Chapter 1

Doctor Matthew Dobson scrutinized the continued darkening sky with a bit of trepidation. On the last leg of his cross-country trip to the town of Skogshaven, the snow was starting to come down sideways. Not a stranger to snow, growing up in Chicago, he hadn’t had much practice driving in it recently being a citizen of Los Angeles for the last forty years. Besides driving in a blizzard, the more rational part of him thought the entire cross-country trip insane; but the more adventurous part of him had loved every second of it. Only the memories of his wife’s passing six months before kept him from totally enjoying the adventure. Those same memories pressed him forward; living in the same home they shared for the last four decades would have been terribly difficult.

Leaving Gettysburg, Pennsylvania early in the morning, having spent two days touring the town, the Doctor should have rolled into to Skogshaven sometime in the late afternoon. The snow, however, had lengthened the trip and it was now approaching night.

“Doc, where in the hell are you.” Picking up the phone through his Bluetooth, Matt was not surprised to find his friend Aaron on the other line. The two had met back in 68’ in South Vietnam. Aaron Nordberg had been a Marine staff sergeant while he was a Navy corpsman. Like many in their unit, both of their wars ended outside the village of Dai Do near the Cua Viet River during the Tet offensive.

“Nowhere, Massachusetts; really, man how far back in the bush do you live?”

Aaron laughed on the other end of the line. “You wanted to get away from the hassle of living in a big city.” As part of the hospital administration at Eastside Medical Center, he was the first to call his friend Matt when a position for another trauma surgeon opened. “You’ll like it, as I mentioned, plenty of fishing and if you get really bored you can always take a trip into Boston or New York.”

“If you say so.” Matt smiled; he was actually really looking forward to living near his old friend and his wife Duyen. Thoughts of retirement popped in his head once more. Next year would have started years of world travel, fishing and golf; now with Elaine’s passing Matt would work as long as possible. In fact, the good doctor expected to be able to work for some time still. Although he just turned sixty, Matt looked a decade younger, keeping fit as possible, unlike many of his colleagues.

“Duyen said just drive to our house no matter what the time. She won’t forgive you if you end up at some hotel.”

“Give her my love and tell your wonderful bride I think I can see the Skogshaven exit from here. I can’t be more than thirty minutes away according to my GPS.” The Doctor found it rather strange how GPS’s didn’t function half the time in Skogshaven. Looking at the large forest in front of him, he could now understand why.

With the wind rocking the car, concentrating on the road became more important. “Got to go…winds picking up.” Before the Doctor could hang up, a red blur passed him, a sports car traveling far too fast for the conditions. Suddenly a feeling of dread passed over him, as a flash of light ahead lit up the road. Pulling off to the side of the road, the Doctor came upon a scene of utter destruction. The red car had spun out of control, flipping end over end crashing into another vehicle. Instructing Aaron to call for paramedics, Matt reached into the back of his car, grabbing his coat and an old M5 Medical Corpsman Medic Bag.

Approaching the remains of the little red car first, it was difficult to even tell its make. Most of the vehicle was scattered all over the snow swept highway, what was left was a crumpled mass. Without even looking, Matt was sure that the likelihood that the driver was alive was slim. Therefore, it came to no surprise when he leaned over and found the driver, a boy barely out of his teens twisted along with the car at an unnatural angle. The Doc was no stranger to death but he cursed its stupidity. The driver’s death had been preventable.

Behind him, a number of other cars had stopped and Matt was happy to see orange flairs beginning to burn on the road. Running to the second car, Doctor Dobson found two young girls and a boy standing in front of the remains of the vehicle’s driver’s side door.

“My mommy’s hurt.” One of the girls said with tears in her eyes. The other girl was sobbing uncontrollably in her sister’s arms.

“Let me take a look at your mommy, sweetie, I’m a Doctor.” He smiled at the young girl. Quickly determining that all of the children escaped injury, Matt knelt next to the mother. He could see that she was seriously injured only the air bag had kept her alive.

“What’s your mother’s name?” Without losing the smile, the Doctor began to determine the extent of the woman’s injuries.

“Allison.”

“What’s your name, son?”

The boy looked up, frazzled looking as if his world was coming to an end. “Jacob.”

“Is my mommy going to be OK?” The other sister sobbed.

Reaching for his keys, he placed them into the young boy’s hands. “Jacob, see that black Lexus. I want you to take your two sisters and climb inside. It will be warmer.”

Jacob looked at his mother, then at his two sisters. “Yes sir.”

“Good boy.” Watching the boy for a moment as he took each sister by her hand, the doctor returned to diagnosing their mother as the three moved off towards his Lexus. Time seemed to pass but how much Doctor Dobson didn’t know as he continued to work on Jacob’s mother. “Stay with me, Allison.”

“So Doc, you were with the Third?”

Matt turned his head slightly to find a well-built man leaning over him. Obviously, the question came from the patches sewed onto his medical bag. “B Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines.” He said, smiling.

The other man nodded returning the smile. “Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines. What can I do for you, Doc?” Matt could tell that he was either still in the Marines or hadn’t been out of it long.

With both hands busy trying to stop the woman from bleeding to death, Matt pointed his head towards his car. “Ahh...”

“Daniel.”

“I’m Matt…if you can check on the kids in the black Lexus. It’s their mother I’m working on.”

“Crap.” Daniel looked around; the scene didn’t look too different from the IED explosion. “Alright Doc, I’ll be right back.”

Turning back, Matt became lost in the job of saving Allison. When the sound of tires screeching filled the air, he instantly realized that a car had flown past the wreck and ran across the remains of the sports car. The Doctor could have fled, moving out of the way of the incoming car but corpsman Matthew Dobson instinctively moved the same way when one of his patients came under fire in Vietnam. Matt reached up and covered the young mother’s body with his own.

The pixie’s first breath was full of the aroma of the forest. Hesitantly she opened her eyes letting in the morning sun. Why was she expecting it to be snowing? Finding herself lying on a grassy mound in the middle of a small clearing, the Pixie brushed herself off and looked directly up. Towering over her was an ancient oak tree.

“Where am I?” She thought while rubbing her eyes. Movement caught her attention when a young woman stepped into the clearing. Dressed in a heavily embroidered black and green bunad, her nutmeg colored hair was covered in little white flowers. “Good Morning” The maiden greeted the pixie warmly.

“Good Morning.” Looking around once more, the pixie realized the place didn’t look at all familiar. Then again, what was rather odd she didn’t have memories of falling asleep the night before. “Where am I?”`

“Too much moon mead child?” Reaching down, the maiden gently picked up the pixie. “I’m Siv, a woodwife of the forest and you my sweets are in the center of the Sacred Grove.”

“I’m…” The pixie realized she didn’t know who she was. Looking down at her state of undress, she soon found herself attired in the same way as the maiden, in a smaller version of the traditional Norse dress.

“Definitely too much moon mead.” The woodwife laughed. The pixie decided she liked the sound. “Well, some of your sisters are nearby so why don’t we talk to them.”

The pixie giggled and flew unsteadily from Siv’s hands to gently land on the woodwife’s shoulder. “OK” Walking through the forest, the pixie soaked up the beauty of the woods. For some reason she could remember that spending time outdoors was something she always loved. The pixie also found it interesting that it grew considerably colder the further away from the Grove the two travelled. In no time at all, the sky was full of clouds and the woodwife was walking in the snow.

“Remember anything?”

“No, it’s still all a little fuzzy.” The pixie laughed, it didn’t really seem all that important. Vibrant laugher filled the air as the woodwife made her way down to a small half frozen creek. Standing in the freezing water were a dozen pixies having what appeared to be a water fight.

“There you go child, have fun.”

“Thank you.”

The pixie reached over and gave Siv a warm hug then flew off towards the giggling girls. With a grin on her face, banking a little bit to the right, the pixie flew past the other pixies spraying all of them with water. Unfortunately, her aeronautical skills being fairly new, the pixie over compensated during the turn and flew straight into a snow bank. Popping her head out of the snow, she looked around at the others, giving them a wide grin. The entire group burst into laughter. Jumping up, the pixie flew over to land right in front of the group. Before she could say anything, snowballs filled the air as another group of pixies arrived.

Snowballs and giggles filled the air as the two groups came together in earnest. Most of the pixies used their wings as a way to help them dodge the incoming white missiles. The new pixie admired one of her red haired companions twisting and turning in the air. As the snowball fight continued, the new pixie spotted a weak point in the other’s defense and the name Joshua Chamberlain came to mind. Grabbing a few of the other girls, the pixie and her companions rolled into the exposed flank. Unable to dodge something they couldn’t see, the other pixies were soon covered in snow. Of course, the run was not without its sacrifices as the new pixie and her friends suffered the same fate. After a few more giggle fits, almost at once everyone stopped, some pixies now resting on the ground while others flew away to see if they could find more fun.

The red haired pixie leaned over and propped her head in her hands. “I haven’t seen you before, I’m Laurel.”

The new pixie turned her head and smiled. “Nice to meet you Laurel...I...well, I don’t know my name.” She began to giggle, what an odd thing not to remember one’s own name.

“Truly?” The red-haired pixie’s eyes were opened wide.

The pixie nodded.

“Are you a Newborn?”

The new pixie sat up and looked at her companion. “What do you mean by Newborn?” She noticed that a number of other pixies were now listening intently to the conversation.

“What do you remember about yesterday?”

The new pixie made a face. Something important and a little sad took place yesterday but she couldn’t remember what happened. “Nothing really.”

The red-haired pixie nodded. “Where did you wake up today?”

“OH.” The new pixie brightened considerably. “Inside the Sacred Grove.”

Squeals surrounded the new pixie as the group converged upon her in one large group hug. “Welcome Sister!”

Laurel looked down at her new green haired sister with amusement. The new pixie was concentrating fully on flying. Pixies were instinctual flyers so slamming into a tree wasn’t generally a danger however after watching her run headlong into the snow bank, concentration was probably a good idea. Reaching down, Laurel held the hand of her new friend. “How are you doing?”

The new pixie answered with a huge grin on her face. “I can’t believe how much fun flying could be.” Frowning for a moment, the she remembered flying tree top level before but the experience wasn’t as pleasant. “So this Xeranthemum is going to give me a name?”

“Well no, not exactly, Xera is our clans Keeper of Names. She is going to look into your heart. You’re going to name yourself.”

“I have a name in my heart?”

Laurel nodded. “Most of us come from the Fae Realm; it’s rare for a new sister to be born on the other side of the Forest.” As the pair slowly descended towards the forest floor, the red haired pixie was happy to see at least a score of her ‘sisters’ had joined them.

“Lily, you really need not to put so much of yourself into your enchantments sweetheart. Moderation is necessary, lest you blow up another kitchen while trying to boil water.”

Laurel grinned overhearing the conversation between Xera and her apprentice. The group of pixies discovered the Keeper of Names sitting atop a large snow covered rock, while her apprentice stood in the center of a glowing silver circle. The Keeper looked up as they approach and placed a finger to her lips for them to be quiet.

Landing, the pixies sat on the ground in silence as they watched the lesson continue. A warm white light blossomed between Xera and Lily, at first, it was only a small dot but slowly it grew in size and intensity. Moments later the light flared then disappeared.

“Very good, Lily.” Xera smiled warmly at her grinning apprentice. Turning to the others, the Keeper asked. “So how may I help you today, girls?

“We have a new sister.” A number of the girls said excitedly.

The new pixie looked up; Xera was staring directly at her. The Keeper floated to the ground. She was an impressive figure, fire like yellow-orange hair; she wore a deep burgundy gown in a style that had gone out of fashion several centuries ago. As she approached, the new pixie was drawn to the Keeper’s eyes. They were deep blue like the sea but held ancient wisdom. The new pixie understood why she was the Keeper of Names and why the others held her in reverence and awe.

Holding the hands of the new pixie, Xera asked. “Greetings child, so they tell me you one of the Gan-ainm.”

“Yes Ma’am.” The new pixie thought she said one of the ‘unnamed’.

The other girls giggled around her. The Keeper of Names gave them the eye and the group quickly settled back down. “Just Xera is fine sweetie.” While holding the Keeper’s hands, the new pixie could feel the world shift around them. The forest shed the icy grip of winter, the snow disappeared and the ground became carpeted with white and blue flowers. The air once cold now became warm with the first hint of summer heat.

“Beautiful.”

Xera smiled. “Now, close your eyes. Let’s see what’s in your heart.”

Nervously the new pixie closed her eyes, then felt Xera press her head against hers. She could feel Xera in her thoughts, there was agelessness to them but also warmth and love. The new pixie slowly slipped into her own thoughts and dreams. Images of hospitals and patients were at the forefront, which confused her. Layers upon layers were soon stripped away, as the Keeper of Names continued her search. A lifetime of memories flashed before the new pixie, suddenly it all came back to her. “My name is...” then Xera stripped that away moving deeper into the new pixie’s heart. The memories remained as the new pixie followed the Keeper, merging with her new self. Deep inside her memories, the two of them stood in the center of a garden, which stood behind a home in the West Hills in the San Fernando Valley

“What a lovely garden.” A much younger version of Matt and a full sized Xera walked among the flowers.

“My wife Elaine always loved her gardens. She had such a magical touch bringing out the beauty of each and every flower.” Never able to have children, his wife gave the flowers the same love and care.

“Which one was her favorite?” Xera asked.

Matt looked around the familiar garden then strolled over to the side of the house. Along its edge bloomed small orange and yellow flowers. “I’ve heard it called ‘mal de ojos’ by my yard workers.”

Xera giggled. “’Sore eyes’ what a strange name for a flower.”

Matt grinned. “Well she called them Arizona Poppies.”

“Poppy.” Xera smiled warmly at Matt. The cold grip of winter returned as the two stood still holding hands.

“Poppy” The new pixie smiled then faded from view.

Inside the trauma unit of Eastside Medical Center, the trauma team worked frantically to save the lives of their two new patients. The citizens of the surrounding area had been relieved when the new hospital included a Level II Trauma Center. No longer was it necessary to airlift a seriously injured person to Springfield, saving time and lives. The irony was not lost on them that one of their patients happened to be their new Neurosurgeon, who now suffered a life threatening head injury.

The second patient was a woman whose injuries were received during the initial impact with the red sports car. No additional injures were inflicted during the second car’s impact, the force being displaced into their new Neurosurgeon. He indeed saved the life of the woman but it would possibly cost him his own.

“Poppy.” Doctor Matthew Dobson whispered much to the surprise of the trauma nurse. They were prepping their patient for another surgery.

“Doctor Dumas.” She called out to one of the doctors standing nearby.

The doctor leaned over and looked down at Matt. “Welcome back to the land of the living doctor.” The young doctor said with a smile. “I’m not sure if you can understand but I am Doctor Alexander Dumas. No relation.” He chuckled.

Matt in his pain-filled haze thought, great, his surgeon was a comedian. He tried to ask about his injuries but nothing intelligible came out. No real surprise in the case of brain injuries loss of speech was common. He would have to check to see about those with traumatic brain injuries having such vivid dreams. Slipping in and out of unconscious, Matt thought he heard something about a large increase in his intracranial pressure. “Sounds like they are about to take a chunk out of my skull.” He thought to himself as the world became dark once more.

Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading! - Elsbeth

 © Copyright - Elsbeth2011/2012

Chapter 2

High above the forest floor, Poppy leaned with her back against the trunk of a large oak tree. Upon awakening, she was once again more than a little confused with her surroundings but more so with the influx of memories of a lifetime of being a human male. The doctor inside of her couldn’t shake the idea that this was all just some drug-induced dream. Lying in ICU, Matt’s body was sure to be subjected to quite a number of medications. There were plenty of pharmacologic mechanisms that produced drug-induced dreams but Poppy concluded with a giggle that turning into a twelve-inch tall fairy was probably not listed as one of the usual side effects.

The green haired pixie realized that Elaine would be having the time of her life with all of this. Matt on the other hand, tried to appreciate the world around him but it always seemed beyond his reach. While he was quick to see the difficulties and horrors of life, she saw beauty and good in everything. Even when she was dreadfully ill with cancer, Elaine was quick to crack a joke with her doctors or give him her best smile. That wonderful smile saved Matt on too many occasions, bringing him back into the light.

Standing on top of the tallest branch, Poppy closed her eyes as the whole forest awakened around her. While enjoying the warmth of the rising sun, the young pixie couldn’t decide whether this was really a dream or not. Looking down at her obviously female figure, the whole gender thing, which should be somewhat traumatic, wasn’t. She was obviously a fairy but there was another self, a male self, who was the newest Neurosurgeon at Eastside Medical Center. Who was she really? Could she be both Matt and Poppy? With a giggle, she threw herself into the morning air. Deep philosophical thoughts were probably not the purview of pixies. Making a decision, Poppy decided uncharacteristically to just go with the flow. It was most likely a trauma-induced dream anyway, if it was real. The green haired pixie smiled, then it really wouldn’t matter. Either way she was sure it would all work out eventually.

As the sun rose higher in the morning sky, movement far below caught Poppy’s attention. Something on the forest floor felt wrong. Diving out of the sky, the green haired pixie glided towards the forest floor far below. Even in the dim light, she spied a half a dozen or so ugly grey goblin like figures moving through the thick underbrush. Quietly landing on a branch, the young pixie couldn’t help but notice that all of the goblins were paying close attention to keep out of the sunlight. The way they moved through the underbrush, she was immediately reminded of the Marine Force Recon teams Matt knew in Vietnam. Watching the interlopers from high above, Poppy realized that they were searching for something. Leaping off the branch, the young pixie flew silently overhead. Positive that whoever the creatures were, they were up to no good.

Quite unawares of the observer above them, the eight greyish goblins quickly traveled through the forest. They had been travelling for the better part of the night and knew that they were way behind schedule for their rendezvous.

“Kernow, you’re late.”

Kernow and his companions came to a stop. Sitting on a small outcropping of rock, smoking a long white pipe, an ancient looking goblin scowled at them contemptuously. Unlike his companions who wore a mix of clothing, the goblin in front of them was well-armored wearing layers of thick lizard hide.

“We had further to travel this night than you, Menadue”

“That’s no excuse; you know how much I dislike the sun. You…are not alone.” Menadue jumped to his feet and threw a handful of black objects into the sky, directly towards an unseen adversary.

“I don’t see anything.”

“Because you’re a fool.” Menadue growled. Jumping to the forest floor, he examined the trees above him. “Come out pixie, I know you’re up there.” Looking at each other, the goblins nervously drew long bronze blades. Where there was one pixie more were sure to follow.

Poppy didn’t say a word as she slipped behind the trunk of a tree high above the creatures. Silently she thanked Laurel. Remembering how she moved in the air allowed Poppy to spin out of the way of the razor-sharp darts. Quickly the young pixie made a decision and glided down towards the forest floor. Now hiding just above the group of goblins, she examined the one called Menadue. One of the first things Poppy noticed, besides the heavy lizard hide he was wearing, was that the creature was well armed. Along with the black darts that flew from his hands, the goblin had pulled from his belt a beautiful slightly curved silver sword. What surprised Poppy was that the sword seemed to be calling out to her.

“She’s smarter than all of you.” Menadue eyed the rising sun with disdain. “We can’t talk here.”

Poppy slipped behind another tree to watch as the goblins below started to fearfully back away from Menadue. Laughing at their cowardice, the ancient creature seemed to gather the darkness about him. In a burst of shadows, the gloom thickened and one by one, the goblins vanished.

Well over a dozen pixies busied themselves inside Morgan Rynder’s home much to the amusement of her sister Breyana. At any one time, there were always a handful of the little fairies coming in and out of the house. When Morgan was home, their numbers usually doubled.

Sitting in front of a coffee table, the eighth grader diligently worked through a series of algebraic equations. Off to the side of the young Irish witch, a green haired pixie made herself comfortable. After the grey goblin like creatures vanished, Poppy was able to find a group of her sisters playing in the forest. When the young pixie began to explain what she witnessed, the group immediately dragged her out of the forest and through the town of Skogshaven. Poppy reflected that after the accident, Matt must have been transported to the ICU at Eastside Medical Center. If that was true, then her ‘other’ body was just up the road. The thought disturbed and fascinated the Doctor part of her all at the same time. Now they were waiting until their Clan Chieftain returned.

Deciding that she hated waiting, Poppy walked over and looked over the young girl’s homework with interest. “Lady Breyana, question number seven should be 11x — 23.”

The young girl smiled at the pixie. “Poppy, please just call me Bree.” Looking over her homework, the teenager began to check her math. Bree was surprised that the new pixie watched her work; normally even her guardians didn’t seem very interested in her school work. Going through the formula once more, Bree found the green haired pixie was correct. “Wow, thanks Poppy. How about this one, can you tell me where I should start?”

As the two worked together, Bree was thrilled for the quick math tutoring by the green haired pixie. Normally, she would have to wait until her sister Morgan or mother came home. What was helpful, Poppy didn’t simply hand out the answers but worked with her on understanding the algebraic formulas and why they worked. “Too bad you’re not my math teacher.” Closing her book, Breyana smiled. The thought of a twelve-inch tall pixie teaching her class was pretty funny. “My teacher Mrs. Armstrong is really nice in all but she isn’t very patient with those who don’t get it at first.”

