by Kimbra Swain
He leaned forward as his white-hot lips brushed my neck. I moaned at the sensation. “This is who I am, my love. An eternal flame. I cannot stand by and watch as the evil inside of this woman takes over our town. She will enslave all of them to her will. What I need to know is if you are with me or not?” he spoke in a firm, steady voice. Its warmth and strength reverberated through me. His touch didn’t force me back into my glamour. It seemed to bolster my natural gifts. Father said he was my foil, but not as my antithesis as I thought he had meant. Dylan was my perfect compliment.
“Perhaps what Shady Grove needs is a Queen and a King,” I said. His body jolted in surprise at the statement. As he lost grip, we both tumbled into the tub. I surfaced in the water laughing as it boiled around me. I still wore my robe, but the phoenix had burned all his clothes off leaving only the superb body of my fiancé. At least, I hoped he still was my fiancé. He grabbed the belt of the robe jerking it loose. The robe sank to the bottom of the bath.
Pulling my naked body to his, he asked, “Is that a proposal?”
Distracted by our mutual state of undress, I stammered over my words, “Um, yes. Maybe.”
“Why are you so flustered, Grace? You’ve seen me naked before,” he laughed.
“I’ve just not seen you so hot and bothered like this,” I joked.
“Do you mean it? We will do it together,” he said.
“Yes, you fool. Of course,” I replied. His hand pushed my lower back into his body while his other hand tangled in my hair. He pulled gently tilting my head back. His lips, mouth and tongue assaulted mine hard and strong. The force of it caught me off guard. It was more than the day before when I thought I’d seen his true force. I was wrong. There was more there that he hadn’t shown me. The seducer could play a silly game of pool or he could smolder enough to melt my insides. My feet slipped out from under me, but it didn’t matter. He had me wrapped up. Balance wasn’t needed as the water sloshed around our movements.
Pausing for only a moment, he rested his forehead on mine. “Grace, I’m not a fool,” he said. Before I could protest his lips were on mine again. He needed to be in control, so I didn’t resist. However, I knew my world. Someone was always watching. Using the power that naturally flowed into me, I traced runes with my fingers around us creating a barrier to outside influence. I rarely used runes, but I knew the powerful implements were a necessity here. A private bubble for us to make love in. He needed it. I wanted it.
Here in my world I saw myself clearer than ever before now. Independence had saved me over the years running from the Sanhedrin. Pure instinct to protect myself. However, if I truly wanted this partnership to work with Dylan, I needed to adapt. He needed me to depend upon him and share everything. With everyone else, I would be the same old brash, impulsive Grace. That part of me first attracted him to me, but for our relationship to work, I had to give a little. No, I had to give it all to him. It wasn’t a surrender to his will or power, but a realization that it would become our will and our power.
When he was finished with me, I was exhausted. After the week we’d had, I needed some downtime, but I knew we had to return. He lounged back on the edge of the bath. Seated on the ledge, he held my body close to him as I sat across his lap with my head resting on his shoulder.
“Look at me, baby,” he said. I leaned back locking eyes with him.
“You plan on ordering me around all the time now?” I asked.
“Yes,” he grinned. Damn it. He knew I’d let him too. “When we go back, you need to go back like this.”
“Naked and straddling your lap?” I teased.
“No, like this,” he said as he took a strand of platinum hair curling it around his finger. “The town needs a Queen.”
“So, no more trailer trash Grace?” I asked.
“For now. I know who you are, but remember when you thought you were alone in the town with no other fairies? You were skeptical of everyone. They feel the same thing about you. I can see it in their eyes. People need to know you aren’t going to hide your royalty. That you will be the Queen that they need. For now, you need to be Gloriana.”
“You know my given name. What is yours, Dylan?” I dared to ask.
“My father was a Spanish explorer in the New World when he met my mother. They named me, Serafino Taranis.”
“Taranis was a thunder god,” I stated.
“Yes. Serafino was a form of Seraphim, the fiery angels of God. The name isn’t catchy,” he laughed. “My mother also gave me an Algonquin name that I used occasionally, Keme Rowtag which basically means thunder fire.”
