ooOoo

The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.

The Fae Prince

Chapter 9

Beyond the River and the Wood

A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,

He rode between the barley-sheaves,

The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,

And flamed upon the brazen greaves

Of bold Sir Lancelot

A red-cross knight forever kneel'd

To a lady in his shield,

That sparkled on the yellow field,

Beside remote Shalott.

The Lady of Shalott by Alfred, Lord Tennyson 1809-1892

They packed up and left Lost Creek before noon. Sam was fascinated by the landscape outside the car windows. Fae traveled by other means and this physical transition from place to place using machines was as foreign to the Fae as the tunnels of light the Fae used to move around the world would be to human eyes.

Sam Singer, Sam Singer, he repeated to himself. It was a nice name; human and susurrant. He liked the way it felt whistling through his teeth. There was a snort from his traveling companion. "I can hear you, man. " Dean laughed. "You like your name?"

"I find it pleasant." Sam replied. "It rustles and hisses. I am reminded of a snake in fallen leaves."

"That's just a lovely thought." Dean curled his nose. "You got a thing for snakes?"

Sam looked at the young man. "Snakes are a reminder. They are old, very old and they know the stories of the beginnings. The Fae values them just as they value the owls in the night and the hawks in the sun. All creatures have their place in the balance of the world; even you."

Dean leaned down and turned on the tape player. A song drifted through the car, pounding and alive it brightened the colors outside the windows. Sam settled in to learn about his new place in the world.

He felt the change in the air as they dropped down out of the mountains. The world opened in front of him and the mountains fell behind. There were fewer and fewer trees and Sam felt exposed to a staring sky. He was a forest spirit and the trees were becoming less and less. "Where are we, Dean?"

"Welcome to the great Prairie State of Nebraska." Den replied. "Not quite big sky county but close enough. "

"Where are the trees?" Sam asked.

Dean glanced over at his partner. "I never really gave it much thought but you're right. Not many trees here. This is a grassland state. It's pretty much flat and empty. Not much to break the wind, just acre after acre of rolling hills and long vistas. We won't see the forests again until we move north toward South Dakota."

"Here, let me introduce you to a human invention called a map." Dean stopped the car and pulled over. All that Sam could hear outside was the whisper of the wind in the grass. There was insect song and a huge blue sky. The Prince felt dwarfed by the immensity of the unbroken landscape and he did not like the sensation.

Dean pulled folded paper from a compartment in the car and laid it over Sam's lap. "I know what a map is, Dean." Sam growled. The Fae have maps of many things; the forests, the skies and even the lakes and rivers. We just don't have all these odd colors and lines."

Don't get all huffy, big guy." Dean shook his head. "I'm going to show you how to tell where we are on the roads." Dean went on to explain the marks for cities and road names and how to read the map legend. In spite of himself Sam become interested in how the humans laid out their understanding of the land they traveled.

Dean laughed. "Here, let me introduce you to the Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest." He pointed to an area on the map. "We'll be passing south of it as we cross the state. It is a forest of grass lands with hand planted stands of pines. The trees have been planted over the past 75 years as 'islands' of trees and the whole space is protected. The trees are harvested and re-planted again and again."

Sam tried to imagine a forest hand planted by humans. He didn't much care for the idea.

He followed Dean's instructions and traced out their path on the map from Fort Morgan Colorado to the Nebraska towns: North Platte, Lexington, Kearney, Grand Island until the City of Lincoln grew large in the window.

They had been on the road for close to nine hours and it was way past time for food for Dean. Short of Lincoln they pulled into a roadhouse that Dean remembered from his travels with John. McDermott's Bar was not much to look at but behind the high slit windows Dean remembered beer and decent burgers.

They parked and stepped out and stretched. If felt good to straighten their arms and legs. Sam waited for Dean to lead. There were wards here but they were old and poorly cared for. Inside were all the accoutrements of a Hunter's bar; salt lined windows, warded doors, a hundred difference colors of liquor lined up against a mirror wall and hookers as old and uncared for as the bar itself. Scruffy men sat around tables, a number of them alone with their bottle, like it was their only friend. Sam and Dean moved up to the bar and they were the youngest things in the room. The bartender moved over to stand in front of them. "You got I.D. kid?" he asked. His dark eyebrows almost disappeared into his brunette hair. He looked tough. He also looked like he had seen it all; very little got past this man.