While concentrating on her English homework, the front door flew open. Bree smiled as her sister entered the house. It was difficult to imagine that Morgan was actually only a few years older than she was. Most of the time the sixteen year old acted her age, at other times Morgan was very much the Princess of the High Sidhe Court. Bree frowned; as usual, her sister was on her cell phone apparently having a discussion with one of the Sidhe nobility. Lately it seemed that only time Morgan was free from having to deal with the problems of the Fae was when she was in school. What was it this time, trolls kidnaping children, knockers going on strike, water sprites trying to drown people in the Connecticut River or was it an Unseelie invasion?

“Everything OK?”

Taking off her maroon Boston University jacket, Morgan dropped her backpack and greeted her sister. “Comtesse Cliona is still having problems with her new roommate.”

The Irish witch giggled. Oh, it was just Cliona.

“I’m glad you’re amused.” The Princess sighed; the poor Sidhe girl had been calling her almost every afternoon since the start of the winter school session. The Comtesse was a lovely person but Morgan didn’t need to hear about every one of Cliona’s problems. Suddenly Morgan felt bad. She knew that the young Sidhe was just lonely. Morgan decided she would have to talk to her mother Rebecca. Perhaps she could get Cliona to stay over at the house a couple of weekends a month. Bree would like that. The North Carolina private school wasn’t all that far away when you travelled by way of the Fae Realm.

Walking into the kitchen, Morgan grabbed two bottles of apple juice, handed one to her sister and started to rummage through her own backpack. “So how was school today?”

As the two girls sat next to one another discussing the day’s activities, Morgan began to look over Bree’s math homework. “Cool, so you didn’t need my help.”

“Actually, Poppy helped, your Highness.” Iris one of Breyana’s pixie guardians said excitedly.

Bree nodded.

“Who’s Poppy?”

“Your Highness.” As best as she could, never having done it before or even the thought of it crossing her mind, Poppy gave the Sidhe Princess her best curtsey.

Morgan smiled warmly as the green haired pixie curtsied in front of her. “I wasn’t aware that pixies were familiar with algebra. Then again I shouldn’t be all that surprised.” Looking over to Bria, the Chief of the pixie Clan who inhabited Skogshaven, the Fae Princess asked. “Would you mind if Poppy continued to help Bree with her homework?” The pink haired Clan Chieftain had been at school with Morgan all day, one of a dozen pixies that usually followed the Princess.

Bria shook her head. “If she doesn’t mind, I don’t.” She gave the new fairy a questioning look. Xera had told her about the unexpected appearance of a Gan-ainm.

“Oh sure sounds like fun.” Poppy giggled; positive she thought she heard Morgan mumble something about how can math be fun.

Grinning, the Princess of the Summer Court suddenly stood in front of her with a book in hand. “So Poppy, how are you with Trigonometry?”

Later that night, a much smaller group of fairies sat in the kitchen once everyone had finally fallen asleep. Poppy rather enjoyed spending the evening with the Rynders family. Morgan’s mother Rebecca seemed very involved with her two daughters. It was nice to see the three of them sit down for a family dinner. For the last forty years Matt had lived alone with his wife, although they loved each other very much the sound of children was something they both missed. Poppy sighed, looking back they should have adopted.

“Spriggans appearing in the woods isn’t all that surprising.” Zinnia, one of Breyana pixie guardians made a face. “We trade with them on occasion.”

Used as guardians of Fae treasures since ancient times those Spriggan families who lost their hordes, or had none to watch, became nomadic. As a family they would travel from place to place stealing or trading for items they needed. Since they often brought rare items with them, they were grudgingly welcomed although one made sure to check one’s wings after a trade, lest they be stolen.

“I am not interested with the others; it’s the one with the blade that concerns me.” Bria frowned.

“Menadue” Eglantine, the Clans second in command grumbled. Spriggans like many Fae were amoral at best; however, there were some families that held allegiance to the darker Fae cousins of the Unseelie Court. Over the Summer Bria and her sisters did battle with one such family.

The Clan chief nodded.

“Why does he have that blade?” Poppy knew that Menadue was not the owner of the weapon.

“Ancient treasure.”

“Pixie treasure.” Eglantine slammed her fist on the kitchen counter.

“We don’t exactly have Queens.” Bria explained to Poppy. “However, at times of great peril the clans call forth a Phrá­omh Ard, a High Chief. One of our greatest was Samphire who did battle with the Aes Sidhe against the hated Fir Bolgs.”

“Is that her blade?”

“We believe so.”

Laurel snuggled against Poppy. She was very happy when she found that her friend had returned. “What was with the shadows? I didn’t think Spriggans were particularly magical.” Like all Fae, they had magic but from the story about the meeting with Menadue, it didn’t seem normal for one to gather shadows and completely disappear.

A purple haired Pixie named Syringa, rolled a huge chocolate chip cookie towards the group. “It’s the Praghas Fola.” Syringa broke off a piece and began to pass it around.

Poppy stared at the cookie in amusement for a second then frowned. “Blood Price?” She didn’t like the sound of that.

“On the night of a full moon the chosen are bathed in blood. After the ritual, until the next full moon they are able to wield dark powers.” Bria shook her head sadly.

Looking back, Poppy realized that the other Spriggans didn’t have the same feel as Menadue. The reason why she knew they were moving in the underbrush was that they felt alien, outside to the woods. Menadue on the other hand had entirely different feel, “Whose blood” Poppy asked, then realized she really didn’t want to know.

“The blood of the innocent.”

Doctor Alexander Dumas stood next to the ICU bed of his latest patient. He had not known Doctor Dobson personally but knew his work. Like others of his generation, he was a pioneer in neurological medicine. Although there was always a chance of full recovery, most likely the doctor was not going to be the same man he was before the accident.

“Praghas Fola” Matt said barely above a whisper. The nurse who was monitoring his IV looked over to Doctor Dumas who smiled.

“That one is a fighter.” Doctor Dumas was surprised his patient could even talk. From the tests taken so far, if Doctor Dobson ever recovered long months of physical therapy and speech therapy were in his future. Even so, the good doctor would probably never walk again due to the spinal damage, broken bones, and the many other injuries taken during the accident. It was a miracle that the Neurosurgeon actually survived the accident much less survived the last three surgeries.

Leaning over his patient, Doctor Dumas began to explain. “Doctor…Matt, I’m not sure if you can hear or understand what I am about to tell you. We are about to put you into a drug induced coma, I am concerned with your cerebral pressure.” Doctor Dumas knew that there was some controversy over the treatment but he didn’t see a lot of choice. Looking at the nurse, he nodded.

What the doctors and nurses didn’t see hovering near their sleeping Neurosurgeon was an orange haired Pixie.

Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading! - Elsbeth

Chapter 3

Poppy opened her eyes and looked around, pleased that at least this time she recognized her surroundings. The young pixie smiled, she warm and comfortable even with a mass of pixies cuddled up to her. A group of them had found a nice comfortable spot on the couch in Morgan Rynders home. For the most part all of the pixies huddled together in one big mass of girls.

One part of the young green haired pixie was rather annoyed that with a score of half-naked women surrounded her, a couple even using her as a pillow, it issued no response other than contentment. Still, reaching down, Poppy gently brushed the hair from Laurel’s face, there was a bond with these girls that Matt only experienced with those who fought by his side 40 years ago.

More and more of her analytical self was in the opinion that this was not a dream but even so, it was totally, outside her experience. Oh sure, she remembered listening to fairytales as a child. She even remembered reading Tolkien in college but those were just stories. Perhaps some of what lay in the pages of those books truly held some glimmer of truth. Shakespeare’s Hamlet immediately came to mind. The good doctor was finding that the world was indeed larger than it seemed.

To further reinforce this was reality, Poppy never heard of anyone falling asleep in a dream. However, why didn’t her conscience move back to her other body? Was it because Matt’s body was currently in a drug-induced coma? Upon awakening today unlike the two other times, there seemed now to be a peaceful coexistence between her two states. Poppy was a pixie, that was a fact but she was also Matt. His memories were her memories. So now, which existence was real? She felt as if she was living in-between worlds. If Matt’s body died, would she continue her pixie existence or would she fade away like a memory. It did give the doctor something to think about.

“Laurel” Poppy gently nudged her friend. “Wake up sleepy head, you’re on my arm.”

Turning over, Laurel looked up with a smile. “Oh you’re still here.” Although it wasn’t unwelcome, Poppy was surprised when her friend reached over and gave her a big hug. “Good morning.”

Poppy grinned; she decided she could get used to it.

Syringa groaned. “Why are you two so loud?” A few other pixies agreed with her whole-heartedly.

“Don’t you guys do anything but sleep?” Laurel giggled. Not that pixies couldn’t go for an inhumanly long time without sleep but even they felt the need on occasion to just relax,

“No, not when it’s still dark outside.”

Poppy, now free, hovered in midair. She could already feel the sun breaking the horizon. It had been a long night, with the Clan Chief and others discussing the Spriggans and what their presence might mean. Bria had even sent a number of armed pixies into the darkness to search for any signs of them. Poppy half expected that most of her day would be spent flying around doing the same; she was right.

Hours later Poppy found herself flying towards the outskirts of town. Along with Laurel, Syringa too joined the pair to help search for any signs of Spriggans. None of the three truly expected to find anything. They hoped that the grey-skinned goblins would stay away from their peaceful community, however; there was a part of Poppy that wanted to see Menadue again. The blade he wore definitely called out to her as if it was being held prisoner. What she was going to do about it was another story.

“I wouldn’t mind if we did a little trading though.” Laurel said pulling Poppy away from dreams of mounting a rescue operation.

“What do you normally trade for?” Both Pixies looked a little red in the face. “What?”

“Moon-mead.”

Poppy smiled; she remembered the Woodwife speaking to her about it when she first appeared in the Sacred Grove. “I’m guessing it’s that good?”

Syringa rubbed her hands together. “Oh yes.”

“So we don’t make it?”

Laurel shrugged. “It’s their magic; they seem to have the knack for it.”

“But we have magic too?”

“Of course silly.” Syringa pulled her purple hair from her face. “We are magic.”

“Oh.” Poppy hadn’t given it much thought. It made sense; beyond being a foot tall, how the three of them managed to stay aloft wasn’t easily explained. She decided that pixies must be inherently magical, although Poppy had a feeling all Fae were magical to some degree. “But some are more powerful than others?” She remembered the white haired pixie creating the ball of light. Someone mentioned later that she was Xera apprentice. “Like Xera.”

“The Keeper is the most powerful of all of us.”

As the three pixies gently spiraled downwards, they picked out a long wooden fence to land on. Poppy wondered what she might be able to do. Surely if she was magical, even creating a ball of light wouldn’t be too difficult. Looking down she grinned. The young pixie was now wearing green surgical scrubs. Really if that was the extent of her magic, she wasn’t going to complain. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about what to wear.

“Oh, I have seen those before.” Laurel pointed towards Poppy’s outfit.

“You’ve been to the hospital?”

“Sure.” The red haired pixie pointed off to the east. “It’s beyond those woods.”

Poppy contemplated visiting her body, then decided that was a little too macabre, perhaps another day.

“Still no sign.” Syringa fiddled with her long spear knocking the snow off the top of one of the fence posts.

Poppy nodded, she couldn’t feel any difference in the land around her. She had felt the Spriggans move through the woods and expected to be able to do so now.

“That looks like fun.” Laurel said pointing to a group of teenagers sledding down a long snowy hill. Since it was Saturday, the late evening snow had also brought out a number of families as well. “Come on, let’s watch.” Without another word, she took off flying over the snow-covered street and into the field beyond.

“Laurel.” Syringa huffed. “We have other things to do.” Turning around she looked at Poppy who only smiled.

“I guess we need to follow her.”

The pixies giggled at the antics of the children as they slid down the impressive long hill. From the littlest who stared at the white stuff in wonder to the older more jaded children who still had a sparkle in their eyes. However, the sight of the older children’s antics was the most impressive. A few teenagers were on skis but a number of them flew down the hill on snow boards. Several small snowy ramps or banks allowed the snow boarders to sail high into the air. One boy was exceptional, taking to the air as if he was a bird, however as he came down after a particularly spectacular maneuver a binding on the deck of the snow board snapped. As his left boot separated from the board, it sent him head first into the snow. The teenage boy did not get back up.

“Poppy!” Lauren yelled at the pixie leaped off the branch they were sitting on and hit the snow running. Scooting past a number of small children, Poppy was the second person to reach the obviously injured boy. “Don’t move him.”

Kneeling in the snow, Poppy began to check for injuries.

“Who are you?” A red headed girl asked.

“Leave her alone Heidi, I bet she’s a nurse.” A second girl ran up all out of breath.

“Doctor.” Poppy quit listening at that point. Why wasn’t the child wearing a helmet? So many head injuries could be avoided by wearing that simple piece of equipment. As soon as the pixie touched him, something unexpected happened. She could actually feel his injuries. They pulled at her and somehow she knew that with just that touch, she had healed a life threatening neck injury. Confused and a little frightened, Poppy pulled herself out of the boy. As she looked for other injuries, more of his friends made it down to the bottom of the hill.

“Kind of young for a doctor.”

“Bet she’s an intern at the hospital.”

“Her green hair is rockin’.” A heavily tattooed, blue haired girl giggled.

“Man did you see that wipe out, Paul?” A large boy walked up and slipped his arm around the blue haired girl.

“Yea, hope Josh is OK.” Paul sat watching the doctor, his chin resting on the top of his snow board.

“Looked like it hurt a lot.” Another teenage boy commented while admiring the young doctor’s figure.

“She must be cold.” Heidi put her own freezing hands in her pocket and gave a sympathetic smile. “Where did she come from?”

“I thought I saw her run down from the street.” The blue haired girl pointed to a number of parked cars at the top of the hill.

“Guys shut up and let the doctor work. Hey doc…is Josh going to be OK.”

“Shut up yourself Alex, you’re all too damn loud.” Josh groaned, opening his eyes he tried to focus. “Hey you have green hair, sweet.”

Poppy looked up and smiled. She could feel that her smile brought a sense of relief to the entire group. The boy might not be snow boarding for the rest of the winter with a fractured left arm and ankle but he wouldn’t have any problems walking once it healed.

“Yes, although he won’t be snow boarding for a while. You guys have cell phones, right, please call 911.”

When one of the adults slipped a jacket across her shoulders, reality set in like a sledgehammer. The young pixie was standing in the snow, full sized, thankfully without wings, wearing surgical scrubs. Looking up, she spied two very concerned and confused pixies.

“Poppy how did you do that?” Syringa asked.

Poppy could only make a confused face and shrug. Pulling the jacket around her, she reflected the cold she felt wasn’t from the snow. After speaking with the injured boy, Poppy was able to get a hold of his parents instructing them to meet the ambulance at the medical center. Taking control of the area, Poppy quickly spoke with a couple of other parents of the younger children who had been sledding. They happily made sure everyone kept out of the doctor’s way. The young pixie was relieved to hear sirens only a few minutes later.

Standing beside the injured boy, she watched as two EMTs half walked, half slid down the snowy hill with a backboard in hand. Suddenly they stopped. “Juan she’s…” Although the conversation between the two EMTs was no louder than a whisper, Poppy heard it perfectly.

“You’re positive man?” The one called Juan was staring at her, for some reason the pixie had a weird thought she was looking at a raccoon.

“Of course…she has the same smell...” The second EMT approached with a smile on his face and whispered. “Your Ladyship, are you the one who called?” The second EMT was quick to kneel in the snow next to the injured boy.

“How you doing man, looks like you had a nasty spill.”

As she half listened to the conversation with the EMT and Josh, Poppy was taken aback, how the two knew that she wasn’t quite what she appeared to be was a mystery. “Yes, my name is…Doctor Poppy Sully.” For some reason, Poppy used Matt’s wife maiden name.

“I see. I’m Brett and that’s Juan.”

Poppy could tell that the EMT named Brett was confused until she began to explain the boy’s injuries. As soon as the he realized that the woman standing in front of them knew what she was talking about they became very professional. As the three worked on the injured child, the pixie found herself liking Brett, he reminded her of a German Shepherd Matt’s family owned when he was a child.

With Josh finally strapped to the backboard and prepped for transport, Poppy wondered how she was going to get out of here. It’s not as if she could just turn into a pixie in the middle of everyone. Noticing her distress, Juan smiled. “Doctor, why don’t you come with us back to the hospital? I’m sure that someone will take back to your car later.”

“Thanks.”

With the help of a few strong backs, although she was sure the two EMT’s could have done it themselves, Josh was placed inside the waiting ambulance.

As Poppy handed back the jacket, a dozen people come up to thank her for her help. “See you later, doc.” The group of teenagers was especially grateful that she happened to be driving by. Sliding into the rear of the ambulance, it felt familiar and alien at the same time. What was she doing? With a shake of her head, the young Pixie leaned over and made sure that her young patient was comfortable.

With sirens blaring, it took no time for the ambulance to make its way back to Eastside Medical Center. Although the two EMT were disappointed, it came as no surprise when they looked back they found their patient sound asleep and that Doctor Sully had vanished.

Bria, Clan Chief of the Skogshaven pixies sat on an outcropping of rock deep inside the forest. What had started as a long night soon turned into a long day. Sending dozens of her sisters in search for any sign of the Spriggans so far had been futile. She didn’t doubt their presence; normally it would have caused no real concern except for the one called Menadue. Now she had another issue to deal with.

“Please Xera; don’t tell me we have another magical prodigy in our midst.”

Xera laughed and walked up to the nervous looking pixie. Poppy could feel her body tingle when the Keeper touched her. “No, however she is special.” Xera gave a little giggle at Poppy’s expression. “Don’t worry child, you did nothing wrong.”

“Xera.” The Clan Chief frowned, of course she would say that. Her Keeper also happened to be the only other pixie that had the ability to take a mortal form.

“Bria, she is a Gan-ainm; besides my friend helping a human child while appearing as a mortal is not against our laws. No one except for that particular Were could even tell that she was not simply a mortal woman.”

“But I couldn’t just leave the child in the snow…I’m a doctor…I couldn’t…”

“You’re a healer?”

Poppy nodded to Bria. If she had the ability, how could they ask her not to help those in need?

“It’s been sometime since we had a true healer in our midst.” Xera commented. She looked towards the center of the forest was the spirit of the forest at work again? “However we are not permitted to heal everyone.”

Poppy looked at Xera, for a moment she thought that she was speaking of something else.

Bria nodded. “True, mortals have their own healers.” The Clan Chief has seen her Keeper’s reaction; she too stared at the center of the forest. Could it be the spirit of the forest at work again? The death of the Green Man was bringing about great change. “Can you help her, Xera? I wouldn’t ask you to take on another apprentice unless it was necessary.”

Xera shook her head, “No, she doesn’t need to be my apprentice. In addition, she is the true healer not me. Still Poppy, I would be remiss if I let you wander around with no instruction.”

Poppy smiled in gratitude. She didn’t know how she grew to normal size, or how she was able to heal the boy. The green haired fairy had a feeling that Xera was probably a lot more capable then she was letting on. Further instruction or punishment was not to be forthcoming as Eglantine flew into their midst.

“Bria, the Spriggans are in the forest and Menadue is with them.”

Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading! - Elsbeth

Chapter 4

Poppy, along with a large number of other pixies, stood on a tall rock overlooking a frozen creek. The Spriggans, numbering no more than thirty, positioned themselves on the other side of a tree line. From what Poppy could see, the pixie scouts had interrupted the family of Spriggans from setting up some sort of campsite. While the two groups stared at one another, Bria along with Xera haggled with an extremely large Spriggan who stood on the other bank.

Sliding down the snow-covered rock, Poppy decided to get a better look. Although she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, being so new she realized if there were something wrong, she probably wouldn’t have been able to tell anyway. At least her sisters, although looking apprehensive, were thankfully not preparing for battle. Finally losing patience, the green haired pixie glided towards the creeks edge. Laurel quickly followed.

“Menadue must be over there.” For a brief moment, Poppy thought she felt the sword and the Spriggan’s presence. “Can you feel it?”

“What? You mean the Spriggans; yes they don’t feel exactly right, do they?”

“No, I mean yes, I agree with the Spriggans but I was talking about the sword.” Poppy decided that crossing the frozen creek before something was decided between the two leaders was probably not a good idea.

Laurel gave a curious smile. “Oh, you’re telling me you can feel the sword.”

Poppy nodded.

Laurel looked at her friend with renewed interest. Before she could say anything else, Syringa dropped from the sky.

“What’s happening?”

“Poppy says she can feel Samphire’s sword.”

“Really” Syringa raised an eyebrow. Making a face, she looked across the creek. “I can feel something, definitely out of place. No that’s not right, there is something darker.”

“Menadue”

Syringa turned her head towards Poppy. “Must be.”

Laurel pouted. “I don’t feel anything.”

As a very tall and thin figure glided of the tree line to stand across from them, Poppy asked. “Who is she?”

“She is one of the Spriggan wives.” Laurel made a face.

A second tall figure appeared and then a third. They were all obviously female and very beautiful. However, it was a dark beauty; their eyes, hair and even their clothes were as shadows. The Spriggan wives were dressed in long black and silver dresses that ran from their necks to their ankles.

Across from the giant Spriggan, Xera noticed the appearance of the wives as well. Keeping an eye on one of the tallest, she turned her attention back to the current leader of the Spriggan family. The Keeper wasn’t particular surprised that the last leader had been disposed of by this beast a number of years ago. Xera didn’t particular care for Piran, the last Hembrynkyas, however even he didn’t deserve to be eaten by this creature; the horrible fate for those who lost the fight for the family leadership.

