by Tom Keller
Meredith sat down on the couch next to the desk. "Excellent, I am sure that can be arranged."
"Will I be staying here long?" Diantha asked.
"That will be up to you," Meredith answered. "Assuming you wish to remain in our employ we can find a suitable off-site residence for you. It will take a week or so to finalize your identity, after Edward approves, of course. I hope that will be satisfactory."
"My agreement is with my G—," she started to announce, giving me an 'oops' look that I just knew was staged. But hey, it might work to my advantage so I didn’t say anything this time. "Excuse me, with Robert, if he is satisfied, so am I."
"I see," Meredith said, now turning to me. "Will that be satisfactory then?"
"Of course it is. Although her agreement is with me, she has agreed to use her abilities as part of her employment with you. I didn't set the terms but I'm sure you can come up with something that will be agreeable to both parties." Damn, now I was starting to sound like a lawyer.
"Fine, Edward can discuss the terms when he returns. Consider yourself a guest until we can negotiate a proper agreement," she said, turning back to Diantha.
Diantha didn't answer, but she looked pleased.
"Now then Robert, I would like to discuss a few things in private."
Siegfried stood up and motioned to Diantha. "Please use my office. Diantha and I can wait outside for Laera to return."
"That will not be necessary, Siegfried. I believe it would be better if Robert and I talked in my office." She looked back over at me. "Will you join me?"
"Sure," I answered as I stood up. "Siegfried, Diantha, I'd like to talk to you before I leave."
"We will be here," Siegfried replied.
I nodded and followed Meredith out. Passing Laera in the hallway Meredith told her to leave the food and drinks with Siegfried; she also mentioned that she and I were not to be disturbed. I followed her into her office which was next to Mr. Milagre's.
"Please sit," she said as she closed the door.
As I sat down she walked to a cabinet behind her desk and removed what looked like a large scallop shell. She placed it on the coffee table in front of the leather couch I had sat down on. Returning to the cabinet she removed an urn shaped pitcher and placed it on the table as well. With that done she sat down beside me. "It appears that I misjudged you, for that I must apologize."
"Misjudged me? What do you mean?"
She folded her hands in her lap. "I did not recognize you for what it seems you truly are. Your grandmother must have been very powerful to have wrought such a spell." She reached over and picked up the pitcher, pouring water from it into the scallop shaped bowl. "Still, I must be sure." She turned to me. "This is water from my home. Will you join me?" she asked as she reached out for my hand.
I took it and she moved it over the bowl. Smiling, she dipped our hands into it—and then we disappeared.
I had never felt the magic kick in as fast as it did. There was just a flash and I was no longer in her office. My senses were in overdrive as I took in what could only be described as a sea shore. Whoa, I wasn't in Kansas anymore. Hell, I wasn't even me anymore I realized as I looked down at my hands and felt my face and long hair. I was standing in the water facing a sandy beach in front of a grassy area. Behind me was the sea, the waves lapping at my ankles. There was something else, too, I was nude.
Well, shit! It was a good thing I was in my Fae persona, I thought to myself. I mean, at least I looked good naked.
It took only a moment to realize that with the change in my appearance also came the magic. This was definitely not the human world. I could feel the magic all around me and I knew that this was all Fae. I could hear and sense animals and birds all around me. It was incredible; they were so much more alive than I had ever felt creatures to be before.
I took stock of my surroundings, beach, lapping waves, animals and birds, some small trees and grasslands; it looked like somewhere out of a travel brochure. I was in cove, to my left was a rocky outcrop that reached into the sea and to my right was more beaches that ended in some kind of forest.
Was this the Fae world? Well, if Cacilia and Bernd could travel using oak trees then I guess Meredith using water shouldn't be a surprise. I looked around; I didn't see anyone or even sense anyone for that matter. Where the hell was she?
There was a gurgling sound and I turned around to see someone coming out of the water. Why, I wondered, did so many Fae look like elves out of stories? This one looked to be in her mid-30s and she was beautiful. She had long black hair and deep blue eyes with a hint of green with pointed elfin ears. It didn't hurt that she was nude, either. She had a strong, taut body and firm medium sized breasts. I would have done a double take had I seen her walking down any street. Then I did do a double take, it was Meredith. First Diantha and now Meredith, this Fae switcheroo thing was going to be hard to get used to.
"Are you just going to stare or will you hand me my clothes?" she asked with a smile.
I looked over where she was pointing and saw a sea green wisp of gossamer fabric on the beach next to her. I picked it up and handed it to her.
"Welcome to the Nereid realm," she said as she slipped on what I now saw was a tunic. She stared at me for a moment as if she was sizing me up, maybe she was. Then she sat down in the sand, gesturing for me to do the same. "You have never been in the Fae lands have you?"
"No, first time," I said with a nervous laugh. "Uh," I stammered, "would you have another one of those robes handy?
She stifled a grin. With a wave of her hand the surf came up and deposited another tunic on the sand before my feet. I slipped it on, it wasn't much but at least I felt covered. She turned and gestured towards the grasslands. "I was there, you know. At the end, when the High Fae fought amongst themselves."
