Nine

Dean pushed himself up from the dirt and wiped off the knees of his jeans. The dirt was surprisingly moist even though there had been no recent onslaught of rain from the night before. Puck stood before Dean dressed to the brim in battle gear and this time instead of eye makeup he wore two horizontal stripes of black face paint on his cheeks. Dean noticed a lot of other fairies sporting the same face makeup and he hoped it was just for show and he wasn't about to be a human sacrifice for some hoity toity fairy God.

"The human has awoken," Puck announced to a number of other male fairies who were lurking in the area. "We unfortunately must abide by our rules. He is a guest for one night then after that he is one of us!"

Puck threw a sword to Dean. It was nothing like the dagger he had in his pocket that he was going to use to kill the Basket Woman whenever he was given the chance to finally leave this place and do so. The sword was pure silver and the hilt was black with unfamiliar symbols etched into it. Dean ran his fingers over the grooves and divots in the black metal. At the top of the hilt was a small silver wolf's head.

"Ironic isn't it?" Puck chuckled. "Seeing as though fairies hate dogs I don't know why our ancestors would wield swords with such a vile creature on the tip."

"To keep you on your toes I suppose." Dean smirked and Puck gave him a look.

"Very funny human," Puck replied sarcastically and he deadpanned. "I'm practically bleeding with laughter."

"I have a name you know." Dean said.

"I won't need to know it once you're the hell out of here." Puck hissed in Dean's ear before walking over towards his fellow fairies and joining their merry group. Puck's smile was sinister as he laughed with the others and Dean swallowed hard. He saw the pure size of some of these guys and he knew immediately he had a fight on his hands. They'd probably been training for years too.

"Dean," Lily approached him and took his arm. "My parents along with others are planning on watching this training session. Do the best you can and don't let them get you down. Most of them are as dumb as they look."

"I'll say." Dean snickered.

"This is not some play fight," Lily warned him. "They will kick you and beat you and it is all fair game. You will have to show that you know what you're doing. These guys have been training for years. My brother has too. Just show them what you're made of."

She smiled after patting Dean on his shoulder and walking back over to her throne next to her parents' and sitting down. She sighed and her mother rubbed the top of her hand in response.

"The human," Puck began to yell in an attempt to quiet the eager crowd and it worked they silenced as soon as he started talking. "He comes to us from a faraway land a land none of us have dared travel to! Nor have we been to find for that matter. No matter today my warriors and I will show him how real men fight! He will face each of us and we'll see just how well he does!"

Once the crowd was on the edge of their seats and Dean was thoroughly convinced they came to watch him be executed instead Puck smirked and raised his hands to the sky.

"Let the games begin!"

The crowd of fairies cheered and Puck faced his parents and gave them a smile. It was a smile his sister could see right through. She gave him a look of disapproval, but all Puck did was turn away and stroll back to his warriors. Dean licked his lips and ran his thumb over the bottom and duller part of the sword. He was contemplated his options. Most of these guys were probably lacking brains as Lily had mentioned, they were just brutes. Though Dean was no match for the brute squad physically maybe just maybe he could outwit them just enough to defeat them without too many bruises.

"First round," Puck announced. "Dean vs. Brokk!"

The first rather brutish fairy was about Sam's height and had the same muscle mass too. Dean had easily taken on his brother before, but that didn't mean he hadn't gotten hurt himself in the process. The fairy's hair was golden like Puck's but much longer. It went down to his shoulder blades. His eyes were pure green like the darkest blades of grass. He held a smaller sword than Dean's but by the looks of it he knew how to use it.

"I've never fought a human before." Brokk chuckled and lifted his sword, preparing to strike. Dean did the same. He laughed evilly before taking a swing at Dean which Dean quickly deflected and assumed a new position after.

"Well then," Dean swallowed hard again, he was slightly nervous. These guys meant business. "Let it be known this will be the last time you'll ever fight one."

Dean struck at the other fairy and the tips of their swords clanged. Metal on metal was all that was heard for a good solid twenty minutes before Dean spun halfway as he started backing away from his opposition. His heel slid in the dirt and he stumbled a bit earning another snicker from Puck and Dean shot him a glare. While he was distracted though the fairy brought the hilt of his sword down onto Dean's shoulder and slammed him down. Dean cried out in pain and lay in the dirt. Puck let out a louder laugh and looked among his friends for support. They patted him on the back as if to say "you were right Puck".

Dean felt nothing, but blinding white hot pain and he was seething with rage. How could he be so stupid and slip up like that? Letting Puck win? That was asinine of him. Dean gripped his badly bruised and probably slightly disfigured shoulder and hissed in agony.

"Use your sword Dean," Lily's voice penetrated through his mind. "If you focus your energy on your sword it will reward you and you will win."