“Hembrynkyas Jago, do you agree?” Bria asked once more. The large Spriggan reluctantly nodded.

“By Ash, Oak and Hawthorne.” Jago grumbled following the ancient forms. “Agreed, three days no more. Perhaps you and I can share a cup of moon-mead to celebrate our friendship.”

Bria grimaced then slowly nodded; following the ancient forms required her to share a drink. One of the Spriggan wives brought forth two silver cups brimming with a bright golden liquid. Immediately the brute Jago threw the cup back pouring its contents down his gullet in one gulp. Bria seemingly resigned to her fate did the same. However, the two reactions were very different. The mead seemed to have no effect on the large Spriggan while Bria’s entire body quivered. Letting out a soft moan, the leader of the pixies almost fell to her knees.

Jago’s laugh echoed throughout the trees. “What if I threw in two full casks of moon-mead? Would you agree to an additional three days?”

Bria shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Three days was more than enough for these Spriggans to be in her Princess’s forest. “No Hembrynkyas Jago, three days only.”

The leader of the Spriggan actually seemed surprised. “Whatever you say Bria, three days it is.” With a laugh, Jago turned away and headed back towards the trees.

With the ancient ritual concluded, Xera gave a warm smile to the tallest of the Spriggan wife. Crossing over to the other side of the creek, she greeted the raven-haired beauty. “Greetings Ili, so Jago leads your family now.”

The tall Spriggan wife shrugged. “Those are the ways of our males; if Piran had wished to be leader longer he should have been more nimble.” She then gave the Keeper a half smile. “Still the other families fear him which makes our travels easier.”

Xera nodded, “I understand you have a new member of your family one called Menadue?”

Ili stared at the Keeper for a moment. “So you have heard of him, but then again, you did battle with his family over the summer.” Slowly the tall Spriggan wife began to move away from the others, her voice barely above a whisper. “Menadue and Jago have combined our two families in the belief that it will make us stronger.”

“Why is he then still alive?” Xera stood in front of the Spriggan wife, hiding her from curious eyes.

“Jago claims Menadue and his family look to him for protection. That one willingly proclaimed that Jago was a true Hembrynkyas and there was no need for fighting.“ It was rare enough when two families combined however, there still could still only be one Hembrynkyas.

“Seems unlikely.”

Ili turned her head wondering what Xera was looking at when a well-armed Spriggan strode forth from the tree line. Xera was curious when Menadue was going to reveal his presence. Like Poppy, the Keeper had known for some time that he stood hidden among the shadows of the trees.

The raven-haired Spriggan wife laughed. “Jago believes in Jago.”

As the Keeper and Ili continued their conversation, Poppy slipped across the creek to walk among the crowd. A number of her sisters had already begun to mingle with the Spriggans to haggle over the numerous objects they had acquired on their travels. As Poppy watched one of the Spriggan wives walk by, she thought that they seemed eerily familiar. Smiling to another one, Poppy asked. “Do the wives remind you of pixies?”

Syringa grimaced. “Yes.” The purple haired pixie quietly explained that there were indeed old stories that told of unfortunate pixie prisoners forced into marriage by the Spriggans. The very thought made any pixie shiver in disgust and horror.

Suddenly Poppy felt a familiar presence behind her. From the tree edge, a well-armored Spriggan emerged. “Menadue.” Poppy whispered to her friend. Looking about, she could see that his presence was not lost on others.

The Spriggan named Menadue also became aware of the attention and laughed. Ignoring the withering stares, he turned his back on the group of pixies and began to speak to one of the Spriggan wives.

Laurel almost shouted. “Why is he here? That one isn’t part of this family.”

“That sword, he is purposely insulting us.” Syringa scowled.

Poppy nodded, she could tell that the tension in the air had increased dramatically. She knew only the peace that was just agreed upon kept the Spriggan from being assaulted by a score of angry pixies. A slight commotion off to the side seemed to diffuse the situation a little. A Spriggan male was laughing as a blonde-haired pixie stumbled away wiping her mouth with disgust.

“What’s going on over there?”

Syringa sighed. “It’s an old dice game called Letum...foolish.”

“Spriggans do love their dice games.” Laurel commented.

It didn’t surprise the new pixie in the least that these ancient beings also loved to gamble. The green haired pixie remembered travelling to Vegas at least once a year for a various medical conferences. Elaine would always accompany her. Matt’s wife loved the glitz and glamour but especially the shows. Poppy was also no stranger to the gaming table. Like many of her generation, as a young medic Matt learned how to play craps in the Marine barracks but was comfortable enough later in life to play in some of the larger Casinos. It was a shame she couldn’t really get into the game, there was always too much going on.

Poppy smiled, no wonder she lost a lot more than she won. “Letum, sounds Roman. What are the stakes?” She was curious as pixies had no real need for hard currency.

“Kisses.”

“Kisses?” The green haired pixie made a face. What an odd thing to bet. “For what?”

“Moon-mead.”

From the way Bria reacted, Poppy wasn’t too surprised. Intrigued she strolled over to get a better look at the game. As usual, the pixie discovered that there were a number of side bets going on as well.

“They cast lots three times, adding the dice together with the highest score winning.” Laurel and Syringa pulled her friend off to the side so they could get a better look. Another red haired pixie who had been involved in Poppy’s early snowball fight, threw a pair of bone colored dice on the ground. As the dice came to a stop, the pixies as a group groaned. Across from her a particularly ugly Spriggan male nodded, reaching over he picked up the pair of dice. With a wide grin on his lips, he shook the dice in his hands then made one last throw. Unfortunately, the red haired pixie lost. Stunned at the turn of events, she didn’t even see the Spriggan move to claim his prize. With a cry of disgust, the pixie flew away.

“You have not played Letum before?”

Poppy felt Menadue and the sword approach long before he spoke. Turning her head, the young pixie looked the Spriggan in the eye. “Can’t say that I have.”

“A shame, though you pixies should know better. We Spriggans throw lots at every opportunity. One must always be willing to take risks; don’t you agree?”

Was that a challenge and why would she bother to challenge him? The only thing she was interested in was his sword and he wasn’t going to gamble away that blade, at least not for something as simple as a kiss.

“Would you care to try?”

“Not really.”

The Spriggan raised an eyebrow. “Even for moon-mead?”

“I’m not particularly interested in gambling for something I haven’t tasted.”

“Oh come now...you have never tasted it?”

Poppy shrugged. Why was Menadue bothering with her?

Laughing, the Spriggan walked directly through the center of the game and poured himself a mug from an open cask. “Here try it.”

Poppy looked at the golden liquid as if it were poison.

“Go ahead, it won’t hurt you.” Laurel sighed.

Reluctantly Poppy reached for the mug. She liked alcohol as much as the next person but magicked liquor was beyond her experience. As the golden liquid passed her lips, she felt as if parts of her body were on fire. Caught totally unawares, the young pixie like her Clan Chief let out a soft groan. Gods, it was like an orgasm in a cup; no wonder her sisters loved this stuff.

“Thanks.” Poppy rasped, passing the mug back to the Spriggan with trembling hands. If the stories of the wives were true, it was because of moon-mead.

Frowning, Menadue noticed that the pixie had not emptied the mug. Pouring the rest of the golden liquid down his throat, he tossed the mug back to its owner.

“So what do you think?” The Spriggan said with a knowing smile.

“Interesting to say the least but I’ll have to pass.” Poppy tried to sound disinterested. Certain parts of her body were still generating heat. The thought of having another sip pulled at her mind. Thankfully, she hadn’t drunk a large quantity of the mead so was able to slowly get herself under control. If nothing else, the very thought of kissing a Spriggan, much less Menadue, made her nauseous. Like Jago, he seemed surprised that Poppy declined more mead. “Anyway, why so much interest in me?”

“If I am not mistaken, you and I have a mutual friend. Besides, there is nothing wrong with being friendly.”

Poppy eyed Menadue. She was sure that thoughts of friendship were far from the Spriggan’s mind. The green haired pixie could feel Samphire’s sword on his waist, its music playing softly inside her head. To her surprise, whatever lingering affects the moon-mead had on her instantly vanished. “We do, who might that be?”

Looking down at the blade, he looked rather alarmed. “So it was you in the forest?”

Poppy shrugged. “Perhaps and what if it was? You had no business being in the forest without our permission, plus tossing those darts at me.” The green haired pixie shook her finger in his face. “Not very hospitable.”

Menadue grinned, revealing shark like teeth. Placing his hand on the hilt of Samphire’s sword, he commented. “You suffered no ill effects. Still whatever magic’s you cast in the forest will not help you.”

Poppy made a face. “I have done nothing.”

“Don’t play games, pixie.” The Spriggan male half drew the sword, then thinking better of it, slide it back into its sheath.

The confrontation was not lost on others. “Is there a problem?” The tall Spriggan wife named Ili pushed through a small crowd of onlookers that had been forming around the pair.

Menadue stared at her for a moment then shook his head. “Nothing you need to be concerned yourself about, woman.”

“He’s accusing Poppy of casting magic on him.” Syringa said coming to her friend’s aid.

“Why do you believe that Menadue? The pixies always honor the peace.” Strange for Menadue to become so agitated Ili thought to herself. She believed the pixie’s story but she also believed something else was going on.

“Is there a problem?” Xera too joined the conversation.

“This also doesn’t concern you, Keeper.” The Spriggan male growled.

“Of course it does; if it involves one of my sisters then it’s of interest to me.”

Turning he back on the other, he confronted Poppy. “The sword isn’t yours. Whatever magic’s you cast won’t help you retrieve it.”

She smiled, so that was the problem. The sword’s song had not stopped playing inside her head. Poppy had no idea if the weapon was alive but she could tell that it did not like Menadue in the least. “Perhaps she just doesn’t like you.”

That comment brought forth quite a number of pixie giggles. Spriggan males and females alike also found it amusing. Menadue of course did not. Without another word, he began to walk away but stopped. Reaching into his belt, he retrieved a set of bone colored dice. “I’ll dice you for it pixie.”

All conversation around the frozen creek stopped.

Poppy bit her lip; surely, the stakes were much higher than a simple kiss. “And if I lose?”

Menadue turned around, with a none too friendly smile on his lips. “Then you will be my Sclabhai.”

With that every pixie and Spriggan began to speak at once. Laurel ran over to her friend. “No you can’t.”

Poppy noted her friend's panic, whatever he just said wasn’t a good thing. “What is a Sclabhai?”

Xera stepped forward. “A slave.”

That word was like a bucket of ice water splashed all over her. The stakes were very high indeed and all that for a simple sword. Frowning, the young pixie thought, no that’s wrong it’s more than for just a sword. Like the colors on the battlefield, the weapon meant everything to her sisters and it lay in the hands of the enemy. One part of her wanted to hesitate, to stop and run away. However, an older part remembered taking life and death chances every day. Every time Matt stood up in the middle of a fire fight to help a brother in need, there was a chance he would catch a bullet instead. Was this no difference? She had only been a pixie for a short while but if asked, she wouldn’t hesitate to risk her life for one of her new sisters.

“What’s life without risk, eh?” As stupid as this might be, for the first time in a very long time, Poppy felt truly alive.

“What’s happening, Xera?” Bria landed with her escort of pixies. It was now difficult to not notice something was going on as a even larger group of spectators circled the pair.

“She’s what?” The Clan Chief yelled after hearing about the bet. Before she could step forward to stop the game, the Clan's Keeper laid a hand on her arm.

“Let her be.”

“Does Poppy know the consequences if she were to lose?”

Xera nodded. She had seen the determination in the young pixies face. From what she had seen in the child’s former life, Poppy knew exactly the consequences of losing. “She does.”

Bria swore silently.

“Ladies first.”

Poppy raised an eyebrow then giggled. Oh yea, that’s right I’m a lady. Reaching for the dice, she rolled them in her hands, and then stopped. Something was wrong. The dice were made of bone, her new senses could tell that, however something was not right with them. Thoughts of accusing Menadue of cheating ran through her mind but she knew it would cause problems, most likely turning to violence.

“Throw the dice already.” Spriggans around her were yelling.

“Is there a problem child?” Ili glided forward. “Perhaps you would like to use another pair of dice.”

“Keep out of it, Ili.”

“She has the right Menadue, you challenged her did you not?” Reaching to her side, the Spriggan wife pulled out a small grey bag. Opening it up, Ili spilled two beautifully carved ivory dice into Poppy’s hands. “Do you have a problem with using my dice?”

The green haired pixie looked up at Ili and smiled. For some reason she felt she could trust her. “Thank you. Ili.”

“Yes dear.”

Poppy opened her palm, revealing the pair of dice. “Will you blow on them for me?”

“Blow on the dice?”

“It’s for good luck.”

The Spriggan wife laughed. “Of course.”

“Seven” The crowd roared excitedly as the pair of dice turned up a six and a one. It was exactly average Poppy thought to herself. With odds rattling around inside her head, she waited for the Spriggan’s turn.

Menadue scowled at Ili then reached for the ivory dice. His demeanor had changed. All his concentration was now on the game. Obviously even the chance of losing the sword was a concern to the Spriggan. Poppy had a feeling that although she would lose her freedom, if Menadue lost the consequences would be just as high.

“Nine” The other Spriggans roared happily.

Menadue smiled. “You will make an excellent slave.”

“Don’t count your winnings yet.” Poppy reached down and picked up the dice. Looking around she walked over to Xera. “Care for the honors?”

“Luck child.” Xera smiled then blew on the dice. Tossing them across the frozen ground, Poppy watched as the two dice stop rolling revealing two fours.

“Eight.” The pixies said excitedly. A little above average, Poppy began go through the odds of what she needed to win inside her head.

Menadue lost his smile when his next throw turned up a two and a three. “A five!” The pixies roared and the Spriggans moaned. Both groups were now getting very excited.

Poppy stared at the dice in her hand; as unlikely as it might be, there was a small chance that the game will end on the next roll. Biting her lip, the green haired pixie knew whom she wanted to blow on the dice for the last time. Walking up to her Clan Chief, she said. “For Luck.”

Bria nodded slowly. “I…”

“I know.” Poppy smiled.

Grinning, Bria blew on the dice. The Chief of the Skogshaven pixies realized that if given the chance to retrieve the legendary sword, she wouldn’t have hesitated either.

The crowd became deathly quiet as the dice bounced across the frozen ground. Poppy held her breath as the first dice came up as a six. The second die bounced twice more and it too settled on a six. Poppy closed her eyes in relief the game was over.

Menadue looked stunned, coming to the same conclusion as the second die came to rest. “Cheater!” The Spriggan roared crossing the distance between them in a fraction of a second. Several things happened immediately afterwards that surprised everyone. One was the green haired pixie named Poppy spun on her heels, caught the Spriggan by the arm then tossed him over her hip, slamming him face first on to the ground. The second was as he hit the ground; Samphire’s sword suddenly appeared in the Poppy's hands. Finally, before Menadue could react, the leader of the Spriggans burst through the circle of spectators.

Ignoring the armed pixie, Jago reached down, grabbed the fallen by the throat, and picked him up high in the air. “How dare you break the Pax!”

“Go hifreann leat“ Menadue spit in Jago's face.

Contemptuously, the giant Spriggan threw Menadue through the air as if he weighed nothing. “Are you challenging me?” Wiping his face, the leader of the Spriggans raised himself to his full height and cracked his knuckles. “Without that pretty sword of yours it won’t be much of a fight will it?”

Menadue looked up at the giant with murder in his eyes. Without another word, he got off the ground and headed into the forest.

Poppy stared as he retreated into the woods. Did she really just win? It was difficult to tell with the sword in rapture, filling her head with a song of pure joy. Suddenly the green haired pixie was not alone as all of her sisters piled on her with squeals of pure delight; Samphire’s sword had come home.

Menadue knelt on the ground, his head touching the earth. Although the plans had not changed, the chance of them being successful was slim.

“You lost the relic over a dice game, an item that was not yours to lose.” Near Blairsville, in the mountains of Northern Georgia, a tall Aos Sidhe sat on a comfortable chair overlooking a large garden.

“Yes mistress.” The Spriggan trembled. Menadue knew failure in the Unseelie Dunkelheit was usually fatal. The sight of a pair of black dogs, Cw’n Annwn lying at the Aos Sidhe feet didn’t make him feel any better.

“However, you have placed yourself in a position to take over Jago’s family. That at least will save your life today.” Reaching for glass of ice tea, the Aos Sidhe took a sip before continuing “Don’t worry; I will replace the weapon with something suitable.”

“Mistress…the blood price.”

The Mistress of the Dunkelheit laughed. “You are bright eyed aren’t you but then again so are most of your brethren. No Menadue, you must earn this one. There is a child that I want. You will replace her with a changeling.”

Menadue nodded.

“Very good, now go away. I will summon you with further details later.” As the Spriggan faded into the shadows, Countess Sianna sat back. With her pawns now in place and one of her enemies pieces destroyed, it was finally time for the others to finally come into play and then the true game would begin.

Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading! - Elsbeth

Chapter 5

Poppy sat back and smiled. The ancient relic known as the Sword of Samphire was home. As Matt she had been to some wild parties before, especially when she was younger, but this one definitely took the cake. Looking around Princess Morgan’s living room it appeared as if a pixie bomb had gone off. Scattered about were little girls everywhere, all lying in various positions, some piled on one another, a few even sleeping in mid-air, neat trick. Between the moon-mead and a number of fruity alcoholic concoctions these girls sure knew how to throw a party.

Reaching down, the young Pixie brushed the hair away from Laurel’s face. The red headed pixie had not left her side since the dice game. Syringa had explained that one of Laurel’s closet friends had been killed while defending the Green Man. The poor pixie had been terrified of losing another friend.

“M’deirfiáºr á¡lainn” Poppy smiled, my beautiful sister; the young pixie felt a kinship with all of the girls around her, so different from the lonely Matt. She wondered not for the first time, what would happen if she awakened in the hospital. Or what will happen if her mortal body died? A small part of the young pixie still desired that mortal life, but most of her now wished to remain with her sisters. She didn’t exactly fear that if her mortal body passed away she would disappear, but it was still always in the back of her head.

A loud bang upstairs caught her attention, interrupting her morbid thoughts. Gently moving her friend aside, Poppy flew up the stairs. She could see the light coming from under Princess Morgan’s doorway.

“Princess Morgan?” The green haired pixie knocked lightly while leaning her head through the door.

The young teenager was sitting on her bed, covering her face. She seemed to shudder for a moment before looking up. “Poppy?”

The green haired pixie looked down; somehow once again she had taken a larger form. “Are you alright?”

“Yes.” The Princess of the Summer Court then sighed. “No, not really.”

Poppy also found it curious that she once again was dressed in her scrubs, but this time wore her familiar white lab coat. Moving into the bedroom, Morgan moved aside allowing the pixie to sit next to her on the bed. “Want to talk about it?”

Morgan bit her lip.

“You don’t have to, if you don’t want to, but it might help.”

The teenager nodded. “How much do you know about what occurred over the summer?”

“A little, Laurel told me that members of the Unseelie Court attempted to raise the Wild Hunt. That you and a number of Unseen from Skogshaven went into the Fairy Realm to rescue your friend. She also mentioned the death of the Green Man.”

“Yes, the pixies would remember that.” She closed her eyes sadly. “They protected me from a Redcap; some of them lost their lives while doing so.”

“I don’t think…” Poppy began to explain.

“I know they don’t blame me, even though I feel responsible.”

The former medic nodded, she understood how difficult it was for commanders to lose troops under their command. “So…”

Morgan smiled, and began to talk about the battle that took place in the Fae Realm, the fight with the troll-kin, the Dunkelheit and the duplicate Jabol and the death of the Redcap Dunter. As Poppy listened, she was shocked that such a young girl fought in a battle, then realized that Matt was only a few years older himself when he was shipped off to South Vietnam.

“I have been having dreams lately.”

“About the battle?” Poppy asked.

“Well, yes and no. There was so much going on that most of it’s a blur. We fought for what seemed like hours. No, it was after Dunter was killed by the Kincades.”

“Go on.”

“You’re aware as Sidhe; our dreams are not like mortal dreams. They take a reality all their own.”

Poppy nodded, so whatever was bothering the Princess; she was reliving the experience over and over again as if it was real.

“There was a lull in the fighting, and I ran forward to find my girlfriend. In front of us was a member of my Troupe, a friend named Liam. He was in the middle of a duel with a member of the Unseelie Court. A knight, I found out later named Sir Mavin. He was a Captain of the Dunkelheit, a warrior of reputation.” She gave a humorless laugh.

Not knowing why, Poppy reached over and took the Princess’ hand. With that simple touch, she could feel the tension release from Morgan. “He was going to kill my friend and I had to stop him.” Morgan shrugged. “So I killed him instead.”

Reaching up, the pixie brushed the Princess blonde hair from her face. “Go one.”

Morgan nodded, a small tear running down her face. “It was over so quickly. The Knight was known as a great swordsman and one second we were fighting and the next he stood with my sword buried in his chest. He was so surprised.”

Poppy grabbed a box of tissues and handed them to the Princess. “That’s not the problem is it?”