"I had no idea..."
"How could you? It was so long ago. Oh, I was young then, much younger than even you. I watched my mother die defending her Lord from Loki's armies. It happened right there," she said, pointing to a spot not far from the beach. "Not much later Neptune himself was gone and we were left to fend for ourselves."
"I'm sorry." I replied.
"Don't be, I don't blame you and that isn't why I brought you here. But I am Lady of our clan and that is why your coming concerns me. Not for me but for my people. It has taken us a long time to recover from those dark days and I would not wish for them to return. So I must ask you, why are you here and what do you want?"
I wondered how to answer that as we sat back down. "You know as much as I do." Ok, not entirely true, but a guy's got to have his secrets. "Besides, you invited me and you were there. Hell, I didn't believe a word you said until Charlie started talking to me."
She interrupted me. "Charlie, who's Charlie?"
"Charlie's my dog," I said, laughing. "Anyway, I thought you guys were all nuts. Then shit started happening and the next thing I know I'm fighting friggin Werewolves over someone called a Lil and well, here we are."
"Wait, a fight over a Lil? Do you mean that bargirl at Danu's?"
"Yeah, but that was just the precursor. I wound up with Martin Chibeaux's scepter and he wanted it back. Siegfried knew Martin so I took his side and that's about it where that's concerned." I lay back on the warm sand. "As to the rest of this High Fae stuff, well, you know most of it." I rolled to my side and propped my head up.
"Meredith, I can see the mistakes that were made in the past. Now, I don't know what really happened to the old bunch. But the way I see it, I have no reason to want to go down that path. Hell, we have enough of that kind of power play in the human world. So all I can tell you is that I don't know exactly why I'm here, but believe me, I have no desire to cause you or your people harm."
She sat there for a moment with her arms hugging her knees, just staring at the water. Then she lay back and turned to face me. "Had I not been there I would not have believed it," she said firmly. "But you are not Loki and we have never quarreled with the Dryad so I have no true reason to
doubt you. Besides," she sighed, "you are High Fae. How do I quarrel with a God?"
"Enough with the God stuff. Can we just agree that I am no threat to you?" I asked, my turn to sigh.
She reached over and traced her finger along my cheek. I thought for a moment that she was going to kiss me but she pulled away. "Would that it were that simple."
That made me sit up, I had thought for a moment that things were going pretty well.
"You still do not understand, do you?"
"Understand what?"
"Oh, Robert, you really have no idea the world you have stepped into, do you? You are as a child...Please, I do not mean to sound condescending, but it is true. It has taken us two thousands of your human years to drag ourselves back from the abyss the High Fae left for us after The Fall. Did you think we would welcome their return with open arms?" she asked.
"Hey, I never asked for any of this. How many times do I have to say this? I am not them."
She leaned closer to me. "Tell me then—what of Cacilia? Have you even spoken to her recently?"
"What does she have to do with this?" I asked, wondering how she knew Cacilia.
"She is eldest, is that not how the Dryad rule? She will want to know what you have become and she will be waiting."
See what I said about fairy tales? What else was I going to have to deal with?
"Waiting? Waiting for what?"
"Let me show you something," she said as she stood up. Grabbing my hand she pulled me up and I followed her to the water. "Here, do as I do." She knelt down and placed her hand into the water.
I knelt beside her and did the same. At that moment I became one with the sea. The first sensation was my closeness to Meredith; it was if we had suddenly been connected. Then there were the others, I could tell there were thousands of them. It wasn't like I could read their thoughts; it was more like feeling a myriad of emotions, everything from contentment to fear. Fear of what, I wondered?
Then I felt something else, panic...no, concern, and then I felt someone, no...many someones coming our way. The feeling of concern became overwhelming and then I could feel the power in me want to take over. I pulled my hand out of the water. I looked back out over the sea and they began coming up to the surface, at least 20 of them. I'll be damned, they were Mermaids. Well, Mermen actually, and they didn't look happy.
I felt the power in me surge again and I fought to contain it. Had they actually been a threat, I probably wouldn't have been able to, but I could now feel they meant me no harm, at least not yet. They were waiting for Meredith. I turned to her.
She appeared wary but could see that I wasn't responding threateningly to their presence. She stood and raised a hand.
The feeling of concern diminished and I relaxed.
Although she hadn't said a word they retreated from the surface, all except one. He didn't approach, but stayed close, watching. I knew she had told them I was here and I also knew they had been ready to do battle, but only at her command.
"Testing me?" I asked, looking over at her. I could tell she knew I wasn't happy.
"My apologies, but I had to be sure."
"Sure of what? Did you think I was going to attack you, or maybe them?"
"No, not really, but I have not ruled for so long by being careless." She sat back down on the sand so I joined her. "Actually, I wanted to see for myself if you were truly what I believed you to be. Now I am satisfied."
"Really, what convinced you?"
"I felt your presence through the water. That is something I cannot do in the mortal world. Still, I could not quite localize it. You are not bound by the oak, as your people are. I have known the power of the Gods and I felt that same power within you...and that, my Fae Lord, is what Cacilia is waiting for as well. Confirmation."
