Character Name Pronunciation Guide:
Fiadh: fee-ah
Darragh: dar-rah
Mairead: mi-rade
Ciaran: kee-ran
Note: All characters depicted are 20+ (much more so for the faeries who are all hundreds of years old)
~*~
Fiadh had wanted children ever since she was a young girl. However, as she grew older, she found herself with a clear disinterest in courtship. The sort of thing worked for many, but not for her. She detested the idea of not only tying herself down to a man but in general having prolonged romantic involvement with one. It didn't bother her in particular that she couldn't find herself falling in love; the problem was in her desire for a child in all of this.
Unfortunately, Fiadh had been born in a highly traditional village whose men refused to bed her out of wedlock—quite useless. It was just her luck, and she had no means of moving elsewhere. So she stuck to her lonely, rural homestead; growing and selling flowers to keep herself fed and housed, sadly convinced that she would never get her wish without bringing some prudish bore of a man into her life for good. But, as luck would have it, the supernatural world had heard of her plight.
She was tending to her warm, sunlit garden when she spied a figure moving out from behind an oak tree on the edge of the nearby forest. As the person approached her, Fiadh realized that they weren't a person at all. The creature was tall and elegant; a woman with shimmering, white hair and long, feathery antennae like a moth. Her chest was bare and she seemed much like a faun from old legends, but with a rabbit's legs rather than a goat's.
Fiadh was startled into dropping the basket of flowers she had been picking, but did not run or scream. She was stunned as the creature came to stand in front of her. She hardly knew what to expect, but it wasn't for the strange woman to bow to her deeply, her antennae brushing the ground.
"I am a messenger of Darragh; Lord of the Wood," the woman said in a silvery voice as she stood straight again. Her eyes were a piercing blue. "Mairead is my name, and I am at your service as I am to him. Are you Miss Fiadh Kavanagh?"
Fiadh cleared her throat, stepping away a couple paces, but nodding. "W-What brings you here?"
"My lord has requested that I bring you to him as he wishes to bestow upon you a most wonderful gift," Mairead said. "It is the highest of honor, especially for a human such as yourself."
"A gift?" Fiadh thought. "What for? I don't remember doing anything for a faerie Lord. Anyone would, I'm sure."
"And if I refuse his request?" she asked tentatively, fearful of invoking a fury in this woman.
Mairead cocked her head. "You may, but it would only be your loss for Lord Darragh intends to grant you your deepest desire."
Fiadh's breath caught. Her deepest desire? She immediately caught on to what Mairead was suggesting.
"He...wants to help me have a child?" she asked, her tone thin with overwhelming hope.
"Yes," Mairead said. "If you would allow such assistance from—."
"Take me with you...I'll see him," Fiadh interrupted, stepping closer. It was impossible to hold back her eagerness even in the face of uncertainty. She had never met this man and there was always the risk that he operated with ulterior motives—especially as a faerie. But if he could give her a child, she would risk whatever cost.
"Excellent. My Lord will be pleased. As will you, of course." Mairead said, turning back to face the woods and starting forward. Her rabbit's tail flicked as she gestured with her arm for Fiadh to follow. "Come along."
Fiadh obliged, her hands tightly clasping her dress skirt as she was lead to the unknown, mysterious Lord of the woods.
~*~
The sun was setting by the time Mairead and Fiadh came to a great, ancient tree. Thick vines covered the trunk, spreading up into the multitude of branches. Mairead reached out with her long fingers and traced along the lacing vines in a seemingly random pattern while muttering something in a language that Fiadh didn't understand. The path she followed began to glow with an otherworldly golden light, and when she connected back with the starting point, the tree itself seemed to shimmer.
The faerie woman turned at the hip and offered her hand to Fiadh who only hesitated a moment before taking it. Her skin was pleasantly cool like the shade. Slowly, Mairead led Fiadh physically into the trunk of the tree, the two of them passing easily through it as if it were smoke. On the other side, the hidden realm of the fae opened up.
Fiadh stood in awe as she suddenly found herself walking into a large, ornate town square set into a forest of trees far taller than in those of the one she had just left. The fading light of day streamed in through the trunks, igniting the area in a warm, inviting glow. She looked behind her, noting that the tree they had passed through was gone and in its place stood an elaborate stone archway. The air between the supports seemed to gently wave and twist.
