Three young magess came at me. Normally, they would have been no challenge at all, except they had a magic I had never sseen. They ussed air againsst me. I couldn’t ssee where it came from, what they were doing, until it hit me, added I wass in the water and not at my sstrongesst.
They had me tied into a knot, gassping for air asss they were drowning me. It wass then that sshe came upon me. Misstresss floated through the air, and in minutess, sshe had the three mages tied up in air, each finger bound to the next.
Sshe told me that her bindingss would only hold them for a sshort time, but sshe could hide me from them until they losst interesst. I agreed to go with her. Loretta led me to thesse cavess and locked me in. I have been captive ever ssince, weakening every year that I am not able to fly.”
“I don’t understand. If you were so powerful, how did she capture you?” Warren asks.
“I wass weak from the magess’ attack. Had I been able to fly, I would have recovered, but sshe quickly led me through the water to thesse tunnelss. Oncce sshe had me here, sshe locked the door, binding it with her air magic.
“Asss the door clanked sshut, sshe ssaid ‘The mighty Lithiuss, blinded by hiss own conceit and too sstupid to ssee through a frail female fairy.’
“Sshe took the ssky away, and kept me in the water. I have lived like thiss for one hundred yearss. You ssee, my power comess from the ssky.
“When you came, I ssenssed a change. I didn’t know what, but knew it wass coming. The way you would sstand up to Loretta, even though I could feel you sshaking in fear. Then, oncce I talked to you about love, and you realized how to love yoursself and your matess, I felt Lorett’ss power weaken. It further weakened when each of your men refussed her. I wass then able to sspeak through you and bind her.”
By now, we had reached the door to the tunnels. With a shove of his head, Lithius pushed it open, and we were out in the ocean. He held his head high, looking into the sun and sighed. “I will take you to the edge of the Brownies’ land. Then, I must take to the skies and regain my strength.”
I squeeze Lithius’ neck. “Thank you for everything.” It’s not long before we are to the river that separates the Selkie lands and Brownie lands at the ocean.
“Here you are, little fairiess. Remember that love will alwayss win.” We climb off his back and then watch as he swims out to the deep. He disappears for a moment and then springs from the water, jumping high in the air. Mid-jump, the air around him shimmers, and he changes into a long white and gold sinuous dragon. He has small arms with claws towards the front of his still serpentine body, and stronger reptilian-like legs in the back. Around his snout and up over his ears, a flowing mane of gold, silver, and white stream behind him in the wind. Just behind his arms, gossamer gold wings spring from his a back. He is magnificent.
“I thought they were a myth.” Warren says, awe filling his voice.
“No, not a myth.” I say, watching as my captor and savior cavorts in the sky.
Chapter 33
“WELL, WE HAVE SOME time to kill while we wait for an escort.” Orrin says, turning away from the ocean now that Lithius has disappeared from sight. “How about we tell each other what happened while we were held by Loretta?”
We spend the next few hours telling of what happened to each of us.
“The worst thing was she made me doubt you. She made you seem perfectly happy without me, that you weren’t missing me at all. That first morning, she showed me images of each of you. Puck, you were so happy cooking in a perfect space with all these ingredients. Warren, you were touching the stargazer with such a euphoric look on your face. And Orrin, you were laying on the bed, Loretta laying over you, kissing her. It broke my heart to see those images.
“Then Lithius helped me to see that they were snapshots that didn’t show the before or after, and to remember what you had shown me of your true selves.” I smile at them. “I learned to accept my body, and that you each accept me and love me as I am.”
“We really do,” Puck said, picking my foot up and kissing my toes.
“EEWWW, you weirdo!” I giggle at him and pull my foot back. The serious mood has suddenly switched, and all three guys are suddenly tickling me with their mouths and hands.
A throat clearing has all of us stilling and turning our heads. Standing at the side of the river is Orlagh sitting upon his mount.
“We meet again,” he says with a smile. “I assume you would like transport to the
beach again?”
