Chapter Twelve
Castiel pulled away from Charlie and she stared at him through the haze clouding her vision. Titania's paralysis spell had been far too powerful for Charlie to break, and she felt like her head was going to split in half.
"Cas," she squeaked. A full sentence was just beyond her capabilities at the moment; the strain of trying to break Titania's hold coupled with the adrenaline from the confrontation and Castiel's spontaneous display of affection made her dizzy and exhausted.
He hushed her and placed two fingers on her forehead. "Sleep," the Angel instructed gently.
Charlie passed out and Cas caught her. Still oblivious to the incredulous stares that the Winchesters and Ivy were giving him, he lifted Charlie as if she weighed nothing. As he left the garage, he paused by Sam; a slight touch and a moment later, Sam too was healed, and Cas proceeded to the house.
"Okay, first, where the heck did that come from, and second, who the hell was that freaky pale bitch?" Dean demanded to no-one in particular after Castiel left.
"Titania," Sam said, back on his feet but still visibly exhausted. "Queen of the Faeries."
"Well, one of them," Ivy corrected. "She's more well-known because of Shakespeare, but she's actually a lesser queen."
"Shakespeare?" Dean repeated.
"Yeah, A Midsummer Night's Dream," Sam explained.
Dean just stared blankly at him.
"Anyway," Sam continued, "I guess we know who we're up against now, right?"
Ivy bit her lip uncertainly. "It still doesn't help much," she said quietly.
"Would you mind explaining to me why a Faerie Queen is out to get you?" Dean asked, sitting down on the side of the couch nearest Ivy's armchair in the livng room.
Ivy sighed. "She's the dealmaker," she began, rubbing the inner corners of her eyes, trying to wear off the sting of sudden fatigue. "The modern world, for the most part, only knows her as the Queen of the Faeries in Shakespeare, as Sam already told you…but in reality, things are much more complicated than that. She's but one of many Faerie Queens, and a distant relation of the traditional Celtic Faeries."
"Okay, you're losing me," Dean interjected.
Ivy looked at him with an arched eyebrow. "It's all in the library," she pointed out, but she backtracked. "What I'm trying to say is that in our time, Titania is a fabrication of William Shakespeare, and the Aos Sí – the Irish Celtic Fey – are a mystical race descended from ancient Celtic deities. But she is actually one of them. She just…defected a little bit."
"So what do you mean by 'dealmaker'?" Dean asked. "And why did Castiel say she threw herself out of Heaven with Lucifer?"
"There are many origin tales about the Tuatha Dé Dannan – the race of deities and heroes in Irish Gaelic mythology," Ivy said. "And the Aos Sí come from the Tuatha Dé Dannan. Traditionally, they can all be traced back to one progenitor, but there were some later…additions to the Sí when Lucifer committed treason."
"What do you mean?"
"Think of a family tree, like yours or mine. There is a direct ascendance, but there are also additions from other families. Basically, what I mean is that while some of the Fey are of the ancient lineage, many more were added to their number when Lucifer fell," Ivy explained. She paused for a long moment, then straightened up in her chair and looked Dean in the eye. "You know how Demons are classified differently, right?"
"Yeah. They've got a hierarchy. Like, crossroads demons all report to one son-of-a-bitch boss-man demon who basically signs all the contracts and holds them," Dean replied, his face darkening with an inner rage. "Like Crowley back in the day," he added, more to himself than to Ivy.
"Titania is kind of like the Fey version of Crowley," Ivy said. In response to Dean's confused look, she added, "Yes, I know who he is. Every hunter does. We'd all love to take him out."
Dean made a noncommittal grunt. "Titania, then – she makes Faerie deals?"
"Yep. Leprechauns barter with humans and deliver the contracts to her to make the deals go through. And she's the one who comes to collect."
It began to dawn on Dean exactly why Titania was there. "You said that one of your ancestors made a deal with the Faeries," he ventured.
"Yeah, our great-great-great-grandfather Eoin," Ivy confirmed. "And now Titania's come to settle up."
Sam collapsed onto his bed and rubbed his eyes wearily. The last few days had been such a rollercoaster that it was hard to believe that it really only been a few days since he and Dean had rolled into Pine Valley. It wasn't just the unusual qualities of the town or the area – it was the entire situation they'd found themselves in.
His hours of research since arriving had revealed connections between different folkloric representations of Faeries, and after tonight's episode with Titania, Sam realized just how true these connections were. In recent years Sam had learned – often the hard way – that religion and mythology from all over the world wasn't as neatly compartmentalised as the world made it all out to be; in fact, everything supernatural and paranormal was intertwined in a gloriously chaotic web of overlapping faiths and traditions. This was no different.
