I slunk off into the woods and circled around Madison’s house along the trail through the trees, hoping no one had noticed me asleep out there. How could I ever explain that to Madison’s parents? I made it out to the street and was grateful to see the old Mustang at the curb where I normally park. The keys were in the ignition and I was soon heading for home. Our front door was unlocked, something that would of greatly alarmed Mom, and fortunately no one was up yet. I made it upstairs to my bedroom unobserved.
The fairy was sitting at her table, looking into her little mirror, brushing her hair, pretending not to even hear me come in. Normally she’s bouncing up and down and all excited to greet me. There was no way she was unaware of my absence during part of the night. No one comes or goes without the fairy knowing it. In fact, almost nothing in the house goes unobserved by the curious little creature.
“Bonnie, get up,” I spoke loudly, causing the fairy to jump to her feet and spin around. Her brows drew together and her mouth opened in a look of alarm.
I was convinced she knew something. It had to be the fairies. I’ve never slept walk before in my life. And I had woken up fairly close to that fairy meadow where I first found Bonnie. It’s a scary feeling to wake up in a strange place and not remember how you got there.
The fairy must have perceived my dismay, for she deployed her wings and immediately took flight and rose to hover anxiously in front of my face. “Oh Michael, were you hurt?” she asked. The hair on her head and neck was standing up.
I ran a hand through my hair. “No Bonnie, I’m not hurt. What do you know about this?”
She looked away innocently. “About what, Michael?” she said, then settled back down onto the desk. She kept her wings out as she paced in front of me.
“I want to know how I got in the woods, Bonnie? The last thing I remember was going to sleep in my own bed in my own room.”
The fairy looked at me all too sweetly, her huge eyes wide open. “How would Bonnie know what Michael did after you left the house? Michael often leaves Bonnie behind.”
There was a little rebuke hidden in her words, but I ignored it. “Are you saying you had nothing to do with it?”
“Nothing to do with what, Michael?”
I bent over until my face was close to hers. “Bonnie, don’t tell me you had nothing to do with my waking up outside near the woods this morning, instead of in my bed?”
“Well,” she looked away. “Bonnie not have anything to do with it.”
“You didn’t blow any powder in my face and try and exert influence over me last night?”
This startled her and her eyes got really wide. “Oh no, Michael, Bonnie would never do that?”
“You would never do that, huh?”
“Oh no, Michael.”
“But I happen to know you have, twice before, at least.”
She looked stricken. “That, that, that was before Michael became Bonnie’s liege. Bonnie would never use dylanwadu on Michael now. Bonnie loyal to Michael. Bonnie never betray Michael.”
“Then who did?” I exclaimed. Then I noticed the cut on her arm. It looked like a knife cut, long and deep, running the length of her slender arm from her elbow to her shoulder. I noticed a bruise on the side of her face also.
The little fairy fell down onto her knees. “Please forgive me, Michael. Bonnie so sorry.”
I felt suddenly bad. At that moment the doorbell rang. Presently we could hear my mother downstairs answering. Then she called upstairs to me. “Michael, Mr. Unger from next door wants to have a few words with you.”
Not again. “Bonnie, you stay right there on the desk and don’t move.”
“But Bonnie help, Michael’s enemy here.”
“Are you coming Michael?” Mom yelled up the stairs, closer now. “We’re waiting.”
“Yes, Mom, I’m coming.” I turned back to the fairy. “You stay put. Don’t leave this room. I can’t take the chance he’ll see you again.”
The fairy nodded demurely, so I pulled the door shut tight behind me and bounded downstairs to see what Unger wanted. I didn’t appreciate him going through my mom to get at me and was planning to let him it; but, as I passed Mom, she must have noticed the look on my face for she grabbed me by the elbow and I halted.
“Michael,” she said sternly. “You behave and don’t cause me any trouble. You be nice, hear.” I saw the anxiety in her eyes and it just made me madder. I opened the door to see Unger dressed in his uniform, probably heading into the base for work.
“Well, well, well,” Unger smirked. “You didn’t think I’d forgotten about you?”
I stood up straight and folded my arms. “What do you want?”
“Why haven’t you been answering my phone calls?”
“I’ve been busy.”
He looked at my mom and forced a smile. “Mind if I talk to your son in private?” he asked her. She didn’t like the idea, but nodded her concurrence. So I stepped onto the front porch, pulling the door shut behind me.
The smile left his face and his forehead hardened. “Let’s start with what were you doing in my house the other day?” Unger demanded.
“Your wife let me in?”
He pulled the note I’d written out of a pocket, unfolded it, and held it up to my face. “This was upstairs in my bedroom.” I shrugged, so he continued. “You mother says it’s your handwriting.” He saw my discomfort and his smile returned, only more like a leer now than a grin. “I told her how I was just bird watching. I often bird watch out my bedroom window. She believes me. You never know what kind of sweet little chickadee you’re going to see at certain times of the day.” I had to refrain myself from going for this throat. My reaction seemed to amuse him, and made him leer all the more. “You mother knows I wasn’t spying on her, like this foolish note implies, she knows I would never watch her parading about naked in her bedroom, even though she often leaves her blinds wide open.”