Morgan shook her head as she blew her nose. “I’m a mess.” She smiled, and then frowned. “I know I was saving my friend, and I would do it again if I have to, but it didn’t seem fair, some fifteen year old girl defeating a Knight of the Unseelie Court. His eyes...the look in his eyes, I took everything away from him that very moment.”

Poppy wrapped her arms around Morgan as tears ran down her face. “War is never fair, it’s a terrible thing.”

Morgan leaned her head against the pixies chest. “You know firsthand don’t you, Xera told me a little about your history.”

The pixie gave a half smile. She wasn’t sure what to think about Princess Morgan knowing her background but realized it didn’t matter. There was probably very little Morgan didn’t know about what was going on with the Fae in Skogshaven. “I do, have you spoken with anyone about this?”

“What...no not really.”

“You should.”

“I’m speaking to you.” Morgan giggled.

“Your Highness…”

“Please call me Morgan, Poppy. I know Bria will freak, but at least when we are alone. I’m still not used to this whole Princess gig.”

“Ok, Morgan.”

“Thanks.” The Princess smiled.

“I still think you should talk to someone, it will help.” Poppy knew that it was highly unlikely that Morgan could talk to a mortal. A mortal psychologist would check the teenager into the nearest hospital. “How about your mother?”

“Rebecca would lose it, she hates that I am in danger...Oh you mean Mamma Mab.”

“I think the Queen would understand.”

Morgan’s body shuddered as she let out a long breath. “OK Doc, if you think that’s best.”

“I do, that’s my professional opinion.” Poppy said warmly. ”How about you go back to sleep now, sunrise is still some hours away.”

Morgan nodded, gave the pixie one last hug and slipped underneath her covers. “Poppy, will you stay with me until I fall back to sleep.”

“As you wish.”

Princess Morgan gave a soft giggle then closed her eyes, a smile now on her lips.

To Poppy’s surprise, Princess Morgan requested that she be one of a score of pixies to accompany her on a visit. The group would meet her escort next to the library, and then proceed into the Fae Realm. At least it was the weekend which meant that the Princess wasn’t missing school. Being a teenager, Morgan said she wasn’t too crushed at missing a few days here and there, except for the fact both of her mothers insisted that she keep up with her lessons.

Additionally, with her new job, she was also taking Ethics and Constitutional Law classes through distant learning at Boston University.

“I was going to ask you how you ever find time to sleep.” Poppy said while riding on Morgan’s shoulder. ”But I remember when I was in medical school, I’m pretty sure I just skipped the whole sleeping thing.”

“Well one of the benefits of being Sidhe, I don’t require a lot of sleep. Most of the time when I am asleep, I am speaking with my Mother or other members of her court.”

Poppy nodded, she also knew that Morgan hadn’t been too thrilled with going to bed lately with all of her nightmares.

“Who’s that; he’s cute?” Poppy looked up as a tall muscular looking blonde Sidhe wearing a bomber jacket appeared at the edge of the forest. The green haired pixie almost fell off Morgan’s shoulder. “Did I really just say he’s cute?”

“Yes you did, welcome to my world.” Morgan giggled. “That my friend is my cousin Lord Alexander Hastings. He also happens to be my fiancé.”

“Really.”

Lord Alexander didn’t stand by the edge of the woods very long, crossing the Skogshaven commons in quick strides.

“Hi Alex.” Morgan greeted her cousin with a genuine smile.

The Sidhe returned the smile, bowing slightly he reached over to kiss the palm of the Princess’s hand. “My beloved, you’re radiant as ever.”

Princess Morgan rolled her eyes. “And you’re full of it as usual.”

“Of course.” Lord Alexander chuckled, he then frowned. “I don’t expect anything exciting today but I wish you would have summoned everyone.”

“They are busy and the Catskills Forest Preserve isn’t really all that far.”

Poppy eyes opened wide. The two Sidhe were speaking as if a hundred plus mile trip was like a walk around the block.

“Then his Grace should have come to you. Look what happened to Count Delancey.”

Morgan nodded sadly, Cliona’s father had been assassinated and the Summer Court was scrambling in search of the culprits. Morgan’s mother had roused her entire court, which was a terrible sight to behold. The poor Countess was now under heavy protection at her school in North Carolina. Reaching over, Princess Morgan touched Lord Alexander’s face. “I know you’re worried Alex, but as you’re well aware I travel easier than most. No, the Duke is where he needs to be.”

Lord Alexander sighed, but still didn’t look pleased. “Shall we go then?”

To Poppy it was as if no time had passed when the group came out of the woods overlooking the Catskills. Below them, like something out of a Renaissance Festival was a blue and white striped tent. A small group of Sidhe stood outside the tent, which as one kneeled or curtsied as Princess Morgan approached.

“Your Highness, it’s a pleasure to meet you again.” A Sidhe with dark black hair and a well groomed goatee and mustache smiled. “You know my wife, Naethien.”

Princess Morgan stepped forward; soon both ladies were holding hands. “Of course your Grace, Naethien, it’s nice to see you again, my mother sends her warmest regards. She says she misses you both at court.”

The white blonde haired Duchess smiled warmly. “Please give her our best. Tell her we miss her greatly as well. Perhaps soon we shall sit under the stars together and watch the turning of the seasons once more.”

“Your Highness, Your Grace may I suggest that we take this meeting inside.” A shorter Sidhe, with raven black hair and a long handled axe at his side stepped forward. Like Lord Alexander, he had been keeping a close eye on the forest around them.

“He’s right dear, can’t you tell that this child is starving.” Morgan grinned; Duchess Naethien had been looking straight at Lord Alexander, who now embarrassed, was covertly looking towards the tent.

“You are right of course, Your Highness. Shall we retire to my tent. I have provided refreshments and a light repast.”

Poppy and other pixies from the surrounding area sat outside the tent visiting while the Sidhe were having their meeting. The green haired pixie noted, with a professional eye, that the Duke was taking no chances. There were quite a few well-armed Sidhe in sight, and who knew how many were hidden. Poppy did not know exactly what was going on but she knew enough that this was more security than normal.

“Why didn’t Princess Morgan bring more of her security today? The Duke doesn’t seem to be taking any chances.” Poppy turned to Xera who was in charge of the pixie honor guard. In the group were a number of powerful spell casters, as well as Xera’s apprentice.

“She is like her mother, don’t worry; her Highness is well capable of taking care of herself. She is also not without resources being of royal blood she can call upon the forest for help if need be.”

“Oh I see. Plus she had you and the others to protect her as well.”

The Keeper smiled. “And you of course.”

Poppy looked surprised. “Me? I can’t do anything but change my outfits. Great fun at parties not a lot of use in a firefight.”

“You have Samphire’s sword, child.”

“I guess that’s helpful.” What she was going to do to against a full grown member of the Unseelie Court, other than to maybe annoy them, Poppy didn’t know.

Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading! - Elsbeth

Chapter 6

For the third day in a row, the eastern seaboard had been covered in snow, not unusual for the upper Northeast. For the most part, the citizens of Skogshaven went on with their normal routines. However, for a Laura Rheingold, a mother of two and nine months pregnant, the snow could not have come at a worse time. He husband, Richard was stranded somewhere in the Southeast due to a number of airline cancellations. Plans for a quick two day trip to Florida were made because everyone, Doctors included believed the couple still had a number of weeks until their new born was to arrive but as with many things in life, especially children, they have their own time schedule.

“Alright, Laura, I need you to press down and hold it.” Poppy sat in the back seat of Laura Rheingold’s minivan, sitting in front of Laura Rheingold, who was in the process of giving birth to her third child.

Laura too forgot that every birth and pregnancy was different. She didn’t realize that she was in actual labor most of the day until she made it to the library and her new born decided it was time for it to come into the world. Luckily Morgan and Abigail were walking out of the Skogshaven library when they spotted the woman in trouble.

For a brief moment, Poppy and Morgan discussed passing the young mother through the Fae Realm but realized it was way too late for even that.

“Again Laura, you’re doing great.”

“How are the twins, are they behaving?” The young woman asked between contractions. “They are OK, right.”

Morgan smiled, sending warm energy into the mother. “As I said before, they are in the best of hands. Don’t worry; we have everything well in hand. “Abigail had taken the two young children into the library to keep out of the cold.

“Keep talking to her, Morgan.” Poppy nodded, the birth was coming along fine. Although as a Neurosurgeon Matt had not birthed many children, the ones she participated in, she always agreed, had a magic all their own. Of course, for this birth a true touch of magic was involved.

“Doctor?” Laura was surprised how easy a birth this had been compared to the birth of her twins. Even without an epidural, although terribly uncomfortable, the birth had not been painful.

“You’re doing wonderfully, alright Laura, one last time.” Poppy had been concerned at first; the child wasn't really in position to be born. Without her help, Laura would have most likely needed a caesarian.

The wails of a new born coming into the world were soon drowned out by the wailing of an ambulance as it entered the Library parking lot.

Abigail reached over and kissed her girlfriend on the cheek. “Good job.”

The Aos Sidhe Princess gave a small laugh, “I didn’t do anything.”

Poppy took a sip of hot chocolate, courtesy of Mrs. Jacobson, Skogshaven town’s librarian. “I wouldn't say that, you helped her manage her pain quite well.” The three stood off to the side while the EMTs moved their patient and the newest member of the Rheingold family into the ambulance.

“While you did everything else.” Morgan smiled.

“Well, not really, Laura did most of it.”

Thankfully, after a few frantic phone calls, Laura’s sister managed to make it to the library a few minutes after the birth. She along with the twins would be following the ambulance to the Eastside Medical Center.

“Doctor Sully, thanks again. This is what the second, no third time this month.” Brett smiled nervously while keeping a half an eye on Morgan.

“My pleasure Brett, be sure to give Juan my best.”

The EMT nodded. “Ah, I do have a question. How am I going to explain this at the hospital? Your name keeps popping up. The family of the boy you saved from the snowboarding accident was asking about you.”

The green haired pixie made a face, she wasn’t planning on stopping helping those in need but this did present a problem.

“Brett, don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it. I will call Dr. St Hill in the next few minutes.” Morgan smiled at the nervous EMT.

“That be great Your High...I mean...Lady...I mean…”

“Morgan is just fine.”

“OK, right thanks. I’ll be going, thanks again Doc, you’re a real life saver.” With a wave, Brett ran off back to the ambulance as it prepared to head towards the hospital.

The Princess sighed as the young EMT disappeared inside the ambulance. “Alright, let’s get back to work.” Looking at her watch she turned to Poppy with a smile. “Three hours.”

“Really?” For the last few weeks the young pixie had been practicing staying in her larger form. Instead of growing larger when she felt that there was a need, she was now almost able to do it at will.

“I’m sure that Bree will be happy if you can do it all day.” Abigail slipped her arms through Morgan’s, as the three began to walk back towards Morgan’s home.

“That’s because she wants me to replace her math teacher.”

“According to my sister, Mrs. Armstrong is obviously a sympathizer of the Winter Court.”

Poppy had to smile at that, she too had different opinions on some of her own teacher’s backgrounds.

“Well if you ever need a job, Poppy, you can always set up practice here in Skogshaven.” Abigail smiled, obviously teasing.

“I love helping out around town, but it couldn’t happen anyway, it’s not like I have a license to practice medicine.” Matt of course was legally certified, the green haired pixie named Poppy was not.

“Not a real difficult hurdle.” Morgan commented as she unlocked the door. “We could easily make that happen if it was something you desired.”

Poppy was surprised; she never really gave any consideration to actually become one of the town’s physicians. Her own fate was still undecided. She had been trying hard not to find out more about what happened to her other self. Perhaps it was time, if the Princess could get information on what exactly was happening she could make some decisions. She had spent most of her adult life healing the sick; it was something she loved to do however with her new chance on life was that going to be her path as well. It was something to consider.

Princess Morgan as a general rule forbade Bria from allowing a cohort of pixies to accompany her inside school. Besides being unnecessary, it also didn’t help her with concentrating on her lessons. School was also a place, Morgan confided to Poppy where she could step away from her responsibilities for a short time.

Still, it didn’t stop some Fae from walking into the middle of a classroom unseen to speak with her; thankfully those incidents were few and far between. Unfortunately today was one such occurrence took place in the middle of World Geography class. Although none of the other students noticed the Aos Sidhe who entered the classroom, her teacher did.

“I’m sorry for disturbing your class Mrs. Saito” Morgan waited until her classmates had disappeared to lunch before approaching the teacher’s desk.

Poppy sat on the Princess shoulder, one of six pixies allowed in school. Normally Bria led the group but this time much to the surprise of the green haired pixie, she was in charge.

At first Poppy didn’t notice but she soon realized that Morgan and her teacher were speaking in Japanese. Although the Princess had placed a ward around the room before approaching her teacher, it was a good way to make sure no one listened in on the conversation.

“It wasn't your fault Morgan, although I will admit I did not expect another Aos Sidhe to walk into my class." Hotaru frowned. "I assumed by your reaction that it wasn't a social call.”

Princess Morgan nodded. “More troubling news and something I wanted to discuss with you and your husband. Do you have time tomorrow?”

Hotaru Saito shook her head. “I’m sorry your Highness, my family has an out of town birthday party this weekend. My nephew Takashi is turning sixteen.”

“Should be quite the surprise party then.” Morgan gave a small laugh; she knew that turning sixteen for many Unseen was their first step into the other world. “Is Kuugen going too?”

“No, she...perhaps you could visit her. I don’t want her to think I am having someone check up on her, but if you could.”

“Of course, actually I need to speak to her anyway. I have a job that I think she is well suited for.”

Mrs. Saito smiled. “That’s very kind of you, Morgan; I know she will be pleased. How about you and your family come over on Monday for dinner? Your mother has been gracious enough to have my daughters over several times already.”

As the two made dinner plans, Hotaru brought up another party that was going to take place the next weekend. “My girls tell me that you were invited to Jolie St Hill’s birthday party.”

Morgan sighed. “Yes, well a little birdie told her that I have never been to a slumber party.”

“Never?”

Morgan shrugged. “Can’t say that I have been to a lot of birthday parties either, but a dance club wouldn't be my first choice to host one.”

“True, I wouldn't have picked the Necropolis to have one of my children’s parties, even if it’s not going to be in the actual club itself. I have been told that the St. Hill family is very close to the owner.”

“I met her recently; we met to discuss...Sile’s new roommate. Nina is different. Not what I expected. Anyway, my mom and Bree want me to go.” At least if she went, she wouldn't be the oldest Morgan thought, most of Jolie older female cousins were also invited.

Poppy tried to suppress a giggle which was overheard by Morgan.

“Don’t think you’re getting away with not going Poppy. Bree has an invitation for you as well.”

“What me? I can’t go.” The green haired pixie hovered in the air.

“Of course you can. Bree explained to Jolie that you’re our cousin, which is technically correct. It seems that my baby sister found out from one of your sisters that you can appear younger if you want.”

“But I can’t stay in that form for that long?”

“We have a week to work on it.”

“But...I can’t go to a girl’s slumber party..I mean.”

“Yes?”

“I’m not going to get out of this am I?”

“Nope, where I go you go.” Morgan grinned.

Across the New York border a family of Spriggans celebrated the change of leadership. Although not everyone was pleased, there was nothing to gain and everything to lose if one voiced their displeasure. Sitting in a big circle, a dozen or so male Spriggans made a meal of the last leader. The head of the family was given the best parts, while those of his inner circle were given the rest. There was a belief that the strength of the vanquished foe would be absorbed by eating his flesh.

Menadue turned the blade around in his hand, the instrument that allowed him to gain dominance over this family. By absorbing Jago’s family, the Spriggans family was even larger when his old one entered the fight with the Aos Sidhe over the summer.

“Three days from now, we get the child and then we will return the pain inflicted on us over the summer.”

“So, you still insist on going on with that plan of hers?” Kernow asked, one of the few Spriggans willing to question the new Hembrynkyas decisions.

“Do we have a choice?” Menadue didn't trust the Countess, he was positive if most of the family was killed trying to kidnap the child it would make no difference.

“Why does it have to be that child? Any child of power should do? Let’s go back to Skogshaven. I’m sure we could find a child that’s suitable.”

The new Hembrynkyas frowned. Indeed why did it have to be that child. If the rumors were true, there was no possible way that this was going to end well for the family. He had a sudden thought that what they were doing was just a diversion.

“Kernow, at another time I might have made you regret questioning my authority, but I believe that your idea has merit.”

“So what are your plans?” Ili stepped from the shadows. The male Spriggans rose to their feet, some of them placing their hands on their weapons. None of them had any idea that the Spriggan wife was near.

“That’s no business of yours, woman.”

“Not true, I need to make sure the family is prepared to move. What is your time frame? What direction do you wish to go?”

Menadue growled at the Spriggan wife. Although Ili didn't hold true power, she had great influence on the other wives. Her opposition would make it difficult for him to accomplish any of his goals. He also couldn't just kill her that too would be unwise. The wives’ knives were very sharp, and had no desire to wake up one morning missing body parts.

“Tomorrow, we head towards Skogshaven.”

“I see. I’m sure that Bria will be most pleased with our return.”

“None of her business either.”

The Spriggan wife took one last look at the group then departed back into the shadows. “As you wish.”

“She is going to be trouble, that one.” Kernow sat back, idly chewing on some gristle.

“So do you think she heard our plan?” Another Spriggan asked.

“Doesn’t matter, what is she going to do about it? No, Ili will be taken care of in due time.”

Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading! - Elsbeth

Chapter 7

Just on the other side of the Fae Realm, next to the tree known as ‘Father Oak’, Poppy sat with her back on the trunk, watching Lord Alexander and his betrothed spar. Back and forth, the two Aes Sidhe flew, riposted and parried as Alex pushed Morgan back. Suddenly, the Princess parried the incoming attack, deflecting his blade with a strong striking motion then lunged, seemly catching the young lord off guard.

“You’re a hundred years too early if you think you could surprise me.” Alex said obviously pleased, Morgan’s counter attack had surprised him.

“Morgan Hime is improving.” The fox woman, known as Kuugen, once called Aya sat a few feet away from Poppy. A few minutes earlier, the pair had been trading blows.

“I agree.” Replied Sapphira, Gatekeeper of the Forest, her mouth full of double mushroom pizza. Currently the centuries old hamadryad was dressed in a young schoolgirl’s outfit, sitting on the kitsune’s lap.

After a strong feint, Morgan slipped underneath the young lord’s defenses tagging him underneath his sword arm.

“Very good your Highness, may I make a suggestion that you start your attack earlier, and keep your blade lower.”

“You let me hit you.”

Alex smiled. “Of course, I just want you to feel you’re doing well. I hate for people to die embarrassed.”

“Gods, you’re such a pain, so what’s the counter?” The Aos Sidhe Princess shook her head; Alex had spent the entire morning quoting Princess Bride. She loved the movie herself but was starting to regret watching it with him and Abby last night.

“Let me show it to you.”

Morgan rolled her eyes at the other three women; he so enjoyed the hands on approach. Poppy smiled at the two, remembering when she first met Matt’s wife. Although her experiences were different, the young Pixie could tell that there was a mutual attraction between the two of them although for now, it was decidedly one sided.

Pushing away from her cousin, she began to walk away. “Alright you big letch, why don’t you play with Poppy for a few minutes, I need to speak to Kuugen.”

Grabbing a slice of pizza, Morgan sat down next to the Kitsune. “So, what do you think?”

The Yoaki sighed, “Is it necessary that I dress as a school girl?”

“What’s wrong with dressing as a school girl? I think the uniform is cute.” Sapphira stood up and twirled around. "And don’t tell me it’s your age Kuugen, I am centuries older than you.” The hamadryad smiled sweetly.

“If this is what you wish, Morgan Hime.”

The Aes Sidhe Princess shook her head. “No that’s not what I asked. I wanted to know if you’re interested.”

The Yoaki looked thoughtful; it had been a very long time since anyone had asked her opinion.

“The only person I actually don’t mind bossing around is Alex and that’s because he’s my cousin.”

“Lover.” The young Aes Sidhe called out.

“In your dreams, Lord Hastings.” Morgan shouted back

“She needs someone to watch over her, and what could be better than you becoming her roommate.” Sapphira, now back in her adult form, wearing black jeans and a dark blue Skogshaven High sweat shirt, took a seat.

As a nine tailed Kitsune, changing one’s physical appearance, like Sapphira wasn't an issue. “Why not bring her here?”

Morgan nodded. “We thought about it, however...”

“It’s safer for her not to be in Skogshaven right now.” Sapphira frowned. “And I believe, perhaps it’s time that you get out of the Saito’s house.”

The four women had been slowly getting Kuugen to come around. Since Morgan shattered the bonds that enslaved her to the Umeki family, the fox woman had become somewhat of a recluse. Earlier in the week Sapphira and Hotaru Saito had made the final plans for this very meeting, just before the family headed off to Ravencrest.

“I’m sure that Hotaru loves the extra help with the girls, but you must be tired of daytime television already?” The Aes Sidhe Princess smiled.

Kuugen looked down blushing; in truth she had in fact become enamored with a number of shows. Perhaps she needed to give the Saito’s back their spare bedroom.

“Don’t let him get too handy, Poppy.” Morgan shouted as the two danced back and forth.

To those watching, Alex’s skill greatly surpassed the Pixie’s; however, for a few seconds that changed. As the Aes Sidhe lord came at Poppy with a simple forward thrust, she counterattacked like an avalanche in a complex series of combinations. The young man jumped blocking the attacks but just barely.