“Yes, please, Orlagh.” I smile at him.
“I assumed the same arrangements, so have brought only one extra mount. I also have sent a Nokke, the Nixies’ saltwater cousin, with a message to your island to bring the boat. We will be to the beach in a few hours, and your boat should be here in the morning.”
He pulls a bag from behind his mount. “I also thought you might be hungry after your travels. It was said that you appeared here on a . . . sea serpent?” He handed the bag to Warren who passed it around to each of us. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I saw the food.
“Thank you.” I say, stuffing food into my mouth. I quickly climb up onto my mount, and we are off through the Brownies’ marsh. Once again, I’m astounded by the beauty of the marsh and how different it is from anything we have on the island.
“Orlagh, I love your kingdom! It’s so pretty.”
The Brownie almost preens at the praise of his home. “It is a special place, though far from perfect. We are working at changing things, but it is a slow process. You younglings wouldn’t know of Thea’s Redemption or what happened in the years after that.” The rest of our trip was spent with Orlagh telling us of Thea, the Brownie princess who trusted the wrong men and brought two Mhularuska, the archenemy of the Brownies, into the protected lands. She fled to the human world, fearing that her family and friends all were dead at the hand of the Mhularuska. But with the help of a Guardian from the Human Realm, Hades, and a Hellhound, she was able to return and make things right.
By the time Orlagh finishes Thea’s story, and some other stories of the Brownies past, we had reached the beach.
I slide off my mount’s back and walk over to Orlagh. “Thank you for escorting us, and for the stories. One day, I would like to come back, or have another fairy come and write your kingdom’s stories down for our library.”
He smiles down at me, “I am sure that can be arranged. I will forward your request to the King and send a response via Nokke. Now I must be off. The mistress does not like me being gone too long if I can help it.”
We say our goodbyes, and he turns and starts to leave, then turns and comes back. “Oh, I almost forgot. Go down the beach a little way, and you will see a small creek. About one hundred feet back is a small house. It has supplies, you can stay there for the night.” He waves and continues on his way.
Orrin looks around at us and then turns down the beach, “Hopefully there are beds. I really don’t relish sleeping in the sand. There are some places sand doesn’t belong.”
I giggle at his comment, “You think? Trust me, women have a much harder time dealing with sand in uncomfortable places than you.”
He turns to flutter backwards, “Maybe we should examine these areas that women have, compare, and see if they are indeed more inclined to have more of an issue with sand?”
“Um, Hell, no! That ain’t happening!”
I start running as fast as I can down the beach. If I can make it to the house before Orrin can get to me, then he can sleep in the sand! Puck and Warren are laughing like hyenas as Orrin chases me.
Of course, exercise and I have not exactly been the best of friends for most of my life, so this isn’t going so well. The sand makes running harder than on the beaten paths of our island. I can feel the melons bouncing up and down painfully, as my bottom jiggles, and I gasp for air.
Suddenly, strong arms are wrapped around me as we tumble to the ground, and we roll into the sand. I laugh until I get a mouth full of sand, then I�
��m coughing and spitting. Orrin lets go of me and rubs my back.
“I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just a mouth full of sand. So, now that we’re in the sand, who is more irritated by it?” I wiggle my eyebrows at him.
He shakes his head and laughs at me. “I will defer to you on this one. Now let’s get you to the house and cleaned up.” He pulls me up. Puck and Warren join us by that point.
“Lin? Are you okay?” Warren touches my shoulder, glaring at Orrin.
I smile at him. “Yes, I’m fine. We were just playing.” I realize at some point I might have to have a conversation with all three of them about how each of them has their own way of playing, and way in the bedroom. If they aren’t comfortable with what one does, that’s okay. They don’t need to participate, but they don’t shame. What matters is that I am okay with it and not shamed. But that’s not a conversation for tonight.
“Hey Lin?” Puck asks. “Why didn’t you use your magic to help you in the race?”
I look at him quizzically. “What do you mean?”
