Bo was sitting at the Dal, drinking a much needed beer and running through her day with Kenzi. She was a little annoyed about not getting to talk to Mayer, but he had apparently fled as soon as he heard there was an attempted assassination on the Morrigan at the club. She was still trying to process the whole piece about almost feeding on the woman and the crazy attraction she had towards her, so she left that part out of her story to Kenzi, just mentioning that she had run in to her and they were talking when the hunting party arrived.

Hale and Dyson arrived a few minutes later with Hale walking right up to her at the bar and slapping her on the back. "Way to go Bo, I admit you got balls trying to tap that!" Bo looked up confused at his exclamation, but understanding started to dawn as soon as she saw the sour expression on Dyson's face. Apparently the fae gossip mill wasn't hindered by the divide between Light and Dark.

"Bo, tell me the rumors aren't true, that you weren't grinding on the Morrigan before she was attacked," Dyson asked, his demeanor as cold as ice.

"Whoa chica, you definitely left that out of your story!" Kenzi barged in to the conversation. "Seriously? You and the Ice Queen Bitch?"

Bo held her hands up. "Hang on. I wasn't grinding on her; I don't know where you heard that. We may have been having a conversation a little more closely than was necessary, but there was no grinding." Yet, Bo thought. Another two minutes and there would have been a lot more than grinding going on.

"Yeah well, you are apparently the talk of the Dark, how you were all blue eyed over the Morrigan and helped take out two of her attackers," Hale chuckled. "You are turning into a celebrity in the Dark world."

"Great," Bo said as she turned back to her beer and away from the angry glare of Dyson. She needed to talk to Trick about what the Morrigan's story was and what there was between her and Dyson that caused such hatred. And then she needed to figure out what was between her and this woman who was starting to consume every waking and non-waking thought.

xxx

The man watched the interaction from the shadows, sweat dripping down his sallow and sunken face. Smiling to himself, he knew he had just found what his Master was looking for. Slinking out to let him know of his discovery, he thought to himself, yes, his Master would be very pleased with this one.

xxx

Getting Trick away from the bar and downstairs to ask about Lauren turned out to be easier than she thought. As soon as she brought the woman up, Trick ushered her and Kenzi downstairs. When they were settled on the couch, he asked them what they wanted to know.

"Anything you can tell us. How did she become the Morrigan and why do her and Dyson hate each other so much?"

Trick nodded. "I can tell you how she came to be with the fae, but many of the details on how she came to be the Morrigan are known only to her. As for her and Dyson, I am not sure I have anything concrete either, but I will tell you what I know."

Bo and Kenzi nodded, and got comfortable, waiting for fae story time to start.

Trick settled on his couch and looked at Bo and Kenzi for a long minute before starting his story. He knew the opening would be a shock to them. "Before she was the Morrigan, Lauren Lewis was the human doctor of the Light fae."

"Wait, hold up there Trickster. Did you say human?" Kenzi asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Yes, Kenzi. Lauren Lewis was human when she first joined the fae."

"What the F T-Man? How is that even possible?"

"That is one of the things I don't have the answer to Kenzi, but if you would let me continue my story, I will give you some insight into the situation."

Kenzi nodded and settled herself back down on the couch and waited for Trick to begin his tale again.

"The previous Ash, Samuel, found her in the Congo about 6 or 7 years ago. She was there on a research grant with her girlfriend, Nadia, when she stumbled upon what she thought was a tribe of people who were dying from a deadly strain of flu. The people were dying, but they weren't human, they were fae, and Lauren in her attempts at curing the flu quickly figured this out. The fae flu had been around for centuries and was one of the most feared and incurable diseases. Amazingly, after a few weeks, Dr. Lewis had found a cure and eradicated the disease from the fae. Unfortunately, her girlfriend became sick from what appeared to be the same flu, and the cure did not work on her. She was distraught, so when offered all the resources of the Light fae to help her find a cure for her girlfriend, in return for her service to the Ash, she accepted."

Bo sat engrossed by Trick's tale, and was surprised to find a pang of jealousy shoot through her when hearing of Lauren's girlfriend. "I am guessing this story doesn't have a happy ending," she said, watching the older man closely to gauge his reaction.

"Sadly, no. A little more than a year back, the Ash was killed in an explosion at the compound, and her girlfriend, who had been kept alive in a stasis pod also perished. At the time, it was revealed that her girlfriend had not contracted the flu as originally thought, but rather had been cursed by the Ash in order to secure Lauren's services."

"So Blondie has a good reason to hate the Light fae," Kenzi commented. "But what exactly did committing her 'services' to the fae mean? She worked for them?"

Trick shook his head. "The fae don't have humans 'work' for them Kenzi. The fae own people. She was a slave."

Bo gasped and Kenzi stared at him in disbelief. "A slave? Like the same thing humans abolished a hundred years ago?"

