Faerie Tales from Hell Pt. 01

"Wait a second. Prophecy? How about I promise that I don't participate in any overthrow?" Avinn offered.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Avinn, I am afraid you have not have the heartiest of welcomes. We are glad to have you and are thrilled to have you as a member of the family." He said, relaxing a bit. "It's not that you are not welcome, you just pose a bit of a situation. I shall try to explain what is going on as easy as I can.

"The pantheons: Greek, Celtic, Chinese, Hindu, etcetera are all bound to have a certain number of members in it. This is to keep a balance between all the pantheons. Any loose cannons are bound to a specific level of Hell designed to house powerful immortal beings." He explained. "Questions?"

Avinn opened her mouth and then shut it. She didn't know where to start. "Who set the rules and why do you abide by them?" She asked. From what she knew, Gods and Goddesses were all powerful and answered to no one.

"The rules are set by Heaven. We abide by them because the Angels are our fathers. We are the children of Angels and mortal women. Actually, we are the children of Fallen Angels and mortal women. Our fathers are imprisoned in Hell for producing us. Heaven tasked us with watching over mankind and helping them. Over the centuries, man has become less dependent on us, so we have all retreated to our homes and continue to watch over in secrecy."

Avinn nodded, taking it all in. "So where do I fit in all of this?"

Brighid spoke up. "Father, if I may. Avinn, you are considered a demi-goddess. Your father is pure Fae. Faeries are another type of immortals. Your father...he is the Fae King Oberon." She explained. "That is why the Fae are after you. His Queen wants you dead."

Avinn nodded again. "What is the prophecy and what does it have to do with me?"

"The Fates decreed that the offspring of Oberon would unseat the Fae Queen. Supposedly, the child of Oberon will be death of her."

Branwan, the Goddess of Love and Beauty chimed in. "Your existence is a threat to her. Siofra cursed Oberon to only be able to have children with her and then she took precautions to make sure she never had children." The goddess gave a wry smile. "Apparently, Siofra thought she had a fool proof plan."

Brighid gave her sister a glare. "This is not the time Branwan." Her sister snorted but kept quiet. "Avinn that is why I hid you away. It was the hardest thing I have ever done."

"So, this Fae Queen wants to kill me because my father is Oberon and it's prophesized a child of his will be the end to her. Hence why the angel said I was in danger." She said slowly. "Plus, my existence is a no-no, so I could get banished to Hell just for breathing." She just wanted to make sure she had it correctly.

"That sounds about right, niece. At least you're a smart one." Midri, the God of the Underworld laughingly stated. "Trust me, they are already preparing a spot for you in Hell. I've been hearing the stirrings." He might be up here at the moment, but he kept an ear to Hell to keep up. The appearance of his niece had certainly shaken things up a bit. "The announcement of your existence has been heralded on all levels."

Avinn wasn't sure what to say. "Let's see that I have everything straight. Gods, Goddesses, Angels, Fallen Angels, Fairies..." She ticked off, counting on her fingers. "Most myths explained in one afternoon. Not bad."

She had the beginnings of a horrid headache. "I have so many questions, I don't know where to start. I guess my main concern is going home. I just want to go home and forget this ever happened."

"Avinn, you cannot return to the mortal world. You will live only a few hours at most." Brighid gasped. She looked to her brothers and sisters to see who would speak of the one way she could be returned.

Taranis, the God of Thunder laughed. "Now, that is not true. Avinn, you can return to the mortal world...only not as a mortal. You must ascend to your godhood first, then you will be free to return."

"Godhood?" Confused, Avinn glanced between her uncle and her mother. "What godhood?"

With a silent vow to make Taranis' life miserable, Brighid pasted on a smile. "Your mortal life must end before you can ascend to your godhood. It's nothing really in the grand scheme of things." She shrugged a shoulder. Mortal lives were so flimsy to begin with; it would be but a blip.

Avinn looked around the group, her eyes widened in shock. "Wait, hold on. You mean I have to die in order to go home? Well, you can all forget that! I'm not dying. So no. You just have to send me home. Rebind my powers or whatever it is and just send me home. "

The God of War, Arawan, finally spoke up. "Don't be foolish. Powers aren't like the shoes on your feet with the strings. You can't tie them and untie at will. Once unbound, they are not to be bound again." He was not one for this non-sense. The damned girl was already a pain in his ass. "Just die and get it over with. You will be the better for it. I can help you along if you'd prefer."