Dean smiled his friendliest grin and flipped his fake South Dakota license over. The man picked it up and flicked it against his thumb. "This wouldn't be fake, now would it?" he grinned back at Dean. "Seems to me I've seen you in here before."

The bartender looked them both over. "I think you're John Winchester's boy. Don't know who your friend is but he better have I.D. too." Dean poked Sam with an elbow and Sam fished though his pocket for the card that Bobby had given him.

The bartender looked over that card too. "Sam Singer, huh? Haven't seen you before, Sam." The man put both cards on the bar. "I don't really care what these cards say. I know that you're Dean Winchester and I have a message from your father. John Winchester says for you to get your ass up to Bobby's place and leave your boyfriend behind."

Sam could feel the hostility rolling off the man. There was also a rustle of movement behind him and a hand appeared on Sam's arm from behind and a voice muttered, " Let the kid go, he's jailbait"

Dean turned to see what made Sam flinch. "Hello, Seth." He said to one of the scruffy men. "It's been a while and why don't you just take you hand off my friend?" Dean stared at the older hunter, a man who had seen a lot in his 40 or so years. His face was scarred and one lip was twisted, battle scars Dena thought.

"Dean, your Dad is looking for you." Seth replied. "I aim to get you back where you belong and away from this guy. John says your boyfriend here has cast a charm on you. You sure you know what you're getting into here with him? You should know better than to hang out with a witch." A knife appeared in Seth's other hand and he pulled on Sam's arm. "I'll just take care of your pretty friend here and you take off for Sioux Falls."

Sam looked into Dean's eyes and the younger man nodded slightly. It was the work of less than a moment for Sam to twist Seth's hand and rip the knife away. He brought the free arm up behind Seth's back and put the knife to his throat.

The entire room tensed up and Dean watched the room while Sam watched the bartender. "Keep your hands where I can see them," Sam ordered the bartender.

"OK, no trouble." The bartender said, raising his hands. "I was just supposed to deliver a message. The rest of this was Seth's idea."

Sam pulled on Seth's arm trapped behind his back. "Tell me Seth," Sam murmured. "Who told you I was a witch?" Sam pulled up again and Seth moaned as his shoulder joint separated a bit. "John said he didn't know what else you could be. Dean just walked away with you, dropped John like he didn't even recognize his own father. John said you were a witch and you're after a piece of young ass." Seth snickered. "I admit you got good taste. I'd like a piece of that myself."

Dean cleared his throat and addressed the entire bar. "Listen up people," he said loudly. "No matter what crap John Winchester has been feeding you, I left him on my own. I've been looking for a partner for a while and as soon as I found one I could work with I left John on my own. I left him because the man is a dick and a lot of you know that's true. "

A man from the back of the bar spoke up. "John don't see it that way. He's your family, you owe him. Besides, you're too young to be traveling with this guy. Is he your partner and maybe something more?"

"That's none of your business, you creep. I'll have you know that I paid for everything that John has given me a hundred times over. The only thing he ever gave me for free was bruises and I'm not going back for more of that." Dean barked. "Now Sam and I came in here for food and a beer but if you all are going to keep this up, we'll just go on down the road."

The bartender spoke up. "Maybe that would be a good idea. If I hear from John again I'll tell him what you said but I don't want no Winchester arguments going on in my bar."

"Fine," Dean growled. "Come on, Sam. Let's go."

Sam sent Seth tumbling into the nearest table and then covered Dean's back as they left.

"That sucked," Dean said outside. "Let's get out of here." They climbed back into the Impala and hit the road. Sam watched for followers as Dean sped up and scanned ahead for neon lights that would indicate a motel and a diner maybe a little off the beaten path. Dean felt like this last bit of drama was his fault. He should have known better than heading straight for a Hunter's bar. At least they now knew for sure that John had poisoned the waters for them.

That John was spreading a rumor that Sam was a witch was the lowest Dean felt John could go. A rumor like that, spread in the right places, was very likely to get Sam killed by some ignorant Hunter on a 'kill him just to be safe' basis. Add on the salacious gossip and Dean could just feel the Hunters crawling up his ass. If he thought that he hated John before, this was the final straw. He would never hunt with John again.