“Why Dylan?” I asked.
“I wanted to be as far from my real name as possible. Dylan Riggs is a name I made up after looking through the phone book one day. Jeremiah made me pick a name. It’s what I picked. Sounds good right?” he smiled.
“You will always be Dylan to me,” I said. His lips met mine gently.
“Time to go,” he said. “I’m going to miss this bath.”
“You! Now you know why I love the garden tub. It’s a poor substitute, but at least it’s something!” I laughed.
“We’ve got to try it out,” he grinned.
“Yes, we do,” I replied.
Father met us in the corridor of roots that would lead us home. We were all anxious to get back. “Gloriana, you should know that I slowed time here while you visited. You should return only a few hours after you left,” Oberon said.
Something like love swept over me for my father. He noticed it in my eyes and smiled. Oberon, King of the Wild Fairies, smiled. “Thank you, Father.”
“Take care of her, Phoenix,” he ordered Dylan.
Dylan nodded.
Levi stood next to us with a lute strapped to his back.
“Where did you get that thing?” I asked him.
“I gave it to him,” Father interrupted. My smiling father gave a gift to my bard. I stood astonished. “Goodbye, my child.”
“Goodbye, Father,” I said grasping the root closest to me. The tree spoke to me as I told it where we wanted to go. It seemed to be confused that we had two different destinations. The truck was destroyed. Dylan chided me for being difficult on objects with wheels. My truck, my trailer, and now his truck all demolished within a few weeks. He swore to buy me a tank when we got home. I sent Levi back to Shady Grove, and Dylan and I landed in a small park about a block from where his car was parked in Montgomery, AL. The rain still fell as we ran to his car. Slumping down in the passenger seat, I took a deep breath to prepare myself to go home.
“Try to rest. How much power do you retain from being there?” he asked.
“Some. Not all of it,” I replied.
“Save it. We might need it,” he said as he fired up the car. The ride home was quiet, so I dozed off.
I woke up as we pulled into the driveway at the trailer. Winnie ran out the door. “Daddy, Daddy! There is a funny man here.”
Sucking in a deep breath, I worried about who we were going to find in the house. I knew Levi had to be here, so maybe it was just Winnie playing a game with him. But as we walked into the kitchen, I stared across the room at the fiftyish man who sat on the sofa grinning like a billy goat in a briar patch. Rufus ran around my feet, greeting me.
“Jeremiah Freyman! You picked a fine time to come home,” I said to him, as he approached us.
“Grace, you are looking as lovely as ever. I’m happy to see that you weren’t permanently damaged by your ordeal. Good evening, Dylan,” he said reaching out to shake Dylan’s hand. Levi stood at the kitchen counter sipping coffee. I eyed the cup, and he smiled at me.
“That remains to be seen,” Dylan replied.
Jeremiah’s face darkened with worry. “I’ll be okay,” I assured him. “I’ve missed you, Jeremiah. Why are you here now?”
“Caiaphas called me when the word spread about the video,” he said.
“Video?” I asked. “Oh, shit. I remember the red blinking light now.”
�
�Whoever it was tried to sell you on the black market,” Dylan explained. “Remy called Levi to give him a heads up.”
“Why would Remy know about it?” I asked.
“They knew he’d pay good money to get you back. I suppose,” Dylan replied.
“Damn good money. He almost won the auction, but at the last minute, he didn’t,” Jeremiah explained. He always had a way of knowing everything even though he wasn’t here much anymore.
“You bring any strays in with you,” Dylan asked, because Jeremiah had a bad habit of picking up wayward fairies and dropping them off in Shady Grove. He’d done that with all three of us.
“Not this time, and if Stephanie wins this damned election, I’m going to have to stick around. She aims to misbehave,” he said.
“Tell me about it,” I said, as Levi slipped a warm cup of coffee into my hand. “Thank you, Dublin.”
“Levi tells me that Oberon gave him a lute. A royal stag lute,” he said.