"Come," Mairead said, releasing Fiadh's hand and gaining her attention back. "The House of Lord Darragh is this way."
Fiadh fell into step behind the white-haired rabbit woman, her heart beating hard in her chest. "All right."
The two of them walked through the square and past an interesting fountain that featured a statue of a winged doe standing upon a rock surrounded by multitudes of armored mice. There were beautiful, sandy-coloured buildings crawling with vines up to their green roofs. Leaves skittered in the faint breeze across the stone at Fiadh's feet, twirling into various pathways leading away from the village center and towards more homes that stretched further than she could see into the woods. Fiadh wondered just how large this place was.
Various strange creatures milled about, many similar to Mairead with animal legs and antennae (or horns in some cases). Others were smaller beings with little, foxy faces and mushroom-capped heads. Thirdly were the variety of folks who resembled large lizards standing upon two legs, coming in many colours and shapes. Most of these people went about their business while others stopped to stare at the human. They seemed to have little concern about Fiadh—likely due to Mairead guiding her—and quickly moved on, some with a quick smile and a nod.
With no interruption, the women walked a short ways down a road, through a bustling marketplace where the townsfolk were enjoying jovial music and food, and eventually to a guarded gate. With a word to the posted guards, Mairead gained them entrance. They came into a courtyard that was fragrant with the scent of the many flowers growing within it. Petals from apple blossoms fluttered from the rows of trees on either side of the yard. The serenity of it all was becoming the bane of Fiadh's nerves, though she still carried uncertainty.
Despite the ethereal beauty, this was still an unpredictable place full of unpredictable beings. Would Fiadh really come out of this whole thing with a child of her own? What could she possibly have to offer a Lord of faeries in return? If she couldn't give whatever that was, would she be cursed? Enslaved? Eaten? She shivered as her and Mairead reached the steps of a lavish, stone and wood building; the House of Lord Darragh.
Once through the front doors, they were met in the ornate foyer by one of those lizard folk. He was dressed in a fine, flowing waist wrap with a sheer shawl draped over his shoulders and otherwise naked chest. He stood straight with his head held high.
"Mairead," he said. "You've brought her then?"
"Yes, Ciaran; Miss Fiadh Kavanagh of Eldhan," Mairead said with a turn of her head in Fiadh's direction. "As the Lord requested."
Ciaran regarded Fiadh with his golden reptilian eyes. Smiling warmly, he stepped forward and took her hand in his. She allowed him to kiss the back of her fingers.
"The chamberlain of the illustrious House of Lord Darragh bids you welcome," Ciaran said. "I hope this all isn't too overwhelming for you."
Fiadh's hand found her opposite wrist at her front as the man released it.
"I wish I could tell you that it wasn't," she said. "This is a new world to me. I'm...a little frightened in all honesty, but I do wish to accept the Lord's gift."
Ciaran nodded thoughtfully. "I'm glad that you do. And if it would ease your fears, I assure you that no one here means to do you harm during your stay—or ever for that matter. Lord Darragh especially; you're very important to him."
"In what way?" Fiadh asked, her worry barely suppressed. "I get the feeling that this 'gift' may cost me greatly."
"Spirits, no," Ciaran said, holding up his hands. He sounded genuinely aghast at the suggestion. "Unless we fae have different definitions of such. But the explanation would be better received from Lord Darragh himself." He turned back to Mairead. "I have been instructed to have you bring Miss Kavanagh to his chambers; he prefers to meet her there rather than the throne room."
"Understood," Mairead said. She led Fiadh to the staircase leading to the second floor. Ciaran saw them off with a deep bow before disappearing into a side room.
The hallways were quiet, save for a few servants Fiadh saw who welcomed her in passing as they went about various cleanings and other chores. As they reached a final, regal-looking set of wooden doors, Fiadh thought about turning and running from there. But she remembered her resolve; if the Lord truly wished to give her a child, then the price would have to bare the heaviest of weights for her to refuse.
The guards positioned outside wordlessly opened the doors for them. Fiadh took a deep breath and followed Mairead inside. That same breath left her quickly as she caught her first sight of the Lord of the Wood. Laying across a chaise lounge with his back facing them, haloed by the light of the fireplace before him, was a giant of a man.
Fiadh almost wanted to shrink behind Mairead, but the woman took a few paces forward.
"My Lord Darragh," Mairead said. "I have brought Miss Kavanagh."