Shooting up in her seat, Brighid pointed a finger at Arawan's drawn sword. "Put that thing away! You know weapons are not allowed here. You are not killing my daughter. You so much as harm a hair on her head, you will be hiding in the Underworld for eternity." She warned.

Avinn's state of shock gave way to one of fear. Surely they didn't mean to just kill her. Brighid was adamantly against that it seemed. What if they were wrong about things and they killed her and that was the end of it all.

After Dagda ordered weapons to be sheathed, Brighid calmed her ruffled feathers. Avinn pinched the bridge of her nose. Perceptive of the little movement, Brighid immediately jumped in.

"Why don't we just take a few steps back? You must be tired and hungry by now, Avinn. It's been a difficult week. I have quarters for you." She smiled. In fact, she had a room for Avinn since her birth, redecorating as Avinn got older. Brighid never knew when her daughter might get found out so wanted to be prepared for Avinn's arrival. "You could take a nap, we can have a meal, relax and then tackle what needs to be done later on".

Before Avinn could protest, she found herself yawning. The day did wear on her and she hated to show weakness, but she was also admittedly hungry. Although she didn't trust those around her enough to fall asleep near them, she might chance a meal.

"Maybe some food?"

"Avinn, you needn't fear us. Please, we all want to protect you. Say you will rest after a meal. You can rest peacefully as no harm will reach you here." Brighid assured softly.

She sighed a sigh of relief. "Well then...actually a nap would be much appreciated." Avinn could tell she wasn't leaving anytime soon, so she might as well get what rest and food she could before fighting for her life again.

Brighid rose and took her hand and they excused themselves. Walking down yawning and ornate hallways, they stopped in front of a set of white and gilt double doors. The ten-foot high doors swung open slowly and the two entered the room.

The room changed over the years as Brighid customized it to Avinn's preferences. Currently it was done in shades of green with honey hued wood. The bedroom area housed a huge four-poster bed hung with deep green velvet draperies and bedcovering. The floor was covered in a green marble with the sitting area covered with hand-woven rugs. Also in the room stood floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with Avinn's favorite books. In the next room, the bathroom featured a large sunken tub done in lapis lazuli and in there was a walk-in closet filled with over a hundred different gowns and outfits.

"I have waited a long time for you, my love."

"You did all this for me?" Avinn felt touched.

This room glowed with love. She ran a hand over the bedcovers and swore she never felt anything so soft and luxurious in her life. Everything in the room showed care and love, which gave Avinn food for thought.

"It's beautiful." Avinn finally whispered before she walked to the bookshelves. Running her fingers over the books, she smiled. "All my favorite books are here."

"I'll leave you to get some rest. If you need anything, just pull this." Brighid said, indicating a needle worked bell-pull. "We will have a meal when you wake up. Sleep as long as you wish." She walked over and kissed her daughter's forehead. "You have no idea how I have longed to do that, my love."

Brighid didn't wait for a reply as she shimmered elsewhere to give Avinn some privacy. No doubt there was a lot to think over. She herself had something thinking to do since she did not want her daughter to ascend. Ascension to one's godhood meant a one-way ticket to Hell. But Brighid could not let Avinn be defenseless on the mortal world. So far, Avinn had been lucky in terms of her life. If only Siofra had not visited the Fates. With the way Siofra forced things, Brighid had a feeling the Usurper Fae Queen would bring about her own demise.

Chapter Five

The Heavens

Saben walked onto the training grounds to find his twin brother knocking out a trainee. He laughed, catching the attention of everyone. With the scowl his brother gave him, Saben knew that Jaben was not in the best of moods.

"What's got him all pissed off?" Saben asked in a low voice over at Armisael.

Armisael, better known to all as Misa, was the only anatomically female Dominion and one of the main seven generals. Misa happened to be a special kind of angel and not many knew about her origins. In fact, Saben didn't know much about the mysterious angel who worked her way up the ranks throughout the centuries. All he knew about her was that Se rather liked her and that Misa spent a lot of time visiting Hell.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Misa snorted with barely a glance up from sharpening a dagger.

Saben shook his head. He jumped in as his brother barked for the next trainee. Maybe competent sparring could release some of that frustration Saben felt coming at him in waves. More attuned to each other than most angels, Saben attributed it to being their twin connection. They were an entwined energy in the universe that got separated into two when Se gave them corporeal bodies. Saben likened it to a fertilized egg splitting to create two identical twins.

