Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
Relieved and satisfied, she pulled on her clothes so they could get on their way.
They each gobbled down some of the bread and nuts from their food stores, which were running low, and then Aodhan went to fill their water skins in the stream, leaving Sierra in the tree so he could use his Fae pace to get to the river and back as quickly as possible.
When he returned, he helped Sierra get her pack on her shoulders before asking if she was ready.
She nodded in response, and Aodhan took her hand, and they were off at the same pace as the day before, Sierra struggling to keep up.
If she ever got to go back to her old life, she was seriously going to hit the gym.
It was brighter than the day before, and Sierra tried to take in what she could as they passed through the forest. There were all types of birds and flowers that she wished she had more time to watch and study.
Hopefully, someday, she would be able to, maybe at some distant point in the future when she was no longer in danger.
She quickly brushed off the thought. They were going to solve this issue soon; she was sure of it.
Unlike the day before, the journey went quickly, and all too soon, Sierra found herself staring at a small wooden home in the middle of a clearing in the enchanted forest. Aodhan had them stop in the tree line, turning to her before they proceeded.
“I have to warn you. The seer, Fia, is strange, but there is no reason to hide anything from her. She knows all, anyway.”
Sierra’s eyes widened.
“She can see the future, the past, and sometimes I think she can see other beings that we don’t.” He took a deep breath. “She might say some things that terrify you, but I promise she is just trying to convey what she knows in the best way possible.”
“I understand.” Sierra swallowed as Aodhan took her hand for the second time that day and led them at a leisurely pace to the door of the building.
Before they could knock, the door opened, revealing a beautiful woman in a floor-length purple gown.
Her golden hair fell in two long braids down her back, and while she was clearly Fae, Sierra could sense something else about her, but she couldn’t put a name to what it was.
This was likely the strangeness that Aodhan had mentioned.
“Aodhan, Sierra,” she said, greeting each of them with a bow of her chin, before moving aside to let them into her home. “I’ve been waiting for you,” she said in perfect English, which was almost spooky after weeks of hearing the Sidhe-accented English spoken by everyone around her.
Aodhan pulled Sierra into the house, which looked on the inside just as she suspected it would from the outside.
The living room and kitchen were small and sparsely furnished.
There was a stone fireplace, however, with flames crackling even though it wasn’t the least bit cold.
The kitchen held a wooden table with just two chairs, and similar appliances to what Sierra saw in Teach Crann.
The wall above the counter was filled with shelves, lined with colorful bottles of all shapes and sizes, and containing all manner of things.
Some looked like food, and others Sierra hoped weren’t food, because they certainly didn’t look edible.
“Make yourselves comfortable.” Fia motioned to the purple couch in the living room, which didn’t look strong enough to hold both her and Aodhan, but when they sat down, it didn’t so much as creak. Fia picked up a wooden chair from the kitchen, and placing it before them, she sat.
“You have questions.”
Sierra was glad that Aodhan had warned her, as she was much less creeped out than she would have been had she just gone in blind. The one thing they hadn’t talked about, however, was whether Sierra would be talking, or Aodhan would be.
As it turns out, there was no need to discuss, as Fia took Aodhan’s hands and placed them on the sides of her head. Sierra had never been a jealous woman, but something about the motion made her a bit uncomfortable.
Maybe Fia could hear her thoughts, because without even a glance in Sierra’s direction, she said, “I’m just showing him what I saw before. Before he went to find out.”
Sierra nodded as Aodhan’s eyes drifted closed. She assumed he was committing to memory what he saw, or perhaps looking for details he had missed previously.
“Would I be able to see too?” she asked.
“I’m afraid not. I can only show people the future which pertains to them. Meaning I could show you what I saw for your future, but I can’t show you what I am showing Aodhan now."
Sierra understood, and for a moment she wondered if she did, in fact, want to see her future. There was something inherently scary about being presented with the concept of being able to see what would come next in life. What if it was something she didn’t like? Would she be able to change it?