Dean was about to lend a sarcastic reply and say he was working on that, but instead he took her words to heart. This was another world after all; maybe a little magic was worth using. Dean got up and tried to push the pain out of his mind and somehow he did.

"Let's go again." Dean said through clenched teeth. Puck seemed disappointed.

"Oh really," Puck said, muttering curses under his breath. "Fine. This time it's Dean vs. Sindri."

Sindri, another big muscled angel stepped forward sporting a similar look and sword.

"What did they inbreed around here or something?" Dean thought to himself.

Sindri charged immediately leaving Dean little time to react except to jump to the right and out of the way. Sindri stumbled but quickly regained his footing and spun around again to face Dean. He glared at the hunter. He lunged again and Dean deflected the blow. He and Dean sword fought for quite a bit before Dean won by sliding past him and coming up behind him, knocking him out with the hilt of his sword. Dean gave a content smirk when he knew Sindri was knocked out cold and he turned to Puck with confidence.

"Bring it."

Puck sent his best warriors out against Dean, but as Lily had instructed him he felt his sword and it guided him. He used it the way it should've been used from the beginning and that was why Brokk defeated him. Every time Dean fought now another fairy went down. He shed no blood and he gave none, but it was all the same result and Dean was always the victor. Puck was enraged. He stepped into the fighting arena.

"So the human can fight," Puck announced. "We've established that now I think! But c'mon he's no match for the best."

"Well then Puck," Dean spoke up and all eyes were on him. "Why don't you be a man and fight me yourself?"

Fairies gasped and others whispered. Puck's ego was being challenged and nobody ever challenged Puck. The results were usually disastrous. Puck glared and bared his teeth.

"Fine," he sneered. "I challenge you human and I assure you, you will regret this."

Puck unsheathed his own sword. It was different from the others. His blade was still silver, but the head on the tip of his sword's hilt was a snake. The symbol of trickery and sinister intentions. Dean's stomach churned at the thought of Somewhere's biggest trickster fighting him and he knew deep down that Puck most likely did not fight fair. Even now as he circled Dean the sun beamed down on them and his eyes seemed to play off of it and they were slits like a reptile. Puck smirked and lunged skillfully at Dean, actually catching the hunter off guard. Puck wasn't like the others. He used his brains when he fought not his brawn. That had Dean worried most of all. Not that Dean wasn't smart, but it was usually Sam who took care of the thinking between the two of them.

"Scared human?" Puck asked as they circled again.

"Not even close," Dean replied with more confidence than he had in him. "What about you?"

"I'm positively shaking in my boots." Puck stuck Dean's sword again and Dean carefully deflected both blows. Puck looked down at his sword and tossed it up before catching it again. It flipped completely halfway through the toss. Puck gripped the hilt in his left hand now instead of his right. He let out a loud exaltation before he and Dean went at it. Dean's sword clanked against his. The echo from the metal was almost deafening to his ears. Puck was putting up a hell of an impressive fight. He was certainly determined to win and that was exactly why Dean had to. He couldn't give the fairy anymore food for his overwhelmingly large ego.

Dean waited until Puck was distracted, which he had to admit wasn't easy and he slid in between the fairy's legs and ended up behind him. Puck, confused as ever, turned around and before he could react Dean kicked his feet out from underneath him so the fairy was on his knees and his sword fell beside him. Dean gladly kicked it away from him and held the blade of his sword to the fairy's neck. Sweat beaded on Puck's forehead as he waited for his fate, but Dean instead side stepped him, but kept the blade in place.

"Would you look at that," Dean announced. The crowd was in utter shock. "Not so strong without your sword are you? Ain't that a crying shame?"

The crowd lost it and they began chanting Dean's name and clapping and yelling for him. Puck glared in response and ground his teeth in fury. Dean laughed in victory and turned back to him, getting up in his face before he whispered.

"Oh and my name is Dean."

He kicked Puck to the ground, not hard at all, but enough so that he fell face first in the dirt and grunted. Dean went off to greet his fan club as they crowded around him and began to ask him one million questions a minute. Puck rubbed his back and clumsily got up from the ground. His mother and father were shaking Dean's hand and talking to him as well. Dean gave the king a big smile and the queen kissed his hand. Puck gave a look of pure anger and it grew as his sister stared right at him and gave him a knowing smirk. Puck limped over to his sword and picked it up. It felt heavy in his hand, but he gripped it so tightly that it cut into his palm even though it was the hilt. He bit his lip so hard that bled too. He jerked his head back to stare at the gawking group and then stormed off towards the tree palace. He disappeared unnoticed by all.

Reviews appreciated!

Don't worry Sam and Bobby will come back soon I promise.

What do you guys think so far? Is Puck to be trusted? What does Lily feel for Dean? Dean for her?

More to come soon!