Chapter Sixteen
"If you know what's good for you, you'll step aside," Titania warned. "You're out of the ráth, Faolán. Our laws do not protect you here."
"Likewise," Faolán said simply.
Titiana glowered at him.
"You're not getting Ivy," Faolán continued. "Not now, not ever. A deal is a deal, Titania. This might not be the original deal, but you still made it. Abide by it." He paused, then added emphatically, "Abide by our laws, as you are supposed to even beyond our world."
Titania laughed. "Aren't you forgetting something, Faolán?" She smirked. "Silly me. Of course you are. You're forgetting that I am of the higher Fey. You believe all you want that you can stop me. Believe all you want in the old ways."
She paused, then laughed as she recognised the look of confusion on Faolán's face. "You've been a house-pet too long, Faolán," she said with evil glee. "Don't you know what's been going on in our homeland?" Titania's voice grew colder and bitter. "We've been fighting a war amongst ourselves. And we're on the verge of destroying ourselves and our home."
"Then go back to wherever you came from and finish it already," Dean said.
Titania glowered at him. "I could squash you like a fly," the Faerie Queen spat. "But death is too good for you, Dean. So I won't kill you – yet." She tossed back her golden hair and stood straighter. "As for why we don't just finish each other off already," Titania continued, "we Faeries have our own desire to survive, too, you know. And some of us deserve to survive more than others."
"That is not up to you to decide," Faolán interjected. "It was never our right to turn on one another. We follow the natural order, Titania. We must."
"We were already forced out of this world once before," Titania reminded him sharply. "We retreated beyond the veil – under the ground, into the caves, even beyond our very own ráths. And that was by a worthy opponent. By whom are we being pushed out now, Faolán? By these pitiful, spineless humans. The same humans who once worshipped us are now destroying us."
"What do you want with Ivy and Charlie?" Sam demanded.
"They're precious to my people for oh so many reasons," Titania replied in a sing-song voice. "To all of the Fey, they are marvelous girls. But to those on my side…oh, to us, they are priceless." Titania paused briefly. "Especially Ivy."
"Leave them alone," Castiel commanded.
"Stay out of it, Angel-boy," Titania retorted. "This does not concern you."
"Yes, it does."
"If I could, I would slap you into next Sunday," Titania hissed.
"Empty threats are a waste of words," Faolán chided.
"Why is Ivy so important you?" Dean interjected, attempting to steer the conversation back on track.
Titania looked at him, quizzical. "Why, you don't know?" she asked, feigning shock. "But of course you wouldn't know anything either about your little darling, would you, Dean?"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Dean growled.
"Dean," Ivy cut in, her tone slightly pleading.
"And look, now she wants to explain," Titania continued. "You didn't think of telling him before you slept with him, Ivy? Really? Isn't that a bit…unfair?"
Dean looked over his shoulder, his eyes straining in the dense darkness of the woods to see her face. He could sense that she was frightened. "Ivy?" he asked softly.
Ivy bit her lip, her hands curling into fists
Titania laughed quietly. "Ivy," she trilled, "what's wrong? Cat got your tongue all of a sudden? Don't want Dean to know your family's dirty little secrets?"
"Shut up," Ivy said through gritted teeth.
Titania shook her head. "No, no, I don't think so. In fact, let's shed some light on this entire thing." She snapped her fingers and dozens of tiny orbs suddenly burst into light all around them, illuminating the path.
"Ivy, what's she babbling about?" Dean asked, turning completely to face her in the Faerie lights.
Castiel moved behind Ivy and put his hand on her shoulder. Ivy drew herself up defensively, tossing her hair defiantly over her shoulder and levelling Titania with a stare. But Dean could tell that she was scared nearly out of her mind.
"Ivy. Come on," he insisted, his voice gentle but firm.
Charlie broke in. "We don't know what she's talking about," she said stridently, moving to stand by her cousin. "Titania's lying, like she always does."
The conviction in her voice did not escape anyone's notice, including the Faerie Queen's.