Trick nodded his head. "The fae have owned humans for as long as they have both walked this earth."

Bo had to know. "What did that mean for her? Was she chained up and forced to do things…" She was sick to her stomach right now at the thought of Lauren having to do anything against her will.

Trick at least shook his head this time. "Lauren was very special to the Ash and her knowledge and intelligence were respected, so she was treated better than most owned humans. But there were still times, mostly early in her service, when she was beaten and thrown in the dungeon for not obeying an order or to be reminded of her status. I suspect that is where the mutual dislike for Dyson stems from. She would have worked long days with no vacation or sick time and would have been treated like an afterthought most of the time. But she was also protected and would have had all of her needs met. "

Except her need for freedom, Bo thought to herself, disgusted yet again by the fae.

"When her girlfriend was killed, why wasn't she released?" Bo asked, trying to hold back her anger.

Trick at least had the decency to look a little ashamed at that question. "Well, the new Ash, Lachlan, claimed the contract Lauren signed was for perpetuity, not the life of her girlfriend, and refused to release her. And since the contract was never found, she had no choice but to remain with the fae."

"Did you know her?" Bo couldn't help but ask.

Trick nodded slowly. "I worked with her on a few occasions. She really was the most brilliant doctor and scientific mind the fae had ever known. Despite how she was treated, she maintained a quiet dignity about her and truly did care about her patients. And her brilliance was envied by all the Light fae – she became the personal doctor for all of the elders and important fae in light society."

"So the million dollar question - how did she end up fae and with the Dark?"

"That is still a bit of a mystery. One day there was an incident at the compound and a Light fae elder and hospital orderly were murdered, brutally, and Doctor Lewis went missing. At first everyone thought she had done it, but the attack was more like a wild animal had mauled the two fae than anything else. And no evidence could ever be found linking her to the murder – no DNA, no finger prints, no anything. Eventually the case was closed. A few weeks later, Doctor Lewis resurfaced, she was fae and had claimed allegiance to the Dark. The Light fae were up in arms, not believing that she was fae and demanding her return. But all the tests the Light did confirmed that she was indeed fae. All anyone could surmise was that she had spent her time with the Light finding a way to turn herself fae, and she had achieved that. When the existing Morrigan, Evony, was murdered, they elected her to the position, and that is where she has been for the last year, much to the dismay of the Light."

"So let me get this straight – the fae curse her girlfriend, turn her into a slave and then kill her girlfriend. But at the same time, they tell her their deep dark secrets and their entire medical history? Wow, you fae are stupid. And no wonder she bolted for the Dark. Pay back is a bitch," Kenzi muttered. She didn't like the woman, but she also couldn't help feel sorry for her. She probably would have been a bitchy ice queen too if she had to go through all of that.

Bo nodded in agreement. "I don't even know what to say about all of this Trick. How could anyone think it is okay to own people in this day and age?"

Trick looked at the young succubus. "I know you don't agree with this Bo, but it is how it is, how it has always been. Dr. Lewis knew what she was signing up for when she agreed to join the fae."

"How could you even say that? They CURSED HER GIRLFRIEND! Lying to her to get her to enslave herself is nowhere near being okay, on so many different levels," Bo fumed, her voice rising against the thousands year-old fae.

Trick did not want to argue with her as he knew how stubborn she could be. "It is in the past Bo, what is important is that she is now the Morrigan. And despite my dislike for anyone that holds that title, there are things going on that are bigger than the Light and the Dark, and we may need her help if we are to survive."

Bo slumped back on the couch, her hand coming to rub the bridge of her nose. She was tired of all this fae crap and she needed time to process everything that Trick just told her and the feelings she had for the woman. But she couldn't just leave Trick's statement out there. "What are you talking about Trick? What is going on?"

Trick sighed. "I am not sure yet, but something big is coming. The assassination attempts, the violent outbreaks. Whatever it is wants to destroy the fae, not just one side."

"Great," Bo muttered. "One more thing to worry about. I will keep my eyes open, but unless you have something more concrete there isn't much I can do right now."

"Perhaps you could speak to the Morrigan? I heard the gossip of your last run in with her. If what is coming is as bad as I fear it is, we will need to fight as one against it, we cannot have the Light against the Dark, or we will all perish."

"Melodramatic much Trick?" Kenzi asked. "This has been a way downer convo, I am going to head back upstairs and drown my sorrows in your best vodka. You coming Bo?"

Bo nodded and rose to follow her best friend. As she was just about to head up the stairs, she heard Trick calling her. "Be careful Bo. Any Morrigan is a dangerous woman, but this one is smarter than all that have come before her."

Bo nodded and moved up the stairs after Kenzi. Drowning her sorrows in vodka seemed like a fabulous idea right now.