Such kindness was easy for Sophie, but it became a responsibility when she took an oath as an elfish guard. Years before her training a union was made between the fairies and elves. A young elf fell in love with a fairy. The two were united in marriage after disputes and a close encounter with war. The two were from different worlds, with contrasting characteristics among themselves and their people. Where elves were much like humans, and skilled fighters, fairies were creatures of the forest with no desire for contact with any race other then their own. They drive clear of war and do not posses weapons other than their own natural magic. Many were against the union but after the passing of the elf king, his widowed queen, always with a kind heart supported the two in their marriage and love. A year had passed and the marriage had lasted through all of the trouble that was thrown at it. But returning from visiting an ill friend, the elfish man, named Zeuss came home to his fairy wife's slaughtered body. She had been raped and her pregnant belly cut open. The child was taken, most likely dead, one could only guess what cruel thing was done to the child's corpse. He had stared in disbelief at the scene and cried at his lost. Word reached both sides of royalty and an investigation took way. It was done not by fairy or elfish hands. In fact, no one could puzzle out who or what the killer was. The young fairy killed was Leona De Sparrow, a name given to her by her great grandmother. The two were to have a child and in honor of the the captain of the Elfish Guards, they were to name him Royale. The captain of the Elfish Guards had been honored with such a kind gesture. He was deeply saddened by the loss of the child and it's mother and discussed with the queen something he had felt strongly about. With such a small tolerance of violence acted by a fairy, the faerie people had little ways of defending themselves. With permission from the fairy king, any elf that chose to join with the Elfish Guards, swore on their life and blood they would protect any fairy that crossed out of the lands of the Faerie Lands. Towers and sentries were built along the border of the lands with a handful of guards at each. They were to deliver a fairy to their destination safely and to put their own lives at risk. This was just a small thing to them, compared to the bravery of the young couple that risked their own lives, and reputation for a love they found unavoidable and necessary. The fear it had struck however, made the chances of another romance such as this, very unlikely. Sophie had always know elves had kind hearts from the very day she was allowed to walk out on her own, but she had never realized how dedicated and unwavering they were in their promise to the faerie kingdom. She joined the Elfish Guards for that reason, and she would be dedicated and unwavering in her journey to return the young girl to a place where she would know her own kind. A day had passed before Fay felt it was time to leave. She had spoken quite a bit to Sophie but very little to Luka, who seemed very distracted with her own thoughts. She had asked Sophie at one point why it was. “Luka often likes to mentally map out the path that will be taken. There are a few ways to the elf kingdom. The danger levels of each path depends on the time of year. We've never quite figured out why but its just how the wind blows I suppose. “ “Well which path will we take?” Sophie smiled at her before standing up and looking out the window. The sun was setting and she had made sure Fay would make it to her room safely without a drunken bastard jumping out from around the corner to take her. “Well around this time of the year, all the roads are somewhat dangerous. There is however one road that can only be taken by a fairy or by those accompanied by a fairy. This is the road that I presume Luka will wish to take.” They left at dawn. The horses were saddled and they had bought a weeks supply of food. Sophie and Luka had generously bought Fay a horse rather than force her to ride along behind one of them. It was a magnificent white creature. It's gorgeous mane had been brushed thoroughly by the stable boy. It rode fast and hard at a speed almost able to over take that of Sophie's. The wind blew through her hair and whipped it behind her, pressing itself against her body. The wind made her feel like she was flying as she sped through the town. Onlookers stared at the strange sight of two elfish guards riding along side a strangely beautiful girl, a strangeness tickling at their nose. It was of pure delight but had an upsetting quality that hung so dauntingly in the air. It was as if death stood at the doorstep of every man's house but mercifully left as the strangers left their sight. It wasn't only the civilians that had noticed the ominous presence. Luka felt it in her bones as she watched the fairy girl laugh with such joy at her new found freedom. There somewhere in the child was a darkness just lurking and waiting to pounce. Somewhere behind the prettiness was something angry and vengeful. Through the line of trees was a fairly large field. In the air was something strong and powerful. It was demanding and it was pure. It was of the law but it did not seek fairness. It favored only one race, it was fairy magic so dense that it was built like a wall to keep out those that were forbidden to cross the thresholds to the sacred lands. Fay felt none of what Sophie and Luka could feel pushing at them. Screaming at them to turn around and to leave. It badgered and almost begged. It was forceful and it was obvious the crossing would be a difficult one. Fay however only felt a welcoming warmth. One that passionately accepted her, a feeling she had only felt once before with her mother. She saw the struggle and pain in her companions' faces. They had discussed its difficulty. Even with a fairy the passing would still be a difficult one. The most important part was that Fay was the first to enter the in between and the last to leave. The magic in the air however pulled her forward as it pushed the other two back. They rode slowly, Fay riding behind watching as an invisible force drew the other two backwards in the direction they had come. She couldn't quite feel what they felt but she could only hope it wasn't as agonizing as their faces made it look. Just in front of them was the opposite line of trees. There the pain and the hold would release and they would be in the sacred lands. But at that point Sophie and Luka had grown increasingly weak, or so it seemed. They felt much like old beggars hoping for just a bit of time at life. A wind teased them. It's coolness licked at their skin just as a fire might. The sun was high in the sky, showing that the eternity they had spent was only but a short fragment of the day. And as they slowly pushed themselves and their horses to the end of the crossing their was a slow bit of pure ecstasy from the pain that seemed to leave their weary bodies. They almost jumped off their horses but hurriedly decided it would be best if they slowly lowered themselves in case they were as weak as they felt. There was a clear path that they followed. Now that they had made it, they felt a sense of pride and accomplishment. They did not know what was so sacred about the land other than it had once been an ancient civilization. That civilization had been destroyed by selfishness and greed. The hate that