Realm of Dreams- part 2

I waited for the Faerykin's greeting to end, knowing that I had a lot of explaining to do. And that quite possibly this might be the last time we would ever see you. And as I waited, I just watched you. You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and I have been looking for you for so very long. And I hope that I have made the right decision in bringing you here. For you have a choice to make.
The Faerykin wanted to share everything with you, show you all the possiblities, and with a silent gesture, I intervened. I did not want to get their hopes up, only to have your decision crush them, for it is a part of my responsibilty to care for them as well as for you, while you are here. You turn to look at me again, and I see the questions in your eyes. The questions that I have the answers to, of the knowledge that I will impart to you about this place, and a sadness sweeps over me. For when you make your decision, if it is not the one we need, then I will never see you again. And with this sadness, the last rays of the setting Sun fade away.
I feel as if I can now introduce you to who I am. You have offered your trust to me already, along this Journey, and it is only fair that I offer that same trust returned to you. And my appearance alters slightly. And you finally see what I am, a larger version of the Faerykin. For I am the Queen of the Faerykin, and the Last Guardian of the Realm of Dreams.
I did not wish to deceive you in this way, but there was no choice. I had to Travel to the world of Humans to find you, and still protect my People. If I had been discovered, it would have been the end of my existance, and The Faerykin would have been hunted and slaughtered, leaving all the Dreams of the little children vulnerable. Joy would have been extinguished, and Hope would have died. I have made this Journey to protect both your world and mine. But at this moment, all that matters is that I have found you, and the impending decision you will make. I invite you to sit with me upon the ground, and the Faerykin draped their bodies all over the two of us, wherever they could find room. And they were silent as I said, "and now I wish to tell you a story."
"Once Long Ago, before the Dawn of Time, and the Age of Mankind began, there was One. And the One found itself so very Lonely. So the One Divided, and Became Many. And the One was no longer Lonely. But still, though the One had Divided into Many, the One Felt that Something was missing. So the Many gathered, and Together They Dreamed. They Dreamed of many different things, many different kinds of Peoples, all living together, in Peace and Love. And from that Place, The Realm of Dreams was Formed.
And the One found this to be very Pleasing. And decided to Dwell here, with the Many. And all was Perfection.
And then the One grew restless, and made the decision to leave the realm. The One wished to go and create more places of Dwelling. The One offered for the Many to go also, but the Many were happy here, and did not wish to leave. So the One Appointed them Guardians, and Charged them with the Protection of the Peoples they Dreamed. The One Promised to return again, and then was Gone.
The Guardians of the Realm of Dreams became enchanted by the Peoples they Dreamed, and each took a mate to complete themselves. And the Races you think of as Imaginary were born. The Elves, the Dwarves, Dragons, and Unicorns. And the Faeries. All of them. The realm grew too small to contain everyone, so the New Peoples left for other Places. But for All, the realm of Dreams became the Doorway to other lands. And once every Blue Moon, all the Peoples gather together to reaquaint themselves, and Hope for the return of the One."
I can see by the look on your face that you are wondering if we have mistaken you for the One. But, no, that is not why I am telling you this story. You are not the One. At least not the One we all Long for to Return. I can also see that you are growing hungry, and restless. I cannot offer you anything to eat yet. For to do so would mean you could never return to your world. And I would not do that to you. But I shall endeavor to hurry a little more so as not to have you unhappy or uncomfortable. I tell you this story so that you will understand how we Came to Be, and what has happened to cause me to Leave this Place I call home, to search for you.
" I am not one of the First Guardians, for since the One left, we have found that we do not live forever. But I remember the stories as they were handed down to me. And I must let you know that I am not Faery, but Faerykin. Born of your People and Mine. But that is another story, and can be left for another time.
It was during the time of the Guardian before me, that the People who were traveling to meet once again under the Blue Moon began to dwindle, and soon did not arrive at all. And none could tell us why. We were left here, to wonder and wait, and soon my Ancestors decided that we must find out what had happened.
Many of The Faery volunteered to Travel beyond the Doorway to the other lands to find out , but very few ever returned. And for those who did, they had become former shadows of themselves, withdrawn and quiet, as if their very Essence had been extinguished and replaced with a darkness so deep, that The Guardians could not reach them. They no longer seemed to have the will or the desire to sing, or laugh, or play, which is the way of the Faery.
And they had lost their innate ability to Dream. We could not help them no matter how we tried, and soon they passed from this world. And what you see here in this Meadow, is all that is left of us."
I became silent for awhile, letting my eyes drift over the Meadow and the faerykin who were listening intently to my words. I reached out a finger and stroked one, very carefully, and then asked them to go and rest themselves elsewhere, for the rest of this story is for you and I alone. I would not cause the Darkness within them if I could avoid it, and I was about to speak to you of my search, and the things I had seen.
Watching them as they disperse themselves to another part of the Meadow, a few of them mumbling about wanting to hear the rest of the story, you realize that they are much like children themselves. That they have been sheltered from the world you are born of, and all of the taints that are a part of it. They are still Innocent of the woes that you have known of, if not experienced in your lifetime. And it is becoming very obvious how much I care about them. And you realize why it was so important to regain that very same Innocence I asked of you. If you had not, and if I had sensed incorrectly, I would have exposed them to the Darkness, that which you have held off within yourself.
While you are watching them, I move closer to you. Instead of facing you, I now sit by your side. And I feel as if this is where I belong, but I cannot allow you to know that. At least not yet. Not until you decide. Already I can feel the Darkness invading my Essence, threatening all that I have tried to accomplish. And I know deep within, that my time here is limited, unless you decide for us. And I can only hope that what they have Dreamed about me is True. But I could not resist the impulse to reach out and run my fingers over the softness of your skin, where the jaw meets the neck. It felt so good to me, and made me think of other things, things that I had to ignore for now, and maybe forever.
With that touch, you turn your attention to me, and I look away again, but I fear that it was not soon enough....
"We are a People of Pure Emotion. We Feel things differently from the way that Humans do. What we feel is who we are, and we express these feelings openly and without shame. And though we have a language, and we use words, we mostly communicate by feelings and acting upon them. It is so much simpler that way. There is only Truth here, for we could not survive if there were lies or malice among us.
When I was younger, I Dreamed. And it was a most unusual Dream. For all of the Guardians, and all of the Faerykin, felt this Dream, and when I awoke from this Dream, I was summoned before the Guardians, and they examined my Dream most carefully. I cannot tell you the story of my Dream, for it is Sacred to the Faerykin. What I can tell you, is that not long after that I was appointed a Future Guardian. This was unusual for it had never been done before. Always the new Guardian Dreamed on the Night of the Passing of the Old Guardian. In this way we are never left without a Guardian.
They told me that My Dreaming was different, and that my capacity for Dreaming surpassed any that had Dreamed before. I still do not understand all of that Dream, but so much of it has come to pass. And I know that none of the Faerykin have Dreamed on a Night of Passing since then.
When the Guardian before me Passed, I Dreamed again. And this was also unusual, but I had no one to turn to for guidance, and no other Faerykin came to take the other Guardians place in Time. Leaving me the Last Guardian. It is this Dream that began my search for you."