Chapter ten

    With the Tuatha Dé Danann properly cowed, Morgana turned towards the giant standing trees and other fantastical creatures before loudly proclaiming,

     "These two are no longer our prisoners , they are our guests."

      Her words had an immediate and profound effect on the different creatures around me. The attitude that they had towards me suddenly shifted. The suspicious looks and wary attitudes disappeared. The small people with butterfly wings who had been careful to maintain a certain distance from me started to playfully zip around my head , some even landed on my shoulder and started to play in my hair, weaving flowers into it and decorating it with braids. The satyrs started to play flutes and strange string instruments and produced a lively jig. Once the satyrs started playing the music, the naked green women started to frolic and dance around me causing my eyes to wander from one to the other, trying not to miss the wondrous sights on display. They noticed me staring at them but instead of getting angry they just giggled and continued their wild dance, moving their bodies freely and unabashedly. Even the giant trees that had been looming over me with grim expressions on their faces relaxed and backed away to replant themselves into the ground, once again becoming indistinguishable from the surrounding trees.

        The interwoven branches that had been my prison and where Jules still slept creaked as the interlocking branches came apart and sunk into the ground. At the same time similar branches and vines  sprouted out from beneath Jules and started to weave and intertwine like snakes until she was resting on a bed with branches for frames and a bed of leaves and flowers as a mattress.

         I was surprised by the sudden change in atmosphere from tense bordering on aggressive to festive, it was just too unnatural so I checked the cause with my power and found out something shocking; the fay were absolutely loyal to the queen and to a lesser extent ,the Tuatha Dé Danann. They weren't just obedient to their queen, to them her word was law. They willingly gave up their freedom to her and became an extension to her will. She could order them to do anything she wanted and they wouldn't even hesitate to fulfill her orders. That was what had happened, the queen had told them I was a guest so in their minds all the hostility they had towards me instantly vanished. It was actually very creepy and for a man who grew up in the twentieth century where everyone is obsessed with freedom it felt wrong that sentient creatures could so casually throw away their freedom for a life of slavery, but as I used my powers to study their society I found that they were happy. Strange as it may seem, the fact that they had so little power over their own lives didn't bother them. In fact it gave them a strange sense of freedom, freedom from the stress that comes from struggling to determine ones own destiny and freedom from worrying about anything that did not concern their responsibility to take care of the forest. They trusted their queen and so they were free to play and dance while fulfilling their role as guardians of nature.

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        It was a strange relationship but it worked. As I looked around me and observed the smiling faces of those around me, I started to wonder if free will truly was the gift that most people thought it was.

        My thoughts were interrupted when Morgana cleared her throat to get my attention, "John, You promised me three truthful answers to any three of my questions. I would like to ask the first one now."

       I didn't see any point in waiting so I said, "Sure, go for it."

        "What is the best way to restore my husband Merlin's sanity?"

         I knew her story so I wasn't surprised by her question, "Merlin's insanity is not just an affliction of the mind, if it was I could tell you several methods you could use to help heal him but his most pressing problem now concerns his soul. His soul has been torn up little by little as he creates the 'citizens' of his city. Right now his soul is on the verge of collapsing after which he shall cease to exist."

         "Are you saying that it is too late to save him?"

          "No, there is one way to save him, but I would not recommend it. Not only is it insanely dangerous, but it isn't exactly what you want. It will only restore Merlin to how he was before. He will still hate you and try to attack the fay the moment he is put back together again."

          She reacted as if she didn't even hear my warning. She leaned forward and eagerly asked, "What is this method?"

           I sighed. I wish I could have lied and told her that Merlin had no hope but I had made a promise that would literally destroy me if I broke it. 

          "In the far reaches of this plane there are vile creatures called soul benders..."

 A.N.  sorry for late update. There hasn't been any electricity in my house for two and a half days. What can I say, I live in a third world country.