Chapter 1: First Meetings

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural, it belongs to Warner Bros. Television. I just own Elena Pharmakis. I'm not gaining profit from this.

This chapter isn't betaed, any mistakes are my own and English is definitely not my first language. Constructive criticism is much appreciated, flames are not.

Thoughts

There was a human in the Faery Realm. This wasn't exactly unusual given the fairies fascination with the race, and humans' frankly baffling habit of falling into fairy passages. Other species knew to run when stumbling upon them, but humans, in their ignorance, were easily lured inside. Even those that should know better.

Usually in these cases, the human would be either cajoled, seduced or manipulated into staying if they were unfortunate enough to attract a fairy's attention or left to stumble out the way they came. The last one happened more often, fairies were fickle and easily bored. Even the humans that amused them were rarely allowed to stay for long. Well, long by fairy standards could well be half the human's lifetime.

As the struggling human was dragged in chains and forced to kneel before King Oberon, Elena wondered which category this human fell into.

"Another firstborn from Elwood, sire" simpered the female Seelie.

King Oberon looked the kneeling human up and down appreciatively. Elena had to admit that he was handsome with his muscular build, dark blond hair and green eyes shining with rage.

"Let me go! You bastards" yelled the human.

Elena was amused to note that his voice sounded, dare she say it, sexy. How angry yelling could be hot she wasn't sure, but she really hoped she didn't develop a new kink because of this stranger. Especially when he obviously belonged to King Oberon, her fellow monarch might not appreciate her poaching. With fairies though, who knew.

Not that she would steal him. First, she liked her lovers completely willing, from his continued yelling and pulling his chains, this man obviously wasn't. Secondly, even if she did somehow manage to seduce him, she was against fucking with a kidnapped person on principle. The power dynamics in that situation were just too skewed for her to puzzle over.

"Welcome, human," Oberon gestured with his hand to encompass his throne room, "to my realm."

"Who the fuck do you think you are?! What do you want from me?!" he shouted.

The King shrugged, bored silver eyes gazing at the kneeling form, "Nothing." He stood from his throne of branches and flowers and walked down the moss covered steps to the man. He grabbed his chin in his snow white hand, long golden tresses held back by a silver circlet touching the prisoner's face. "Though you are a pretty thing, I might just keep you."

The man snarled in obvious rage and tried to bite the fairy King's hand. "Don't touch me, you monster!"

Elena rolled her eyes, Well, that answers that. This guy is obviously a hunter. She cleared her throat, "As amusing as this is, we have business to discuss, your majesty."

Oberon let go of the hunter's chin and looked at her, amused. "Ah, yes. Do excuse me, Magister."

"You!" with a start, Elena realised that the human was talking to her. Just to be sure, she pointed at herself with a questioning tilt to her head.

"Yes, you!" he yelled. "Why am I here?"

Elena hissed, feeling a burn on her left wrist. She grabbed it with her right hand, looking up to meet startled green eyes. "Fuck no. You can't be my soulmate!" From the way he clenched his teeth and curled towards his left arm, Elena was really that unlucky.

Looking up into the eyes of King Oberon of Avalon, Elena knew that whatever advantage she had in their negotiations had just gone up in smoke. Natalia will be so pissed.

§§§

Dean Winchester had spent his whole life tormented by the words on his wrist. If he ever needed any proof that he wasn't good enough, he just had to look at his own wrist where his Words laid.

All his life he had to live with the knowledge that his own soulmate would reject him, that they would be so disgusted with him they didn't want him as a soulmate.

At first, he'd tried proving fate wrong. He was a dutiful son, a good brother and an even better hunter. He was popular in school and with both genders, he attracted them like moths to a flame. Back then, he wasn't nearly as promiscuous as his behaviour suggested.

Then he had to drop out of school to support himself and Sammy while their Dad was gone. Every thought about soulmates was driven out of his head as the search for Yellow Eyes intensified and he struggled to raise Sam and play diplomat between him and Dad.

Then Sammy left, the one good thing in his life left him. Then Dad ordered him to split up to cover more ground and Dean ended up at the bottom of a bottle most nights. He wasn't good enough for his soulmate, he wasn't good enough for Sam or his Dad…

Then Dad disappeared, the deal, the Apocalypse, getting Sam back… Dean had no time to think about those words on his wrist. Not until he found himself chained up by some elvish creature straight out of Lord of the Rings, appraised like cattle and the beautiful monster woman said his Words.

