A/N: Here it is, my first long fic! This is actually a collaboration with Redworld96 (you can find her on Tumblr, Twitter and Deviantart, she is an amazing artist). We were both fascinated by a certain idea (you will see), but it was just a concept until she started working on it and then came up with a wonderful expedient that inspired me and made me start plotting all of this with her. We basically developed this entire universe together and we are both working on it, she made some beautiful coloring and the cover the fic while I'm working on it. Go check her work!

Also, I have to thank Trig for agreeing to beta read this and for being so enthusiastic about it (dear, you are wonderful)

Enjoy!

Chapter I: This is not a place for the living

The grass creaked under her feet as Merlin softly landed on the ground, the black hems of her dress sprawling around her. She just needed a second to regain her balance, and then she was already looking around, her eyes wandering attentively over her surroundings. She was sure this was the right place, even though it was different from what she had imagined finding. The stories she had heard - not that there were much - mentioned a wood, a dark, crooked wood whose only view had the power to make people shiver and turn around to never come back again.

This wasn't wood. It was barely a bunch of scrawny trees emerging casually from the hard ground, bare at the point that their scarce, deep brown leaves couldn't even shade their roots. And yet, it was the right place. She knew that. The magic in the air was almost tangible, and she could easily recognize part of it as Fairy magic; but there was something else under it, something new for her and that she couldn't understand – not like she did with the other kinds of magic. Although that made her feel uncomfortable, she smiled to herself. That was exactly what she was looking for.

She cautiously began to move, attentively examining her surroundings, looking for ... she wasn't sure for what. Something that she could examine and that could give her some information about the magic that once had inhabited this place, hopefully.

Merlin had always been a curious girl. Someone could have said that this was her greatest flaw and curse, and maybe they would have been right, but she had long learned to accept this side of herself. It was what pushed her to study the magic used by the other Clans, to the point that now she could have been able to identify most of their spells in a moment. And the fact that there could have been a form of magic that was unknown to her ... it disturbed her. This was the main reason that had led her there, in that desolate place forgotten by the Gods.

She advanced into the bare thicket, her eyes moving from the trees to the grounds; she hadn't been worried when she had landed, but the more she walked through that desolation, the more she felt that something wasn't quite right.

It wasn't only the contorted trees emerging from the bare ground, looking like skeletal hands frozen in the attempt to reach the sky; it wasn't even the black, arid ground nor the rotten green of the grass and the rare, ill plants. It was more like a feeling, a sense of wrong and sick that permeated the air, making it difficult to breathe.

Most of the people would have already left; well, most of the people wouldn't have even got close to that bleakness in the first place, but Merlin wasn't like them. She had seen worse than a bunch of dying trees – and in a moment in her mind flown the images of the burning hell that Belialuin had become, the streets submerged by the smoke and the fog; after a short time, she remembered, it had become impossible to see the people, only hear their screams.

She shook her head – it wasn't the moment to think about what had happened to her home – and put a hand on her mouth, trying to catch her breath; even though she couldn't understand what kind of magic was affecting her, she wouldn't have let it stop her. And so, she kept walking.

That unsettling feeling didn't disappear, though; it grew stronger at every step, together with a disturbing inquietude that begun to weight on her chest, sharpening her sense as she started to constantly look over her shoulder.

It was silly, she knew that. It hadn't been easy to find accurate information about what had happened there, not even in the Fairy King's Forest – she had soon learned that the Fairies didn't want to talk about that, but all the legends she had heard were clear. Nothing, and more than that, no one, had survived to the Battle of the Fairies; not who had lost it, anyway. There was nothing to worry about.

That thought didn't make her feel better, though, nor made her stop to constantly look around and almost to start at the sounds of her own steps. Maybe it was the silence that was making her feel so exposed, that odd, complete silence that surrounded her, broken not even by the sound of the leaves, the chirping of a bird or the buzz of a bug.

It was a relief that the place was actually small so that she could walk through it in some long, extenuating minutes; nevertheless, she couldn't contain her disappointment by the fact that she had found nothing during her first exploration. Usually, she wouldn't have bothered that much, she was used to long, extensive research before finally meet her object, but the idea of spending more time in that place made her sick. Her head was starting to feel heavy and there was that nauseating feeling at the pit of her stomach that didn't stop to torment her.

Merlin took another deep breath, fighting the urge to throw up; maybe she should have been better to leave that place and return another time, better prepared and with some defense spells to protect her. She would have been able to focus better and to handle that suffocating atmosphere, that way.

She nodded to herself. She wasn't giving up, of course, she wasn't that kind of person, she was just … waiting for a better moment. She didn't want to renounce to that knowledge, she would have found something, even if that meant to return in that desolate land –

"Merlin!"

She started, gasping before turning around and raising her hand, trying to focus enough to summon her magic. How could have she be so distracted not to hear someone approaching her, despite the silence? There was a war, for the Goddesses, she couldn't let herself be taken by surprise like that!

"Merlin, stop! It's me!"

The girl blinked, her hand still raised to cast a spell, as she brought into focus the figure in front of her. Her body immediately relaxed when she recognized Elizabeth's shape, her huge, white wings twitching behind her as she took another step towards her.

"Big Sis! What are you doing here?" Merlin asked, furrowing her brows. She didn't expect to see the Goddess in that place; the last time she had seen her, she was in the Fairy King's Forest, working hard to make the alliance that had taken the name of Stigma work.

Elizabeth only stopped when she was next to her and put a hand on her shoulder, a little, relieved smile curving her lips. "I was looking for you! You know you shouldn't wander around, it can be dangerous."

Merlin pressed her lips together. There was a part of her that was secretly content that her big Sis cared about her; it was good to have someone who actually wanted to take care of her – her father hadn't been exactly the best in this. However, she couldn't help but have her ego a bit bruised.

