Tales From the Fae – Part V: The Academy of Dana
Chapter 33 – Advocates
“You’re certain then,” asked Marcus Brightly seriously behind the old wood desk in his cluttered office. All four Principalities were present. Keila lounging gracefully on the seat below the window, the other three faeries in comfortable chairs. Dramia sat with her legs in front of her on the surface of his desk.
“She can see the Fíochán Anam, Mark,” replied Driel flatly. I’m positive. She may not even understand what it is she senses, but there was no doubt.”
“But what does that mean?” Ananha shifted uneasily in her chair. “Is she becoming a faerie or something?”
“No,” Keila replied shaking her head. “Nothing has changed in her physically.”
Verith leaned forward. “Then how do we explain the fact that she can do something previously found only in faerie folk?”
“Miranda is different, sighed Mark. “We knew when we first located her that she wasn’t like our other candidates.”
“But she’s still human, right?” Driel’s question brought the group to momentary silence.
“She is… an anomaly,” answered the Headmaster. “Dramia?”
“Genetically, she’s human,” answered the tiny female shrugging her shoulders. “There are a few peculiarities we don’t entirely understand, but the base stock is unmistakable. One thing we do know about her though… More than perhaps any other human I have met to date, yourself included, sir,” she said nodding to Mark, “is her similarity to the original Tuatha before the Fall. This has to be a simple coincidence since neither of her parents showed the slightest fae talent. It was in their bloodline, certainly, but nothing dominant on either side. It must have been the combination of those two recessive lines that allowed for her gifts, and even then, the circumstances of her discovery were unusual.”
“What do you mean,” asked Driel. “Who was her fae link?”
“She didn’t have one,” replied the sprite simply. “At least not within her own lines. Her discovery was As a Leth.”
“She had an advocate?” The faerie was stunned. “Surely anyone within the council would have come forward…”
“It wasn’t within the council, interrupted the sprite.”
“Not within… Then who?”
The sprite looked slightly embarrassed. “Her advocate wished to remain anonymous.”
Mark intervened when Driel started to rise from her seat. “I think,” he said quickly, “that in this case, prudence dictates that the council have this information, Dramia.”
The tiny female appeared bothered, but sighed, relenting. “Under protest…”
“Noted,” replied Mark, nodding.
“Miranda’s advocate was Luiseach Gilldanu.”
“What!” Keila was suddenly alert. “Why weren’t we told of this?”
“It has never been the practice of sprites to divulge our sources,” said the little fae female angrily as she stood to face the Principality more directly. “…Mistress,” she added after a moment’s hesitation.
“Are you often contacted by members of the Unseelie Court regarding student candidates?!” Keila had risen from the window seat and was visibly shaking. An angry red glow seemed to be collecting around her. At the desk, the sprite looked concerned, but stood her ground.
“Not that it matters, but the Gilldanu clan has always remained neutral…”
“Doesn’t matter!?” screamed Keila, furious. “They house themselves within the Unseelie Court and you say it doesn’t matter?!”
“NO,” insisted the tiny woman, taking a dangerous stand against the faerie. “IT DOESN’T! Ignoring the fact that they reside within an Unseelie stronghold because THAT IS WHERE THEIR TEMPLE IS, I wouldn’t have disclosed an anonymous patron even if it had been Cailleach herself! It isn’t done! It’s only at the request of Master Brightly that I would even consider it, and given the response of those present, I doubt I shall ever do so again!”
Keila was actually taken aback at the force of the miniscule woman. The small office was deathly quiet for a very long moment, then the faerie sighed and let her head fall.
“Forgive me, Dramia,” she said with some effort. “You are right. The guides you follow were placed there for solid reasons and I was out of line to question your devotion to our laws.”
“Forgotten,” stated the sprite flatly. “Now would someone mind telling me why the hell it matters so much who Miranda’s advocate was? I get the feeling that I’m not seeing the whole picture, and if you want me to follow her, then it might be a good idea to know who I’m dealing with, yes?”
The faerie looked to Mark.
“There is a distinct possibility that Miranda may defect to the Unseelie court,” said the Headmaster.
“Defect?” The sprite was incredulous. “But what about the amplifier project?”
“That, I’m afraid, is exactly the problem.”
“But… but First Summers wouldn’t… I know she wouldn’t!”
“I know it doesn’t seem to fit,” stated Keila. “But all four of us have foreseen her in their court,” she added, nodding to the other principalities.
“I don’t understand. She’s human. They would never accept her.”
“They will. The only question now is, what do we do with her? Do we let her continue with her training and graduation, or do we intervene. We still have some time…”
“You would disaffirm her now, after all that she’s suffered through?”
The room was silent. Finally, it was Mark who spoke.
“No. I’m not even sure we could. Her memory isn’t… normal. Even the Queen was surprised at her ability to resist probing. I think we have passed the point of possible intervention, at least in the normal sense. Erasing her time here isn’t an option.”
“Then what are we to do, Mark,” asked Ananha quietly from her seat. “The games begin in two days, followed by graduation into the fae.”
“Provided she survives,” said Dramia under her breath.
“What’s that supposed to mean,” asked Ananha looking confused.
The sprite appeared a bit embarrassed. “Only that since her telling, First Summers has accumulated a considerable band of enemies. It’s generally taken that all houses, including her own, have made it their personal goal to see her team smashed in the games.”
“It’s going to be quite the competition then,” said Keila softly. “Considering what First Stuckey was capable of in the presence of the Counsel.”
No one responded. They all remembered quite clearly how the girl had very nearly killed the principality and several others, fighting to help Miranda as she screamed in pain from the Dominion Queen’s mental prodding.