I have been recovering in Fairie for a while now. My family will not let me go back to work. Ailill has been a constant visitor, even when he has things to do as a Fae King. The others try to visit often as well, but there is much to do now that Eurig is gone and Armaros is, somewhere.
Rune and Tatsuo are usually with me, but Minou has much work to do helping his dad.
"Aunt Thorne, how are you feeling?" I look up at the doorway. "Aurum." I motion him forward. "I am doing much better. Honestly, I wish I could go out. Being kept in here is a bit stifling. I am not accustomed to it."
He nods and sits on a chair next to me. "Well, I was talking to Uncle Eero. I remembered something last nigh. Well, dreamed of it." I nod. "When I was with Rumpelstiltskin, he still traded with people for their first born child."
Not surprising. "But, there was a couple we met in one of the worlds. They were unable to have a child of their own. He told them he could help, but that they must not harm the child after birth. At the time, I did not question why he would specify that, nor did I think it was odd he did not ask for the child and simply promise they would have another."
I frown. That does not sound like the Eurig I knew. Though, he must have planned for something. "Last night, I dreamt that the child was born. A boy. But instead of being happy, his parents wished to kill the child. Remembering Rumpelstiltskin's words though, they did not and simply locked him away."
What would make a parent wish their child dead? "I woke up, and now I am worried. If anything happens to him, I am at least partially to blame. I followed that man and called him father." I nod. "You spoke to Eero, what about?"
He nods. "I asked him if I could go and check out the situation. I also asked that he allow you to come. I may have reminded him that locking you away will not help you long term. You will wither away if you are treated as a fragile piece of glass."
I smile and hug him. "Ah, Aurum! You are amazing!" I pull away. "As happy as I am, you are right to feel worried. That man never did anything without a reason. Even having children was to have magic reserves for him to devour. He would not have spared any one of them."
Aurum sighs. "I realized that, especially after he broke my legs for failing him. I am happy you found me and brought me home. This life is so much better than I ever could have imagined. Plus, here, I have a real family. Even if not all of us are related by blood, we are more of a family than the other few blood families I have met."
I stand. "That is what I wanted and hoped for. Now, come on." I hold out my hand. He smiles. "Yes." He takes my hand and I bring us to the exit. Because of this past incident, I have strengthened the barrier protecting Fairie.
Whether it will actually work or not though, I am unsure. If not, I fear for the future. It will be a hard time for everyone.
"Where are we headed?" I look at Aurum. "Crete." Crete? I know that name. I shake my head and wave my hand to take us there. I was not lying when I said I was feeling better. That period of rest gave me time to assimilate the other magic into my own, and to push all of it deeper, locking it away once more. Without outside interference, it was much simpler.
Soon, we are standing on a patch of land. "Crete, who is the king here?" Aurum frowns. "I believe his name is Minos?" I frown. King Minos of Crete? "His wife?" It is familiar. Why? "Pasiphae." My eyes widen. "Of course!"
"Queen Pasiphae is your aunt! Sort of. Your mother's husband, Midas, is the younger brother of Queen Pasiphae. After you were taken and I was unable to bring myself to see your mother in person again, I started looking into her husband. I was mainly just wanting to check on him and make sure that his family was good. Though, his family is one of the few that spread to other worlds. It is not a common occurrence at all."