had grown and bred so greatly within the people that inhabited it ate at the minds and hearts of every man, woman, and child. Jealousy led to revenge and in turn led to deaths and more hate. They knew nothing of what the people were or why they had come to such a dramatic and tragic end. Just as they grew closer into the heart of it they noticed shapes made of brick and stone. They were made of glass and metal. There was what they presumed were roads but were black as ash weirdly decorated by yellow splotches straight down the middle, but its quality was nothing. It was rubble along with what they could only guess were buildings. There were building that must have been at least forty stories high, its crumbling body looking down at them sadly. Buildings of dust and trash lay in all directions. It was an ugly sight. The sacredness of it was no where to be seen. Somewhere in Fay something spoke to her. It was as if the past presence of previous visitors told her this story. “This was once a city. A great one with millions of humans. On these roads machines would drive delivering people to where they wished to go. These buildings were so great and magnificent, reaching up at the heavens, maybe one day growing to be so tall that it would finally reach its destination. The people were powerful, they were strong, and they were hopeful, but after years of creating and inventing they soon left work to the machines, making jobs too easy and eventually hard to find. People were no longer needed and people soon found the machines to be a lazy way around life. They grew fat from their food, from their wealth and from their power and narcissistic minds. And their world grew, as their power grew, so did their hunger for more power, for more land, and for more wealth. Pretty soon the only thing that mattered in their hearts was being the best. Pretty soon the world was starved because people industrialized and they never stopped. They cut down trees and they destroyed the world they lived on. They lived on hate, and greed, jealousy, and the idea that they would one day be the best. This all led to a starvation for love and companionship. They starved themselves because when that wealth ran dry and the power ceased to exist, they were left with nothing. Their land grew no food to feed even their own mouths, let alone their families. They died of disease, war, and loneliness. This happened as the beings of the other world watched. The struggle had been predicted and so, they bred a new generation of humans. Ones that would live humbly and in the past, with little to no machinery. They would not allow what was once a great race, to become nothing, so they gave them another chance. The success of this grand scheme was no surprise but the language and slang was something they couldn’t quite fix, and soon it was adopted by all in order to create a unified world. This sacred land was to be a reminder to the fairy people as to why they did it, and why they themselves would never become involved in the same affairs as the humans had once been involved in.” Sophie watched as Fay returned from wherever her mind had wandered to find this truth. The humans had truly become unfortunate in their struggle for survival. But why the fairies had given them a chance, wasn't very clear. The elves were known for their kindness, the fairies for their knowledge and charm. One could only ask if the fairies benefited from any of this.
They wandered through the rubble looking at this and that. There was much to be amazed by, especially the largeness of the city. It was amazing how the fairies were able to keep this so well hidden and so well protected. But as they neared the other side of the city, they realized that there was a strange man standing just fifty yards from them. He was dressed as a farmer, with a strength about him that they couldn't quite understand. His face was hidden by a straw hat and his clothing was worn and dirt stained. He stood patiently waiting for them as if he had known they were coming. Sophie carefully grabbed for her sword. Luka had done the same and stepped in front of Fay motioning for her to stay. As she watched Luka approach the man she could feel her heart in her throat, fearful for what they were in for but relief came quickly as Luka waved the two over. The man was a badger farmer. He found them to be a very likeable and feisty creature. They were strong and powerful and they could kill coyotes and fend off animals much larger then them. It was a strange thing to farm but Fay was still fearful of a man that seemed very much human. He was watching her as she thought this making her scream in her head to shut up. It would be terribly scary if he could read minds, and in the unlikely event he could she would hope she was fast enough to run from him and make it out of the Sacred Lands. “You young lady, seem distracted. As I was saying, the sun will be setting soon enough and it would not be safe for a group such as yourselves to be out. As safe as things may seem, its truly not at night. My badgers have caught themselves in some trouble with a large pack of wolves the other night. I lost one of the younger ones but the rest survived with just a few scratches. You are all welcomed to stay at my farm however, if you would like.” Sophie spoke fore the group. “Thank you and we would appreciate it very much. Is if far from here? We've been traveling for a very long time and our companion isn't exactly used to such travel.” “Ah, I see. A fairy. I thought I smelled something new, but this place is so heavy with fairy magic its almost hard to tell sometimes. Fairies don't get out much at all do they. But then again your different. Your only half fairy. That’s something strange. My farm is just a while from here. It's close to where your heading so your travel out of these lands wont be too long tomorrow.” The man's constant subject change was confusing the sense out of Fay. He spoke quickly like he was in a hurry to get away from something. They followed him to a small farm house. It was built by a river and well decorated by roses and tulips and other flowers of many sorts. It was a peaceful home. As far they could tell there was no wife in this man's life however. Though they weren't quite sure what sort of woman would want to put up with so many badgers. “How do you farm badgers?” It was a ridiculously obvious question but Fay was curious to know. He smiled at her and answered as they made their way into his home. It was cozy and modest. He wasn't wealthy but you could tell quite a bit of money was put into making this place as comfortable as it was. The simple cream colored curtains matched the sofa and several chairs. The coffee table wasn't anything fancy but it looked well made. “I don't suppose you could really call it farming. I'm more of a breeder. I breed the badgers and farm them for furs to trade for seeds and other little necessities I find I may need. Now, welcome to my home. I hope you find it to your liking.” He walked them to a fairly large room. “You three may sleep here for the night. I'll give you some time to settle in. I'll start supper.” He left the room and headed back towards the kitchen. Fay scanned the room. The hard wood flooring was shiny and looked new. The four post bed was made and a sofa resided on the opposite wall. A large window gave light to all of it, it's curtains drawn aside revealing the setting sun. It was a beautiful view.