I nodded as I sipped the coffee. Levi handed Dylan a cup too.
“It’s a nice instrument,” Levi said. “I had no idea how I knew how to play it. I just did.”
Pausing for a moment, I turned to look at him. “You know how to play it?” I asked.
“Came natural to me,” he said.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” I muttered.
“What?” Levi asked as he sat down on the couch. Winnie crawled up next to him. Jeremiah joined him with a knowing grin on his face. Dylan sat down in the side chair, pulling me down on his lap. I rolled my eyes at him.
“Levi, did you take a gift from a fairy?” I asked like I was his mother.
“Grace, I did, but he swore that I owed him nothing in return,” he said.
I laughed. Father tricked him, but thankfully the damage wouldn’t be too bad. “There hasn’t been a royal bard since Taliesin.”
“Royal bard?” Levi asked.
“Yes, dear. My father gave you the Lute of the Royal Bard. You are now the official bard for the Unseelie Court. Not only will you tell my stories, you will tell the stories of the entire court,” I said.
“Oh, shit,” Levi muttered. Jeremiah laughed. “Shut up, old man.”
“Levi, I’m proud of you. You were a lost changeling running from a witch and a demon. Now you are a Royal Bard!” Jeremiah said.
“Is it a good thing?” he asked.
“Just means you have a lot of work to do. My story isn’t done, so you can’t start telling mine,” I said.
“Ours,” Dylan interjected.
“Ours,” I conceded, as I sat my empty coffee cup on the side table. I leaned back into Dylan. His hand traced down my arm to my hand. I felt the cool metal of my engagement ring slip onto my finger. Jeremiah’s keen eyes caught the movement. When he looked at me, he nodded in approval. We both had felt all along that Jeremiah matched us together. I sighed. “My father has thousands of years of stories to tell.”
Winnie sat quietly listening to all of us talk. I watched her innocent eyes as each one of us talked, discussing Stephanie and the election. Finally, she became impatient. She threw her hands up, “Everybody be quiet. I have something to say.”
Dylan chuckled behind me because it was adorable. “Go ahead, Winnie,” I urged her.
“Aunt Grace, you are playing dress up again. Are you going to stay that way this time?” she asked.
“For now, I am. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes, ma’am. I like the costume,” she smiled. “One more thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Are you going to marry Daddy?” she asked. Dylan flexed his hand. The one that held mine with his ring on my finger.
Levi mouthed the word, “Daddy?” I shook my head to let him know I’d explain it later.
“Yes, Winnie, I am,” I replied.
“Can I be in the wedding and have a pretty dress? If you are going to be the Queen, does that make me a Princess?” she asked. The questions were coming freely now.
“Yes, you have to be in the wedding. I will buy you the prettiest dress in the state, and it doesn’t matter if I’m the Queen or not, you are already a princess,” I replied.
“One more thing,” she said again.
Dylan continued to laugh behind me. “Yes?”
“When you marry Daddy, does that make you my Mommy?” she asked.
Jeremiah looked down to the ground. Levi’s eyes widened as he stared at me waiting for my answer. I gripped Dylan’s hand tightly. My voice came out shaky. “Winnie, your mommy is in heaven.”
“I know, but I need a mommy in Shady Grove. If you aren’t too busy, being Queen, you know,” she said.
“If that is what you want, then yes, I will be your mommy,” I choked out. A tear rolled down my cheek as Dylan rubbed his free hand up and down my back. His warmth spread over me. Levi smiled, and Jeremiah wiped a stray tear.
“Okay, I’m out of questions now,” Winnie said without ceremony. We laughed at her. “What’s so funny?”
I stood up, went over to the couch and wrapped my arms around her. “I love you, Winnie.”
“I love you, Aunt Grace,” she said.
“I almost died when she said it,” I told Dylan as I sat on our bed later that night. He picked through the closet looking for something to wear tomorrow. He had a few sets of clothes here. We’d planned with Levi and Jeremiah to stroll into town tomorrow for a big campaign push. I would go into every business on Main Street, shaking hands with the owners and customers. Then we would visit some well-established neighborhoods in town, going door to door. We would encourage people to vote.