“Well, if you can use air to move objects, why couldn’t you use it to move yourself?”
My jaw drops, and I stare at him. I hadn’t thought of using the magic like that. If what he’s suggesting works, I would be able to fly with the other fairies!
Chapter 34
AS OUR BOAT PULLS UP to the dock, a loud cheer breaks out, and music starts to play. I jump. I didn’t think that our return would be such a big deal. I feel like a fraud coming home to all this fanfare without any good news. I turn to the guys.
“What do we tell them? We don’t have our talents back, and we can’t help any fairies who don’t have a talent in the future.” I am about to hyperventilate at this point. I don’t like being in the limelight. I would rather Ren had let us come home and meet her in private.
Puck places his hands on my shoulders. “Breathe, Aislin. Everything will be fine. Loretta is dead, from here on, no fairy will be born without a talent. She cannot harm us anymore, and even if a fairy is born without a talent, we have learned that with love anything is possible. I learned that I don’t need a talent to be happy or have a family. I enjoy cooking and that fulfills me. You three are my family. That is all I need.” He pauses and looks at Warren.
“I also realized I don’t need a talent to be happy. I like inventing things and mapping the sky. Between the two, I’m content. And, as Puck said, I found my family. What we are saying is that, maybe the fairy way can adapt to accept those without the usual talents, and make room for other. . . non-traditional talents.”
I start to see what they are saying, that our worlds are not black and white and that the quest itself wasn’t black and white. Ren didn’t ask us to fix everything, just to find out what was going on and stop it, which is what we did. I stand up straighter and take a deep breath.
“You’re right. We did do what we were asked to do, and we found out a lot about ourselves.” Smiling at each of them, “Like the fact that I love each of you, and can’t wait to live the rest of my life with you.”
Instantly, I’m sandwiched between three guys, all vying for my lips, neck or any part of me they can get to. I hear whispered, “I love you’s” from them. And that’s how everyone finds us when the boat docks.
Ren is not amused. The music comes to a screeching halt, and all conversation stops as everyone stares.
“Um. Hi, everyone!” I say brightly. Ren waves her hands, and the music resumes, cheering and conversation starts up again, and we are the conquering heroes once again, just with a slight blemish.
We step out of the boat, and Ren steps forward as the music comes to a crescendo and stops.
“WELCOME HOME TO OUR young fairies! They set out to find out what happened to make the talents go missing. I hope by coming home, they have found out what happened, and more importantly stopped it.” A loud cheer breaks forth from the crowd of fairies, and Ren looks at me expectantly. I shake my head subtly, Ren’s eyebrows narrow. I feel a pat on the shoulder, a slight shove in the back and hear a whispered “you can do it.”
“Hi,” I squeak out and look back at the guys. Orrin mimes speaking louder. I close my eyes. You can do this, Lin. With a much louder voice, “Hi, everyone. We all know that after the last Dust Ceremony, three fairies joined me in being without talents. Ren came to see us not long after that and asked if we would seek out what was causing this and try and stop it. Obviously, we agreed.”
“Our travels took us through the Brownies’ Marshland, over the Selkies’ and Mhularuka’s lands, where finally we landed before the dark Briar Forest. We took shelter in a cave that was, oddly, set up for visitors. This should have been a warning to us . . .” I continue to tell of our adventures, giving them the salient points. They ooh and aah and exclaim at all the right points, and I discover I quite like story-telling. But I leave one major part of the story out, I don’t mention the shimmers or air magic.
“Loretta is dead and with her, any spells that she cast! We don’t know if we go through the Dust Ceremony next year if we will have a talent, or if what she did to us is permanent. But from here on, all the fairies that are born can be celebrated without fear!”
I step back as the fairies all jump up, cheering. The music starts to play, and everyone begins to dance.
“Nicely done,” Ren says. “But I think you left something out, didn’t you?”
“Yes, Ren. I didn’t feel that all of it was for the average fairy to know.”
