A/N:

Here's Part II! Two more chapters (I think) and I'm probably going to set this aside and take a break. I don't know yet…

Chapter Eleven, Part II

Caelan smiled. "Do you want to know a secret?"

Tania didn't know how to react to this. "Uh…sure?"

Caelan, still smiling, gathered up her skirts and pulled it up slightly. Tania, confused, looked down. She gasped.

Tiny feet? Tania's eyes widened. She looked up at the woman's smiling eyes. Caelan was a fairy?

Caelan laughed. "You should see your face right now," she said amusedly. "It's pretty funny." She dropped her skirts. "My husband is one too. Why do you think we make such incredible weapons?"

"Does anyone know?"

"No." Caelan's cheerful face was instantly replaced by a stern one. "And don't tell anyone."

"I won't," Tania answered immediately. It was the truth. Her own incidents with mortals weren't so amusing, so why would she want other fairies to experience them? "But why tell me?"

"Because I thought it would comfort you to be in the presence of someone who has very similar blood as yours," Caelan said with a shrug. "By the way, what do you think of your powers?"

"My powers?" Tania echoed. "I-I don't know…they're all right, I guess. I have only used them a couple of times."

Caelan nodded. "That's good. If you ask me, our powers bring nothing but trouble. That's why I don't have any," she said proudly.

Tania started. You can get rid of your powers?!

And for some reason, she began to consider that. I never wanted to be a fairy in the first place. If I remove my powers, that will make me less fairy and more human! Stupid people like Weston will get off my back when they find out that I can't help them with their stupid problems.

Tania shook her head. She then turned to Caelan and gave her a look. "You don't have powers?" she asked. "Is that possible?"

"Of course it is," Caelan replied breezily. "You control your magic. All you have to do is concentrate veryhard and order it to leave your body. However, if you want your powers to be somewhere safe, you have to transfer them directly to another magical being. To someone you can trust. I gave my powers to my husband years ago, and because of that, he is twice as powerful as a normal fairy."

"Is that safe?"

"It's all about trust," Caelan said firmly. "I trust Vance. He would never abuse it."

"What about immortality?"

Caelan shook her head. "No. We fairies can never remove our immortality, the same way we cannot do anything about our small feet." She eyed Tania questioningly. "Why do you ask? Immortality is a gift, not a curse. You should treasure it."

Tania shrugged. "The idea of living forever just seems so…dull. That's all." She sighed. "Anyway, how do you give your powers to someone else?"

Caelan frowned. "Why? Are you planning to give yours away? Because I really don't recommend it."

Tania frowned. "You yourself have done it," she challenged.

"That's different. I gave mine to someone I trust with my life. You, on the other hand, don't have anyone to give your powers to."

Tania remained silent, for she knew that Caelan was right. Still, she couldn't help but think how it would be wonderful to have that burden be lifted from her. That was what Tania thought of powers as. Nothing but a burden. Flying, shooting sparks, and the like were fun, she admitted that to herself, but she thought past that. Sum all of that up and she got nothing but a heavy load on her shoulders.

"Well," Tania said, breaking the silence that she had started, "if I remove my magic and not transfer it to someone, what will become of it?"

Caelan sighed. "Tania," she said gently, "please do not remove your magic. It's all right for me…but not for you."

"I'm not meaning to be rude," Tania said, frowning slightly, "but we just met. You don't know how aggravating being an exposed fairy is. They want to use mefor their own little games. Weston, my 'uncle', actually killed me because I refused to use my powers for evil. Hey, I may have lived, but the pain was—is—horrifying." She paused. "But don't worry. I'm not going to remove my powers anytime soon. At least I don't think so. Please tell me where it goes after I remove them. I don't want to feel guilty if I cause any possible danger."

Caelan sighed heavily. "All right, I'll tell you," she said in defeat. She took a deep breath. "Magic lingers invisibly in the air after it is removed by its owner. Anything or anyone that can sense fairy magic out in the open, which is a rare skill, and has the strength to carry it within them—like a phoenix, a unicorn, a dragon, or maybe an ogre—can steal it. So yes, it can be dangerous, but there are very few who can sense exposed fairy magic since it is so powerful and advanced."

"I see…," Tania said slowly. So releasing fairy magic into the air could be very dangerous, since it could fall into the wrong hands. Damn. She sighed. "Anyway," she said wearily, "may I take a look at your weapons?"

Caelan grinned amusedly. "Look at weapons?" she said, her voice filled with mirth. She chuckled. "It seems as if you have warrior blood. Who are your parents?"