"I'm not a kid," she stated, crossing her arms against her chest, "I can defend myself. And I've never been in danger. No one comes here, not even Demons."

"Of course, Demons don't come here. They are smart enough not to."

Merlin flinched, her heart jumping into her throat; her eyes rapidly moved to the slim figure that was now standing a little behind Elizabeth. How could she miss the Fairy? She cursed herself, narrowing her eyes as she studied the woman. She didn't recognize the Fairy's long, narrow face, which was bordered by long and disheveled dark brown hair, but she didn't like the way she had addressed to her, nor the cold, annoyed look in her green eyes.

"You shouldn't have come here, child. This place is cursed."

Merlin pursed her lips, trying to draw herself up; she was still feeling sickened but she didn't want them to notice that. "I was just looking around. As far as I know, there is no one who can forbid that. And – and how did you even know that I was there?" She turned toward Elizabeth, who was taking a look around, an expression of discomfort on her face.

"Hum? Oh!" The Goddesses blinked and looked at her. "Well, you were nowhere to be found, and then Gerheade come to me and told me that you had been seen here and so – "

"So we were sent to catch you," the Fairy interrupted Elizabeth. "You should know that there is a guardian to watch this place, child. He didn't attack you because lucky for you, he smelt
the scent of our Forest on your body. This won't happen again."

"But – why can't I come here?" Merlin clenched her fists, snarling at the woman. "This is not your Realm, you have no authority over this place!"

She didn't take it well, Merlin could see that by the way her eyes widened and her face paled a bit; she took a step towards her, placing her hand on the hilt of the saber hanging at her hip – she wouldn't have dared to attack her, wouldn't she? Merlin was quite sure about that, but she had to force herself not to take a step back.

"Don't you speak like that in front of me or my people," the woman hissed, "you know nothing about what happened here, and you'd better not to meddle into a matter that doesn't concern you. This was – this still is an issue of the Fairy Clan, and no one else's. You won't come back there."

Merlin opened her mouth to answer – in truth, she didn't know what she could have replied, but she wasn't letting the Fairy talk to her like this. She wasn't some petulant child that needed to be scolded.

Elizabeth stopped her before she could say a word. "Sen, please," she murmured, glancing at the Fairy with pleading eyes. Only then Merlin noticed that the Goddesses' skin was paler than usual and the rapid pace of her breath; she was being affected by the magic of that land, exactly like the mage. It had to be something extremely powerful if it had that effect on a Goddesses, Merlin though, but before she could elaborate that consideration Elizabeth's eyes were on her, and even though they were kind and sympathetic as they always were, there was a trace of hardness that wasn't usually directed towards the girl.

"Merlin, there are reasons the Fairy Clan doesn't want people to wander out here. I know that you want to study and analyze everything you can but there are limits." She took a deep breath and stared into Merlin's eyes, squeezing her shoulders. "Please. Promise me that you won't return here."

It wasn't fair. Merlin hated when people thought that they can tell her what she could or couldn't do, and she had never let anyone do that; her father had tried a few times to stop her from reading certain books from his library – she was too young, he had said, and they were too dangerous – but he had soon learned that there was nothing he could do to prevent her from doing what she desired. No one, she thought, could prohibit knowledge; it was something that belonged to those who pursue it and to no one else.

Nonetheless at that moment, under Elizabeth's gaze, Merlin understood that she couldn't discuss this time. It wasn't a favorable situation. The relations with the Demons were becoming increasingly difficult, the delicate balance that still existed wouldn't have last much. Soon, it would be open war, and Stigma was still a young, precarious alliance. There was no need to further inside conflicts.

So Merlin swallowed her anger and nodded slowly, her eyes fixed on Elizabeth's face. "Fine," she snorted, "I don't care. There is nothing to see here, anyway."

"That's obvious," the Fairy – Sen, Elizabeth had called her – shook her head, her lips pressed in a hard line. "We made sure of that. There is nothing left for the living."

This time Merlin managed to control her annoyance, and rather than on the tone of voice, she took a moment to focus on the Fairy's words. We. She has said we. Of course, she could have used it to refer to her Clan, but thinking about the words she had used before … It was personal, Merlin realized. And even though it wasn't easy to understand with Fairies, there were details – the lines on her face, the hardness in her eyes – that made her realize that Sen was old. Older than Elizabeth, probably. Maybe …

"You were there," Merlin stated quietly. "You were there when it happened," she continued, ignoring Elizabeth's worried gaze, her eyes fixed on the Fairy.

She stood still, without taking her eyes off Merlin's, her gaze steely and her body just stiffening a little. "I was," she finally said, with a cold, emotionless voice. "Like every other warrior, I took up my sword and fought alongside my King that terrible day." She stopped and for a moment her eyes got lost, probably after memories that only she could see.

"I hope you will never have to do the things I had to," she murmured, before shaking her head. "I will say no more about this issue, daughter of Belialuin; some things are better to be forgotten." Then she glanced at Elizabeth and tilted her head. "We have found the child, as you wanted. Now we have to leave."

"Of course," the Goddesses nodded, squeezing Merlin's shoulder one last time. "We are ready to go."

Sen didn't answer before turning around, and the moment later her feet had left the ground, her iridescent wings shining under the pale light of the sun.

Merlin followed Elizabeth when she took flight behind the Fairy, and it was a shock and a relief when, finally far enough from that ill ground, she was able to really breathe again. She quickly looked over her shoulder one more time, her eyes wandering over the skeletal shape of the trees. Maybe, she thought, she would have been able to return there, one day, to finally unravel the mysteries of that place. After they'd solved the situation with the Demons, and she wouldn't have to worry about the other Clans.

Yes, maybe then she would have come back.

She never did.