“And why not?” Tracey queried, still trying to elude Thorn’s blocking manoeuvres.
“Because he’s mine!” Thorn yelled, impulsively.
Tracey froze. “What did you just say, Arugohumna?” she challenged. “Did you say what I thought I heard you say?”
Thorn blushed bright red. “I didn’t say anything!” she denied, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
“Yes, you did!” Tracey gaily pointed out. “Correct if I’m wrong, but I believe I heard you say that Stephen was yours.”
“I never said anything like that!” Thorn refuted, blushing even harder and looking away. “Why would I even say such a thing?”
“Because you fancy Stephen, that’s why,” Tracey affirmed, a huge, delighted smile on her face. “By all the stars,” she declared, “I never thought I’d ever hear you say those words. To anyone!” She swept Thorn into her arms in a paroxysm of joy. “Finally!” she crowed. “You’re an actual One now, and not a machine. I was beginning to wonder.”
“Stop hugging me!” Thorn grumbled, wriggling in Tracey’s grasp. “You’ve got it all wrong.”
“Oh, no I haven’t,” asserted Tracey. “Arugohumna, I’m so happy for you!”
“And you’re embarrassing me in front of Stephen,” Thorn proclaimed. “Let me go, you dratted nuisance of a sister!”
Tracey giggled and kissed Thorn on the forehead. “Welcome, big sister,” Tracey announced. “Welcome to the softer side of life.”
To say the least, I was taken aback by this recent turn of events. Thorn? I wouldn’t have thought that of her in a million years. She certainly had changed her outlook from when I’d first met her. Back then, she had been only too anxious to run me through with her sword. Now what do I do? I’d liked her, true enough, but as a girlfriend …….. ? Well, I didn’t know about that! I couldn’t deny she was pretty, but her temper …….. ! Although, to be truthful, she seemed to have calmed down a lot. Damn! I hated these sort of dilemmas! Not that they had occurred all that frequently in my life, mind you. In fact, I couldn’t even remember the last time a girl had said that she liked me. Besides, there was this other major, insurmountable problem ……….
“Excuse me,” I intervened tentatively, “but do I, perchance, have any input into this conversation? I mean, after all, I seem to be the major focus point.”
“Input away,” Tracey announced grandly. “We all wait breathlessly and with undivided attention to your words of wisdom.”
“There’s no need to be flippant,” I admonished. “I just think that I should have a voice in what happens, don’t you think?”
“I suppose,” Thorn grudgingly admitted.
“Thank you,” I said sardonically, giving a little bow. “Thank you so much.”
Thorn and Tracey became silent, their concentrated stares becoming rather disconcerting, and I suddenly realised that I didn’t know what to say next. The choices were:
1) tell Thorn that I had no feelings for her (and possibly break her heart).
2) tell Thorn that I did have feelings for her (and probably get me into more trouble than I could possibly imagine).
3) tell Tracey that I really fancied her (and maybe start a war between her and Thorn).
4) tell Tracey that I really fancied her (and probably be laughed at by her for being such a romantic idiot).
5) say that I had feelings for neither of them (which was a downright lie and would only cause a myriad of regretful, sleepless nights on my part).
6) tell them that it would never work because, well, we were two different species, for heaven’s sake! (And that was the insurmountable problem I’d mentioned earlier).
‘Okay, you in there, what do I do?’
- How should I know? You got yourself into this mess, so you sort it out.
‘What? Aren’t you supposed to help me?’
- Whatever gave you that idea? I’m you, remember, not an external answering machine. The only decisions I make are the ones that you’d make anyway.
‘Well, that’s not a lot of help!’
- Sorry about that, Chief, but that’s the way it is. Now, what’s the problem?
‘You know very well what the problem is! Thorn thinks of me as boyfriend material.’
- Congratulations, then. I was beginning to have serious doubts about you. I’m glad that some deluded female has finally found you interesting.
‘I could do without the derision, thank you very much. What am I going to do?’
- Well, do you like Thorn?