As the two broke away, Alex looked at the Pixie in wonder. “What the hell was that?”

Poppy shook her head. “I don’t know. For a moment, I knew exactly what you were planning and how to defeat it.”

“Inconceivable, Poppy let me see your sword.” The hamadryad crossed the field.

The young Pixie nodded, holding the sword out pommel first.

“No, ask it if it’s OK.” Sapphira smiled.

“Ask it?” Suddenly Poppy looked surprised. “She doesn't mind if you touch her.”

“Her? Did she speak to you Poppy?” Kuugen asked, as she and Morgan joined the group.

“No, it’s just a feeling.”

“Poppy, see if it’s OK for the Princess to touch her.”

The Pixie smiled. “She doesn't mind.”

Morgan took the blade in hand. After feeling its weight and balance, she returned it. “The feeling, she reminds me a little of Blackie.”

“Blackie?”

“Abby’s new familiar.” Morgan smiled.

Thank goodness, Abby finally got her familiar, a big black Tom, Morgan thought. She had been difficult to live with when she discovered her cousin received one first.

“Can I see the blade, Poppy?” Alex asked.

The Pixie shook her head sadly. “No, I’m sorry Lord Alexander, she doesn't like you.”

“What?”

Morgan laughed. “She has good taste.”

“Just kidding, Alex.” Poppy grinned, leaving everyone but the Aes Sidhe lord in giggles.

After acting sufficiently insulted, he took the blade in hand. Standing back, the master swordsman swung it a few times and returned it to its owner.

“I agree with Sapphira, inconceivable.”

In a very bad Spanish accent Poppy said. “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

“You know I am going to have to hurt all of you.” Princess Morgan groaned.

Snuggling up to Laurel, Poppy couldn't sleep as she continued to be haunted by strange dreams. In the latest, she found herself running through a rice paddy in Vietnam, with mortars falling all around. However, she looked like Poppy and not Matt. In another dream, she found herself prepping for surgery but instead of normal nurses and doctor’s they were all Pixies.

Her new life seemed to be slowly intruding on her old one however, Matt’s memories were still as real to her as the ones she made now. Once again she became concerned; if her body failed in the hospital would she suddenly become just Poppy with none of Matt's memories?

No matter how much the young Pixie wanted to ignore it, she needed to go to the hospital to check on Matt. As much fun as she was having, keeping her body on life support indefinitely didn’t seem right either. Although all of his family was long gone, Matt did have friends that must be concerned.

As much as she hated to admit it, the young Pixie had kept putting it off; frightened at the prospect at meeting her other self, frightened to see his condition but Poppy could not longer put it off. In the morning, she would speak to the Princess.

“Wake up child, I need you.”

Opening her eyes, she found Xera staring at her. For some reason, a little black crow was perched on the Keeper’s shoulder. Rising from the mass of girls that lay on Rynders living room couch, the young Pixie disturbed her friends, who also insisted in joining the group.

“Fine, I don’t have time to argue.”

With the help of the other Pixies, the Keeper of Names shifted the entire group into the Fae, apparently some distance away from Skogshaven. The Keeper had explained the summoning, the odd bird of her shoulder. Other than the group was going to meet with someone, Xera gave very little details.

Now deep in some unknown forest, suddenly on guard the Pixies spread out. It was hard not to notice that Xera brought along of some of the most powerful spell casters in the clan, including her apprentice. To Poppy there seemed to be a lot of firepower for a simple meeting.

“Xera, they are here.” Lily motioned the others to pull slightly back.

Poppy drew Samphire, giving the sword that name made a certain sense and seemed to make it happy as well. Moving forward, along with her two friends, the young pixie kept close to the Keeper of Names.

The new group that suddenly approached the Pixies surprised everyone but Xera.

“Spriggan Wives?” Laurel asked.

Xera nodded, turning to the group she commanded. “Stay here, I’ll speak to Ili alone.”

Lily walked up to the three Pixies, her face full of concern. “Do you know what is going on?”

“No, I thought that you might.” Poppy watched as the Keeper of Names and her apparent Spriggan counterpart speak. The black crow that had been on Xera’s shoulder had immediately flown off landing on Ili’s shoulder.

The white haired Pixie shook her head. “No, I was asleep with Bree when Xera came into my dreams and woke me.”

Poppy frowned. “I wonder why she didn’t with me.”

Lily smiled. “It’s because of your sword.”

“Really?” Poppy and her two friends looked down at the blade.

"Lets go, I need to speak to Princess Morgan as soon as possible." Xera suddenly appeared in front of them, so busying talking about Poppy's sword.

As the Pixies flew away from their strange encounter, Poppy could still feel the sword's presence; Concentrating now, the two become one, like she did when she fought Lord Alexander. Scared at first, afraid she would lose herself; Poppy discovered that they were still separate but the bond became even stronger than before.

The next morning, Doctor Poppy Sully found herself standing outside Eastside Medical Center. She had believed that bringing up the desire to visit the hospital with Morgan, she could put off meeting with Matt a little longer. However, plan were already in place, the Princess knowing that it was just a matter of time before Poppy wanted to visit her old self.

Finally gathering up her courage, Poppy slipped through the hospital's front doors.

Crossing the threshold, part of her felt like a stranger, another part felt like she was coming home. Poppy had been walking in and out of hospitals most of her adult life, but until today it had always been as Matt. Admiring the lobby, well lit and nicely decorated, with welcoming aura, Poppy approved. For those who entered the hospital, the sick or concerned for a friend or family member desperately needed a pleasant atmosphere.

Poppy once more silently thanked Morgan’s mother for her advice on what to wear for her meeting. In her mortal form, dressed conservatively in a expensive looking navy blue jacket, skirt, and a small matching purse, Poppy approached the hospital front desk.

“Good afternoon, how may I help you?” A young woman, wearing blue and white flower printed scrubs greeted Poppy warmly.

“Hi, I am Doctor Poppy Sully. I have a meeting with Doctor Shango St. Hill.”

The receptionist looked her over for a moment, before reaching for a phone. Hanging up the phone, she looked up at Poppy with a smile. “Doctor St. Hill is still in surgery; however his assistant Doctor Abasi will be with you in a moment.”

Waiting only a few minutes, a tall African-American man approached. Smiling, he took Poppy’s hand. “You must be Doctor Sully; I am Doctor St. Hills assistant Doctor Abasi.”

Thanking the receptionist as she passed, the doctor began to explain that one of the other surgeons became ill so Doctor St. Hill was filling in for him.

“However, if you need anything, just ask. I expect Doctor St. Hill to be out of surgery in the next hour.” The doctor waved his identification badge in front of a door, passing the two of them into another hallway. Walking up to another desk, Poppy signed in, showing her new driver’s license; in return she was handed a visitor’s badge.

Taking the elevator the two Doctors joined a number of others as they made their way to the third floor.

“Doctor Dumas is the lead physician on the case.”

“Correct, he will also be meeting with us in a few minutes in Doctor Dobson's room.”

She had already looked over a good portion of Matt’s medical records before coming to the hospital. From what she read, the prognosis wasn't very good. Still in a medically induced coma, Matt’s body did not appear to be healing as it should. She could tell by Doctor Dumas notes, that it was not something that they expected. The young Pixie wondered if something else kept Matt’s body from getting better.

Although she had steeled herself with the realization of seeing her own body, the reality of it proved much more terrible. Holding the door frame for a moment, she entered the room.

Her body, Matt’s body, appeared much older, frailer than she remembered. Half shaking, she reached for a folder, looking over the results of the most recent tests.

Noticing her discomfort, Doctor Abasi looked concerned. “Are you alright Doctor...Oh, I’m sorry. Doctor St Hill just informed me that the patient is a relative of yours.”

“Yes he is.” Reaching over, she brushed the hair out of Matt’s eyes. Poppy felt that it was like looking at her father all over again, as he lay dying in a VA hospital so many years ago.

“Let me give you some privacy, just call when you’re ready to meet with Doctor Dumas.”

“Thank you.” Sitting down next to her sleeping form, Poppy held Matt’s hand and began to cry.

Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading! - Elsbeth

Chapter 8

While holding Matt’s hand, Poppy could tell, that her old body had very little time left. And for reasons unknown, her healing magic couldn’t touch him. The Fae magic just seemed to fade away. Upon entering the room, she had a difficult choice; to heal her old body or not, now that choice had been firmly taken away from her. Perhaps it was for the best.

When Elaine passed away, there had been little left to live for. Through their entire marriage, her joy was his, and when she died Matt had nothing. Going through the motions most of last year, even the move to Skogshaven; seemed nothing more than Matt moving one step closer towards his own welcomed oblivion.

Strange that the deep sadness didn’t follow her into the Fae, instead it brought a new understanding. Even the whole change of gender thing, which seemed rather odd, had become comfortable. Being in Matt’s body, Poppy knew that such a transformation would have been unwelcome. As a Pixie, it just seemed so normal. Of course having people around her like Laurel, Syringa, Morgan, Xera, supporting her, loving her, made it much easier.

Poppy loved Elaine and would until the ends of days but she would have wanted Matt to move on, to grab this new life with both hands and live it to the fullest. Poppy decided that would be a monument to their love.

Still lost in her old memories, the young Pixie jumped when warm comforting arms surrounded her. Slowly opening her eyes, Poppy found the Keeper holding her close.

“Xera.” She said softly, leaning back into the embrace. Poppy now felt safe, protected and over all loved.

“You didn’t think we would allow you to be alone for long at a time like this?” Poppy looked around, dozens of her sisters now sat around the room, all of them with eyes full of concern. Except for Xera, Pixies had no real concept for growing old and dying but every one of them could feel her pain.

Rubbing the tears away, Poppy smiled giving her friends a small girly wave. “Thanks.”

“Xera said we had to give you a moment alone.” Laurel said in a huff, landing on Poppy’s shoulder to give her friend a fierce hug.

“So this is Matt.” Syringa stood on her other shoulder, looking down. Turning her head, she glanced at Poppy then back again. “Strange even for the Fae.”

Before Poppy could say anything, someone knocked on the door before slowly opening it. “Doctor Sully, Oh excuse me; I didn’t realize someone else had come into the room.”

Poppy turned around to find Doctor Abasi entering, along with another doctor she had not met before.

“You must be Doctor Dumas.” Poppy stood up, stepping forward to shake his hand.

Even with the rumors of a young Doctor with green hair in town, Alexander Dumas hadn’t expected her to be such a beautiful woman. Standing there with his mouth wide open, the doctor flushed with embarrassment, realizing he had been staring the whole time. “Sorry…err, hello. Please call me Alex.”

“Hello Alex, my name is Xera.” The Keeper said with an amused tone noticing the doctor’s reaction to her as well.

Poppy tried to keep herself from giggling. Although most Pixies looked like young teenage girls, Xera now dressed in black slacks and a white silk blouse, gave the appearance of a successful and very attractive adult woman.

“Are you two related….”

“Yes.”

“I see.” Doctor Dumas, although enamored with both women, wanted to make sure that he understood exactly what was going on. Originally, his patient information and police reports noted no family, only a friend who worked in the hospital.

The doctor felt that he would be doing a disservice to the man in the bed, if he simply took these two women at face value. It should have been easy enough to check, all of it seemed rather odd. Also other than some rumors, was the young woman in front of him really even a Doctor? She didn’t even look like she was old enough to have attended medical school.

“I’m sorry, I know you spoke with Doctor St. Hill, but how are both of you related to my patient.” Alex looking down while flipping through the chart, then frowned. “I don’t see any information here. Poppy, you are aware that we really cannot allow you to have access…”

“Alex, I don’t believe that will be an issue, will it?” Xera smiled warmly. “Please be sure to note in your records, that we have been verified as relatives and have permission to make all decisions for the mortal lying in the bed behind us.”

The two doctors stared dumbly at the Keeper for a moment, and then simply nodded. Suddenly, as if nothing had been said, Doctor Dumas gave a warm smile motioning everyone out of the room. “Please follow me; we can go over the results of some of the more recent tests.”

Leading the group down the hall, the two doctors brought Poppy and Xera into a small conference room. Inside they found another doctor, an older but still very handsome African American man who greeted both Pixies with a nervous smile.

“Hello, I’m Doctor St. Hill.”

Poppy liked the sound of his island accent, reminding her of the time she spent on Martinique with Elaine. With introductions out of the way, the three hospital doctors began to go over in detail what exactly happened to Matt.

“Here are the most recent test results for your father.”

Poppy hesitated for a second, father? How in the world did that happen? Reaching for the chart, she began to page through the numerous documents. Noting a few things, Poppy turned to ask Doctor St. Hill about trauma procedures in the hospital. Soon it developed into a very technical conversation, as Poppy went through all of the test results.

Alexander Dumas, stunned at the young woman’s knowledge, looked over her appreciably once more. “From what I hear, you went to John Hopkins.”

Lost in thought, Poppy nodded absently as she continued to study the documents in front of her. She might have done a few things differently, but she found no fault with the doctors. Her healing senses told her the truth, and the doctors in the room verified it. Matt’s prognosis was not good.

While Doctor Sully spoke, Alex quickly took notes, amazed at her knowledge. “It’s a shame that you couldn’t come and work for us, Poppy. We sure could use another trauma specialist.”

Xera smiled. “Unfortunately that won’t be possible; she has quite a number of other obligations.”

“True.” Poppy nodded, as Matt, she had planned on spending the rest of her career working at the hospital. Now, although tempting, the green haired Pixie found herself instead enjoying the time spent with her ‘sisters’ and travelling with Princess Morgan, who she now considered a close friend.

“As it seems you’re already offering aid to those in town, which we all appreciate, perhaps as a consultant?” Doctor St. Hill asked hopefully.

Poppy gave a half sad smile, closing the folder that contained all of Matt’s records. “Perhaps we can speak of this later.”

Doctor St. Hill agreed, still a little confused, even after speaking with Princess Morgan at one of the Were Council meetings. Could the man lying in the hospital bed in the other room actually be the young
woman who sat in front of him? Didn’t matter, she was correct. Until the fate of Doctor Matt Dobson had been determined, he wouldn’t press the issue.

Poppy tried to sit as still as a hamadryad proceeded to braid her hair. After turning into a Pixie, one wouldn’t have expected meeting a dryad to be too surprising.

“So you like mushrooms, right?” Sapphira leaned over.

“On what?”

“Pizza of course.” The hamadryad rolled her eyes, then went back to braid Poppy’s hair.

“Oh sure mushrooms are good, perhaps some olives, some nice Italian sausage and extra cheese of course.”

“Olives are fine but obviously they don’t belong on a pizza.”

Poppy laughed. “I guess so; does this mean we are having pizza for lunch?”

“Mushroom with double cheese, if they know what’s good for them.” The four hundred year old hamadryad giggled. “Now stand up and turn around.”

Sapphira frowned. “Are you going to be wearing that?”

Poppy looked down. She wore a pair of hip hugging jeans and a black lace blouse that matched well with her hair. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”

“Your meeting a Queen, something a little dressier would be appropriate.”

Poppy frowned; she had never been introduced to a mortal Queen before much less a Fae Warrior Queen. “What do you suggest?”

Moments later, Princess Morgan, Lord Alexander Hastings, and an Aos Sidhe she met the other day, called Caitrin, walked across the commons bearing a handful of pizza boxes.

“Sorry we’re late.” Morgan looked over at her friend then smiled. “You look nice.”

“What’s up with the outfit Poppy?” Standing there in faded jeans, a WWII bomber jacket and a Boston University sweatshirt, the Aos Sidhe lord set down the pizzas without ceremony. Noticing that Morgan’s friend did look nice; he opened the first pizza box and started chewing on a slice.

“Be quiet you, she just wants to make a good impression.” Sapphire took Poppy over to the side. “Ignore him.”

Although the green haired Pixie had a sneaking suspicion the hamadryad was having a little too much fun, Poppy liked the look of the black kirtle with the white chemise. Not something to be worn outside of a Renaissance festival, the outfit seemed appropriate when meeting a Fae Queen. “The front, though, is a little tight; maybe I’ll let it out some.”

“No don’t do that, it looks good.” Sapphira smiled. ‘It enhances your assets as it were.”

“Great, just what I want to do. Flaunt my assets in front of a Queen.” Poppy said sarcastically.

“You look lovely, Poppy.” Morgan giggled. Moments later all three turned around as a fifth person arrived from the Fae Woods in front of the Skogshaven Library.

“Mom!” Morgan yelled excitedly, as she ran across the commons to embrace the tall woman.

Poppy sat uncomfortably while nibbling on a piece of pizza, not really tasting it. Meeting Morgan’s mother had been a little nerve wracking to begin with. Now, to suddenly have these unexpected feelings for this beautiful woman, she seemed to have trouble dealing with.

Ignoring the fact that Queen Mab happened to be a Queen and her friend’s mom, the Pixie healer couldn't quite grasp, intellectually at least, the idea of having romantic feelings for another woman. Poppy was a girl right, wasn't she supposed to like men? Then again, Matt most definitely wasn't attracted to guys. But she wasn't Matt anymore, and Lord Alexander did look rather scrumptious. Wait, she didn't really think that, the green haired Pixie closed her eyes in confusion.

Matt had been open minded for the most part, usually never giving it much thought. What people did behind closed doors was none of his business. She also knew that quite a number of Pixies were sexually intimate with one another, especially after couple of sips of Moon Mead. It’s just that she didn’t think it would ever happen to her. The green haired Pixie had actually tried not to think about sex in her new body, putting it out of her mind. That was until she met Mab.

Was Poppy concerned her wife wouldn't approve, that couldn't be the issue. Elaine wouldn't want her to remain celibate. As a Fae, Poppy didn’t have any issues with being attracted to either gender. Fae as she understood were notoriously bi-sexual. Perhaps it wasn't even the girl with a girl thing. Maybe it was just the last bit of Matt inside her trying to hold onto the past.

What was even stranger, anytime she looked up, Poppy found Mab smiling at her. Most likely the hamadryad had set her up, now feeling quite over dressed as Morgan’s mother walked out of the forest looking more like a college student from Berkeley than a Fairy Queen but the Sapphira didn't intend for this to happen. Did she?

“Poppy, are you alright?” Morgan asked before taking another slice of pizza.

Startled, the green haired Pixie nodded. “Sorry, just lost in thought.”

Queen Mab smiled as their two eyes met, and then as if forcing herself she turned towards Caitrin. “So as I was saying, you won’t have to worry about the compulsion anymore. That particular enchantment was not difficult to remove.”

“I hear a but.” Morgan said.

The Warrior Queen nodded, before passing an ancient looking blade to the tall blonde haired Aos Sidhe. From what Poppy gathered, she had been sealed away in the blade for a number of centuries and had just been recovered over the summer.

“Unfortunately, the spells that bind you to the Athame, I dislike what might happen to you if I remove them. Vile magic, your spirit is so entwined with the blade, child, that I’m afraid if we break the enchantment, it will be fatal to you.”

Caitrin, who had remained standing behind Morgan, curtsied. “Your Majesty, you have done more than I have ever hoped.” Turning to Princess Morgan she smiled. “Your Highness, will you please continue to keep the blade in your possession.”

“Of course, Caitrin.” Morgan took the blade sadly. “Mom, there must be more we can do.”

The Queen of the Fae sighed. “I will think on it but at least for now, she won’t be a slave to whoever holds the blade.”

Morgan nodded sliding the Athame into her boot. “You of course may do as you wish, Caitrin.”

“Then I wish to remain in your service.” The Aos Sidhe said.

“Wait…what…but you’re free. You can go anyplace you like. Why remain here?”

“Yes that may be true Your Highness; however I am only free because of you. As you know, we Aos Sidhe always pay our debts.”

Going down into a deep curtsey, her head almost touching the ground the Aos Sidhe said. "I Caitrin, promise by Ash, Oak and Hawthorne that I will in the future be ever faithful to your Highness, never cause you harm and will observe my homage to you completely, protecting your person with my own body if needed against all persons without deceit."

Morgan looked at her mom for a moment, who only nodded. Rising from the ground, she said. “And I Morgan, Daughter of Mab, Princess of the Summer Court willingly accept your homage by Ash, Oak and Hawthorne into my Troupe. I will from this day forward until the ending of the world, or until you wish to be released from such vows, honor your loyalty, and your service.”

Lord Alexander clapped his hands. “Welcome to our little but ever expanding Troupe, Caitrin.”

“Thank you my lord.” She said happily as both Poppy and Samphire gave her a hug.

“Well, I’m happy that’s taken care of for now.” Queen Mab said, and then smiled sadly. “However my beloved daughter, I have to go.”

“Really, I thought you might be able to stay for a little while longer.” Morgan pouted a little before reaching over to hug her mom. The two of them held one another for a moment.

“Perhaps when school is out, you and I will go on a real vacation.” The Warrior Queen brushed the hair from Morgan’s face.

Poppy smiled at that. She knew that Morgan really wanted to spend time with her mother to get to know her better.

“Poppy, come speak with me for a moment.” Leaning over the Queen of the Fae kissed her daughter’s forehead. “I will talk to you tonight.”

“OK.” Morgan sniffled.

Surprisingly, Mab took Poppy by the hand and led her off towards the woods.