“You had to know it was coming,” he replied.
“Actually, no, I didn’t. She asked you before me,” I said.
“That’s because she’s never had a father,” he said.
He was right. She needed to have a father figure, and I was the added thought to that. “Do you want me to set a date?” I asked.
“Yes. Tonight, please,” he said as he set out a white dress shirt and a red tie. “Is there a date that means anything to you?”
“October 21st,” I said without hesitation.
“Good answer,” he replied staring at me. That was the night I made love to him the first time after a flirty game of pool at Hot Tin Roof. “I will call Matthew in the morning and set up for him to perform the ceremony. You want to get married in the Grove?”
“Yes,” I replied. “But I think I should avoid wearing white.”
“It doesn’t matter what color you wear,” he said, taking his clothes off to join me in the bed. “I’m going to take off of you whatever it is.”
He crawled into the bed, laying to face me.
“I’ll get up in the morning and take Winnie to school. You rest,” he said kissing me lightly on the lips.
“Sounds wonderful,” I sighed. My body still ached, and I needed the rest. I snuggled up next to him quickly falling asleep.
“We need to buy a truck,” Dylan said, as he drove us into town. We looked like a political power couple. I wore a red sheath dress with a strand of pearls and black pumps. He wore a black suit, white shirt and red tie that matched my dress. It was ridiculous. He’d taken Winnie to school allowing me to sleep a little longer. We were going to meet Jeremiah in town. If he followed me around as I spoke to people, it would be like the Sanhedrin were endorsing me without them actually making an official statement. Every fairy in Shady Grove knew Jeremiah.
“A red one,” I said.
“A red one,” he laughed. “You look nice.”
“You said that already,” I replied.
“Yes, but I know you are uncomfortable,” he said. “I’m trying to ease your discomfort.”
“I am. This doesn’t feel like me,” I replied. “But it can be.”
“I’ve got to get used to the blonde hair,” he laughed.
“Most men prefer blondes,” I said.
“I’m not most men,” he said. Sitting silent for several minutes as he pondered som
ething, I relaxed back in the seat watching us pass blue sign after blue sign. “Look at it this way, I’ve seen you with people that you consider friends. When we talk to people today, pretend they are your best friend even if you hate them. We will start at the diner.”
I groaned, because I hadn’t reconciled with Betty. Running from the problem seemed to suit me more, but it needed to be done. Part of the reformation of Grace Ann Bryant. “Just slap me if I get out of hand,” I said.
“I would never hit you, Grace,” he mumbled.
“You know what I mean,” I teased.
We pulled up in front of the diner. Walking in holding hands, he greeted Betty. Surprisingly, the diner was empty. “Howdy, Betty, how are ya?” he asked her.
“I’m finer than frog hair split three ways. How are you, Handsome?”
“About the same,” he said.
“Hello Betty,” I tried to say pleasantly.
“Surprised to see you here, Grace,” she said. “Actually, I shouldn’t be surprised you are running from your commitments.”
“What?” I asked. “What do you mean?”
“Stephanie challenged you to a debate today over that community center. I thought you’d be over there instead of here with Dylan. We were about to lock up and head over there,” she said.
I looked at Dylan. “She thought you’d be out of town or dead,” he said. “Come on.”
“I can’t debate her. Dylan, I’ll say something vulgar,” I replied.
“Dead?” Luther asked as he appeared from the back of the diner.
“At least you know your limitations,” Betty interjected.
“Dead?” Luther repeated.
“Look, Betty, I don’t know who pissed in your cornflakes, but at one time, we were friends. I’ve done best I can for Shady Grove. I’m going to continue to do it for all fairies. You think that Stephanie, the Seelie princess, is going to protect you and Luther? Really? She despises all of us who come from the darker side. She always has. I don’t know what kind of slick moves she put on you, but you should know that when I win, I will protect everyone.”