthodox. While the daring Hero that had slain the vile Lord Lucien was a grand choice for a queen, the family that came with her was certainly out of place on the Fairfax estate.

"Logan is not like the other children," she replied quietly, casting a furtive glance at the boy in question. "I fear he doesn't enjoy himself as a boy his age should. I hope the other boys aren't treating him unkindly…"

"Brothers are always unkind to each other," Dean chuckled softly into her apple-red hair. "You saw it with Richard and Martin when they were younger, but they turned out fine. Richy is now a young man, and he's on his way to making a swell king, and Martin's a good kid, though he does tend to shirk his studies more often than I'd like…"

"He learned that from you," the queen pointed out playfully. Her husband's light-heartedness was contagious, and she could not help the sassy remark. She tilted her head back to get a good look at him and smiled happily up at him. He grinned back.

"And he got his sense of humor from you," he teased.

She rolled her eyes and looked ahead again. "Oh, yes; because flatulence is certainly my forte."

"I seem to remember a day when you'd let one rip-"

"DEAN!" she fairly shrieked, slapping his shoulder with a laugh, echoing his own. This was why she loved him: she could laugh and joke and be as immature as she wanted around him when she could not around anyone else. With him, she could be Maegan Monroe, not the Hero and Queen of Albion; she couldn't think of spending her life with anyone else.

"Mother~!" the eldest of their two daughters called from across the courtyard, waving her arm in an effort to catch the queen's attention. Her blonde, braided hair swayed gently from side to side, and the few noblemen that stood within the gardens swooned as she passed them. She was a beautiful youth at the ripe age of twenty-six, and it was no wonder that she turned the heads of many of the men within the town. Her meek kindness made her more suited to loping with deer in some peaceful, forgotten meadow than to living in Fairfax Castle as a princess, and the men seemed to lover her all the more for it. But she expressed little interest- her main concern at the moment was the good of her family. She loved her younger siblings more than anything in the world, and most of her time was spent with them. Even as she trotted up to meet her mother, Angela, her younger sister and Logan's twin, had her hand in hers. "Mama," she said again when they were nearer, "there's a strange Seer-woman at the gate. She wishes to speak with you."

The queen's brow furrowed as she frowned reproachfully at her eldest daughter. "You didn't invite her inside, Anne?"

"I did, but she wishes to stay where she is. She wants you to come to her. I think she's being rather rude, but I'm too afraid to refuse her…" The young woman was at her mother's side now, her soft, lovely features screwed up in concern. "She's quite blind, you see, but I… I think she can still see me… I know I'm being ridiculous, but she makes me feel rather uncomfortable…"

"I like her!" the black-haired Angela piped up, bouncing up and down on one leg as if to emphasize her point.

The queen let out a small laugh at the young girl's antics before turning her attention back to Anne. "Don't worry, dear. Angela has the right impression of her-I assure you Theresa is quite kind and harmless. Thought a bit off-putting…"

Dean looked a bit uneasy at the mention of the old Seer, but said nothing. He did give a little shiver, though his wife did not see it.

Beautiful Anne blinked cautiously up at her mother. "Do you know her, Mama?"

"Yes… She is an old friend from my glory days… You could say she was like a mother to me."

"If she's our grandma, how come she never visits?" Angela questioned innocently. "Auntie Hammer always visits, but I've never seen this lady before!"

"She's not really our grandmother, Angie," Anne clarified good-naturedly.

"Theresa lives very far away, so she can't come very often," Maegan said, though it was only a half-truth. She had fully expected never to see Theresa again after the final battle with Lucien in the Spire, half because of the distance and lack of transportation methods, but also because it had seemed like the Seer no longer wanted to have anything to do with her. The Guild Seal had been silent since that day, and she had had no contact with the woman in over nine years. For her to suddenly appear at the Fairfax Gates was certainly unexpected. "I will go to her. Anne, be a dear and give little Logan some attention too. He's always alone and it makes me worry…"

The younger woman nodded, turning her loving brown eyes onto the youngest of her brothers as Angela ran over to entice him into a game of tag. The queen watched for a moment before starting on her way, but was stopped when her husband took hold of her arm. "Let me go with you," he urged, his dark eyes pleading with his wife's bright blue ones. "I met Theresa once… I don't trust her."