“I wonder what that’s all about.” Morgan frowned then turned to Samphire.

“Don’t look at me; I only suggested the outfit.”

Caitlin took one look at the hamadryad then the two Fae broke out in giggles. Alex opened his mouth to say something but instead grinned.

Poppy returned a few minutes later as Queen Mab disappeared into the forest.

“So Poppy, what did my mother want?” Morgan asked.

The green haired Pixie, look a little dazed. “She asked me on a date.”

Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading!

As a side note, sorry for the slow update to the story, December was a terrible month for me to get any writing done.

-Elsbeth

Chapter 9

Liz Summers opened the front door, excitedly greeting the babysitter. Since little Katelyn’s birth, she and her husband Dan had had little time to be alone. Something her husband had been complaining about quite a bit lately.

She knew he loved their daughter, but he also wanted to spend time with his wife. Moreover, the feelings were more than mutual. Remembering how close she came to losing Dan over the summer, Liz continued to value every minute spent with him although she did not always show it. Tonight would be fun at least, the annual Skogshaven Valentine’s Day Charity Ball.

“Mrs. Summers, you should have called me sooner. I would love to sit for Katelyn anytime.” Abigail Morris smiled at the little girl as she took off her coat and purse before picking the infant out of the crib.

“Please Abigail, as I have told you before, call me Liz.” Looking outside, she noticed that someone was missing. “I thought that Morgan was planning on helping you out tonight.”

Closing the door, she smiled at Morgan’s girlfriend. “Did she back out?”

Abigail rolled her eyes. “No…she just out playing with her new toy.”

Her Aunt had insisted on taking her to the Summer’s home tonight, and made sure the Deputy Sheriff would take her home. She didn’t know why. Travelling with Morgan no matter what the means of transportation was perfectly safe.

Suddenly a knock on the door revealed a smiling Morgan carrying what appeared to be a motorcycle helmet.

“Morgan, I didn’t even hear you drive up.”

“Hi Liz; Wow, don’t you look beautiful tonight.” Morgan stood back, admiring the little black dress, wondering not for the first time how it might look on her. Something that even a few months ago, she would not have even considered. When asked, Morgan would blame her girlfriend for being such a bad influence on her but the dress did look cute.

Liz smiled at the compliment while noticing Morgan’s outfit as well. Under the heavy leather jacket, she wore what appeared to be a vintage white lace blouse and skin tight black leather pants. Quite the change from the tomboy she and her husband first met over the summer.

Kissing the young woman on the cheek, Liz smiled. “Why Morgan, you’re wearing makeup.

The Aes Sidhe Princess blushed. “My mom says hi.”

“I’ll be seeing her soon enough.” Liz gave a knowing smile.

Abigail gave a confused look. “Wait, I thought Rebecca wasn’t going.”

“Well…”

“She has a date.” Liz said with a smile. The two women had spent half of last weekend driving around in the snow looking for the right dress for tonight’s festivities.

“With who?”

“Stephen Krieg.”

“Wait…Doctor Doris’s brother?”

“The one and the same.” Liz laughed. “What do you think, Morgan?”

“They make a cute couple. The two met when mom needed to speak with someone over legal details concerning my sister’s trust fund.”

“Working closely together, I bet.” Abigail giggled.

Morgan smiled, she was happy that her mother was dating again and Stephen seemed nice.

“I heard from her that you’re still planning on following in your mother’s footsteps as well.”

“My mother’s footsteps?” Morgan made a face, not sure, which mother Liz was talking about.

“On becoming a lawyer of course; you’re still going to be taking classes next semester?”

“Oh, yes, at least that’s the plan.”

Morgan had surprised herself when she started to take the classes online. At first, she didn’t think the topic would interest her but she had found most of it rather fascinating. Although Rebecca worked in entertainment law, the Princess planned on studying international law, it seemed oddly appropriate.

Giving her a slight pat on the arm, Liz looked at the ruby red motorcycle helmet. “Well you made a great head start winning the argument with your mom over the bike.”

Liz knew that the women of the Rynders family had been discussing the bike’s purchase since the holidays, eventually bringing her husband into the discussion. Apparently, whatever he said must have tilted the balance in Morgan’s favor.

“She knows I’m a safe driver, plus I have an excellent teacher.”

Abigail made a face; Lord Alexander seemed to be coming up in too many conversations lately. “Come Morgan, Katelyn needs to be changed; your first lesson of the evening.”

With the infant changed and placed back into her crib, all three women watched admiringly as Dan Summers strolled down the stairs. With a little help from Morgan and one last check up from Poppy, the Deputy Sheriff had recovered from injuries acquired while being a prisoner of the Winter Court.

Even with the powerful curse that almost took his life removed, his silver hair continued to be a constant reminder of that terrible episode. Since his wife found it rather dashing, Dan didn’t ask the Princess to change it back.

The two girls smiled at one another, as the husband and wife gave one another an appreciative glance then kissed.

“Thank you both for tonight.” Dan smiled at the two younger women.

Abigail slipped her arm through Morgan’s, excited that her girlfriend had joined her tonight. Between her duties as an Aes Sidhe Princess and Arbitrator, the two of them didn’t see a lot of one another, something that had begun to bother the young Witch quite a bit.]

As Liz and Abigail went over details such as phone numbers, meals and bedtimes, Dan leaned over to speak with the Princess of the Summer Court.

“So, you’re planning on taking up babysitting?”

Morgan sighed. “Well sort of, I have.....something like this in a couple of days; figured I should get in a little practice first.”

The Deputy Sheriff did not like the sound of that. Pursing his lips, he wondered if she would be willing to tell him the details later.

“Dan, leave her alone. It’s not that bad an idea, how do you think I saved up enough money for my first car.”

Liz smiled warmly as leaned over to kiss her half-asleep child on the forehead. “Plus, the experience will help you, Morgan when you have children of your own.”

“Right.....children of my own.” Morgan looked down embarrassed.

Getting close to midnight, with Abigail watching over the sleeping child, Morgan sat in the center of the living room among a score of Pixies. Although she did have similar plans in the next few days, Morgan real reason for being in Dan Summer’s home tonight had very little to do with babysitting.

She had been furious upon discovering that someone had ordered Spriggans into town to steal a child. The Troll wives were bad enough; she did not need another group to start.

At least after her meeting with Mab, the two agreed who might be the culprit although her mother didn’t necessarily agree with her daughter’s plans but would still respect and support those decisions. Morgan knew for good or for bad; however this all ended, it would be on her head.

While listening to finalization of the plans for tonight, she looked over at Poppy and smiled. The green haired Pixie’s first meeting with her mother the Queen had been quite memorable. Although pleased that it might give Morgan more of a chance to spend more time with Mab, she wasn’t exactly sure if she was ready for one of her best friends to be dating her mom. Still, she couldn’t begrudge either one of her mother’s, or even Poppy’s chance at finding happiness.

With a sigh, the Aes Sidhe Princess looked across the room at her girlfriend. She knew that she had been neglecting Abigail. She had almost convinced herself that being an Arbitrator and Princess; she no longer had time for a relationship. Morgan had even thought about breaking up with the young Witch before the holidays.

Upon becoming a Princess, she suddenly found herself tossed head first into the politics of the Aos Sidhe Courts. Even living in Skogshaven, the Princess had to accept the responsibility of sitting on the town’s Unseen council. Now there were more members of her troupe, their very lives often at times hanging on her very words. All of it had been an excuse not to get closer to Abigail, to keep her at arm’s length.

Still, she understood that the whole relationship thing really just frightened her. Before coming to Skogshaven, Morgan never had a girlfriend, much less any real friends. So why did she insist on blaming events.

Biting her lip, Morgan knew she had wronged Abigail; her own failings were not the fault of her friend. Starting tonight, she would actively go out of her way to be with her. Because after all was said and done, she loved Abigail dearly.

“Do you trust these Spriggans, Xera?” Morgan frowned, turning back to matters at hand. She knew that the Pixies had been planning this night for a week.

“Spriggans no, but I do trust Ilia.” Xera said.

“We were able to get enough eyes on the other children in the town, and some of the surrounding houses but from what Xera says, Katelyn appears to be their target.”

“I have others standing by in the Fey if you need more help, Poppy”

Morgan nodded to Bria. The Pixies insisted that this be their fight tonight but she was still going to make sure that all of the children of Skogshaven were safe.

Looking down at the table, Morgan spotted various bits of household objects used as a make shift sand table. Poppy had been surprised when asked to help with the plans but the others knew her experience as Matt would prove invaluable.

“This doesn’t look much like a Spriggan.” Lilly knocked on a saltshaker. “Want me to change it?”

“No thank you, dear.” Xera giggled noticing the other Pixies looking relieved.

“Battle of Cowpens?” Morgan sat back suddenly understanding what she was looking at.

Poppy smiled, knowing that the Princess had been studying American History in school. “I’m no Dan Morgan but I do hope it turns out as well.”

Before the Pixie clan chief could discuss who would be in charge, Poppy stepped forward. “I’ll take the center Brea; after all, these are my plans.”

“If that is your wish.” Brea understood why the Pixie wished to take the most dangerous place in line. The Clan Chieftain held her breath for a moment before announcing. “No quarter.”

All Pixies tuned to look at their Chief, then the Princess, who only nodded.

“We cannot let any of them escape tonight sisters. Too many lives depend on this.” Xera said sadly.

“How will we keep them from escaping into the Fae?” Another Pixie asked.

“That is my responsibility, Hepatica; I will place a ban on the property as soon as you start your attack.” The Pixie nodded, only someone of the blood would be powerful enough to do that.

Poppy looked at her friend, concerned. This very detail had been a very difficult decision. Mab had agreed but it would be Morgan issuing the commands tonight. She understood that the Princess of the Summer Court continued to be tested. The Pixie perceived that this test was not to see if Morgan would be happy to make such difficult decisions, but that she would make them if necessary.

Morgan sat in Abigail’s arms watching the events unfold. The Spriggans had arrived as expected, exiting the forest under the cover of darkness. Silently moving across an open field, the group expected the night to be their ally. Spriggan magic normally allowed them to go unseen however; they didn’t expect Morgan or Xera to be waiting for them.

At first contact, Abigail could feel her girlfriend tense up. Only Katelyn, who lay asleep in front of them, kept the Princess from rushing out to help her friends. No one thought that any Spriggan would escape the trap but if they did, they would never leave the house alive.

As the center of the Pixie line suddenly broke, the young Witch whispered. “It will be alright Morgan; the battle will turn out alright just wait and see.”

Morgan gave a grim smile. Bria, Eglantine and Poppy had planned it perfectly. As predicted, with their blood up, the Spriggans chased after the retreating Pixies. What they failed to see were the scores of Pixies appearing on their flanks, hidden by until that very moment by Xera and Lily’s powerful magic.

“A battle?” Morgan thought as she watched the Spriggans fall, remembering what the Confederates commented about the fighting on another cold night in Fredericksburg, Virginia. No, this was no battle, just murder.

Poppy walked among the dead, looking for wounded Pixies although she didn’t expect to find any. The former medic knew that the fairy dead wouldn’t remain long on the field, returning to the magic from which they came.

Surprisingly she didn’t need to heal many of her sisters other than those brave Pixies that stood with her in the center. The others, who attacked the flanks, had hardly a wound among them. Over all, casualties among the Pixies were exceedingly light, although each one of her sisters would be sorely missed. Among the Spriggans, none survived.

Looking up, she almost missed Laurel barrel into her. “Poppy!”

The two twirled each other around happily. Then unexpectedly, the red haired Pixie reached up and gave Poppy a lusty kiss.

“If you two want to be left alone.” Catching her breath, Poppy found Syringa standing off to the side, amusement but also relief written all over her face. “Come Poppy, look who we found.”

Moments later, the three stood over the remains of the Spriggan; who one owned the sword at Poppy’s side. For some reason, she wasn’t too surprised to see that the wounds inflicted had not been made by the thin straight swords of the Pixies but the thick curved blades that Spriggans carry. Whoever did this, no matter what happened during the battle, made sure that Menadue wouldn’t survive.

Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading!

-Elsbeth

Chapter 10

The coming of the dawn brought no comfort to Poppy’s emotions. Memories of South East Asia intermingled with the skirmish that had taken place hours before. However, this fight felt much different.

Originally, Matt joined the Navy to get away from the small town in which he was born. With little or no money for college, like many young men of the time, he would eventually end up in one of the branches of the military. Better to pick, his grandfather told him, than to let them to pick for you.

The Navy seemed a reasonable choice for someone wanting to see more of the world and believed full scale naval battles were a thing of the past. Not that Matt was a coward. He just couldn’t comprehend taking another person’s life. As soon as he enlisted in the Navy, he joined the Hospital Corps, filled with a new sense of purpose to take care of the sick and injured.

When ordered to join a Marine unit being shipped to South East Asia, he went without a fuss. Although fate must have been laughing, his plans for staying away from combat went to naught.

At first, he refused to pick up a firearm, thinking the Drill Instructor’s advice didn’t seem particularly wise. When the DI began to explain what weapon as a Navy Corpsman they would be allowed to carry, he pulled out a pistol. Setting it back on the table, he picked up an M16; informing the surprised Corpsmen that they would actually carry this weapon into battle.

But, if he carried a M16, Matt would be a target and wouldn’t be able to get his job done. Plus, no one shot at medics, right? They weren’t even armed most of the time.

Although Matt declined to carry a weapon, real life soon took a terrible toll on his idealist attitudes. Those he was fighting on the other side didn’t care if he carried a weapon or not. To them, he was just another invader. Still, Matt took no pleasure in killing, but the lives of the Marines around him became more important.

Once he overheard a Sergeant tell his men, take care of the Corpsmen and they will take care of you. And it was true; they were Matt’s brothers. His last thoughts before being shipped home were for the friends he left behind.

However, the battle a few hours ago felt different. The fear and terror were all too real, the fighting just as brutal but it was the why that felt different. The Pixies fought and died for their sisters, protecting their lands, their forest. They fought for the honor of their Princess. While a single Pixie lived, they would never allow evil into their homes.

While lost in thought, the green haired pixie felt someone touch her shoulder.

“Come, Poppy, I want you to be by my side.” Bria pulled her along to join Xera and Eglantine.

“So does her Highness believe you found the weapon that is the one she seeks?” Eglantine moved next to Poppy, as Xera and Bria walked forward.

“We believe so.” Under Menadue’s body, the green haired pixie found a Felblade, a terrible weapon of the Winter Court. No one wanted to touch it, but Poppy’s sword gave her some protection. It now resided in the Princess’s capable hands.

“I heard that Lord Hastings seemed especially happy.”

Poppy grinned. “One more nail in that bitch’s coffin, I believe is what he said.”

Both Pixies giggled, only to be admonished by Xera but she too couldn’t help but give a very satisfied smile.

“They come.”

Grey forms began to walk out of the forest, which during the battle had been hidden away by other magics. Spriggans, mostly women and children, approached the four pixies, led by a beautifully tall Spriggan Wife.

“Ili, I’m glad to see that you are unharmed.” Xera approached her friend. The Spriggan Wife gave a small nod, before turning towards Bria.

“Clan Chief, may we have your permission to remain in these woods, no longer be wanderers, per our agreement?”

All four Pixies looked confused; such agreements were always made with the Hembrynkyas.

“Where are your men, Ilia? I thought your eldest would be the next Hembrynkyas.”

Bria looked at their numbers, much smaller than she first thought. Although she could see a few older males, most were young not even coming of age yet.

“Kean, my youngest, when he becomes of age will lead us. For now, they all lie with Menadue.” She said simply.

“What?”

The Spriggan Wife gave the pixies a sad smile. “We knew Menadue would not have attacked without both families present. Do you think he would not have noticed? Menadue insisted that my son Ion be by his side during the battle as well.”

Poppy looked at the Spriggan Wife, she could see the sorrow but something else caught her eye, fierce pride.

“Each knew what was required for our families to have a home once more.”

Eglantine stepped forward, her voice filled with disbelief. “When we appeared on Menadue’s flanks, I thought that at first that the Spriggans were fighting among themselves.”

“Indeed, do you think we would allow him or any of the others to live? He was never our true Hembrynkyas.”

Poppy shook her head in amazement. No wonder that flank collapsed as quickly as it did. From what she heard, some of the Spriggans didn’t even put up a fight. At first, the pixies thought it had been because of the surprise of the ambush, now they knew why.

“What about the Wives of Menadue, family, their children.” Xera frowned,

Ilia shrugged. “Either they joined us, or they joined him. Do we have an agreement, Bria?”

“Her Highness, Princess Morgan has another idea, if you’re willing, Ilia.”

“Of course, I am hers to command.”

Long before Columbus set foot upon the ancient lands, Norsemen had crossed the ocean, settling far to the north, but not all. Following the words of their Vá¶lurs, carriers of magic and daughters of Freya, a large group marched deep into the unknown lands. None of them ever returned home.

When the first Europeans settled the same lands, they listened to stories of the men of iron. Most thought them nothing but stories made up by the Pocomtuc Indians, but others knew them to be true.

Three mounds, often mistaken for the burial places for the Indian Chieftains, lay around Skogshaven. A Victorian Mansion sits upon one, unknown to most. The second lies hidden deep inside the woods, by a deep dark lake. The third, called Pocomtuc Mound by scholars, or Hugelgrab by the residence of Skogshaven, stands in the middle of a small state park.

The summer before, an Aos Sidhe Princess had fought a battle around the mound in an attempt to rescue the woman she loved. A Sorcerer of the Fin Folk had used ancient magic to summon a Draugr, a powerful barrow Wight, and although defeated, some could still feel its evil presence.

The Princess knew that eventually others might come to claim the burial gifts or attempt to summon the Draugr or the ancient king who lay deep inside. She needed protectors willing to guard those treasures.

“Ili, by Ash, Oak and Hawthorne, do you and your folk from this day forth swear that you will protect these ancient treasures and that you pay homage to the Queens of the Summer Court.”

“Yes your Highness, we do swear upon our blood.” The Spriggan wife, along with the entire family kneeled in front of the white garbed Princess.

Surrounding the Hugelgrab were several members of Morgan’s troupe and almost all of the pixies that inhabited the woods. They all stood there listening as the Spriggans paid homage to their Princess.

“Then by Ash, Oak and Hawthorne, the Hugelgrab is yours to guard.” Morgan smiled down at the Spriggans. “Welcome home Ili.”

The Spriggan Wife looked startled, a single tear running down her face. As one, they stood up and quickly faded into the ancient mound.

Laurel leaned her head on Poppy’s shoulder. “Guess they are not sticking around for the party.”

Syringa just rolled her eyes. “You just wanted to see if they had any more Moonmead.”

Off to the right, a bright light announced another Aos Sidhe approaching from the forest.

“That would be her Majesty.” Laurel giggled. Giving Poppy a kiss, she pushed her towards the approaching Warrior Queen. “Go have fun.”

Standing in the clearing Morgan, her mother Mab, Poppy and Lord Alexander studied the Felblade, taken from the body of Menadue.

“I will say this once again my daughter, I am not happy with your decision. However, I will admit that perhaps some of my apprehension comes from worry for you and a deep dislike for those with whom you will be working.”

“She seems nice enough.”

“She can be if she wishes it, although I wouldn’t trust her. However, you are the Arbitrator, someone who as a unique position for this to happen.” Mab reached over and held Morgan’s hand. “I’m very proud of you, daughter.”

Poppy smiled, although she could see that Lord Alexander wasn’t at all happy with the plans but like her, he didn’t have a voice. The entire decision rested upon Mab and Morgan.

All four turned when an RV followed by a Skogshaven Sheriff’s car approached.

“Mamma, I want to give them the Ashton House. They have been wandering long enough, don’t you agree.”

The Ashton house, much like the Skogshaven Historical Society home, was an old Victorian Mansion sitting inside the city limits. Currently it lay vacant.

“I think that Roisin will be very happy.” Smiling Mab turned to Poppy. “Can we speak before I go?”

“Must you go?” Morgan made a face.

“I will be here when you return but I must not be directly involved. Be safe, daughter, return to me.” The two of them held one another before Queen Mab took Poppy by the hand and led her away.

The Aos Sidhe Princess understood the politics of the situation. Members of the Summer and Winter Court fought one another but Queens themselves rarely went off to war; when they did, terrible things were known to happen.

The last full scale battle took place across the sea in Siberia, during the turn of the last century. Norms still believe the destruction was caused by a celestial event.

Lord Hastings watched as Poppy and Mab spoke to one another in hushed tones. “The two of them seem quite smitten with one another.”

“I know. You should have seen Poppy after their first date. I swear she didn’t stop smiling for the whole day.”

“So any chance of the two of us getting together for a date?”

Morgan put a finger to her lips as if thinking about it. “No, but good try, dear cousin.”

“Doesn’t hurt to ask.”

“True.” Morgan watched as quite a number of people exited the RV. “Seems Liam brought a few friends.”

“Yes, well….”

Morgan looked up at Lord Alexander questioning. “Yes, well what?”

She recognized a red haired Aos Sidhe that approached. Immediately the beautiful and well-armored Aos Sidhe went down on one knee.

Morgan found her weapons an interesting mix of the modern and the ancient. On one hip, a long bronze blade in contrast to the Glock 35 on the other, sticking up from the woman’s back appeared to be the barrel of an assault rifle.

