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.

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The Fae Prince

Chapter 17

Lady in the Lake

Heard a carol, mournful, holy,

Chanted loudly, chanted lowly,

And her eyes were darken'd wholly,

Turn'd to tower'd Camelot,

For ere she reach'd upon the tide

The first house by the water-side,

Singing in her song she died,

The Lady of Shalott

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

"I'm not really sure that was a wise move, Sam." Dean murmured to his lover.

Sam glanced at his young consort. "What's do you mean?"

"These Hunters are going to feel threatened by you. You just kidnapped Wesson's nephew and crippled Wesson." Dean said. "That will put you firmly in their sights as a threat. These are not, in general, people who think things through. Their lives often depend on snap reflexes and kill or be killed is too often their daily lives." Dean kicked at a puff ball in their path and watched the cloud of brown spores drift away.

"So you think my strategy is wrong, do you?" Sam smiled.

"I am wondering if you let your temper govern your head for a bit." Dean answered back.

"You are quite the bold one, aren't you?" The Fae smiled fondly on his partner.

Dean blushed. "I'm telling you what I think. In your world a warning like that might be considered carefully. Here it's like a trumpet call and a challenge to the Hunters. A lot of them will not stop to think about the finer points of your message or appreciate the warning at all."

They reached the car and Sm elected to drive. "You may be right." Sam finally answered. "But we have a year to spend and without conflict I'll be bored."

"You know kicking over beehives just because you're bored is not a heathy hobby." Dean replied and Sam laughed at the young man's comparison.

"I will not allow them to hunt either us or innocents. If I find Hunters killing the defenseless I'll …" Sam 's voice trailed off.

"You'll do what, Sam?" Dean asked. "Will you kill them? They believe they are protecting other people. Some of them feel they are protecting their own families."

"And what of the families they are destroying?" Sam lashed back. "They do this without thought, acting as executioners as if they had a right to determine guilt or innocence."

"I warned them. " Sam rumbled. "I told Wesson I would hunt them back."

..-.._..-.._..-.._..-..

Back in Sioux Falls Bobby was ready for them. When they showed up at his door he stuck his head out and barked "Get that car under cover and throw some shirts on. You're going to get us all killed. What the hell did you idjits do to Jay Wesson?"

"Wow, word travels fast." Dean responded.

Bobby huffed and waved them through the door. As Dean passed Bobby took a swipe at him with his hat. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you two." The older Hunter scanned the Salvage Yard looking for strangers and then locked the door.

Bobby sent them out on a hunt They were heading to Lake Michigan's Sleeping Bear Dunes near Traverse City where something in the water was baffling the Park Service. Bobby was pleased to send them for more than one reason. Whatever was in the water was freaking out the tourists and he also did not feel like having his fellow Hunters shooting up his house looking for the Fae.

Once again Sam was happily cruising along the humans' roads. He had come to like the passing landscapes and was becoming an aficionado of the 'it's the journey, not the arrival' school of travel. He loved the rush of arriving landscapes that whirled away beneath the Impala's wheels. He could easily see the attraction of constant movement from place to place but thought it was a terrible thing to do to children who craved stability and safety in their lives. He glanced at Dean and watched as the young man concentrated on the road. Dean was completely relaxed and happy driving his Baby on the roadways of his world.

The hum of the engine, the music beating against his skin, the vibration of the car, all these things melded together to create their own private capsule. It was almost disappointing to finally arrive at the shores of Lake Michigan.

Because they were arriving out of the West they were going to gain the additional thrill of taking a car ferry from outside of Milwaukee over to the park. The approach was breath taking and Sam was suitably impressed. The white sand beaches and the rolling grass lands and forests under a clear blue sky with scudding puffy white clouds created a landscape of such beauty it challenged the beauty of the Fae world.

The two stood along the railing as they cut across the lower end of the lake and kept their eyes on the water. Everything looked normal and quiet. No one on the ferry was talking about anything strange in the water and Dean wondered if Bobby's information was perhaps more Hunter gossip than reality although such an error on Bobby's part would be almost unheard of.

Once they landed they drove the Impala as far as they were allowed into the heart of the park then had to abandon Dean's Baby to sit alone and wait. San and Dean stood out in the crowd of tourists in that they had no back packs or hiking gear. No shorts, no big hats, no walking sticks. They just shoved their hands in the pockets of their jeans and fell behind a group following a Park Service Ranger.