"Oh, this keeps getting better and better," Titania said happily a she realised that Charlie spoke the truth. "So, Ivy, tell us – did you hope your secret would die with your mammy and da? With your Auntie Danny and Uncle Jack?"
Ivy exploded like a pack of dynamite. "You fucking bitch," she screamed, lunging past Dean towards Titania, her hurl swinging in an arc up over her shoulder. Dean threw himself out of the way entirely, suddenly fearing for his life. He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Sam, neither of them confused enough, thankfully, to forget that they were armed with Faerie-resistant weapons.
Charlie, on the other hand, had dropped her hurl and was struggling against Castiel's restraining hold. She, too, was screaming bloody murder. Ivy, though, was immobilised in mid-swing, completely motionless except for her eyes, which darted around frantically as she tried to sort out what had just happened to her. Her mouth was frozen open in a scream of rage, and as soon as it dawned on her that she was suspended and helpless, her eyes blazed a hateful trail into Titania's face.
"Let her go," Faolán said, his tone grave. "You know what this will do to her."
"She's not made of glass, pet," Titania snapped. "Shut up."
Faolán grasped at his throat, his voice silenced by her magic.
"That's better." Titania stood right in front of Ivy, her gaze never leaving the younger Griffin's face even though she addressed Dean and Sam. "Many bargains were made between me and this family," she began. "First, one to escape the hunger and disease of the Great Famine. Then one to find fortune in America. Then another to make fertile a barren womb. Shall I go on?" She ran a finger down Ivy's cheek, and Ivy's eyes registered her disgust and horror at the action.
"You see, boys," Titania continued, "while you dealt with Demons in your time, the Griffins have dealt exclusively with Faeries. It works more or less on the same principle as a crossroads deal. You summon one of my attendants and make a deal, and I hold the contract. It's fairly simple. But you see, I can modify the terms of my contracts as my clients see fit. The only catch is that after a point, you need to up the ante."
Sam and Dean exchanged bewildered looks. Charlie, however, was still raising as much hell as she could in Castiel's iron grip.
"So what are you saying about our family, then, you bitch?" she yelled.
"Charlotte, dear little Charlotte," Titania murmured. "You certainly don't know your family history as well as you say. But that doesn't matter, does it? All that matters is protecting Ivy. You don't know why, but you have to protect her because that's what your daddy told you to do."
Dean's heart felt like it was being wrung inside his chest upon hearing Titania's words. The situation she was describing to Charlie was the exact same one he'd been in his whole life: first because of John Winchester insisting that he protect Sammy at all times until his untimely death, and then later because of Dean's own guilt and hero complex kicking into serious overdrive. And it wasn't just the shared experience; it was the way Titania spoke so mockingly of their filial piety.
Charlotte tossed an insult at Titania in Gaelic, and Titania simply laughed. "The number of times I've heard your kind say that to me," she sighed. "Do you think it affects me at all anymore?"
"Shut the fuck up," Dean bellowed, his temper snapping as he sprang into action. He wanted to beat her into the ground.
"Dean!" Sam shouted, but Dean paid him no mind as he swung his mace in a horizontal arc
Titania dodged the swing of his iron mace easily, but the horror on her face was enough to encourage him to stand his ground between her and Ivy once more. But if Dean was not discouraged, neither was Titania. She backed away, but remained composed and regal before him.
"The wheels are in motion, Dean," Titania said quietly, her voice a menacing purr. "They have always been in motion. There is nothing you can do to stop this from running its course."
"Stop what, exactly?" Sam demanded.
Titania looked at him. "The Fey are on the brink of destruction. One side must win if we dare hope to continue existing," she said sharply. "We are at a stalemate. The balance must shift for a victor to emerge. And I will make that shift, using Ivy. And perhaps, to an extent, Charlie. But mainly Ivy."
"Why?" Dean asked.
"That's what I've been trying to explain this whole time," Titania said sweetly. "Dean, the little Griffin girls are bound to me through the wheelings and dealings of their entire family. Eoin Ó Gríobhtha had asked for far too much by the time he came to Pine Valley. He was a fool to think I would ever forget his agreement to pay me in full one day. In blood."