I pondered that for a moment or two. I mean I hadn't seen Cacilia since that first visit. "Confirmation...and what do you think she'll do when she gets it?" I asked after a moment. "What would you do?"
"I cannot say how she will react. As for me, I would do as we are doing right now and try to gauge your intentions. She may decide to challenge you. Powerful you may be, but you are not invincible. She will know that as well. So, I ask you again, what do you want?"
I wish I knew the answer to that question. I'd already decided I needed friends so that was as good a place to start as any. I wasn't planning on starting a war with my own people and I also had to worry about the things the kids were involved in, so, it was time to get serious.
"Alright Meredith, here's something I do want. I am sure you've heard of the attacks on the Fae."
She nodded in agreement.
"I want your help in locating who's behind it."
"I would have done that anyway, but what do you have in mind?"
"Give me Siegfried for starters and I may want his help after I talk to Cacilia as well."
That seemed to surprise her.
"I'm not asking for him all the time, just that you make him available. As for the rest, I want access to some of your resources in the human world and no interference if I do have a problem with Cacilia. I also need your help in dealing with other Fae. As you've already stated, I know little of what I've become and I could use your guidance in that area."
Ok, that was asking a lot but it didn't seem unreasonable, besides she gained a God as an ally as well. Vain as it may sound, I figured that would appeal to her. "In return, you'll have full access to Diantha, except when I need her, of course. What else do you want?"
"I will not participate in a war with your Aunt. That path leads to a return of the old days."
"I'm not asking you to participate in a war. I just want him there to watch my back in case it comes to that. I need you to believe me. Whatever I may be I am not the same as the High Fae of the past. I don't want followers or slaves. I want only to be your ally, as well as your friend."
She sat quietly for a minute before responding. "Perhaps you are not as naïve as I first thought. I will agree to this alliance provided you acknowledge that being an ally does not mean we will acquiesce to just any demand, High Fae or not."
"I never thought that it did."
"Excellent, then it is settled. Business is concluded." She waved her hand at the last Merman (Merman, is that even a word), he dipped back into the sea and disappeared.
The water surged and again a wave glided up the beach towards us. When it receded there was a wine bottle and two wine glasses. I could only laugh at the thought of such efficient Nereid room service.
She poured some liquid from the bottle and handed a glass to me. She raised hers to mine and then took a drink. I raised mine as well and sipped. I wasn't an expert, but it was without a doubt the finest wine I had ever tasted.
"So what's next?" I asked as I set the glass down on the sand.
"We must bind our agreement in one of the ways Fae always have. Of course, we could just say a pledge, but I think this will be more interesting," she responded with the hint of a smile.
That said she pulled off her robe and pushed me back on the sand, kissing me. Before I knew it my robe was on the sand as well. I briefly wondered how I was going to feel when I dealt with her in her human persona. A few seconds later, I didn't seem to care.
****
The trip back was as fast as before but this time something was different. I hadn't come back, unscathed, as it were. This time I felt the magic still within me and there was something else. Almost like I was still connected; a wisp of me must still remain in the Fae world. I was also back in my clothes.
"Robert, is everything alright?" I heard Meredith ask as I shook my head to clear it.
Gone was the dark haired Fae I'd been with just moments ago. She'd been replaced with the silver haired woman I'd first met in what seemed so long ago.
"Do you ever get used to it?"
"Used to what?"
"The different people thing...young, old, all in a snap, I don't know, makes me feel, schizophrenic I guess."
I stood up and walked toward the doorway where she was standing. Without a word she switched back to the human Meredith and we stepped out into the hallway. This was going to take some getting used to.
"Why then? I mean why hang out here in the human world? Your land, uh, I mean seas, seemed pretty nice," I asked as we walked down the hall.
"Ahh, but this is where the action is, as the humans are so fond of saying," she quipped.
What did that mean?
"One other thing, time works differently here. You'll find we haven't been gone nearly as long as you think."
Just as she said that I felt someone and turned to see Laera returning with a cart and some trays. We followed Laera to Siegfried's office and Meredith motioned her to go in.
"I will not be joining you but I do look forward to further discussions," she said with a wink.
"As do I," I whispered as she turned to leave.
"Oh, one more thing," she said, putting her finger to her lips. "There is still much about our kind you do not know. It may be best, how would you say, to keep a low profile until the time is right to announce yourself to the local Fae."
"Yeah, well, I don't seem to be having too much luck at that lately, but I'll keep it in mind," I answered.
Chapter 21
"I hope all went well," Siegfried commented as I walked into the room.
"I think so; it appears that at the very least we have agreed to an alliance."
Siegfried gave me one of those Star Trek Spock eyebrow raises then quickly composed himself. I almost blushed thinking he must know how some Fae sealed agreements.
"Thank you, Laera, just leave the cart," Siegfried said as Laera poured Diantha a glass of wine and then placed some trays on the desk.
She nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.
"What did you want to discuss?" Siegfried asked as he grabbed some food from one of the trays.