She smiled down at me, “You will make a great house leader. Now go dance and eat. Your new homes are all ready for you and your possessions moved in. I will give you a few days to settle and then meet with you four to hear all the details.”
I nod and watch as she glides away, then turn to find the three guys waiting for me.
“What, did you think we would go anywhere in this crush without you?” Orrin said. “I, for one, want every girl here to know that I will only be on your arm from now on.”
Chapter 35
AFTER DANCING AND TALKING with so many fairies, I thought I would be dead tired. But the night is too dark, too empty. I feel lost in this house. I understand why Ren gave me this big house, but I miss the comforts of my small house. I miss knowing that it’s ten steps from my couch to the stairs, or eight steps from the stairs to my bed. I miss the comforting creaks and groans, the wind whistling through the window.
The rooms here are too big, and lack the warmth of the little house. It’s the gathering house, but there are only the four of us. And Orrin, Puck, and Warren get to stay in their small, comfortable homes, while I am in this monstrosity. Why did we ever think we needed a gathering house? And why did Ren feel that I should stay here, with the massive bed, that just reminds me how alone I am?
I wander to the porch and look down the hill to where my old house sits. Well, if the moon were out, I would be able to see it. But the windows are dark and no lights shine a welcome home. Just down from me, Puck’s lights are lit, and his burrow almost has a cheery welcome. Maybe I should go down and see what he’s doing? Maybe we could cuddle and talk about whatever pops into our minds.
Or maybe I could go down to see what Warren is doing? I look over to his house and see him moving from window to window. Do they miss the noise of the dorms? Do they find their spaces too big, too empty? Or do they enjoy the solitude?
“AAAAH!” I jump a mile as a clap of thunder crashes overhead, and I scurry back to my room, throwing myself on the big bed, burrowing under the covers. I hate storms with a passion. No matter how many times Bray tells me the logistics of storms, the thunder crashing sends me shaking.
Through the pounding rain, a scrape and creak of new wood moving has me shaking more.
“Aislin,” a whisper slithers over my skin. “Aislin.”
I’m frozen. I can’t move, can’t answer. I can feel panic overwhelming me, taking over. Deep breaths, Lin. Deep Breaths.
“AAAAH!” a hand grabs the blanket
over my head, my fear spikes, and I can't move! A familiar face appears as the blankets are pulled down.
“Are you okay?” A worried Puck asks. “I called, but you didn’t answer.”
“Ye-yes. I’m fine. How did you know I wasn’t sleeping?” I try to put some bravado into my statement, though I am still shaking, each clap of thunder has me jolting.
“Who could sleep through this noise?” Puck asks me. He keeps looking at me then turning away. I’m about to ask him if something is wrong, when I realize that I had been getting ready for bed when the storm hit. I quickly pull the blanket up and glare at him.
“Did you like the view?” I snidely ask, clutching the blanket to my chest. My nightgown left little to the imagination. Can I help it if I like to feel pretty? And who would ever see me in it anyways? I know the white sheer fabric leaves little to the imagination. The top pushes my already large breasts up so that they overflow. The soft fabric drapes over my ample hips and buttocks, teasing my skin.
He blushes, and then looks me in the eyes. “You know I like everything about you.”
Umm. How am I supposed to respond? How do I tell him that even though I accept my body and know he loves me, I am still unsure, still scared of rejection?
The bed dips a little as Puck sits down next to me. “Lin?”
I look up and see the worry and fear in his eyes. I know what he’s asking, but how do I tell him? A clap of thunder takes the decision away from me as I jump and scream.
“You really do hate storms, don’t you?” he asks as he climbs in next to me and pulls me into his arms. Just as I thought it would be, it’s like snuggling a big teddy bear. His chest cradles my head, with just enough extra to not feel hard. His hand runs up and down my back in slow circles, and I can feel the tension ebbing. Well, maybe ebbing isn’t the right word. The fear is leaving, but a new tension is building. The girls whispered about it in the dorms, but I have never experienced it before.
Finding Her Wings Page 11