She let out a pleasant laugh. "Not many do, love. But trust me on this: I grew up around her. I've lived with her. She took care of me when no one else would. I'll be fine- she has yet to give me a reason not to trust her."

"I know, but still-"

"I'll be fine," she said again, silencing him with a chaste kiss. She pulled away and moved across the courtyard before he could protest again, her pace slow due to her swollen belly.

The Seer looked as though she hadn't aged a day since the last time they had seen each other, alone together within the walls of the Spire, at the mercy of its awesome, ill-gotten power. It was strange to see her now, book-ended by the regal gates to the Fairfax Gardens and surrounded by the flowering spring trees. She still wore the red and white hooded cloak and dress that Maegan remembered her in, unchanged by the ravages of time. The queen thought her wrinkles, which had only begun to appear, were beginning to weigh a thousand tons, sagging ugly on her face.

"It has been a long time, Hero," Theresa said in greeting, a small smile gracing her thin lips.

"Indeed it has," Maegan replied, forgetting her aging body in a smile of her own. She had the strongest urge to run and hug the gypsy woman, but for some reason she seemed untouchable. "It is so good to see you, Theresa. What brings you to Castle Fairfax?"

"I have heard that you are once again with child."

"Yes… I am quite excited." The queen could not help but wonder where this was going. She had had five children before, and Theresa had never come to see her about them. "I am a little concerned for the baby's health, though. I am not as young as I used to be…"

The Seer was silent for a moment, as if she were pondering her next words with extra care. "I have seen your child's future, little Sparrow. I believe I gave you a small glimpse into it many years ago."

The queen ignored the use of her long-lost childhood nick-name, far too distracted by the information Theresa had just presented. Her eyes grew wide and both of her hands, calloused from her many previous years in battle, moved to her stomach. "You… you don't mean… that this baby is…"

"Yes. She is the one that will succeed you as Hero. It is with her that the fate of Albion lies."

"She… So it's a girl then…"

The gypsy woman smiled gently as the Queen of Albion stared down in wonder at her belly, as if she could see the growing babe within. "She will be like you in many ways. But I did not come to tell you this, little Sparrow."

"No?" asked the queen, not looking up.

"No… I am afraid I bring very grave news."

It was at that moment that Maegan's head snapped up, her face white. "About the baby?"

"Partially, yes."

The queen swallowed thickly, waiting for the other woman to continue. When she didn't, she ordered gravely, "Tell me everything."

"I am afraid that is not possible."

"What do you mean? You can't come here and tell me that you've got bad news about my baby, and then not tell me what it is!"

"Calm yourself, Sparrow-I mean that to tell you everything would be very cruel, for what I have seen would shake the very foundations upon which your family sits. No, I have come to tell you that there is a danger from within. A very potent one."

"Well, what is it? What must I do to stop it?"

"I cannot tell you."

"You must!"

"It cannot be stopped, Hero. The wheels have already been set to motion. There is no turning back. The danger is not immediate; it will not surface until you have passed from this world. But you must prepare for its arrival if you wish your unborn child to survive it."

Maegan was trembling now. She didn't understand. What did this mean? Why was Theresa telling her this when there was nothing she could do? "But the future is always changeable, right? Depending on the decisions we make, it can always be avoided, right? That's what you told me before, when I was young-"

"In most cases… in much simpler cases, yes. But there are certain events that have been set and cannot be changed or avoided. When they are events that will change the world and all the people in it, there is no way around them. This is one such event. This is your child's destiny, little Sparrow. Your child will be born for this purpose."

"What is that purpose?"

"I cannot tell you."