“Your Highness, may I present Dame Wynda, daughter of Countess Athadra, Order of the Red Oak.”

“Greetings Dame Wynda, please rise. I’m guessing that Alex has explained what we plan on doing today.” Morgan knew that her cousin had reached out for some extra help. So far, she was impressed with what she saw.

“Yes your Highness, Lord Alexander has given me a high level briefing, but I imagine we will discuss the mission in detail before we depart.”

Morgan smiled, she sounded like Poppy when she got going. The two of them should hit it off wonderfully.

“Your Highness, Liam has informed me that he also has new armor for you to wear.”

“Really?” Morgan looked at Alexander, who shrugged. “I was happy with the mail.”

“I wasn’t, you need a little more protection.”

“My mother put you up to this didn’t she?” Morgan made a face before heading towards the RV. Alex was wise enough not to say anything.

“So Wynda, how do you know my dearest cousin?”

“We have been lovers on and off for a number of years, your Highness.”

Morgan raised an eyebrow, looking back at Alex who was caught trying to make the ‘be quiet’ motion with his hands.

Slipping her arms into the Aos Sidhe knight’s, Morgan said. “The name is Morgan, by the way, and you and I definitely need to talk.”

Wynda seemed shocked, then grinned. She liked this Princess. Suddenly the two of them looked at one another then started to giggle.

Lord Alexander knew he was in deep trouble.

Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading!

Chapter 11

Poppy touched her lips as she returned to the group, still feeling Mab’s soft lips on hers. She had had mixed feelings at first, thinking that somehow going to dinner with Mab meant cheating on Elaine’s memory. However, she also knew that her wife would have wanted Matt to move on and find love again.

Unfortunately, as Matt it just seemed impossible. Not that there weren’t any opportunities to date, just the opposite, but he could never connected with any of the women. Unable to stop comparing his dates with his wife, no relationship went past the first date. Finally, Matt just stopped looking, he would be seeing Elaine soon enough.

Now Poppy wasn't sure if this was love, at least not yet but she still held great affection for the Queen, even more so today. Mab had never once given up on her infant daughter when she went missing. Most of the Aos Sidhe of the Summer Court thought Morgan dead along with her human guardians and felt that the Queen just couldn't face the truth.

Mab had told Poppy that it wasn't something she had been willing to accept. A part of her knew Morgan was alive and someday would reappear. She would never give up on her daughter, until that happened. After their reunion, the very thought of losing her daughter once again, terrified the Aes Sidhe Queen.

It was not something she said, Mab still had to remain who she was, the Warrior Queen, but Poppy could see it in her eyes. When the two went off to speak, one look and the green haired Pixie knew what Mab wanted. It didn’t needed to be asked anyway, it was a given. Poppy would make sure that Princess Morgan would return or lose her own life trying.

Morgan motioned the Pixie forward as she approached. “Poppy, let me introduce you to Dame Wynda, daughter of Countess Athadra, Order of the Red Oak.”

The Knight smiled before giving a slight bow. “So you are Poppy, I have heard some interesting rumors about you.”

Poppy looked startled. “Good I hope.”

Before the two could continue, a commotion near the Deputy Sheriff’s patrol car brought the three women over to investigate.

“You got us guns?” Lord Alexander looked at Dan for a moment then at Morgan as she approached.

“Why not?”

Inside the unassuming crate, Poppy found a number of assault rifles, a half a dozen pistols, and a box of Soviet era grenades.

“I hate those damn things.” Poppy reached for an AK-47 with one hand while taking a better look at the Soviet F1 grenades.

Dame Wynda turned her head, studying the Pixie for a moment. “Afghanistan?”

“No, Vietnam.”

The Knight gave a grim smile, then the two warriors began a thorough check on each weapon.

“I assume you’re familiar with these weapons, Poppy?” The Deputy Sheriff still found it hard to believe that the green haired woman in front of him was once a medic during the Vietnam War.

Poppy gave a soft laugh. “Unfortunately yes.”

“Where did you get all of these anyway?” Alex took one of the Russian TT-30 pistols out of the box for his own use.

“Her Highness apparently has connections.” Dan made a face.

“Actually, Nina’s husband has the connections not me.” Morgan shrugged. She wasn’t quite comfortable yet with the Vampires living in the large abandoned Super Store, now even less so. Surprisingly, Sile insisted on introducing her to Nina.

“Morgan, next time please give me a little warning. You know how I feel about all of this.”

Late last summer, Morgan had shown up at his home with an unregistered WWII era automatic pistol; however, that little technicality couldn't even come close to today’s issue. Dan didn’t even want to count how many laws they were currently breaking.

The Aos Sidhe Princess smiled. “I know Dan, thank you again. And I agree, once we leave, I will place the remaining weapons in your capable hands.”

The Deputy Sheriff nodded in relief, the box and its contents were going straight into the town’s armory.

“I don’t remember you telling me about these weapons, how did you get them so fast?” Alex started to pick up a couple of grenades for himself as well.

“Oh, well Pavel, that's Nina's husband."

"She has a husband?"

"Yes, anyway Pavel and his associates were more than happy to speed up the delivery since I paid them in gold.” Morgan stepped forward. “Alex, can I have a few grenades?”

As one, Dan, Poppy and Lord Alexander said. “No.”

From behind them Roisin gave a small laugh. “Your Highness, Liam needs to fit you in your new armor.”

Morgan started to disrobe then with a half giggle, stopped herself. The Fae didn’t have a nudity taboo. Clothing, even at the Aos Sidhe courts was an individual statement, whatever it might, happen to be. No one would say a word if one decided to wear nothing at Court.

“Perhaps, we should move this over to your RV. Anyway, there also is something I want to speak with you and Liam about.”

The Deputy Sheriff, who had gotten more than an eyeful already, gave the Aos Sidhe Princess a grateful smile.

Poppy stood back admiring Morgan’s new armor as Liam finished tightening the remaining straps. The Princess stood in front of her troupe, armored in a breastplate, coated with a thin layer of Silver Steel. Along with the breastplate, the Master Smith added additional protection to her shoulders and forearms.

“I see you approve, Poppy.” Morgan sighed, but liked how the new armor sparkled in the rising sun. She moved around a bit, swinging her arms back and forth and couldn't help but admire Liam's armor making ability.

Poppy nodded, relieved that the Princess ignored the fact that like Alex she wore very little in protection, both wearing only mail shirts. Liam on the other hand, looked like something out of a history book, wearing close to a full suit of Gothic plate armor. Even Wynda wore a combination of modern Kevlar and Aos Sidhe mail.

As three more people suddenly appeared in front of the Viking burial mound, everyone except Morgan came on alert

“I see the others have arrived.”

Caitrin approached and curtsied in front of Morgan. “Your Highness.”

“Thank you Katie, I know you wanted to go with us but I do need someone to keep an eye on my mother and sister.”

“It’s my honor.”

Poppy greeted the other two as they approached, noticing the differences in their dress. The smallest, Countess Cliona wore little in the way of armor and weaponry, except for an Aos Sidhe mail shirt and on her hip, a deadly looking rapier.

The person standing next to the Countess had two blades on her belt and wore full red and white samurai armor. Appearing like an extra out of an Akira Kurosawa movie, she came to one knee in front of the Princess. Taking off the fox shaped mempo or face-mask, Aya greeted her Diamyo. “Ohayou gozaimasu, your Highness.”

“Aya, thank you for all that you have done.”

“It’s been my honor.”

Poppy smiled, Aya seemed more relaxed then when she saw her last. She hoped that the nine-tailed Kitsune would continue to put those terrible events that had taken place recently behind her.

Countess Cliona looked around the group a bit nervously. With a sigh, Morgan approached, taking the young Aos Sidhe by the hand while moving off to the side for a bit of privacy. The two spoke only for a few seconds before Morgan wrapped her arms around the young Countess.

Aya standing next to Caitrin and Poppy approved. “Countess Cliona has had a difficult month. I know that Morgan’s almost daily contact with her had been of great comfort.”

“So what has it been like dressing as a school girl for these past few weeks, Aya?” Katie grinned.

“Educational.”

Katie looked at the Kitsune in surprise. “Was that a joke?”

“No.”

Poppy tried to keep from laughing, as she spoke to the tall blonde Aos Sidhe standing next to her. “Sorry you’re not coming with us, Katie.”

“Yes but I am busy teaching Breyana how to bake, so someone needs to keep an eye on her.”

Although she could see the disappointment in the Katie's eyes, Poppy knew that she would be a good choice to remain in Skogshaven. As the newest member of Morgan's troupe, she immediately moved into the Rynders home. The Princess hadn't asked her to do it but Katie insisted.

This had come as quite a surprise for Rebecca. As the former nanny of the Umeki family, Katie set about cleaning and making all of the meals. At first, the two women didn’t exactly get along, until Morgan’s mom realized that the Aos Sidhe meant well, and she would be there to protect both of her daughters.

After going through the crate, Dame Wynda stood in front of the Police car, studying the map that sat on its hood. For the last hour, the Princess had gone over the plans. The Aos Sidhe Knight had a suspicion that the one called Poppy had her hands in the making of them. Although she did approved, there were still number of unanswered questions.

“How do we keep them from escaping? I assume you will place a bann on the estate?”

Morgan nodded. “Yes, but I won't be doing it.”

Besides needing her magic to protect the others during the assault, the Princess didn’t know if she would have been actually able to accomplish such a feat. Spriggans were one thing; Aos Sidhe and other Fae were quite another.

“If we suddenly appear inside the mansion, as you suggest. Won’t the Countess be able to summon her allies quickly to stop us?” Aya looked over the map of the Georgia estate once more. She too saw no problems, as long as they went in their fast and hard. If the group couldn't press forward, it would become almost impossible to retreat.

“No, as soon as we appear, Morgan’s...Aunt will make sure that no one else will be able to enter the house.” Alex explained.

Lord Alexander and Morgan looked at one another for a moment, before Morgan shook her head.

“I see.” Wynda missed the interaction between the two but knew that they were leaving something out. Didn't matter, the plans were tight. This should work. "Is there a reason why your Aunt cannot also be active in this mission? As a member of the court, she would be able to add her own troops as well.”

“Yes, well unfortunately, she will only assist us to a point; the rest is up to me.”

“It’s a bloody test. Isn't it?” Alex grumbled. Even after all Morgan had gone through, the Courts continued to test her to see if she was worthy of the position.

The Aes Sidhe Princess laughed. “Of course it is, Alex. I have to show her my own strength; it’s the only thing she respects.”

“Then why are they helping us at all?”

The Aes Sidhe Lord didn’t like this one bit. Although he, along with Poppy and Dan, made up the plan, there was still a chance that all of this had been set up to capture Morgan. Not that he would allow that to happen.

“Because Alex, they will also prosper from this, why else.”

Countess Sianna, Mistress of the Dunkelheit and member of the Unseelie Court dropped her pen in surprise at the sudden explosion that rocked her Georgia estate. At the sound of modern gunfire, the Aes Sidhe Countess rose from her chair, crossing the room to confront two Aos Sidhe Knights who had not moved.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Go and see who is making all that noise.”

“Idiots.” She thought as the two Knights disappeared through the large double doors.

The Countess believed that some sort of duel was taking place among the Unseelie Court members, which happened quite often. The use of human firearms annoyed her to no end. Not that she minded using them when the situation presented itself, but in duels, no.

The thought that someone might actually be attacking her didn’t even come to mind. Powerful magics kept anyone from simply appearing, and if they did, she would know immediately.

Sitting back down at her desk, Countess Sianna picked up her pen and continued to do work. As one of the Masters of the Dunkelheit, a large mercenary force from inside the Unseelie Court, she had a number of groups working under her.

Frowning, she couldn't believe what she had just read. The report stating that several Captains and their bands had suddenly gone missing. This had happened only once before when the Dunkelheit fought the whelp of a Princess and her allies last summer.

As another series of explosions shook the room, the Countess looked up and frowned. Wondering if perhaps one of the others decided to take remove her as Mistress of the Dunkelheit. Such events were common among those of the Unseelie Court however the two Fae creatures that flanked her desk made that occurring very unlikely.

The ancient Redcaps, Qingu and Zaltu, named after Assyrian gods, were gifts from the White Duchess. Although there were many Redcaps, only a small handful had ever been considered true gods of battle.

Both had lived for centuries and their armor and weapons reflected their journey through time. If someone had come to overthrow her rule, they were in for quite a surprise.

Another loud explosion but this time much closer brought the Countess to her feet once more. A second explosion, which followed the first, almost knocked her to the floor. Powerful Fae magic had now come into play.

Understanding that her own life could be in danger, Sianna reached out to call for reinforcement but found she couldn't. Who possessed such powers? Perhaps retreating was the best option, returning in force later but the Countess even found that path blocked.

“Fine; if they want a fight, I’ll give them one.” Drawing her sword, she motioned to the two Redcaps just as the doors to her office exploded, showering the three of them in wood and metal.

“I see.” Countess Sianna gave a small laugh, as a group of well-armed Aos Sidhe entered the room through the large opening that had once been hand crafted mahogany doors.

She recognized a few of the intruders from the battle over the summer, finding the rest a rather odd mix but it was the Aes Sidhe garbed all in white that grabbed her attention. As the two Redcaps stepped forward, protecting their mistress, the troupe of the Summer Court came to an immediate halt.

“Princess Morgan.”

Sianna gave a half bow, not feeling the least bit concerned. In their previous encounter, she had dueled with Princess Morgan’s Champion with little difficultly. With the two Redcaps as her side, there was little chance the little girl would fight.

“Countess Sianna.” The young Princess grinned as the situation suddenly changed, as the two Redcaps went down on one knee, bowing to the Aes Sidhe Princess before fading from view.

Taking a step back in shock, Countess Sianna knew her only chance now was to challenge Morgan to a duel. She would, of course, bring forth Lord Alexander as her champion. Unlikely as it might seem, even if she lost the duel, the foolish Aos Sidhe of the Summer Court never killed their prisoners.

With a smile, the Countess stepped forward and began. “I see, well then Morgan...”

“Countess Sianna, by Ash, Oak and Hawthorne, I challenge you to a duel.” A new member of Princess Morgan’s Court declared, stepping around Lord Alexander to face the Unseelie Countess.

Sianna frowned for a moment, studying the green haired Fae. Although strangely dressed, it wasn’t the outfit that caught her eye. In the the woman's hands, pointed directly at her chest was a very familiar looking blade. A blade lost by the Spriggan Menadue, the sword named Samphire.

Countess Sianna, Mistress of the Dunkelheit and member of the Unseelie Court no longer felt sure of anything.

Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading!

Chapter 12

Countess Sianna gave a half smile. From the way her opponent held her sword to her stance, the Countess knew the green haired Fae in front of her would not be much of a problem. Still, she had faced hundreds of opponents in her lifetime and underestimating any of them would have been foolish.

Quickly, Sianna probed the Fae’s defenses, and then began to push. A sudden attack, a feint all easily defended. As she continued to probe the skill with a sword of the one who called herself Poppy, the half-smile turned into one full of malice and hate.

“Foolish girl, now it’s time to die.” Countess Sianna yelled, thrusting her sword forward expecting to pierce Poppy’s chest but to her surprise, the green hair Fae just simply moved out the way.

When Morgan’s troupe burst through the doorway, Poppy could immediately feel the miasma coming from the sword in Countess Sienna’s hand. Its aura felt like a plague. The thought of someone wounding another with such a blade sickened her.

As a healer and wielder of Samphire, Poppy had protection from such a weapon. In addition, she had to keep her promise to Mab. Perhaps the Unseelie Countess hasn’t planned to challenge Morgan but she couldn’t take the chance that the Princess would accept the challenge herself.

With her sword pointing at the Countess’ chest, Poppy realized that, she didn’t know the first thing about dueling etiquette among the Aos Sidhe. As the Countess called upon Ash, Oak and Hawthorne to accept the challenge, Poppy could see into the cruel eyes of the Unseelie and knew this would be no duel, no affair of honor.

Of course, it had started all well and good until Poppy discovered her clothing had changed. Over the last week, Morgan had started an American Revolution War project for class. While deciding what topic she would write about, the two of them got into a discussion about the naval battle between Captain John Paul Jones’ ship, the Bonhomme Richard, and the British frigate HMS Serapis.

Because of that, Poppy had John Paul Jones’ famous words on her lips as she challenged the Countess and inadvertently, changed her clothing into the green uniform of a Marine officer from the Revolutionary War.

With the Countess’s first thrust of her sword, Poppy knew she faced a very dangerous opponent. Circling the two testing one another defenses, something Poppy had worked on with Alex. Each time their blades touched though, she could feel a deeper connection with Samphire and then the sword and her were like one.

Stepping to the side as the Unseelie yelled at her, Poppy slashed downwards almost knocking the Felblade from Sianna's hands. Following through, she slashed at the Unseelie's Countess face.

Sianna eyes opened wide in shock as she desperately pulled her sword over her head into an over hand block, catching Poppy’s blade at the last second. A chill went through the Unseelie Countess; such an attack should have cleaved her skull in two. The follow up attack, wiping back around like a snake, moved even faster.

She redirected the blow, then began to counter it by dropping her shoulder, slipping her blade back around but Poppy just stepped out of reach. Suddenly, Sianna realized she had left herself wide open.

Surprised, she jumped backwards, feeling the tip of Poppy’s blade open a tear in her outfit right above the abdomen. If she had been even a fraction of an inch forward, the green haired Fae would have spilled her guts on the ground.

Swinging her sword around, Sianna brought it up for a perfect thrust, only to have the green haired Fae move under the blade. Dropping down, Poppy kicked the Countess legs out from under her.

Rolling away, Sianna managed to rise quickly enough to block the follow up attack. Growling, she threw out a deadly counter strike, only to find that that it was expected and easily blocked.

The ancient blade of the Phriomh Ard had faced many enemies in the countless centuries since it was forged. It had always offered protection from magic and it took a great and horrible magic to overcome its wielder. In Samphire’s death, the sword inadvertently pulled part of the Pixie’s Phriomh Ard into itself.

Since awakening, the sword had been an unwilling weapon of the Unseelie Court. Although it couldn’t stop itself from being used, it would never give itself fully to the Unseelie owners.

What it did though, unbeknownst to those owners, was to learn their weapons skills. For each foe it had slain, it learned a little bit more. Those centuries of martial knowledge would eventually be passed down to its true owner.

Sianna’s smile vanished after the first assault. She could hardly keep up, going on the defensive. From the look in this one’s eyes, the Countess knew she planned to kill her outright.

Didn’t Poppy understand the rules that all Aos Sidhe of the Summer Court followed? She was much more valuable as a prisoner than as a corpse. Stepping backwards, the Countess tried to block an overhanded slash, but the blow never finished.

The Unseelie Aos Sidhe looked down in surprise; she didn’t even see the thrust as it pierced her left breast. As the Fae of the Summer Court pulled back the blade, Countess Sianna collapsed, her sword falling out her of her hands.

The troupe stood in shock at the turn of events. No one, except for perhaps Alex, who had faced Poppy’s blade before, thought such a fight between the two would have ended so quickly. It was over before it even started.

“Poppy.” Morgan said softly.

The green haired Pixie felt strange, she could still feel the connection to the sword but the battle knowledge had not left her as it had before. Poppy decided she would think on that later, but first she needed to tend to the severely wounded Countess.

Some might have thought it odd, since she had inflicted the wounds herself, but Poppy didn’t. Tending to the wounded, even the enemy wounded was something she always had done.

Kicking the Fell blade out of the way, she quickly noted that the wound, although serious, was not initially life threatening. Even with the collapsed lung, the sword wound had thankfully missed several thick arteries. Although the Aos Sidhe were resilient folk, the Countess could have easily bled out before Poppy could have healed her.

“I’ll take care of that.” Alex knelt down, picking up the Fell blade. The disgust on his face was evident. “Is she going to live?”

“Yes.”

“Too bad.” Alex turned to Morgan. He wanted to speak with Poppy about what just happened, but it would have to be later. Looking down at the Countess, part of the Aos Sidhe Lord knew that leaving her alive was probably a mistake.

“I heard; Alex, Liam if you please.” Morgan threw up her own wards before motioning to the others to watch the entrance into the room. “Not that I’m complaining, but you almost messed up my plans, Poppy.”

Poppy tried not to look embarrassed; she knew the Countess needed to be left alive. Although she did have a desire to remove the Unseelie from the face of the earth, Poppy moved her blade a little to the left before delivering the final blow.

Countess Sianna slowly opened her eyes, surprised to find herself alive. Before she could move, the sharp end of a rowan spear pushed against her chest.

“I wouldn’t be moving if I were you.”

Startled, Sianna looked up into the eyes of another Aos Sidhe. None of this was right, they were supposed to follow rules, not threaten wounded captives. She then realized that she wasn’t wounded.

“Didn’t I get stabbed?”

“Yes, you did.” The green haired one walked over, still holding her sword. “Princess Morgan has a few questions for you.”

Countess Sianna shrugged. “I doubt I have anything you would be interested in knowing.”

“Why did you kill my father?” A much younger Aos Sidhe approached her eyes full of pain.

Countess Sianna liked that sight. “I have killed a lot of people. Who was your father?”

“Count Delancey of the Summer Court, you murdered him right after midwinter last year.” Princess Morgan rested her hand lightly on the young Aos Sidhe’s shoulder.