Sam hoped that Castiel would remain a constant presence in the house now. Titania obviously feared the Angel enough to heed his commands. But what if the next time she paid a visit, Castiel was nowhere to be found? What if she brought reinforcements?
Sam growled in frustration, sitting up to pull off his shirt before falling back onto the bed. They needed a plan, and fast.
"Let me get this straight, then," Dean said after a very long silence passed between them. "Your family is wrapped up in some crazy Faerie deal that's got a Faerie Queen so pissed off she's willing to kill anyone and everyone to make sure you and Charlie pay up? When the hell were you planning on telling us this?"
"Obviously we weren't expecting anything to play out this way," Ivy said defensively. "We protect Pine Valley, as Eoin Ó Gríobhtha promised the townspeople way back in the day. And we prevent the town from invading the parts of this area that are sacred to the Fey, as the promised them. In return, the Fey themselves keep their distance; their creatures wander as they please, but whatever crosses the line by harming or killing is fair game for us. Our previous deals with them are negated by the creation of this deal. We keep our word, and they're supposed to keep theirs."
"So, you're basically saying that Titania has no business coming around here demanding payment?"
"Exactly."
"What kind of payment is she expecting, anyway?"
Ivy's face darkened. "What else would a Faerie Queen accept as payment," she said hollowly, "other than the firstborn children of those who made the deal?"
Dean's face clouded over. "You and Charlie – where do you fall in the birth order of your families?"
"Charlie's the second. Her older brother died when he was ten and she was eight, but she was born second." Ivy fell silent.
"Ivy?" Dean felt he already knew the answer, but he needed to know for sure.
"I'm the oldest," Ivy said quietly. She met his gaze with a look that was at once both defiant and frightened. "She's after me."
"Oh, this is just great," Dean snapped, getting up off the couch and pacing in front of the fire place. "So is she just going to take you, or is she going to swap you out with some evil-ass changeling? And are we going to be able to stop it? Do you know how dangerous this entire thing is going to be if we're trying to stop the veil from breaking completely and a freakin' Faerie Queen is after your hide?"
Ivy got to her feet and stood in front of him, her hands on her hips and her eyes blazing. "If I recall correctly, you're not too keen on being here," she said angrily.
At that precise moment, the thunderstorm opened up over Pine Valley, and the rain started lashing at the windowpanes. Dean couldn't help but marvel at the serendipitous timing of it all; with Ivy about to blow up on him, there was definitely more effect behind her words with thunder booming in the distance.
Ivy ignored the storm and continued ripping into Dean. "You're a perfectly lovely person when you're not being self-centred and thinking the entire world needs to be saved by you," she pointed out. "Charlie and I never asked for you to stay. You and Sam decided that of your own volition, so I don't get why you're getting so worked up about any of this."
"I am getting worked up about this," Dean exploded, "because Sam and I are a part of this too now. And we chose to stay here to help you because Cas said you two needed it!"
"Then stop trying to run the show," Ivy shot back. "This is our family's problem."
"So, what are you saying – you don't want our help? You don't appreciate that we could be out there, saving people and hunting things, but we're here instead with you?"
"I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying that you shouldn't be treating us like defenseless civilians, because we're hunters just like you and we know how to deal with this kind of shit."
Dean flared up. "I'm not trying to interfere with anything," he said, closing the gap between them with a few abrupt strides so that they were face-to-face and right up in it. "I'm trying to protect you!"
"I don't need it."
"This Faerie Queen bitch is after you, and you don't need protection? You're crazy if you think I'm going to roll over on this."
Another moment of silence passed between them, Ivy looked right up at him, her brown eyes locking into his gaze. There was something in them that compelled him to simmer down, to realise exactly what he was trying to say.
"I don't get you." Her voice was suddenly softer. "We're strangers to you, Dean. Why does any of this matter to you?"
"Because," Dean said quietly, "I think I care about you too much. I don't know why, but I do. You're right – you're strangers, and I shouldn't be this involved. But dammit, Ivy, there's something here and you know it."
"Yeah, a batshit crazy Faerie Queen," Ivy stammered flippantly. She was suddenly acutely aware of the proximity of her body to Dean's.
"I'm not talking about her." Dean pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm talking about this."