They drove on East with the setting sun at their backs. Sam was interested to see a river appear on the other side of the City of Lincoln and Dean finally turned north. Sam consulted his map and saw that the next place on their route was called Omaha. Sam smiled at the name. "Dean, what does this word mean, Omaha?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. "I don't know, it just is. Unusual names in this part of the world often turn out to be Indian names. Maybe Omahas were Indians. I don't know."

"You should find out," Sam said as he looked back at the passing scene. "Names have power.

"Don't get all mystical on me, Sam. You're supposed to be learning our world now." Dean replied.

Sam smiled and leaned over to the young Hunter. "Are we going to stop sometime soon now? He asked, bringing his lips close to Dean's ear. Dean flinched.

"Hey, driving here, you know." Dean yelped and extended his arm, trying to push against Sam's chest. In response Sam just moved closer and wrapped an arm over the back of the bench seat. He ran his fingers lightly up the back of Dean's neck, tickling the short hairs and circling Dean's other ear. "I think you should really stop soon." he murmured.

XXXXXXX

It didn't really take much more to convince Dean to stop at the very next Vacancy sign. They took a room at the end of the motel, far from the other customers. Dean ordered a pizza and tried to pretend he wasn't watching Sam like a hawk. The memory what had happened under the tree in the woods played over and over in the young man's head.

They ate and changed into more comfortable sleep clothes and when Dean came out of the bathroom Sam was spread out, at ease, on one of the queen beds. He smiled and patted the bed beside him.

Dean stuttered and shied. "Maybe I'll just lie down over here."

"Dean, "Sam growled. "Get over here now", and patted the bed again. Dean approached and climbed up the bed on his hands and knees. When he got within reach Sam pulled him into an embrace and reached out to turn off the bedside lamp.

In the dark, Dean felt Sam's hands on his body, stripping away the clothes he had just put on. "You owe me, Dean." Sam whispered. "I told you I would collect."

"Close your eyes." Sam whispered. "Just feel, don't try to see." Sam's hands ran all over his body, then pulled him close. Dean wrapped his arms around his lover's neck and realized that, somehow when he wasn't paying attention Sam had gotten naked. The two warm bodies rocked against each other. They kissed with abandon and Dean was held in a solid embrace. There was no escape, even if he had wished it. Sam's hands rested on his ass and pulled their cocks together. Sliding and rubbing, Dean felt like he was going to explode. Then Sam pushed him away and laid back.

"Get to work." Sam laughed. "Just remember last night and what I did to you. Now do it to me."

Dean traced down Sam's chest, circling each nipple and licking lower and lower until he found what he was looking for. Sam's hands were on his head, holding him in place and Sam filled his mouth and stretched his lips. He sucked and stroked, trying to bring his lover to completion. With his other hand he kept pace with fingers wrapped tight around his own cock. When Sam cried out and Den felt the pulse in his mouth his world shattered too.

Dean woke up cold and sticky. He realized he was lying in Sam's crotch. He had wondered if it was possible to pass out just from an overwhelming orgasm. It looked like a guy could, to judge by his current position. He slid up Sam's body and then decided he just couldn't stand it and went for towels and wash cloths to clean them both up. When he returned he cleaned Sam first and woke the Fae Prince up. Sam ran his hands over Dean's body and pulled him into another set of demanding kisses. Dean finished with the towels and curled into Sam's arms. He decided that he had never before felt so safe and cherished.

XXXXXXX

In the morning light, Dean avoided Sam's grabby hands and packed up for the ride into Sioux Falls. Remembering Bobby's previous instructions he called the senior Hunter to tell him how close they were. Bobby suggested another call as soon as they were in sight of the Salvage Yard and he would give them the all clear. At this point there was nothing Dean wanted more than to avoid his father and any explosive confrontation the man might create.

They skirted Omaha, not an easy trick but they managed it and continued to follow the Missouri River up to the Big Sioux River and up To Bobby's house. Dean pulled over to the side of the road opposite Bobby's driveway and made his second call.

"Hi Bobby," he said as the man answered the phone. "We're right down her at the bottom of the driveway. Should we come on in?"