I was going to leave some time between FotF and this sequel, but inspiration struck...:D. Plus you all gave me such nice reviews, it just made me want to write...(hint hint :D).

Prologue

Somewhere in Devon, 11.58pm, 2nd of March, 1949

The night was wet and cold. Rowan shivered against the damp breeze which twisted around her, and longed for her own tree. She had never been to this part of the woods before; for she had always been careful to stay away from the very creatures that tonight she and the selkie next to her were about to contact. She tried to stop her eye from wandering back to the girls limp body that the selkie was carrying, but it was hard.

"Are you sure about this, Rowan?" her companion whispered to her.

"Nope."

"They're unpredictable, dangerous!"

"But it's the only chance we have."

Silence fell between them. And then...

"I still say-"

"Listen, blubber breath, for the millionth time, no! She's a human; she does not want to live off of fish for the rest of her life!"

Silence again.

"Well, it was a thought. And would you stop with the personal remarks?"

"No."

"Well you'd better or I'll think up some pretty cutting one's to say back to you!"

"Like what?"

Silence fell for the third time.

"Erm...Fungi trunk?"

There was a snort. "Oh, now I feel offended."

"You should do... mossy bark!"

"Oh yeah? Who are you calling mossy, shark turds!"

"SHARK TURDS? SHARK TURDS? You jumped up BUSH!"

"BUSH? SEAWEED NOSTRI-"

There was a little cough, like someone clearing their throat. Both of the fighting creatures stiffened and turned towards the noise. A beautiful woman was walking towards them, a woman who seemed to have been made out of moonlight and shadows. "What is your business here tonight?" she said, her voice soft, and whisper like.

The two companions looked at each other and then back again.

"Well? I'm waiting for a reply? What common interests do a selkie and a tree sprite share?"

Rowan cleared her throat. "We come here about a Universal."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "A Universal?" she glanced down at the still, unmoving girl in the selkie's arms. "This child?" her voice was amused.

Rowan nodded. "I've known her for around one and a half years now. She played in the garden where my tree grows. She was injured, fleeing Kullervo. We ask for your help, to protect her."

The woman began to walk closer to them, and her expression made the hair on the back of Rowan's neck prickle. No happiness. No sorrow. Just blank indifference. And just the merest, slightest trace of greed. "Let me see her."

The selkie took an instinctive step back. The woman laughed, and the sound made a shiver go down Rowans spine. It was like tinkling bells. Beautiful. But cold. "You don't trust me?" the woman asked, smiling coyly.

"I've always been told never to trust the elves."

The woman's smile broadened. "You were correctly informed. We are not trust worthy."

This close, Rowan could see how truly lovely the woman was. Her eyes burned coldly, the exact same colour as the stars above, her long silver hair fell in shimmering waves to her waist, and her dress seemed to have been made out of glowing silver mist, floating around her, and twisting gently in the breeze. She studied the girl for a few minutes.

"I will help you both. But for a price."

"Name it."

The woman smiled dazzlingly, and whispered her answer in Rowan ear. Then she was gone and all that was left was the selkie and the sprite in the darkest part if the woods, clutching the body of a Universal under the cold, cold stars.

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xxx