18 Faeries, ghosts, and goddesses, Oh My!

Hearing Sergei try to explain this completely new world to me forced me to suspend my disbelief. All of these things from fairy tales were real to him, and now to me as well. It was impossible to believe but what I'd been through over the last few days made it impossible not to believe as well.

The crisp day blew my hair about my face so I reached up to secure it in a scrunchi I kept on my arm. I listened as Sergei explained to me a little more about how the magical world, the world of the Fae Folk operated alongside the regular human world. They were able to interact with everything but kept their magical abilities quiet and were banned from using any magic amidst humans. At various times, over the passing years, they did use their magic to help the humans with certain things, if the Council of the Fae Folk deemed that it was essential to do so.

Sergei was kind and explained how their world operated patiently and calmly in spite of me continuing looks of shock as I struggled to absorb these stories as a real history of his-- or our people.

"So, now that I know the basics of your society... Can you tell me what happened to my mother and father?" I asked inquisitively, not wanting to offend him but unable to resist finding out what had actually happened.

"Yes, well, I've been getting to that," he paused and looked at my face, "it's not a nice story, just a warning."

With that, he proceeded to explain that my parents had been hunted down during their trip to America. They knew there was a threat but had operated as anonymously as possible while they were in the states. The car accident had been staged, to cover up the brutal murder of my parents-- a bludgeoning. The perpetrators had been jealous of the continued power that Danu wielded as leader and protector of the magical world. There were a group of people who wielded their magic for greed and dark purposes, and my mother had weeded them out from the community. When they became ostracized they plotted their revenge on her and killed her and her husband. Thankfully, they hadn't known that the baby was in the car with them, and with that, their plan had a fatal flaw.

Reaction in the Fae community had been harsh and those playing on the edge of dark magic had been pushed further out of the community after the attack. Rather than succeeding in getting new leadership more aligned with their goals, they found themselves stripped of much of their power. Unfortunately, this allowed them to create their own community. They called themselves the, "Dark Triad" and had started out slow, but their community had grown over time as friends and relatives turned away from those dabbling in the dark arts. This had solidified their community and their willingness to do evil in order to propagate it.

"That's why I'm in danger," I guessed, looking at Sergei.

"Yes, precisely. And, where you appeared at the Salthill Market was particularly dangerous because all supernatural beings are still allowed to access the market. In fact, the 'Dark Triad' had been granted access just a couple of years ago after pushing for a long time. The community was forced to allow them to visit the markets again, and I was concerned about your safety there." Sergei explained.

We finished our walk and returned to the cozy cottage where Sergei said he was going to make us dinner.

"Do we need to go to a grocery store or something to get food?" I asked.

"Ahh one of the biggest blessings of our abilities is our culinary prowess," Sergei said with a smirk. At that, he went off to the kitchen, and not thirty seconds later returned with a full meal-- a delicious smelling roast, potatoes with gravy and all kinds of side dishes. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until the smells wafted in my direction.

"Oh it smells amazing," I said while inhaling deeply.

"Enjoy Erin, for today we learn, we restore, and tomorrow, I have to bring you to the council so they can determine the best course of action for your future," Sergei announced seriously.

"I am not sure what I can do but I'll help in any way I can-- I do have my classes to go to and all of that still-- I can't fail out of school while I'm here," I responded with grave seriousness.

At that Sergei chuckled a bit, "I'm sorry Erin but your classes are the least of your problems right now."

I ignored his remark and sat down to eat the delicious food while plotting in my head how to get my normal life back in order while somehow also helping out these magical creatures. I still wasn't convinced that I had any useful way to contribute but I resigned myself to learn what I could, while also not forgetting my duties to myself as a full-fledged human with a life and responsibilities. We both feasted in silence while our individual minds drifted to the many thoughts and problems that were rolling around our own heads.