‘Of course I do. She’s pretty, courageous, clever and honorable.’
- So, what’s the problem here?
‘Her sister is the problem.’
- Tracey? Oh, I see. You fancy her too, don’t you?
‘Who wouldn’t? She’s absolutely stunning!’
- Agreed, but has she, at any stage, said that she fancies you?
‘Not as such. Not in so many words. But I think she likes me. She was fighting Thorn over me a few minutes ago.’
- From what I can gather, I think she does that for every male she meets. I don’t mean to be nasty, but Tracey is a goodtime girl, and I can’t see her being tied down to any one boyfriend.
‘Take that back! She’s just, um ………. Being …… ahh …. friendly.’
- Have it your way, O King of Ostriches. For heaven’s sake, pull your head out of the sand and face facts.
‘Won’t!’
- There’s no talking to you. I’m out of here!
‘Good riddance!’
Thorn and Tracey was still staring at me and I had no answer to give them. What on earth could I say? I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.
“Thorn, I don’t know what to tell you,” I stammered. “You’re an amazing person but I’m a human you’re a fai ……. a One. Sweetie, it’d never work between us. I mean, it just couldn’t!”
“Of course it would,” Tracey confidently announced. “The Elders have said you can visit any time, so you can be a part-time boyfriend.”
“Part-time?” I questioned. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Not in the least,” Tracey informed me. “Now, no arguing! You’re going to be a part-time boyfriend whether you like it or not.”
Thorn put a restraining hand on Tracey’s arm. “I know you mean it for the best, Traculimna,” she said in a low voice, “but you can’t force Stephen to like me.” She looked at me sadly. “I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t take your feelings into consideration. I apologise.”
Thorn looked so despondent that I automatically reached out and took her hand. “I never said that I didn’t like you, Thorn,” I informed her. “I do. I like you very much. But this is all a bit sudden for me. I need some time to think about it. And I’m not saying it could never happen either, by the way. Anything is possible. Compared to what I’ve experienced so far, this is a nothing, so please don’t be angry with me. Things will work out in their proper time.”
Thorn smiled an uncertain smile and, reaching out, gently stroked my cheek with her fingers. “I’ll wait,” she whispered. “Come back soon.”
“I will,” I promised, pressing her fingers against my face. “That’s the one thing you can count on.”
Chapter 26
Becoming a little worried about my sleeping body, we went to see Phil and, after a smooch from Tracey and a passionate hug from Thorn, I was converted back to a human again. I had made Phil promise to visit me every month with his ‘disbig’ machine because I certainly wasn’t going to let this fascinating and incredible world go unvisited.
- And what about those two babes, eh! You lucky dog!
‘Shut up!’
END
Sample Chapters from ‘Dangerous Desires (2)’
Chapter 1
I listlessly roamed around the house, thinking of Thorn. ‘And who’s this ‘Thorn?’, you might very well ask. Well, as hard as this will be for you to believe, Thorn is a fairy. You know, the tiny ones with the win
gs. But not one of your run-of-the-mill fairies. She’s no powder puff or flower hugger. No, sir! Instead, she’s outspoken, aggressive, extremely touchy and prone to start an argument at the drop of a hat. There’s none of your twinkly, flower-pollinator, baby-faced, dimpled cuties here. Well, I should correct that, I suppose. She is a cutie. More than that, she’s extremely pretty, what with her curly dark tresses, enormous green eyes, pointed little ears and fetching feminine figure. And, of course, there are her wings. Hey, what did you expect? She is a fairy, after all. Now, where was I? Oh yes, her wings. They’re a transparent, iridescent blue, and they sparkled delightfully in the light. And I’m her friend. At least, I hoped I was still her friend. I hadn’t seen her in a couple of weeks and that was a long time in Thorn’s emotional calendar. Her moods were quite variable, as I’d often found to my cost. Also, she didn’t like being called a ‘fairy’. It incensed her because she believed that human concepts depicted fairies as wimpy, and she firmly believed she was anything but that. She called herself a ‘One’.