Castiel sat by Charlie's bedside, watching over her as she rested in the Angel-induced sleep he'd given her. He could sense the strain that was left on her mind and soul after the confrontation with Titania; he knew that normal mortal sleep would not have healed it. With any other normal human, such an encounter with a Faerie monarch would not have been so damaging.
But Charlie was different, as was her cousin. The two of them were not safe in such close quarters with Titania, or any other of the more powerful Fey rulers.
Castiel's brow furrowed in concern as he mulled over this recent development, turning over all the information in his mind. He'd always known that Charlie and Ivy were in danger, but he hadn't realized that it was to such an extent.
There was only one reason why Charlie would be so sensitive to Titania's powers, to the point where the lesions in her mind and on her soul wept with the Faerie Queen's infectious power.
Ivy wasn't sure how it happened, but Dean was kissing her. She kissed him back instinctively, rising up on her tiptoes and sliding her arms around him as her mind raced to remember the last time she'd been kissed like this – the last time anyone had made her feel like she was falling, yet totally unafraid. With a start she realised that she'd never felt like this.
She pulled away suddenly. "Dean," she said, her breath catching in her throat. "Dean, we should talk about this." Her knees felt weak from the intensity of their kiss, and her heart raced in her chest as it dawned on her that she wanted this now more than she'd ever wanted it before. Although she'd felt unafraid only moments before, the epiphany of how strongly she felt for him was suddenly making her skittish.
Dean's heard pounded in his chest, and he could tell that the confusing cocktail of emotions that crashed over him like a wave was also crashing over Ivy. She was right, he knew – they probably should talk about what was happening between them…and what might very well happen soon.
Instead of agreeing with her, though, he drew her more tightly to him, lowering his head until his forehead rested against hers. He could feel her heart beating too, and he couldn't believe how he felt about her in that exact moment. "Do we really?" he asked. "We both know we feel about each other right now, right?"
Ivy nodded, swallowing hard as she tried to resist the urge to keep kissing him.
Dean continued, "I don't let anyone in, Ivy. I never do. It just hurts too much." His voice, already gruff from years of downing straight whiskey on too many lonely nights in crappy motel rooms, was low and rougher than it was normally, but Ivy could sense the tenderness lying beneath the surface.
Ivy found her voice. "Neither do I. So why should we ruin our dysfunctional friendship?"
Dean kissed her forehead gently, the affection in the action making Ivy wish she could find the strength to do what she wanted to do – to act upon these feelings for the first time in her life, without thinking about why she felt them or about the consequences to follow.
"Ivy," he said softly, "let's just stop thinking."
He kissed her again, and Ivy let herself surrender entirely to him.
Sam was just starting to drift off to sleep when the uneven, staggering footsteps out in the hall brought him back to being fully awake. Sitting up in bed, he rubbed his eyes, wondering why Dean was doing a drunken dance up the stairs.
When something crashed against the wall, Sam bolted out of bed and towards the door. But as he opened it, he realised that there was absolutely nothing to worry about. He'd opened his door just in time to see his brother and Ivy lock lips in the dark hallway, Ivy pressed up against the wall with her arms and legs wrapped around Dean.
Sam discreetly shut the door and crept back into bed. Drawing the sheets up around him, he couldn't help but wonder if a Cupid was running rampant.
Ivy fell against Dean's heaving chest into his arms, which he wrapped around her as he flipped her over onto the bed beside him. Breathless, he kissed her – gently now, but still passionately – as their racing hearts slowly settled and their breathing gradually became steady.
They lay facing each other in silence for a while, Dean's arms secure around Ivy and one hand carressing the back of her neck, Ivy's leg slung over his hip and her hand tracing light, lazy circles on his back. She snuggled closer to him, tucking her head under his chin. He smiled, burying his face in her tousled auburn waves and breathing in the delicate scent of her hair.
Ivy could feel herself drifting off to sleep, but she fought against the urge so that she could stay awake and enjoy the feeling of lying in Dean's arms for longer. After a while, she pulled away far enough to look properly into his face, but kept her body pressed against him. He kissed the tip of her nose with a smile.
"You need your sleep," he whispered, the hand on the back of her neck sliding over the curve of her shoulder and down her arm.
"I don't want to," she whispered back, entwining her fingers in his.
He gently but firmly turned her over so that her back was against his chest. Curling his body around hers and keeping her hand clasped in his, he kissed the back of her shoulder. "Sleep, Ivy," he insisted.
Feeling warm and safe in the cocoon he made around her, Ivy finally allowed herself to drift off. And for the first night in a very long time, it was a dreamless sleep.