They let the group get away from them and as soon as they felt they could safely disappear they cut off into a wooded area. Sam touched each tree as he passed, learning the wood. There was silence here; there was peace. The place was protected and allowed to glory in its natural beauty without the threat of development or encroachment by men.

Finally, at the edge of a hill side drop off they came to a place that overlooked the Lake. A white sand beach anchored by sparse and spiky grass stretched as far along the shore as they could see. Dean slid down the hillside to stop in the sand. He took off his boots and dug in with his toes.

"I'm thirsty and hungry, Sam," the young man complained. "Aren't you supposed to provide? That's what you always tell me."

Sam laughed. "You will have to learn a lot to become Fae, my love, but you already have the manipulation of your lover part well handled." He answered. "Wait here."

Sam was gone only a little while but he could travel far in his Fae persona, buoyed by the winds. Drifting along like a wisp of fog he appeared outside the small supply shop and bought water in bottles and a picnic lunch. It was a little more difficult to transform and conceal the human made goods but he returned to his lover waiting beside the shore before Dean became cranky.

After they ate Sam walked out into the shallow waves and found a rock poking out of the water. Dean stayed behind on the shore, laid down and stared at the stars slowing appearing in the steadily darkening sky and drifted off to sleep. Sam sat on his rock, trailing his fingers in the water and staring out to the horizon. He was searching for secrets on the water and watching for sparks and colors that only the Fae could see. The lake rolled before him, sullenly heaving and concealing its mysteries.

Around midnight he became aware of noise and voices from inland. He returned to Dean and woke him and they retreated further up the hillside. As they watched several men appeared carrying guns and, apparently, nets. They could hear the crude voices calling back and forth. The men were laughing and watching out over the waters. They were hunting for something in the water and they strung the net from the shore out to Sam's rock and beyond. They then sat down in the sand and watched. Now they only whispered.

A few hours later there was some excitement as something large appeared to get caught in the nets. Sam saw a silver tail flip out of the water and he knew what the secret monster in the lake really was. He ran down the hill and came up behind the men who were already aiming their guns at the water. The men in front got off a few shots but the moonlight was deceptive and Sam didn't hear any cries of distress.

He transformed in his headlong flight down the hill and now came up behind the men one at a time. Each one he touched felt light headed and dizzy and heard a voice whispering "No. "

One by one each man fell until all five lay asleep on the sand. Only the last one, who noticed the man beside him go down, had an opportunity to see Samisfallen floating towards him with fingers outstretched.

Dean finally arrived. "What did you do to them?" he whispered.

"Nothing fatal," Sam consoled the young man. "No one will die unless the one in the water has been shot. If they have killed her I might re-consider."

"What is it? What do you mean her?" Dean looked out over the Lake and Sam again waded out in the water. Sam unsheathed his knife and began to pull the net out of the water, cutting the strands as he went. "Come out here, Dean." He called. "I need some help."

Finally Dean got his feet wet and stumbled out to the rocks with his own knife drawn. He arrived in time to see Sam lift a body from the water and sit it down on the rocks. Dean was shaken to see what looked like a mermaid. It had the silvery tail and webbed hands of an ocean traveling woman. She had a pointed face with slanted sparkling dark eyes and her damp dark hair trailed down her back to her waist. Her tail shined silver in the moonlight and her skin reflected shimming colors like an abalone shell.

"What are you doing here, Daughter of Ninlil? Sam asked. Dean was amazed that he could understand the words. As long as he had a hand on Sam everything was quite clear. He was slowly learning the language of the Fae but staying in contact helped him understand.

With a tinkling laugh the creature responded. "I could ask the same of you, son of the ancient fallen. What are you doing here in the water?"

Sam turned to Dean. "These men wanted to kill her." Sam shot a look back to the men in the sand. "They asked no questions, they didn't try to understand. Why should I allow them to live?"

The mermaid put a hand on Sam's arm. "I know you Fae are warriors but this is a lot of my own fault. I got lost." She blushed. "I am young and for some reason I become confused. I could not tell which way the lines of the earth ran and I got lost."

"Dean," Sam stood up. "Can you draw her a map? Can you tell her how to get back to the ocean? She doesn't belong here at all."

"I don't have paper or anything else Sam. How can I draw her a map?"

Then the mermaid chimed in, "What's a map?"

"How long can you survive out of the water?" Sam asked. "And what is your name?"

..-.._..-.._..-.._..-..