Tania's face darkened. "I never knew them," she said curtly. She turned away and stared in deep concentration at a crossbow.

"I'm very sorry," Caelan said softly. After a moment of discomforting silence, she gestured towards all the weapons in display with a wave of her hand and said, "Please take a look. I will happily sell you one. Your age is sixteen or above, right?"

A ghost of a smile crept up Tania's face. "Yes, I—"

"Oh, wait!" Caelan suddenly interrupted. "On second thought, come with me. I want to show you something." She smiled mysteriously and began to head to the back room.

Tania, rooted on her spot, frowned. "Huh?" she called to the older woman.

"Just come," Caelan said impatiently. "This will interest you."

Tania shrugged and followed Caelan to the back room. The back room was pretty large. It was slightly dark and had the mixed smell of raw metal and coal. The air was really stuffy and warm. Unfinished weapons lay on a battered, wooden table. A big furnace was at the corner, and Tania noticed the slowly dying embers within it.

The sound of Caelan's voice snapped Tania out of her observant state. "Take a look at this," the woman said.

Tania turned to see what Caelan was talking about. She saw that the woman was holding something proudly in her hands. "Is that a weapon?" she questioned.

Caelan smiled. "Yup. And not just any weapon. This is from fairy culture. Back when Faylinn existed, this is what the guards used as their primary weapon." There was a hint of sadness in her voice as she mentioned the long-lost fairy kingdom, and a part of her smile vanished.

"You were in Faylinn?"

Caelan nodded.

"But you don't really remember what it was like, right?"

Her fairy companion gave her a weird look. "Why would you say that?"

"Because Faylinn fell"—Caelan winced at this—"about eighteen years ago. It was because of the destruction of the Saeryl."

Caelan shot her an amused look. "You know your history," she commented, "but what makes you think I don't remember any of that? I remember perfectly well what Faylinn was like before its ruin." A sad smile crept up her face. "I was a countess," she added quietly.

"You would have been eight or nine years old," Tania pointed out.

Surprisingly, Caelan gave her an amused look and burst out laughing. It was light laughter, as if she was amused about something. Tania, startled at the reaction, just stood there, a confused look on her face.

Caelan grinned. "You think I'm only about twenty-nine years old."

"And…you're not?"

"No," Caelan replied. "I'm almost thirty-seven." She laughed again at Tania's surprised face. "You knowledge on fairies is limited, Tania. Did you not know that once a fairy hits the age of thirty, his or her aging process slows down a lot?"

"That's…interesting…," Tania said slowly. Then a thought struck her. "But since we are immortal, do we just continue aging as the years pass?"

Caelan shook her head. "No. Fairies stop aging when they hit 500. By then, they would have wrinkles and white hair." She paused. "There is also another way to stop aging. Once fairies soar up to Noewyn, they completely stop aging, even though they have not reached 500 yet." She gave Tania a questioning look. "You have heard of Noewyn?"

Tania nodded. "I have, and—"

"It's not your time," Caelan immediately cut in. "You should not consider going there soon."

Tania gave her a look. "Why?"

"Why?!" Caelan cried in disbelief. "You are still young! Usually, a fairy soars up there when he or she is around 200 years old. You still have a good life to live, Tania. You are nowhere near the end of your road." She paused, wishing for her words to sink in the mind of the young fairy before her. Then, a few seconds later, she continued. "Anyway, here," she said, handing the weapon to Tania, "take a look at it. It's an amazing weapon."

Tania took the weapon from Caelan's hands. It consisted of a large, steel blade fixed on the end of a pole, which edge was on the outside curve.

"It's light," Tania commented.

"Yes… surprising, isn't it?"

Tania nodded in agreement. "This feels better in my hands than a sword. I like this weapon better. I wish I know how to use it," she added wistfully.

"Not many know how to use the glefe," Caelan remarked. "Sure, many fairies know how to use it, but it is rare for humans to know how to wield one. The glefe was created for fairy hands."

"So this is called a glefe?"

"That's right." A dazed expression crossed Caelan's face, as if a sudden memory had just come to her. She chuckled softly. "When there was still a Faylinn, I used to live near the palace. Everyday, I would see soldiers, each with a glefe in their possession. They would jokingly spar with each other during their spare time, and I would always watch them." She sighed sadly. "Those were the days."

"Here," Tania said, giving back the glefe. She felt slightly awkward at Caelan's loneliness. She had never been to Faylinn. She had never experienced the joys that once existed there, so she did not feel that much sorrow for it.

Caelan, still a bit dazed, took it back. She stared pensively at it for a brief moment before putting it back on the rack, where she had gotten it from. She sighed heavily.

