Laurel

3:02 Laurel

"What am I?" I managed to croak out. My voice weak and shaking as I struggled to get the words out.

"You are so many wishes granted. You are Hope Laurel, for all the world." He smoothly rose back to a standing position and offered me his hand. I took it and let him pull me up onto my feet again. "But come, let's go somewhere more comfortable and I will explain more." He held my hand gently, and led me through the woods. The way was smooth, the ground was soft and plush under my feet. The air was fresh, my brain screamed that there should be birdsong, and the sound of small animals and bugs all around. The only sounds were our footsteps on the grass path. I was mulling over what he had said, it made no sense, I was still too jumbled from the fight, and the loss of my mates presence in my head that I couldn't question anything. I let him lead me, trusting that he didn't mean me harm. Gotha would have warned me if I was in danger. I believe that, I didn't know it.

We went around an impossibly large holly bush, and came upon a simple log cabin, there was a wicker couch and chair arranged around a small fire pit with a large brass kettle just starting to steam over the fire. The stranger, my father, led me to the chair, where I sat while a steaming mug of fresh green tea was put in my hands. The comforting feel of the warm mug in my hands was familiar at a time I desperately needed to feel anything familiar. I took a sip of the herbaceous tea, feeling myself return from the near out of body experience I had been stuck in. "What should I call you and Where am I?" I asked once he had poured his own tea and sat across from me on the larger wicker couch.

"Your mother named me Solace, I would be honored if you would use that name as well." He said in the intensely rich voice that calmed my racing heart. Each sip of the tea I took was restorative. He said he would answer my questions. I had to focus, this was finally it. "You are in my domain, it is outside space and time as you know it." So I had been right about it being a bubble dimension, or something like that.

"Who was my mother? My birth mother?" I amended, to make sure I was as clear as possible. Sky had warned me to be specific with Fae.

He shook his head. "You have nothing to fear here Laurel. Your mates are safe, I will pull no tricks, and tell no lies. They will be reunited with you soon." He paused,

"Let me tell you a story and if at the end you still have questions, I will answer them." I nodded and implored him to continue with everything I had. "A long, long time ago there was only darkness, and Chaos. Chaos grew bored of only darkness, so from the darkness, Chaos pulled together Gaia. Gaia was a cultivator. She grew all the stars, and planets and galaxies. Light from the stars danced across the universe, illuminating all she had created. Gaia kept going, she created Life, and life pulled more celestial beings into creation, for if there is Life, there must be Death so all may come and go in their own time. So pleased with her work, and with the lower Gods and Goddesses she created, Gaia stepped back and let the universe do as it might, satisfied that she had done enough to set the right course.

For many years there was peace. Chaos was pleased with what Gaia had done, and let himself fall into a slumber. While Chaos and Gaia rested, the darkness sent forth it's own minion, Erebus. Erebus, God of nothing, dominion of the space between life and death, he too sent forth his own creations. Erebus courted mortals, and from his unsanctioned unions, his children arose. Tearing themselves from the wombs of their mortal mothers, Prestalince, War, Envy and Greed, Wrath came to be. The offspring of Erebrus were insidious, immortal and able to easily infect the creatures Life had worked so hard to bring forth. Disease, conquests, and desire for more and for what others had drove the mortals to almost complete destruction as they warred between themselves.

Life could not stand by and watch her beloved creations turn against each other. Life and Death worked together and wrenched the Realms apart. The magical Fae were to be contained in their Realm, charged with maintaining the balance between all the worlds. Mortals would be spared the conflict and kept in ignorance. Demon's and those working to end Life's work, would be sent below, where they would need to work harder to gain access to the other realms to sow havok.