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"What does thata seat at one of the nearby long, low tables that peppered the rooo we ran around free with the huy We were the Fair Folk, the Tylwyth Teg, et cetera"

"But not everyone knows about us now," I said "Magog said she had to hide her true forrew to be too many proble, while the hu, but when Christianity finally took hold on the island we knee had to go underground Iine what the witch trials would have done to our people?"

My lips twisted in silent acknowledge in the middle of the British Museum, in a room that’s apparently run by the supernatural, for the supernatural That’s not really underground Well, we are underground, literally, but you knohat Iinto et used to that "Our leaders recognized early that the feudal system respected power, and that it could keep secrets if the benefits for doing so were obvious Despite all the political changes here on the Island for hued, and respect for power and lineage is one of theovernh there are often slips Why do you think the British are still so obsessed with fairies, and stories of strangers frood, is Doctor Who real?" I asked

"The Doctors are actually a team of different Alfar who handle situations that, in reality, are probably the fault of the supernatural coin with But yes"

"Whoa," I said, awed out of my little mind "Awesome Can I meet them?"

"Yeah, no," said Anyan "As they’d probably kill us on sight"

I sighed, all fantasies of beco the Doctor’s next sidekick bloay by the fact that, apparently, the Doctor would blow me away

And not in a fun way, my virtue warned my libido, which had perked up at the word "blown"

"So the government knows about this room?" I said

"There’s a very secret part of a very secret part of our government that knows about it, yes In fact, overnment is secretly made up of supes, but that’s a secret"

I shookmy rattled brains

"Huh?" I asked

"Basically we’ve weaved ourselves into the echelons of human power in a way unheard of in other countries The closest approximation of e’ve done here on the Island is in your North America, but because you’re all in different Territories there’s been no single, top-down infrastructure to eovernments Therefore your supernatural cooverns up Here on the Island, we can s happen"

I frowned at Sarah, unsure how I felt about that bit of infor

"This room is, in many ways, symbolic of our relationship to the human inhabitants of our Island One can see it as built inside the hu the human edifice built around us, with us as its backbone--its core"

"And here is housed the greatest coathered in one place, since the Great Library in Alexandria burned," Blondie said, an to look like Blondie the closer the Original ca next to Sarah (as now fully Blondie) she leaned in to kiss her doppelg&auer on the cheek "Whilst Sarah has been its prisoner"

"Its curator," Sarah corrected, laughing, but our own Blondie’s expression toldI realized at thatI didn’t understand I filed that information away to ask Blondie about, later, if I had the chance

Okay, I was also really curious about Sarah, and their relationship But I liked to hide itimate questions, whenever possible

Anyan cleared his throat, obviously trying to head off any pity party before drinks could be poured

"So what are we doing here?" asked the barghest, pointedly

Sarah straightened, walking back towards the little cart she’d been hovering around since alked in

"You’re here because ru about the Red and the White I knew soan co we have"