"Err…," Tania said uncomfortably, "since I don't know how to use that, I don't see a reason for purchasing it. I think I should stick to swords."

Caelan smiled. "All right. Let's go back outside."

The two quietly left the back room. When they reached the other room where the finished weapons were, Tania began to look at the swords on display. She wanted a good sword, one that she could be familiar and work with.

It did not take her long to find the right one. The moment her eyes landed on it, she knew that it was the perfect sword. Excited, she picked it from the rack and carefully swayed it around.

It was surprisingly very light, but—hey—a fairy made it. The blade was unique. The two edges weren't straight, like what normal blades usually had. They were very wavy, and they seemed to snake gracefully like one. They met at the tip, one that was very sharp and pointed. The hilt had a very nice grip, a sphere-like pommel at the end, and the typical cross-guards to prevent cuts on the hand.

"I like this," Tania said simply.

Caelan beamed. "Thanks. I designed that. The blade cuts way more deeply than a typical one with a straight edge."

Tania smiled. "This is perfect. I'll take it. I don't have any money right now, but I'll come back later. Will you keep this safe for me?" Weston did not know this, but Tania had her own big stash of money. It was sort of an emergency fund. It was hidden somewhere very safe in the manor. Her parents told her where it was when she was thirteen, but she had never visited the place.

Caelan nodded. "Sure. Now, there's something I want to give you."

Tania frowned. "What is it?"

The woman reached for her neck and pulled something out that hid beneath her dress. Tania looked and realized that it was a necklace. It was a black leather cord with a small crystal pendant. The crystal was not smooth. It was slightly long with facades on it.

"This necklace," Caelan said as she slipped it off, "is not just for display." She paused. "It is bathed with power from the Saeryl. It's just a crystal, not a shard of the Saeryl, but it has the ability to heal." She smiled at Tania. "It's yours now."

Tania, with her mouth agape, stared at the necklace with wide eyes. "I-I can't take that," she whispered. "That must be extremely valuable." She looked up at Caelan. "And we barely know each other."

Caelan laughed and shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Fairies are supposed to have a special bond with each other, no matter what. Something that you said earlier caught my attention. You said that you already died two times, right?"

Tania nodded slowly. "Right…"

"Well," the older fairy said, "I'm not sure if you know this, but that is very unnatural for a fairy. Most fairies have never experienced death, while you have experienced it two times. So please take this necklace, Tania. No one knows who I am, so I'm safe. You, however, are not. "

Tania shook her head. "I-I can't…"

Caelan sighed. "Don't you realize how dangerous being dead is? If you have this necklace, you don't have to worry about being extremely vulnerable for five minutes. You could just heal yourself the moment you get hurt."

Again, Tania shook her head. "I—"

"Take it," Caelan cut in. Her voice was firm, almost impatient. "If you don't take it, I'll end up throwing it since I don't need it." Actually, that was a lie, but Tania did not need to know that.

Tania sighed. Caelan seemed so set on giving it, though she didn't know why. Should she accept it? She did not know much about fairies, but she was certain that the necklace before her was extremely rare and valuable. Tania admitted that the necklace would be very helpful to her, but she didn't want Caelan doing something that she would regret later on.

She sighed softly. "All right," she said weakly. "But only if you're sure."

Caelan nodded. "I'm very sure," she said firmly.

Tania shrugged and took it. She clasped it around her neck. The necklace reminded her of the necklace that Kylee had given her. She hadn't worn that one yet, but she decided that she would take the stone pendant and join it along with the crystal pendant.

"I'm sure you don't know how to use it," Caelan said, breaking through the silence.

Tania shook her head. "No."

Caelan nodded. "All right. First of all, I must tell you that that necklace can only heal battle wounds. It does not have enough power to heal sicknesses or the like." She paused slightly. "The moment you get wounded, you have to take the crystal, place it just over the wound, and mentally order it to heal the wound. This may seem simple, but it's not. Because remember that when you get hurt, you barely have enough strength to move. You have to fight through the pain and force yourself to stay conscious. Do you understand, Tania?"

Tania nodded.

"Good. Do not overuse that crystal, because its power is limited. It will die overtime."

Tania nodded. It was in this moment when someone entered the armoury. Both fairies turned and realized that it was Darrin. They immediately ceased conversation.

A/N:

Sigh…this isn't exactly the best chapter, so sorry about that. And to those who are reading this, I will really appreciate it if you send a review! And I want to change the title (for some reason, "Eternal War" just doesn't cut it), so if you have any suggestions I can use, I'm all ears…