That was too much. I lunged forward, catching him unawares for I don’t think he ever thought I would truly attack him, and shoved him hard, causing him to step backward off the porch and almost loose his balance and fall.
He glared back at me from the walkway leading to the porch. “You twerp. I want to know what kind of little creature you’re keeping in your house?”
“I don’t have any creatures.”
“You have something. I saw it. And it looked very peculiar. It had wings. It flew.”
“We don’t have any pets, you can ask my Mom.”
“I did, and she said that too, but I saw something.”
“Sorry.”
“You will show it to me!”
“Or what?”
He looked stymied for a while, then growled, “I have to go in to work now, but I’ll be back. You will show it to me or I’m going to make things very uncomfortable for you.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“If not you, your mother then. If you don’t show me your strange little animal, I’m going make things very uncomfortable for your mother.”
“I think you better leave.”
“I’ll be back,” he exclaimed. “You can’t hide that strange creature from me.” Then he strode off all cocky like and drove down the streets towards the base.
I went back inside. Mom was waiting. “I heard shouting. What did he want?”
“He’s such a jerk,” I said, and pushed past her to go back upstairs.
“Michael, you come here and talk to me,” Mom said, but I was too angry, and I didn’t want her to see it.
I continued on too my room. The fairy was waiting patiently on the desk like I’d told her too. I went straight up to her. “You’ve been hurt.”
The fairy turned away. “It’s not bad.”
“Let me see,” I asked sympathetically. The fairy reacted to my concern and showed me her cut. “Let me get some antiseptic,” I said, but she stopped me.
“Bonnie not want human medicine. Bonnie make fairy medicine. Much better.” She pointed her to her stash where she had set up a small laboratory for mixing various chemicals and herbs and spices that she found around the house. “Iachau work good. Better soon,” she said confidently.
“They were here last night, weren’t they, the other fairies?”
Bonnie’s smile disappeared and she looked so sad. “Yes, Michael, they come. Bonnie try to stop them but Bonnie not strong. Bonnie just a pixie.”
“They blew powder in my face, didn’t they? I don’t remember a thing. I don’t remember a thing.”
“No Michael, they not use dylanwadu. Michael eat rheoli in the woods. Remember?”
“Tell me everything you know Bonnie, tell me that happened.”
“They come in the night, Bonnie try to stop them.”
“Who came, the prince?”
Bonnie shook her head. “No no, Haerviu and Feidlimid.”
“Harvey and Fern,” I echoed, using the more familiar names I’d given to the fairies. Bonnie nodded. “Who else?” I asked.
“Three warriors - Teutorigos, Seisyll, and Cadeyrn,” Bonnie answered. “And a pixie.”
“Jennie?”
Bonnie shook her head. “No, Courtney.”
“Okay, then what?”
“Bonnie try to stop them.”
“I know, I know, its okay. Thank you. You got hurt. Next time just wake me up. You got that. At the first sign of other fairies, you wake me up immediately. I don’t want you fighting with them.”
Bonnie relaxed a bit, obviously relieved I wasn’t angry at her. “Okay Michael,” she said.
“Which one hurt you,” I exclaimed.
“What?”
“Who cut you, which of the fairies cut you? And who hit you?”
She looked down. “Cadeyrn.”
“Okay, Carl then, he’s going to pay for that.”
Bonnie looked alarmed. “No Michael, these fairies dangerous. Warriors.”
“Never mind, just tell me what happened next.”
“They invoke the rheoli. They order Michael to get up and they take Michael away.”
“Took me away.”
“Michael walk, and do what they say, but Michael not remember.”
A chill ran through me. “I just got up and walked away with them.”
“Yes Michael.”
Bonnie didn’t know any more to tell me. They ordered her to stay behind and she had no choice. She didn’t know what they wanted with me or what we did in the night. She was scared to death I’d get hurt or not come back. I asked if it had something to do with their expedition, their quest. She said yes, but thought this was just a test, to see if they could exert control over me. Well they did that all right.
Now I always make sure the windows are closed at night, especially my bedroom widow, and the doors are all locked tight. I’ve taken the screen with the slit in it and switched it out with a spare from the attic. I’ve also been all through the house and made sure there aren’t any other access points where they might gain entry again. Even shut the flue on the chimney.
Nevertheless, I no longer feel safe. The fairies want me for something and Bonnie’s still not saying what. She says she’s bound by solemn oath and if she told me she would be banished from the Fairy Realm forever. I don’t want that. She began to cry, so I didn’t force her. What do they want with me? It’s creepy to think they can put me under their influence because of that rheoli stuff I ate. It’s certainly a lot more powerful than the powder Bonnie was blowing in my face. I can’t believe I was walking around doing their bidding like some kind of zombie. I don’t remember anything. This is scary stuff. What do they want with me?
December 19, 2012
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