Pushing the spear away slightly, Sianna sat up. “I assume you didn’t come all of the way here to ask me that question. Revenge isn’t really your Summer Court thing. So tell me, what’s in it for me.”

“Besides letting you live?” The strange Fae in what appeared to be full Samurai armor said.

“If you wanted me dead, I would be so already. She would have taken care of that.” Sianna pointed to Poppy. “How about if you let me free if I tell you.”

“I have no intention of keeping you captive, Countess. “

Sianna leaned forward, shocked, really. “Will you give me your word, Princess?”

“By Ash, Oak and Hawthorne, I give you my word, Countess Sianna. If you answer my questions truthfully, I will not hold you captive.”

The arrogant smile suddenly appeared back on the Unseelie face. How stupid can these Aos Sidhe of the Summer Court really be? Still, she didn’t like the look of the green haired one. “And she won’t kill me.”

“And, Poppy won’t kill you.”

Sianna turned her head looking at the distraught Cliona. “Your father was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Although I do remember him, he died while crying out for his daughter or something, how pitiful.”

Cliona stepped forward, tears running down her face.

“That’s enough, Sianna. What do you mean, he wasn’t the true target?” Princess Morgan did not remover her hand from Cliona’s shoulder.

Sianna laughed cruelly. “The true target of the Dunkelheit was a member of the Unseelie Court named Baron Scrymgeour of the Red Lances. Of course, why he died was because he was meeting with your Count. To think the two of them were discussing cooperation between the two Courts, what an absurd notion.”

“Not as absurd as you might think, Countess.” Princess Morgan gave her a half smile, as the room suddenly got very cold. Frost crawled up the window and the floor.

“Please, no one move.” Lord Alexander commanded Morgan’s troupe.

Suddenly, a person of terrible beauty walked into the room. Garbed in a long blue gown, her midnight black hair reflected the cruel look in her steel blue eyes.

“Did you hear enough, Aunt Morgause?” Morgan strode forward to meet the regal looking Aes Sidhe.

“Aunt Morgause” Countess Sianna squeaked, all of the arrogance disappearing from her face, only to be replaced by terror.

Morgan nodded. “Everyone let me introduce you to Her Majesty Queen Morgause, Queen of Air and Darkness and current Queen of the Winter Court.”

“That’s enough child, let us skip the pleasantries.” The Unseelie Queen slowly walked over to the prone Countess. “So the Dunkelheit killed Baron Scrymgeour, not that I am surprised.”

“Princess Morgan, please. I have been captured honorably in battle, don't you wish to keep me as a captive of the Summer Court?”

“I’m sorry Sianna. “Morgan said with feigned innocence. “Didn't I just give you my word that I wouldn't keep you as my prisoner?”

The Unseelie Countess began to shake when the right hand of Morgause started to glow with pure white energy. “My dear Sianna, I believe you have a few things that you wish to tell me.”

“Your Majesty, that’s not necessary. I will tell you everything.” Sianna started to back up, as if it were possible to get away.

The Unseelie Queen’s smile was bereft of any humor or warmth. “I know you will.” With a wave of her hand, Countess Sianna disappeared. With that, Queen Morgause prepared to leave.

“Aunt Morgause?” Morgan stepped forward with an Athame in her hand.

“Oh that’s right, is that the item in question. Let me see.” The Queen looked at the dagger, running her hand over the hilt and blade before finally handing it back to Morgan. “My sister was right not to remove the enchantment; it would have most likely killed the Aos Sidhe bound to the knife.”

“Were you able to dispel it?” Morgan asked hopefully.

“Yes and no. She is still bound, however, I have loosened its hold. In time the enchantment will fade, until then I suggest that you keep it safe.”

“Thank you.”

“Was that all, Morgan, no other reward. Seems such a little thing to remove the enchantment on the knife?”

“She’s my friend.” Morgan said simply.

The Unseelie Queen shook her head. “You are your mother’s daughter.”

Suddenly, she looked at Morgan’s troupe, as if noticing them for the first time. “Samphire?”

“Ahh, this is Poppy.” Morgan quickly followed her Aunt who walked across the room to stand directly in front of the green haired Pixie.

“You have her sword.”

“Yes your Majesty.”

Poppy gave a slight bow, feeling quite nervous with a Queen of the Unseelie Court looking at her. She was under no illusion that whatever protection her sword might give her, it would do little against the might of an Aes Sidhe Queen.

“You are of her line, then perhaps?”

Poppy nodded. “I think so, at least Mab…I mean Queen Mab believes it to be the case, Your Majesty.”

The two of them had discussed her possible lineage during their date; Poppy just hadn’t had the time to tell anyone else about it.

“You look so much like her child.” Morgause brushed her pale white hand against Poppy’s cheek. “I assume she is your champion, Morgan?

“Yes, she was the one who defeated Countess Sianna.”

The Unseelie Queen removed her hand and smiled. “Indeed, a worthy endeavor. I imagine Poppy that we will be meeting again.”

“Yes, your Majesty.” No matter what she might say, Poppy had no desire to meet the Unseelie Queen again.

“Lovely.”

Suddenly the room became cold once more, the Gate of Winter opening. Before the Unseelie Queen could step through Morgan stopped her. “Aunt Morgause, thank you again.”

Queen Morgause, Queen of Air and Darkness turned her head and gave her a small smile before disappearing.

As if everyone had been holding their breaths, the tension in the room disappeared.

Emily leaned against her rowan spear, shaking her head in wonder. “That was really your Aunt, Morgan?”

Princess Morgan laughed. “Yes.”

“I think she likes you, Poppy.” Alex smiled.

“Morgan’s Aunt, no, I don’t think so.” One Aes Sidhe Queen was quite enough thank you very much.

“You look tired.” Stepping forward, Morgan wrapped her arms around the Pixie. “Thank you, for everything, my champion.”

Startled, Poppy returned the warm embrace. “You’re welcome.”

Stepping back, Morgan continued to hold the green haired Pixie’s hand. “However, you’re going to have to explain to me the whole thing about the sword.”

“Of course.”

“Good.” Princess Morgan turned to her cousin. “Lord Alexander.”

“Yes, my love?”

The Aes Sidhe Princess rolled her eyes before saying to everyone. “Let’s go home.”

Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading!

Chapter 13

A cold winter wind blew over the silent markers that stood on Memorial Hill, a small hilltop just east of the woods on the edge of town. It had at one time been the original location of the first church in Skogshaven, now only a black metal historical plaque remained but the cemetery was still in use.

Most of the original families lay buried in the older section of the cemetery, but due to space, most Skogshaven dead now lay outside town. However, since the Confederates fired their first shots at Fort Sumter in 1861, the hill had become the traditional final resting place for those who have given the “last full measure of devotion”.

From behind a black carriage, driven by a team of white horses, eight sailors in their dark winter uniforms stood at attention as a Chief Petty Officer prepared for the ceremony. With quite commands, the men slowly pulled out the coffin draped in an American flag that held Navy Corpsman 2nd Class Matthew Dobson. Among his many awards included the Navy Cross Medal, Republic of Vietnam (RVN) Lifesaving Medal, and two Purple Hearts.

Aaron Nordberg stood off to the side, watching a scene that had become all too familiar for this country as of late. The New Year had started with so much promise when his friend Matt decided to move to Skogshaven. Still, Aaron felt a sense of pride intermixed with the grief. The idiot, as usual, put his life on the line for another.

Around the former Corpsman’s coffin stood many whose lives were saved by his quick actions in the dark days of the Vietnam War. They had taken time out of their lives for the long trip to say good-bye to a brother.

What surprised many, except for Aaron, Matt had left enough money to pay the travel expenses for those who couldn’t afford the trip to come to Skogshaven. In life, he knew his old comrades wouldn’t accept handouts to come to one of their reunions, but they would come to see a friend off.

Turning his head, he looked at the young woman in green hair flanked on one side by a tall beautiful young woman, and his wife on the other. At first, Aaron denied that the girl could have been Matt’s child knowing how much his friend loved his wife Elaine.

He also knew what type of man Matt was and he would never cheat on her, either. Still as his own wife Duyen pointed out, the two were from California and lived in a lifestyle quite different front theirs. Over his objections, his wife met with the young woman and after one look into the young girls eyes smiled.

“Aaron, look at her. She is most definitely Matt’s child.”

It didn’t take very long to believe it himself, after listening to her talk, how she interacted with others and her quick wit. No one brought up how this could have happened but the old soldier finally embraced the child as the daughter of his best friend.

Several days before the funeral, the last members of his platoon stood in the old Historical Society house for a wake. Putting aside her own grief, Poppy made sure that all of her father’s friends were taken care of. They, in turn, quickly adopted her. The somber affair soon turned into a full-blown party, as Matt made sure plenty of good drink and food had been supplied.

With the old men sitting around telling stories about Matt and the others long gone, the wake became a catharsis event for those who had not been to a reunion before. Many swore to come to the next ones. Matt must have known that would happen. Once again, the Corpsman thought of his brothers before himself.

Slowly, the sailors stepped back holding up the coffin. Another quiet command and the men turned, carrying it slowly up the hill. Passing markers of those who had given their lives from the hills of Gettysburg, to the beaches of Normandy, the sailors set down their charge with great reverence.

Aaron took a seat next to his wife, as the Chaplain stepped forward to speak to the mourners. Half-listening, he looked around in amazement. Initially, had thought only his wife and himself and perhaps a few of his old comrades would make it to the funeral but he didn’t expect such a turn out. Actually, he didn’t expect Matt to be buried in Skogshaven at all.

When Matt unexpectedly passed away, the town council balked at allowing the former Navy Corpsman to be buried on Memorial Hill. Even with the former mayor, Richard Kincade stepping forward, it didn’t seem possible; however, that soon changed.

The secretive Maher family sent word through their lawyers that although Navy Corpsman 2nd Class Matthew Dobson had not been born in the town, he was a true son of Skogshaven.

Aaron didn’t know a lot about the family, other than the fact that they owned a good portion of the land inside and outside the town, including the Historical Society House. However, it only took one word from them for the town council to fall over themselves to make Matt’s funeral a priority.

With the Chaplain’s final prayer, most civilians jumped at the first sound of rifle fire, disturbed the quiet morning. The distinct metal on metal sound of another round falling into its chamber followed another volley. Twenty-one in all and as the last echoes of the salute vanished; a young sailor came to attention and raised a ceremonial bugle to her lips. The familiar melody of Taps soon filled the air.

The eight sailors who had not moved through the entire ceremony, standing with a flag in their hand, at the end of Taps, slowly began to fold the American Flag into the familiar triangle.

Ritually passing the flag to the Chief Petty Officer, he placed it between two hands as he slowly marched towards Poppy. Bending down, the Chief set the flag into arms of the tear filled young woman and said.

“On behalf of the President of the United States and the Chief of Naval Operations, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's service to this Country and a grateful Navy.”

Doctor Poppy Sully, shook as she brought the flag to her chest. The scene broke Aaron’s heart and his wife’s, too, as she reached over to give the young woman a motherly embrace.

+++++

Poppy watched high in the trees as the last handful of dirt fell on top of Matt’s grave. Coming back from Georgia to find that her old body had died had come as quite a shock.

From little what the others could tell when she became one with the sword named Samphire during her fight with the Countess, her last connection to the mortal world vanished. Something inside the Pixie had felt the change although at the time she didn’t know what it was until she got back home.

Of course, the whole business of going to one’s own funeral had almost been too much for her. Thankfully, Poppy had plenty of support of friends and loved ones around her. Oddly enough, the one thing she would not have been able to do if she had not transformed into Poppy, a final good-bye to the members of her old platoon.

Feeling another’s presence, Poppy looked up as Xera took a seat next to her on the tree branch.

“How are you doing?” Xera gave the Pixie a warm hug.

“I don’t know really, Xera. To tell you the truth even with all that has happened to me, this has been a really strange week.” Poppy leaned her head on Xera’s shoulder.

“I can empathize.”

Poppy sat look, looking at the Keeper strangely. “Really?”

“I above all.” Leaning back, the Keeper pointed towards the old forest. “My mortal body lies under the mound near the Sacred Grove.”

“Wait…Your body, does this mean…?”

Xera gave her a warm smile. “When I was a young girl in Scandinavia, I had dreams about a Sacred Grove sitting in a forest in a faraway land. My dreams of that time came true and my family knew I was destined for other things. At sixteen summers, I became an apprentice to a powerful Vá¶lurs, finally ending up in the Kings Court. It didn’t take that long for me to feel the need to search for this Sacred Grove.”

“Vá¶lurs?”

“Hmm, in my old land, we were known as the wand carriers, or magical staff carriers others simply called us the daughters of Freyja.”

“Like the goddess? Oh, you mean you were a Witch?”

“Yes. With the blessing of the King, plans were made for well over a dozen ships to travel across the ocean and set up a colony near the Sacred Grove. Stopping in Greenland, my vision told me that we needed to proceed further south. Soon we ended up on the coast line of Massachusetts.”

“Now, quite a few of the men wanted to settle on the coast but the Sacred Grove still lay deep inside the wild lands. Following my vision, I informed our Chief, who also happened to be my eldest brother, that we needed to continue on land to the west. Between my brother, a strong leader and myself we finally convinced the others to search for the grove.”

Besides the idea that Xera had once been a Viking, Poppy couldn’t believe that the Keeper of the Pixie Clan had once been human like herself.

“Is that why you and I can take a mortal form?” Poppy suddenly asked. “I mean, none of our other sisters can do it.”

“I believe so, from what I have been told, Samphire, whose sword you now carry had originally been a human, a Cailleach Feasa and a guardian of Brigit’s sacred flame.”

The green haired Pixie smiled at the name of another goddess, and then sat enthralled as the blue haired Pixie continued her story. Finally, the Northmen, called Men of Iron by the Native Americans, settled around the area just north of the current town of Skogshaven.

For years, the Viking settlement prospered with the help of the surrounding Native Americans until a terrible winter brought about the end. The cold brought a lack of food among the Native Americans and soon fighting broke out among the tribes, quickly spilling over to the Northmen. While protecting the homes of an allied tribe, her brother took an arrow through the eye.

Without strong leadership, the Vikings soon started to fight amongst themselves. After quite a few deaths, the group decided to head back east and then follow the coast north to the other colonies. Taking the women and children, the majority of the Vikings who came with her disappeared into the forest.

“It was a fool’s errand and of course, they never made it home.” Xera said sadly. “Unfortunately, I had caught an illness which kept me from stopping it all from happening.”

Poppy sat enthralled. “So what happened to those who remained?”

“For the most part they were men who had wives in the Native American villages and the ášlfhéá°nar who acted as my bodyguard.”

“That name somehow sounds familiar, who were they?”

“Odin warriors, berserkers who went to battle wearing wolf pelts. Although this particular clan who guarded me were unlike the others as they were actually Weres.”

“You mean like Werewolves?”

“Indeed. So when I died from complications caused by the illness, Njall, my husband claimed my brother’s sword and took his clan further west, over the Berkshires and deep into the forests beyond.”

“I’m sorry.” Poppy looked at Xera who sat in the coming darkness with her eyes closed.

“It was a long time ago child, however, I too watched as my loved ones bury me. But know this, you have been given a second chance and from what I have seen, you will have no problems moving on with this new life.”

“But, still.” Poppy said, looking down at her grave.

“But, still.” Xera agreed.

As the last rays of the sun set over Memorial Hill, the two Pixies held one another; lost in memories of their past lives.

+++++

Poppy jumped back, her sword connecting with the Silver Steel blade forcing it away from her body. Stepping forward, she threw a shot high towards her opponent’s head then reversed it, dropping the blade at the last second reaching for the chest.

Her opponent, Queen Mab also known as the Warrior Queen easily blocked the blow. Stepping forward in one motion, she grabbed Poppy’s arm and with a single toss, sent her into flying into bushes.

Before Poppy could rise, the Pixie found a sword at her throat. “Yield.”

The two women looked at one another for a second, and then started to giggle. The Pixie had to admit it was pure hubris on her part to think that she was a match for the Warrior Queen. Still, she hoped that at least she gave her a good work out.

With one hand, the Queen of the Summer Court pulled Poppy up into a lover’s embrace. The two kissed passionately for a moment caught up in the excitement of the fight before walking hand in hand back to the center of the clearing.

“So, what do you think?” Poppy asked, moving around once more with her sword in her hand.

“Think of what?” Mab made a face for a second, keeping an eye on her girlfriend’s footwork. The sword of Samphire had indeed given Poppy impressive skills, but they needed refinement.

“Working at the hospital.”

The Warrior Queen nodded. “So you decided to take the consultant position.”

“Yes.”

“I think it’s a good idea, I’m glad that my daughter pressed you to do it. It seems to make you happy.”

“Show me what you did before.” Poppy said. “You’re right it does, although I’ll have to be careful how it’s done.”

Poppy had already discussed with Doctor Shango St. Hill about the care for Allison Talbert, the poor woman who Matt had tried to help on the Highway and still lay in a deep coma. She still felt a certain obligation to help the young mother and when the father and children attended Matt’s funeral, she decided to take on Allison’s healing personally.

“That is one of the reasons why I approve of what you’re doing. You know as well as I what would happen if word leaked out of miraculous cures.” Mab pressed herself against the Pixie, walking her through the movement and counter attack of the last few moment. “It will also provide good feelings among the other Unseen if they know that they can be helped without raising undue questions.”

“Win their hearts and minds.”

Mab giggled. “Something like that.” She then became very serious. “I am thinking we will need their good will in the upcoming days ahead.”

Moving forward, Mab slashed heavily which she knew would cause Poppy to react in several different ways. The green haired beauty easily deflected the attack. Her follow up attack was perfect; however, Mab had seen such a combination many times before. Once again, Poppy found herself flat on her back.

“Are you OK, sweetie?” The Warrior Queen looked down at her beloved.

Poppy felt herself picked up off the ground again and kissed. She didn’t mind if Mab continued to throw her to the ground as long as she got another kiss out of the deal. The one kiss didn’t stop and soon, the Warrior Queen and Morgan’s champion found themselves back on the ground.

Sometime later, with the sun now long set, the two lovers shared a small intimate dinner while admiring the stars above. Poppy couldn’t help but think of the many different night skies she had seen in a lifetime and couldn’t fathom the number Mab has seen.

Pouring another glass of wine, Poppy said. “Morgan told me that you plan on introducing her to the other Queens.”

There were three Queens of the Summer Court Titania, Mab (Maeve) and Uonaidh (Una). Currently Titania ruled the Summer Court, her reign would last another thirty years before falling to Uonaidh.

The Winter Court ruled the same way, although the decision on who would become the next High Queen was determined through a gladiator style contest of champions. Queen Morgause’s reign, which had already lasted several centuries, didn’t appear to be ending anytime soon.

“It’s time. My daughter met the two of them briefly during Midwinter but she needs to be formally introduced at High Court.” Taking a sip of wine, Queen Mab sighed. “In addition, the three Queens need to discuss face to face the troubles that have been brewing around us as of late. Between what just happened with Morgause and the death of the Earth Guardian over the summer, I foresee some dark times ahead.”

Poppy shifted to get a better look at her girlfriend. “I see, so my arrival wasn’t really a coincidence was it.”

Queen Mab looked at the Pixie for a moment then began to laugh. “By the goddess, I knew you would be a worthy champion for my daughter. Besides that fantastic body of yours, you have a keen intellect.”

Poppy giggled, tipping her wine towards the Queen in salute “I thank you, my dear lady.”

After listen to Mab and Morgan, she too had a suspicion that after the death of the Green Man someone had been struggling to strengthen their defenses. Even Matt’s accident was suspect. But who it could be, Poppy didn’t have a clue but perhaps the Queens would figure it out.

“I sent Duke Uilleam to speak with Titania to request a meeting. Since she is the current Queen of the Summer Court, we will all come to her. Also Poppy, I would like you to accompany us.”

Poppy smiled. “Of course.” She had planned to ask anyway.

“Excellent….” Queen Mab stopped, seeing something off in the woods that caught her attention.

Turning, the Pixie tried to see what it might be, but found nothing.

“Poppy, would you be terribly upset if I ended our date for tonight.” Mab looked down at the beautiful woman.

“Not at all.” Leaning forward the two shared one last sweet kiss. Poppy understood as an Aos Sidhe Queen, she had many other responsibilities. Whatever she could see in the Woods obviously was one of them.

Turning back into a Pixie, she gave Mab a small wave before disappearing into the Fae to head back to Princess Morgan’s home.

Mab turned towards the forest, the scene had not changed at all. Before her lay a sight, she had not seen in over two hundred years. From inside the woods lay a small bright flame, not too far off a second one and then a third.

Drawing on the full power of the Queen of the Summer Court, she became the very image of the Warrior Queen. Taking one step forward, then another, Mab knew that there would be nineteen flames in total, leading her deep into the Fae into the very heart of the Sacred Grove.

Authors Notes: So that's the story of Poppy's beginning but not the end to her story. We will see Morgan , Mab and Poppy again very soon. Thank you to all who have read and enjoyed her story.

A special thanks to Eof for allowing me to write in such a great universe, and Eof, Maggie and Donjo who for their insightful comments. See I haven't destroyed the world yet :)

And a big special thanks to djkauf who edits my stories and has to put up with my constant battle with the comma.

If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you.

Thanks to all for reading!

-Elsbeth