"Want to talk about it?" Saben asked as he dodged an uppercut.

A grunt in response.

"Well, my guardianship duties were interesting, thanks for asking." Saben commented as he quickly blocked a couple jabs. "She's pretty hot if you want an introduction. Petite with great curves. Eyes that look like a clear summer sky and these amazingly full lips."

"You don't even like females." Jaben grumbled as he now blocked Saben's throws.

Saben grinned. "Just because I don't date doesn't mean I don't look."

The two fell to the ground in a wrestle. Gaining the dominant position, Saben straddled his twin and tried to find an opening. They rolled a few times before breaking apart and hopping back to their feet.

"Did Regina Angelicum reject you again?"

That glare Jaben gave would have trainees trembling on the spot. However, Saben was used to his brother's mood swings. As the Head Dominion, a lot rode on Jaben's shoulders. Dominions were the warrior class angels mainly in charge of keeping the Seraphim in check and fighting demons. The Seraphim were Se's personal bodyguards. Each Dominion had been assigned a Seraph and in each Dominion's sword contained a shard of their Seraph's essence. As Head Dominion, Jaben made sure his Seraph, the Head Seraph Thummin, stayed on as good a behavior as possible.

However, those damn Seraphim spent a lot of time fraternizing with the mortals since Se rarely required It's seven protectors to stay in the Heavens. The Dominions noted the likeness between the Seraphims' behaviors to the Fallen. Luckily all angels were now infertile otherwise there would be many more demi-gods and demi-goddesses running around.

"She didn't reject me again." Jaben growled.

Regina Angelicum was the Head Virtue and also Thummin's mate. However, Jaben swore that he and Regina were soul mates. Se personally picked Regina for Thummin, but the two were ill-matched. Whereas Regina tried to make the union work, Thummin did not. Jaben spent millennia trying to convince Regina that they belonged together.

"So what's the deal?" Saben asked, pausing mid-swing to give his brother a genuinely concerned look.

"Misa, in!" Jaben motioned for the resting Dominion to take his place.

Quick on her feet, Misa shouted for the trainees to spar, as she would supervise. That gave the twins an opportunity to talk in private. Angels were notorious gossips. Although everyone knew Jaben's feelings towards Regina, the brothers still preferred uninterrupted conversations.

"Thummin went to Hell again."

Saben's brows went way up. They had been energy in the universe when Thummin's whole backstory had gone down. Angels existed as energy and only took on their humanoid husks when Se told them to. Thummin gained his corporeal form during the time Lucifer held the position of Head Seraph.

"What was he doing down there again?" Saben questioned.

Over the centuries and in increasing frequency, Thummin descended to Hell to pay a visit to Lucifer. Supposedly those two had been inseparable at one point with Lucifer taking Thummin on as his prodigy. However, during the revolution, Thummin sided with Se and personally dragged Lucifer to Hell.

Jaben heaved a sigh. "He got his hands on some ambrosia and got drunk."

"I always wondered what those two talk about." Saben mused aloud as he thought about the barrier that prevented angels from peering into Hell to see the going on's down there. The Fallen could no longer see into the Heavens either.

"Well, by the time I found out I had to go retrieve his ass, Thummin had been asking Lucifer what kind of benefits he would receive if he decided to switch sides." Jaben looked around to make sure no one overheard them. "I yanked him out of there and then we got into a small wrestling match before he told me to fuck off and then called up some human female to meet up."

Saben nodded slowly. Heck, he liked Regina Angelicum a whole lot. Although built like a supermodel with the face of a seductress, Regina could hold her own in a fight and didn't put up with anyone's bullshit. It was a bit of a surprise that she managed all the little miracle makers and do-gooders. And while Regina focused on her Virtue angels, they all knew how Thummin's not-so-discreet indiscretions affected her.

"Why don't you ask Se to remove their bond?" He asked Jaben as if it was that easy.

Jaben cut a glare. "I have asked. Over fifty times. Se normally ignores me. This time, It told me that there's plans in the works. Be prepared."

Uh-oh. Saben could only imagine what that meant. Se was usually content watching Its creations from a simple bacteria to a celestial body. But when Se had the idea to interfere, things usually got really complicated and known as a whole only to Se. Sometimes the Thrones who were the record keepers had an inkling to the master plan, but no one and nothing knew for sure.