And how had I met her, you want to know? Well, maybe you didn’t, but that’s just too bad because I’m going to tell you anyway. How does one come across a fairy, of all things? It’s not easy. You have to be in the right place at the right time. No, I wasn’t drunk or on drugs. It’s as incredible to me as it probably sounds to you. I found her unconscious beside her crashed flying saucer. Well, not a flying saucer actually, more of a flying plate. It wasn’t all that large. Anyway, I helped her home. Not that she felt grateful or anything, mind you. In fact, she was downright rude, but her cuteness softened some of that. Beautiful women can get away with practically anything.
I met her again a few weeks later when she asked for my help to solve the mystery theft of her settlement’s Power Crystals. And how could I possibly to do that, given the disparity between our sizes? Good question and one I asked myself at the time. To cut a long story short, I found myself shrunk down, via an electronic gizmo, to Thorn’s size. But that isn’t strictly correct. What actually happened was that my consciousness had been funnelled into a fairy clone, and I ran around in its body. Confused? You should have experienced it from my side!
Anyway, while I was with Thorn, I met her sister, Tracey (actually named Traculimna, but I couldn’t get my tongue around her name). Similarly, Thorn’s name was really Arugohumna, but try pronouncing that after a drink or two, so I changed her name as well. But back to the story …… Tracey was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen and I nearly melted into a puddle at her feet. Don’t get me wrong here. Thorn was pretty right enough, but Tracey had moved beyond pretty. A whole new word would have to be invented to describe her. And I think she liked me. She did kiss me after all, but I had a sneaking suspicion that she did that to any male she met.
But, as I said, back to the story. Thorn and I ventured out into goblin territory (yes, yes, I know …….. goblins? Stop interrupting, will you? They lived underground, along with the fairies, and they were uneasy neighbours, to say the least.) On our way, we rescued a goblin called Nix from a pit and he agreed to join our quest – but not before he had a few, um …. physical arguments with Thorn. However, as time went on, they became tentative friends, although that friendship became tested when we were all thrown into a goblin jail by the local Mayor. Fortunately, we were rescued by Nix’s mother who revived the trite ‘file in the cake’ ploy for us. We escaped the jail and discovered that the missing crystals were in the Mayor’s room, thus sealing his guilt as a major player in the theft.
We hightailed it out of there only to be beset by a platoon of fairy guards who wanted to arrest us on behalf of the fairy Mayor. Luckily, I managed to talk my way out of it by implicating the resident Mayor, who later confessed to the theft. And there you have it. The full story. In sketchy detail, of course. One of the main things coming out of all this was Thorn blurting out that I ‘belonged’ to her and that admission startled us all more than a little. Up until then, I wasn’t sure that she even liked me very much, but here she was, saying that she wanted to be more than a friend. I didn’t know what to do about the situation and escaped before I gave a definitive answer. After two weeks of contemplation, I still hadn’t come up with any sort of an answer either for or against. I still pined for Tracey, but a human/fairy mix? How would that work? Would we even be physically compatible? Anyway, I could be with the sisters only every now and again because the clone thing was feasible for only eight hours at a time. I had a life to live as a human, after all. I had friends! Well, not very many, mind you, but I was sure they’d start asking embarrassing questions if they ever found my body comatose in bed while I ran around via the fairy clone.
So, there I was, awaiting my next visit to that wondrous underground fairyland. I’d arranged to go there every month to renew acquaintances, but I had to be patient. I expected to meet with Phil (Phillymunna) and his magic electronic clone gizmo, but that time was still two weeks away. So, imagine my surprise when he appeared that very night. He fluttered onto my dining room table and smiled at me.
“Phil!” I exclaimed. “What the devil are you doing here? Unless I’ve completely lost track of time, the month isn’t up yet. What’s going on?”
“There’s a problem,” he announced, solemnly. “We need your help again.”
“What is it?” I said, my stomach tightening. “Nothing’s happened to Tracey or Thorn has it?”