Dean and Sam exchanged a horrified look. Charlie, on the other hand, was sedated entirely by the shock crashing over her as Titania spoke.
"Like I said, I hold multiple contracts signed by various members of the Griffin clan," Titania said. "Charlie's father was in danger of losing her to a rare brain disease that affects only children. In exhange for her life, he allowed me to bestow upon her that incredible talent of hers. You know, the one that allows her to see into your mind and speak to you through thoughts."
"What?" Charlie gasped, gripping Castiel as she swooned. She gritted her teeth. Keep it together, girl.
Titania nodded, a perfectly sculpted eyebrow arched ever so slightly. "All I wanted to do was use Charlie to…keep tabs on somebody else," the Faerie Queen explained. "You see, Jack Griffin's cousin Arthur had managed to somehow…shield himself and his entire little family from my sphere of vision. And I needed to keep an eye on...somebody very…very…special." She cupped Ivy's cheek in her hand in a shockingly tender manner.
After a moment, she spoke again. "You see, Arthur Griffin wanted a family, but his wife couldn't bear him any children. He married her anyway, because he knew that I could…well, that I could help. And I did."
Titania turned to face the others. "Now remember what I said about having to up the ante after a certain point?" she asked rhetorically. "With Charlie, I only wanted a small part of her, and so I only had to give a small part of myself to her."
"What do you mean?" Castiel interrupted sharply.
Sam felt a chill run through his blood. "You…you put your blood into her?"
"That's right," Titania said with a smile. "Some of us are, after all, lesser demons. Just like Azazel did to you, Sam, so I did to Charlie, because I can. I'm one of the ones who fell with Lucifer and became suspended in midair. I'm not into pyrotechnics, though. Far too brazen for my taste. No, Charlie got to stay with Mommy and Daddy for twenty-five years – just according to plan."
Charlie felt her blood turn to ice. In a matter of minutes, Titania had managed to turn her entire life upside down. She could barely hear Titania's words through the sound of her blood surging in her ears.
"What did you do to Ivy, then, you goddamn bitch?" Dean demanded.
"Ah, yes. Save the best for last, as I like to say," Titania trilled. "Ivy is much more a part of me than she realises, or would care to be." She looked into Ivy's eyes, wide with fear yet still glinting with defiant hatred.
"What our dear little Ivy here hasn't told any of you," she continued slowly, "is that I restored life to her mother's dead, empty womb. But I can't make anything out of nothing. I'm nowhere near a god. Charlie only had to drink my blood to be cured. But Ivy's mother? I had to put my blood directly into her veins."
A heavy silence fell upon them as she paused to let that sink in.
"So, you see," Titania said, soft and slow, "Ivy's mother became part Faerie. Just enough to restore life to her, because we are very, very fertile creatures. And that makes Ivy part Faerie, too. And now, I've come to collect my dues from her father's little deal. Because, my dear sweet child –" here she released Ivy from suspension and let her fall to her knees "– you hold the balance of power in you. Just enough Faerie blood mixing through that human heart of yours to make you powerful enough to win this war for me."
Castiel released Charlie and stood in front of Titania. "Leave us," he commanded.
"Oh, don't worry, Castiel." Titania was already moving towards the forest line. "I'm not taking her tonight. She's not ready yet. But she will be, very soon."
She disappeared into the night, and the tiny Faerie lights died.
They stood in darkness, the silence punctuated only by a breeze rustling the leaves above and Faolán's hoarse coughing as his voice returned to him. Ivy was still on her knees where Titania had left her, her arms wrapped around herself as she rocked back and forth in a stunned silence.
Charlie went over to her cousin. "Ivy," she whispered, wrapping her arms around her. "Ivy, don't worry. We'll figure out a way."
Ivy didn't say anything in response. She felt more exhausted than she'd ever felt in her life. Her head was spinning, and the edges of her sight grew rapidly fuzzy and dark. Sleep. Sleep was what she wanted now, more than anything.
Charlie's voice echoed in her ears as she slipped out of consciousness. "Ivy? Ivy? Come on, hang in there! Ivy!"