"By Avo, Theresa! I've had enough of your games! This is my family!" She was angry, desperate even. She didn't like what she was hearing, didn't like the fact that she was helpless. And the fact that Theresa was so calm when the world was collapsing only enraged her further.

The blind woman said nothing, and after a moment, the queen couldn't help but break down into sobs, sinking to her knees on the gravel path. How could this be happening? Why was Theresa, the closest thing she had to a mother, being so cruel to her? Messing with her emotions when she was pregnant didn't seem like a very motherly thing to do, nor was it very wise. If Theresa was supposed to be a judicious mother-figure, she wasn't doing a very good job at the moment.

Finally, Theresa spoke, her voice soft and morose, though somewhat comforting. Motherly, even. Just the way Maegan remembered it from when she was a child, "Your daughter will destroy the evil within your family, Sparrow. It is not your burden to bear."

"Then why make me bear it?" the distraught woman croaked, looking up at her with blurry, tear-filled eyes.

Theresa looked pained at this, laying a gentle, ring-adorned hand upon the top of the queen's head. "I assure you, that was not my intention, little Sparrow… I merely came to warn you so that you can give your daughter the tools she needs to begin her journey and save her country."

Maegan sniffed, comforted somewhat, and stood back up. "What must I do?"

"Teach her everything you know," the Seer replied. "Teach her what is right and good, the ways of the just."

She nodded. "I will."

There was silence between them for a moment before the gypsy woman asked, "Do you recall the day after you first bought Fairfax Castle, when the bandits invaded your home through a secret passage?"

Maegan nodded, not bothering to ask how Theresa knew about that. She had probably seen it in a vision and didn't bother telling her about it. "Yes, I remember."

"Have you told anyone about that passage?"

"I showed Jasper and Walter it so that they could keep it sealed and safe so that nothing and no one else could get in, but that's it. I told them not to tell anyone about it, just in case word got to our enemies…" She looked up at her old mentor confusedly. "Why do you ask?"

"That is very good. You must introduce your unborn child to it when she is old enough to brave it. Show it to no other members of your family-it must remain a secret. Do you understand?"

"Yes… But why? Shouldn't the others know about it in case-"

"They will have no need of it. But the babe you carry will find it quite useful in trying times."

Maegan squirmed, not quite satisfied with that answer, but having no choice but to agree. Theresa was always so cryptic and confusing. It could be quite frustrating at times to deal with her, but she knew better than to question her judgment. "Anything else I must do?"

Surprisingly, Theresa smiled lovingly down at the queen's protruding stomach. "Simply show her the love and care you show all your children, and let her be a child just as much as you must train her."

"…Thank you, Theresa. For everything. I might not fully understand, but… thank you." The queen felt sad all of the sudden, and she couldn't stop the words before they tumbled from her mouth, "You will visit us again, won't you?"

"I am afraid this is our last good-bye, little Sparrow," the blind woman replied gently. "But know that I will watch over the little one when you are gone. She will not come to harm, I promise you."

Maegan wasn't quite sure she found this to be a comfort or not, but she smiled unhappily anyway. "I'm not sure I want to say good-bye."

Theresa only smiled softly. "Farewell, little Sparrow." And before the queen could return the words, the Seer faded away into a pale blue light. Soon that faded away too, and Maegan was left to stand there between to two great Fairfax Gate pillars and contemplate the meeting that was now but a bitter-sweet memory.

A/N: Ah, it's good to be back!

So, this is the first of a short chapter fanfiction for Fable II/III. I guess it's sort of a background story on how the Hero of Fable III got to where she is at the beginning of the game. So it's going to end on a rather sour note, just to warn you all.

I really like how this story turned out. At first, I wasn't sure about writing it, since I have no idea what Fable III is going to be like, but I thought, "what the heck" and went with it anyway. I love the family ties that go into this story, and how character-driven it really is. So I'm excited! 8D

I guess this means that Iniquity is officially on hiatus. Not that it hasn't been for the past year or so... ^_^;