Aodhan’s eyes snapped open, glancing to the side to focus on Sierra, before looking back at Fia.
“Sierra,” he gasped. “I can’t believe I never asked this before, but what is your master’s thesis on?”
Sierra cocked her head at the odd question, but answered anyway. “I’m evaluating some of the variables in life which, when changed, can extend the human lifespan.”
“And have you made any discoveries yet?” he asked, his eyes drifting closed again.
“Yes, and no, I just started the lab work, so the details on my experiments won’t come back for a while, plus they are on mice, so some of it will be conjecture anyway.
But based on some of the similar studies which I am reviewing, I believe there are several variables that can extend the human lifespan when observed early enough in life. ”
Aodhan’s mouth was agape. He couldn’t believe he had never discussed this with her before. “What are they?”
“Well, diet, for one. Vegetarians or pescatarians live much longer, and are much less prone to diseases than those who consume meat. And if you look at the blue areas on earth, the regions where humans live the longest, they are all the areas where the diet is majority pescatarian. And the only meat they occasionally eat other than fish is chicken or eggs, meaning no red meat at all.”
Sierra couldn’t hide the emotion in her voice; this really was her passion project and she rarely got to speak about it in length.
“Another factor I am looking into is exercise, as well as living in a familial unit, or with another being for the entirety of life. So far, similar studies have concluded that those who stay active, and don’t live alone, live longer than those who do.
This is most clearly seen in Italy, on Sardinia, and in Ikaria, Greece, two of the blue spots I spoke of.
In these areas, it is common for young adults to live with their family until marriage, and from there, live with their partner together, often with the parents in the home, or with siblings, so they almost never live alone and almost always live in homes of at least four adults.
“Of course, there are other aspects and variables too, and I am evaluating them in the same way, but I believe these are the three aspects I’ll be focusing on.
There is also a genetic aspect, which I can’t always account for, but I’m trying to focus my thesis on the variables that someone could control if they wanted to live a longer life. ”
Aodhan’s eyes moved between Fia and Sierra. “Hm.”
“What did you see?” Sierra asked. “Maybe I’ll recognize something you didn’t.”
“Well, I saw you just as I did before, but this time instead of focusing on the background to try and figure out your location, I looked at what you were doing. Fia’s visions are a bit like a slideshow,” he explained.
“I saw you in a lab, and writing, and in a classroom. But now that I know you, I figured that these actions must have some significance, because you aren’t in your home, or the library, which are both big parts of your life. ”
Sierra’s mind began to whir, like different pieces of a puzzle falling into place all at once. She thought over the topic of her thesis, and the struggles of the Fae over the last few centuries and how they could possibly connect.
“Aodhan,” she breathed. “You told me that Fae were traditionally vegetarian, is that still the case?”
It was Fia who answered, “The Fae used to be solely vegetarian, but with the technological advancements of the human world, and the traders who cross the border with some regularity, many have started eating meat and animal products, not as regularly as humans, but from time to time.”
Sierra turned that thought over in her mind.
“In the human world, there had been a trend of getting married later in life, which has led to many humans who, in previous generations, wouldn’t live alone long before marriage, now spending many years by themselves.
Has something like that changed here in Sidhe? ”
Aodhan nodded. “Yes, marriages used to be arranged by parents to preserve bloodlines, but the practice was, for the most part, discontinued over 100 years ago, mostly because it was thought to be cruel to arrange marriages and often led to a lot of infidelity, which further thinned the bloodlines. Though some Fae in positions of power still arrange suitable marriages for their children.”
Sierra tilted her chin down. “And have the Fae become less physically active?”
Fia shrugged. “That I can’t say for sure, but I will say that just as the humans have had their technological advancements that lower hard labor, so too have the Fae.”
“Then there’s a possibility that similar factors to those affecting the human lifespan could also be affecting the Fae magic.
I can’t say for sure; I would need to perform some studies, and they would likely take, uh,” Sierra swallowed uncomfortably, “Hundreds of years to complete because your lifespan is already so much longer than a human’s.