“No, no,” he reassured me, shaking his head. “They’re fine.”
“Then what?” I demanded.
“There’s been a murder!” he whispered, in a traumatized voice. “It’s unprecedented! No One has ever been murdered before! Not that I can remember, anyway.” He began agitatedly walking up and down. “Everyone is in a state of shock and nobody knows what to do.” He looked up at me appealingly. “Stephen, we need you to help solve this.”
“Take it easy, Phil,” I urged. “First of all, how do you know it was murder? And what do you think I can do about it?”
Phil inhaled deeply to steady himself. “As to your first question,” he began, “we know it was murder because the unfortunate victim has been stabbed to death. That couldn’t possibly have been an accident. And there was no weapon found in the vicinity, so it had to be murder. What other explanation could there be?” He fell silent, and then threw his hands in the air. “It’s just impossible!” he exclaimed, shaken to the core. “The One don’t kill each other. We just don’t!”
“I know it looks bad,” I soothed, “but there may be alternate explanations. I just don’t know what they are right now but I agree that your race isn’t the type to murder each other. What do you really want me to do? I’m not a detective. I don’t have any experience in this area.”
“Just come,” he pleaded. “You may be able to see things that we’ve missed.”
“Very well,” I told him. “But don’t expect miracles.”
“Oh, I won’t expect one of those,” he smiled, “but I can hope, can’t I?”
Chapter 2
I went into my bedroom and stretched out on the bed. Phil began attaching the transferring electrodes to my body that would put my mind into the waiting clone.
“And how are my favourite sisters?” I asked, in as nonchalant of voice as I could manage.
“Oh, they’re the same as ever,” Phil chuckled as he applied the electrodes. “Arugohumna is as irascible as always and Traculimna somehow becomes more beautiful every day. They both miss you, you know. Traculimna is always talking about you, and Arugohumna, although she doesn’t mention you much, is uncharacteristically moping around the scenery like a lost duck.” He stopped what he was doing and looked at me shrewdly. “Have you come to any decisions?”
“About what?” I parried, knowing full well what he was talking about.
“About those two,” he smiled. “Traculimna told me everything that happened. I know that Arugohumna is having trouble admitting it, but she really likes you. She admitted as much the last time you were there. And
as for Traculimna ……. well, who knows what she’s thinking? I know that you fancy her, along with just about every other male One, but I think she’s taken with you as well. To some extent, anyway. But for how long? Traculimna is somewhat …….. flighty, and has well known commitment problems.” He chuckled again. “A bit of a dilemma for you, my boy,” he said.
“And one I could very well do without,” I grumbled, as Phil pressed the final button.
I regained consciousness, looking up at the very pleasant sight of Thorn who was peering down anxiously at me. “Stephen?” she asked.
“Present and accounted for,” I murmured, drowsily. The transfer always tended to make me a little fuzzy until I adjusted.
“Time to get to work,” Thorn claimed, cruelly dragging me upright.
“Take it easy,” I protested. “Allow me a little adjustment time, please.”
“Very well,” she allowed, scrutinising me closely. She colored a little, nervously fluttered her wings and said in a quiet voice, “I’ve missed you.”
“And I missed you, too,” I admitted, truthfully.
“You have?” she exclaimed, her eyes widening. “Really?”
“Really and truly,” I told her, grinning.
Thorn shuffled her feet, and then peered up at me through her eyelashes. “Really?” she repeated.
“Really,” I affirmed, patiently. I held out my arms, not quite knowing what she’d do next. She didn’t strike me as being the hugging type, but I thought I’d take a chance anyway. As matters turned out, I was rather surprised when she stepped willingly into my embrace. She wrapped her arms tightly around me, her intensity once again surprising me. Well, this is nice, I thought, returning her hug. It’s not often I get to hold a beautiful girl, even if she does have pointed ears and wings.
After a few moments, we disengaged and stared silently at each other. Thorn became the first to break the silence. “Well, that’s enough of that,” she began, her voice becoming totally professional. “We have work to do.”
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