A part of Dean was relieved her rejection was likely due to his humanity and her King's desire to 'keep him'. The rest of him was horrified that Chuck, that damn bastard, had decided a monster was his other half. What did that say about him?

§§§

Elena left the meeting hall in a huff. Thankfully, Oberon hadn't used his new bargaining chip that much. This was a simple meeting about opposing the Dwarves spike in prices, there was really nothing much they disagreed on. The Magister just hoped her Second didn't protest too much about giving the fairies the right to host the next Samhain celebrations, she always complained about them anyway.

Elena knew that wouldn't stop Natalia from complaining since it was an honour to host it. However, she knew her cousin would understand once she explained the situation, no one would abandon their soulmate to the fairies, especially not Oberon himself. As seductive as the fae could be, he was a cruel and sadistic lover.

Even if the hunter hated her, even if he turned out to be a horrible person, Elena didn't want her soulmate to have that terrible lifeless look in his eyes. That doll-like behaviour in the members of the King's harem.

Elena had never been happier for the respect that faeries had for soulmate bonds. Had the man merely been her lover, King Oberon would have kept him to control her. Elena might be the Magister, but she was young and inexperienced, she couldn't outmanoeuvre him, and she couldn't declare war over a simple partner. Truly, the hunter was lucky they were soulmates.

§§§

Dean sat on his haunches, chains still attached to the ground by some weird magic bullshit. The blond elf and the monster girl, his soulmate, Chuck-damn-it, had disappeared. The spear wielding guards around the room were speaking in some weird language and giving him amused glances from time to time.

Dean would like to know what they found amusing, his kidnapping? A hunter being soulmates with a monster? That woman being soulmates with him?

She had to be pretty important to have 'discussions' with a King. What was that word, Magister? That sounded official, like a title.

Dean wanted to ask, but he refused to talk to his kidnappers. Plus, he had more important things to do, he had to get back to Sam.

§§§

Entering the throne room once again, Elena destroyed the chains that trapped her soulmate in a shower of golden sparks.

"I'll bring you back home." she told him.

Hurriedly, he stood up, groaning. Elena winced in sympathy, no matter how soft the grass was, his knees had to hurt after so long in that position. She turned around and walked out of the room through the archway made of interlocking tree branches and into the forest beyond.

§§§

Elena… had absolutely no idea what to say. She'd never fantasised about meeting her soulmate, not that she didn't want to meet them, who wouldn't want to meet someone that was 'perfect' for them?

However, she was young for a mage, only 36. Too young to be Magister. Her rule was barely 8 years old, this really wasn't the time for such a glaring weakness, especially a hunter. Thank Mother Magic for Natalia, she'll spin this in a favourable light. Somehow.

She really had to talk to her soulmate though, "So…" Let's start with something simple. "What's your name?" She didn't look at him when she asked.

"Dean Winchester." he said.

Elena froze and spun around to face him, "What?" slipped from numb lips.

He raised a brow, "Know me?"

Elena looked him up and down then stared into his eyes, "Archangel Michael's vessel."

Dean fucking Winchester glared, "Friends of yours?"

She shrugged, "No. I know of him though, he created the dragons."

Obviously, whatever Dean expected, that wasn't it.

His mouth was torn between surprised gaping and a smirk, "Dragons?"

Elena smirked back, "Yes, dragons. Magic School stands in their territory, as does our hospital and orphanage, they're our strongest allies since most of us share their blood."

§§§

"Elves and dragons are relatives?" Someone should have told Tolkien that.

She laughed, "You think I'm an elf?" She tucked her hair behind her ear to show off the lack of pointy tip.

"What are you then?" Dean pointed to all around himself, "Where are we?"

His soulmate smiled, "You are in Avalon, a parallel dimension populated by the children of Mother Magic. Right now, we're in the Faery Realm, home of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts ruled by King Oberon." She grabbed his right hand bowed, lips barely touching the back of his hand, like he was some faint hearted woman in a romance novel. She then looked up at him with her clear blue eyes that now burned a bright purple, "I am Elena Pharmakis, the Magister."

"I hate to burst your bubble," he snarked, "but I have no idea what that means."

Surprisingly enough, she didn't look angry at his words, she just smiled and said, "I suspected as much, but I wanted to check."

He raised a brow, "Why? Should I know you?"

She shrugged, "I thought you might, it's always a toss up what hunters know." She smirked then, hands on her hip and laughing eyes, "I am the Magister, the Queen of the Mages. We are the descendants of the unions between the children of Mother Magic and humans. Think of us as born witches, without all those nasty demonic deals."