In a few hours Sam and Dean were back at the Impala along with a somewhat damp mermaid called Olana. Sam had carried her through the woods with Dean holding on to the back of his shirt. Sam's little crew was bedraggled and tired but they were all alive and so were the Hunters. Dean had talked Sam out of simply making their sleep permanent.

Sam had left marks; he could not be prevented. Dean had written in the sand 'Hunt only Evil' and each man received a mark of the Fae. The leader would limp with a withered thigh muscle, and had a tree like mark on his cheek. The others only had the mark of a tree on the back of their hands but each hand now had a finger that no longer functioned. Sam considered these minor punishments. He hoped it would cause the Hunters to think before killing again. Dean wasn't so sure.

Sam lolled in comfort in the passenger seat. Dean was in his accustomed place and Olana had the back seat to herself. She assured her guardians that as long has she got wet at least once a day she would be fine. Sam and Dean talked it over and decided to drive Olana home to the ocean.

..-.._..-.._..-.._..-..

Dean picked a route that would expose his lover to all the spectrum of the human world. They left one of the world's greatest beauties and heading for Chicago and then Detroit. Sam was stunned at the obvious attempt to restore what had once been a lake side village to its original beauty after dragging the place through the worst filth that man could create.

When they crossed over the Rouge River Sam was horrified when Dean told him that the river, a direct outfall into Lake Erie had once been so polluted that it had caught on fire. Humans had been working to repair the Lake since it was officially declared dead water thirty years previously. Nearly all of the Lake had been brought back to life, teaming with fish and Mayflies and algae bloom. Not all of the life was welcome but at least the body of water didn't stink any longer or threaten to pollute the entire Great Lakes system.

They drove from Detroit to Niagara, New York on the Canadian side of the Lake and Dean stopped to allow Sam to enjoy Niagara Falls. The Prince stood at the spume drenched railings and lost himself in the roar of the falls. Rainbows arched through the cascade and danced on the face of the roiling waters.

Dean stood beside the bemused Prince. "This one you like, right?" He smiled and laid a hand on the Prince's arm as it rested on the damp railing.

"Your world can be a wonder and a fiery pit all at once." Sam responded. "I am amazed and appalled at the same time. When we go home I'll take you to the Northern Mountains where no Fae rule and let you breathe untainted air fresh from the glaciers. It is a place of the greatest beauty in my world. Thank you for showing me some of this world's best."

Dean tugged at his lover. "We need to get back on the road. Olana's going to need water very soon and we still have hundreds of miles to go to get to the Ocean."

With a lot of backward looks Sam was led away from the turbulent river and they continued the drive through Upper New York State. That portion of the land was relatively unsullied and dotted with farms and cattle. Sam rode with his head resting on the back of the bench seat and watched the human world parade itself by his window.

In the evening they stopped and bought rooms to sleep and Olana splashed in an almost inadequate bath tub. The trio worked well together. Olana was happy because she was finally going home after being lost for so long. Sam and Dean were happy in each other's arms.

In the morning they settled back into the Impala and made the last of the run into the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge just outside the Southern Maine coastal town of Wells. The refuge enclosed fifty miles of coastal wetlands and Dean had picked it out for Olana. Somewhere in those fifty miles she would wave good bye to her rescuers and sink back into the Atlantic Ocean.

The refuge was quiet and full of the calls of birds. They hid the car and trekked into the most isolated part they could find, Sam carrying Olana in his arms. In a peaceful bay she slipped into the water and turned and frolicked for a few minutes, annoying the herons hunting for food nearby. Sam laughed at her and Dean lay in the rushes waving good bye.

When her head completely sank beneath the waters some joy went out of their world. Sam settled down beside his consort.

"Sam," Dean said. "When we first found Olana you called her a Daughter of Ninlil. What did that mean?"

Sam picked a rush and chewed on the end. "Ninlil was a Sumerian Goddess." He answered. "My people believe she was the mother of all the mere folk. Ninlil's husband, Enlil and she never got along, as those old Gods were wont to do and he disguised himself as "a man of the river of the neither world" when he was banished to the underworld. There, in his disguise he made love to her in the flowered bed fragrant like a cedar forest. "

"From this encounter she bore another child, their fourth; Enbilulu, a God of Rivers and Channels. We Fae believe these creatures were the original source of the Meres." Sam rolled over on his back and watched the clouds skip inland pushed by the ocean winds.

"The Mere people have never denied the story and have never told another."